Continuing the absurd stubbornness of the feudal demand, the leaders of the PD make defamatory characterizations of the head of the Socialist Party, Fatos Nano. In continuation of the absurd stubbornness of the feudal demand, the leaders of the PD make defamatory characterizations of the head of the Socialist Party, Fatos Nano. Public opinion in our country is well acquainted with the labels people have used against him. All of them have come back to haunt their very fabricators. A tall person cannot be made short, nor can a short person be made tall. The PD leaders, even though they use the power of television, are short in comparison with the stature, personality and position of the well-known intellectual and chairman of the Socialist Party, Fatos Nano. Fatos Nano carries out his legitimate activity in the service of democracy and the left-wing ideals of democratic socialism in Albania. Can they deny his culture and knowledge? Can they deny the well-known fact that, while some leaders of the Democratic Party rushed to fill out the documents to become members of the PPSH, Fatos Nano, through his statements on the Voice of America, the BBC, etc., put forward his reformist ideas for opening up democratic processes in Albania? Can they deny that he is the prime minister who led the country’s peaceful transition to pluralist democracy? Can they deny the popular support he enjoys in the country? Can they deny the support he has received and continues to receive from parliamentary opinion abroad, and even from authoritative international organizations? Can they deny the positions of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the resolution of the European Parliament? Can they deny the support voters give him—members and sympathizers of the PS—while at the same time expressing their protest through democratic means against his arrest and imprisonment? Can they deny the will of the PS Congress, which established him as chairman of the Socialist Party? This is the only way to understand the statement, broadcast on television at a meeting with foreign dignitaries in recent days, that consensus with the Socialist Party has not been achieved because the Socialist Party has Fatos Nano as its leader. This kind of delirium by the PD leaders—which makes one feel sick, and which television broadcast in his discreet voice—goes so far as to describe the normal process of holding PS conferences in the districts, and the necessary renewal carried out democratically, as the appointment of extremists to head the governing committees in some districts. What is this megalomania? They think it is strength, but forget that it shows their weakness and short-sightedness. It is truly a pity to see them in such a ridiculous position, in such a wretched state. With these positions, they are very transparent about their aim of splitting the Socialist Party. However much the leaders of the Democratic Party and its newspaper, specialized in this kind of activity, slander, insult and curse Fatos Nano, they will never be able to divide the Socialist Party. On the contrary, it strengthens its ties with its chairman. If the Democratic Party does not want dialogue with the Socialist Party, the reason should not be sought in the fact that Fatos Nano is the Socialist Party’s chairman: the question of a party’s chairman—and therefore of the Socialist Party’s chairman—is the exclusive concern of our party, just as the PD can have whomever it wants as its chairman. The responsibility for the lack of dialogue and understanding between the government and the opposition rests with the Democratic Party itself, which declares itself the monopolist of purity, truth and the making of democracy. It is a publicly known fact that the Socialist Party has, on many occasions, sought dialogue with the Democratic Party. It is likewise a publicly known fact that the Democratic Party, with absurd megalomania, has denied this and rejected every kind of dialogue. It has gone as far as propaganda and demagoguery, and not a step further. As chairman of the Socialist Party, Fatos Nano has never been an obstacle to dialogue and understanding between the government and the opposition. On many occasions he has made his opinion on this issue public. This is a fact, just as it is also a fact that, by keeping Fatos Nano in prison on charges that were completely discredited during the court hearings, the PD deliberately closed off the road in Albania. Can they deny the fervent support shown to him by PS members and sympathizers, while of the PS Congress and the leading PS forums to defend PS chairman Fatos Nano? Can they deny his manly and dignified conduct in the cell of the democratic regime and during court hearings that resembled the trial of the rooster (are the judges familiar with the story of the trial of the rooster?). Naturally, for those who have nothing to convey to public opinion, everything begins on the date of their own birth. This, despite their misfortune being well known. The misfortune of these people is that they do not understand where they belong. They imagine they make the rain and sunshine, day and night. With this delusion (which they cannot contain), they want to determine who is good and who is bad in the Socialist Party, who is supposedly an extremist and who is a reformer. They go so far as to want to...

