Pope John Paul II sent a message to the President of the Republic of Kosovo, Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, in which he thanks him for the warm message and greetings sent to the Pope on the occasion of Christmas and the New Year, reports the Kosovo Information Center, citing a letter from the Vatican Secretariat of State. The message addressed to President Rugova says: The Pope prays that the joy of this holy season may fill the hearts of all those who strive to build a world in which justice, peace, and fraternal solidarity prevail. His Holiness the Pope prays fervently, with the most divine blessings, for you and your loved ones in this year.

Pressure from the opposition over the electoral law continues once again. Now that it is law, this pressure is expanding in scope to the point of becoming a constitutional threat. Where discussion belongs and where discussion is lawful, they quickly lose their composure, break the microphones, and insult the other parliamentarians. This is precisely why yesterday’s press conference held by the Socialists, the Alliance members, the Social Democrats, and representatives of the PBDNJ also loses credibility. What they said yesterday could more easily have been said in Parliament. Choosing back rooms in which to discuss such matters also shows how seriously they take this issue, or perhaps foreshadows the methods they will use during the election campaign. First, the discussions revealed the absurdity of their demands. Questions from journalists showed that the Social Democratic leader, Gjinushi, had not read the revised version of the electoral law. Apparently, he came to yesterday’s press conference knowing only the falsehoods he had learned from the “ZP” archives, since even his newspapers had reduced it to a minor matter, just as his party itself had. If he had not read it, he spoke on the basis of what Dokle and Pëllumbi had told him shortly before the press conference began. The Alliance leader, Çeka, said that the law targets the right and the center, putting out of the game everyone he had to his left and right, as well as himself, since his party is neither centrist nor right-wing. The changes made to the electoral law were carried out solely to spite the right, even though those changes also included demands from all the other parties. There is no need to repeat Pëllumbi’s and Dokle’s definitions of the law, since, for the most part, they do not understand why they are demanding a change to it. Their reasoning, in the realm of free thought, is anachronistic and mostly does not hold up. All attempts to make the electoral law the focus of an electoral attack and offensive are an expression of their crisis when faced with the need to speak in terms of concrete alternatives and programs. Otherwise, this is also the Socialists’ preparation for their defeat. Shifting the blame immediately will never be an argument for their own shortcomings, which they have displayed dozens and dozens of times over the past year. The opening of investigations into the aid Italy has given Albania—a corruption scandal that has implicated the Socialist leader, Nano—is yet another weapon the Socialists have considered more effective during the election campaign. All they have left is to call on their eternal mentality: forever against. Their calls to take to the streets mark the end of the mechanism that has operated within this party for some time, beginning with statements about a Socialist “police force” that would mark ballot boxes; the parallel registration of people for the election campaign in various parts of the country; the communist slogans written on Tirana’s streets a few days ago; and the leaflets distributed in the streets of Kuçovë and Sarandë. This is the Socialists’ exit strategy, which does not differ much from their other departure in ’92. They burned and destroyed, just as always happens with a dying government—with a government definitively excluded from the time and the new order taking shape in a country. The electoral law is in force. It received a majority of votes in Parliament and has thus secured full legitimacy. It would be in Albania’s best interest for the law to be fully majoritarian, so as to ensure the stability of the country and its government, as this system functions in the USA, England, France, and Germany. The law is democratic. Above all, it has overcome all the elements that suit the parties, eliminating the punishment of their real interests. The only thing the law fails to do is prevent anyone from opposing it; nevertheless, the democracy this law demonstrates cannot be used for destruction.

President Berisha concluded his visit to Malta A concert of classical works was held at the Presidential Palace of Malta in honor of the visit by the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, his wife, and the accompanying delegation. Afterwards, a dinner was hosted by the President of Malta, Bonici, in honor of President Berisha. On this occasion, both presidents greeted those present. “Your history is legendary,” President Bonici said, among other things. “Our peoples have a long history of occupation, but with this collective memory, they will not lose their way. A history like ours,” President Bonici stressed, “offers only encouragement to be reborn.” “Our nations can today develop bilateral cooperation and work together for the benefit of both countries,” said Bonici, who assured Brisha of closer relations between Malta and Albania, in the interests of cooperation and the future of the Mediterranean region. For his part, President Berisha stressed that our two countries are united not only by European history, but also by its values and principles. “Just a few days ago, at a difficult time for Albania, the Maltese were among the first to respond to the democratic changes in Albania,” Berisha said. He expressed his conviction that the existing bilateral agreements, those to be signed in the future, and the dialogue established between the two countries provide a basis for strengthening ties between Malta and Albania. Relations between Berisha. President Berisha and his accompanying delegation subsequently held a meeting with the leaders of the Malta Chamber of Commerce. The president of the chamber said that he regarded the good relations between Malta and Albania as an encouragement for cooperation between the Malta Chamber of Commerce and the Albanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. President Berisha, calling the meeting very important, assured them that future cooperation would be of mutual interest. Yesterday, President Berisha hosted a luncheon in Valletta in honor of the President of Malta, Bonici, the Prime Minister, Adami, other senior officials, and representatives of Maltese business circles. Berisha expressed his gratitude for the hospitality and the feelings of friendship that people in Malta hold for the Albanian people, and in particular for the Maltese government’s commitment to intensifying cooperative relations between Malta and Albania in all fields. In the afternoon, the President of the Republic of Albania, Sali Berisha, his wife, and the accompanying delegation departed Malta for Albania.

