The days when the dictator fell from the pedestal EDI LLOKA The answer to what happened at midday on 20 February 1991 in the center of Tirana is how deeply the image of his sculpture had entered people’s memory. No one can easily erase it. With the word “dictator,” Albanians have designated in the most precise way a man who exercised absolute power over them. A statue of him placed in the center of the capital had become a symbol of his rule. Its toppling was more than an act of political defiance: it was an act of liberation. To restore Albanians’ rights on the basis of international conventions and obligations Statement by the spokesman of the Government of the Republic of Albania In the mid-1990-1991 period, the communist regime was shaking at its foundations. Student protests, demands for pluralism, the wave of mass departures, and the crisis of confidence in power were making confrontation with the symbols of yesterday inevitable. The statue of Enver Hoxha, erected in the central square, was strongly guarded and held up as proof that the regime was not surrendering. But the people had decided otherwise. Thus began those hours filled with anxiety and enthusiasm. At first the crowd hesitated. There was fear of provocations, of tanks, of the police, of invisible snipers. Then came the shouts, the movement, the cordon of people, the ropes thrown, the first push, the falling of the slabs and finally the swaying of bronze. When the monument began to tilt, the crowd burst into uncontrollable joy. It was a moment that changed the psychology of an entire people. Hundreds of people, some with tears in their eyes, others with raised hands, saw the dictator stretched on the ground. No one was merely looking at a piece of metal; a cult, a regime, an inherited fear was collapsing. After this scene, Albania could no longer be the same. The article is accompanied by photographs from the day of the toppling, showing the crowds, the ropes, and the moment the monument was pulled down. They remain evidence of a day that has entered collective memory as the symbolic end of dictatorship. View of the monument’s toppling and the crowd in Tirana.

Respect the rights of Albanians on the basis of international conventions and obligations Statement by the spokesman of the Government of the Republic of Albania SUCH AN ACT OF DIRECT VIOLENCE seriously undermines peace and calm among the Albanian population and makes them feel unprotected on their own land, placing them under constant psychological and physical pressure. On 17 February 1995, Serbian police forces and armed civilian groups, in the area of Malisheva and Vrella of Istog in Kosovo, carried out a broad operation of control, raids and terror against the Albanian population. Using heavy military equipment, armored vehicles and a variety of weapons, they used violence against residents, searched houses and dwellings, damaged property and created a serious atmosphere of insecurity. These actions also included arrests, beatings and ill-treatment of Albanian citizens. According to the information made public, the operation had an intimidating and punitive character. The Government of the Republic of Albania condemns this act as a serious violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms, in contradiction with internationally accepted norms. The Government calls on international organizations, including the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the United Nations, the Council of Europe and other relevant organizations, to intervene immediately to prevent the escalation of violence and to guarantee the protection of the Albanian population in Kosovo. It reiterates that the Kosovo issue cannot be dealt with through police and military repression, but only through respect for the national and human rights of Albanians. The statement concludes by calling on the Serbian authorities to immediately stop the repressive actions and to implement the international conventions they have undertaken to observe.

14 DECEMBER 1991, the meeting of the National Council of the PDSH decided to set up the commission for drafting the PDSH Program Draft. 16 FEBRUARY 1991, the leadership Council of the PDSH appoints the commission for drafting the Program, composed of: Aleksander Meksi, Abdi Baleta and Tritan Shehu. 17 FEBRUARY 1991 - 723 students and professors from the economics and law faculty began a hunger strike in the National Palace of Culture in Tirana. At 02:00 on 19 FEBRUARY 1991, the police forces of the communist regime intervene in the hunger strike and take 78 students and professors to Police Station No. 1. The standby units occupy the city with armored vehicles. At 03:00, the students of the “Studenti” city and the agricultural high school begin a protest march that ended in “Skënderbej” square. At 04:00, the center of Tirana rises to its feet. Police buses begin to burn. At 20:00 on 19 FEBRUARY 1991 - Around the Palace of Culture, 1248 delegates, participants in the meeting of the PDSH leadership council, formed an all-national resistance to the imposed changes. Sali Berisha’s speech in defense of democratic freedoms and rights shocked the regime’s representatives. On 20 February 1991, hundreds of citizens of Tirana gathered in the square. The crowd moved toward the monument of Enver Hoxha. It was pulled with ropes, toppled and greeted with cheers. The scene symbolized the end of the cult and a new political era in Albania. At 14:05, the toppled monument is dragged through the streets and stopped in front of the Central Committee building. A chapter of the regime had come to an end.

Tomorrow Meeting of the National Council of the PDSH It is announced that the National Council of the PDSH will meet tomorrow, at 10:00, to discuss its mode of operation and hold its proceedings at the “Tirana” hotel.

The dictator’s monument was not toppled by force, but by the democratic people of Korça and its young people ... 20 February 1991, the day of communist terror Page 2

When RTVI played with caution, Tepuji did not keep it in mind Skënder Buçpapaj Page 6

The psychological factors of blood feud and the role of law Petrit Rrogoçi Page 3

A great musical event The Bureau of the Assembly, in commemoration of 20 February 1991, for the public mission, the musical guard orchestra, which will be in the hall of the “T.HANDAK” club at 19:00, and takes place with musical. We warmly invite, February 2000 with engaged friends, artists, creators, dedicated to the martyrs of the fall, MAJISTE which will vore in the morning. ENVER PLAKU