On March 22, the Albanian people, for the first time in their history, voted freely for the DP. It is the first democratic government after 47 years of seizures. It is a group of intellectuals without experience, but with good intentions, who have taken charge of the country. From their very first day, they found themselves faced with a multitude of problems and a people that has been waiting for 47 years. We are not in America, where the new team has two and a half months to prepare, even though it is made up of experienced politicians. We are in Albania, where everything must be started from scratch and the country is in a wretched state. We are not in America in 1981, when, as R. Regani took power, he declared: “Americans, do not expect the government to solve your problems for you—the government is our problem.” We are in Albania, where we expect everything from the government, which, among other things, has to deal with a generally destructive opposition. The government’s main task is to make the market economy possible and establish it. This requires the full commitment of central and local government; we must all understand that establishing a market economy is our salvation. But little is being done to explain to the wider public that the process of establishing this economy does not bring happiness; indeed, even once a market economy has been established, that does not mean we can stop working, or pretend to work as we did by socialist custom, and expect prosperity and abundance to arrive of their own accord. Quite a few people thought that, although democracy had won, dollars would rain from the sky, and people were disappointed. Others, meanwhile, got down to work and are earning money, especially through trade. “What, will everyone be involved in trade?” someone might ask. Of course not everyone, but around the world the trade and public-services sector in cities accounts for almost 50 percent of the working-age population. Whereas in the socialist state everyone was poor, except for the corrupt ruling caste, in the capitalist state there will be rich and poor—a completely natural thing, all the more so because the words “rich” and “poor” are relative. Even in countries with a high standard of living, you will find beggars, far more than some might imagine. Even in the large and powerful countries, pensioners are the social group hardest hit and in the greatest difficulty… to whose left the president is located. The closer one gets to the base of the pyramid, the more likely corruption becomes. I find this to be entirely unavoidable in every system and every state. Disagreement with this phenomenon and the fight that must be waged against it are very important. People in government departments must be chosen carefully (and continually replaced), because it seems there are still nostalgic supporters of the dictatorship there, incompetent and corrupt. The news that the decline in production has been halted and that there has been a slight increase is both welcome and promising. What matters is that the government now embark on privatization on a large scale, because there is no more time to think about it. Almost everyone has become aware of this, because it is the imperative, the challenge, and the necessity of the time. GAZMEND BAKIU

— President Berisha welcomes the UN Security Council’s decision to send peacekeeping forces to Macedonia. TIRANA. — Regarding the decision, the Presidency’s spokesperson announced that President Sali Berisha welcomes this measure, which is necessary to guarantee peace in the region. He reiterated Albania’s position in favor of an independent Macedonia and expressed support for the participation of representatives of the Albanian parties in the Government in Skopje. In this context, President Berisha again expressed Albania’s request that Kosovo, too, be placed under UN control in order to avert the grave danger of an attack by Serbian forces. “I have confidence in the Security Council’s realistic assessment of the situation in Kosovo and in its taking effective measures,” he declared. (ATSH)

From the Conference of the Foreign Ministers of the Balkan countries. In Istanbul, as our embassy in the Republic of Turkey informs us, and the region held its proceedings to discuss the current dangers that could arise from the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Representatives of Turkey, Albania, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia and Italy took part in the conference. The delegation of Bosnia-Herzegovina was unable to reach the meeting because of fierce attacks by Serbian forces against Sarajevo airport. Of the other countries, only Greece and the later Yugoslavia did not participate. The conference, which began its proceedings at 10:30, was opened by Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Hikmet Çetin. Immediately after him, Albania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Alfred Serreqi, took the floor and emphasized, among other things, that despite the resolutions adopted by international forums and the sanctions announced against the so-called Yugoslavia, the massacres and destruction in Bosnia-Herzegovina continue, becoming a real means of prolonging the conflict in the South and confrontation between the Balkan countries. He pointed out that Albania had asked the Security Council to undertake a preventive military action by UN forces against Serbian aggression. The Republic of Albania, Mr Serreqi continued, will never accept ethnic cleansing in Kosovo or in the other territories of the former Yugoslavia. “I believe,” he said, “that the decisions of this Conference constitute a powerful and meaningful message to the authorities in Belgrade. We will never submit to a fait accompli policy.” The overwhelming majority of the ministers strongly condemned the chauvinist policy and crimes of the Belgrade government. At the end, the Conference adopted a joint declaration. (ATSH)

TIRANA — Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi received the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Bujar Bukoshi, for a special meeting and held a fraternal conversation with him. On this occasion, Mr Bujar Bukoshi, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, donated 50,000 DM (Deutsche Marks) for residents affected by the disaster of recent days. (ATSH)

TIRANA — At the invitation of the Committee on Foreign Policy and International Relations of the People’s Assembly of the Republic of Albania, a delegation of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Italian Parliament, headed by the committee’s chairman, Antonio Garilio, has arrived in our country. (ATSH)

