Ceka’s gangs escalate terror against local elected officials Artur Murrani, 30, a member of the leadership of the Democratic Party branch in Kavajë, was shot with firearms on his way home by masked individuals who fled “in an unknown direction.” Yesterday, masked men opened fire and killed the chairman of the Sineballaj commune in Rrogozhinë, 30-year-old Artur Murrani, a member of the leadership of the Democratic Party branch in Kavajë. The incident took place at around 2:30 p.m. near the village of Himaraj, while the victim was on his way to his village of Tharor, about three hours from Rrogozhinë. The Sineballaj commune chairman was accompanied by three or four friends when he was shot by masked bandits who had ambushed him on the outskirts of Himaraj. In the heavy barrage of gunfire, Artur Murrani was killed on the spot and another person was wounded, while the masked attackers, as always, fled “in an unknown direction.” The police gave no clear explanation of the circumstances or details of the serious crime, further obscuring the trail to the killers. The chairman of Sineballaj commune, Artur Murrani, a senior agronomist, was one of the most respected people in the area and one of the best Democratic Party activists in the district of Kavajë. His murder by masked men appears to have had political motives. Neritan Ceka’s gangs, empowered after June 29, have unleashed a savage wave of terror against people from the Democratic Party, and especially against locally elected officials. The murder of the Sineballaj commune chairman follows a series of serious terrorist acts by the government installed by Fatos Nano against local elected representatives. Following explosions at the homes of mayors and commune chairmen, the mistreatment of the Fushë-Arrëz mayor by Nano’s bodyguards, and the bomb outside Tirana City Hall, the murder of the Sineballaj commune chairman points to a major escalation of terror against local officials by the gangs of the ruling government. A.GJ.

. Students from the Polytechnic and Industrial Secondary School in Tirana have joined the protest by boarding-school students from the Foreign Languages School, as have boarding students from the Pedagogical Secondary School and the Foreign Languages School in Elbasan, who have boycotted classes until their demands are met.

. From Gjirokastra to Laç, the country has been swept up in major strikes. A characteristic of these strikes is that they concern fundamental necessities of life, such as wages, food, living conditions, scholarships and prices. Moreover, secondary-school students have also joined these strikes, and it is deeply sad that adolescents should begin their lives with protests. It is very rare for a government to force sixteen-year-olds to leave their classrooms and go on strike, even threatening hunger strikes. Such a relationship between a government and the youngest members of society is deeply disillusioning as regards the government’s very work and normal functioning. Albanians had forgotten demands of this kind since 1992. In Europe, it is customary for young people to rise up in protests and strikes for fundamental changes to life and to a country’s entire social order, but it is unimaginable for them to rise up over the quality of food, its shortage, or the lack of heating or electricity. Here, by contrast, we see the tragic side of Albanian society: its government, which is unable to establish normal relations with the younger generation. Even in 1990, the students’ first day of protest was about their miserable living conditions. Then it became a volcano and swept away, no more and no less, those who are in power today. The students of the Foreign Languages School in Tirana, those in Gjirokastra a few days ago, and then the students of Elbasan have, in a very short time, defined the nature of the Nano government: something that runs counter to humanity, normal life and the aspirations of the country’s most sensitive generation. Many of the adolescent strikers these days did not experience the dictatorship as those who overthrew it in 1990 did. It had never occurred to them that they might have to strike for food rations, much less go on hunger strike. They may even have heard of such things in Africa, or seen in television archive footage the long queues for bread and milk under the government taking shape under Nano in ’91. But today these signs are being repeated by the very same characters, with the same style of government and the same language, only in different years—at a time when Albanians had forgotten these problems and had forgotten people like Ylli Bufit, who asked people to make do with the lack of bread. Fatos Nano, who was convicted on Europe’s charge of starving people in Albania. While Albanian students are demanding the most essential things—bread and food—it is time for the adults, those able to choose through their vote the good or bad architects of these young people’s future, to reflect. Even if this were happening in Albania and not to hundreds of young people, school students, even the most basic sense of decency should return to everyone else. Let them ask themselves: was Albania in such a state a year ago? Under the democratic government, strikes were held: one over jobs, one over housing and one for compensation for land planted under the 1991 law. None of them was caused by hunger or destitution, much less by a lack of food, bread and other necessities that have now brought young Albanians to their knees. Now Albanians have fallen into such a state that they are forced to protest over the bare essentials, to protest simply in order to live. All governments always have the option of choosing. Naturally, the Socialist government is no exception. Even if it has no respect or affection for young people, adolescents, pupils and students, it must give them bread. If it cannot do that, it has another option: to leave—and that would be the honest thing to do. Better not to exist than to be a government that sings of its own daily rations. Sami NEZA

