EDITORIAL By Enkel Demi Albanians on the brink For every pocket, for every Albanian pocket, and they have not been spared surprises. Every time it seems they have seen evil with their own eyes and hope to shake off the daily burdens from their necks, out of the depth of the endless abyss they see yet another usurper, who keeps piling on the pressure. Albanians, these great losers of the 1997 transition, found themselves this time even more helpless than before. Events are again shaking the markets with the blow of speculation. Yesterday too, the prices of some essential consumer goods rose by 8 percent or more. Citizens who can hardly see work on the horizon now find even their daily bread out of reach. These citizens pay for the percentage increase in one day and take on the lifelong burden of this transition, while being told to keep quiet and to try to understand why the government is not taking measures to cope with everyday life. These citizens, and the pressing, living question as well, are asking: why have prices exploded and who is responsible? In this country, so many theories have been heard and so many excuses invented. Some say it is the rise in electricity prices that has brought the market to its knees. Some say that the new wages are being exploited for speculation. Others say it is the general climate of insecurity. But the truth is that citizens are becoming poorer every day. Page 3

"Property with Justice" how homes can be obtained Deputies demand the next privilege Families with diplomatic passports Page 11

"100 million USD", being studied by investigators Page 5

The untold story of the General’s wife It was September 1996, when a shy but very courageous girl from Shkodra, educated with a continuing culture there, came and knocked on the door of the Shkumbini family. She said she was a relative of Mehmet Shehu. She had come from Shkodra to meet a relative of the family in Tirana. She was looking for someone who would listen to her and give her a chance to tell her story. They looked at her with suspicion, but gave her the chance to speak. It was a story whose roots ran deep, beyond the war, beyond the generals, beyond family tragedies. Linked to the name Andoni and to a woman called Shkurte. For some it was a sketch of memories, for others a delayed testimony. Strangely enough, her account involved real people, documents, and a missing link in our history. The truth of Andoni in his youth Page 8

SOS Page 16

It is true that wages should not be used to monitor inflation, also cured in 1993, and that from 24 thousand there has been an increase of 1.5 times in the year of consumption. Page 3

The traffic of clandestines also includes OJO-të Page 2

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