Masked men rob SHIK. Bodies are dragged from the port in Vlorë. A visa to enter Tirana. Vranicki: “Alba” should take the boxes under its arm The “pass the buck” game over the pyramid schemes continues. Malaj: I’m with the PS; I have no reason to get involved in transparency.

Dokle has given his word: “I will resign” After the Government of Reconciliation was formed, and as the election campaign continued, a round table was established with the participation of the PS and all the other parties, except the PD. At this table, the PD was asked, since it controlled Parliament, to change the electoral law from majoritarian to proportional. The PS took part not because it was interested in proportional representation, but because it wanted to demonstrate its generosity toward the so-called “small” parties. During the talks, the PS representatives—in this instance Nano and Dokle—were asked whether they would keep their word and not betray the demands of this round table. Naturally, the answer was that they were men who kept their word; Dokle even declared passionately that if the PS went back on its position, he would hand in his PS membership card and leave the party. The story of proportional representation is now well known; the PS’s betrayal is well known. All that remains is for Mr. Dokle’s resignation to become known to us—and, of course, it is not going to happen. Since the interests of the big parties appear to be opposed to one another, their leaders’ positions have continually been dictated by circumstance, shifting from one stance to another, the exact opposite of the first. The absence of even a minimum of moral ethics, at least toward their own electorate, points to the ugly dishonesty of the elite, where, in the struggle for seats, even the simplest human values are disregarded. The leaders of the PD, headed by Berisha, abandoned by Vision 2000, “stumbled” into a tangle of lies and absurd stubbornness, until today they are moving so badly, having spat where they now stand, abandoning one by one the bunkers of their arrogance in power and yielding them to the PS. With its leadership, the PS does not hesitate to turn its back on everyone and gobble up whatever it can. The political legacy of the Albanian political environment under these kinds of politicians is miserable. After the vacuum created by the communist period, it was believed that with so-called “democracy” we would see a political rebirth—a political elite that would give Albanian politics a face and a body. Now we can say unequivocally that Albanian politics is represented only by a deceptive shadow raised on the school of communism. Concentrated in the hands of the big parties, worn down by internal struggles and struggles over principles, changed by ideas and led by amoral people, our politics has a bleak outlook both domestically and internationally. Only an expansion of the spectrum to include other currents can cleanse and renew the monstrosity of this politics. These new formations must be established so as to have the capacity to exert influence in politics, and not merely an honorary presence; their word must carry weight and not be treated as a voice called upon only when convenient. Manliness in politics does not depend on the volume of one’s voice, but on the weight of one’s mind. Unfortunately for us, so far the former has prevailed, not the latter, while an old shortcoming of the Albanian Nation has once again come to light.

Lushnja cleans the streets. Berisha expected p. 4 Rival gangs wound two donkeys and a horse p. 2 Drugs roam Tirana. 10 killed in 12 hours p. 2 VEFA pays out creditors in TIRANA, Shkodër and Vlorë p. 14

United Albanian Right Grand rally in Tirana On FRIDAY, 27.6.97, at 11:00, at the Palace of Culture

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