According to well-informed sources in contact with Mr. Dosti’s office, from a brief and quick review we had been able to glean [?] that several deputies are expected to leave the ranks of the PD and its parliamentary group. The fact we are referring to concerns tendencies among several other PD deputies to break away from their group and become independent deputies or... move toward the Democratic Alliance, or toward a new faction. The new Political “Initiative”[?]? In another letter that PD deputy Vasil Gjika sent some time ago to the leadership of the Democratic Party; the leadership of the PD Parliamentary Group; and, for their information, the President of the Republic, many facts are set out that lead to the conclusions stated above. From the outset, “as if to clear his conscience,” in this letter—“although he acknowledges that he alone cannot change the PD’s revanchist course”—he feels a moral obligation to say what he thinks: that he cannot coexist with the revanchists and Ballists, especially communist-Ballist-legalist-revanchist extremists such as Baleta and company. Concerned about the fate of democracy in Albania, Mr. Gjika, in this letter, after presenting his objections to the policy pursued and implemented by the PD today, particularly its revanchist actions, has raised many issues concerning policy and economic reform, the injustices committed in dismissing people from their jobs, as well as certain positions and options concerning foreign policy. which our country is pursuing today (issues he has raised several times), particularly the national question and the position toward Kosovo. As for policy toward neighboring countries, Italy and Greece, he says: “The Embassy in Greece and relations with these countries? can be managed by an honest Muslim who is loyal to the PD’s Ballists and Baleta.” Taking as his starting point several issues directly connected with the PD and its parliamentary group’s attitude toward him as a deputy and as a person, he is said to have stated that it is pointless to fight within a parliamentary group in which deputies with different ideas and views have joined together on one front, ranging from extremists and Ballists to true democrats. Having found himself, he declares that as a deputy he no longer bears responsibility for the policy of the PD and its group and will act as an independent deputy. Meanwhile, it is reported that deputy Vasil Gjika, together with around 20 other deputies, is working on the platform of the “New Political Initiative,” and that there are disagreements between him and its initiator, Azem Hajdari. The PD National Conference in September is approaching. What will happen?! Will Gjika and his colleagues end up in the Democratic Alliance or in the New Initiative?! Meanwhile, it is learned that deputy Gjika’s letter is highly secret and that “the PD Political Bureau has not yet declared him its ‘internal enemy’”—because “the devils are beginning to come out of the bottle.” It is also learned that deputy Vasil Gjika, although he has not yet made his letter public through any of the outlets, may be preparing to publish it in the PD newspaper, Rilindja Demokratike. Correspondent of “The People’s Voice”

