Clashes in Berat Police station attacked . Clashes in Berat. Police station attacked. Page 7

By Genci ÇOBANI The more time passes since the winner of the AMC tender was announced, the more the blood, cooled by the effect of the “success” trumpeted by the Government, sends a chill through one’s veins. It seems it was fated that everything in Albania should pass through scandals, even when people are rejoicing over a privatization of genuinely considerable value and theoretically satisfactory. We have to get used to the evil that has now become our daily fare. And how could it be otherwise, when the state itself has no respect for itself, for the rules of the game it issues and publishes, or for officials reduced in value to the level of worthless little bureaucrats, mute, blind and naked. Anyone who has a shred of power can now do as they please in this country, scatter its fragments and national wealth, and mock the written and unwritten laws. With AMC, everything has been trivialized to such an extent that turning a tender into an ugly little bazaar no longer surprises anyone. Not even those who, from government offices, occasionally try to talk about corruption, worthless sales and falsified procedures. Nor those who have seen with their own eyes how the laws have been thrown into the garbage bin, while it is hardly surprising that in this bin should end up

. Today’s match: Belgium–Sweden.

AMC/Talks stall over payment Government: We want our money Cosmote: We’ll talk next week Fake competitors in the privatization tender [Photograph: a person holds a sheet reading “NO OFFER FOR THE 85% OF ALBANIAN MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS”] Page 3 A person holds a sheet reading “NO OFFER FOR THE 85% OF ALBANIAN MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS”.

The son of a merchant, missing for two days Gentian Buci’s parents are conducting their own inquiries, asking the boy’s peers and friends, while the Police are also investigating whether the 18-year-old was involved in various trafficking activities that begin in Kakavijë and end in Vlorë. Page 7

DRUGS/Swiss investigators conclude their mission in Albania Swiss investigators are leaving Albania with the file of information they gathered on 4 Albanian drug traffickers arrested in Switzerland. Switzerland and Italy are the two countries where Albanians are the leading figures in the trafficking of hard drugs. Those who have been in this game longer also move drugs through other countries. Page 6

Sami Frashëri Street. For 25 days this street has been left in this condition. The work of opening this channel is taking a stroll. [unclear text] Artjeti and Poçi, promising that [unclear text] in a month, seriously, with the road. This street was also [unclear text] by Prime Minister Meta.

New facts about the Krraba treasury Further details have emerged concerning the people who stole the treasury. Yesterday at midday, investigators and prosecutors on the case made the bombshell statement that “around 30 people are under investigation for the theft of the state treasury; they have been members of the Safeguarding and Inventory Commission since 1992.” Page 5

in Albania to pass through scandals, even when people are welcoming a privatization of genuinely considerable and theoretically satisfactory value. Having become accustomed to the evil that has now sprouted before our eyes, neither the word “corruption,” nor the term “scandal,” nor even the accusation of “crime” causes the slightest surprise among Albanians anymore; indeed, it no longer gives this word even the debased meaning that entitles it to last three [text cut off at top edge]. …[unclear] to pay, to [unclear] and to [unclear]. Anyone with even a shred of power can now do whatever they please in this country, distribute the national estates and wealth, mock written and unwritten laws, insult the press that dares from time to time to scratch at a scandal, and remind those who dare to speak that the first thing they must bear in mind is protecting their own heads (or, as is commonly said in such cases, their backsides). …for corruption, sale for less than its value, and falsification of procedures. But not even those who have seen with their own eyes how laws have been thrown into the dustbin—while who knows, it would hardly be surprising if the 86 million dollars offered ended up in that bin too. Nevertheless, nobody reports it and few speak. Perhaps because the only thing we know how to do better than anything else in this life is keep quiet. Keep quiet even when people are talking about mobile phones...

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