— Bridges of friendship are not built with xenophobia and revenge — True democrats do not succumb either to nationalism or to chauvinism What is happening in relations with Greece? BASHKIM ZENELI Member of Parliament On the afternoon of July 1, at the initiative of the chairman of the district council and the mayor of Gjirokastër, a meeting was held among the political forces concerning the situation that has developed here in recent days. The political forces also drafted a statement calling for the preservation and continuation of coexistence, friendship and good-neighbourly relations. Every initiative that fosters such attitudes and sentiments deserves to be welcomed and commended, and we believe that the appeal will find support and a response throughout Albania, among the political parties and every citizen of the district and beyond. Meanwhile, as employees of the public information media, we would also like to offer our views on this meeting and, in general, on the events of recent days. Like every Albanian, I have followed with concern the new, highly tense situation in Albanian-Greek relations in recent days. What is happening, and why is this tension between two neighbours arising? What are the real causes, and what are the pretexts? What will happen in the future; will the tensions be resolved? Who is seeking this sharp escalation in relations, and whom does it serve? Is there some foreign hand at work here, playing with particular interests? Why are these tensions occurring, when they have been going on longer than our senior officer on the border with Macedonia has been in his post? Quite rightly, questions arise for everyone, and everyone awaits answers. Naturally, they are not easy to obtain, because, as it seems, this is not simply a matter of the expulsion of a Greek priest from Gjirokastër prompting Greece to launch a mass expulsion of Albanians. It is more complex! It truly pains you to see thousands of young men and men, exhausted and mistreated, being returned at all the border-crossing points with Greece. At the same time, they have expressed gratitude to the Greek people, who welcomed them generously and stood by us during these difficult times. We cannot but be grateful. But such expulsions are unacceptable and do nothing to resolve our situation. Everything must be done in accordance with international and humanitarian norms; moreover, no one is entitled even to beat them. Albania is Albania, where it is; Greece is Greece, and it too is where it is. We are neighbours and we want good-neighbourly relations. We do not want them for five days or five years, but forever. We have unresolved problems; let us resolve them. Do we want the departure of Albanians to continue, or do we want it to stop? Let us come to an agreement. Do we have other problems too? We do! Let the governments of both countries sit down and talk. And sitting down to talk does not at all mean tolerating what should not be tolerated, or failing to take a stand against the claims of chauvinist circles, whatever guise they may adopt. If there are unresolved problems—and there are—or government grudges, these cannot and must not be allowed to continue to fall on the backs of the people. It was good that President Berisha wrote to senior international figures. It was good that he also spoke out immediately on television, before journalists. I appreciate his initiative, despite my reservations about many of the things he said. I appreciate his meeting with Janullatos. We have also heard statements from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And then? Then every evening we watch television to see what it says. Television is right to report what is happening to the returning refugees, how many there are, how they arrive, and so on, although I have reservations about the language used in its reports. The most unacceptable epithets and labels are being used, both professionally and politically, to the point of… …and we believe that the appeal will receive responsible support for the benefit of stabilising the political parties, from the events of recent days. One of the speakers said: “Gjirokastër brought democracy without excesses, so why should this now be spoiled?” There is some truth in this: the events that began here have reverberated amid tension throughout the country, between the two states and beyond, so the concern has been confined to the poverty of their authors. One issue concerns the act and manner of Archimandrite Madhoni’s expulsion; the other concerns events involving the Greek minority. We will offer some thoughts following those expressed in our articles addressing national issues, ethnic communities and the political forces representing them in the southern district. Even those most extreme in their criticism of the 45-year regime have said that it made only one mistake: in its treatment of the Greek minority in Albania, which it favoured. We have said that, although Albania was under dictatorship, it experienced no national problems during those years. Now the revival of ethnic and religious issues is beginning to be noticed. Why? We should not continue with theories of our country’s exceptionalism, a communist-style explanation of problems, as if Albania were different from other countries and untouched by them. A not insignificant part of world politics today revolves around ethnic and religious minorities; the Balkans are being torn apart over this. Are we in Greece somehow immune? Having become accustomed to many kinds of imports during this initial period of democratic transition, we should not import precisely these things. Another point: we present our country as a model of coexistence among religions and faiths, but it seems to me that this too is a remnant of communist propaganda that is still not being overcome in quite a few instances. The point is not to cling to the slogan “religion divides”; but Well, it is clear: the DP is in oppo… (Continued on page 3)

