Working meeting between President Berisha and the country’s prefects Yesterday, President of the Republic Sali Berisha called all the country’s prefects, as well as their secretaries for local government, Mr. N[?]azi Kos[r?]astri, to a working meeting. At this meeting, President Berisha instructed the prefects to verify once again, with full responsibility, the population registration lists, which will serve as the basis for dividing the electoral zones, in order to completely prevent major fluctuations in population numbers from one zone to another—a phenomenon which, in the 1992 parliamentary elections, reached figures of 10–40%. Minimizing these fluctuations as much as possible, alongside freedom of the vote, must be the main characteristics of the forthcoming parliamentary elections, President Berisha emphasized. Concrete measures for carrying out these tasks were set out at the meeting.

Serbs take Rilindja’s books and manuscripts to the paper factory The Serbian managers of the newspaper and publishing enterprise Panorama, which is controlled by Serbs, ordered yesterday that the entire collection of books and manuscripts of the Rilindja publishing house be thrown out of the Palace of the Press. Several Rilindja journalists protested this decision by Panorama and were subsequently questioned by the police, BBC radio reports. Meanwhile, the Council for the Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms in Prishtina reports that all the books in Albania that were in the flooded Rilindja editorial offices have been taken outside in sacks, and their final destination will be the paper factory in Lipjan.

43 million marks for the construction of Rinas Airport Rapid and substantial progress in Albania’s reform President Berisha received the German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Mr. Shpranger “I am happy to see the rapid and substantial progress of reform in Albania, and it is a particular pleasure for me to visit your country for the first time during these four years,” Minister Shpranger told President Berisha. “I want to assure you that Chancellor Kohl and the German government are determined to give you their full support in your policy of reconstruction and in the Association Agreement with the European Union, as well as to help with the proper reorganization of the country’s valuable forces, [text unclear].” “You are a distinguished friend of Albania and an active participant in our achievements,” President Berisha told Minister Shpranger. “I want to express my deep gratitude to you and to the German government for the valuable assistance you have provided and continue to provide. “President Berisha asked Minister Shpranger for German assistance in establishing a credit system for Albanian farmers, and Minister Shpranger expressed his commitment to meeting this request. ‘I also want to assure you,’ President Berisha said, ‘that Albanians are determined to commit themselves to their Western perspective for reconstruction.’ “I also have the pleasure of confirming the decision of the German government, and of Minister Shpranger, to finance the construction of Rinas Airport with a sum of 43 million marks.” Yesterday afternoon, Prime Minister Meksi received the German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Carl Dieter Spranger, who arrived in our country yesterday for a two-day visit. Prime Minister Meksi, thanking his guest for German assistance, explained the achievements of economic reform: the reduction of inflation, currency stability, and the creation of favorable conditions for foreign investment. “It is very important to show what has been achieved. It is a mistake to be modest. The election campaign must be organized well; people must be informed about what this government has done during this period,” Mr. Spranger said. “The left-wing forces in the country have made no effort to take power and seek their privileges,” Meksi said, explaining the political situation ahead of the elections in Albania. “We aim to win the elections in order to continue along the path we have begun,” Prime Minister Meksi added. “These four years have not been easy for us, as we inherited a centralized state.” “We took over a communist legacy of destruction,” Spranger said. “They are like arsonists who want to present themselves as firefighters.” Spranger stressed that it is important that Albania has received support from other banks… (Continued on page 3)

