Vlora signs Meksi’s surrender P. 3

he will not budge from the Cabinet P. 7

Gërxhalliu is refused food. Days on end without food P. 5

Ajax clean up P. 2

A mountain of unopened documentation belonging to the “Xhaferi” foundation lies in BKT. Second mandates at risk. The Albanian government is accused by the West of arms and drug trafficking. The PD’s “Eagle” implicated in smuggling

Mr. President, Albania is paying dearly for the price of the Meksi Government. The direction you gave the Party to test the grassroots and defend Meksi did not go down well either with your sincere friends or with your political allies. The people have a saying: You can’t cover the sun with a sieve! Mr. Meksi’s government cannot govern without the people’s trust. (Be assured that there are also many honest Democrats who have kept away from corruption and who no longer have confidence in Meksi’s leadership by archaeological methods. The bolder ones said it openly; those who do not want to take risks express it differently.) For Meksi’s sake, Albania is burning and giving off smoke. Do not prolong its agony so much; it is not worth it. Albania has intellectuals and capable people who will stand up for their country. The Democratic Party itself also has capable intellectuals who know how to govern while avoiding corruption, slander, and violence. The country is burning, while the PD tests its grassroots! The failure to clear the squares shows that the people are dissatisfied with their government. It is not the merit of the left-wing opposition that the people have been set in motion; they have now overcome their fear. Do not give the Socialists the satisfaction of saying: those filling the squares are ours! Giving them this credit means acknowledging their power over the people; tomorrow, it would mean giving them governing power. They do not deserve such an honour, because when the people were in the squares, the oppositionists were huddled away and nobody paid them any attention. Now that you are summoning them before the organs of Justice, they are leaving. For the sake of preserving Prime Minister Meksi’s seat and that of his team, Albanians are being primitively set against one another. This is a national disgrace; this is painful. The rules of the game in a democracy are not like this. To set political prisoners against one another is the same as declaring civil war. To set the people of Fier against one another by dividing them according to party affiliation is pointless if you are calling for democratic faith and party round tables. It seems that, for the Democratic Party, Meksi and his team are worth more than Albania itself! In the circumstances that have arisen—the economic crisis, nationwide protests, Meksi’s failure and his inexplicable nervousness in calling for a state of emergency in Vlora, Meksi’s statements that we too will be bombed with our members and supporters—these do nothing but anger Albanians. This is nothing more nor less than a call for civil war. And this call is not being made by the most ordinary PD militant, but by the Prime Minister of Albania himself! Mr. President! Do not sacrifice Albania for Meksi’s mustache. Perhaps you have taken your cue from the grassroots, but you will only awaken Albania’s pain and the agony of the Aleksandri 2 Government!

Yesterday, it was reported by the newspaper “Republika” that the PRSH chairman, Mr. G. Godo, sent an open letter to the Speaker of the People’s Assembly, Mr. Pjetër Arbnori. Among other things, the letter stresses the need to give absolute priority to relations with the USA. The letter also sets out the Republican vision for international relations. In particular, given the difficult time Albania is going through, both economically and economically, it emphasizes this necessity, making it clear that it is we Albanians, more than the Americans, who need these relations to improve. The economic potential of the USA is such that it can set other powerful organizations and institutions in motion, which would provide tremendous assistance, both in the form of aid and through concrete and material support, to overcome the severe crisis gripping the country. Above all, we must not forget that America is the homeland of democracy and human rights and, as such, it cannot in any way tolerate the tarnishing of the institution of the free vote, police violence, fraud, and state corruption. Mr. Godo says he is convinced that there are many other MPs in the Albanian Parliament who view the winter in Albanian-American relations with concern. The words of Mr. Ali Spahia and other PD apologists, that everything between Albania and the USA is going well, cannot conceal the concern and the friendly, yet insistent and repeated, warnings of the US State Department about Albania’s departure from the path of democracy. It is time for this Parliament, more than ever, to look toward improving relations with the USA, relations that are vital and essential for Albania, certainly without degrading relations with the other countries of Western Europe, especially Italy, Germany, France, etc. Yesterday in Tirana Photo: A. Babani

Newspaper “REPUBLIKA”, “Sami Frashëri” Street, near “Petro Nini Luarasi” high school, Tirana, Account No. BTK 986/110 Tel/Fax 259 88 Tel. 230 90