Message from President Berisha on the occasion of New Year 1997

Message from President Berisha on the occasion of New Year 1997 The consolidation of institutions and the more efficient functioning of the rule of law, mass privatization and expansion of the scope for free enterprise, consolidation of farms, important decisions on the constitution, the fight against crime and tax evasion, increases in wages, pensions and living standards, improvement of infrastructure, the introduction of information technology into our education system, improvement of the quality of health services, the country’s integration into Europe and further resolution of the national question are the ambitious and most important [objectives] in our history; I have absolutely no intention of portraying it as a bed of roses. No. It cannot be denied that this year, in addition to natural disasters and serious accidents, we also experienced social and political phenomena unworthy of a free society, incompatible with the morality and values of our civilization. Thus, organized crime, as a continuation of state Red terror, killed innocent people in Tirana, and planted mines while children and families slept. Others, to enrich themselves, sell and distribute poison to our children or abduct our daughters and family members to force them onto the roads of the world. These are great evils, regardless of their nature or limited number. I invite you, dear parents, pupils, students, young people, teachers, businesspeople and citizens, to fight these evils together and, with all our civic responsibility, to show solidarity with one another and with the forces of law and order and other institutions, to prevent them. Let us not forget that the greatest evils are those that come without being noticed. I also wish at this moment to address all those compatriots and [The text resumes with a fragment:] ...their present historical moment from their historical responsibility, so as not to replace active peaceful resistance with silence, nor their freedom-loving spirit and tradition with weapons. Rugova, through the Democratic League of Kosovo, President Rugova and Kosovo’s other political and civic organizations, demonstrated the way to win dignity and human and national freedoms and rights. Our peaceful path, with all its forms and means, although difficult, not short and full of sacrifices, is the best, most civilized and most effective. Active protests and other peaceful means brought down the most brutal regimes and occupations in postwar Europe. This will also prove true for Kosovo. I wish to assure my compatriots once again that Albania, while fully respecting international borders, completely and unreservedly supports all their efforts, protests and peaceful means to regain their lost human and national freedoms and rights, and that their active peaceful efforts to help themselves will have the support of the democratic countries of Europe, the USA and all democratic forces [The article continues below the edge of the photograph.]