The veil of security cast over the government program, which Prime Minister Meksi himself defended on 2 April 1994, on the eve of International Lies Day, describing it to all Albanians as “the basis of security and the future,” has melted in the high temperatures of this hot summer.

the root of this is the country’s dire economic and financial situation. And not many days after Mr Dishnica returned to Tirana, IMF experts arrived there to see things for themselves. Their arrival was striking for another reason, too: it was senior representatives of the latter who had made it possible for our government and senior politicians to meet with the highest-level figures in Europe and beyond, where one could have an experience such as meeting the secretary of the “Berlulit.” It seems that the government staff, chosen more for party loyalty—demonstrated in the populist movement—than for professional competence, finds it increasingly difficult to digest the market-economy formulas unfamiliar to them. It is apparently extremely difficult for the state’s leadership staff, drawn from a range of fields but never from economics, to learn this science now; it is just as difficult as it seems easy to those who know nothing about economics. Under these circumstances, the state staff is reduced to reading the materials served up by others, unable to provide economic direction themselves. It is professional expertise, knowledge and competence that earn you the chair, not the other way around. There are many examples to support what we say, but we will mention one. Not long after Parliament approved the state budget for 1994, the government “remembered” that it had forgotten something that needed changing in the budget figures—changes which, as far as we know, have still not been submitted to Parliament. Such short-sightedness is extremely dangerous for a country’s economy and its people! But, in a few words, what is the state of Albania’s economy today? Its two positive aspects are slight stabilization and a reduction in inflation—not, of course, compared with 1990, when the first signs of reform appeared, but compared with the beginning of this year. Alongside these two elements is the implementation of a controlled wage policy and a credit limit policy; both of the latter have made the results of the first two possible. These four elements, combined with one another under different conditions and at different times, are expressions of a monetarist policy. But while monetarist policies “rein in” one side, they find it difficult to stop something from breaking open on the other. And the other side of the medal is unemployment, low incomes, a high cost of living, the blocking and closure of thousands of factories and other economic units, etc. But our economic picture is incomplete if we do not mention the lack of foreign investment. Meanwhile, humanitarian aid has completed its allotted mission. Let us return to the temperature in the government cabinet, which we have stressed through the “whims” of the program presented as the “basis of security.” As far as we know, a country’s government program must be approved by the highest body, in this case the Albanian Parliament, or People’s Assembly. We do not know when our Parliament will be informed of these changes, so new after all this time, which must surely have been made; the IMF representatives surely did not come for nothing. But even if Parliament is not informed, that is no particular surprise, since Parliament has been bypassed on many occasions over many matters. In a way, this is open indifference toward it and proof that its existence is a formality. All this gives rise to the impression—and not without reason—that our government will never, until the end of its term, be able to present an economic program that lets people know what is going to happen. Fortunately, the government presented its work program for its four-year term to Parliament two years late. Like a “marathon” of exhausted runners, as weeks, months and years passed, it managed to present its major work program at the end of 1993. Several more months had to pass before the day came for the program to be discussed in Parliament, followed by 2 April 1994, when the Prime Minister himself, despite the many criticisms of the government program by a number of MPs from different political forces, delivered his speech on his government’s program, calling it “the program of the future.” And now, in the hot days of this June, our government once again has to sit down over it—if it has agreed to sit down at all. It is not known whose idea the IMF “observers’” mission was in the first place: the government’s or the President’s? DEDE KOLA — The “whims” of the Meksi government’s medium-term program. Following the “mysterious” trip to America by Finance Minister Dishnica, representatives of the IMF arrive in Tirana immediately. — The veil of security cast over the government program, which Prime Minister Meksi himself defended on 2 April 1994, on the eve of International Lies Day, describing it to all Albanians as “the basis of security and the future,” has melted in the high temperatures of this hot summer. It seems that the pillars on which this “basis of security” rests have gone off course. Evidence of this is the fact that a few days ago representatives of the International Monetary Fund appeared in a separate section of the government cabinet, their prominent presence making the rest of the audience seem insignificant. Nothing more was said to the broader Albanian public, although we do not believe the public is any less interested in its government’s program than distant friends are; all that was said was that some corrections and improvements were being made to the government’s medium-term program for 1993–1996. But was the arrival of representatives of the International Monetary Fund, toward whom our government’s affinity is well known, a routine matter? This is not known. It is difficult to tell when the shortcomings in the government program were identified, or when dissatisfaction with it began at the international financial institution. It is very difficult for us to investigate the many unknown and secret corners of the state when its numerous mechanisms at home, and those responsible for relations with the press, resort to the label “state secret.” Under these circumstances, we have the right to voice various opinions—though we do not want to abuse that right—about that unusual government meeting. But before this meeting, or gathering, we had already learned from several sources about a visit to Cheltenham by the Minister of Finance and Economy himself, Mr Piro Dishnica, who is said to have asked there about the progress of economic reform in Albania on the basis of the government’s medium-term program through 1996. Perhaps ...

