— Mr. Ilir Manushi asked for an interpellation in the People’s Assembly to intrigue against the PSSH [?] — Inspired by the visits he made to Greece, the Chairman of the pluralist Executive Committee of the Korçë district and Democratic Party deputy, Mr. Ilir Manushi, unexpectedly asked us the day before yesterday in the People’s Assembly for an interpellation on the positions of the Albanian Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding policy toward Greece. Apparently, one of the main purposes of Mr. Manushi’s visit to Greece was to establish a link between Korçë and Thessaloniki, declaring them “sister cities,” and to involve himself, in one way or another, in the electoral campaign announced in Greece in support of the “New Democracy” party, a counterpart force to the PDSH. Links and cooperation between our neighboring peoples and their respective cities are a good thing, to be welcomed, and serve true friendship between our two countries. But Mr. Manushi should not forget that “sisters are married and each stays in her own home.” Thus, the link and cooperation between Korçë and Thessaloniki must not conflict with the principles governing relations between different countries and states. It does not sound good when a statement by a deputy in the People’s Assembly, from one of the main political forces of the opposition in Albania, intrigues with an unrestrained Northern Epirote chauvinist propaganda beyond our borders, which is sometimes also propagated in Albania by its heralds. According to Radio Tirana’s news bulletin at 15:30 on January 8, 1992, which referred to Mr. Manushi, “the policy of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs was considered passive toward statements and actions made by private radio stations of PASOK and the Greek press.” In the interests of truth, it must be said that our Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reacted several times to representatives of the Greek government, rather than to statements by representatives of the Albanian government. As for the private radio station of PASOK, to which Mr. Manushi refers in connection with the Greek channel 20, the Northern Epirote one, he must surely have made this discovery in Albania, not while he was in Greece. Apparently, he was referring to bulletins of the Albanian Telegraphic Agency, which mistakenly presented this channel as a PASOK channel. Perhaps not only Mr. Manushi needs to be set straight on this, but also those in the public who share Mr. Manushi’s view that channel 29 is a PASOK channel. It is therefore not right to exploit such statements for electoral purposes, because, after all, Mr. Shtrenebrojne the truth. [?] It is in everyone’s interest to be concerned about the national question. Mr. Manushi may also have had this aim when he stressed in his interpellation: “It is time for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Albanian Government to orient Albania’s foreign policy toward foreign countries such as Greece, etc., where many Albanians work and live, as well as toward Saudi Arabia and elsewhere.” But one thing must be emphasized: priorities in foreign policy toward neighboring countries should not overshadow the development of relations with other countries, too, on the basis of reciprocity and mutual interest. Given the complex regional developments, it would be in Albania’s interest to strengthen ties and cooperation with other, non-neighboring countries as well. Nevertheless, a spirit of appeasement runs deep in Mr. Manushi. In his parliamentary interpellation, he strongly defends the Albanian position. But it would be better for such issues to bring out what is Albanian and what has been trampled underfoot. Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister Micotakis has in recent days called for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ...

— If this law is delayed for political and electoral reasons, that is an inhumane and undemocratic position — STATEMENT BY DEPUTY LUTFI DAUTLLARI ON BEHALF OF 51 PS DEPUTIES Esteemed colleagues and members of the Presidium, I asked to speak to make a statement on behalf of 51 deputies, in order to raise once again, perhaps definitively, a concern shared by society as a whole. We have repeatedly raised it as an issue in the People’s Assembly, but it has still not been resolved. We are referring to the discussion and approval of the law on social insurance (pensions). All colleagues know that from June of last year until now, at almost every parliamentary sitting, many deputies have asked the Government, by way of requests or protests, to submit the draft law on social insurance for approval. But so far, either there has been silence or promises have been made that have not been kept. The reason for insisting that this law be passed as soon as possible is that its enactment would provide legal solutions to many concerns that have arisen in the countryside and the towns with the start of the implementation of the reform. More specifically, thousands of women who have worked for 20–30 years in difficult industrial sectors and in the democratic reorganization of services are now threatened with being thrown out onto the street, without any hope. In the countryside, men over 60, many of them former cooperative members, began receiving pensions, but these have now been stopped. Disabled people in the towns receive only 200 lek, while in the countryside they now receive nothing at all. The minimum pension for villagers is far too low, and some pensions are as little as 100–150 lek. At a time when market prices have tripled or quadrupled, and for some goods increased tenfold, we consider the delay in approving the social insurance law paradoxical, unreasonable, and harmful to the morale and urgent needs of many families in both town and countryside. If this law is being delayed for political and electoral reasons, we judge this position to be inhumane and undemocratic. If this law is being delayed because of the budget and its deficit, the Government’s failure to be transparent and explain the matter to Parliament and to the wider public, who are eagerly awaiting the law’s approval, is irresponsible. To put an end to this paradox, the 51 deputies mentioned above are compelled to— [continues beyond the edge of the image] With the same concern, we would ask for discussion and approval of the law on the privatization of housing. Thank you. Luftër Xhuveli, Bardhyl Fasko, Fali Memushi, Ilir Dushi, Xhevaltir Tahiraj, Engjëll Beshaj, Shyqyri Zehepi, Kristaq Thanasi, Bunjar Pata, Ilali Hasko, Mylasim Maztaraki, Bansh Khabrahimi, Arif Haraku, Veap Daku, Ligor Balla, Sulejman Disha, Hysen Meta, Xhemal Qerimami, Skënder Dubali, Ndue Kazar, Zef Nikolla, Myftar Mata, Lutmuri Rexhia, Çun Jonuzi, Osman Murati, Shpatar Vukaj, Islam Gjana, Pëllumb Orzim Laci, Ndricim Hysa, Petri Çuka, Enver Naska, Muharrem Mezin(i), Tomor Begollari, Flamur Cani, Sulejman Pepa, Ismet Çerri, Moisi Lushi, Murat Jance, Haki Hysa, Ali Lamaj, Argjile Naxhellari, Sofir Kokerri, Bashkim Khakollari, Nadire Prifti, Zenel Hy(s)a, Cemal Alla, Lutfi Dautllari, Viktor Doda, Fran Gjetr(i), Marie Biba.

