SAMI MILLOSHI In different ways and forms, with different authors, directly and indirectly, the leaders of the PS have sought and continue to seek to push the DP into a major trap: a coalition with the PS. Their proposal for a coalition with the DP is not new. It smells of mold, just like Ramiz Alia’s memoirs, Servet Pellumbi’s Marxist lessons, Gramoz Ruci’s interviews, or Eduart Selami’s belated, so-called political initiatives. This mold and antiquity of the proposal were concocted in the greenhouse of the former Central Committee of the Party of Labour, by crafty operators led by Ramiz Alia. On the one hand, faced with the popular hurricane, he was forced to allow political pluralism; on the other, he wanted to disguise his inherited livestock, bequeathed to him by the dictator Hoxha. In fairness, it must be said that a coalition between the PS and the DP was tried and failed during the so-called Government of Stability. It inflicted incalculable damage on the Albanian economy, which was already suffering from the mortal wounds dealt to it by the communist dictatorship. This truth was ignored like an ostrich. Pellumbi and his successive deputies, former presidential candidates and former collaborators of the State Security Service, have brought it onto the stage from time to time. And very late—far too late—so did his former associate, former DP chairman Selami. Naturally, the historical aspect of the idea of a DP–PS coalition matters, because it clearly exposes similarities in purpose and differences in appearance. But what matters more is that the DP still has a firm position: it says a powerful NO to a coalition with the PS. What is the importance of the DP’s political consistency? First and foremost, the DP maintains this firm position because the PS is still what it always was: the Party of Labour in a new suit. This fact is—and cannot fail to be—intolerable. Let Luan Hajdaraga boast as much as he likes in yesterday’s Italian newspaper that “the PS has a perfect organizational structure.” Its organizational functioning is based on orders and cadres of martyrs; moreover, the dominance of former State Security contingents has become more evident. You have inherited the structures just as you have inherited the crimes. Socialists, you inherit from it the criminality of the terrible past, into which the Party of Labour had led the country, and whose successor is the PS. If one carefully observes the PS press and its satellites—God knows how they are financed—it becomes clear that, from time to time, theorists appear lamenting that Albania does not need a political system dominated by two parties and claiming that, supposedly, it is in the nature of this people’s country, as the saying goes, to be governed by many parties. Recently, some pseudo-analysts have even begun suggesting changes to the electoral law. As can be understood, all these attempts are made to carve out a place in the political spectrum and then secure seats in a coalition, even for parties that do not exist and count only their followers in Tirana and their bankrupt newspapers. In this respect, the democrats who distributed Dokle for the PSD and AD some time ago, in his beloved newspaper KJ, are nothing more than bronze medals for trade-union activists. No one can deceive Albanians any longer. They know who brought them out of the hell of dictatorship, out of the long queues for two eggs, and they have nothing to do with analogies with the Democrats of [text cut off]

-Everyone is judged by their work and abilities -The DP’s philosophical foundation: initiative, prosperity and the democracy of the individual -Marxism, the PS’s basic philosophy: an anti-prosperity, anti-market, anti-initiative philosophy; a collectivist philosophy and a source of dictatorships Meeting of Messrs. T. Shehu, T. Dosti and S. Zhulali with intellectuals and workers in Bulqiza Mr. Shehu then turned to an analysis of the PS’s philosophical foundations, which, with their tendencies against the free individual, lead as far as the establishment of dictatorships and centrally planned economies. Marxism, Shehu continued, is anti-market and opposed to free initiative and prosperity. Therefore, the DP considers the philosophical foundation underlying the PS dangerous to democratic achievements. Speaking about dictatorial regimes and the PS’s failures, Mr. Shehu said that these are connected not only with its philosophical foundation, but also with the people who lead it, their involvement in the past, and the struggle between factions within the PS. These are clearly evident, Shehu said, in the PS’s wholly bleak portrayal of Albanian reality and its inability to present even a single constructive alternative. It is precisely this Marxist philosophical foundation that brings about the PS’s isolation and its antidemocratic, destructive and anti-reform positions. Mr. Shehu again called on democratic forces to bear in mind and explain the DP’s achievements over these three years, because, he said, the DP is the party that has secured many victories and is shaping the future. In his remarks, Mr. Dosti spoke about the great changes brought about by intellectuals and educated people in a democratic society. Albania, he said, has always needed them and always will. Recalling passages from our history and world history, Mr. Dosti sought to set out his ideas in his speech. Mr. Dosti went on to say that the opposition was making great efforts to create a manipulated political situation based on slander and a dark portrayal of reality. Therefore, he said, intellectuals should be the first to confront these insinuations. Mr. Dosti stressed that the DP is not a populist party, but the party that today has the most realistic and fairest alternative. The DP, Dosti concluded, fights for human dignity, freedom and individuality. “It is our duty to help ourselves. Expressions of individual dissatisfaction are real in a democratic free-market system, but,” he said, “we are not facing an absurd ideal such as communism.” Mr. Zhulali stated that every democratic achievement of Albanian society has come about through the work of individuals within the space created and permitted by the democratic system, for which we have worked and continue to work for years. Zhulali then spoke about the situation in the region and called it a merit of Albanian policy, and of President Berisha, that Albania had avoided the blows of war and become a factor for peace. “It is important,” Mr. Zhulali continued, “to know that we have established that precedent and legality, and the world agrees to work with us.” Finally, he described the opposition’s position and silence regarding repayment of the foreign debt to the American peacekeeping forces, etc., as deeply shameful and anti-national. The meeting was another indication of the intellectual spirit of the DP of Albania. ID LIR AZIZI

