(Victory rally in Skënderbej Square) After the celebration marking the overthrow of the dictator’s statue in February of last year, yesterday’s celebration was the second magnificent, unorganized, spontaneous, spiritual, peaceful rally at which Albanians displayed their true qualities. The turnout was unimaginable, the enthusiasm unimaginable, the telepathy of freedom-loving souls unimaginable: they gathered spontaneously, without any announcement, to celebrate together, just as they had suffered together under the long communist dictatorship. From the exhausted faces of these tens of thousands of people, you understand that it is absolutely no easy thing to be a victim of communism; but from these same faces, on a day like this, you understand at the same time that it is a great fortune to be freed from it. It is the first day our people have looked one another in the eye with pride, without the slightest sense of inferiority toward foreign journalists and citizens, who did not suffer with us but are rejoicing with us, sharing our joy. They now look one another in the eye, almost proudly, for the significant step they have taken through the free vote, democratically, toward them and the civilized world. At last our people are giving up the habit of feeling ashamed of misfortunes which, after all, they had not brought upon themselves, but which had been created by the dictatorship. Every people has its fate. We have ours. Until now, it was a bad one. With the vote of 22 March, our people learned about themselves and showed the world once again that they had been burdened with an imposed, miserable fate, one they fortunately did not deserve. And it is precisely the nobility of Albanians that, on this day of celebration, convinces you that separation from a half-century of national absurdity and madness will not come through great and painful suffering—or at least creates the belief that it will minimize the sufferings of the present and help rebuild a tomorrow as far removed as possible from this absurdity called communism. As Albania and the Albanians rise from the filthy communist pit and discover their magnificent spiritual qualities, they also discover a different future life. At last the Albanian people are free, and freedom brings results; at last the Albanian people have secured their democratic future, and democracy itself brings prosperity, relationships, education, civilization. To be convinced, it is enough to look at the people and ... The people of 22 ... ... ... ces. Their joy necessarily resembles the future. On a day like this, one is reminded of the words of Mrs. Edith Durham, who wrote: «In 1908, when the false news spread that Europe had entered Turkey, Albania almost went mad with joy. Although for two days and two nights 2000 armed men were in Shkodër and there was no police force capable of confronting them, everything passed without the slightest incident. So much so that even the French consul and Labocovi, who made no secret of their anti-Albanian feelings, said: “O God! What a people these would be if they had a good king at their head!”» fair leaders». On a day like this, it is natural to remember the road we travelled, the suffering and persecution, the misery and revolt. On a day like this, we thank God for not forgetting Albania. We thank all those who kept the democratic spirit alive through the dictatorship, and the foreign journalists who ... democratic and human, we thank those who sacrificed themselves for freedom and for a world with a human dimension. We thank all our wonderful people, who did not fall into the trap laid by the dictatorship to incite [unclear] and a spirit of revenge. We thank our wonderful intellectuals, who carefully cultivated democracy and its path. We also thank the well-known journalists of «Zëri i Popullit», who through their [unclear] revealed the true face of the party they represent. Democracy has room for them too, but also [unclear] to make them more civilized and better. All of you have gathered ... the square where the people have gathered belongs to everyone, to the people themselves; just like democracy, the celebration also belongs to everyone. We remember the words that Professor Ali Alui told us a short while ago. Today, only in Belgrade is there mourning. Here the people are celebrating. The people are celebrating without being ordered to. Skanderbeg Square, midday, March 23, 1992

. Albania voted on 22 March for democracy; it voted for a future without tears and prisons, without genocide and dictatorship. Our people voted on 22 March for the rebirth of their exhausted homeland, for a free and prosperous life. Albania and the Albanians voted on 22 March for their dignity as one of the oldest members of the European family, for friendship and for sure hands reaching out without fear on every continent. Let us rejoice in our Albania, sisters and brothers, mothers and fathers, young men and women. May we see our new Albania become the lady of the family and of honor for our grandchildren. Our people, our land, have awaited this day as a gift and blessing from God. An old world has collapsed. Communism has been buried in its ruins. A new era begins in the history of our nation and people after centuries of bondage. The flag of Skënderbeu and Ismail Qemali will henceforth wave over a free Albania, no longer bearing the heavy weight of the communist star above it. The dark past will never be repeated! Democracy is the guarantee of this. There will never again be hunger and concentration camps in Albania, lives and dreams cut short by dictatorship, children without parents and mothers who did not dare mourn their children. Our people are the guarantee of this. Everything is in their hands, in their will, in their reason. We won democracy, and democracy won us. We gave it both the blood of our sons... ... as well as the ardor, wisdom, and courage of a people. It has opened its great heart and laid it before us so that we may hear its beating clearly, so that we may unite the beating of our hearts. On 22 March, the people voted for democracy, and democracy won in a fierce battle of life and death in which there are no losers, only winners. We say this because by voting for democracy on 22 March, people did not vote for revenge or for settling scores among brothers, among Albanians. These savage instincts are foreign to our civilized people, who once again displayed their democratic spirit and goodwill. Although communism, Slavo-Byzantine in character, tried to destroy our people by inventing the monstrous, robotized «new man», in their genes our people have the nobility and generosity that give rise to forgiveness and regret, compassion and brotherly love, solidarity and Albanian pride. Our people will not allow themselves to fall prey to neo-communist provocations or to their enemies, wherever they may be, who have always raised the sword of division against them in order to rule and enslave them. Albanians are brothers, children of one land, of one mother. Democracy will respect convictions and those who hold opposing convictions. Democrats believe that democracy’s victory is not a defeat but a victory for them too. It gives them the opportunity to be more realistic, closer to the people and mo... ... to see the past more clearly, in order to be clearer about the future as well. It opened up for them the possibility of genuine renewal and, consequently, of constructive opposition, without which democracy itself has no life, and without which Albania itself cannot move forward as it deserves within the European family. Communism was buried in Albania once and for all on March 22. This date will be marked among the most important in the history of our people and our nation. It coincides with the arrival of spring. So we have passed through the winter and the bitter frost of communism, and are already feeling the first breath of democratic spring. But we are only at the beginning, only taking the first steps of the ... [text fragment incomplete] ... Therefore, this historic day will be ... ... Our people ... ... Communism has left us ... wounds that even the world wars ... inflicted on our people and our country. To heal them, and to prevent them from infecting the body of our homeland, we need care, work, will and understanding; we need energy and wisdom. Our people have all these things, just as they have true allies and friends. a better ..., government, change, … and expectation … 189? [writing cut off and partly illegible at the left edge]