The day before yesterday, the chairman of the PS parliamentary group, Namik Dokle, and MP Mago Lakrori went to the Sirkaj family to visit the family of Major Hajrulla Tolla, who was brutally killed at the border by Macedonian chauvinists. They met his mother, brother, uncles and other relatives. “Our parliamentary-group colleagues sent us,” the MPs told Hajrullah’s family, “to meet with you and express our profound respect and condolences for your son, brother and nephew. His name will remain forever unforgotten, because he grew up in an honourable family, was himself an honourable man, and died honourably at his post on the border. The people of Dibër have a saying: you must beware of the evil that lies beyond your fence. We are concerned that this fence around our country is growing longer and higher. Your son was killed, and the sons of Albania are being persecuted on the southern border by the Greek government. This is a situation we must all think about, especially those who govern the state, so that neither our people nor our homeland suffer any harm.” “Thank you very much for coming to see us, and may your colleagues who sent you also be honoured. You have eased my grief for my son; one cannot overcome such a tragedy alone,” Major Hajrullah’s mother told the MPs. “You have honoured us,” said the martyr’s maternal uncle, Riza Gura, “and you did well to come. We would have felt an emptiness had you not come to drink Hajrullah’s coffee. The more coffee a household serves for its own person, the more honoured it is.” A warm conversation with those present followed. “Correspondent of ‘Zëri i Popullit’”

On July 1, the second phase of telephone disconnections began in the city of Shkodër (the first phase had begun on December 31 of last year). Several citizens who raised this concern with us and insisted that it be published in the press told us that 100 telephones were disconnected the day before yesterday, while the list contains 315 citizens whose telephones will be disconnected in the coming days. They pointed out that they had been notified by telephone by the PTT that their telephone was being disconnected by decision of the district council.

According to the BBC, Xaoxopullos, Secretary of the Central Committee of PASOK, calls the Greek government’s current policy toward Albanian economic refugees “xenophobic,” racist and a means of retaining power — Radio BBC, in its Albanian-language programme, reported in two broadcasts that the number of Albanian refugees who had arrived in Greece had reached 15,000 and that the Greek authorities were speeding up their repatriation in order to bring the operation to a swift conclusion. At a press conference, the head of the Greek police stated that the operation would continue without interruption until the last Albanian migrant had been expelled. At this conference, the police said that the number of migrants overall… …As for remaining with the slogan “religion divides,” we must not accept empty idealisations either; we must acknowledge that religious feelings are very subtle and delicate, and therefore easily manipulated. A country with many religions has no reason to boast; it must be careful in its attitude toward them and in the way it treats them. Another point: nationalism and chauvinism are resurgent phenomena; political forces, organisations, press outlets and others have also been affected by them. Care must be taken so that not only groups, but individuals too, do not fall prey to them. Parties are not automatically immune to them: right-wing parties, including those elsewhere in the world, are more exposed; this is well known. At this meeting of the political forces, as we have reported in principle, the Gjirokastër branch of the Democratic Party was concerned, deeply engaged and ready to reach a consensus agreement—something that is generally not characteristic of the DP’s work. Why? Well, it is clear: the DP is in oppo… …Opposition parties in Greece have also opposed the government’s decision to expel Albanian refugees. Xaoxopullos, Secretary of the Central Committee of PASOK, called these measures xenophobic and racist, and a means of retaining power. The mass expulsion of poor people cannot be an answer to the problems, especially the difficult problems, in Greek-Albanian relations, declared Maria Dhamanaki, leader of the left-wing coalition, and she called on the Greek government to condemn the voices being heard calling for a change to the border between Albania and Greece. The Political Bureau of the Communist Party also condemned the “broom operation,” stressing that the only thing the Greek government gains from this action is the continuation of tension in Greek-Albanian relations. Afterwards, the cultural attaché of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Tirana, Ms Naumayer, while… …men, exhausted and mistreated, being returned to their homeland at have expressed their stood by us during these difficult times