Tragedy in the city: dozens wounded. The army on alert Prime Minister Meksi files a complaint in court: “The Vlora students’ strike is illegal. It must be dispersed” Protesters surround the local SHIK building. Fierce clashes between the two sides continued until after midnight VLORA - Vlora was bloodied again. This time severely and tragically. “One dead and dozens wounded, two of them in serious condition; now you’ll have to excuse me, the ambulance is bringing another wounded person”—the voice of one of the employees at Vlora Hospital, who confirmed the news to Gazeta Shqiptare, needed no further comment. The man killed last night was named Fatmir Tozaj. Just an hour later, another person at the hospital confirmed: “Twenty wounded and one dead. The injuries were caused by firearms and knife blows.” Only moments after the news reached the capital, the army was also mobilized. Dozens of heavy trucks were seen last night speeding through the streets of Tirana at an unusual pace. Their destination seemed clear, although the military themselves—we asked several of them last night—were unclear about the reason for the order they had received. While doctors fought death in the operating rooms, the vehicles bringing in the wounded from the “night battle” kept arriving at the hospital. Shortly after midnight, another exhausted voice from the hospital confirmed “three dead and many wounded.” Last night it was truly difficult to tally the dead and wounded. People lying down, impossible to tell whether they were alive or dead; vehicles coming and going without pause; and very loud gunshots and explosions, which last night made Vlora look like a war zone. People, who have been guarding the courageous students for some time, gathered for the third civil evening. A knife wielded by one of the “civilians” was plunged into the body of a 17-year-old, and the van sped off toward the Naval School. “It headed straight for SHIK”; in fact, the SHIK building in Vlora lies in that direction. As two nights earlier, dozens of cars from Vlora took to the streets, heading for the SHIK building, where a fierce clash began. Dozens of cars sped toward the place where the SHIK headquarters is located. At first, the student hunger strikers did not know what was happening around them. “We saw many enraged people, but we still don’t know exactly what happened; the situation seems very tense, more than usual,” one of the students replied over the phone. Only moments later did they too learn that the tragedy was far worse than they could have imagined. The gunfire and blood had spread everywhere. Vlora had once again been badly bloodied. The city hospital went through another night of terror yesterday. Various vehicles kept bringing in bloodied people, who at first could not be identified as alive or dead. According to demonstrators, “three of the wounded were abducted by unknown people, and this triggered another movement of vehicles carrying the living or the dead; vehicles going back and forth without pause, and many, many gunshots and explosions that made Vlora look like a battlefield last night.” The SHIK building was meanwhile surrounded by deeply enraged people. The terrifying gunfire and dynamite explosions continued late into the night. According to the accounts of many eyewitnesses, the serious incident began at around 21:20. As the city’s protest had been going on for some time after another exhausting day, a van—witnesses say it had Tirana plates—approached the building of the University, where the student hunger strikers were sheltering. “Hand over the weapons you have with you,” said the 10–15 civilians who got out of the vehi- Various vehicles kept bringing in the wounded, covered in blood, and at first it was impossible to tell whether they were alive or not. According to the demonstrators, “three of the wounded have been abducted by unknown people,” and this prompted another wave of vehicles belonging to the people of Vlora. At around 23:30, the courtyard of the SHIK building was engulfed in a fierce fire, while the violent clashes continued. According to initial accounts, which have not yet been fully confirmed, the van that caused the incident abducted several of the people who had confronted the plainclothes officers. Gunshots in Vlora could be heard until after midnight, and confirming accurate reports about the city’s latest tragedy proved truly difficult. One thing needed no confirmation: last night, Vlora was a slaughterhouse. ar.me./fa.bax. Demonstrations in the city of Vlora yesterday (Photo REUTERS)

