The decision of the Mandates Commission was postponed. International pressure. Prodi: No aid without dialogue A deal over Berisha’s arrest The SP decides to strip him of immunity. Europe: Better not TIRANA - Yesterday, the leaders of the SP decided to strip Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha of his immunity. But Berisha’s fate appears to be in the hands of foreign chancellories. The international community is understood to have asked the Albanian authorities not to imprison Berisha. In their view, such a solution would prolong the spiral of crisis. Meanwhile, they are also applying pressure on Berisha’s side to force him to leave politics, perhaps even Albania. Otherwise, the indictment for the coup d’état, supported by the evidence gathered by the prosecution, is ready. The Mandates Commission has cancelled one meeting after another. The meeting, which was awaiting Berisha’s explanations, has been postponed until today, but the Prosecutor General will also attend to present the evidence. Regardless of politics and diplomacy, the Prosecutor’s Office has insisted on its request to arrest Berisha. “Berisha must absolutely be arrested. We cannot conduct the investigation without arresting the main organizer of the armed uprising,” sources at the Prosecutor General’s Office say. Meanwhile, yesterday Prodi warned that “Italy will suspend aid to Albania if dialogue between the political forces does not begin.” On pages 2, 3, 9

OPINION Chaos and who should be blamed GJERGJ PEÇI Until now, we had been accustomed to hearing only about the trauma of citizens and police officers—that is, people who were unknown beyond a small circle of family and friends. And these incidents had become so frequent that they no longer made any particular impression on us. Suddenly, just as in the early years of the Albanian state, the old phenomenon of politicians being traumatized appeared again. Although this rather restrained cause gave rise to various reactions, we must not forget that responsibility for this crime belongs precisely to this government and the apparatus of its party coalition. Leaving aside the human dimension and the manipulation of political interests, psychologically this has both a liberating and a self-destructive effect. Whether I, an ordinary and practically unprotected citizen, or a politician, an important person vested with power and surrounded by people who serve him, we are alike: both of us can be at risk. So, besides feeling sorry for myself and being upset about the work of ... or an earthquake, because this country will never get better. “Of course, I am not talking about Albania and my friends, who are also not ordinary people like me, but about those in power who play with our fate. And I do not say this just for the sake of conversation, but because I feel it deeply and it troubles me all the time. So I, an ordinary citizen, can hardly wait for them to get what’s coming to them. I even do my part by going to rallies and shouting at the top of my lungs about whatever is said there. In short, I am ready to do anything just to break the noses of those in power. I care about nothing and no one. I do not care about the law, my family, or my time. As for the so-called Albanian state established by the ruling minority, I do not give it a thought, because it has nothing to do with me. As an ordinary citizen, I am deprived of the mindset of organized protection of my interests; the only thing left to me is unrestrained rebellion. But I am not such an unconscious Albanian that, when I hear that an important person has been killed, I cannot also experience a sense of equality before physical elimination. For me, this is not merely a chance to be consoled or a kind of natural right in a primitive political entity like Albania. As an ordinary citizen, badly harmed by this country’s politics and by those who make it, I want to see all those who create chaos and arbitrariness in the dock. But there is no one who can do that. And, forced to feed only on the psychology of the individual, because social psychology has been destroyed and made unacceptable precisely by these public figures, I, an ordinary citizen, say: “I hope these others get what’s coming to them early, too.” And this is not just a feeling I have, but one shared by a group of people; an idea that, after this political murder, has become even more deeply rooted. Undoubtedly, I want to see all these people far away from me and far from this country. But since they have a will entirely different from mine and have decided to remain in power, raising the alarm from time to time and making the Albanian environment unbearable, I have instinctively chosen to hope that some misfortune happens as soon as possible. Yet the murders of politicians are not killing or destroying those who are over there, because they are ordinary people, and they judge and watch my life as if it were, for example, a boxing match or a football game. Thus, I am ... waiting and easily disheartened, even by the fate of a newspaper’s headline. Forgive me; I, an ordinary Albanian citizen, am at once ... for strong emotions and drawn to them. Meanwhile, they warn of it, make the ... feel good and leave me completely disheartened. I also struggle with troubles that they magnify for me, in most cases others do so, and above all Albanian politics. What extinguishes my ... Albanian. What extinguishes my ... Albanian. What extinguishes my ... politics lies and becomes dangerous, while those who make this ordinary are the most ignorant people. So, am I serving ...? [partly illegible] It would be better to make these bombs The Albanian state that the minority class has built—I can’t think of it at all, defense unrestrained rebellion. But I am not entirely unaware. I know that I am breaking some rules that politicians and their people broke before me. And it makes me laugh when I hear that institutions are sacred, when precisely those who defile them say this. In short, I have no strong reason to hold back. I am rightly furious and want to turn their house—that is, the so-called state—upside down. But this happens rarely, and it is the only opportunity I, an ordinary citizen, get to teach all the irresponsible politicians a proper lesson. On the other hand, they have cars, bodyguards, legal protection, and a handful of people who make them think they are all-powerful masters. So they, the politicians, have power, while I, the ordinary citizen, have rebellion. Then I decide to march through the streets and smash those false institutions with my weapons and my people [?]—institutions that no longer stand for anything—against the politicians and government officials, when they have [?] me, and I look around in amazement to see that those against whom I rebelled are extraordinarily outraged and indignant, so much so that I can hardly believe it. Their bodies tremble, their eyes contort, their faces turn red and, for a moment, they become so frightened and terrifying that I, the ordinary citizen, thanks to being isolated [?], feel unsafe here. Now they are the ones who are afraid, who shout and demand that the law be enforced and that I be thrown in jail. Unfortunately, it is not only me who has rebelled; even those who had not moved a muscle begin to laugh and lower their heads. Nevertheless, this does not last forever. After a relatively brief silence, I, the ordinary Albanian citizen, once again get the impression that Albanian politicians are still the same people they were and do not want to change. In conclusion, it is true that I endure [?] carefully and patiently, and generally, but who should be more to blame for this: me, an ordinary person who does not meddle in other people’s affairs, or those important people who have taken it upon themselves to govern the country, while I feel pushed aside, but they themselves feel and see [?]

