On Friday PDSH meeting On Friday, 21 April 1995, at 10:00, the PDSH meeting will hold its proceedings at the PDSH headquarters in Tirana, with the participation of the chairpersons and secretaries of the PDSH branches.

Expanded meeting of the Tirana branch of the LDGSH The President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha, attends The LDGSH restructuring campaign is launched New democratic developments and the present level of society inevitably require the full involvement of women as an active force for social and national progress. Focusing on all these issues, the Albanian Democratic Women’s League organized an expanded meeting yesterday in the hall of the Opera and Ballet Theatre with the democratic women of Tirana, and launched the LDGSH restructuring campaign. This is particularly significant also because 1995 is the International Year of the Woman. Mrs. Eva Karagozi at the opening

Address by the President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha, at the LDGSH meeting Nations that give birth to such mothers have a secure future In the 1990s, Albanian women and girls were the first to rise up against the dictatorship The years 1992–1995 are the years in which the foundations of democracy were laid in Albania The Albania of 1995 is a system far removed from the Albania of the dark year 1991 The PD program—the program of national salvation These results have been achieved amid genuine psychological terror and the unrestrained anti-reform propaganda of the left-wing extremist forces led by the PS and PSD Left-wing extremists, with the spectres of Marks[it] and Enver, roam around Albania Today, after three years, we can confirm with satisfaction that the situation of Albanian women is far removed from what it was three years ago The Democratic Party will continue unwaveringly to pursue its medium- and long-term objectives, including increasing the role of women in Albania [Free?] was liberated from one of the cruelest dictatorships Europe has known in its history. On that day, the Albanian electorate voted for a free and independent Albania, for the establishment of the rule of law and a market economy, for respect for human freedoms and rights, and for the country’s integration into Europe—major objectives of the Democratic Party’s program. ALBANIAN DEMOCRATIC [PARTY] TIRANA, 18 APRIL 1995

About the “Alia, Nano, Dokle, Ruçi, Benc” scandal Shaqir Vukaj: “I can put my hand in the fire only for Shaqir Vukaj” Shaqir Vukaj, a member of the PS leadership, too, has distanced himself from the dirty affair involving the disappearance of 400 million dollars. Asked in Tropoje what he thought about the matter, Dokle and corruption, Shaqir Vukaj replied: Shaqir Vukaj.” Further comment would be superfluous. During the televised debate, wanting not to be left alone in this scandal, Dokle dragged his “predecessors and successors” into the black cauldron of corruption, declaring that “Namik Dokle has predecessors and successors in this matter.” After Dokle’s statement, many PS leaders hurried to “distance themselves” from the scandal. In fact, the names involved in this scandal have been narrowed down to Alia, Nano, Ruçi and Dokle, the active figures in the Solidarity Fund affair and the 400 million dollars. In any case, Dokle is determined to defend himself; Ruçi has come to his side, but their statements carry no weight. Repeating arguments that have been disproved by documents, such as the state funding of “ZP” (the opposite of what Dokle claims), and the contradictions among PS leaders, confirm the chaos—a chaos that arises only when one is trying to hide the truth. E.P.

