Bezhani gives the President an ultimatum: “Remove the spies within 15 days” ON PAGE 3

“Die Presse” / Five ministers from the mafia’s center ON PAGE 3

Nano’s “secrets” are keeping the coalition on its feet ON PAGE 3

New tragedy in the Adriatic. A dinghy carrying clandestine migrants that had set off from Vlora capsizes Eight men, three women and three children survive New tragedy in the Adriatic. A dinghy carrying clandestine migrants that had set off from Vlora capsizes Otranto 3. Six Albanians drown Eight men, three women and three children survive ON PAGE 4

Today in Vlora, the beginning of the communist rebellion will be commemorated, one of the most severe rebellions the country has ever seen, the most destructive and most calamitous for Albania and the Albanian nation. A group of phantom associations of communists and former State Security agents from Vlora have taken it upon themselves to celebrate the destruction of their city, its burning and the killings, the rapes and the drowning of hundreds of people, mostly their own fellow citizens. Instead of hiding as far away as possible so that nobody could see them, the organizers of the great calamity have decided to appear in the square, using with the greatest hypocrisy their first victim, the young Artur Rustemi, killed a year ago by a former State Security agent from Kuçi on the orders of the Brokaj clan. Only the victims will be absent from the square, since the killers will presumably all gather there. This could also be called the celebration of blood. They will all gather, from far and wide: customs officers, ministers, generals, officers, ordinary criminals dressed as police, and all kinds of monsters connected to the most secretive clans of Albanian politics, now in power, and to the regional mafia and anti-Albanian circles. It would be fitting if the senior officials from Tirana, Nano, Gjinushi, Brokaj, Malaj, Ceka, did not stay away either. Other “archers” such as Fror Cupi, Daut Gumeni, etc., should also take part. This is because each of them has their own place in the crime. Each of them has their own victims. In the great contest to ruin the country and kill the innocent, each of them could be declared the winner. Normal Vlora residents should not attend the anniversary of the destruction. It is in their hands to distance themselves from the criminals, who, unfortunately, were their city’s own. But in any case, they must not forget the faces of the killers who still roam free over the corpses of their loved ones. They are everywhere today. From the post of Minister of Defense to that of Finance, from the director of the Vlora Customs Office to the Albanian Parliament, where it is rare to find a deputy who does not drink blood. They got their start in the school of vagabonds, stealing votes with blood and bullets. Among them, the people of Vlora still have men who have gone unpunished by the law: those who burned down their city hall, killed around 300 young men from this city, and drowned another eighty at sea off Oranto. After the communist rebellion that the criminals will celebrate today, Vlora emerged with one-third fewer inhabitants. And in the spring of ’97, the city was not ransacked by its own barbarians, while thousands of others did not see the city streets for months on end. It was precisely amid this tragedy that Albania’s current prime minister committed the greatest mega-fraud: promising a 100 percent refund of the money. He chose the scene of the tragedy to carry out his hypocrisy and mockery of the hundreds killed by the bandits surrounding him in Flag Square. Even today, the city chosen as the testing ground for good governance by speedboat smugglers, by the people who took Vlora’s people away, by the gangs that send children out to sea. Today the people of Vlora have reason to demand accountability, while criminals dressed in power have reason to stop sitting in chairs occupied by Kalashnikovs. The celebration organized by several associations is a continuation of the tragedy for Vlora. Today’s communists and government officials are showing that they have not yet run out of the tricks in the game that began a year ago, in which the biggest losers were precisely the people of Vlora.

The persecuted are sharpening the daggers of the dictatorship Photo: A. RUSHA

The hunger strike of the politically persecuted ends The former persecuted hunger strikers successfully concluded their hunger strike last night, on its 25th day. More than 60 hunger strikers in different cities across the country, in very serious health condition, between life and death, brought the strike to an end. The President of the Republic, Rexhep Meidani, agreed late last night, following the intervention of the OSCE Ambassador in Tirana, Daan Everts, not to promulgate the Law on the Verification of Figures and to return it to Parliament for reconsideration. Before the law reaches Parliament, OSCE experts, representatives of political parties and a delegation of specialists who are former persecuted people must agree on the draft of the new Law on the Verification of Figures, in which the provisions of the previous law must necessarily be reinstated. Yesterday morning, President Meidani’s political adviser, Zogaj, told the hunger strikers that the president would receive a delegation of the former persecuted hunger strikers; they agreed to end the strike, with the OSCE serving as guarantor that their demands would be met. Pale-faced and utterly exhausted, the hunger strikers were reassured when their delegation told them after the meeting that the protest was considered over, since the OSCE would guarantee in the coming days that their demands would be met. The hunger strikers declared their effort a triumph and said they did not consider the conflict with the communists in power over. “We won an important battle, but our struggle for democracy will continue until this regime is finally defeated,” the hunger strikers said after the strike ended. Just a few minutes after the strike ended, the Chairman of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, as well as the other leaders of the “Union for Democracy” parties, arrived to stand alongside the former persecuted hunger strikers. Berisha assured the hunger strikers that he would guarantee that their demands were met

Fischer: The Socialists must view politics from the perspective of an opposition party The Union for Democracy meets with the Austrian parliamentary delegation ON PAGE 3

The order requiring debtors to repay loans in foreign currency rather than lek violates state laws and signals a grey macroeconomic situation Dollarization appears in banks, INSIG and the Housing Agency ON PAGE 5

Topalli: The PD was driven out of Parliament with bullets The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Jozefina Topalli, meets with the Austrian delegation ON PAGE 3

Four tenders in succession for the construction company “SARANTO-POULOS” The Construction Entrepreneurs’ Committee protests ON PAGE 5

The fourth conference of the Tirana FRPD was held, attended also by the Chairman of the PD, Sali Berisha ON PAGE 2

Open meeting of the PD in Elbasan. Bode and Hajdari attend

Photo: A. FUSHA

Winning numbers and prizes in the National TELE-BINGO draw of 08 February 1998 For this draw, 100 series, numbered 01–100, were put on sale. The tickets winning the LINE prize worth 5,000 lekë were: No. 2401 and No. 3130. Each ticket wins 2,500 lekë. The ticket winning the MINI-BINGO prize worth 30,000 lekë was No. 1063. The ticket winning the STAR-BINGO prize worth 400,000 lekë was No. 1063, series No. 90, sold in Elbasan. The ticket winning the MAGIC-BINGO prize worth 700,000 lekë was No. 1063, series No. 54, sold in Vlorë. The ticket winning the TELE-BINGO prize worth 4,000,000 lekë was No. 1063, series No. 67, sold in Vlorë. The LINE and MINI-BINGO prizes can be collected at Toto-Futboll sales outlets, while the winners of the major prizes can collect them at the National TELE-BINGO head office in the Palace of Culture, Tiranë, on Thursday, 12.02.1998, at 11:00. For the next draw, on 15 February, another 100 series, numbered 101–200, have been put on sale. NATIONAL TELE-BINGO HEAD OFFICE