— In place of a tribute to the 10 Albanian citizens who lost their lives near the shores of Italy — The sad news has now been made public that two Albanian speedboats sank in Italian waters. The latest information, which has been confirmed, reported that ten people lost their lives in this disaster and 28 others were put at r[e?]isk. Thus, these people, surely mostly very young, in an effort to seek a life they do not yet have in a democratized Albania, chose the path of emigration. (Continued on page 2)

TIRANA The Socialist Party considers the referendum on the constitution illegal Dr. SERVET PËLLUMBI: Berisha’s haste is intended to preserve personal power in the face of the discrediting of the DP Opposition parties have united on one front to defend democracy Yesterday, activists of the Socialist Party in the city and district of Tirana gathered to discuss how to deal with the political situation created after the announcement of the referendum. At this gathering, the deputy chairman of the Socialist Party, Dr. Servet Pëllumbi, also took part and spoke about the political situation and the party’s tasks. Below we publish excerpts from his speech at the Socialist Party gathering in the city of Tirana. — From the speech by the deputy chairman of the SP, Dr. Servet Pëllumbi

KOLONJË The people of Kolonjë will oppose the referendum because they do not want a new dictatorship NAMIK DOKLE: Only the electric police and the forest police have been left outside Sali Berisha’s powers in the draft constitution being served up to us. SHKËLQIM CANI: We oppose the powers of today’s democratic president because we do not want them for tomorrow’s socialist president either. PANDËLI MAJKO: The draft constitution has legal color, but the procedure for presenting it is unlawful. On Friday, the steering committee of the SP in the Kolonjë district organized a party gathering, where the referendum was opposed through numerous discussions and lively debates. …[text continues, cut off at the image boundary] …our people, and their vote against this referendum is the only way to oppose Berisha’s coup and defend democracy against despotism, arbitrariness and neo-dictatorship. By opposing this referendum, the socialists are sending a clear message that they will not accept the displacement of the people’s representatives in the name of populism. A number of principles reflecting advanced standards have indeed been included in the draft constitution, but in its entirety and in its aims it is a coup carried out by a chieftain and his 63 mercenaries. The Kolonjë socialists, it was said at the gathering, must declare a state of emergency and call on the people to defend the future of democracy by voting No. It is necessary for the party organizations, area councils and our comrades in local government bodies to…[cut off]

The political situation we are going through is very tense. Recent events have also taken place amid this tension, both inside the country and in our relations with other countries, and we believe that throughout its activity the DP has pursued precisely a strategy of constant tension as a means of maintaining its rule. That is why we say that what is happening today has not come as a surprise to the Socialist Party. Indeed, we would say that the predictions we made some time ago about the course of the situation in Albania have been fully confirmed: predictions about the logic the DP in power would follow and where it would take its strategy, and about the path adopted by the DP, especially after the elections of 26 July, when its euphoria of 22 March suffered a major blow. The SP’s victory in most municipalities, communes and districts in the local elections was an alarming event for the Democratic Party. From that time on, the DP began to adopt a strategy of tension, particularly toward the Socialist Party, which it began to view as a major threat to its power. In 1993, when the Socialist Party adopted a more firmly oppositional stance, making well-founded criticisms of the course of government and calling for it to be changed; when in March 1993 it called for the Constitution to be put before Parliament as a factor of stability; and when it denounced corruption, these criticisms heightened the DP’s alarm. The DP intensified its strategy of tension even further, arresting our party chairman, Fatos Nano, in July of that year. To put a stop to this strategy of tension, we called at that time for the Constitution to be adopted by consensus. They opposed this proposal too, demonstrating that they were against a constitution because they wanted a free hand. Therefore, we say that today’s tense situation is connected with all these factors, which have interacted and culminated in the situation we are in today. Today’s situation is characterized by a frontal attack on democratic institutions and a frontal attack on all political forces whose views differ from those of the DP leadership; on those forces that have exposed the mechanism of antidemocracy at work in the Presidency, the parliamentary majority and the DP government, and that cannot fail to notice this depletion of the DP’s democratic potential, which is becoming a threat to Albania and democracy. We also do not view what happened in Parliament in recent days as separate from this whole situation; we do not see it as separate from the scenario that has been unfolding so far, whose main aim is to ensure the longest possible rule for the DP leadership. The question arises: why is he in such a hurry? (Continued on page 2)

