The violation of the laws continues. State Security takes over the SHK ON PAGE 4

More than 600 case files opened against participants in peaceful rallies ON PAGE 4

The opposition condemns the Albanian prime minister’s inferiority and irresponsibility at the Crete Summit. Strong reactions from political forces in Kosovo Nano without Prishtina The illusionists have fallen. This was the message heard and mentioned in an interview on “Voice of America” by Adem Demaçi. It concerns all those who still had some faith that Tirana’s position toward Kosovo would not change even after the change of government. The Nano–Milošević meeting two days ago in Crete has, for the second time in their history, confronted Albanians with a fait accompli. The Prime Minister of Albania spoke with the dictator of the Balkans about an Albanian community in Kosovo, but gave no details about the people there; he even bared his teeth when Milošević told him that Kosovo’s problem was an internal problem of Serbia. The bridges built in Tirana over the Kosovo issue have collapsed. Now Kosovo, left to fend for itself, has only itself, while the Albanian prime minister is without Prishtina. The Nano–Milošević meeting is part of the scene of devaluing all the efforts made by Kosovo’s legitimate authorities over seven consecutive years. It is also part of the devaluation of all the diplomatic initiatives undertaken for years by the democratic governments of Tirana to reach some understanding with the international community on an immediate solution to the Kosovo issue. The Albanian prime minister smeared Kosovo’s independence referendum and its constitution; moreover, he dismissed Kosovo’s existing political course by calling it an Albanian community. No Albanian would dare do such a thing. His meeting with Milošević, the man who has crushed Albanians with fire and iron and taken away their autonomy with tanks, is not a partnership in favor of even a compromise solution. It was a partnership against resolving the issue, as if to say that Kosovo has no solution—and, least of all, can expect anything more from Tirana than what happened in Crete. Nano’s break with Kosovo is a dangerous precedent, not only for the Kosovo issue but also for Albania’s own independence. The irresponsible man who turns prime ministers red and white is capable of doing even worse than he did in Crete. No one can stop him from meeting people at summits and speaking against the Albanian people in their name. Armed with the credentials of a prime minister facing an inferior president, and with only limited control over some of the internationalists, he can do anything for himself—just nothing good. The fact that he met the Serbs after their occupations does not give him the right to hold such a meeting, securing the humiliation of decades of uprising and suffering under Serbian rule in Kosovo. Either he should meet them in a garrison, which is more appropriate. Such meetings put this great national and political sensitivity on trial. They either bury it or bring it back to life. In Nano’s case, he buried himself. What remains now is to clarify how Albania can be led, in today’s European and Balkan circumstances, by a leader who does not have Kosovo’s moral mandate. Albanians in Tirana are facing a test of their national conscience. Unfortunately, this time the person being tested is their prime minister. Sami NEZA

Political forces in Kosovo oppose deals made at their expense

Political forces in Kosovo oppose deals made at their expense ON PAGE 3

June 29 was not a solution for Albania TIRANA, November 4, ENTER — The OSCE reiterated on Tuesday in Tirana that the June 29 elections “may be” considered acceptable under the circumstances. The OSCE also said that ODIHR had offered the Election Commission a sum of 10,000 dollars to finance the collection and computerization of data, the preparation of graphs and tables, and the printing of the Election Bulletin, as part of ODIHR’s mandate to provide assistance for the 1997 parliamentary elections in Albania. The OSCE said that 500 copies of the bulletin had been published.

The Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will examine the amendments to the law on the High Council of Justice At its meeting in Paris on November 17, the Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will examine the amendments made to the Constitutional Law at the President’s initiative concerning the composition of the High Council of Justice, otherwise known as the Meidani Amendment. These matters were reported by sources close to the Parliamentary Group of the Democratic Party. According to them, a letter addressed to the Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee, Mr. Briger Hagard, states that Swiss MP Kolumberg expressed his deep concern about the council being dominated by political figures and the minority representation of members of the judiciary, and requested that the matter be examined by the Legal Affairs Committee. Kolumberg has also proposed asking the Venice Commission to study the Meidani Amendment and give its opinions on the matter. Kolumberg’s proposal has been approved by Chair Hagard (Swedish), who has decided to include it on the agenda for the November 17 meeting. Dumen Kolumberg was the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s Rapporteur for Albania from 1992 to 1997.

Here is Nano’s “meritocracy.” Left-wing parties appoint and dismiss the administration Witch-hunts and political purges are now carried out collectively. A document from the three left-wing parties on appointments also represents the new model for dismissing and appointing administrators according to “meritocracy.” Instructions from the Socialist headquarters to dismiss “en bloc” all enterprise managers, as shown in the facsimile we are publishing ON PAGE 2

Republicans from the USA at the DP American Republican Institute — Under these circumstances, the constitution has always been approved by a Constituent Assembly ON PAGE 2

Alimuça says no to dialogue. Arapi: We will enter by force The police will intervene to enforce the government’s decision ON PAGE 5

DP deputy Murrizi asks Çeka to clarify the circumstances surrounding the murder of Aurel Xheka DP deputy Mysi Murrizi, who is also a member of the parliamentary commission for public order and SHIK, has sent a letter to the Minister of the Interior, Neritan Ceka, expressing concern about the killing of the young Aurel Xheka and requesting details about Xheka’s mysterious death, in which certain segments of the police are suspected of having taken part. A letter sent by the Xheka family to the DP parliamentary group mentions deputy Murrizi, who took an interest in bringing the truth about the mysterious killing of their son, Aurel Xheka, to light.

YEAR VII OF PUBLICATION No. 255 (1780) WEDNESDAY 5 NOVEMBER 1997 Price: 20 lekë 1,000 Italian lire 250 drachmas

The parties of the “Union for Democracy” are holding their first national meeting with local government officials from these parties today at 10:00 at the Children’s Cultural Center. The following are invited to attend: district chairpersons, mayors, heads of communes, and the chairpersons of the councils of the districts and municipalities represented by these parties throughout the country, as well as the district, municipal and commune secretaries of these parties. The parties of the Union for Democracy