Berisha’s immunity: The Prime Minister held hostage by a compromise Prosecutor’s Office: We can’t arrest him now Berisha sentenced to freedom Prosecutor’s Office against the Courts: The ruling is completely absurd On page 2 On page 3 The five from the DP go home TIRANA - Nano remains Berisha’s hostage. Great pressure has fallen on the Albanian Prime Minister, coming from several directions, and in the end it has blocked him from making a decision. Nano is now at a crossroads. While at the meeting of the Socialist Party parliamentary group it was not only ordinary MPs but also some of his cabinet ministers who strongly demanded Berisha’s arrest for what happened in Tirana on 14 September, only Nano’s forceful intervention managed to ease tensions, opposing every possibility that could lead to the democratic leader being put in handcuffs, while at the same time asking the people in the PS for understanding. But while pressure from the party base is also bearing down on Nano, urging him to take political action in favor of Berisha’s arrest, signals from the international community advising him not to take such a step have also continued unabated. This explains why the Albanian Prime Minister has become Berisha’s hostage.

Arian Çani In the end, Albanians have to seize the Troika now, because in this country everyone PRETENDS. Those in power loudly say that the law must be respected, the opposition insists on bringing down the Government without violence, and ordinary citizens ask, bewildered, what is happening before their eyes. In the streets, in cafés and around everyone’s tables, now you hear the same refrain repeated. Will there be unrest again? Will they arrest Berisha? And Nano, will he resign? It is obvious that ordinary Albanians have always hoped and believed that there would be a solution. Hope cannot be the center of the world, so neither Nano nor Berisha can decide so simply about their political fate and careers. Whether Nano stays or leaves his chair is not something Nano has much control over. That is decided by those who systematically influence this country’s politics. Whether Berisha manages to seize anything through an “armed uprising” is likewise in the hands of those expected to arrive in Tirana today. A European Troika finds Albanian politics with a Berisha who is a former parliamentary [figure?], a Nano who wants to leave, forced by international factors, the arrest of the DP leader, and a people exhausted by the irresponsibility of their leaders. The super-ministers from Europe are expected to tell ordinary Albanians that once again they are here to find a solution. They intend, of course, to meet the Prime Minister of this country, the President, and perhaps Berisha as well. Under these circumstances, on the backs of ordinary Albanians, those whose property is burned and whose homes are ruined at least once a year, other efforts to restore order are beginning. The Albanian Parliament—the one that has referred the DP leader to Justice—is out of the game. The deputies elected by Albanians just a year ago will now have to submit to their decision to revoke this immunity. This is how Albanian politics may end up thrown into the garbage. And this time Albanian citizens must finally understand that these decisions are not concluded by Albanian politics, but rather by those very European super-ministers who claim they are coming to resolve a crisis; because today, after a possible meeting between the Troika and Berisha, the latter will have the right to accept and postpone the decision to revoke his immunity. After the political condemnation imposed on him by this country’s legitimate Parliament, Berisha will receive a political pardon from the international community. This is why Nano, after some time and this process, has the right to declare that he has no reason to resign. Thus ordinary Albanians will remain bewildered and ask themselves again: But what was resolved after all this? And so it happened. It is strange how, in most cases, the barometer of this country has increasingly come to believe that foreign “bigwigs,” parliamentarians and international figures come here to bring peace. Of course, there is an effort to resolve the crisis internally and among all the parties; they come to put things right. And since they are the ones who set the rules, the “bigwigs” are from Europe and elsewhere, Albanians seem finally to have become accustomed to their affairs being settled by foreigners. But what has been resolved this way, and is there even a chance? by foreigners. [Parts of the column are illegible.]

TIRANA - Nano remains Berisha’s hostage. Great pressure has fallen on the Albanian Prime Minister, coming from several directions, and in the end it has blocked him from making a decision. Nano is now at a crossroads.

After Berisha’s immunity is revoked , Dini and Fisher cancel their visit. The balance of Berisha’s fate appears to be wavering. The international community, which has been seeking to compel the Albanian authorities to make a decision, has still not made a public statement. Indecision continues to reign, while people increasingly wonder what is hidden in the briefcases of the senior diplomats who are due to arrive today at Rinas. The decision on Berisha’s fate seems to have divided the European institutions as well. … in Tirana. But there are also conflicting positions within Italy’s governing coalition. “Arresting Berisha would be a mistake,” Dini said two days ago. His statement, however, has reignited old disputes within the “Olive Tree” over the position to take on Berisha. Mantovani, head of foreign relations for Rifondazione Comunista, a party in the governing coalition, described Dini’s statement as very serious. “Albania is not an Italian protectorate for us to interfere in its internal affairs,” Mantovani said. “Berisha is a putschist who led an armed attack against democratically elected institutions. To say that arresting him would be a mistake is somewhat untenable and at the same time unacceptable, both formally and in substance. Perhaps some members of the Italian Government fear that, if Berisha is imprisoned, he might begin talking about the traffic [unclear], Ambassador Foresti’s undertakings and the interest of some Italian banks in the pyramid schemes,” Mantovani said. Dini responded that the Italian Government’s position had been clear and internationally known. Also, before departing. Nevertheless, the key to resolving this crisis is now in Berisha’s hands. What will be done with the chairman of the DP: will he be forced to leave Albania, be recycled, or will Justice be allowed to carry the investigation into the charge of armed insurrection through to the end? The international community does not yet appear to be unanimous on the position it will adopt. The mystery is also evident in Dini’s decision—the only one to have spoken out against Berisha’s arrest—to cancel his visit to Albania. But his statement new position to adopt toward and internationally known. “Resolving the Albanian crisis is the purpose of the visit,” they said chairman of the DP: force him to leave Albania, recycle him, or allow Justice to carry the investigation into the charge he faces, not yet appear out against Berisha’s arrest—to cancel his visit…

Cassation sends only Blerim Çela back to prison TIRANA – Only one of the five former senior government officials from the DP will continue to remain in the dark cell of Prison 313, while the other four have returned to their homes. The court hearings held yesterday at the Court of Cassation and the Military Court of Appeal legally upheld the actions taken by the prosecution to arrest all the former DP VIPs. The two highest levels of the Albanian courts upheld the charge brought against all six of “crimes against humanity,” while only Blerim Çela had the misfortune of continuing to remain in Prison 313. Reactions to such a decision have been contradictory: the opposition has blamed Nano as the orchestrator of everything, while Chief Prosecutor Rakipi has strongly criticized the Albanian courts over this decision. On page 4

On page 3 Photograph of Ceka.

Checkpoints and coffee. This is how the state’s special forces spend the hours A night among Teta’s snipers With the people guarding the Ministry of Public Order building TIRANA – For a week now, all the military and civilian staff of the Ministry of Public Order have been spending the night inside the old building. Since they arrived last Saturday, an order from the minister to place the ministry on Alert Level 1 has disrupted the daily lives of the people in charge of public order. Just one hour to see their families and give some attention to personal hygiene, and the other 23 asleep, surrounded by snipers. On page 12

Tirana Newspaper Unrest puts the capital under lockdown On page 5 Durrës Newspaper “Here’s why we escaped with Lucky Mar” On page 7 Shkodër Newspaper We will open our homes to Kosovars On page 6