Even before it had been confirmed by the bodies responsible for registering parties whether there was a new offshoot of the Socialist Party, this was confirmed during the Socialist Party press conference by Servet Pëllumbi. He said that a group of Socialists had already created a new party called the Reformed Socialist Party. Pëllumbi denied that there was any mistake by the group of the five, which means that if they themselves are not in this group, a second split from this party can be expected, considering that the creation of the Reformed Socialist Party is the first split of this party. The five have long since left it, at least in terms of ideas and activities, from that party. Three days earlier, the deputy chairman of the Socialist Party declared that Zeneli, one of the five, does not have the Socialist Party’s legitimacy as a member of the delegation that will go to China. This statement is an indication that something like this means that the votes for the party leadership were not free, as claimed by the top leaders of the Socialist Party, but were dictated. If that were so, Pëllumbi would not have drawn such a clear distinction between Theodhori Bejko’s thesis concerning the delegation headed by the German President and Zeneli, who is also within a delegation headed by the President. For the former he did not question legitimacy, whereas for Zeneli he pointed out the differences. The split in the Socialist Party, which according to Pëllumbi has now been institutionalized, was inevitable. Those who idolize Marx and those who are against his presence in the Socialist Party program could not sit at the same table. Yet this was not the only spark that brought other groups to life. So it was not some of the reformers and conservatives that led to a split in this party. There had long existed internal groups, not so much because of principles as because of preserving positions within the party leadership. The process of “canonization” that has long been operating within it has now created an insecure ground for part of the party leadership, which apparently has also carried out the logical division of this party. The end of unity proclaimed by the Socialists marks the peak of the crisis of the Albanian far left, with serious implications for the political landscape of Albania. This crisis has now found the climate of the left and especially the Socialists’ attitude toward reform, within the Socialist parliamentary group, in the lack of alternatives to the Socialist Party and in their efforts to limit the effectiveness of democracy in the country’s life. The Socialist Party’s press conference the day before yesterday was a mirror of its internal history. However much it tried to simplify the creation of the new party, in the leadership of which some of the current Socialist leaders are thought to be involved, Pëllumbi did not hide his great anger toward those who broke ranks. He did not fail to attack its leaders as corrupt with money. This overshadows the preservation of the principles of the right to thought and choice that even Pëllumbi himself mentioned a little earlier. Otherwise, Pëllumbi’s definition of the new political grouping has strong points. The Socialists are a direct threat to this leader’s flank and to those party members who are in charge. Moreover, such a threat from within this party increasingly narrows the space for action and thought. One can imagine what may happen if this extends to Albanian society or if it is reflected in this society, even within the Socialist electorate.

President Berisha commented for “RD” President Mitterrand was seen off with deep honors and great dignity by France, which mourned the loss of this distinguished statesman. President Mitterrand was also seen off with great honor and dignity by heads of state from all over Europe and distinguished personalities from all over the world. President Mitterrand will be remembered as a great statesman and a distinguished politician of integration, peace, stability and democracy.

p.3

The syndrome of hatred for intellectuals In recent months, the anti-intellectual line in the PS has become dominant. The suspicion that intellectuals lack revolutionary spirit and have a petty-bourgeois attitude seems to have been authentically inherited from the PPSh; no one has managed either to overcome it, adapt it, or accept intellectual thought. The PS showed its anti-intellectual stance first in the fight waged within the party against intellectuals, but in recent times intellectual fusion has turned into hatred for intellectuals. After the shameful article “The Silence of Intellectuals,” published in “ZP” some time ago by an anonymous author who, quite amusingly, calls himself such, hatred toward Kadare has grown in recent years in the PS and he is attacked with banal logic by one of the party’s leaders, Servet Pëllumbi. First to Dokle. “As for Mr. Kadare’s statement,” says Pëllumbi, “there is nothing new, nothing special. But I would say that Mr. Kadare in this case is not at the level he is in the field of literature.” Pëllumbi’s ignorance, this immature militant of Marxist laboratories, made him stumble in his formulations in the field of literature. Even today he cannot free himself from the descendants of “seed, factories, career” and “fertile fields.” With its nihilistic and belittling attitude toward the opinions expressed by the most distinguished Albanian writer Ismail Kadare about the Albanian reality and its future, the PS once again confirms that it is dominated by primitivism, darkness, and an inability to assimilate the world’s progressive thought as never before in the nation. Meanwhile, they display hatred and disregard for intellectual thought, for the ideas of the Albanian nation, which through great effort and sacrifice defied the dictatorial darkness and became the most powerful initiator and supporter of democracy and of the overthrow of the regime. But for the PS, badly afflicted with the syndrome of intellectual hatred, only the so-called favored intellectuals are the intellectuals of the state security, such as Tozaj, or such dimwits as Zeqo, who will be remembered for the anti-intellectual inquisition, for the demolition of churches and mosques, and for the ominous call for St. Bartholomew’s night. N.GJINI

