ARMS TRAFFICKING / Harsh accusations among Army leaders Zhulali: I’m ready for prison “I know a lot of things, but I’ll speak when the time comes” Teta: The scandal is extraordinary. Former minister: The Army needed the money TIRANA - “Me, guilty? I’m ready to go to prison voluntarily.” Former Defense Minister Safet Zhulali said yesterday that prison, too, would be entirely welcome if justice establishes his responsibilities and violations. In a media interview, one of the people most heavily attacked recently expressed his complete confidence in the integrity of his record as a former minister. For the first time, Zhulali reveals that “Meiko” has a 101-page file, one page of which concerns State Secretary for Defense Perikli Teta. Teta’s reaction was quite different. With equal confidence, Teta stated that “scandalous economic and financial violations took place at the ministry.” The State Secretary admits that he created “Meiko,” but says that “none of the things we decided at the outset was subsequently implemented.” Both Zhulali and Teta say that justice will have the final word. But the former minister does not forget to point out that there is more to it than that... On page 11

On page 10

Special units patrol Chaos in the city of explosions PS: Crime like Hamas. Damage worth more than ten million lekë GJIROKASTËR - The city woke up again yesterday in shock, gripped by the fear of another possible explosion. The tensions of recent days, following the dynamite blast at the Socialist Party headquarters and at other buildings, which had been preceded by the dismissal of the special police commissioner Dida, have raised hopes of a definitive improvement in the situation in the city. In fact, the situation in Gjirokastër has been unclear, apart from relative lulls, ever since the unrest began in March. Signs of people seeking shelter have once again begun to be seen in the streets, and the streets emptying is a phenomenon that starts to be felt in the early evening hours. People are still shaken by the successive explosions, all of which took place at key points in the city. On page 6 After the latest explosion in the city of Gjirokastër

Studman: “Fight like everyone else in Parliament” TIRANA - The OSCE closes the door on the DP. “Early elections should not even be considered.” This was the latest statement by ODIHR director Studman shortly before his departure from Tirana. The head of ODIHR also expressed a number of reservations about the current policy pursued by Berisha and other factions of the DP. In his view, the Democrats should urgently enter Parliament and wage their political battle there. Studman believes it is time for Albanians to draft the Constitution and not allow any particular political force to obstruct it. “The Constitution will be drafted, and it must be drafted quickly,” he stressed, also expressing the OSCE’s readiness to provide comprehensive assistance, both technical and through specialists. On page 2 Gerard Studman

Controversies resurface in the Socialist Party . Pëllumbi turns against Nano again: “We are suffering the consequences of his June statements.” This is what the Socialist professor said the previous day at a meeting of the Socialist Party parliamentary group. In his view, Nano has given Berisha and the Democratic Party another weapon, and the time has come for the Socialist Party to go on the counteroffensive too, since it also has such weapons at hand against the Democratic Party. Pëllumbi believed that the Socialist Party should shake off its apathy and start thinking seriously about how it will withstand the Democrats’ propaganda offensive. On page 3: Servet Pëllumbi

TIRANA — A round table of parliamentary parties on the issue of the six-month hunger strike by jurists broke up yesterday at midday. The Democratic leader himself had invited the 13 parties represented in parliament to resolve the clashes involving the strikers who had barricaded themselves in. Only the parties of the Union for Democracy and the Republicans of Balli Kombëtar responded positively to Berisha’s invitation. The PR’s Albali left the table after an exchange with Berisha and Bushati. “We made the appeal too,” was what was said after Alibali’s departure. On page 2

FOREIGN MARRIAGES ALSO ON THE RISE A bad year, a good one for weddings There were more weddings than usual TIRANA — The past year set a record of its kind for marriages registered at the Tirana Civil Registry Office. Although 1997 was filled with many events that will be remembered negatively for a long time, for many residents of the capital, coincidence, fate or sheer chance... [unclear passage] These events, which passage] A full 2,500 Albanian couples were joined in marriage with the proper witnesses at the Tirana Municipality Civil Registry offices, a figure higher than that of at least the previous three years. What is surprising is that many of the weddings took place during the state of emergency. At a time when there were Kalashnikovs in the streets and notices about the political crisis in government offices, a small office saw a mass investment in the future. Yet examples from the past were not lacking for this event, which, had we been in another country, might perhaps have been taken more seriously as a model in politics as well. During the hot months, many Albanian girls felt themselves, if only temporarily, to be protagonists in the book “The Bride and the Kidnapping” [sic], but what matters most is that even in wartime Albanians were thinking about holding weddings and celebrations. Another phenomenon noted in the capital’s civil registry records is the relative increase in marriages between Albanian women and Italians. The romantics of the Apennines have enjoyed one-sided success in the hearts of Albanian women in recent years. In Tirana alone, around 160 such international marriages were solemnized during ’97, which could more accurately be described as “interethnic.” More interesting is the situation among the men married in this ill-fated year. Albanian men have begun to be sought after by older Nordic women, whereas our ancient epic says that in its time it was Albanian girls who married abroad. In any case, quite unwittingly, Albanians are contributing to the creation of some German version of the ballad of Doruntina. so.sha

BULATOVIC–DJUKANOVIC DISPUTE PODGORICA — At least 20 people were injured, some by gunfire, in a confrontation between protesters and police in the Yugoslav Republic of Montenegro, police sources said. Protesters threw stones at armored vehicles, which sped through the streets packed with demonstrators as police dispersed the crowd with tear gas. Earlier, automatic weapons had been fired into the air over the protesters. Around 8,000 people loyal to the departing conservative president Momir Bulatoviç protested against the transfer of power to his rival, the pro-Western Milo Djukanoviç, who is to be sworn in as president today. Bulatoviç had said that fraud had taken place and that he would not hand over power, but this week he appeared to have changed his position, saying that he accepted defeat. Talks held today between the two camps concerning his demand for new presidential elections failed.

Today: 12 pages, 30 lekë ANNUAL HOROSCOPE Aries, here’s what will happen to you this year Everything about love, work, money, health... On page 8

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SWITZERLAND “OPENS ITS PURSE” On page 12

FOOTBALL On page 7