Yesterday morning at 10:00, the first session of the 13th legislature of the People’s Assembly began its work. The Assembly was attended by 140 deputies from five political parties: the Democratic Party, which constitutes the majority in parliament; the Socialist Party; the Social Democratic Party; the Party of the Union for Human Rights; and the Republican Party. Also invited were Prime Minister Vilson Ahmeti and members of the Government, the chairmen of political parties, and figures from the fields of economics, science, art, etc. Also present were heads and officials of the diplomatic missions accredited in Tirana. The Assembly was opened on behalf of the 10 oldest deputies by the Democratic Party deputy, Mr. Pjetër Arbnori. Then the deputies and all those present stood and sang the National Anthem. Next, the floor was given to Democratic Party deputy Petrika Minga, who, on behalf of a group of deputies from the Democratic Party and the Socialist Party, proposed a five-member commission for the Verification of Mandates and Immunity, with three members from the DP and two from the SP. The deputies unanimously approved the composition of this commission. That concluded the first session. The People’s Assembly will resume its work on Monday, April 6, at 10:00. (ATSH)

Day by day, following the conclusion of the March 22 elections, Albanian socialists have embraced the most worthwhile alternative that is ethically right for them: the comprehensive strengthening of the Party. This is everyone’s goal. This is everyone’s concern. But how is this process to be carried out? It is understood that declarations alone will accomplish everything. Merely instructing the district steering committees to meet and analyze the causes of the crushing defeat and the party’s present situation will not achieve the desired objective either. Nor will it be achieved by simply exposing the party’s grassroots organizations, which in some cases still have at their head a «dissident» in words and a Stalinist-Enverist in deeds. So how should this process be carried out and led? The answer is very difficult for every Party member, whether an ordinary member or a member of its leadership. I believe that every party member should take part in this process, and not only they, but also the many sympathizers, mainly young people, who proved during the election campaign that they have firmly embraced the alternative of democratic socialism and who wholeheartedly want to work, create and struggle by democratic means—and only by those means—and with their culture, to make this aspiration a reality on Albanian soil, as it is in Europe. Such a mission is not simply a matter of meetings, referendums or analyses, however perfect they may be. In the Party’s work, every action has its own value and necessity, but the times require us to respond and carry out the tasks that bring the greatest benefit to the Party, to its present and its future. A person devoted to the socialist ideal (which has nothing in common with the theory and practice of totalitarian socialism) may again ask: So how should this process be concretely organized and led in order to transform the Socialist Party into a genuine political force on which the broad, unprivileged strata of the people can rely to uphold their interests? People want to be convinced that the Socialist Party of Albania is a political force that belongs, in principle, to the European left. While the vast majority have been convinced that the honorable value of struggle and work is [unclear in source], some are familiar with it only in theory; in practice, they not only think as they did before pluralism, but act as they did in that period. In the analyses already being conducted and those to come, this phenomenon can be seen too, though it is not acknowledged. It must be exposed, and the person who embodies it must be guided. How can the head of a grassroots organization blame the entire organization for not working, for lacking initiative, etc., while claiming that he himself is in order and has properly fulfilled his obligations to the Party? If the wolf eats the sheep, then the shepherd is to blame! So the people say, and their words should be heeded. Whoever does not heed them will ultimately pay the price. PSSh members and sympathizers have continually made many useful proposals and suggestions. They have also undertaken quite a few very well-intentioned initiatives. To carry them out, socialists have put everything at their disposal: their work and their full support. But some have been implemented, some have not, and some have been delayed. Without the maximum commitment of every member and sympathizer, it is difficult for the Party to present itself to its electorate as fully committed to defending the material and spiritual interests of the people of whom it is made up. Thus, I believe that the process of a total and rapid reshaping of all the great potential within the PSSh must also involve a concrete analysis of this kind: the brave should be praised; the worker should be told, “keep going”; the coward should be told, “you would do better to give up—I am better off without you than with you.” The PSSh’s experience has been bitter when it comes to problems accumulating and the lack of courage to present them transparently. It has been thought wise, and necessary at the same time, to find the right moment to present problems that need to be resolved. The place where they are presented matters too, but the theory of hiding one’s head like an ostrich is wrong. Lack of courage takes you farther from victory. The moment is now, not tomorrow, to say that the testing within the party is not yet fully complete. Someone may ask for evidence. Life and reality offer as much as you could want. If you wish, you can refuse to look it in the eye. Then who reported that the testing was over? The polling centers were closed for a relatively long time. Hardly anyone is working anywhere. Where do workers carry out the life of the Party? Zëri i Popullit, too, feels a responsibility in this area. It could have informed the Party about such situations, but does euphoria lull to sleep men greater than us—and journalists? The greater one’s party commitment, the more painful it is to “strike” oneself. Yet the good of the Party, its interests and those of the alternative it defends require this too. It is necessary. Sentimentality is just as dangerous as political fanaticism. The Socialist Party needs neither. We have already experienced their evils and damage. They were forcefully denounced at the founding Congress of our Party. Their reappearance has consequences: on the one hand it opens the way to inactivity, and on the other to sectarianism. The Party’s strengthening requires this process to be carried out without veering toward either extreme. Here, too, prudence and wisdom are needed, but to put them into action one must have courage. Let us carry out all these processes together with the mindset of a true socialist, using the practices and paths of a committed socialist. (totalitarian) strata of the people can rely to uphold their human interests? People want to be convinced that the PSSh European left. While the vast majority of the respected veterans of war and labor have been convinced that the PSSh honors and highly values their sacrifices for the liberation of the country and for carrying out transformations in the economic and social sphere that no one can dispute, we cannot say that young people have been convinced en masse, since their presence left much to be desired at meetings between candidates and voters during the election campaign. So how will we convince young people, and what is happening in the countryside? The Forum of Eurosocialists is a spark of the future. It must work—and work hard—to multiply itself and rejuvenate the Party in the broadest sense of the word. Not only the PSSh organizations, but also its leading forums. This too is a separate process, as delicate as it is far-reaching, and it requires great prudence, but also great courage. Anyone who thinks that the party career or state career granted by the Party through parliament, or tomorrow after the local elections through the council, is what matters is gravely mistaken and carries the vestiges of the cult of bureaucracy of the monist state. Pluralism itself sweeps away everything belonging to the mindset and practices of the party-state and the state of the dictatorship of the proletariat. When these ideas are repeated in propaganda, some people call them «well-known things».

