League Against Dictatorship: Let us all gather in “Skënderbej” Square On Monday, October 12, at 17:00, the League Against Dictatorship calls on the residents of the capital to gather in “Skënderbej” Square to commemorate the Right-Wing Leader, the hero of pluralism, Azem Hajdari, one month after he was murdered by the phalanxes of Fatos Nano’s clique. The commemorative rally for Hajdari will be the Albanians’ accusatory protest against the Majko government, which swore in the parliament of Kalashnikovs that it would not investigate Hajdari’s killers and would continue to attack the opposition. “Everyone to ‘Skënderbej’ Square on Monday.”

The stolen millions are just the tip of the iceberg ON PAGE 4

The former communists vote 100 percent to continue the political killings and imprisonment of opposition members. No foreign diplomats in parliament. The West abandons the government The Majko government, a program of national hostility The new government ignores the international community’s calls for reconciliation and dialogue. The U.S. State Department: “Majko should extend a hand to the opposition”

By Astrit PATOZI The ex-communist majority voted yesterday, 100 percent, for the national-hostility program of the “Majko” or “Nano 5” government, finally dispelling all hopes Albanians had for any possible change. Worse than in Hoxha’s shameful days, when the vote was 99.99 percent because there was always one person who did not take part in the process, left-wing MPs appeared yesterday in military formation to breathe life into a government that differs not one bit from the one that left. The one that left. In the parliamentary chamber, the only ones who did not vote in favor were Edi Rama, Arben Demeti and Leonard Solis—not because they disagreed, but for the simple reason that they are not MPs. In a vote in which no opposition member took part, the new left-coalition government was endorsed only by its own people, who support the same policy of physically eliminating the opposition as its predecessor. Although Godo complained about Majko’s long and boring speech presenting his program for continuing hostility, attacks on the opposition and the undermining of all efforts at dialogue and national reconciliation were clearly seen as the main pillars of the new government’s activities. The new prime minister himself did not hesitate to confirm this, telling journalists that the only difference between his government and Nano’s is that the Majko cabinet is only seven days old. It is so true that eliminating the opposition has been placed as the second point in the government’s program for restoring order in Albania. The new prime minister has called for all organizers and participants in the “coup d’état” to be harshly attacked and punished, even though he himself and all the senior leaders of his state and party have accused the opposition, chiefly the Democratic Party, of this. The new government’s resumption of work where Nano left off—that is, with the “coup d’état”—is a clear signal that Majko and the people he has gathered around him have no intention whatsoever of changing one iota. This is the same program pursued by the ministers of the left coalition, who have also twice called for Azem Hajdari’s arrest. A prime minister who has paid money and official writers to classify him as a December student, while also paying Fatos Nano, when he has no desire whatsoever to uproot anything, has shown that he is no different from his boss Fatos Nano: he said not a word about apprehending Azem Hajdari’s killers. This means his government intends to expand the political prison cells for its opponents, just as it has done with Shamana, Çela, Zhulani, Spahia and the others. If the new prime minister still has not understood that September 14 was a good lesson for a regime that uses violence against the opposition, he must urgently forget the fairy tale of the “coup d’état,” because he could end up much worse than Fatos Nano. If Pandeli Majko still has not understood that on September 14 this regime’s teeth of terror were broken, so much the worse for him. The new prime minister, if he does not understand that he wants to follow in his predecessor’s footsteps in government, will repeat what this regime did, even to a limited extent, and the causes that led to the outbreak of the popular revolt that toppled Fatos Nano’s former government in less than 20 minutes will recur. But even if he is this determined to lead the country to complete destruction through the elimination of the “coup d’état”—which began long before September 14, as even the midnight tests show, and after which Azem Hajdari was killed—his program for the physical elimination of opponents has received all the votes he claims, at a time when the U.S. State Department was urging Majko to extend a hand to the opposition, including in forming his government. The State Department spokesperson’s statement thus received a shocking answer just one day later: Majko not only ignored the opposition, rather than responding, but declared war on it on the very first day he took office. This means that the Majko program is another attempt to silence Albanians who think differently from Nano and Majko in Albania, as well as the international community, which is calling for the bridges of dialogue in this country to be rebuilt. Now, users, tired of these irresponsible rulers, have come out to see a prime minister who at first “orders” prosecutors and judges not to arrest any opposition politician or journalist, and three days later presents a program calling for the suppression of the coup d’état allegedly carried out against the government by the opposition. Pandeli Majko can justify such a paradox only with that political key, which he was forced to reflect on in his student years, and the opposition will encourage him to request it formally so that it can be brought to light. Albanians, she and everyone are asking Majko and all the ministers in his cabinet—many of whom are on the list of “brave men” who were asked to come out of their holes on September 14—to understand that this government is doomed to meet the fate of its predecessor, for the simple reason that deepening the crisis will bring about its destruction. The prime minister must understand clearly that, to pursue this program of his government, all it takes is candles burning at the place where Azem Hajdari was killed.

