Any other position is prejudiced, immoral and illegal. The manipulation and alteration of the charge, the one-sided investigations ordered by the party prove once again that the “Nano Case” is a political matter. Will the Albanian authorities respond to Europe’s civic message as Europeans, or with banner-waving obstinacy and an oriental mentality?... Ten days have passed since the European Parliament, with a majority of 268 votes in favor, adopted a resolution on relations between the European Community and Albania. Among other things, it called for respect for democratic principles and political freedoms in Albania—as an essential precondition for any bilateral or multilateral aid or cooperation—as well as the immediate release of the chairman of the Socialist Party, Fatos Nano. Point 18 of the Resolution states that the European Parliament instructs its President to send this Resolution to the Commission of the Council of the European Parliament, as well as to the Parliament and Government of the Republic of Albania. In addition to the Resolution’s publication in the newspaper “Zëri i popullit,” we have learned from informed sources that it has now also been received by Parliament and the Government... It is Europe that is knocking loudly on Albania’s door—or, better said, on the door through which Albania seeks to enter Europe. But those who hold the key to that door pretend not to hear, although in fact they have not been silent: they have met and discussed late into the night; indeed, they even want to change the charge against Fatos Nano from abuse of office to theft. It is one thing for the Albanian Parliament, the Government and the Presidency to remain silent, but should Albanian deputies remain silent wherever they may be? A Resolution from Europe has arrived for them. It is addressed precisely to them! And they should not be so irresponsible. At the very least, they should say something to the Speaker of Parliament—something that does not require film reels... At the very least, Albanian deputies should demand that their dignity and standing be formally respected; otherwise, it is regrettable, because... it is regrettable because they are the first whose rights and freedoms have been trampled and violated. Europe has knocked loudly at the door. Every ordinary Albanian understands this. It expects a genuine response, not manipulated charges. Our people in power and their instruments should not imagine that by remaining silent until now, by letting “tempers cool,” or by ordering the charge to be changed, the investigation to be concluded, and Fatos Nano and the others’ conviction to be presented as a fait accompli, they will get the better of Europe. But even if they remain silent, let the Socialists speak in a clearer, louder voice. Europe still has eyes to see, ears to hear, and a mind to understand what is happening in Albania. Socialist Fatos Nano. At this time, the Resolution emphasizes that the European Parliament, led by its President, is to send this Resolution to the Commission and Parliament and Government of the Republic of Albania. Besides its publication in the newspaper “Zëri i popullit”, informed sources report that the Resolution has now also reached the Albanian Parliament and Government. So, once again—or, more accurately, for the third time—Europe is knocking more loudly on the doors of the Albanian state. But it remains silent! Parliament is silent, along with its Speaker and Pjetër Arbnori; the government and Prime Minister Meksi are silent; the presidency and President Berisha are silent too. Why are they silent? Should they remain silent? At the very least, out of courtesy they should not remain silent, because, at least as a formality, the information offices of Parliament, the government and the presidency should speak, explain and comment that a resolution from Europe has arrived. This is part of the ABCs of a serious state and government. There have been opportunities over these ten days when both Arbnori and Meksi, Berisha and Selami, at the rallies and meetings they held, should have said something, because it is not a...