I have never stated that “Albania” received 250 thousand dollars from the Meksi government I cannot engage in such dangerous games as inventing a statement by a SHIK employee whom, in fact, I have never met. I do not meet with SHIK employees, nor with State Security employees. So I repeat that I have never stated that the newspaper “Albania” received 250 thousand dollars from the Meksi government. Reprinted from the newspaper “Albania”

The spokesperson for the Tirana District Prosecutor’s Office announces that, in the course of the investigation into criminal case No. 651, concerning the criminal offences of genocide and crimes against humanity, yesterday the Tirana District Prosecutor’s Office, pursuant to Article 34 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, named citizen Ramiz Alia, former chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly and former First Secretary of the Central Committee of the PPSH, as a defendant and charged him with the aforementioned criminal offences. The preliminary investigation has established that the defendant Ramiz Alia, while serving as chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly during the years of communist totalitarian rule, in collaboration with other individuals, drafted decrees such as the one issued in 1986 on internment and forced deportations, whose implementation resulted in the mass internment and deportation of innocent Albanian citizens for political reasons. Furthermore, during his tenure as President of Albania in 1990–1991, this defendant deliberately ordered and permitted the use of firearms against the innocent population, resulting in their murder and mass extermination. In addition to these charges, complaints concerning other murders have been filed with the Prosecutor’s Office, including those relating to the events of 2 April 1991 in the city of Shkodër, as well as other mass killings at the border. The preliminary investigations concerning other individuals are also continuing.

NDREKE GJINI The mechanical act (merely anonymous and procedural) of changing the name from PPSH to PSH in December 1991 is proving every day to have been simply a political manoeuvre by the old Albanian communist leadership caste to proclaim itself reformed. Through this manoeuvre, this caste intended to rid itself of the entire burden of the crimes, repression, and theft of private property committed by this party—which, according to them, no longer existed—so that these crimes would truly be transformed by the changes made at the time. However, apparently to the liking of their geopolitical criminal conference and those who make up the other side (and who, after expelling the party leader, appointed them to head it), this caste, instead of demonstrating goodwill and denouncing and bearing witness to the crimes, was put to the test by these illegal precedents and chose to imitate, point for point, the strategy of provocation and permanent tension.

From the PS heritage collection Minutes of the meeting of the 6th Plenum of the Central Committee of the 6th Congress of the PPSH, dated 16–17 December 1974 (Balluku, Dume, Çako) p. 7

England, France, and countries with a majoritarian system are undemocratic Gjinushi calls Nano a thief. Dokle agrees with him Teta thanks the PD parliamentary group for its understanding. Zogaj cuts him off p. 3 From the opposition parties’ press conference

Further information from the press office of Pietro Zannoni “ KJ” independent on Serbia’s orders Translation of a document from the Belgrade military intelligence services dated 3 March 1990 “from Tirana These funds are intended for the establishment of a newspaper that will serve as a guarantor of the indirect will of the Communist Party, through the direct control of the communist forces in Tirana. It is to be the first organ of communist propaganda in Albania. The publication will be run by journalists who will receive only guidance from the communists, and steered by publications according to the wishes of Albania’s communists, who are the natural descendants of Serbia’s communists. The funding amounts to 30,000,000 dollars, which f.3

of the 10th Congress of the PPSH 10th Congress of the PPSH 1. To approve the delegate’s report ... [partly illegible] 2. To approve the report of ... [partly illegible] 3. To ... [partly illegible] 10TH CONGRESS OF THE PPSH Tirana, 12.6.1991