ACCOUNT / A close associate of the former Prime Minister: Wiretaps in his office TIRANA - The wiretapping scandal appears to be deepening ever further. It seems that the highest levels of the state were also under surveillance. The people with microphones [?] spied without making any apparent distinction, on everything that could serve the secret service’s purposes. The then Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi was also among those spied on. Meksi himself has refused to confirm this, but people who witnessed how delicate conversations were kept safe at the Prime Minister’s office have confirmed it to Gazeta Shqiptare as well. He is now a man engaged in his own private business. A few years ago—not so long ago—he was one of the people who could move almost freely around the building housing Meksi’s staff, when the latter was still Prime Minister. Were the powerful people in government spied on or not? This question was also prompted by statements from people who were then part of the powerful structures of government. One of them, now chairman of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry, Azem Hajdari, publicly stated in Parliament that Gazidi’s [?] people were eavesdropping on his conversations, even very private ones. On page 7

The Government dips into state reserves for the Kosovars Berisha: Now ready for war TIRANA - For every Kosovar who takes a displaced family into their home, 1,500 lekë will be paid; with 10,000 refugees having arrived within three days, the payments amount to 100,000 dollars. In addition, the Government has also decided to draw on the state reserves for a sum of 50 million lekë. Berisha calls for war in Kosovo: “When war comes, you have to fight it,” the Democratic leader said yesterday at a press conference. On page 11

A harsh threat: Be careful when you leave Tirana “For the second time, after Parliament, you’ve betrayed me” TROPOJA ATTACK / Police insist: It was solely a personal act TIRANA - Azem Hajdari threatens Fatos Nano. “He’d better watch out, because his trips outside Tirana aren’t safe,” Hajdari said yesterday, a day after surviving an assassination attempt in Tropoja. “He intends to flee, but we’ll bring him back very soon,” he added. Yesterday, the December Movement leader ruled out personal motives for the attack against him in Tropoja and directly held Nano responsible for what happened to him in the city of Bajram Curri. According to him, personal motives had to be immediately ruled out in this clear act of implementing the communists’ platform to retain power by physically eliminating opponents. “I’m waiting for them to condemn the act,” said Hajdari, taking an uncompromising stance and hinting at more radical positions toward the current state leaders. “I can no longer tolerate it: he threatens me with bullets in Parliament, and now they’ve betrayed me in Tropoja,” he added at the press conference. On page 2

On page 9 Marlboro

SPEAKING FROM THE HOSPITAL, FORMER HEAD OF RTSH TIRANA - Bardhyl Pollo, former head of RTSH, recounts from the Military Hospital the attack on him, Hajdari and Minarolli. “It wasn’t revenge, but a genuine political assassination attempt,” Pollo said yesterday in an interview with the newspaper. The injured man, whose health is not causing much concern, described how the attack happened, who was leading it and how they survived. “They fired at us with a heavy machine gun, threw a grenade at us too; we went through a nightmare...” On page 2

OPINION THE MOMENT Dhimlitar Anagnosti Kosovo is burning and people are being killed; Kosovo is being destroyed and taking the roads of exile. Every day, all day long, we see, hear and read what has happened and what may happen... What should be done? How should it be done? Who should do it? When should it be done? ... and so on. So many opinions, so many positions, when only one is needed. It is time to “consult” seriously and truly with Albania’s friends [?], with those who left, heartbroken over the national cause. I think the point at which the entire Albanian people find themselves, wherever they may be, is dramatic but also fateful: Albanians must fight. They must combine the strength of a negotiating mind with that of a fighting arm and shed blood like men. Patriotism is not learned only from books and stories; patriotism arises naturally through the great struggles of war and building. If we are determined in this purpose, the world will listen to and respect us. When the Albanians of Kosovo took up arms to defend their homes, the international community moved and the issue was internationalized, just as the War of Vlora was needed for the Peace Conference to change its position in 1920. We have shed much blood, some here and some there. Now is the time for broad, unified, all-Albanian action, as a whole: One Nation, One Position. That is why I say this moment is fateful. The arguments that the Albanian state is economically and militarily weak are baseless. That is not Albania’s problem; Albania’s problem is its moral and civic handicap. Therefore, fulfilling the imperative of the national cause would transform it morally and mentally, restoring those instruments that would then create economic prosperity and strength. The struggle for freedom is a daily force. One [sentence unclear] destroyed and left in Kosovo, but its tail must extend deep into Albania. Albanians wherever they are must line up, not as selfish individuals but as a compact community. And if it is not tightly united, fulfilling this supreme duty will finally bring it together. Which superpower would win against peoples fighting for freedom? France and America? The USA in Vietnam? Or the Soviet Union in Afghanistan? We will also have a cemetery for the Fallen! But which people does not have one and take pride in it? Better such a sacred altar than thousands of anonymous graves opened by brother against brother, in a fenced-in state where it is frightening to live. That is why I say this moment is still fateful. Partisan politicking over what is happening in Kosovo today, and mutual accusations and statements, are a bad omen for the fate of the Albanian people. Let us remain faithful to the pact “One Nation, One Position,” established through a unified strategy, to fulfil our supreme national duty with wisdom, morality, courage and sacrifice. Bread, salt and heart are far too little. Otherwise, at the end of this century we may hear another apology like that of Sir Edward Grey at the beginning of this century, and history will condemn us for what we did to the Albanian people!

SHKODËR - Piaca, as the people of Shkodër still call the museum street where for decades they took their evening strolls and met one another, remains a calling card of Shkodër. The terrible storm [?] of last year disfigured the main boulevard in a way that not even two world wars had done. On page 6

DURRËS - The city’s main boulevard is being repaired. Damaged by work carried out by utilities such as Telekom and Elektriku, Durrës’s main boulevard, which is paved with slabs, was repaired again for three [?] and slabs were put in place. But after one year, with the Municipality’s intervention, it was decided that the boulevard should once again be restored to its previous condition. On page 8

VLORË - The cement workers threaten to come out into Flag Square. The only factory to withstand the March ’97 earthquake is now at risk of closing because of the indifference of those who run it. Work has been suspended since January this year, and the livelihood of its 250 workers has been put at risk, bringing economic hardship to just as many families. On page 7

The city-cleaning drive starts on Monday The Municipality is given 9 vehicles to wash all the streets TIRANA - Want street-cleaning vehicles? Here you are. The local authorities had dreamed of this day, but they had not expected it to arrive so soon. Yesterday, Minister of Local Government Bashkim Fino attended a meeting with representatives of the Municipality, Prefecture, Water Supply Enterprise, Elektriku and Telekom. The reason? How to coordinate the work of cleaning up Tirana, a difficult task. The mayor said yesterday that at the meeting Minister Fino had offered the municipal departments responsible for cleaning a further nine vehicles as assistance. On page 5

YESTERDAY: THE TRIAL Leka Zogu The court begins hearing the case concerning the monarchists’ rally. Leka Zogu and the Minister of the Royal Court, Aedin Mulosmani, are charged with organizing and leading the armed uprising. On page 4

Tomorrow: a fantastic offer: Three installments together. Brazil begins... Tomorrow: a fantastic offer: Three installments together. Brazil begins...