T. Shehu’s resignation is suspicious. Berisha curses the leadership of the DP The Prosecutor’s Office confirms Sudes’s links with the police. How do the bosses withdraw the money?

Albanians are not giving up on proletarian internationalism. They worry more about other peoples than about themselves and blame themselves for wrongs they have not committed. The two major parties, the PS and the PD, continue to fire broadsides at each other over the responsibilities Albania supposedly bears for ethnic minorities, over the innocence of the Macedonian state in the face of the Albanian revolt for dignity and the flag, for culture and their mother tongue. Newspapers, too, are becoming irresponsible in making baseless accusations. For its part, the PS has accused the PD of having turned the Greek minority here in Albania into a ghetto. To begin with, the fact is that the Greek minority itself has no complaints about restrictions on rights, infringements of freedoms, etc. Albanian newspapers have written about the maximum ratings given by international organizations for the treatment of the minority. Four years ago, the European Parliament declared that Albania’s policy toward minorities met European standards. Yet the chairman of the PS, Albania’s future prime minister, does not share this view; for reasons unknown, he accuses Berisha and the PD of violating minority rights. This stance is not even internationalism. The accusations being made against the Albanian uprising in Macedonia are absurd. Some newspaper here in Albania is showing more cynicism than the Macedonian government itself and the old man Gligorov, who have not dared to blame Tirana directly for the revolt in Gostivar and other towns inhabited by Albanians. Yesterday the Albanian flag was lowered in Dibër as well. Yesterday, too, the third Albanian died in the revolt over the flag. The Macedonian state congratulated the police for carrying out their duty, even though Albanian blood had been spilled. Here in Albania, reactions and positions have been very mild. Yesterday, politicians from the Albanian parties of Macedonia, Arbër Xhaferi and Abdurrahman Haliti, arrived in Albania. By coincidence, yesterday they were insulted and labelled “rebellious Albanians” in an Albanian newspaper. Not only that, but according to the paper, Thaci and Xhaferi are rubbing their hands as the people of Gostivar are set alight. Only Albanian heads could accuse one another so cynically. This is pure anti-Albanianism. Perhaps Gligorov might reward or decorate such journalists tomorrow. The anti-national positions becoming apparent in Albania at this time are opening the way to misinterpretations of relations between Albanians inside and outside the mother country. One may be Berisha’s opponent, but to accuse him of being the arsonist of the Balkans goes beyond the bounds of logic and of Albanian civic decency. To say that the unrest in Gostivar was caused directly by Berisha is a real instance of journalistic derangement or analytical naivety. Berisha, of all people, cannot be accused of nationalism. Berisha, of all people, cannot be accused of nationalism. Berisha, of all people, cannot be accused of nationalism. He gave Macedonia what it did not deserve and forgot to speak out for the national interests and responsibilities of the Albanians. It is time for Albanians to show greater dignity in addressing nationalism and to be less fanatical internationalists in their policy toward minorities here and Albanian ethnic communities beyond the border.

Page 3 “Republika” journalist beaten Yesterday, in the morning hours, according to the report, the journalist physically assaulted the “Republika” journalist, Arben Vata. The journalist was followed after leaving his home and was suddenly attacked by unknown persons, who then quickly fled. The attackers took advantage of the situation and attacked the journalist, threatening to kill him if he continued writing as he had in recent days. Vata has been threatened throughout these days, but yesterday’s attack marked the height of the violation against him. It seems that the gangs at large will not stop disrupting the normal lives of journalists, who, among other things, are also citizens. “Republika” is one of the newspapers most affected in this regard, solely because it disseminates and upholds the truth, which has never suited the ignorant people at the newspaper who have had the school of violence in their hands. The editorial staff of “Republika” protests this act of violence and calls on the competent state authorities to protect the lives of journalists, whom the respected president has described as “parliamentarians of free speech”. The Editorial Staff

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