– This was the slogan under which the Socialist Party of Albania meeting was held in Tirana to mark the start of the election campaign – a new class war jeopardize and shouts. «Unity is strength», «The left will win», «Victory»... Distancing ourselves from dictatorship, whether left-wing or right-wing. «We will not allow the fruits of democracy to be enjoyed by a privileged group...». Very topical. This is what the socialist alternative across Europe is about and what it is committed to everywhere: preventing social polarization from deepening, preventing injustice from becoming the law for the underprivileged masses. And this, as can be seen, seems to be happening here too, That is why national unity is needed. The whole hall calls for it. Various speakers endorse it too. «The Socialist Party’s position on this issue is the same as that of Germany’s chancellor, Rexhep Qosën and Ismail Kadare», says Sabit Brokaj. «We are arguing in order to reach an understanding among ourselves», Fatos Nano paraphrased R. Qosën. Whenever the Socialist Euroforum Youth Forum is mentioned at the meeting, it erupts in enthusiasm; the excitement reaches a peak. The same happens when one of them, Ilir Meta, comes forward to speak. Or when Luigjina Abazi speaks. They talk about victory in the campaign. This victory will mark the end of every dictatorship. This victory will not allow the feet of the dic- of Germany’s chancellor, Rexhep Qosen and Ismail Kadarenë», the Socialist politics of open doors, and not a politics of closed doors. The Helsinki Final Act and the UN Charter, so that the country may be included finally financial sphere, Albania’s admission to Reconstruction and Development was important. international arena. What about inside the country? Instead of rejoicing in the concrete step we have taken, a whole river of propaganda pours forth, with everyone trying to snatch a piece of the «democratic glory», as if it were like the flu and could infect anyone, provided they appear on a podium or at a rally, talk «more politics», «position» themselves as opposition figures, and show that they suffered because they had been a minister or a lifelong servant of monism. Meanwhile, we have nothing else to do but applaud this political farce. This provincialism is like a weed entangling the body of democracy. Criticism and problems come in waves, and sometimes one gets the impression that certain political forces are thinking of how to disturb the people’s peace, how to stir up turmoil, how to raise one problem after another in order to obstruct progress towards democracy by democratic paths and means. And indeed, without these paths and means we would not have democracy, but a new dictatorship, a new totalitarianism. Parliament has not stood up to block the way to these national dramas. Question: Which group has played the greatest role in this? Answer: The truth is that pluralism, unlike monism, gave megalomaniacs the right to beat their chests: «We did this! If it weren’t for us...»,

– This was the slogan under which the Socialist Party of Albania meeting was held in Tirana to mark the start of the election campaign – “Last night, at the ‘Partizani’ sports palace, thousands of voters of different ages, members and supporters of the Socialist Party, at a special meeting, created the image of an alternative growing stronger through the ideals of European democratic socialism. For minutes on end, cries of support for the Socialist Party rang out, accompanied by [unclear: “fole­sën”], and by Halil Laja, chairman of the PS Steering Committee in the city of Tirana, who opened the first meeting of the announced election campaign. The cheers are continuous; the chants follow one another. The hall has taken the floor... With the cry ‘Victory,’ it gives the turn to the chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania, Comrade Fatos Nano. A description of this party’s journey of less than a year. What are its merits? What does it offer voters? Fatos Nano mentions the socialists’ [unclear: “mengurimin”], their wisdom, and their democratic tolerance in defending true democracy. He denounces those who, by manipulating difficulties, worked for anarchy and division, and to encourage a new class struggle throughout the country. They are outside this hall. The audience approved: ‘We will not allow them, or anyone else, to ruin the democratic future of this nation.’ Again, approval with applause and chants: ‘Unity is strength,’ ‘The left will win,’ ‘Victory’... Distancing itself from dictatorship, against the horizon of an economy whose contours are still not coming into view. Now, before the elections, a deputy, Sabi[t] Brokaj, takes the floor. The Socialist Party, he says, did not lower the national flag in order to replace it with the flag of cosmopolitanism. If there is anything that kills democracy, it is anarchy. This truth also stands in the face of the shameless, the political immoralists, and the thieves. The others who take the floor also denounce precisely these enemies, who care only for those who do not wish Albania well. Another subject, too. The hall falls silent. They speak of Albanian lands under the harshest yoke in Europe: that dictatorship, that occupier, the Serb chauvinist who caused countless victims among half of our nation in the former Yugoslavia. Someone denounces the plan of a certain political party to set brothers of the same blood against the Socialist Party. When such a policy fights to set one part of the population against the other inside Albania, no better service could be rendered to the aims of Serbian chauvinism. That is why national unity is necessary. The hall certainly demands it. Various speakers approve it, too. ‘The Socialist Party’s view on this issue is one of the views of the nation’s leading intellectuals, Rexhep Qosja and Ismail Kadare,’ says Sabit Brokaj. ‘We are prepared to make every effort, including ...’ [Further sentences continue, but the text is cut off at the lower edge of the image.] [Continuation of the article “AN ALTERNATIVE THAT IMPLIES PROGRESS”] ... of ...’ [Other partly visible words: ‘... tourism ...’, ‘... region ...’, ‘... democracy ...’]

