Nano’s ultimatum rejected: Old tasks. They had been set back in November The ministers’ revolt “Little time available. A few days cannot replace the work of several months”

Since the end of last year, Albanian politics and the entire domestic public have been under the effect of talk about “changes” in the government cabinet almost all the time. Yes, although much has been said, and all kinds of hypotheses have been put forward, even mentioning the names of those who were supposed to say farewell to their posts, and despite Prime Minister Nano’s warnings, no action has yet been taken. And all this is happening at a time when the country is facing extremely serious problems. Despite the steps taken, at least if we are to believe the official propaganda, some of the government program’s main objectives remain far from meeting the parameters required to be considered achievable. Moreover, the government’s failures during these nine months of work have been compounded by other problems which, ultimately, weigh on the shoulders of ordinary Albanians. Just in recent days, many Albanians have been sleeping fitfully after learning that millions of counterfeit dollars are circulating in Albania, while reports have emerged of newborn babies being trafficked, among other things—not to mention the ease with which representatives of the criminal underworld carry out their activities. Nevertheless, one somehow gets the sense that the government is “artfully” evading these problems by occupying itself with other matters. In this respect, it is hard not to get the impression that the noise surrounding changes to the government cabinet is also a “smoke bomb” intended to divert public opinion—and above all, the opposition—from the existence of problems for which the government must answer. And in this regard, it must regrettably be acknowledged that, with its “reshuffle maneuver,” the government has almost entirely achieved its aim. But this also has another side to it. Regardless of how much the tactics may have served the government, the game of government reshuffles can be said to have become a boomerang against the government itself. Naturally, the uproar over “changes” has a far greater impact on the ministers rumored to be leaving than on the opposition. As a result, instead of attending to their work and devoting themselves entirely to solving problems, they rack their brains trying to figure out why they might be dismissed or how they might get themselves removed from the list of “sacrificial lambs”; or, ultimately, they fall prey to the effect of “letting things slide.” This adds to the agenda of failures and unresolved problems, which ultimately becomes a weapon for the opposition, enabling it to make its attack on the government more successful. GAVROSH LEVONJA

March 1997, masked men in the South stop a Republican Guard officer Photo REUTERS March 1997, masked men in the South stop a Republican Guard officer. Photo REUTERS

Government, anxiety over reshuffles P 3 “Cynical statements, destabilization strategy” Berisha: No aid for Albania P 5 Gunman with a weapon in the hospital wards Shkodër, shots fired at the doctor P 7 Lezha and Kavaja, the first misleading signals Counterfeit dollars, alarm in the districts P 11 “If the unauthorized kiosks are removed, thousands will be out of work” Brojka: Don’t demolish the buildings P 9

Prosecutor’s office seizes documents, intensive investigation Employee who registered the dead “angels” suspected. Morgue lists do not match those at the maternity hospital None of the six names of the dead babies, sent a week ago from the morgue to be buried, matched the names recorded in the registers of the Tirana maternity hospital. District prosecutors, having launched an investigation and taken possession of the maternity hospital’s documentation, have thus made their most sensational discovery while cross-checking the names of the deceased, following the complaint by the Funeral Services Enterprise.