Nearly two years ago, in August 1992, a group of us, former political prisoners, filed a complaint against Ramiz Alia and sent it to the General Prosecutor’s Office. After doing its work, it informed us that it had referred the case to the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office for prosecution. Thus, an official referral, when the accused was at liberty. But we were struck by the fact that, when he was placed under house arrest, he, like a circus performer, casually claimed in interviews that he had supposedly been accused of ordinary matters, of some money, etc. We are puzzled. Has he not read our accusation, have they not shown it to him, or does he not like to admit publicly what is true? It seems to burn him to be accused by former prisoners of the dictatorship, whose chief ideologue he was, and he is trying to forget it. We remind him, the judicial authorities, and all public opinion, at home and abroad, of our accusations once again: 1. As the principal leader of the one-party dictatorship, which brought Albania to the brink of an economic, social, national, political, and moral abyss. 2. He was the right-hand man of the dictator Enver Hoxha and his chosen, faithful protégé (as he swore to “continuity” even when Hoxha died). He approved and collaborated in numerous mass crimes against people, democrats and patriots, as well as their “comrades.” The mystery of the still-undisclosed files—which the accused knows well, since he was also involved in directing the proceedings—conceals truths that could reveal how and why Albania was gradually destroyed, especially under his rule. 3. He is responsible for the anti-democratic and anti-national course of ideology, culture, education, and science, which he directly led for a long time—a course that shaped and permeated the entire leadership of Albania, undermining national sentiment and persecuting many figures in art, culture, and science who opposed the system; 5. From 1985 onward, under his direct leadership, Albania went into a tailspin in every respect, and the accused, its principal leader, not only took no measures but allowed and took actions that let this destruction run its course, so as to stain democracy on a “scorched earth,” according to a carefully conceived scenario. 6. It is his responsibility that he deprived Albania of a rare opportunity and turned away the long-extended hand of a powerful country, a natural ally of the Albanians, namely Germany, while strengthening ties with Belgrade and Athens, thereby paving the way for Albania to be endangered, as events proved. 7. He remains responsible for the tragic opening of the embassies on 2 July 1990, a day that coincided, not by chance, with the date on which our Kosovar brothers declared their constitutional identity to the world. The mother country, through its leader, thus diluted and violated that event ... solely to save himself and the Bloc of criminals. 10. He is accused of an attempt on his life in Vienna, in [year unclear] (not without his approval), against the 75-year-old patriotic Kusian man, thereby committing a direct crime with his own hand, which was unforgivable. 11. He gave the order to fire on the people during the toppling of Enver Hoxha’s monument in Tirana, as the Minister of the Interior himself openly stated as a witness, Hekuran Isai, the most credible person regarding the truth of the crime. 12. He bears responsibility for the Shkodra massacre of 2 April against the martyrs of democracy. Since the perpetrators of the crime have not been “discovered” and the President was at the helm, he remains primarily guilty, at least of “indirect murder”! 13. For the shooting of dozens of people at the border; for the disappearance, killing, and rape of hundreds of others, inside and outside the country, etc., during the tragic exoduses organized from above (hard to imagine without his order). Otherwise, they would not have happened, or they would have been organized differently. 14. For the unrestrained, chaotic opening of the border with Greece immediately after the face-to-face conversation with Mr. Miçotaqis in Tirana, from which began and continues the mass, forcible denationalization of southern Albania, in accordance with plans ... (Continued on page 2) his rule. 3. The vicissitudes surrounding science, which he directly guided for a long time—a course that set the tone and led the country in every direction toward deception, the undermining of national sentiment, and the persecution of system; and the long separation from our brothers in the diaspora, in accordance with the strategy of the PPSH. 4. One of the leaders of the major partisan formations, one of the few entrusted with the “liberation” of our Kosovar brothers! Leaving them there until the very end, as a witness and, as befits him, responsible for the mass anti-Kosovar crimes committed by the Serbian barbarians, while our leadership looked on, or itself handed our Kosovar brothers over to the chauvinists, betraying the trust of a brother. paving the way for Albania to be put at risk, as was demonstrated. embassies on July 2, date on which our Kosovar brothers proclaimed its leader, thus diminished and violated that event. 8. He bears direct responsibility for allowing the sacred issue of Çamëria to fade away, despite the assistance given in many respects by our brothers to those who had been maimed, together with his descendants, in keeping with the dictatorship’s anti-national stance. 9. During the democratic processes, instead of giving an account of himself as a dictator, he set about a chain of manipulations for pluralism(!), resorting to double-dealing tricks and mercilessly damaging democracy in Albania in its infancy, which

