As reported, at the invitation of the Hungarian Democratic Forum, the governing party, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Albania and chairman of the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Eduard Selami, is on a two-day visit to Hungary. On Tuesday, Mr. Selami was received by the executive chairman of the Hungarian Democratic Forum, Mr. Peter Nahimi. In the very friendly talks between the two respective chairmen, a broad overview was given of the political and economic situation in Albania and Hungary. The conversation also addressed relations between the two parties, emphasizing that cooperation between them serves to strengthen friendly relations between the two countries. Exchanging mutual experience and finding ways to further strengthen relations between the parties were concerns shared by both interlocutors. The crisis in the former Yugoslavia and the two countries’ contribution to achieving a peaceful solution to it also occupied a special place at the meeting. Both sides noted with satisfaction the growing convergence of views on resolving problems in the Balkan region. During his visit, Mr. Eduard Selami also met and held a friendly conversation with Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geza Jeszenszky. Mr. Selami conveyed to the Hungarian foreign minister the greetings and best wishes of President Berisha. At the meeting, they discussed mutual support for reform in both countries and the similarity of their views on political developments in the Balkans and beyond; in this context, the need to coordinate steps in foreign policy was emphasized. Hungarian Foreign Minister Geza Jeszenszky once again confirmed his country’s willingness and readiness to help Albania integrate into European structures and beyond. On Wednesday afternoon, at a press conference organized at the end of his visit to Hungary, Mr. Eduard Selami answered questions from journalists of the Hungarian Telegraphic Agency (MTI), Hungarian Radio, and various newspapers in the country about the political situation in Albania, the Albanian government’s positions on recent developments in Kosovo and the former Yugoslavia, Albania’s foreign policy, the progress of market-economy reforms, etc. On Thursday, Mr. Eduard Selami returned to his homeland. Press and Information Office of the DP.

— From President Berisha’s meeting with Mr. Van der Shtoel — “I am pleased to meet you again,” the President of the Republic told Mr. Van der Shtoel at their meeting on Thursday. “I invited you so that the CSCE could contribute and provide assistance both in understanding the situation of the Greek minority in Albania and in understanding the situation of the Albanian minority in Greece, which has one of the most tragic histories in contemporary Europe. It is the only minority in Europe that does not dare to declare its ethnic identity. “Throughout this century it has been the victim of repeated ethnic cleansings. In the 1920s, around 300,000 people from this minority were displaced and forcibly driven from Greece to Turkey; likewise, after the Second World War, around 50,000 others were ethnically cleansed and forcibly brought to Albania, while those who remained—and they are not few today—do not dare to declare themselves Albanian. The regime of Enver Hoxha, of course, could not mention their existence, because as the only regime in Europe that did not sign Helsinki, it denied the fundamental rights and freedoms of Albanians and minorities and could not pursue this matter. Europe that did not sign Helsinki, while denying the fundamental rights and freedoms of Albanians and minorities, it did not …” At the meeting between President Berisha and Mr. Van der Shtoel, the President continued: “Albania will create a model for the treatment of ethnic minorities, but I ask for your help and that of all other international institutions in making it possible to recognize the Albanian minority in Greece. Today it is absurd and unacceptable that long-standing inhabitants of Epirus should not dare to declare their ethnicity. We ask only that you help them to be able to call themselves Albanian. We ask that the çamë return to their homes and their property, and that the arvanitas be a factor of friendship with Greece and the Greek people. We are not asking for secondary or higher schools for them, but only for the vital minimum necessary for their existence as Albanians. The Greek minority in Albania has lived, and will continue to live, in peace, but I assure you that the incitement directed at it, the stirring up of chauvinist sentiment and the escalation of tension in the South are part of the same strategy as the killing of Albanians in the North. “No discrimination has been, or will be, directed against the minority. Former close collaborators of the old regime have been removed from the positions they held; our common interests and hardships will be faced together. As for the repeated calls for schools to be opened in Himarë, I want to assure you that historical documents from every period prove that for centuries and millennia Himarë has spoken Albanian and only Albanian. But once again, I want to point out that the minority, which you found completely calm in May because it enjoys all the rights and freedoms to which it is entitled under the Helsinki Act, is now the subject of extensive manipulation by chauvinist elements who have placed themselves at the service of Greek ultranationalist aims. I therefore ask you to inform the international community.” Mr. Van der Shtoel thanked the President for the hospitality, organization, and transparency shown by the Albanian authorities, and expressed concern about tensions created by local politicians, which run counter to the peaceful and normal relations that exist among people. Later, Mr. Van der Shtoel discussed with the President and clarified several issues that had arisen during this visit, while expressing his hope that the Greek government would accept their mission to investigate the situation of the Albanian minorities in Greece. (ATSH) and regime in rights and freedoms of Albanians and minorities, it could not speak of the human rights and freedoms of Albanians in other countries. Whereas today, I assure you, [fragment unclear], only a strategy of killing regardless of their ethnicity. Likewise, the reform has not recognized and will not recognize any ethnic distinction. It is simply and solely [fragment unclear] by local politicians, who among people. Later, Mr. Van der Stoel discussed matters during this visit, while expressing the Under the Statute of the People’s Assembly, can be seen, justice, and to make these lessons more credible it uses foreign names such as Xh. Antonio from Naples, who could very well also be … (Continued on page 3)

