A ministry official tells Republika Six companies in the hands of 4 people in power Two oil companies work for Ilir Meta Page 9

Page 9 EDITORIAL By Neritan ALIBALI Albania’s Prime Minister, Ilir Meta, at a rally of his party in Durrës, threatened voters that if they did not vote for the Socialist candidate, the government would not provide Durrës with investment funds. The Prime Minister’s statement is a dangerous precedent for the country’s future. It is the first step into an anticipated era of state intimidation that leaves people without bread, frightens them, and forces Albanian citizens to return to the forgotten practices of Socialist readiness. His party’s tendency to divide Albanians into “us” and “them” began during the incubation period of its hunger for power. It has grown rapidly, along with the political developments that made it possible for the Socialists to take power. Today, a hungry PS supporter is ready to forget his hunger in order to give a good beating to an equally hungry opposition supporter. In such a neurotic environment, it is very easy for Albanian politicians to incite the language of hatred, intolerance and everlasting conflicts. All this hatred, accumulated from earlier historical periods and overdosed in recent years, is the foundation on which this dirty election campaign has been built, with the food, work and lives of Albanians as its most threatened elements. Alongside intimidation, manipulation of public opinion completes the campaign’s filth with corrupt and hypocritical elements, exposing those in power as eager to rule forever. And when a head of government, who suffers severely from the infantile disease of exaltation, manages to offer citizens either the carrot or the stick depending on how they vote, then what else can Albanians do but bend their backs and wait for him to become prime minister, and, once he tires of riding the citizens, to climb down from their backs himself—something that would constitute a peaceful and democratic descent, in accordance with all “universally” accepted norms.

The rally / A thousand police officers for Skënderbej Square The Socialists manage to gather in Skënderbej Square to celebrate the close of the election campaign on 1 October. But rather than a celebration and the enthusiasm of victory, the PS rally ... proved to be a display of schizophrenia on the part of this party’s candidate for the Tirana municipality, who was ... also joined by Prime ... Minister Meta and Ed Rama’s “volunteers” wearing scarves and campaign T-shirts. The rally, which began late, after midday, was opened by the head of the PS in Tirana, Musa Ulqini, who immediately gave the floor to the leader of the Socialists, Fatos Nano. After the latter delivered his usual speech, people heard Edi Rama’s shouts.

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How Rama managed the Ministry’s assets Many of the movable items purchased through tenders by the Ministry of Culture to serve it in organizing various activities are no longer on the ministry’s premises. Amplifiers, video projectors, transmitters or other movable equipment, which the ministry purchased over the last two years to organize activities in various cities around the country, can no longer be found in the ministry’s offices and warehouses. (Those pieces of equipment have nothing to do with the purchased object.) Page 5

The robbery / Police arrive 15 hours late The offices of the Republican Party in the city of Gjirokastër were broken into. The news was reported yesterday morning to the newspaper “Republika” by Qani Shehu, secretary of the PR branch in this district. According to him, the incident was discovered the day before yesterday evening, at around 18:00, when the local PRSH leader arrived at his office to work. The Republican secretary was astonished to see that the office door had been broken open. Page 2

Want to become a Tirana resident? After 1 October it costs 600 thousand lekë Tirana gains 1,200 new residents every month Page 6

Kënga magjike: songs, surprises and stars Page 21