MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, SALI BERISHA, ADDRESSED TO THE CONGRESS OF THE ALBANIAN DEMOCRATIC YOUTH Esteemed young people, The establishment of democracy in Albania opened paths that had never been trodden before. Our country is moving from the long communist night of misery and the psychosis[?] of fear into the day of democracy, which will illuminate the dignity of individual freedom. The communist dictatorship left us a country economically ruined and spiritually crippled. Today Albanians face a great test, the test of history. Will we know how to use the freedoms we have won to build a free and democratic Albania, the world of your dreams and aspirations? The road we have chosen is difficult and blocked by the rubble of the 50-year-old communist ruin, but it is entirely passable. It demands new sacrifices and efforts from everyone, and it is true that the reform we have begun brings them about; but it is just as true that reform is the process that heals all the old and new wounds on Albania's weary body more quickly and better. Reform will make Albania strong, as you are; prosperous, as you want it to be; worthy, as you are; generous, as it has been; open, as you are; a lady, as Sami wished it to be; beautiful, as you are and as children love their mother. Therefore, I call on you to support it. You are the driving force of reform. You who brought pluralism must also build democracy. The task is difficult, but the opportunities are great. Our greatest opportunity is the freedom you brought. I have confidence in your strength, in your intellectual ability, in your democratic culture, in your spiritual broad-mindedness and political maturity. These qualities will unite you more closely with one another, and more closely with Europe, in this magnificent challenge at the end of this century. The future belongs to you, who have fought and continue to fight, while the shadows of the past will sink into the “archive” of oblivion, never to emerge again. Allow me once again, dear young men and women, while expressing my respect for all the martyrs of democracy, to congratulate you on this congress, which resembles a prelude in a mosaic of heroic symphonies that you will write with passion, determination and wisdom. The youth who defeated the dictatorship is Albania's greatest hope, its most powerful, universal and democratic dimension. You have the great dimensions of your mission, of the cause of freedom and democracy; therefore Albania's and the Albanians' greatest hopes and confidence are in you. May God bless you! Tirana, 22 December 1992 May God bless you!

Speech by the Prime Minister, Mr. Aleksandër Meksi, at the FRPD Congress — 23.12.1992 — Esteemed democratic young women and men! It is a pleasure for me to greet this Congress of the Youth Forum of the DP, this assembly of young women and men who fight and aspire for a new Albania, for a democratic and progressive society, for a new state governed by law and a free-market economy. Thousands of young students, workers and intellectuals have made a very valuable and substantial contribution to this titanic and peaceful struggle to destroy and uproot from its foundations the hated communist system. Those whose power democracy took away—and who foolishly dreamed it would last forever—are vainly trying to obstruct their efforts and sweat. The road to democracy may be difficult, but there is no turning back. It is therefore everyone's duty to fight against every destabilizing attempt by communist nostalgics and their former lackeys, and against every violation of the laws and norms of democracy, because, apart from communism, democracy has as its enemy pseudodemocratic and anarchist demagoguery. The Youth Forum is today becoming a genuine school of democracy in the democratic education of young people, because the Albanian youth whom you so honorably represent must play an active role in the country's social, economic and political life, carry new inspiring ways of thinking and ideas onto Albanian soil, and fight for the national cause. The Democratic Party and its Government have been committed for 8 months— [Text in this section is garbled in the source: “ru ar nga murta ja komuniste”]—to rebuilding the economy, putting it back into operation, beginning economic reform, successfully developing it, and easing its hardships, especially for the groups most affected by the reform. There are results, and not few, just as there are failures. We have the support of all countries and all international economic and financial institutions, which help, monitor and encourage us. There is abundant assistance in food, finance (grants and loans), raw materials and technical assistance. The latter is a field in which young people should be involved and benefit at every level and in every respect. The Youth Forum, in cooperation with the Government, should consider this a field of particular importance for the country's future and for preparing today's and tomorrow's leaders. Despite the understandable difficulties in the field of investment, many foreign companies are beginning construction on tourist and hotel projects, in the food industry, in agriculture and elsewhere; with the aid and loans provided, many more are planned for next year. The state itself will begin investing in infrastructure, also hoping for foreign co-financing. Thus work will continue on the north-south road, the widening and restoration of the Elbasan-Përrenjas road, the Tirana-Durrës road, and secondary roads. You can be sure that workers will be paid wages for these projects, rather than being forced into the infamous “volunteer work” of the medieval corvée system. Roads, together with the launch of the telecommunications network and the reconstruction and expansion of airports and ports, will provide the essential infrastructure for a modern Albania and for developing the tourism [sector?] so greatly needed in our relations with the developed world. Another important field will be schools, science, culture and the arts, which together are components and conditions for a dignified life; we hope that next year these fields will see substantial development. I want young people to find there the means to cultivate and develop all their talents for their own good and that of the country. We are committed to giving the reform new impetus in the areas of investment, privatization and the resolution of social problems. At the end of this year, the Government is working on its program for next year. We believe that reform should move forward, private property should expand, and the free-market economy should develop and take on a fuller form. Nevertheless, we must increase the pace of our work, and to do this we need more capable young people in the administration and the economy, and we must simplify administrative tiers and procedures. We have prepared a package of laws and decisions for this purpose. Increasing the number of privatizations will transfer state property to capable individuals; increased investment will boost employment and prosperity. All these things, and much more, can be achieved by a free person who works in their own interest. But to achieve them, we must respect the laws, establish democracy, clear away the thorns and brambles of the past, and work only with those who support reform and democracy. And for this, an important place... no new pain, and it is true that it is the reform that creates them which must be completed as soon as possible; administrative reform must be carried out, bringing new Democrats into leadership.

