Message from the Chairman of the PSSH, Fatos Nano, addressed to its General Steering Committee Dear comrades, I have the pleasure of greeting you and congratulating you on the political maturity, patriotic and democratic commitment, and the intellectual and professional seriousness with which you are facing the responsibilities of the elected leaders of the PSSH at this threshold of the electoral campaign and in the abnormal situation created for the opposition and for the majority in Albania by the Berisha regime. The political decisions and actions we have taken to set in motion, at full capacity, all the structures of the party, to renew and increase the political effectiveness of its leadership and functioning, while preparing the PSSH fully through the forthcoming Congress to be the main force of alternative governance in Albania, are of vital importance for the fate of democracy and of the country. Albania, its time and its people, now worn out and deceived by the adventurism, authoritarianism, politics of revenge and corruption of the Berisha regime, demand and accept the alternative governance of the socialists and of the opposition that looks to the future. We have understood this imperative of democratic development, and by accepting the challenge of the times we will take upon ourselves, with wisdom and courage, all the civic and political responsibilities that arise from it, in order to give the country and the people a more worthy perspective. Our motto has been and remains: No to communism, No to anti-communism!!! In domestic policy we aim at accelerating and achieving a balanced development of market-economy reforms and the rule of law, based on political partnership and national reconciliation. In foreign policy, we seek continuity and dignity in the country's Euro-Atlantic integration, good neighborliness and the Europeanization of the Balkans as the path to a national solution. Our ability and readiness for dialogue and cooperation with the domestic political spectrum are strengthened by our political commitment to partnership and to the defense of democratic principles and contemporary civilizational values in international relations. The basis of our worldview is coexistence, not exclusion; the harmonization of free initiative with justice and social solidarity, not oppression and exploitation. The community of moral and political values does not accept political persecution, economic abuse, suppression of personality, or submission to diktat; class struggle, clientelism, revolutionary violence, collaborationism, plunder, or the 'gift' of the fundamental rights and freedoms of human beings and citizens. We are neither Marxists nor anti-Marxists! We are anti-fascists, we are against dictatorships, we are socialists in opposition to the regime of 'Stalin without a moustache'! The hierarchy of our values is completely different from that of the anti-values of Berisha & Co. Your vote of confidence in the leadership and the one the people give all of us more and more every day are proof of this truth. We are the defenders of the law and of the citizen, because we accept and defend the principle: 'My freedom ends where the freedom of the other begins!' We do not conceive power as a means of career and personal enrichment; on the contrary, we place career and personal ability at the service of the rule of law. Socialists have nothing to do with crime, much less with genocide! We are equally co-responsible and co-sufferers for the past, just as others are. But we are not irresponsible and speculative like Berisha & Co. We are not without a past, therefore we are not without a future. We have no nostalgia either for the years of dictatorship, or for the years of 'continuity' evoked by Berisha! We will not revoke the decisions of the Political Bureau of the former PPSH recognizing political pluralism in Albania, which also gave the former communist secretary Sali Berisha the chance to cast off its risk and to 'descend from the Moon' as chairman of the PDSh! We will repeal the pseudo-law 'anti-genocide' and the other unconstitutional acts of today's regime. We will not keep political opponents hostage for three quarters of our mandate in power, and we will not treat them as enemies but as partners! We will achieve national reconciliation and social peace. We have proved ourselves close to the people: Albanians ask for us, trust us and vote for us. Our people, the very best among us, neither stained themselves with genocide, nor hid from murders, nor speculated with the crowds to incite destruction and create innocent 'political' victims. On the contrary, they assumed political and state responsibility precisely to avoid the destruction and victims of the collapse of the communist dictatorship, at the time when Berisha & Co entered into an alliance with the criminals who came out of the cells of the street, on the backs of the truly persecuted. We began the democratic reforms and we are capable of continuing and deepening them. Our people were the first who, under pluralism, guaranteed the first free and democratic elections and the peaceful transfer of power into the hands of the opposition, for the first time in postwar Albania. Berisha has not yet done this; indeed, this remains the only constitutional duty he must fulfill before his inevitable departure from power. If he wishes to continue in politics, we guarantee him the freedom to renew and correct himself in opposition! Otherwise, the rule of law will catch up with him on its own. Dear comrades and friends, I have full confidence that you will continue and develop our commitment, our values and our historical responsibilities! I wish you all the best and success, certain that you will convey my greetings to all members, supporters and the many friends of the PSSH, inside and outside Albania! Fatos Nano Chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania

To Mr. Boutros-Boutros Ghali Secretary-General of the United Nations New York. Tirana, 20 October 1995 On the occasion of the marked 50th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, the parliamentary group of the Socialist Party of Albania asks you to accept our most sincere greetings and our warmest wishes for the continued success of the Organization you lead. The UN was created 50 years ago as an expression of the aspiration of the peoples of the whole world, newly emerged from the horrors of the Second World War, for the reign of justice, tolerance and peace in relations among states and nations, as the most effective and most prestigious mechanism for resolving conflicts and creating a climate of mutual trust in international relations. The admission of the Republic of Albania as a member of the UN in 1955 was an international affirmation of the heroic National Liberation struggle and of the great sacrifices made by the Albanian people during the Second World War alongside the vigilant powers of the great Anglo-Soviet-American allies against fascism and Nazism and their collaborationist tools. With that admission, Albania became an equal subject in international relations, contributing to the strengthening of the independence of the Albanian state and of stability in the troubled Balkan region. The unwavering and respected line of the UN has been the line of peace, security, dialogue and cooperation. After the end of the Cold War, the need for and the role of the UN as the highest interparliamentary body serving the preservation and restoration of peace has further increased. It is unquestionably the most prestigious international institution which, with its authority and real capacities, is regarded as the guarantor of peace in the world. We hope that, after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the victory of multi-party democracy, the Republic of Albania will contribute even more alongside other democratic states in defense of peace and regional and international stability, for the triumph of tolerance and understanding in ethnic, national and religious relations everywhere in the world. We assure you, Your Excellency, that the UN and all its mechanisms will always find in the PSSH and its parliamentary group a constructive political force that recognizes, accepts and applies the democratic concepts and methods of civilized dialogue in resolving conflicts, an honest and reliable partner in efforts to build the rule of law and advance democracy in Albania, in support of all initiatives for resolving conflicts, strengthening stability and peace in the region and beyond. On this occasion, Your Excellency, we also extend our best wishes for your personal health and well-being. Parliamentary Group of the PSSH The Chairman Namik Dokle

We will speed up democracy from Berisha's thieves Read on page 3

Story by Nasi Lera, poetry by Virgjil Muçi and others On pages 7, 8, 9, 10