. Driza is reinstated in office. The commission reports. Berisha calls an extraordinary meeting. Photo: A.Babani

. -10 thousand people confront the police. The people of Lushnja have erupted, beyond their usual temperament. Yesterday, encountering [styr[e]], we witnessed a massive protest. More than 10 thousand people had gathered in the square where the song “Elbasan likunetu-ketu…” is sung. The crowd moved forward toward the Town Hall. The chants—“We want our money… The government is a thief…”—extremely enraged the heterogeneous crowd. Among the crowd are thousands of people who had invested in the pyramid schemes, people left without homes. In Lushnja, the “Xhaferri” foundation had been operating for more than 4 years, and so the loss was great. The crowd waits for the mayor to come out and speak to them. Perhaps they might even have calmed down. But nothing happened; the mayor did not come out. Then the crowd went to the mayor. They opened the doors and went up to his office. Nothing. The police tried peacefully to draw them away from the Town Hall, but it was too late. All the windows of the building, the district council and the Agricultural Bank had been smashed. The police station chief, Osman Stafa, appears on the scene. He tries to calm them, but the crowd swallowed up his words. Only the sentence “Brothers and sisters…” and his proposal remained on our tape recorder: “Choose a commission of 10–15 people and come, let us talk.” But the crowd cut his sentence short. “The police are coming.” The protesters do not let the [kurt(h)] of a small encirclement [unclear] and fall back. The arrival of an “Iffe” with a license plate and police officers from Vlora further angers the mass of demonstrators, which seems to be completely out of control. The angry crowd heads toward the national road. At the Martyrs’ Cemetery, the second action takes place: the car from Vlora is set on fire. People continue making increasingly angry demands. They refuse dialogue; they only shout. Using our tape recorder, we record statements. “The government acted secretly. It took our money and our hands.” “Rapush Xhaferri, who appeared on TV, was a trick. We know—they made him read a dictated letter. … they brought him here to the square and told us … that he had gone bankrupt; only then would we …” State of siege After 10 o’clock, Lushnja declares a state of siege. Roadblocks at Fier-Shegan, Kashtë-Bardhë, Karbunarë, … Dushk, Zhamë. Barricades everywhere. In Dushk … it is bigger. Continued on p. 5

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