1 — THE OPPOSITION IS SILENT, BUT... The Socialist Party, immediately after its dethronement on March 22, while licking its severe wounds from the popular vote, armed itself with the armor and weapons of the opposition. It truly lost the sword and mace of power, but the opposition's spear gave it a new spark, an unprecedented revival that it had never imagined could be so comfortable, so appealing; so popular, so full of hope. And before March was even over, the old lady “Zëri i Popullit” and its little offshoots were for the first time splashing these calls and aspirations across their pages: LET THE SHKODRA TRIAL BE HELD! ARREST THE BLOKMEN! WE ASK: WHERE DID THE ALBANIAN GOLD GO? GIVE PRIORITY TO THE DEMANDS OF THE POLITICALLY PERSECUTED! People goggled. It was enough to make you laugh until you cried. Meanwhile, the little papers and their little offshoots were everywhere. WHEN WILL THE SUFFERING OF THE MARTYRIZED PEOPLE END? STOP INFLATION AND RISING PRICES! And before the voting results were even out—catastrophic for them—taking as their pretext that on March 23 the village roads had not been asphalted and that three days later the villagers still had not been provided with telephones, they began to howl: THOSE IN POWER, FULFILL YOUR PROMISES! THIS UNFORTUNATE PEOPLE, EMERGING FROM A SAVAGE DICTATORSHIP, NEEDS SHELTER AND FOOD! People were rolling with laughter and, through their tears of amusement, asking: “Well now, aren't these the same people who left Albania in ruins? Why don't they keep quiet—aren't they ashamed?! Who stopped them from doing these things over all those decades?! Well, these people are copying the opposition newspapers from a few years ago!!” They were exactly the same people, but they did not feel themselves to be sinners. They were the only ones who were not laughing. They had been prime ministers, ministers, directors, chiefs and members of parliament, and they were still the same people. They had the same names, but the poor things thought they were now something entirely different. You know very well how effective the medicine of forgetfulness is, but you have gone mad thinking it could work quickly—you are so impatient!... But no matter how much the hens are mobilized, it takes twenty-one days for new chicks to hatch. Your most honorable course is to keep quiet. But you do not have the courage or strength to do that. They had changed the party's name!!! They were the only ones who had changed the party's name, not the people who practice the same systems, not the people who put those systems into practice! The Party of Labour (let it be called whatever it likes in the years to come) had no moral right to remain in power, still less to become the opposition. It has absolutely no right to sully the concept of OPPOSITION, this such precious victory for Albanian society at the end of the 20th century. It has no right to propose an alternative. Can someone who has overturned the truck twice, and sees it loaded with goods that have been mishandled because of him, be offered the steering wheel again? Absolutely not. All those who want to hand it to them are mad or blind. The Socialist Party needs to become [unclear]. This party must learn to manage itself. It must bow its head: purge itself; organize itself; but above all, recharge itself. The time is [unclear] subsidiary. It will even remain in action... Many of the once-powerful names still terrify us; now we can barely remember them, and it seems as though they have fallen and we forgave them back in the 17th century. They have emerged from our summit and live in the folds of our school memories. In fact, you communists and... 2. WHAT WAS THE ACTIVITY OF THE SOCIAL-COMMUNIST OPPOSITION LIKE? Unprincipled. Anti-communist... Moving and shifting the core of its program a hundred times, it offers almost the same solutions as the party in power. It offers the same four pillars of Albanian democratic society. Yet it deceitfully opposes every effort to consolidate them. It received its electoral defeat with a bitter mouth and hypocritically wished the Democratic Party success in the country's political leadership. And it opposed it from the very day it took office. In its characteristic way, as it has done for centuries and in every place, it mocked and ridiculed the new government in all its constituent parts. It called them ignorant, unprepared, incapable. As if the new government were going to take over its hand and keep its ministers! Every personnel change undertaken by the new ministers of democracy was met with cries and howls about class warfare. Here too, they set aside their history with its red covers. They know class warfare well, but they do not want to notice that not one Labour Party minister was sent to the gallows or before a firing squad. None of their families was interned... Not one of the “bourgeois” houses they had seized was vacated... No midnight raids to demand their gold and Parisian jewelry... No truck stopped at their gates at daybreak to load their belongings and children so they would not live beside the marshes... Even today, after half a month, the president and the democratic ministers were staying on the outskirts, in basements and attics, in hotels, with or without shelter; while those who had been overthrown still occupied the villas, palaces and finest homes they had built years ago with... what class warfare! Oh, “democracy”! Oh, “opposition impudence,” to demand your rights without them being trampled, you who crushed and trampled the rights of others with hobnailed boots! All through a mere change of the party's name and a little maneuvering in the pluralist spectrum! Just don't forget, gentlemen, that only the Party of Labour is no longer called Labour, while Nevzat is still called Nevzat. Aranitë-Xhelilët-Xhelili. To call it class warfare when the overthrown ministers are not left in their ministerial armchairs, when the old heads of the police and economy are not allowed to continue their failed practices as before!... Oh, what a beautiful distortion of pluralism!... To claim to be a theoretical expert and an early-morning practitioner of socialism's construction, and now turn around and show the way to capitalism, you must have completely lost your sense of shame!... The social-communists know that economic reforms are necessary and that the workforce must be reduced, but they did not find the courage to do it; even now they maliciously oppose them by vilifying those placed on assistance. Instead of standing by them. In fact, they should support the cuts and say: “The DP may be [unclear], but in this action it is right. And if we were leading the country, we would do the same. The idea of... (Continued on page 2)

