-Manfred Verner arrived in Albania- Yesterday, at around 4:45 p.m., the Italian military air force plane carrying NATO Secretary General Manfred Verner landed at Rinas Airport. Mr. Verner was accompanied by his wife. The guest was received by the President of the Republic of Albania, Mr. Sali Berisha, and his wife, and by the Minister of Defense, Mr. Safet Zhulali. Also present at the airport were the deputy speakers of the Albanian Parliament, Prime Minister Mr. Bashkim Fino, other members of the government, and the heads of diplomatic missions in Albania. Military attachés of the diplomatic missions were also present. As he welcomed Mr. Berisha, Verner said that it was a great pleasure for him to be in Albania and to meet Mr. Berisha. Then, in a statement to the press, Mr. Verner said: “I want to add a tone of cooperation and friendship toward the Albanian people. Through my visit, we seek to establish close cooperation in this country, and President Berisha, for his part, said of the visit: “An exceptionally meaningful and important visit. It shows Albania’s clear and correct orientation. We are very pleased to have Mr. Verner among us today.”

President Vacllav Havel, speaking recently about morality in politics, said: “Naturally, there are issues that are easy to talk about, but much more difficult to put into practice. For two and a half years I have been the first non-communist president of my country and, at the same time, the last president of Czechoslovakia. For this reason I know better than anyone else how difficult it is sometimes for a politician to remain faithful and steadfast to his principles and ideals, especially when he is caught in the dramatic whirlpool in which political forces operate freely at the crossroads where social pressures converge, both those that can be met and those that are impossible to meet...” So, to govern a country that has been turned into a “tabula rasa,” like ours, where, thanks to democracy, all political forces—motivated by good intentions, but also by ill intentions—are free to act, and have one sole objective: the first democratic government of Mr. Meksi, means adding new and very great difficulties to its task. To declare merciless war on that government in the name of regaining lost privileges means that you do not want to see Albania recover and consolidate itself. There are also the genuine defense of their rights and the prospect of a better life. But there is also an unwritten law of conscience, which requires us, before raising our voices to make excessive demands, to look around at the miserable conditions endured by many of our brothers and sisters, especially those who have been affected by asthma and pensioners. With its wide range and large number of draft laws, the government of Mr. Meksi has completed a considerable part of the legal framework for the advancement of our democracy, including the establishment of a fiscal and remuneration system which, according to foreign specialists, has helped us reduce inflation and consolidate the state. No one can deny, for example, that compared with a year ago, the government of Mr. Meksi managed to bring about a noticeable stabilization of public order. But it is naturally clear to everyone that our country's actual economic conditions, unemployment, and so on are burdened with violations and criminal acts. The government of Mr. Meksi also deserves considerable credit for the distribution of land and for putting many factories and enterprises into production. But has this government had shortcomings and failings during this ten-month period? Naturally, quite a few, for various reasons, both objective and subjective, including lack of experience, etc. The government of Mr. Meksi has not succeeded in securing major foreign investment in our country. Many foreign investors have come, but they have not always been provided with the necessary facilities. For example, to conclude a joint agreement with a foreign investor of the “Joint ventures” type, it previously had to pass through 3–4 ministerial bureaucratic stages which, with their excessively lengthy procedures, exhausted and frustrated many investors and drove them away. The relevant legal framework has now been completed and the procedure is handled by just one authority. This fact is promising for the future. Our specialists who meet with foreigners must be selected not only for their professional qualifications, but also for their honesty and commitment. Our government has achieved successes in the trade sector. But, alongside bakeries and so on, it is urgent to privatize small factories, workshops and dairies involved in milk processing, starch workshops, confectionery workshops, fruit and vegetable processing, and violations and criminal acts. Also important are the views of the government of Mr. Meksi regarding the distribution of land and putting many factories and enterprises into production. ...alone, the first democratic government of Mr. Meksi; this would mean adding new and very great difficulties for it. To declare a Albania recover and consolidate. The “oracles” calling for the government to surrender power and for new elections before the end of Mr. Meksi’s four-year term sound anachronistic. There has been much talk about a shift among some voters away from the PD in the elections of July 26, 1992. Despite the shortcomings and the opposition’s obstructive propaganda, one thing is true: Mr. Meksi’s government had the historic opportunity, in order to implement the reform, to liberalize prices—or, in plain language, to make a range of food products more expensive. There is no government in the world that, regardless of the reasons compelling it to raise the prices of basic necessities, does not face a negative response at the ballot box. To ensure strong foundations for our fragile democracy, all of us, young and old, must work with great wisdom. Democracy cannot be guaranteed without production; instead, the way is opened for those forces that have made a mockery of this people’s blood and sweat for 50 years in a row. Democracy also guarantees workers the right to strike ... Durrës, etc.? Why do you allude to “citizens’ holidays abroad”? Or is it perhaps because that Ministry has officials who can afford weekend trips to foreign beaches...? The government of Mr. Meksi can rightly be criticized for having handled the restructuring of scientific institutions sluggishly. The Science Committee is also at fault in this respect; together with the Academy of Sciences, it is far from becoming an active institution that organizes and sets the tone for Albanian science. The democrats have the mission of freeing our science from its dogmatic shell, from much talk and little work, and of giving it the importance it deserves. It is no coincidence that Americans say investments in science yield higher returns than those in all other sectors of social activity. The ministers in Mr. Meksi’s government are not expected to be “transparent” on TV just once a year, but whenever necessary to explain and clarify matters of interest to the people. Our ministers and deputy ministers write very few articles—if any—in “RD” and in the other democratic press. The people ask: Why do people have to wait for hours and whole days to pay their electricity bill, rent or water bill, or to receive their pension? Those who cannot get the job done should make way for more capable people.

