When the slogan “Long live the Labor Party” (PS) was shouted, 124 hands went up; divide them by two and you get 62 people. This is the result of the support for the corrupt Nano in the Bulqize district. The tally from the platform... Nano bewildered, Dokle like a mourner, Kastrio­ti as if in one of Koço Devole’s roles, the others like clowns. Bulqize, 23.5.1993, 15:45. Nano’s motorcade and his escort drove the whole length of the ring road to return to the city center, and would also take the parallel road alongside the ring road to get to the place where the rally was to be held—as if to tell these people that we must complete the cycle and return to where we were. And immediately our thoughts went back to Enver’s time. These new Enverists were therefore trying to stir people up and draw them toward the rally. The rally began. One of the forgotten “intellectuals,” as he himself put it, opened the rally, so since he is not worth discussing, we will leave him forgotten, just as he will in fact remain[?]. Someone in the crowd shouted, “Long live the Labor Party” (PS), and 124 hands went up, equal to 62 people. That was the tally in front of the platform; the others were present around us, expressing their loyalty to the party and making up the majority, just as we did. Pellumb Vladi, the leaflet distributor around Tirana, took the floor. And do you know what he said? “As soon as I get back to Tirana, I’ll spend all night putting leaflets in shops and gather 200 thousand people to overthrow the government.” Poor Pellumb sees dreams with his eyes open and really believes the people of Bulqize trust this communist brat. His name is Pellumb [dove], but in truth you are a raven, a harbinger of doom. No, comrade, don’t fool yourself. Wherever you turn, you will remain ghosts of communism. Another man came out. To tell the truth, he looked to us like Koço Devole in one of his roles. After rubbing our eyes, we saw it was Kastrio­ti, who, without the usual socialist introductions, said: “Down with the government,” then, embarrassed, stressed that the police were with us. How the Bulqize police can be with Kastrio and the PS thieves is something Kastrio can explain in parliament, so that we too can hear it, since we did not understand what he meant. We know one thing: law and order can exist only under the law. We urge Kastrio not to smear the police with his and the PS (PP)’s filth. Then along came a certain Petro Koçi, who, as he said there, to us (Continued on page 4)

Question: — Comrade Fatos, what do you think of the rally? Answer: — It was a successful rally. Question: — How do you assess the attendance? Answer: — It was the most dignified representation of the people of Diber among the rallies of the pseudo-democratic period. Question: — When I asked about attendance, I had the number of participants in mind. How do you explain it? Answer: — I don’t know how you assess quantity, but I assess the quality of the people of Diber, which is more valuable than the quality of the government.

On 23 May, Albania was accepted unanimously as an associate member of the North Atlantic Assembly. Assembly. This took place just observer. This was a clear message in support of democratic developments in Albania and its peaceful policy. This support also constitutes a security foundation for the entire region. This admission, widely discussed in the press, is regarded as a success for Albania on its path toward integration with the world, and as an important, concrete step toward joining the European family. The head of the Albanian delegation, Mr. Eduard Selami, speaking at the plenary session of the North Atlantic Assembly, first thanked the President, the Assembly, Mr. Buvard, North Atlantic Assembly, and described it as a meaningful message of support for Albania and its policy. He assured those present that Albania would continue to play, as it had until now, a constructive role in the service of peace. Mr. Selami went on to stress that 7 million Albanians live in 5 states of the region and that Albania is key to resolving the Balkan question. The Balkans are the setting for the most difficult battle over the future of peace in Europe, following the end of the Cold War. the fundamental principles on which Europe and international institutions have been built are failing before our eyes; tomorrow, if swift action is not taken, we may see our shared security fail. The deployment of NATO troops in Kosovo as soon as possible, he stressed, is the best measure to prevent the war from spreading south. This means that after a Balkan war there cannot be two Europes at the same time, one at war and one at peace. Therefore, together we must establish peace as soon as possible, by every means, Mr. Selami concluded. (ATSH) R/. 260583

On 20 May 1993, the board of chief editors of 7 newspapers, “RD,” “Republika,” “Drita,” “Sindikalisti,” “Shikimi,” “Zeri i Rinise,” and “SD,” held a meeting with Bill Shuhani, an IMF representative, at this fund. After first expressing their gratitude to the IMF for its generous assistance to the Albanian free press, the board reiterated the reasons for boycotting the printing house. The 7 chief editors stood firmly by their decision to dismiss the director, Petro Dhimitri, as a forger and a person whose entire activity at the printing house was suspect. They also presented new evidence to this effect. As has already been reported, under decision number 2117, dated 20 February 1993, of the Tirana Court, the “Demokracia” printing house was registered at his request under the name of the legal entity Petro (Continued on page 2)

Just how “successful” the rally was could be seen in Comrade Fatos’s bewildered expression, his face darkened with anger, and the way he spoke when answering questions. The answer, “It was a successful rally,” is entirely understandable from Fatos Nano and from the logic of those who were familiar with the aims behind organizing this rally in Dibër. They reflected the first fruits of this “success” in the pages of “ZP,” provoking [by] the outburst of some individual. The cases that were violations of the rules and the law that ensured the rally’s peaceful conduct, “ZP” called “police violence raised to a system.” So, in this context, Fatos Nano calls the rally successful. “RD” reflected this “success” accurately. It neither added nor omitted anything about how that rally in Dibër unfolded. The people of Dibër managed to understand Fatos Nano’s purpose and received him as he deserved: with indifference, contempt, and revolt. The people of Dibër reasoned: This is not an election campaign. The economic and political problems in Dibër are the same as everywhere in Albania. In Dibër, the situation is calm and people live in harmony. So why is this rally necessary? And the people of Dibër themselves answer: Fatos Nano has reached the end; in Dibër, a villager, who (Continued on page 4)

—Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs— For some time now, Albanian and international public opinion has been aware of the extremely grave and explosive situation in Kosovo, according to the statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on events in Kosovo. Dismissals en masse, mistreatment, police persecution, fines over the weapons-collection campaign, seizure of homes and the settlement of Serbian colonists in them, killings at the border, and military operations in Albanian villages, as well as fines for seeking terrorists, have been and remain part of the infamous Serbian strategy to heighten tensions. The aim of this campaign is to continue the silent ethnic cleansing and to make the Albanian population lose patience and abandon the path of peaceful resistance, which has begun to win the sympathy of international public opinion. The day’s events in the testimony at Gllogove are also part of this strategy—to find pretexts for unleashing an armed conflict that would lead to unforeseeable consequences for Kosovo and the region. These events also prove the intention of the Belgrade regime to pursue the realization of its well-known chauvinist plans to divide Kosovo. As before, the Albanian Government has informed the international community of the miserable situation in the region and has called for urgent preventive measures. The Gllogovc incident, the massive deployment of the Serbian army and the use of firearms constitute yet in the South. Under these circumstances, the Albanian Government reiterates its appeal to the Security Council to examine the situation in Kosovo as a threat to peace and security in the region, as well as the urgent need to take preventive measures, including the deployment of peacekeeping troops (ATSH)

A great victory for the DEMOCRATIC PARTY, the GOVERNMENT, and all democratic forces. A new, meaningful message in support of Albania and its policy Another major success for Albania on its path toward integration into the democratic world On 23 May, Albania was accepted unanimously as an associate member of the North Atlantic Assembly. This was achieved only two months after Albania had been accepted there as an observer. The North Atlantic Assembly thanked first of all its President, Mr. Buvar, and all the other representatives for Albania’s membership in the Cold War struggle. Today, in Sarajevo and the former Yugoslavia, we see how the fundamental principles on which Europe and its institutions were built are failing before our eyes