Tirana: The 4th conference of the DP Branch held its proceedings The President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, attends The 4th conference of the Tirana DP Branch, held yesterday at the Opera and Ballet Theatre, opened in an atmosphere of achievement after three years of implementing the DP program—the most ambitious and serious program Albania has ever had in its history. It was the program that, over three years, brought our nation out of economic paralysis, chaos and anarchy, saving the country from the precipice of history toward which the communist red nomenklatura was rolling it. Through it, one of our nation’s age-old aspirations was fulfilled: Albania’s entry into the EC and its participation, with full rights, at the table of Europe’s Western democratic countries. The Branch, the legitimate representatives of thousands of members of the Tirana DP, welcomed the arrival at this conference of the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, with applause, ovations and chants of “freedom-democracy.” More than anything else, this is an expression of honor and respect for the man who, with dedication, wisdom and determination, has guided democratic developments in Albania. -Ishtetozi Dylber Vrioni, chairman of this branch, declared the 4th conference open. “We are honored by the presence at this conference of President Sali Berisha, Prime Minister Meksi, the Secretary General of the DPA, Prof. Dr. Tritan Shehu, members of the leadership, members of parliament, senior officials and other guests,” Vrioni said. Mr. Vrioni went on to emphasize that the more Albanians take part in the process of building a democratic order, the faster and better this process will be accomplished. The democratic movement in Albania is a movement and a force born of Albanian reality, which calls for an honest political force based on individuals who build their activity on work, not favors. Over these nearly five years, the DP has developed a character of its own, a sound character based on the most important contribution of the democratic movement, also because it represents the capital, represents Tirana, which accounts for the largest share of the country’s economic activity and is home to a major concentration of all Albanian intellectuals and democratic forces in Albania. Among the other very important objectives facing the DP and the new leadership to be elected by this conference, Vrioni said, will be strengthening the DP’s work in the countryside and managing local government more effectively in both the city and the countryside, among other things. Another major objective for the Tirana DP Branch and its new leadership remains preparing the election campaign for 1996. “This conference is meeting today, following a powerful electoral campaign within the DP, in the sections and sub-sections of the city and the countryside. This year’s election campaign was characterized by seriousness and [text unclear]; this generally contributed to strengthening and consolidating the party structures in Tirana, increasingly demonstrating the character of a modern European-style party,” said Prof. Dr. Sali Mema, one of the members of the Tirana DP leadership, who presented the report on the branch’s activities during the period between the two conferences. (Continued on page 3)

Speech by the President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha, delivered at the 4th conference of the Tirana DP [...the] age-old aspirations of the Albanians. During these seven months, in foreign affairs, Albania consolidated its friendship and cooperation with its sincere and natural friends and, with the vote of all EC member states, signed its European constitution once and for all. It took its rightful place among the civilized nations of Europe. With Albania’s accession to the EC, not only was our nation’s age-old dream realized, but this accession also completely thwarted the immoral campaign of Albanian pseudo-politicians who, for months, coordinated their efforts with racist and anti-Albanian elements of forces and regimes that had tried in many ways to prevent [change in] Albania’s communist dictatorship. With their overt and covert declarations and deceptions, and disinformation of every kind, they tried until the very last minute to prevent Albania’s accession to the EC. With this achievement, the DP and the democratic forces once and for all brought Albania out of the crossroads of being neither East nor West, while those who opposed this accession will remain forever in the abode of...

and growing prosperity. The DP restored to Albanians their faith in themselves, in God and in their country, the pride and honor of being Albanian, of being European, and the precious dignity of being a free person. From a thorough analysis of this message, the DP concluded that the Albanian electorate was convinced that on 6 and 6 November it did not vote for the Albanian neo-communists, but that with its vote it wished to send a message to the DP and its Government. Its Government. that the Albanian electorate was asking the DP for democratic forces to bring Albania once and for all while those who opposed this message of democracy will remain forever in the abode of darkness in the history of the Albanian nation.

President Berisha yesterday received the renowned actor of Albanian origin, James Belushi Photo: A. Babani “I am pleased to welcome you,” said President Berisha, “and I want to assure you that your visit has been warmly welcomed by all Albanian artists and art lovers. We are proud of you, brothers John and James Belushi. Your Albanian creative genius made you famous in the USA and around the world. Your successes in the art of cinema are like those of the famous A. Moisiu in the art of the…” Belushi to President Berisha: now a free country that is advancing rapidly. We are very much looking forward to your visit to the USA, which will certainly have special significance both for you and for us there. I am impressed by the warm hospitality of the Albanians, and I now have plans to begin collaborations with Albanian artists.”

