- Because the people of Tirana are against the kanun, against the bajraktars, against unemployment and political revenge, and against decorating and kissing up to criminals and collaborators with fascism - Under the chants “THE OPPOSITION WILL WIN,” “DOWN WITH THE KING,” “DOWN WITH THE DICTATOR,” “DOWN WITH THE BAJRAKTAR,” “LONG LIVE DEMOCRACY,” thousands of residents of the capital demonstrated their determination against President Berisha’s unconstitutional and divisive activity and that of his television station A view of yesterday’s rally at the “Asllan Rusi” Sports Palace in Tirana. Photo: ALFRED DALIPI A view of yesterday’s rally at the “Asllan Rusi” Sports Palace in Tirana. Photo: ALFRED DALIPI

Extraordinary enthusiasm, powerful calls and cheers for the Socialist Party, for the release of Fatos Nano, and in opposition to the Republic President’s unlawful draft constitution. The Tirana city committee of the SP organized the rally to say NO to violations of constitutional laws. The rally was opened by Musa Uqini, chairman of the Tirana SP steering committee. We are here, he said, because [text unclear] that give powers to the President. By saying “NO” to the Berisha draft on November 6, we have said YES to democracy. Once, the leaders of the DP called Albanians “ignorant,” and now these same people go to those areas and beg them for their votes. Those who threw mud at the National Liberation War now plead for it. But the people do not forget the burials and exhumations. It is the President who broke the consensus. The propaganda of the rallies for pro- Natos, on the opposition to the president of the Republic’s anti-anthological draft constitution. The Steering Committee of the PS in the city of Tirana laws. The rally was opened by the chairman of the Tirana PS Steering Committee, Musa Ugjini. We are here, he said, to say a powerful “NO” to Berisha’s demagoguery. The consensus and the pledge of loyalty that Berisha asks of Albanians are a great deception. In the name of loyalty and consensus, he seeks to divide Albanians. We, he said, are not alone today. Today, we are not inexperienced. Today, we are many. Our call, concluded the chairman of the Tirana PS, will win. Then, amid cheers and powerful shouts, the renowned writer Dritëro Agolli took the floor. Amid the cheers and fervent applause of the Socialists and their sympathizers, who filled the squares by the sports palace, the vice-chairman of the PS, Dr. Servet Pëllumbi, took the floor. The President has been going to rallies supposedly to secure consensus with the Socialists at the grassroots. He is asking the people to vote for a constitution they do not know. Remember how he secures consensus, but he is terrified by the fact that 17 parties are against him. He wants to extend his own power and that of the PD. We say “NO” to those 40 violated articles. We say that we are against democracy. And the leaders of the PD called the peasants “ignorant,” but now they go to those very areas and beg them for are now supposedly expressing deep concern and exhumations. The President is the one who violated consensus. The propaganda at rallies for the draft constitution, Comrade Servet Pëllumbi continued, is conducted under the slogan of rooting out communism. They try to deceive people by claiming that the PS will bring back agricultural cooperatives, long queues, and class warfare. But the people know the Socialist Party’s program and cannot be fooled by this stale and outdated propaganda. The President asks for loyalty, but the people do not trust a president who violates the constitution. We are conducting an honest campaign, Comrade Servet Pëllumbi continued. Our demands are clear. First, the Constitutional Court must rule as soon as possible on the legitimacy of this constitution. Second, all the space for the commissions must be restored to us. If it is arranged that in the districts where the PD has won, all commission chairpersons belong to that party, we will demand that in the places where the Socialists won the local elections, all the chairpersons belong to the PS. Third, we demand the involvement of state bodies and the democratic commission. The dust of the customary laws, the bones of murderers, and the friends of the beylik clans are trying to grind them into mortar party-state and this power-that-be dusted off its propaganda machine, tightened its loosened screws, oiled it, and set it in motion to beautify the referendum desert. This great propaganda machine thundered and howled, bringing up from underground the dust of the customary laws, the lost and the rotten bones of the adherents of these customary laws, the bones of murderers, bandits, and friends of the beylik clans and fascists, to process them and turn them into mortar and bricks to lay in the foundations of its constitution. The party-state machine sometimes foams at the mouth and sometimes howls, making it known that the referendum belongs to it and that everyone is against the referendum because they fear the people, and that it alone, the party-state, belongs to the people. It is a machine of lies, a well-oiled machine for turning out lies as easily as possible. They say that only it wants a referendum, and that the opposition does not. And it does not have the courage to say that the opposition wants a referendum on the Constitution, but only after it has passed through parliament, which is called the People’s Assembly and derives its authority from the people. The deputies are children of the people. They have the people as their father. The father gives them work and sleep; everyone can encounter difficulties in completing this work, and then the father steps in. That is how life is; that is also how it is under the customary law praised by the President. But the President did not allow the people to put deputies to work and, when they encountered difficulties, to help them through a referendum. In the customary law praised by the President, the council of elders and the regional chieftains presented the laws to the people; they did not present them to the people with a single chieftain acting alone. President Sali Berisha does not even know the customary law properly. President Sali Berisha has his own customary law. He is not giving the Constitution to the people through the council of elders and chieftains; he is giving it to them himself—President Sali Berisha himself. He has also violated customary law, although he swears by it. All this is happening because the party-state is building in Albania a “democracy” exclusively for the Democratic Party. And this “democracy” has already borne its fruit. Only members, sympathizers, or sycophants of the PD are given state jobs. Meanwhile, Socialists and other opponents are dismissed from their jobs and politically persecuted. For this “democracy” of the Democratic Party, like the democracy of ancient Greece, which was a democracy for aristocrats and not for slaves, the people are now being given a customary law—a constitution through a referendum presented by the Presi- (Continued on page 3)

