Vehbi Alimuçaj: VEFA neutral in the elections. The pyramid firms send the money to Switzerland

Politicians caught up in the fever of rallies, the people escort coffins to the cemetery. Social pact or alibi for the actions of guerrilla units? Violence again in the Albanian election campaign. Yesterday, the leader of the SP, Fatos Nano, was prevented from going to a rally in Mirditë. Naturally, the press office of that party accused the DP of doing so. Genc Pollo and Azem Hajdari held a rally in Mallakastër under a hail of bullets. The subsequent accusations fell on the red extremists. Namir Dokle also had bad luck in his area in Kukës. After all these incidents, the DP proposed a roundtable to achieve electoral peace. The other political parties have “shut out” the big parties, which, according to them, have greatly escalated the Albanian election campaign. The mutual accusations coming from the press offices of these two parties are extremely savage and no longer observe any kind of etiquette. The Socialists think nothing of directly accusing their Democratic opponents of being criminals and assassins. The Democrats, for their part, are no less restrained. The leaders of the SP are being accused without hesitation of being people of the cudgel and the noose. It is true that there is an election campaign and the tone may become harsher, but nowhere can such a campaign be accepted, in which physical attacks become normal. The toughs of these parties have been mobilized to such an extent that they are posing a serious threat that this country will never hold elections. The teenage militants know very well how to brandish Kalashnikovs and throw grenades. No politician has died yet, but the poor policemen have. After all, Albania’s politicians are not such an admirable species. Albanian politics is being blown apart by explosions set off by street people commanded by the thugs at party headquarters. Something should be a matter of concern... Last night, the parties’ roundtable met with the aim of cooling the politicians’ tempers. Perhaps the parties will manage to convince themselves that they must abandon their personal ambitions, in the face of one clear fact: the ambushes, bombs and bullets do not come from outside, but are the product of minds and hot-headed thugs within the country. Who commands these forces? Last night at the roundtable, no politician stood up to admit, “The bombs were planted by supporters of my party!” Then perhaps the roundtable, instead of removing the accusations, will serve as an alibi for evading them? Today, rallies are starting up again, while all the victims were buried yesterday. It would be good if politicians took the trouble to attend a funeral and apologize for the sons of mothers whom politics, with its murderous fervor, took away. The Fino government and the local councils have been swept up in electoral fever and have no time to see that corpses are left behind the politicians and state officials. Corpses are left behind the politicians and state officials. Last night the prime minister sent [someone] at 8 p.m.; he had not gone to the roundtable meeting, as he was supposed to, to call on the parties to stop the rallies.

Today in Përmet, 11:00 Tomorrow in Pukë, 10:00, Fushë-Arrëz, 12:30

Majko: “Godo is in the right place at the right time” P. 3

F. Mediu: This is not the time for diversion. Anyone who mocks himself is a hypocrite. p. 4 Sports journalist beats the anti-doping commission p. 12 Xhevat Kocia: Not a single vote will be stolen. p. 10 The law on land brings the dead together. p. 2

“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