President Sali Berisha received President Ibrahim Rugova yesterday. At the meeting of the two presidents, they discussed at length the circumstances in which the Albanian nation finds itself, the grave situation in Kosovo, and the development of democratic reforms in Albania. Both presidents believe that, at this moment, the establishment of dialogue between Prishtina and Belgrade, in the presence of a third party, is imperative in order to determine measures for normalizing life and achieving a political solution to the Kosovo problem. Both presidents stressed that the stability and independence of Macedonia are important for the peace and stability of Albanians and other peoples in the Balkans. They encourage Albanian political forces to cooperate with one another, both in consolidating the stability of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and in ensuring the human and national freedoms and rights of Albanians, as a condition for the stability of this republic. The meeting was characterized by a spirit of complete understanding. PRESS AND INFORMATION OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENCY

The chairman of the Democratic Party, Mr. Eduard Selami, received and held a meeting yesterday with the chairman of the Party of Democratic Prosperity, Mr. Arber Xhaferri. At the meeting, Messrs. Selami and Xhaferri assessed the relations and cooperation between the Albanian Democratic Party and the Party of Democratic Prosperity. Mr. Xhaferri informed the chairman of the Democratic Party about the significant progress made by the Party of Democratic Prosperity in Macedonia and among the Albanian diaspora from Macedonia, as well as about prospects for expanding and securing the human and national rights of Albanians in Macedonia. Mr. Selami emphasized that the constructive and firm position of the Party of Democratic Prosperity regarding Macedonia’s stability, as well as the expansion and fulfillment of Albanians’ rights in Macedonia as a condition for that stability, is especially important. On the other hand, the chairman of the Democratic Party, Mr. Selami, stressed the great importance of cooperation and coordination among all Albanian political forces in Macedonia around a common program for meeting the Albanians’ demands, as well as for the independence and stability of the Macedonian state. Regarding the population census, Mr. Selami considered it important and said it should be carried out according to the criteria established by the Council of Europe’s committee of experts. The meeting between the two party chairmen took place in a friendly atmosphere.

Among the annals of socialist “biscuits” PRIME MINISTER MEKSI’S “TANGENTS” —The mouse trying to give birth to “ZP” Three thousand tons of biscuits, produced years ago and brought in as humanitarian aid by an English charity, have long been the subject of “corruption” that PS propaganda periodically “uncovers” in connection with the government. “ZP” distorts things and, to draw a parallel between this “corruption” and Nano’s, is convinced that this will blame the democratic government, but, as always, it cannot avoid blunders. “ZP” admits that Nano is corrupt and tries to prove the same about the democratic government by drawing parallels. Their misfortune is that, no matter how much they muddle their articles with “documents signed by the prime minister” or “meetings” with the prime minister, the government. been the subject ... of humanitarian aid, similar to that provided by other organizations such as “Caritasi” or “God Loves Albania,” etc. These organizations bring aid to Albania almost every day, aid that is entirely outside government channels. In other words, it is not that the British government granted aid to Albania and then the Albanian government, for speculative reasons (like those of Nano and Alia), collected stockpiled biscuits from some company that would profit from it. The fact is that not a single dollar was paid by anyone for those 3,000 tons of biscuits, which were needed and provided without any benefit in return. The same is true of these biscuits, which were transported at the charity’s expense. The only problem with these biscuits, which have in fact been held up, is the dignity of the Albanians. If, in Nano’s time, Albanians were forced to eat the dried peas he brought them, today they do not need biscuits produced years ago. The reality of Albania today is not what it was when Nano’s socialists were governing. EDI PALOKA

