ELECTION CONTROVERSY / Key issues and contradictions: the electoral law, genocide, the Committees CoE: Berisha does not believe in compromise Visit concludes: “It is up to the parties to convince him” TIRANA - “Berisha is the only one who does not believe in a compromise on the election law. The parties must convince him.” This is the message from the European delegation from Strasbourg concerning the controversy over the Albanian elections and how the parties should proceed toward them. The political directors of the Council of Europe held meetings and spoke with all sides, while the gap between the Democratic Party and the other political forces remains open. According to the delegation’s statements, President Berisha is very concerned about the Public Salvation Committees, and he has made their dissolution a precondition. On page 2

SHKODËR - A tragedy like the one a little over a month ago was avoided by only the narrowest of margins. “Irini”—the ship that had been sunk by Montenegro while carrying the “cargo of fear” across—has arrived, groaning under the strain of rust and age, at the fourth quay of the port of Bari. On board, thousands of Albanians who had set out from Velipoja endured 24 frightening hours. The ship had a capacity of over 18,000 ... [the rest of the text is cut off at the edge of the image]. Its capacity was many times smaller than the number it actually carried, and the terrifying hours spent on the black Friday of March 28 last year nearly caused panic and tears to break out again. Fortunately, that did not happen, but this in no way diminishes the extraordinary “adventure” experienced by thousands of people, most of them from Shkodër, in search of a better life. On page 5 The “Irini” ship in the waters near the port of Brindisi

POLLO No vote without the disarmament of the South “Our positions have not changed. The Committees are an obstacle” On page 2

EU The roundtable on Albania met last night Vranicki will be heard at the meeting of Foreign Ministers On page 2

“They threatened us” TIRANA - Kalashnikov barrels were pointed at two members of the Albanian Parliament, Alfred Serreqi and Feim Godo. As the two politicians, from Albania’s newest party, were returning to Tirana, they were stopped near Thumana by three people, one of them masked. They were threatened, their car was taken, and it was riddled with bullets. On page 5 Serreqi’s damaged car

The second meeting also fails

Alimuçaj accuses Lunik: “You swallowed our money” TIRANA - The first trials concerning the financial pyramid schemes will soon begin at the Tirana Court. Investigations are nearly complete, and the Prosecutor’s Office is ready to submit the case files to the Court. Almost like a squadron, the perpetrators of Albania’s fraud schemes will be charged one after another; but, with the exception of Sude, who will be present in the dock, the others will be represented only by lawyers. After much uproar over guilt and innocence, the bosses of the usury schemes, including Bashkim Driza and Rrapush Xhaferri, will not appear before the judges to give explanations. For weeks now they have been enjoying a quiet life elsewhere, leaving behind in Albania only the catastrophic consequences of those pyramid schemes. Meanwhile, in an announcement, the Kamberi company stated that the money-distribution operation would begin in the third ten-day period of May. Bashkim Driza Rrapush Xhaferri

TIRANA - Albania bows before its martyrs. Its cities held yesterday a commemorative ritual for the people who gave their lives in the efforts to liberate it. Hundreds of people across Albania bought flowers yesterday, to place them afterwards on the graves of their sons killed for the great cause of freedom. Grand tributes and honors for the martyrs in Tirana. The country’s highest political figures stood silently for a few moments, bowing respectfully before the earth where the bodies of the nation’s heroes rest in peace. President Berisha, accompanied by other prominent figures of the country, Parliament Speaker Pjetër Arbnori and Prime Minister Bashkim Fino, went yesterday to pay tribute at the Martyrs’ Cemetery in Tirana. A few minutes of silence before the monument to Mother Albania. Then came wreaths laid by Berisha and other state officials at the monument, which immortalizes the glory and honor that Albania reserved for its own sons of freedom. President Berisha, Parliament Speaker Arbnori and the head of the National Reconciliation Government, Bashkim Fino, met with members of the martyrs’ families at the Martyrs’ Cemetery. Nearby, in Vlora, Shkodër, Korçë and Pogradec, local residents and ordinary people bowed respectfully before the fallen. In the coastal city of Vlora, wreaths for the martyrs were also laid in honor of Vlora’s martyrs, Reshep Mejdani and Nako Doko.

