Appeal of the League Against Dictatorship All Against Dictatorship, which brings together all the anti-communist parties, trade unions and associations of Albania, calls on all honest Albanians who believe in freedom and its values, true patriots who aspire to a free Albania, and right-wingers wherever they may be in Albania, to join the citizens of Tirana today, September 23, at 17:00, in Skënderbej Square, for their peaceful protest against Fatos Nano’s neocommunist dictatorship, which is taking over the country with its old platform of persecution, beatings, imprisonment and killings. Democrats from all over Albania! Let us gather today, September 23, at 17:00, in Skënderbej Square. Today, powerful protests against the dictatorship. Tirana, Durrës, Kavaja, Elbasan and Shijak take to the squares against Fatos Nano’s criminal government. The democratic storm begins throughout Albania

The persecutors return to their homes the journalists they had abducted. Alfons Zeneli and Ilir Zhilla released on bail. KE continues proceedings to suspend Dokle

By Astrit PATOZI Fatos Nano’s outgoing government is giving clear signs of imbalance, involving both institutions and the people gathered to act as a prop for the prime minister in his political agony and death. But despite the ministers’ madness—which has not yet lost the pallor of those days when people are frequently changed and stripped of their positions—despite the prosecutors’ and judges’ snarling, and the warnings issued by masked policemen and SHIK agents on Tirana’s streets, it cannot be said that this chaos is not costing the country dearly. The capital continues to be a bloody arena of killings and midnight arrests, as well as the madness of Nano’s officials. Kosovo’s Minister of Defense, Ahmet Krasniqi, was killed the previous night in the middle of Tirana by a well-trained criminal hand. What casts an even darker shadow over this heinous crime is the fact that, several days before the murder, his home had been raided by SHIK agents, who left after failing to find him there. He was killed by masked men, many of whom patrol the capital’s streets at night under state authority, and who shot him with a Makarov pistol, a weapon used only by SHIK units. The Ministry of the Interior tried temporarily to conceal the incident, when its first statement presented it as the killing of an ordinary 50-year-old citizen from Kosovo. Tirana’s official circles are trying to “forget” this sophisticated crime—which would have shaken life in any capital in the world—amid a multitude of arrests, prosecutors’ ranting, threats against the opposition and absurd accusations of a coup or armed uprising. The Tirana Court released journalists Alfons Zeneli and Ilir Zhilla from the courtroom; they had been imprisoned on Sunday on charges of “participation in an armed uprising.” According to the prosecution, the defendants had faced anything from life imprisonment to the death penalty; they have now returned to their profession, while the prosecutor who drafted the charge should now face a case or be taken to a psychiatrist. The opposition has been entirely right to stress that all the recent accusations targeting the opposition and the opposition press have come from the prime minister’s office. For Fatos Nano, who has lately been experiencing his own end, any absurdity seems entirely justified and credible; it appears to be passed along in a chain to all those who are now willing to become his blind instruments. It is truly shocking that the young man arrested on Sunday together with the journalists, as a participant in the “armed uprising,” was released by judge 313 without even going to trial, while the policemen from Teta had put a watch and the zipper of their trousers on him. So this “insurrectionist,” who expected to be sent at the very least to life imprisonment, paid an exceedingly ridiculous price for the midnight arrests demanded by the people he was talking to. Meanwhile, the grotesque situation is made even more painful by the unbelievable impression left on Albanians by the prosecutors’ statement about an “armed uprising” against Democratic Party chairman Sali Berisha. Such a pronouncement was unheard of even during the fiercest periods of class warfare, because Enver Hoxha’s prosecutors were far more intelligent than Fatos Nano’s lackeys, who today bare their teeth at the opposition and its leader. Such an “armed uprising” statement could also be used in Fidel Castro’s Cuba; translated into Spanish, it would make sense in Cuba too, whereas its effect would be incomprehensible in any Western European country. And, as if to put the finishing touch on this charade of totalitarian power, comes the threat by Television Director Ardlan Klosi, who instructs journalist Blendi Fevziu to expose the Democratic Party’s “armed insurgents” and to dismiss Perikli Teta’s policemen, while always keeping secret the affairs of his cousin, who is the head of SHIK. In this absurd theater of utterly uncoordinated power, the secure positions of its servants and protagonists have collapsed in turn, including its closest servants, whose list starts with the radical communist Fatos Lubonja and ends with their reporter in the left-wing press. If Nano’s associates forced Zeneli and Zhilla yesterday to speak, although one of them had declared before the court that he had nothing to do with the children’s bread, and the other, as the first agitator, nobody should forget. Fatos Lubonja and Arben Hasani were practically shouting victory at the trial over their arrests. Likewise Alfred Peza, who expressed his satisfaction by citing the “fact” that for such “crimes,” people like Zeneli and Zhilla could even be sentenced to death. Those who have joined together across thousands of kilometers abroad, whenever they have seen the country heading down the road, Armando Meta and Aurel Simoni, yesterday applauded when their colleagues accused people of being armed insurgents, to put an end to the outpouring of Bellino that was bubbling over in Vasil Meto’s proclamation; a statement by Berisha against Papandreou, while the day before he had “transfused” Azem Hajdari’s killers in Milan. In this part, things are becoming increasingly tiresome in connection with Fatos Nano’s power; therefore, they must somehow come together with many examples resembling his carefully cultivated ones.

