The comedy of changing ministers is the clearest expression of the clan struggle within the DP. The DP is incapable of reflecting on what happened in Albania on November 6. This truth is confirmed by the course of yesterday’s events and the DP’s positions toward them. It seems the referendum brought to light many irreparable fractures in the party in power, which until November 6 it had tried to cover up with propaganda noise. Even in the first days after the referendum, the DP tried to convince itself and public opinion that these fractures could easily be covered up. But that did not happen. They are now out in the open, and all we can do is point them out.

The result of the referendum first and foremost confirmed what the opposition had been saying for some time: the DP had run out of ideas for extending the mandate of March 22 until the next parliamentary elections. Clinging tightly to the “weapon” of the fight against communism, it did not understand that Albanian reality was moving forward with new ideas, thoughts, and visions of democracy, while the DP’s clock had stopped on March 22. It entered the referendum battle with this outdated “weapon,” but it was precisely here that its outdated ideological weapons proved no longer effective. The DP itself has now understood this, which is why it has curtailed its slogans of the fight “against communism.” But what the DP still fails to understand is what new weapons should be used in the political struggle, in keeping with the new Albanian reality four years after pluralism was proclaimed. The absence of new political ideas and of a new vision for the present and future of Albanian democracy is the first fracture in the DP that the November 6 referendum brought to light.

It is well known that a political party’s new ideas and thinking emerge from its internal movements. It is well known that a political party’s new ideas and thinking emerge from its internal movements, movements activated in response to new political situations. Open analyses and debates within the party and in public invigorate its thinking and set the party itself in motion as it seeks new ways to confront new situations. But this does not happen with the DP. There is no internal democracy in this party and, consequently, none of its structures are activated; it does not function. We are witnessing how the DP National Council approved Berisha’s idea for a Constituent Assembly—and how this same National Council approved the idea of a referendum. The party’s grassroots were not consulted at all. Why did not a single person from the DP come forward to oppose the leadership’s views? Is there or is there not dissenting opinion in this party? This shows that the lack of democracy has atrophied the DP and turned it

ELBASAN: SOCIALIST PARTY ASSEMBLY THE SOCIALIST PARTY IS CAPABLE OF COOPERATING WITH OTHER FORCES SERVET PËLLUMBI: Early elections will come about objectively. The situation that has arisen itself brings them closer, inevitably. The November 6 referendum, which demonstrated our people’s democratic and freedom-loving spirit, was also a test for the Socialist Party through its results. Therefore, an analysis of the November 6 results deserves to be undertaken at every level of the party’s organization and functioning. It was precisely for this reason that the assembly organized by the leadership committee of the Elbasan PS on December 1 was devoted to analyzing the results achieved in this district. The victory of “NO” in Elbasan was highly significant. 73.1 percent of voters were against the draft constitution. The sound functioning of all the party’s structures made it possible to counteract pressure from the DP and its officials. Above all, the support that young people gave to the PS and to “NO” was another contribution to the victory. Focusing on the practical work of those days, in addition to the report, B. Stareva, N. Hysa, N. Zavalani, M. Gjoka, and others also shared practical experience. The speakers also emphasized that the referendum campaign brought many people closer to the PS and that the number of applications to join the party had risen significantly. In the city of Elbasan, in the Dumre area, in Mollas and elsewhere, the large number of new members has made it necessary to establish new party organizations. The assembly focused most on disseminating the experience gained during the referendum days and, especially, enriching that experience. The deputy chairman of the PSSH, Dr. Servet Pëllumbi, also spoke at the assembly. At the outset, he thanked the electorate of Elbasan district and, in general, the members and supporters of the PS for the victory achieved. “We should not be euphoric, but we have the right to be happy. Indeed, there was serious discussion not only about the referendum results, but also about the next democratic battle—the upcoming parliamentary elections. The activism of young people in this PS deserves praise. The political force supported by young people is certain to win. Therefore,” Dr. Servet Pëllumbi affirmed, “these young people should take their proper place in all the party’s structures.” He went on to stress that the referendum showed that “first of all, the PS is the force that brings balance, with democratic thoughts and actions, and is capable of cooperating with other political forces as well. The DP and Berisha, by contrast, are isolated. They feel this way because they did not pursue a truly democratic policy and did not know how to make use of the opportunity the people gave them on March 22. The people want corruption to end, production to begin, jobs to be created, and the way the country is governed to change.” Dr. S. Pëllumbi characterized the crisis Albanian society is going through as severe and multidimensional. It cannot be overcome by reshuffling ministries, supposedly in the name of restructuring them. Turning to the need for a Constitution, he emphasized that the PS and many other political forces want the draft to be submitted to parliament first. He then informed the audience that a second round-table meeting of the parties was being prepared for these days, where an issue would be discussed. As for early parliamentary elections, S. Pëllumbi said in response to a question, they would them closer, inevitably. Turning to the referendum’s impact beyond our state’s borders, he said that the verdict delivered by Albanians on November 6 further enhances their prestige in Europe, just as it enhances the prestige of the officials and government leaders. Members of the PS parliamentary group also took part in the assembly: Prof. Dr. Sabit Brokaj and Ibrahim Baçi. SEJDIN CEKANI

