The prosecution still has no evidence in court ON PAGE 4

The last investor leaves Elbasan ON PAGE 5

Gramsh, where private businesses melt away the fat accumulated during the years of the DP ON PAGE 4

For the first time in Albania, a small businessman has taken the initiative to help the poor of Tirana. The hungry are served beans and pasta. In Tirana, 40,000 residents have only 8,000 old lekë a month; 300 hungry people in Kinostudio turn to charity

50 years ago, Hoxha’s regime left Albania out of the Marshall Plan The West does not give aid to those who beat judges ON PAGE 4 Austria’s Constitutional Court opposes the dismissal

Berisha sends his wishes to Muslim believers on the occasion of Kurban Bajram On the occasion of the great day of Kurban Bajram, the day honoring human sacrifice and the sublime love people have for God, I send my heartfelt wishes to all Albanian Muslim believers wherever they may be: “Happy Kurban Bajram, and may you celebrate this blessed day for many years to come”—the day of self-sacrifice, sacrifice and devotion by people to themselves and to God, in the name of what is highest and most humane. On this day, when people fulfill their promise before God, on this day of forgiveness, mercy, friendship, understanding and kindness, humanity, love, brotherhood and unity with one another are more evident than ever. On Kurban Bajram, believers unite in profound respect and great appreciation for one another’s sacrifice, pain and suffering. Once again, I wish you a “Happy Kurban Bajram!” Glory to God!

Austria’s Constitutional Court opposes the unconstitutional dismissal of Gjata ON PAGE 3

Tirana Electric Utility Robbed TIRANA — The employees of the Tirana Electric Utility were left without their wages. 4,700,000 lek belonging to this utility were stolen yesterday at midday near the place known as “Kodra e Kuqe” in Tirana. Preliminary sources at the capital’s police said that at around 12:30 on Monday three as-yet unidentified people robbed the wages of the employees of the Tirana Electric Utility. They were accompanied by three employees of the utility, two of whom were women. All three employees, none of them armed, confronted the masked and armed robbers. Police have suspicions about the perpetrators’ identities and are making efforts to confirm them precisely, sources at Tirana’s Police Station No. 3 said. “The law stipulates that transfers of sums of money over 5,000,000 are accompanied by police,” said Fadil Canaj, director of the Tirana Police Directorate, stressing that, nevertheless, the police are ready “to provide the necessary assistance in such cases, regardless of the amount. In this case, the police received no request for an escort or assistance to ensure the security of this transfer.”

By Bardhyl LONDO The way the country has been governed up to now is dead. Preserving it any longer is like keeping a body in a refrigerator, not like a drama of the present. No matter how much it is made up, the dead remain dead. In this context, the responsibility for what must come next belongs to the opposition. The time when, for the sake of calm and the country’s security, the opposition could turn a blind eye and give the government time to govern better has now passed; it had suspended its judgment on the solutions of the team that took this task upon itself after the June 29 elections. That time has been completely exhausted and exceeded. Nobody—not even the parties in power—expected such rapid and total disappointment, such irresponsibility. The opposition’s time has fully arrived. For the sake of Albania’s future, it must unite and, always by democratic means, compel the government not to drag out Albania’s agony on a Greek calendar. A healthy opposition must understand that continuing, united, to oppose a position appointed or a party that has governed “regjigjare” [sic] and at times by the PD means doing great harm to Albania’s future. Not only that, it also harms your own party: as a catalyst, it will likewise take part in the next elections, in the parliamentary elections, if two oppositions join together within the country—and especially the external one, of this country—with sufficient evidence for the future opposition to form the other party. Nobody does this with this kind of opposition, when it still comes out with slogans and equates the PS with the PD, viewing their activities as still the same. Albanians understand these now-worn-out slogans, like the former French [sic], when they are polished and fall with the same measure; against the backdrop of broad power and the world’s super-surfaces [sic]. The time has come for all the opposition, together and speaking with one voice, to stand at the front and say that: tolerating misery and the injustice of governance means that the opposition will come to power. Its way of governing will ensure a genuine opposition; in the future, it will distinguish itself from the political opposition considered worse. With this way of governing, Albania, if it is [elipti?] and transparent, will naturally be brought closer to a better future in terms of quality. Indeed, the analyses we make of the degradation of the governing coalition up to now continue.

A conversation with the last unemployed man, comedian Koço Devole ON PAGE 7 From the recent meeting with Fatos Nano about cutting salaries in the state administration

Berisha received the Austrian ambassador The chairman of the Democratic Party of Albania, Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha, received yesterday at the Party headquarters the new Austrian ambassador to Albania, Mr. Arno Riedel, at the latter’s request. While wishing the Austrian ambassador success in his duties, the chairman of the PD emphasized the importance of the close, friendly ties and relations between our two peoples and countries, and expressed gratitude for the valuable assistance that the Austrian state and President Tomas Klestil have given Albania to strengthen democracy and overcome the crisis. The Austrian ambassador, Mr. Arno Riedel, thanked the chairman of the PD, Sali Berisha, for receiving him and for his extensive analysis of the current situation in the country and the Democratic Party’s alternatives in response to these circumstances.

Photo: Kikia

HAPPY Eid al-Adha!