Regarding the meeting between the President of the Republic of Albania, Mr. Sali Berisha, and students from our universities on 15 March 1993 in the hall of the Academy of Arts, “ZP,” in its Wednesday issue, tried cynically to create an insinuation concerning those who attended the meeting. Regarding the meeting between and students from our universities on 15 March 1993 in the hall of the Academy of Arts, “ZP,” in its Wednesday issue, tried cynically to create an insinuation concerning those who attended the meeting. In contrast, it emphasized the idea that the students attending the meeting had supposedly been “selected” by someone, thereby attempting to discredit the meeting, in keeping with “ZP”’s poor style of denying every reasonable effort by the Albanian President to establish dialogue among democratic forces in motion and to establish human rights and freedoms as legal rights, regardless of beliefs, ideas, party affiliation, etc. And it was not without purpose that President Berisha chose the students’ auditorium to discuss human rights, or, as he appreciatively called that setting, a “Student Parliament.” As a journalist, I attended that meeting, as did all the participants, and the expression “Student Parliament” suited that auditorium very well. Those present held different political beliefs and belonged to different youth forums or political parties; this is proven by the fact that Mr. Pandeli Majko was on the meeting’s presidium beside President Berisha. It is also proven by the students’ contributions, such as, for example, that of a Eurosocialist girl. Her speech was also broadcast by RTSH. She raised issues that we read about every day in “ZP.” Those who were in the hall, as well as others who followed the meeting through RTSH, also saw the positive reaction of part of the audience to this student’s contribution. This shows that the participants were not screened or “selected”; they were invited without any specified political criterion, as the “ZP” article claims. At the meeting, the floor was open, the dialogue free, and the discussions valuable. Albanian students openly expressed their views on democratic processes, a democratic state, and the socioeconomic problems that concern our state. The “ZP” article, driven by a sick party spirit, cannot in any way diminish the importance of that valuable meeting. M.BUÇPAPAJ

. Gentlemen of “ZP”! You are neither with Albania nor with the Greek democrats. You are tools of the Greek chauvinists! Albania’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Order assured you that “he did not tell any journalist that Greek troops should enter Albania.” You also published this statement “by mistake” in your newspaper! Is that not enough for you? Do you believe a Greek journalist more than the Albanian Minister? Where are your ethics and patriotism? Who is selling Albania to the Greek chauvinists?! I am—because I believe them and play their game! When we made inquiries at the Greek Embassy about this issue, they—the Greek democrats—immediately replied that “of course, even if it was written, it will have been a journalists’ slip.” Do you really think, you wretches, that only destructive, anti-Albanian people like you could pretend to believe it and make “discoveries” to prove it! Even the Greeks would not believe their journalist over the Albanian minister! No minister has the authority to “invite foreign troops” into Albania. Only Enver Hoxha filled Albania with foreign military personnel—Yugoslav, Soviet, Chinese! His time is over! You continue to blacken the pages of your newspapers with communist propaganda materials—communist, anti-Albanian, of every kind—doing those forces a service, perhaps without being paid! But the people know you and no longer believe you! It has been established that Mr. Bashkim Kopliku did not make the statements you and your chauvinist-communist friends claim, either in Greece or in Macedonia. Perhaps there really should be a press law for frauds like you! THE OBSERVER

