Elbasan unionists take to the square against failed governance ON PAGE 2

Armed gangs control the national highways ON PAGE 4

Republican Çeku: Government representatives are incompetent ON PAGE 5

The Democratic Party secures strong support in Salzburg. The chairman of the Democratic Party holds talks with the chairman of the German Parliamentary Committee, Kohaus, and with the chairman of England’s Conservative Party

Europe’s right-wing parties adopt a resolution condemning the arbitrariness of the Nano government. The Socialists must respect the rule of law. They risk relations with Europe ON PAGE 3

- We call on - The Albanian Socialist (former communist) government to respect the rule of law and democratic principles, respect the rights of the opposition, and implement the recommendations of the European troika of January 1998. - We emphasize that failure to implement the above would damage the close relations between the Albanian Socialists and Europe; we call on all political forces to do everything possible to establish and develop democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights, and the implementation of economic reforms. ON PAGE 3

Explosions return to the capital’s center A Saturday evening marked by gunfire and then a bomb blast shook the capital’s center last night at around 21:40. Witnesses at the scene said that shots were fired at one of the columns from a speeding car, and then a hand grenade shattered the windows of a private shop. For a moment, terrified residents remembered the events and horrors of a year earlier, when today’s people in power unleashed gangs there to seize power by force. A similar explosion took place in the center of the Albanian capital; the police were the last to arrive at the scene. Passersby, who are increasingly numerous in incidents of this kind, hurried toward the crime scene to see the damage. The traffic police, specifically its chief, arrived about 30 minutes before the forces from Police Station 1 and Service 19. The absence of law-enforcement forces in the city streets is giving crime a suitable environment in which to spread. At the scene, the police had little to do apart from collecting evidence, which amounted to no more than a few pieces of glass. One of last night’s explosions in Tirana

The tense situation at the border sets Albanian military personnel in motion A source from the Ministry of Defence said yesterday that additional military troops had been sent to the northeast to defend the border and deal with the situation in the event that more refugees arrive from Kosovo ON PAGE 4

It was with great sorrow that we learned of the death of the former President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Kostandin Karamanlis, an eminent figure in the Greek state and an outstanding contributor to the unification and consolidation of democracy in Greece. The Greek people have lost one of their most distinguished sons. On this occasion, on my own behalf and on behalf of the Democratic Party of Albania, I offer you, Mr. President, and through you the Greek people and the Karamanlis family, my most sincere condolences.

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Republicans find thieves and psychopaths in the government ON PAGE 3

Bread, the biggest problem for residents in the northeast Village elder Lutfi Begiri asks for natural light, because the villagers cannot afford to buy it ON PAGE 2

Nano-4, the clan governing Albania ON PAGE 8

Does Albania have its own cultural attachés? ON PAGE 11

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The four weeks granted to Millosheviç by the Contact Group meeting in Bonn served him to deploy more than 20,000 troops along the border with Albania. Meanwhile, he carried out several new massacres in Kosovo, destroyed dozens of villages around Gjakova and Deçan, and also continued bombing the villages around Prishtina without pause. During this period he also had time to devise and carry out referendums on international intervention in Kosovo, in which he won a “no” vote of more than 90 percent, giving him renewed grounds for making claims about the Albanians of Kosovo. Moreover, the referendum on Europe amounted to one people holding a referendum on the fate of another people, with the combined outcomes determining the fate of another nation—a precedent still unknown in the primitive relations between people, let alone in modern times. Over the four weeks, Millosheviç did not create any climate for dialogue between Albanians and Serbs, closing it within a vicious circle in which this Serbian deputy prime minister tried to justify the impossibility of talks on Kosovo. Meanwhile, the Contact Group itself has taken no step beyond the obvious, which must be made clear to around two million Albanians. With the exception of the United States, the other members have not made clear that they are prepared to take a much tougher stance than at the group’s first meeting in London. European countries are also under pressure, especially over Bosnia, reminding the Balkan barbarians that another war would once again unleash the same horrors. Likewise, several countries neighboring Serbia and Albania met and issued a statement against sanctions on Serbia. This followed a financial project with no prospects, and an initiative to establish a Balkan military force—like the initiatives undertaken by some Latin American countries in the 1960s or those in Asia in the 1970s. Neither Bulgaria, Romania nor Greece was ready, nor did they show any willingness to guarantee that, in the event of a conflict in Kosovo, reforms and the market in these countries would be demonstrated… One of the reasons for this “no” was their statement against sanctions on Serbia, in which they strangely also see commercial reasons. As for the proposed Balkan military force, wherever it may meet, it would first have to protect itself from itself. The only hope remains the American diplomatic offensive, which maintained its momentum throughout the four weeks. Undersecretary Talbot once again made clear to the Europeans that the American position is for the Kosovo problem to be resolved as quickly as possible, and that Serbian communism under Millosheviç cannot be tolerated for a moment. It is reported that at the Italian government meeting two days ago, the American position was also accepted by Italy, a major step given the position this country has taken. But contradictions within the Contact Group remain and may block the necessary initiatives that could resolve the Kosovo problem and end the fighting there. This became clear after the United States declared that it might leave the Contact Group and continue its efforts with its own allies. The Europeans, and particularly the French, do not support this position and have said they would not endorse a US move to leave the Contact Group. In any case, such a US statement shows that, alongside the European countries, there are leaders taking a tougher stance toward Millosheviç. Nearby, Bosnia burned for around three years, and American intervention was needed to provide a solution acceptable to all parties. The Contact Group, which will meet in Rome on 29 April, has the power to put an end to a war. Millosheviç has implemented none of the demands made at the London or Bonn meetings. Meanwhile, the San Edigo proposal for mediators in talks between Beograd and Prishtina is the worst possible coincidence, one that never seems to arrive. That would be a way to wage war, not a way to make peace. In Kosovo’s case, peace must be made. In Kosovo’s case, peace must be made. Sami NEZA