The country is heading toward an even more serious crisis. Elections now seem very far away The President promulgates the law. Vranicki: “Talk to Fino” Parliament’s version is opposed. The situation in the South is worsening. 7 parties reaffirm their anti-Berisha stance The country is heading toward an even more serious crisis. Elections now seem very far away Parties to Berisha: Now vote by yourself The President promulgates the law. Vranicki: “Talk to Fino” Parliament’s version is opposed. The situation in the South is worsening. 7 parties reaffirm their anti-Berisha stance The OSCE mediator leaves, threatening: “We will not bring you aid.” The Austrian diplomat will return next week On page 3 Yesterday, the former chancellor held new meetings. From Fino to Berisha. The President: “The law we passed meets all the requirements” On page 3 The parties unite: “We will not take part in the elections.” Godo: “With this law, there is no question of it.” Protests from others too On page 2 Vranicki with his finger in his mouth

Andrea Stefani The urgent arrival of Vranicki in Tirana made us hope that, above the hatred, intrigues, resentments and petty partisan passions of Albania’s political leaders, consensus would finally prevail. But sadly, Vranicki has left and we once again find ourselves facing the danger of new chaos. It is only the fatal number of 115 constituencies, enshrined in the electoral law approved by Parliament, that is revealing everything. The opposition demands that it be changed, while the PD is determined to defend it at all costs. A clash that risks hurling the country once again into the maelstrom of chaos. Primarily responsible for the country’s socioeconomic collapse, Albania’s political class is once again demonstrating its inability to pull the country out of the abyss [?] into which it has plunged it with its own hands. The presence of foreign tutors—sadly as necessary as it is fruitless—can only be explained by the quarrels arising from the infantile stage of present-day Albanian politics. The magic of the situation remains. The number 115 is not to blame either. This heated debate about the number would be entirely absurd in a normal pluralist state. But Albania is not yet such a state. Since 26 May last year, distrust, fear and hostility have been swirling in the Albanian political arena. Many parties fear that a law with a pronounced majoritarian profile would provide a basis for the PD to manipulate the elections extremely successfully. This fear is based on OSCE observers’ reports of the intensive manipulation of the 26 May elections by the PD. Thus, what pushes political debate in Albania to the borders of absurdity is the fact that its roots lie not in a commitment to perfecting the rules of the pluralist game, but in their violation. None of the political opponents trusts that free and fair elections will be held in Albania at a time when many people are armed. That is why they are fighting over the constituencies where ... ... of the Albanians is once again demonstrating its inability to lead the country out of the abyss [?] into which it rolled it with its own hands. The presence of foreign authors—sadly, as necessary as it is unproductive—can only be explained by the disputes arising from the infantile stage of today’s Albanian politics. But what is the magic of the number 115? Why has Albanian politics split irreconcilably in two, based on how much they love or hate it? An antagonistic debate over the structure of the electoral law has seriously revived the prospect of new elections. Initially, the sides clashed fiercely over the merits of a majoritarian or proportional law. It took the May agreement, in the presence of Vranicki, for the sides to agree on a majoritarian-proportional law. But that was not enough. Before the ink on the signatures in the agreement had even dried, another dispute began. This time it was about the quantitative balance between the majoritarian and proportional systems. And once again the crisis intensified. Its chilling echoes, spreading through the world’s chancelleries, prompted Vranicki to fly back to Tirana, this time without success. A series of major obstacles lay ahead: a law adopted by the PD parliamentary majority establishing 115 electoral districts with the same structure as in May 1996. The PD insists that it has honored the May agreement, which called for a majoritarian-proportional law without specifying the proportions between them. But most of the other parties refuse to enter the election with this district structure. According to them, the existing division into 115 districts was arranged so that, in some districts, members of parliament are elected by fewer voters than in others. The opposition to the PD acknowledges that the districts most favored by the law are those where [?] the PD has strongly backed and insisted that the greatest opportunities for manipulation exist. Which party is right? Perhaps neither. Because, in essence, all the versions of the law they have proposed and debated have a democratic aim. The opposing sides are trying to resolve their disagreements democratically. But instead of bringing democracy, these have deepened the political deadlock and the crisis of parliamentarism. To bring these matters to a close, I list such issues, but three [?] of them have been resolved. The parliamentary election commission, the democratic parliament, conditioned [?] and the democratic law. The opposing sides are trying democratically to find a democratic solution. But this also requires a shared will. If one side shows that it has sufficient will to make such democratic decisions, then that means it is afraid of democratic elections. One side has concluded that trying to manipulate the elections is pointless, but if the manipulation is carried out by one party, and it is true. Moreover, if this is true, it means that ...

