Interview with the chairman of the Mallakastër District Council, Mr. Fiqiri Hazizi, and the mayor of Ballsh, Mr. Ismet Beqiri REGARDING THE STRIKE IN BALLSH — Yesterday the public was informed that the strike at the Ballsh Deep Oil Processing Plant is continuing. A few days ago, meanwhile, you issued a statement. What is the situation at present, and what efforts have you made to normalize the situation and establish dialogue between the government and the strikers? Fiqiri Hazizi: First, we want to clarify for the entire public that the Ballsh Deep Oil Processing Plant has been classified as a national enterprise by a government decision. The law on the organization and functioning of local government assigns no authority to the District Council or the Municipality with regard to labor relations at national enterprises. Nevertheless, bearing in mind that most of Ballsh’s population depend on this plant for their families’ livelihoods, we, as local-government leaders and simply as citizens of Mallakastër, considered it our civic and moral duty to contribute to establishing a dialogue of understanding between the striking workers and government representatives. With this aim, although it was outside our legal authority, we took part in three meetings organized with government representatives, political parties and the plant administration. As a result of these meetings, two joint statements were issued by the local authorities and political parties, expressing the view that the just economic demands should be met and the situation normalized. Concerned about this, immediately after the statement of January 4, I and the mayor of Ballsh, Mr. Ismet Beqiri, held a meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr. Meksi, to present some ideas for resolving the situation aggravated by the ongoing strike at the Ballsh Deep Oil Processing Plant. What were your views at the meetings held with Prime Minister Meksi? Fiqiri Hazizi: To be more precise, we want to say that the meeting was with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade, Mr. Meksi. I think you should get the answer to this question from Prime Minister Meksi in one of his interviews. How did Mr. Meksi receive your views? Ismet Beqiri: from Prime Minister Meksi in one of his interviews. What do you think should be done in the future? Ismet Beqri: We believe that the situation can be normalized only through dialogue and understanding between the workers and government representatives. Any other alternative would render our contribution meaningless. (READ ON PAGE 4 THE DOCUMENT SENT TO THE PRIME MINISTER AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC). TO THE REPUBLIC). year... with the chairman... and... received... excessive... decided... private... Shiptar... duties... Alikaj [cut text] ... at this combine, we as people in positions of authority and simply as citizens, Mallakastriots, had a civic and moral duty to contribute to the establishment of a di-

Open letter to the President Mr. President, Since I have received no reply to the telegram I sent you on the 3rd of this month, I am addressing you through this open letter so that the entire public may learn how you are protecting the veterans of the National Liberation Anti-Fascist War. Mr. President, Since I have received no reply to the telegram I sent you on the 3rd of this month, I am addressing you through this open letter so that the entire public may learn how you are protecting the veterans of the National Liberation Anti-Fascist War. My name is Vehbi Xhabia. I am 68 years old, a partisan in the National Liberation Anti-Fascist War, arrested and tortured during the war by quisling forces. My husband, Bahri Xhabia (now deceased), joined the underground struggle to liberate the country from the occupiers on June 15, 1941. Throughout the National Liberation War, he distinguished himself as a brave and resolute fighter. Our homes were put at the service of the struggle, with whatever we had. From liberation until today, we have worked honestly and endured hardships, raising five children with a clean moral character. The people of Shkodër know our family well, so there is no need to go on at length with stories. But I have briefly mentioned my background in order to tell you, Mr. President, and the wider public about the actions of certain revanchist officials against veterans of the National Liberation Anti-Fascist War, of which I too am a member. The greatest privilege I have had (if a house can be called a privilege) was a two-room house with a kitchen, which I received three years ago. I lived there with my husband and a 90-year-old woman whom we have cared for in our family for 45 years. In November last year, the police informed me that, according to a decision taken by the municipality, I had to leave this house within five days because, according to them, I had excessive living space. I was astonished: to be made to leave a house I had received three years earlier, when my husband was still alive, and yet even today there are two married couples living inside. I took the matter to court. The appointed date was not observed for objective reasons presented by the court, so a second date was set for the 9th of this month. I remind you that on the 31st they also cut off my telephone, as they did to many of my friends and comrades. But on January 2, the police gave me an ultimatum to clear the house by January 5 or else they would force me out. I showed them the necessary document proving that the court was dealing with this matter. But they did not want to know, telling me, “We have orders,” and putting all my belongings outside. They are pressuring me, saying that they will physically remove me, but they have not gone further yet. Thus, according to the municipality’s decision, I must now, at the age of 68 and suffering from heart disease, go and live with an 80-year-old woman who is paralyzed, on the fifth floor, in a 20-square-metre room with a kitchen. Judge for yourself, Mr. President: what have they done to me through these actions? Are the descendants of the fascists perhaps being given a free hand to act against anti-fascists?! May God protect you and Albania from them! VEHBIJE XHABIA Shkodër

