The arrest of Berisha’s former bodyguard exposed his ties to the head of Police Station 3 Pojë’s secretary’s husband is Sali Lusha’s lawyer The arrest of Berisha’s former bodyguard exposed his ties to the head of Police Station 3 “Lusha” scandal erupts at the Ministry of Public Order Pojë’s secretary’s husband is Sali Lusha’s lawyer

By FRROK ÇUPI It is now almost a week since what had long been expected happened in the Balkans, in dramatic fashion: President Millosheviç, dubbed the cause of the crisis and bloodshed in the Balkans, was removed from power. In his place came the opposition candidate, elected by a majority of the citizens, the new President... What does this mean? A dawn of democracy for Serbia. This process began in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall and was followed by the fall of totalitarian regimes throughout the Eastern part of the globe. If Millosheviç’s totalitarianism had not also fallen, then it could not have been said that the process had run its course; one pebble would still have remained standing. What happened means the curtain has been opened so that everyone can look one another in the eye as equals. Because of an absurd and perverse regime, Serbia and the Serbs had remained behind the scenes, without the possibility of being on an equal footing with all the other Balkan peoples, at least. Even if they themselves may not have wanted such a situation. But Western treaties and pacts for the progress of the Balkans could not be applied in a field where “an immovable rock stood in the middle.” Now the Balkan story awaits shared processes leading toward the future. And thirdly, what happened in Serbia put up a sign marking the success of the North Atlantic Treaty’s struggle. If we were to imagine for a moment that this “small” success—the removal of Millosheviç—had not happened, how could other Balkan citizens have endured having a Saddam among them? And our Kosovar brothers, too, who suffered hell under Millosheviç, although they cannot bring back those who were killed and [ [?] ]—at least they no longer have their perpetrator before their eyes. What happened in the Balkans has been marked as a turning point of global significance. American democracy and the Western democracies scarcely slept on the night the wicked President was falling. Everyone reacted, everyone welcomed it, everyone delivered their message. Albanian politics and civic society, however, seem to be making this turn slowly. (Continued on page 7)

page 9 All right-wingers support the PS Alliance for the Nation, from Himara to Tirana page 2

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Yesterday, in the Greek capital, Athens, Aristidh Kola, chairman of the “Besa” association of the Arvanites, passed away. He was one of the most prominent figures of Arbëresh heritage in neighboring Greece over the past 30 years. The well-known Arvanite lawyer and scholar, the principal inspiration behind the Arvanites’ sense of identity and spiritual revival throughout Greece, the foremost supporter of Albanian intellectuals who had emigrated to Athens, and a scholar, publisher, researcher and historian, was known in all the cultural circles, immigrant communities and intellectual circles of Athens and several of the world’s capitals.