Dr Edmond DRAGOTI Page 3

Statement by the spokesperson of the Government of the Republic of Albania On 17 February, after 14:00, in the village of Recicë e Vogël near Tetovë, at the designated building near the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of Tetovë, while many residents had gathered near the building, Macedonian police, who had surrounded it with a large force early in the morning, began firing first into the air and then at people and towards the surrounding houses. According to news agencies, Macedonian police killed one Albanian, wounded 15 and arrested many others. Entry into Tetovë was blocked and strict controls were imposed. Police also blocked the road connecting Tetovë with Popova Šapka, while a state of emergency was imposed in Recicë and police and military patrols were deployed, equipped with heavy weapons and accompanied by armored vehicles. Albanian public opinion is deeply outraged by this chauvinist act and by the attacks on their legitimate rights. Although the Albanian government, driven by its desire to see a stable Macedonia as a factor for peace and security in the Balkans, has always offered its assistance to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in difficult moments, and although Macedonian President Gligorov has not spared promises to improve the situation regarding the rights of Albanians, including their education in their own mother tongue, the Albanian population is being confronted with armed police rather than dialogue and understanding. The Albanian state has made it clear more than once that the mutual interests of the two countries and the peace and stability of our region require respect for the legitimate rights of Albanians, including the right to education in their mother tongue at the highest level; its denial constitutes not only assimilation, but also an attempt to leave them in cultural and educational darkness. The brutal actions of the Macedonian police authorities against the peaceful Albanian population, the terror inflicted on Albanians and the loss of their lives show that elements of an anti-Albanian police state remain alive in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. This is fraught with danger and serious consequences, and may also weigh on interethnic relations in the future if it is not stopped. Aggressive and anachronistic nationalism and chauvinism serve neither relations between Albanians and Macedonians nor the extremely delicate peace and stability in the region. The Albanian government declares that, in accordance with international instruments and legal and moral principles and norms, it is the undisputed right of the Albanian state and its representatives to demand respect for the rights of the indigenous Albanian population in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, to welcome progress in this regard and to denounce any violation, act of violence or injustice against them. No insinuation or departure from this reality by any dark force seeking to set fire to Albanian-Macedonian interethnic relations will deter the Albanian government and state from their obligation to demand respect for international instruments concerning the protection of the human and national rights of Albanians in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and to contribute to ensuring peace and stability in the region. The Albanian government considers the incident a criminal act of violence, condemnable and destabilizing in its consequences, and calls on the Macedonian government to take measures to ensure that the rights of Albanians are respected in accordance with international conventions and obligations. Tirana, 18 February 1995