Kolonjë district organized a party gathering, where, through numerous discussions and lively debates, the concerns and reactions of the people of this district were expressed, along with their determination to say NO to the constitutional violation approved by the DP and decreed by its president. The deputy chairman of the Socialist Party and chairman of its parliamentary group, Namik Dokle, had also come to attend, as had MPs Shekëlqim Cani and Pandeli Majko. “We are now faced with a fait accompli,” said Sotir Kokëri, chairman of the SP in the district, in his speech. “After failing with the constitutional assembly, which was decreed rather than elected by the people, the DP put the referendum option on the table, through which it aims to avoid the parliamentary crisis, prolong its days in power and install a neo-dictatorship. But it is to the credit of the members, leaders and parliamentarians of the Socialist Party, and of all genuinely democratic forces, that this sugar-coated poison must be avoided at all costs. We must not boycott the referendum; that would serve Berisha and the DP. Instead, we must respond to the situation that has arisen with broad participation and by safeguarding the character of our vote. The full participation of socialist members and supporters will decree the situation of ... The social democrats and all six Kolonjë residents, of emergency for the coming weeks and call on the people to express, through their No vote, their support for defending the future of democracy. our comrades in local government bodies to be on their feet to guard against the DP’s unrestrained propaganda, attacks, slanders and fabrications against our Party. The hardships, the difficult and unbearable life into which the country has been plunged as a result of bad governance, are our main weapons, with which we will fight by making maximum use of them.” In their interventions, MPs Namik Dokle, Shekëlqim Cani and Pandeli… (Continued on page 3)

After a meeting of the leadership, and meetings held in groups in the town and the areas, the Gjirokastër [party leadership?] decided to organize an expanded gathering yesterday morning in the town cinema. Chairman Resul Llongo informed those present about the program of political activities during the referendum campaign and the campaign on the draft constitution. MP Leontin Çuçi, a member of the commission for drafting the draft constitution, said that the referendum on the Constitution is one of the most important issues in Albanian politics. The party that came to power on 22 March 1992 is using the constitutional package to change it and extinguish political pluralism. The president’s party [unclear] is not following the path of constitutionalism and efforts toward a Constitution. The three announced deadlines were exceeded by the DP. This is connected with the position clearly stated by the SP and its parliamentary group when the law on human rights came before Parliament. Today we disagree with some articles and some procedures. We are against one-sided power and the concentration of power in a single person; we support submitting the draft constitution to Parliament. Some things seem absurd today: the proposed amendments, on the one hand, are to go through Parliament and be put to a referendum, while today the Constitution itself is being kept away from Parliament. Always guided by a good political purpose, we have continually called for a round table and consensus on the Constitution. This is the way to leave our mark; in this Constitution, we say No to a boycott and Yes to voting against it. Fariq Sinani, a member of the PSSh leadership, emphasized the tasks we have in the party and in the socialist local governments where we are in office. The referendum comes at a time when we hold half of the local government power in the country, and when a bloc of five different parties has been formed in defense of the law and against its violation. We must all turn out to vote and ensure that the actual results are safeguarded. Those attending asked questions and made comments on many technical issues related to the referendum. The program of measures was further supplemented by them. The campaign was designated and described as a campaign to detail the actions needed to ensure participation and a result in favor of the socialist alternative.

ILIR META: We must face Berisha’s unconstitutional challenge The meeting of the Socialist Party of the Vlora district was held in the main hall of the «Labëria» Palace of Culture. It was attended by members of the steering committee, heads of grassroots organizations, members of coordinating councils, elected local government officials, members and supporters of the SP, young eurosocialists, intellectuals, etc. Also present were Comrades Ilir Meta, Deputy Chairman of the Socialist Party, and People’s Assembly deputies Sabit Brokaj, Mago Lakrori and Ylli Bufi. The meeting was opened by Eduard Alushi, chairman of the district SP, who stressed that its purpose was to raise people’s awareness so they would say NO to the draft constitution, which has symptoms of the dictatorship Sali Berisha intends to impose. This is the opinion of the socialists and patriots of Vlora, he stressed. We will say NO to a constitution that would allow today’s government to treat the opposition as an enemy; we will say NO so that Hysen Çina, the People’s Hitler, is not placed alongside Hysni Lepenica. The meeting then turned to familiarizing participants with the duties, objectives and campaign plan leading up to Referendum Day on November 6. Amid the participants’ enthusiastic chants for the Socialist Party and Fatos Nano, Ilir Meta took the floor. The General Committee of the PSSH, he said, has decided that we should enter the Referendum to prevent the tragedy threatening democracy in Albania and to establish a true democracy. Socialists want the Constitution more than anyone else. In the future in Vlora, because we are convinced that Vlora will know how to become a defender of democracy. The idea may seem contradictory: that at the same time we oppose this draft constitution and call on the socialist electorate to take part in the Referendum. But our participation in the Referendum and a NO vote on this draft constitution are essential to avert catastrophe. The meetings of the Socialist Party in the districts are important because we must put the party into action to counter Berisha’s aims of establishing a personal dictatorship in Albania. We must dispel every illusion. If we do not act courageously, if we believe in illusions, then we will remain a party of «lost illusions». It is positive that in all our efforts to say NO to the draft constitution, other parties are also involved, from the SP to the PDD. This shows that, regardless of political programs and alternatives, Albanians have decided to say NO to the new dictatorship. But we, as the SP, bear great responsibility in this situation because we are the main force in the opposition. We must face Berisha’s unconstitutional challenge. We are not too late. The time until November 6 is not long, as the people have stressed. But for freedom and democracy, the Vlora SP must be one of the main pillars of support. (Continued on page 3)

— ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY ARE BEING HELD IN ALL THE COUNTRY’S DISTRICTS —