– An interview by our editorial staff with Tonik Doko, former chairman of the Socialist Party parliamentary group – Question: Albania’s first pluralist parliament has closed its doors, and now our eyes are fixed on March 22. In a few brushstrokes, how would you characterize the work of parliament? Answer: Albania’s first pluralist parliament was a mirror of the time that brought it into being, at this turn of the twentieth century: with its sufferings and sorrows, its troubles and dilemmas, its hope and faith, and the contradictions and relations of this final decade of the century, which may perhaps change Albania’s face. If this parliament has accomplished even just one well-founded work—namely, laid the first foundation toward a more genuinely democratic life—then even for that alone it deserves a place in the history of this country. The debates, quarrels, replies, and laws it passed now seem like twenty rows lined up beside one another. When you pass them often, you do not notice them or distinguish one from another. But as soon as a little time has passed, as soon as you move a little away from the events of this year, this parliament’s [unclear] will gain the perspective of the horizon, and then they can be judged more accurately. I think this parliament did not achieve little. It passed important laws that created democratic space suitable for the activity of many state and social institutions. The organization of the rule of law received some positive impulses. Seeing our democratic developments, the world offered us many solutions. Many initiatives in support of Albania. The signing of the Helsinki Final Act and the Charter of Paris meant that our country was included, definitively and irreversibly, in Europe’s democratization processes. In the economic and financial field, steps were taken toward joining the World Bank, the IMF, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. It is clear that Albania is finding partners in the international arena. Question: With this parliament? The Constitution? Will the one that has just passed shape our future? Answer: I do not know what communist thing can be seen in a parliament where the accused majority passes laws that institutionalize political pluralism, a package of laws that guarantees many social and individual rights, and legally designs reform toward a market economy, which constitutes the communist stage in the economy. All this was done in a short time. But let us not forget that there are things that cannot be achieved so quickly. If the political storm has been raised for a long time in the mocking spirit of ‘for freedom and democracy,’ no one can ignore, in Albania as in all the countries of the East, the major role economic poverty has played in this broad movement. As a distinguished analyst puts it, the fall of the Berlin Wall was the route taken by East Berlin consumers to the shops of West Berlin. But let us not forget that, if it is not easier, at least political revolution can be achieved much faster than economic revolution. A Western economist rightly said: ‘You can overthrow a dictator in a few days, but you cannot replace a planned economy with a market economy in one day.’ The Socialist Party’s new electoral program bears this in mind, so as not to plunge the country and its people into social dramas from which ... democratic, with many solutions in this respect. Many ... were undertaken in support of Albania. The signing of agreements on Partnership and Cooperation, on adaptation, on a policy of open doors and not a policy Charter, so that the country may be included finally financial sphere, Albania’s admission to Reconstruction and Development was important. way to these national dramas. Question: it weren’t for us...» Question: And they accuse you of this... Answer: Exactly. It is now becoming clear that certain forces are creating right-wing alliances, alliances between those who lost power (the caste of former Communist Party leaders and their successors) and those who want to take it. Whether these alliances are open or closed, with or without agreements, historical logic tells us that they are up to something. The political terror against the PS shows that someone is not interested in its growing credibility in the country and in Europe, as one of Albania’s main democratic forces, as one of the forces that will guarantee its stability. The lack of arguments drives our opponents to seek a knockout. Apparently, they like the epithet «communist». Have you noticed how the same article, the same discussion, the same rally says at first that the PS is a party holding on to power and then says that it is nonexistent? How are we to make sense of this? A «philosophical» contradiction meant to create confusion?! Question: How do you explain that in many cases the grou- (Continued on page 3)

Meeting at the Socialist Party Steering Committee The chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania, Fatos Nano, received the German ambassador to Albania, Dr. Klaus Vollers, at the headquarters of the Steering Committee and held a cordial conversation with him. Fatos Nano gave him an overview of the country’s current political, economic, and social situation, and of the Socialist Party’s position and efforts to advance reform, stabilize order, and institutionalize democracy. Speaking about Albania’s process of integration into Europe, Fatos Nano said that Albania is a European country and its place is in Europe. This means that we should be active participants in today’s European affairs. Naturally, this is also connected with the situation in the Balkans, developments in the former Eastern countries, etc. Albania has made progress in a few months, including in the open field; nevertheless, much remains to be done. A legal framework and practical arrangements have also been established with foreign parties, for contemporary legislation, etc. Naturally, advancing economic reform, the privatization process, and democratization in general also require fuller and more active support from Europe. Germany, too, has an important role here; our country is serious about helping in every field, including through qualified professional assistance. Speaking about preparations for the elections, so that they would be conducted democratically and freely, Fatos Nano said that the SP would begin what it deserves, namely, a majority. Continuing, Fatos Nano said that the Socialist Party also considers the Greek minority in Albania on the basis of CSCE documents, other international instruments, and the acknowledged historical reality of its coexistence with the Albanian people. However, the positions of certain well-known chauvinist circles, as well as the wholly unrealistic views of a certain Omonia deputy, aroused public opinion, and this was reflected in the two parliamentary groups. In 1 [unclear] the thesis that chauvinism cannot be fought with nationalism. The SP in Albania has supported and will continue to support the Greek minority so that it has, as it has until now, all the rights and enjoys all the freedoms recognized for national minorities in CSCE documents. This provides a real basis for continuing to strengthen friendship with the Greek people. For his part, the German ambassador in Tirana, Dr. Klaus Vollers, thanked Fatos Nano for the interesting explanations and stressed that political stability in Albania also provides full guarantees both for advancing democratization and reform and for actively assisting Europe. “We,” Dr. Vollers said, “will make every effort and commit ourselves to ensuring that Albania becomes ever better integrated into European processes.” Speaking about the situation in the Balkans, he said that Germany views it with concern, especially the revival of the old spirit. The meeting was also attended by Eshkimb Zenell, the Socialist Party secretary for foreign relations.