First of all, I want to thank you for the invitation you extended to me and express my deep respect for you—Albanian mothers, sisters, women and girls, wherever you may be today—for the historic contribution you have made to overthrowing the dictatorship and building and consolidating true democracy in Albania. [The report continues:] ...in the hall of the Opera and Ballet Theatre, the expanded meeting with the democratic women of Tirana and representatives of various groups from across the country. The event, which launched the LDGSH restructuring campaign, of the Woman. At the opening of the event, Mrs. Eva Karagozi briefly emphasized the role of women in overthrowing the dictatorship, in the victory of democracy and in its consolidation. Then the President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha, in his address greeted the democratic women attending, calling them, along with all Albanian women, worthy successors of Shote, Inajete Dumi, Musine Kokalari and the great woman of the century, Mother Teresa. The President stressed that the development of a democratic society cannot be complete without women before us, nor can the future of the nation be secure, since a woman is a mother, a wife and an intellectual resource. Mrs. Flutura Hasko, chairwoman of the LDGSH, analyzed in her address the position of women in yesterday’s society: “If Albania under the dictatorship was a great prison for all Albanians, women inside this prison were kept in the darkest cells.” Analyzing women’s role today and their position in the spaces of tomorrow, she closely connected this to the democratic system, which gave women the rights and place they deserved. The LDGSH, Mrs. Hasko concluded, today announces the launch of its restructuring campaign. Women in general, and intellectual women in particular, as an important factor in the democratic reform being implemented by the democratic government and the PD over these three years, were at the center of the discussion by Mr. M. Baho, Secretary General of the PD. Afterwards, Mr. Valentina Duka, dean of the Faculty of History and Philology; Mr. Jera Kruja, vice-dean of the Faculty of Medicine; Mr. Antoneta Malja, journalist; and other intellectuals spoke. Women’s place yesterday, today and tomorrow, their future redefinition, and how victory in the upcoming elections should once again belong to the PD as a progressive force in the country were at the center of the discussions and speeches by the representatives. The younger intellectuals participating in the meeting also brought up Arben Broci, as well as the sister of Nazmi Kryeziu, a martyr of democracy. Mrs. Flutura Hasko closed the meeting with these words: “I invite all those who are committed in spirit to the new word of Albania; you are more than hope, for it comes from the woman who holds the future in her hands.” Prepared by: Hirlana A. Bazo Albanian women have actively participated in all the great national movements of Albanians throughout the ages. They carried and passed down from generation to generation the precious virtues to which, as a nation, we owe our survival. In the ancient and modern history of the Albanians, Albanian women have demonstrated their strength and true resilience. Women such as Teuta, Noradhe Helen Gjjika, Sado Kashem, Shote Galica, Inajete Dumi and Musine Kokalari will always be honored by our nation. But Albanian mothers had the honor of giving birth to and raising Mother Teresa, the most distinguished woman of this century, the fullest embodiment of the humanity of Albanian women. future. During the dictatorship, Albanian women made up the majority of the many-sided resistance to it, the majority of our people who had not been indoctrinated; at the same time, Albanian women were also the most oppressed and suffering people in Europe. They had to endure poverty and misery, queues and hunger, persecution and repression. The so-called social emancipation was a hypocritical façade with which the regime, perhaps as in Orwell’s novels, sought to impose on women a distorted masculinity and to develop the physical and spiritual qualities and tendencies that nature had given to men. The dictatorship placed the burden of the heaviest work on the shoulders of Albanian women. Let us pause for a moment and remember our fields and meadows over the years. From morning until night, in these places, women gave birth to and raised children, yet as the century drew to a close they were still living as they had at its beginning: with men in the shade and women at work. This is also one of the great reasons why against the dictatorship in the 1990s. They were the first, together with their children, husbands and brothers, to take part in demonstrations and anti-communist rallies and to join hunger strikes. Through their mass participation in the democratic movement, Albanian women and girls became a key force in overthrowing the dictatorship. Great honor to our mothers and sisters who, together with their husbands, sons and brothers, overthrew the communist dictatorship! During 1991, the Black Year of Albanian communism, as we call it, Nano, Ruçi and Dokle plunged the country into chaos, anarchy, misery and destruction. To suppress the democratic movement, they organized massacres, terror and mass violence. In this struggle against the dictatorship, the sons of mothers gave their lives and became immortal martyrs of democracy: Arben Broci, Bujar Beshanaku, Nazmi Kryeziu, Besnik Ceka, Josif Budo, Artan Lenja, Spartak Delia, Pellumb Tahiri, Mikail Laro, Artur Dako, Ismail Çapani and many others. Great honor to the mothers who gave birth to and raised the martyrs of democracy! Albanian communism was the most barbaric communism; Albanian neocommunism is the ugliest form of neocommunism in Europe. Nevertheless, 1992 was the year that changed history. The votes of Albanian women and girls were decisive in the scale of the victories of 22 March. Dear ladies, Today, you are right to ask: “What have we achieved in these three years? What has Albania achieved in three years? What has Albanian women achieved in three years?” On 22 March 1992, the Albanian people, with their vote for a [free—text continues] (Continued on page 2) of the Democratic Party’s program. In our entire history spanning thousands of democracy were laid in Albania; they are its first three years of uneven yet steady development and consolidation. The years 1992–1995 are the years in which Albania emerged from great oblivion, deep isolation and a loneliness it had never experienced before; they are the years in which friendship and cooperation with Albania’s traditional allies were established, and the years of its rapid rapprochement with Europe. During these years Albania finally left the crossroads of “neither East nor West” into which dictators Hoxha and Alia, and the neocommunists at the head of the PPSH, now the PS, had placed it in order to preserve their power. It took its natural direction toward Europe and integration into Euro-Atlantic structures. Albania’s majority, as an example of democratization and its consequences, is changing steadily for the better; the country is regaining lost time. The years 1992–1995 are years of great solidarity with the countries of the European Union, the USA and other countries friendly to Albania. As the country emerged from and freed itself from Albanian Stalinist totalitarianism, it experienced a powerful political, social and economic earthquake that plunged it into chaos, anarchy, misery and hunger. The EU countries, Germany, Italy, the USA and many other friendly countries supported the policy pursued and the country’s commitment to the path of profound reform, and provided Albania with valuable assistance—the highest per capita in Eastern Europe—for which they will always have the gratitude of the Albanian nation. of democracy were laid and the rule of law and market economy consolidated; they are therefore the years in which Albanians worked not only for today but also for their future. We can state with satisfaction that, by implementing the program presented by the Democratic Party on 22 March, Albania in 1995 looks completely different. Today it is far removed—a world away—from Albania in 1991. Facts, not words, speak to this. The shops are full of goods; villas and new homes being built everywhere stand in contrast to the countless bunkers of yesterday; and satellite dishes have [text continues] (Continued on page 2)