Concrete and realistic alternatives—the clearest indication of a break with the past. Stale demagoguery—a distinguishing feature of the DP’s propaganda, a telling sign of its all-encompassing crisis. VIEWPOINT The Democratic Party is afraid of fair competition – Concrete and realistic alternatives—the clearest indication of a break with the past. – Stale demagoguery—a distinguishing feature of the DP’s propaganda, a telling sign of its all-encompassing crisis. A constructive and realistic spirit, intellectual commitment and civic responsibility for the country’s fate, and a way out of the all-encompassing crisis we are experiencing (due, among other things, to the present authorities’ inability to govern), together with concrete choices, are the fundamental substance of the Second National Conference of the Socialist Party. Everything achieved there was the product of long and persistent work that began in June 1991 and has continually intensified at every level of the party and beyond, with many sympathizers. In addition to the difficulties of the transition, we have had to face attacks and pressures of every kind, slander and hooligans’ threats, all intended to narrow the PS’s scope for activity as much as possible, block it and eliminate it. However, to the misfortune of its opponents and for the good of democracy and pluralism in Albania, the Socialist Party did not split; it did not break apart—even though, to that end, its chairman and People’s Assembly deputy Fatos Nano was imprisoned. Instead, it consolidated and grew further in the eyes of the people as a serious political force, with a civic and European profile, realistic and committed to a better future for the country. The ruling DP views and comments on all these achievements with astonishing jealousy and envy, showing that it is moving ever further away from the statements and ideas of the December 1990 program—a process that, of course, began some time ago. The recent campaign by its leaders and their newspaper serves as a clear illustration of this typical metamorphosis. They maliciously accuse the Socialist Party of “not having definitively distanced itself from the past and Enver Hoxha at the Second Conference”—an accusation that does not stop there, but goes as far as the absurd demand that it also distance itself from “the criminals Fatos Nano and Dritëro Agolli”?! The least that can be said in this instance is that the DP leaders, unfortunately, do not understand how politics works. Their communist schools and titles seem to have left them deficient. The stale demagoguery they use reveals their limited vocabulary and the all-encompassing crisis that has taken hold of them. They are incapable and unable to present concrete alternatives. They do not have the courage to appear before the people and speak openly. They do not dare to hold conferences or rallies because they are afraid other hostile groups might show up. They cannot cope with fair competition between ideas and concrete choices under political pluralism; they cannot enter into an honest debate, and so they keep playing the same old tune. You should understand clearly, gentlemen, that the best way to distance oneself from the mistakes of the past and the legacy of communist ideology is through concrete alternatives and choices. The PS offers these to the people. They have nothing in common with the program of the Party of Labour; they contain nothing of the centralized economy, the dictatorship of the proletariat or class struggle. Your demagoguery, meanwhile, is a ploy intended to deceive people and turn them away from the PS, whose growth frightens you. But the PS is not to blame if people no longer trust you; the PS is not to blame if you are unable to understand that early elections would subject you to public scrutiny through democratic and legal means. You certainly know what the outcome of the elections might be, just as you know very well that the call for early elections does not come only from the Socialist Party; otherwise, you would not hesitate at all. If you had even a little faith in your own statements, you would accept elections and say to the PS: “Look, the people voted for us again because they don’t want the Socialists.” But sooner or later, elections will take place. Be assured that you will get what you deserve. As for your demand that “the PS must don’t worry. It is to the PS’s honor to have as many “criminals” like these as possible in its ranks. LUAN M. RAMA

Sources close to the public order commissariat in Durrës report that, following a lengthy investigation and on the orders of the prosecuting authorities, five people were arrested. Sources close to the public order commissariat in Durrës report that, following a lengthy investigation and on the orders of the prosecuting authorities, five people were arrested, including Agim Dema, head of the State Audit’s Durrës branch. According to these sources, they are suspected of corruption at the “Adriatica” maritime agency. Investigations are continuing, although the State Audit has issued no official information about the arrest.

THE PEOPLE DEMAND INFORMA- THE PEOPLE DEMAND INFORMATION, TRANSPARENCY AND LEGALITY To Mr. Aleksandër Meksi Chairman of the Council of Ministers Pursuant to Articles 82 and 86 of the Rules of Procedure of the People’s Assembly, I request clarification, through answers to several questions, concerning the truth about the installation of two American spy planes in Albania. More specifically: 1. Is the news reported by many media outlets, that two American spy planes are to be installed in Albania, true? 2. On what legal basis was such a decision made, and by which body? 3. What is the purpose of such an activity? 4. Are Albania’s state interests and the interests of the Albanian people harmed by this activity? 5. Why did the Italian state refuse to accept them for deployment in Italy? 6. Why have you not informed the people about this? 7. In your opinion, does this activity harm the interests of neighboring countries or peoples? 8. Does such a thing affect our relations with our neighbors? 9. What positions have the neighboring states taken regarding the undertaking of this activity? 10. Why has this matter not been reported to Parliament? In accordance with Article 86 of the aforementioned Rules of Procedure, I await your response to the above. Respectfully, FEHMI ABDIU Deputy of the People’s Assembly

