Police violently disperse protesters ON PAGE 5

Prime Minister: Citizens are freeloaders ON PAGE 5

Creditors hope the agreement will be implemented ON PAGE 5

The opposition’s protests are punished by the government. The Mafia rules above the law Yesterday at the Tirana Court. The judge, scowling, reads the verdict sentencing Boden Photo: Albes FUSHA

PD gives the figures on misery. Adventurers replace politicians, and Albanians go hungry Faced with the 54% increase in the number of poor families compared with 1997, the economic-assistance fund has been cut by 30%. With the number of poor families increasing by 54% compared with 1997, the economic-assistance fund has been reduced by 30%. Despite the official 52% increase in prices (and their real increase of 80%), the maximum limit for full economic assistance has remained the same as in 1996, just 5,375 lekë per month per family, regardless of the number of people making ends meet on it; while family spending is structured so that more than 80% goes to food and housing, the average partial assistance is 1,600 lekë per month in communes, or 2 kg of meat per month, and 2,000 lekë per month in municipalities, or 2.5 kg of kaçkavall per family; these are facts that only confirm that poverty is becom- Around 47 percent of the rural population and 32 percent of the urban population have entered the hell of misery

The Tirana Court signed its own bankruptcy yesterday under pressure from the state. Bode’s sentence of one month in prison, suspended, will go down in the history of this court as a shameful verdict, one that will make every lawyer who works in this court blush. The sentence handed down by the Tirana Court is a sentence against democratic protest, precisely the protest that, years ago, made it possible to free judges from ideology and political domination; the protest that, among other things, restored dignity to Albania’s justice system and transformed judges from party workers into professionals, from institutional functionaries into people able to be free both in life and in their profession. When judges rise up against democratic protest, the court is no longer a court. It is no longer an instrument of justice and its defender, but a violator and suppressor of justice. From yesterday on, in the judges who sat on the panel hearing Bode’s case, free Albanian citizens will see the shadow of executions without trial and political imprisonment; they will see that they have no way to seek justice, whether through protest or in the courtroom. The proceedings against Bode were encouraged by today’s ruling political class, the sons and grandsons of the dictatorship’s repressive administration. They were carried out precisely by those people who led the security forces against political pluralism in Albania, the people who took up arms against Albania’s democrats, the killers of April 2 or the [unclear] of 1991. By carrying out judicial persecution of protest, thought and demonstration, the state struck at and sentenced, with a suspended prison term, the right to dissent and reject the mafia, smuggling, powerful clans, poverty and violence. Yesterday’s sentence against the opposition. Yesterday’s sentence against the Secretary General of the DP, Ridvan Bode, is a sentence extended to all Albanians who aspire to their rights in opposition to the current system of government. The unfounded accusation against the democratic leader increases uncertainty and distrust regarding all the accusations brought by this state and the state prosecutor’s office—by the state and the interests of the clans it represents. Albanian prosecutors have found time to construct an entire case against a peaceful protest, one that was entirely lawful and attended by thousands, while leaving theft, smuggling and organized crime untouched. Has there been a trial or investigation yet into the murderers? Has Gilli kon-berr? Has any Albanian government official been prosecuted? Which mafiosi have been brought to the dock, those mafiosi who are even protected by an important minister in the current government? Which drug or human traffickers, or state officials connected to them, have been charged? None. Because the country’s Prosecution Service is busy persecuting the opposition. It has time to invent accusations, but no time to reflect on the accusations staring it in the face. It has time to persecute the opposition, but not the mafia. Then one must conclude that the Albanian prosecution, represented by the General Prosecutor’s Office, is merely a criminal apparatus that has entrenched itself over the government, the police and, it seems, has extended its tentacles in the country to the courts as well. Yesterday’s sentence against Bode, the sentence imposed on him yesterday, is a signal to Albanian democracy and to citizens who aspire to feel free: they are being threatened precisely in their fundamental right, the right of the individual, and in their ability to reflect, react and act democratically against a brutal, bad and mafia-like government.

An international trafficking network uncovered ON PAGE 2

The DP will broaden its alliances with non-parliamentary parties whose influence is equal to that of four government parties combined. He denied the pro-government press’s fantasies that the DP is negotiating to bring the PAD on board The DP calls on the state to respect the independence of the media. RTV is fomenting intolerance ON PAGE 3

The PAD on its way to being squeezed dry The press close to the government has signaled that the PAD will be removed from the coalition—not of its own choosing this time, but on Nano’s orders. The first signal came from Gazeta Shqiptare, which devoted a lengthy article to a statement by Zogaj about a possible alliance between the PAD and the DP. It is clear that no such alliance is being discussed; rather, the ground is being prepared in Albanian public opinion for the expulsion of the alliance partners from the coalition. Initially, this will be done to the PAD’s Secretary General, Prec Zogaj, who is also an adviser to Meidani; two months later, it will be the turn of Interior Minister Teta, and so on. The newspapers close to the government want to portray him artificially as Berisha’s man inside the coalition, so that they can sideline him more easily. Disagreements between Nano and Meidani have been quietly attributed to the alliance leader, while the PAD’s role in the coalition appears to have all but disappeared. At the KPD meeting of the SP, Nano himself ordered the allies not to make too much noise and also implied that some of the allies are no longer essential to the current government.

The DP condemns the escalating violence against the newspaper “Rilindja Demokratike” “Tomorrow, all those responsible for crimes against the advocates of free speech will face justice” ON PAGE 3

Berisha congratulates the great master of painting, Kodra, on his 80th birthday Dear Mr. Ibrahim Kodra! Today you have reached your 80th birthday. On this occasion, I have the great pleasure of wishing you health and a long life—you, the great Albanian who, with your creative genius, brought honor and renown to Albanians from Albania in Europe and throughout the world. Today you stand proudly on the pedestal of your 80th birthday before yourself and the friends of the entire Albanian nation, because with your creative genius you represent with great dignity the great treasures of our nation, in Italy and everywhere in the world. The Albanian nation is proud of you, an outstanding ambassador of our creative spirit and your Western culture in friendly Italy, your second homeland. Lili and I send you our greetings on this 80th birthday and wish you from the heart a long life and beautiful creativity, like your being and your spirit.

Yesterday, at the Hotel Rogner Last night, the protocol battle between Prime Minister Nano and President Meidani drew attention. During the celebration of the fifth anniversary of the publication of “Gazeta Shqiptare” in Albania, Meidani’s insistence on arriving after Nano at the ceremony stood out, unlike on all other occasions. Nano arrived at the Rogner, where the celebration was being held, 45 minutes after the ceremony began, apparently after waiting a long time for Meidani to arrive first. But this time he failed. People close to Meidani stood steadfastly at the hotel entrance to alert their chief when he should arrive. About 20 minutes after Nano’s arrival, Meidani was notified on his mobile phone, and a long escort of bodyguards and cars accompanied him along the 50-meter route from the Presidency to the Rogner. His insistence this time on observing state protocol according to rank was admirable. At other ceremonies, Nano has arrived after Meidani, thus appearing in the shadow of the most important person in the state.

Around 47 percent of the rural population and 32 percent of the urban population have entered the hell of misery

Department of Public Security Policies Today, April 23, 1998, at 12:00, the leadership of the Department of Public Security is holding a meeting of all department members in the press conference room.

Yesterday at the Tirana Court. The judge, scowling, reads the verdict sentencing Boden