Meeting of the leadership of the DP in Bulqiza -The work with the individual is the foundation of the DP’s organizational work -We will answer Mr. Hajdaraga: It is true that, in terms of age, the PS’s structures are older than the DP’s—they are 50 years old. -The PS’s structures consist of former State Security collaborators, former officials of the Party of Labour of Albania, etc. -The PS provides no information about its leaders because they belong to the past The Secretary General of the DP of Albania, Mr. Shehu, welcomed the new leadership of the DP in Bulqiza, elected at the branch conference. On this occasion, he made clear the very important role of a party-branch leadership member, calling them important people in the network through which the respective party branch operates. Mr. Shehu then stressed that meeting the challenges of political struggle requires—and cannot be accomplished without—a sound leadership made up of intellectuals, who first and foremost have taken on the major responsibilities, particularly in this situation. Speaking about the DP’s extensive recent work to improve the party’s structures throughout, he said that the time itself is demanding these improvements, particularly at the grassroots. These, Shehu continued, should also be seen as helping to facilitate development in the country. For this, he said, it is absolutely necessary for party structures to keep pace with the steps of this development, with people’s new way of thinking, and so on. It was precisely here that the Secretary General focused on the character that the party’s work, especially its organizational and propaganda work, should have. He stressed that (Continued on page 2)

Today in Tirana As part of the cooperation between our army and that of the United States of America, the U.S. Secretary of the Army, Mr. Togo West, is arriving in our country today for a one-day visit, the press spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence announced. During his stay, Mr. West will hold separate meetings with senior officials of the country, including the President of the Republic and the Minister of Defence, and will visit the camp of the troops taking part in the joint Albanian-American exercise “Clear Water - 95”. visiting Albania for the first time.

Yesterday morning, the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the army, Major General Armando Vincani, received the commander of the Italian frigate Sagittario, Roberto Viaggi. During the meeting, they discussed cooperation between the Albanian and Italian naval forces. According to Mr. Vincani, this cooperation has so far been very successful, and Albanian service members have benefited from the experience of their Italian counterparts. After giving an overview of the role of the frigate he commands, Mr. Viaggi said that he was ready to make all the equipment of the Sagittario available for the joint exercise with the Albanian naval forces, which will take place on 26 August.