The DP deputy chairman talks with Britain’s former prime minister Thatcher: Social-communists are dangerous to civilization The DP deputy chairman talks with Britain’s former prime minister Pollo meets Thatcher Thatcher: Social-communists are dangerous to civilization Important meetings for the DP deputy chairman in London. During his visit to Great Britain, Genc Pollo, invited to the Conservative Party Conference, met with the “Iron Lady,” former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. At the meeting, Pollo thanked Mrs. Thatcher for the assistance she has given the DP and the anti-communist movement in Albania, by inviting Mr. Berisha to London and supporting the DP’s efforts to restore democracy in the country. Thatcher emphasized that it does not matter whether their parties’ names are changed to socialist or communist; they are just as dangerous to civilization, and it is up to democrats—people fighting for their political rights and for the market economy—to continue their political struggle vigorously. Regarding the war in Kosovo, she said that Millosheviçi is the butcher of the Balkans and that NATO’s military intervention is unforgivably late.

The United States urges Majko to reach out to the opposition The United States is urging the Albanian prime minister to reach out to the opposition to form his new government. Albania’s incoming prime minister, Pandeli Majko, replied that he would form a new government, while around a thousand supporters of opposition leader Sali Berisha demonstrated in Tirana, reports “Voice of America.” “We would like the new government to do what is necessary and reach out to the opposition in the spirit of national reconciliation, to move beyond the period of polarization that has characterized Albanian politics for a year or more,” stressed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State James Foley.

The minister who burned down institutions during the previous uprising promises terror against the opposition Public Order Minister Petro Koçi declared yesterday that his priority would be bringing Kavajë, Lazarat and Mamurras to heel—areas with an undisputedly Democratic electorate. While one might have expected the new government and the Public Order Ministry to declare finding the killers of the hero of democracy a priority... ON PAGE 2

Peter Rojshenbah offers condolences to Berisha The chairman of the Democratic Party, Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha, received a message of condolence these days from a distinguished friend of Albania, former German Bundestag member Peter Rojshenbah, who wrote to him: “Dear Prof. Dr. Berisha, I would like to express to you, the Hajdari family and their friends my deepest sympathy in the grief caused by the death of Azem Hajdari. It is tragic that the man who stood on the front line of the battle when Albania was freeing itself from the brutal communist dictatorship should be murdered. Murder never has a reasonable purpose. Could the murder of Azem Hajdari help people understand that the death of political rivals also destroys the soul of a people?”

Today, 27 days since the murder of the December Leader Every day that passes since the murder of Azem Hajdari, the symbol of democracy and pluralism, proves the involvement of Fatos Nano’s government and his successor in the crime that shook the entire Albanian world. The governments of the former communists have allowed the criminals who took the life of the December Leader to remain free and undisturbed, showing Albanians that they have been and are on the side of the killers, who have names and identities but are untouched by those in power. Democrats and all Albanians who loved and honored Azem Hajdari can under no circumstances tolerate this fact. The government must either capture the criminals and bring them to justice, or publicly declare that it itself carried out the murder of Azem Hajdari.

Residents head to Tirana for supplies Dedja, the government’s plenipotentiary for Local Government: Only 20% of the minimum quantity of basic goods needed to make a living has been sent to the population ON PAGE 5

Majko, in a normal moment in parliament

The “Fjala e Lirë” forum monitors domestic news on state television Government: 12 minutes, 15 seconds Prominent politicians: President: 45 seconds Prime Minister: 46 seconds The state, total: 13 minutes, 45 seconds Kosovo: Coverage of events in Kosovo, 45 seconds Kosovo in the international spotlight: 7 minutes, 35 seconds Opposition: 1 minute, 10 seconds. Of that, the Democratic Party: 35 seconds; the Legality Movement Party: 35 seconds National Reconciliation Party: 40 seconds Social organizations: 2 minutes Local Government: 1 minute, 35 seconds Various news reports: 3 minutes, 30 seconds Cultural news: 30 seconds