Tropojë, terror and bloodshed continue. Sixth victim in just a few days Commissioner Haklaj had been a wanted man and was involved in a blood feud. Special forces take over the town Page 2

BY FRROK CUPI Yesterday the government appeared to be in a different emotional state: somewhat nervous. The accelerated moves at the Ministry of the Interior and the statements coming from both sides gave the public reason to turn its attention to the danger of governmental nervousness. This would be alarming. First of all, the situation needs to be clarified: From what emotional state did the government cross over into nervousness? It can all be summed up in a short phrase: A state of nervousness is being reached from a state of near-nervelessness. For several months now, Albanian citizens as a whole have been asking the government for more nerve and inspiration to carry out its governing duties. That was the case until the day before yesterday. The transition from a lack of nerve to nervousness would be alarming. Practically speaking, what happened and what is happening in this situation? 1. Having come to power on the strength of a plebiscitary popular vote, the government tempered its nerve to the level of confidence it enjoys. But there is a conflict here: While the people voted as in a plebiscite because of that extraordinary situation, the current government is acting at an ordinary pace. When the government realizes that it has fallen behind the popular will, it naturally reacts with nervousness. But how harmful is this?! 2. It is not untrue to say that there are also corrupt elements within the government, or even Mafia bosses, as has been acknowledged. Naturally, they come from a collapsed state; that is hardly surprising. But the government's strong hand should spare no one close to it who “gets a finger in the till.” If this was allowed the day before yesterday and yesterday, then today it must inevitably be more nervous. (Because it cannot accept what it has seen being cooked up.) This is the lesser evil. The greater evil would be if someone in the government had been obstructed in their path of corruption, and nervousness then surfaced. 3. Elegance does not stand up to a monster. Everyone, including the right-wing parties, sees the ousted President as the cause of the turmoil and tension. Yesterday he had placed at his feet the human cliff [?] and was exploiting it politically. The horoscope of Albanians sees the ousted President’s desire to turn the country into a corpse, and then to “triumph.” What else can be expected from the one who caused the catastrophe?! The government and parliament maintained a “gentlemanly,” European stance in the face of the “club” and the weapon hurled at them by the cause of Albania’s evil. The most coveted position for the ousted President would be to see the government and the state become nervous. Then he would have achieved everything he failed to do in March. So, once he makes the government nervous, little by little, like sparkling water. But the question arises: Will the majority of the people’s will prevail, or will we once again become nervous before exercising the right of an absolute majority? The government must solve this problem; nervousness is not a solution, it is a defeat.

Tusha: Fino’s policemen raided my home Former director of the Tirana police, Colonel Pashk Tusha

We had no intention of making public the current government’s reactions to the criticism by the newspaper “Koha Jonë” if they had not escalated. It has become fashionable that whenever “KJ” journalists criticize the government, telling it the truth to its face, certain sections of the state react in ways that bear some resemblance to the reactions of Berisha’s time in power. The bad thing is that such reactions are becoming more and more frequent. The truth is that until now we have remained silent, guided by the idea that the new government has not yet become accustomed to criticism from a serious press and, on the other hand, by the wish to let government officials work in peace to solve the country’s problems. But when the electricity and telephone signal are cut off (after every criticism), and this is done only to the newspaper’s building, it gives cause for suspicion. Worse still, yesterday, after the Deputy Prime Minister Bashkim Fino was criticized over the dismissals at the Tirana Police Directorate, things reached a peak, extending to outright brutal threats such as “if Berisha left you alive, we’ll roast you, you hillbillies...” So, although we do not want to believe that this is the government’s other face, but only that of certain sections of it, who have considered coming to power a means of lining their pockets through smuggling and putting their friends in key positions, we still cannot remain silent. In closing, we hope these are coincidences caused by particular individuals who, also by coincidence, have landed in a ministerial seat or even higher. THE EDITORIAL STAFF

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