As has been reported by the media, the President of the Republic, Ramiz Alia, has expressed the wish that Mother Teresa address the People’s Assembly on his behalf, which [sic] orders that Teresa be granted an Albanian passport and citizenship. The spokesperson for the President of the Republic, Bashkim Hoxha, announced that on the occasion of Mother Teresa’s visit, she is invited as her representative, to make known... ... identity Ramiz Alia, in which, among other things, it says: “I am very grateful to you and to our people for choosing me as a symbol to build the people’s well-being for the good of the people and to bring the people together with the whole world. I have worked with love; I have worked for peace.” “I am very grateful in particular; we have included [unclear] in thanking the People’s Assembly for the honour it has done me.” Yesterday, the President of the Republic, Ramiz Alia, decreed the granting of Albanian citizenship to Gonxhe Bojaxhiu (Mother Teresa) and instructed the competent state authorities to take the necessary steps to provide her with a diplomatic passport of the Republic of Albania. (ATSH)

WE HIGHLIGHT THE FACT TIRANA CRUCIFIED – Can democracy be built through fear? – It is now a commonplace sight—everywhere you see shops, municipal offices, all sorts of shacks being enclosed with iron bars; doors and windows, everywhere crossed by metal bars. And on this subject, I want to give the example of a foreign merchant who bought the former «Rinia» property, in the building in Tirana, and, as far as I know, despite all the assurances he gave that the iron grilles he put on the doors and windows were movable, that is, removable, months have passed and they have not moved an inch. Now «Crucified Tirana» is everywhere, shop after shop, on the main streets and even in the narrowest alleys. It really is an epidemic, a building disease that has arisen of late, as if to prove that privatization arouses so much enthusiasm in people that neither a shop nor a house is enough for them. Privatization certainly invigorates work, so, indeed, now that we have a new level of income that allows people to return to work, the entire network of shops, municipal services, etc. should be expanded more rapidly and fully. But this is not the point; we are talking about the commonplace fact we have just described. Faced with this «Crucified Tirana», and the democracy we are trying to build, should we have more or less fear than under the dictatorship? It is not easy to answer this question when we are confronted with such paradoxes. We may agree with those who regard it as a cultural affliction that this democracy served to bring down people in Albania. But what about the haste with which Tirana is being crisscrossed with iron bars on every side? This is not simply an aesthetic problem, because we are indeed disfiguring the capital even further; rather, it concerns a more fundamental question—can we move towards democracy while living in fear, turning our homes and shops, now privatized, into a different kind of bunker? Notice that after shops and stalls have been fenced off with wire and iron bars, the bars are now beginning to take over the second and third floors as well. The explanation for this paradox seems profound—as long as the state and the law do not function, and the police are nowhere to be seen, people, private citizens, now on their own property, take protective measures themselves. As long as this insecurity continues, so too will the race to see who can fence off their property more securely. This seems a convincing explanation, but what does not convince the ordinary citizen is that democracy means the proper enforcement of the law—not out of fear, as in the past, but as a necessity and a matter of civic education. That is why we say this paradox—trying to build democracy while also being afraid—is difficult to explain. Meanwhile, these endless bars and these rods, whether ours or obtained by contract, must come from somewhere. Once we called by their proper name—thieves—the people who stole the pipes for television antennas that we erected on the roofs of apartment buildings. They multiply every day, but nobody has been punished. Nobody asks where they got them. Now, multiplied many times over, we see similar sights everywhere. Where does all this iron come from? Are invoices being falsified, or is all that is demolished and destroyed simply taken by whoever has the muscle to get hold of it? We have financial police and are organizing inspections; if they are taking to the streets, then why are they not acting? So much fear? But can democracy be built through fear? ARTAN MULLISI

THE SOCIALIST PARTY HAS FOUGHT AND CONTINUES TO FIGHT FOR BALANCED DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENTS.