20/06/1997
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Republika

20 June 1997

Senior officials ready for an exodus

Today the king attacks the President. The Americans: A monarch would do Albanians no harm ALBA kills in Elbasan. In Vlora, an ALBES soldier is wounded. The arms trade takes heads Will rallies put a stop to the rampage?

For the North, the PD issues the visas; in the South, the PS holds the seal

. The ambush thugs are waiting to become police chiefs. The Socialist Party seems to have quickly turned into an electoral promise. Albanians have now become accustomed to a violent campaign, with no shortage of daily incidents. Leader Nano boasted yesterday that he had managed to break through to Mirdite to hold rallies with the people who love him. The leader in question was prevented from entering Mirditë by armed people. In Mamurras they laid an ambush for him, which was described as a Democratic ambush. That same night, a group of Mirditors, PS fanatics, arrived in an organized manner and surrounded Fatos on his way to Mirditë. The people of the PD in the south of the country suffered the same fate as the PS chairman. The idea of cantons seems to have become an established reality. Albania’s major parties have in a way been turned into consular offices. If you go to the North, you have to ask the PD for a “visa.” If you want to go to the South, you have to approach the PS with a plea. That is more or less the story of these days. The North-South conflict is no longer a reality on the ground, but one of party headquarters. The two major parties, with the most irresponsible people in the country, have divided this state into chunks, where militant mercenaries play the roles of assassins and ambush thugs. The election campaign has turned into an arena of competition for party titles. The idiot loyalists have not missed an opportunity to show their commanders, with [bostum], how much they deserve the role of police chief after the elections. It seems to be a mad competition to take over the law-and-order agencies after 29 June. This explains why party militants have left the good work for after the elections. The people inspiring them are the politicians of the major parties, who have no problem appearing on podiums with Kalashnikovs behind them. This shows the abyss of mad Kalashnikovs in the heads of irresponsible people, who have turned this country into a zoo. The parties’ roundtable talks to reach a social pact are continuing. During the talks, the major parties are in diametrically opposed positions, so the chances of this pact succeeding remain slim. Even if it is achieved, given these latest developments, it could easily remain a mere formality, as has so often happened with agreements signed by Albanian parties up to now.

Will rallies put a stop to the rampage?

Will rallies put a stop to the rampage?

VLORA wants “Republika”

For several days, the newspaper “Republika” was absent from the city of Vlora because it was not being delivered there. In addition to the concern expressed to the editorial office, this absence also caused great concern among the many readers of “Republika” in the city of revolts, who for four days in a row voiced their concern through repeated phone calls to the editorial office. We emphasize that, after Tirana’s 7,000 copies, Vlora, with its 2,000 copies, is the second city in terms of sales of our newspaper’s print run. Yesterday afternoon, the people responsible for printing in Vlora called “Republika,” asking for the delivery of the quota of newspapers allocated to their city. They informed “Republika” that they had taken all the necessary measures themselves to ensure the newspapers were transported normally to their city, along the road connecting it to Fier, the city where the newspaper route had been blocked in recent days. “Republika” is not one of those newspapers that people in Vlora do not want,” said the caller from Vlora, adding: “On the contrary, the people of Vlora love your newspaper and want it.”

DBSH presents the candidates:

Today: Pukë, 10:00; Fushë-Arrëz, 12:30 Tomorrow Lushnjë, 11:00; Peqin, 18:00

Inside:

Fino agrees with Godo. PS and PD at the barricades p. 3 Filip Çakuli: With the president

Filip Çakuli: The president and I are neither friends nor enemies. He takes everything seriously; I take it with a laugh. p. 12

Cholera appears in Tirana

p. 8

VEFA pays out to creditors from Tirana, Shkodër and Vlorë in Tirana

, page 14