- Press conference by President Sali Berisha - Yesterday at 11:00, in the Presidential Palace hall, the President of the Republic of Albania, Mr. Sali Berisha, held a press conference for Albanian and foreign journalists. Asked where the importance of his visit to Saudi Arabia lay, he replied that he had emphasized that the visit was of historic importance. First, Albania became a member of a powerful organization such as the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Second, strong diplomatic relations were established with states that Enver Hoxha’s communist dictatorship considered among its worst enemies. Thus, I think these two acts marked an important step in our diplomacy. Turning to the second question, Mr. Berisha spoke about the economic and political consequences of this act. First, we aspire politically: this act created new scope for cooperation and interaction with an organization that extends across all continents and includes more than 50 states. He went on to add that cooperation with these countries is of interest to Albania, because Albania has long had historical ties with them in various fields. On the other hand, I think that by joining this Conference, Albania, as a European country, takes on a great historic and affirmative mission. Through coexistence among different religions, Albanians have demonstrated that spiritual values of different origins can live in peace and harmony when brought into balance, and Albania should reflect this experience in its policy as well. As for participation in the Islamic Conference in the economic sphere, I can say that the consequences are very positive. First, this Conference and the Islamic Bank, which is equivalent to the World Bank, have undertaken to support various projects for Albania. Second, economic relations will be intensified bilaterally and multilaterally. Thus, every step that accelerates Albania’s development brings it ever closer to Europe. What takes Albania away from Europe is its lack of development. It is also in Albania’s political interest, on certain issues, to have the votes of 50 countries, which make up one-third of the UN. I think this is great political support for our country. Asked how the Government’s decision concerning basic food-basket goods would be handled in the future, President Berisha replied: I have had many requests during this period to issue a decree abolishing them. I have not done so, and I will not. Why? Because we have said that we will have the basket, protect it and compensate for it. The Government must therefore also prepare for further compensation, while bringing their prices closer to world prices, so that the market can be supplied with food products. Regarding the question of how Western Europe would react to Albania’s membership in the Islamic Conference, Mr. Berisha said: I think Europe’s reaction will be positive and supportive. The initial diplomatic reactions are real. Our awakening during this period has come as a psychological shock, but that does not mean Europe will fail to support such diplomatic acts. I can say that Europe’s most developed countries—France, England, Germany and Italy—and the United States of America have very good relations with Islamic countries. We must change the way we view history in black and white, as we have viewed it until now, the President said, because Europe abandoned all such concepts long ago. I know of no European country with a Muslim majority that has not joined the Islamic Conference, the President said. I understand concerns of various kinds. Some stem from the old political mindsets of the dictatorship era. Before, every opening was marked by a closure. Second, some still view Europe through old communist concepts, but Europe’s policy is based neither on ambition nor on xenophobia. Europe’s policy rests on democratic principles, which are reflected in Albania’s Constitution, and Albania agreed to join the Conference of Islamic Countries on the condition that it respect all documents that are consistent with, and do not conflict with, the Constitution of Albania. The member countries of this Organization are also members of the Council of Europe. Asked whether this diplomatic act ran counter to the aspirations of our Renaissance-era figures, Mr. Berisha said: “No.” If Naim Frashëri were here in this hall, he would see an Albania emerging from the Ottoman Empire and becoming a member of the CSCE; he would see an Albania with observer status in the Council of Eu- (Continued on page 4) MUJE BUÇPAPAJ

