Those who seized power with bloodshed are not being tried ON PAGE 4 Those who seized power with bloodshed are not being tried Parliament obstructs the March investigations ON PAGE 4

“Deloitte & Touche”: The first auction was canceled, but we will continue the sale ON PAGE 5 “Deloitte & Touche”: The first auction was canceled, but we will continue the sale Dirty game with the pyramid schemes’ tenders ON PAGE 5

Saranda’s black file. The committee’s gangs are in full activity. The directives speak of a communal [?] struggle against all those who are not in the PS. SPECIAL FEATURE ON PAGE 7 Saranda’s black file. The committee’s gangs are in full activity. The directives speak of a communal [?] struggle against all those who are not in the PS. The massacre begins, the Black Lists are being put into effect SPECIAL FEATURE ON PAGE 7

Greek police detain the son of the Albanian prime minister on the island of Nikono. Sokol Nano is caught red-handed with 12 kg of narcotics A year earlier, Fatos Nano’s daughter had been detained in Tirana as a drug addict and was then rushed to France. The prime minister immediately sets off for Greece in a private helicopter together with his bodyguard ON PAGE 2

The opposition makes a strong move toward giving the country a constitution. Roundtable of parliamentary parties for consensus. The PS must not steal the draft ON PAGE 4 The opposition makes a strong move toward giving the country a constitution. Roundtable of parliamentary parties for consensus. The PS must not steal the draft PD ready for the constitution ON PAGE 4 Statement by the Chairman of the PD, Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha, on the new constitution There can be no constitution without the opposition Once again publicly denouncing the exclusion of the opposition from the constitutional process by the governing coalition, we are here to express the opposition’s determination to counter this exclusion with an alternative and a concrete proposal. We declare here that we have been excluded from the constitutional process because, from the outset, the PD offered consensus on the principles and called for consensus on the procedure, which the governing coalition did not accept. On the contrary, within one hour the governing coalition allowed itself to set up the constitutional commission and appoint two co-chairs, including the government’s co-chair, as well as— through press disinformation and within a period of three weeks to 25 days, to ask them to present the full range of political parties, represented by two or three delegates at this roundtable. We will invite well-known constitutional experts from international and friendly institutions to this roundtable. We will all present our possible options on the fundamental constitutional issues. If they are accepted at the parties’ roundtable, I guarantee that we are ready to sign the draft constitution at that table without any hesitation. If the governing coalition deems them unacceptable, then we will ask that they be presented to— on the principles and sought accept. On the contrary, within an constitutional commission and to remove the co-chair—both the government co-chair and the opposition co-chair—without seeking the views of the country’s main opposition parties in parliament. Later, in response to our repeated written proposals to have the right to choose the co-chair, the governing coalition turned a deaf ear, and in these circumstances Albania effectively has a government draft constitution today, a project that has excluded the opposition. So, to date, we are dealing with a government draft and an excluded opposition. This project is like something that is half dry and half wet. You can imagine what future such a tree has. However, since we were determined from the beginning to take part in the constitutional process in accordance with acceptable rules and standards, we have not, at this time, presented any particular PD or “Union for Democracy” option on the constitution to Albanian and international public opinion, apart from our repeated proposals to resolve the procedural problems of cooperation in the constitutional process. The opposition cannot stand by with its arms folded. I have decided, following consultations and a meeting of the PD leadership, where we discussed the matter at length and the leadership members fully supported our proposal, that the PD should commit itself impartially to studying the constitutional draft, which has not been studied to date, despite [unclear]. We will express all our possible positions on the fundamental issues of the constitution. If they are accepted at the parties’ round table, coalition finds them unacceptable, then we will ask that our assessments be presented to the Albanians. This, then, is our proposal, which marks our final effort to join the constitutional process and our first step toward developing our own distinct alternative. Our position will be based on the existing draft, which we will examine together with members and distinguished constitutional experts, and with international consultation; after three weeks, we will present our positions at the parties’ round table. If the political forces find common ground and reach agreement, we offer the flexibility necessary to sign the draft; if they do not agree, then they can continue with the process. I urge the governing coalition not to appropriate the constitutional process and not to destroy it. A constitution cannot be made without the opposition. There can be no democracy without the opposition. A constitution without the opposition will last only as long as the government does. I think the battle for the constitution should be based on the morality of the entire country, with a constitution that meets European standards. After consulting more broadly with the other allies of the “Union for Democracy,” I will formulate all these proposals and send them in writing to the political forces.