On page 4 Fear of Friday, September 18. A year ago, Hajdari was wounded

. Pollo: We will fight in “Skënderbej” Square Fear ahead of Friday, September 18. Hajdari was wounded one year ago

BREAKING NEWS Attack on Police Station

. The veteran Republican leader: “Mediu was wrong; he had a mandate only to attend Azem’s funeral” On page 2

. Intensive telephone conversations between the Albanian head of state and Vranicki, the former mediator of last March’s crisis. On page 3

LEZHË — Armed individuals attacked the city police station yesterday at around 10:30. Three dead on the attackers’ side: the toll of yesterday’s battle in the northern city. Without any warning, the blue uniforms found themselves inside, surrounded by weapons and ten or more unidentified people. The police station personnel immediately took measures to protect the building. The police took up positions and prepared to return fire against the nighttime attack. The intense exchange of fire continued for 10–15 minutes, until the attackers realized they were facing strong resistance. Taking advantage of the darkness and their advantageous positions, the armed men left toward the outskirts of the city. Meanwhile, after Lezhë police were put on alert, numerous forces from neighboring police stations set out for the city. Roadblocks were set up along the main national roads, and people and suspects [?] were checked. Deputy Prime Minister Cana assured reporters that, after the attackers left, the situation in the city was calm. e.r.a.

DOCUMENT / People who lived through the history speak . Gold and how the tunnel designer disappeared. TIRANË — Skrapar is one of the districts with the most mountainous, extremely rugged terrain and greatest isolation from the rest of the country. Taking this fact into account, Enver Hoxha’s regime carried out some of the country’s most colossal construction projects there, turning the Tomor-Ramije-Deshnje mountain range into a place filled with hundreds of underground tunnels serving a variety of purposes. Even today, no one knows exactly what lies beneath the surface of these three rocky mountains. Nevertheless, the story of Skrapar’s treasure began in 1970–1973, when tunnels were built that would serve as the safest refuge for Albanian gold. Today, Skrapar is home to hundreds of local [?] from those years, who recount the history of underground construction in this district. On page 12