Dear delegates and delegates , It is a particular pleasure for me to greet you, representatives of Tirana’s Democrats, as well as the invited representatives of all the branches of the PD of Albania. The PD Conference for Tirana, after the National Assembly, is the most important gathering of the PD of Albania, both because of this branch’s considerable specific weight and contribution to the PD’s leadership role, and because of the extremely important time at which this Conference is being held. During this two-year period, as before, we can say that the Tirana PD has played a primary role in consolidating the PD’s fundamental orientation in defending and developing the values of democracy and in ensuring its principles as a whole remain unshakable. Alongside overthrowing the dictatorship of the blockmen in Tirana and building democracy, the Tirana PD also played a decisive role in defeating all attempts at dangerous compromises with extremist left- or right-wing forces, from February 1991 to March 1995—attempts that adventurist elements infiltrated into the PD had been tasked with carrying out. Therefore, I would also like to thank from the heart all the members, supporters, and leaders of the Tirana PD for their unwavering commitment to the principles on which the PD was founded and on which our society today is being built. The PD, which its opponents—and sometimes well-wishers who did not understand it—regarded as a movement, while others called it a front, proved to be the most vital, most Western-oriented political force in Albania’s history. Within five years it overthrew the inhuman totalitarian system and established in Albania a new order based on the rule of law, a market economy, and Euro-Atlantic integration. Albania in 1991 and Albania in 1995 differ from one another as much as dictatorship differs from democracy, barbaric communism from popular capitalism, violence and terror from freedom, and poverty, misery, and disillusionment from hope, optimism, and growing prosperity. The PD restored to Albanians their belief in themselves, in God, and in their country, their pride and honor in being Albanian and European, and the precious virtue of being a free person. The PD Conference for Tirana is convening at the start of the decisive period for implementing the PD program’s objectives that remain to be achieved, and for preparing everything during these approximately 10 months that separate us from the next elections, which will bring certain victory in the spring of 1996. (Continued on page 3)

Ladies and gentlemen, After the referendum of November 10, in which a draft constitution was defeated, the leaders of the PS and their open and silent allies within other political forces thought that the clock of democracy had stopped and that the PD’s days in power were numbered. They rushed to create puppet governments in the shadows, announced an electoral platform for building socialism in Albania, printed dozens of tons of portraits and election posters, and launched immoral, unprincipled attacks on democracy, reform, and the institutions of the rule of law. The Enverist campaign devised by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism and the Enverologists of all forces was a powerful attack on Albanian democracy and reforms as a whole. Under these circumstances, the PD calmly analyzed the reasons for the defeat of the draft constitution. It interpreted the electorate’s admonishing message as calling, first, for accelerating reforms and improving and consolidating institutions and, second, for the PD to correct itself. On the basis of this message, in January of this year the PD National Council adopted a series of decisions of, I would say, particular importance. I believe that at this conference it is essential to ask: how have we fulfilled during this period the electorate’s legitimate demands, which were set out in the decisions of the PD National Council? The intense developments and major events of recent months showed that the PD truly was a force with great capacity for renewal, that it had the strength, vitality, and wisdom to improve its governance, accelerate the pace of reforms, and achieve, within a few months, historic achievements and victories in the political, economic, cultural, and military spheres—achievements for Albania and future generations, for all Albanians regardless of their party beliefs, and more important than several draft constitutions taken together. This is not about the failure and destruction of puppet governments in the shadows. No, gentlemen, others concern themselves with puppets and phantoms. We concerned ourselves with achieving and implementing objectives, among them, I would say, one of the Enverists’ dreams concerning the history of the Albanian nation. (Continued on page 2)

Ladies and gentlemen, Albania today, through its policies, has succeeded in establishing, within the framework of the “Partnership for Peace,” closer cooperative relations with NATO, the USA, and the other member countries than any other country in Eastern Europe. Through this cooperation, Albania’s role and contribution as a factor for peace and stability in the Balkans have grown and become consolidated. On the other hand, the efforts of socialist leaders to keep Albania away from NATO have definitively failed. Disheartened by this, their party leaders, as if to demonstrate their nostalgia and roots, on the day of Milošević’s visit to Kosovo sought the support of the Minister of Defense. This maneuver was essentially intended not only to divert attention from the grave provocation against Albanians in Kosovo, but also to condemn Albania’s cooperation with NATO. Their position on cooperation with… (Continued on page 2)

“I am Albanian and proud of it” …with joy world. Your successes in the art of cinema resemble the achievements stage and the applause of the early years of this century. “I am proud of my Albanian origin,” James told him. “…a new country that is advancing quickly. to begin collaborating with talented Albanian artists.” Press and Information Office at the President’s Office Just as Albania suffered, so did I; and when Albania became free, I too became free—my spirit became free. Belushi, guest of President Clinton at the Clinton–Berisha meeting Question: When did you first hear about Albania, and how did you imagine your country of origin? Answer: You should understand that my impressions of Albania are those of someone who had not been here for 50 years. My impression of Albania was the one my parents had when they left Albania, so today it is very different from what they told me. I remember a story that frightened me to death when I was a child. A male cousin of mine, the son of Vuci Pandou, returned here to his hometown. He smoked expensive cigarettes, and someone asked him why he smoked such expensive cigarettes. He replied that it was worth the expense to smoke such fine cigarettes. After that, he ended up… (Continued on page 4)

Photo: A. Babani

Question: When did you first hear about Albania, and how did you imagine your country of origin?

“Gazeta shqiptare,” servant of the fascist empire From ration coupons to 3,000 food products!