Attacks from Washington over the Crete meeting “The Albanian government, aligned with Russia and Greece, seeks to become a political factor in the Balkans by rehabilitating failed political figures in Serbia” ON PAGE 3

The Albanian government officials’ stance toward this catastrophe is considered belated and deliberately indifferent The Democratic Party offers condolences to the families of the Adriatic victims Yesterday, the Democratic Party offered its condolences to the parents, families, friends and relatives of the victims who lost their lives in the waters of the Adriatic. “The tragic death of your loved ones,” the telegram said, “is a profound and irreplaceable pain and sorrow for you, but it is also deep pain and grief for all Albanians. “Offering our deepest condolences to all the parents, families, friends and relatives over this loss, let us all pray together that the souls of those who are no longer with us may rest in eternal peace, and that the tragic deaths of innocent people in the waters of Otranto may be a terrible wake-up call to all Albanians to unite their efforts and prevent other dreadful catastrophes from ever happening again. “The Democratic Party considers the Albanian government officials’ stance toward this catastrophe belated and deliberately indifferent, and calls on it to ensure that the Italian Government makes every effort to find the missing.”

Albanians in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia and everywhere in the world must draw the proper conclusions from the stateless stances of the stateless leaders of the Tirana government Berisha comments on the president’s statement in Trieste The Democratic Party spokesperson reports that Democratic Party Chairman Sali Berisha, commenting on Mr Mejdani’s statement yesterday, stressed that: “The statement by the President of the Republic, made during his tourist trip to Trieste, in which he considers Millosheviç the lesser evil, is further evidence, after Crete, of the Albanian government officials’ capitulatory collaboration with Belgrade. “To consider Millosheviç—the man who left Kosovo’s streets drenched in blood and took the freedoms and rights of Albanians in Kosovo with tanks—the lesser evil, and the principal person responsible for the Balkan bloodbath in which more than a quarter of a million people lost their lives, means that you have innate deficiencies in your human and national conscience and that you are a total misfortune for your country and nation. “The leader of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, expressed his deep conviction that will know how to draw the proper conclusions from the stances, collaboration along the way, and anti-national statements of the stateless leaders at the top of today’s pyramid in Albania, and will be finally convinced that communism and primitive Balkan nationalisms have been and remain the Albanian nation’s fiercest enemies in this century.”

Gjolekë Malaj at the head of a commando unit in Tepelenë ON PAGE 3

60% of those surveyed said the August 29 elections were not free and fair, but violent Social unrest and Socialist governance put to a public test ON PAGE 2

The PD press conference was blocked because it exposed the Albanian government officials’ latest deceptions, including invoking the IMF’s name to justify the Muslim law on expropriations, Nano’s lie at the meeting with the EC that citizen Laskaj was not a member of the military, and the Prime Minister’s statement that 60 percent of those reappointed were educated in the West The Democratic Party denounces Radio-Television censorship RTSH blocked the press conference yesterday, on 21.11.1997, from the two main news broadcasts. The conference was held by PDSH chairman Berisha, secretaries Bejo and Demi, and Presidium member Karamitro. At this press conference, PDSH leaders denounced the unconstitutional procedure under which a law removed three Constitutional Court judges from office one year before their terms expired. Contrary to the constitutional provisions requiring the signatures of at least one quarter of the members of parliament, the law dismissing the judges was signed by only three MPs, and PDSH will therefore refer the matter to the Constitutional Court. They informed the press about the IMF’s response to the Nano Government’s claim that the constitutional amendment to Article 10 concerning property and private enterprise was supposedly justified by the IMF. The IMF representative in Tirana, Xhon King, categorically denied making any such suggestion in a meeting with Mrs Karamitro. At this press conference, PD leaders denounced Prime Minister Nano’s misleading statement to the EC delegation that Fatmir Laskaj, the judge in the Hajdari case, was not a member of the military, whereas she was appointed president of the military panel in 1992 and currently holds the rank of lieutenant colonel. The PDSH leaders also refuted with evidence another statement made by Prime Minister Nano to the EC delegation—that 60 percent of those reappointed in the administration had been educated in the West—while those reappointed in the Army, local government and the Ministry of Public Order had not received specialist training abroad; most of them were members of gangs and rescue committees. PDSH strongly denounces this repeated blocking of its press conferences by RTV and emphasizes that the rule of a free democratic society is not the suppression of truths, but transparency.

Students: We expect funding from the government, not threats