TIRANA - Today is the day of reckoning for the “Kamber” company. As it had announced, today the company is to begin distributing capital sums of up to 2 million old lekë. After numerous ultimatums and requests from the company’s clients—one concerning a change to the date for paying out the money and to the amounts to be distributed—the company’s creditors set 1 March as the date for the start of the capital payouts. Three weeks ago, a notice posted on the façade of one of the company’s branches in Tirana announced that “Kamber” would begin distributing capital on 1 March, but the amounts would be in the range of 50,000–200,000 lekë. This company has stopped paying interest for more than a month. For two weeks in a row, its representatives have been working on taking inventory and drawing up lists of clients who deposited up to 200,000 lekë, a group estimated to account for around 60 percent of clients. The head of Kamber had decided to pay this group first. The date set for the start of this operation was 1 March. However, after the announcement, the company’s clients reacted categorically, demanding that the date for the capital payout be brought forward to 20 February; they also issued an ultimatum to president Ferdinand Kamberi, warning that “we will escalate our demands further.” They also requested that the capital be paid in two instalments, one of [text unclear], but up to a further 5 million lekë. The clients also asked to meet Kamberi and be informed about the company’s financial situation, so they could learn what guarantees existed for their money. But none of these requests were fulfilled, so today is the day that remains for finding out whether Kamberi will keep his promise to complete the process of distributing the capital, even in the amounts he announced. (me.ki)

EU envoy declares: “New aid? Not at the moment” TIRANA - While Meksi speaks of Albania being on the brink of a macroeconomic catastrophe, Berisha says he has the support of the European Union, but the IMF reiterates that there will be no special assistance for the crisis. Meanwhile, a mission from Brussels has stated that, apart from what was set out in the message from the foreign ministers, it has not decided at this time to provide new assistance to Albania. The representative of the EU Presidency met two senior officials in Tirana as well as several opposition parties. The IMF representative in Tirana said that a mission would arrive soon to begin talks on signing another ESAP agreement worth USD 60 million, but stressed that there would be no special financing for the crisis in the country. The head of the high-level delegation from the EU, D’Asembourg, said he had come here to deliver a message to the President and the Foreign Minister. He said that the EU had Albania. “We have merely elaborated on the message from the European foreign ministers,” he explained. A statement from President Berisha’s press office publicizes the support the delegation has given Albania. During the meeting with the Socialists, the envoy urged them to enter Parliament.

Tirana, nothing new from the first meeting TIRANA - PD and PS lower their swords. Majko shone; they shook hands with one another and then sat face to face at a huge oval table. After 90 minutes, the two political giants said tersely that there were no conditions or circumstances for dialogue in the talks held yesterday.

Clubs: Let it begin when the situation calms down TIRANA - Starting the Championship under the present circumstances would be an adventure. We have already stated our opinion on when it should begin: when the situation has calmed down, and it is played according to the classic home-and-away format. We will accept no other solution.” This was the conclusion of today’s meeting between the football club officials and the FSHF. They even opposed a particular proposal according to which the championship could begin without the so-called rebel teams. On page 7

SPECTACLE The well-known singer will give her first performance for the public of this city at a “Bingo-show” in Durrës. Ardit Krasta will be with her. On page 6

TIRANA - None of the television journalists has been fired. This response from the RTV headquarters has so far had no repercussions. They have refused to go and report from Vlora because, on many occasions, their lives have been put at risk. The city’s protesters have rejected the cameras of Albanian TV because, according to them, the reports made so far have not been realistic. This has caused relations between the two sides to deteriorate and has forced the television journalists to refuse to cover the strike. Nevertheless, no one—not even the journalist Marash Mirashi—has been fired.

Yesterday’s demonstrations in the city of Vlora (Photo REUTERS)

Today at 14:00 the fate of the student hunger strikers will be decided. The Court calls on the strike file concerning those mentioned for “assistance” On page 5 Gjirokastra stands in solidarity with the students. Work is suspended; march toward the University. Two students in the occupied building receive medical assistance On page 3 If Meksi’s request is approved, the police will have to intervene to forcibly remove the students On page 5

“Gazeta Shqiptare” apologizes to all its readers for not publishing the weekly insert “Gazeta TV” in today’s issue. For technical reasons, it was not possible to put together the program this week.