Request for an urgent question to the Prime Minister, Mr. Aleksandër Meksi On October 3, the second strike began among residents of the areas flooded by the hydroelectric plants on the Drin River, and we still see no concrete measures having been taken to resolve the accumulated problems. Pursuant to Article 87 of the Rules of the People’s Assembly, we request an urgent session at which the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Mr. A. Meksi, will answer the following questions: 1. Why has Decision No. 306 of the Council of Ministers, dated 30.6.1994, concerning the measures to be taken for the areas flooded by the construction of hydroelectric plants in the districts of Kukës, Has, Tropojë and Pukë, not been implemented? 2. What improvements will be made to this decision so that the demands of the residents of these areas may be better met and their implementation legally guaranteed? For the PS Parliamentary Group, Chairman NAMIK DOKLE December 9, 1994

Interview with FRESSH chairman and MP Pandeli Majko, former participant in the December movement — We did not forget whose sons we were — How do you view today’s democracy when seen through the lens of the dreams of December? — To tell the truth, at that time I was filled with all kinds of feelings. It never even crossed my mind what Albania would be like, for example, in December 1994. There are people who take it upon themselves to say that in “December” they dreamed this way or that, and then begin making comparisons with today. Let them. To me, this is sheer psychopathy if someone really began dreaming in December 1990 “with five-year plans.” I used the word “dream” ironically, because December 1990 had less to do with dreams than with concrete actions. It was precisely these actions that carried the message of December, which gave Albania political pluralism and the beginning of democracy. Like every “message,” that of December 1990 also has a beginning and an end. Today, it is clear that they want to add party programs to this message or have it signed by ordinary fraudsters. But it is pointless. There is no room for anyone. In this respect, December 1990 is becoming so clear that one can say it is revealing its second greatness. So you think there is no conflict between the ideals of December and today’s political situation? — No, I would not put it that way. In Albania, as in all countries, after pluralism was established, communists try to impose the concept of formalism. Many people thought that by copying Western laws they would recreate a democracy for themselves. In reality, there is now a fierce clash between copied formalism and the psychology of the past. The latter is very difficult to change. Today Albanian society is establishing its own balances. The logic of the transition produces nothing but false curses, which there is no need for us to discuss. Which event, among those you remember, has stayed most firmly in your memory? — There are many memories. For me, what will especially remain in my memory is the student movement leaders’ vote on Imami’s proposal to transfer their authority to the Democratic Party’s founding commission. A deep silence fell over the small dormitory hall. We all raised our hands. It was very moving. And after that...? — Ah, after that things began to move quickly. Very quickly. Of course, there is a great deal to remember. The night the founding commission of the Democratic Party was elected will remain unforgettable. There was plenty of room in the City of Students’ cinema hall when we entered together with our other faculty friends. On a small platform we saw Sali Berisha standing with Azem[in?]. They were trying to establish some kind of order. As soon as we entered, a group of stu- (Continued on page 3)

The situation surrounding the hunger strikers becomes tense On the seventh day of the hunger strike, the strikers meet and talk for more than two hours with the chairman of the PS parliamentary group, N. Dokle, MP I. Baçi and journalists from The People’s Voice. The health of those confined in the strike is worsening more and more each day. Five people have been hospitalized in serious condition, while another 15 are receiving various treatments inside the premises where the strike is taking place. Nevertheless, they are determined to carry through to the end the mission they have begun. The night before last, at around midnight, the head of the public order branch entered the strike hall accompanied by two police officers. They heightened the strikers’ tension by demanding an explanation: “Did you authorize the Association of the Flood Victims to talk to the Government?” Immediately after this incident in the strike hall, outside, around the Palace of Culture, nearly three thousand people gathered in a show of solidarity with the strikers. Regarding this event, Besnik Oruçi, deputy chairman of the commission of the hunger strikers, told our correspondent by telephone: “We publicly deny that we sent any representative.” (Continued on page 3)

