Can an incriminated police force impose order? ON PAGE 5

Their departure at midnight was carried out with the police’s assistance ON PAGE 5

Here are the names of those who benefit from NGO funds ON PAGE 6

Checks at the homes of foreigners living in Tirana. Ambassador Hill cancels his visit to Albania. Only the prime minister is safe in the country’s capital, with a super-escort from Rinas to the Prime Minister’s Office ON PAGE 3 Checks at the homes of foreigners living in Tirana. Ambassador Hill cancels his visit to Albania. Only the prime minister is safe in the country’s capital, with a super-escort from Rinas to the Prime Minister’s Office Opposition: The incapable government drives Albania’s friends away. SHIK exposed the CIA.

At this mid-August moment, a dark hour has fallen upon the Albanians. The decision of the US Department of State to suspend the activities of the US Embassy in Tirana and the warning issued to American citizens, advising them, if possible, to leave Albania, is a bad omen for all of us Albanians, who, this summer of extraordinary temperatures, are experiencing very difficult and dangerous days. The thirteen months of rule by a government that emerged from the Communist rebellion turned this country, already troubled and beset by hardship, into a kingdom of chaos and insecurity, a kingdom of corruption and smuggling, a paradise for mafiosi and criminals—in other words, a true hell for Albanians. The state of law and order was replaced by the law of the jungle, criminalizing everything, every aspect of social, economic and political life. In this ruinous chaos and anarchy, with the threat of war at the door, no one can feel safe. The dark hour lets out its painful cry in the conscience of every Albanian who cares about their family, their home, their country, their state. We are in the most difficult, alarming hours, when our existence as a state and as a nation is threatened by crime and terrorism. In these difficult hours, surely Albanians ... terrorism. In these difficult hours, Albanians surely face major questions: what has the government of Prime Minister Nano done during these thirteen months to restore normality and security of life to the country? Is this country governed by an Albanian government or by a colonial, racist, degrading, disintegrative and ruinous government? Prime Minister Nano and his ministers have nothing to boast about except the standard of occupying luxurious villas along the Greek beaches. On the contrary, in thirteen months of government they brought the country to the edge of the abyss. And the signals of this came both from the democratic opposition inside the country and from important international institutions, which identified the Albanian Government as the most corrupt in Europe. This government was warned more than once about the danger of the mafia and organized crime, but the warnings fell on the deaf ears of those in power, who are convinced that they have taken this country on lease to exploit and barbarously destroy it. Such a political philosophy (Prime Minister Nano’s philosophy of governance) brought the country to this difficult moment, when even the closest friends of the Albanians—those to whom, more than to any of their allies, we owe the existence of this half-state we have, the backbone of the values of modern humanity, the representative of the only Superpower in the world—are compelled to suspend their presence in Albania. This is truly a painful and bitter situation for every Albanian, a great, painful and real mourning for every Albanian who values and loves their country. For no normal Albanian can help feeling pain and shock when the country is reduced to this state, when it is humiliated and abandoned by its own [text unclear]. For crime and terrorism have never been a way of life for Albanians. Throughout their long history, despite successive dramas and tragedies, Albanians have never displayed any kind of fundamentalism. [The source text is garbled here.] Islamic fundamentalism, Catholic fundamentalism, nor Orthodox fundamentalism have ever been part of Albanian history. On the contrary, Albania has been a model of coexistence among different religions; their practice has been and remains: “The religion of the Albanians is Albanianism.” The only terrorist fundamentalism Albanians have experienced has been revolutionary fundamentalism. This fundamentalism committed acts of terrorism (remember the bomb at the Soviet embassy) and genocide against the civilian population (remember the class war). Albanians must finally break away from this imposed fundamentalism in order to restore their spirit, their values, their prospects and their future. Any other allusion is an insult to Albanians, a malicious attempt to pin undeserved labels on them; it has racist and anti-Albanian content. Especially, as… has racist and anti-Albanian content. Especially, as… [unclear in source] puts us, Albanians, before a great dilemma: can we Albanians turn the country away from revolutionary fundamentalism and restore to it the civic and human values of Albania? Can we turn the country away from chaos and [text unclear] badly battered, save Albania from the chaos and anarchy into which the colonizing rulers have plunged it, from the primitives known to history? Here the issue is… for every conscious Albanian, and I believe Albanians are capable of shouldering this responsibility, defying the dark hour that beats its black tick-tock above our heads.