Dritëro Agolli’s speech at the rally The ashes of the kanuns, the bones of murderers and the friends of the bejlrçinas are trying to turn them into a remedy for the foundations of the Constitution. Brothers and sisters, The party-state and this usurping regime dusted off the propaganda machine, tightened its whitened screws, oiled it and set it in motion, praised by the President. But the President did not let the people come to work at ten and [text unclear] their deputies, and, if they encountered difficulties, have the people help them through a referendum. In

KORÇË NO TO SALI BERISHA’S KANUN - A farmer: Sali Berisha stole our votes, but he hasn’t taken our minds - Nimik Dokle: I challenge Sali Berisha to a televised debate After a series of meetings in the villages of Pogradec, the chairman of the parliamentary group and a deputy chairman of the Socialist Party, Namik Dokle, held a meeting and had very warm conversations with the farmers of the Korçë Plain as well. His first meeting was with the farmers of Porgorë, one of Albania’s largest villages, with around 6,000 inhabitants. Here too, as in the overwhelming majority of Albania, the residents had decided to give the DP a try. Hundreds of people came to this meeting, most of them young men and women. Everyone wants to speak, to present the troubles weighing them down and the great disappointment they experienced over Sali’s party’s promises. They say their families have no income; work has shut down everywhere and poverty has settled heavily in their homes. Where did— (Continued on page 3)

SHKODËR DP—alone, isolated At the first meeting of eight political parties and three associations, the illegal referendum is rejected Position on the Referendum and the draft Constitution in the separate decisions of the political parties and associations of this district. This is unacceptable to the people of Shkodër, [text unclear]. Considering this, because of the rapid and changing course of political developments, in this unexpectedly heated atmosphere, [text unclear] the referendum of this organizing group, unaffiliated with parties and associations, [they] were able more easily to organize for the first time a joint meeting of representatives of political parties and representatives of three associations. The subject discussed by the parties involved in the district was the Referendum and the draft Constitution. First, taking responsibility for the representatives, a greeting letter from the cleric Dom Simon Jubani, addressed to this meeting, was read. It gave a chronology of the history of the direction of the Albanian state and described the Referendum and the proposed draft Constitution as Bolshevik methods, expressing opposition to them. This statement also testifies to [his view] of the way Mr. Berisha was elected President and Mr. Meksi Prime Minister, while he describes Mr. Arbnor as [text unclear] of terrorism... in Burrel prison. Then the representatives present spoke. Here are their views, briefly summarized. Ndoc Ligeja, representative of the Democratic Alliance: I am here today, though I would have preferred an intellectual to be here. But they cannot get involved in the opposition parties because they are afraid of those in power. You saw what they did with the political murder of Gjovalin Ça- kin. We are not influenced by any extremist, whatever their stripe; we have declared November 6 a day of strike against the referendum and the draft Constitution. In this regard, Mr. Gjergj Zefi, chairman of this party’s Assembly, said that we decided this because, in response to this farce of procedural violations, we have come together to hold legally accountable those who have violated the fundamental constitutional law today. Mentor Çuku, chairman of the branch of the National Front Party: He affirmed that we support holding a referendum on fundamental issues, which may include the form of government. As for the draft Constitution, we believe a Constituent Assembly should be elected to draft it and approve it together with Parliament. Why have the stages been skipped today; why the rush, when we have a [text unclear] law? The submitted draft lacks a national spirit. We call on the electorate to go and vote no to the proposed draft Constitution. But let us make (Continued on page 3)

KORÇË Meksi’s major failure in Korçë - Meksi suffered Selami’s fate too. - The square in front of the Turizmi echoed with the calls: “Our heroic Korçë, without the Democratic Party.” It is cold in Korçë. The political coldness is palpable and felt especially among those in power. Selami felt it a few days ago when he launched the election campaign to approve the Constitution. Berish- [text fragment] in front of 30–40 local administrators. But Meksi would suffer the same fate, having come to Korçë to take part in the 50th anniversary of the city’s liberation. In fact, preparations had begun earlier, and everything was being done according to the rumors circulating among the circles of representatives: President Sali Berisha himself was to come. This rumor was reinforced when it was announced on television the previous evening that Mr. Sali had arrived in Mokër. On Monday morning, the police had set up strict checkpoints at almost every entrance to Korçë, while Korçë’s officials were worried, overcome by fear of a televised failure. But the enthusiastic cries of people in uniform and schoolchildren lined up had taken their place in front of the unfamiliar force. By chance, many were standing shoulder to shoulder in

Today we are not alone. Today we are not inexperienced. Today we are many. Today we have right on our side. Today we are united. Today we have decided to sacrifice ourselves for democracy. Today we do not merely make statements. Today we consider all 270 ballot boxes in the city of Tirana sacred. Today we will not allow other Libofshas. Therefore, all of us, sisters and brothers, on November 6 let us say a historic “NO” to Berisha’s personal rule; all together, on November 6, let us defend our free vote at all costs. This is our right; this is what true democracy and the great national interests demand. Our call is: “Everyone to the polls, everyone against Berisha’s Constitution. We will win...”