A FACT AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE A few days ago, radio and television reported the resignation of the German Minister of Economy. The reason for his resignation was that he was accused of helping a company managed by one of his cousins. Our government officials may find such a thing ridiculous. Not only that, but television could also be accused of being destabilizing, unconstitutional, anti-national and anti-strike. The case of the German minister was reported on the radio the other day — Are there other “Serreqs” in the world? — Minister Serreqi went to London, to that conference where the fate of Albanians living in their own territories in what until yesterday was called Yugoslavia was being discussed, but he went as a substitute player. He went there without first obtaining the approval of the Albanian Parliament, so someone rightly [unclear] the conference, and after returning from London, instead of accounting for himself and leaving office like a [unclear] person, he strutted about like a rooster on a dung heap. There’s nothing you can do. did not resign, which any colleague of his in any democratic country would have done. Our government officials might find such a thing ridiculous. Not only that, but the television station anti-German. The case of the German minister is more normal for a civilized person; it is entirely natural in a serious, consolidated democratic society. Whereas here, things are different. The scandal of six diplomats fond of sex paid for in cash blew up in Minister Serreqi’s hands, right in his office, but it is the fault of those who made him a minister without telling him that microphones are also part of the working environment. Nevertheless, even after this scandal, orchestrated by him himself, he still Minister Serreqi was left holding the microphone from the legitimate equipment used in the ministry where he is minister, but he mistook it for the doctor’s stethoscope, which he had put down shortly before taking the throne as head of Albanian diplomacy. It is not his fault that he presented this “discovery” as a scandal, becoming famous among his fellow foreign ministers; rather, the working environment. Nevertheless, even after this scandal, which he himself engineered, he still [unclear: “to join/attach himself to Albania”]. Albanian Parliament, so he stayed throughout the conference, and after returning from London, instead of giving account and leaving office as a failure, he struts like a rooster atop a dung heap. There’s nothing you can do. Mediocrity, incompetence and a thirst for the ministerial chair seem to be ingrained in this man, who has latched onto diplomacy to show that there are no diplomats in Albania. That is why he does not know how to resign, because he has received the blessing of the President and of God Himself. Amen. LUAN M. RAMA

Snowfall accompanied by wind and low temperatures has created serious difficulties in the district of Dibër. Strong winds at Qafë të Bullit, Fushë-Bulqizë, Moranicë, Kastrioj, etc., have caused snowdrifts at various points on the road from Bulqizë to Peshkopi. Following the measures taken, particularly by the local authorities and the road-maintenance enterprise, the roads at Qafë të Bullit and Fushë-Bulqizë, among other places, were passable for transport vehicles on January 5. The Shupenzë–Peshkopi route has also been made passable. The roads toward Ostrat, Klenjë and Zogjaj in the district of Bulqizë, and those toward Selishtë, Reç, Lurë and Kalaja e Dodës in the district of Dibër, remain blocked. Meanwhile, the weather is clear and the wind has died down, but temperatures continue to (Continued on page 3)

January 6 marks the start of the Albanian parliament’s proceedings for 1993. In the chamber, MPs greet and meet one another. Here and there, there are hugs, too. D. Agolli, N. Dokle, P. Arbnori and I. Baci are talking in one group. A little later T. Laco joins them. A little farther on, another mixed group. Imami and Pashko enter the chamber, waving in greeting. On the MPs’ faces, there seemed to be no trace of the tension that had been present in many sessions last year. • We wish Parliament success in its work! With greater national concern and less politicization. The January work program is approved The January program provides for Parliament to discuss and decide on the status of persons with disabilities; the Accounting Law; collective labor contracts; religious communities and organizations; an amendment to the Criminal Code proposed by Zef Brozi; seeds and seedlings; the plant-protection service; consideration of the normative decree on the remission of studies for [unclear] in relation to commercial credit; environmental protection; the commercial register; the General Prosecutor’s Office’s request to lift Vasil Plaku’s immunity; the request for the resignation and replacement as MPs of Natasha Lako; amendments concerning the head and governing board of RTV. To the requests of many MPs What were your thoughts at the meetings held with Prime Minister Meksi? Fikiri Hazzi: To be more