(Continued from the previous issue) As we have emphasized, the destruction of the Warsaw Pact and the turmoil affecting the USSR, as well as the emergence of the CSCE and its consolidation, are transforming the European security situation. Courageous measures have also been adopted in Albania with the aim of creating a democratic state governed by the rule of law and encouraging better integration into the international community. These two factors compel us to reassess our military apparatus immediately. Today, we must completely remodel Albania’s defense structures in light of the changes that have taken place in Europe and within the country itself. The strategy and structure of the integrating forces must be modified immediately. In these circumstances, two fundamental questions arise: first, how should Albania plan its defense in relation to the new circumstances? What force structure and what command organization should be devised and established? The first question is more difficult, because no general answer can be given: Albania will not be called upon to fight in the future. Clearly, they cannot counter a direct threat of the kind posed during the East–West military confrontation. Recent events in the former Yugoslavia underline the need to maintain active forces in order to defend Albania’s borders and demonstrate the country’s resolve, and to ... (Continued on page 4) NATO member states: GERMANY, BELGIUM, CANADA, DENMARK, SPAIN, USA, FRANCE, GREECE, ICELAND, ITALY, LUXEMBOURG, NORWAY, NETHERLANDS, PORTUGAL, GREAT BRITAIN, TURKEY

-Sokol Hoxha declares that N. Hoxha wanted to reform the system. “But my father’s successor, Ramiz Alia, did nothing.” -According to S. Hoxha, his family lives on just 10 dollars a month. -S. Hoxha’s response regarding his trips abroad under the name Tole Halili. -“I will complain to the Helsinki Commission,” he says, considering it slander to claim that he lives in a two-room apartment with a kitchen and that he has been placed on standby. READ IN THE NEXT ISSUE

Letter from Germany Not long ago, like dozens and hundreds of other Albanians living abroad, I was returning from a trip to my mother country, Albania, so beautiful and so meaningful. It was a desire cherished for so many years, which, fortunately, has now come true with the arrival of democracy in my mother country. I left behind many memories of people I had known before or had met during those few days spent in Albania. I have vivid impressions of trips to the castles of Kruja, Lezha, Shkodra and Berat, to the shores of Durrës and to many other places where bread tastes like bread and the beautiful Albanian language rings out. I was returning to this distant land of emigration and thinking that next summer I would go with my whole family, so that the children too would know which country is theirs. At an airport ... (Continued on page 4)

“A mangy goat, tail held high.”

⑤ National Library

Regarding the notice published by “ZP” on 18.3.93, which was also broadcast by the BBC, we clarify: 1. It is not true that the teacher was boycotted. At the Faculty of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering there was a boycott of the examination in the subject taught by Shkelqim Zeqja, who, by a decision of the Rectorate dated 18.1.93 and pursuant to Law no. 7526 of 3.12.91 on employment relations, “has been placed on standby.” 2. As regards Mr. Shkelqim Zeqja’s position, we clarify for “KJ” readers that this lecturer has been placed on standby for reasons that are not political, contrary to what has been claimed. At the Polytechnic University, a number of criteria have been established by special decision of the Scientific Council to advance the reform; they are listed below: (Continued on page 4)

In implementation of the Council of Ministers’ decision “On transferring the archival collections of the PPSH, BOSHI, BRPSH, BPSH and FDSH to the administration of the General Directorate of State Archives,” the handover of the PPSH documents for the period up to 1944 has been completed. These documents are open for consultation in accordance with the regulations in force, beginning on 20.3.1993. GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF STATE ARCHIVES