A ceremony is held to mark the start of training at Camp Lejeune “Those who are training today to preserve peace are the first to work for a calmer world, a world without wars,” White said Page 2

Socialist Party conferences in the districts are getting rid of unity From the Socialist Party conference in Elbasan NAMIK DOKLE: The decision to boycott the May 26 elections was made on the basis of partial information. At the time the party made the political decision, there was no complete information from one electoral zone of mine, in Kuçovë, about what was happening there; but we had information from Elbasan, Tirana, Durrës. ÇERMA, chairman of the Socialist Party in Elbasan: The Socialist Party apparatus did not break away from its office work, from that party bureaucracy influenced by the Labor Party among its leaders. Vacuums have been created, and political action has become paralyzed. Elements of the Labor Party are still being retained within the Socialist Party’s structures. Among many Socialist Party members and supporters, he said, that spirit of repression and waiting for instructions from above can still be felt. HUSHI, former Socialist Party parliamentary candidate: Foreign policy did not secure credibility for the Socialist Party. In their contacts abroad, the Socialist Party leaders have not presented themselves with dignity or with clear platforms. The resignation of Prof. Servet Pëllumbi would be applauded by many

The Socialist Party’s district conferences have brought to the attention of Albanian political opinion the major problems that exist within this party. Never before has the party of great unity found itself caught in such a whirlwind of direction, creating an amalgam of problems that are no longer about reform but about its political survival. Thus, at all the conferences held so far, the negative trends accompanying this party’s activity are clearly visible, as is the great distance between its leaders and its grassroots. On no issue is there any convergence of views; instead, there is an amalgam of proposals and conclusions rarely seen in a normal political environment. The Socialist Party’s factions and the deep divisions long predicted by the Democratic Party have now taken root in every part of this party. No amount of political gymnastics could restore the normal functioning of its necessary political organization. Never before has a party’s political crisis manifested itself in such forms, nor has there been such a great disconnect between people whose offices are next door to one another. The party leadership itself, burdened by the profound moral failure of having been unable to justify its grassroots’ trust, appears as a political reality exposed by the negative initiatives undertaken year after year. [The source text is garbled here: “nis[mave?] negative”] failed after the negative initiatives undertaken year after year. As if the Socialist Party leadership’s vanity were not enough, as the party chairman himself puts it, there now follow all the accusations he has made against his own party. If the leadership is shaped by the party’s decisions and by the chairman’s own membership, the latter has left his mark on every segment of the Socialist Party. Accounts coming from Bença, as well as the leadership’s inability, have created great chaos throughout the formations of the largest opposition party. Both sides competing to destroy the party—the Nano faction and the Pëllumbi faction—are trying to distance themselves from this destruction. While the leadership has turned on the chairman and his negative role in breaking the party’s unity, he, in turn, has blamed them for everything that has gone wrong with the Socialist Party’s initiatives. It is precisely this circle that the Socialist electorate has entered, listening at district conferences to strange things from its leaders. Many are shocked by the fact that, in his motions, Nano does not mention the electoral slogan that came from his cell, about monitoring the values of democracy—a slogan that was also one of the surest indications of this party’s electoral failure. They also find it incomprehensible that Nano does not mention Alia’s ministers in the party leadership, just as they are unable to explain the denunciations, or such simple matters as the Socialist Party’s non-acceptance into the International, chairman Nano’s antics and his remarks about the leadership in general, specific members of the leadership, and the party as a whole. The leadership is unable to explain its own failings; and even if Nano had not said much more than was permissible within socialist unity, they still would not have understood the swamp and the swamp’s leader. Chaos has engulfed the entire life of this party. But it is unforgivable to seek salvation from this chaos by creating new political anti-values in the country. The chaos is now especially at its absolute peak. This shows that Albanian politics is still consolidating and that left-wing parties such as the Socialist Party still need a complete upheaval.

Fatos Nano’s fourth threat While they speak to the grassroots in ambiguous terms and with fear, Fatos Nano and the others have no qualms about flattering the “veterans” at the height of the debate over “reform,” and calling the leadership conspirators, when Dritëro Agolli himself, who is one of Nano’s people, was forced to call the motion a conspiracy. With this defiant attitude he is displaying now, Nano is showing that he is closer than all the others to the base of the Socialist Party, which is still dominated by contingents of fanatics Page 3

Mr. Gjongecaj on today’s round table of political forces 17 parties will discuss the local elections law as well as other issues relating to these elections “The DP’s idea is to expand the political basis of dialogue in the country,” the DP’s Secretary General, Mr. Besnik Gjongecaj, commented last night to “RD,” when discussing today’s meeting of the country’s main political forces, which will be held at 12:00 at the Palace of Congresses in Tirana. “The local elections law and other issues relating to these elections will be discussed,” Mr. Gjongecaj said, explaining the objective around which (sig prill) 17 political forces will discuss at the round table initiated by the DP. “We have also invited small parties to the table,” the DP Secretary General explained, “although they have not had the chance to make their views on the local elections law public. There are also other parties that are not part of local government.” For Mr. Gjongecaj, this is an opportunity for them to affirm their political views on the local elections law, as well as on developments in the country more generally. As for the refusal by the Democratic Alliance Party and some other party to attend today’s meeting, the DP Secretary General described it as “snobbery and a missed opportunity.” “By refusing to participate, the PAD is not responding to the recommendations of the Council of Europe,” Prof. Gjongecaj said. On this occasion, the DP Secretary General, Mr. Gjongecaj, confirmed that the DP is determined to work to expand political dialogue in the country in order to resolve all issues relating to the elections and the recommendations of international institutions. MUJE BUCAPAJ

Boycotting, an alternative for the leaders of nonexistent parties Two Don Quixotes dream while staring at the canvas. They see themselves and put on spectacles for no audience, convinced that the world revolves around their hat, borrowed from Namik Hoti. Page 3

Clarification from the Tirana Telecom The General Steering Committee of the Socialist Party, arbitrarily and unilaterally, grants itself the right to settle the bills for those telephone numbers it agrees to, while excluding from the telephone directory available under the contract several other numbers.

At the initiative of the Democratic Party, a roundtable of Albanian political forces that are not represented in parliament will be held today at 12:00 at the Palace of Congresses. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss issues related to the electoral law for the local elections, as well as other issues related to these elections.