After the proposal that the President should lead the Democratic Party’s election campaign Ceka: He is the last communist and with him communism in Albania comes to an end “The President at the head of the Democratic Party for the election campaign” was a proposal made by the leaders of the Konrad-Adenauer Foundation and was accepted by the Democratic Party as a sacred solution. This proposal was also supported by opposition representatives, who believe that Berisha’s appearance at the head of the Democratic Party in the upcoming election campaign will be their main chance for victory. Dokle, Ceka and Gjinushi support this view by pointing to Berisha’s lost authority, as well as to the heavy defeat suffered by the Democratic Party in the 6 November referendum, when Berisha was the initiator and leader of that campaign. page 3

More than 20 parties will receive a total of 200 thousand dollars

The PAD memorandum concerning Albania’s compliance with its obligations toward the Council of Europe page 4

The director and about 60 percent of Tirana’s customs officers are dismissed page 5

The “Epidamn” scandal trial resumes page 7

TNT explosion at the house of Qazim Gjonaj Pressure blows open even the door of the head of the Court of Cassation page 2

Misfortune at the height of the celebration TIRANA - Misfortune at the height of the year’s biggest celebration. An elderly man died precisely at the moment of the turn of the year. And it was the excessive dose of drinks that tragically turned life into death. While the clock hands were kissing at 24:00 with impatience, death approached with the same impatience Zaim Vrenozaj, 63, from Tirana, whose life was cut short by the “overload” of raki. The last victim of the old year and the first of this one spent the final moments of his life, completely unconscious, in the Toxicology Department at the Military Hospital of the capital. Vrenozaj arrived at the hospital in a coma after abusing a large amount of alcohol. But the old man’s death did not ruin the festive joy of his relatives, who learned the tragic news the following morning. Z.D

Misfortune at the height of the celebration KAVAJË - Registered as the first victim of 1996. The symbol of peace is transformed into an altar of self-sacrifice. And these are the first moments of this year, when a young man from a village in Kavajë chose to tragically bid farewell to this world by hanging himself from the branch of an olive tree. However, the motive that drove this young man to death is still unknown. As soon as the New Year had taken its “first step,” death marked its first victim in the suicide register. Çlirim Burraci, 21, from the village of Sulaj in the Kavajë district. He left his home about an hour before midnight between 31 December and 1 January, while his family members were “swimming” in the pink atmosphere of the New Year celebration. The noose of death had been tied to an olive branch in the olive grove of his native village. The reason for this suicide has still not been clarified. One of the possible hypotheses that has also found support from the police is that of a deep psychological depression. Z.D

Dozens of victims, 87 million dollars in damage, and 15 thousand families displaced page 12

From 16 to 19 January The propagandistic noises about “treason” are now being turned into their opposite by the propagandists themselves The Democratic Party was one of the fiercest opponents of Albania’s relations with China in the first year after its formation. It organized anti-Chinese demonstrations in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs exactly four years ago, on the occasion of a visit that the then minister was to make to China. At the time this was called national treason. For a long time, the Democratic Party and its press waged a fierce propaganda war against the visit to the giant state made by the chairman of the Socialist Party in opposition, Fatos Nano. But after coming to power, the Democratic Party changed its anti-Chinese stance considerably and apparently came to understand that ideology does not belong in a state’s international relations page 10

The private cable television trend is born page 12