Prapërim Hyseni, beaten and brutalized by the police in Korçë, tells his story: He is a tall, strong young man, but for more than 10 days he has been lying in a bed in one of the surgical wards of Korçë hospital, a victim of police violence. Here he met Ahmet Hoxhall, who has been looking after him from the very first day and continues to keep a close eye on him. He tells us about the condition of the injured man—“Tell them,” the van driver says, “I know him; he is a good person.” Then they turned on him too, and they carried on with their work. One of them kept beating me and vented all his rage: “Dog, you’ll go to PS rallies…” There was nothing I could do. I was covered in blood, but they did not stop. One blow to the face, and I thought a tooth had broken. The policeman, named Liri Kote, was uncontrollable. At the police station they threw me into a dark cell. But even there their energy did not run out. When one got tired, another came. Policeman Kote came back and kicked and punched me, ranting like a madman: “Dog, you dare follow Namik Dokle.” I gathered my strength and immediately answered him: “You’re the bastards, but don’t worry, the day will come when we meet again.” He kicked me in the head. I fell unconscious and woke up when I found myself here in the hospital, with Dr. Ahmet beside me. They had caused a fracture in my skull. “Has anyone from the prosecutor’s office or the investigating authorities come to see you?” I ask him. “No, nobody,” he replies. Faced with such shocking facts, everyone has the right to ask: is this the democratic state? People want law and order, but people like these cannot establish it—people whose eyes are red with rage and political revenge. Surely the law, if not today, will act against them tomorrow. MUHARREM MEKO in one of the surgery wards of Korçë hospital, a victim of police violence. Ahmet Hoxhall, who has taken him under his care since the very first day and has continued to look after him, is here. He tells us about the serious condition they had reduced him to. Përparim himself is quiet and pensive; it is difficult to get words out of him, and he answers in just a few words. What did they have against him? The thugs of darkness struck him treacherously. Why? Përparim is the chairman of the PS organization in a neighborhood(?), with 9 in the city. On November 6, he was secretary of the commission at a polling station. And there he would not let anyone do as they pleased. “It was late in the evening on November 21,” Përparim tells us, “and I was returning from Vithkuq in my car. At the entrance to the city, the traffic inspector signaled me to stop. I stopped, and before he had even come close, he asked for my documents and said I had been speeding. Meanwhile, he says, another policeman came up to me and went straight to the car’s license plate. ‘Oh, this one’s the 778,’ he said to his colleague. Then, over the radio, he called for the others. ‘You’re coming with us to the police station,’ he said to me, ‘because you were speeding.’ ‘All right, but the traffic code has fines for that,’ I said. Just then the police van arrived. The policemen seized me, forced me into it, and as soon as I got inside, they all set upon me and beat me mercilessly. ‘Stop, don’t…’”

It has long been the opposition that has characterized the DP this way. These days we have the opportunity to see this demonstration of clan warfare within the DP on the grandest scale. to confront is no internal democracy in this party and consequently no debate. Only the leader is heard, along with a circle made up of 4–5 people. They decide when and how decisions will be made, when and how constituent assemblies or referendums will be written up, and when and how the government will be changed. The DP clans do not care about the disgrace being inflicted on the country. Nor do they care about the true purpose of the most sweeping changes in government. Their real purpose is to preserve the strongest positions in the new government through the people who will occupy government seats. Sources (always unofficial) speak of clashes among these clans reaching the highest levels of the DP pyramid. Its structures’ proposals and counterproposals are not functioning. idea for a Constituent Assembly… and into a “dead army,” commanded by a staff of anachronistic “generals.” The atrophy of the DP’s brain is the second irreparable fracture in this party, which became clearly evident after the referendum. and counterproposals are not functioning. (Continued on page 2)

