I am stepping aside to help the government, so as not to create rifts and harmful rivalries A return by Nano would mean a return of problems I am stepping aside to help the government, so as not to create rifts and harmful rivalries Meta: Majko chairman, Dokle the second figure Nanos’s return would mean a return of problems page 3

Gavrosh Levonja A few days ago, when Majko, speaking about the final blow the state was delivering to the gangs, did not—

A few days ago, when Majko, speaking about the final blow the state was delivering to the gangs, did not fail to point out “the mobile phones in Tirana that direct them.” Pointing the gangs, did not fail to point out “the mobile phones in Tirana that direct them.” Certainly, hearing the prime minister himself publicly acknowledge a phenomenon that had long been discussed by the entire domestic public, his fellow citizens felt, for a moment, glad at the hope that, alongside the gangs, the political mafia—the cause of their misfortunes—was also nearing its end. At last, Albanian politics would thus be cleansed of that part of it linked to crime, removing a stain from Albania for which even its friends hold a grudge against it. But the problem is that the prime minister did not go any further. He did not mention even a single name, at least to make what he said more credible. In these circumstances, by not accompanying his statements and promises with the names of politicians who carry mobile phones in their pockets linking them to crime, it can be said that Majko has brought nothing new. So much has been said about politicians with links to crime that even the stones in the river know it by now. In any case, if the prime minister continues to speak about this phenomenon only in general terms, this cannot help but irreversibly damage his position, given that the Socialist congress is to take place about three weeks later. On the one hand, his statement about “the mobile phones in Tirana” would be treated as another installment in the series of irresponsible statements he makes from time to time. But there is an even greater possibility that it would be understood as a threat against those who might stand in the way of his plans. Nevertheless, Majko’s reluctance to make public the identities of the famous “mobile phones,” which from Tirana direct smuggling and various forms of trafficking, will create the impression that the prime minister lacks the courage to point the finger at specific individuals because he himself is implicated in some dubious, unlawful affair, with which his opponents could blackmail him. The mystery surrounding the reasons for his conflict with the head of SHIK, and, moreover, his pathological desire to keep this institution under his control, even by breaking the law, would make any insinuation directed at him seem credible. The prime minister’s position is further compromised by his unwillingness to respond positively to the opposition’s recent calls for a united “anti-corruption” front.

Page 12 The president of New World Telecom, the director of Albtelekom and the US ambassador at a press conference photo L. FILOPATI The president of New World Telecom, the director of Albtelekom and the US ambassador at a press conference — photo L. FILOPATI

Arrogant men are driving the divorce trend From children being abandoned to the cold court procedure, there is much pain. After all this procedure, everything turns into a mere statistic. In just two years, there have been 3,039 divorces, 70 percent of them requested by women. All of Albania has been swept up in this undesirable practice. But it is striking that the men who respect the family most and are most faithful to their wives are found at the two extremes of society: the illiterate and the intellectuals. Those in between these groups are the most affected by the disease of marital hatred. The pessimistic statistics have only one positive aspect: from 1998 to 1999, the number of divorces was cut in half. page 8

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