150 kg of gold have been stolen. “Kamberi” falls. Cenaj sends a fax: “The money on July 8”

Without a free vote, Albania will remain in anarchy Albania is on the brink. Politics is to blame. It not only failed to reconcile Albanians, but, on the contrary, disheartened and provoked them to the point of bloodshed. The juggling act with bombs, the scenarios with grenades, the games with Kalashnikovs are the work of the juggling scriptwriters of the two major parties, creatures of the same kind. Perhaps the latest grenade, aimed at the head of state, will make the two big parties pause their mutual accusations, spewed in the language of venom. Albania cannot be allowed to plunge into the abyss. The free elections of June 29 must take on this mission. At the last two meetings in Shkodër and Lezhë, the United Right delivered its message: let us build an institutional Albania, stop the slide, take the noose from around Albanians’ necks, prevent national disaster and respect the victims. We are not numerous enough to wipe one another out with bombs and grenades. Politics must not set such high prices. According to Republican leader Godo, the United Right does not seek to win the votes of the entire Albanian electorate, but at least the votes of the right-wing electorate. This appeal stems from faith in genuine political pluralism (not cooperative-style pluralism with a DP foreman), and from the belief that the governing side will govern according to the will of the majority, while the opposition will exercise constructive criticism within the bounds of an accepted political morality. For the United Right, there are two opponents: the socialists and the pseudo-democrats. Foremost is the direct bearer of communism, the Socialist Party, which has made a mess of Albanian politics and, together with the Democrats (they are united by their genetic inheritance), has cooked up a stew that even dogs will not eat. The fair and honest elections of June 29 will be the test of whether this country can be pulled back from the edge of the abyss. Those who drove Albania to the brink are asking for applause, playing the role of the ignorant and the innocent, but the people were here and are still here. Their memory has recorded everything; it has identified those who throw the stone and hide their hand, those who ordered the depots opened and the people armed, those who sow terror. Now we have weapons in abundance underfoot, in our hands, and at rallies. Before, we did not have these weapons. The right-wing electorate will know how to separate the wheat from the chaff. It will cast its vote for those candidates and political parties that guarantee Albania’s rescue from the abyss. But for this to happen, the right-wing leaders have appealed to the electorate not to allow a repeat of May 26. If May 26 is repeated, we will wander in anarchy, throw bombs at one another, and plunge into the abyss that politics has prepared. Berisha repeats every day the slogan that his party will win more than it did on May 26, and does not hesitate to call the stolen votes honest. It is up to the Right to guard the ballot boxes and not allow its votes to be diverted to the detriment of democracy.

[Illustration: two boxers in a ring.]

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I condemn the terrorist act as an attempt to implicate the June 29 elections. The Rushbull act shows that there are forces with an interest in pushing terrorism all the way to the highest levels of the state. This is an act of suicide for democracy and for Albania, which they want to drive over the precipice. The Republican Party will condemn such acts and calls on the rule of law to find the real culprits, those who inspire them and those who carry them out. Albania cannot go to elections amid bombs and terror.

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“REPUBLIKA,” Sami Frashëri Street, near “Petro Nini Luarasi” high school, Tirana. Tel/Fax (+355 42) 259 88 Tel. (+355 42) 230 90 Account No. 986/110, Tirana Commercial Bank