Agim Tirana insists: We have evidence against people in power TIRANA - “We have factual evidence implicating very important people from both the opposition and the government as principal perpetrators of the March unrest.” This is what the head of investigations at the General Prosecutor’s Office, Agim Tirana, told Gazeta Shqiptare yesterday. He said that so far the team of prosecutors had managed to secure sufficient evidence, on which he would in the future base new warrants for the arrest of those implicated, whoever they might be. Yesterday, Tirana lumped together all those who, in his view, think they are capable of administering justice. Meanwhile, he confirmed the news that one of the principal perpetrators of the March unrest is a military man and is being held inside the cells of Prison 313. According to him, Nano has not influenced the arrests; indeed, for the moment Nano is simply a senior state official in his eyes. According to Tirana, the investigations are proceeding at a high intensity, while the people themselves have provided considerable support for their completion.

Kosovo, a cradle of gaffes ANDI BEJTJA At the end of March, before setting off for the second meeting of the Contact Group in Bonn, Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano declared, not without euphoria, that Albanian politics had managed to wrest Kosovo from Serbia’s clutches by having the issue addressed within the framework of the Yugoslav Federation. The day before yesterday, during his visit to Portugal, the Albanian Prime Minister declared that he wanted Kosovo to be part of a democratic Serbian Federation. Unable to make his dreams for progress in his own country come true, Nano did not hesitate to say how he dreamed of Serbia’s future. In his view, it should become a federated territory, with a coalition government, a parliament in which different political sensibilities would be represented, and Belgrade as its capital, reserving for itself the posts of foreign minister and defense minister. This is not the first time that the Albanian Prime Minister, through his statements, has made such personal gaffes, which have not only negatively affected the emotions of Albanians in Kosovo, but have also put the Albanian Foreign Ministry and the minister himself, Paskal Milo, in a difficult position; Milo has often had to play the role of the eraser. Nano’s various statements on Kosovo seem to have been not only a response to the traditions between the great powers, or to Europe-America contradictions, but also to his own personal whims. In November, in Crete, he called Albanians a minority and condemned the guerrilla war and the parallel institutions. In March, after returning from Bonn, following the threat of the maximum within the Yugoslav Federation, Nano expressed his full support for Rugova’s policy. Two months later, at the Kras Montanà meeting, he said that Rugova had lost his authority and that the KLA was a key element in Kosovo. At the same time, amid these statements, there has been a great deal of rapprochement and a dose of diplomatic pragmatism, and perhaps Nano himself is aware that Albania cannot play a key role in resolving the Kosovo issue in the current catastrophic situation in the region. The conclusion is that the only thing Albanians can ask of their Prime Minister is to be careful not to negatively affect the feelings of Albanians in Kosovo, Macedonia and the diaspora. And also to be clearer about his standing as an Albanian among the 7 million Albanians on this earth. ... taken in a verbal duel. And he has felt the heavy force of European bureaucracy. The low-ranking officials, domestic and foreign, in his Ministry of Finance and the IMF have learned very well how he should be treated. Consequently, he has also learned the danger posed by such bureaucrats. On the other hand, Berisha knows very well the corridors of the chancellery, unlike his opponent Nano. He has shaken hands with Kokli and Clinton, and with Bush and Chirac. It is quite possible that this experience has proved more valuable to him than the almost solitary and frequent meetings of the Prime Minister with his supposedly Macedonian counterpart. So the bombs, roadblocks, blowing up of poles, etc., have no effect at all! Reading two eminent Italian military scholars on the creation of the March 1997 crisis in the prestigious magazine “Lines,” one was struck by a simple conclusion. They wrote: “In Albania there was no need for the crisis to be managed. Neither by the secret services nor by any enemy. The petty delinquents, the hooligans aged 15 and over, took the country into their hands and divided it into spheres of influence. The simplest proof of this thesis occurred not only in March, but also at the beginning of October–November last year, when these types ... Is there a crisis? There is a crisis. It is natural that a Government unable to set the country’s development priorities has no reason to remain in office for long. It is natural that a Government that thinks the country can develop only through customs duties is equally natural that a Government which has undertaken to obtain foreigners’ money only through the projects it submits, but produces no projects, should not remain in office for long. Look carefully. The rules of the game have become more difficult than they seem. One ... Continued on page 4