They say—and perhaps it isn’t true, so we won’t swear to it—that student Agim, a member of the Eurosocialist Youth, met with several Democratic Party deputies. “Which party are you with?” one of the deputies asked him. “The Socialist Party,” Agim replied. The deputies shook their heads sadly. “You’ve lied to us all our lives,” said one, who was called Napoleon. “You’ve persecuted us all our lives; you silenced us with the article on agitation and propaganda,” said another, who was called Abdeli. “You’ve shattered the glory of the Party of Labour and Enver Hoxha,” said a woman called Natasha. “You’ve served the block leaders,” said one called Sali. “You’ve drunk our blood,” said one called Arben.

We are not accustomed to addressing readers and the wider public about our problems and those of the newspaper. Everyone has their own troubles and many problems, and there is no reason to burden them with more. But this time we feel it is our duty to write, in order to inform readers, socialists and all sympathizers of the Socialist Party, whose organ “Zëri i popullit” is. Today is the newspaper’s seventh issue of the year. Will this issue reach everyone who wants it, everyone for whom the press is daily spiritual nourishment? We hope their wish will be fulfilled! Because with each of the first six issues we have received complaints and phone calls; some people have even become angry with us. And rightly so! We have a lot of work that we do not do well, and many organizational problems that need to be solved. With statements and tales, even the top brass “distance themselves,” as do state bodies, enterprises and institutions that are, or have been, involved in distributing the press. Hundreds and thousands of copies of “Zëri” (and not only that paper) go wherever an employee in the press-handling service or a transporter pleases, regardless of the fact that tireless printers have produced them amid lead fumes and using outdated machines. In Sarandë, Pukë, Kukës, etc., the press does not arrive day after day; “Zëri” does not arrive. State bodies have also begun making such “distancing” moves: is this really how our state monitors things? “RD” is packaged and sealed in sacks or bags, while “Zëri...” is left to its fate, sent to Elbasan, Ku- [continues beyond the edge of the image]

