VISIT On page 2

ARRESTED On page 5

HERE IS WHY MAKS ÇIÇIKU WAS UNJUSTLY DETAINED ON SATURDAY The American embassy in Tirana has escaped an attack. This appears to be the end of a sensational story reported two days earlier by “Gazeta Sh- Shqiptare”. The detention and immediate release of Maks Çiçiku prompt one to think of a warning that agents of the Albanian and American secret services managed to pick up during their investigations. Also in this vein is the news published yesterday by various agencies, according to which the US embassy in Uganda was temporarily closed because of bomb threats. “Attack on the American embassy” — this is the full paraphrase of the story that began on Saturday morning

Andi Bejtja Today marks 100 days since 31-year-old Pandeli Majko came to power following the resignation of socialist Prime Minister Fatos Nano. Majko’s arrival was welcomed especially by Western and American circles, who, now that the Balkans are on the verge of major developments, are interested in Balkan leaders being as little authoritarian as possible, but the Albanian Prime Minister is proving otherwise. On the other hand, his arrival was seen as the entry into politics of a new class, one more immune to corruption. The so-called “railcar scandal,” attributed to Deputy Prime Minister Ilir Meta, did not damage Majko’s image, but in any case, everyone has now understood that in a country like Albania it is difficult to stop corruption. The new Prime Minister successfully hosted an International Conference in Tirana, but his hundred days have brought nothing new in terms of reducing crime and restoring public order, the biggest problem since the unrest of 1997. It must be said that Majko faced problems inherited from both the Meksi Government and Nano’s, which can absorb only 25 percent of the investments planned by Western institutions. The conference in question, held in Tirana in October, at least in theory, managed to unblock some stalled projects and raised hopes for new economic aid. His government, like Nano’s, prioritizes Albania’s membership in the World Trade Organization, a membership that will be accompanied by the introduction of new taxes on Albanian traders, which could consequently cause further discontent. Unlike his predecessor Nano, Majko appears to have more consolidated relations with the Presidency, and institutional conflicts are not expected in the future—conflicts that speak more to the dysfunction of the Albanian state than to its independence. The new Prime Minister is also more acceptable to the Albanian opposition, although at first it labeled him “mentally ill,” etc. The Berisha-Majko meeting at the end of the year psychologically relieved many people and opened a new path, but, on the other hand, it can be said that the meeting was also a double-edged sword. Many Socialist Party activists view it with suspicion, and their suspicion could grow into a mountain if Majko fails to persuade Berisha to return to Parliament, recognize the Constitution and, ultimately, recognize the elections of June 29, 1997. But the biggest difference between the Nano Government and the Majko Government lies in foreign policy. Unlike Nano, who at the beginning of his government— On page 2

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The head of Government in the city of speedboats. He also meets PS activists . Vlora, Majko’s passport to Italy. Before his visit to Rome, the Prime Minister goes down to Sazan. The Albanian Prime Minister was recruited yesterday on Sazan, just four days before his visit to Italy, at the same time as one of the parliamentary committees of the Assembly was examining for the last time the Government’s draft law against speedboats, making it stricter than the original proposal. Yesterday, the Committee on Public Order and SHIK further toughened the measures against speedboats and their operators by making changes to the version submitted by the Government. On page 3