— Interview with Uk Todaj, chairman of the Kukës district council — — The hunger strike has entered its sixth day. What is the latest regarding the government’s commitment to resolving the strikers’ demands? Uk Todaj: So far, the government has done nothing at all to implement the points of the agreement dated 12.5.1994 between the strike representatives and the leaders of the association of the flooded area, as well as the local authorities, which was signed in the presence of several MPs and government representatives. The agreement was reached after the demands of the flood victims’ strike had been deemed reasonable and possible to resolve. Government Decision No. 306, dated 30.6.1994, was also issued in support of this agreement. As part of the continued resolution of the demands of the flooded areas, a month later, on July 12, the President’s Decree No. 886 was issued, granting loans to residents displaced by the Fierza hydroelectric plant. — And what happened next? — What was expected happened. An incomprehensible indifference from a government that considers itself democratic. Only five months later did the Agricultural Commercial Bank issue an instruction for implementing the President’s decree and the government’s decision. Six. this problem, regarding the draft constitution? The purpose is easy enough to understand. — And what position have those with obligations to the government taken? — We must acknowledge that, apart from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food—specifically Mr. Hasan Halili, who has shown some commitment, though without success—the others have stayed out of it, keeping silent. Particularly the gentlemen at the Ministry of Finance and the Agricultural Commercial Bank. — The government decision imposes direct obligations on the district. And the districts of Durrës and Lushnjë have obligations concerning the resettlement of flooded households. What position have they taken? — This is another problem which, I think, makes them less responsible in this matter. The main local government officials. The districts of Durrës and Lushnjë were required to make available to those displaced by the Fierza hydroelectric plant 500 and 807 hectares of agricultural land, respectively. Stran- (Continued on page 3)

The continued attacks against “The People’s Voice” are part of a strategy to destroy and deny values rooted in the National Liberation Anti-Fascist War; they are part of the rulers’ campaign against freedom of the press, against true democracy. One thing is true: “The People’s Voice” was the organ of the Central Committee of the PPSH, just as Sali Berisha was a member of the PPSH, along with a not insignificant number of his followers and advisers. It was part of the Party press, as were the newspaper “Bashkimi,” the newspaper “Zëri i Rinisë,” the newspaper “Drita” and many others; it was part of the propaganda apparatus, equal in importance, though not in effect, to Albanian Radio and Television. So why does Berisha play the ignorant when he says: “The Albania of ‘The People’s Voice,’ a newspaper that praised dictatorship, is today the Albania of all newspapers?...” Could he have forgotten? Of course not. He knows very well that if it had been up to “The People’s Voice” alone, the dictatorship of the proletariat would never have been established in Albania; he also knows down to the last detail how the mechanism for ensuring the Party’s leading role in every aspect of the country’s life worked, and that “The People’s Voice” played its part without for a moment displacing Sali Berisha himself from his role as PPSH secretary. He also knows that many journalists and three of its editors-in-chief ended up in prison. But he had nothing to tell the students. He had no way to justify the repeated losses and failures, nor to explain, four years after December 1990, the absence of the true protagonists of those days and nights, who, among other things, had drawn inspiration from the few sparks struck by “The People’s Voice” months earlier, through the articles by Marash Hajat, Ylli Popa and someone else, followed by an open discussion in the editorial office in mid-November, attended by Luan Omari, Alfred Uçi, Fatos Nano and Sali Berisha himself. Sali Berisha attacked “The People’s Voice,” saying that it had praised dictatorship, hoping he could hide his past as a red guard, a role he demonstrated that December night when he left the villa where the family of former President Ramiz Alia lived and went to the students in Xhelil Gjoni’s car, to such an extent that they booed him. He attacks “The People’s Voice” and boasts of (Continued on page 3) LUAN M. RAMA. It is no coincidence that, even at the December celebration of the students who, four years ago, became the driving force behind the democratic changes that resulted in the legalization of political pluralism in Albania, President of the Republic Sali Berisha finds an opportunity to attack Albania’s largest newspaper, “Zëri i Popullit,” which was born in the fires of the people’s war against fascism and its local servants, and which grew together with Albania, draining marshes and swamps, fighting illiteracy and the terrorist gangs of the Gjonmarkajs, Zenel Shehes, Hamit Matjans, etc. The birth of “Zëri i Popullit” on August 25, 1942, is a major event not only in the history of the National Liberation Anti-Fascist War or the history of Albanian journalism, but also in the history of antifascist and democratic Albania. It was an event that brought joy to all freedom-loving people, to the communists who led the war and to the nationalists who hated the occupier. On the other hand, it terrified the fascists and their descendants, who saw “Zëri i Popullit” as a brave and determined fighter, a powerful weapon in the hands of the people. After the War, like Albanian society as a whole, “Zëri i Popullit” also underwent changes—victories, defeats, failures, humiliations—because it too lived in the state of the dictatorship of the proletariat, whose main driving force was the class struggle.

