SCANDAL Heads of the Ministry of Public Order threatened Prosecutors: commissioners under investigation Page 7 EDITORIAL By Adrian THANO Beyond demagoguery... The Albanian press may at times have been worse than it is today. Insulting. Something none of us wants. Entangled in a chaotic bustle. Suffocating instead of breathing freely. An unbearable burden for those who work every day. Demands for there to be more newspapers than there are at present, enough to outnumber the country’s capacity, are ridiculous and tragicomic. On the one hand they call it the press’s “August seven”. On the other hand they try to find a formula. There is no other way. How do you create more light if you do not add lamps? Many of those who today behave as the “authorities” of journalism are neither its founders nor guarantors of that limited part of media freedom that can be discussed in Albania. It is clear that the press has reached a revealing level in exposing a host of rotten phenomena in our public life. But alongside that, it has also seen a significant rise in parameters that even the authorities of the country have been incapable of understanding. And so, as soon as circulation increases or a newspaper is revalued, others appear who invent fantasy circulations. That is not freedom. The coward who declares these things only in the cafés of the capital can shout as much as he likes. If the press takes on such an important role, no one should fear it, but neither should anyone abuse it. How can one receive so much granted freedom? Democracy itself in Albania has been little more than a capture. The democratic state has not been seriously established, even though the new administration tries to sell itself as if it had its eyes open. As if democracy were within democracy, we have justice. As if democracy were caused in freedom and confronted legal obligations, Albanian justice would not remain dragged down either. Courts and prosecutors cannot be both French cleaners and guarantors of insecurity. In the absence of order, freedom of information itself would be violated to the point of absurdity. It is more a race to shout than to persuade. And that is a distortion. Perhaps because here the newspaper is constantly forced to move ahead of the institutions and get in front of them, leaving them behind. In a normal country that would be a merit. Here it is not. Because there is no system for sharing the burden of responsibility. (continues on page 7)

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The “Avdyli” case reaches the Presidency . A firm “no” from the ministers of the PS to not approving the dismissal ordered by Ilir Meta. Moreover, there is confidence that the leaders of “Topi” will seek recourse in the Supreme Court or even the Constitutional Court, in the hope that these institutions will review the decision to dismiss Avdyli. On the other hand, it is reported that Avdyli himself, besides complaining in the media, has never engaged with the legislature. Avdyli also sends a copy of his letter to the DP deputies. In a long letter to the US ambassador in Tirana, he says that “for the first time under the PS government, the depoliticization of the public administration is in serious danger.” Page 3

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The grants are always made to the government for the Electoral Code A special delegation of the Council of Europe arrived yesterday in Tirana to see firsthand what is being prepared for the October elections. As determined as a signboard: to delay it. One of the Council leaders considered it a proposal to be carried out as soon as possible, but also to assess an issue of importance for us in the Presidency. The government, strangely enough, has justified itself in not changing the situation. Regardless of what contests there will be, some small reflection is expected from the government in favor of the rules and in respect of the law. All developments have been described in such a way as to leave a distorted idea of the process. 2 billion lek have been set aside for the election campaign. The government has been told that it cannot use the state budget to strengthen a propaganda scheme in its own service. The scenario is clear: the state budget risks turning into an electoral fund. Page 2

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Socialists elected the head of the campaign and the prime minister’s undersecretary yesterday The Socialists elected yesterday, on the insistence of the prime minister, the head of the electoral brigade. This was done within the framework of structuring the election work. Spokespersons have announced the name of the brigade that will deal with the elections. The team, formed by people with experience from the administration, will be responsible for organizing the campaign and following it through. On the other hand, on the insistence of the prime minister, an undersecretary was also appointed who will be in charge of the procedures for organizing rallies. Page 5

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