1. What is the government’s program for reform and priority developments to increase agricultural and food-industry production? 2. When you became Minister of Agriculture, as you yourself stated, 70 percent of the land in the former agricultural cooperatives had been distributed. In your program you said that distribution of the land would be completed by June 1992. Distribution of the land has still not been completed. Have the promises made by the PD during the election campaign to restore the land law, and the passage of a law to compensate former owners, contributed to this delay? 3. Why is there such a large difference between the distribution of land and the distribution of title deeds? Is this being done deliberately by certain political forces to frighten the overwhelming majority of the peasantry into thinking that the land we have received is not legally ours? 4. What percentage of the land belonging to the former cooperatives has been distributed in accordance with the law, and what percentage of families have received title deeds in the districts of Dibër, Kukës, Tropojë, Has, Krujë and Malësia e Madhe? 5. What has been done about the system of property relations involving former cooperative enterprises, and the injustices caused by the ways they have been destroyed? When will the rule of law remedy this injustice, as promised in the program presented by the Government to Parliament? 6. It has been stated several times by the highest state officials that agricultural production increased by more than 20 percent last year (although no year was taken as a basis for comparison). Could you tell us more specifically: a. What was the area of land sown and harvested in 1992? How much land was not sown or harvested at all? b. What was the area of land sown last autumn with wheat and other crops, and how much has so far been planted with potatoes, sunflower, sugar beet, fodder crops, etc.? c. What was the production of bread grains in 1992 (in thousands of tons), and what average yields were achieved last year for wheat and maize? d. What policy to protect farmers from foreign competition has been envisaged? For example, the sale of potatoes brought from Greece at 8 lekë blocked producers in the mountainous areas. 7. What has agricultural policy to date done to support the less accessible and difficult areas, such as those of Gramsh, Librazhd, Pukë, Kukës, Mirditë and other mountainous areas? 8. Why was compensation for bread and land in hilly and mountainous areas removed, and on what legal basis was this decided? What will become of the peasantry in these areas, where people have already started getting bread on credit? 9. Is the area of land sown and harvested in 1992 equal to much land was not sown or harvested at all? 10. ... thousand tons of chemical fertilizers, over 120 thousand tons of oil. Our question is: How much chemical fertilizer did agriculture use last year? How much oil was consumed by agricultural machinery? 11. Does the private farmer today receive subsidies for agricultural work, as you promised during the election campaign, and what percentage of private farmers have received what was due to them? 12. As far as we know, the Ministry’s existing structure remains the same as it was two years ago, while the production base has been privatized. How long will this ministry continue with its old structures? 13. What is the estimated production of basic foodstuffs (grain, dairy products, fats, etc.) for 1993, and what is the food balance (demand-supply) in the market for this year, including aid and imports? 14. Are the infrastructure systems for collecting and selling agricultural and livestock products from private farmers and peasants functioning? 15. What is the platform for privatizing the state agricultural enterprises (NB)? Is it lawful for large-scale privatization of agricultural enterprises to be carried out by government decisions, or is a law from Parliament required? 16. Could you tell us what the needs of the countries of Eastern Europe are regarding reform of the state agricultural sector? 17. Will privatization of agricultural enterprises be a process that covers all their land, or only some farms or parts of their land, with some areas remaining state-owned (national, district, municipal, etc.)? 18. How many joint agricultural enterprises have been established during your government? Has the dismantling of the NB enterprises harmed relations with the peasants who have started working with them, and with others who may do so in the future? 19. As far as we know, most industrial complexes producing eggs and meat are not operating. Do you consider it more reasonable to import these products and seek aid in the form of eggs and meat, or to import and seek aid in the form of animal feed? What will be done to put these facilities back into operation? Is it logical for this distribution to be carried out according to the “Land Law” that was applied in the former agricultural cooperatives? 20. Will employees of the NB enterprises own the land, or will they have the right to use it? 21. With the dismantling of the NB enterprises, in how many villages will the process of distributing land in the former agricultural cooperatives resume? What area of land do they have? How great might the loss to the Albanian economy be as a result of this blockade or spontaneous dismantling? 22. Do you have figures for the area of vineyards, olive groves and orchards destroyed during this year? What measures have been taken to hold those responsible legally accountable? 23. How many cows and other livestock did the NB enterprises have at the beginning ... (Continued on page 3) ... the produce of the areas ... ...s. What has agricultural policy to date done to support areas with little land and difficult conditions, such as Gramsh, Librazhd, Pukë, Kukës, Mirditë, and other mountainous areas? 9. Has it been abolished, and on what legal basis was compensation for bread and land in the hilly-mountainous areas established? What will become of the rural population in these areas, where people have already begun to get their bread on credit? 10. Two years ago, agriculture used around 300 ... ... is proceeding? What area of land do they have? How much could the Government expand. Regardless of the major results it has achieved, it has not publicly asked for anything; will the Government bring it down itself? Does it know where it has ended up? There is more than one reason. Do you, gentlemen in government, know that there are around 12,000 workers in the district of Pukë and that 50 percent of them are receiving assistance or have exhausted it? More than 900 farming families have no land and no income, in such difficult mountainous terrain that no income at all can be secured. The mines and sawmills are closing. Ten days ago, more than 600 employees of the forestry enterprise were put on assistance. Mr. Uka orders the farm and livestock complex to be dismantled. We ask: should the citizens of Pukë not have milk? The Minister, Uka, must have received this information from the Minister of Health, Shehu, but Mr. Shehu forgets that in the Iballë area, with more than 14,000 inhabitants, there is neither a doctor nor a health center. Likewise, the hospital does not function in the town of Fushë-Arrëz, with around 6,000 inhabitants. We had hope and faith in democracy, believing that something would be put right, but the opposite is happening. People are being put at risk by hunger and by the health service. This is not the way to move toward Europe. Dozens of enterprise directors have been replaced over the course of a year, but not one of them is thinking about opening up employment opportunities. They have been left as mere administrative directors, because they have sent the workers onto assistance. “This is the reform,” they say. The people of Pukë ask the gentlemen in government for a meeting with the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Energy, and the Minister of Health. The people could also have sent this request through MPs Puta and Ibra, but so far they “have not had the opportunity to meet with the people because they are very busy.” Government officials, work, not words.

