—From the visit of the Albanian parliamentary delegation to Germany— The just cause for which we have committed ourselves is a great reason to help us without reservations, was the main appeal that Mr. Pjetër Arbnori repeated at all his meetings with prominent figures in the German Bundestag. Mr. Arbnori has been leading a parliamentary delegation for several days, invited by the German Bundestag. At the meeting with former German foreign minister Hans Ditrih Gensher, the feelings of friendship that the German people feel for the Albanian people were emphasized. “I have noticed this in the Bundestag,” Mr. Gensher said. “We have many parties and parliamentary groups; they argue and clash over every issue. Only when it comes to the problems of Albania and the Albanians are they always of one mind. The Albanian parliamentarians also observed this point made by Mr. Gensher after their meeting with Ms. Sysmuth. According to the program, our delegation was received by important representatives of the main parliamentary groups. Later, at the headquarters of the large CDU/CSU group, they were received by Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Hornhojs and Ulrich Imer, spokesman for the FDP faction. An hour later, a meeting was held with the parliamentary group of the opposition party PSD, headed by Dr. Brecht. The central topic of the talks was the country’s grave economic situation and the possibility of assistance to resolve the debt blockage imposed by the Hermes company, which insures German exports to Albania. In particular, discussions focused on the Balkan issue. Eduard Selami analyzed the possibilities for the crisis to develop further. “We are confronting it, and for that they praise us, but I fear that instead of medals, we will get bombs,” he said. “If there is an escalation, then the war will spread widely, while we are already in everyone’s debt.” For his part, Dr. Brecht, the representative of the German opposition, stressed: “I fear another possibility as well: what if we do not have an escalating war? The Serbs have armed the population, while the Kosovars are unarmed. That is not a war, but a cleansing of ...” “No conference on the former Yugoslavia should be allowed to take place unless the issue of Macedonia and the issue of Kosovo are also put on the agenda...” Meanwhile, former foreign minister Gensher asked about Albania’s relations with Macedonia, the Albanian side’s impressions of the way Albania was being treated by the new American administration, and so on. “Helsinki and Paris have left those documents for everyone to enjoy,” he emphasized. Albanians from the former Yugoslavia should not be excluded from this rule. No other state has the right to expand through war at the borders of another state, he further stressed. “That was yesterday’s policy. Tomorrow’s policy is by no means this.” (ATSN)

The scheduling of the visit of PS chairman Fatos Nano to Shkoder was an affront to the people of this democratic city. Shkoder cannot forget the 50 years of communist dictatorship; it cannot forget the terror, internments, executions and countless massacres that the dictatorship violently inflicted upon it. Everyone knows that our city was called “Reactionary Shkoder” by the communists. The protest expressed by the people of Shkoder was nothing other than the outburst of this city’s freedom-loving spirit and of the hatred that had accumulated against the violence imposed on it for decades. Today, the accomplices in the hideous crimes of yesterday’s dictatorship, wearing lamb’s clothing in the name of socialism—which they did so much to discredit—claim that they want to share the people of Shkoder’s burdens and address the problems they are facing. But Shkoder knows very well that those responsible for the present situation are precisely the people who make the greatest show of concern about it. In reality, they are very pleased that these difficulties exist, because they want to exploit them for their negative propaganda. They go so far as to use the word liberalization as a supposed promise, hoping to encourage the destruction of civic coexistence. Let these agents of catastrophe not forget that November 1990, which united all the country’s believers in a spiritual renewal, has been, is, and will remain the foundation of harmony among members of different faiths. The people of Shkoder have always stood on the front line of the struggle for freedom, democracy and social justice. It is precisely for the realization of these ideals that they demand the complete eradication of the bearers and enforcers of communist traditions. This will be achieved only when the perpetrators of yesterday’s and today’s crimes are held accountable before the law. Gentlemen Socialists, do not disturb democracy’s wounds while it is trying to heal. ERNEST PERDODA Chairman of the Shkoder Branch of the Democratic Party

At the premises of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, the Parliamentary Commission for Drafting the Draft Constitution met. Speaking at the beginning of the meeting, the chairman of the ... stressed the need for intensive work by the commission on discussing the draft constitution, asking that the commission meet as many as three times a week. On the part of some members of the