Press conference • Chairman of the Democratic Party Sali Berisha It is a pleasure for me to inform you of yesterday’s election results and to answer your questions. We witnessed a great victory for the Democratic Party and for the Albanian people. The long night is over and a new day has dawned. Albania has now shown the world that it is an indivisible part of the family of democratic nations. We are Europeans and will deserve the place we merit as a nation that values democracy, tolerance, dialogue, the rule of law and individual rights. Not all our sisters and brothers made it through this long, dark night, and first of all I ask that we remember all those who gave their lives so that we could reach the present day. Demoqi, Saharovi, toni, has addressed them as «the Albanian people of the word and free thought». They are the true martyrs of the Albanian nation. Now that this new dawn has arrived, and there is a little trembling in our minds, let us look around and see the damage done in our surroundings. And we see that the storm has caused terrible damage, and that there is much work to rebuild this country. People, too, have been demoralized. But I have great confidence in the energy, intelligence and initiative of the Albanian people. With this opportunity, we will now show our abilities as a good people; we can do a great deal. And we must do a great deal. Today I must begin a new tradition in Albania’s public life: a tradition of honesty among political leaders. I could tell you that foreign governments will solve all our problems, but that would not be true. I could tell you that the Albanian government would solve all the people’s problems. But that would not be true either. The entire Albanian people must contribute to rebuilding the country. Foreign governments in the West will help us, far more than they did when the communists were in power. But above all, we must rely on ourselves. And we must help ourselves. A short while ago I told the people gathered in the square ... (Continued on page 4-4)

... AZEM HAJDARI, Deputy Chairman of the DP ... The DP’s victory came, first of all, because the election campaign was conducted fairly and, secondly, because the DP was well organized. Throughout the campaign it focused on explaining its programme and not on slander, as the SP did. It relied solely on facts, basing its case on convincing arguments. The arguments presented to the people were sufficient for victory. The DP also won these elections because it is truly a democratic party: it is built on diversity of opinion and respects free thought, which enabled us to create a powerful, nationwide party. Much was also written in the press about divisions in the DP and separatism; the Socialist Party, a rigid party, could not understand our party, which was built on the basis of free thought. ... ARBEN IMAMI, Deputy Chairman of the DP ... What we took to the streets and squares for, what we formed the party for, what we fought for in parliament, what we worked tirelessly for everywhere, in every ... [text unclear] ... on March 31, has been achieved by the entire Albanian people. It is a total victory. It is the greatest victory known in the countries of the East and in the countries of Europe. We have a higher percentage than any Democratic Party in the world. This result is due to the anti-communist spirit of our people and their desire for peace, work and democracy, as well as to the DP, one of the ... [text unclear] ... among the most vigorous parties of the East, the opposition that heroically stood up to dictatorship for a year and a half. It is the only party that remained united from the day it was founded until the day of victory over communism. Now the days of building democracy are upon us. The scale of this victory increases our standing among the people ... ... Secretary of the DP. The victory was long-awaited. It is a victory we deserve. With this victory we demonstrated to the nation and the world that we know how to learn from our mistakes. I believe that after March 22 the path of democracy in Albania ... Albania has recovered from a serious illness. Now it needs to be set on the right path. I am optimistic about Albania’s future. I believe in the extraordinary qualities of our nation, which it has not previously had the opportunity to display.

On 22 March: Men and women, young and old, all Albanians left the past behind and set out on a new road, the road of democracy: they left class warfare behind to move toward brotherhood, love for one another. Brothers and Sisters! You who voted for the Socialist Party, the Democratic Party guarantees you complete freedom, the chance to be brothers, as good people in a free and democratic country. With its historic victory on 22 March, the Democratic Party will heal its brothers and sisters; the whole people, of the communist poison. At long last, communism in Albania has died too. Democracy killed it. The long communist night, with the victory of 22 March, gave way to light, democracy, brotherhood, human love, and efforts to join Europe as soon as possible. In Albania, communism will be remembered as a bad dream. Democracy won on 22 March. On 23 March, the Democratic Party began the very noble mission of national reconciliation. The DP, which closed Burrel prison, freed prisoners of conscience, dismantled the internment zones, and placed Albania alongside other countries in the CSCE, will never consider the opposition an enemy. The Democratic Party and the organs of government it will establish will never persecute anyone for their free opinions. The Democratic Party has only one ideology: the national ideology.

— THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, THE STRONGEST OPPOSITION PARTY IN EASTERN EUROPE, WINS MORE THAN 2/3 OF THE SEATS IN THE PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY —