After the sale of Albanian customs posts by Minister Malaj The smugglers set the price per person at 100,000 drachmas. The destination of the weapons and drugs is unknown... ON PAGE 5

Acts of terror and violence in the city are increasing The red gangs have been instructed to collect campaign funds for the Socialist Party ON PAGE 2

Clashes between rival gangs in Elbasan A ruthless gunman’s shot. With just one burst of fire, the lives of 5 young people, members of a criminal gang, were cut short ON PAGE 2

Albanian socialists took a step back yesterday in their efforts to revive the rebellion, although the armed men of the southern committees are defying Tirana’s order to begin the offensive. Socialist leader Fatos Nano left the door open for his party to enter the snap elections, but the PS’s satisfaction has nothing to do with any significant change in its Stalinist revolutionary mindset. The exotic language Nano used to remain on good terms both with the committees and with the international community has been described as the product of new political calculations, not of any change of heart, much less of a sense of responsibility on the socialists’ part. Clear messages from Europe and the USA that Albania’s political forces must commit themselves to the new phase of the electoral process, and warnings that those who block the elections will bear a heavy responsibility before their own people and the international community, were correctly understood at the Socialists’ headquarters. Prime Minister Fino appears to have convinced his party chairman, Fatos Nano, that for their party, reviving the rebellion and blocking the elections would be far worse than losing in regular voting. The Prime Minister persuaded Nano to withdraw his categorical declaration that he would not participate in the elections, while ignoring the complaints of the PS’s satellite parties and their revolt in favor of maintaining the boycott. Is this really the case, given that Prime Minister Fino was forced to anticipate the moment when Gjushi insulted him in obscene terms, accusing him of being responsible for the misfortune of all the parties defeated by Berisha? In addition to these reasons, the socialists have been somewhat disappointed by the meager support from the committee generals gathered in Vlora. One day after they had bravely called for the offensive to begin and for the civilian population to clear Tirana, the PS’s armed troops dwindled to a handful of people gathered around Albert Shyti and Hysen Koçi, who waited breathlessly for Prime Minister Fino’s phone calls, as he kept them constantly up to date on the situation. Chairman Nano has learned about these goings-on from his ambassador in Vlora, Eduard Alushi, who had previously encouraged the armed uprising, dismissing the March 28 declaration of the armed committees and their party as an isolated incident. This Socialist depression is also reflected in the accusations made at their secretariat headquarters following the meeting with Fino, because the law passed by Parliament favored the small parties. Comrade Dokle has pressed the PS to demand proportional representation, arguing that Socialist votes should not go to others. The astonishment caused by Dokle’s complaint not only confirmed that the PS’s opposition to the electoral law was merely an attempt to block the elections, but also showed everyone that the Socialists are entering the campaign afraid of the votes their satellite parties might win. These complexes weigh heavily on the PS leadership, which, this time, is also showing the Albanian people its discrimination against the other parties, as well as the role of the Albanian authorities as directors of efforts to bring the state’s course to its end. Nano withdrew from the strike yesterday, perhaps because an era of change had begun within the PS, and also to prevent the government from being overthrown by the judiciary, amid the grave conditions of the fighting in Albania. In any case, everyone is judging the situation by the words of the leaders and the government, by the meeting taking place in Vlora, and by the reality unfolding in Albania. Whether the Socialists can remain in place, between these two camps, must be left until June 29, which will bring the historic verdict of the ballot on the future. Astrit PATOZI

Prime Minister Fino in direct telephone contact with “General” Xhevat Koçi. The Socialist Party betrays the smaller left-wing parties Albanian socialists caught in the dilemma of boycotting the elections From left to right: Albert Shyti, Fatos Nano and Gjolek Malaj, respectively the commander, commissar and Chief of the General Staff of the rebellion

The armed rebels’ enthusiasm for launching an offensive toward Tirana is fading. A final, definitive order is awaited from Nano’s ambassador in Vlora, Eduard Alushi. Fino is worrying the committees in Vlora Around 500 supporters of the southern committees waited yesterday in Vlora, holding their breath, for the outcome of Prime Minister Fino’s meeting with the political parties. At the rally, which began at 9:00, the small number of participants stood out continued on page 3

“Union for Democracy” — an anti-communist barrier Albanians will vote for the right in a plebiscitary manner, as a guarantee for saving democracy and preventing communism ON PAGE 4