Yesterday, this newspaper published the data from the State Statistical Office on the population census in Macedonia. According to this office, out of every 100 residents in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 23 are Albanian. Albanians therefore rank second in this republic in terms of population, and it is precisely because their number is close to being accepted by everyone that it is thought to be difficult to accept. Nevertheless, Albanians in Macedonia continue to consider the census unacceptable and unrealistic. - “It is inaccurate,” say politicians, associations, organizations and the entire population. How can this be explained when they themselves have declared to international organizations that the census was conducted properly and that its results are accurate? When this census was being conducted, the Albanian political parties called it unacceptable. A… They also requested that a copy of the census documents be given to the families. None of these objections was taken into account. Why did the Albanian political parties in Macedonia insist that the population census continue for a longer period, until February 1995, when even this extension was not taken into account? In other words, the arrangements for the population census did not fully meet the demands of the Albanians and the political parties there. Members of the PPD parliamentary group and the Albanian ministers in the Macedonian government continued to insist that people who had been in the country for more than a year be included in the census. When Albanian MPs contacted European international institutions and received positive responses from European experts led by Mr. Hans Peter Bürner, they were asked to heed the response of the chairman of the PD, Mr. Eduardo Šefć (?), and President Berisha: “The Albanian political forces in Macedonia should vote for a draft law on the population census, because, as President Berisha stated at the press conference, it has been drawn up in accordance with international census standards, and the Albanian population in Macedonia should take part in the census, not boycott it.” Faced with such a request from the highest political and state authorities of the mother country, Albania, the PPD parliamentary group approved [a measure], expressing the view that the group of census experts would act correctly and exert pressure for a genuine population census. But once again, that did not happen. On the 29th, 30th, 38th and 40th, they were interpreted by the Macedonians in the manner of a… The objections raised by A… (illegible passage) (Continued on page 6)

Under the above title, the Faculty of History and Philology, the Centre for the Study of the Arts of the Academy of Sciences, and the National Library, under the auspices of the Chargé d’Affaires of the British Embassy in Tirana, Mr. Stephen Nash, organized a scientific symposium at which eight papers were delivered by researchers from the Faculty of History and Philology, the Institute of History and elsewhere, as well as by participants from England. the Centre Chargé d’Affaires of the British Embassy in Tirana, Mr. Stephen Nash, organized a scientific symposium at which eight papers were delivered by researchers from the Faculty of History and Philology, the Institute of History and elsewhere, as well as by participants from England. Viewed from various perspectives, the seminar once again shed light on the finest traditions of the Albanian people, their efforts for freedom and independence, the political and social organization of the time, and the efforts of distinguished English people to bring the Albanian reality to the attention of various international organizations in support of our people. The speech by Mr. Gill Trethowan, great-granddaughter of the distinguished English historian Edith Durham, was followed with considerable interest. At the symposium, she shared vivid memories of the life of this traveller in Albanian lands at the beginning of this century.

The article dated November 13 bearing my name, entitled “Workers of the ‘ALMOD’ enterprise face unemployment,” seems to have hit a nerve with the “loyal” supporter of the PD, who, fortunately, holds the post of director of this enterprise and is an ardent contributor to “RD,” P. Dervishi. Mr. Dervishi, it is no pleasure to turn away 230 workers every day, from the early hours of the morning, at the gates of this inhospitable enterprise. It is no pleasure to hear their endless troubles and concerns. On the contrary, there can be no question here of political or party motives, since the justice of the Socialist Party’s alternative is the reason these 230 workers turn to the newspaper “Zëri i Popullit” to air their grievances, and not to your newspaper, which knows how to portray only scenes of joy and merriment. Whatever you may say, what I have written and will write is by no means a figment of my imagination or the words of some storekeeper, as you put it, but facts reported by the workers, who have united in revolt and distrust of your party.

AN UNSENT LETTER TO MR. ALEKSANDËR MEKSI. Mr. Chairman, Seventy years ago, the great Noli spoke in Korçë about the cabinet of wedges and the way our country was governed at the time. I read his speech today and laugh to myself, because it seems to me as if Noli were writing about your cabinet. He says: “Our cabinet today is, in the fullest sense of the word, a cabinet of wedges, for some are wedges in learning and others are wedges in civic worth. And it is in the nature of wedges to be surrounded by wedges, and so on.” Now tell me, Mr. Prime Minister, is your cabinet any different from the one my esteemed Noli speaks of? Three years have gone by with you at the head of this cabinet, and I have no information that you are changing the wick-lamp to shed a little light. Someone has described your cabinet as the “cabinet of cholera,” another as the “cabinet of corruption,” and a third as the “cabinet of alms,” while I, for my part, would christen it the cabinet of the wick-lamp. I am writing this letter to you by the light of a wick-lamp, too. It has been nearly a month since the weather turned cold, and in most of Tirana’s homes the wick-lamps are lit as night falls. We light the wick-lamps because the electricity has left us high and dry. You have taken us back a full 70 years, to the time Noli speaks of. You will say, as you have said repeatedly, that people did not have televisions, refrigerators or washing machines back then. That is true, but without electricity they are reduced to junk. Besides, I don’t know whether the cabinet of the wick-lamp… (Continued on page 6)

He is a tall, strong young man, but for more than 10 days he has been lying in a bed in one of the surgery wards of Korçë hospital, a victim of police violence.

— Scientific symposium at the National Library — Under the above title, the Faculty of History and Philology, the Center for the Study of the Arts of the Academy of Sciences, and the National Library, under the auspices of the Chargé d’Affaires of the British Embassy in Tirana,