— Protest and request for a demonstration by residents of the villages of Lower Shkodra — On May 14, 1992, representatives of the villages of Bushat, Shkje-Melgushë, Ashtë, Juban, Gur i Zi, Mjedë, Pishtull, Hajmel, Sheldi, Kaç and Naraç sent a petition to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Mr. Aleksandër Meksi, to make their wish known also to the presidium of the Parliament of Albania, as well as to the chairman of the pluralist executive committee of the Shkodra district. In this petition they also requested a meeting with the head of government, together with representatives of the area, by May 30. Since the meeting did not take place, on that same day a delegation from the area, unable to meet the prime minister, met with the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, Mr. Vullnet Ademi. He promised a meeting by June 5. This meeting did not take place either. If this meeting did not take place, the representatives of the area had warned that they would protest in front of the Council of Ministers. This was also communicated in a special request to the public-order authorities in Tirana. To allow time to organize the meeting and to take measures to ensure that no incident occurred, they requested that the peaceful demonstration be held on June 8 at 3 p.m. In the meantime, they received an unsatisfactory reply from the deputy chief of the Public Order Directorate in Tirana, stating that the demonstration would be permitted at a different location—not in front of the prime minister’s office, as requested, but in front of Qemal Stafa Square. This morning, residents from many areas of Lower Shkodra had gathered in the centers of their villages, waiting to set out for the requested demonstration. In fact, the failure to deliver the permits to the organizers’ offices prevented the demonstration, because none of the representatives wants to take an action unsupported by law and not officially authorized under the law. What have the representatives of Lower Shkodra requested? Below we present some excerpts from their petition addressed to the government: With the complete victory of democracy in Albania, the people regained what they had lost for 50 years in a row. No one suffered more than the peasantry under the dictatorship of the monist party. In implementing the sweeping reform being carried out by Mr. Meksi’s government, we see little concern for the countryside. It is known that today 70 percent of the po— (Continued on page 2)

«...As we delve deeper into the ideas of democratic socialism, the need arises to distance ourselves also from the theoretical foundation of totalitarian socialism, especially its Leninist theoretical foundation. The complete failure of totalitarian socialism proved that the theoretical foundation of Leninist doctrine was wrong. On this basis, Stalinism and the Comintern became a shield and a catalyst for the spread and imposition of this mistaken doctrine. It is therefore logical that the path toward the Socialist International should entail a reassessment of the Second International and the ideas that stem from it.»

At the First Conference of the Socialist Party of the Kuçova region The first conferences of the Socialists, now being held toward the end of the period in various districts of the country, are once again showing that the ideas of European democratic socialism are becoming increasingly acceptable to the broad masses of workers and to the various social groups in today’s Albanian society. Members of the Socialist Party are once again declaring their genuine and serious commitment to the path toward a true and civilized democracy. This was also expressed by region, attended by the chairman of the PSSH Steering Committee and the area’s deputy, comrade Fatos Nano. After the opening speech delivered by the deputy chairman of the PSSH Steering Committee for the Kuçova region, comrade Guri Thanasi, a former political prisoner who spent 9 years in the galleries of Spaç, comrade Fatmira Bano took the floor to present the report on behalf of the PS Steering Committee for Kuçova. Both in the report and in the many contributions made by the Euro-socialist Adnan Fishta, Nikollaq Alilaj, director of the oil-extraction enterprise, Guri Thanasi, Ymer Hoxha, an engineer at the mechanical plant, and many others, the good work that had been done was highlighted, with the principal factor cited as having contributed to the victory in the March 22 elections. On this basis, the conference set concrete tasks for addressing the difficult situation and ensuring a successful outcome in the local government elections as well. Whenever they are held, many speakers emphasized, we socialists of Kuçova are confident and determined to win and to show how socialists can govern themselves under decentralization and with greater powers at the grassroots level. In this regard, the demand that Kuçova be declared a district in its own right was reiterated for the umpteenth time—a demand supported not only by all political forces, but by all the residents of Kuçova. Taking the floor at the conference, comrade Fatos Nano congratulated the members and supporters of the Socialist Party on the work they have done and continue to do. «I», he emphasized, «thank you and all the democratic people of Kuçova; the tired workers and oil workers, the young men and women, the intellectuals (Continued on page 3)

Without wishing to argue with Mr. President about the «soothing» advice he gave some oil-industry trade unionists on May 5, 1992, that «one should not listen to the “fear-mongering” propaganda being put out» (meaning the propaganda of the Socialist Party), I would like to make a few clarifications: 1. It is a fact also known to you that the basket, which has been «lost» for more than three months and is now absent from most Albanian families—there is not a drop of vegetable oil, a gram of sugar, a «ration» of soap, etc.—will, as of July 1, 1991, see the liberalization of fewer items than those liberalized so far, but at «ceiling» prices? 2. The de facto basket up to now for a family of an average of 4 people contains: 25 grams of oil per person per day, 33 grams of sugar, 16.6 grams of rice, pasta—its quantity has been lost, so the amount is not even known, etc. As a doctor, do you know, Mr. President, that these consumption allowances for food products are among the lowest in the world? 3. The price increases for these items under the government’s current calculations are known: bread—13 lekë per kilogram, oil—50 lekë, sugar—25 lekë, rice—25 lekë, and soap—10 lekë per bar. Let us continue the calculation, which accepts neither propaganda nor soothing statements. For a family of 4 people— (Continued on page 2)

