“Laçi, an organized attack with a political plot behind it” The Ministry of Public Order and SHISH warn of further incidents like the one in Laçi

When Albanians and the West celebrate the first anniversary of Kosovo’s liberation from Serbia, construction of the Durrës-Kukës road will begin in Albania. This was announced yesterday in Tirana by Bodo Hombah, chief coordinator of the Stability Pact for the Balkans. In June, the first shovel of new asphalt is expected to be laid on the existing road. On that road, masks have taken the lives of 4 people and injured 10 others in this year alone. Perhaps this is why statistics rank Kosovo fourth in the level of trade relations with Albania. Thus, as if 87 years were not enough, it is quite clear that we have lost Kosovo for another year. In this case, the occupier is no longer called Serbia, nor the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, but rather the lack of law and security in northeastern Albania. As a result, only bottles filled with Coca-Cola and one brand of water pass through the customs barrier at Morina, in Kukës. Meanwhile, if you cross at the Bllatë Customs Point, you have to pass a line of trucks 3–4 kilometres long, with Macedonian license plates. This nine-year-old state of the former Yugoslavia, with no access to the sea, has become the main supplier to the Kosovo market. Nevertheless, this month Albanian politics and diplomacy seem to have awoken from their winter sleep. These days, not only the President, the Speaker of Parliament and the Minister of Education have descended on Prishtina, but also publishing-house owners for the Albanian Book Fair and Book Day, artists, journalists and businesspeople. But none of them has chosen to set foot in the Grand Hotel by travelling along the Tirana-Kukës-Morina-Prishtina road. Even the booksellers travelled through Macedonia to get to Kosovo, putting Albanian money into Macedonian pockets as well. And the explanation for this is quite simple. The case of the seizure of the Laç Police Station a week ago (see page 4) (continued on page 4)

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Tomorrow at 15:30, the football match will be played at “Qemal Stafa” Stadium Tomorrow, the two second-division teams, Besëlidhja of Lezhë and Besa of Kavajë, will face each other to decide the second-division champion, who will play in the first division next season. The match will be played at the National “Qemal Stafa” Stadium at 15:30, and many fans from Lezhë and Kavajë are expected to attend. More than 5,000 fans may come from the city of Lezhë, hoping to see the cup end up in Lezhë.

page 5 — The Prime Minister in an interpellation 30 MPs demand Meta page 2 The coordinator’s promise Hombah: construction under the Pact begins now page 3 Police: Arrests are difficult 1,300 wanted people across the country page 7 They steal livestock to feed themselves Wanted criminals hiding in the mountains page 9 USD 17 million invested Croatians in search of Albanian oil page 11 Statistics from INSTAT Construction costs 10 percent more page 12