All the Balkan countries in Croatia, at the table with Europe’s leaders The European Union’s foreign policy chief announces the Zagreb Summit page 3

BY FERDINAND XHAFERRI MP OF THE DP Now that the emotions of the first days after the elections have subsided, I think the opposition can clearly see why its result has stalled at the 1997 figures. In other words, this paralysis of the opposition came about—and only came about—because the majority of Albanian voters became aware, and on 1 October they demonstrated that they have not only learned from the past, refusing to support policies based on the philosophy of boycotting, but are also determined to punish rhetoric that incites violence. The Socialist victory is based mainly on the arguments above and very little on the government’s achievements. But, shifting attention away from conclusions that provide concrete material for further examination by the responsible leaderships of the respective parties, I think an important place should be given to interpreting 1 October from another perspective. In reality, these elections marked an important step forward in dismantling the two-party system that has been present for the past 10 years. This is the first time it has become clear not only that no political force has exceeded the 50 percent mark, but also that the third force has risen to 8 percent. Likewise, just three television appearances—and nothing more—were enough for a candidate in Tirana to reach the 4 percent mark. The above are indicators that provide a sufficient basis for developing scenarios about how the political class might respond to this electoral trend. The Social Democratic Party managed to rise to 8 percent for the simple reason that all the pragmatic left-wing voters who, over the past three years, have been dissatisfied with both the Nano group and the Meta group ended up in its basket. (Continued on page 2)

TV KOHA’s cameraman was forcibly taken to TV Klan’s offices by the merchant-publisher’s guards, sparking a clash whose outcome is unknown Last night at the Rubairat Theatre in Tirana, the merchant and co-owner of TV Klan caused a public scandal with TV KOHA cameraman Vasil Rada Last night, a show by Nadir Murraj, the prestigious humorist from Vlora, was being held at the Rubairat Theatre in Tirana. But in the morning, at 10:30, Leka Bungo, director of the Rubairat Theatre, and the renowned Nadir Murraj himself arrived at the offices of the “Koha Jonë” newspaper and TV KOHA to ask that the prestigious humorist’s show be filmed by TV KOHA and that “KJ” write about this important artistic event. In response to Bungo and Murraj’s request, TV KOHA’s management sent a filming crew to record it and broadcast it on the news as something positive about the Rubairat Theatre, which, since being acquired as property by Marsel Skëndo (having previously been part of the National Theatre), has staged many shows of a high artistic standard. TV KOHA cameraman Vasil Rada entered the theatre, set up his camera to film, having received permission from director Bungo and the theatre guard, and continued with his work and duty of informing the public about the event featuring the prestigious humorist Nadir Murraj. But at the end of the show, a rare incident occurred. TV KOHA cameraman Vasil Rada was grabbed by the throat and insulted by the merchant Marsel Skëndo, who had once been imprisoned for fraud. After this, Mr Skëndo ordered his guards to seize cameraman Rada by force and smash his camera, while snatching the recorded cassette. When cameraman Rada explained, “I am filming with permission from your director, Leka Bungo,” Mr Skëndo responded with foul language, insulting the publisher of “Koha Jonë” and co-owner of TV KOHA, MP Nikollë Lesi. When the cameraman insisted that they not use force, Marsel Skëndo responded brutally, forcibly taking him to TV Klan’s offices. At TV Klan’s offices, the TV KOHA cameraman was made to give explanations as if he were under interrogation, while the merchant Marsel Skëndo continued using insulting, vulgar language, fit for the rabble-rousers in Skënderbej Square. (Continued on page 2)

Last night, a large police force, following a tip-off from the law-enforcement services and on the orders of Public Order Minister Ilir Gjoni, surrounded several drug carriers in a cave in the Ksamil Bay area of Saranda, near Bunec. The seized quantity is 1,400 kg of pure Canabis Sattiva, which was to be used by a network of traffickers operating in this coastal area for some time and was to be transported to Greece. This is Public Order Minister Ilir Gjoni’s first operation to capture the trafficking network in the southern region, an operation that will continue at all locations suspected of such activity.