Dokle surprises Fino’s meeting Representatives of the Socialist Party spoke yesterday against the proportion of the proportional-representation seats that favors small parties. At yesterday’s meeting with Prime Minister Fino, PS organizational secretary Namik Dokle expressed dissatisfaction with the 75 percent proportional-representation share which, under the law passed by Parliament, is to benefit the small parties. Dokle, who is concerned about the jokes and the gloomy character of that round of discussions, appeared very serious and nervous when this point was discussed at the meeting with the Prime Minister. “There is no reason for the other parties to get our votes,” Dokle was quoted as saying; his statement at the meeting suggested that he was ready to cooperate with the Democratic Party, as long as the PS’s votes went to someone else. What made the greatest impression in this story, however, is that one of the strongest arguments the Socialists used to reject the election law passed by Parliament on May 14 was the claim that it supposedly harmed the interests of small parties. The Socialists presented themselves as philanthropists, or as fathers looking after the youngest, while Dokle’s silence showed that it was all mere demagoguery. This once again illustrates that the Socialists’ claims about the electoral law have been and remain nothing but an attempt to block the electoral process, while such a position calls into question the Socialist Party’s relations with its satellites. On the other hand, this is also an expression of panic over their imminent defeat in the elections, since Dokle’s words show that the Socialists have already begun guarding their votes against their allies or other parties, which at least have shown respect for the great politician Fatos Nano. T.L.

Berisha calls on parties to take the elections seriously President Berisha called on all political forces and the Government of National Reconciliation to commit all their potential, with the utmost seriousness, to conducting a worthy electoral process and ensuring free and fair elections, which Albania needs today more than ever, the spokesperson announced. Berisha also invites international institutions, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, and other specialized European and American institutions to contribute to observing the elections in Albania and ensuring full transparency in this process. President Berisha calls on Albanian citizens to contribute to an electoral campaign worthy of their dignity and concerns, and to an electoral process that gives all Albanians the opportunity to express their will through a free vote.

Some minor parties oppose the possibility of being represented in Parliament ON PAGE 3

The 80-year-old chairman of Balli Kombëtar, A. Ermenji, has declared that he will continue to cooperate with the former communists of the PS on a national issue. Ermenji has split his party from the united right in order to announce another alliance with the right-wing factions of the 16 MPs, or the “PS levers.” ON PAGE 4

PD responds to the Socialists’ warmongering statements The Democratic Party, committed to a fair and equal electoral process, views with great concern the recent positions of left-wing forces on participation in the elections. Added to these positions are the accompanying ultimatums threatening an armed march toward Tirana, and the committees’ statements in Vlora. Yesterday, a meeting of all the southern committees was held in Vlora, attended by the leaders of the Socialist Party and the Democratic Alliance. The Socialist and Alliance representatives encouraged and supported ... the calls for war that came from the meeting of representatives of these committees. Between the pressure to boycott the elections and the calls by these left-wing parties for a fierce armed struggle, the PD sees identical positions and unconstitutional aims to seize power. At the committees’ meeting, their representatives declared that an armed march on Tirana would begin, relegating free elections to the background. The representative of the Tirana Committee, Lutfi Ar Matohiti, declared: “The time for empty words is over; now the armed uprising must be organized.” Similar statements were made by the representative of Kuçova, Përparim Bizhga; the representative of Himara, Thanas Qirici; Albert Shyti of the Vlora committee; and others, who put forward the alternative of “armed popular pressure.” The representative of Skrapar said that the aim was to avoid bloodshed in this matter, and that we should all engage with the diplomatic corps as well. “The police must be paralyzed; only then can the ideal of our committees be achieved.” Shyti declared, “Either an uprising, or dissolve the committees.” The representative of Tepelena declared that ... The Democratic Party once again emphasizes that such warmongering statements are being politically supported by the Socialist Party and come from the extreme left allied with that party, whose recent positions encourage violent, terrorist solutions. The Democratic Party again calls on public opinion and political parties, at home and abroad, to assess objectively the positions of the extreme left and the issue of the committees, in order to prevent communist violence and terror. On this occasion, it reiterates that it supports only political solutions and the implementation of political agreements, and once again calls on the PS to withdraw from these committees and organize itself for a fair and equal electoral process.