Explosive device at Shkodër’s Orthodox church ON PAGE 2

There are many criminals and corrupt individuals in the police force ON PAGE 4

“He promised to build the church cheaply, but after taking the money he disappeared” ON PAGE 5

The Nano government has encouraged and protected narcotics growers and traffickers Interpol offices in many Western countries have listed several Albanian citizens as wanted persons and drug traffickers. And, unfortunately for Albania and Albanians, these citizens are not ordinary people, but prominent politicians and officials with considerable influence in the Nano government administration, mainly in certain sections of the police force. ON PAGE 4

By Edi PALO[K]A “This can’t go on any longer.” These are words you now hear everywhere: in the streets, in squares, on buses, in shops and clubs. You hear them from young and old, from the unemployed but also from businesspeople. Albanians have had more than enough of this government, and they are right. This is no longer about the golden spoon this government promised Albanians when it grabbed the seats of power, but about the survival of a people. Albania is heading toward the abyss, and it is increasingly obvious in every area of life—political, economic and social. When the socialists and their allies came to power, they promised paradise, but they are taking Albanians to hell. Nano and his followers promise people they will fix everything, especially what the “DP ruined.” Today’s rulers promise law and order; they promise to create 200,000 jobs; they promised wage and pension increases; they promised a decent life; they promised—and what didn’t they promise? They also promised to return the money lost in the pyramid schemes, but by now keeping that promise would be an unimaginable luxury for Albanians. Even the last Albanian now understands that they have been badly deceived. Every day, they hear from the rulers themselves facts about those who plundered their money. Left-wing journalists, because of the clan war inside the governing coalition, publish documents showing that socialist ministers took money from these companies. Meanwhile, there is no question of the so-called transparency. The only thing emerging from what is happening is that the rulers will continue to profit from those companies by plundering whatever remains of them—their real estate—which is therefore being privatized by the rulers themselves. Only 10% of the money people had has been offered back to all those who came forward. The Democratic government, too, offered Albanians 50–60% of the money invested in the two failed companies, Xhaferri and Populli. It declared that the first companies would receive state assistance so that people’s money could be returned, while those who had lost their homes would receive quick loans to help them recover. Nano promised to return 100% of the money, but did not return even 10% of it, not counting those who lost their homes and have no hope of receiving help. That is how Nano kept the main promise of his campaign, and yet, as mentioned above, getting the money back remains a luxury demand for Albanians today. Albanians are now on the brink of survival. Every day Albanians die like flies. Not only in Kosovo at the hands of the Serbs, but in Albania too. They are killed in revenge, killed in robberies, but also killed over a mouthful of food. In all these cases, the police “catch” only the victims, while the criminals roam freely; and not only that, even when they are in prison they “manage” to escape. Gangs and masked men wreak havoc, but they cannot be caught because, as has been proven, in most cases the police themselves make up the gangs of robbers. There is no precedent in world history for crime to be so closely identified with the very forces of law and order. Police commissioners who kill in their own offices, police officers wanted by Interpol who work in the police force, and policemen who rob people on the street wearing masks—this is the order promised by Nano. But what else is this government doing for Albanians? Does it care more about foreigners than about Albanians themselves? Hope for the Opera and Ballet Theatre has faded. The Democratic government had promised to build it a year earlier; now it still isn’t finished, and there is no longer any talk of opening it. The power cuts, which used to happen only in winter, now affect even … [?] and newspapers … [?], and no one believes it will be done. Nano promised 200,000 jobs, but more than 50,000 people have now been laid off. He promised wage and pension increases, but increased only the salaries of those in power, while Albanians’ wages and pensions have practically been reduced. At the same time, taxes and prices have doubled. All this has brought poverty and total misery upon most Albanian families very quickly. But even those known as businesspeople are in a difficult position. Taxes and smuggling are completely draining small and medium-sized businesses, while putting major investors in serious difficulty. Foreign investors have meanwhile disappeared, as have foreign loans. That is what this government is like. Still, the problems do not end there. Nowadays you don’t know where danger will come from: on the road, from a Kalashnikov, or at home from a soldier or poisoned food. One day the bread is poisoned; the next day the water comes with sewage in it. The government and its services are drowning Albanians, who do not know how to protect themselves or what to protect themselves from first. These are only some of the things this government has brought upon Albanians through the hands of its problematic political figures: the human-rights situation, the war in Kosovo, smuggling and corruption, the Prime Minister’s children and drugs, the targeting of emigrants, and so on. Nano seems to have decided to implement the old theory: “The slave gets beaten and then gets his bread.” But will Albanians accept this? So far, as I mentioned above, people have expressed their dissatisfaction openly, saying that the government could not get any worse—but that is all. If we continue to sit with our arms folded and merely complain, Nano will keep testing our patience and cutting down our bread.

