For 4 months with this... TIRANA - Smuggling, the most serious illness of the “Nano” Government, appears not to have extended its tentacles to its sister agency, created only a few days ago. The clash between the Police and Customs was resolved late yesterday afternoon, but the people at Koçi’s Ministry are not going to drop their accusations against Çali’s Directorate. The head of Customs yesterday sued “Gazeta Shqiptare”, accusing it of falsehood and malice. “It alludes to an institutional clash by accusing Director Fotaq Çali of facilitating smuggling.” On page 4 BE CAREFUL, MR. FOTAQ! The Director General of Customs (who is temporarily holding this position) stated: 2) We believe that the method of denouncing newspapers belonged to the past and to conservative systems

The missing 100 million dollars must be investigated INTERVIEW / The PAD leader’s strong statement about the former Finance Minister “He kept the tobacco excise duty at 90%, causing the state a loss of 60 million dollars a year” TIRANA - “Malaj in court.” The PAD leader has renewed his battle with former Finance Minister Arben Malaj, declaring that he should now be the subject of an investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office. “He has played dubious games with excise duties,” Çeka said, recalling that while Malaj was in government, he refused to lower excise duties, as a result of which the state lost 100 million dollars. “Malaj must explain why, when excise duties were at 90%, 15 tons of cigarettes were cleared through customs, whereas now that excise duties have been lowered, up to 150 tons are cleared,” Çeka said. Meanwhile, the AD leader spoke positively about the new Interior Minister, and criticized Nano for being absent from the parliamentary chamber when the Majko Government received its vote of confidence. On page 2

Brijka: I will resign The homeless are the Tirana mayor’s final hostage. “All five governments, from Meksi’s to this latest one, have given me no money for the families wandering the streets. Majko will need four months before he starts to understand what is happening in this country.” On page 5

The Director General of Customs (who is temporarily holding this position) stated that he intends to take “Gazeta Shqiptare”, journalists, to court because it has “alluded” to his involvement in smuggling. holding this position) stated that he intends to take “Gazeta Shqiptare”, journalists, to court because it has “alluded” to his involvement in smuggling. What “Gazeta” wrote is already known to all its readers and to those who bought the newspaper yesterday: we limited ourselves to reporting what the police had said and did not “allude” to anything. We wrote that Director Fotaq Çali had telephoned the police, asking them to release the four trucks carrying coffee that had been impounded over some irregularities, since the documents were in order. The director himself acknowledges making this phone call. But that is not the most important point. The truly scandalous thing is that, after months of attacks, polemics, denunciations and political clashes that ended with the fall of a government, Mr. Fotaq Çali is now surprised that a newspaper should allude to the Customs authorities’ involvement in smuggling. Before us, a fact was brought forward and denounced by the President of the Republic, Mr. Fotaq Çali, not to mention the files that Parliament has referred to the Prosecutor’s Office. Nevertheless, certain that we have done nothing but our duty to inform, and have made no accusations against anyone, we say to Mr. Fotaq Çali: 1) Before publishing the news about the trucks carrying coffee that had been impounded, “Gazeta Shqiptare” courteously phoned you to learn your version of what had happened, and you refused to answer, saying you were not authorized. (Are you or are you not the director? What is your responsibility if you are not even entitled to speak?) 2) We believed and to conservative systems. But we have discovered that you prefer to take journalists to court rather than corrupt customs officers. We await an answer as to whether this is the way of maintaining relations with the press, and whether this approach is also supported by the new Finance Minister, Mr. Angjeli, and the new government of Mr. Majko. If so, then difficult times lie ahead for everyone. 3) It is likely that the article in “Gazeta Shqiptare” upset you because it could hinder the continuation of your career (which began with recommendations from the Zogolides’ Union back in 1995). If you want to know what we really think, we can tell you that after the responsible resignation of the then Minister of Bleta, instead of expressing your desire to take his place, you should have sought even more recommendations, including international ones. 4) For Albania, the problem of smuggling is a simple evil for which many people have paid, some of them innocent. Of course, we will not allow your threats, Mr. Fotaq Çali, or your court complaints to prevent us as a newspaper from telling our readers, day after day, about new scandals, if there are any. If smuggling continues, do not expect the press to be complicit. 5) If, in future, you want to avoid “allusions” that you consider unfounded, answer journalists’ questions instead of hanging up on them. When a public official remains silent, it is a sign that there is something to hide. Good luck with your work!

The fight against masked gangs and smuggling resumes TIRANA - A major operation to carry out checks on all roads is under way. The blue uniforms, assisted by the Special Forces, patrolled the entire road from Fier to Kakavijë throughout yesterday. RENEA forces set up checkpoints to apprehend masked men as far as the village of Jergucat, while police forces established roadblocks at all the main intersections. Majko’s promise to eliminate the gangs within a month has now begun to take shape in a major operation throughout the South. On page 4

Lakrori and Beja speak On page 3

Readers “Specchio” will not be on sale today Today, the colorful magazine “Specchio” will not be on sale together with “Gazeta Shqiptare”. We apologize to our regular readers, but a technical difficulty makes it impossible to distribute it today in particular. Nevertheless, steps are being taken to ensure that the prestigious magazine is available on the market next week and that this difficulty does not happen again. It will return to the market with its many curiosities from different countries around the world.

OPINION / ARBEN IMAMI (Continued from the previous issue) The sixth principle is the use of normative language throughout the text of the draft. Constitutional provisions are formulations in the language of normative commands, prohibitions and obligations: declarations and aspirations have been removed from the text and are set out in the draft’s introduction and in Chapter Five of… Continued on page 2