EDI PALOKA The students who had stood up to the dictatorship in December ’90 would become protagonists again two months later. In December, the dictatorship suffered a decisive blow, while its symbols continued to dominate Albanian life. The dictatorship and the regime were clear. The chants against the dictator carried the message to R.Alia’s office. An intervention by the police forces was expected at any moment, so the students began reinforcing the doors. One thing was perfectly clear: everyone would go all the way. Immediately after the publication of the decision of the Central Committee of the PPSH, crowds began gathering, growing ever larger and increasingly concerned. The students were not alone. Under these circumstances, R.Alia tried to reach a compromise, once again using S.Gjinushi as an intermediary, but that day, as in December, Gjinushi received a clear answer: No compromise with the leaders of the PPSH. The second night would be the most difficult. No one knew what awaited them the next day. The morning of 20 February would show what the day would bring. Nearly 100,000 citizens from Tirana, as well as from Kavaja, Shkodra, Durrës, Elbasan and other cities, had “taken over” the City. “The chanting was endless”: “Students, Students,” “We are with you,” “We’ll remove the scum.” The students’ weak voices mingled in the air with the powerful chants and rose up to the dictator’s knees. Seven hundred students who would mark other days in Albania’s history. Wrapped in blankets and lying on the ground, they waited. A long night passed. The next day, the smiles on their sleepy faces showed that no one had been shaken by that night. It was the first night. had created false myths, had raised bogeymen that it still kept around to frighten Albanians, but in February ’91 the students showed that they were determined to change everything, to topple the myth of the dictatorship themselves. “Remove E. Hoxha’s shadow from the University of Tirana” was one of the demands that the students of Tirana addressed to the leaders of the PPSH. The Arts and the Institute of Culture rose in support of the protest by the students of ILB; this was a very strong political movement. The students could not accept that the University in particular should bear the name of a criminal, but removing the dictator’s name was certainly about more than just the University. It would mark the toppling of the myth of the dictatorship itself. “Remove the name of E. Hoxha the PPSH. The students were determined to cleanse the university of the dictator’s name. Removing E. Hoxha’s name from the university was a very strong political move. Meanwhile, Qyteti Studenti had once again become the focus of Albanians’ attention. Everyone was waiting to see what would happen. Various rumors were circulating. Some said that the Political Bureau had decided to meet the students’ demands; others said that a decision had been made to arrest them. Around the palace, [unclear] high, twisting the very sky. The Central Committee of the PPSH said “no” to the students, but their decision was not what mattered; it was the people who would decide. One hundred thousand surged toward the square in the center of Tirana. They, too, had made up their minds: E. Hoxha’s name had to be erased from Albanian reality. Nothing could contain the people’s anger any longer—not the rubber truncheons, nor the guns and armored vehicles—and the dictator’s monument would be brought crashing down amid cheers of joy. It would be dragged along in the people’s disgust and contempt. R. Alia had ordered the troops to fire, but it was impossible to stop the momentum of an entire people. This was precisely the toppling of the myth of the dictatorship. For this reason, the reaction of the Communists in power was very harsh; they were determined to preserve their myth by any means. Threats and even arrests were carried out against the students who, after boycotting classes, were waiting for an answer to their demands; but the only effect of the threats and arrests was to strengthen their determination to go all the way. R. Alia and those around him should have realized in time that fear was the wrong tool to use against the students. On February 15, eight days after submitting their demands and receiving no answer, the students, represented by the strike committee, announced that if a positive response did not come, a hunger strike would begin on February 18. Naturally, no answer would come, although on February 16 students and lecturers began signing up on the list of strike participants. On the morning of February 18, at the University of Tirana, the students and lecturers ... Meanwhile, Qyteti Studenti had once again become the center of attention. Seven hundred students who would mark further days in the history of Albania.

Statement by the Albanian Democratic Party On February 17, 1995, Macedonian police forces intervened brutally to disperse the peaceful gathering marking the inauguration of the University of Tetovo. As a result of gunfire, a young Albanian man was killed and dozens of others were wounded. The wave of police violence was followed by mass arrests of the Albanian population. Among those arrested are the rector of the University of Tetovo, Mr. Fadil Sulejmani, and the chairman of the Forum for the Protection of Human Rights, Mr. Milaim Fejziu. The Albanian Democratic Party denounces with indignation the policy pursued by the Macedonian government authorities toward ethnic Albanians in their own territories in Macedonia, as a flagrant violation of human rights and all international instruments. We call on the Macedonian government to uncover and punish this heinous crime, and to enter into dialogue as soon as possible with the Albanians of Macedonia in order to meet their legitimate demands. We call on the political parties to condemn this shameful act and, at the same time, to make every effort to ensure that the Macedonian government understands that the path to today’s Europe is not one of violence, but of cooperation and mutual understanding. for peace in the region and beyond. The Albanian Democratic Party strongly supports the legitimate rights of the Albanian population in Macedonia and calls on them to remain calm during these difficult and tense times through which the Balkan region is passing.

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is far from international human rights standards The KSHH strongly protests the criminal act committed by the police forces and state authorities of Macedonia in surrounding the city of Tetovo (a city whose population is 90% ethnic Albanian), killing the young man Emin Abdyl Selmani on the afternoon of February 17, 1995, and wounding several others during a ceremony inaugurating the Albanian-language university in this locality. It is also reported that a number of people have been arrested (Continued on page 2)

The chairman of the Democratic Party of Albania, Mr. Eduard Selami, received yesterday at the DP of Albania headquarters representatives of the German Christian Democratic Party (CDU), Messrs. Rudolf Decker and Dr. Hans Saerchen, former President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag. The meeting discussed various issues relating to the progress of reforms and democratic processes in Albania, as well as the general situation in the Balkan region. Mr. Selami asked the CDU representatives to encourage German investment in our country, primarily in the infrastructure sector, as well as in other areas of the economy that may be of particular interest to them. The meeting also discussed the tense situation created throughout the Balkan region and in Macedonia by the Macedonian authorities, and it was requested that Macedonia [unclear] the population of the Macedonian state that all the rights of the Albanians living there—every right recognized by the Helsinki Charter and international conventions—be guaranteed. The participants emphasized the need to increase closer contacts between the DP and the CDU, and particularly praised the future President of Hereg [unclear] of Germany for the development and strengthening of the very good relations already existing between the two countries. “RD” CORRESPONDENT

