THE FIRST BEYS SET OUT TO RECLAIM THEIR LANDS In fact, they set out some time ago. They set out with promises made by dozens of different party people; they set out with the programs of political parties that until now were in opposition and are now all declaring victory. They set out with the petitions they have submitted and the letters they have sent to the highest state authorities. But none of this is sufficient. Promises cannot be implemented so easily, when more than 95 percent of the land has now been distributed, and title deeds are being prepared and have begun to be issued. Programs change, too—and when it is in the people’s interest, they change all the time. And, fortunately, despite the attention being given to them, the petitions are not getting what they ask for. What they demand is a return to the property they owned fifty years ago; the landowners are known by one collective name, beys, and by various surnames. The reason for this brief survey was several meetings with people from different villages. Their concern was also a factor: in Shkodër, despite the President’s and Government’s statements, either land is not being distributed at all, or former owners are going back to the old boundaries, with some people left entirely without land and others with a handspan of it—just enough to keep them alive; most are receiving the shares prescribed by the land law, while some others (the former owners) will soon reappear as they once were. Their reappearance is one of the main concerns hindering the distribution of land. In the Kullaj plain, one of the former owners sends word to the farmers not to worry, because he will abide by the law, while another former owner threatens that nobody should dare set foot on his land. Naturally, he does not make the threat in the middle of the village, because he is not the master there and is not yet an owner as he once was, but the effect of his rumor is palpable. In Kosmaç as well, the gentlemen of Shkodër, as they used to be called, go to see where their land is. In the villages of Pukë, too, the land commissions are at work, because they are relying more on the state cadastral records and the memories of the elderly. This has caused quite a few concerns. Fortunately, so far there has been no bloodshed in the villages mentioned, but there are uncultivated, undistributed lands that may remain as they were last year this spring as well. Concerns are growing, along with a question from the villagers: why is the Government not setting a deadline for the distribution of land? The Government has said that after victory it will establish order in a day or a week, but order and calm will not be established in the village as long as land remains a bone of contention, as long as irrigation channels are broken and people are demanding land, as long as forests are being cut down by townspeople who do not have a thorn prick their feet, while those who once owned them have been left to wander, dispossessed. The first beys are setting out for their former properties. What will the new government do?

Brief At a meeting with a delegation of the Albanian Democratic League of Gucia, the President promised: - to take immediate measures concerning the third shift. - retirement for women with more than 20 years of work. - not to liberalize 2–3 of the main items in the basic household basket (Democratic Housewives asked for the basket to be made more affordable [?]). The President called these demands fair and achievable and promised to pursue them until they were resolved. At a meeting with representatives of the Governing Council of the Independent Education Trade Union, Prime Minister Meksi called their demands for a review of wages entirely fair.

Today, the First Congress of Albanian Eurosocialist Youth is being held in Tirana. This is undoubtedly the most important and notable event in the life of this youth forum, which began its activity four months ago. The period from January 15, the day the First National Meeting was held, until today, when the First Congress convenes, has been a period of intensive work to expand the Forum throughout the country and consolidate it as a vital and cohesive youth organization. The initiative of six young people passionate about creating the Eurosocialist Youth Forum was no coincidence, but the logical outcome of developments in our country. The December 1990 student movement significantly accelerated all the democratic processes in the life of the country. It became the vanguard of all subsequent developments, from which the Eurosocialist movement itself emerged as a natural offshoot, and, indeed, the youth Eurosocialist movement. Some young people, unable to find their place in the party youth forums that had been created by order from above, became the strong foundation of the Eurosocialist Forum. Its participation and reach were felt throughout the country very quickly. The meetings, discussions, and many activities held in most districts genuinely demonstrated the Forum’s ability, causing large numbers of young men and women to flock to its ranks. But none of this was easy. Indeed, in some cases it was difficult. Party-mindedness, extreme politicization, the spite and outbursts of some newspapers, slander and insults directed at the organization and its path—all were unleashed against the Forum, to destroy it at its very inception. Various people, unfortunately, some of them for months, fell under the influence of the Forum’s spirit and turned to insults; according to them, everyone was to blame, because there was no other way with the DP. Yet none of this managed to stop it; on the contrary, it made it grow. Today they are convening their First Congress. For them, but also more broadly—for all members and supporters of the Socialist Party, and for all honest and democratic people—the Congress is a notable event. The young people themselves, who had long conceived their Congress not as a parade but as a working meeting, spread out like swallows across Albania. Meetings and assemblies were held in the districts, analyses were carried out, and now here we are... Their sense of responsibility, dedication, and perseverance are exemplary. An important factor in their success has also been discipline. They have achieved this, first and foremost, by respecting one another and communicating in a friendly and fraternal manner, not by issuing orders. We salute the young men and women Eurosocialists for the work they have done, and today, at their First Congress, we wish them further success in the future, for the good of youth, the country, and democracy. Eurosocialist youth is the beautiful hope of the Socialist Party; it is its pure and secure future. May it grow in the interest of the healthy development of Albania’s fragile democracy, in the name of the future.

