Remarks by Mr. Pjetër Arbnori at the commemorative evening in Shkodra Two years ago, thousands of indignant and outraged people were sitting in the square in front of the PPSH Committee to protest peacefully against the fraudulent results of the March 31 elections. All of Shkodra knew that 16 Democratic Party deputies had won, and only Radio Tirana remained silent. No slogan had been chanted, no act of violence had taken place. The next day, an order came from Tirana, from the Plenum of the Central Committee of the PPSH, that Shkodra, the pillar of democracy, should be punished. “I’ll trample the democrats underfoot,” declared the criminal Çapajev Taqi. The massacre took place, but Shkodra did not fall; communism came to an end. And how could it have happened otherwise? The ancient city, a center of uprisings and struggles for freedom throughout the centuries, stood up to communism like no other. Which Shkodran family did not have one or two people executed, imprisoned, interned, or forced to flee? The Koplik and Postribë uprisings were armed resistance against the dictatorship. The entire city was branded reactionary. At last, all the anger accumulated through continuous persecution burst forth. Shkodra was the last to join in, but the first to rise: the flag of Albanianism, the flag of progress, the flag of democracy. The city, which once rose in the morning ... [the lower part of the text is cut off in the image] ...to receive them completely, and the dry cracks of automatic rifles that wiped out the flower of Shkodra’s youth and intelligentsia. Father Gjon Shllaku and Riza Dani, Myzafet Pipa and Lazer Shantoja, Qemal Dracini and Kole ... [the text continues beyond the edge of the image] people were arrested or interrogated by the State Security in a single night. And this happened on January 14, 1990. Nikolin Thana, Flamur Elbasani, Dede Kasneci, Rim Monajka, Kolec Ublina, Gjergj Livadhi and their companions went to prison for this. Who can forget June 15, 1990, when the funeral of the young seventeen-year-old Pellumb Pellumbi, brutally killed at the border, turned into a powerful anti-communist demonstration, where thousands shouted, “Join us!”, “People of Shkodra, join us!” And even if we wanted to forget, there are hundreds of pages of documents and telegrams from State Security and the Party Committee reporting to Tirana about this event. Can anyone forget the powerful anti-communist demonstration of December 13, 1990, the day after the founding of the DP, when for the first time in Albania the bust of the dictator Enver Hoxha was blown up? Even if such an event were not mentioned, the people of Shkodra would not forget the dozens wounded, the dozens arrested and sentenced to twenty years in prison for terrorism. The people of Shkodra do not forget: that night they stood their ground against the tanks, and the next day they heard Tirana on television saying: “We distance ourselves from the hooligans, vandals, thieves and arsonists of Shkodra, who break in, burn and steal.” And what did we steal? The head of Enver Hoxha. What did we steal? Enver Hoxha’s works, which we tore up and trampled underfoot? That day, among the thousands and thousands of Shkodrans, the young Olsi Lorja stood out as one of the most active in bringing down the bust; he was pursued by ... [continues beyond the edge of the image] Shkodra and Albania will remember them forever. May their memory be eternal. More than 80 people were wounded, from underage schoolchildren to the elderly Fatime Cela. It should be mentioned that the first to enter, holding the Albanian flag high, was Huana Kurti, who took part in all the anti-communist demonstrations beginning on January 14, 1990. The blood of Shkodra’s martyrs keeps our eyes open so that we may strengthen freedom and democracy and curb the advance of conservative-communist forces dreaming of restoring a left-wing communist dictatorship in Albania. This will never happen as long as there are sons of Shkodra, Tirana, Kavaja, Vlora, Korça, Elbasani, Durresi and all Albania. Glory to the epic of April 2! Glory to the four martyrs of Democracy: A.Broci, B.Bishanaku, N.Kryeziu and B.Ceka. Long live the unconquered youth of Shkodra. Progress, banner of democracy. O city, which once woke in the morning to the dry bursts of automatic gunfire that wiped out the flower of Shkodra’s youth and intelligence: Father Gjon Shllaku and Riza Dani, Myzafer Pipa and Lazer Shantoja, Qemal Dracini and Kole Prela. Those the bullet did not destroy were consumed by prison and illness. We must not forget outstanding talents such as Gac Çuni, Nikolin Pavaci and Viktor Kujxhi, and dozens and hundreds of others mentioned before, yet not forgotten. I recall these things because April 2, too, has roots that run deep. It is the history of the past; it is the martyrs and heroes of the past who paved the way for the heroism of April 2. It is the world’s radio stations and newspapers that remind us, in case anyone forgets, that the first silent demonstration against Stalin’s bust took place in Shkodra and 128

