Observers say nothing about the elections ON PAGE 4

Zani mistreats police officers and members of the justice system in Vlora ON PAGE 4

At midnight on August 12, not a single foreign soldier in Albania ON PAGE 4

The OSCE troika announces its conclusions on the observation of the June 29 vote The report, like the elections, was rigged The OSCE turns brutal terror against democracy into technical difficulties. Mrs La Lymier’s haste helped the PS gangs recount the votes. By all predictions, the OSCE troika gave its blessing to the rigged elections of June 29, which were declared acceptable given the conditions the country is going through. Now Mano and his gang, who have terrorized Albania for months, will have an international certificate in their hands to justify their violence, which still reeks of Kalashnikov gunpowder. But what stands out in the OSCE troika’s report is not its passing grade for the Albanian elections, which the present opposition had accepted even before it did, despite the aggression and savagery of the Communists’ revenge that it has endured during these extremely difficult months of rebellion. That the elections would be classified as acceptable by the army chiefs, who never understood why they had come to this country, and by the observers who fell asleep in the shade of the trees when they should have been observing, had already become clear when the respected Mrs La Lymier announced just hours after the first round that everything had gone normally. What is shocking is the quality of the report, which does not overlook the most cardinal problems that accompanied this wholly unusual campaign in the cities of the automatics. If the OSCE troika rushed last Monday to declare the Socialists’ victory, even though no minutes had yet reached the Central Election Commission, at least they had time to recognize that the Democratic Party could not campaign for even one day in many areas occupied by their gangs, which have now been declared the winners. It is truly insulting to all Albanians to speak only of procedural and technical difficulties in the preparatory phase of the elections, when many PD supporters and candidates were shot, massacred and taken hostage in several Albanian cities. For the serious incidents that occurred on voting day and during the days that followed as the votes were counted are only a small part of the physical and psychological terror that dictated the bloody elections of June 29. By overlooking the suffocating crime of the armed gangs’ terror, and by prejudging the difficulties as merely technical in nature, the OSCE troika has in fact ignored the most important factor in the June 29 elections and their results. If Mrs La Lymer was enthused by reports from observers who signed off in many of the country’s hottest zones and declared victory in the voting last Monday, it seems inexplicable that, although she dismissed the technical reasons, she failed to consider that in Albania the counting process is more important than the voting itself. The OSCE troika must bear the guilt that, while it rushed to celebrate a victory handed to the Socialists, their armed gangs changed the results in their own favor even in areas where the Democratic Party had won. Meanwhile, the report is extremely [unclear?] and restrictive toward the Albanian right-wing press, which for months has been deprived of the ability to publish in nearly a third of the country. The report not only fails to note this unprecedented measure—perhaps unparalleled anywhere in the world—of preventing all newspapers from circulating for trivial reasons such as the theft of cassette recorders or newspapers’ notepads and pencils. The failure to mention the armed obstruction of the newspapers “Hyllindja Demokratike,” “Albania,” and others from reaching their readers in many southern cities, as a highly significant part of the violation of the June 29 elections, is among the report’s greatest omissions. By all predictions, the OSCE report declared the elections, rigged and bloodied by terror, acceptable. Sadly, however, this acceptance was not reached with dignity or close observation; instead, with their hurried enthusiasm, they told Albanians to accept their victory, which was all too obvious.

The new government. The Socialists present the names of failure With a case reopened in Rome over the corruption in which he and former Italian minister Xhani De Mikelis collaborated, further worsening the hunger of Albanians, Nano becomes the first prime minister in the world to return to office after having given full proof that he has

Berisha: I will not appoint the new prime minister Nano or Fino, the winners’ problem There appears to be almost open support, especially from diplomatic circles, for the current prime minister Bashkim Fino ON PAGE 3

The day before the meeting with Clinton Nano blocks Fino’s path Despite the reproach Nano is heading to America with, stripping Fino of power one day before the meeting with Clinton, it is difficult for him to secure a new American course toward the Albanian left, and specifically toward the future prime minister ON PAGE 3

The defeat at gunpoint does not demoralize the Democrats ON PAGE 3

The Sopik incident brings Albanian-Greek border authorities together Joining the borders, a violation of integrity The reaction of the Albanian authorities to the arbitrary action by the Greek local authorities at the still-unlegalized point for bilateral border communication was followed by the halting of the works ON PAGE 4

Mulosmani: Fatos Nano will soon be barred from entering Vlora Continuing the monarchists’ protests over the manipulated votes in the June 29 referendum, yesterday the minister of the royal court, Mulosmani, said at the rally, where he was present, that he had been to the Central Election Commission and that there they had promised him the truth about the people’s verdict would soon come out. Mulosmani once again repeated the message of His Majesty, Lekaj the First, for peace, unity and brotherhood. He called the monarchy imposed by the communists temporary. Nano’s deception of the people will soon be exposed, and the Vlora of Ismail Qemali will overthrow him. The day when Nano is barred from entering Vlora will not be far off, Mulosmani said; it is a political means to ‘promise the people their lost money.’ The King, too, could have made promises, but he will come to power with honesty and justice, not with deception like Nano, said the minister of the royal court. He thanked the police, who over these past three days have not surrounded the monarchists’ rally with tanks. Mulosmani informed the monarchists that tomorrow, July 9, His Majesty Leka the First has been invited to Shkodër; a rally in support of the monarchy’s victory will be held at 11:00. Z. LLESHI

British Helsinki versus Albanian Helsinki The time has come to restore the Helsinki Committee’s dignity Dozens of former leaders and members of the Albanian Helsinki Committee, its founders, have distanced themselves from the activities of the Committee’s current leaders, which cannot be considered a “Defender of Human Rights” ON PAGE 2