THE FUTURE FACES REVANCHISM – Fatos Nano meets members and supporters of the SP in the city of Elbasan THE FUTURE FACES REVANCHISM DEMOCRACY COEXISTS WITH REASON, NOT WITH SHOUTS – Fatos Nano meets members and supporters of the SP in the city of Elbasan The electoral campaign is increasingly being swept up in a fever running at a high temperature. The unrestrained race of insinuations, fabrications and lies is also being followed by other anti-democratic actions, such as psychological terror, threats, etc. And all these unconstitutional attacks are directed against the SP, its members and its supporters. Of course, we are in an electoral campaign, and logic accepts political combat. However, in a democratic society, there are standards and rules governing the conduct of this propaganda, and even a law, which everyone must honestly observe. Ultimately, the electoral campaign is not meant to irritate and anger people against one another, but to give them the opportunity to freely consider and choose the most suitable alternative for building their future. Nevertheless, some do not want to submit to this democratic logic. This became clear in Elbasan a day before Fatos Nano’s meeting with SP members and supporters, when notices bearing insulting words were put up on the city walls in an attempt to prevent the meeting. Nevertheless, SP members and supporters, despite facing open pressure, filled the steps of the «Tomor Sinani» sports palace and enthusiastically welcomed the arrival of the SP chairman and the SP candidates for parliament, Kastrati, Islami, Moikom Zeqo, and others. Meanwhile, a group of about 20 rally-goers insisted, from the beginning of the meeting to its end, on disrupting it with various chants and slogans, such as: «Long live Sali Berisha», «Freedom and democracy», «Down with the Socialist Party», «Down with Fatos Nano», etc. When the audience asked them to understand the situation, they responded with screams and shouts: «Sali Berisha!» and refused dialogue and understanding. The speaker then said that this conduct showed neither tolerance nor democratic culture, and, even more, no respect for other people. Above all, one must understand that reason wins, not shouting. Fatos Nano then took the floor and, among other things, said that the socialist alternative belonged not just to one particular social class, but to everyone; it belonged to all generations. The people of Elbasan have cherished the aspiration for democracy throughout the ages. Ordinary, decent people are an example of this, as are its leading intellectuals, those who have made a name for themselves in the South and North of Albania, and even in Europe. And the people of Elbasan themselves will carry this democratic aspiration forward through the socialist alternative. But democracy does not come by itself, nor through rallies. First and foremost, it requires work and effort; it requires economic reform so that the city of Elbasan and the metallurgical complex can be reborn, and the plants and factories put back to work. In moments like these, there is no reason to lose our sense of reason. Anyone who understands democracy as destruction and disorder is mistaken. The people of Elbasan have never caused trouble or resorted to insults; they have advocated peace, calm, tolerance and goodwill. Some confuse democracy with shouting and forget that it is an attribute of wise people. Extremists of every kind, in social life and in politics, do not serve the democratic future. The democratic future is built with Elbasan’s logic and culture, and with work... it belongs to Elbasan’s culture alone, not to insults and shouting, which are nothing but anti-culture and anti-democracy. We are convinced, Fatos Nano said at the end of his speech, that reason will prevail over shouting and over those who want to sow chaos. As they left the meeting, SP members and supporters also witnessed the well-known rally-goers threatening Fatos Nano and throwing stones at his car. Socialists have every right to ask a series of questions: Does the democracy we seek not imply freedom of speech? Are we once again going to create persecuted people and persecutors among us? Why do we not prevent anyone from expressing their thoughts and views, while we are not only obstructed and subjected to psychological terror, but also threatened? Who are those who apparently do not like the European democratic socialist alternative, but want only the right wing in Albania? Finally, will the state and the law manage to guarantee us at least freedom of speech and our safety? SEJДIN CEKANI of the PS, Sinani” sports palace and enthusiastically awaited the arrival of the PS chairman and the PS parliamentary candidates Kastrot 20 activists, from the beginning of the meeting to its end, insisted “Long live Sali Berisha,” “Freedom, and so on. When the audience asked them to be quiet, they responded with insulting slogans. All the speakers who took the floor were interrupted by shouting and chants. After the meeting had opened, in such a tense situation, the young student Sazan Xhelo spoke, greeting the gathering on behalf of the Eurosocialist students of Elbasan’s “Aleksandër Xhuvani” University. Among other things, he said that the movement for democracy is an aspiration and the result of all opposition groups in Albania. Therefore, the democracy we are trying to build must not be identified with a few individuals, whoever they may be. The students of Elbasan University, he said, will vote for PS, as a political force with a serious alternative that fights for freedom and true democracy. Speaking on behalf of the PS parliamentary candidates in the district of Elbasan, the well-known intellectual Moikom Zeqo said that democracy would triumph in Albania through those forces that genuinely aspire to democracy. He appealed to them