From the meeting of PS communists in Tropoje - PD leaders in Tropoje helped reduce tensions, contrary to the fabrications of “ZP” - The socialist mayor and former PS chair of Tropoje arrived at the meeting in the car of the PD chair, who is accused of organizing “ambushes” - At the PS meeting, speakers spoke in the name of communism: “We are all communists...” The “ZP” article accusing the PD and the chair of the PD in Tropoje of trying to prevent the PS members of parliament’s meeting from taking place is a low-down deception. The truth is quite different. Several days before the meeting, sensing people’s irritation with some PS secretaries who had repeatedly insulted the citizens of Tropoje, and given that on 6 November the alternative supported by 17 opposition parties in Tropoje won only 22%, compared with 75% for the “Yes” supported by the PD, PS leaders in Tropoje asked for help at the office of the PD chair so the meeting could go ahead. It was a strange request, but it received a positive response. The truth about 14 April is precisely that the chair of the PD in Tropoje was at a location where Tropoje citizens had gathered, specifically to prevent any unnecessary escalation; the PS members of parliament know this well. It was precisely the intervention of PD leadership members that turned “brave” M. Ujka back from the road; he was ready to walk to Tirana. But the most telling fact proving the “ZP” fabrications is that the socialist mayor of Tropoje and the former chair of the PS in Tropoje went to the meeting in the car of the chair of the PD—the very person whom “ZP” accuses of trying to prevent the meeting from taking place. The incident in town, also hyped up by “ZP”, was caused by the PS extremists themselves. The driver of the chair of the Tropoje commune, formerly a ... (Continued on page 3)

Sources inside the PSD inform us that the article signed by Agap Prosi in the newspaper “Alternativa” is a pseudonym of Skender Gjinushi. It is a pseudonym from a particular period, and not the name given to him by Nexhmije Hoxha. Mr. Gjinushi himself, in his newspaper, expressed, as always, his views on his own legitimacy this time as well. In this article, this Enverist expresses his unchanging equivalence with the origins of ideological communism. Neither the social-democratic mask nor the sold-out anti-socialist opposition makes his word credible, much less his “commitment.” This two-faced leader of a “PSD that’s half a rooster” has for some time been going from door to door as well, trying to secure a piece of “pasture” in the middle of Albanian politics. This “big head” wants to secure this “pasture” through political equations that offer him ideological opportunism. In this article...

SOLIDARITY FUND Namiku of the predecessor and successor

Greeting on behalf of the PDSH at the LDGSH meeting by its Secretary General, Prof. Dr. Tritan Shehu Address by the Chairwoman of the LDGSH, Mrs. Flutura Hasko, at the expanded meeting of the LDGSH PAGE 2 The time of E. Hoxha and his descendants is over once and for all PAGE 3 Local socialist officials have turned into anti-reform groups The PPSH levers in the service of the PS PAGE 3