Late last night he was flown to Rome on a special aircraft Guizeppe Muolo, capo of the “Sacra Corona Unita,” was sheltering at a base belonging to his organization in Durrës

What happened yesterday in Shkodër should have happened long ago. In fact, the blue uniforms’ dissatisfaction with those who wear the black robes has been building for years. One aspect of the degeneration of the Albanian justice system in the 1990s is reflected in its immoral compromises with people from the criminal underworld. Thus, most of the police’s successes in the fierce battle against crime are destined to be undone as soon as a case crosses the courthouse doors, even though police officers often pay with their lives. It is precisely in the courts that murderers, thieves, and ordinary criminals in general feel relieved, certain that they will soon be free again. There are so many cases of this that compiling them into a list would be a relatively difficult undertaking. Under these circumstances, conflict between the police and those called judges is inevitable. And this conflict is one of the engines of crime in the country. Indeed, it is this conflict that drives public opinion to demand that criminals be executed during police operations, without being given the luxury of being taken to trial, where only a short interval separates them from freedom. The acquittal this year alone of the most prominent figures in crime in Albania is sufficient grounds to justify yesterday’s lawful protest by Shkodër police officers against the local judges. Yes, the problem is that things do not end with criminals being let off. Immediately after their release, they take revenge, first against the police officers, who, moreover, enjoy no status whatsoever that would ensure their protection. Thus, the “sin” of the “black robes” against the blue uniforms is twofold. Certainly, yesterday’s protest by police officers in Shkodër had the support, at least morally, of all citizens who bear the consequences of compromise and collusion with crime. Perhaps, because of the unexpected way in which the police carried out the protest, the residents of the city of Shkodër did not join them either, although they have long been deprived of peace and quiet. Given the dire state of public order in Albania, senior officials—including President Meidani—instead of taking issue with the police, should be prompted by their protest to “close ranks” against the judges, most of whom, as is no secret, are corrupt or, at the very least, afraid of criminals’ threats. Those who agree to wear the black robes must take everything into account. In any case, Shkodër’s police officers must take everything into account. In any case, Shkodër’s police officers must take everything into account. ...

All proceedings were suspended for an hour and a half Shkodër, blue-uniformed officers revolt against the black robes — page 4

After the incident in Shkodër page 5

Yesterday, the DP National Council page 2