ON PAGE 3 Nano taunts the Albanians: “The Block is mine. I’ll privatize it and give Gjinushi a place there too.” Ceka: “The Block has its former shadow, but it belongs to Prime Minister Nano.” The Prime Minister wants the weapons of SHIK, the police and the army directed against the Democratic Party. The Democrats are more determined than ever to resist

The Committee Prime Minister, Fatos Nano, while also [unclear: “mbretëri makinë”] his state machine against the opposition. He is the only statesman in Europe who makes his desires plain to people who have no power. , Fatos Nano, while also [unclear: “mbretëri makinë”] his state machine against the opposition. He is the only statesman in Europe who makes his desires plain to people who have no power. Instead of packing his things and leaving the Block, he still thinks about using a strong fist against his political opponents. After setting up terrorist enclaves in the north of the country, building a defensive belt of committee gangs around his villa, and giving all his ministers an anti-opposition lecture, he is trying through television monitors to spread the poison of rebellion throughout the country. The Prime Minister of the country’s gravest political and economic crisis still has the breath to ask even one Albanian to follow him. Despite his savage war against the opposition and government payments to the left-wing press, all he has left is the shame of departure. The man who is Prime Minister and has no power beyond his villa thinks he can carry the destruction of Albania through to the end. To do this, he needs to provoke the opposition. The involvement of the state media, SHIK and the police, and the comic committees of Vlora or Tepelena show that his violent government is caught in its final trap, just as they reveal the hatred he has for the country, the opposition and all people who are not mafiosi, criminals, committee men, bastards and thieves. On June 29, fascism came to Albania, colored red, through the paraphrases of a figure as hated as [unclear text] in Germany; its model representative is Fatos Nano, just as [unclear text] in the PD, such as Neritan Ceka, or outside the law because of his illegality, Skënder Gjinushi. The bandit mentality that Nano and his bandits brought into the state and government is the greatest damage inflicted on Albanians. His government is entirely a transplant of rebellion into the country’s body, with the killing, assault and persecution of dozens and dozens of Democrats throughout the country, the arrest of six of the main leaders of democratic governance, as well as the sowing and strengthening of organized crime, alliances with regional mafias, smuggling and drug trafficking. Fatos Nano’s government is an embarrassment to all of Europe. The cannabis sativa plantations he has planted in the South are now among the major problems facing Western police forces, just as the link between a dictatorial government and a democratic continent is alarming to Western politics. The offspring of the committees is a cancer in Albania’s body, as are the criminal committee members who still thrive in the highest offices of the Albanian state. Old and appointed people such as the committee members are still standing; they are causes [unclear text] in democracy and are themselves responsible. By removing Fatos Nano and not [unclear text] Albania’s allies. The man who, with his ambivalent politics, [unclear text] that the greatest democracy of the West should be destroyed by a [unclear text] mind. The mentality of Haxhi Qamili in the time of Prime Minister Haki Qamili, in the time of the Prime Minister, of 50 bloodthirsty gangs throughout Albania. One of them is among those who are in his [unclear text].