Washington—Anders Aslund, a former economic adviser to the Russian government, says that, because of conditions in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union at the time communism was overthrown, the costs of economic transition have been substantial. “Inflation turned out to be a much bigger problem than many people expected,” Aslund said at an international conference on the post-communist experience, sponsored by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), held on May 6. NED is a nonprofit organization supported by the United States Congress that works to strengthen democratic institutions abroad. Of the 27 countries in the region that have undertaken some form of transition, only 9 had inflation below 10 percent by 1993, Aslund said. Those nine countries are Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Albania, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. “Of these, only Hungary had not undertaken any kind of ‘shock’ treatment,” said Aslund, who is now a visiting scholar at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. Aslund said, “Few doubted that shock therapy would bring inflation down quickly, so that is not a surprise. However, according to Aslund, the countries that chose a gradual approach failed badly.” Aslund said that he had observed a connection between democratization and the transition to a market economy in the developed socialist countries. “Every democratic person in a communist country in Europe quickly became convinced by the actions to establish a market economy,” he said. “Likewise, every country that has tried to introduce a viable market economy has first experienced a democratic initiative.” The economic transition in Russia, Aslund said, has been disorderly, especially with regard to the privatization of large enterprises. “Large enterprises are not trying to adapt,” he said. “We hope the government will simply get rid of them.” Aslund said the debate about shock therapy had been contentious. “The problem is that implementation has been much more difficult than we thought,” he said. In closing, his advice to socialist countries that continue their efforts to move to a market economy was: “Push ahead as fast as you can. But make sure you understand the consequences and focus on them.”

same thing through muddle their writings with “documents signed by the prime minister” or “mysterious meetings,” a mouse that has given birth cannot turn into a mountain. Let us see how far a parallel can be drawn between this case and Nano’s. The emergency aid that the Italian government undertook to provide to Albania during the difficult period of 1991 was channelled into

-In four days, 160 new members in the municipality of Libofshe -Dokle makes more prophetic statements. Perhaps unbelievable, but a reality. In just the last 3–4 days, 160 new members have joined the DP in the municipality of Libofshe. And this is an increase that needs no further comment. The sound policy pursued by the DP, with its program for the countryside, has also found support in Libofshe and the surrounding areas. In conversations with people from this area, one quickly understands their satisfaction with the work that has begun. The DP is extending roads and working to repair the electricity network—work that PP and PS failed to do for 50 consecutive years—and is doing it in just a few days. The people see the changes, so they are no longer deceived by the lies of the social-communists. Mr. Dokle also tried, through his envoy, to cloud the minds of the people in this area, but wherever he went, he received the answer he deserved. “We have nothing in our hands,” said Dokle, and the people understood his and his party’s helplessness, telling him not to come back with such ideas. Dokle made other prophetic statements: “If the roads are extended and drinking water arrives, then I too will be a democrat.” After this remark by Namik, once all the work that has begun is completed, it will come as no surprise to us if we no longer see Dokle on the left side of parliament with his social-communist colleagues, but on the right. It is well known that, as the great politician he is, he keeps his word when he makes statements like these. makes statements like these. KORRESI OF “RD”

THEY EAT, DRINK AND CURSE THE GOVERNMENT

The government has earmarked 127 thousand dollars in this year’s budget for a substantial improvement to the condition of the existing water supply network, in order to provide the city’s residents with a better supply of drinking water. The Tirana Design Institute will design this reconstruction, while a tender will be held after the project is completed, from which the winning company will be selected to carry it out. All construction work is scheduled to be completed within 1994.