Çapajev Taçi: 20 years’ imprisonment; Aredin Shyti: 17 years; Xhemal Dymylja: 16 years; Dilaver Papare and Gjek Cela: 15 years each On 25.12.1992, Christmas Day, the defendants Haxhredin Shyti, Çapajev Taçi, Dilaver Papare, Gjek Çelaj and Xhemal Dymylja were sentenced. Their defense lawyers tried to defend their clients by contesting the charge against the 5 defendants and disputing their guilt. The defendants also persisted in their crime. They remained committed to their indoctrination until death. Although they learned from the prosecution’s closing arguments that their sentences could go as far as capital punishment, they did not expose the masterminds of the massacre, even though everyone knows very well who they are. They were granted a favor in that their final statements were given on a notable day such as Christmas. They were given a chance to appeal to their consciences, confess on that day, and ask for mercy. But, as members of the red mafia, which recognizes no god other than the law of the jungle, they felt no remorse. Apparently, they expected to be rewarded with symbolic sentences. That was what the masters of the red dome had promised them. But they had forgotten the law of the mafia: for its own interests, it even sacrifices its children. On 26.12.1992, the presiding judge, Mr. [?] (Continued on page 4)

Albania strengthens cooperation with NATO The events in the former Yugoslavia are undoubtedly Europe’s paradox at the end of this year; on the eve of the year 2000, Europe is forced to experience moments that recall the beginning of this century, and Europe is proving unprepared and impotent in the face of such problems. Nevertheless, there is a force which, fortunately, has the capacity to intervene and resolve situations such as the war in the former Yugoslavia: that force is NATO. NATO was created to balance the aggressive communist military forces of Eastern Europe; after the overthrow of communism, it finds itself facing a new reality. With the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, it seemed that NATO’s existence, too, would be pointless; but today’s European reality has made this existence essential: NATO is the only organization that makes it possible to preserve and ensure peace in Europe and the world. From the time the Democratic Party (PD) was established, it was thought that Albania’s presence in the North Atlantic Treaty would be both natural and necessary. For this reason, with the establishment of the democratic government, particular importance has been given to the development of military reform. The creation of a high-quality, European-standard army aims, among other things, to integrate the Albanian army into NATO as part of Albania’s integration into Europe. For some time now, during its democratic development, Albania has actively participated in the Alliance’s activities as a member of the Cooperation Council, and this is very important as a present-day necessity: Albania is one of the first former communist countries to be accepted as a member of the Cooperation Council, and the first country to apply to join NATO as a full member. This is certainly no coincidence; it is due precisely to intensive activity in Albania’s relations with NATO. Over a short period, mutual contacts have been very frequent, from the level of specialists up to the highest levels of the hierarchy. The visit to Albania by the Director of NATO’s Political Committee, followed by visits from Albanian delegations, including that of the Chief of the General Staff of the Albanian Army, were important steps toward greater mutual understanding and stronger relations. In this respect, there were also various bilateral meetings with NATO member countries, including with military representatives of Turkey, Italy, etc. Visits to our ports by several frigates, including American, Turkish, Italian and British ones, have also served this purpose of establishing familiarity and cooperation. Nevertheless, President Bush’s visit to the North Atlantic Alliance Council, at the invitation of NATO Secretary General Mr. Manfred Wörner, is undoubtedly the most important event in strengthening these relations and making Albania’s admission to NATO possible. These many contacts, and especially President Berisha’s visit, as well as the forthcoming visit to Albania of the Chairman of the North Atlantic Council and the NATO Chief of Staff, are positive and significant indications: Although Albania is not yet a member of NATO, as Mr. Krijmër noted during his visit to our country: “It is not necessary to be a member in order to benefit from NATO projects relating to security and stabilization.” One indication of this is the existing agreement on cooperation between NATO and Albanian naval fleets in territorial waters to strengthen the embargo. Seeing NATO as the largest peacekeeping force in Europe, Albania, as a country now guided by European democratic principles, seeks through strengthening its relations with NATO only to contribute to maintaining stability and security in our region. I received a special invitation to take part as a representative in the upcoming activity on security and the preservation of stability in Europe. EDI PALOКА

Regarding developments so far in the Bulqiza miners’ strike, the Federation of Miners’, Geologists’ and Energy Workers’ Unions of Albania, according to a statement sent by the Federation, has followed them with continuing concern, reporting on them in the press and through the media. For this purpose, we have asked the Government for an urgent meeting to hold talks; Regarding developments so far in the Bulqiza miners’ strike, the Federation of Miners’, Geologists’ and Energy Workers’ Unions of Albania, according to a statement sent by the Federation, has followed them with continuing concern, reporting on them in the press and through the media. For this purpose, we have asked the Government for an urgent meeting to hold talks, but these have not taken place. At the same time, we did not agree with the demands that had not been carefully considered and could not be resolved under the current circumstances by the Government; however, we have supported, and continue to support, the miners’ legitimate socioeconomic demands. We condemn the illegal actions and manipulations by the fifty union activists, who were worsening the situation and obstructing progress and reform. Meanwhile, we believe that, at the appropriate time, the relevant parties should organize discussions with the miners and offer a possible solution; this would benefit the workers, production and the overall situation. The participation of all union representatives in the meetings and discussions is the only way to resolve the issue.

