The political spectrum of every system is enriched by new forms of organization, which in itself expresses the pluralism of a democracy. But every change in political relations has an impact, a purpose and a justification. In Albania, on 22 March 1992, the PD-PSD-PR coalition prevailed over the communists and now governs the country. Precisely now, two years later, a new, belligerent right-wing formula, at odds with others and with itself, suddenly appears. It began with the departure from the PD of the two MPs Kalakula and Baleta, their alignment with the PDD, and the organization of the PBD, PL, etc. What does this political right-wingism really represent? Historically, right-wingism has been a counterweight to communism. The Italian, French, English, etc. experience shows that right-wingers can be defined by a platform and an anti-communist commitment. Unfortunately, in Albania the “right-wingers” have got the wrong door. Whether intentionally or not, they have begun attacking at any cost only the democratic camp, that is, the anti-communist coalition PD-PR-PSD. The right-wingers left the PD dissatisfied with the pace of propaganda against the communists—that is, with the intensification of attacks on the communists—then changed their minds, emptying all their ammunition against their former fellow travelers, that is, against the anti-communist democrats. In political theory and practice, an extreme right in itself also provides a justification for the existence of an extreme left. In other words, the emergence of the far right is more than an invitation to create and organize a far left in the political spectrum. And, knowing that the extreme right joins forces with the extreme left, it is striking—or perhaps intentional—that the very people who lead the right-wingers today are those who, only a few years ago, passed through the extreme-left phase. For conventional right-wingers, the national question always takes precedence. Nationalism is a principle and a civic virtue. As civilized people, Albanian right-wingers have forgotten this fundamental basis of their ideology. Their leader, Kalakula, is the first Albanian politician to take an axe in hand and rise up against citizens’ freedom of movement, supposedly because it threatens the South and the North. What is more, the PDD has as its sole partner (according to the “Alliance”) the PAD, which, in national terms, resembles a Colombian or Moroccan party more than an Albanian one. Or consider the PDD leaders themselves, who in the name of nationalism disregard national symbols and institutions, preaching now monarchy, now parliamentarianism, depending on the day’s plane tickets to Moscow or Johannesburg. All the more so when, at the height of national politics following the tragedy on the Albanian-Greek border, their own people speak while Kalakula and his associates remain silent. At all times and under all systems, right-wingers have been represented most strongly by the aspirations of young people for the future. In Albania, the opposite is happening. There are no young people among their leaders, on their platforms, in their press, or in their supporting crowds. The Legaliteti B.K. Congress and PDD rallies are public evidence of this. Grey-haired heads do not make for a convincing right-wing policy in a country where the population’s average age is 26. Right-wingers have an economic program with which they compete in every country in the world, but, strangely, things are done differently in Albania. The right-wingers base themselves on the Balli’s “Ten Commandments of the Decalogue.” They rely on demands for the return of the great landowners and, willingly or unwillingly, fall victim to a plane tree whose roots lie in hatred, egotism, insult and intrigue—traits hardly befitting a candidate for the office of lord or cirgilar. No economic alternative has been presented; on the contrary, all the right-wingers are among those who voted for the PDSH’s economic program, which has been enacted. (To be continued on page 4)

The United States fleet ship Spartanburg Country is making a courtesy visit to the port of Durrës from 25 to 27 April 1994. During the visit, the crew will take part in several community projects in the city. The ship is the 14th of a class of 20 ocean-going vessels designed to remain operational at dock or while carrying out procedures there. The arrangement of the installed cables allows cargo to be loaded and unloaded quickly, even in ports where a lack of equipment would otherwise cause problems. The ship’s design features make loading and unloading quick.

At the invitation of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Mr. Zheliu Zhelev, the President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha, will make an official visit to Bulgaria on 27–29 April 1994. This visit, which is also in response to President Zhelev’s visit to Tirana at the beginning of 1993, aims to encourage the further development of relations and cooperation between our two countries, in the interests of our peoples and of a climate of cooperation in the Balkans. President Berisha will be accompanied by the Minister of Industry and Trade, Selim Belortaja; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arjan Starova; Deputy Minister of Finance, Robert Çeku; and others. Two bilateral agreements will also be signed during the visit. PRESS AND INFORMATION OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENCY Tirana, 24.4.1994

At the invitation of the British Government, the chairman of the Albanian Democratic Party, Mr. Ed uard Selami, left for London on Sunday morning. He will take part in the conference organized by the Government on the theme “The Future of Europe.” SPOKESPERSON OF THE PDSH

