Brozi must be influenced neither by resentment toward the government nor by pity for the refugees The President of the Court of Cassation must forget that today, on 8 February, he could have been wearing a prisoner’s uniform instead of a judge’s robe page 3

-The Head of State must find the bomb’s “formula,” if he doesn’t know it page 2

Shkodër Former SHIK employee murdered -Murder in revenge or for other motives? He is Sokol Hoti, 34, a former SHIK officer during 1992–1994, who was hit by three bullets the day before yesterday afternoon in the “Kiras” neighborhood and died at the scene, sources from the district police station say. As we have been informed, Hoti was involved in several political events that have taken place in Shkodër since 2 April and thereafter. His name was mentioned by Democratic Alliance leaders at a public meeting as that of one of the witnesses who could shed light on the murder of Gjovalin Çekini. This is because Sokol Hoti is believed to have been near the scene of the events of 14 January. However, his murder on Monday is believed to be connected with the murder, a month ago, of the young man Ritvan Banka with hekjësi. Those accused of Ritvan Banka’s murder were arrested and later released. Sokol Hoti’s murder is also thought to have been carried out with hekjësi, after he was lured into the killer’s ambush. Five police minibuses arrived immediately at the home where the crime is believed to have been committed, but the men of the household had left. Witnesses from the area say that another person was also wounded at the crime scene, with two bullets in the legs. So far, no one has come forward to the law-enforcement authorities as an official witness to the incident.

Another meeting of the Parliamentary Mandates Commission No decision again on the immunity of Ruli and Uka The Commission asks the Prosecutor’s Office for additional material Yesterday, the Parliamentary Mandates Commission met again to discuss the request of the Prosecutor General concerning the removal of the parliamentary immunity of MPs Ruli and Uka. As we learned after the meeting concluded, once again no decision was made regarding the MPs’ fate. Today, the Commission heard explanations from MPs Ruli and Uka regarding the authorization they themselves had granted to export a quantity of walnut timber from Albania, something that has been prohibited since 1981 by a decision of the Council of Ministers. The Commission then discussed the arguments of the accused party and decided to contact the Prosecutor’s Office once more to request some additional material. This material is considered essential to form a final opinion on whether or not the MPs’ immunity should be removed. But what are these documents, and what do they represent? As we were informed, the documents requested by the Commission concern certain technical data about the Wood Processing Plant in Elbasan, which, it should be noted, specialized in processing walnut timber. The Commission has also requested that all correspondence between Ruli and Uka and former Trade Minister Artan Hoxha concerning this matter be submitted. Given that the latter request is of interest, it seems that the “ball” will remain in former Minister Hoxha’s court; it should be noted that he has been outside Albania for several months. Regarding the length of time the Mandates Commission is taking to reach a decision, we asked its chairman, Mr. Fehmi Abdiu, who replied that the time when requests by the prosecution to revoke mandates were approved immediately has passed in the Albanian Parliament. Now every request concerning any MP whose immunity the prosecution believes should be removed must be examined very carefully. The request for supplementary documents will be sent to the Prosecutor’s Office today. It depends on the Office when it will submit the requested material, so that another meeting can be held to decide whether or not to remove the immunity of Ruli and Uka. EMIN BARÇI

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