On Tuesday, a grand rally in “Skënderbej” Square On 12.01.1999 at 12:00, a grand rally will be held in “Skënderbej” Square in Tirana to commemorate the four months since the murder of the hero of democracy, tribune of Albanian nationalism, Azem Hajdari. Democrats of Tirana and all Albania! Let us all gather in “Skënderbej” Square to protest against the murder of the immortal hero, Azem Hajdari; against the government’s silence, which protects Azem’s killers; against the extrajudicial killings of dozens and hundreds of other Democrats; against the violence and arrests continuing to be carried out against the opposition. Everyone to the square to stop the hand of the neo-dictatorship! Everyone to the square against crime and misery! Everyone to the square for Azem Hajdari! Everyone with Azem — everyone for Azem!

The whole truth about the death of the 19-year-old from Peqin ON PAGE 4

Arrests over the “coup d’état” resume. Tirana Special Prosecutor signs the arrest warrant for Elbasan Democrat Bajram Hidri In recent days, Democrats Frrok Gjini, Avni Metalia and Qamil Biberaj have also ended up in jail, where they were brutally mistreated in the isolation cells ON PAGE 3

Collusion between Xhavit Haliti and the Tirana police in imprisoning Albanians from Kosovo is suspected They had been detained and imprisoned for the “coup d’état”; they are demanding a meeting with Demaçi ON PAGE 2

. The criminal faction of the Ministry of the Interior is today the main bearer of Albania’s crisis. Established when Fatos Nano was prime minister, it is still kept standing by the current Minister of the Interior, Petro Koçi. In only two and a half days, it has managed to revive insecurity and anxiety over political tension in the country to the same degree as during the arrests ordered by the political prosecutor’s office in August or September. Two days ago, in one of the cells at the Peqin police station, a 19-year-old died from torture inflicted by thugs dressed as police officers. Meanwhile, yesterday, the political prosecutor’s office in Tirana ordered the arrest of a DP activist in the city of Elbasan. The murder, or criminal execution, of a young man simply because he is an opposition activist, and the arrest of another because he took part in the funeral of the December Leader, Azem Hajdari, constitute a clear case of political terror in Albania. Today this political terror bears the name of the Ministry of the Interior, where the minister is Petro Koçi, the man who burned Fier and raised the Serbian symbol in the middle of Albania. But these are not two isolated cases of attacks on the opposition and people’s lives. The Ministry of Public Order has a clear platform for fighting the opposition and, within its ranks, a unit that is occupied all day with this work alone. An entire section of the police is engaged in processing, tracking, attacking and executing opposition figures, doing so without any effort to conceal itself, but with criminal pride. About a month ago, Petro Koçi brought to the head of the police the former commissioner of Tropoja, who killed an officer inside the police station. Likewise, a large number of police leaders at central and local levels have been selected from the communist rebellion formations in the south of the country. They have now penetrated every artery of the Ministry of Public Order, turning the police’s fight against crime into, and directing it as, a political fight against the Albanian opposition. In the past year alone, more than 22 Democrats have been killed by police forces or Socialist Party gangs, including MP Hajdari; more than 100 of them have been arrested, including former Ministers of the Interior, the former Minister of Defense, the former Chairman of the State Audit Office, etc.; and around 1,000 others have been detained by police or mistreated in its cells. The Ministry of the Interior is also responsible for the burning of Shkodër twice, the theft of cars belonging to diplomats or foreign humanitarian organizations, the attack on Lazarat and the destruction of state authority in Tropoja. Such a state institution, functioning only to destroy the country, kill people and install the mafia in politics, the economy and everywhere, must be stopped. Otherwise, one day we will have Petro Koçi as President, Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Defense, owner of factories and hotels, and owner of speedboats and gangs. One day, the criminal detachment under the protection and umbrella of the Ministry of Public Order’s institutions will tire of the opposition and turn on the people. Then it will be too late for the state. Mafia gangs are always interested only in political or party interests. They are interested in property, tenders, construction money, privatizations and enriching themselves with money. These things are done with the signatures of government officials, not the opposition.

Meeting between PDSH chairman Sali Berisha and the Italian parliamentary delegation

The DP denounces the death of citizen Kastriot Begaj, caused by police torture at the Elbasan police station

Mr. Minarolli made it known that two days ago the political police arrested the prominent democratic activist Avni Metalia, while yesterday they detained Bajram Hidri in Elbasan, a person persecuted politically under the dictatorship ON PAGE 3

Following the petition sent to the Ministry of Privatization Wages unpaid since November ’98, the mass layoff of 450 workers, and the unfounded strategy for privatizing the mines have led the Independent Miners’ Union to decide to begin an indefinite miners’ strike and escalate it if the government does not take measures to meet their demands [Photograph of an industrial building] ON PAGE 7

The Nordic prosecutor expresses reservations about the investigation into the case concerning the murder of the symbol of democracy ON PAGE 4

The three military officers imprisoned for “crimes against humanity” demand an end to the political trial and their acquittal Our arrest is in itself an attack on the status of military personnel. A military officer’s sole duty is obedience to the law. Throughout our service, we have been guided only by obedience to the law. The accusation against us is completely absurd. In essence, this accusation makes us guilty because we respected the law ... ON PAGE 5

Today, 122 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 government of the former communists who hold all three branches of power, and the criminal successors who took the life of the December Leader, show Albanians that they have been and remain on the side of the killers, who have names but are not touched by those in power. Democrats and all Albanians who loved and honored Azem Hajdari cannot tolerate this under any circumstances. The government must either bring the criminals to justice, or publicly declare that it itself carried out the murder of Azem Hajdari. [Portrait photograph] ON PAGE 7

The 8th anniversary of the PD branch in Fier is commemorated Democrats in Fier commemorate the 8th anniversary of the branch’s founding. On Sunday, January 7, at 11:00, an event was held in the hall next to the PD headquarters in Fier ... ON PAGE 2

The situation in Kosovo is deteriorating sharply. Armed Serbs block the roads Hill meets Rugova after arriving in Prishtina by a secondary road. OSCE observers begin to consider the danger to their lives ON PAGE 6

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