. In its 14 September 1992 issue, the Greek newspaper «Eleftherotipia» published an article by its correspondent on Balkan affairs, Taqi Diamanti, entitled «Berisha’s Chair Has Cracked». ... The main charge weighing on President Berisha is that he is establishing a monist (one-party) state and concentrating almost all power in his own hands, and that his aim is to retain power, an aim for which he has sacrificed the reforms the country needs. We should add that, through the policies Berisha pursues with the Democratic Party, he has left the country without a proper economic plan. As a result, poverty has deepened, along with the people’s disappointment, which, after the protest vote in the regional elections in Korçë, manifested itself in a truly significant way this time in the Police events last month. Everyone believes there will be more to come, while the approaching winter will force Albanians once again to try to survive through international humanitarian aid and a wave of emigration abroad. In articles written by the former members of the Democratic Party themselves, and particularly in debates, they accuse Berisha and the Democratic Party of driving out capable people and, through the state machinery, doing so simply and solely because they did not belong to the party or did not agree with them; they expelled prominent founding members such as Gramoz Pashko, Arben Imami, Preç Zogaj and Mitro Çela because they dared to criticize the party, and especially President Berisha himself, regarding allegations that the president openly ... [the lower part of the column is cut off] ... a prompt position, and this will be followed by a position from our government as well. This will explain that part of ...[?] ... which ultimately seems no longer to accord with this propaganda. This stagnant atmosphere is due even more to the filtering into the party ranks of pro-monarchist elements, as well as former members of the nationalist party «Balli Kombëtar», who are steadily gaining ground and among the minority, or are causing episodes that fuel suspicion that Sali Berisha does not fully control the situation. In last March’s elections, Sali Berisha had succeeded in creating an «alliance» between the Democratic Party and all the other small parties, a united front against the Socialists. Today, in the new situation that has arisen, a realignment of political forces with new orientations can be seen, as the member parties of the former «alliance» begin to turn against the Democratic Party. The Socialist Party, following the gains it made in the regional elections in K[?] ... is waiting to see how events develop, and increasingly it will soon find itself at the centre of a new «alliance», a new front, this time against the Democratic Party. It is also believed that the group of ten will join this front: party-elected members of parliament who are expected soon to grow in number. And if they manage to reach 24, then, together with the Socialists and the small parties, they will cause the Democratic Party considerable trouble, as it will lose the two-thirds majority it has held in parliament until now. Things are expected to worsen further when the country’s new Constitution is submitted to Parliament for approval. It is said to stipulate that the country’s president will be directly accountable to the people, which means that Sali Berisha will have to seek the people’s mandate—a mandate it is doubtful he can still obtain. For the record, there is no shortage of opinions here. Many assessments agree that next spring, very soon, something will happen: Albania will move towards new elections. Given the lack of government action and the situation that has arisen, it cannot be ruled out that the small parties will withdraw their members from the government if Sali Berisha does not make some new gesture, at least for appearances’ sake. An early ...[?] ... within the coming year, ...[?] ... in a way ...[?] ... Then, the opponents of the Democratic Party will include the Centre Party, a new party within whose spectrum ...[?] ... the intellectual group around Gramoz Pashko is already being incorporated. And this time, as they say, it will no longer be possible to use America as a «weapon», because it proved worthless, nor ...[?] ... nationalism, which has now become a «boomerang» for the Democratic Party itself. In other words, «we have had enough» of observers; the time of Democracy’s «sorcerer’s apprentices» is coming to an end in Albania, and the time for serious politics is coming.

No official position has yet been taken on the incident involving the six Albanian diplomats in Boston, who attempted to engage in paid oral sex with a policewoman posing as a prostitute, even though the matter was reported in the newspaper «Bashkimi». It was announced on television that explanations about the incident would be given later. As we have been informed, in the protest note addressed to the State Department, our embassy in the United States is seeking resolution of the issue of the Boston police’s violation of diplomatic immunity. Naturally, the American government will take a prompt position on this matter, government as well. This will explain the part of the affair concerning the American police, namely whether or not they had the right to arrest them. Just as important, however, is the other aspect of the matter, which has nothing to do with the American police but concerns our diplomats. Should they have put themselves in that position, and what consequences might follow from their thoughtlessness? Of all that has been published to date, the six diplomats have remained anonymous. But there are not many of our diplomats in the United States. The delegation that set out for the UN consisted of Foreign Minister Alfred Sereqi, Paulin Kola, Fatos Reka and Ferit Hoxha. Others based in Washington include Ambassador Roland Bimo (who, according to the published articles, was not with the six diplomats), Arben Teta and Ambassador Thanas Shkurtëri, Sokol Necaj, Roland Llupa and cipher clerk Fatmir Baci. Thus, this scandal involves people entrusted with representing Albania’s affairs and the pan-Albanian cause in the United States and at the United Nations. From this perspective, we can say that although this incident—which we might call a group indiscretion—is quite disgraceful and places a heavy responsibility on them. It is unforgivable for a diplomat to talk with prostitutes in a prostitution district (in one of the articles this area was described as the «city’s red light» district) about sexual relations of that kind, and to be prepared to pay in cash dollars or with an American Express card. It is possible that they really did this as a joke. But that does not excuse them at all. What diplomat behaves in a prostitution district like an ordinary citizen? To preserve their own image and that of the state they represent, they should change course as soon as they see a prostitute, not bargain with her. Yet, when they behaved like completely ordinary people, why did they declare that they were diplomats and had diplomatic immunity? Perhaps it would have been better to use the dollars and American Express cards they had in their pockets to pay the fine for what they did, rather than bring this state, which is barely holding on, into new trouble.