FROM THE SPEECH OF PRIME MINISTER YLLI BUFI DURING THE LUNCH HOSTED BY PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH FOR THE HEADS OF DELEGATIONS Mr. President, Thank you for your hospitality. We highly value and greatly appreciate the continued attention and support that you and your Administration have devoted to democratic processes in Albania. Together with the political stabilization of the country, and with the victory of the democratic forces in the recent parliamentary elections of 22 March, Albania has laid the foundations of a political structure that is firmly following the road of democracy. The Bush Administration and, in particular, its senior representatives have been continuously and energetically interested in and engaged with supporting democratic processes in Albania. Recognizing this important contribution, we highly value the role that the USA and President Bush have played for the benefit of Albania and the Albanians. Today our country is going through a very difficult stage of transition. During this period we are undertaking profound reforms in the political, economic and social spheres. These reforms are necessary in order to pull the country out of the severe crisis inherited from the communist system and to build a free and democratic society. We are aware that these reforms require time and sacrifices. But the Albanian people have shown that they are ready to face them for the sake of a better future. Our government is determined to create a functioning market economy, to encourage free initiative and to attract foreign investment. At the same time, we are paying attention to strengthening democratic institutions and the rule of law. Within this framework, the economic and financial assistance of friendly countries, and especially of the United States of America, is of first-rate importance for Albania. We hope that this support will continue in the future and that relations between our two countries will be further strengthened. Thank you.

What concerns us, and what, as we realize it is taking on larger and larger proportions, can no longer surprise us, is the fact that in Albania the dividing lines between yesterday and today, between democracy and dictatorship, between a pluralist parliament and a monist one, and even issues such as the role of the deputy and his responsibility to voters, are still not clearly defined. In a society emerging from totalitarianism, parliament must be the institution where citizens' interests are represented and where decision-making is based on open and responsible debate. But all too often, traces of old practices remain among us, diminishing the function of this institution. Today, more than ever, a clear break with the past and greater political awareness on the part of deputies is required. Otherwise, democracy remains only a beautiful name without substance. EDI VALOKA

On Wednesday, the Albanian poet and writer Pjetër Arbnori[?] [?] published a volume of memoirs and reflections on life, prison and freedom. The book brings painful episodes from the past and assessments of the new democratic era in the country. The article dwells on the fate of the Albanian intellectual, on moral resistance and on the necessity of historical memory. V. SHEHU

THE LIE: THE TRUTH: The European Community gives Albania 70 million ECU IN THE NAME OF SOCIALIST COOPERATION Nano encouraged Albania's new isolation