2. WHAT WAS THE ACTIVITY OF THE SOCIAL-COMMUNIST OPPOSITION LIKE?

— FROM PRESIDENT BERISHA'S VISIT TO BULQIZA — Yesterday morning, the President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha, went to the town of Bulqiza and held a meeting with residents and mine workers in the cinema hall. They gave Mr. Berisha a warm welcome, for which he thanked them most cordially. The president began the discussion at the meeting by extending his congratulations to all those elected to the local bodies, in the municipality and commune of the district. He then addressed the main problems Albania is facing today on the difficult road toward implementing economic reform. “We should emphasize,” the president continued, “that the government is seriously concerned with resolving these problems.” Addressing those in the hall, Mr. Berisha said that you should judge the government not by the way it concerns itself with carrying out its duties, but by how your problems will be resolved. First and foremost, you should think about what Bulqiza can do to help itself. By this, he explained, I mean that every municipality and every commune should rely wholly on the hard work of its own people. Bulqiza needs solutions that will be implemented by the local authorities, the constituency's member of parliament, and the government. The presi- The president at this meeting once again emphasized that the road to democracy is difficult, but we are encouraged by the thought that we are on the right path. On the only road that leads to progress and well-being. The market economy, toward which our country is moving today, is the most advanced in the world. The two Germanies, the two Koreas, and the two Vietnams are proof of this. Where the systems were divided, the merits of each system were also established. In general, the situation in the countryside, Mr. Berisha went on to emphasize, is moving toward revival, toward hope. The situation in the city has also changed, and no one has the right to complain that some are being [unclear]. From their money, we will all have only good things. Continuing the conversation, the president also spoke about specific elements of the reform. He emphasized that prices have risen because this pricing policy for production must be implemented. As for the issue of compensation, he said: “When we made this compensation, among other things, we had in mind workers and farmers with many children; but meanwhile the mayors and commune chairpersons must look after those people who are very poor and experience difficulties that cannot be overcome with the compensation they receive. They should calculate who is suffering most, what funds are needed for them, so as to ensure that life improves and that the morsel does not stick in the throats of those who are better off.” Regarding non-budgetary enterprises, President Berisha said they must look after their own activities and survival, and must implement social assistance, which should not be done by the director alone, but in close cooperation with the trade union. Mr. Berisha then answered questions from those present in the hall. After this meeting, he also went to Village No. 2 of the northern Bulqiza mine and met with representatives of the miners. Mr. Berisha told them, among other things, that we cannot enjoy the freedom we have won unless we carry out social reform so that we may all have prosperity, although for now the first steps are difficult. He then spoke about the situation in the countryside and particularly about the condition of workers. The latter, Mr. Berisha emphasized, must respect the law on enterprises. An enterprise should employ only as many workers as it needs; the others should be placed on assistance. The state will support them ... (Continued on page 4)