Only a few days ago, the young Allaman Aslan Basha from Gjoçaj in the district of Malësia lost his life in an accident. Being unemployed, he had found a way to make a living by collecting medicinal plants. Sadly, he died after slipping from a high cliff. The 25-year-old Allaman Basha left behind his wife, who was also unemployed, as well as his three young children. B. Z.

“I AM AND REMAIN A MEMBER OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY” After Ndue Mëhilli, chairman of the Blërim commune in the Pukë district and former PS member, joined the DP, the DP’s propaganda machine, radio, television and RD were quick to “rush” to Blërim, conducting interviews and making comments so that all Albania would hear of this “rare case.” It is true that Ndue Mëhilli joined the DP. It is also true that he was admitted at his home, while eating and drinking with officials from the public order service, SHIK and the DP, with President Berisha himself offering his congratulations over the telephone. It is true that he joined because Ndue Mëhilli had no ideals left. It is just as true that these days Ndue Mëhilli does not show his face in Pukë at all. He even slips in and out of the commune offices secretly. Ndue Mëhilli gives everyone here in Pukë the finger. This alone is enough to understand that, compared with human dignity, the blue party document he put in his pocket is completely worthless. And deliberately, and in haste, the party’s RD would write that Ndue Mëhilli was a PS member who was seeking to join the DP. Lies by the sackful. Let the gentlemen of the DP understand clearly that Ndue Mëhilli no longer has any standing in Pukë; the only thing he did was to honor the PS by leaving its ranks. RD dares to say that, besides Ndue Mëhilli, PS member and former MP Arif Halili has also joined the DP. But Arif Halili was not worried. No one in Pukë would believe such a slander. And on the very day of the PS conference in Pukë, Arifi would go there, take the floor at the conference and declare with honor: “I am and remain a member of the PS,” while also expressing the wish that all these statements could be made in «Zëri i Popullit». BERTASH ZENELI

Although the party’s work has improved, greater responsibility is needed for the future Dr. MAQO LAKRORI — The policy of physical, economic and psychological violence aims, among other things, to frighten and spiritually subjugate the majority to the country’s current leaders. At the same time, however, it discredits their demagoguery. — These days, the second conference of the PS of the Devoll district was held in Bilisht. It analyzed the work done by party organizations and KD to improve the tense political situation in the country through organized party work, clarifying for people where the DP’s destabilizing policies are leading them. The report delivered by the chairman of the district PS, Avdi Dulo, and the discussions of many delegates highlighted the good work done by numerous party organizations concerning new members joining the party. During the period between the two conferences, 434 meetings were held, including conferences and various gatherings of district-level bodies in many villages of Devoll. During the election campaign alone, 50 new members were admitted to party organizations. The good work done by Metëll Cani and Besi Hoxha, and by Miras, has, over the past two months, been led by new activists in the organization, bringing in 77 party members who had not belonged to any political party and who may previously have sympathized with other parties. The difficult economic situation in the countryside, and the explanation of the alternatives the PS offers for rural areas, have made it possible to establish organizational councils. Their number will grow further in the future. Thirty-two admissions were also made in Poncara, 32 in Kashnicë, 27 in Përparim, 23 in Tseret, 26 in Bilisht, 32 in Lango, 22 in Strapan, 20 in Bilisht, 18 in Videhovë, 16 in Çipan, 13 in Kapështicë, 11, and there are 641 young people in the party organizations in Rakiçki Arzë, Hoçisht, Grecë, Tren, Progër, etc. After the elections of March and 6 July 