- FATOS NANO is being held in prison to endure all the anti-socialist political anger, all the despair over the fact that the Socialist Party is not being defeated or split apart. I know a man whom I have met only once in my life, but even that moment was far too brief: just one minute, the time it took us to embrace. I have written a few words about this man in his memory, although I know there will also be people who will condemn me and call it a foolish act. But each person makes his own choice, and I have made mine: I will write, as far as I understand and know, about Fatos Nano, the imprisoned socialist of Tirana and of all Albania, about the deputy from Kavaja, around whom a thread of time has wound itself. The impulse for this article may simply be the ethics of an emotion I felt at the time and earlier, one midnight as I was returning from a funeral. In the deserted, icy streets I saw a few squares weighing down the dust-covered, brightly lit roads. To cover the faces I expected to see gray-haired, I had wrapped them, one by one, with an old scarf or some rag. They worked in silence, and that made the muffled groaning all the more moving. And as long as there exist these abandoned by the attention of the state, as long as this society will have thousands and thousands on assistance, one cannot and must not accept their elimination, even by the left wing or by anyone else. Indeed, state power cannot defeat them and drives them toward this goal through political means, strengthening propaganda, divisive tactics, and the police, every kind of prison, insulting provocations and bewildered judges. And I remembered Fatos Nano, nearly two years earlier, in March 1992. It was at the height of the electoral campaign. In the large hall of the cinema in Berat, packed with people standing, he spoke for about two hours. Calm, without a trace of irony. He answered the opposition’s questions in detail. With patience. With more tolerance for a small group of them who wanted to disrupt the meeting, against whom, later, police intervened in the hall, though not against him. Nevertheless, an incident occurred that many did not notice. An old man from the old entrance, whom we know as a gentle and noble person, insisted on asking a question and approached the podium to hear better. Some “volunteers,” those who in such cases show excessive zeal, dragged him outside by force and in a brutal, unseemly manner. In any case, that was the report itself. Apart from Fatos Nano leaving the hall. Who could have imagined that some future opposition members, gathered for a protest in front of the cinema, instead of greeting Nano’s arrival, would throw stones? Yes, yes, Fatos Nano was savagely stoned and amid the uproar shouting was heard: — Kill him, kill him! — Please! two men shouted. — Poor woman, they’ve killed Nano! cried a woman in pain. But a few moments later I saw his car driving away, and the news spread that none of the stones thrown at him had struck his body. Since then many changes have taken place in Albania, but that moment when, instead of the free word of the opposition or even rotten tomatoes or eggs, stones were used, I cannot forget. Time proved that those stones and the truth of March 1992 would later be accompanied in some cases by dynamite explosions or police batons. The present prison of Fatos Nano must have had its beginnings in those stones. In those miserable squares, in those gloomy walls of excess poverty, in those anti-human doubles. The accusation that it is merely a request in pain, an Italian formula, or legal form of compelled indifference, are simply pretexts. Fatos Nano has been predetermined for political elimination if he continues to act and remain an opposition force. He has now spent five months in pretrial detention without handcuffs. I believe that Fatos Nano himself will remain calm and will also greet you, even though he cannot be present, from the Teqja[?] with you. Because Fatos Nano is one of those Albanian politicians whom pluralism has annoyed. And a people, in times of freedom and even more so in difficult years, seems to choose its own generation of politicians, whether right-wing, centrist, or left-wing. They are one of the treasures that democracy creates. Because Fatos Nano belongs to the generation of Berisha, Pashko, Ceka, Gjinushi, Imami, Çupi, and all these are young politicians. I saw it myself in a hall at the former Central Committee of the PPSH, when Mehmet Elezi, then press director, with a visible gesture, gave him a place on the podium to his right and introduced him to us as the man most capable, the designer and reformer of the market economy in Albania. And I was the one at that meeting who asked the question, without ever being present with stones and the enthusiasm that was expressed for private shops and traders, while I had no connection at all with Albania. Because I heard Fatos Nano myself on the “Voice of America,” invited by this anti-communist radio station. But he was silenced by another microphone as soon as he chose the political alternative of the left. Because Nano was not nervous, as the times described him in RD; or in the genocidal films of TVSH, but very modest, very European. Two days after the Socialist Party’s failure in the elections of March 22, I published the article “Not Like This” in “Zëri i Popullit.” There I described the strategy of not dissolving the PP as wrong, complained that the PS was not created from scratch, and protested because it had become an era. Later I learned that a then-leader of the Socialist Party, considered to have great moral standing, Fatos Nano, had asked that my anti-government gesture be discussed in the party presidency and that I should be excluded from publications in ZP! It was Nano himself who had opposed this behavior and refused any stance against me. I believe that this event did not happen, because I have made two personal duties, while only Fatos Nano knows that I have written harshly against certain specific actions within the party. (Continued on page 2)

