ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL REFORM MUST BE DEEPENED FURTHER. PRIVATIZATION, A KEY PROCESS IN THE REFORM. THE PPSH MUST FACE THE TRIAL OF HISTORY. ALBANIA’S FOREIGN POLICY: A DEEPLY NATIONAL POLICY. THE DP PARLIAMENTARY GROUP MUST BE THE ONE OF 22 MARCH. At noon yesterday, the expanded meeting of the National Council and the parliamentary group of the DP concluded its proceedings. At yesterday’s session, extensive discussions were held on all the urgent problems of the economy and reform. Mr. Petrit Karakula highlighted the urgent need to resolve the issue of land ownership and to privatize agricultural enterprises. Mr. Azem Hajdari called for more favourable working conditions for members of parliament and fundamental reform of the judicial bodies. Mr. Agron Çika, while criticizing some ministers for negligence in administrative reform, addressed the economic corruption of the so-called “Kapo clan” or the “ADA...” company, calling for support for the State Control Commission in the organized fight against corruption. He called for greater attention to setting 20 January 1993 as the optimal deadline for resolving all the problems raised, specifically: completing judicial reform, resolving the issue of land ownership, improving the work of the parliamentary group, broadening business activity, resolving the problem of local government, and ensuring effective contact between members of parliament and their constituents regarding their problems. The many speakers unanimously approved the results of the Albanian delegation’s visit to Saudi Arabia, emphasizing that our foreign policy is a policy of openness and broad national interests. Attacks by certain clans that ignore everything, adapting themselves to the attacks of Sebastianos in Greece and Millosheviç in Belgrade, were rejected.