FREEDOM TO LIVE ... BUT ALSO TO DIE Three days earlier his wife had died. Beyond the grief for her, a heavy sense of guilt still could not offer him any relief. The thought that this was what fate had written for her, that many people die this way and it cannot be avoided, did not comfort him... “No, I couldn’t, I couldn’t. Just as medicine and the government couldn’t—or didn’t want to, or pretended they couldn’t—because that’s where I went for help, that’s where I asked for the medicines. And my wife died at the polyclinic in Korçë, and I couldn’t take her home; nobody helped me, and I had no money for a taxi. Now I want to raise my voice because I can’t bear it. I want to appeal to the president, to help me if he can. I can’t bear it, believe me? If you’re going to write, write; I’m telling the truth. My name is Bajram Bajrami. Once everyone respected me, because I was a skilled blacksmith, in the highest category in the metalworking industry and then at NPA. Thirty-two years a blacksmith. Since I was a child, with a heavy hammer. I won’t list my decorations and certificates of merit. They say those don’t count for anything anymore, but after all they are evidence of respect. I have been without work for two years. A whole year on 80 percent pay, and now on assistance, which is about to run out. I have a family of eight, four boys and one girl. All of them able-bodied, and none of them working; all on assistance. I had Mondi and Arjan with me in the smithy; they worked and lived there. Before military service, Sokoli worked at the glass factory, in the blowing section; after the army he was left out on the street. Armandi is the youngest of the boys, but he too is desperate for work. Rita worked for me at the hosiery factory. They put her on assistance. And so it is at the yarn factory ... the knitwear combine and the spinning factory; in one family, Lefteria used to work. She has three children to raise while on assistance. Dhimitra, who worked at NPA, has the same fate... Tell me, what am I to do? I wanted to get a loan somewhere to set up a smithy, but with what?! Today they want money up front, some sort of... what am I supposed to do? Where can I smash my head! That’s all. Forgive me for taking up your time; I wanted to vent to someone who would listen. Life has no meaning for me.” I wanted to remind him that Parliament had discussed the law on human freedoms and rights, an article that gives everyone the right to live and work. But I saw that he was in such a state that it would have been more painful to bring him back to himself.

Although the District Council of the 1st Conference had requested that a peaceful rally be held, the Public Order Department in Pukë did not allow it. Whenever an explanation is requested, the police come to the door, even at night. This is what happened on 24.3.1993 to the secretary of the District Trade Union Council. But why on earth are today’s workers’ peaceful rallies so frightening? What is troubling these gentlemen so much? Slogans have also been spread saying that the Confederation wants to overthrow the Government. Despite its major reservations, it has not publicly called for anything of the sort. The Government will topple itself from the branch it has climbed onto. There are more than one or two reasons. Do you know, gentlemen of the Government

