What consequences could a drastic and uncontrolled rise in prices have for the reform? The government’s transparency is the first step toward achieving a nationwide consensus on the course of the reform What consequences could a drastic and uncontrolled rise in prices have for the reform? Any liberalization means an increase in prices and taxes, without first having an increase in the prices of mass-consumption goods, all the more so when these increases affect basic economic products such as fuels, electricity, etc. Price increases are fueled by the low level of production, a consequence of the stalled distribution of land and the progress of industrial privatization. Caution in this process does not mean that we are against adjustments in the area of prices; rather, we denounce one-sided reform that creates deep gaps between prices and wages. This gap openly expresses the economic crisis we are going through and the government’s incompetence in dealing with it. The government’s transparency is the first step toward achieving a nationwide consensus on the course of the reform.

Not long ago, an entire propaganda letter was directed against the Italian Embassy in Tirana in connection with the punishment of ... Albanians for Albanian students ... this embassy was accused of having secret ties with the socialists, of corruption and patronage, etc. ... was made public and amplified by an organ obedient to the state. A few days ago, a similar ... was directed at the Greek embassy, with claims that this embassy helps the communists... No such accusation has yet been made public against the American embassy, although in the past many things concerning the socialists have gone badly, both in America and in France, etc. From all this it follows that all the embassies of Western countries have secret ties with the socialists and conspire together against Albanian democracy. These newspapers almost say: ‘Drive the accursed imperialists from our soil.’ We will build the best capitalism by our own strength alone. It is true that a majority of those who have gone abroad to study hold left-wing political views, just as others hold different views. But it is striking that the government’s propaganda organs are now acknowledging their ... with regard to Western embassies and their diplomats. They almost say that the whole West has joined together in secret ties with the Albanian socialists against the glorious Democratic Party... It is understood that all this is naïve, and that Europe supports Albanian democracy as much as it can. The training of our specialists abroad is also part of this assistance. Naturally, this applies to those close to us who pass the various tests, and not on the basis of political criteria, as some demand. With such a criterion, administrations can be purged, but one cannot impose it on civilized Europe. And then someone starts accusing it. It would be more honest to declare publicly: THE SOCIALISTS WON BECAUSE THEY WERE MORE CAPABLE. THOMA GËLLÇI CAPABLE. THOMA GËLLACI ... their ... by him, then let them be punished mercilessly as fraudsters and slanderers. Otherwise, he should be punished as such and answer before the law. As for the kidney disease, I remind the prosecutor that it was treated with ... by the prison doctor, Mr. Ramë Alia, during the first ... days of my arrest. In the letter addressed to the esteemed President Berisha, I ... ... 430 million for 7,000 ... of the forty-year increase ... or the comma... They were granted in accordance with all the rules and instructions of the Bank of the Albanian State, which were in force until June 13, 1992, when I was dismissed from my job. As for the guarantees for their repayment, by that date (June 13) 9.2 million lekë had been repaid, while for the subsequent period, it is understood ... ... the ... determined it ... and the doctors, and my stay ... in the hospital for ... health ... strictly human ... I neither ... nor for the personnel ... FATBA... (Continued on page...) [NEXT COLUMN] ... I do not mention it, but because ... forgot, I am only narrating ... what else ... The illness ... which I have ... reasons plus ... and the prosecution ... freely. Since I brought it up ... Mr. prosecutor ... public mention that ... the same accusation ... also against a ... (man), you as ... and the right ... me, a mother, with ... the arrest measure ... happens in court that ... I ask as a person ... what place to ... even dictatorship... such a thing ... As for ... his coming ... and isolation ... place, since ... the president ... another case ... a matter ... I say ... to you, journalist ... hers, although ... my ... almost everywhere ... so that you do not ... and if you came ... know women better ... Not only know them ... appreciate and respect ... Mr. Ramë! Witch hunt Your concern is not ... humanism. Your actions toward me ... demonstrate it ... even as a human being ... and the mind ... even the report ... with gynecologists ... Shakë Rexhu ... only because she ... a ... your humanism. ... agreed ... her truthfulness and ... the other two doctors ... and my stay in a hospital for ... health ... human ... strictly. I neither ... nor for personnel ... ...

