Gjumsli: Local elections in the spring of ’98. FRESH “rehabilitates” Nano. Constitution: The parties’ share is broken. Majko: We will get Pjetri out of the hunger strike Pages 1–3

BY NIKOLLË LESI Yesterday, the socialist leader and current prime minister, Fatos Thanas Nano, began his attack on the independent newspaper “Koha Jonë”. After showing no willingness to discuss easing the tax burden on the independent press—despite his people pleading at its doors day and night—he now makes no effort to conceal his arrogance toward those who perhaps contributed more than he did to the overthrow of Berisha’s regime. He chose the FRESSH National Conference in particular to vent his anger at me and at the newspapers, which have done nothing other than ask him to ensure that the press is free economically as well, by removing some of the taxes artificially imposed by the previous government for the sole purpose of keeping the press from becoming a “thorn in its side”. In an irritating tone, typical of Sali Berisha’s time and style, the prime minister said: “We will not listen to Nikollë Lesi and his newspaper ‘Koha Jonë’ about what they say on reducing VAT. We are not a bank that can pay off Nikollë Lesi’s debts...” So, instead of responding politely and properly to the press’s reasonable requests for open dialogue, the prime minister used the FRESH National Conference to publicly attack one of the leading publishers of the independent press. In this respect, he even outdid Berisha, who usually promised tax cuts, even though he never made them a reality. Of course, the newspaper “KJ” and I are used to being attacked, arrested, having our transport vehicles and newspaper impounded, and having our newsroom burned, simply because we refuse to be servile to those in power. Nevertheless, I sincerely regret that the prime minister has lost his reason and composure, taking offence in a style typical of the Berisha-era guardsmen. If I and the journalists of “Koha Jonë” were lynched and terrorized by SHIK and General Arjan Shehu, who took orders from the Democratic Party government, we did not act on orders from the Democratic Party government; we have not contributed, nor will we ask for anything in return for our contribution on 29 June. We did everything with professional integrity, convinced that the government that would come to power—in this case, yours—would treat the press carefully and fairly, helping it not by financing it, but by creating conditions for it like those in other democratic countries. Or, to be more precise, that you would fulfil what those who campaigned before 29 June promised at rallies “in defence of the free press”. Albanian publishers may have made mistakes in their work, but in any case you have no moral right to publicly attack an independent newspaper which helped you get to where you are today, drinking whisky and Coca-Cola, instead of being... (Continued on page 3)

A child in Tirana kissing a portrait of Mother Teresa. Photo: REUTERS

One kilogram of cocaine costs 40 million lire Page 8

Here are the most wanted of 1997 Page 9