The PD rally is attacked with guns. Fighting in the square The Guard responds to Kalashnikov fire. Three of its members are wounded. Gunfire also erupts on the return to Tirana A bloody afternoon in the city where the anti-pyramid protests began. One of the wounded is in life-threatening condition Berisha at one of the election rallies LUSHNJE - Hail of bullets, hostility and two wounded—these were the events two days before the election campaign arrived. President Berisha himself was a witness to one of the bloodiest incidents to mark this year’s unusual election campaigns. Nine wounded among the civilian population and the guardsmen: this was the provisional toll reported from Lushnje, which has been swept by a wave of violence following the protests that accompanied the collapse of the “General Xhaferri” pyramid scheme. Yesterday, accompanied by the familiar strong wind, the leader of the Democratic Party was in Lushnje to hold an ordinary election rally, and once again found himself in the crosshairs of gunfire. After the incidents in Shkallëzuar and Elbasan, this is the third time weapons have been directed against the country’s leader. According to sources in Lushnje, the rally began like all the others. Several thousand residents of Lushnje and nearby villages had gathered to hear the President’s final speech before the elections, which were supposed to change everyone’s fate. At around 18:00, Berisha and the others began their dialogue with the people of Lushnje. In the evening, as they were on the outskirts of the town, gunshots rang out. At first, nobody—not even the people accompanying Berisha—made much of the echoes of gunfire reverberating across the town square. But the situation worsened when the shots were heard ever closer. Then the Presidential Guard and those present reacted; some began to flee the threat of the guns. The approach of armed groups—witnesses from Lushnje told Gazeta Shqiptare yesterday that the gunmen came so close that their slogans against the President could be heard—forced members of the Republic Guard to respond with a hail of bullets. The battle intensified. It was apparently at this point that nine people were wounded. Reports that arrived from Lushnje last night spoke of three wounded among the Guard and civilians. Most of the wounded were treated at the town hospital. Two appear to be more seriously injured; one of them, a member of the Guard troops, was transported to Tirana. Berisha, protected by his troops, left in the direction of Tirana, while the battle continued for several more minutes. Tension in Lushnje continued even after the President’s departure. The armed groups, who had become masters of the town after the convoy of cars left, tried to attack the police station, but later changed their minds. After 20:00, the town of Lushnje was calm; by then, the wounded from both sides were in hospital.

Devole, Cakulli and Llaka(i) stopped at Qafë e Muzinës SARANDË - “Sillo”—Koqo Devole—is inseparable from the other well-known comedian Filip Cakulli, familiar to everyone from the pages of the press. Nobody could have imagined that they would share the same political fate as in their other “poetic” endeavors. But the PD has circulated the news that Devole and Cakulli—the latter a candidate for this party in a district of Sarandë—were stopped at Qafa e Muzinës while trying to travel somewhere, carrying campaign propaganda materials with them. A band of four men armed with Kalashnikovs and hand grenades demanded explanations; they recognized the PD candidate, and the group was apparently not allowed to proceed with its journey. According to the same source, another well-known comedian, Argon Llakaj, who in this election has the position of “travelling member” on candidate Cakulli’s team, met the same fate, although it is not known where or how. The comedian was reportedly taken hostage. Among other things, the fate of the well-known comedian remains uncertain. Variety show in Tirana: “...” “Sillooo”

“Ballot boxes at 18:00.” The mediator in Tirana today TIRANA - A change to voting hours? All sides agree, including President Berisha himself. “Before leaving, perhaps forever, Albania, Vranicki managed to put something right once again. He confirmed that the Constitutional Court will give its ruling very soon,” otherwise the Central Commission itself will decide. Closing the polling stations at 19:00 was one of the main points discussed yesterday. Vranicki spoke of a “clash” between the two PD rallies in Tirana. “Both parties had set the same time,” said the former Austrian chancellor. As for the election results, Vranicki said they must not be contested; he also reminded Nano and Shehu not to forget a contract they themselves signed on 9 May this year.

FIER - An explosion in a car this morning caused three deaths and left one person seriously wounded. - An explosion in a car this morning caused three deaths and left one person seriously wounded. The car was passing through Fier’s central square when a powerful blast was heard. Local leaders of the Democratic Party said the victims were their activists. That same day, they had been among the organizers of a car rally held in Lushnje. Specialists from Tirana were expected to arrive to determine the type of explosive, but witnesses said that, as far as they could tell, the car had not been attacked from outside.

Gjirokastër, former “Omonia” leader GJIROKASTËR - Armed men have abducted Theodhori Bezhani, the former chairman of “Omonia” in Gjirokastër. Bezhani, now the owner of a soft-drink factory in the village of Freshtan, Gjirokastër, disappeared around midday. It appears only that he was forced into an unlicensed car, which was then followed and driven away. Bezhani, who had supported PBDNJ in Sarandë, says that what happened was a political act.

Strong accusation by the Albanian representative THE MARCH TRAGEDY TIRANA - “In the tragedy in the Strait of Otranto, responsibility lies with the Italian ship ‘Sibilla’,” Skënder Dule, an officer in the Albanian fleet and a specialist at Naval Command, tells Gazeta Shqiptare. The statement comes just days after the two Albanian technicians returned from Italy and after a two-page report was submitted to the Albanian authorities, setting out the two experts’ views on the incident. “The Italian ship and its commander made mistakes and violated all the rules of navigation in relation to the Albanian ship ‘I Katërti i Radës’,” Dule explains. “The Albanian ship was sighted in international waters and during the day. There was also every opportunity to avoid the collision and the subsequent sinking of the Albanian ship.” Skënder Dule goes on to say that “the current time frame proposed by the Italian side for raising the ship is long. Until September,” Dule says, “many objects belonging to the victims may decompose on the seabed, and these could help identify them.” Nevertheless, the Albanian technicians appear convinced by their Italian colleagues that the time needed for their operation to raise the ship is necessary. “The project seemed good to us,” Skënder Dule stresses, “and what matters is that it guarantees the ship can be brought to the surface without compromising its integrity.” Acknowledging the difficulties caused by the Albanian technicians’ not being involved from the beginning of the case, Dule says, “This must absolutely not happen during the raising of the ship. In September, the Albanian side must be allowed to be present alongside the technicians, the forensic doctor, the prosecutor and the engineers.” At this stage of the investigation, Italian law does not allow the majority of the evidence to be observed, and this would help the Albanian technicians arrive at a more accurate assessment. “All the objects should be made available to the investigator Leonardo De Castris, who is currently on holiday ...”

How much does the mediator pay? TIRANA - Meetings, press conferences, smiles, but also gloomy faces, demands and successes: Chancellor Franz Vranicki has now become as familiar to Albanians as their own politicians. On the news broadcasts he appears with a dignified bearing, accompanied by 102 Austrian aristocrats, and with his customary goodwill toward Albanians. Now the elections have begun knocking at the door, and perhaps someone will ask us: “What are we going to do now that we no longer have Vranicki?” Who knows how the former chancellor himself would answer that question. Perhaps he would say that the cooperation has been good, and that Albanians can easily give themselves the opportunity to ... Whatever the future of the now-established relationship between Vranicki and Albanian reality may be, everyone ... Arjan Çani

Bullets at the rally of the Right On page 10

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