After the Republican Institute polls Alarm in the Socialist Party over the results of the poll by the International Republican Institute. As soon as they learned the truth about the condition of their party, Ruçi ordered these results to be declared top secret, thus also dealing a blow to the complaint of the prestigious institute while at the same time expressing the panic of the socialist leadership. The latest poll, that of the International Republican Institute, identified the Democratic Party as the decisive political force in Albania. This is the third time that polls carried out in Albania by independent national and international organizations have determined the superiority of democratic forces in Albania. Therefore all polls leave the Albanian left in the dust, and although it remains the second political force, it is a long way behind the party in first place. In addition, the place this party may occupy after the next elections is narrower than it was four years ago. Meanwhile this percentage, compared with the one from the referendum, which they have consistently described as a percentage for the Socialist Party, is almost twice as low. The poll conducted by the Republican Institute gave lower figures for the left than the two-stage polls carried out by the newspaper Albania. In this Institute’s poll, only 3% of the Albanians surveyed appeared to ask President Berisha and the Democratic Party for more political rights; only 2% suggested that promises be kept and only 5% asked that the land reform be changed. This expresses full approval of the program pursued by the democratic government and of the realization of the institution of the President in Albania. Despite these results, “Koha Jonë”, turned by the socialists, challenged the representative of the Republican Institute in Albania to carry out responsibilities for the first time in his profession. The responsibility he had not dared to take on was neither correcting the figures nor the rejection of two articles published about this poll. This happened even though a few days earlier the socialists had included this Institute among their friends. The fact that such a poll has shaken and brought to the forefront the party that has lost reform completely discredits the propaganda that there is a wing on the left of the Albanian electorate. It is a major sign that Albanians are not only not on the left, but also feel and become aware of a complete reform in Albania. Their support for values goes beyond today’s majority, but the achievements of the democratic government are an incentive for a program that favors faster development. The decidedly unfavorable position of the socialists in this poll is also an indicator of political partiality among Albanians. Meanwhile, the distance that the socialist electorate has created from the old party, according to the survey data, best reflects the clone-like scheme of this party. What will happen to the left electorate? Under the conditions of calming percentages and different forms of prolongation and diversions, part of the left electorate will preserve its own values within the current disordered socialist program. Another part, which best affirms the reality of 1991, while the rest, regardless of beliefs, will be forced to choose the programs of the Democratic Party, which also includes considerable space for social elements in a society. It should be said that Albanian society, which closely resembles a society that accepts pragmatism as its motto, will undoubtedly move closer to the program where it sees the possibility of realizing its own aspirations. The most cited poll also supports this spirit that turned out to be expanding in Albania. It was this same institute, in a difficult time for freedom of thought in a field of diverse opinions, that before the 22 March ‘92 elections produced conclusions very close to the results of those elections.

Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi declares limited only by the ceiling price for mass bread. Meanwhile, because of the higher price of imported flour, many bakeries are beginning to look for a pretext to raise the price of mass bread or to block the production of mass bread - when pressure is exerted by the tax authorities not to change the ceiling price only for mass bread - in order to produce only other bread, outside the one that is blocked. Mr. Meksi said that the state, regardless of the price at which it buys wheat abroad, sells it to flour mills at the same price as a year earlier; the prime minister stressed: we will not allow speculation in this regard, because it seems to me absolutely not serious that with the only product which has a ceiling price, an attempt is made to profit. According to information held by the Albanian government, in the city of Tirana out of about 58 bakeries, only 40 are currently in working order. Although there have not been open tendencies to raise the price of bread. In many of these bakeries only products not meeting the established weight standards were found, which would constitute a real price increase. The price of 1 lira of flour has been noted in the district of Shkodra of M[?]alesi[?] e Madhe, where 1 kg of flour has risen to 40 lek. Representatives of the press have meanwhile contacted the structures of the Government of Montenegro to arrange the commercial entries of flour and wheat coming into Albania through the border customs of Hani i Hotit. According to information gathered yesterday by the Albanian government on the situation of bread supply in the country, many bread traders have tried to raise the price of bread above the ceiling price, while proposing to the government that it be liberalized. The Albanian government has taken all measures to supply all flour and bread production entities in the country with wheat through state reserves. Meanwhile, the favoring of these producers for the raw materials they use will continue - said Albanian Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi, quoted by Voice of America radio. The prime minister stressed that the government has taken all measures: first - to guarantee the reserve supply to all flour and bread production entities, second - with the aim of removing customs duties, supply from abroad is possible. Within the possibilities they have to keep the market level prices of