These days, the figurative art exhibition «Views of Europe» was inaugurated in one of the exhibition halls of the Eiffel Tower, in the center of Paris. It offers a view of more than 30 European capitals and features the participation of 50 European artists. Various local figures attended, including senior officials, diplomats, historians, journalists, etc. Also attending was the chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Embassy of the Republic of Albania in Paris, Mr. Luan Rama. At the beginning of this exhibition, rich in various paintings and sculptural works, was placed the painting «The Awakening of Europe» by the distinguished French classical painter Gustáv Moro, as well as other images showing the historical and geographical evolution of Europe, and writings from the time of Herodotus up to the letters of P. Valeri. The exhibition opened with two paintings by the Albanian painter Bujar Luca. The idea of expressing European identity in an original way is at the heart of this exhibition, as well as of many of the debates among figures from different fields of contemporary life. Paintings of Albanian art in Paris

Our distinguished writer, Ismail Kadare, says, in essence, among other things in his book «From One December to the Next», that everyone bears responsibility, in one way or another, for the era we have glorified until now, and that distancing ourselves from this evil is a merit to which everyone has contributed. Seen in this light, I would consider the period in which we live a time of distancing ourselves from communist indoctrination. The sooner this is achieved—with wisdom, honesty and determination, and without bombastic declarations about burying or uprooting communism—the closer, in my opinion, the victory of true democracy will be. We say true democracy because we cannot in any way confuse its victory with an electoral victory such as that of the DP on March 22, a victory which, once again, and with greater feeling, is being understood by the democratic forces as a referendum on breaking with communism. We were indoctrinated to the utmost. From the first hour of the morning, when Radio Tirana began its broadcasts, until midnight, when it ended them at that time, every news item and every report contained the formula «the Party and Comrade Enver». The same was true of television and the newspapers, with their unparalleled twin likeness. In state and private bookstores and libraries, one would find Enver Hoxha’s works first and foremost. In the final year, to create the impression of a genuine circulation of books «produced» by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism, the works began to be distributed as gifts to distinguished employees, who returned them unopened and they went back to the bookstores. In the school desks, Marxism-Leninism sat enthroned in theory and practice. And, as if this were not enough, a whole system of compulsory educational methods (you would be tested if you were absent or came without your planning-notes notebook) was there to persuade the Albanian people «to develop» Marxism-Leninism in Albania’s specific conditions. Enver Hoxha had assigned his people a lofty mission. Marked out and with a perspective of …various local figures, real distancing from the communist past has, in most cases, not been motivated by sound, honest and sincere reasons, nor inspired by a desire and commitment to serve «the goddess» democracy. Rather, just as yesterday in the monist era, when a Communist Party card concealed and obscured the true character of those who had joined the Party of Labour of Albania for personal gain, in many cases this has been done to secure and guarantee one’s job, to evade direct responsibility for the state of the country, and to feel at ease and watch events unfold from the «loge». This expresses the petty-bourgeois attitude of these people, their incapacity, and also their insecurity about standing up to pressures from the street and revanchist, vengeful tendencies. Perhaps the reader may judge me and ask what I base my «accusation» on. Look at those who have «distanced themselves» from the SP. Without wishing to make an a priori judgment, most of them are from the state administration, former employees of the committees of the Party of Labour, and heads of enterprises and institutions who secured their jobs during the interim period and then, one fine day, woke up distanced from the PPSH and «in love» with the former opposition parties. I would like to give these people a very simple test or quiz, asking them to name even one, two or three of the most essential differences between the parties’ programs. I swear to you, they would fail, just like some leader of these parties who declares: «If I don’t insult the SP, nobody will believe I’m in the opposition». By understanding the move from one party to another as meaning that one has become «distanced», including from intensive communist indoctrination, this category of people, who unfortunately are not few in Albania, inflict great harm on the very democracy we want to build. Thus, joining a party and embracing the alternatives you have chosen does not…

Surprising and amazing discoveries in biblical lands The first in a series of fantastic programs with illustrated lectures by DAVID CURRIE international speaker from New Zealand in cooperation with ADRA Free admission A WONDERFUL FAMILY PROGRAM At the Palace of Congresses April 6, 6:00 p.m. A fantastic, colorful program to be shown simultaneously on three screens. This computerized program series covers the sciences of archaeology and astronomy, the wonders of nature, and also reveals the power and truth of the Holy Scriptures. You must come and see for yourself the experience of Mr. DAVID CURRIE, who has been to more than 80 countries. The first five programs will be shown at the Palace of Congresses and then at the International Center of Culture. We invite you to all the programs because in this way you will experience something extraordinary. The splendor is extraordinary. So do not miss it!