Prime Minister: Sali Berisha, leader of paid history. Page 3 Prime Minister: Sali Berisha, leader of paid history Page 3

BY ENKEL DEMI While the Democratic Party is boycotting local government as well as Parliament, the Socialists seem to have decided to respond to their opponents in kind. Their KPD meeting gave rise to the idea that they too are determined and cannot leave the challenge of local elections unanswered. In fact, the Socialists are convinced that an election now would bring them victory, since their experience in the partial elections makes them optimistic. But, in yesterday’s row at the KPD, few seemed interested in knowing whether these elections are being held at the right time. Indeed, anyone who dared say so was accused of being a propagandist. While mass graves are being opened in Kosovo and women and children are being killed, the mother country has its mind on elections and internal political contradictions, despite the nationalist slogans heard every day. If we are talking about local elections today, first and foremost we must bear in mind that across the border people are talking about more fundamental matters, such as independence, unification, and other things of that kind. Who will be the driving force in resolving this national predicament? Albania seems preoccupied with Mr Berisha, who has taken to the streets with his entire entourage, while Kosovo still appears to be a foreign-policy problem for this state and an internal problem for a state that speaks Serbian. If local elections are held at this moment, the people growing up in Kosovo will have every right to curse us, because our decrepit hospitals have shown how little support they receive from the policy of the state so beautifully called the “Motherland.” Bashkim Fino, the man in the Government responsible for local government, said yesterday that these elections would only delay the functioning of local government. At the same time, however, he warned that Albanian law stipulates that elections are automatically held after a specified period of boycott. And the opposition, which by chance also calls itself democratic, need only calculate the appropriate length of the boycott, and Albanians will be lined up with their last chance to cast their ballots. The latter, in particular, have shown through the local elections that elections are hardly close to their hearts during this post-destructive period. The low turnout in the latest elections showed that the system’s failure has made citizens aware of this situation. So, with what right will these lousy politicians, who are calling for elections today, send Albanians back to the ballot boxes and launch those aggressive campaigns of theirs, with insults and people paid a loaf of bread’s worth? At the end of the day, elections cost money. Who will pay for them? Are international organizations ready to pay once more for an Albanian electoral fiasco? Unlikely. Nevertheless, the PD is calling for elections, and nobody in the PS is going to make an issue of it.

page 2 An Albanian police officer arresting a refugee from Kosovo in Tropojë Photo REUTERS An Albanian police officer arresting a refugee from Kosovo in Tropojë. Photo REUTERS

He would undress her and play with her body. The little girl escapes rape A sexual predator is arrested The victim was a 6-year-old girl. The girl was playing in the courtyard of the apartment building, and he had tricked her He committed indecent acts with a child, a 6-year-old girl, and had nearly raped her. But after the child reported him, he was arrested and is now in a cell. He is 24 years old and, as the little girl told the police, brutality was progressing toward rape, but it seems that, more than his mercy, it was luck that saved the little girl. F 7

The President of Kosovo appeals to the West for help. P. 5 The President of Kosovo appeals to the West for help Rugova calls for a protectorate P. 5

Blue uniforms in many cities on Alert No. 1. P. 9 Blue uniforms in many cities on Alert No. 1 Police on alert over the PD P. 9

The declared motion supporters are nowhere to be seen at the KPD meeting P. 9 PS opponents fall silent P. 2 Police officers from all the countries bordering the Mediterranean are being alerted Search for the L&M ship P. 6 Showdowns erupt at the KPD: Malaj-Bundo, Nano-Brokaj, Ruçi-Ruka Majko: Let’s not wait for Bleta’s handcuffs P. 3