This became known yesterday morning from sources close to the hunger strike. The farmers are mainly from the village of Ças in Velipojë, Shkodër. After the N.D. was dissolved, the land was not distributed to them. Several times, on behalf of all of them, they have appealed both to the local authorities in Shkodër and to those in Tirana. However, their problem has not yet been resolved. The land distribution has been opposed by the former owners. Thus, unable to find another solution, the farmers in question were forced to go on hunger strike to obtain what the state has granted them by law. The strike initially began with 40 farmers, but reports and other information during the day indicated that their number was increasing. The strikers have barricaded themselves inside the buildings of the former Velipojë agricultural enterprise.

On Sunday, at 12:10, [a sound/word unclear in source]? [?] two gunshots rang out in “Qemal Stafa” Square (Parruçë) in the city of Shkodër. Immediately, several citizens gathered near the casino club around a fallen man who [?] with a gunshot wound. We learn that the injured man was Arben Çor? [?], 24, a worker at the shoe factory, number in Betanc? Afke took him quickly to the hospital, and he died two hours later. Mehdi Kabani? [?], a resident of [?], is identified as the perpetrator of this killing, motivated by revenge after an earlier altercation at a wedding. Meanwhile, he stabbed him a little above [?] with a knife; Mehdije? [?] and another person were unable to get away from the public order commissariat. At the time of the killing, it is said that Ferit Tahja, director of an enterprise in the Ministry of Public Order, was drinking inside a club together with the head of the public order department in Shkodër and the head of the public order department of Malësia e Madhe. Their response in this case is not known, but perhaps their presence meant that two police minibuses arrived quickly at the scene, along with the anti-... [?] police group and the experts; however, the criminal perpetrator [?] had already fled. That afternoon saw two more killings. In the village of Borsh, Gjon Mic? was killed with [?] [unclear], residents of the village of Grudë e Re. There were also two killings here ... [?] The two killings are suspected to have been carried out by members of Gjon’s wife’s family. This is explained by the fact that the victim had divorced his first wife a few months earlier and married a young woman. However, the latter entered into this marriage against her parents’ insistence that she not do so. Thus, the Kanun of the Mountains was put into effect to settle this dispute; according to it, in such a case the woman’s family kills both the groom and its own daughter, who has abandoned her family. There has been no report so far that the perpetrators of this killing have been detained.

On 11 and 12 February, a seminar on Parliamentary Communication was held in Tirana. It was organized by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) for International Affairs, based in Washington, and the Association for Democratic Culture (SHKD), based in Tirana. These two institutions have worked together since 1991. The seminar was the first step in a series of activities to be held throughout the country on local and national issues. In addition to the Albanian participants from Parliament and associations, the following guests were also invited: Marjan Magenis, a senator in the Irish parliament; Pelu Kramm, spokesperson for the Dutch Ministry of Transport and secretary-general of the Dutch section of the European Union of Journalists; and Johan Gallagher, head of the publication of the Almanac of American Politics and political researcher on CBS movements. The purpose of the seminar was to exchange information and ideas on communication techniques between members of parliament and voters, between members of parliament and the media, and among members of parliament themselves. The golden key to an advanced democracy is communication of... (Continued on page 4)

Socialist Fatos Nano.

“Excerpts from the U.S. Department of State report on the state of human rights in Albania”

On Thursday, 17.2.2004, at 16:30, a meeting with Socialist members of parliament and councillors will be held at the “Punëtori” sports palace in Durrës. PS members and supporters should report to the PS Steering Committee to take part and enter.