The foundations of Skënder Gjinushi’s building.

Censorship by state information media is expanding its reach. Besides the opposition and views that differ from those of the government, for several days now Telenano has also begun censoring diplomatic activities. Following the suspension of the US embassy’s activities, Nano has ordered that the embassy’s activities be censored and, if possible, not appear on television at all. The same order has also been in force for the government’s print media since the embassy’s activities were suspended. The US ambassador held a series of meetings that day with senior state officials, including Foreign Minister Nanos. None of these meetings was covered by state media or the government’s print press. This is despite the fact that, when Telenano’s propaganda was systematic, it never missed an opportunity to distort matters and report on the US ambassador’s meetings with senior Nano officials, giving them extensive coverage in its news bulletins. Now Telenano is erasing the ambassador’s meetings with the highest levels of the state. The same logic is being applied to meetings held by government officials, even though not long ago coverage of the socialists’ meetings with the Americans went as far as the absurd, with photos and the strangest fantasies. Meanwhile, according to internal government sources, the subjects discussed by the socialist heads of state with the Ambassador included the lack of public order, organized crime, and the Nano government’s policy of not wanting to establish order and stabilize the situation, etc. L.M.

One year after the donors’ conference, no funding from the international community Çeku: Nobody helps a country without a government ON PAGE 2

The opposition calls on the government to act after the Serbian attack on the border The Democratic Party called the latest action by the Serbian side, which struck Albanian territory on Tuesday, open aggression. According to the DP, these actions clearly show the position of ... ON PAGE 3

The West may forget the apathetic Albanians Albania’s current crisis is a crisis of honest people who love the state, their country and democracy. The current crisis is not a crisis of Fatos Nano and all the smugglers, criminals, thieves and traffickers. They are now living their best days. ON PAGE 3

Following the departure of American diplomats from Albania President Bill Clinton sent a letter on Tuesday to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, informing him of the details concerning the American evacuation from Albania over the previous weekend. In a letter published by the White House, Clinton explains mainly that he used around 200 marines stationed in the Adriatic as part of NATO military exercises “to reinforce security around the perimeter of the [American] embassy” and to take part in the evacuation operations. The United States announced on Friday that it had ordered American diplomats and their families to leave Albania for fear of an attack against their embassy in Tirana, following the attacks carried out in Kenya and Tanzania. The authorities also asked all American citizens in Albania to leave the country. Clinton says that he is submitting this “report” to keep Congress fully informed. He stated that he “values the support” of the latter for this operation, which aims to ensure the safety of Americans abroad. Yesterday, too, prestigious international news agencies reported the suspension of American programs in Albania.

The Foreign Minister does not know Albania’s map A statement from Albania’s Foreign Ministry says that the village of Padesh is in the border area. This statement, issued by the ministry two days ago, shows how stubborn Albania’s foreign minister is about his country’s borders, and also how concerned he is about the country’s hot spots. According to the Foreign Ministry, the Serbian shells landed at the border; otherwise, there is no explanation for this department’s delayed response to the Serbian aggressors. For the information of the Foreign Ministry, the former village of Padesh is inside Albanian territory, while some of the explosions there occurred very close to the border line. It is in the district of Tropojë, around 22 km from the district center, Bajram Curri. The village lies at an altitude of 800 m above sea level, in the middle of the Reka, the area mentioned in foreign newspaper reports about arrivals from Kosovo. Padesh is located in the municipality of Old Tropojë.