Historically, dictators have ruled “In the name of the people” Feeling cornered, Berisha seeks salvation in populist theories Consensus cannot be denied to anyone I consider the PS’s position on consensus constructive Following the approval of the law on referendums page 3

“White coats” dealing narcotic substances 500 drug addicts in the capital Drug-ridden Tirana. A threat to everyday life that is growing ever greater and now involves doctors as well. The “golden age,” when you had to search high and low for drug addicts in the capital, is over. The era of violence to get hold of narcotic substances is also over. A new system for obtaining medical drugs has emerged, a non-violent one that makes it possible to avoid attacks on emergency outpatient centers or the pharmacies of the capital’s hospitals. The reason for this “tolerance” on the part of the “violent gangs of drug addicts” is not special security measures, but the involvement of doctors themselves in distributing these kinds of drugs. Doctors’ involvement in the trade in soft drugs is so open that even observers from OGD (Observatoire Géopolitique des Drogues) would notice it. A year or so ago, groups of young people used to go to the capital’s hospitals, mainly the surgical ones, where, after threatening staff with guns, they would steal pethidine. To put a stop to this phenomenon, medical drugs were no longer freely available as before, but were dispensed only with a doctor’s authorization. This gave the “white coats” the opportunity to abuse the drugs themselves, since they now had a profitable instrument at their disposal. In fact, after this change in strategy, incidents of violence became less frequent. The gangs of drug addicts thus turned into buyers, regular customers. And this clientele is growing every day. At the pharmacy of Hospital No. 5—the “Eldorado” of the capital’s drug addicts—which is the main source of narcotic substances, they confirm that normally around 25–30 ampoules are dispensed there each day (of course, for the quota of patients being treated with a doctor’s authorization). But this figure is inaccurate, since, according to psychiatry specialists, the capital’s “king of drug addicts” alone uses 40–70 ampoules every day. Police at the hospital station also confirm that even (continued on page 2)

—Manushi and Germano sign the agreement page 2

—Interview with PPD chairman Mr. Abdurrahman Haliti Who will be the next president of Skopje? Special coverage of the October 16 elections in Macedonia [Map: BELGRADE, YUGOSLAVIA, SOFIA, BULGARIA, TIRANA, SKOPJE, MACEDONIA, ALBANIA, THESSALONIKI, GREECE] pages 4, 5

The American news agency Associated Press, citing the newspaper “New York Newsday,” reports that Albanians with forged passports are sent to New York by international smugglers using documents prepared in Thailand. The newspaper quotes an official at the State Department, who wished to remain anonymous, as saying that the United States Department of State had conducted surveys in several neighborhoods in the Bronx, New York, where the smugglers live. Most Albanians arrive at “Kennedy” Airport on flights from Vienna and Bucharest, said an investigator from the American Immigration Office in Europe, who also did not wish to be identified. Last month Mark Tushaj, an Albanian living in the Bronx, pleaded guilty to federal charges of alien smuggling, involving six Albanian and Macedonian passengers who flew from Vienna in 1993. Tushaj’s lawyer told newspapers that he was sentenced to six months in federal prison. In recent months, most of the illegal immigrant traffic has passed through Romania, the investigator from the American Immigration Office said. Last month, a shipment of forged American passports originating in Thailand and intended for Albanian emigrants was seized.