— Reportage — After the first words of the man called the “workers’ representative,” stones came flying, breaking the windows of the building where a meeting was supposed to take place between the area’s deputy and the district’s political forces. The roughly twenty people gathered around the Bulqiza committee building seemed to have just one concern: to sabotage every attempt to talk with government representatives. A little later, in the square beside the building, these same people did not spare their stones even for those leaving the room where the meeting was to be held. Our car, parked ten meters farther down, nearly became a target because it had Tirana license plates. The bitter cold of the small northern town was now compounded by the nameless anger of these people, and everything became twice as difficult. Those who immediately surrounded us were interested only in having us speak loudly against the government. Introducing ourselves as journalists made us suspicious in any case, even though two colleagues working for a foreign press agency were mentioned, and their demands would become known outside Albania. Perhaps for this reason, we were “privileged” and allowed to enter the mine. The square in front of the committee building continued to roar with a crowd of people in clean blue jackets who seemed not to have worked underground for a long time. Meanwhile, the hunger-strike liaison, Aleksandër Ajola, whom they called Nikoll for short, promised to take us underground. Around 6 p.m. we were in the mine’s cold lift, which took us down to level 9, where, according to Nikoll, the largest group of miners was located. At both stops along the way, we had to use the telephone as a means of communication. Otherwise, the lift would not move! The night before, there had been law-enforcement personnel there, and the miners were afraid they would be forcibly brought out of the underground. In the room where those who had been underground for about three days were staying, it was warmer than in the mine galleries, but the air was heavier. Around 20 people, lying around the room where there was a motor control cabinet, immediately got up as soon as we entered. Most of them were glad that we were journalists. Almost all of them were under thirty, and seemed to be holding out better. Before our eyes, a young man from Zerqan in Dibra asked his fellow hunger striker to go and join the others, since it had been a while since they had heard from them. “Although I heard the noises, I asked him to explain what his friend was going to do, and he told me that there were other hunger strikers who were not in that room and who checked in with one another from time to time.” After that, he became reluctant to answer my questions. I did not press him further. At the end, as we were leaving the strike area, I asked one of them to go and call everyone so we could take a photograph. “Call whom?” he said, as if caught in the act. “I told the others they were on hunger strike, but that they weren’t here.” He looked nervously toward the strike leader, Hamdi Kocaku, who was standing and explaining loudly to my colleague that they would not all come out of there unless their demands were met. His battered face seemed to show even more clearly his lack of courage to answer. I did not press him further, although for a little while he and the young man from Zerqan, who had been sleeping beside his friend for… (Continued on page 4) (Continued on page 4)

Yesterday morning, the Steering Committee of the Albanian Movement for Understanding and Peace met. At this meeting, the work of the newspaper “Bashkimi” was reviewed, and several ways and possibilities for continuing to publish this independent, nonpartisan newspaper under the new circumstances were discussed, in the service of understanding and social peace, unity and the nationwide union… (Continued on page 4)

It should be noted that the PPSH viewed intellectual potential as its own reserve, which it mobilized in its efforts with Leninist slogans about “putting politics first.” In a society based on the principles of a market economy, however, such potential is viewed first and foremost in economic terms, as a special kind of capital that, to some extent, also embodies the financial and material capital society has invested in creating it. Under socialist practices, the country’s intellectual potential was neglected and suppressed. It was exploited to the extent required by the pragmatic political interests of the PPSH. As a result, intellectuals themselves did not develop their abilities and remained poor and entirely economically dependent on the state. The laughable wages they received from the state, the rapid adjustment of their “rewards” (salaries), suppressed their innate qualities, leaving them submissive and servile toward their superiors, ready to do anything to keep their jobs and survive. Society shaped them in this way. All the characteristics of an oppressed society were reflected in the formation and level of development of such an intellectual. For an intellectual to reach the level achieved by the nomenklatura, a long time was needed. This was done quickly in order to impose it on everyone. It has become necessary to undo this; this is the most important matter of training and change. In this free society, based on private property, the intellectual is increasingly engaged in working with ideas and intellectual output, cultivating a kind of ability which, in ... This is, in reality, ... another problem that needs to be solved for ... ... various scientific, technical, social, economic, cultural, educational fields, etc. The intellectual enters this market with all of his or her ... first and foremost to present themselves in such a way as to secure a dignified livelihood. We, too, are heading in this direction. But, of course, at first we will encounter difficulties arising in the transitional phase we are experiencing. These are connected with all the mechanisms of the revitalization of the economy and of social development in Albania. It is no accident that popular wisdom has said it is better to know than to possess. Of course, there are interconnections here that often appear as a vicious circle. Thus, for an intellectual to develop their mental capital, certain necessary material and financial conditions are required. At present, only the state can create these to any significant degree, because it is well known that private firms here have not yet reached a stage of development at which they can make investments in intellectual capital. Yet, on the other hand, we all know that for now our state is poor. So how can this vicious circle be broken? How can intellectual capital begin to transform itself and produce financial and material capital, so that it can ensure its own efficiency and room for further development? The answer is difficult, and it is hard for a single individual to tackle. At most, one can try to raise awareness among the various intellectual circles. In this context, I think we could begin with a few seemingly small steps, gradually and in accordance with our means, to assign economic value to ideas. Naturally, when assigning value to different kinds of intellectual work intended to give ideas economic value, the amounts at first will be determined according to current possibilities. I think they should be set not in absolute terms but relatively, in accordance with salaries or with the ratio between the salaries of intellectuals and the average wages of production workers, so that they rise automatically as production increases. In properly valuing intellectual capital, I believe that, besides past attitudes, an obstacle is also the misguided sense of solidarity in sharing present-day poverty. This is because, in our present circumstances, what this does is unintentionally create pressure that pushes us backward, toward social equalization at any cost. There is still a risk of influence from asp[?] family income-limit policies, etc., as well as, without anyone noticing, of paradoxical disparities in the wage system. And let us not forget that these encourage a phenomenon that is extremely negative for us: the brain drain. ALEKSANDËR ROCANI