Statement by the former President of Albania, Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha, regarding the suspension of operations by the U.S. Embassy in Tirana Regarding the U.S. State Department’s decision to temporarily withdraw the diplomats and their families from Albania, I declare: Although the suspension, even if temporary, of the activities of the U.S. Embassy—the embassy of the world’s most powerful country and the Albanian people’s greatest friend—is a painful step and naturally has an impact on bilateral relations, while expressing my deep regret, I also express my gratitude for the motives and ... The closure of the American Embassy is a decision also compelled by the inability and irresponsibility of Tirana’s Socialist government, which is in no way able to ensure the safety and the most essential working and operating conditions for the American diplomatic mission in Albania. The Socialist government has not only failed to restore order in Albania; it has further undermined it. It has helped create the situation that led to the closure of the American Embassy and, through the criminal irresponsibility of some of its specialized agencies and government propaganda, which with insinu- ... Although the interruption, embassy of the world’s most powerful country and the greatest friend of the Albanians—is a painful step and naturally has effects on relations between the two sides, I express my deep regret while at the same time expressing my understanding of the motives and reasons that led the American government to make this decision. The United States, as a democratic country and a great defender of the fundamental values of human civilization, has the solidarity of all the democratic countries and democratic forces of the world today. I once again confirm our well-known position of strongly condemning terrorist attacks and terrorism, and in particular attacks against diplomats and diplomatic missions. The activities of the embassy with the American diplomatic mission in Albania have been interrupted. The socialist government has not merely failed to establish order in Albania; it has destroyed much of it. It the American Embassy and to government propaganda, whose public insinuations about American intervention in countering Islamic terrorism in Albania provoked the terrorist threat and, consequently, the closure of the Embassy. As a former President of Albania and leader of the opposition in the country, in my own name, on behalf of the members and supporters of the opposition, and on behalf of the entire Albanian people, I express our solidarity and full support to the American government and the American people, and assure them that, for Albania and the Albanians, the United States is and will remain the greatest friend of democracy and progress.

The United States inaugurated the new building of the American Embassy in Tanzania yesterday, 10 days after a bombing attack by an Islamic terrorist group that caused hundreds of deaths and over 5,000 injuries in Tanzania and Kenya. A little more than a week after the bomb attack against the United States, carried out by terrorist groups in two African countries, and amid continuing threats, the United States announced additional security measures at its missions in all countries around the world. The United States adopted the heightened security measures to protect its missions, diplomats and citizens abroad as a precaution against possible terrorist acts. American diplomatic representatives continue their normal activities in the two countries where U.S. embassies were bombed. The new embassy building was inaugurated in Tanzania yesterday, not far from the former U.S. Embassy building in this African country. Meanwhile, the State Department indefinitely suspended the work of the U.S. mission in Albania the day before yesterday for security reasons, reduced its diplomatic staff and advised U.S. citizens, if possible, to leave Albania or not to travel to this country, which poses a security risk.

Growing concern about the Tirana government in Germany as well. Klaus Francke writes to MP Pjetër Arbnori ON PAGE 2

Serious situation in Padesh, Tropoja Fighting between villagers and Serbian soldiers The number of new arrivals from Kosovo reaches 550 Sources in Tropoja confirm to “RD” that fighting also took place yesterday inside Albanian territory, in the border village of Padesh. Serbian forces once again crossed the border and fired at the village houses and at its residents. As they had two days earlier, the residents of Padesh again resisted them with their own forces, forcing them to return across the border into Kosovo. The number of arrivals from Kosovo in recent days has reached 550, while the conditions in the accommodation where they have been housed are appalling. At the Palace of Culture in the town of Bajram Curri, where most of them are currently staying, there is no water or any of the other necessities for living in minimally acceptable conditions. So far, the government has taken no steps to assist them, while Tropoja is on its way to becoming a ghetto for residents displaced from Kosovo.

Telenano continues to censor the opposition’s voice Yesterday, too, Telenano blocked the press conference of the “Union for Democracy”. The TV station did not broadcast the position of the PD and its allies regarding the closure of the American Embassy in Tirana, thereby further increasing its censorship of opposition activities. Hiding the PD’s position on the closure of the U.S. Embassy in Tirana will not help Nano solve the problems he has in connection with this closure. It is the Socialist government and its ongoing criminalization that have created the conditions for foreign diplomats to leave Albania, not the opposition’s press conferences or positions. The American Embassy in Tirana was closed, while only a week after the attack in Tanzania the Americans inaugurated their embassy. It is clear that Nano and his government are not only unable to protect and ensure the safety of the Albanian people’s friends, but are giving them more reasons every day to leave, as in 1946.

Pentagon spokesman: Fewer U.S. soldiers in Albania The United States has reduced the participation of its military forces in NATO exercises that are due to begin tomorrow in Albania. The lead article in the “New York Times” reports that the United States will reduce the number of military personnel taking part in the exercises codenamed “Cooperative Coordination”, which will be held about 70 km from Tirana. According to the newspaper, which cites a Pentagon spokesman, the reduction in American participation in the exercises is not related to the Islamist threat. The same article also reports the State Department’s decision to withdraw American Embassy diplomats and their family members from Albania. The article also emphasizes the U.S. government’s warning to its citizens in Albania to leave the country, and to those planning to travel there to postpone their trip. The “New York Times” article notes that another Egyptian has been arrested in Albania; he was sentenced to death in Egypt, and his extradition is also expected to have taken place.

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