There is no policy for heating and lighting The night before last, on television, Mr. Abdyll Xhaja, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, expressed the contours of his calm nature, which apparently has given him the attributes of permanence in Meksi’s other actions and in the two others before water, and sounded the alarm over electricity. Mr. Xhaja, who is unaffiliated with any political force, raised his voice… with any political force, raised the tone of his political force 1 and raised the tone of revolt. And something himself of changing, calls from various cities, economic enterprises, communes, enterprises in Tirana are plentiful, and even ministries that see the dictator every day and turn to Xhaja complaining about their rights. Everyone complains about the lack of electricity. Xhaja himself has not escaped this; he shifts responsibility onto his own ministry and then makes a commotion about the air and his energy. The minister of hydroelectric and thermal power plants said that there is no clear strategy or policy for heating and lighting sources in Albania, and he, as the primary [cause] of the outburst, what? [unclear]. He shifted the responsibility onto the Ministry of Construction and Territorial Adjustment because, according to him, the former municipal ministry, which dealt with these matters, falls under its responsibility. In addition, he said that investment funds in this field are five times lower than in 1993. So, willingly or not, Mr. Xhaja, one of the members of the Meksi government, himself exposed the Meksi government. Mr. Xhaja did this, prompting people to say, “better late than never,” but where has Mr. Xhaja been until now? We do not know whether he had thought earlier about the coming winter, but we do know that he is a member of the National Heating Agency, headed also by former Deputy Prime Minister B. Kopliku; but from now on that concern is gone. In fact, this country is experiencing these days with- (Continued on page 4) … continued? (Continued on page 4)

We were in several communes of the Mirditë district in recent days. There we learned that social assistance has not been distributed normally for months in almost the entire district; in particular, during the last two months not a single penny of social assistance has been allocated in any commune. In the communes of Sella, Kthella, Kacinari and Rubik, people’s concerns have been countless. The same is true in the municipality of the town of Rrëshen and in the communes of Fan and Orosh. During conversations in the communes of Fan and Orosh with their leaders, Gjim Doda and Llesh Prenga, we learned that it is the Government and the relevant departments—the Ministry of Labour and Emigration—that have caused concern by failing to provide the funds allocated in the plan. Moreover, at the Mirditë district council, it is claimed that requests have been made to the Government for funds that are missing and that such assistance has been “withheld” from the people. “We don’t have the funds,” has been the answer from above. Then the question is: Where have they gone— (Continued on page 4)

The dismissal by presidential decree of Mr. Ndriçim Aliaj, Chairman of the Elbasan District Council, has been widely discussed in public opinion. Most often, Mr. Aliaj’s dismissal is being described as a conflict between beys? The grounds for the presidential decree, as articulated by the state media, are almost identical to those given in May 1993. At that time, the State Control Service proposed Mr. Aliaj’s dismissal, but after the case was examined by the Elbasan Prosecutor’s Office and the General Prosecutor’s Office, the result was that «RD» and the general TV? apologized to the State Control Service, and even asked its forgiveness. Although the presidential decree gives grounds for the decision, the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of the Elbasan district chairman remain uncertain. The question is whether Mr. Aliaj is corrupt or a victim of political conflict in the confrontation with Mr. Aliaj—is he with the district council meeting, which is expected to take place soon, and what will happen after the meeting?… Sources from the district branch of the PD confirm that at this party’s branch meeting for Elbasan, Mr. Aliaj also attacked President Berisha while the results of the referendum campaign were being reviewed. Meanwhile, leaders of the district branch of the PD describe N. Aliaj’s dismissal as a victory. Even now, after all this time, with the matter having stalled, it is still unclear what the council will decide. The dismissal was another accusation, penalizing the district chairman by dismissing him. Now the dismissal came shortly before the results of the November 6 referendum. «Zëri i Popullit» correspondent the fact that this instruction came to light only six days before the referendum on the draft constitution. The purpose is quite easy to understand.

In some communes in the Elbasan district, although the land distribution is said to be complete, there are farmers who have only the title deed in their pocket, because others have seized their land. Four farmers who came to the center of the Belsh commune hoped to get back the land that had been taken from them. They are Petrit, Riza and Misir Idrizi, together with K. Gjoshi, from whom 20 hectares of land have been taken for two years. In May this year, the Elbasan district court? ruled that those who had seized the land must not only return it to their fellow villagers, but also compensate them for the two-year period. However, so far the injured party has received not a single lek from the other party—not even compensation. Meanwhile, the commune has also sent 180 pieces of evidence concerning this case to the prosecutor’s office, involving dozens? of families seeking the enforcement of decisions by the bailiff’s office, which implements court rulings. S. CEKANI