THE NEW SCANDAL In TODAY in "Gazeta Shqiptare" read the horoscope for your sign for the year 1999 On page 21

SPECIAL Where Albanian politicians will go The whole thing for the New Year

ACCUSATION Arben Imami who, does not know how to cast it away? [?] This is the beginning of a battle against the most honest program in the country. It is unaffected by any political or economic force. It started as a voluntary effort to enlighten the public, and it is doing a job that the government is incapable of doing. This kind of politics in this country is still primitive. Berisha does it to stop the free development of the media. The response presented by the prime minister and the doubts raised as a cause for the public are unnecessary and show that other hands are needed at work. Continues on page 7

FOR DELFT The family of King Spartak, the official [?] billionaire does not end up in Italian prisons? It is the scandal of the Italian State lottery. It seems that those who took part in a spectacular fraud will also end up in Italian cells. In Italy, the Belgian and Albanian mafia had jointly organized a lottery scheme in which only a few people won. This scandal also involves influential families of the economy, and among them are relatives of well-known bankers. Continues on page 18

OPINION Ferdinand Xhaferi Returning to the place it has left empty is in the political and public interest of the Democratic Party and of the opposition as a whole. The parliamentary parties in the majority need to improve the level of dialogue and increase the value of political debate in the country. Mr. Berisha and other senior officials, in order to justify and, on the other hand, to somewhat calm the reactions and the situation created by the Democratic deputies, have been governing without the opposition. The time and opportunities left empty would be filled with protests, strikes, and irregular, undefined meetings. This avoids the accompanying political and propaganda action of the opposition, since its alternatives seem pale compared with the activity of the ruling party. Continues on page 4

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