It was 22 March, the day marking the first anniversary of democracy’s victory. I wished this day could be “free” of any “overload.” So I laughed, but no... ...I walked through Tirana, covered in garbage. Nobody was concerned with removing it—not the enterprises, not the municipality, not the Ministry. Then I asked myself: perhaps the time has come to form a joint company with foreigners to clean Tirana and the other cities?... ...Bekimi appeared in front of me. He had been an irresponsible warehouseman at the Ministry of Public Order. They had dismissed him; I felt sorry for him. “May you be the last,” I said. But I really did ask myself: Who is to blame, Bekimi or the Government? And try to keep your composure if you can!... ...I headed for the municipal services office to pay the electricity, water and other bills. I handed my booklets over at the counter, but the lady said: “First you’ll pay 30 lekë television tax and 10 lekë road tax...” I shrugged. Pay up, or else. I had to get it repaired because it had a hole in the sole. I had bought those shoes for 70 lekë. But the cobbler said: “50 lekë.” I nearly fainted. But what was his fault? Aren’t we in a market economy? I paid the money and left, my shoe wrapped in paper, talking to myself. headed home. I stopped at the bread shop. There were about 30 people ahead of me. “I don’t have change for 10 lekë!” the seller shouted. Like everyone else, I paid 25 lekë. I took the bread and left. I walked again through Tirana, walked among the garbage, walked with my blood boiling. This tension, all within just a few hours of the day. But what about the whole day and the whole month? There, in front of the Hotel “Arbëria,” I turned to enter the apartment building. Then a voice caught my attention, shouting: “Children’s beds, children’s beds!” The voice sounded familiar, so I stopped. I froze and couldn’t believe my eyes. It was the former Deputy Minister of People’s Defence, Mr. Hali Halil, not yet 50 and with a university education. It was 22 March. I bought “RD” and went into my apartment. I was alone. I opened the newspaper and read that “During its one year in power, the Government has made great progress.” But I didn’t know what to remember first from that day, 22 March 1993, amid Tirana’s garbage... And try to keep your composure if you can. PIPI PAPA

The day before yesterday, in the late morning, the cashier of the refrigerator facility in Shkodër set off from the facility for the bank. On the way, she was attacked by unidentified persons, who robbed her of more than 7 million lekë. Official confirmation of this incident by the law-enforcement authorities in Shkodër is still awaited.

Amid great enthusiasm, on 24 March 1993, a ceremony was held in the centre of the Municipality of Cakran to distribute the decisions of the Fier District Council declaring the sons of this region who fell during the National Liberation War and during the 1920 war against the occupiers and their collaborators, «Balli Kombëtar» and Legaliteti, etc., Heroes of the Homeland. Veterans of the National Liberation War and pensioners, members of the families of the fallen, former distinguished activists of the National Liberation War, councillors, village elders from the municipality’s villages, young men and women, representatives of political parties, etc. attended the ceremony. Also present were the Chairman of the District Council, Robert Bitri, the Chairman of the District Veterans’ Committee, Halit Kacanolli, the Chairman of the District Socialist Party, Petro Koçi, etc. The ceremonial meeting was opened by the municipal chairman, Vladimir Lamçe. Robert Bitri, Chairman of the District Council, spoke about the contribution made by the people of the Cakran area in the struggle against the fascist and Nazi occupiers and their other collaborators, «Balli Kombëtar» and «Legaliteti», etc., for the liberation of the Homeland, as well as about their stance today amid the country’s democratic developments. The meeting was also addressed by meeting sent a petition to the President of the Republic, the Speaker of the People’s Assembly and the Prime Minister, calling on them not to distort history, to recognize 29 November 1944 as the day of Albania’s liberation, to approve the status of National Liberation War veterans as soon as possible, and to unblock local government so that the municipality could carry out its functions normally.

On 29.3.93, Monday, while Parliament was discussing the law on human rights and freedoms, an operation was carried out in Block No. 4, Neighbourhood 56, by the neighbourhood authorities to evict [people] on behalf of the Tirana Municipality. In the families of our block, the neighbourhood chairman Sami Ymeri came with a group of people, accompanied by the police, a captain and a police non-commissioned officer, and demanded, without any explanation, that the rooms with partitions be vacated. When he was told that the case was in court and that it was the Municipality itself that had taken it to court, he said that he obeyed neither the law, nor Parliament, nor the government, and that he followed only the Municipality’s orders. Within minutes, the rooms were forcibly cleared by his entourage. The police stood by watching what was happening. They did not listen at all when told that the relevant documents were in order; they acted quickly because they had many other such cases. There are several families with the same number of people as us, or fewer, but they were not touched at all. For example, Rushen Golemi, who was settled there 5–6 months ago. When Rusheni was mentioned in Parliament, he said it was not true. Similarly, Leon Kosta, Pjetër Arbnori’s adviser in Parliament, has six rooms, but nothing of his has been touched. After all this, we expect Mr Sami Ymeri to come and take the documents too, which are in their current unregularized state and «can be modified and used as dwellings». But apparently they want to give them to [others] near the assistance offices for use as warehouses. Many residents of the block told the neighbourhood chairman that such actions were illegal. He did not care at all. He seems to think that he himself is the law. From a resident of Neighbourhood 56, Block 4

The “2 Prilli” Association of Shkodër, continuing the activities it had planned for these days in remembrance of the events of April 2, 1992, also organized several events. Wreaths were laid early in the morning at the memorial stone placed at one side of the square where the events took place two years ago. The President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha, also laid a wreath of flowers here. At 10 o’clock, a rally was held in the square in front of the “Migjeni” theater. Hundreds of citizens of Shkodër took part. The President of the Republic, Mr. Sali Berisha, also addressed the rally.