President Meidani yesterday invited the leaders of the Albanian press to ask them for greater sensitivity and greater responsibility in covering what is happening in Kosovo and on Albania’s northern border. Meidani’s initiative would have been normal, even worthy of praise, had it not been the authorities themselves, with their highest executive representatives, as well as the official media, that had fanned the flames of division, attacking without restraint the fighters who give their lives every day for Kosovo’s freedom. At the same table with us was also the director of ATSH, Mr. Frrok Çupi, who only two days earlier had written in a pro-government newspaper about the presence of Arab mujahideen in The President, Meidani, yesterday invited the leaders of the Albanian press to ask them for greater sensitivity and greater responsibility in covering what is happening in Kosovo and on Albania’s northern border. Meidani’s initiative would have been normal, even worthy of praise, had it not been the authorities themselves, with their highest executive representatives, as well as the official media, that had fanned the flames of division, attacking without restraint the fighters who give their lives every day for Kosovo’s freedom. At the same table with us was the director of ATSH, Mr. Frrok Çupi, who only two days earlier had written in a pro-government newspaper about the presence of Arab mujahideen in Kosovo. At the same table with us was also the director of ATSH, a pro-government newspaper about the presence of Arab muhajideen among the ranks of the UÇK, a theory that even the Serbs voice loudly at first, and begin amplifying only when they manage to plant it in the media of other countries. Before asking newspapers and other media outlets—which formally and in reality have no connection with the state—to take responsibility, President Meidani should demand accountability from himself and from the government appointed by him, which continues to pay high salaries, mobile-phone bills and fuel costs for Frrok Çupi and people like him. It was Meidani himself who signed the appointment of Frrok Çupi as director of ATSH, the author of dozens of vile articles against Kosovo, and who has most recently disregarded even his status as a highly paid state employee at the rank of deputy minister. Even if Meidani were entirely uninvolved in the dirty games being played against Kosovo by the Albanian state, he has no moral right to ask others to change their position on this issue, when the prime minister has had four different positions in three days about what is happening to Albanians on this border. If Fatos Nano says one day that Rugova has no real authority in Kosovo, and then the next day that he supports the LDK leader; one day that NATO troops will be stationed in Albania, and the next that they should go to Kosovo, then the Albanian press’s latest blunders look like child’s play by comparison. President Meidani has two options: either to admit that he is in unison with the prime minister in his extreme positions on Kosovo, or to admit that he has accepted the role of a mere extra in Albanian politics, becoming a puppet head of state with no influence. If this Albanian prime minister uses the term “Kosovar” to describe the wounded or the displaced, making it irresponsible to call them Albanians of Kosovo, what more can be asked of a responsible journalist who has never hurried across the Mat River, and of a responsibility unable to play the exotic role of the AF? President Meidani is powerless to influence the Albanian press’s coverage of the Kosovo issue for the better, because even if he really had such an influence, it has been undermined by the people who have done everything to remain in place, as he has called for in his articles, leaving him only with pressure whose purpose is to blame the press for using “Albanian” and “Kosovar” as terms for different peoples. If Meidani wants to fix anything about the imbalance in the Albanian press’s treatment and criticism of the Kosovo issue, it is easy for him to do so where he has full control: ATSH and Radio-Television. A complete incompetence funded by Albanian taxpayers, which shuts down a situation sustained by Albanian taxpayers and closes the screen to the opposition when it expresses its positions on the Albanian issue, can become an enemy of the nation’s well-being, and can be understood as using what is happening in Kosovo, as in every other case. President Meidani has become In the end, he has said that “The location calls,” [?]—to be deposited in the fund and to be those who are killed. Therefore, Meidani’s initiative falls on deaf ears, even in the best-case scenario, when what he is selling is sincerity, precisely at a time when the Albanian victims of Millosheviç are increasing every day in Kosovo and Serbian bullets and shells are rapidly approaching our homes in Albania.

Another criminal act against PD activists On 25.07.1998, shots were fired at the Democrat Vangjel Naska, 40, chairman of the group of Democratic Party councilors of the Municipality of Ura Vajgurore. As Vangjel was returning from work to his home, a hail of bullets was fired at the car in which Naska was traveling. As a result of this attack, Vangjel Naska was wounded in the leg and arm, and his driver, Adriatik Çela, was hit by many bullets in the body and is in a coma in hospital. The Democratic Party condemns this criminal act against local government leaders and its elected representatives. This attack took place only a few days after local officials’ decision to respond to the government’s aggression. We see this as political revenge and a criminal attack against local elected representatives, who are being targeted every day by the government’s private criminals. We urgently call for the perpetrators to be apprehended and punished. We also call on the government to abandon its strategy of violence against the Democratic Party’s local elected representatives.

Let us give the thieves in government the answer they deserve This government is the enemy of Albanians and we must part ways with it as soon as possible ON PAGE 2

The Finance Minister mocks the Interior Minister “The plan to combat smuggling has been exceeded by 245%” ON PAGE 3

We declare here that we have been excluded from the constitutional process, because from the outset the PD offered consensus on the principles and sought consensus on the procedure, which the governing coalition did not accept.

ON PAGE 5

Hatixhe Këllezi, chairwoman of the Association of District Mayors, refutes government propaganda about boycotting local government ON PAGE 2