Ruka meets the union: Don’t boycott classes Ruka meets the union: Don’t boycott classes Teachers give the government 10 days ON PAGE 7

Pensioners gain nothing from the pension increases Pensioners gain nothing from the pension increases The pension increase, half a kilo of meat ON PAGE 7

The Interior Minister signs off on more than forty dismissals among senior police officials Koci carries out purges according to PS lists ON PAGE 4

Government mega-scandal. Mko, Meta and Angjeli conceal the theft committed by the gang at the Ministry of Economy against the Swiss company contracted to import electricity If the collaboration of socialist government officials with Kodhe Angjeli in smuggling may be somewhat difficult to prove tomorrow, Prime Minister Majko should know that banks are not like customs and the police ON PAGE 3

Berisha presents the Democratic Party’s platform for 1999 The chairman of the DP, Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha, presented the DP’s platform for 1999 to journalists yesterday. Berisha described getting the country out of the all-encompassing crisis it is facing, as well as the common position of Albanian political actors on the Kosovo issue, as two of the main objectives Democrats will work toward this year. The DP chairman, expressing his commitment to continuing political dialogue in the country, said that a political solution in keeping with the political will of the Albanian people was essential. He expressed the Democrats’ wish for Albania to change its course this year. The year that has just begun, Mr. Berisha said, finds Albanians in Albania in a deep political, economic, social and psychological crisis, which, in the DP chairman’s view, is characterized by profound disappointment. The Democratic leader saw the current Albanian crisis as resulting from disagreements over promises, from division and political conflicts, from the complete lack of security and order, from despair over governance and from a lack of faith in the country. The former Albanian president, ON PAGE 3

By EDI PALOKA The dialogue between the government and the opposition, which began with the meeting B... is Majko, ended with a sum that satisfied neither side. The problem is that the start of the dialogue was, in some respects, disconnected and the end of the crisis in Albania has lately been forgotten. This happened because the country’s political problems were seen as numerous, and the tension between the government and the opposition reached such a degree that some people got the impression that it was the only thing happening in Albania. But the truth is different. The sole precondition is the step taken on a very long road that should lead to what we are all seeking: the creation of a stable Albanian state. The only thing the dialogue has changed is that the opposition was forced to accept the majority; that does not mean the problems have been solved. Not a single problem has yet been solved, let alone the political one. We are not talking here about poverty and misery; we are discussing the problem of one or another right; we are not discussing law-and-order problems, although all of these have some connection with politics. Albania continues to be a country with political prisoners; it continues to be a country where not one of the killers of opposition members and activists has yet been found; it continues to be a country where the killer of MP Azem Hajdari has still not been found, and where mafia gangs still make the law. Albania continues to have a Parliament that makes agreements while wanting, at the same time, an executive made up of people who understand; its executive continues to be bound in some way by an agreement; it continues to have a police force corrupted by mafia gangs; it continues to be a state where no one knows what they will do about the prisons; it continues to have people in the justice system who have nothing to do with justice. Albania continues to be a country where everyone is afraid, where all institutions are considered selectable and connected to individuals. Of course, these problems are easier to solve than, say, the problem of rights, but resolving them still takes a great deal. Beria and Majko. In practice, the opposition is doing as much as it can in this situation. The opposition cannot be asked to do anything greater than ...

The European Parliament examines the grave situation in Albania. Interpellation by MEP Guido Viceconte (UPE Group) to the EU Council of Ministers In his speech, MEP Viceconte states that Albania is experiencing a situation characterized by a series of violence and state killings targeting the opposition by the current communist regime, a situation characterized by the judicial persecution of opposition leader Sali Berisha ON PAGE 2

The Interior Minister and the Head of SHIK control smuggling and trafficking at Rinas $30,000 a day for the Interior Minister ON PAGE 2

The Koci-Ruci clan in Gjirokastër runs the trafficking of illegal migrants ON PAGE 2

Secretary-General Ridvan Bode speaks about the DP’s political objectives for 1999 The DP begins 1999 as a political force with a majority, and its duties and objectives therefore stem from this change in the political balance. The DP not only assumes and respects the obligations arising from its support among Albanian voters, but is also determined to pursue the objectives set out in its proposal in light of these political developments ON PAGE 2

Today, 120 days since the murder of the December Leader Every day that passes since the murder of Azem Hajdari, the symbol of democracy and pluralism, proves the involvement of Fatos Nano’s government and his successor in the crime that shook the entire Albanian world. The governments of the former communists, who are connected ...

The secretary has now “forgotten” the fight against corruption One of the most successful ways to attack the DP was for the PS headquarters to call its elected officials—some time ago, they even called us thieves. So... ON PAGE 2

One year after the murder of the Democracy’s “Pishart,” Abdyl Matoshi, Gjin Kolbucaj and Naim Dizdari ON PAGE 5

20,000 tons of sodium bichromate have been dumped there Expired pesticides remain a potential danger to people’s health... ON PAGE 7

Tenders for 20,000 tons of wheat continue at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food For the third time in a row, in January 1999 as well, the government insists on selling the people poisoned flour produced 20 years ago. ON PAGE 7

MPs wielding Kalashnikovs appropriate funds meant for homeless citizens By letter No. 3426 prot., dated 20 November 1998, the Prime Minister instructs the Minister of Justice and the National Housing Agency to provide, from state funds, a three-bedroom-plus-living-room apartment together with the premises... ON PAGE 4