Five months of communist rule: crime and anarchy, smuggling and misery The Union for Democracy believes that the immediate resignation of this government is vital, as is the formation of a technical government supported by all political forces ON PAGE 3

Violence returns to southern Albania. The stone city is on the brink of revolt . Bombs in Gjirokastër and Fier. Students at “Eqrem Çabej” University abandon their lecture halls in terror. No improvement since RENEA arrived in the south. “A statement from the Union for Democracy” concerning the dire state of law and order in the country concluded that communist rebellion has replaced organized crime. This is precisely the key to the absence of law and order and the rule of law in Albania. The communist rebellion brought to power a criminalized political class, which expanded smuggling on the largest scale, while those left outside power were given, precisely by the base of the communist rebellion, an environment in which organized crime could flourish. The names of the major Albanian smugglers have now also been identified; they are the very same people who run today’s government or its various ministries. Likewise, those involved in organized crime are the lumpen elements who took part in the communist rebellion, relatives and family members of today’s state officials, and bandits and criminals well known in the country. To fight crime today is the same as fighting the government and the entire infrastructure it has built, especially within the law-enforcement bodies and the Albanian secret service. People accused of crimes during the communist rebellion have taken positions in the police and in the offices of the Albanian Interpol. Committee members or their leaders are the real personnel offices, spreading crime through every structure that sustains a state. Police units escort convoys of smuggled goods or unload entire ships at Karavasta, Divjakë, Sarandë and elsewhere, while honest police officers are killed by masked gunmen. This tragic duality within the Albanian police is the most criminal deed carried out by Albanian state officials. In the last week alone, five police officers and officials have been killed by gangs and masked gunmen, while during five months of socialist rule 543 innocent citizens have been found dead and another 1,780 have been wounded. Albania has become a forbidden apple for Albanians themselves. No one dares move once darkness falls, on any road in the country, while gangs keep all the main national routes under surveillance. Traveling is almost impossible, especially if you have a good car or even a little money. This is the state of emergency imposed by the gangs, in collaboration with the Albanian government and its officials. Meanwhile, crime has also taken over city streets. In Tirana alone, dozens of Mercedes-Benz cars have been stolen and vandalized, while in cities such as Gjirokastra and Fier, life has become a nightmare because of daily explosions. The police have lost faith in their leaders, and none of the officers is willing to take action while those in power engage in smuggling cigarettes, fuel, alcoholic goods, or clandestine trafficking. Although the Albanian press is full of criminal files and reports of crimes, not one Albanian court has managed to convict a bandit or a gang, a masked gunman or a trafficker throughout this entire period. In no case can a crime be investigated, much less can people who have committed dozens of murders be tried, while the government dome [sic]. For a long time, Albania has lacked an example of criminals being punished, whatever the circumstances; it also lacks an example of crime being brought to a halt.

Three people wounded, nine others arrested, and a very small quantity of weapons seized Yzberish surrounded by law-enforcement forces A police operation organized by the Tirana police began yesterday, around 16:00, in the Yzberish area, police sources reported. According to preliminary sources, the operation aimed to capture criminal elements and car thieves. According to reports, the bandits opened fire and the police responded with bursts of gunfire. Three people were wounded during the intense exchanges and taken to hospital; they are now out of danger. One of the wounded is Artur Dosti, previously sentenced to 17 years in prison for murder. Police forces report that there were no fatalities. The operation ended with the arrest of 9 people, who were taken to the police station, and the seizure of 4 automatic rifles, 3 pistols, and a hand grenade.

The court grants the defense’s request. The charge against the attacker is changed

The Democratic Party spokesperson comments on the prime minister’s statement In a public statement made yesterday, Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano asserted that “tens of millions of dollars were spent to overthrow Berisha’s regime.” Asked to comment on this statement, the spokesperson for the Democratic Party says: This statement, the first sincere statement by the responsible Albanian prime minister, expresses a bitter truth about the communist rebellion and the investment by anti-Albanian circles, in cooperation with communist circles, to violently overthrow Albanian democracy and seize political power. On the other hand, this statement also acknowledges the illegitimacy of today’s government, which imposed itself through Kalashnikovs against the people’s desire for free and democratic elections. The “millions of dollars” given to Nano and his associates were invested in overthrowing Albanian democracy, in burning and destroying the state and the country. We hope Mr. Nano will continue to be just as candid in his other statements, so as to make clear to the people what the Democratic Party has been telling them since the beginning of the communist rebellion.

Chairman of the Defense Committee warns of dangers to Albania “Nano has incited a crusade of primitive Balkan nationalisms to the detriment of Albania’s sovereignty”; he will answer for this. Albania cannot be turned into a vassal state of these nationalisms ON PAGE 3

Citizens at risk in the highest offices of the state Several years ago, Apostoli risked expulsion from the Party of Labour because he had impregnated a woman while working as an engineer at the autotractor factory. ON PAGE 3

Local SP conference postponed again ON PAGE 2

Albania continues to aspire to NATO despite the government’s misguided policy The spokesperson for the Democratic Party announces that the party’s chairman, Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha, welcomes the agreement signed yesterday between NATO and Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic on these countries’ accession to NATO, which also marks the first major step in extending the Atlantic Alliance to former communist countries. Albania was the first former communist country to submit an official application to join NATO and, despite the government’s misguided policy, continues to remain faithful to its request as a major objective of the country’s integration into Euro-Atlantic structures. Expressing his satisfaction at this accession, Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha also once again expresses his hope that Albania too will be included in the plans for full membership in NATO structures.

Berisha congratulates the University of Tetova on its third anniversary It is a special honor and privilege to greet today the students and faculty of the University of Tetova, who, through their serious work and great dedication to knowledge, have transformed this institution, in just three years of existence, into an important center for the education and emancipation of the Albanian nation. The University of Tetova came into being in response to the vital need of Albanians in Macedonia to pursue education and take on the important responsibilities they have for their own future and that of their country. I am convinced that this university, whose constitutional right is grounded in all the moral principles of civilized countries, should in the future receive the understanding of all institutions of the Macedonian state, and will establish close and fruitful ties between Albanian and non-Albanian universities in the region and the world.