— In a democracy, one part of the Albanians cannot go against the other — In a recent leading article published in recent days, entitled “The DP Is Not a Party of Biographies,” the newspaper RD attempts to argue that there is now a different vision within the ranks of the party in power concerning the individual, their role in the transition process, and particularly the conditions for joining its ranks. We would like the newspaper, in taking up this thesis, to offer us a different vision—one that is complete, democratic and civic—concerning the place of the individual in the democratic processes we are going through. Unfortunately, however, it cannot free itself from a black-and-white analysis of social phenomena. We therefore find that, even though its subject is the DP, it takes the opportunity to discuss the SP and make new insinuations against the largest opposition political force. Consequently, the analysis the DP is trying to make—whether the politics of biographies is being applied within the ranks of the DP or not—remains far from the vision of this issue that the leadership of the party on which this newspaper depends seeks to create. The thesis that the Democratic Party is not a party of biographies was put forward by Mr Sali Berisha at the party’s most recent meeting, on 27 June this year. Note the emphasis with which he framed the issue... The DP should condemn the politics of biographies as unacceptable to its program and statutes. Framing the issue in this way means that there is alarm within this party’s leadership about continuing the class struggle, based on the politics of biographies—which brings to mind the activities of the PPSH—or perhaps it means something even further-reaching: new forms of oppression in assessing the individual in relation to society and the party? This alarm is entirely unfounded. After the victory of 22 March, when it was expected that the DP (Continued on page 2)

— A decision on the “Nano Case” is expected to be published soon From 11 to 14 July 1994, the Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union held its sessions in Geneva. The committee’s proceedings opened with the “Nano Case.” Asked about the committee’s proceedings, the representatives of the SP delegation, MPs Luan Hajdaraga and Leontiev Çuçi, stated as follows: “As the public is already aware, on 11 July 1994 the Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union reconsidered the ‘Nano Case.’ At this meeting, the latest developments in the case were reviewed, especially the issues concerning his trial in the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal. Together with the lawyer Përparim Sanxhaku, we provided detailed explanations on various matters. In accordance with established procedures, the Committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union will soon issue a public decision, which will be made known to the public at home and abroad as soon as possible. We are optimistic that the ‘Nano Case’ will receive a swift and fair resolution.” Press and Information Office of the PSSH

Yesterday, the Deputy Secretary of the Socialist Party, Dr. Servet Pëllumbi, received a group of Greek MPs representing the New Democracy Party at the Socialist Party headquarters. Responding to the Greek MPs’ questions about relations between the two countries, Dr. Servet Pëllumbi stressed that we want good relations, harmony and cooperation. We must not accept situations of tension between the two countries that freeze relations. We have expressed the view that goodwill and the political will to resolve problems through dialogue should prevail between the two governments, rather than the passion of the moment; the identity of the minority should not be concealed or used to create tension. The peoples’ will is for coexistence and good neighbourly relations. We must rise above incidents and look to the prospects for relations. As for the Greek minority in Albania, Servet Pëllumbi said that some progress has been made, but naturally there is room for improvement in the practical sphere of relations. Not everything can be resolved at once, just as is the case for the Albanian people during this period of transition. We have regarded, and continue to regard, the minority as close to the Greek people, and it will always enjoy rights that are not granted as a gift, but are genuinely its due under international standards. Replying to questions about the SP’s position on the arrest of six members of the minority, Servet Pëllumbi said that it was difficult to comment on the reasons for the arrests beyond what had been made public. However, as for every Albanian citizen, we demand that legal norms and legal protection be respected for them, that the conditions of pre-trial detention be observed, and that they receive an open and public trial. This is a democratic demand of ours. On the other hand, we believe that certain people in the media in Greece should not spread disinformation or resort to falsehoods; we also believe that the arrest of six members of the minority amid this climate of heightened tension does not serve the cause of relations between the two countries. At this meeting, also attended by MPs Bashkim Zeneli and Theodhor Bej, views were exchanged on relations between the two countries and minority rights. It was stressed that we cannot accept the view expressed by some Greek MPs that Albania has allowed terrorism against the minority. The situation is not at all like that, and if there is more that can be done, we all acknowledge it. Press and Information Office of the Socialist Party