Unhappy with the handcuffs he put on me in front of my seven- and four-year-old children, and unsated by the killing of a six-week-old baby, the prosecutor of the Tropojë district, Mr. Ramë Muja, also takes on the role of literature teacher. Thanking him for the high regard he shows for my writing and imagination as a citizen of a country said to be free, and as a mother I can hardly contain myself: woe to Albanian justice, in whose hands has it fallen! At the same time, I remind Mr. Muja not to encroach on the profession and authority of the chairman of the PD in Tropojë, Mr. Saban Jemiçta, as literature teacher and chief inspiration behind his activity. Let him remain in the role assigned to him, that of the obedient soldier—of the party mother... Is this the essence of today’s rule of law in Albania, where justice, just as under the dictatorship, does whatever the party-state or state-party tells it to do? We live in times when justice does whatever the party orders. All the more so when its chairman in Tropojë is known for his extraordinary aversion to women from his earliest youth. It is no coincidence that his principal dissident work, which made him a political persecuted person, is a poem in which his paradoxical women are ... His right, just as it is my right to ask; but into which category does he place his ... sisters and female companion (?!) The haze of figures and reality But let me not stray from the subject of the essay, or Mr. Muja’s assessment will be entirely negative and I will fail the class. Where he gets the sum of 750 million lekë, supposedly taken from the treasury of the Tropojë branch of the State Bank, is his business and a product of his deranged imagination. The truth is that the total amount of loans issued by this branch was neither 750 nor 430 million, but 47.861 million (around 47,861 thousand?). by ... I bear no responsibility. Besides, none of the Bank’s clients who testified in court said that they would not repay the loans they had taken together with the interest; rather, they stressed that «they are aware of their obligation to the state and its sanctions» against them. At the same time, they stressed that the main PD leaders at rallies organized in Tropojë in January–March 1992 had promised them that after its victory in the elections, it «would forgive their loans», employ them abroad, etc. As emerged during the judicial investigation, all the clients had completed the necessary documents to obtain the loans, contrary to what Ram Muja fantasizes in «Rilindja Demokratike» of January 24. Falsifying the figures, inflating them excessively, and manipulating them are merely a means of confusing and bewildering readers. His real aim is to disguise and conceal the monstrous crime against the six-week-old baby and its mother. After killing the baby through his inexcusable negligence and indifference, in his article entitled «Who Kills the Truth in the Name of the Baby» he tries to kill the truth as well. Not only him, but also those behind him who led him into this error. In this case too, I say unequivocally that I feel sorry for him and for the role assigned to him. People, reason plus I feel sorry for him when, with unparalleled cynicism, he goes so far as to cast doubt on and sow confusion about my pregnancy, when there are incontrovertible forensic-medical documents proving it. I am telling the truth, whereas he lies when he writes that the first question he asked me was whether I was pregnant. Let the interrogation records and the investigative file be opened; if such a question from him appears there, then let me be punished mercilessly together with the person who wrote that letter. Otherwise, let he who did so was treated with ... by the prison doctor ...

— Defense attorneys, namely Messrs. Beshiri and Sanxhaku, request acquittal for the two defendants. The court’s decision is expected and will be announced today at 14:00. Under the chairmanship of Mr. Muha-rem Kuse, at 10 o’clock yesterday the court heard the defense arguments of attorneys Dhimitër Beshiri and Përparim Sanxhaku for the two defendants they represent, as well as the final statements of Nexhmije Hoxha and Kino Buxheli. Taking the floor first, attorney Beshiri addressed all aspects of the defense against the accusation presented by public prosecutor Todo Mosko, describing it as legally unequal, since, in his view, the prosecution had been subjective regarding the actions and facts that supposedly prove direct intent to appropriate property; the defense also ... with his argument he had been tried ... ... the court ... December 4... In their statements, attorneys Beshiri and Sanxhaku requested acquittal for the two defendants. The court’s decision is expected and will be announced today at 14:00. They arrested me and put me in handcuffs. The outcome of the trial does not frighten me. I await calmly whatever decision is made, because my sentence is nothing compared with the denial of the martyrs’ blood, compared with the denial of November 29, for which those who gave their lives were no more than 20–25 years old. Then the defense attorney for defendant Kino Buxheli, Mr. Përparim Sanxhaku, took the floor. While the accusation, he said, has been built on economic figures, at its core it is entirely political, because it is no coincidence that Nexhmije Hoxha is listed first when, according to the accusation, the sum attributed to Kino Buxheli is greater than that attributed to N. Hoxha. In his defense statement, the attorney argued that the accusation presented by the prosecutor, and the prosecutor’s own claims, were groundless. For all these reasons, he said, on the basis of Article 151 of the Penal Code, I ask the court to declare Kino Buxheli not guilty. In his final statement, Kino Buxheli said that, trusting in the honesty of the court, he asked to be acquitted, which would be to the court’s own credit. After hearing the defense arguments from the attorneys, the presiding judge, Muharrem Kuse, announced that the court would retire to reach a decision, which would be announced at 14:00 on January 27, 1993. Correspondent of «Zëri i popullit»

