INTERVIEW On page 8

ALARM IN KUKËS On page 5

SURPRISE / CONGRESS IN APRIL. WHO WILL BE THE NEXT LEADER OF THE SOCIALISTS? He leaves the helm of the SP. The grassroots strategy is ready SURPRISE / CONGRESS IN APRIL. WHO WILL BE THE NEXT LEADER OF THE SOCIALISTS? Nano launches “Mao Plan” He leaves the helm of the SP. The grassroots strategy is ready

OPINION Shpëtim NAZARKO The former because he built Constantinople (Istanbul), and the latter because he conquered it. Ser-

RESUME Seven customs officers have been hired at the Durrës customs office without taking an examination. “It is not illegal. There has been a change to the minister’s instruction. In special cases, when the director general of customs gives the nod, people who have not passed the examination are appointed.” On page 9

Shpëtim NAZARKO When asked three days ago whether we should be afraid of an attack by the Serbs, old Dritëro replied: “And why should I be? They all have a Kalashnikov in their hands.” Thus confirming the mature fantasy of another Gogo, who says in the book “Ali Pashë Tepelena” that Ali did not pay much attention to Napoleon’s threat to declare war. Such a thing would have cost the world’s most powerful Empire some two hundred thousand soldiers at the time, who would have had to wander through rocky ravines and crags, where even in peacetime there was always a “manxerrë” at the ready. A war that for Albanians always begins as a joke, but ends with terrible consequences for the other side. And this happened precisely when others had occupied this country. In this respect, the Majko-Berisha meeting is nothing surprising, nor is there any reason to interpret it as one side or the other scoring points. This has always happened before wars, and so it will continue. This is where the legacy of our forefathers ends and the new era begins, with whose problems we often do not know how to deal. The source of tragedies It is no great surprise that the conclusions of analysts and military strategists should differ so markedly regarding the individual genius of the Illyrian emperor Kostan-din and of the fierce opponent of Skënderbeu, Mehmet II. The first because he built Kostandi-nople (Istanbul), and the second because he conquered it. The Serbs boast in vain, claiming that they saved Christianity in 1389. In this respect, they are more backward than the Albanians, who put Skënderbeu up against them. By conquering Istanbul and building the most powerful fortress for controlling the Dardanelles, Mehmet II put an end not only to the expansion of the Empire of the trave, Venetiku. For us, what followed in history is nothing but the product of military or diplomatic intrigues aimed at toppling one of the most important centers of the world at that time. For two hundred years straight, and even to this day, the dream of Russian diplomacy, founded by Katerina e Madhe, has been nothing other than domination of this center. The last hundred years of Turkey’s existence as an empire are owed solely to England’s aggressive resistance: by protecting Istanbul from the Tsar, it was doing nothing other than continuing its hegemony at sea. The great old man, Ismail Qemali, who understood this matter better than other Albanians, clearly describes in his book this privileged role of England in Turkish politics during the Empire’s final years. This historical perspective helps us understand a laughable and bitter truth. The Serbs, who like to call themselves Yugoslavs, have fought no war of conquest that would entitle them to claim their lost territories from

On pages 3–4

THE SPEECH Fatos NANO After an absence for health reasons, relatively long in the everyday life of a party that holds a parliamentary majority and forms the basis of the country’s current government, I have come before this forum today to present some of my assessments and conclusions about the political situation and the nearly eight-year period during which I have led the PSSh. Trying to be as concise as possible in this presentation, I will look back at our political activity to rebuild the Albanian left. I do not intend to tell you a story that you all know, nor to speak of the high human cost that my family and I have paid for investing in the emancipation of Albanian politics in the traditional environment of hatred and destructive clan conflicts. While once again valuing as priceless what I have managed to achieve so far for the good of the Albanian nation and the future of our children, I want only to begin from the premises that made the rebuilding of the Albanian left not only necessary but also possible, in order to bring to everyone’s attention the vital importance of continuing this process beyond the current critical problems facing the Socialist Party and Albanian society as a whole. Continued on pages 12–13