RAMBUJEA GIYSMAKE UÇK: “No political decision can be taken without Demaçi’s approval. We will continue the liberation war to the end”

Mentor Kikia The idea has now become clearer than ever. The government is publicly punishing criminals. It is even sentencing them. But only in small and “weak” groups, something that, once upon a time, was described by the police chief of Vlorë as the existence of small fish under the shadow of big whales. Ordinary people kill ordinary people over the killing of an old jacket, a tanker truck, a word spoken in anger, or a banal act of revenge. Car theft in Tirana has become a routine spectacle. Wounding and killings over revenge and sudden quarrels are present. Such an insecure situation has created a very troubling climate. But that is not all. The government is able to catch, try and punish the perpetrators of these acts. Small fish. Even if we want to be realistic and not become like some optimistic deluded people, we must admit it. At a time when young people who steal a cow or a chicken are arrested and punished, the real perpetrators of trafficking, car theft, bank robberies, etc., have long since created their own elusive systems, now with well-known names. These are gangs with strong structures, operating in several cities and linked to centers abroad. Organized crime has become part of our daily life. It is not only a matter of the night streets, but of an economy moving in the shadows, of money circulating without control, and of a state that seems powerless before it. Instead of striking at the roots of this phenomenon, sporadic measures are taken against second-rate executors. This reality produces fear and distrust. The ordinary citizen sees how the law works for some, while for others it remains only a threat on paper. This undermines trust in institutions and in the very idea of the state. The state cannot be strong only against the unprotected and the weak; it is tested precisely in the face of those who openly challenge it. If there is no will to dismantle the large criminal networks, to hit their finances and the political support they may have, then every success against the “small fish” will be nothing more than statistics. And statistics do not give citizens security. Continues on page 6

“We congratulate the Kosovar delegation on reaching an agreement in principle and support the second round” BERISHA: “The Contact Group gave victory to Milošević” Everything about what happened yesterday in Rambuje, analysis by the world’s best-known analysts, the positions of Albanian politicians, what the Albanians lose and what they gain Pp. 2-9

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Ruajta FKS lëllar laurin e art[?] SHENGEN visa and other gifts for the luxury winners Read page 2