Breaking news Highly reliable sources report that very soon Eduard Selami will make a short working and friendly visit to the Republic of Albania. The visit is expected to take place at the end of January and last approximately one week. Eduard Selami is a well-known political figure, chairman of the Democratic Party of Albania, a party that has been in power in Albania for the past two years. He is a candidate of science. He graduated from the University of Tirana and defended his scientific degree with the thesis “The Aesthetic Thought of Comrade Enver Hoxha”. In his short life he has published only this thesis. Eduard Selami’s visit to Albania is an extraordinary success of Albanian diplomacy, which brought the country out of deep and comprehensive isolation. This visit is an expression of nationwide support for Albania and for the democratic reforms undertaken by the only democratic party. Eduard Selami is welcome in Albania. This is not his first visit to this country. Never before has he been hosted with traditional hospitality, with the respect and affection of his hosts. During his visit to the Republic of Albania, Eduard Selami will meet and hold talks with important state figures, including and... (Press news) and with senior leaders of the Democratic Party. Of greater interest is expected to be his meeting with members and sympathizers of the Democratic Party, especially those who are wanted or those who are enjoying the fruits of the nearly 20 percent growth in agricultural production, which is delightfully democratic. The visit to our country by Mr. Eduard Selami will be widely covered by the press. K. L.

ONLY FOR THE OPPOSITION O N L Y FOR THE OPPOSITION

These days the euro-socialist forum of the district of Berat held a banquet on the occasion of FRESSH’s admission to the Socialist International. The meeting was organized in the hall of the district PS steering committee. The meeting was opened by the chairman of the district forum, Ed Spahiu, who, among other things, emphasized that this is a great achievement of Albanian euro-socialist youth. It was also stressed that this achievement is an inspiration for larger efforts that we expect ahead in achieving and winning true democracy in Albania. Afterwards the meeting was greeted by the chairman of the Socialist Party of the district, Kristaq Kolani, who emphasized that fruitful cooperation between the youth forum and the PS has been and will remain very necessary in the future. The meeting was also greeted by the chairman of the Berat district council, Nevruz Karaj, the deputy president of the PS, Ndre Legisi, and Ilir Meta, euro-socialist representative in Parliament and chairman of the republican youth forum. The meeting took place in a pleasant and friendly atmosphere. At the end all the euro-socialist youth demanded the release of PS chairman Fatos Nano, which serves as a necessary condition for achieving true democracy in Albania. EDI SPAHIU

Peshkopi Two major events in the life of the FRESSH of the district of Dibra, the anniversary of the formation of this organization and admission to the Socialist Youth International with observer status, were the beginning of a youth activity that left an impression on those present. Two major events in the life of the FRESSH of the district of Dibra, the anniversary of the formation of this organization and admission to the Socialist Youth International with observer status, were the beginning of a youth activity that left an impression on those present and highlighted the need for faster development and their decline. This refers to a cocktail party organized on Saturday in the premises of the Socialist Party. The cocktail was accompanied by music, songs, dancing and youthful humor. During the cocktail, opinions were exchanged about the work of the forum for invigorating youth activity in the city, in secondary schools, and especially in the countryside. Those present once again protested against the brutal repression against socialists and especially against the arbitrary imprisonment of Socialist Party chairman, deputy Fatos Nano. Correspondent of “Zëri i Popullit”

It is well known in our schools this also and hundreds and thousands of others of this nomenclature “Dispatchers”. It had around 200 workers. By implementing the “reform” of the Democratic Party in this and that printing house, only around 40 remained. Recently this printing house was bought by a representative of Caritas. In order for the “deepening” of the Democratic Party’s reform to be required, it is necessary for all the other workers to be cut as well, so that if possible not a single worker remains employed. By closing it, they will manage and report, without giving any reason why the enterprise or state sector need it and whether the press was bought at the time. Indeed, the state administration may buy the “private,” so that only one “owner” will be in control. Therefore, all complaints from the workers of the Zeus[?] printing house, as the workers of this printing house complain in time, are valid. It is all the better to write that they are free, and even better that they are free. At home, because in the end the “market economy” of the Democratic Party is, son, “the lady” who raises it at home, the family. This is one of the concrete expressions of honest humanity that is done for the sake of the left-wing government for the sake of the “market economy reform” of the Democratic Party. The Ministry of Labor has announced that in 1994 around 10,000 employees[?] in the state and government administration will be cut! Meksi! Let’s see when the concrete implementation will begin. Let us wait for a bitter word and write about this (?!). It is not enough for the sake of the general social interest; today the matter concerns the PD reform, Ali Hoxha - Hoxhë Aliu. TYPOGRAPHER

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BLACK Dawd[?] 2-7 They speak as they are paid