“Italian protectorate”; PD and PS, as well as the Greek media, react . Page 3

BY ANDI BEJTJA The storm stirred up in the press by the nervista statement of Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano, published in an Italian newspaper, in which the idea—or, more precisely, the phrase “Italian protectorate for Albania”—was put forward, seems to have been raised more by the “biblical language” used by the Albanian Prime Minister and by the Italian journalist’s tendentiousness than by Nano’s own ideas. Anyone who reads the interview carefully understands quite clearly that the idea of “protection,” treated speculatively by both the Italian and Albanian press, has been taken out of context and given a different meaning. Nano says: “Italy is a European country, and Albania needs precisely a European protectorate in order to rebuild its institutions... We will demonstrate whether we are capable of accepting ‘protection’ so as to become a European Union country quickly.” And further on, after these plays on words—which, it must be said, leave room for misinterpretation—Nano states quite clearly: “We will show that we will be a partner country and not a colony.” There is no doubt that the Albanian Prime Minister has no intention whatsoever of making Albania an Italian colony, but the language Nano uses is confusing and sounds more like that of a bewildered Albanian intellectual than the language of a prime minister of a country awaiting reconstruction. In this case, Nano’s lexical imprecision also confused a large part of the Albanian people, who in most cases read only newspaper headlines. Whether intentionally or not, the Albanian Prime Minister showed that he is unsure of the burden and responsibility he has taken on, and he passed this uncertainty on to Albanians, who now more than ever need to understand that Albania is in their hands, not in the hands of Italy or Europe. This is not the first time Albanian officials have failed to manage their words or to deal with the press. Some time ago, the President of the Republic, Rexhep Mejdani, in an interview given to an Italian news agency, spoke as if he were chatting in one of Tirana’s cafés, saying, “for us, Milošević is better than Šešelj.” These kinds of blunders, even if they may be called “minor,” leave consequences among ordinary Albanians; they also make it clear that senior Albanian officials are not responsible, despite holding Albania’s fate in their hands.

We arrived at the presidency; Meidani and Nano celebrate with the December demonstrators Photo: GENT SHKULLAKU We arrived at the presidency; Meidani and Nano celebrate with the December demonstrators. Photo: GENT SHKULLAKU

The homes of those arrested served as bases for distributing the white poison Police strike: suppliers to thousands of young people arrested Police have uncovered a super-network trafficking drugs in the capital. The six traffickers arrested two days ago owned distribution agencies and had their own customers. Having identified several of the key distribution points in Tirana, the police are now investigating further, tracing those who bring the drugs into Albania. Police and prosecution sources said yesterday that they had begun investigating the traffickers. P. 2

Eight arrested; 300 fake seals discovered P. 7

Italian coast guards avert a tragedy P. 8

Vlore: blue uniforms stage a silent protest P. 9

Head of Division XXI in Tirana makes accusations from Italy P. 13

Mission in Albania: former chancellor nominated for the Peace Prize P. 4