These have created the conditions for one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe

These have created the conditions for one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe. Can anybody who has actually visited the country in the last two to three years, and who remembers the medieval misery that marked it before, not be aware of this?Albanians themselves are keenly aware of this: precisely why so many are now incensed at the prospect of sliding back into poverty. It has to be pointed out, however, that their anger with President Sali Berisha has less to do with his laissez-faire indulgence of boom-bust pyramid schemes, than with his sensible decision to suspend their operations and begin trying to compensate investors from their frozen assets.Similar schemes collapsed in Romania and Russia without any provision at all for those who had lost out, and yet neither witnessed violent anti- government demonstrations akin to those in Albania.The difference may lie in the fact that most of the Albanian opposition parties, being closely associated with the hated Stalinist regime of Enver Hoxha and his mildly reformist successors, have little chance of taking office through the ballot-box. This was brought home to them by last year's general and local elections, which saw sweeping victories for Berisha's Democratic Party.Only one international organisation - the OSCE-ODIHR - raised any serious protest about the conduct of these polls, and a number of the Western observers accredited by this body were later shown to have had unduly close connections to the losing Socialist Party.Isn't it conceivable that former secret policemen and Communist Party officials are now exploiting the distress caused by the failure of the pyramid schemes (many of which they founded in the first place), to propel themselves back into power without the inconvenience of elections?JOHNATHAN SUNLEYLondon SW1. Sir: In your leading article on 12 February you celebrate the current consensus of politicians and parents on education I submit that it is time this "consensus" was challenged. Children do not exist to fuel economic growth, nor even to satisfy parents' ambitions for them They exist in their own right as persons. Of course learning -to be competent and to contribute to the community's well-being - is a vital element in the growth of a person, but it is only one side of the story. Education conceived entirely in instrumental terms, whether for the honing of a fine tool in the economy, or for furthering personal ambition to "get on", is out of balance. The young have other needs as well: to explore a fascinating world beyond themselves; to develop a critical mind; to discover who they are through constructive and stable relationships; to form long-term purposes and practise the discipline needed to pursue them.From the nursery to the student stage, all real teachers measure the progress of a person by subtler standards than those of official tests.MARJORIE REEVESHon FellowSt Anne's College, Oxford.

Sir: Ernie Sears (letter, 14 February) is wrong to state that bicycle bells are "required by law". The voice is quite adequate for providing the obligatory "audible warning of approach", with the advantage of leaving both hands free for braking. More importantly, it can also be varied to convey the appropriate degree of urgency. A polite "Bike behind!" or "Excuse me" will announce my presence to horse-riders or pedestrians on minor roads or shared paths; where a more forceful message is needed, jaywalkers or inattentive motorists take a bellowed "Whoah!" or "Oi!" much more seriously than a tinkling bell. TOM BARRANCEPenarth, Wales. Sir: Not everyone will agree with the statement by the former Master of the Rolls, Lord Donaldson, that the material published by the Daily Mail about the Stephen Lawrence murder may represent a gross contempt of court ("Contempt threat to `Daily Mail' ", 17 February).

There have already been two trials (however inconclusive) and a coroner's inquest, and there is no indication that another judicial process is contemplated. That being the case, I would respectfully submit that to require complete silence on the issue would interfere with the right of free speech. It is an altogether different matter when charges have been made and a trial is contemplated. It would then be wrong to deal with the issues in the media and hold a substitute trial. This hallowed principle of English law has always been strictly applied except in one notable case - that of the two Libyans accused by Britain and the United States of carrying out in 1988 the sabotage of PanAm Flight 103 over Lockerbie.I have seen advertisements sponsored by the American State Department referring to the two Libyans (al-Amin Khalifa Fhima and Abd al-Basit Ali al-Migrahi) as "terrorists" and "criminals" and offering $4m (recently increased) for information leading to their arrest. The advertisements - some of which appeared in Arabic journals published in London - were full-page with pictures of the two Libyans superimposed on a suitcase overflowing with US banknotes.