TIRANA - He could not bear the weight of the crime he had committed by killing his brother, and a day later he killed himself as well. A rare tragedy that has now plunged a family into mourning and left several little children orphaned. Three days ago, a tragedy had shaken the residents of the village of Yzberisht. Two brothers had argued over the sale of a fence, a type of quarrel that has now become one of the most commonplace in Albanian families. In the heat of the moment, one of them had taken a gun and shot his brother. The day before yesterday was his funeral. But three days later tempers had cooled and the blood had run cold. Then the killer, aged 32, realized what he had done. Thus, having taken his 27-year-old brother’s life, he had caused his family immense pain. But now that pain had also overwhelmed him, and in a moment of despair he did the unthinkable: he had killed his brother. It tormented him so much that, after his brother’s funeral, he could no longer hold out. He killed himself. Perhaps he himself found peace, since he could not bear what he had done, but for his family there was one less person and one more bereavement. Thus, the lives of two young men were lost over so little. But if there had not been that damned gun in the house, the quarrel over a small piece of land would have ended with nothing more than an argument and two weeks of anger.

TIRANA - Nothing new from the Nano - Shehu meeting. Everything is back to square one between the leaders of the country’s two largest parties. “Nothing has changed in the DP; we expected different positions.” This was Nano’s statement after the meeting, followed by Shehu’s pessimism. “Something was achieved and something wasn’t,” the latter said, according to whom there was no agreement on many issues. On page 2 Yesterday’s Nano-Shehu meeting (Photo: Plator Ilo)

Prosecutors: “Senior officials will also be questioned” The tragic explosion: another military officer charged TIRANA - The investigation into the tragedy in Qafë-Shtamë may also send senior officials at the Ministry of Defense to prison. Prosecutors from the Military Prosecutor’s Office in Tirana appear to be climbing the chain of command to reach the highest-ranking people who bore responsibility for the greatest tragedy to occur within army institutions after its units exploded. At least, that is what sources at the prosecutor’s office in Tirana say; it is investigating the incident, which caused at least 28 deaths, intensively and swiftly. Yesterday another military officer accused in connection with the explosion while on duty appeared in court, in relation to the tragedy in Burrel. Frrrok Lleshi, 52, an officer at the Army base in Burrel, has been charged with an explosion while on duty and is now being investigated together with two other military officers from the unit in Qafë-Shtamë. The tragedy, which occurred several days ago, resulted in the deaths of at least 12 children. They, along with many adults, were in a military tunnel where artillery and other large-caliber weapons, as well as a great deal of explosives, had been used. Their carelessness caused gunpowder spilled from the brass cartridge cases they collected to sell to ignite; within seconds, the gunpowder turned the entire tunnel, which was carved into rock, into rubble. A total of 28 people died inside, many of them unidentified. After this loss, voices were raised blaming even the most senior officials at the Ministry of Defense, including Minister Vukaj himself. So far, however, the investigation has led to military personnel being held criminally responsible. But sources at the Military Prosecutor’s Office say the investigation will continue and that senior officials of this Ministry will also be among its targets. M. Kikia

SPORT Bundesliga: Bayern maintain their lead at the top A draw at the top of the German league. The Bavarian derby ends 3-3. On page 6 Klinsman

FROM THE WORLD Blair’s first meeting with Clinton The new prime minister assures the US he will not betray the alliance. On page 7

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VLORA “Alba” general’s appeal: Don’t shoot On page 3 BERAT War in the city: commercial “fines” On page 5 ELBASAN Bomb alert: police detonate it On page 5 DURRËS Italians repair Albanian warships On page 3