
In early March 1997, the situation in Albania deteriorated further and was heading towards anarchy. At that time, the writer Ismail Kadare addressed the nation with an appeal that still rings true today.
Read the following:
"In these weeks, the whole world has been following the tragic events of Albania day after day. This has been a bloody theater that has awakened the most diverse feelings everywhere. In most cases, regret and pain. Yes, in other, of course, rarer cases, there has been no lack of malice and cynicism. The old thesis that Albanians, like those who live in Albania and like those who live in Kosovo, deserve neither freedom nor democracy, has been revived again, although it is not stated openly.
Albania has suffered a decline like never before in its history. Millions of Albanians across the globe, from America and Canada, to Italy, Greece, Kosovo and Montenegro, Macedonia, to various parts of Central Europe and Scandinavia, and even to distant Australia, have followed this tragic decline of their homeland with cold blood and anxiety. They have followed it, waiting hour after hour for this horror and this upheaval to stop.
For Albania to gather itself from its physical and mental turmoil. To free itself from the jinn that has possessed it, to say enough to violence, blind leadership, destruction. In other words, to say enough to its suicide. Albania is still alive. Albania has all the possibilities to rise, it only needs an effort, an understanding, a good will to overcome this anxiety.
An understanding and a good will are needed from everyone, from the political class, from the state, from the opposition, from the insurgents, from the entire Albanian population. It is a question of saving our common home, the only home and the only land we have in this wild world. For this everyone can do something and everyone must do something. It is not yet too late to recover. The most urgent thing is for the catastrophe to stop.
Then, when everyone's minds clear and their blood cools, we will look with horror at the abyss into which we were about to fall. And regardless of the mistakes we made and regardless of who committed them, we will feel collectively proud that we avoided catastrophe.
Through free elections strictly controlled by the world, everything can be solved. Through violence and hatred, nothing is solved. The Albanian people are tired and deeply shaken. They need to start living again, not continue to die. And they have every opportunity to start a better life and let what happened serve as a lesson for everyone, for the future Albanian state, for the entire Albanian society, for democracy. The whole world is following our drama with attention. It has promised that after this storm passes, it will help Albania again in all areas. It has already made it clear that Albanians deserve help. So, everything depends on us.
"The fate of the homeland, their fate and that of their children, Albanians, more than ever, have it in their hands today."