Why is the resolution of the foreign debt considered one of the Government’s major achievements? At a meeting held some time ago, President Berisha said: “We do the work; others do the talking.” This expresses the great truth that all democratic institutions have specific duties that must be carried out. The same applies to the Government. Whether or not these duties, arising from the DP’s programme, are fulfilled is a measure of whether, at the end of its term, the DP should or should not present itself to its electorate—the electorate from which it first received a great many votes on 22 March 1990. The progress of the indicators of work shows that more than 90% of the DP’s contract with this electorate has been fulfilled. One of its main points, fulfilling the 5% condition, and one of its legitimate sources of satisfaction, is the resolution of the foreign debt problem. In terms of its scale, resolving the foreign debt problem is a financial event. The positive effects of resolving the problem themselves warrant this description. It is now known that this debt was created in the 1990s, when the communist government of Çarçani and his associates borrowed millions of dollars to gamble them away. These millions of dollars disappeared without being turned into a single road, school, health centre, etc. The material damage caused by the government of the “former [text unclear]” was compounded by moral damage and shame as a result of the mishandling of the debt. Albanian government officials in the 1990s were thus labelled “bank pirates” by bank executives, creating a very poor image of Albania. In this sense, the task of the Foreign Debt Negotiating Committee was several times more difficult. The fact that three years of negotiations produced the desired result shows that the 41 banks appreciated their wisdom. Within five years, perceptions swung from one extreme to the other: from the former rulers being called “pirates” to the forgiveness of 500 million dollars today. This is thanks to the work and efforts of President Berisha, the democratic Government and the Commission entrusted with the task, headed by Mr. Vrioni. This is one of the reasons why the Government, the DP electorate and all its political institutions have legitimate cause for satisfaction. By resolving this problem, the Government gave the people of the country a great deal of money for roads, energy infrastructure, health centres, schools, etc. It freed the Albanian taxpayer from a burden of 130 dollars intended to pay off a debt created by “bad gamblers”. On the other hand, this achievement of the Government paved the way for integration and Why does the opposition envy this achievement? In the first days after the result, so eagerly awaited by everyone, was officially confirmed, the opposition press declared mourning. As is known, the scale of our achievement shocked it and left it unable to act according to its tradition—simply to blacken reality. But some time passed and (Continued on page 2) For the sake of truth, it must be said that the PS–PD coalition was tried and found wanting during the time of the so-called Government of Stability, which inflicted incalculable damage on the Albanian economy, already suffering from the mortal wounds inflicted by the communist dictatorship. Fortunately, the PD leadership—and Mr. Berisha himself personally—recognized this bitter truth very quickly and, as is well known, had the courage to take the PD out of the Government of Stability. This courageous act, not only at the time it was carried out but also now, four years later, can only be regarded as a definitive challenge to the fossils of the dictatorship. Time has shown, moreover, that it was a shrewd political move that greatly increased the PD’s political credibility. The old advocates of the coalition, Ceka, Imami, and others, never accepted this moment; on the contrary, they have continued to spew venom over the loss of power, which evidently was an irreparable loss for their questionable political profiles. Yet while some of these ardent idols of the coalition idea sank into the archives of burned-out political cards, the idea of a coalition itself … “perfect organizational functioning.” Its organizational functioning is the functioning of the leaderships, of yesterday’s cliques; add to this the fact that evident. You inherited the structures just as you inherited the crime. The real socialists are outside the old structures of their party, not to mention those who, even when inside it, are nothing but a minority who are never allowed to step out of line with the discipline of a totalitarian party whose membership is based on privilege and whose theoretical foundation is Marxism. For all these reasons, the PD has neither formed nor will form an alliance with the PS, because domestically this would be, as has been said, an act of political sabotage against democracy. Internationally, Albania would lose a great deal, since the democratic world would not forgive the democratic forces for serving the neo-communists, toward whom it has such an aversion. If it were to form a coalition with the PS, this would be political suicide for the PD, because it would be obliged to hand the PS its indisputable successes of these three years of democracy and to take the gift … The task of the External Debt Negotiating Committee was made several times more difficult. The fact that in these three years we achieved the desired result shows that the 41 banks judged their wisdom correctly. Within five years, perceptions swung to extremes: from the “pirates” that yesterday’s governments were called, to the cancellation There you have one of the reasons why the Government, the PD, and its political institution … lawfully … Through health centers, schools, and so on. It relieved Albanians of an unpaid tax of the Government opened the way to integration …

The issue of settling Serbian refugees in Kosovo and Vojvodina was at the center of a press conference organized in Geneva by Ron Redmond, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The settlement of Krajina Serb refugees in Kosovo in recent days is a matter of concern not only for Albanians in Kosovo and Albania, but also for international bodies, particularly the United Nations. According to official sources from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, there are 176,000 Krajina Serb refugees in Serbia who fled during the Croatian offensive. Speaking about Serbian refugees in Yugoslavia and their settlement in Kosovo, Mr. said at yesterday’s press conference at the United Nations: Most of these Serbian refugees (around 91,000) have been settled in Belgrade; they have been installed in Vojvodina, while the others are in the interior of Serbia. Meanwhile, 3,100 Serbian refugees have been installed in Kosovo, which is inhabited mainly by Albanians. Only 824 Serbian refugees have been settled in Montenegro, a republic that is much more developed than Kosovo.

New leaders of the DP of Albania invited to “RD” Interview with Kujtim Kilogjeri, Chairman of the DP Branch in the Gramsh district In place of the PS’s “pro-American” passport The geography of the nanodollars and “ZP” Another “injustice” against the PS Agapi upset because they have fired him