A TREND TOWARD CONSOLIDATION AND SELF-ACTION — Over six weeks in April and May, 94 people, mostly of an age

On the occasion of May 9, the day of victory over fascism, the veterans’ committee and the district executive committee of Durrës organized a commemoration near the obelisk dedicated to those who fell in the National Liberation Anti-Fascist War. Veterans, family members, and former prisoners of this camp also took part in the commemoration. On behalf of the district PS military command, the chairman of the district PS executive committee, veterans, and deputy Bardhyl Agasi laid a bouquet of flowers, while the veterans’ committee laid wreaths. Correspondent of «Zëri i popullit»

TRENDS TOWARD CONSOLIDATION AND SELF-ACTIVATION Over six weeks in April and May, 94 people, mostly young, joined the ranks of the PS, some of them setting up new organizations. Around 23 FRESSH branches are being established in villages. — young, joined the ranks of the PS, some of them setting up new organizations. Around 23 FRESSH branches are being established in villages. — After March 22, a particular attitude among PS supporters has been noticeable in many villages around Tirana. Many of them make a decision based on the state of the organizations. Some sympathizers, people with socialist convictions, are calling for action, for commitment and productive work with people; they do not accept withdrawal, old practices, or the state of some organizations. In other words, they want party activity to be reinvigorated. This is precisely why in Kus, Mihajas, Ibë, and elsewhere, such young sympathizers not only asked to join and entered the ranks of the Party, but also established new socialist organizations. Meanwhile, many young people during this period have joined the organizations in Bërxullë, Çekrezë, Lugë-Shalqizë, Selitë, Sërmas, Prikë, and other villages. They sought membership in response to the need of the times to raise the organizations to a higher level and turn them into active groups. The fact that young people are not content with organizations that have yet to reach the level of active work is also shown by the fact that in Prush, Pezë, Ibë, and elsewhere, the composition of the organizations has improved considerably in recent weeks, with village intellectuals from education and other sectors joining them. 94 new members, several organizations, new ones, membership. The continued establishment of 23 FRESSH branches in villages, where 300 young people have been distributed among these villages, with at least 230 young people from the villages; the expansion of branches in Kashar, Rrëmbi, Vraka, Baldushk, and elsewhere, where the facts speak of active work by socialists in the villages of Tirana. But in many of the villages, the facts show a tendency that can be seen there—a tendency that does not leave people with socialist convictions waiting around, but encourages them to get involved by organizing themselves, to participate in revitalizing political life in the organizations and to respond to the country’s political competition and to the consolidation of the socialist alternative in the village. F. C.