Interview with Mr. Genc Ruli, Minister of Finance and Economy As we informed you yesterday, the Executive Board of the Monetary Fund, after reviewing the progress of economic reform in Albania during the second half of last year, concluded that Albania had made important achievements in the area of reform during this period. In addition, on the basis of the financial performance required to sustain the Albanian reform, the Monetary Fund confirmed that it would continue providing financial support for the reform in Albania in the future. In connection with this announcement, we spoke with the Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Ruli. RD: Mr. Ruli, how would you comment on this announcement by the Monetary Fund concerning economic reform in Albania? As is known, in support of the Albanian Government’s economic reform, an agreement with the Monetary Fund was signed in August 1992. This “stand-by” agreement represents financial assistance to our balance of payments amounting to around 28 million dollars over a one-year period. The conclusion of this agreement with the Monetary Fund is in itself a historic milestone for Albanian economic reform. The importance of this support lies not only in the direct assistance of 28.0 million dollars provided under the agreement, but also in the fact that the existence of such an agreement between the Monetary Fund and Albania confirms the seriousness of this reform to international public opinion, serving as a catalyst for support for the reform from other international organizations such as the European Community, the World Bank and the European Bank, as well as from other individual donors. It should be emphasized that the convertible-currency assistance given to Albania during 1992 was unprecedented in the history of the European Community, which provides assistance to other countries only in the form of long-term loans. Returning to the Monetary Fund’s official announcement on reform in Albania, it should be clarified that every six months the Monetary Fund conducts a regular analysis for each country with which it has such an agreement, reviewing the results achieved under these programs; at the end of the analysis, its position is officially announced as to whether or not it will support the reform in the future. In this context, the Monetary Fund has analyzed the Albanian Government’s achievements in stabilizing the economy, as well as the prospects offered by the progress to date for improving the economic situation in the future. The announcement from the Monetary Fund’s Executive Board is important support for the Government and its economic policy. Such a statement by the Monetary Fund confirms to the international community that the Albanian Government has fulfilled, to date, the obligations it undertook as part of the economic reform, and that continued support from this community is necessary and fully justified. On the basis of this assessment, we will now be able to receive financial assistance and technical support for the second half of this year from the European Community. Further financial assistance will also continue to be allocated to us by other international organizations and donor countries in support of the reform—in support of the reform.

In the first two-year plan, immediately after the busts had been put back up, the rebuilding of prisons and camps would begin. Filling them with around 150,000 Democrats would cut the number of people receiving assistance by half. These 150,000 people would then begin working in the mines and mining industry, significantly increasing production through their exploitation. In this way the country would begin to emerge from the crisis and the socialist economy would begin to flourish, as it flourished for 47 years under the leadership of Enver Hoxha, Ramiz Alia and Fatos Nano. PELLUMB DERVISHI

On March 31, 1991, the results of the captive vote convinced us that it would be very difficult to eradicate in Albania that wicked virus which had humiliated us for 50 years; it would be very difficult for December 8, the day of the Anti-Communist Democratic Revolution, to yield its fruits of freedom so quickly in a country whose consciences had been violated and buried by the political gangsterism of Enver Hoxha, one of the ugliest dictators in the history of this century. And Albanian imported communism, like a beast on the brink of death that wants to regain its strength, delivered its strongest and most fatal bite, striking its most coveted victim, legendary Shkodra. Shkodra the beautiful, the lively beloved of the four ... and of the dreamlike lake, where in the clear mornings she bathes her own reflection. April 2 was nothing other than the final blow of the muzhik monster that came to us from the steppes of the Urals as a dire curse upon ancient Albanian—and particularly Shkodran—civic life. Of course, this evil monster, a bastard offspring of the most inhuman obscurantism, would strike for the last time at the oldest rebel land in Albania, the land that gave rise to the first anti-communist uprising in Eastern Europe. Our intellectuals were killed; our sisters and mothers were wounded; students and schoolchildren were wounded, and all the youth of Shkodra was brutally injured, as was the people who had been victimized for 50 years by the bloodiest experiments of Enverist Stalinism, the most tragic example of political genocide in postwar Albania. At the funeral of those who died, we said a few words, and two years later we have gathered here to say a few more. But those of us speaking are not truly alive either, so long as we have not carried out truth and justice for our dead brothers. But justice does not forgive, just as Shkodra does not forgive. They do not forgive or tolerate the hypocrisy and the pretence of those who used the name but could not honor the blood of the crime flowing in their veins; they do not forgive the comic scenes of tragic trials. Our brothers’ mothers, and all of us gathered here today, will find peace only when the present rulers, the commanders of violence and terror, face a full trial for what they did to the youth of Shkodra. These notorious figures of the Party of Labour, the men in raincoats and Fatos’s faithful followers of Enver Hoxha, owe us all a great debt. We fought communism, and we also know how to fight demagoguery. I think we should show these people no Christian mercy; Christ himself took up the whip! ARBEN LIKA

