Enough with the colors, enough with the fuss; we criticized left and right. Is this where we were headed? Are we going to ask for an accounting again? What we need is optimism. We can find it wherever we like, as long as we are optimistic. If this and that are missing, things seem poor to me. Aren’t we the ones who for years have been shouting, “Long live the Party (empty stomach-?)”? So what is there to worry about if we don’t find what we’re looking for, even if those are the most basic necessities? For example, you go to the grocery shop for two months running and see that sugar, flour, soap and oil are missing. You try to find eggs, meat and butter, but can’t find them anywhere. Should you raise your voice after that? No, absolutely not! Notice the optimism: hope that better days will come. So, optimism! Read the newspapers, poetry and erotic writings, and raise your spirits. But you might even go to the Executive Committee of the Tirana District, let’s say, and get answers like these: “A quantity of cheese has arrived from Bulgaria, but it has been held up by Albkontroll because of a discrepancy in weight. Distribution of sugar and flour for March has not yet begun. One quarter of Tirana has been supplied with cheese; there is meat in storage at the cold store, but transport has stalled.” And so it goes again, with the most basic needs and requirements. There, the ministry... When you continue to “rejoice” further over this matter with Italy, the idea is enough for me too not to remain optimistic! [column interrupted by illustration] ...March. However, someone notices that distribution of the European Community’s orders for March has also begun. What are these discrepancies? SEJDIN CEKANI

- This is about Albania, not Yugoslavia - Yesterday our newspaper published figures showing a galloping rise in crime in our country. In March alone there were 74 victims, including 39 murders, 8 suicides and deaths from various accidents. During the first twelve days of April there were also 13 murders and 20 injuries. In connection with this rise in crime in our country, yesterday we obtained the following opinions from various Tirana residents. Dritan Cenrdo and Drini Krye-madhi, third-year students at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Tirana: The main thing is that the country is unstable. There are unemployed people struggling to survive, trying to make gains illegally. I think organized crime has also begun. These things need to be dealt with by enforcing the laws. But people do not know the laws well enough, because the mass media do not publicize them properly. The police have completely lost their effectiveness. To us, the work of the police is equal to zero. We have only seen them present when, in front of the police station (the second precinct), a “glass” was stolen—a foreign car. Police patrol there, see the car, and do not react, or do anything else. The investigative authorities must be provided with proper conditions so that they can carry out their work as they should. Court decisions concerning criminals should be published, because only their arrests are reported. Television stations, at any rate, should give these matters better coverage. As far as we know, students have been armed to protect their own lives. The law has come into force: “Two hands for one head.” Viktor Çenosinaj, journalist at «Albanopol»: I think the main basis of this crime is the high level of unemployment. The largest number of criminal elements come from among the unemployed. Unless people are given work, unless the way is opened for serious, official emigration, the situation is unlikely to improve. Another serious reason is the sudden and radical change in the socioeconomic systems. The law-enforcement forces were unprepared for this development. Existing legislation is out of date. The framework of the new legislation has not yet been completed. The many crimes now occurring, especially over issues of property and land, will continue unless firm and enduring arrangements appropriate to the times are put in place. I think the police are still not at the proper professional level. Finally, I want to emphasize that this is not just an Albanian phenomenon. All the countries of the former Communist East are going through this phase of rampant crime. Selim Çaka, prosecutor at the General Prosecutor’s Office: Crime is a conspicuous phenomenon. What makes the greatest impression is the number of people killed for various motives. The rise in the number of murders has economic, psychological and social causes. We had murders before too, but there will be a limit. The justice authorities bear some responsibility for the rise in crime, for failing to pursue cases and assess them in time, and for not viewing murders with the proper professional concern. In the past, we had one criminal policy for one category and another criminal policy for the others. Today, as I see it, people are not pursued by one and the same system. One justice authority pursues a case, another does not. There are discrepancies between the investigation service, the prosecution and the court. I think all these matters need to be put in order under the law. They are parts of one mechanism. If one part does not function, the other parts do not function either. Cooperation and coordination of actions are essential. We must strengthen the prevention of murders. The law-enforcement authorities must better justify the confidence society has placed in them recently. Nebi Hida, police officer at the Police Post in Precinct No. 3, Tirana: (Continued on page 2)

