. At its meeting of August 23, chaired by the deputy chairman of the SP, Dr. Servet Pëllumbi, the Presidium of the Socialist Party of Albania discussed the current political situation. It is well known that what followed the large Tirana rally and the rallies held in 25 districts of the country in defence of democracy and the rights and freedoms of the individual has been characterized by the outburst and ferocity of the revanchist attacks of the rulers’ far right. The sham trials against SP members and supporters who took part in the Tirana rally are political acts that bear witness to the transformation of the justice system into an executor of the directives and orders of the legislative and executive powers of the DP. The illegal arrests that began with the chairman of the SP of Albania, Fatos Nano, will, as the rulers themselves are saying, be followed by the opening of political trials serving to consolidate the trend that now threatens democracy—the establishment of a right-wing dictatorship in Albania. The frontal and immoral attack by the ministers, MPs and leaders of the DP, in the service of the head of this Party, Eduart Selami, who publicly calls and swears that Socialist MPs who call for the outlawing of the SP and the closure of the newspaper «Zëri i popullit» will be arrested and punished, is also supported and amplified by RTVSH, which thereby openly and shamelessly violates its legal status. The present aggressiveness of right-wing revanchism, preceded by Mr. Selami’s threatening statements, which are no different from those of ...-SH, the attacks on its members and supporters—right-wing revanchism today, more than ever, demand the ferocity and even the very existence of democracy in Albania. Faced with the danger of such a situation returning to the country, and particularly to the SP of Albania, the Party Presidium discussed, with concern and a sense of responsibility, the measures and actions that must be taken to confront and overcome this situation. The Socialist Party of Albania has neither withdrawn nor will withdraw from constructive political struggle, or from the great responsibilities it has assumed in the legal struggle for true democracy and the rule of law. Members of the Party Presidium will undertake to review and identify responsibility for organizing and signing the petition in the districts to denounce the illegal arrests of SP members, and especially of Comrade Fatos Nano, as well as to responsibly review the organization and conduct of mass activities. It is imperative that the organizations of the SP of Albania at every level clearly convey messages of courage, practical action and integrity, of dialogue and understanding, which F. Nano taught them and which will never be lacking. Confronting and overcoming the current political situation requires finding and using the most effective forms and means of democratic struggle, flexibility in the slogans of this struggle, and the revitalization and serious, courageous engagement of all the Party’s structures. In its programme, the SP of Albania has not been, and will not be, guided by right-wing revanchism. The SP of Albania demands the defence of democracy, threatened today as never before in these two years; it demands the defence of the freedoms and rights of the individual, loudly proclaimed and violently violated as never before by the rulers today. The unlawful and unconstitutional calls of DP leaders and its rulers do not frighten the SP’s MPs and representatives in local government. As before, they will fight where they were elected—in Parliament, district councils, municipalities and communes—for the criminalization and functioning of the rule of law, which the rulers are turning into a propaganda unit. A special place in the SP Presidium’s discussions was given to the forthcoming opening of the new session of the People’s Assembly. Viewed in the context of the current political situation, the work of this session will have a significant effect on the course of political, economic and social processes. To discuss these issues, the Presidium decided to convene a joint meeting of the General Steering Committee and the parliamentary group on August 27. It urges the General Steering Committees of the SP in the districts to review as soon as possible and responsibly the results achieved so far in organizing mass activities. Let us turn the days remaining until August 30, the deadline for completing this petition, into days that test the organizational and ideological strength of the SP of Albania and its just struggle to defend democracy, freedoms and human rights in Albania. THE PRESIDIUM OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY OF ALBANIA

Today marks 51 years since August 25, 1942, the day the first issue of the newspaper «Zëri i popullit», the central organ of the Albanian people’s National Liberation Anti-Fascist War, was published. Fifty-one years are a whole lifetime, filled with many events, people and memories, whose chronicler has been «Zëri i popullit». It has been the face of the times this people has lived through, with their merits and shortcomings. «Zëri i popullit» has the biography of the partisan war, during which it became the voice of the freedom-loving spirit of the Albanians. It was published in the mountains and on the plains, in towns and villages, day and night, calling for freedom, democracy and progress. That is why the occupier pursued it with fire and iron, bullets and prisons, but did not manage to kill it, burn it or imprison it. «Zëri i popullit» is the sole example in the history of the Albanian press of such longevity, which constitutes an immeasurable value in our national culture. Talented journalists were trained in its pages; they contribute today throughout the Albanian press, where values have been recognized and further developed. Even under the conditions of the party-state, with a controlled and censored press, it was the journalists of «Zëri i popullit» who, as much as they could under the circumstances of the time, attacked sterile party bureaucracy and defended working people wherever they were. It knew how to apologize when it understood that it had been wrong. Although today «Zëri i popullit» is the organ of a party, it continues to be the largest newspaper in the country, with a steadily growing circulation and regular publication. It now has a team of young journalists, young in age and outlook, who aspire to a more pluralistic direction and work devotedly to achieve it. Past experience has taught them that democracy is not merely a constitution of monologue, but dialogue and the free competition of ideas. They know how to respect opposing views, and they make efforts to ensure that the newspaper is increasingly open, increasingly a platform for as many people as possible, far from narrow confines. It is a pleasure to see the intellectuals who represent our nation increasingly wishing to express their views in the pages of «Zëri i popullit». Today the country is going through a period of transformation, accompanied by a major economic, political and social crisis. «Zëri i popullit» has always stood on the side of those who have no privileges but have tied their lives to the work of their own hands. «Zëri...» stands on their side, and they are increasingly coming over to the side of «Zëri...». That is why it is not frightened by either market competition or the pressures of people clothed in power. It has 51 years of history and many readers behind it. More than anyone else.

