The DP leadership met. The agenda and the framework of issues for the National Council meeting were set An analysis of the deepening and extreme worsening of the political, economic and social crisis in the country will be on the agenda of the DP National Council meeting to be held next Thursday. This was decided yesterday at a meeting of the DP leadership chaired by its leader, Sali Berisha. At this upcoming meeting, the National Council will also determine the DP’s short-term strategy and announce its medium-term alternatives and the full set of measures for getting out as soon as possible of the crisis into which the current government has plunged the country. ON PAGE 2

Serious accusations against the head of state. The case will be referred to court ON PAGE 7 There is no more voting in the Socialist Party. Nano is wielding the iron fist. Former State Security Minister Gramoz Ruçi is co-opted onto the leadership.

Recent events in Albania have deeply shaken European political circles and those in the USA as well. Two days ago, a resolution was drafted at the Council of Europe calling on the Albanian state to respect European standards concerning the independence of the judiciary, while a letter arrived from the French Presidency asking the DP to stand firm in its democratic principles. Meanwhile, yesterday, two senior DP leaders met with American diplomats in Tirana, and during the conversation the American diplomats expressed concern about recent events in the country. The events in Tropojë and Patos were at the centre of discussions with the diplomats, who clearly voiced suspicions that the current government was deviating from democratic rules. It is precisely in this situation that the Albanian public is confronted with the responsible statements of Interior Minister Nertan Ceka, who is trying to pour even more fuel on the fire he himself ignited in Tropojë. His interpretations of the killings in the distant town not only put at risk the dignity of this area, which is highly sensitive to such denigration, but also spur further bloodshed in this small town. While conjuring up all manner of fantasies in his mind about the killings, he does not decide to announce his resignation as soon as possible. There has never been an Interior Minister who remained in office after his police officers committed the terrible killings in Patos, or after police leaders massacred DP members, culminating in a killing inside the police station. Such things have never happened anywhere, because in other countries there is a simple rule: criminals are put in prison, whereas Ceka makes them police officers and police-station chiefs. The spread of terror over distances that state officials consider justifiable under customary law is a clear indication of state-organized crime, serving this mafioso who leads the government. In almost all political crimes, justifications invoking customary law have come from the mouths of Albanian officials, especially the Interior Minister, to such an extent that if anyone—whether a party official or an administrative leader—were killed, many people might think it had been done in accordance with customary law. So far, the state has pursued every possible line of inquiry into the killings, from the streets to Parliament, not forgetting the offices of the local branches of the Ministry of the Interior. A government that first kills its own citizens, its own politicians, and its own values cannot remain in power for even a single day. Such a government belongs in prison, and bringing about its punishment must be the highest goal. The issue is no longer whether the Interior Minister, with the thugs he has gathered around him, wants to lay his hands on the Ministry of the Interior or not. Such an idea is dangerous to people too, and as long as the government remains standing, it will also cause the occupied part of the country to defend itself against the state. Thus, for the people, the spectre of Nertan Ceka and the criminals acting in the name of rebellion and communism grows at every moment. Nevertheless, despite everyone’s accusations and his own lack of morals, Ceka stubbornly remains in his position, partly like a criminal and partly like a fool.

The Political Bureau returns to television The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the P(S)SH met under the leadership of the First Secretary, Comrade Fatos Nano. The television gave this meeting more airtime than all the other events in the country; it discussed refreshing the Bureau with new members and the struggle against reaction (meaning the opposition in the country). After speaking about a range of important organizational issues, Comrade Fatos Nano focused in particular on the struggle against the DP and the country’s real opposition. To strengthen the SP’s structures and its ties with State Security, and to renew it, Nano proposed expanding the SP Political Bureau with several other comrades from State Security. Gramoz Ruçi, who killed reactionaries on 2 April in Shkodër, was accepted unanimously. Several comrades from the clan and mafia family of Comrade Fatos Nano and Hysni Kapo were also accepted. Be. Blu.

“Efforts to destabilize Tropojë and Gjirokastër have failed” The government cannot dismiss Brojka. The new constitutional provisions have not granted him a place in the state ON PAGE 3

$2 million from the programme for small and medium-sized businesses has been blocked in Albanian state banks for six months. The government remains silent in the face of SME’s demands While public order in the country leaves much to be desired, the PHARE programme is informing business-development foundations that it will stop financing projects launched four years ago ...

Arbnori and Karamitro at the US Embassy headquarters ON PAGE 3

A truck carrying smuggled cigarettes in Elbasan Late last night, at around 21:00, a truck bearing Tirana plates 43 11 A was parked in the yard of Elbasan Police Station No. 1. The truck was seized in the Zaranika parking area by SHIR chief Ervin Cenollari and the brother of Elbasan police director Ilir Cela. According to a police source, only the driver has been arrested, while it is still not known who the actual owner of the goods is. It is also reported that phone calls came from Tirana about this matter, asking for the truck to be released. According to the same source, 40 million lekë were paid to release the cargo, while two masked police officers with radios demanded DM 100,000 as compensation for releasing the truck. The same source also reports that proper documents, in accordance with Customs’ requirements, were promised for the cargo. Ilir ARAPI

Starova and Peka at the French Embassy ON PAGE 3

The President of the Venice Commission meets with the striking jurists Petition by jurists to Meidani and the Council of Europe. If their demands are not met, the courts of Tirana, Shkodër, Berat, Lezhë, Durrës, Kavajë, etc. are heading toward closure. ON PAGE 4

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