On 19 and 20 December, events were held in Voskopojë to mark the twinning of this town with the Greek town of Akropoliz, in the prefecture of Kalkis. For this purpose, the Akropoliz Municipal Council came from Greece, headed by the Mayor, Mr. Jani Polihronadhi, along with representatives of various organizations and associations from the town. They had brought with them donations of clothing and footwear, food and school supplies, which were distributed in the Municipality of Voskopojë. The events were also honored by the presence of the Prefect and Deputy Prefect of Korçë, as well as the area's members of parliament.

Near and far At the PAD's third press conference, a journalist asked whether the PAD consulted with other Albanian parties and which parties it regarded as allies or opponents. The party's secretary-general and, apparently, its most responsible representative, Mr. Imami, replied that the allies with the parties... At the PAD's third press conference, a journalist asked whether the PAD consulted with other Albanian parties and which parties it regarded as allies or opponents. The party's secretary-general and, apparently, its most responsible representative, Mr. Imami, replied that the allies with the parties and the opponents: “Party! I see the PAD as closest in strength to the DP; it is specifically more distant from the center; ... i dhëma ... [unclear text] PSD and will continue cooperation with the Socialist Party, as a parliamentary party.” Imami noted the absence of an opposition and assured those present that the PAD, as an opposition party, would gradually establish itself as an alternative to the government. From everything said at this conference, it was not clear what the Socialist Party is: the opposition or HHC! Could this, perhaps, also be part of the metaphysics of the PAD's IMAMI? RD correspondent

With the approval of the Ministry of Culture, the American «Poniecki» Foundation has established a branch in our country. This foundation is charitable in nature. Its mission is to help former socialist countries make the transition from a state-directed, centrally planned market economy to a free-market economy. It carries out its work by translating, publishing and distributing literature, organizing seminars, etc., in the following fields: business, economic management, education, healthcare, environmental protection, etc. The headquarters of the «Poniecki» Foundation are in California, United States of America. To date, the foundation has established branches in Poland, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Armenia, Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine.

