Meeting at risk, Rambouillet undermined. Albanian delegation postpones its trip NATO reacts: They have become unbearable. Solana: Albanians, trust the Alliance DBSH brings political forces together. Tirana marches for Kosovo P. 2

Ruben AVXHIU Serbs defied the international community again yesterday. Belgrade refused to give the OSCE mission in the region assurances for the travel of KLA representatives to Prishtina, from where they were to leave to take part in the Rambouillet talks. The negotiations, scheduled to take place today, have been thrown into doubt at precisely “the last moment.” Known for his sudden manoeuvres, Milošević has once again not missed the opportunity to “stir things up.” In addition to blocking the movement of representatives of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Belgrade also dealt an even heavier blow to international efforts by declaring that it would not agree to talk with “terrorists.” Clearly alluding to KLA representatives, a spokesman for Milošević declared that Serbian representatives could not sit at the table with people who, in the eyes of their state, remain “terrorists.” This is a condition Belgrade has now imposed on the Rambouillet talks. It is clear that Milošević has “thrown the ball back” to the Westerners, who must return to applying pressure. NATO General Klaus Nauman and US Secretary of Defense Cohen reiterated yesterday that the Allies continue to keep “the gun in their sights if the Rambouillet negotiations fail.” It is not known how long this unflinching patience will last. Tel. page 3

Two apostles of the nation revive the symbols of nationalism. Photo: P.ILO Yesterday, the Albanian capital marched in a magnificent demonstration in support of the will of the people of Kosovo for self-determination. The story of this large-scale demonstration began three days earlier, when at a press conference the chairman of the PR, Fatmir Mediu, invited, on behalf of the DBSH, all parliamentary political forces to a rally, one day before the Rambouillet meeting in France between the Albanians of Kosovo and the Serbs. The time and format of the meeting were set only a day later, at a roundtable of political parties at Hotel “Dajti”. Everyone agreed. Yesterday at midday, Tirana was completely transformed: everyone had taken to the square—old people, children, politicians, journalists and other residents of the capital.

Jurists against the Ministry of Justice TIRANA: The judges’ exam awaits the decision of the Constitutional Court. Opposed by all the judges, the exam demanded by the heads of the Ministry of Justice and the High Council of Justice will now have to be brought before the Constitutional Court. The association of jurists named “Dura Lex - Sed Lex” will turn to this court over all the violations that have been committed. According to the heads of this association, “the laws of the newly adopted Constitution have been violated.” The laws concerning the appointment and dismissal of judges were violated, said the judges of the Tirana court. Meanwhile, the idea for this exam was first floated by Justice Minister Thimio Kondi several months ago. Following his request, sheets containing the relevant questions were sent to the judges’ workplaces, but the judges ignored them from the outset. “To put our work to the test, as they challenged us, there is no need to take an exam, since the case files reflect everything that needs to be known.” However, this was not approved and was even directed by the heads of the Justice Ministry. After the initial debates and the issue being raised at the Council of Europe, the Ministry of Justice declared that it had given up administering this exam. The spokesperson of the

BERAT — Last night, at 18:00, Dailan Goga, a 68-year-old resident of Poliçan, was handcuffed. On the 5th of this month, the police had detained him for 24 hours and released him for lack of evidence. The accusation was unusual and had only appeared in the Albanian legal vocabulary in recent years. The elderly man is accused of committing indecent acts with a 12-year-old girl named B.D. The girl’s mother said that around this date she had begun to strongly suspect that something had happened to her daughter. She reported to the police that, after they had pressured her, the girl had Page 7

Pyramid schemes, Arapi officially makes a promise VEFA and Gjallıca, the money at year’s end Page 9 Reflections on the Rambouillet meeting Let us be realistic

Reflections on the Rambouillet meeting By Kastriot Islami Page 4

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