A manager and a girl from Romania arrested There were many girls there, but they had left before the police arrived page 7

That public order is the “Achilles’ heel” of the Albanian state was proved once again by the start of the activity of the new US ambassador to Albania, Joseph Limprecht. After official formalities such as presenting his credentials to the President of the Republic, Mr Limprecht held his first meeting with the Minister of Public Order, Poçi. The content of this meeting, at which “armed gangs”, “smuggling” and “various kinds of trafficking” were discussed, shows that the United States is both well-informed about and concerned by the reality in Albania. After this, there can no longer be any doubt about the real reasons why various US officials have not come to Tirana, beginning with President Clinton and extending to the recently cancelled visit by Richard Holbrooke. The truth is that Tirana’s other partners have also never refrained from voicing their concerns about the state of public order and security in Albania. On the other hand, the US ambassador’s choice of the Ministry of Public Order as the first stop on his itinerary for exploring the reality in Albania is also a warning bell for the government headed by Mr Majko to devote even greater effort to improving public order. It is well known that the message from Washington, conveyed through its ambassador in Tirana and addressed to Minister Poçi, was full of praise and positive assessments, even referring to “excellent work”. In this respect, Limprecht seems to be following up on what his predecessor Frowick said, also about Poçi. The fact that Washington is addressing not the government but only the head of public order leads one to think that the US has become convinced that the rest of the government and the other state institutions are not doing enough to support Poçi’s efforts to restore public order to normal levels—or even that they are putting artificial obstacles in his way, undoubtedly to carry out their own dirty business. In this regard, the alarmist statements made by members of the coalition against his appointment cannot have been forgotten; they went so far as to describe him as a “product of the Pact for Public Order” once proposed by Berisha. In this respect, the open support for Minister Poçi is also a warning to leave him out of the political games devised by various factions in the PS and elsewhere. But the signals from Washington regarding the Minister of Public Order and his work may be a good opportunity for the opposition, by offering forms of support and cooperation to this minister, who seems to be outside the factions, to gain even more ground against its opponents in power.

Page 3 Albania’s place in the EU, reserved by us

Tirana risks being buried under dirt If Majko does not sign the release of the funds, the Italian and Austrian companies that clean Tirana will leave, and the little cleanliness that remains will be replaced by garbage left in the middle of the streets, which could cause epidemics. The Municipality’s alarm was sounded yesterday, just a few days before the waste-removal contract expires. The two companies are already beginning to hesitate about continuing to empty the bins by truck or sweep the streets. page 22

The poll continues on page 23