PORTRAITS OF PD CADRES Sadedin Balla himself. His relatives and friends. Sadedin himself is the chairman of the PD in the district and a member of the Albanian parliament. He has put his maternal aunt’s son, Mr. Sulejman Xhi-xha, in the chairman’s chair of the district council. Sadedin changes his brother Irfan Balla’s chair twice in one month. From where he was (a teacher), he moves him to director of the pioneers’ house. Apparently still considered «too young» for that post, he moved him to another chair, this time that of deputy director of education in the district. His other brother, Gëzim, on the verge of retirement as a teacher (all these Ballas are teachers!), he makes school principal in Halil. Sadedin moved his wife from an ordinary worker’s job to head of personnel at the Krujë arts enterprise. But that is not all. Although she is already of advanced age, he gave her the right to continue at the law faculty. Bravo, Sadedin! And that is not all. Want to hear more about Be... Dini? Enver Kaloshi, a family friend of Sadedin, has become a director in the education department, having been a teacher. Sadedin did not leave his friends and faithful adherents to his ideals empty-handed either. He gave his deputy in the party, Mr. Selman Ferhati from Fushë Kruja, the chair of head of SHIK in the district. Some voices say that his only job is to collect and record the names of those who read today’s opposition newspapers. Naturally, so they can be kept «under watch». For these criticisms we are making of Sadedin, our deputy, we suggest that he defend himself in RD or give a «strong» speech in parliament. BEKTASH ZENELI abridged from the newspaper «Albulena»

Fraud by the leaders of the Democratic Party in Sarandë Letter to the editorial office of the newspaper «Zëri i Popullit» (For the attention of the Democratic Party) TIRANË I am addressing you with this letter. I am an ordinary citizen from the city of Sarandë who, with all my heart, wishes success to democratic developments in our country. I hope that freedom will advance and progress hand in hand with justice. I am not writing to express my feelings, to ... my illusion when I see that ... of the moni... power ... that ... to ... in order to ... ... and benefit ... ... and ... ... Quthet Kola ... (Continued on pag...)

A PICTURE THAT SPEAKS In a house in Luzni, the owner shows us the «Wonderful Book». “They gave them to the schoolchildren,” he says. “We were given two of them. One for the girl and one for the boy.” “Only these?” I ask. “Also four colored pencils. Put in a plastic bag. And two other books: «God Loves Albania». All together in a plastic bag. Do you want to see them?” “Only these?” I ask again. “Yes,” he says, looking at me closely. “And a pair of shoes each.” “Shoes?” “Yes, yes, shoes. They had asked for every child’s shoe size. We made the lists and sent them in. They brought us old shoes. The kind that are thrown away in the rubbish in Peshkopi. Even shoes of the sort chauffeurs hang over their arms—‘doll’s shoes.’” “Where are they?” “Around the school. Thrown out of the classroom windows...” This is no allegory about Luzni. It is party deception. And not only in Luzni...

On 29.1.1993, Friday, at 10:00, a meeting of the General Governing Council of the Socialist Women’s Forum of Albania will be held in the hall of the PS Governing Committee. The Presidium of FGSSH