A meaningful intellectual obligation of our time toward the DP; 21 INTELLECTUALS EXPRESS THEIR DESIRE TO JOIN THE RANKS OF THE DP We, a group of intellectuals who are not affiliated with any political party, gathered today of our own free will and with a shared idea of becoming more actively involved in building a democratic society in our country. ...the resolution of problems remains a major obstacle to the realization of democracy. In our daily individual and state activities, we must constantly ask and examine whether there are influences from the concepts and ideology of the past, since these may infiltrate our activities—As is well known, these changes brought about the overthrow of the old dictatorial system and its replacement by a new democratic system. This was an aspiration that had lived in our consciousness for many years and is now becoming a reality. It is an undeniable fact that the principal and decisive role in overthrowing the old dictatorial system was played by Albania's democratic forces, gathered around the Democratic Party. During this period, we were among those who sympathized with and supported the DP's program, but did not join its ranks. Recently, as this party has been clearly crystallizing its ideological platform and positioning itself well as a center-right party, and as we are convinced that our aspiration for democracy is being fully embodied in this party, we have decided to become actively involved and express our willingness to join its ranks. In this way, we believe, we will contribute unreservedly to the struggle to build a long-awaited democracy, to the struggle against communism and every viewpoint resembling it. We are aware that the present stage of building democracy on every level is the most difficult. We must never think that communism is over. This may be true as a formal structure, but the long-lasting influence of the ideology on how people think and solve and ideology of the past, since these may influence our activities in unacceptable ways. Are not passivity, corruption, servility, duplicity, diffidence, etc., manifestations of this influence? Therefore, to uproot these concepts, more than ever it is necessary for intellectuals to become involved—not as outside observers or dilettantes, but as a principal active force, something that can be achieved within the party. This is all the more imperative today because anti-democratic forces of every stripe, grouped mainly around the so-called Socialist Party, and pseudo-democratic elements are waging an open and covert struggle using diabolical and sophisticated methods, playing with the fate of a people impoverished by them. We are convinced that intellectuals can best make this contribution by joining the Democratic Party, which is the standard-bearer, initiator and principal leading force that has taken on the heavy and difficult burden of building a democratic society in our country after a long period of 45 years of darkness and savage communist destruction. Anastas Suli - KSHM. Arben Santo - Lecturer. Argjend Tafaj - Lecturer. Bashkim Resuli - Lecturer. Gjergj Minga - Lecturer. Iminil Radanani - Biochemist; Hysen Baboci - Lecturer, Foto Toti - Doctor of Science, Edmond Kapedani - KSHM, Ferhat Rada - KSHM, Koco Poro - Doctor of Science, Jul Bushati - KSHM, Mehdi Shehu - KSHM, Nestor Thereshe - Lecturer, Pal Xhumari - KSHM, Pierin Radovani - KSHM, Samedin Gjini - Doctor of Science, V. Spiro Orko - Doctor of Science, Sulejman Zhugli, - Doctor of Science, Sulejman Kodra - Lecturer, Rezar Rusi - Urologist.

Of the Tirana District Court District Court of Tirana NOTICE Of the District Court of Tirana Further to the notice issued on 18.8.1992, the Tirana District Court announced the decision of the preparatory hearing, in which it ruled, pursuant to point 8 of Article 130 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, regarding the criminal case against the defendants: 1. The investigative body has not carried out the tasks assigned in the decision of the preparatory hearing dated 8.2.1992, with the exception of the accounting examination, and even that covers only the period 1986–1990, whereas the decision assigned the task of conducting an investigation covering the period 1956–1990. This position of the investigative body conflicts with the requirements of procedural law, which states that tasks assigned by the court are binding on the investigative body. 2. In its decision, the court requested that the prosecution service carry out the tasks assigned in the above-mentioned court decision; on the other hand, it accepted the requests submitted at the preparatory hearing by the prosecutor, Mr. Theodhro Mosko, since the procedural law on the prosecutor, as amended, provides that the prosecutor is the authority conducting criminal prosecutions in [unclear]... 3. The court accepted his request to conduct investigations concerning the issue of Albanian gold and ordered that the criminal case opened by the prosecution service on 23.4.1992 be joined to this criminal case and investigated as a single case. Investigations are likewise to be conducted into the killings at the border, in connection with which, on 23.7.1992, the Shkodra investigative body charged the defendant Hekuran Isai with criminal responsibility. 4. In its decision, the court emphasizes that the prosecution service must conduct an objective, complete and comprehensive investigation and, depending on the evidence it gathers, reach a conclusion about the involvement of former prosecutors at the hearing in bringing individual defendants to criminal responsibility for the crime of genocide, provided for by Article 81 (Continued on page 4)

We, the elected members of the Municipal Council of the City of Fier, nominated by the Democratic, Republican and Social Democratic Parties, declare the following to the public: In accordance with the law on the “Organization and Functioning of Local Government,” at the request of the Mayor of Fier, a meeting of the Fier Municipal Council was called for 17.8.92 to elect this council, but the Socialist members elected to this council did not attend. In accordance with this law, the meeting was called again three days later, on 20.8.1992, and once again the members elected by the Socialist Party did not attend, without giving any explanation. In light of this situation, at a time when the full functioning of municipalities and municipal councils is an urgent requirement for stabilizing the situation in the country, we consider it necessary to make this known to the public. We emphasize that, to date, the Socialist Party in the district has made no objection to the election of the members of the Municipal Council in Fier, and we do not understand whether, through the actions they will take, they intend to deny the interests of their own elected representatives or those of the Socialist Party. It is clear that this action is being taken solely to further destabilize the situation in our city of Fier. THE ELECTED MEMBERS OF THE FIER MUNICIPAL COUNCIL FROM THE DEMOCRATIC, REPUBLICAN AND SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTIES, 1- Andon Dema PD 2- Enriko Veizi PD 3- Kliti Vërtia PD 4- Isuf Borici PD 5- Ferdinand Agalliu PD 6- Hasan Aliu PD 7- Ilinka Dimashi PD 8- Soltiraq Shyti PD 9- Durim Grabova PD 10- Shemedin Ruçi PR 11- Andon Bushi PSD