A few days ago, the politician N. Ceka—who appears on the political scene only when he thinks he can advance his many-sided spiral toward power, which is becoming a fixed idea for him—published in «KJ» an interview entitled “This new Stalinism is leading the country not only to complete economic ruin, but also toward its defeat.” If such a statement had been made by an ordinary person, or a man in the street, it would be taken as a momentary aberration; but when it is made by the chairman of the PAD, it must be examined carefully, because it stems from dark, anti-democratic aims. Since Mr. Ceka has exploited his position as party chairman, and specifically the newspaper of that party, «KJ», to call for a coup d'état, I have the right to accuse him publicly of being someone who seeks to set the country ablaze, destroy a democratic party, undermine its future and unleash civil war. For this he must answer before the courts. This man, coddled by all the parties, obstructed demonstrators in Tirana in February 1991 from marching to «Dëshmorët e Kombit» Square, which would have served the triumph of democracy, brought communist rule to an end and ushered in a democratic government. That would have meant that people in Albania would not be robbed every day; that everything from children's schools to museums would not be destroyed and burned; that our economy would not have fallen to zero and life into complete anarchy. The nervousness of a desperate man coveting the presidential chair, now occupied by President Alia, rises shamelessly against the Democratic Party and against the decision of the DP National Council to leave the communist Stability Government, that is, to put an end to the corruption of the red Mafia. It is precisely Mr. Ceka who, having been charged by the pluralist parliament with reforming SHIK, has not removed a single department director in key posts who was a former State Security employee, including people with criminal records who openly served the red dictatorship. I have discussed in another article what existed between Mr. Ceka's compromise and the State Security. But when one sees Ceka's insistence on serving that shadow to the point of madness, we have reason to suspect that his calls for a coup are, ultimately, the result of his undertaking on behalf of that instrument for destabilizing the country. It is no coincidence that Mr. Ceka and the other political turncoats who undermine parties in a matter of months have pressed the thesis of dictatorship, the thesis of counterrevolution, the thesis of early elections, and the thesis of their own crisis of power. These careerists, with Ceka at their head, are so wretched that they imagine the people will really applaud them toward a new December. Why does Mr. Ceka and his party dislike stability in Albania? Why is all this party's propaganda directed against the democratic state, its open and national policy? This may be explained by Ceka's mysterious position and the desperate ties between the PAD and anti-Albanian circles in the Balkans. Nevertheless, following this accusation against Mr. Ceka for his threat of a coup, we would ask this mini-enemy of democracy what December he means. We would remind him that his threat comes after Mr. Islami's release ... or the displacement of the local population, after Mr. Zana's groaning. We will have new Rrapo Hekalës. Mr. Ceka is a politician who, when he fails once, withdraws with dignity into his private life. When he starts once again to eat what he has vomited and is asked to leave along with his shame. But when, without a shred of ethics, he comes out like Don Quixote with a sword against democracy and his own people, democratic society has the right to use the law against him as a destroyer of order and society. Sir, you have passed through all three of these stages, and I call on Albanian justice to examine your statement. MUJE BUGPAPAJ dreamed of, must now be tried in the dock as someone who, in violation of the country’s legal provisions, calls for a coup, calls for a counterrevolution, for further anarchy. democratic state, its open and national policy? The mysterious position of Ceka and PAD’s desperate ties with anti-Albanian circles in the Balkans may explain this. of a coup, we would ask this mini-evangelist of democracy what he means by “dyhetori.” Islami’s release ... into his private life. When he starts eating again democracy and his own people, then have passed through all three of these phases,

The serious concern of young Democrats for the progress of democratic reform, the consolidation of democracy and bringing the country out of the deep economic crisis was central to the discussions on the second day of the Democratic Youth Congress. During the discussions, concern was expressed about better organization of the Youth Forum and its reorganization throughout the country. As the speakers pointed out, the Forum's leadership has not managed to maintain an active life; that is, it has not been connected with the district branches, which in practice—even when they have been established at the local level—have served merely as votes to elect someone to a post or a chair. Other speakers called for judicial reform to be completed as soon as possible and for administrative reform to be carried out by bringing young Democrats into leadership positions. There were insistent calls to investigate the wealth dubiously accumulated by the red mafiosi. Other issues were raised concerning the stifling of the spiritual life of young Albanians, which should receive much greater attention. Mr. Aleksandër Meksi, Prime Minister of Albania, read a warm greeting from the Congress podium. Mr. Azem Hajdari then spoke, stressing that your support is essential for democratic processes in Albania. Therefore, you will never cease your struggle and efforts to affirm Albanian democracy. A young writer from Kosovo also spoke at this session; his speech was received with applause and cries of “Freedom—Democracy.” Mr. Artan Hoxha, Minister of Youth, called for young Democrats to gain greater representation in government, parliament and the party. A resolution of the Youth Congress was then read, followed by new elections. Mr. Arben Lika was elected chairman of the DP Youth Forum. Mr. Xheni Tapini also ran for the post. The First Democratic Youth Congress thus came to a close. RD correspondent