Shkëlzen Berisha was taken to the police station yesterday morning “He and his friends blocked students from entering the Faculty of Law” Page 2

Fortune does not seem all that generous to the Majko Government. A well-known businessman in Tirana, who had set out to attend a business meeting in Elbasan, was seized by an armed gang less than 30 kilometres from the Capital, bringing to four the number of major business figures who have fallen into the hands of criminals over the past year. Insecurity has become part of Albanians’ lives, and the roads have already emptied many times in the evening. Winter has begun more harshly than in the past two years, and the energy situation is at a critical stage. Politics is becoming harsher[?], and the students’ strike, from an event that attracted little attention, is gaining publicity and media coverage. The situation is deteriorating, and no one knows what tomorrow may bring. As always in such cases, the worsening political situation brings about an even greater deterioration in public order, and many districts are gripped by anarchy. It is sad to analyse the state we are in, but sadder still to try to understand the actions of those who claim they will lead us out of the crisis. A crisis that has been going on for some time and is becoming part of our everyday lives. The Socialists accuse Berisha, Berisha accuses Majko, creating an absurd picture that generates conflict and has no clear direction in our lives. We are told that order is being restored, yet its highest-ranking officials often advise citizens: avoid travelling late at night. Students demand better conditions, which is entirely logical, but they do not forget to ask for grants higher than their lecturers’ salaries. They seem to live in another country; they do not come from the same struggling families, and they do not see that most of their neighbourhoods are plunged into darkness. They are all actors in an absurd and tragic theatre, trying to avoid seeing the failure and to experience it for themselves. We curse the government and forget that it is especially difficult for an elected government to lead when it has the courage to face a crisis. We live in the same neighbourhood and swallow the same daily sadness. Fortune does not seem to smile on us. Fortune does not seem to bend in our favour at all. Fortune does not seem generous to Albanians in the slightest.

Striking students in Tirana Photo LEONARD FILOPATI Serbian intelligence, UDB, ensconced in Tirana Tirana has fallen prey to the game of its northern neighbour, that is, its intelligence service, UDB. The networks of Serbian intelligence, which apparently has poured millions of dollars into the destruction of this country, extend into key sectors of the Albanian state. Naturally, this is serious and alarming for even the most ordinary citizen, let alone the highest-ranking state official. At a time when power pylons are being blown up every day, and political destabilisation continues at a very high rate, even the most naive person would understand that the long arm of the intelligence services, which are interested in destroying Albania, is at work here. A statement made several years ago in the Serbian parliament by an MP, saying that large sums of money had been given to destabilise Albania, now seems to be proving true. Almost all sectors of the state have been paralysed by an invisible hand, which has been creating confusion and problems for a long time. UDB is the organisation most interested in deepening the conflict in Albania, since this would also make it very difficult for Kosovo to achieve its rights. It is the duty of the specialised Albanian state agencies to rid not only Tirana but almost all the cities of Albania of UDB agents, who continue every day to work against Albania’s national interests. And naturally, our counterintelligence must be more active and clarify some questions about certain officials and politicians of ours who, knowingly or unknowingly, are playing Serbia’s game. It is serious, but the facts and everyday logic show that UDB infiltration may have reached powerful people in Albania. The Albanian intelligence service, SHIK, must also use the method of infiltrating the opposing network to discover how far the Serbian service’s tentacles reach into Albanian politics. In this regard, just as the Serbs use money for their agents, funds for counterintelligence must also be made available to SHIK. Otherwise, this country will always be prey to the game of Serbian intelligence—and not only Serbian intelligence. A. N. Striking students in Tirana. Photo LEONARD FILOPATI

Klosi explains Majko has not violated the law The Prime Minister’s legal adviser argues the decision page 5