Angel of democracy or devil of dictatorship? After his “masterpiece,” “Enveri,” Enver Hoxha’s closest associate, most worthy and faithful successor, Ramiz Alia, wrote another “masterful” work with an old-fashioned communist preface, which he titled “I, Ramiz Alia.” If in the first he wove a hymn to his Enver, selling him to us as a god, as the greatest Albanian personality of all time (when in reality he was the fiercest enemy of the Albanians and the greatest traitor), in the second R. Alia erects a monument of paper to himself. He vainly tries to portray himself not as we have come to know him well—as the right-hand man of Europe’s most brutal dictator, as a merciless inquisitor of free democratic thought, of right and truth, as a devil in a human mask—but as a victim of the Enverian dictatorship, or of his own, and as a defender and ardent champion of human rights and freedoms, progressive justice and democracy. In short, Ramiz Alia wants to convince the world, and readers here too, that the democracy we won with so much hardship, sacrifice and thousands of victims is supposedly a gift from him. He cannot be blamed. For 45 years he was accustomed to trumpeting everything accomplished with the people’s money, sweat and blood as the work or gifts of his party and Enver. In this book Ramiz Alia has written at great length about himself, concealing his old and new faults, crimes and violence. But we know him well and will not forget that they tortured us and inflicted wounds that still sting and that we will feel for a long time. He needed a voluminous book to present himself in a few pages as the devil he was. How else could such a man have climbed the career ladder so quickly, without a thorn ever pricking his foot during the Enverian purges at the summit of the party and state pyramid? Enver Hoxha killed and eliminated all his closest and most intimate associates. Their list is long. Ramiz Alia was untouched by Zeus’s thunderbolts; that is, he was not [unclear]. He was spared a mission that troubled him, to wash Kokapoli or Vetëmoh ç’[?] për[?] ... And we know him well and will not [illegible section] the guardian angel of Ramiz Alia? There is no doubt that he was cherished, protected and supported by Enver Hoxha himself and his close companion from youth, Nexhmije Hoxha. As can be understood, she knew his soul, character, intelligence and ambitions well. Did she support him simply out of idealism and friendship, or for other interests beyond the social and friendly sphere? For now, only the two of them and one or a few others from the circle of the most trusted people in the Hoxha imperial court know. Among them, Sulo Gradeci stood out. We do not believe that the idea of preparing or helping Ramiz Alia to become Zeus’s sole successor was solely the product of her own mind. Before him, as [illegible] and as a matter of right [illegible]. They replaced him and aimed for the position in particular Hysni Kapo and Mehmet Shehu. The first fell “seriously ill” and “died” when he was on the verge of becoming the most worthy successor to Enver Hoxha. The second was “killed” with a bullet to the back of his head. He, too, had put his mind at rest, believing that there was no one else before him who could take the seat of Zeus. Thus, after these two men were eliminated, the way was opened for Ramiz Alia to occupy that seat. For more than 40 years, living and working alongside the dictator Enver Hoxha, he was a direct or indirect collaborator, a compelled or chance witness to Enverian deeds and calamities, individual crimes and mass massacres, mafia-style political operations or those involving the gold of the State Treasury, etc. Ramiz neither writes nor speaks about these things. This also reveals that he himself was careful, or that others were tasked with hiding or protecting compromising traces and clearing the files of documents that might later have implicated many others. He might justify himself by saying that, as long as Enver was alive, he had to keep Enverian deeds or crimes to himself in order to protect his career and his life. But after the death of the red dictator, he should have been freed from this fear. That did not happen. Even now he continues not to confess, which convinces us that his complicity with Enver Hoxha was not accidental, but deliberate. XHEVAT MUSTAFA (Continued on page 2)

Yesterday, the scientific conference “Political Problems of Albania’s Independence in the Years 1908–1914,” whose proceedings were held at the International Center of Culture in Tirana, concluded its work. This conference objectively analyzed issues concerning the formation of the Albanian state at the beginning of this century, and the negative circumstances that determined its existence as a truncated state of the Albanian nation. The conference’s second day began with the paper by Dr. Viron Koka, “Reflections on the Uprising in Central Albania in the Years 1914–1915.” It was followed by the other papers: “The Declaration of Independence and the Albanian Language,” by Dr. Dhimitër Samara; “The Political and Social Situation of Albanians in the Years 1910–1913,” by Dr. Reshat Nexhipi; “The Struggle for National Unification in the Years 1913–14,” by K. Sh. Zamir Shtylla; and “Dibra and Its Surrounding Areas During the Balkan Wars,” by Prof. Dr. Masar Kodra. The conference continued its proceedings with papers by Dr. Riza Rexha, Dr. Liman Rushiti, Dr. Halim Përlullaku, Dr. Masar Rizvanolli, and Dr. Xheladin Shala. There were also discussions at the end. With that, this successful scientific conference, whose proceedings took place in Tirana on November 25–26, 1992, concluded its work. MUJE BUCËPAPAJ

The Christian organization MISSION POSSIBLE, represented in Albania by Mrs. Besa Shpallo, in cooperation with C.B.N. (the Christian television network), our Ministry of Education, and the aid association “God Loves Albania,” is currently preparing a small package for all the children who are fans of the animated film “The Wonderful Book.” It will contain a picture book featuring scenes from the film series, as well as colored pencils with which children can color the pictures as they wish.

We are deeply concerned by the destructive war waged by both sides in the former Yugoslavia, which has caused tragic loss of life, material damage and repercussions for the countries of this region, particularly in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, and by the serious effects of the spread of the use of force in Kosovo, Vojvodina, Sanxhak and the Republic of Macedonia, with the risk that these countries may be drawn in. We assume our responsibility in the region, based on the historical ties that unite the countries of the region through shared geographical, historical and cultural circumstances. Recalling and reaffirming our commitment to all relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council; Reaffirming our support for the principles of the CSCE and the Charter of Paris for a New Europe. Noting with grave concern the human tragedy and tragic events which, following another war in the northern part of the former Yugoslavia, are now spreading southward; Noting in particular the report of the Special Rapporteur appointed following the special session of the Commission on Human Rights to investigate the human-rights situation in the former Yugoslavia, which clarifies that mass and systematic violations of human rights and serious breaches of international law— (Continued on page 4)