The MP’s immunity obstructs investigations into the mafia surrounding the leader of the Democratic Alliance Secret visits, without parliamentary authorization, by the chair of the Order and State Intelligence Service Committee to two foreign countries for fuel trading. Was the speaker of the Albanian parliament informed? Gjinushi replies: “I know nothing!” page 32

The unexpected dismissal of one of the leading figures of the “Democratic Alliance” Party, Preç Zogaj, was expected to cause an earthquake within the governing coalition. This was because Ceka, Pashko and others would have moved heaven and earth to defend their party’s number two. Moreover, Zogaj’s dismissal was also a heavy slap in the face for this party, trampling on its prestige. In fact, in the first days after the creation of the “Alliance for the State,” the Alliance members declared that “by giving the coalition our best people, we are putting our party’s prestige on the line.” On the other hand, when Zogaj joined the “Meta” government, after losing his post as presidential adviser, he also gave up his position as the party’s secretary-general. But, surprisingly, the “defense” his party afforded the former minister of state was extremely “cold,” being chiefly formal in nature. However, if one looks a little more closely, it is not very difficult to uncover the real reasons why Preç Zogaj was “sold out” by his party’s leaders. Starting with PAD leader Neritan Ceka and the others, everything is connected to preserving the posts and positions that some Alliance leaders have secured in the government or other state institutions thanks to remaining in the coalition. This is also connected to the fact that some figures in this party went so far as to openly support Prime Minister Meta’s decision to dismiss Zogaj. On the other hand, there have been cases in which some of the Alliance members [unclear text in the source: “e venuk mund të?”; sic]. In other words, there have been cases in which some Alliance members who hold positions of power have not hesitated to abuse their duties and offices to make illegal profits, becoming involved in dubious affairs. Thus, for example, one may mention the case of the Alliance leader himself, Ceka, rumored to be involved in mysterious dealings that reek of oil. As a result, this category of Alliance members, fearing that one of their coalition partners might expose them if the conflict were to flare up, thought it better to “sell out” their party’s number two than face unpleasant surprises that could cost them dearly. On the other hand, that category of “dissidents” within the party—the disgruntled members left without positions in power—did not bother to defend Zogaj’s honor, returning in kind his longstanding lack of interest in them.

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The ‘97 unrest derails the government’s agreement with the company that built the water-supply system “We’ll block Bovilla.” The threat from the Italian company building the capital’s major water-supply system has reached an extreme, and the company still has not completed it even though the deadline expired... on 7 January. In addition to the extensions the company “Putinjano” has secured on the pretext of expropriations, other problems have now emerged, which they are using to try to delay their departure and obtain hundreds of millions of lekë from poor Albania. page 7

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