On 23 April, the Council of the Albanian Community in Belgium organized a protest demonstration in front of the Greek Embassy in Brussels against the barbaric act committed by the Greek commando on 10 April in the village of Peshkepi, Gjirokastër, in which two Albanian soldiers were killed and several others wounded. On 23 April, the Council of the Albanian Community in Belgium organized a protest demonstration in front of the Greek Embassy in Brussels against the barbaric act committed by the Greek commando on 10 April in the village of Peshkepi, Gjirokastër, in which two Albanian soldiers were killed and several others wounded, the ATSH correspondent in Brussels reports. More than 1,000 Albanians currently living in Belgium took part in the demonstration. The speakers, Isa Bajraktari, Kujtim Lika and Gani Azemi, speaking on behalf of the participants, called on the Greek government to refrain from such acts and protested against the Greek-Slav alliance. They expressed support for the policies pursued by Albanian President Berisha and Rugova. The demonstrators handed protest petitions to the Greek Embassy in Brussels, the President of the European Commission, Zhak Delor, and the President of the European Parliament, Egon Clepsh.

—“The deep political crisis the country is experiencing. Why? Political trials against the leaders of opposition parties … political murders such as those in Shkodër on 2 April 1992 …” In the wake of the PS’s scandalous propaganda There is nothing to be surprised about; it is not even a printing error. These are some of the phrases published by “ZP” in the lead article of the same title that appeared in Saturday’s issue. The journalist who signed this article has tried to achieve what her bosses cannot: to “argue,” with facts, why new elections are needed. Maqellara’s misfortune is that she has not understood that her bosses did not embark on the task of supporting their absurd demand with facts, not for lack of time but precisely for lack of facts. Thus the “journalist” of “ZP” tries to draw a parallel, and, as always in such cases, can only make blunders. A few days earlier, before the article appeared in “ZP,” and the other “factors” … Thus Maqellara complains of “flagrant violations” of the law on human rights and forgets that that law was almost not passed in Parliament because the socialists did not vote for it. According to “ZP,” the legal crisis appears to consist in people’s loss of confidence in the justice system, now that the judiciary has been placed under political power. In other words, people who once “had” complete confidence in “independent” justice have lost that confidence with the PD’s arrival, because they see the “politicization” of the new people who have come into the judicial bodies and their “lack of professionalism.” So Maqellara wants us to bring back to the courts the “non-politicized” and “professionals” of Aranit Çela, because that way there would be no crisis for the PS. … argument for new elections, since on 22 March, too, these “cadres” who had occupied the armchairs of the PP voted against the PD. Today, young people have taken their positions. They may indeed lack the “qualifications” of the cadres who built socialism, but that is only a positive factor for them. After “presenting these facts,” Maqellara lists several “other factors” about which she writes without substantiating them with facts (as if she had provided convincing facts up to this point). According to her, “the blocking of relations with our neighbors points to an amateurish foreign policy.” I do not know where Maqellara sees this “blocking,” but perhaps she means that Albania’s relations with Milošević are not as the PS would like, or that she dislikes Albania’s protests against the Greek government when it killed Albanian soldiers. This … … is that she has not understood that her bosses have not embarked on the path of arguing their absurd demand with facts, not because of a lack of time but precisely because of a make the impossible parallel, and, as always in such cases, all one can do is make blunders. A few days before the article appeared in “ZP,” the newspaper “RD” published an article saying that there cannot be early elections without a political, economic, and social crisis. Apparently, “ZP” decided precisely to invent facts to argue that a crisis exists, with a scandalous and ridiculous article in terms of the “facts” it presents. “The first factor: The profound political crisis the country is experiencing,” writes “ZP,” and below it “lists the facts.” “Political trials against the leaders of the two opposition parties, F.Nano and I.Beqiri...” -God puts the two names side by side. Maqellara is right, since I.Beqiri was convicted of forgery even before the DP came to power, whereas Nano was convicted after the DP came to power, because the PP was not in the habit of punishing its own leaders for forgery and corruption. But the most scandalous “fact” presented by Maqellara of “ZP” is the “political killings” that took place under the DP government. And do you know what the “journalist” of “ZP” accuses the democratic government of? The crime of 2 April in Shkoder. At first, when I read the phrase “political killings such as those in Shkoder, on 2 April 1992...,” I thought it was a printing error in the date, but it is no such thing. The fact that Maqellarsa of “ZP” brings up the crime of 2 April 1991 in Shkoder as an “argument” to show the political crisis under the DP government makes you think that changing the date of the crime from April ’91 to April ’92 is not just a printing error, but an idiotic falsification by some lunatic. To present the crime committed by Alia, Nano and Ruci as an argument proving the political crisis under the DP government is madness that only PS propaganda could produce. Leaving the political madness entirely aside, even using simple concepts of space and time, it is impossible to understand how such things get published. The DP comes to power at the end of March ’92; the crime of 2 April in Shkoder took place in ’91. So the solution Maqellara finds in this case is to change the date from 2 April ’91, when the DP was in power? Nano, on 2 April ’92, when the DP was in power. Those, then, are PS’s arguments for the “crisis” and its demand for early elections. With the same logic, “ZP” also says that the people have “lost confidence because they see the ‘politicization’ of new people who have come into the justice system Aranit Çele, since then there would be no crisis for PS. Maqellara also talks about the economic crisis and “laments” the plight of the new capitalists who have been crushed by taxes; for this, she says that socialists are speaking on behalf of the capitalists, who have the right to demand new elections. Among the groups entitled to demand new elections, in addition to the former persecutors of A.Çele, “ZP” also lists “thousands of qualified economic cadres” who are not being put to use today. Those “cadres” in the economy built it for 50 years according to their qualifications, and this is where we ended up. The fact that some of them are dissatisfied with the DP is by no means a strong argu- ment for Albanians to demand new elections. I don’t know where “ZP” is trying to go mad with these scandalous “arguments” it offers in support of its absurd demand, but it should be assured that those who have the right to vote have excluded people who do not have the ‘proper mental capacity and cannot reason about what “ZP” writes. EDI PALOKA