—Everyone is asking! But can we get everything within a year?— With the victory of democracy on March 22, the country was to move from a dictatorial state (a party-state) with a centralized economy and state ownership, from a country isolated from the world, to a free state of free people, to a free-market economy; in a word, capitalism was to be built on the basis of feudalism, but on that of socialism. But did we have this democratic education? Someone may boast to us about Noli’s government in 1924 and its bourgeois-democratic program without telling us how a semi-feudal people, unfamiliar with democracy and at a time when even Europe had not yet experienced it, would have accepted it. What democratic education could an Albanian claim after centuries of enslavement by the Romans, the Huns and Avars, the Slavs, the Ottomans, the Fascists, the Nazis and, finally, 40 years of dictatorship? We must admit that we had no knowledge of democracy, which is why at first we confused it with anarchy. Before the rule of law could be established, different strata, belonging to different parties, learned from party programs about the transition to private property and capitalism, then rushed at democracy (the former rulers were the first) and ruined and destroyed everything that we had built with so much effort and sweat. The democratic state found itself facing the new person created by the dictatorship, and this new person, repressed by the dictatorship, has erupted uncontrollably, creating a situation from which nobody benefits and in which everyone loses. The prisoners want someone to undertake to feed them with a spoon while they lie down. They criticize democracy for dictatorship instead of accusing it of liberalism. “Let democracy give us a watering system, but you, democratic or socialist farmer, destroyed the irrigation canals. Let democracy help us, because the state collapsed in the rains. But you, my friend, democratic or socialist, broke the dam that you had built with so much effort, to make private homes! Let the democratic government give us electricity, but you, people who do not know democracy, destroyed the high-voltage lines, the telephone lines, the trains, and so on.” These and many other things show that we still do not know democracy, and it is hard to imagine we will learn it if people think democracy has found the treasure of Treasure Island. Everyone demands their rights and no one thinks about the duties they have as citizens toward their country, their people, and democracy. How quickly the “new person” created by the dictatorship turned into an “old person”; how quickly he forgot getting up at two in the morning for a packet of minced meat and a kilo of milk; how quickly he forgot ration cards, coupons, voluntary labor, evacuation, bunkers, the campaign against antennas, and so many other absurdities. Even if the democratic government were to find the treasure, it should distribute it to those who want to work, not to the people in taverns who shout and destabilize the country. If we had a degree of democratic education like Europe’s, we Capitalism came, and they attacked destroyed everything that had been built with so much effort and sweat. The millions in inherited debts were not enough; democracy also had to repair the destruction caused by those who did not know what democracy was. These bands of democrats (and anti-democrats), hardly settled into power, began to grow greedy and demand what dictatorship had not given them in 40 years, thinking that democracy had found the treasure of Treasure Island! Although the debts had been left by the dictatorship, they urgently and under pressure demand that democracy satisfy them. The democratic state found itself facing the new man created by the dictatorship, and this new man, repressed by the dictatorship, has erupted—unrestrainedly; psychoanalysts must have their say about this. Children want to break trees and windows; young people want to ride motorcycles and cars on the pavement, along with many other such ugly acts... In democracy, as we can see, everyone has, and everyone has not. Only in Tirana there may be dozens of taverns where people drink raki and beer until late at night, cursing the government and democracy because not all the establishments have ... to clarify the situation, from which no one benefits and everyone comes out a loser. see, everyone has, and everyone has not. If we had Europe’s level of democratic education, amid the upheavals the Balkans is experiencing and the fate of the Albanian people at stake, we would not demand a treasure from democracy; instead, we would find common ground in the interest not of the parties, but of the Albanian national cause as a whole. PERTEF MYFTARI

