. 24 May 1992 — Kosovo held its first multiparty elections for the People’s Assembly and its first president. More than 900,000 voters cast their free vote for 130 deputies from among 511 candidates representing 24 political entities, and for their common president, Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, throughout Kosovo. Alongside the Albanians, who made up the overwhelming majority of the population of the Republic of Kosovo, Turks, Croats, Roma and even some Serbs also voted. 24 May 1992 — This is a great day for the first all-Albanian Kosovo. The day was held amid the threats of the Serbian occupiers, under the danger of a mass massacre and amid the control and raids of Milosheviç’s Chetniks. A true paradox: free elections, democratic elections under occupation, under the threat of violence and genocide. This paradox is a consequence of Belgrade’s paradoxical Slavo-Communist policy. Neither violence nor repression, neither threats nor the terror of the «Communist butcher Saddam Milosheviç», as U.S. Senator Al- Alfonso D’Amato rightly called him, could halt the Albanians’ road to freedom and democracy or their free and democratic vote. Therefore, almost 90 percent of them took part in the voting. Therefore, 95–99 percent of them gave their vote to the Gandhi of Kosovo, the chairman of the Coordinating Council of the Political Parties of Albanians in Yugoslavia, Dr. Ibrahim Rugova. With their powerful vote, their exemplary composure and self-restraint, and their characteristic wisdom and courage, the Albanians showed once again that ... (continued on page 4) showed once again that ... [Incomplete section at the upper edge] ... for elections ... on the 24th ... of ... on ... of the Republic of Kosovo, vot... Delegation... sends ... ... free of Ibrahim Rugova throughout Kosovo. Alongside the Albanians, who make voted. 24 May 1992 — This is a great day for Kosovo and for all Albanians. “A historic day,” “A landmark event for pan-Albanian democracy,” “Elections for freedom,” “elections for democracy”... were some of the most frequent slogans for the day of the first free, democratic elections in the millennia-long history of Albanians in their ancestral lands in Kosovo. This fact alone would be enough for 24 May 1992 to be called a historic day for the Albanian people of Kosovo. All the more so because they were held under the threat of tanks and bayonets. ... for the elections, they mark their elimination from communist or Serbo-communist occupation. This delay also demonstrates the total extent of the violence, particularly in the city, district and Albanian villages in Yugoslavia, in Kosovo. It also shows their determination to resolve their problems and free themselves from Serbo-communist occupation by democratic means and methods. Question: Mr. President, as you yourself have said, the Albanian population living in its own lands in Kosovo is showing that it is a people ...

— INTERVIEW GIVEN BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, SALI BERISHA, TO «ALBANIAN TELEVISION —» ON 24 MAY Question: Mr. President, today is 24 May, a special day for the Albanian nation. How do you assess the elections in Kosovo? Answer: Today’s elections in Kosovo are being held in full accordance with the human right to choose one’s representatives and leaders by free and secret ballot. The elections in Kosovo are taking place under a violent occupation, a Serbian and Communist occupation. We must not forget that it was Kosovo, it was the people of Kosovo, who were the first in Eastern Europe to destroy the Communist Party of Kosovo. Today, through these elections, they are marking their liberation from Communist occupation or from the tendencies of the time, that is, through struggle by democratic means. What message would you address to the martyred people of Kosovo? Answer: The elections in Kosovo are clear evidence that, while fully respecting the principles of the CSCE, Albanians are determined to build a democratic state and a democratic society without changing borders, and thus to become, wherever they are, important factors for peace and stability in the troubled Balkans, in Europe and beyond. I am convinced that this is precisely one of the major reasons for the great interest shown by the CSCE member states in the normal conduct of these elections. Hence, we hope and believe that they will improve their outcome. My message is just one: wherever we are, we must firmly adhere to the principles of democracy, and we Albanians must fight to build a democratic society, one that stems from, or should be based on, the principles of Helsinki, on the principles of the ideals for which we have struggled, which we have aspired to and for which we must continue to fight. we must continue to fight.

. INTERVIEW GIVEN BY IBRAHIM RUGOVA TO «VOICE OF AMERICA». — Dr. Rugova, as you know, many people have been concerned about the possibility of a conflict on the occasion of the elections. Can you tell us how these elections proceeded? — It is true, as you say, that people here expected it; propaganda was spread that there would be a war, not a conflict. The atmosphere was truly tense. But the people stood firm and held these elections. The elections generally passed without major police interventions. In some places, according to reports, people were arrested. They were threatened. Ballots were confiscated. But the elections were orga- [text as printed] Ton under repression and violence for 10 years. Nevertheless, when the moment comes to decide for themselves, they also know how to choose and endure, to overcome the repression that was carried out—which, unfortunately, is an everyday occurrence in Kosovo. — Dr. Rugova, with these elections Kosovo is entering a new phase. What will the activities of the Albanian political forces in Kosovo now focus on? — Naturally, with these elections, democratic authority and institutions—the parliament, government and president—will be legalized and strengthened. We will have great legitimacy in the world. Efforts will also be focused on establishing democratic institutions and working towards Kosovo’s independence. We will have greater legitimacy in the talks to be held on the former Yugoslavia with those republics. Albanians, too, must have their own democratic representatives and legitimacy. ... and tense. The people ... and the population were determined to hold these elections. In general, the elections passed without major police intervention. In some places, according to informants, people were arrested. They were threatened. Ballot papers were taken from them. But the elections were organized excellently, and how to maintain a state, how to exercise power. This was a great act. The people turned out to vote en masse. At many polling stations, by this hour, voting has been completed at around 100 percent in some places, 90 percent in others, and 60 percent elsewhere. This is a good fact and it makes us happy that today the people created an atmosphere of joy, even though ...