President Berisha’s speech to the National Council of the DP I think the National Council of the Democratic Party has convened at an important moment to take stock of the work of the Democratic Government. We must understand that after 50 years in darkness, we are now exposed to the light, exposed to the world. But we must also acknowledge that if we do not develop quickly, we will not hold our future in our own hands. Only rapid development will ensure our national integrity. The Democratic Party, having received a vote of confidence in the Albanian parliament, is responsible for what is happening in Albania. On this occasion, I want to emphasize that there are major shortcomings and weaknesses. What is happening? We have embarked on economic reform, and it has the potential to progress better. We have secured funds, but the DP government must make better use of them. We must create a government centre to allocate the impulses. The government must be more competent in allocating them among the various sectors of the economy. The Ministry of Economy must present development plans and timetables. Albania has financial reserves and development projects, but this financing is not being directed according to the established priorities to where it is needed. The issue of local government is quite decisive for the progress of reform. I do not agree that we should retain more power than necessary. We are interested in local government functioning normally, and I will take this issue seriously. At present, many problems have emerged concerning the debts of enterprises, which must be resolved. This ... [the text continues outside the frame] Can Albania deny this reality? Of course not! That would be an adventure. As a country in Europe with a predominantly Muslim population, Albania should use this reality in the interests of its own policy and the entire region. Last year our parliament voted in favour of accepting Albania as an observer member of the Conference of Islamic Countries. This year, and on this very day, we took the second step: accepting Albania as a full member of this Conference. This is an important event for Albania, a major act bringing our country closer to more than 1.4 billion people and over 50 states, with which we have many historical, economic, political and spiritual ties. I have complete confidence that this act will be properly understood and supported by all those who love Albania and its rapid development. It joined this conference with the clause that it accepts only documents or issues that do not conflict with our Constitution. Albania is not subject to any imposition or condition that harms its interests; on the contrary, it secures political and economic support from a very powerful organization, the Islamic Conference. If the word “Islamic” jars with anyone, I remind them that this is consistent with Albania’s great tradition of religious tolerance. I have declared, and I declare again, that wherever there are four Christians, a church should be built, and wherever there are four Muslims, there should be a mosque. I consider respect for different religions a condition for the functioning of a democratic state and society. In Albania there is no religious discrimination, and there never will be. I made my first official visit to this state in the Vatican. I have invited and [The upper part of the text has been cut off.] ...in the place quite decisive for the development of the powers and I will commit myself seriously to this issue. enterprises, which must be resolved immediately. The issue of aid and food supplies in the consumer basket has also become a matter of concern. Although aid is arriving, the shops are being left empty. Thus, there are shortcomings in supplying the population, and the relevant authorities must investigate the situation on the ground. Over these past two months, Albania has received more food aid than ever before. Privatization is the basis for the success of democracy and reform. We must work to help create new traders and new capitalists. I do not agree with abolishing auctions; instead, we should give loans to honest people, and that is what we must do. What is important for the future of our state and nation is the pursuit of a national, contemporary, and sustainable foreign policy. I want to emphasize that our state’s policy is one of openness and concrete steps. During this period, we have opened the country to the wider world as a country of freedom and democracy. Unfortunately, during this period we are paying tribute to the hollow anti-communist foreign policy, which made the whole world its enemy and insulted and cursed the whole world. In foreign policy, we have aimed to take concrete steps. We are not interested in a false image and noise. Nevertheless, we have signed dozens of important agreements, pursuing a foreign policy founded on the national interest. Albania’s fundamental problem is survival and development. To this end, we must choose every path to develop our country as quickly as possible. We are a deeply European country, and Albania will be a member of all of Europe’s political and military organizations. Albania is a member of the CSCE, the Black Sea Cooperation initiative, the IMF, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and dozens of other Western European bodies and organizations. It will join the Council of Europe and, soon, NATO as well, and thus become a member of the European Community. So it is absurd to think that this country, with all these strong Western ties, would undermine its European cause by establishing other ties, economic ties, or other connections. Europe, in its grand politics, and religious tolerance in Albania. I have declared, and declare again, that where there are four Christians, I would build a church, and where there are four Muslims, for the functioning of a democratic state and society. There is no religious discrimination in Albania, and there never will be. My first official visit as head of state was to the Vatican. We have invited, and will welcome with great pleasure and respect, the Holy Father. The honor of those who sound the trumpets of religious division will be the act they undertake; as for what they have done, I will not hear it—not even the palace staircase, let alone the neighborhood or the city. Albania’s policy will be an independent policy that seeks its rapprochement and integration with Europe, and its closeness and friendship with all the friendly and brotherly countries of the world. Albania’s membership in the Islamic Conference is also of great importance economically. These countries have a very great potential in financial resources. Their wealth and investments have enriched and flourished many countries around the world. I am convinced that their investments in Albania are in Albania’s interest. We must not, therefore, fall prey to anti-national policy. It is significant that even the budgets of the most powerful countries receive funds from the countries of the Islamic Conference. So why should poor Albania not benefit as well? They have a bank, just like the World Bank. We will obtain development loans from this bank. But can the religious issue influence our policy? Of course not. We all know that the communist dictatorship had declared the greatest powers its enemies, after the United States: the Vatican and Saudi Arabia—and we knew why this was done. The situation in the region is extremely tense. We have asked for European observers to be present in Kosovo as soon as possible. Our fleet is cooperating with the EC fleet in enforcing the embargo against Serbia. We are doing, and must do, everything possible to prevent bloodshed and avert conflict in the region. I believe that recent developments are of great importance to Albania. The establishment of diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and the visit to Egypt mark a new stage in the development of relations between our countries. During these visits, I invited the King of Saudi Arabia, the Crown Prince, President Mubarak, and the Egyptian Prime Minister to visit Albania, and they gladly accepted the invitations. In conclusion, I once again urge you to accelerate the pace of work and for each of you to measure up to the great responsibilities that the times place before us. [The article continues.]