Deputy Emin Gjana also spoke at this session. He criticized the current government and previous governments for failing to act with due commitment against corruption and profiteering. He called for the organizers and culprits who led to the devastation of Pogradec, Lushnjë and Fushë-Arrëz to be found. Namik Dokle: On behalf of the PS parliamentary group, I support Emin Gjana’s request. Let the masterminds, directors and actors who brought the economy to zero be exposed and held accountable. Hallelujah or the national anthem Deputy Kalakula raised the concern that, at a festive event with the children of the persecuted, he was refused when he heard that these children were quietly singing the National Anthem. BEQIR SKRELI (Continued on page 3)

When democratic processes began in Albania, undoubtedly welcomed with popular enthusiasm on a pan-national scale, no one thought that the country would so quickly be confronted with right-wing extremism. To tell the truth, many career politicians of the 1990s issued warnings and signaled the situation we are going through today. Most thought that democracy would arrive by casting off the dictatorship of the PPSH and its ruling role in political life, and this was entirely true. Meanwhile, however, certain political groups and particular democratic politicians began to calculate from different points of reference. Politicians from right-wing parties, exploiting the popular desire for democracy, camouflaged their true views and positions with democracy’s beautiful veil. It is natural that, after a monochrome, semi-educated dictatorial policy, a democratic atmosphere would create different social and political groups with a diversity of opinions. The duration of political groups was based on the constant underpinning the plans of the entire East to decisively move away from the doctrine and practice of the Stalinists and communist dictatorship. In truth, it seems that the conviction is taking hold that democracy does not come from the extremes. It will move toward the center, away from the traditional communist or Balli polarizations. This is a different time, so calculations and reckonings are no longer made as if it were 1944. That time bore its own mark, the causes of its popular victory. The films of that time cannot be judged today... On the contrary, they should be honored for the historical work they accomplished. Then, surely, today and for the rest of our lives, we will be grateful to them. The age of democracy is a new age and requires new minds, purified of the stains and steps of the past. Undoubtedly, the strongest point and dividing line between left- and right-wing forces remains their stance toward the national liberation war. Much is being written about it today, and people have become very sensitive to assessments of it. Naturally, its reassessment, and that of its personalities, is necessary. They must be assessed through the new lens of democracy and without any party coloring. But the positions of right-wing political forces on this great historical event are also extreme. Generally, they are denying it. The thesis of reassessing history is becoming speculative. For any normal mind, reassessment does not mean distorting history. The historical balance is made in its own time. Attempts to falsify the Second World War and the Albanian people’s contribution to it are temporary. The immediate political consequences will pass. Our people, who made a contribution to that war and stood alongside the progressive forces of the time, cannot allow their blood and supreme sacrifices to be denied today. There is no greater insult to a people than, half a century later, to have certain forces from within its own ranks try, with a single stroke of the pen, to erase its true history. After a long silence, genuine, objective, realistic and honest historians [unclear] have begun to make themselves heard and speak with authority. The pragmatic political aims of the right-wing forces must be courageously confronted in the field of history by countering them with irrefutable arguments. Everyone recognizes our people’s contribution to the Second World War; the Albanian people recognize it, as do the great former allies of the antifascist war, who cannot be so biased as to deny it. Ultimately, that war had its protagonists, who understood the imperative of the time, knew how to answer its call, and today have the right to be proud. The equivocations raised today about what happened 50 years ago, however they may be justified, are destined to fail before historical truth. Undoubtedly, the war has left us with many knots that the communist dictatorship badly tangled, and resolving them takes time, thought and tolerance. Historical knots are not cut with passionate “party swords” or intolerant extremist judgments, but with historians’ cool logic. That requires time, an objective approach, broad analysis of the historical context of the Second World War, public debate and ironclad logic. The political and party passions of the PPSH falsified and mystified history. Today’s motto, “History,” is a fantastic alibi, but the filmmakers came out of the sieve and history came back to haunt them. [The following passage is corrupt/unclear.] In every nest, we want to cherish the true, unmistakable history... GRIM TUSI (Continued on page 2)

The greatest disaster that can befall a person here today is to be left without a home. The weight of this disaster has been bearing down for several days on 15 families in Elbasan. After preliminary investigations, their homes were destroyed by a fire caused by an electrical fault. And God knows what happened; the fire consumed everything. For 9 of the 15 families, the saying “beware of fire and water” seems to be coming true. First of all, the 9 families in question were from Kucarth (a neighborhood near the cement factory), since their homes had been flooded by water and mud. Five homes were destroyed, and the 6 other families were accommodated in the former premises of the military preparatory school, near the wood-processing plant. But there, too, another disaster followed them; this time, the cause was not water but fire. On this winter’s day, the families are waiting to find shelter. At the Elbasan municipality, we are informed that a commission has been set up to help those affected. Some of them have been accommodated in one of the city’s hotels (Continued on page 4)

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