THE OPPOSITION “HELPS” INTELLECTUALS 1. Notes hastily jotted down about the paradoxes of the times we are living in Yesterday, after many months of not seeing each other, at this eventful time, when even the simplest family matters—learning to say “tomorrow, tomorrow”—[?], I met Sala, my good friend from Kruja. We worked together for several years, shared joys and sorrows, talked and sometimes did not talk, quarrelled and made up. “Tell me, Sala, what made you think of it when you came to meet me, especially to explain and tease me among our friends?” He smiled with the innocence of a young man. “You tell it, if you want,” he replied. “Osmani, Sala’s father, was upset and grumbled to himself when I told him we had to give up the cow, but what could he do? Broken-hearted, he set an example by taking the cow to the cooperative centre. He had to be a member of the cooperative; they hadn’t made him a ‘friend of the community and village leadership’ for nothing. But unlike Osmani, what would Gryka e Burrelit (his village), which doesn’t appear on any map, say? In his own notebook, however, he was a man known for his good sense and wisdom. If he had been left to the committee, what could they have called him—son?” When we met Osmani again a few months later and jokingly asked him, “How much was the cow you gave worth, then?” he replied, as calmly and mildly as ever: “More than an instructor.” He meant his son, whom he raised and made into a man, but whose modest salary he never got to enjoy. Who doesn’t know Salë Gordi from Kruja? He worked on the cooperative, ploughed the land with oxen, was told to become a Party employee and answered, “Ready!” They called on him to report “ready” to the cooperative in ’74 (that’s the year I met him), and then again he said “ready” and worked in the Party Committee, eventually becoming district secretary. When I say that Sala answered “ready,” I don’t mean he was a robot. No, he was a big-hearted man, a sincere and kind cadre who attended several schools and became very capable and valuable. Nearly three years ago, he said “ready” one last time when he was told to work as director of the Thumana farm. As I write these lines, I feel a pang of grief—it seems to me as though I am saying goodbye to Sala once again, though he is still a giant of ability, ready for useful work. But in a sense these lines are also an “obituary”... Sala had not died for everyone. He is now almost idle, as the winds have blown over him for nothing. He started out as a director. “Did they tell you, or did you ask to leave yourself?” I asked jokingly: “I asked to leave myself,” he says sadly. “How could I not? For three months straight they were on my back: ‘We’ll dismiss you today,’ ‘We’ll dismiss you tomorrow.’ With your wife and children in Kruja, in town, and your job in Thumana, driving several kilometres around each day as far as the coast—even as a director, with a car at your disposal—is no easy thing. You have to get up before dawn and never know whether to start at the stables or the silage pits, where a theft has taken place or a quarrel has broken out, or at the management meeting. The Thumana farm that Sala managed was very large. He and his colleagues thought it should be divided into five smaller, more manageable farms. Call me what you will, but in these paradoxical times I was, as a small-hearted person, somewhat pleased, Sala continues, because amid the chaos and destruction that engulfed the surrounding villages and farms, in Thumana things were, as they say, orderly; there were no excesses. I did my utmost. But someone in power in Kruja thought differently; they thought I absolutely had to be removed. They said I didn’t have higher education, even though I had a secondary economics diploma, Party school and an advanced economics course. “Did they remove you, or did you ask to leave yourself?” ... (Continues on page 3) the 3:30 p.m. news program on January 8, 1992, to which Mr. Manushi gave a secret account, passive in response to the statements and actions of PASOK’s private radio stations and the Greek press. To be truthful, has reacted several times to the clandestine actions of the chauvinist Northern Epirote circles against Albania. It has held press conferences with journalists from press organizations and provided information, as well as made public statements through these media and via its senior representatives. But it seems that Mr. Manushi may not have followed these reactions by our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, naturally, by the Albanian government, because he may have been on vacation in Greece. So it may have happened that he was better able to perceive the isolated statements and actions carried out by the Greek press.” “Nevertheless, the atmosphere of …” said another, named Abdi. “You sang the praises of the Labour Party and Enver Hoxha,” said a woman named Natasha. “You served the bloc leaders,” said someone named Sali. “You drank their blood,” said a man named Arben. “You are not students; I am the only student here,” said another, named Aram. “You…” Student Agim was completely bewildered. He felt as though he were back in the time of monism, or as if he had been the director of foreign radio, or a judge, a professional writer, a doctor in the leadership’s clinics, etc., etc. He shook his head thoughtfully and remembered the song: “I must be a bloodsucker.” (Continued on page 4)

Readers and contributors: You can subscribe through the PS Steering Committees in the districts Readers and contributors: You can subscribe through the PS Steering Committees in the districts.

Pursuant to Law No. 7514 of 30.9.1991, “On the innocence, amnesty and rehabilitation of former convicts and political persecuted persons,” the President of the Republic, Ramiz Alia, has instructed the Directorate of Decorations, which operates under his Cabinet, to review and carry out the restoration of honorary titles and decorations to all persons eligible under this law. It has also been instructed to examine individually any application that may be submitted by persons who, although they were not convicted or politically persecuted, lost their honorary titles and decorations for one reason or another. • The talks between the delegations of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Albania and Greece concluded yesterday in Athens. The Albanian delegation was headed by [continues beyond the edge of the image] Bashkim Dino, while the Greek delegation was headed by Kostis Elianos; both are political directors of their respective foreign ministries. The two sides discussed at length recent developments in relations between the two countries. Particular attention was given to issues concerning the treatment of Albanian refugees in Greece, as well as other matters of mutual interest. The talks took place in a spirit of understanding and cooperation. understanding and cooperation. The Albanian delegation was also received by Greece’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Cuderu. The Ambassador of the Republic of Albania to the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Qazim Tepshi, also took part in the talks and the meeting. The Minister of Defence of the Republic of Albania, Mr. Alfred Mo-isiu, sent messages of condolence to the Minister of Defence of the Italian Republic and the Minister of Defence of the French Republic, stating: “The incident caused in Yugoslavia, in which four Italian servicemen and one French serviceman lost their lives, has deeply shocked and angered us. This, the telegram continues, is an attack on the humanitarian mission of the European Community to secure peace and tranquillity in Yugoslavia and beyond.” On the occasion of the commemorative celebration of Regaib (the Night of Goodness), and the first anniversary of the reopening of the Ethem Beu Mosque in Tirana, a religious ceremony was held at the mosque. The address on the occasion was delivered by the Chairman of the Islamic Community of Albania, Haxhi Hafiz Sabri Koçi. CURRENT AFFAIRS For Friday: DEMOCRACY, DEMOCRACY, HOW I LONGED FOR IT, AS IF SALIU WERE INSIDE K. TH. SPIRI (THE YOUNG MAN) TOMORROW YOU WILL READ: — Who has blocked the pensions law?

- Who has blocked the law on pensions.