The long list of PS betrayals during the years of its existence since its name was changed through a formal decision—the result of the consistent Enverist policy of its compromised leader—has caused anxiety and confusion, even madness, among the Enverists gathered and sheltered within this party, in its leadership and other structures. The rejection of this party by the democratic left and the expulsion of honest members and reform-minded figures who hoped and aspired to the ideals of social democracy have significantly increased tensions within the party. The Enverist clan that has in fact usurped the leadership and controls the party became afraid and devised a reactionary strategy based entirely on Enverism, thereby sacrificing the party’s reputation and future. The party’s reform-minded elements have been marginalized. The harsh blow dealt to the highlanders, according to a carefully devised scenario, was the first serious warning of the real danger posed by the Hoxhists, not only to the Socialist Party—which continues to remain an ordinary continuation of the policies and tactics of the PS—but also to the future of democracy and Albania. Preparations for this party’s 11th congress and for this spring’s election campaign have clearly shown that the party leadership intends to use the party as a shield. This Enverist clan has a pathological hatred of democracy, the Democratic Party, President Berisha, and Albania’s pro-Western and Euro-Atlantic orientation. It was precisely to make it easier for the Nano-Ruçi clan to use the party that they began drawing up lists of Enverist figures, former senior PP officials, volunteers from Enverist associations, and other compromised elements, all entirely under the control of Ruçi, the former chief of the communist secret police. This is the strategy behind the dominance of Enverists and young loyalists on the PS lists of parliamentary candidates, thereby gravely deceiving the Albanian electorate and openly defending the dictator Hoxha and communism as a destructive doctrine. It is also the strategy of the Enverist clan at the head of the PS that delegates to this party’s eleventh congress have been selected according to the criterion of their Enverism. The simple reason is that, by having a majority in the hall, Ruçi’s clan believes it can neutralize the reformers and impose its dictates, finally crushing their resistance. The reformers are expected to put up fierce resistance, perhaps even to break away permanently. The Enverists, frightened by the prospect of losing at the Congress, have also warned of this resistance, and they hurried to declare Nano an “honorary citizen” of Tepelenë. Such a tactical move was an open threat to the reformers and to all those dissatisfied with the party’s current leadership. Meanwhile, at the meeting of the leadership council and the parliamentary group, they openly preserved this course under the declaration that anyone who opposed him was with Berisha. Ruçi does as he pleases, deciding to use the party to the very end for his own interests, at any cost and at any price.

President Berisha asked Minister Shpranger for German assistance in establishing a credit system for Albanian farmers.

“The Arnauts are partly Christians of the Orthodox rite and partly Muslims. Judging by what we know of them, they are very little suited to becoming civilized. Their [text unclear] ought to compel every government to keep them in strict military discipline until industrial progress in neighboring countries provides them with work as [text unclear] and water carriers. “It cannot be denied that the peninsula commonly called European Turkey is a natural inheritance of the forefathers of the South Slavic race. They have possessed that land for 12 centuries. Apart from the small population descended from Slavic roots but having adopted the Greek language, the Slavs’ only rivals are the barbarous Arnauts or the Turks, who have long been condemned as the fiercest opponents of all progress. The South Slavs, by contrast, are the only bearers of civilization in the inland regions of the country.” KARL MARKS K. Marx - F. Engels Gesamtausgabe Band 12, Dietz Verlag - Berlin 1984 Page 73, lines 5–10; page 94, lines 20–28 Location No. P 461/2B Karl Marks and Friedrich Engels

From the Meksi–Spranger meeting Prime Minister Meksi received yesterday afternoon the German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Carl Dieter Sprager, who arrived in our country yesterday for a two-day visit.

According to Eurobarometer The capital’s voters have clearly positioned themselves in favor of the PD. This information does not come from offices or partisan pollsters, but from the results of the Eurobarometer survey on political parties. In the capital, the PD receives 55 percent of the votes, while the PS gets only 11 percent, according to the Eurobarometer data. In the other areas of the capital, 48% of respondents favor the PD, while only 17% support the PS. These figures best express the work and spectacular achievements of the PD’s four years in government, as well as the optimism and support enjoyed by this political force in the capital, where almost one-sixth of the country’s population is concentrated. Tirana is expected to be the most important expression of the PD, and [text unclear] all absurd arguments will be overturned by firmly supporting the PD, in the full conviction that it is the most worthy political force to lead Albania toward the West, opening the door to the new century with an Albania rebuilt and transformed.

Cancellation of the decision by the Tepelenë Municipal Council is being sought p. 3

Expanded meeting of the PD branch in Dibër Address by the Secretary General of the PDSH, Mr. Tritan Shehu p. 2

YEAR VI OF PUBLICATION No. 66 (1212) WEDNESDAY 20 March 1996 Number of pages: 8 PRICE: 10 LEKË 1,000 Italian lire 200 drachmas

Marx said these things a hundred-odd years ago. I don’t think it matters very much.