Tirana customs officers’ letter to Brojka and Majko ON PAGE 5

The Ministry of Transport, a source of wealth for state officials ON PAGE 5

The December activists: The government must find the killers; Parliament must restore Hajdari’s immunity ON PAGE 7

Majko’s television disregards the CEC platform on the constitution. The government conducts illegal propaganda on screen Opposition representatives on the CEC temporarily walk out of the commission: “We will return only when the law is implemented” ON PAGE 3

The governing coalition revives the Serbian three-finger symbol in Albania One more reason not to vote for the government’s passport, or the three-finger constitution. Last year it was for burning down municipalities and courts; now it is for the referendum ZËRI I POPULLIT CAMPAIGN FOR THE CONSTITUTION BEGINS Members of Parliament begin a referendum tour throughout Albania ON PAGE 3 “Facsimile of page 3 of yesterday’s issue of the newspaper ‘Zëri i Popullit’” View of the crowd. Facsimile of page 3 of yesterday’s issue of the newspaper “Zëri i Popullit”.

The opposition is facing state violence, both in the violation of the rule of law and in the illegal use of the state media. Likewise, in its efforts so far to arbitrarily change laws, such as the referendum law, the Albanian government has tasked left-wing local officials with cutting voter lists by as much as 40 percent. The government’s response is a combination of blackmail and insult, which no longer concerns only Albanian emigrants, who are being denied the right to vote on the fundamental document of the Albanian state, but also thousands of other voters who are believed not to take part in the vote on the constitution. The men with Kalashnikovs who are in Parliament and the government have long declared their distance from other Albanians. Just two days ago, Gjinushi declared that the constitution had been approved because it was approved in Parliament, casting a handful of votes—and millions of votes, or votes from a thousand million Albanian voters—to the side. This is a separation from public opinion at the most decisive moment. The decision means that the constitution does not embody the messages of the nation, the homeland and the people, but those of clans and the political mafia installed in power, and the vital measures for entrenching its hold on the country’s economy are all one and the same. Democrats and the real opposition have known since last year’s strike how futile communication is with the parties of 1997, the men with Kalashnikovs and the terrorists of 1998. But the DP and the rest of the opposition have continually believed that communication could be established on fundamental issues—not merely for short-term interests, but because these were connected to the existence and strengthening of the state. The DP thought its cooperation on the constitution would be welcomed and that the necessary room for consensus would be created to produce a major and appropriate document. The terrorists who have held the country in their grip for a year and a half did not accept consensus on the constitution. Instead, to sabotage such a consensus, they imprisoned, killed, persecuted and politically assaulted the Albanian opposition and the Democratic Party. In every instance, the terrorist wing of Albanian politics, the criminal wing of this politics, offered only bullets and handcuffs, which did not stop even when they signed—and the DP signed—Hajdari’s [agreement]. This is precisely the approach still in force these days, with only a few days remaining before the referendum. They have placed Kalashnikovs in the voting commissions, from the central level down to the grassroots; they have placed Kalashnikovs in the state media, just as they placed them above everything else, over the future and over the constitution, as they themselves call it. Precisely in such a climate of opposition to cooperation, in a climate where persecution and theft of referendum votes by every means seem to be the order of the day, the DP’s role in the Central Voting Commission and in the local referendum commissions appears to have become impossible. The DP must carefully examine this situation and consider how its presence is being undermined under these conditions created by the terrorist government, which is guarding the Albanian people’s vote—or securing its own votes—and has chosen this course to ensure that the entire procedure proceeds to the referendum. Today’s Democrats have understood that a country in the condition of the Albanian people cannot have a future if this state remains overloaded with people who are causing this situation.

Expanded DP meeting. Local officials speak about the government’s manipulation of the referendum ON PAGE 2

Përmet, Gjirokastër, Tepelenë: Coalition in a panic over Nano’s passport The voting law says that lists are drawn up according to the Civil Status Register for the place of residence; the party and power’s thugs object ON PAGE 2

Topalli: Article 18 opens the way to discrimination against Albanians, as under the dictatorship ON PAGE 3

On Monday, “Birra Tirana” will return to protests in the square “Those on strike at ‘Birra Tirana’ will include traders from the surrounding districts, while the workers have warned that if the government does not meet their demand, the strike will also involve the workers’ families ON PAGE 5

Today marks 56 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 its power in the crime that shook the entire Albanian world. His government of ex-communists, which lets the criminals who took the life of the December Leader go free and untroubled, is showing Albanians that it has been and remains on the side of the killers. They have names, but those in power do not touch them. Democrats and all Albanians who loved and honored Azem Hajdari cannot tolerate this when the killer is known to have evidence [as printed]. The government must either apprehend the criminals and bring them to justice, or publicly declare that it itself carried out the murder of Azem Hajdari.

DP protests TVSH’s repeated violations of the law Telemajko continues to violate the law. The DP’s protest, submitted by the Secretary for Public Relations, Dr. Villi Minarolli, to the Voting Commission, with the OSCE copied, states: In the 8:00 p.m. news bulletin, the state television again violated the law by favoring the governing coalition “Alliance for the State”, giving it more airtime than specified in the CEC “platform”. In this news bulletin, “Alliance for the State” was given 227 seconds, instead of the 156 allowed under the CEC “platform”. That is a total of 71 seconds more. At the same time, the television station abused the order in which the political parties’ campaign activities were presented. It showed the activities of “Alliance for the State” at the beginning, while those of the Democratic Party were shown in the second part of the news. This is also a serious violation of the law and the “platform”. The Democratic Party protests the repeated favoritism shown to the governing coalition at the opposition’s expense, both in airtime and in the order of presentation. We ask the CEC, in accordance with the law and its own platform dated 4.11.1998, to require state television not to break the law, because this is a path to escalating the situation. The Democratic Party strongly protests the statements by the managers of state television, who responded rudely and arrogantly to the CEC decision banning spots and propaganda on TV. In response to this decision, director Eduart Mazi said that he would continue to favor everyone who supports the constitution and would continue to organize roundtables with government officials and leaders of parties belonging to the governing coalition. We ask the CEC to implement its decisions seriously; otherwise, this is an open path to confrontation and the destruction of the referendum campaign.

Marinzë: “We want higher wages” ON PAGE 5

Year VIII of publication No. 218 (2079) SATURDAY 7 NOVEMBER 1998 Price: 20 lekë 1,000 lireta 250 drachmas

All RD newspaper sellers in the districts are requested to prepare for distribution. For returns, only the front pages of the newspapers should be collected and packed THE EDITORIAL OFFICE