EXCLUSIVE / THE FORMER PRESIDENT SPEAKS On pages 12-13

LATEST NEWS The message from the number-one official at the U.S. State Department, Madelaine Ollbrajt, sent to the head of the PD, Sali Berisha, has been kept extremely confidential,

ORDER TO THE GUARD : “Shoot them in the flesh if they attack the state” Around 1,300 elite forces guarding the Presidency, the Prime Minister’s Office and Parliament have now received written “clearance” from their commanders to shoot if anyone tries to touch the “place” they are tasked with guarding. Meanwhile, yesterday the Ministry of Public Order officially confirmed the arrival in Tirana of the “riot squads,” announced a day earlier by the newspaper. On pages 2-3

the PD, Sali Berisha, and also to Socialist leader Fatos Nano, has been kept extremely confidential. Until late yesterday evening, sources from both headquarters chose not to comment on anything concerning the joint text that, through the U.S. representation in Tirana, had reached the offices of Berisha and Nano. Although both sides have carefully guarded everything, third-party sources confirm to the newspaper that in her message Ollbrajt asks Berisha and Nano to urge their respective supporters to show restraint, not to provoke disturbances at any time, and to help preserve calm, public order and the institutions. According to the same sources, in the message sent to Berisha and Nano last night at around 20:30, Ollbrajt appears to have referred once again to the statement made the previous day by the State Department she heads, that all parties must respect the final election result. The text of the letter that the Secretary of State sent to the offices of the heads of the PD and PS also contains other very important details in support of the normal, peaceful and democratic conduct of the elections in Albania—details that are very likely to be disclosed in the coming hours. Ollbrajt’s message to Berisha and Nano just a few hours before the vote once again demonstrates the concern and seriousness with which the United States is following developments, not only in Albania but also in the region.

The battle of the rallies The PS and PD ended their campaigns yesterday in the same square in the capital. Whistles, accusations and torn posters On pages 4-5

From the armed attack on the Prime Minister's Office on 14 September 1998