Three nights earlier, SHIK had raided his home Ahmet KRASNIQI

Not a word about the murder of Azem Hajdari in the speech by the Greek deputy minister Sources in Strasbourg tell “RD” that the report prepared on behalf of the CoE Council of Ministers by Jorgo Papandreu does not mention the murder of Azem Hajdari in a single line. The report, which was 18 pages long, spoke at length about the crisis in Albania but did not mention the brutal murder of the December leader and symbol of Albanian democracy. The report, which stood out for its bias and distortion of Albanian reality, has provoked reactions among European parliamentarians, who know the situation in Albania much better than the falsified report by Papandreu presented it. It caused laughter, the source says of Papandreu’s report, creating a most unpleasant situation in the Assembly for the Greek deputy minister. The omission from Papandreu’s report of any mention of the murder of Azem Hajdari comes right after the personal threats the Greek minister made against the Albanian opposition in Tirana, invoking the name of the CoE. The murder of Azem Hajdari was a major concern for all European governments, the USA, the OSCE and other international organizations. This political murder was omitted from the CoE report by the Greek deputy foreign minister, Papandreu.

The director of “Shqiptarja” sheds the mask of independence The Italian journalist is determined at all costs to incriminate the Albanian opposition. Why has Bolino been interested in concealing the murder of Azem Hajdari? ON PAGE 3

Klosi’s immoral attempt to manipulate the program “Sunday Debate” Opposition leader Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha strongly condemns the threats made by the Radio-Television director against the well-known publicist Blendi Fevziu, as well as his immoral attempts to manipulate the hosting of the program “Sunday Debate,” which Mr. Fevziu, it must be acknowledged, has hosted with professionalism and commendable competence. The DP will not tolerate threats and violence against journalists and considers any attack on them an act that violates fundamental human freedoms and rights in Albania and contributes to the destabilization of the country.

The Italian press on the crisis in Albania. Articles from “La Stampa”, “La Republica” and “Il Giornale” The Interior Minister himself, Perikli Teta, had barricaded himself in his office. Gramoz Pashko was with him, and both were armed with “Jack Daniels.” A torrent of bullets inside and outside the ministry, while Teta tried to lead his men. But it did not take him long to realize that only the bottle of whiskey could give him a little courage. “Drink, drink,” economist Gramoz Pashko urged him. In the end, as night’s shadows fell over Tirana and the bottle of “Jack Daniels” had been drained, Teta slapped his hands on his desk... ON PAGE 6

Special forces and units of fanatics head toward the anti-communist city Around 100 special-forces personnel and other units hastily mobilized in recent days have been sent toward Shkodër in implementation of Nano’s order to destabilize the anti-communist city at all costs. Dozens of committee thugs are among the forces heading for Shkodër, while the operation will be led by SHIK officers who have set out from Tirana. Nano’s order to destabilize Shkodër comes after the failed scenario in Lezhë, where those in power tried to incriminate the opposition by fabricating a story about people killed and wounded at the city police station. Echelons of Nano’s fanatics have been sent to Shkodër at a time when calm prevails in the city, a bastion of democracy, and there are no law-and-order problems. Everything has been rigged to provoke the people of Shkodër, who must be prepared to protect their city and their community from the vile provocations of Nano’s masked men.

Today, all together in defense of democracy and against dictatorship The Durrës branch of the Democratic Party calls on all democratic citizens of Durrës aspire to a free Albania, and everyone wherever they may be in Durrës, to gather on Tuesday, September 23, at 17:30 in the square in front of the DP Durrës headquarters for their peaceful protest against the neo-communist dictatorship that is ruling and killings. Democrats of Durrës! Let us in front of the DP Durrës headquarters.

Statement of the League Against Dictatorship The political parties, patriotic political associations and independent trade unions participating in the “League Against Dictatorship” met on September 22, 1998, and decided: 1. Decisions will be made by the Decision-Making Council, represented by the heads of the entities that are members of the League. 2. The League’s coordinating and organizational group was established, with 5 members. 3. Branches of the “League Against Dictatorship” are to be established in all districts. To achieve its objectives, the Decision-Making Council decided to use the following forms: peaceful protests, rallies and demonstrations throughout the country, local strikes and a general strike. The Decision-Making Council remains open to the participation of other entities as well. The Decision-Making Council adopted a resolution. THE DECISION-MAKING COUNCIL