“DEMOCRACY” IN ACTION: The State of Violence — A reminder to the President of the Republic of Albania and the other rulers of the Democratic Party — The politics of the street, blackmail and pressure on people, threats and unlawful coercion are no longer carried out in the squares as they were a year and a half ago; they have now taken hold in government. Some of those who shouted and screamed indiscriminately yesterday now speak and give orders from government offices and in Parliament. And what happens?... Immediately after March 22 of last year, a campaign of mass dismissals from work began, solely on the grounds of political beliefs or party sympathies. Most people are thus unjustly deprived of the freedom to work, which is one of the fundamental freedoms of the individual. Meanwhile, the President cites the “Helsinki Charter” and the “Paris Charter” to prove that everything he will say afterward is mere demagoguery. In July 1992, on orders from the ministry, the notorious night operations were carried out, just as on the night of February 4 under Xhafer Deva: citizens’ homes were raided and violated in the most shameless manner, thus breaching not only the laws of a democratic state but even those of the dictatorship of the Proletariat, and even the Kanun itself. The matter was also brought before the President of the Republic, but who listened?... Innocent and honest people protested. The head of state and everyone else after him boasted “that they were building a state governed by the rule of law!”... You charlatans! What grotesque people, mocking themselves! They lie shamelessly in broad daylight. But that organized campaign by the people of the night was only the first signal of what would happen later. Because... On July 26, 1992, an entire innocent city, Poliçan, was surrounded by armed forces. Innocent people were beaten simply because they “dared” to ask their own state for bread to feed their children. Meanwhile, the charming government official Zhulali relaxed, watching the scenes from a helicopter. And as if that insult to the people of Poliçan were not enough, he went and lied in Parliament without blushing, insulting Poliçan, Parliament, and all of Albania at once. President Berisha, eight months later, called those who politicized their misfortune charlatans in front of the people of Poliçan. Did the President of the Republic not know that the “provocative statement” broadcast that evening by RTV had been written by Meksi himself, in his own hand? Had he not heard Safet Zhulali in Parliament politicizing the misfortune of the people of Poliçan from beginning to end? Surely he knew all this, and that is why he called them charlatans—if he was acting responsibly when he spoke that way in Poliçan. The miners of Bulqizë, like their fellow workers in Poliçan, raised their voices in protest, asking their state—which claims to be democratic and not a police state—to provide them with bread and higher wages. But their reward was rubber-baton blows. Those who tried to enter the mine galleries were forcibly dragged out by the police. Minister Zhulali and his Zhulali supporters were again at the head of the operation. And then something happened that even Zhvjekt could not have imagined. Safet Zhulali left Bulqizë only after escaping dressed as a policeman through the WC windows?!... The Minister?!... But even after this “manly” feat, the poor man returns once again, strutting like a rooster on a manure heap. The days go by. Disillusionment grows. So do anger and dissatisfaction with the incompetent and mediocre rulers. But, in geometric progression, police violence and repression grow along with all this; they have now become more savage and more direct. They give the state its character. Fier and its citizens are witnesses. Violence and rubber batons did not spare even pensioners. This time the police set a trap by changing the location of the rally. And they provoked innocent people. The same thing happened in Kuçovë. Once again, police officials provoked, beat and insulted people, doing whatever they pleased. Because the state does not belong to democracy, but to them. And the victims are children, women and the elderly. This time Zhulali was not at the head, but the police officials, under the direct or indirect direction of Agron Musaraj, because in Kuçovë the policemen spoke over the radio and addressed 540 (Shenepremtes) and 509, Agron Musaraj (that day was May 9). Meanwhile, in Peshkopi, where—as in Fier—the rally location was changed in order to provoke people, the police provocation was even more serious. They fired guns. They threw stones at the deputies’ cars. They... they... they... Where are you taking Albania, Mr. President? Why all this fear? I have not made up the cases mentioned above. You know them better, but I am repeating them publicly. They are the bitter reality of the State of Violence, which is run by Kole Topalli, you, and the whole daily chorus, now in greater crisis than ever. Otherwise there is no explaining why police violence in Albania keeps increasing when you promised democracy, freedom, justice and equality.

Representatives of the District Council told us that the director general of the National Privatization Agency, Mr. Përparim Dervishi, is looking for journalist Gentian Kruna, who two weeks ago published in the newspaper “The People’s Voice” an article entitled “Who stole the people’s money in Berat?” We also learned that representatives of the authorities in Berat gave him this answer: “Come to Berat first to clarify the issue, then we’ll find the journalist.” That is also the answer we, as a newspaper, would give Mr. Dervish. Once he has explained the corruption there to the people of Berat, he is welcome to come to the newsroom for a coffee.

INFORMATION CORNER - The incident happened at around 8:00 in the morning on May 26, in front of the entrance to the President’s Headquarters. - One of the most active officers is named Martin. One of the “TIPO” cars that accompanies President Berisha when he goes to and comes back from home stopped and called out to Mr. Martini, a former wrestler with KS “Partizani” and now one of the officers in the President’s escort. He got out and charged like a beast at an innocent citizen, who was happening to go about his business. We were unable to learn the name of the beaten citizen, but we were told that he is a medical assistant at the former leadership clinic. A citizen brought us this information yesterday morning and told us that the incident happened at around 8:00 in the morning, right in front of the entrance to the President’s Headquarters. The Editor

