Order from the Ministry of the Interior to all border crossing points VEFA - Government, the hour of the great clash. Nano: This fraudulent company does not worry me Order from the Ministry of the Interior to all border crossing points Vehbi Alimuçaj must not flee VEFA - Government, the hour of the great clash. Nano: This fraudulent company does not worry me Pages 2-3

The drastic economic measures proposed by the IMF and approved by the Albanian government could trigger a new wave of discontent among the majority of Albanians, who, more than thinking about Albania’s future, are at the moment thinking about the return of the money they lost in the so-called pyramid schemes. The fat that Albanians accumulated from the operation of these firms is slowly melting away, and belt-tightening at the boiling point set by the IMF, although it is the only way to overcome the crisis, will produce results years later, when Albanians may perhaps have lost patience. The government has chosen the right path, as Prime Minister Nano also put it, “responsible but radical and aggressive reforms,” yet the government cabinet is doing little, to say the least, to explain these necessary reforms to Albanians. Ordinary Albanians, for whom this is the second time in just a few years that they have had to tighten their belts so much, need to know what VAT is, as well as how much it will affect their livelihood, what the cost of the pain will be, how long it will last, and how exactly the money they lost in the pyramid schemes will be handled. It is time for both the majority MPs and members of the government cabinet to go down to the grassroots and sensitize and explain to Albanians in simple words, not dissertation language, the cost of the reform or the “last chance.” Prime Minister Fatos Nano and, at the same time, chairman of the SP, must explain some truths to those of his own party dissatisfied with the government’s right-wing policy, why he was forced to follow a policy even more right-wing than that of the former right-wing Democratic government itself. Although Nano’s government may have a very clear mission it has taken upon itself and the path it must follow, ordinary Albanians are unclear about the package of economic measures and the responsibilities they must bear on their shoulders as individuals. And especially, historically and morally, Albanians are unclear about where they were, where they are coming from, and where they are going. To draw lessons from the past, Albanians need to know what happened to Albania and the January-March period, who the real causes of the crisis were, what the so-called pyramid schemes were, which international elements were involved in this crisis, etc. And all this should be done not so much to denounce the guilty as to assign historical responsibility, to understand the future, to understand the six-month stabilization agreement with the IMF, to understand the recommendations from Rome and Brussels. ANDI BEJTJA

VEFA president Vehbi Alimuçaj in his personal helicopter

Meta’s landslide victory increases the concern of the socialists SP, fear of a faction P. 5 PD leader at a press conference analyses the protests PD does not allow groups P. 4 Four young men in handcuffs - suspected of murder The masked men who terrorized people are caught P. 14 Investigations completed - the Mazreku file in court Former MP has admitted the charge P. 2 Yesterday, the draft law on the year’s economic development was amended The government renews the ’97 budget P. 11 EC, 1.7 million ECU for Albanian pesticides Europe removes chemical waste in Durrës P. 9 RESTARTS New season of TELEBINGO Read on page 7

Heads of local government protest against Nano “We demand that the prime minister’s bodyguards, who threw the mayor of Fushë-Arrëz out, be prosecuted” The mayors too will go on strike. Every Friday, the 64 mayors of Albania will protest against the Nano government. For about two hours on that day, all employees of the municipal institutions will stop working in protest. P. 7