HOW TO AMASS WEALTH WITH STATE MONEY A brief explanation Have you noticed some small «traders» by the sidewalks or on street corners, selling staple goods or other items of «special quality»? At exorbitant prices—even sugar, indeed. The price of every item is much higher. «Such businesspeople sell for a few hours and leave. People rightly ask: who supplies them? How do packaged goods from the small “basket” get onto the main road so easily? Dear reader, the struggling street traders who are in fact «lamenting» their troubles with our money, whether unemployed or not, are 80 percent ordinary people. Behind them are the big hoarders. Not just anyone can be one of them. You need connections, you need power, you need influential friends. Along with many others who attest to it, the saying «better one friend than a hundred in-laws» still holds true when that friend is a former power-holder turned businessperson—and even more so when he is a «democratic friend». Let us talk about the street traders, who may lose not only their minds. Where are the big hoarders’ headquarters? One of them is a thousand in the Budaci sector, near Vermosh. It is astonishing how much «interest» the enterprise has shown in supplying this sector. 350 men’s wristwatches are sold for 100 lekë. Millions of lekë lost through price reductions. In two months, seven families in Vermosh have been «supplied» with 1,700 kg of pasta, 2,778 kg of flour, 10 tonnes of rice, 14,350 kg of sugar, one and a half tonnes of powdered milk, 4,650 kg of beans, 2,927 cans of meat and 2,317 cans of fish, 11,344 bars of soap, 122 kg of butter, 1,855 kg of oil, and 5,674 cans of compote, jam, etc. Who is hoarding these goods? The answer: enrichment by NFP Shkodër! NFP Shkodër, or the food-supply enterprise for workers. The first labyrinth: Where have they been better supplied, in Vermosh or in New York? Once, the workers’ supply enterprise extended from Koman to the sawmill sectors in Vermosh. All these workers’ enterprises in these areas are now being revived as one. Are they being dealt with? [Part cut off at bottom of page] … kg of oil, 5,674 cans of jam and compote, etc. Isn’t this the best supply, in abundance? Better than in the heart of America’s land of plenty? Yet these families have not even seen these goods. They have «disappeared» along the way. Where to, is something the storekeeper Gjelosh Marku knows, and [text unclear] stands behind him. Because I am convinced that Gjeloshi has «lost» wine, whereas in fact it is air. Others drank the wine. Then everything was entered into the food ledgers, but it was all just air, precisely at a time when [text unclear] … [illegible] Those [cut off] must be big, drink the wine [illegible] and be [cut off] at the NFP and [cut off] [illegible] … The labyrinth [cut off] In the sector … [faded and partly illegible text]

An exhibition by the painter Ndini Bardhi has been open for several days in one of the halls of the Palace of Culture in Tirana. This is his second solo exhibition, featuring around 70 works, mainly landscapes. Albanian nature, with all its beauty, appears in this distinguished exhibition, full of color and life. Their realistic and inspired portrayal enhances their value. Among the most accomplished works, it is worth highlighting the landscapes depicting views of Vlora, Apollonia, and Ardenica («Road in the Forest», «Pog radeci», views of Apollonia, views of Ardenica, «Road in the Forest», «Autumn», etc.). As the painter works at the Institute of Cultural Monuments, he has found inspiration in that priceless cultural heritage, created over the centuries. The painter will define this distinctive aspect of his work more clearly in the future, when he soon opens an exhibition of works devoted exclusively to cultural monuments.

This story is not made up and has nothing whatsoever to do with the names or personalities of the people who feature in it. It concerns the Agricultural University of Tirana, which has had three rectors at three different times. It has had the rector of monism, of pluralism, and of “true democracy.” Naturally, it could have had six as well, and there would have been nothing wrong with that, but there is a simple fact that makes you wonder: the academic level of the rectors has declined from one year to the next. The first rector, who is now the chairman of an opposition party, held the rank of Professor Doctor. The second rector, who is now one of the leaders of a party in power, held the rank of docent. The third rector, or the rector of the “era of true democracy,” holds the academic degree Candidate of Sciences. This fact has sparked various discussions in the University’s academic circles. Everyone is discussing not the appointment that has just been made, but what will happen if the new rector also leaves. Could the next one perhaps be an assistant? THOMA GJELIÇI

November 25, 1991. At the First Conference of the Socialist Party, six young students become the initiators of the creation of the Eurosocialist Youth Forum. January 15, 1992. The First National Meeting of the Albanian Eurosocialist Youth Forum is held in Tirana, and work begins to expand and consolidate it in all the country’s districts. Within the month, FRESSH branches are established in most of the country’s districts. Meetings are also held at district level, in Pogradec, Dibër, Korçë, Berat, Durrës, Librazhd, Gramsh, etc. March 1992. A meeting of the capital’s youth is held in Tirana. During this period, several other working meetings are also held in the districts, as well as an assembly of youth from Tirana’s secondary schools. May 10, 1992. The First Congress of the Albanian Eurosocialist Forum is held in Tirana. COMMENTS [?] FRESSH. THERE TO THE D JES