The displaced in the DP’s program – Last year we voted for the opposition; now we are members of the SP – The approach of March 22 has greatly increased the political parties’ ambitions for power and has made their meetings with the people—which they all call the electorate—much more frequent. Naturally, attention has focused on the countryside, where the outcome of the vote will be decided. To describe the countryside, the opposition parties have set in motion a whole dozen «specialists» on rural issues. That was why their chief, Sali Berisha, after a lightning visit to Përmet, Këlcyrë and Frashër, continued his momentum in Turkey. Everyone was astonished to hear Mr. Sali say that farmers who had come from other areas were not entitled to land: they would be employed abroad and in the cities once the opposition came to power. One of his well-known associates also came to our village in Badëlonjë. His answers did not satisfy the farmers’ wishes, for whom the issue of land in particular has become very sensitive. It is outdated to think that «the peasant is ignorant» and can be deceived and made to vote even when there is no transparency, and when the various parties say one thing in the press, something else on television, and something entirely different in their speeches. The discriminatory attitudes and actions of the monist regime accompanied us all the way until pluralism was proclaimed. The committee’s delegates used to tell us in front of the villagers: you shepherds who came from Saranda do not have good biofra. It is astonishing, but it is a fact that many of these former comrades have now become gentlemen, and in the opposition’s name, together with its envoy, they treated us with great warmth and friendliness. They promised us everything except the land. They have reserved it for their friends, who are waiting to receive privileges. Things were different with the delegates of the Socialist Party, who fully convinced us, as well as our fellow villagers. Under these circumstances, we see the Socialist Party as our most reliable ally, one that fulfils our wishes on a mass scale. That is why we submitted an application to be accepted as members of the Socialist Party, a wish that was fulfilled in recent days. We are convinced that the Socialist Party is the most serious political force, with the most transparent program, one that fulfils the wishes of over 90 percent of the farming population, especially that part which owns a house and land or has had a little land. It is a force in which we see... and we will have the Socialist Party organization as the principal force, made up of the best and most respected sons of the village, purged of careerists and the privileged. Recognizing the Socialist Party as the party of the masses and of the least privileged, we see it as the most capable of advancing the processes of democratization; therefore, we will give our votes, and those of our families, for real democracy! We too will vote for democracy: for true democracy, not to bring exploiters to power, but for the genuine democratic forces. Members of the Socialist Party in Badëlonjë, Përmet: Nikolla Poçi, Spartak Hadaj, Kolej Poçi, Spiro Poçi.

The director of the trading enterprise is a member of your party, gentlemen of the DP. In recent days, the two towns of Librazhd and Përrenjas and the villages of Togëz and Qukës experienced such painful events: various people, some of them from other districts as well, attacked the trading warehouses holding humanitarian aid. The Steering Committee of the Socialist Party in the district, along with all its members and supporters, is deeply indignant and completely dissociates itself from these actions. But we are concerned by the fact that, in a statement by the Democratic Party of the district and on television and radio, the Socialist Party in the district is blamed for what happened. You are seriously mistaken, gentlemen of the opposition! The people and honest citizens of our district do not believe your statements and know us socialists well. Specifically: gentlemen, the director of the trading enterprise in the town of Librazhd is a member of your party. The pluralist Executive Committee of the town has ordered him to empty the warehouses and put the goods on the market. Have you asked him why he did not put them out? The leaders of our district’s Socialist Party have held many meetings. Some time ago, in Përrenjas, the Deputy Chairman of the PSSH, comrade Servet Pellumbi, was present. There were no incidents. Things are different with you, opposition members. It was not long ago that Mr. Azem Hajdari held a meeting in the town of Librazhd. It was not long before these events occurred. On March 5, the main leader of the Democratic Party held rallies in the villages of Hotolisht, Qukës and Përrenjas; a few hours later, disturbances began in several villages near the road. Why does this happen? In Librazhd, you, gentlemen of the opposition, are in power, with 9 members on the pluralist Executive Committee out of 15 in total. Steering Committee of the Socialist Party of the Librazhd district