Resignation in his pocket, the minister accompanies his boss to Rome On page 2 Nano takes Malaj to the Pope

OPINION SHPËTIM NAZARKO It is quite possible that after rallies, when Berisha goes home, he bursts out laughing as he thinks about his unfortunate opponent, who has the entire government in his hands. And all this by throwing only smoke bombs, which seem to be enough to knock this opponent off his feet. Is this paradoxical way of thinking possible? Of course it is. Berisha has a series of advantages over Nano. Not only in terms of longevity in power, but also in the struggles and difficulties of holding on to it. Berisha knows very well where the limits of verbal violence lie. He knows the power of the European bureaucracy well. The little civil servants, at home and abroad, in his own Ministry of Finance and at the IMF, have learned very well how they should behave. Consequently, they have also learned the danger posed by delinquent bureaucrats. When they saw that Mr. Nano’s government was not very intent on building things as it had said at the outset, they came out of their holes and began practising their profession in every corner of Albania. This cat-and-mouse game was not invented today; it is characteristic of all regimes that have either drowned in laziness or in francs and so on. To speak more seriously, in a previous article we wrote that the government and the country are increasingly coming to resemble Russia. To put it briefly, the great sacrificial feast that has emerged does not involve only the petty delinquents mentioned above, but also delinquents in suits. Is Berisha to blame for this? Of course, not so much. He is fighting Nano using the method that costs him votes. When Berisha was in power, he did not concern himself with

A group of villagers: “Fierza is on our land” KESH workers threatened with guns A group of villagers: “Fierza is on our land” Road to the hydroelectric plant blocked KESH workers threatened with guns TROPOJË — KESH workers ambushed. Having set out from Tirana to install equipment at the Fierza hydroelectric plant, they were stopped by a group of armed men who had blocked the road, claiming the land belonged to them. Bursts of automatic gunfire thundered along the road for half an hour, terrorizing KESH specialists as well as the people who had just disembarked from the ferry. After the hydroelectric plant employees alerted the police, Kukës FNSH forces arrived at the scene together with the Tropoja police station, and managed to resolve the situation. The rebellious landowners took to the mountains to hide, while the police managed to identify them and declare them wanted. Meanwhile, security at the Fierza hydroelectric plant has been doubled. On page 4 A group of villagers: “Fierza” is on our land

Tirana meeting An urgent meeting of the Tirana Club Board to choose its new coach and Secretary. After much debate, the candidates were finally put forward. Milan Baçi received the most votes (5) for coach, while there were also two candidates for the post [wording unclear in the original]. The same procedure was used to elect the team’s new Secretary, but this proved more complicated. There were more candidates; nevertheless, the blue-and-white legend Agustin Kola won with the most votes (3). Next came the strongest preferences for Skënder Hyka, Arben Minga and Sulejman Mema, all three held in high regard at the club, with 5 votes each. Finally, the Deputy Mayor, Bujar Kaceli, proposed appointing acting Secretary Vladimir Rada, the man who led the team perhaps during its most difficult period.

After the controversy over the ancient site, the project gets the O.K. The South’s pearl: The President gives the English the green light After the controversy over the ancient site, the project gets the O.K. Meidani: Roçhtsild gets Butrint The South’s pearl: The President gives the English the green light On page 10

When Gjinushi is the first man in the country On page 2

A group of villagers: “Fierza” is on our land

On page 12

Tirana Gazette Municipality: Plans for the underpasses are ready On page 5

Durrës Gazette Sailors of "Lucky Mar" recount smuggling On page 7

Shkodër Gazette The Battle of Reç sparks a row between the Socialists and the Balli On page 6