The Prime Minister favors a pyramid scheme firm and debtor because of family interests. Billions of lekë in losses caused by the Prime Minister’s firm. page 5 The Prime Minister favors a pyramid scheme firm and debtor because of family interests Majko harms the state in favor of his father-in-law Billions of lekë in losses caused by the Prime Minister’s firm page 5

Speaking yesterday, on the occasion of announcing his candidacy for chairman of the PS, Prime Minister Majko could hardly avoid touching on the subject of eliminating gangs in various parts of the country. Indeed, in recent weeks, police forces have proved extremely effective in the fight against crime. With the arrest or elimination of several of the “bosses,” who had been making the rules in the areas where they operated for more than two years, hope for the return of the state was rekindled among citizens. Thus, with a list of police successes in his pocket, the Prime Minister yesterday gave Albanians the welcome news of the end of the gangs and “thugs who violate the law in Albania.” However, those who have followed crime reports in recent years cannot be easily enthused by relying only on the Prime Minister’s words. Despite the targeting of figures such as Zani, Kulla, Kakami, Kateshi and some others, no information appears to have been provided about eliminating or paralyzing a number of gangs or groups that have repeatedly defied the state, humiliating it to the lowest degree. Majko’s statement yesterday is hard to accept when there has been no news of the subjugation of the outlaws of Lazarat, who would not hesitate to block, as they did in the past, the road coming from Kakavija. Likewise, there is no indication that any of those involved in the repeated acts of violence and destruction against state institutions—including the police station in Shkodër—have been apprehended. The gangs of Mamurras have also yet to be targeted; on one occasion they shamefully turned back an official motorcade heading north, not to mention any of the ringleaders of September 14. Using terms such as “blue crime” and “pink crime,” Majko yesterday devoted considerable attention to the reality of links between crime and politics. But precisely the link between politics and crime, mentioned by the Prime Minister, now also a candidate for party chairman, means that the police’s recent operations can be viewed from another angle. The “gang bosses” and even the smaller “rats” caught in the police nets during these operations are mainly some of the names rumored to have ties to Fatos Nano and other politicians who are not connected to Majko and his circle. Likewise, there is no evidence of action against gangs accused by Majko himself of having ties to the PD and Berisha. Thus, the list of names of the gangs and their bosses targeted by Poci and his men raises suspicions about the political motives behind the operations. All the more so given that only three weeks remain until the Socialists’ congress, where the Nano–Majko battle began some time ago. On the other hand, staying with the crime-politics pairing, everything would be more credible if the crackdowns had been directed in every direction, including within the law-enforcement structures, where certain groups may have taken control of illegal trafficking after the major gangs were eliminated—trafficking about which Majko said not a word. Indeed, such trafficking is the most persistent link cited when discussing ties between politics and crime.

Hundreds demand the release of the area’s general What happened yesterday in Kinostudio was truly unimaginable. Hundreds of people demanded the immediate release of the man accused of dozens of crimes, considering his release a solution to their problems. But above all, it was striking that the rally was led by the chairman of the Dajti Commune, a commune comprising five villages. The state representative described Nehat Kulla as the area’s savior, as the man who protected the residents’ security during the unrest of 1997 and continued to protect them until the moment he was caught. For these reasons, the chairman of the Dajti Commune, the state’s representative in that area, came out against the state in defense of a criminal.

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