Berisha’s call: Be ready for anything Politics grows more heated after the Milot incident. No sign of peace between the two sides PS and Nano react sharply: “We will enforce the law against the blackguards” TIRANA - The PD is issuing a c[u?]all to its militants. “Get ready to defend democracy from red terror.” This was a message from the leadership of the Democrats, intended for PD members and supporters. “They want to liquidate us,” PD leader Berisha said yesterday in very harsh language. Today the National Council will meet urgently to define the Democrats’ political course. But before the Council meeting, the PD has a packed schedule of activities to mark February 20, the day the statue of the dictator Hoxha was toppled. A tough National Council decision concerning Parliament is expected following Prosecutor General Rakipi’s official request to lift Hajdari’s immunity. Meanwhile, pressure is mounting for a definitive boycott of Parliament. Azem hajdari has harshly attacked the legislature in strong terms, while FRPD leader Krasniqi has said that the PD should divorce itself from Parliament. On page 8 The National Council meeting, similar activities by the DP are expected on the occasion of February 20. On page 8

TIRANA - The Socialists demand that the law be enforced strictly. “Sinister calls,” said one of the top Socialist leaders, Gramoz Ruçi, describing Berisha’s statements to PD militants. “The rule-of-law state must act, with force if necessary, to prevent any attempt at violence.” This was the position expressed by the PS organizing secretary immediately after the harsh statements from the Democrats’ headquarters. From his office, Gramoz Ruçi, one of the most important figures among the Socialists, responded very calmly. “I am not fully informed about the statements the PD makes every day, but I support strict enforcement of the law; otherwise, it will lead to a serious constitutional crisis,” Ruçi said as a representative of the largest party in the governing coalition. On page 8

YESTERDAY’S WARNING Nano to Berisha: Enough already... Prime Minister Nano unleashes a storm against the opposition. “Now, enough is enough; the state will no longer be able to forgive you” TIRANA - Nano issues a blunt warning. “The PD should hold back; we will not tolerate this any longer.” Yesterday Prime Minister Nano took a hard line, unleashing a series of attacks directed at his political opponent. “The opposition is using terror to destabilize the country,” the Albanian prime minister observed, making no secret of his own anger. According to him, the rule-of-law state will no longer forgive. The first signs were evident yesterday at a meeting of his cabinet. Review of the legal package on public order, the law on police use of weapons, and the law on public gatherings were the main topics of yesterday’s meeting. A veritable cyclone from the state is expected to descend on the Albanian opposition. The Albanian prime minister himself has warned of this, leaving no opening for his Democratic opponents yesterday. On page 8 Portrait of Nano

Referees furious The whistles fall silent: The round is delayed by 15 minutes “We are protesting against violence; for the other matches, a total championship boycott” Tomorrow’s matches will start 15 minutes late, while next week they may be cancelled altogether. A letter signed by all the referees of the Tirana referees’ association has arrived at the FSHF offices. It is very clear and quite threatening. “Enough pressure and violence against us, enough insults. We can’t wait any longer; the time has come to take action against...”. “Our reasons are very clear. The violence inflicted on us has forced us to stage this protest. Today it is only the Tirana referees’ association; we are calling on all referees in the districts to support us.” This is more or less the text of the letter sent to the president of the Fede- [Federation?]—everyone will support us, since the referees in the districts are no less at risk than we are. I believe they will, because it stands to reason that they too have no great desire to be beaten,” Zy[f?]lo continued. “As a first measure, we decided to delay the matches by just 15 minutes. We did this to raise awareness among everyone else. We have called for a total boycott of next week’s championship round. This is to show everyone that the violence... [the source text is cut off here]. We took urgent measures so that what was seen this week does not happen again. When we issued our statement, we did not know the measures taken by the disciplinary committee. We find them acceptable, but that does not mean the violence has come to an end,” he con- … more than 20 … The violence inflicted has forced us to hold this protest. Today we are here at the Tirana referees’ association, and we are calling on all referees across the network presented to the Federation’s president, Mico Papadhopulli, and its secretary-general, Sulejman Starova. But more than the letter, it was the chairman of the referees’ association, chief referee Luan Zylfo, who spoke. “By remaining silent, we don’t know where this matter will lead. I don’t know, but perhaps the others are waiting for someone to take action against the violence after one of us dies. Then it will be too late” – he said, quite irritated, to “Gazeta shqiptare”. “Without financial support, assaulted, insulted, and despised to the extreme, the referees are now tending to rebel. Naturally, there will be mistakes in a match, because referees are human too, but under no circumstances can violence against them on the field be accepted. This is all the more unacceptable when it is committed by the teams’ own players. Today we are only here at the Tirana referees’ association, but we are convinced that …” … to show that they are acting responsibly, urgent measures must be taken so that no one else suffers this and it does not happen again. When they make statements in that tone, we don’t know what measures the disciplinary committee will take. But whatever those measures are, they are acceptable; that does not mean the violence has ended,” Zylfo concluded in his statement. Nevertheless, like the others, he was surprised by the choices made at the head of the technical-refereeing committee. In his view, it is unacceptable that the referees’ association was not involved at all. As with Brahja in yesterday’s statement, he opposed the proposed candidates. “No one, not even a member of the Executive Committee, has the right to make a decision without consulting us.” And, to set the record straight for those who misunderstood or did not understand Brahja’s statement at all, we are obliged, at his request, to state that at no time did the member of the technical-refereeing committee mention the name of Hiqmet Kukës. His third point was that the referees’ association had not been consulted. That is all, and only that. Dritan Lundra Football referee holding a whistle

BEAT / Panic at midday BEAT - A street battle between masked men and the van transporting the bank’s money. The two police officers escorting the cash returned fire against the volleys first opened by the attackers. After several minutes of fighting, they left. Numerous police forces searched the entire area, but were unable to capture any of the people involved. Meanwhile, at midday, battles between rival gangs took place in the city: bursts of gunfire from two [unclear] sparked panic among the public, while the police arrived at the scene late. Two people were taken to the police station, but it has not yet been established whether they were responsible for the incident. On page 5

GJIROKASTER - Renea special forces raided Lazarat. More than nine vans and 200 officers entered the village, but the entire operation failed. It is believed that a phone call alerted the suspects, prompting them to leave their homes. Launched at two in the morning, the operation lasted 120 minutes but produced no results. It was the first time police forces had managed to enter the rebellious village. On page 5 PËR? / Danil at midday ... A phone call betrays the operation ... Police conduct a massive check of 280 cars

Police conduct a massive inspection of 280 cars TIRANA - Stolen cars do not exist in Tirana. Or perhaps they are allergic to blue uniforms. This is the conclusion of a major operation organized by Police Station 1, which, despite setting up 12 checkpoints over several hours, failed to stop a single stolen car. For several hours, blue-uniformed officers checked more than 280 Mercedes-Benz vehicles, in an operation planned to stop stolen cars. Despite the large deployment of forces, none of the cars checked turned out to be stolen. On page 9

FLORENCE More than 70 others targeted On page 9

SHKODER On page 7

GOSTIVAR On page 10

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