At its meeting held on 4–5 December 1992 in Tirana, attended also by the DP parliamentary group and members of the Democratic Government, the National Council of the Democratic Party analyzed the visits to Saudi Arabia and Egypt by the Albanian delegation headed by the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, and rated them as highly successful. The National Council unanimously gave a positive assessment of our foreign policy, describing it as the most productive during these months of our government’s leadership. The National Council highly praised President Berisha’s role in opening Albania up, presenting it to the world and affirming our state in European and global organizations, and in signing important agreements with these countries and organizations, which accelerate Albania’s economic development and its earliest possible and dignified integration into Europe. The Council described as malicious and anti-national certain voices that are trying to misrepresent our foreign policy, which remains a profoundly national, democratic and European policy. «RD» correspondent

Regarding yesterday’s note in «Zëri i Popullit», which insists that President Berisha was not received in Egypt with the honours due to him, the President’s spokesperson comments as follows: during both his visit to Slovenia and his visit to Egypt, President Berisha was received by his counterparts with every mark of respect, with the honours and measures accorded to heads of state during their visits. It should be understood, however, that the traditional protocol of many countries provides for heads of state to be received at the presidential residences of the presidents who issue the invitations. By deliberately ignoring this fact, the anonymous author of «Zëri i Popullit», through his article, expresses nothing but political backwardness, a lack of journalistic ethics, and a complete lack of civic respect for the state and its highest representative. In this way, an attempt is being made to create an atmosphere that obstructs the strengthening of bilateral relations between Albania and Egypt and Slovenia, which, following the recent visits, have for the first time been raised to the level they should have been at. GËNC POLLO

a) Who has made people disciplined at work? Conscience or fear? b) A decline in technical ability or a lack of oversight? c) The market economy and the centralization of the economy The people have said: «Jo, ça e!» Viewed from this perspective, the evil that, in order to do harm... [the lower part of the line is illegible] and even the effort to...

— OWNERSHIP — PARTICULARITY — On the land issue In our country, the privatization of land is exceptional. The term “exceptional” may have been overused lately, but when it comes to ownership, this term not only stands the test of time, it is also legitimate. The problems of land ownership here, which are unlike those in other countries, cannot be understood without knowing the country’s specific conditions. For this reason, it is worth listing a series of arguments that provide grounds for nationwide satisfaction. 1. Compared with 1945, cultivated land has increased 2.5 times, but “unproductive” land—terraced, eroded, and occupied by settlements and infrastructure works—has increased by more than 3.5 times. This category of land is now not included in the balance sheet for the whole country. 2. The population has grown 3.5 times, but in some lowland areas population density has increased by even more. 3. The number of rural families has increased 6–8 times. 4. The peasantry makes up approximately 70 percent of the population, whereas in other countries it accounts for 10–30 percent, and in developed European countries for 3–8 percent. This Albanian fact, a consequence of “triumphant socialism,” constitutes an insurmountable paradox in relation to Europe as regards recognition of former ownership. 5. Although every rural area preserves its own customs, customary laws, laws, and attitudes regarding land, no one should be forgiven for failing not only to ask about, but even to think of, an Albanian peasant without land. Historically, the peasant has had land; under the land-distribution law, he received land, has land, and will have land. Only through losses have the apparatchiks and former officials of bureaucratic state-planned communism benefited from a landless peasantry. 6. Nostalgia for land and for ownership of the family home is exceptional, but nostalgia for just one small dowry remains blind. For the majority, nostalgia for ownership is transformed into a human right, then a national one, in favor of the person who with... [continued on page 2]

November 17–18 in northern Albania, alongside material damage and loss of life, taught us several lessons and revealed shortcomings which, if not identified and eliminated in time, will bring us further disasters. First of all, this flood showed that Albanians, however poor they may be... [continued on page 2]

For the information of «ZP» and the entire public Regarding the report about President Berisha’s visit to Egypt published on 5.12.92 on the front page of the newspaper «ZP», under the headline “President Berisha is received at Cairo airport by Egypt’s Minister of Agriculture,” I would like to inform you of the following: At present, the President of Egypt does not receive guests at Cairo airport. Heads of State are given a formal reception with full honours at the Republican Palace, especially in the case of official visits. President Berisha was received at the airport by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture. He is also the Secretary-General of the National Democratic Party, the ruling party in Egypt today. President Berisha was officially received at the Republican Palace in Cairo by President Mubarak as President of Albania. It is regrettable that the newspaper «ZP» should use bilateral relations between Albania and Egypt at this moment as material in the conflict between the Socialist Party and the Democratic Party. AHMAND NABAWISSA Ambassador of Egypt