1992, people were disillusioned by the dreams the DP had promised, and today the people of Devoll are facing great hardship. Only 170 families in Bilisht receive economic assistance, while 300 of them are at subsistence level. Only 150 workers receive social support out of the district’s 43,000 residents. The government does not care for the people. Meanwhile, Devoll’s officials look for ways to line their own pockets through illegal privatizations and trips to Greece for purely personal interests, supposedly on behalf of Devoll’s affairs. They are getting rich from the privileges their jobs bring them. “Let’s take as much as we can while we’re in power”—that is their motto; they have other business, apparently. As for us, who lead the PS, as a district bordering the state of Greece, this is their motto for Devoll’s affairs, their motto for Devoll’s affairs. Only in the countryside are Devoll’s officials running out of time. Given the difficult weather conditions and dry weather, Devoll’s officials must respond with irrigation measures. Devoll has land, but no water. The water is evaporating from the reservoirs of Prespë, Sëllavcë, Koshovicë, Greece or for zvartlë b më e... (Continued on page 3)

Berisha gave an unexpected and unsolicited press conference. Indeed, it was also unnecessary. Only 10 days earlier he had delivered a very important and historic film at his party’s National Council, and now, for all that, he said nothing new, but only muddled even more what he had said before. ... High tempo... High temperatures... Fatigue and heat... Turmoil and crisis in Albania... Time for vacations. Indeed, that seems to be the impression the press conference left. The President has gone on vacation and these... at the same time his own [unclear] will not burn. Other bells continue to ring. Is beer good? Did you do badly?... Did you hear?... The opposition is a headless crowd!... The head of state speaks of the headless opposition... The opposition has been urging the state for a long time to reflect. The state remained silent because it has no head to listen, and therefore acts headlessly... In volume and in substance. So the opposition, too, is addressing a headless state... High tempo... Turmoil and crisis in Albania... The extraordinary pain of transition. High temperatures in Albania... in the Balkans, in R?qunda. Vacation time... Summit time. After the summits, everyone rests. The Pope, too, moved to his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo. Our President waited and waited. President Clinton came as far as the other side of the Adriatic several times during a month, but not to Albania. Could it be that they didn’t send him the invitations? He did not come. Berisha waited, but in vain. Only the usual letter came from Mr. Kamsdesy. That too may have been sent by his secretary, since it was a copy of the previous letter. Vacation time. Everyone leaves. They leave, leave, leave; nobody comes. The only thing is, they are enduring the heat. The President, too, has gone... On vacation... More than necessary. Essential. ...They read Enver’s works (those said to have been printed on cardboard) at night and pick up their pencils during the day. But they read them here, in literary Albanian; yet in the dialect spoken by Arshi Pipa... Enver appears in the night... So said the man who left. The President. The head of state. The terrible heat! Enver is muttering in his sleep. The opposition without a head. The state without a head. In volume and in substance... Time brings turmoil. Turmoil in people’s heads!... That is what has happened in Albania... And the President has gone... The head of state has gone on vacation... “The head of the opposition is in prison; in SHIK; in the Prosecutor’s Office; in the hands of the state gangs of Libofshë.” How terrible!... How wonderful!... Albania marches on! Without a Constitution!... Is the Constitution being [unclear] by the national television board? The elections have been held; there will be no more elections!... The President has gone!... In this and in substance! Long live journalism. Leave us in peace for our vacation! ARQJIR SIKUAZENI