The United States fleet ship Spartanburg County was making a courtesy visit to the port of Durrës from 25 to 27 April 1994. The United States fleet ship Spartanburg County was would take part in several projects for the city’s community. high-speed ocean-going ships that carry out the landing of troops, tanks, amphibious vehicles and heavy equipment for an assault ground force, and land them as forces capable of offensive action. These forces can be deployed directly onto the shore using the ship’s movable bow ramp or through the stern gate while the ship is underway. The ship is capable of carrying out offensive assault operations in wartime, humanitarian rescue operations or support missions in peacetime. Spartanburg County is powered by six diesel engines, three for each propeller. At the stern of the ship there is a small engine used for close maneuvering when arriving at the dock or enables ship’s design features make loading and unloading fast and safe. The ship can deploy assault troops for extended periods and be reloaded at sea for designated requirements while underway. The ship Spartanburg County took part in the operations “DESERT SHIELD,” “DESERT STORM,” and, having recently returned from Somalia, was involved in leading operations in support of operation CONTINUE HOPE. It has a crew of 14 officers and over 235 sailors. At present it has 10 female naval officers and over 250 marines on board. The commanding officer is Commander Patrick M. Comi of the United States Navy.

Interview with Francesko Aluzio given to the BBC on Italian-Albanian relations Ilir Gurakuqi spoke with Mr. Francesko Aluzio, director of the Cooperation Directorate at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and first asked him about the state of cooperation between Italy and Albania. - I can say that we have now moved from emergency aid to a stage of fruitful cooperation, covering a broad range of fields: infrastructure, the economy, and social structures. We are working in many areas. First of all, in agriculture, together with the World Bank, on Tirana’s water supply system, the electricity network, and small and medium-sized enterprises. What we are seeking to do is, on the one hand, to facilitate Albania’s transition to a market economy and, on the other, to consolidate democratic institutions. For example, the organization of a two-month course in Rome for around 40 Albanian judges and prosecutors encompasses both these aims, since justice is important for the economy as well as for democracy. - Mr. Aluzio, nevertheless, one might think that there are some difficulties; for example, why was the meeting of the bilateral cooperation commission moved from the beginning of the year to late autumn? - No, no difficulties have arisen. We have a three-year program for (Continued on page 4)

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From the Bank of Albania concerning the introduction into circulation of the new 100 lek denomination and the withdrawal from circulation of the existing 100 lek banknotes from 1964 and 1976 On 26 April 1994, the Bank of Albania will put into circulation the new 100 lek banknote. This banknote will replace the old banknote issued in 1964. Starting on 1 May 1994, the Bank of Albania will withdraw from circulation the 100 lek banknotes from 1964 and 1976. All citizens and state or private legal entities may visit bank branches or banking agencies to exchange the existing banknotes for new ones. Under Law No. 7559, “On the Bank of Albania,” the maximum period for exchanging this denomination is 1 (one) year. Starting from 1 May 1995, this banknote will no longer be legal tender and, as such, will not be accepted by banks for exchange. We also hereby announce that the final exchange deadline for the 25 lek banknote is 1 September 1994. Tirana, 25.4.1994 BANK OF ALBANIA