Who obtained visas at the Greek Consulate, and where did the aid from the Greek “friends” end up? What does Delvinë’s black dossier contain? - From gang warfare to class warfare (Communist revenge strikes without mercy). - The gifts of the government of massacre, the destruction of life and the abandonment of the city. - Does this government have Delvinë as its refrain? - The government vents its anger at the people of Delvinë, who did not show much proof of loyalty during the rebellion: - Others came and woke up from sleep. - The MP changes residence and waves goodbye to them - Instead of Pashteni: Will the winds blow again • The carpets in Delvinë. SPECIAL REPORT ON PAGE 5

A variety of protests, clarification for domestic and international public opinion, expansion of DP structures, support for local government The DP leadership convenes. After leaving Parliament, new political and organizational measures ON PAGE 2

The entire opposition is heading toward a definitive break with the communists ON PAGE 3

From the funeral of Abdyl Matoshi, one of the founders of the DP, killed on 6 January 1998 by criminal elements embedded in the security forces, together with prominent activists Gjin Kolbucaj and Naim Krasniqi From the funeral of the former head of SHIK for the city of Lushnje, Bashkim Shkurti, killed on 14 May 1998 by people belonging to the so-called Committees Azem Hajdari, after the assassination attempt in Parliament on 18 September 1997, when he was shot five times by PS deputy Gafurr Maraku Pjetër Arbnori, on the 22nd day of the hunger strike, left at the mercy of fate by the government One of the Krasniqi brothers, massacred by criminal elements of the Fier police on 6 December 1997 RD journalist Muci Bucpapaj, who was shot by a police car, on 21 August 1997

By Bardhyl LONDO A year has passed since the 29 June elections. The ruling party’s orchestra, which then thundered about its “landslide victory,” has now not only lowered its tone, but no one even mentions the “plebiscite” anymore; it has begun to go out of tune. Now, about everything, they whisper: The international community… This is what the international community has said about Kosovo, this is what the international community has said about the DP leaving Parliament, and so on. But can a government be sustained solely by what the international community says, and how true are the things attributed to the international community by left-wing propaganda? In the simplest terms, Albanians can answer: those who voted are us, and nobody else. Their best answer is the voting of 21 June this year, when the ruling party lost districts it had won on 29 June, while in its traditional strongholds it won with less than 30—as the international community may see fit. But who did Albanian voters vote for? Dibush may say: you can’t headbutt a wall. It is true that you can’t headbutt a wall, but there are other ways to get past the wall without getting bloodied at all. One way, for example, is to act, to have an unwavering goal you intend to achieve, and to have your diplomacy work toward it. But what can you expect from the international community when you yourself, as a government, have always been beneath the influence of the most advanced actors in that community? Albanians now understand clearly: they blame their government for everything, not the international community, because this government not only failed to convince international bodies of the justice of the Albanian cause, but also minimized the demands of this community so much that the latter was persuaded that the other side was in the right. Naturally, all these factors will be analyzed calmly later, and everyone will get what they deserve. But all of this will be for history, not for Sh- the international community and how true are the claims simplest case, Albanians can answer: those who voted are here, and nobody else. And their best answer is the vote of 21 June this year, when the party in power lost areas strongholds it won with fewer than 30–40 percent of voters, from whom it barely managed to obtain the necessary minimum. It is an understatement to call this a victory like that of “Pyrrhus.” Bearing in mind that even these voters voted mostly under the influence of the emotional factors of 1997, factors that are fading more and more to make way for rational reality, today’s government itself feels that it has now been abandoned, boycotted, and has suffered a fiasco on the domestic front. The second question Albanians are asking is more difficult: what are the fruits of this “international support” trumpeted by left-wing propaganda? Investments at zero levels, the failed conference of donor countries, or the Albanian question, which because of this government’s incompetence took such a gloomy turn that even the pessimists had not predicted? The so-called international aid has now been reduced to vague diplomatic formulas, which are painful to hear when you know that Albania can no longer expect anything concrete behind them. You must truly be naive or a scoundrel to still claim that you have the support of the international community after the current governing team has been branded the most corrupt government in Europe. Nevertheless, our government officials continue to use the slogan of international support. And, most tragically, they use it even to toy with the blood Albanians have shed in Kosovo. While the other side has never shifted from its positions and has shown not the slightest hesitation, the Albanian government has never known what it was asking for. The only solution it has offered can be summed up in two words that bring to mind the role of Švejk: and to convince international organizations the demands of this community so greatly that the latter became convinced that justice lay on the other side. Of course, all these factors will be analyzed dispassionately later, and each will receive what it deserves. But all this will be of use to history, not Albania. At a historic moment that will never come again, Albanians found themselves with a government that failed to convince the international community of the Albanian cause. Indeed, it did the opposite: it made the international public understand that the Albanian government itself was always several steps behind the solutions recommended by the international community. With the DP’s departure from parliament, Albania has now formally become a one-party-system country. Formally, because in fact, after 29 June, the opposition in parliament existed only on paper, while everything was decided according to the will of the voting cards. In many cases, indeed, according to the will of bullets and hysterical shouting. It is true that the international community cannot applaud a party’s departure from parliament, whoever that party may be, but in this particular case it has not supported the actions of the current parliament either. In fact, its positions and statements have been softer than ever. In most cases, they bring to mind the advice of a wise man who, for now, can do nothing about a parliament whose days have long been numbered. But even on the basis of this position, the DP could no longer tolerate things. Otherwise, it would have become an accomplice in the corruption and shocking failures for which the current government will very soon answer before the merciless judgment of history. The card of international-community support is now irreversibly and mercilessly stained. The most corrupt government in Europe must now invent some other propaganda card to get through the few days it has left.

From the funeral of Abdyl Matoshi, one of the founders of the DP, killed on 6 January 1998 by criminal elements embedded in the security forces, together with prominent activists Gjin Kolbucaj and Naim Krasniqi

From the funeral of the former head of SHIK for the city of Lushnje, Bashkim Shkurti, killed on 14 May 1998 by people belonging to the so-called Committees

Azem Hajdari, after the assassination attempt in Parliament on 18 September 1997, when he was shot five times by PS deputy Gafurr Maraku

Pjetër Arbnori, on the 22nd day of the hunger strike, left at the mercy of fate by the government

One of the Krasniqi brothers, massacred by criminal elements of the Fier police on 6 December 1997

RD journalist Muci Bucpapaj, who was shot by a police car, on 21 August 1997

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