Suggestion to the People’s Assembly, the President and the Government —Part of the communist state’s theft is hidden there— In the course of our investigations into the “Satka” inheritance case concerning the assets of Albanians at home and abroad, we were able to establish that speculation involving these assets was a “standard operating practice” of the communist state. As we have noted before, the parties mainly involved in this “game” were our consulates abroad and the Commission Agency, without forgetting that information passed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the justice authorities, the Ministry of Finance and perhaps even higher... By various means, lawful heirs living here in Albania have been partially or entirely denied their legal inheritance—movable or immovable property—from their relatives’ assets abroad. In quite a few cases, through falsification, this inheritance was attributed to foreign nationals selected by our consulates (undoubtedly with the approval of the Sigurimi) in those countries. Thus, in these circumstances, while Albania had considerable investments and assets (especially in Turkey) belonging to Albanian citizens, they were subjected to arbitrary and illegal dealings. Meanwhile, now that Albania’s borders with the world have opened, the Commission Agency has been put out of business and has not been operating for several months. It has been blocked for some months, and its staff have also been dispersed. However, we learn that all the files relating to its cases are being transferred to the Savings Bank, which will distribute them according to jurisdiction among its branches in the districts and, ultimately, to the persons concerned (the heirs), because this Bank has no connection to these files and they would be a “millstone around its neck.” But if they have not been destroyed by now, this is how many traces of the communist state’s theft will be destroyed and covered up. We believe that, even though the matter involves the interests of private individuals, the democratic state should be concerned about this criminal phenomenon directed against its own citizens, for which someone must be held responsible. Therefore, before it is too late (if it is not already too late), we urge the People’s Assembly, the President and the Government to intervene and block these files, assigning a parliamentary or government commission to investigate the matter. It is only logical that all the officials who manipulated these cases should also be held to account. We believe this is a good opportunity to uncover many of the sources financing the red mafia. We also believe that the risk of this undertaking on the part of the democratic state would never amount to a loss. RAKIP SULCE

— Reply to Mr. Hajdari and Mr. Tomorr Dosti in Parliament — I am trying to understand Deputy Hajdari’s words: Is this an irresponsible statement made in the name of the right our deputy derives from his status, or does it stem from irresponsibility, from a failure to understand this term, simply because of his lack of spiritual and intellectual formation? Nevertheless, I am convinced that today or tomorrow, when he has regained his composure and looks at things within the framework of human rights, he will speak with his conscience and regret what he has said. I am sure that the allergy Mr. Hajdari has toward me and my friends is a consequence of the state of shock acquired during his education in the Stalinist-Enverist law departments, which were founded on class struggle. We will try to cure this allergy with the respect we have for human beings as individuals with a humane character. The suffering and unprecedented denigration inflicted upon us taught us generosity of spirit, and the hatred some people feel toward us will be crushed, piece by piece, by our nobility. Democracy has won. We have no way back. I am faced with a dilemma: Should I take Dante’s words, “Non ti curar di loro ma guarda e passa” (which in Albanian means “Don’t bother about them, but go on your way”), or those of the great Jesus: “Forgive them, O Lord, for they know not what they do!” THANK YOU

By the end of December 1992, the Municipality of the city of Polican had provided families with no income with 49,212 lek in social-assistance funds. Greater financial assistance was provided during the first months of this year. For January, it gave 230 lek to each member of families with limited or no income, while for February it gave 270 lek. Thus, in January and February, this category of families received 609,000 lek from the state budget. At the end of December, 2,500 families in Polican received a food parcel, a gift from Italian Caritas. The city now has 2,450 people receiving assistance. (ATSIN)

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE ECONOMIC PROGRAM IN ALBANIA The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund officially completed its first review of the progress of economic reform in Albania under the “stand-by” program with the International Monetary Fund, and concluded that important achievements have been made in this regard... ...As a result of this review of the “stand-by” program, and of the financial assurance required to support the program, the Monetary Fund will continue to provide financial support to Albania under the “stand-by” program. It was also recognized that the Albanian Government intends to begin a medium-term economic program as soon as possible.