Member of the European Parliament Alvanos puts questions to the foreign ministers of the European Community — European Parliament member Alvanos puts questions to the foreign ministers of the European Community — Question from Coalition MEP Mr. Aleksandros Alvanos to the foreign ministers of the European Community concerning the release of Mr. Fatos Nano, chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania. Coalition MEP Mr. Alvanos put the following question to the foreign ministers of the Twelve, who met within the framework of political cooperation: «Fatos Nano, chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania, which won 54 percent of the vote in the last local elections, has been thrown in prison by the Berisha regime, accused of corruption when he was Prime Minister. All the facts show that this is ... a large rented apartment in Tirana. Third, Mr. Nano’s imprisonment coincides with numerous manifestations of the Berisha regime’s anti-democratic conduct: the chairman of the National Unity Party, Mr. Beqiraj, was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment (Mr. Beqiri was jailed for publicly criticizing Mr. Berisha); violations of the rights of the Greek minority; the public statement by the chairman of the Democratic Party, Mr. Selami, that «either F. Nano will be arrested, or our Democratic Party will be destroyed»; mass arrests of demonstrators, etc. The foreign ministers meeting within the framework of ‘Political Cooperation’ were asked: — Have they requested explanations from the Albanian Government regarding the arrest of the chairman of the Socialist Party and leader of the opposition? — Will they demand the immediate release of Mr. Nano until the courts reach a conclusion on the charges? — Will they warn the Albanian authorities that the Community will enforce the conditions concerning respect for democratic principles and block economic agreements with Albania if the President and Government continue to push their country towards dictatorship? Press Office of the Coalition of the Left and Progress. Athens, 19.8.1993

From the recent operations of the law-enforcement authorities According to information from Dushku in Lushnjë, we learned last night that in recent days the law-enforcement authorities of this district, while «at work», have taken another human life. The story is bitter. The chairman of the Dushku commune, Mr. Nasib Bakiasi, after seeing two photographs of the chairman of the Socialist Party, Mr. Fatos Nano, posted in one of the sector’s premises, urgently notified the public order department that, in his opinion, the democrats’ rule was in danger. Upon receiving this information, a «van» with the appropriate personnel was urgently dispatched from Lushnjë, with the aim of crushing and overturning at its very inception what was happening in Dushk. On the way, travelling at high speed and before reaching Dushk, the «van» collided with a car from Vlora, as a result of which the driver of the vehicle died. Although this incident delayed their arrival at the scene somewhat, it must be said that when the law-enforcement officers reached Dushk, they were astonished by the information they received from the commune chairman, who told them: Here is who is trying to overthrow our rule, showing them the displayed photographs. After removing the two portraits of Fatos Nano, the commune chairman was reassured that nothing would happen of the kind he had feared, but his mind had gone astray and created another job for the Lushnjë public order department. Let us wait for another, more recent operation by the public order authorities. A. Ç.

On Friday, August 27, 1993, at 10:00 a.m., a meeting of the General Steering Committee of the SP of Albania will be held. The parliamentary group of the SP of Albania will also participate in this meeting. The Presidium of the Socialist Party

Although more than 20 days have passed since the July 30 demonstration in Tirana, police repression against the leaders of the Socialist Party continues. On the same day, August 23, the police arrested and detained Petrit Veliu, secretary of the Steering Committee of the Socialist Party of Tirana, taking him away for 120 hours and keeping him in police isolation, on the charge that he had organized the Tirana demonstration on July 30. As always, their aim is to make their intervention seem legitimate through fear and terror. For this reason, repression against the leaders of the Socialist Party continues. Chronicle. «Zëri i popullit»

