PAGE 3 Scandal at the Presidency Investigations into Meidani ...of mutual assistance between officials and branches of power. Just like children, with a little spit taken from their lips with a finger and flicked away... Thus, while the fact that he sent a letter to President Meidani to revoke the importance of the treasurer’s position, the head of state himself swears that he “knows nothing.” Instead, the “knowledge” has ended up with Meidani’s predecessor, Sali Berisha. The same “trick” of professing ignorance, which is again connected with the treasury, is taken further by the head of the Executive. circumstances are they willing to explain how they... stole it. For this “keeping secret” of the method of the theft, some of them were even punished with dismissal or something of that sort, with no time limit... Between ministries, branches of power, and officials, certain chasms seem to be operating, whose cries Albanians are either experiencing or hearing. The head of the OSCE himself, Ahrens, has stated the greatest shortcomings of the Albanian government, after the ignorance carried by some ministers. President himself gave the clearest sign of these disagreements when he declared that he knew nothing of a letter from the former head of Public Order addressed to his office, while as for the head of the Executive, there is no shortage of his subordinates’ “negligence” in informing him of a theft of around 3 million dollars. ...Just like when we were children. But do these officials have spit on the finger they put to their lips, after licking them?

EDITORIAL By Agim BAÇI The Albanian government must contend, amid endless tribulations, with the phenomenon of allnimit between those in power and the powers themselves. Just like children, with a little spit taken with a finger from the lips and tossed away... Thus, if the former head of Public Order, Neritan Ceka, has made public when he “swears” that he had no knowledge before April 7. What is more, he blames some of his successors for the lack of seriousness in reporting and investigating. The “thieves” of the treasury themselves proudly declare their participation in the greatest theft of the century, but under no circumstances do they wish to say who stole. This makes it all the more evident that, amid Albania’s disasters, there is no sign of clear relations, describing this as one of the greatest shortcomings of Albanian governance, after the ignorance carried by some ministers. The sign of these disagreements has been given emphatically by the President himself when he declares that he knows nothing about a letter from the former-

page 5 The body of the girl from Mount Dajti remains unidentified

Clashes in the North. RENEA, 8-hour battle A tense situation in northern Albania. Tropoja, long regarded as one of the Albanian Police’s hotspots, saw one of the gravest incidents of this month yesterday, while the special forces of unit number 88 were quickly mobilized. The latter left Tirana and flew to Tropoja at midnight on Thursday Page 2

“Anti-kiosk” operation. Police dossier naming officials The suspension of the “anti-kiosk” operation in several areas of Tirana is linked to the monthly rents that the head of the Construction Police receives from the owners of buildings that were not demolished and were excluded from the list of unauthorized constructions Page 7

Breaking news / Another assassination in Belgrade Page 11

Smuggling wipes out USD 2.7 million Five Albanian factories were closed to open up the Albanian market to two Greek factories in Patra and Thessaloniki Page 9

SPECIAL Page 13

GOVERNMENT Page 4

On Saturday, May 20, at 11:00, a meeting with the chairpersons of the PR branches in the districts will be held at the Central Headquarters, with the following agenda: “On electoral preparations and the organizational activities of the branches” THE PRESIDIUM