Vote for the SP candidates! A conversation with Spartak Poçi, candidate for parliament in electoral district No. 84 – Tirana – – Comrade Spartak, you are the Socialist Party’s candidate for parliament in electoral district No. 84, Tirana. Could you tell us a little more about your life and your family, and how they were affected by the dictatorship? – After completing my higher studies in civil engineering, I began working on the construction of the Metallurgical Complex. From there, in 1974, I was assigned to the NN of the Railway in Elbasan. During my seven years of work, I had the opportunity, together with other comrades, construction workers and “volunteers”, to work on building the railway and the country, including the Qafë Thanë Tunnel. After those years, spent far from my family and amid other hardships, I was undoubtedly glad to come to Tirana and work for the Road Paving Enterprise, which here too was an enterprise of former political prisoners and “comfortably situated” people. But my joy did not last long, because on the orders of Simon Mani, then minister, I was sent on “dety” [sic]—to go back the way I had come and return to where I had come from, namely the railway construction enterprise in Elbasan. – What do you remember about those years? – Whether I want to or not, those years cannot be forgotten. They were hard years. My father, Dilaver Poçi, a former general in the People’s Army, and our family—which had 12 members who had fought with arms in hand to liberate the country—were interned in Belsh. Life then took another steep downward turn. Everything weighed heavily on us. Among other things, for me the moral punishment was perhaps the harshest. Many of the friends we had grown up with distanced themselves from us. But there is one thing I will never forget. I will always have respect for my comrades and my work collective. It is rightly said that the kind-hearted people of the nation neither abandon nor grieve one another. – Someone might ask: what did you...

— Meeting of PS candidate, Eurosocialist Pandeli Majko, with voters in electoral zone no. 83 in Tirana — The PS candidate for parliament began the meeting by presenting the Party’s program. In response to the audience’s questions, he also spoke about himself and his school years, when he actively took part in the student movement, standing at the forefront of the country’s democratizing processes. Then many questions were asked, including one about the closure of the University of Tirana by PD leader Sali Berisha. Such an act was regarded as a monist practice that in no way serves the depoliticization of the school. At the meeting, it was said that PD had repeatedly made such attempts, beginning with its manipulation of the student movement by seizing control of that movement. The candidate also condemned the pressure exerted on newspapers by various people who have nothing in common with democracy. But, he said, those who oppose the destabilizing policies of some PD leaders cannot in any way be called antidemocratic. There was also interest in the work PS had done to explain its program to villagers, and in the interests that connect it with PS under conditions where the press is absent and information media are manipulated. Questions were also asked about the future of the NB enterprises, and concern was expressed about hundreds of hectares of greenhouses that are being damaged and looted, as PD continues its campaign to eradicate communism. GENC TEPELENA

Poor Albania, sunk up to its neck in economic, moral, and spiritual crisis, needs true democracy in order to get back on its feet and start walking. It gives us an opportunity to begin emerging from such misery, a misery that has brought it to the brink of ruin and threatens to push it into the abyss, a misery that has made it take up a beggar’s sack and beg around the world with an outstretched hand, like a pauper. It has never been so benighted, with its neighborhoods collapsed, its buildings battered, its schools looted and destroyed; with its roads full of thieves and murderers, as it is today, on the eve of the twenty-first century. And, sunk in such poverty, where the sense of work has been lost and the urges to loot and dishonor have been revived, it does not have true democracy, but the democracy of chaos, disorder, noise, and partisan propaganda chatter. The parties have put it on display like a deranged, naked woman and are mocking her, competing with one another over who will put the finest skirt on her and who will tear her apart in the most spectacular fashion. These parties, each making greater and grander promises than the others, beat their chests and swear they will open up the best and brightest roads for this disheveled woman—so long as they can get power into their hands, so long as they can sit in a parliamentary seat. Promises and chest-beating have increased especially now, during the noisy election campaign. But along with the promises, the insults, lies, and slanders against the socialists and their party have also multiplied. Those gathered around the Democratic Party, as its worthy and servile servants, shout insults with all their hearts and try to sidestep the lies, striking the same pose at the rostrum, (as though they were part of the

To the citizens of Tirana and the whole country! As part of the March 22 campaign, which, against the wishes of the entire people, is taking place amid heightened tension and political polarization, the Tirana branch of FRESSH declares: On March 8, members of our branch took part in supporting the PS election campaign by putting up poster sheets and writing slogans that met the requirements of fair and proper political competition and the norms of civic conduct. Like all PS supporters and members, we noticed—with no little indignation—that organized forces had launched an all-out campaign to destroy and tear down our slogans. In a civic-minded spirit, and also taking into account the advice of our well-wishers, we decided to stop writing slogans on walls, but not to stop putting up posters. Alongside the destruction of our slogans in Tirana, many other slogans have also been written which, besides being anti-PS, have repelled us with their content. On March 13, some main walls in Tirana were covered with obscene slogans against the opposition and its leader, F. Berisha. We declare categorically and emphatically that we have never considered waging our struggle against the opposition through insults and vulgar writing, as we have demonstrated before. The slogans written on March 13 show that perhaps there are such reactionary forces in Albania that are interested in extreme political polarization, from which anyone may benefit—but not Albanians. The Tirana branch of the Eurosocialist Youth Forum

The great spring campaign has arrived. May it come bright and bountiful. True democracy comes through work. Brothers, farmers! The land is yours—enjoy it! Sow for your own good and for the good of democracy.

“EUROPE WILL RESPECT THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE IN THE DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS OF MARCH 22” — Interview with JACK ZEKULAJ, Deputy Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, based in Warsaw —