Berisha secures renewed German support for the Democratic Party and its alternatives Important meetings between Mr. Berisha and Pollo and political figures during the congress of the Christian Social Union (CSU) of Bavaria. “We have supported you and will continue to support you. We know well the difficulties you are going through,” declared German friends such as Weigel, Stojber and Spranger during the talks. At the invitation of the chairman of the Christian Social Union (CSU) of Bavaria, Federal Finance Minister Theo Weigel, the chairman of the DP of Albania, Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha, and Vice-Chairman Genc Pollo took part in the party’s electoral congress. The presence of Messrs. Berisha and Pollo was announced in the congress hall and warmly welcomed by the leaders and participants immediately after the proceedings opened. During their stay in Munich, at a dinner hosted by Hans Seidel Foundation President Alfred Bayer in honor of the foreign delegations, and during the congress, Messrs. Berisha and Pollo met and spoke with some of the most important figures attending the congress: Theo Weigel, Party Chairman; Edmund Stoiber, Minister-President of the State of Bavaria; Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation Karl-Dieter Spranger; CSU Secretary General Bernd Porzner; Bavarian Finance Minister Edwin Huber; Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs Otto Wiescheu; Chairman of the CSU Parliamentary Group in the Bundestag Michael Gloss; Hans Seidel Foundation Executive Director Reiner Geppert; CSU Bundestag Foreign Policy Representative Kristian Schmidt; and the distinguished MEP Otto von Habsburg, among others. Their discussions covered the situation in Albania, the violence and terror inflicted on the opposition by the ruling clique, the killings and arrests of opposition leaders and activists, government smuggling, the corruption reaching the highest levels of government, and especially the situation created by the political arrests ordered by Prime Minister Nano and his tearing up of the March 9 ’97 Agreement—a pact that not only saved their lives, but also brought the current government to power. Cooperation between the DP and CSU was discussed, with the “Seidel” Foundation to play a special role. The Kosovo issue was discussed at length during these talks. The German interlocutors emphasized the necessity of urgent NATO intervention in Kosovo. CSU Chairman Weigel, Bavarian Minister-President Stoiber, Federal Minister Spranger and all the other interlocutors assured Mr. Berisha of their full and strong support for him and the Democratic Party. We know well the difficulties you are going through,” they declared during the talks. CSU leaders and Bavarian government officials expressed their concern and indignation over the political imprisonments as a return to the past, as well as their understanding and support for the Democratic Party’s efforts to have an Albania without political prisoners. The “Seidel” Foundation will organize a series of programs for the DP and send delegations to Albania to investigate political developments on the ground. In addition to the senior German officials, Mr. Berisha and Mr. Pollo also spoke with Wilfried Martenz, Chairman of the European People’s Group in the European Parliament, and Mario David, Secretary General of that group. They discussed the situation in Albania and cooperation between the DP parliamentary group and the People’s Group in Brussels. Martenz and David expressed their support for the DP and its unwavering commitment to defending the values of democracy. A special meeting was held with Alois Mock, Honorary Chairman of the European Democratic Union (EDU), with whom they discussed the situation in Albania and the region, and reached full mutual understanding. During the congress, representatives of influential parties from Austria, Luxembourg, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia and elsewhere also met with them. The interlocutors supported the DP and condemned the anti-democratic and unacceptable acts of Fatos Nano’s clique. “RD” correspondent

Strong protests until the political prisoners are released Tomorrow, all of Kavaja will once again take to the streets to protest the political imprisonment of 6 former senior officials of the democratic government, among them its own son, former Minister of the Interior, Halit Shamata. The protest will begin at 19:00 with the customary procession at the entrance to the city, ending in the square, as it did several days ago, when the magnificent rally was also attended by PD leader Sali Berisha, together with other party officials. The anti-communist city is fully determined to continue its protest until the political prisoners are released, in full solidarity with the latest decisions of the National Council of the Democratic Party. It is thus becoming a powerful voice in the wave of protests by Democrats across the country against Nano and his mafia clan’s attempts to eliminate the leading figures of political imprisonment in Albania.

1. 2. Osman Manopulli and Përparim Beqiri, beaten by the police at Thursday’s protest 3. Yesterday’s PD press conference

Protest, the Democrats’ hour of reckoning. All Albanians take to the streets for the release of political prisoners “Union for Democracy” calls on all honest Albanians who believe in freedom and its values, true nationalists who aspire to a freer Albania, and right-wingers wherever they may be in Albania to join the citizens of Tirana on Monday, August 31, at 18:00 in “Skënderbej” Square for their protest against the red dictators who, after seizing power by force, have not stopped applying their criminal platform against the opposition. Patriots from all over Albania! TIRANA Let us gather on Monday, at 18:00 in “Skënderbej” Square to say no to political revenge, no to killings and political trials against the opposition. Let us all stand together in defense of our democratic ideal, in defense of the real values of democracy, for the peace of the nation. Together to defend freedom! Tomorrow will be too late. THE PRESIDENCY

ON PAGE 3

Appeal by Albanian writers and artists: “Free our colleague, the poet Halil Shamata, and the other prisoners of conscience” ON PAGE 2 Appeal by Albanian writers and artists: The Government must put an end to political revenge “Free our colleague, the poet Halil Shamata, and the other prisoners of conscience” ON PAGE 2

Statement by the group of lawyers for the 6 political detainees ON PAGE 2 Statement by the group of lawyers for the 6 political detainees The Prosecutor’s Office violates the laws and the rights of those arrested ON PAGE 2

The Prime Minister’s notorious case file falls into a third party’s hands ON PAGE 4 The Prime Minister’s notorious case file falls into a third party’s hands Dirty hands will clean Fatos Nano The current President of the Court, Pajt im Hoxha, in order to carry out his bosses’ orders to the letter, has turned Nano’s criminal case file into a worthless mess that nobody needs anymore ON PAGE 4