To the young men and women of Albania, wherever you may be—in schools, workplaces, the army, villages or abroad—I send you, on the occasion of 8 December, my warmest wishes, together with those of the entire Albanian people. 8 December 1990 entered Albania’s history as a great day for all Albanian youth and the Albanian nation: it opened the gates for Albanians to set out on the road to freedom. For some time, in Albania’s gloomy, narrow and suffocating space, the outlines of two opposing forces had begun to emerge: the dictatorship and its dreadful machinery of repression, a symbol of human evil, and, facing it, the Albanian youth giant, the symbol of a subjugated people’s hope. Their duel to the death was inevitable. None of us knew the hour or the day when it would take place. But we all knew how it would begin. No one doubted that the great duel of this century’s final years would be won by the young champion; that is precisely why the morning of 8 December brought such joy to the hearts of all those who carried in their minds and souls a different Albania. That morning will remain the happiest moment of my life, and that is why on 8 December I set out toward you—not because I was, or felt, your age, nor because I was driven by any desire to lead, but only to join with you, to share in the joy, manliness and wisdom of your union, and to share your fate. 8 December 1990 was indeed a cold day, but it was a bright day. You summoned the fierce duel with the dictatorship. The wounded beast, mortally injured, remained in the “palace of dreams,” spreading from there the poison of its wounds, only to emerge utterly defeated. That day, an entire people rallied around you; a new era began for Albania, already so long-suffering, while the bells of death tolled for the dictatorship. Tomorrow marks two years since the day the students of Tirana awakened Albania’s silent expanse with the calls “Freedom-Democracy” and “Down with the dictatorship,” while today Albania is a free country of free people. Nevertheless, it still lacks many things; in today’s Europe, it is poor among the rich, but it still has you. I and all our people are deeply convinced that you, who defeated the dictatorship, will have the strength, talent, wisdom and energy to build a democratic Albania. You are the youth of great missions. I know that today you are materially poor, poorer than young people in Europe, but there is another aspect in which you are richer than others, and that is the spiritual aspect. This is not only because you are heirs to an ancient culture and an ancient root of this continent, but because you had the great honor and good fortune to be the missionaries of humanity’s first ideal, the ideal of freedom. At your age, you liberated a people and defeated a dictatorship, and you, the families who raised you, and the entire Albanian nation can be proud of this. Generations to come will always be grateful to you. Once again, happy holiday! May God bless the youth of Albania! Tirana, 8 December 1992. - The December student demonstrations marked the end of communist dictatorship in Europe! - Albania was reborn. From the communist “paradise” and Europe’s poorest country, toward a new democratic state! - A judgment on a 50-year dictatorial history and self-isolation. - The students’ verdict: “We want Albania like all of Europe!” - December 8—a triumph for the anti-communist intellectual generation. Many times Albanians have sought to free themselves from the shackles that were fastened around their legs, hands, and necks. Many times Albanians have felt free without being at liberty, have lost their freedom without attaining it, but they have always sought a life not yet lived: one in which people are born, grow up, live, and die as human beings, as free citizens of the enigmatic planet. After nearly 50 years of self-imposed isolation from themselves and the world, Albanians, dazed by the disappointments and deeds of Enver Hoxha’s communism, awoke on the morning of December 9, ’90, to find themselves a divided, impoverished, betrayed nation. The embassy exodus in July, the changes in Eastern Europe, Kadare’s emigration, and the small gift of opening up—but especially the contrast between domestic (communist) and foreign (capitalist) achievements and the lack of progress in the CSCE—prepared the ground for the student outburst of December 8, the successful demonstration of a black-and-white half-century. The first days of December ’90 passed with people waiting to see which day would earn the distinction of being the day of freedom. It fell to December 8; in the early evening came the harsh dialogue between the students and spokesman Hekuran Isai, former head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the PPSH. The protests began with demands for change and minimum economic conditions, continued with the raising of the Flag and the song “For the Fatherland,” then with calls for human rights, protests against the luxury of the bloc leaders, and against the genocide at the border... That day, for the first time, emigrants [and] men were called martyrs of the nation and not the nation’s scum; political prisoners were called innocent heroes and not enemies and traitors; for the first time Bush, Gorbachev, Kohl, Genscher, Fishta, Konica... were applauded and Stalin and company were called enemies of communism, the dictatorship of the proletariat. For the first time the “fathers of the nation,” the [cube?] of the Political Bureau of the PPSH, were not welcomed with bouquets of flowers but with sharp accusations. For the first time, the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the PPSH, Ramiz Alia, would not receive party secretaries and distinguished cooperative members, but was forced to meet students, “ragged” young men, of whom Albanians will always be proud for bringing the dictatorial state to its end. The first were young men from electrical engineering. Then those from geology. Along with them, hundreds more. And the liberators of Albania at the century’s end came out arm in arm, heading toward Europe’s last communist capital. The showers of stones prepared the clashes that followed. That night the students would no longer be students of the pedagogical institute, but teachers of three million Albanians, thirsty for freedom and prosperity. The diary is simple. The students, gathered in the lanes of the student city, beneath the alleys of the protest square, streamed into the lanes of the neighborhood by “Labi-noti” Street. Piro Kondi was heckled from the moment he appeared, when one of the students asked him, “Secretary of which party are you?” Meanwhile Hekuran Isai and dozens of besuited, slick-haired men were dismayed as the students demanded that they turn back. How could there be any turning back when all you would find there were graves, the living dead and the dead alive! Fourteen students, with the fierce young Azem Hajdari, set out to meet R. Alia. The communist ambassador, Enver Hoxha’s faithful pupil, prepared an unconditional, half-hearted surrender instead of the terrible price of Caushek[s]. At 01:00 on December 9, the young men returned from Alia’s bunker and Hekuran Isai ordered: “Beat them! Beat them! Beat them! Clear the square!” (The students had heard these Nazi slogans spoken by fascist, Nazi, and terrorist characters in the films of the 40-year-old communist cinema. But now they heard them from the mouth of one of the five highest-ranking men in the Albanian totalitarian regime! The students raised their “V” fingers in victory and, shouting “Down with the dictatorship,” “Enver-Hitler!”, returned to their city, ready for the midday demonstration. The victims of the evening had to be protected, the arrested had to be freed, those who gave the orders had to be punished... because the dictatorship had to be overthrown, to give Albanians the chance of democracy... The diary is long, but extremely glorious. Those 300 students, their voices hoarse from countless cries and their thirst for freedom, democracy, and a European homeland, for anti-communism and progress; those young faces made pale by Enver Hoxha’s ration coupons and bloodied by Ramiz Alia’s rubber truncheons, remained the liberators who brought honor to Albania, occupied by Stalinist Bolshevism. Their names, their steadfast stance, their determination, and their idealism will never be forgotten! They were all heroes; all were leaders of their own [unclear]; all were the first citizens of a new democratic Albania; all were the first citizens of an Albania of Eu-