This article was prompted by an incident a few days ago at the “Gjuetari” bar-boulevard in the city of Korçë. In front of the entrance to the establishment, I saw them dragging out a customer, a man around 70, who had been accused of urinating. I joined the other curious onlookers, and in front of the establishment there was a red “Benz” belonging to the head of SHIK, so I thought they had secretly arrested the dissident (who, as it later turned out, was called Spiro Orgocka) for “agitation and propaganda.” The customers inside the establishment were also alarmed as they watched the duel between the old man and the chief’s “braves.” A little farther away, a man around 40, with a moustache, was doubled over, protecting his head and stomach from the punches and kicks of SHIK’s security men. Meanwhile, on the establishment’s veranda, at the head table, swaggering like a cat in a field of rye as he ate and drank, sat the head of SHIK for Korçë, Mr. Llambi Koçi, with his deputy and others. Well done, Llambi! The PP made you a mathematician and won’t leave a single foot of land in Korçë untouched; the PD made you a full-fledged SHIK agent, so much so that you’ve moved your work from the office to the neighborhood cafés and remain an outstanding loafer. Llani Gazdhedja, you’ve got it!

The dreams of the greedy to get rich are beyond even the wildest imagination. What won’t they do to wake up as capitalists, without having any capital, to become beys without even having faded title deeds? The most determined dream-makers are the officeholders who dish out appointments and wield all-encompassing authority. Here is a concrete example: the PD’s “tool” in Korçë, Mr. Kujtim Hoxha, deputy chairman of the district council, resident and registered in Libonik, formerly of the Dritan agricultural enterprise, has taken 5 hectares for himself there, in the marshland of the former swamp. He added this substantial parcel to the amount he received as a resident of this village, together with the other members of his family. What privilege did he use to grab this land? Well, the provision in the government law stating that on state-run farms, after land has been distributed to workers, land is leased to specialists. Is Mr. Kujtim a specialist? Of course he is. So what? It hardly matters that he has already received land as a resident; it hardly matters that he is currently not an unemployed specialist or on assistance, but at the head of the district council; it hardly matters that there are still 15 families in the village who have not been allocated land; it hardly matters that not all specialists from the agricultural enterprises have been given land... Do you know, Mr. Gjergji Angoni, director of the directorate for the privatization of the agricultural enterprises, and Benjamin Nakuçe, director of the district’s agriculture department, that Mr. Kujtim has grabbed this land, or did they perhaps let him go ahead first so they could follow right behind him themselves?! KOÇO DRENOVARI

After a strained warning, perhaps made in the late hours of the night directly at the printing house, “Koha jonë” decided to “beat ‘The People’s Voice’ with a cotton swab” in response to the article: “A row has broken out between Azem Hajdari and Nikollë Lesi over the platform of the newspaper ‘Koha jonë’.” Heaven forbid, dear colleagues, but if you have decided to face the facts honestly and without hesitation, we too are ready to put the facts on the table. We sincerely hope that “Koha jonë” will once again be a “whole hive,” as it presents itself in yesterday’s leading article. It is an admirable and unusual fact that in that independent newspaper at least a chairman of the publishing council, Mr. Hajdari, and a director, Mr. Ngjela, coexist, although they have publicly declared that they belong to different parties and nevertheless conduct a policy independent of their parties. This may well arouse jealousy among the parties they represent, but not in us, who openly state that we are the newspaper of the Socialist Party and are quite satisfied with our readership… You need not fear that we might accuse you of being socialists when there is not a single one of them in your newsroom. You, on the other hand, should be careful, because “grafting” requires considerable skill. And above all, harvest the fruits of your own work yourselves, lest others snatch them, as has often happened. You assure us that there was no clash between you. So be it, but be more careful about a fact that Nikollë Lesi himself admits in point 2 of his article, which we do not understand why he published as a separate piece. At the very least, do not contradict yourselves by saying: “Now our difficult situation has passed,” while on page three you declare in large letters: A. Frangaj once again facing the state. How are we to understand this—as confusion caused by the pressure you are under, or as a reflection of pressure being kept up against “Koha Jonë”? If the facts are being superimposed without reason, the cause lies with you and is by no means a fantasy of “The People’s Voice.” Do not dig too deeply into this point, who knows, someone may come out and say: “The fact is inside.” Finally, dear colleagues, it is not the number of years that makes newspapers democratic or not, but the people. With such stale arguments you put our respected colleague Çupi in the position of being the oldest journalist currently at “The People’s Voice.” Thank you, too, for the lessons you give us about the rules of the free press—just do not break those rules by provoking us and demanding authorship of the article published in “The People’s Voice.” The Editorial Office