FINANCIAL SCANDALS, Prosecutor's Office opens criminal proceedings following a report by the State Audit Along with the former prime minister, two ministers from the DP as well Page 7

BY ANDI BEJTJA The removal of the Constitutional Court president, Rustem Gjata, from office has also intensified the dispute over the change in structure. The Democrats have declared that if parliament does not review the mandate of the former president of the Constitutional Court, they will recognize neither any other mandate of the current parliament nor the government or the other institutions of the state. For the Democrats and some of their smaller allies, Gjata remains president. The Gjata issue is also complicating the work of drafting the Constitution, which the authorities have planned to put into effect in Albania within this year. The Democrats said they would also reconsider their position on the commission working to draft the Constitution. The harsh statements by Democratic leader Sali Berisha and his threats not to recognize state institutions point to an even bleaker outlook for political life and civic life in general. Albanians have heard these threats not only in the case of President Gjata’s removal, but earlier as well—even before the Socialists and their allies came to power. Nevertheless, the Gjata issue is the biggest lifeline Berisha can grab onto as he drowns. The removal of the president of a Constitutional Court is an event that cannot pass unnoticed anywhere in the world, and it is under the scrutiny of all international democratic institutions. It must be said that the majority’s removal of Gjata from office was politically motivated, but not without justification. The file presented by Behzani was not simply a collection of spy films, but a file full of shocking facts. On the other hand, it is no coincidence that Behzani began his first serious work with Gjata in particular. The Socialists took power while Berisha’s trusted people still held positions in all the main institutions. Gjata and other loyalists of Berisha had been throwing a wrench in the works of the newly elected Albanian parliament. For parliament’s president, Gjinushi, this was a problem that had to be dealt with in time. But the cut was made. Was the beheading legally justified? As always in such cases, there is not one law in Albania, but two: the DP’s law and the SP’s law. The DP’s law says that only the members of the Constitutional Court and its president can appoint Gjata, thereby making the Court immune to every other institution in Albania. The law of the SP and the majority, meanwhile, says that parliament has the right to review the mandate of the president of the Constitutional Court. Which law should an ordinary citizen who does not know these things by heart believe? The result is as expected. Those who support the DP believe the DP’s law, and those who support the SP believe the SP’s law. The confrontation between the two political forces also creates conflict among the electorate, and it is no wonder that it grows, while Albania grows older and shrinks day by day. Someone should teach us which law is the law—the real one.

Kosovo, Serbs open fire on protesters P. 2

The inquiry commission: the Socialists demand Spartak Ngjela’s dismissal P. 5 The first 16 articles pass in the Commission The Constitution gets underway without the DP P. 3 The homes of local leaders shaken Vlora, dynamite in an apartment building P. 13 Judges armed by Bashkim Gazidede Gjonaj with 6 Kalashnikovs P. 6 He lured children with pornographic tapes Manhunt for the rapist P. 7

. Page 6 Nehat Kulla, who was acquitted yesterday by the Court of Appeals

One robber is killed, while the other takes three bullets in the legs. A police officer is also wounded Berat, fierce exchange of gunfire near the city . The police exchanged fire with a gang of robbers on the Kutalli-Rërëz national road. The tragic toll includes one wounded police officer, while on the opposing side one person was killed and another wounded. The victims had in fact taken shelter near a house. After identifying the place where they were hiding, the police detained two people, who had already been wanted. F 11