For nearly two weeks now, families in Elbasan have been getting up at 4 in the morning and lining up to buy bread. Many of them return home empty-handed. The children leave for school and thus set off without bread in their bags; their parents likewise leave for work. After work, they line up again until past 23:00, in front of the electro… (because the sales outlets close at 19:00 or 20:00), but in vain. The nervousness, dissatisfaction and quarrels that accompany the lack of bread are commonplace. Everyone knows that a shortage of bread for several days in a row cannot be replaced by anything, because there is no pasta or flour on the market either. So what then? Then the parents have nothing left but to improvise for their families the moving story “Mother and Son” by Nonda Bulka, but that does not solve anything either. We spoke with the deputy chairman of the district’s pluralist Executive Committee, the head of the industry section and the director of the bread factory about the reasons for the shortage. The answers they give are the usual ones: sometimes there is a shortage of wheat, sometimes of flour. The workers at the flour mill in Elbasan even go on strike, and when the wheat arrives, Elbasan is still left without flour. Meanwhile, across the country, no one knows where more than 500 quintals of flour have gone. A considerable portion of the activity relating to bread, including an increase of one third in its consumption, is supplied by private electrical… suppliers, but they too have had none because there has been no flour. In our conversation with the above-mentioned officials, we noticed a kind of inconsistency in their explanations of this shortage as a whole, down to the details, as though these two things had no connection with one another outside Elbasan. Perhaps they are also looking for explanations to present the truth to the people of their city, but people are now tired of these concerns, or rather of these endlessly repeated excuses. They go as far as Cërrik, Peqin, and even Librazhd and Tirana to buy bread, flour and pasta. But not everyone can go to nearby towns.

Starting today, 16.4.1992, the price of our newspaper is 2 lek. Forced by the high and numerous costs, particularly by the nearly tenfold increase in the price of paper, the payment required to obtain it from the Lezhë factory, and the necessity of importing it with foreign currency, we are issuing this notice while accepting responsibility for the situation. This change is being made with the aim of making subscriptions easier for readers of “Zëri i Popullit”, as well as private subscriptions through private distributors or agencies, so that they can carry out the necessary arrangements. The subscriptions made for the first quarter of 1992 ended on 15 April. Subscribers whose payments are outstanding for the first quarter should settle them at the PS district committee or the relevant district agencies. Bearing in mind that the first quarter saw many disruptions in financial relations, we ask the PS district steering committees and private agencies to report to the economic department of “Zëri i Popullit” by 20.4.1992 to sign contracts; because of the change, we are obliged to suspend delivery of the newspaper. We assure you that we will put in your hands one of the most widely read newspapers! THE EDITORIAL STAFF

As announced, the chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania, Fatos Nano, returned to our country yesterday from a conference in Greece. “Europe and the Mediterranean in the Next Century” was the theme of the conference, which was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic as part of activities for European integration. The Forum (based in Switzerland), at whose conference government and political and economic leadership delegations from around 40 states of the European Community, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea took part. Mr. The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. K. Mitsotakis, also took part, along with the representative. The participants at the Conference discussed the following topics: The European Community’s great market and the Mediterranean; Building harmonious relations between the states of the Me- (Continued on page 4)

Journalist: Albania wants to be reborn. Mr. Berisha: “The coming two years will serve to make people understand that change has truly begun. But a total undertaking will take at least 15 or 20 years.” “We do not want revenge” Tirana, Berisha’s appeal for national forgiveness - “The past is over. Albania must forget and be able to be reborn. We do not want revenge,” said Berisha, elected President of the Republic of Albania less than 48 hours ago, giving his first interview as head of state. He outlines economic strategies, speaks in favor of a new emigration to Italy, and addresses his communist past; he promises to open the secret archives. Then he turns to his own people, ending with an appeal: “Let us [grant] national...” First the Ottomans, then the monarchs, then the Fascists and finally Enver Hoxha’s Stalinists: after 70 years of domination and 12 months of transition, “the country is breaking apart; at last it has a democratic president.” For two days now, in the same presidential seat held until the end of last week by Ramiz Alia. Sali Berisha comes to the … of his letter. Waiting are the same bad guards: those who for years treated foreigners bloodily. “They should take care and bring [them].” - President, why did you start with the USA? - “I am ready to set off for any country that invites me. I hope to go to Italy soon too, if they invite me, and I am ready to receive all Italian politicians who want to come to Albania, including the honorable Kraksi.” - No refusal, then, toward the Italian Socialists? - “Bridges are flowing. The controversy we had in recent weeks has to do exclusively with the choice made by the honorable Kraksi to accept the invitation no. 3 of the former Albanian Communist Party. His personal choice absolutely cannot affect relations between the two countries, nor between us and his party. Today we have one aspiration: to integrate into Europe as quickly as possible. We need Italian help, but also our other American allies. We have no prejudices against any country, and it is not right for them to be jealous.” - Coming to Albania: Your people lived under dictatorship for 47 years, and today you are appealing for national forgiveness. Do you believe your country is ready to forget? - “If Albania wants to be reborn, it must forget. For me, reconciliation is above all a mi- (Continued on page 3)