President Berisha met and held talks with the Chinese President Zemin Two cooperation agreements as well as a joint declaration are signed LAZËR STANI Beijing 16 January 1996 - The huge gap created in the relations between Albania and China 20 years ago by the dogmatic stance of the Albanian communist leadership, when China entered the path of reforms, seems to have collapsed yesterday in the Great Hall of the People, where President Berisha’s signing ceremony was greeted with 21 cannon shots, while a special reception was also held. At the welcoming ceremony of the Chinese delegation, Zemin[?] with the Chinese President Zemin. Yesterday, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the President of the Republic of Albania, Sali Berisha, welcomed Chinese President Jiang Zemin. After the one-on-one meeting between the two presidents, official talks were then held between the two delegations. After thanking the Chinese president for the invitation, President Berisha conveyed warm greetings to Mr. Deng Xiaoping. According to him, Deng Xiaoping’s ideas were decisive in China’s development over the last 20 years. When Deng Xiaoping undertook the economic revolution, based on market economic principles, as well as China’s opening to the world, Berisha said, the dogmatic leader of Albania broke off relations with China. These relations, he said, are today being renewed more and more each day in line with the friendly feelings that exist between our two peoples. For Albania, relations with China are of great importance, therefore we not only had a basis for cooperation in the political and economic fields, both bilaterally and multilaterally, President Berisha stressed. Albania is open and determined to cooperate with China, as a member of the Security Council, as well as with all, within the framework of international organizations. Albania - he said, a young country of Europe - recognizes and considers part of the territory and right. During the talks, discussion also took place about encouraging Chinese investments in Albania, expanding cooperation in the commercial, financial, banking, cultural and military fields. Albania, President Berisha emphasized, welcomes the Dayton Agreement, but Kosovo constitutes a very serious and delicate problem that requires a solution. President Berisha informed President Zemin of the results of the reform in Albania over the last 4 years, and repeated to him the invitation to visit Albania. For his part, President Zemin expressed his conviction that this visit by President Berisha to China will serve to intensify cooperation between the two countries and our two peoples. He praised Albania’s decision to join[?] and dwelt on the efforts China has made and is making to resolve the Taiwan issue peacefully. He spoke positively about Albania’s prospects for a peaceful solution to the Kosovo issue. Later, the Chinese president praised Albania’s good-neighborly policy in the Balkan region, expressing his satisfaction with the achievements of the reform in Albania. The Chinese president thanked him for the invitation, while also promising that he would visit Albania. Then two scientific and technological cooperation agreements were signed between the Republic of Albania and the People’s Republic of China, and the cooperation agreement between Albanian radio-television and Chinese radio-television. The two presidents then signed a joint declaration, through which they reaffirmed the good will of both countries to further deepen cooperation in areas of mutual interest, as well as to find peace and stability in the region, where they extend and beyond. In the afternoon, President Berisha, his wife and the accompanying delegation visited the imperial palace, or as it is otherwise called, the “Forbidden City”. At 18:30, a large welcome banquet was held in the Great Hall of the People, attended by the Presidents of both countries, members of the Albanian delegation and high-ranking Chinese state officials. Today President Berisha will visit the Great Wall of China and his wife will visit a hospital. Also today President Berisha will meet the chairman of the National People’s Congress of China, Qiao Shi, while in the afternoon the Albanian delegation led by President Berisha will depart for Shanghai.

Speech by Mr. Engjëll Hysebegasi in the National Council I have not met a single colleague, not a single acquaintance, who knows even the number of political parties in our country. This is normal and understandable: among all the parties that have not emerged here, there is one which, as a former foreign ambassador to us once put it, consists only of the members of one family; there is another which, although noisy, does not constitute a real party, but a club of intellectuals, mainly run by some “entrepreneurs” in support; there are parties which either should not be taken as having existed, or will not be able to enter the history of Albania, while there are others that have entered it, this history. Thanks to the evilness of its homeland, proudly exceptional for its longevity and deeds, the Party of Labour, which I am mentioning by the name it carried for the longest time, carefully hides, it seems, the evil that is not known at all, its origin and nature, so that it is not understood what it is about, while the deeds for which it will, I believe, remain long in history are: the crime against Albanians and Albania, their division and the fabulously hostile making of Albania with the leading countries of the planet and its unique isolation, the extreme economic and spiritual impoverishment of the Albanians, and the branding of them and Albania before the eyes of the world. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party entered the history of Albania, and of Albanian history, and of their spirit; it rarely... With the enthusiastic support of the overwhelming majority of Albanians, the Democratic Party overthrew communism, led Albania into the family of democratic European countries and onto the road of the market economy, guaranteed Albanians political movement but also economic, cultural and religious movement. The historical chance and privilege (Continues on page 2)

1.5 billion have been signed in the agreements of the democratic government Dokle protests against Western aid for Albania Dokle, the man who is used to “helping” the world with stolen Albanian money, is outraged and protests when he hears figures that show the help the world has given and continues to give the democratic government. He considers President Berisha’s words, the White Check, to be an election promise that the democratic government has secured 1.5 billion dollars for Albania over the next three years. But the politician with commissions in his pocket, in an attempt to show his natural “intelligence” with taboos, is doing nothing but another bluff. The fact is that the 1.5 billion dollars President Berisha speaks of are part of the aid and loans that have already been secured through the agreements signed or concluded by the democratic government. But that is precisely what the PS chairman does not like. Initially Dokle tries to deny the aid the world has given Albania in these four years by being ironic with the phrase “We govern, the world helps us.” But Dokle knows very well that Albania could not have been saved from the hell into which he and his party had plunged it without Western help. And that is also the reason why Dokle rages and protests. Dokle would very much like no one to offer Albania any help; perhaps he would even grit his teeth and wish for Albanians to die of hunger, because then he would have the chance to shout “Look what democracy has done,” but unfortunately for him, the exact opposite has happened, what the PD promised the Albanians has happened, so Dokle and others like him are left only to howl at the moon or to hurl their bluffs in “ZP” and “K[?]PALO[?]KA”.

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

p.3

Protest by painter Zef Shoshi An explanation for the public opinion p.3

p.3

While Nano, Ruçi, Pëllumbi and Dokle accuse President Berisha of dividing Albanians. MAJKO STATES: “At present Berisha is the most powerful man in Albania. He has shown that he has understood the psychology of European politics and, if any, of our country. As can be seen, they see the Albanian situation for the time being as a developing situation. Its concern in this respect is stability and only stability in Albania, which is linked to peace in the Balkans.” “KJ” 16 January 1996