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EDITORIAL By Gençi ÇOBANI They say that an ancient curse weighs upon this people, one whose age nobody dares to determine. For centuries, according to an absurd logic that many equally absurd people elevated to a cult, the word blood—the most painful and perhaps most frightening word for every people in the world—has become a symbol of pride, even more absurd, for the inhabitants of this country. This is so true that, even to this day, Albanians continue to suffer this stain, paying a high price for the blood spilled in this country; we continue to spill it in excess. In such excess that our mad victims, driven to the extreme by an impotent state, impotent even in its madness, are now not only those who speak Albanian, but also people in the uniforms of neighboring states. Meanwhile, hundreds of Albanian families continue to mourn their lost loved ones in Otranto. Dozens of others do not even know where to mourn, while concealing within themselves the dream of another world, where people do not shed blood, where governments are equally alarmed both by a child languishing in the throes of death and by three soldiers being killed. The sea, the great hope of the Albanians, the dreamed-of route to the West, is turning day by day into a huge grave, where, along with the enduring routes connecting us to the world we need, the illusions of having a proper state are also being buried. A state that at least knows how to protect us from death. Even if it cannot provide us with a slightly better life... But the state remains silent. And when it opens its mouth, it speaks only of “successes”(!). So many people raised it to the level of a cult, turning it into a symbol of pride—an even more absurd one that even to this day Albanians continue to suffer from this psychosis, paying the price of their “successes” with its red drops. And while our hospitals sound the alarm over the shortage of blood in their human transfusion laboratories, outside them, we, bar- continue to mourn their loved ones lost in Otranto. Dozens of others do not know where to mourn, nor even whether they should mourn, since they do not have even a single bone of their loved one to bury somewhere, in a grave. The sea is indeed silent on our shores,

Trust in the Albanian Government is lost The Italians decide to fight illegal trafficking on their own Pages 2, 3

Tragedy in Paris Plane crashes 113 dead Page 18

Secrets of the life of the Andoni couple revealed The relationship between Aleks Andoni and Ervehe Pole was a sincere relationship between two young military personnel who had just finished school and started out in life. Aleks Andoni, from Vunoi on the Coast, belonged to the Orthodox faith, while Ervehe Pole, from the Harunas neighborhood of Shëmbërdhenj (Skëndërbegasit) in Gramsh, on the southern border of Gramsh with Skrapar, belonged to another faith. At first, such a religious difference became the reason why both families opposed the relationship between the two young people. Different regions, different customs, and the difference in their standards of living were also immediately apparent. At that time Ervehe Pole considered herself inferior and not equal in relation to Aleks Andoni.

“Property with Justice” appeals to the expropriated Page 10

Crime/2,497 criminal offences recorded in 6 months Page 9

AKP scandal in the privatization of the Cement Factory One of the fundamental requirements for carrying out the privatization of the Fushë-Krujë Cement Factory is the advance payment of 30 percent of the bid amount into the bank selected by the Albanian side. Point (c) of the Council of Ministers’ decision on the privatization of the Fushë-Krujë Factory states: “A candidate participating in the tender must submit a guarantee amounting to 30 percent of the bid value.” Guarantee deposits for enterprises sold by the AKP are made at the Savings Bank. Page 4

The AMC surprise/Minister Muçi signs the contract The contract for the sale of Albania’s only mobile-phone company has been signed. Yesterday, the Minister of Public Economy and Privatization, Mustafa Muçi, signed the transfer of AMC into the ownership of Telenor/Cosmote on behalf of the Albanian Government. Ivar Slipe signed for the former, while Evangelos Martigopoulos signed for Cosmote. Page 11

Special Page 12

Today, at 11:00, at Hotel Rogner, PR Chairman Fatmir Mediu will hold a press conference. Representatives of the diplomatic corps are also invited.