The Albanian Foreign Minister’s first official visit this year in the framework of bilateral relations Albania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alfred Serreqi, will make an official visit to Italy at the invitation of the Italian Foreign Minister, Suzana Anjeli. During this visit, which will take place on February 20–21, discussions will be held on bilateral relations and Italy’s support for Albania’s integration into international organizations. Undoubtedly, the focus will be on exchanging views about the progress of cooperative relations for development in various fields, in accordance with the agreement between the two countries. The basis for this is the Minutes of the Italo-Albanian Joint Commission, signed in Rome in November 1992. The visit to neighboring Italy is the Albanian Foreign Minister Alfred Serreqi’s first official visit this year within the framework of bilateral relations. Meanwhile, this is the first invitation extended by the current Italian government to the foreign minister of a state outside the European Union, which speaks to the Italian state’s willingness to strengthen relations with Albania.

Durres A major musical event Yesterday, Saturday, in commemoration of February 20, ’91, in memory of the university students confined in the “Palace of Hunger,” the day the symbol of the Enverist dictatorship was toppled, around 2,000 young people and citizens of Durres filled the square in front of the “Aleksander Moisiu” Palace of Culture from the early morning hours. The group “THANDER WAY,” with soloists Elton Deda and Bledar Sejko, gave a very rich concert. The energy of the young people, carried by the musical notes, could be felt far along the coast. This very enjoyable and well-attended event was organized by the Youth Forum of the Durres branch of the Democratic Party. ENVER PLAKU

Meeting of the National Council of the DPA Members of the National Council of the DPA are hereby informed that tomorrow, at 10:00, the National Council of the DPA will hold its proceedings at the Palace of Congresses in Tirana. PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT OF THE DPA

20 February 1951, the day of communist terror Page 2

Skënder BUÇPAPAJ Page 6

4 FEBRUARY 1991 — Students of I.L.B in Kamëz boycott classes and submit a series of demands to the Çarçani government. 7 FEBRUARY 1991 — Students of the University of Tirana, the Higher Institute of Arts and the Institute of Physical Culture, who had boycotted classes, express solidarity with the students of ILB at a rally held in “Democracy” Square in Q.Studenti and, on the basis of a petition drawn up by students and lecturers, demand the removal of E.Hoxha’s name from the University. 15 FEBRUARY 1991 — The student strike committee declares that, although the demands are not being met and no positive responses are coming, a new strike will be declared in Q.Studenti on 18 February. 16 FEBRUARY 1991 — Registration begins for students wishing to go on strike. 18 FEBRUARY 1991 — 723 registered students and lecturers, after kissing the national flag, shut themselves inside the Palace of Culture in Q.Studenti. At 02:00, a delegation from the PD meets with the students. 19 FEBRUARY 1991 — The plenary session of the Central Committee of the PPSH, convened to address this issue, decides to sacrifice the students for the dictator’s name. Meanwhile, thousands of Tirana residents have begun gathering around the Palace of Culture. 02:00. Skender Gjinushi, former Minister of Education, tries to reach a compromise with the students. No compromise is accepted. 20 FEBRUARY 1991 — Qyteti Studenti is taken over by residents of Tirana, Kavaja, Shkodra, Durrës and Elbasan. Nearly 100,000 voices chant, “We are with you.” 11:00. A group of women goes to R.Alia’s headquarters and asks for a meeting, but Alia does not receive them. Meanwhile, the electrified crowd in Q.Studenti has begun descending towards the centre of Tirana. 14:05 — The dictator’s monument crashes to the ground and is dragged along. 15:30 — Radio announces what has happened in Tirana. The announcement serves as a signal for other cities. The dictator’s busts are toppled in Durrës and Korçë. 21:00 — The students leave the building where they had been barricaded. The dictator’s name had also been officially removed from the University. The students who had just emerged from the strike took their places on the now-empty pedestal.