Yesterday morning, around 10 o’clock, near the city of Lezhë, an organized group forcibly stopped [them] on the road and committed physical violence, striking Dr. Maqo Lakrori, a member of the Presidency of the Socialist Party and a deputy in the People’s Assembly, and Dr. Alfred Paloka, a deputy in the People’s Assembly. Tomorrow you will read the interview Dr. Maqo Lakrori gave to “Zëri i Popullit” about this extraordinary event.

Today at 18:00 in the square in front of the «Dinamo» stadium, the Socialist Party will protest against the violation of the rights of the opposition and individual freedoms, and will call for the protection of democracy and national interests. EVERYONE TO THE RALLY! YOU WORKERS, UNEMPLOYED, STUDENTS, PUPILS AND PENSIONERS, ALL YOU HONEST PEOPLE OF TIRANA—TODAY UNITE YOUR VOICES INTO ONE, IN THE CALL FOR FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY, FOR WORK, BREAD AND DIGNITY

In bringing the meeting to a close, I appreciate your very realistic and very clear judgments and your commitment to continue our struggle by democratic means and through democratic channels. This was demonstrated particularly well by the adoption of the Declaration and of my position here at the meeting. The escalation of the authorities’ attacks against us, and not only against us, changes nothing in our principled political positions; it neither throws us into panic nor makes us go to extremes, beyond the axes, path and programmatic limits we have as a democratic force. The PSSH has lined up and is fighting in defense of democracy. We will respond to this escalation of the state’s political attacks—by a state that is becoming police-ridden—against opposition thought and the existence of the lawful opposition with an escalation of political counteraction, which has several components summarized in the three directions mentioned in the Declaration. First, as throughout the world, wherever there are poor people, wherever there are people thirsting for national and civil freedom, we must respond to fascism, the police state, the suppression of human rights and exclusion from the chance to live with mass popular protests. There is no other flame of liberation. We will do this legally. Neodictatorship is taking shape in Albania. No one should expect dictators to leave of their own accord. action—not populist action—and without organizing and raising awareness among people so that, by building solidarity with one another, we multiply our strength to protest against a state that has abandoned and is oppressing them. Second, I stressed that nothing changes in our principled political positions. We are a consolidated force in the contemporary European left, which means that we are not afraid of dictatorships. We are able to bring the people out to face the colonels, with us leading the way. But we are not trying to destroy even the little bit of a state governed by law that is being built. Nor are we unwilling to support even those opinions or actions of elected representatives, willingly or otherwise, or of people appointed to this state, who have begun to voice and amplify the protest against anti-democratic actions. Let me remind you of the most recent protest by six members of the Court of Cassation. An escalation of political action presupposes that we understand very well, and must have no illusions about, the programs, plans and possible future actions of today’s authorities. Do not forget that the scheme is to push the knife in little by little until the patient—who now numbers hundreds of thousands (if not more than two-thirds of the population)—gets used to having no bread or stops screaming. I don’t know whether it is true, but they say Genc Ruli said: «when this people didn’t scream about this doubling of the price of bread, now my hands are free». From the assembly floor and elsewhere, Genc Ruli and his mafia bosses, or whoever they are, must understand that their hands are not free. No one can have free hands with the people, except the neodictato- [cut off]. (Continued on page 2)

in the ranks of the DP The Democratic Party is afraid to open the Files - 18 months have passed, and it is not known how much longer will pass before the files law is issued. - Perikli Teta and Arben Imami voluntarily call for the files to be opened and published; otherwise the DP silences RD. - As it has done with other laws, the DP intends to forge the files law as an anti-Socialist Party law. - It was expected that Arbnori, accused of being a collaborator of the Security service, would also “insist” that volunteers’ files be opened and published, but he let the opportunity slip away. In the DP’s electoral platform, published in RD on February 22, 1992, it says: - We support opening the files, with the exception of cases involving public and state officials, transparency about whose activity and positions is essential in order to enjoy the people’s trust. Almost a year and a half has passed since the DP took power, gaining complete control of its four main branches (legislative, executive, judicial and mass media). During this time, in the context of the political struggle taking place within the ranks of the DP and the DP’s struggle with the opposition, thousands of senior politicians have been slandered and openly accused. [Text damaged/cut off] Only opposition, thousands of senior politicians have been openly slandered and accused as collaborators and as [cut off]. The issue has reached parliament. All kinds of conjectures and suppositions have been made about it. Some say the files have been destroyed; others say the files will never be opened. There are also those who say that opening or not opening the files is a powerful weapon in the hands of senior officials for putting pressure on certain politicians so they will not raise their heads and will serve as blind tools. People cannot be silenced, and the press has its own job to do. It rarely tells us how often, whenever the question of opening the files has actually been raised, the party in power has found an excuse to evade it; this is what they did again on July 28, when the issue came up in parliament. Seeing that the DP has no intention of opening the files and that, on the other hand, RD has accused some political opponents of being Security agents, the deputies of the AD… Perikli Teta proposes that a law be adopted to standardize the opening of files by deputies. “Publish my file, or shut our newspaper up,” Teta said in his discussion, addressing Perikli Arbnori. “RD accused me,” said Arben Imami, “through primitive journalists whose origins are unknown, claiming that I spied on my comrades at the Institute and now want to go into politics.” To defend his personal dignity, he too asked for the file to be opened and published. Although the proposed law had only one article, it sparked extensive discussion within the DP parliamentary group. At the meeting of … [illegible/cut-off text] … they sought to justify their position against opening the files, a position that was also made clear in the vote. (Continued on page 2) How many former spies of the former Security service are in the ranks of the DP

- Idajet Beqiri in the Court of Appeal. - The trial panel excludes presiding judge Prele Martini from the proceedings. A game? Or justice? At ... 2:00 in the court ... [part illegible]. ... the court ... Idajet Beqiri ... The trial panel ... Prele Martini ... in ... Durrës ... Kadri Skënderi ... [text partly illegible] ... (Continued on page 4) 22.7.1992.

The deputy chairman of the PS General Steering Committee, Dr. Servet Pëllumbi, took part in the PS conference held in Durrës In this spirit, the PS conference of the Durrës district held its proceedings on Monday. Both Bardhyl Agasi, chairman of the steering committee, in his report, and the many speakers emphasized that the one-year period from election to election, and the advantages gained from the tense circumstances of the political struggle, have affected the conditions for the party’s growth, consolidation and strengthening. After the March 22 elections, the PS’s triumph, with the support it received, has risen to ... [part illegible] Durrës ... [text in the small columns partly illegible] ... 15 percent in the vote ... in the municipality ... The Durrës district, with its potential ... [cut-off section] ... [right-hand column, text partly illegible] ... (Continued on page 4)