As the chairman of the Socialist Party of the Kavajë district, comrade Ejup Tabaku, informed us, the ranks of the Socialist Party in this district are also growing every day with new members. During the election campaign in this district, 63 people joined, mainly young people. Of these, 10 were accepted in the town of Rrogozhinë, where they established a new organization from scratch. Admissions have also taken place in the villages of Gosë, Beden, Zikxhafa[?], etc. Many supporters have submitted applications to join in other villages in the Rrogozhinë and Kavajë areas as well; the organizations are reviewing them and will reach a conclusion soon. The prevailing concern is to establish new organizations where none exist and to consolidate existing organizations in villages where there is such a need. Correspondent of «Zëri i popullit»

In the recent broadcasts, television conspicuously repeated a piece of news from Russia. It was an open appeal by Jelcin to his people , directed toward the free market. Judging by its Western preferences, Albanian television is apparently knocking on the right door. But it does not have this to separate the discussion of the ai—

In the programs of [testimony?], television prominently repeated a news item from Russia. It was an open appeal by Yeltsin to his people to tighten their belts in order to withstand the courageous reform. The people are being called on to tighten their belts, but... Is this an invitation to transparency addressed to the president? television therefore has to listen at the door. But it does not have to share the ambiguity of the news.

In the latest government television series, the No. 2 in the hierarchy was also introduced: Mr. Sereqi, foreign minister in the Meksi government. Certainly, his appearance on television was received with great pleasure, since it is known that in European governments foreign ministers rank second, taking into account both the importance of the post and the person’s undisputed merits. This is understandable, since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government body that ensures openness to the world and multifaceted communication with states and international organizations; it is also a kind of mirror in which the opportunities and guarantees each country offers to its foreign partners are judged. But Mr. Sereqi, who is undertaking this job for the first time, still does not understand that he has a major “handicap” (if I may use a professional term): he comes from a field such as medicine, which has nothing in common with diplomacy. This time, no longer at receptions and meetings with foreign diplomats—where his intentions and uncertainty, the uncontrolled gestures of his hands and feet, and his excessive self-assurance and slight irony were often plainly evident—he presented his ideas for reform at the ministry. At the beginning of the conversation he tried in vain to explain something about the “sacred” somatic duties of the democrats and the “bureaucratic” [unclear], which, in any case, he did not explain to the end; they will undoubtedly be his contribution to enriching the non-existent Meksi-diplomatic dictionaries. After this introduction, when everyone expected the minister to present, at least on this occasion, the program of his ministerial team and the objectives and duties of the department from which much is expected after a long policy of isolation, Mr. Sereqi, once again showing his originality, continued by explaining how purges are being carried out in the department. He said that, unlike his colleague at the Ministry of Defense, who put the question “Are you with the reform or not?” to his subordinates, he is skillfully dividing officials into three categories: 1) People who embrace the reform, 2) People who [unclear] the reform, 3) People who [unclear] the reform. According to this classification by Mr. Sereqi (allow me to coin the name, since every original thing bears its author’s name), only a very few people remain inside the doors of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; on the other hand, [unclear]. So for Mr. Sereqi, the criterion of professional ability or experience in the sectors has no importance whatsoever; what he needs is to create a “tabula rasa” and start everything from zero. He said that he has only the ground of this ministry; he will do everything else himself. I do not believe that any new minister anywhere in the world would claim that he is taking on only the ground and will do everything himself, even changing the office layout! He must truly be extraordinary in his fantasy and megalomania. Mr. Sereqi then went on to Noli, made some comparisons between Albania in 1992 and Albania in 1911–1913, and, surprisingly, jumped to Machiavelli and his well-known work, “The Prince.” Apparently it will be some kind of primer for this new “ruler” to learn how to govern. Enthralled by Machiavelli, the little pupil says he can outdo the soldier and, to our astonishment, added a new criterion to the classification of government officials, making not three but four categories. I believe that if Machiavelli were alive, he would deeply regret not having come up with it himself and having left it to Mr. Sereqi to add to his theory. After saying that he found “patriotic chaos” in the ministry and people who had feigned the national cause, circumstances which he says led to their purging, Mr. Sereqi declared the first phase of the reform complete. Now the second begins: competitions. And, as with every competition, there are certain criteria and a committee. As for the criteria, Mr. Sereqi proved “trans- (Continued on page 3)

Correspondence course. For a free course, please

The airline Ada Air announces that, starting on 31 May 1992, it will operate daily flights on the Tirana–Bari–Tirana route, as follows. ZY 121 Tirana–Bari departure 12.45 arrival 13.45. ZY 122 Bari–Tirana departure 15.45 arrival 16.45. All times are local. Passengers travelling on this route are requested to report one and a half hours before departure.