Austrian media on the activities and meetings of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Shehu during his stay in Vienna

Mejdani sounds the alarm: Socialists are armoring themselves Socialists have begun to “uncover saboteurs” in the Albanian press, in other political parties, as well as within their own party. In keeping with this mindset, in recent days they have also prescribed the therapy they will impose within their sections and units. The leadership of the Socialist Party has also set out a menu of topics for ordinary Socialists to discuss. They must not ask whether a motion against Nano is being prepared, nor may they discuss the political reach of Mejdani or Islam. If anyone wants to say something about their party, they can do so only at party meetings—and even there, only if it is permitted. But if anyone seeks to know more about the PS’s internal affairs, that is heresy, and they may well be considered an agent of the state or of the DP within their ranks. This is the PS leadership’s communications strategy with its grassroots. This is because, according to them, sabotage has increased considerably and, moreover, has become more sophisticated. This major change, which has come about because of the public display of clan warfare, has also influenced people’s views on the PS’s political form and functioning. The publication of the major problems within the PS in recent times has revealed just how rotten this party is inside. So far, divisions have been demonstrated at every level of its structures, as well as the very low political level of its internal organization. The exposure of factionalism—which is not a new phenomenon within the party, but also reflects its origins—showed the party’s organizational level. Nothing worked within it through free debate; everything served only the pursuit of positions. Everything that has been said and repeated by the party’s own people or by others has come to light only because factionalism within the party could no longer remain concealed. It had become fully integrated into its politics, and if it spread into the public sphere, it was because of the clash between these forces, which was so intense that it could no longer be contained within the fifteen seats of the PS leadership. By now presenting the whole saga of their internal quarrels and divisions as sabotage, they will not even convince the doorman at PS headquarters. Much less will they convince people who may have asked about internal matters, such as whether Nanço can remain chairman, or something of that kind. The ordinary members of the PS themselves are determined not to let anyone into the leadership, which has gathered in Tirana and paved the way for the party to be taken over by Alia and the Bloc faction. They know that a party whose vote total has fallen sharply from one election to the next cannot be consolidated even within the bounds of a party institution. Let alone be regarded seriously as a party for which secret communication, hidden from the public, is indispensable. Even the Socialist leaders recognize the great distance separating them from the natural workings of a democratic society, where everything takes place openly and in the service of political transparency. This also implies the dimensions of democracy and reveals the fundamental difference from communist obscurantism—which, in the Albanian case, is former-communist obscurantism.

The outside world is the party’s enemy The slogans he delivered to the old men and women of Ulqini about how to strengthen the party and mobilize the masses are all too clearly meant to conceal his clan’s fear of the united stance of the European left, which openly calls for their removal from politics.

The outside world is the party’s enemy The slogans he delivered to the old men and women of Ulqini about how to strengthen the party and mobilize the masses are all too clearly meant to conceal his clan’s fear of the united stance of the European left, which openly calls for their removal from politics. The election results convinced neither the majority of PS leaders, let alone its small electorate or any international body. Socialists are now looking for the real causes of their election defeat; without further investigation, they are citing the party’s definitive split under Mejdani as the result of misunderstandings. The review of the PS’s work, now under way in all the country’s districts, is expected to conclude in a few days and then be analyzed at the 5 December meeting, along with the blame of every individual who has led the party toward destruction. The main accusations are being directed at the new number two, Nano, who, together with his leadership clan, took charge of the effort that was supposed to bring the PS victory in the election, but which has in fact raised the question: will the PS survive, or will it be completely destroyed by misunderstandings? Mejdani responded to this dilemma at a PS meeting in the capital, calling for the prevention of the party’s destruction by strengthening its organizational structures, which are not functioning, and by rescuing the party’s grassroots. He said the concept of an “electoral party” does not mean destroying the party, as a large part of the PS base has understood it up to now. Mejdani seems to have understood that the PS is heading toward collapse, toward destruction yet again, but has forgotten that after Nano, he himself is the main factor behind the condition the PS is in today. The PS Secretary General, Mejdani, has acknowledged that the PS is heading toward further weakening and that its organizational structures are not only failing to function but are also being destroyed by misunderstandings about how the PS should operate. At a meeting with the chairpersons of PS organizations in the capital, Mejdani said the concept of an “electoral party” had been misunderstood by its grassroots, who had interpreted it as the destruction of the party. For the first time, the PS’s leading figure, Mejdani, has sounded the alarm over the catastrophe threatening the Albanian communist party as it falls apart. As he sees it, this is not coming from the political enemy, as the party calls its political opponents, but from the party’s own pitiful condition and the people running it. The electoral catastrophe of 20 October is the most significant indication that the PS exists as a non-electoral party. The claims of violence and manipulation in cities in the wake of [?]...