With a melodramatic demeanor, wholly unsuited to his facial expression, in one of the halls of the Constitutional Court, Dokle would proclaim the subordination of justice and its placement under “the dictates of political power.” The statement he read after the Constitutional Court’s decision concerning Nano’s arrest was, “surprisingly,” prepared in advance. There may be two reasons for this: either Dokle had prepared two statements for every possible eventuality, or they too were convinced that Nano’s arrest was lawful, and therefore the Court’s decision was already known. The second reason is the more likely. Indeed, the accusation by the PS parliamentary group that Nano’s arrest was unconstitutional was certainly made for the sole purpose of giving them an opportunity to protest against “dictatorship.” The uproar over this latest decision, which “proves” the political authorities’ dictates over the judiciary, will surely continue for a long time in “ZP.” The PS leadership’s strategy is now clear and simple; it is the strategy of an ordinary trader: “ask for more so you can get as much as you need.” This is a tactic they have pursued since losing the election, and it must be admitted that in some cases they have succeeded. Nevertheless, let us not stray from the subject: the PS group’s claim that Nano’s arrest was unconstitutional is based on Article 22 of the Fundamental Constitutional Provisions, which states: “A deputy may not be searched, detained, arrested, or prosecuted without the consent of the People’s Assembly.” As everyone knows, the People’s Assembly convened and decided that Nano be referred to the judicial authorities when it lifted his immunity. As is clear, no great legal expertise is needed to establish the facts. The Assembly gave its consent under Article 22 of the constitutional provisions. Nevertheless, “ZP” has decided to give lessons in justice

They say you did me a favor by bringing me here from Kukës, when the truth is that I came here because of your class warfare against my parents, through your filthy Kukës schools. I am not defending Sali Berisha because he is from the North; I defend him because of the personal initiative he took as an intellectual and his party’s responsibility for bringing Albania out of the communist dictatorship and into true democracy. I will never sign your petition for Fatos Nano and the other leaders of the L[?]q, because I do not want to become either an accomplice or a defender of Nano’s thefts and all of the PS’s destabilizing activity. No matter how much you threaten me, I will not change either my convictions or my path; I am, and will remain, a democrat. I will also try to do my part to reach an understanding with you, but always for the good of the nation, for the good of everyone, in both the North and the South. The signature you have put down will not bring you into the light; it is just as …

It is understandable that a person cannot be treated like a mechanism that, at the press of a button, is instantly transformed into its opposite. This burden is especially heavy here in the ideological-political sphere, in the realm of tradition that shaped a person, protected them, and which they served with greater or lesser zeal, or even under compulsion for various reasons. Breaking free of these shackles that enslave the intellect and spirit requires a great revolution, one that each person must carry out within themselves. This sublime phenomenon cannot be brought about en masse or by command, no matter how pure the desire to achieve it may be. When that purity and honesty are absent, there can be no question of making this start or reaching this finish. Comrade Dritëro is respected for his contribution to national culture, whatever his political positions. He aroused sympathy when, from the rostrum of the PPSH congress—which turned into the PS within 24 hours—he courageously condemned the dictator Hoxha. He was welcomed when, albeit belatedly, he had the courage to make a self-criticism in the parliamentary chamber about the position of the PPSH(S) parliamentary group, which refused to honor the four martyrs of democracy from Shkodër and all of Albania, brutally killed by the dictatorship as it was drawing its last breath. But, Comrade Dritëro, it seems you cannot go any further! You have shown this a thousand times, most recently in your remarks published in “ZP” on 13 August. In these remarks, Comrade Dritëro undertakes to analyze the current situation in Albania. Unfortunately, this analysis does not stray beyond the Marxist lines about capitalism as a society of savage poverty, widespread unemployment, rampant excess, strikes, and rallies. Our people have grown used to hearing such analyses at every PPSH congress, where they were intended to create the false belief that Albania was the most prosperous and happiest country in the world, without social ills, etc. By this we do not mean that Albania today is perfect. But why, Comrade Dritëro, in this analysis of the problems you raise, do you not also give their sources, causes, and origins? Can you really believe that Dritëroli does not see the truth, Comrade, who has begun reading for the first time in Albania, that the changes over such a short period have been colossal and genuinely promising, and for the better? Why does Comrade Dritëro refuse to accept that today’s ills, without excluding objective