The Secretary General’s staff, incapable of preparing the program The Presidium: Majko on trial over the special forces The Prime Minister will name today at the KPD the person who assaulted the SP page 3

GAVROSH LEVONJA At present, when Albanian politicians are still weighed down by the mentality that regards the party-state pair as inseparable, the idea of a rigorous “divorce” between state functions and party functions is essential for taking further steps on the path to democratizing the life of the country. Using state functions to strengthen one’s position in the party, and vice versa, has been a common phenomenon in recent years. The experience to date, beginning with the years of Berisha’s government and continuing through Nano and up to Majko, has been more than enough to demonstrate the negative effects of merging party functions with state functions. Perhaps this is why Nano has begun to emphasize so strongly the idea of separating the offices of party chairman and prime minister. On the other hand, Berisha, at least so far, apart from his desire to remain at the head of the party, has shown not the slightest ambition to return to the head of state or government, should the DP win the next elections. Moreover, by not committing the entire party to the governing majority’s state functions, the party will be able to criticize its government effectively while paying the smallest possible price for the mistakes of governance. Above all, one must bear in mind that the failure of a prime minister who is also party chairman, in terms of carrying out its program, means that it must head toward new elections. It seems that the Socialist figures, consumed by their conflicts with one another and by clan mentality, are not aware of this. Specifically, Majko, while prime minister, does not hesitate to take on the burden of leading the party as well. The same can be said of Minister Poci, who, while engaged in a tooth-and-nail fight against crime, sees no reason to give up his position as chairman of the largest SP branch in order to devote himself to his government work. Furthermore, Majko, swept up in a feverish mania to control everything, seems unconcerned that he is damaging his image as a “politician of the future” and becoming stigmatized as a “mini-Hitler.” From a pragmatic perspective, he has not understood that the idea of separating party offices from government offices, put forward by his rival in the battle for the position of SP chairman, is more of an advantage to him, since in this way his position as prime minister would not be jeopardized. Meanwhile, if Majko were to los[?]e the pos[?]ition of prime minister, the only [way?] would be as a logical consequence of opposing Nano’s idea,

Pages 12–19 A child who has left school to earn enough to eat Photo: L.Filopati

Arrested in Korçë, transferred to Elbasan Korçë’s largest gang, led by eight dangerous criminals, fell into police hands yesterday. The famous Elbasan officer, Commissioner Kosenii, went to help the people of Korçë; after the arrests, he put them in his own cells to ensure they would stay in prison. Thus Kosenii now has in his cells Albania’s most notorious gangs. The gang of Mand[?] dele, that of Nehat Kulla, the Cërrik gang, the Gramsh gang, and finally the “5 Shops” gang are in his decidedly uns gentle hands. Perhaps the newly captured bandits will receive the same treatment as Kulla, who was put in a tub of stagnant water and beaten until his arm was broken, without offering the slightest resistance. page 11

By Koço Danaj pages 6–7

10 October 1999 • 100 Mini-Bingos of 10,000 lekë (new) each • 5 Tele-Bingos of 1,000,000 lekë (new) each • 1 Magic-Bingo worth 500,000 lekë (new) • 1 Star-Bingo worth 150,000 lekë (new)