ANDREA LLUKANOV IS ONE OF THE PROMINENT FIGURES OF THE BULGARIAN SOCIALIST PARTY. DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD IN HIS COUNTRY, HE SERVED AS PRIME MINISTER; AFTER LEAVING OFFICE, HE WAS ACCUSED AND IMPRISONED. ALTHOUGH HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE BULGARIAN PARLIAMENT, AS A RESULT OF STRONG PROTESTS BY BULGARIAN SOCIALISTS AND TRUE DEMOCRATS, AND OF THE CONCERN SHOWN BY INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC OPINION AND SPECIALIZED FORUMS SUCH AS THE COMMITTEE OF THE INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION IN GENEVA, THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, ETC., HE WAS RELEASED FROM PRISON AND TODAY CONTINUES HIS POLITICAL ACTIVITIES AS A FREE MAN. On page three you will read an interview he gave to Zëri i Popullit.

— Let us sound the alarm before an ecological catastrophe — SHKODËR There is increasing talk about the pollution of the water in Lake Shkodër and the Buna. The latest information from a group of local stakeholders in the Dajç area points out that residents no longer even drink water from the Buna. In addition to the impact of polluted inflows from the Mrcaca River and pesticides in the railway area of Bajzë, fuel transported by unregulated watercraft has also significantly increased the pollution of these waters. Fishermen are also concerned. They point out that fish are becoming increasingly scarce both in the lake and in the Buna River as a result of water pollution. This is not the first time these concerns have been raised. What is at stake is an entire ecosystem, among the rarest in Europe, that nature bestowed on Shkodër. Yet, instead of increasing efforts to protect it, those efforts have, strangely, waned. It has been said that several hectares in several hectares in the pollution of these waters. However, visitors who come to these waters every day speak with concern, presenting evidence of the catastrophe threatening this entire natural treasure. In that case, we do not know how responsibly and accurately the analyses are being conducted and their conclusions drawn!

LAÇ: 1,724 families crammed at a single counter. In an apartment building in neighbourhood 4 of the town of Laç, in a room on its first floor, there is a small service window. For three days in a row every month, this room becomes an arena where people gather, jostle and fight, as hundreds of people struggle to collect assistance for 1,724 Laç families. There is even a police officer for three hours to maintain order? And what for? To receive financial assistance. It is utter chaos. It cannot help attracting the attention of passers-by. What do the citizens of Laç say? We found ourselves rather cramped among that crowd of distressed and extremely frustrated citizens. “Please write what I’m telling you; write this too, and that. Write it exactly as I tell you.” These were the many voices constantly addressing me. Mark Mustafa, neighbourhood no. 2: “I’ve been waiting in line for two days to receive social assistance. I’m unemployed, and there are four of us in the household. And where am I supposed to go? It is completely abnormal and exhausting for the six neighbourhoods of this town’s municipality and one village to receive assistance at just one office, all at the same time.” Astrit Krosi, neighbourhood no. 1: “Despite—” (Continued on page 2)

The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) held its second Congress and, as we have reported, Dr Ibrahim Rugova was re-elected chairman of the LDK. This congress was awaited with great interest, both inside and outside Kosovo, by all Albanians and their political parties. It was also followed with interest by political forces in Albania, including the Socialist Party of Albania, because of the role the LDK has played in Kosovo’s political life since its establishment, its great influence among the people as the largest organized political force of Albanians in Kosovo, and the fact that it won the elections of 24 May 1992 in Kosovo and that its leader is the president of the Republic of Kosovo. It was also of interest because this party has known how to maintain the right balance, avoiding Serbian massacres in Kosovo while also succeeding in bringing the Kosovo issue to a high degree of international attention. It is a fact that President Rugova, who is also chairman of the LDK, has been officially received in several European capitals and in Washington. This Congress was also awaited with interest because the LDK’s political decisions have a great influence on the resolution of the Albanian national question in the former Yugoslavia and the Balkans. In his address to this second Congress, Dr Rugova took stock of the work since the first congress, noting that the LDK had become the leading political force in Kosovo and had broadened democratic culture and the spirit of tolerance and understanding among people, political groups and peoples. Under the conditions of intensified Serbian terror following the Constitutional Declaration of 2 July 1990, the LDK, in cooperation with other political forces in Kosovo, organized the mass resistance of Albanians against the Serbian occupiers, bringing this resistance to the world’s attention. To this end, the LDK was the initiator and organizer of the Coordinating Council of Albanian Political Parties in Kosovo and beyond. According to Rugova’s report, the LDK supported the Constitutional Declaration and subsequently organized the 1991 referendum, in which the people of Kosovo expressed their will for a Republic of Kosovo. It was also the LDK that led the organization of (Continued on page 4)

