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Page 3 electoral, state, while once again it is Vlora that risks becoming the sacrificial victim of political passions and the bitter struggle for power. The announcement of the Democrats’ planned rally, on the one hand, and the counter-response of the parliamentary majority and the government it has mandated, on the other, have set the political situation in the country on a course that brings it closer to the point of explosion. Even if the resulting eruption is purely political and leads only to an intensification of the tone of electoral debate, it will have extremely serious consequences for Albania. In any case, it is clear that the geographic dimensions. yoke of a misguided the question of power and its dissolution is discussed, by the shameful fear of Albania being divided into political bastions and “forbidden zones.” The Socialists’ idea of organizing a rally in Shkodër, not simply in keeping with the harmless rules of the electoral game but solely to challenge the right wing in one of its most prominent areas of influence, is another sign that this year, too, the election campaign will not be an arena of alternatives and political debates, but a great pagan theater; beat. And perhaps our ears’ macabre habituation to their sound is another misfortune that may force us tomorrow to pay a high price in interest for the collective indifference that has psychologically dominated us for years. Their warning is darker even than the mandates left behind by ’97 and its protagonists; meanwhile, the sounds of their chariots this time, if they are not stopped before it is too late, will leave no winners behind, only losers.

EDITORIAL By Genci ÇOBANI Politics once again risks setting Albania ablaze. The threshold of the election campaign has restored to the country the scorched appearance of 1997, on the eve of the great unrest that destroyed the state, while once again it is Vlorë that risks becoming the victim of political passions and the fierce struggle for power. … the risks of a return to 1997, this time, regardless of the form they take, are greater and more widespread geographically. The heavy curse that has befallen this people—to endure the barren landscape of a perverse and divisive politics—seems destined to be accompanied, almost every time the issue of… is discussed … filled with warlike drumbeats. Albanians will thus once again be forced not to hear who they should vote for, while the fear of the return of the great fear will dominate more than any drumbeat, insult, threat, or thirst for blood. The drums of war have already begun to beat. And perhaps the lesson…

The government seeks the spy’s name Page 5

The ambassador speaks about the unrest in Vlorë Page 2

KESH seeks 150 million dollars Page 8

Police launch operation "ANTIMITING" Along the approximately 150 kilometers separating Tirana from Vlora, 4 roadblocks had been set up (one in Durrës, at Plepat; a mobile one between Lushnje and Kavajë; one at the Mifol Bridge, reinforced with large concrete blocks; and another at Qafa e Koshovicës), while several more are expected to be added today. Page 3

April of Freedom

Today, at 11:00, at the PRSH headquarters, the party leadership will hold a press conference