In fact, the disease is truly old, but its recent developments, tending toward further deterioration, call for greater attention to minimize it. The first signs of such a pathological illness involve overturning reality, splitting it in two, turning every color into black and dark, and ending in ravings expressed in terms such as “an attempt at a state crime,” “political-police installation,” “pure revanchism,” “Nazi threats,” “RD’s fascist calls,” and even “dangerous situations,” “on the brink of civil war,” and other such nonsense. There is no doubt that such an illness among today’s Socialist leaders must not be ignored; rather, it must be analyzed in all its constituent elements. The disease “flared up” especially after the failed rally in Shkoder, but even if that had not happened, another “pretext” where its telltale signs would appear would surely have been found. The Socialists’ disease has been in their bodies for many hours; in their pain, the Socialist leaders are utterly corrupt. This large crowd of people’s presence in the square cannot be attributed to an attempt at a state crime, nor can they be told that they had been prepared in advance for tension, provocations, confrontations, disorder and even bloodshed. After all, the people of Shkoder were facing other people of Shkoder: a minority group seeking a meeting with the Socialists from Tirana, and a large majority that did not want this meeting. What is this political-police ...? The state allows them to [Beginning of sentence missing] ... be left out of consideration, except that it must be analysed in all its component parts. The illness even if that had not happened, another “pretext” would surely have been found for the illness’s unmistakable symptoms to reappear, perhaps even more markedly. It is an interesting fact that the psychosis that appeared in Shkoder and is now becoming conspicuous in the socialist press did not appear earlier in Tirana or Kolonje, in Kuçove or Berat, in Fushe-Kruje or Peshkopi, in Bulqize or Gramsh, in Korçe or Pogradec, where socialist rallies—or, more accurately, their micro-rallies—were held, and where afterwards no one used the terms “revanchism,” “Nazi-skinhead thuggery,” “fascist calls,” or even “attempted state crime.” In all the districts mentioned, there were no complaints that the normal and lawful activity of a party had been obstructed. This means that the aforementioned illness had not worsened to that degree, thanks to the proper conduct—not of the sick people, but of those who sought to prevent the illness from breaking out. The worsening of the symptoms in Shkoder was certainly also connected with recent political developments, such as the impossibility of a parliamentary crisis or some event connected with the world’s positive attitude toward Albania. These factors are evident and established ... [right-hand part of the text cut off] In the end, the people of Shkoder were facing one another: a minority that wanted majority that did not want this meeting. What has the police state got to do with this? The state had previously allowed the Socialists, Nano and others, to express their objections to the government and its rule not in just a few, but in more than 11 other districts of the country. Why should it not have allowed them to do so in Shkoder? Shkoder undoubtedly had several additional reasons not to accept the Socialists’ meeting there. Perhaps Shkoder is still unsettled over the tragic events of April 2. Perhaps Shkoder simply does not tolerate corruption involving Italian aid, just as it does not tolerate the unfair political struggle that is waged from time to time and whose protagonists are precisely Socialist politicians, or their leaving parliament on the eve of the start of discussions on the new draft constitution. The Socialists do not accept this reality in Shkoder, and this makes their old illness—seeing everything backwards, and seeking and finding “scandals” or “attempts at state crime” where none exist and cannot exist—even more pronounced. If they did exist, they would have appeared before Shkoder, for example in Tirana, Korçe or Pogradec. What is necessary now for the PS leaders is to treat their illness by every means, so that they do not end up looking for a needle in a haystack as well. B.SEJDARASI

Yesterday morning, at the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, the Parliamentary Commission for Drafting the Draft Constitution convened. Yesterday morning, at Drafting the Draft Constitution convened. Speaking at the beginning of the meeting, the commission’s chair, Mr. Aleksandër Meksi, suggested that the procedure to be followed for discussing the draft submitted by the working group should be discussed and decided upon. The commission members S.Gjinushi, A.Imami and L.Çuçi requested that the draft’s fundamental principles be discussed first and that, if necessary, the political parties’ consensus on this issue also be sought. Messrs. Z.Zeta and P.Milo raised the need for the commission to work intensively on discussing the draft constitution, requesting that it meet up to three times a week. Some commission members requested that, alongside the submitted draft, the first draft completed by the working group also be taken as a basis. At this meeting, it was decided that the Parliamentary Commission for Drafting the Draft Constitution would meet on Monday and begin its substantive work reviewing the chapters and articles of the submitted draft. ATSH