“8:00 p.m. The news is on television. The new government is introduced. The hopes, eyes and minds of Albanians are turned toward the small screen.” “8:00 p.m. The news is on television. The new government is introduced. The hopes, eyes and minds of Albanians are turned toward the small screen. What characterizes our government ministers? - A passion for art, literature, music... (and love?) - The brilliance of at least most of them in fields different from those in which they graduated or specialized; they have written books and other things too. Apparently, without wishing to prejudge (and hoping this doesn’t come out wrong), it occurs to me that ‘loyal Party members’ can apparently only be replaced by ‘loyal party members’ of another kind. The leaders of the DP have long declared that ‘Our people are not so foolish as to make the same mistake twice.’ And the voice: ‘Their own has burned them. But, as the rumours show, party members make mistakes more than once.’ In any case, I have gone too far with my blasphemy. My greeting card for the new government is short: - I hope they will care more about the economy and the country’s problems than about the sea, more than about fish and fishing (unfortunately, I’m reminded of a former first secretary of the Durrës district), more than about private business, more than about fashionable streets. - I hope they will think more about our wages, about the market and [text continues] ... are you interested in a great transformation? - There are still not many good things in life, and these too seem to have been settled—somewhere else. Berisha was the new symbol of Albania, which wants to work and struggle for a genuine economic and social rebirth. In the 22 March elections, the Democratic Party (of which he was a founder and chairman) secured a convincing majority of 63 percent. An absolute triumph. For Berisha he was also the international symbol of the new democratic Albania: the USA and President Bush; US President George Bush sent him a congratulatory telegram on behalf of the USA for the work accomplished. And there were the receptions awaiting him in Washington, where he would be welcomed with the honors befitting a head of state. Will this be the first diplomatic leader of the post-dictatorship? - President, why did you start with the USA? - “I am ready to set off for any country that invites me. I hope to go to Italy soon too, if they invite me, and I am ready to receive all Italian politicians who want to come to Albania, including the honorable Kraksi.” - No refusal, then, toward the Italian Socialists? - “Bridges are flowing. The controversy we had in recent weeks has to do exclusively with the choice made by the honorable Kraksi to accept the invitation no. 3 of the former Albanian Communist Party. His personal choice absolutely cannot affect relations between the two countries, nor between us and his party. Today we have one aspiration: to integrate into Europe as quickly as possible. We need Italian help, but also our other American allies. We have no prejudices against any country, and it is not right for them to be jealous.” - Coming to Albania: Your people lived under dictatorship for 47 years, and today you are appealing for national forgiveness. Do you believe your country is ready to forget? - “If Albania wants to be reborn, it must forget. For me, reconciliation is above all a mi-”

As has happened in several districts of the country, in our district too the destruction and demolition of memorial pillars, commemorative plaques and museums of the National Liberation War has begun and is continuing on an intensive scale. After the 22 March elections, the destruction of the martyrs’ cemeteries also began: marble plaques have been broken, and a large display of photographs of the martyrs, installed in the cemetery’s museum room, has been torn up and trampled underfoot. These acts of vandalism, carried out for specific purposes at the sites of the National Liberation War Veterans, deeply outrage our conscience and fill us with anger. On this occasion, we appeal to and call upon all the patriotic people of Kolonjë, all honest people, those who suffered and sacrificed in this war, and those Kolonjë mothers and fathers who waited for and saw the partisans off. You who did not falter over the blood shed by your sons and daughters for a free and democratic Albania—how can you tolerate these most despicable acts, committed for specific political purposes? To prevent abuses of this kind from being repeated at the district’s veterans’ sites, which were created in pursuit of the same ideal, we ask and propose to the People’s Assembly, the President and the Government of the Republic of Albania that they intervene immediately to stop the hand of the political vandals. From the Presidium of the Committee of Veterans and Invalids of the Anti-Fascist National Liberation War of Kolonjë district

Dinamo continues to struggle for its victory At the seaport of Durrës, work is proceeding at a rapid pace to unload foodstuffs, aid from the European Community and Italy. The ship “Viktor”, which has brought 15 thousand tons of wheat from the TPE, is being unloaded and will be finished tomorrow. The unloading of the ship “Petraki”, carrying 5 thousand tons of flour, also from the TPE, is nearing completion. A ship carrying 662 tons of butter is also being handled at the port’s quays, while 10 tankers will enter through the land border; 5 railcars of meat and 5 cit… are being distributed to all districts of the country. The Italian ship “Lamone”, carrying 3,400 tons of flour and 1,200 tons of sugar, is also being unloaded. The sugar is being distributed directly from the ship by vehicles to the districts, Tirana and those in the northern region. Another ship carrying 10 thousand tons of wheat is waiting to enter the port; it will come in once the unloading of the ship “Petraki” is complete, while the ship “Cedar Pride”, carrying 5 thousand tons of flour as part of TPE aid, is expected to arrive soon. While port workers and the personnel of Operation “Pelican” are working devotedly, some managers of the enterprises receiving the goods are not responding at the same pace to the unloading of foodstuffs, causing vehicles to be delayed for a long time and convoys not to return to the port according to schedule. Thus, repeated delays have been caused by the bread enterprise in Tirana, the Durrës Cold Store, which is not unloading the vehicles carrying butter, the workers’ supply trading enterprise in Klos of Burrel, etc. (ATSH)