800 families without shelter The number of homeless people in the city of Peshkopia exceeds 800 families. Such a number is truly large for a small city like Peshkopia, with around 15,000 inhabitants. In recent years, not a single building has been completed in Peshkopia, and not a single apartment has been allocated. Around 60 apartments are currently under construction, funded through the construction fund and based on early voluntary contributions; when they will be completed is still unknown. In Peshkopia, apart from private construction, the volume of state construction is close to zero. A. A.

In his speech at the LDK Assembly, the chairman of the LDK, Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, stated, according to the ATSH bulletin dated July 14, that the LDK is committed to resolving the status of the Albanian people in the areas of Macedonia. This has also been the official position of the Albanian state and parliament since the Mekaj government program was presented more than two years ago. Recently, the Albanian prime minister’s position in Tirana has changed regarding the Albanians in Macedonia. Now, as regards the Albanians in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, human and humanitarian rights are being sought, rather than democratic space; and this would certainly imply—as the highlanders say, a small group of people here take it to mean, saying that wheat bread has…? It has war inside. President Berisha had said this before, and most recently, speaking about Macedonia in the Albanian Assembly on July 8, stated that «this stability (of Macedonia) can be guaranteed only through the consolidation, recognition and respect of the freedoms and human rights of the Albanian nation in this republic». There is no doubt that this state, or any other, cannot achieve stability without expanding and respecting citizens’ freedoms and rights every day (RD, July 9, 1994). Do Rugova and Berisha speak with one voice in this way? Should there be a shared view, a single voice on the national question? Should we know how to express what is being demanded for the Albanians in Macedonia? Therefore, it is essential that the Albanian political forces here and across the border speak with one voice and quickly reach an understanding on the national question, so that both Rugova and Berisha speak alike, and Europe too knows what we are asking for!

On July 12–13, the conference «Albania in the first steps toward creating and consolidating the economic assistance network» was held at the Palace of Congresses in Tirana, organized by the Ministry of Labour, Emigration and Social Support. Although the analysis of the one-year-old economic assistance system occupied an important place both in the opening and closing speeches by the minister, Mr. Dashamir Shehi, and in the presentations by the organizations, especially in the views of the rectors, a considerable number of them called for a detailed analysis and in-depth, comprehensive work on a characteristic of the market economy: alleviating poverty, both today and in the future. It can rightly be said that this is not praise with political aims but a reality: the «economic network» includes a representative of the International Federation of Social Workers from Denmark, who said, «The discussions at this conference were at the same level as those in Denmark. We learned a great deal from you Albanians, considering how long you have been developing this system and the level of assistance given to the poor». The establishment of the economic assistance system is based on abandoning the mentality—or politicized claims—that there is no poverty or unemployment in Albania. These are real. Unemployment benefit for one year, conceived and implemented as a means of easing the hardship of economic reform, is not enough to cover all needs; therefore, establishing an economic assistance network for families with no income of any kind became necessary and imperative. Practice dictates that this social policy be carefully designed so as to preserve the balance of rights between the section of the population receiving economic assistance and the rest of the population who pay for it. It is enough to recall that around 130,000–140,000 families in Albania are currently receiving economic assistance. There are both routine, practical problems—preventing abuses and improper payments, including to families that own cars, have deposits in savings banks, or work while receiving economic assistance—and socioeconomic questions, since the amount currently spent for this purpose is 4 percent of GDP. If one person receives economic assistance, someone else has to pay. There must truly be a balance, so that assistance benefits first and foremost those most in need and without sources of income, while ensuring that it does not become a heavy burden on taxpayers or an economic problem. As Mr. Stander Shlefoech, a World Bank consultant, said in the discussion: «At present, a complete system has been set up which not only functions but works well overall, in a short period of time, at a time when many people had never even heard of social assistance a year ago.» However, in his rather modest concluding remarks, saying that the work had been done but that the World Bank representatives had only been consultants, he could not help making an impression. (Continued on page 2)