-Interview with the Minister of Defence, Mr. Safet Zhulali, after his visit to the USA- RD: You are the first Albanian defence minister in the history of American-Albanian relations to be officially invited by the Pentagon; you are also the first Albanian minister and the first minister from a former communist country’s government to go to America at the invitation of Clinton’s new administration. Are all these matters of chance or necessity? What motives led to the invitation for this visit to America? -It was a visit at the invitation of the American Secretary of Defense, Lesa Spin. It is true that, up to now, only three ministers from Western countries have visited the USA and met with Clinton’s new minister. This is a symbolic, historic visit. It is taking place at an important moment, as events in the Balkans are beginning, and it has also been greatly influenced by the situation. In essence, my visit represents US support for Albania’s stability, which must be strengthened in order to prevent its spread to Kosovo and beyond. RD: In general terms, how do you assess your visit? What challenges lie ahead as a result of it, and in the reconstruction process, in light of the Albanian experience and ... [part illegible at the left edge] -It was a visit filled with discussions at every level, both high-level and technical. This has been an important moment in Albanian-American relations. We came away with honour, and I believe relations will continue to intensify. While there, we had the opportunity to visit four of the largest US bases. They openly and clearly showed us the entire experience of the American military, including the basic training of soldiers, officers, non-commissioned officers, sailors, air force personnel and infantry. It was a special training exercise involving all the units, as never before. The American military gave particular importance to presenting the training programme for non-commissioned officers in general. Since this element of the army’s structure has been absent here for a long time, we now want to establish the role of the non-commissioned officer in our armed forces. The experience we gained in the USA is very valuable, so that we can make a decision again about their training and qualifications. This could be done by sending them to the USA or by bringing American experts to Albania. Other aspects of life in the American military were also presented to us there. They were ready to share their experience with the Albanian army. At the same time, there was discussion of a programme of concrete assistance for Albania, in material support and in the field of education. In 1992, the amount of aid to Albania was 80 thousand US dollars. In ’93 it rose to around 200 thousand dollars and will increase further in the future. We also discussed how we could obtain more of the material assistance needed to restructure the Albanian army. At the American bases, we also met five Albanian students studying there on scholarships from the American government. Meeting them was one of the most enjoyable moments of our visit. I want to stress that these students were among the very best, not only among foreign students but also among American students. Agron Hima, in particular, was the best, and all his grades were (1) njsa. (1. the highest grade). Three of our five students have received special awards, and their study periods will be extended; they will also go on to specialist courses. We also gained insights in the fields of legislation, military doctrine, etc. RD: And how do you assess the visit from a political-military standpoint? -Without a doubt, its greatest value was political. My visit itself constituted political support for Albania. Politicians told me this themselves on several occasions. The first (Continued on page 2)

Shkoder. For many years, Stalinist abuse was directed at Martin Camaj, as it was at many other courageous intellectuals who lived in the diaspora. It went so far that his work was targeted simply because it had been written by a free man, who was therefore considered dangerous to the communist regime. Shkoder. For many years, Stalinist abuse was directed at Martin Camaj, as it was at many other courageous intellectuals who lived in the diaspora. It went so far that his work was targeted simply because it had been written by a free man, who was therefore considered dangerous to the communist regime; this was said today by the rector of the University of Shkoder “Luigj Gurakuqi”, Gjovalin Kolombi, as he opened the symposium “Martin Camaj—Tradition and the Contemporary.” Scholars, intellectuals and citizens of Shkoder took part in this event, held as part of Shkoder Culture Week, together with Martin Camaj’s wife, Mrs. Erika Camaj; the American linguist and Albanologist, Prof. Dr. Erik Hamp; and other scholars from Albania and abroad. Also present were the Secretary General of the Presidency, Kolec Topalli, the chairman of the district council, Ali Kazazi, etc. Four papers devoted to Martin Camaj’s literary work and its place in national culture were delivered at the plenary session. Among other things, the symposium heard that the great Albanian Martin Camaj represented our people in Europe and the world as an ambassador of the dignity, integrity and renowned tradition of Albanian culture. At the end of the plenary session, the rector of the University of Shkoder presented Mrs. Camaj with the title “Honorary Professor,” with which the university’s Scientific Council honours the writer Martin Camaj for his valuable contribution to the development of modern Albanian language and literature. ATSH

In Moscow, an agreement on air and road transport was signed between the Government of the Republic of Albania and the Government of the Russian Federation. On the Albanian side, the agreement was signed by the Minister of Transport, Fatos Bitincka, and on the Russian side by his counterpart, Vitali Evimov.

Traces of an old disease... Symptoms of a familiar pathological illness among the Socialists