On Monday, 25 May 1992, a meeting with chairpersons and secretaries of Democratic Party branches in the districts was held in the ISTN hall in Tirana, chaired by Mr. Eduart Selami and with Mr. Ali Spahia, deputy chairman of the DP, presiding. After Mr. Eduart Selami and Tomor Dosti gave a concise, critical analysis of the implementation of the duties and objectives set at the meeting the previous month, as well as of shortcomings and causes, and of the discipline and activity of the DP activist group, the agenda was followed. The purpose of this meeting was to obtain the branches’ views on the most favorable time to hold local government elections, and on the platform with which the DP would take part in this important political undertaking and advance the success of reforms in politics and the economy. After a broad, constructive debate, conducted with a sense of responsibility and a determination to triumph in the second great battle against communism as well, conclusions were reached regarding the most appropriate date for these elections. The DP platform for these elections was then discussed. The general view was that the platform used for the 22 March elections should be retained, enriched with concrete objectives and details that had emerged during this period. The DP National Council activist group will also meet soon, and will decide when the local government elections will be held. «RD Correspondent»

– Evidence is being demanded to prove the “right-wing dictatorship”! – According to “our socialists,” after 22 March things should happen more or less like this: Anyone has the right to go out into the street at any hour of the day or night, dressed or undressed, drunk or sober, and curse the entire state, all of politics and the statesmen. That, they say, is what democracy has declared. Thus freedom of speech and ... down with the ... down with ... ... support! This is the meaning of the article “The law on agitation and propaganda again?”, published in «Z.P.» on 22 May, whose authors are (so it is claimed!) Fer... Rrinor Eurosocialistë Maligjit! Let us express our desire to become students of democracy. So let us understand that being against one-party rule does not necessarily mean that you have to be president! In all this, there is more to the state, there is no more ... one president, and here in Albania, alongside Sali Berisha of the DP, we should elect a president of the SP as well! Naturally, not every “socialist” is required to approve of the actions and measures of the current president, but that does not mean they should fail to respect him as an ordinary citizen; that is, they should observe toward him the same obligations they have ... (Continued on page 4)

– THIS COPYING OF FILES WOULD BENEFIT THE STATE, BUT WOULD HARM THE VICTIMS – When, a year ago, student Azem Haxhari told his friends that one third of Albanians were collaborators of the State Security Service, I was not surprised. The hyperbole contained a truth. The Security Service’s methods for recruiting tens of thousands of Albanians—not to mention hundreds of thousands—surpassed even those of the Gestapo. Let us focus on the Security Service’s collaborators. They could be found everywhere: the cooperative member and the worker, the officer and the soldier, the lecturer and the student, the journalist and the writer, the painter and the critic, the doctor and the engineer, the agronomist and the economist, the hodja and the priest, the policeman and the driver, the composer and the dancer. They included members of the PP and prisoners, members of the PPCC and internees, members of the Politburo and ...; unit commanders and commissars, directors of enterprises and schools, investigators and prosecutors, Security Service officers and judges, diplomats and detainees, ministers and anti-party elements, folk artists and doctors of science, thieves and swindlers, drunkards and degenerates... And reports, informants, operational notes, statements—some under pseudonyms, some under numbers and others under real names—made the files pile up like mountains. The files: the Achilles’ heel. Were they burned or kept? Should they be opened or “imprisoned”? Whose were kept and whose were burned? Why were they burned? Who ordered their destruction? These are questions rightly asked by deputies and ordinary citizens alike. Decisions are made on the basis of knowledge. I would be repeating myself if I once again stated that many files have been burned. They number in the thousands. All the files of collaborators of ... who were members of the PP, officers and officials at various levels of the Front, the Women’s Union, the Youth Union, the trade unions, deputies and ... have been bundled together. (Continued on page 2)

– In its issue of the day before yesterday, on the front page, «ZP» published a short article that continues a long-running refrain. It calls for there not to be another week of exodus, but in reality, with barely concealed ... the message is to rush toward Durrës, Vlora and Shëngjin. The purpose is clear. From claims that the people have run out of patience, a fire must be made to erupt at any cost and by any means, adding a new mountain of difficulties and obstacles to the mountain range left to the Government of Mr. Meksi by the governments of the PP or the SP. Clearly, a new upheaval in our country, in this extremely tense domestic and international situation, serves only the old and new aims of the communist-socialists who refuse to come to terms with the new reality brought about by 22 March.

from President SALI BERISHA to the newly elected President of the Republic of Kosovo, IBRAHIM RUGOVA Dear Ibrahim, Your election to the head of the Republic of Kosovo gives me the opportunity to send you my heartfelt congratulations. The part of the Albanian nation living in its own lands in Kosovo knew how to demonstrate, with political maturity and civic courage, its will to move towards democracy and the affirmation of civil rights. The inhabitants of Kosovo showed the whole civilized world that they support dialogue and democratic forms of coexistence, and that they will in no way be the ones to incite violence in relations with others. The elections of 24 May are a major step forward on the road to self-determination for Albanians in Kosovo. On this occasion, I congratulate all the elected members of the Kosovo Parliament. Recognizing the great responsibility you have taken upon your shoulders, I can assure you that you will have my support, and that of the Albanian state, in securing your rights. 1 June SALI BERISHA

First President of the Republic of KOSOVO