On Monday, 7 December, at the invitation of the political parties of the Albanians of Macedonia, a delegation of the Democratic Party of Albania set out to hold talks with them. On Monday, 7 December, at the invitation of the political parties of the Albanians of Macedonia, a delegation of the Democratic Party of Albania set out to hold talks with them, led by its chairman, Mr. Eduard Selami. The delegation also includes a member of the party’s leadership, Mr. Dylber Vrio-

In recent days, the international competition for “Miss World,” also known as the “World Queen,” was held at the Austria Centre International, near the headquarters of the international organizations at the Vienna International Centre in Vienna, with the participation of 50 “queens” from 50 countries around the world. In this competition, Albania was represented by Miss Valbona Selimllari, aged 20, winner of the “Miss Albania” title in Tirana in 1991. According to the decision of the competition’s jury, based on the points accumulated, the Albanian beauty queen took third place. Ines Kuba of Germany came first, while the representative of Puerto Rico came second. (ATSH)

- The second conference of the DP’s Tirana branch was held. - Mr. Eduard Selami attended. On Saturday, December 5, the second conference of the DP’s Tirana branch held its proceedings. Members of parliament from Tirana, government officials, etc. were present. The chairman of the PDSH, Mr. Eduard Selami, also attended the conference proceedings. The report of the branch’s Governing Council was presented by the branch’s deputy chairman, Mr. Dylber Vrioni. He highlighted the role of the Tirana branch in organizing and winning election campaigns; its proper stance toward the government of stability; its meetings with intellectuals in the capital, etc. The report also mentioned issues that had been noted, such as the failure to divide up work within the leadership; insufficient support for young businesspeople; and the involvement of some branch activists and leaders in other social duties, which, Mr. Vrioni continued, had diminished its activity. The future objectives set out in the report included reform of the justice system, currently characterized by corruption and a tendency to oppose democracy; creating optimal conditions for the municipality to function normally; privatization as quickly as possible, etc. Mr. Vesiju, having made the conference aware of his commitments to other duties, explained that he was unable to participate in the branch’s governing bodies. The chairman of the DP, Mr. Eduard Selami, also spoke at the conference. “I am pleased,” he noted, “to attend your conference, because the role and contribution of the Tirana branch in breaking away from communism and carrying out reform are well known.” Mr. Selami also informed the conference of the decisions made at the joint meeting of the National Council, the group of MPs, and the DP government officials. To coordinate the work of all three levels, meetings between the party leadership and the government will be held once a week; meanwhile, government officials will be more regularly present in the parliamentary group. “All the levels together,” he emphasized, “must put an end to the poor work of the bodies

MINUTES of the Meeting of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, dated January 16, 1968, at 9:00. Present: H. Lleshi, G. Nushi, B. Klosi, Xh. Spahiu, T. Jakova, V. Kapo, E. Behrami, S. Moisiu. Item 2 on the agenda: Draft decree on minting commemorative gold and silver coins. Chairman (H. Lleshi) Enver Hoxha is not coming. He is busy with work. He thinks that, as the first item, we should begin by reviewing the draft decree on minting commemorative gold and silver coins; we also have Aleks Verli here. Questions; T. Jakova: This Italian who is taking this on; how much does he earn? Is it agreed how much he will earn? What is the price of coin gold, in relation to ordinary coins? Will other commemorative medallions also be made, or only on this occasion? And then, who will sell them; will he sell them (Continued on page 3)

The December student demonstrations marked the end of communist dictatorship in Europe!

NATIONAL YOUTH DAY

Albanian contestant places third