Thursday evening: confrontation between the DP parliamentary group and Berisha The decree on changes to the government—a blatant disregard for the DP parliamentary group For more than 5 hours, DP deputies voiced their objections to Berisha, who remained silent throughout For more than 5 hours, DP deputies voiced their objections to Berisha, who remained silent throughout. Thursday evening: confrontation between the DP parliamentary group and Berisha Members of Parliament against Berisha The decree on changes to the government—a blatant disregard for the DP parliamentary group For more than 5 hours, DP deputies voiced their objections to Berisha, who remained silent throughout The meeting of the group with Berisha was supposed to take place the evening before last at 16:00. The deputies had to wait around 45 minutes for Berisha to arrive late. He immediately took the floor, speaking first about achievements and then about the Budapest meeting. This way of steering the meeting suggested that everything would pass smoothly, but apparently the DP deputies had decided to speak up. In general, those who spoke made it clear that they felt insulted by the disregard shown for their vote, citing Zhulali’s continued tenure in his post as a typical example. page 3 Photo: A. BABANI

The well-known saying “the wolf seeks fog” found its fullest expression on the night of December 7 in the city of Elbasan. The lack of electricity from 19:00 to 20:00 in the “Beqir Dardha” neighborhood provided cover for looting, massacre and terror by a criminal gang, most of whose members are believed to have been Roma. Nothing like this kind of massacre has ever happened in the history of this city. Twelve innocent citizens fell victim to these masked terrorist robbers. The gang operated in the dark and split into two groups. One group was near the agricultural high school, by apartment building no. 41, and the other in the alley near the dental clinic. First, they looted Haxhi Murat’s shop and robbed Zydi Serjasi inside, violently snatching 4,000 lekë from him. A. Hoxha and the owner of the premises where he was were also victims of beatings with blunt objects. Near the dental clinic, during the same hour, 7–8 robberies of money from ordinary passers-by were reported. The street vendor Pëllumb Rustemi was badly beaten; the assailants took 35,000 lekë from him and all the goods he had in his bag. They also robbed Albert Shopeja and his son, taking 40,000 lekë, and others. According to information we obtained from the surgery ward, 12 injured people came in for treatment or admission on the evening of December 7. Of those who remain hospitalized, Xhafer Lelaj is being treated for a diagnosis of “kamocion-celebri” (concussion). Some of the injured recognized their assailants but are not naming them, because various members of the gang told them: “If you tell, we’ll burn you along with your house.” We tried to officially confirm information about the incident with the public order police, who responded with “No comment.” Another tragic event occurred that same night, adding to this shocking incident. On “Gura Bardhi” Street, 40-year-old Diogjen Mitrorali was stabbed for trivial reasons and died instantly. The relevant authorities are investigating the case to shed light on it. Crime in the city of Elbasan is not only increasing, but is taking on an organized form, with the involvement of forces that are still largely unknown. BESIM DYBELI

The President may have grown tired of pursuing the DP’s frightening dream page 2

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He had crossed the border clandestinely p. 4

“They accuse me of having tried to rape a 10-year-old girl, but I am sexually impotent” page 4