[Text at the top, cut off] ...also, for... health services, the country’s integration into Europe and the most important objectives that we will achieve during the coming year. ... dear fellow citizens and ... compatriots, wherever you are, ... only a few hours separate us tonight ... New Year 1997, I wish ... all of us together ... may we come with this ... to every ... family, to all of you, ... compatriots and ... citizens, adults, ... or elderly, wherever ... we are, and wish you with all my ... ...Happy New Year 1997! ... for all Albanians, ... may it be a year of joy ... for everyone, happier, with better ... health, harmony, justice ... let us all wish ... and our nation peace, ... and ever-greater progress ... ... with only a few hours left ... the year 1996, let us pause ... for a few minutes and ... achievement, sincerity ... this year that is ... In the historical memory of ... our nation, the years of ... have brought ... history, a year of ... of ... great ... Albanians in Albania, ... regardless of differences, ... or affiliations ... the whole nation too ... from this year with ... divisions toward it, toward ... the goods of ... that we do not have ... but ... another year ... The year 1996 ... Albania on the road to ... ... freedom, reforms, and with this Albanian democracy demonstrated its maturity and true success. Five years ago, very few were optimistic or believed or predicted that our new democracy could move forward without interruption, slowdown or stoppage by the old waves of totalitarianism, as happened in many other former communist countries. Continuous development from one legislature to the next is a great achievement for a democracy of any age, while for a new democracy it is a great blessing. The year 1996 was a prosperous year for us because it was another year of the rapid ascent of Albanians and Albania. Let us pause for a moment and compare tonight the cities, villages and all of Albania, which five years ago looked like a museum of the continent’s poverty, whereas today it is the place with the fastest economic growth in Europe. Albania today, although still poor, is experiencing a boom in new homes and buildings, services, transport and markets in its cities and villages. This year, the standard of living rose by a double-digit rate; per capita income also increased considerably, while exports grew by around 20 percent and foreign currency reserves rose by 16 percent. Private property and free enterprise experienced significant development and consolidation. Thousands of enterprises and facilities were privatized. Today, more than 90 percent of the market, tourism, construction, services and transport belong to the private sector. Albanian legislation has made great strides. Codes and dozens of new laws were adopted; existing institutions were renewed and consolidated, and new ones were established. As a result of the great commitment and dedication of the law-enforcement forces and other institutions, effective blows were dealt to organized crime and traffickers, and a significant reduction in crime was recorded. The army made great strides in reform, training and international cooperation. This year, Albanian culture, art and literature broke into new areas. Literature, film, music, painting, sculpture and the performing arts earned outstanding recognition in the temples of Western thought, represented the spiritual treasures of our nation with dignity, competed for and won laurels and prizes in competitions in Europe and around the world. As a factor for peace and stability in the Balkans, Albania pursued an active and fruitful foreign policy during 1996. Cooperation with neighboring and regional countries, European Union countries, the USA and other friendly countries, NATO, the Council of Europe and other Euro-Atlantic institutions saw positive developments during this period. Once again, I take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude, and that of Albanians as a whole, to all the citizens, institutions and governments of friendly countries for the generous assistance they gave Albania. The Albanian national question was addressed in all the main Chanceries, at world summits and in the most important international documents and results of the year. But 1996 will be remembered in our collective memory as the year of the remarkable maturity of Albanians, because this year, with our free vote on May 26 and October 20, we crowned Albanian democracy with the crown of the year 2000. Future generations, on the time-worn walls of 1996, instead of a calendar of days, weeks or months, will find records, written in the alphabet of national wisdom, of the great historic electoral victories of democracy and the Albanian nation. The victories that finally separated Albania from written nostalgias and absurd dogmas made it possible for us to welcome the New Century in Western Europe, to which we belong. The powerful democratic movement of this end of the century recorded its deepest, but also most decisive, victory in 1996, for its own fate and future and that of Albania. This victory differed from the victory of ’92 because this time the clear-headed Albanian electorate would not judge the dictatorship and its horrors, but democracy, its fruits, as well as its pains and difficulties. After five years of superhuman efforts, pain and sacrifice, and profound reforms, Albanian voters would use their free vote to assess their achievements, the program they had implemented, the ties and friendships they had forged, and choose their future for themselves, their children and Albanians everywhere in the world. In these two elections, which our sovereign people, through not only their verdict but also its plebiscitary character, turned into one, Albanians passed the test of their history and civilization with flying colors, but, because of the boycott of the vote count, also faced a genuine political test. The year 1996 was the year of Albanians’ unshakeable faith in the chosen path, [unclear text: “mungën e Zotit”], the path of democracy. This year, in the great test of faith, we demonstrated that we believe unwaveringly in ourselves, our energy, creative genius, property and free initiative; we believe in one another and in our true friends more than at any time in our history. Today, at the dawn of the new century, we are convinced as never before of the value of our democracy, the friendships we have forged, our integration into the Europe to which we belong, and our future. Faith is the source of the strength of the individual and the nation as a whole to achieve the unattainable, turn the unthinkable into reality, bring the future closer and transform it into a real present. We are in the season of our great faith. Today we believe more than ever, and we are stronger than ever. The year 1996 was a prosperous year for the entire Albanian nation. For Albanians everywhere in the world, Albanian democracy and democratic Albania are their greatest hope and pride. They know that only a democratic Albania can unwaveringly defend their human and national freedoms and rights. Recognizing 1996 as the most prosperous and wisest year of our solidarity ... [text appears corrupted/cut off] ... the law-enforcement forces and other institutions to prevent these evils. that arrive unnoticed. compatriots and fellow citizens of mine who, in their inner solitude, tonight carry the deep sorrow of a loved one who is absent or whom they have lost, the sorrow of a misfortune or illness, unemployment, dissatisfaction with the Government, or the difficulty of making ends meet in everyday life. To all of them, from my heart, I wish a better and happier New Year. Dear compatriots, wherever you are, For Albanians in Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro, 1996 was another year of serious efforts for freedom, dignity, and human and national rights. Despite the internationalization of the Kosovo question, two million Albanians in Kosovo experienced brutal occupation and genuine apartheid against them this year as well. Terror, violence, persecution and the killing of young people and innocent citizens clearly show that today’s occupiers believe they can eliminate their just cause through barbarity and by exploiting the self-restraint of Albanians. But they, just like the other occupiers who came to Kosovo with iron, cannons and tanks, armies and hordes, decrees and gold, officials and sycophants, are gravely mistaken, because Kosovo and the Albanians of this region have always reserved for their occupiers not submission or conformity, but unvanquished resistance, defeat and the end they deserve. I have the deepest conviction that the legitimate leadership, all political forces, intellectuals, students, young people and all the citizens of Kosovo, far from every dogma and political short-sightedness, have the wisdom, tolerance and determination not to divide ... [text cut off] New Year? better in ... of the parties ...”, “if in every ... of the parties ... ... sallt and ... his ... eta that will ... that will ... Meanwhile ... and entered ... the other object ... United ... ... Albania’s ... political ... of some ... of the Right ... of the right ... D. The two forces ... captured ... elections ... r. brought him ... chairman of ... ... their national freedoms and rights, and through their active peaceful efforts to help themselves, they the USA and all democratic forces in the world. The year 1997, from which we are only a few hours away, sets before us major objectives, challenges and problems that demand solutions. and year. Therefore, I invite all Albanians: let us unite all our strength, minds and energies to make 1997 Albania and the Albanian nation’s most prosperous, joyful and abundant year. In conclusion, dear fellow citizens and compatriots, I invite you to raise a toast together to Albanians in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, in emigration and the diaspora, and wherever they may be tonight: in their homes, at venues, with their friends or relatives, on duty, in prisons, hospitals, in the multinational forces in Bosnia, and in our diplomatic missions abroad. HAPPY NEW YEAR 1997! Joy, understanding, health and prosperity to everyone! May God bless Albania, the Albanians and the New Year 1997!

[The photograph shows part of a person behind a table.]

The Pope declares “I know how difficult it is to forgive,” the Pope said. “Sometimes it truly seems impossible, but this is the only way, because every act of revenge and violence brings further revenge and further acts of violence,” he said. Page 4

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