World Notes

Even after his death in 1985, Enver Hoxha dominated the town and city squares of Albania. Statues of the dictator were everywhere, including a 30-ft. bronze monolith in the center of Tirana, the capital. But the legacy of the Stalinist strongman has come under assault in recent months, and last week Hoxha's statues were falling. Students in the capital, demanding that Enver Hoxha University be renamed, threw ropes around the monument and brought it crashing down.

President Ramiz Alia is struggling to keep his government from suffering the same fate. Since last summer, persistent demonstrations have forced Alia to promise reforms, but they did not go far or fast enough for the students. Assuming emergency powers, Alia sent tanks into the streets to restore order. Yet he also offered fresh concessions to the protesters, including replacement of the Cabinet with a more reform-minded regime. Late last week, however, a police clash with demonstrators resulted in four deaths. Though elections set for March 31 suddenly seemed in jeopardy, the larger question was whether Alia could hang on until then.