The owners of the ship “Demon” are revealed. The press has tried to obscure the truth The Eurocustoms representative will not allow Bleta to deal with the ship. Huk to Bleta: We do not trust you, so leave The owners of the ship “Demon” are revealed. The press has tried to obscure the truth Among the smuggling bosses, the son of dictator Hoxha too The Eurocustoms representative will not allow Bleta to deal with the ship. Huk to Bleta: We do not trust you, so leave ON PAGE 4

The DP maps out the paths to governing. The election date can be negotiated. Political murders, organized by the ruling clique, are preventing the DP from entering Parliament ON PAGES 2–3

Minister Ceka was unaware of the dismissal of the Gjirokastër commissioner. The only person with the authority to do this was the prime minister Commissioner Dida blocked Nano’s and Fino’s smuggling . Minister Ceka had no knowledge whatsoever of the dismissal of the Gjirokastër commissioner, Ilirian Dida, several days before the explosions at the city municipality and the Socialist Party headquarters. This important fact is confirmed by the current leaders of the Socialist Party themselves, once again proving that the Interior Ministry’s leaders are being ignored by former [sic] Fatos Nano and his smuggling clan. The newest member of the PS leadership, Gramoz Ruci, stated that Minister Ceka had not been informed of the dismissal of the commissioner of the southern city, implying that he had been dismissed directly by the prime minister himself, who has the authority to do so. Dida had held his new position for just one month, and his dismissal was met with fierce reactions even among the socialists of Gjirokastër. It is reported that he had become an obstacle to the Kakavijë–Gjirokastër–Tirana smuggling network, controlled by the Nano–Fino–Malaj clan, which is why he was dismissed so quickly. Just a few days after his unexpected dismissal, explosions resumed in Gjirokastër, one of them at the Socialist Party headquarters, which was in the same building as the city municipality. People in the city link the attacks on the Socialist Party headquarters to the commissioner’s dismissal, considering them an outright act of revenge. Convinced that Dida’s dismissal had come not from the ministry but from Socialist Party leader Fatos Nano, Dida’s people vented their anger on the PS headquarters in Gjirokastër.

Lesi, who called for the interpellation on smuggling, sat in the parliamentary café with Fino before and after the parliamentary session; they enjoyed the ridiculous, demagogic situation they had created in the chamber A parliamentary farce about smuggling. Lesi is being used to get a truckload for himself ON PAGE 5

In addition to his ties to the Nano–Fino–Malaj clan, the prime minister’s adviser has established personal smuggling routes Fatos Nano’s adviser covets the 2 million dollars The prime minister’s adviser, Gramoz Pashko, is the gray eminence of government smuggling. Remaining somewhat in the shadows and far from direct accusations, Pashko has a share in the very lucrative operation, which has reached as much as 3,000 dollars a day per person in government smuggling. In addition to his direct ties to the Nano, Fino and Malaj clan, which is also the apex of government smuggling in Albania, Pashko has activated other personal connections through which he receives considerable sums. His shadowy position as the prime minister’s adviser, and the extremely favourable climate created in Albania by his government bosses, make Pashko’s position very comfortable. People close to him confirm that this was precisely why the prime minister’s adviser returned urgently from the United States, where he had lived for two years. But the most serious part of this story is that Pashko himself stated at a press conference that he would leave Albania only once he had secured 2 million dollars. T.GJ.

The President: “I will take a hard line toward the strike, and as for the conditions of the meeting, I set them; if you like them, fine, otherwise get out.” The jurists: “We went to the meeting hoping to find some kind of agreement with him on our demands, because we thought of him as someone who could balance the powers, but we saw an arrogant man playing the role of a political commissar, from whom one cannot expect a guarantee of constitutional provisions, human rights and the balance of powers.” Judges’ health is deteriorating. After a petition, the President agrees to meet them ON PAGE 4

Old members of the PP and State Security fill the SHIK offices ON PAGE 4

Alimuçaj: I have no intention of declaring bankruptcy, not even in 2005 ON PAGE 5

Parliament will be the body that votes only on the technical aspects of distributing the money, while the details and the method of distribution will be decided by specialists at Monday’s meeting at the Ministry of Labour Arapi: “The draft law will be reviewed. On Monday we will learn the creditors’ claims” ON PAGE 5

YEAR VIII of publication No. 307 (1832) FRIDAY 16 January 1998 Price: 20 lekë 1,000 Italian lire 250 drachmas

On Sunday, 18 January, at 11:00, a meeting of the National Council of the PDSH Youth Forum will be held at the PDSH headquarters in Tirana. The district chairpersons and secretaries of the FRPD and members of the FRPD National Council are invited to attend. Agenda: 1) Calling the 5th National Congress of the FRPD. The FRPD Presidency

The National Council of the Democratic Party meets. Free elections are the only solution to the crisis. The government of smuggling, organized crime and state violence must leave

The National Council of the PDSH notes that the all-encompassing political, economic and social crisis in Albania is rapidly deepening. The main causes of this deepening are: - The transformation of the communist rebellion into organized state crime, as a result of the return to the police, SHIK, the Army and, generally, the administration and institutions in the capital and the districts of the murderers and arsonists of 1997 and former State Security officers. As a result, around 680 citizens were killed and thousands of others injured in less than six months. - The government’s massive smuggling of cigarettes, coffee, fuel, etc., which has cost the state over 220 million dollars, blocked reforms and is destroying institutions. - The dismantling of the rule of law through the systematic violation of constitutional laws and the norms and principles of democracy and the rule of law, as well as the serious undermining of the independence of the judiciary. - The deployment of foreign troops in Albania without an international mandate. - An unpatriotic foreign policy. - The failure to return the money lost in the pyramid schemes, as promised by Fatos Nano. - The rapid impoverishment of hundreds and thousands of Albanian families. To lead the country out of the all-encompassing crisis, the National Council of the Democratic Party Decided The Democratic Party, through all its structures, shall commit itself to using the various democratic means and forms available to bring about a Technical Government, a government that: - Will be supported by all the country’s political forces. - Will end all cooperation with gangs and smugglers by removing compromised individuals from state structures. - Will organize free elections, with international monitoring, as soon as practicably possible, and the Democratic Party will engage in an intensive dialogue with Albanian voters, Albania’s anti-communist political forces, institutions and Western governments to bring about free elections. The DP remains open to dialogue, including with the governing coalition, in order to jointly resolve the issue of the Constitution and the country’s other major problems. - The Democratic Party’s programme for governing in government and in its branches shall be prepared, and amendments shall be made to the programme concerning the scheme for compensating property owners and the politically persecuted. - Local government and its autonomy, which must be guaranteed through the signing and ratification of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, shall be fully supported.