Notice On Saturday, 18 January 1997, at 10:00 a.m., an enlarged meeting of the National Council of the PDSH will be held in the hall of the Opera and Ballet Theatre on the topic: “Deepening reform in implementing the DP’s program—a primary task for our structures.” Those invited are the members of the DP parliamentary group; secretaries of DP branches; the chairpersons of the FRPD and the DP Women’s Forum; chairpersons of working groups; mayors; chairpersons of district councils; prefects; commune chairpersons; and the mass media. Invitations can be collected from the PDSH Organization Department in Tirana. PDSH Presidium

PDSH Chairman Tritan Shehu on the upcoming meeting of the National Council All DP structures must commit themselves to reform Socialists isolated from the future The Socialist Party continues to suffer from its crisis. After a period of understandable lethargy, it is now trying to use people’s political actions to create the impression of political movements serving the Socialists. This happened a few days ago with the students’ strike, whose demands were entirely economic. The Socialists and other leftists, powerless to carry out even the simplest political initiative, rushed to appropriate the strike. Their propaganda almost claimed that among the demands made to the government was an increase in the membership of the SP or of other parties whose names people have practically forgotten. Their political commercialism has also been evident in recent days, as the Socialists and other minor political groups have tried to turn people’s protests or their non-governmental or non-political grievances into political protests. Their claim, planted in the Albanian left-wing press, that lending companies invested in the DP’s election campaign is one indication that the opposition can no longer organize itself for a real and effective role in Albanian political life. The problem of pyramid schemes cannot be made to serve the mutilated part of Albanian politics, which is precisely the small surface occupied by the Socialists and a few others. Even a bid to stir up trouble with a non-opposition starting point makes clear the state of the Socialist opposition. E Among the political forces in government and the opposition there are many areas where we can cooperate, including important issues concerning the resolution of the national question, Albania’s integration into European structures, and the progress and deepening of reforms in the country. As the DP, we are always open to cooperation with other political forces on those points where our views converge. I hope that this year will serve precisely this cooperation, and that many of those political forces that have recently taken unconstructive positions will abandon them, since such positions are not in their own best interests. It has become clear what price one pays when one does not respect the people’s vote. Page 3 of the DP is one of the parties that is in opposition. Its problem cannot be made the central issue of Albanian political life. Its problem is precisely that small area of it occupied by the Socialists and a few others. Given that it is seeking even to create turmoil with a non-opposition origin, one can imagine the state the socialist opposition is in. Having become a minority in the country’s political landscape and being badly discredited in the eyes of Albanians because of deep divisions and a lack of alternatives, it has no other option but to shift its struggle to peripheral issues, mainly concerning non-economic and non-political elements in the country. The Socialists are incapable of hijacking the protests. Neither in the case of the students who were demanding that the roads be paved and their facilities expanded, nor in the case of the justified protest by people against lending firms that go bankrupt or may go bankrupt, is there anything that renders the Democratic Party’s program and its implementation ineffective, whether its achievements to date or those yet to come. Nor is this program detached from, or does it rule out, the possibility of resolving people’s problems. Meanwhile, language used in left-wing programs in relation to such problems is shown to be wholly inappropriate. The most recent evidence of this is the Bulgarian crisis caused by the rule of the former Communists in that country. The socialist crisis will not be resolved for a long time—or, more accurately, it cannot be resolved, if only because of their very existence. No protest can motivate them to take any political action, since there is no protest, not only in Albania but anywhere in the world, that calls for regression and loss, for crisis and lack of development. The Socialists themselves understand this problem clearly, but we cannot stop them from playing the ostrich in the face of the future or progressive political alternatives.

Chairman Rugova received Elizabet Ren

Berisha welcomes the agreement on Hebron The President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, yesterday welcomed the agreement reached between Israeli Prime Minister Netaniahu and Palestinian President Arafat concerning the city of Hebron. “This agreement marks a very important stage in consolidating peace and understanding between the two peoples, on whom Albania… The peace process in this region remains essential to stability and progress in the Near East. I welcome Prime Minister Netaniahu and President Arafat, as well as the others who contributed to this achievement. The decision was undoubtedly not an easy one, but it opens the gates to a better future,” President Berisha said. The President of the Republic visited Israel at the beginning of 1996 and, a few weeks ago, received in Tirana Arafat, Chairman of the Palestinian National Authority.

Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Piero Fasino is arriving today for a one-day visit to Albania, the Foreign Ministry’s Press and Information Directorate announced yesterday. During this visit, the Italian Deputy Foreign Minister will meet Albanian Foreign Minister Tritan Shehu, Interior Minister Halit Shamata, and the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha. Mr. Fasino will be invited to a working lunch today by Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi and Foreign Minister Tritan Shehu. The agenda for this visit also includes a meeting with representatives of political parties. This is Mr. Fasino’s second visit to Albania.

Speaks to “RD” the member of the SP’s KD, Agron Tato “If the SP had won in Albania, it would have happened as in In the SP there are two kinds of people...

The confrontation with Millosheviç will become even harsher than it is now Page 6

Bulgaria The Socialists promise elections at the end of the year “Opposition: ‘It is too late’”

This is a pyramid scheme that went bankrupt, so you have no reason to ask the state to cover your losses, the female moneylender declared to the creditors “My game is over. My money has nothing to do with the government” Page 2

Chairman Rugova on… Elizabet Ren Rugova: Kosovo, an independent, neutral state Elizabet Ren: The question of Kosovo is a constant concern of the forum I represent. The present situation in Kosovo is unacceptable Page 4

Eurosocialists celebrate five years of survival in the SP Meta announces a new opposition movement Mejdani’s greeting, in which he urged the young people to renew themselves and identified enemies in their ranks, was met with commotion and accompanied by whistles. Page 3