and subjective shortcomings, stem from the legacy of the past and are part of what is now being treated, albeit only partially? Suffering and pain from the Albanian people, the government and the democratic parliament?! “Dialectics,” Marxist metaphysics, cannot serve as an argument to defend an unjust position. Relying on it alone, one can only idealize or denigrate, that is, never be credible, no matter how beautifully and passionately one makes declarations. This seems to matter little to Dritëro. As before, he actively defends well-known supporters of the dictatorship, as he did by accompanying Ramiz Alia to make him acceptable, or with his formalist, moderate articles. Yet, from a Marxist standpoint, Comrade Dritëro takes no account of the people in his analysis, describing them as a “dinosaur crowd” or a “lizard crowd.” This is shameful. According to him, it was this crowd, held in contempt in this way, that supported and continues to support the Democratic Party. It follows that the democratic revolution in Albania was made by this deformed, prehistoric or reptilian Albanian crowd. Thus, this revolution must objectively be judged as a return to barbarism or to the animal world! Such a position can only be extremely far-left Marxist: “the proletarian revolution is the locomotive of history,” and the dictatorship of the proletariat is its driving force; everything else is regression! To dismiss in this way a broad, nationwide popular movement that overthrew one of the most brutal dictatorships in contemporary history means, at the very least, distorting the contemporary history of which we are all a part. From these positions, having been repudiated by the people, one cannot reason consistently. In reality, Comrade Dritëro, after spreading ideas, accusations and destruction among the “crowd,” declares that now “the crowd’s time has left us in good health.” It follows that this “crowd,” through its actions—although naturally not as Comrade Dritëro portrays it—has made the law, peace, security, and so on prevail in Albania. Nor could it have happened otherwise, regardless of Comrade Dritëro’s exaggerations about the people as a “crowd.” exaggerations about the people as a “crowd.” It is, then, the rebirth of this people—this “crowd”—that has made the smell of smoke and dust disappear from Albania. Dritëro does not say this, of course. …socialist, declaring that there are neither extremists nor fascists within its ranks. He “forgets” to say where yesterday’s communist-fascists or former far-left extremists of the PKSH or PPSH have found shelter! Comrade Dritëro also seems to “forget” that it was deputy Spahila who first denounced fascism in parliament on the day Fatos Nano’s immunity was lifted. In this way, here too, he misinforms public opinion. All of Albania heard Mr. Spahila’s statement. It was an immediate response. The PS reacted as a result of that statement. Comrade Dritëro himself is only remembering to do so about a month later. But what is his purpose?! His accusation is neither personal nor aimed simply at one particular person. Comrade Dritëro, wherever you are aiming—and that is more than clear—if there is a party in Albania that is against fascism, it is first and foremost the Democratic Party. It was this party, with the full support of the Albanian people, that overthrew the social-fascist dictatorship which ruled throughout Albania for nearly half a century with bloodshed, imprisonment and internment, deception and corruption. It is the party that opened the way for Albania never to turn back, and that is now confronting the neo-fascist revanchism of dictatorship nostalgists in the ranks of the PS, former criminal Sigurimi agents, and others, relying on the law and allowing the law to take its course within all recognized democratic norms. Comrade Dritëro ignores this truth, yet does not hesitate to display love and compassion, and to award medals for courage and intelligence to those who seek to drag demonstrators along the ground and crack open the skulls of those who overthrew far-left fascism in Albania. It is true that an ill-considered statement was made in parliament, which Dritëro discusses in every possible variation; but, on the other hand, he is very cautious and cushions with kid gloves a macabre statement from the far-left fascist camp. You, Dritëro, say that if fascists are emerging, then communists will emerge too. So, according to you, Albania has no other alternative. Reason is left to choose only between two dictatorships. Is this intellectual logic?! Dritëro does not hesitate to put pressure on the judiciary either, while saying not a word about corruption. Meanwhile, he goes on to declare that a member of parliament does not have immunity in order to be privileged before the law. Objectively, positions like these seem to put violence on a pedestal while burying the law. They belong to nostalgists for a lost past. Finally, Comrade Dritëro also speaks of a foreign “command” in Albania, reminding us of the “Anglo-American danger,” and even the Islamic one! Albania’s opening to the world and the generous support it is giving us in these difficult days, and efforts to integrate Albania into the great family of nations without geopolitical, ideological or religious prejudice, are thus called into question by a mind that cannot help but lead us back to the destructive practice of isolation. The dictatorship justified that practice with similar or identical “arguments,” exploiting national independence and dignity, which it would invoke and parade whenever it suited it, by force, right up to its shameful and ignominious end. No one can be credible through falsehoods and foolishness, Comrade Dritëro. Don’t you see how credible you are, Comrade Dritëro? Don’t you see how many former Sigurimi officers, former criminals and bandits, murderers, are ready, if allowed, to prepare a new catastrophe for Albania by gathering for illegal demonstrations?! Your glasses are red, Comrade Dritëro. Take them off so you can see clearly and transparently the reality of democratic Albania.