Yesterday the Prosecutor’s Office opened criminal proceedings over the illegal gatherings in the capital. Ridvan Bode charged as a defendant. He faces three years in prison. Page 7 Yesterday the Prosecutor’s Office opened criminal proceedings over the illegal gatherings in the capital Rallies, the DP in court Ridvan Bode charged as a defendant. He faces three years in prison Page 7

By Frrok Çupi In the allegory of soot, a general calamity is taking place: Here, in this place called Albania, there are some people who set the “house” on fire and are now calling on the world to look only at the “soot”. They could at least be attentive enough to point out the parts they themselves did not burn! Or at least patriotic enough to show some part of the country that has escaped being blackened. “Just look, friends, look how the country is turning black!” they shout from podiums and in newspapers. There are people in this country who call out to the World: “Don’t invest, don’t bring anything, don’t even bring bread for the little ones, don’t bring medicine...” Everyone has a right to wonder: What on earth has happened to this country?! The simplest thing has happened: Evil revolves in a vicious cycle and is amplified within us. But why? 1. We went through a long period of “miracle”, with nothing bad in it. When we emerged from isolation, we noticed that outside the brightly lit cage there was a lot of soot. Thirsty to see different and forbidden scenes, we rushed toward evil. Some people watched eagerly in order to show evil, while others watched eagerly in order to cause evil. For a brief period, both sides reached a shared aesthetic point. 2. Others never stopped. These are the ones who came later. During the period of isolation, they were the last soldiers in Hoxha’s echelon; now they have come out first, as public figures. They have both the door and political parties in their hands. Without an identity, they wandered through agricultural cooperatives as farmers and distinguished men of letters, singing the symphony of manure in the fields. They are in the same position today: People used to sing about manure; now they see the whole Albanian human and natural landscape as “manure”. That is what they sing about in newspapers and from podiums, too. Only murders, assaults, “monstrous” murders. It is the greatest sin to wrest from society the means of public expression and then be incapable of seeing its full worth. 3. And finally comes the “civic-mindedness” of evil. This is often confused with nonconformism. Fortunately, a large part of Albanian society is critical of governments. But it is not normal, as happens here, for the politics that destroyed the country to try to appear modern and “nonconformist” merely to cover up its own crime. Just as it is not normal for the government often to look back, toward the round ball tossed by dark politics. The “frozen” toppled president calls for a strike; for some poplar fields... for the tall one or the short one of “justice”, and in the end calls on Europe not to cast its eyes on this country. Others, too, turn to this waiting place. The government and society need not be dragged over there by appearances of sweetness; the work is divided: Some stay close to the fireplace and the soot, while others take the road of progressive work. The governed society’s business lies this way.

The President welcomes Berisha’s decision. Page 5 The President welcomes Berisha’s decision Meidani: Bravo, DP Page 5

The investigations into the March events are being obstructed. Page 3 The investigations into the March events are being obstructed The Ngjela Commission against the Government Page 3 The Otranto tragedy, accusations against the Italians Minister Andreata defends Sibila Page 13 Another serious accident: a Skoda carrying people skids Mirditë, three dead Page 11 Further changes among law-enforcement chiefs Ilije: suspicions over the appointments Page 9 Kraštë: investigation into the attack on the depots begins after one year Yugoslavs reappear Page 10 KOTA JONË Organizes in Athens, on 11 and 12 April, the grand show for Albanian emigrants

Page 2 A masked fighter of the Kosovo Liberation Army in the outskirts of Drenicë. Photo: Reuters

Firearms and a considerable quantity of drugs seized. Three young men end up behind bars Police operation at several houses in Tirana Two houses belonging to traffickers have been discovered in the capital. A full 15 kilograms of cannabis, two automatic rifles, and three pistols were seized late yesterday afternoon by Police Station No. 3, while three young men, the owners of the goods, were immediately arrested. Police sources say that crime agents had been on the trail for some time of people involved in trafficking narcotic substances.