Last night—meeting of the PD parliamentary group When the walnut could not be found, it was decided that it should be cracked. This is no fairy tale, but the story of the PD during these three years in power—a story that was repeated last night at the parliamentary group meeting about the “Ruli affair.” “On the eve of the New Year, Genc Ruli and Rexhep Uka were accused of corruption in connection with the walnut wood, while 22 days later, on Sunday, the former finance minister was summoned as a defendant by the Tirana Court over the Arsidi scandal. Yesterday’s meeting was a prelude to a possible vote to lift Genc Ruli’s immunity, a vote that will soon take place in parliament. We do not want MPs to be influenced by the position of the Democratic Party leadership when they vote,” Eduard Selami said last night. “When each of you casts a vote on Ruli, let your conscience guide you.” Ruli himself reportedly said last night: “The judges, by expanding the list of defendants in the Arsidi case, are muddying the waters and leading it toward a dead end. The Court’s decision to summon me as a defendant is based on assumptions and illogical hypotheses,” the former minister is reported to have said. “This climate is leading the country toward the political trials of 1946–48,” said Ruli, who questioned the PD’s own willingness and ability to untangle the Arsidi knot. As a result of the adventures with the foreign debt, the Albanian government must also pay $600,000 in damages to another debt negotiator, named Peter Earl. During the meeting photo A. BABANI

Shehi: I can testify that Genc Ruli was deliberately kept out of the foreign-debt negotiations Ruli appealed to the two people who could testify clearly to his innocence in connection with the Arsidi scandal. According to Ruli, their names are Sali Berisha and Aleksandër Meksi. However, everything depends on their willingness. Deputy Prime Minister Dashamir Shehi called Ruli’s summons as a defendant an attack on the institutions. “I,” Shehi said, “can testify that while I was Ruli’s colleague, he was deliberately kept out of the foreign-debt negotiations.” According to Shehi, this was done by people above the two of them, who did not consider Ruli a trustworthy person. Meanwhile, MP Azem Hajdari is reported to have said that there are people in the PD who know the secret of the missing $1.6 million, and they should speak up. “Berisha,” Hajdari added, “should publicly throw away the Arsidi medal.” None of the MPs present opposed Ruli, and they all criticized the slow work of Prosecutor Alush Dragoshi, who has not brought the walnut-wood dossier to parliament. But it seems the walnut is now about to be cracked. The vote on Ruli’s immunity will merely show who is going to crack the walnut: Berisha or Ruli. photo A. BABANI

They slept in the cells of the escapees The escape of 15 January and the extreme measures taken by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice have nevertheless failed to cure the insomnia of two Tirana Prison guards, who were caught sleeping on the night of 22 January. The officers, who were found by the shift II guard supervisors at 1 a.m. sleeping precisely in the beds of the empty cells of the escaped prisoners, were detained, while the Tirana Military Prosecutor’s Office has begun an investigation. Just as with the first 15 officers arrested for failing to perform their duties on the night of 15 January, these two may also face the charge of “violation of guard-service regulations” as early as today, if the Military Prosecutor’s Office decides to place them under arrest. In any case, the actions of the two people detained on Sunday, although unrelated to the escape of the 20 prisoners, cast a large shadow of doubt over the seriousness of the security measures introduced in recent days after the convicts escaped from the capital’s prison.

Three more former ministers may also face criminal prosecution Trial panel decision to return the Arsidi case file for further investigation Three more former ministers may also face criminal prosecution, page 3 Trial panel decision to return the Arsidi case file for further investigation, page 2

—“The PD is far removed from the electorate” —“I will not take part in the next elections if the electricity problem is not resolved” —“The PD is far removed from the electorate” —“I will not take part in the next elections if the electricity problem is not resolved,” page 3