The opposition takes to the streets for the economic rights of Albanians. The police join the people Berisha condemns the usurers to death. The companies’ money has also been frozen pages 3, 7, 12

These two figures represent the frozen amount of the two charitable foundations in the vault of the Commercial Bank and the budget deficit created by the government in 1996. As can be seen, if you place them next to each other, these two figures differ by ten million dollars. The press has floated the idea that the money of Populli and Xhaferri, that is to say the money of Albanian depositors, has been frozen in order to temporarily cover the Albanian state budget deficit that Mr. Meksi’s government “took care” to create during the financial year we have just left behind. Such a hypothesis, perhaps speculative, nevertheless seems to point to another hypothesis, which is far less speculative, if one takes into account the signals that have recently come from banks at all levels. It is learned that the amount of money in banks has been decreasing to a critical point, and pessimists now use more direct terms, such as “the banks are empty” or “the state treasury has no more lek left.” If this were even partly true, which there are reasons to believe for a monetary system based on a tragically weak economy, then it can be said outright that the banks no longer have the money from the foundations, that is, from the Albanians. Now that the usurers are in complete crisis and people are asking for their money, the fact that the government has frozen 250 million dollars is not very reassuring. Because this government, which abruptly washed its hands of responsibility for the loss of Albanians’ money, while coming to power with the sponsorship of the rent-seeking firms, can very well use for its own needs the part of the money that it saved from the pyramid schemes. The freezing of the deposits of Populli and Xhaferri is even more alarming than their unfreezing. The statement of the Pelinku commission that it is not known when the investigative work into the firms’ finances will be completed, as well as Berisha’s call yesterday to extend that commission throughout Albania, could create a situation of collapse, where depositors will present the receipts they keep in their pockets at the foundations’ counters, while the latter will wave in front of their eyes the government decision to raise 25 billion new lek. Which, it must be recalled, belong to the Albanians. K.J

Sofia, from the protests against the government and the economic reform. Photo: Reuters

Last night “Koha Jonë” was printed at the last printing house, since the week before the arrest, the order had been given that at any cost the newspaper must not come out, so that the truth about the government manipulations with the usurers would not be spread throughout Albania. Power, at this critical political and economic moment, seems to be surrounding itself harshly with the press as well. Nevertheless, we, as on other occasions, have no intention of enduring the “nerves” caused by government officials as well as some eunuchs of the newspaper Albania, who are going bankrupt together with the usurers. The free competition that the PD has always promoted, since it was in opposition, is being trampled every day in the Albanian free market. We will continue to be the first at the printing house as well as in the market, regardless of the tactics of the press police. If these interventions and obstacles continue, then we will consider this a political war. The state must look back and remember that all battles with the press are lost from the outset. Especially at this moment, which is by no means opportune for the future of the government and those who decide on the overall printing on the rotary press. We would like to remind the latter that it is in the interest of professionalism as well as seriousness to seek the cause of the failure and not the newspaper Koha Jonë. Nevertheless, for this time...

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