“The President should dismiss the judges who released the guilty” The Minister of Public Order is outraged by the judges’ decision to release criminals page 5

The outrage expressed yesterday by the Minister of Public Order, Poçi, in concrete terms through a protest that came close to threatening Meidani, the head of the High Council of Justice, and calling on him to “tighten the screws” on the Albanian justice system, represents a step that perhaps should have been taken earlier. The message of the protest that Minister Poçi sent to Mr. Meidani yesterday, in a way, marks an escalation of the justified protests by ordinary police officers against members of the justice system, which culminated not long ago in the symbolic “occupation” of the Shkodra Courthouse. Indeed, it can be said that his spectacular action yesterday was the result of the legitimate concerns of his subordinates, who convinced him to take such a step by presenting concrete evidence. The release of criminals, from petty offenders to leading figures in organized crime, has become an everyday occurrence for several years. Consequently, the sacrifices made by police officers during successful but difficult operations that have led to the arrest of criminals have ultimately proved futile, as representatives of the justice system, driven by dubious motives, have manipulated articles and paragraphs of the Criminal Code. Most recently, law-enforcement forces, although they still have much to do, have dealt several decisive blows to crime by killing and arresting notorious criminals who until now had defied the state in the most brazen manner. In light of this, yesterday’s step by the Minister of Public Order seems to be an attempt to avoid a repeat of past experience, when judges would, in all likelihood, have taken the handcuffs off the “tough guys.” On the other hand, by doing this, Poçi puts President Meidani in a difficult position as head of the justice system. In this way, Meidani will either “act” in an effort to put an end to the phenomenon of criminals being released, or the suspicions voiced in the opposition’s accusations that various ruling-party clans are linked to crime will become credible. The truth is that the presence in power of certain individuals who have no interest in establishing law and order is no longer in doubt. At this point, the stance toward the Minister of Public Order—or, more precisely, the commitment to support him in his difficult work—can be regarded as a litmus test for politicians’ links to crime. The warm messages from Washington conveyed yesterday to the Minister of Public Order by the new American ambassador are also a message to the rest of Albanian politics. Any politician, in government or opposition, who in any way tries to put a spoke in the wheels of Poçi and law-enforcement officers only casts a shadow of suspicion over themselves as a protector and facilitator of crime.

Page 24 Stalone, two years without work

EU accession must have no exceptions Europe must not make distinctions in agreements with the countries of the Balkans. On the contrary, the EU itself should be interested in integrating all the countries of Southeastern Europe. This is the view supported by the peninsula’s nongovernmental forums on the Stability Pact, but it has not yet become a position of the Albanian government. This is the context in which Albania is heading to the Bari conference. Minister Milo presents the projects, while Genc Ruli, representative of ISB, expresses the same concern as Soros. For the Balkans to be considered Europe (Southeastern Europe), conflicts must necessarily be brought to an end, and for them to end, the agreement with the EU must be standardized. pages 12–13

Today: the Democratic Party’s protest in “Skënderbej” Square - pages 16–17