International forums react. "Human Rights Watch/Helsinki" writes to Berisha: It demands the annulment of the genocide law. "The timing of this law gives us reason to believe that it will be used not to establish justice, but to restrict the political opposition" HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH/HELSINKI October 19, 1995 President Sali Berisha President of the Republic of Albania via facsimile: 011 355 42 337 61 via: Albanian Mission to the United Nations Dear President Berisha: President Sali Berisha President of the Republic of Albania Dear President Berisha As you may know, Human Rights Watch is the largest human rights organization based in the US and the second largest in the world. Over these past four years we have closely followed the situation in the Balkans, including Kosovo and Albania. We are writing to express our deep concern about the new law "Against genocide and crimes against humanity" committed in Albania during the communist regime for political, ideological or religious reasons, which was recently approved by the Albanian Parliament and signed by you. The law strips of official, local and national functions all those who, before March 1991, had been members of the top communist bodies or of the government, presidents of the Supreme Court, general prosecutors, first secretaries of the district Party committees, informers, members of the secret police, and those who gave false testimony in political trials. The law forbids these people from being elected to Parliament, to the government, to the justice bodies, or from working in the mass media until 2002. Read on page 3

On page 11 Neither conflict nor submission - Interview with Adem Demaçi Europe expects Albanians to do as much as possible for themselves and to expect as little as possible from Europe, because it does not have only our problems before it. They have supported us, they support us and they will continue to support us, but support does not mean that they should do all the work for us, without us.

Our commentary: Another press conference was recorded in the political life of the country's President. All its indicators give the picture of a routine conference, where bombastic words close off ideas, solutions, prospects, and the great messages demanded by the times. For this reason, the conference perhaps also departed from its predetermined course in order to turn into a tribune from which the President has become accustomed to attacking the opposition, especially the Socialist Party, a mission that gives all the momentum to the Albanian transition. The Socialists have never shied away from the President's challenges, while sincerely wishing, in accordance with the true principles of political science, for the road to success to be paved even through the mistakes of the opponent. Incapable of rising to the level of a symbol of national unity, the President has long positioned himself as a first-class opponent of the Socialist Party. He is the inspirer, guide and implementer of successive campaigns against the Socialists, campaigns which, unfortunately for their author, have increased their honor and weight. This happens because he often makes mistakes and makes serious mistakes. Eureka! The Political Bureau decision - the hotbed of crime By now we have dealt with the misdeeds committed by the president when the Socialist Party is at one time accused of sinking into a non-existent corruption, called "red shoes," at another time accused of millions of undefined dollars, at another time called the property of others, at another time of crime raids, forgery, terror, and at another time of dying today and tomorrow. According to him, the Socialist Party should have died as soon as it was born, because he has made it a habit to say on every occasion that the SP is experiencing the most serious crisis, "the SP is in a real chaos," as he declared at the latest conference. The president invokes only death and dying for the opposition. Now, recently, when the cartridges ran out, he came up with a new thesis. He stated with the solemnity of the occasion at the latest press conference that "I have been and remain always convinced that the Political Bureau's decision to change the name from the Party of Labour to the Socialist Party was one of the most ominous decisions for the Albanian political scene." This claim by the president does not stand up to logic and therefore does not withstand the course of history. For here the pseudo-argument applies the principle "Communists do not give up". The Party of Labour, unlike all Albanian society, would insist on remaining in its positions, should not have been reformed, should have sung hosannas to the dead Enver, should have defended class struggle and the dictatorship of the proletariat. This is called: Communism is dead, long live communism! The absurdity lies in the fact that this thesis is defended not by just anyone, but by the President of the Republic. On this occasion we would say: No, sir, it is a major historical act that, by putting into operation the sieve to separate evil from good, through pain and optimism, gave birth to the Socialist Party. The program changed, the statute changed, the leadership changed, the party composition changed. 60% of the Socialists today are young people, coming from the ranks of the Euro-Socialists. The president knows all this, but he does not want to learn that in a democracy one must submit to certain universal laws, such as the rotation of power. Then he clings mouth-first to a decision to change the name from the PP to the SP. No, it was not a simple name change; it was a giant historical step in the Albanian political scene, this transformation made in the turbulent first half of 1991. Let us think for a moment as if the PP were the old one. It would be only a factor of destabilization; it would truly be all the evils we all carried for nearly half a century. The President seeks to resurrect the dead and clings to an act (continued on page 2)

Naim Frashëri everlasting future - By Professor Zija Xholi Read on page 9

- Interview with the playwright Minush Jero Read on page 10

- Half-hearted actions Page 4