President Sali Berisha also took part in the ceremony Farewell, Mitterrand! Yesterday morning millions of French people gave a final farewell to former President of France François Mitterrand. The French world thus parted once and for all from the man who for 14 years had been the name and symbol of France throughout the world. In Paris, dozens of politicians from around the world gathered. Such a large number of statesmen has never before assembled in the famous 1,000-year-old Notre Dame Cathedral. Apart from the ceremonies held on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, never before in Paris had so many heads of state from all over the world gathered for the departure to the final resting place of the great statesman of the French nation, François Mitterrand. To pay their final respects to former President François Mitterrand came US Vice President Al Gore, the German trio led by President Roman Herzog, Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel. Also present were UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, President of Russia Boris Yeltsin, President of the European Commission Jacques Santer, President of Italy Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, Prime Minister of Belgium Jean-Luc Dehaene, King Albert and Queen Paola of Belgium, King Juan Carlos of Spain and Prime Minister Gonzales, British Prime Minister John Major, President of Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Czech President Havel, etc. From the Balkans were present the President of Bulgaria Zhelyu Zhelev, of Romania Ion Iliescu, of Croatia Franjo Tuđman, and the President of Albania Sali Berisha. Also present were the President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak, the leader of the Palestinian people Yasser Arafat, leaders of Francophone Africa, etc. China was represented in Paris by the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Xao Xi Cen. The main ceremony and the mass were held in the famous Notre Dame Cathedral. It was presided over by the Archbishop of Paris Jean-Marie Lustiger. For more than an hour, a never-before-seen ceremony was held in Notre Dame for the man who for years had led France on the path of development, European integration and beyond. Paris and all of France were today close to Mitterrand, close to the man who made an era and wrote the modern history of France in recent years. Those who were closest to Mitterrand feel the loss most deeply. Chancellor Kohl perhaps has reason to be moved, because together with Mitterrand they laid the foundations of Franco-German unity and laid the foundations for shaping the European Union. Away from Paris, in Jarnac, the funeral ceremonies for former President François Mitterrand were held. Jarnac was Mitterrand’s birthplace, and it was there, near his family and friends, that the burial ceremony took place. So today France and the French parted forever from the symbolic man, François Mitterrand. He gave France everything. Perhaps not by chance, these days someone called Mitterrand the monarch of the French government for 14 years in a row. After so many years, Mitterrand said goodbye to France and the French gave Mitterrand their final farewell.

Once they learned that their request to go to Rome had been accepted by the PSD, the PS leaders rushed to notify “KJ” of something untrue, giving it other information. Thus the next day “KJ” published an article based on the information it had received, accusing that a PS delegation composed of Meta and Islami would be received by D’Alema. Not only that, but according to “KJ” the idea is raised that the PSDI would offer help to the PS and it would be admitted to the Socialist International before the elections. Despite the good will to serve, “KJ” in that article did nothing but discredit Islami and the PS. Islami was too hasty and failed to cross the Adriatic, because the deputy chairman Meta did little else than this, crossing the Adriatic twice and, just as he entered Italy, so he also left it. D’Alema did not agree to meet even the Socialist with a youth pompadour who had gone to Rome to represent the leaders who practically run his party. But what was even more interesting from the PDSI statement was that in the meeting between Meta and Fassino, they had talked about everything, even about the PSD, but almost nothing had been said about the PS. Thus, with the preliminary inflation that “KJ” gave to the failed mission of the PS in Italy, it only adds to the dose of discrediting Islami and his colleagues. E. PALOKA