A few exercises in rejoinder I am answering you solely in my professional capacity as a journalist, regarding the article «United» by the journalist of the PSS leadership. I understand that you modestly want to present yourself as modest about the crime. After lying during the period of slander against your grandparents (for which you could also be held legally responsible), and portraying Fatos Nano, Sabi Broka, Gramoz Ruçi and Kastriot Islami, you, surprisingly, write almost the truth. I quote it in full: «Namik Dokle! Orator, prestigious figure, chronicler and “nightingale” of the social-communist word. I would single out those days of late ’90 and the beginning of ’91, when, in the role of communist press chief and editor-in-chief of “ZP”, he would rant and rave left and right about the group of democratic comrades—88, as many raped Albanians. The Inquisition’s macabre barking, capricious, with a list and rows of those responsible for democracy’s fall, hung on the wall of the office of the massacre—editorials, proclamations and orders: “You’ll be next in the physical...” And then came the attacks of slander, intrigues, threats and ultimatums against the image and character of those people who had sacrificed everything for the triumph of democracy.» But let me ask you, Mr. Sulçe: do you know who those figures were who had sacrificed everything for the triumph of democracy, at the time when I headed the newspaper «ZP» for seven months (January–July ’91)? At that time, perhaps you were still looking for beans in the pots of Pukë, so let me remind you. I’ll remind only you, O Shofiperi i Inih. They were all from the DP and the opposition press. I’ll list them alphabetically: 1. Azem Hajdari 2. Arben Imami 3. Frok Cupi 4. Gramoz Pashko 5. Neritan Ceka 6. Preç Zogaj 7. Sali Berisha These were the people «ZP» was against then... You keep babbling about something else. And m... S. ... because the magazine «Monitor» had just gone on sale, Zonjë... Lulushe sunning herself. Lipe Shto-gu was the tail of the list. Of the seven I listed, only one was not «prok»-ed by «Zëri i Popullit»—Sali Berisha. Now we know where all seven are. The last on the list is the head of state; the others have been expelled or sidelined by the party they created and the press they founded. And everyone should know: this lynching was not carried out by «Zëri i Popullit». Do you understand what you have done, Sulçe? So, next time you write, take at least Oltën Ziu or Largim Krasniqi as an example. I say this emphatically because I know you are not stupid. Indeed, although your head is half the size of the one nearby, you have more sense; at least you attack Albanian social-communists, whereas he attacks the social-imperialists of the BBC in London, «Corriere della Sera» in Rome, AFP in Paris, etc. At least you are not so addled that you also attack Reshpun Qosën outright. Because they cannot scare us ... NAMIK DOKLE The current aggressiveness of right-wing revanchism, preceded by the threatening statements of Mr. Selami, which are no different at all from those of deputy Kakalula, is in essence nothing but a call for a new class war. Although its target is the PSS- …which caused the death of the vehicle’s driver. This incident may have delayed the handling of the situation somewhat, but it must be said that, upon arriving in Dushk, the law-enforcement officers were surprised said to them: “Here are the people who seek to overthrow our government,” while showing them the doctored photographs.

Written by a former teacher of Fatos Nano Dear son! I write this letter to you with greetings in my heart and pride in my soul, so that I, your former childhood teacher, may also come to be by your side, within those walls and dark rooms that I experienced in my youth. Dear son! I write this letter to you with greetings in my heart and pride in my soul, so that I, your former childhood teacher, may also come to be by your side, within those walls and dark rooms that I experienced in my youth, when we rose up against fascism and sought Albania’s freedom. Prison is harsh, son, but this should not frighten us; it should not weaken us and make us turn away from the path of freedom and democracy. I am an old friend of your good and noble mother, Mother Maria, who devoted her soul to educating hundreds and thousands of boys and girls of this people, who today have grown up and become adults. Dear son, you do not know them, but rest assured that most of them are your brothers and sisters, who are with you in spirit and in heart, just as they have you with them, if you are with us. This is precisely the feeling that I do not understand how those who put you in prison could fail to understand—and they have no intention of ever understanding it. They thought they could separate you from the honest people of Albania, to make it easier to achieve their wicked aims. But they will never succeed in this. Because they cannot intimidate us... because they cannot drive us into the grave. They may imprison our good sons; they may also imprison the sons of Albanian mothers who are noble and pure of heart, but this does not mean that they have deceived us or imprisoned an entire people. Fascism also tried to do this, but it did not succeed. So today, dear Fatos, feel my heart beside yours, and hear the beautiful song of the antifascist mothers, which comes as a great message from the time of the War: — “Where is my daughter, where is my son, They have put them in the dark prison... No, they have committed no crimes. They wanted freedom for the homeland.” Dear son! Mother’s… You were my pupil in primary school, and I knew your courage, understanding, and honesty. You do not bow down, you are not afraid, and so you will win. A just future will triumph, with the truth of the homeland and life in peace… Stay strong. Your primary-school teacher embraces you.