The adventure to claim the leadership of the BSPSH continues Tirana Court President Qazim Gjonaj on the dispute over the position of BSPSH chairman No one may use the name of another trade union PAGE 3

Denial by the Ministry of Defense In response to reports in several newspapers today claiming that Albania has been implicated in the arms trade in Rwanda, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense states that there is no truth to these articles. Albania has never violated the embargo imposed by the UN. It has always respected, and will continue to respect, all international organizations and their decisions. It has never been involved in smuggling or illegal trafficking. Everything that has been written is part of a sick imagination, based on speculation and irresponsible quotations. It is worth noting that Albania, given its size and technical capacity, cannot in practice be counted among the countries engaged in selling arms and ammunition. It is the duty of the free press, if it is truly concerned with raising an issue in defense of humanitarian interests, not to speculate, but to report developments accurately and raise public awareness by addressing those countries that possess the capacity and political and economic power to sell arms and ammunition.

Parliamentary committees discuss the government’s draft laws

Los Angeles will also vote for Kujtim Çashku’s “Colonel Bunker” NOVEMBER 15, 96 The Washington Post Movies ...ign Film Contenders oslovakia, the Academy Awards Race Is On “Colonel Bunker” took part in the official competition of the Montreal World Film Festival, as well as those of Strasbourg, Baisia and Thessaloniki, and these days it is taking part in the Brussels festival. Albanian cinema has entered the race for an “Oscar”. In a few months, “Colonel Bunker”, directed by Kujtim Çashku, will also be shown in Los Angeles, vying for the top prize. On Sunday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles announced the 30 finalists who will compete for the best foreign film of 1996; the competition is already under way. The film “Colonel Bunker”, by Albanian director Kujtim Çashku, which has been selected for the Academy Awards race, is a joint Albanian-French-Polish production, filmed mainly in Albania. The film “Colonel Bunker” ... is about a team that can, in a few words, be called the age of bunkers, which symbolically represents totalitarianism. In an interview with the American media, director Çashku broadened his approach to give the film a more philosophical dimension. “Naturally, I have not tried to remain confined to a simple set of statistics: in the former Albania, with a population of over 3.5 million, there were around 800,000 bunkers, which figuratively means that every family had a bunker. At the same time, I have not tried to view the bunker as a geographical landscape; rather, in the film I have tried to give the bunker symbolism and meaning—as an inner manifestation and, at the same time, a collective paranoia of the people who lived through this totalitarianism.” The director extended the story of his film into the following era, democracy, as well, attempting to show the consequences of what he calls “bunkerization” for people who lived so long under totalitarianism. “Here itself? God,” says Mr. Çashku, “not the various homologations and the fellow himself physically, has its manifestations of trauma; more or less, this is the period with which I, as a director, have dealt.” Director Çashku says he has not yet seen any of the other foreign films competing for the Oscar, but he has hopes for his film “Colonel Bunker”. It took part in the official competition of the Montreal World Film Festival, as well as those of Strasbourg, Baisia and Thessaloniki, and these days it is taking part in the Brussels festival. The film has its own distinctive nuance and its director has made a work that has attracted a great deal of attention. But he says that for a director it is a high point when his work is measured against the world of Los Angeles. “I have always had this dream,” says Çashku, “which I conceived while working under the dictatorship: that one day I would work in freedom, and that one day I would be there with my work, among the giants of contemporary cinema...”