From the Zhulali-Perry meeting -The American defense secretary confirms he will make a visit to Albania from 1–3 April 1996 The Minister of Defense, Safet Zhulali, was received for a meeting at the United States Department of Defense by the American Secretary of Defense. During the meeting, Minister Zhulali and Secretary Perry expressed high appreciation for the level of military cooperation between the two countries, which, as was emphasized during the talks, serves peace, stability and security. The discussion focused on issues of mutual interest, such as the implementation of the peace agreement for Bosnia, bilateral cooperation in the military field, and participation in activities within the framework of the Partnership for Peace. Minister Zhulali confirmed to his American counterpart the decision of the Albanian government to make available a support company to the peace plan. This was welcomed and appreciated by the American side as a concrete step by Albania in support of peace in the Balkan region. Mr. Zhulali and Mr. Perry agreed to continue cooperation, seeking new ways to make this cooperation as effective as possible. The visit of the American Secretary of Defense to Albania from 1–3 April 1996 was an expression of the growing support for this cooperation. The American side also reaffirmed its readiness to contribute through the national training center, while at the same time valuing the work done so far.

He submits the PS document, its chairman in the village of Patok in the Kurbin district I have been a member of the PPSH since 1974 and, to this day, a member of the PS, chairman of the Socialist Party’s base organization for the village of Patok in the Kurbin district. During the period of mobilization of the Labor Party, I was treated badly by former PPSH secretaries in the district, supposedly because I had a liberal[?] attitude, without openly saying that they treated me this way because my father was the nephew of a kulak. Since, when I was head of sector in Krujë, the former first secretary of the district PP, Xhemal Dymyja, would often summon me to separate from my wife and two sons, allegedly or according to him because she had a bad biography (she is from a kulak family on her father’s side (of Tade të Leknit)). I did not agree, and as a result he opposed me to such an extent that they transferred me from Krujë to Patok. When I asked for a confrontation with the chairman of the Executive Committee at the time, he had also suffocated the chairman of the D.P.B. There was no particular reason to do this, only to apply pressure. They told my wife that it was a matter of justice, so they would not dismiss her from the office. I began life in Patok, in an apartment without a building, and I still live there today. Despite all this, by trying to be as correct as possible and to do what I passed on as good, that is, keeping my word, I joined the Socialist Party. Feeling hopeful that the old guard was leaving and that the PS was being renewed, I remained loyal. The truth came out, and there are also people of name in this party. By following closely the whole of the Socialist Party, in (Continues on page 3)

From the legacy archive of the PS Minutes of the Political Bureau meeting of the Central Committee of the PPSH, dated 2 and 3 July 1974 p.7

The press and information office of the Greek embassy in Tirana announced the day before yesterday that the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through a communiqué, expressed its satisfaction with the decision of the Albanian government to strengthen the decree on entry visas for Greek citizens, which had been in force since September 1994. This decision puts an end to differentiated treatment, eases contacts, especially economic cooperation between the two countries, and constitutes a positive step toward creating the conditions that will allow further essential progress in bilateral relations, to which Greece attaches particular importance.

On Saturday, 13.01.1996 at 10:00 at the Palace of Congresses in Tirana, the National Council of PDSH (expanded) will be held with the participation of: Chairman, PD Secretary, FRPD chairman, deputies, chairwoman of the LDGSH, mayors and district heads (one from the PD), and the Prefect. Members of the Work Groups from the Center.

TIRANA INTERNATIONAL HOTEL SKANDERBEG SQUARE # Tirana (ALBANIA)# TELEPHONE 355 -42/34185 # Fax: 355 42/341 88 BORJA COFFEE SHOP Open every day, from 10:30 to 19:30 Offers you to enjoy: *A quick snack *Typical Albanian cuisine *Specialties from Italian cuisine *Sandwiches prepared on the spot All this in a pleasant setting and with service that will make you return again to “Tirana International” Hotel LA PERGOLA PIANO BAR-TERRACE Open every day from 7:00 in the morning until 12:00 at night. From the veranda of Tirana International Hotel you will enjoy interesting views of “Skënderbej” Square *Offers cocktails and aperitifs among the finest. *You will have the opportunity to try a variety of fresh desserts and sandwiches. *Throughout the time, a musical atmosphere will accompany you, making your evening more pleasant. *La Pergola Piano Bar Terrace is the ideal place to meet. TURIN HOTELS INTERNATIONAL VIA LAGRANGE 10-10123 TORINO ITALY TEL: (011) 561 3488 FAX: (011) 561 71 91