we are going through. and do not improve and humanitarian norms; moreover, no one has the right even to beat them, wound them, mistreat them or take away the few drachmas they have earned with such hardship. And all this is happening because a priest was expelled? According to the official version, he was engaged in anti-Albanian and illegal activities, and in such a case, naturally, action would be taken, since he was a foreign national. From what the public has been told, I have reservations solely about the way this expulsion was carried out: with great alarm, day and night, with numerous police forces, without normal diplomatic procedures, etc. But it was done! And after that, the sweeping operation against Albanians in Greece began. This is the reality, the fact. After that came reactions, official and party statements, television crews from both sides at the border, etc. The question arises quite naturally: What has been done, and what will be done, to resolve, overcome and put an end to this deterioration in relations? So far, for the most part, the situation with Greece has remained at the level of information and propaganda, except for the actions mentioned above, which I consider to be actions by the President and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in the form of statements by the spokesperson). We Albanians are the ones who have officially thanked the Greek people for the welcome they gave our refugees. Now we have a new situation. How will we speak, what will we say? Without making concessions and without giving up in the slightest on our legitimate demands, do we want to resolve the situation or aggravate it further? I believe that we all want to resolve it—the state, the political parties and the associations alike. (Continued on page 4) …insisted that it be published in the press, in the Albanian language, and in direct conversations. We were told that 100 telephones had been disconnected, had been notified by telephone by the PTT that, by decision of the district council, their telephone was being disconnected. Regarding all this, yesterday we had a telephone conversation with the director of the PTT in this city, Ms Jeta Mehilli. In response to our request for clarification about this issue, she said that we should contact the district council or the city hall, since they knew the matter better and the action had been taken by their decision. She also added that she could not identify the telephone signature, because someone else might also be presenting themselves in your name. After this conversation, we went to meet Ms… …to go inside, to the employees… Meanwhile, the employee at the entrance said that the director was not in the office. We left and, after a little while, spoke again by telephone with Ms Jeta, explaining how we had been prevented from meeting her. She said, “We’re in a meeting; we have a lot of work. I told you already: contact the district council, because the decision was made there.” We think the objective reader will find it easy to comment on this picture. Although this action was supposedly taken on the basis of a decision, the people responsible, such as the director in this case, refused to provide the newspaper with an explanation. We cannot understand what harm such information would cause! Nevertheless, I do not believe… (Continued on page 4)

On the occasion of the first anniversary of the start of Radio «Deutsche Welle»’s Albanian-language broadcasts and its 40th anniversary, the Albania-Germany Friendship Association organised an event in Tirana, attended not only by its members and supporters, but also by intellectuals, journalists and other prominent figures. Also present were Arben Meça, MP and secretary of the Parliamentary Friendship Group of the People’s Assembly with the Bundestag of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Haxhi Aliko, an MP and member of the group. The address on the occasion was delivered by Zihni Haskaj, chairman of the Albania-Germany Friendship Association, who highlighted the 40-year history of the German radio station «Deutsche Welle» and its contribution over the past year to making Albania familiar with the traditions, history and culture of the wonderful people of friendly Germany. The interesting features of the station, he said, had attracted many listeners; programmes on democratic developments in Germany and other European countries had also drawn attention, as had, in particular, the efforts being made by Albanians to learn German, and so on. The meeting sent a congratulatory telegram to Radio «Deutsche Welle» in Cologne, Germany, highlighting the contribution of its talented journalists to informing the Albanian public about current democratic developments. The association’s board member, Mr Vangjel Zoto, also read the telegram the association sent to the chairman of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with Albania in the Bundestag of the Federal Republic of Germany, MP Roschebah. Among other things, it emphasised that the establishment, for the first time, of a friendship group with Albania was an expression of the German parliament’s regard for the Albanian parliament and of the close relationship between the peoples of our friendly and allied countries. A group of pupils and students from the art school of the Higher Institute of Arts in Tirana gave a fine concert, performing pieces by distinguished composers such as Ludwig Van Bethoven and Brahms.