PD signs the boycott: “We will not return unless Nano goes...” Majko: “Don’t leave.” PS signs a new agreement with its allies: “They will govern the local authorities together” TIRANA - PD and its allies are boycotting Parliament. The largest opposition party will organize protests throughout the country against “the clique that came to power through gangs and massive fraud.” These were the decisions adopted yesterday by the National Council. Nano and his cabinet’s resignation, the departure of Parliament’s leadership, and the dismissal of the Guard commander and the head of SHIK are the conditions that PD decided yesterday to put forward in order to return to Parliament. Berisha’s harsh rhetoric at yesterday’s gathering grew progressively more strident. “The criminal clique that rules Albania today is ready to kill children in their mothers’ wombs,” the former president declared. Berisha again accused Nano, Meidani, Dokle and Gjinushi of being “the organizers of Azem Hajdari’s murder.” According to Berisha, from December 8, 1990, until Hajdari was shot, all political crimes were linked to one name: Fatos Nano. Berisha declared yesterday that he was not calling for early elections, but was inviting everyone to take part in protests. On page 2 HAJDARI SHOOTING / Yesterday, the National Council’s decision: “The street will be our alternative Assembly” Vehbi Alimucaj at yesterday’s press conference (Photo: P. Ilo)

TIRANA - “Where do you stand on transparency?” That is what World Bank Vice President Johannes Linn asked the Albanian Prime Minister. The issue of the pyramid schemes remains a terrifying and chilling obstacle to concluding talks with the IMF and the World Bank. A law was drafted in cooperation with the World Bank to thaw the strained relations with the IMF and unblock the World Bank’s projects. But the problem does not end there. For the Albanian Government, the problems that implementation of the law will bring have only just begun. The Court of Appeals has removed one company from the transparency list. Soon, one such symbolic ruling will be followed by another. Who will be the subject of transparency if we remove the companies from the list one by one and put the law into effect? IMF representatives in Tirana say the Government still has options, despite the Constitutional Court. The World Bank representative in Tirana says transparency must be carried out for the sake of the country, but democratically; the Government, they say, will decide how this is done and how the law is implemented. Meanwhile, senior World Bank representatives insist that the process of privatizing the phenomenon in question move forward. Those involved in the transparency process should become aware of the issue. Will the phenomenon in question ever be fully and completely brought to light? For different people, “transparency” means different things. For the IMF and the World Bank, transparency means establishing the scale of the phenomenon, which has not yet been determined. For politicians, it means finding out which of their opponents were involved in usury schemes. For people, it simply means knowing where their money has gone and whether they will ever get it back. But will transparency ever truly be achieved?

A GANG ATTACKS THE POLICE STATION GRAMSH - Eight hours of clashes between the police and a gang in Gramsh. After mistreating a police officer, the four assailants headed to the town’s police station, firing a volley of shots at it. The police returned fire, but the available equipment and forces were insufficient. Special forces from Elbasan came to help. On page 5

Mechanism ready for raising it to the surface BARI - The ship that will bring the victims of Otranto to the surface has arrived in Brindisi. Yesterday morning, the ship “Storm” docked at the port, carrying all the equipment built to raise “I katërti i Radës”, the Albanian vessel that sank 87 victims to the bottom of the sea during a collision with the Italian military motorboat “Sibilla”. The ship will carry on board a tubular steel structure equipped with sophisticated electronic instruments. It is 27 metres long and 13 metres wide, was built in La Spezia, Italy, and can move autonomously. During operations to raise the wreck, the mechanism will receive data from the support vessel, while underwater cameras will film all the manoeuvres carried out at depth. The structure will encircle the Albanian vessel, which lies at a depth of 800 metres, and will then secure it at its base at four points using several hooked arms, thereby allowing it to be raised. However, the ocean-going vessel that will carry out the final raising of the Albanian ship is expected to arrive at the end of the month. The Albanian ship “I katërti i Radës” has lain at the bottom of the Strait of Otranto since last March 28. So far, it has only been possible to recover three bodies, which have been identified, and one skeleton which, judging by its size, may have belonged to a child. The ship was initially scheduled to be recovered at the beginning of September, but production of the equipment to raise it to the surface appears to have encountered a great deal of work. Meanwhile, the survivors of this tragedy have staged numerous protests, accusing the governments of indifference to their case.

“The US will continue to support you” TIRANA - Milo meets Clinton in New York. A few weeks after taking up the post of foreign minister, Paskal Milo receives a promise from the American President to help Albania. “The United States of America will continue to support Albania.” These were the words exchanged by US President Clinton during his, naturally brief, meeting with the Albanian Foreign Minister. Clinton met Milo during a reception hosted by the American head of state for the heads of government delegations in New York, on the occasion of the 52nd session of the United Nations General Assembly. Milo, who headed the official delegation from Tirana in place of Nano, thanked the US President for the contribution and special assistance that the great country has given to developments in Albania over the past few years. Are these the first signs of a normalization of relations between Tirana and Washington? Milo’s meeting with Clinton—although it lasted only a few minutes—seems to be restoring the enthusiastic atmosphere of a few years ago, when the Americans were so keen to support Albania. Berisha, then President, would always speak in glowing terms whenever he talked about relations with that country. The cooling-off began only after the May 26, 1996 elections, when the US repeatedly criticized violations of democracy in Albania. The appointments linked to the frightening phenomenon of pyramid schemes seem to have soured these relations even further. In these circumstances, the opposition at the time, now in power, began sending a message during the election campaign that normalization and cooperation with the US should be a priority in Albania’s foreign policy. p.re. Mechanism ready for raising it to the surface Albanian foreign minister receives promise of assistance The Otranto tragedy: Milo with Clinton in New York

FIER — On page 6 FIER Masked men rob people in the street. On page 6

32 NEW NAMES — On page 6 32 NEW NAMES “Kakavija” “changes” the blood. On page 6

TIRANA — On page 4 TIRANA Bullets kill police officer. On page 4

SHKODËR — Attack on the heads of the Ministry of Culture. The explosive blew up a “Volsvagen” car and also caused damage to two others. The incident took place on Saturday afternoon in front of the Rozafa Hotel. “It was an attack,” says Moikom Zeqo, director of the National Museum. “They warned us back in Tirana. The Shkodër police themselves told us not to set out because of the tense situation in the city,” Mr. Zeqo recounted. Together with other people from the Ministry of Culture, they had set off for the northern city to attend a photography exhibition. “We were inside the exhibition when we heard several bursts of automatic gunfire. At first we were afraid, but the people around us said this was something that happened every day,” Zeqo’s account continues, “but only a few minutes passed before we heard the terrible explosion.” The explosive device, placed beside a parked car near the Rozafa Hotel, according to police sources, detonated at around 14:00. Three cars were near the blast. “Our mission was to end on Monday, the day we had planned to return to Tirana, but after what happened we changed our plans and returned on Sunday,” says Zeqo. The attack on Saturday came immediately after an explosive device was placed at the home of the Socialist Party. “It is a political attack against the socialist forces. Berisha’s right-wingers did it”—this was the version given by the head of the National Museum. They had come to Shkodër as part of a group with Culture Minister Dade for an exhibition. The explosion is an attack, we state, on articles of citizens’ homes.