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VLORË, FIERY MEETING OF 15 REPRESENTATIVES VLORË—Numerous debates among representatives of the Rescue Committees in the South. What will happen to the committees in the new situation created after the PD’s approval of the election law? What will their future role be? Representatives of 15 committees gathered yesterday in Vlorë to discuss these issues. One group defended the more peaceful position, trying to propose stances that would raise the committees’ political profile. On page 2 From the protests in the city of Vlorë

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Magnitude 4.8 tremor TIRANA - Another disaster came close to being added to those that have already engulfed Albania. This time, the danger had natural causes. An earthquake seriously shook several districts. Fortunately, there have been no casualties or significant material damage. According to an official announcement from the Seismological Institute of the Academy of Sciences of Tirana, the earthquake occurred a few minutes after 9 a.m. Its magnitude was 4.8 on the Richter scale. According to this service, the epicenter of the frightening tremor was in a seismically active area between the lakes of Pogradec and Prespa. According to the same source, the latest earthquake in Albania was felt in many cities across the country. These included Korça, Pogradec, Elbasan, Librazhd, Berat, Vlora and Tirana. Greek specialized agencies have reported an earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale. According to the Athens Geodynamic Institute, the epicenter was in Albanian territory, on the shore of Prespa, about 450 kilometers from Athens. The tremors were also recorded by the National Center for Seismic Services in Strasbourg, France. There have been no reports of casualties or material damage in Greece either.

The socialist leader has USD 7.2 million in liabilities TIRANA - The Nano case may be reopened once again in the Tirana Court. At least, that is what the socialist leader’s lawyer, Përparim Sanxhaku, has stated. “We sought acquittal, while Berisha merely granted him amnesty”—this is lawyer Sanxhaku’s reasoning. He warns that a further request will be submitted to the court for the judges to reopen the Nano case file. This apparently is being done not only to restore justice for the former prime minister, whom international human-rights organizations have long described as a political prisoner, but also because the amnesty did not forgive Nano the sum of 7.2 million dollars that he is required to pay the state under the final ruling of the Court of Cassation. Along with the final ruling on the prison sentence he had to serve, the former head of government in 1991 and leader of the Socialist Party had also been ordered to pay the state damages. And not a small amount, but 7.2 million dollars. The damage Nano had caused, according to the judges’ ruling, was assessed as stemming from the food aid allocated to Albania. However, while in Italy at least four people who had been accused of collaborating with Nano and other defendants in connection with the aid scandal were acquitted, in Albania Nano had ended up in prison. Meanwhile, in February of last year, the Ministry of Finance sent a letter to the Enforcement Office attached to the Tirana Court, asking it to enforce the ruling requiring the former prime minister to pay 7.2 million dollars in damages. But things went awry [?] just as they did: the prison cells were emptied [?], and Nano was suddenly found to be under pressure [?]. A few days after the prisons were opened, President Berisha issued a pardon for dozens of prisoners who had meanwhile been arrested, and Fatos Nano was also on the list. But Sanxhaku’s lawyer says he can now ask the court for another trial, in which he will insist on his client’s innocence, dissatisfied with the pardon. (me.ki) Lawyer Sanxhaku: “We will ask the court for an acquittal. We don’t want mercy.”

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On page 2 HANO “The President should begin a new round of negotiations” On page 3 PARLIAMENT Farewell night: The final role of the actors in the crisis On page 4 On page 5