The farcical trial of Vlora’s largest gang continues ON PAGE 4

Thousands of invalid identity documents in police stations ON PAGE 4

How the week ended in Tirana’s markets ON PAGE 6

The DP calls for the resignation of the Foreign Minister following scandalous statements on state television about developments at the Rambouillet conference Milo attributes the failure to reach an agreement, NATO’s non-involvement and the absence of bombing of Serbia to a syndrome of depression caused by the isolation of some members of the Albanian delegation, and not to the manipulations by certain members of the Contact Group in Rambouillet to protect Milosheviç, or to the changes they made several times to the draft agreement ON PAGE 3

The US Department of State publishes its annual human rights report The murder of Azem Hajdari and the arrest of the six feature prominently in the report. Arrests, mistreatment, politically motivated dismissals. Violence against journalists and political pressure on the judiciary. Police stations are centers of mistreatment of citizens. The police have violently intervened in opposition rallies. The government does not enforce the laws. A high level of violent crime. Lawlessness, smuggling, corruption and trafficking have plunged the country into crisis. Television favors the government ON PAGE 2

. Preparing Albanians to resolve their major problem, the national question, must encompass it in all its dimensions. First and foremost, this preparation must be reflected in state and government leadership, which has the means and scope to fulfill the common good represented by “one nation, one position,” or “a response as a nation.” In the days after Rambouillet, when tension in Kosovo is greater than ever because of the increased presence of Serbian military forces on Albania’s borders, a peripheral military preparation is being demonstrated that does not seem to represent either the true substance of the Albanian army... or the morale of Albanians to defend their country or their compatriots from new Serbian massacres. A group of DP MPs who visited several border areas in the north of the country cited glaring examples of the conditions in which a total mobilization of Albanian military power would take place. At a press conference they held in Tirana yesterday, they said that, despite the official propaganda, in the north of the country, apart from the patriotism of the inhabitants of these districts, there are not many signs of government or governance. Precisely where patriotism should defend and disciplined governance should begin, the DP MPs had observed major violations, considerable shortages of material supplies, and great indifference on the part of Albanian administrations, including a lack of cooperation between the government and local authorities, even though the latter are the main bearers of the pre-war situation in the north. A few days ago Prime Minister Majko declared that all Albanians would resist, while official propaganda has shown dozens of military units conducting war exercises. But while an image is being built of a strong Albanian military response to Serbian aggression on the land where war may take place, governance remains a hobby. Thus, a disparity has been created between the picture spread by the official media as a sleeping pill for the Albanian people and what the north itself is experiencing. This is evident even from a reading of the recruitment figures: in Delvinë district they stand at 200 percent, while in some northern districts they are at 40 percent. It is entirely possible that recruitment has not been taken seriously there, or that everything has been left to the commitment of the civilian population in these areas. Albania’s northern borders and the country’s northern areas have long been left beyond control. Only a few days ago, the “Friends of Albania” reprimanded the government for its lack of control over these areas, which for almost two years have been left to vigilantism and crime. There is still no official figure on the supply of areas threatened by war, while in recent days it has emerged that the country has no clearly defined legal authority for a wartime situation. For its own administrative needs, the Albanian Parliament has not only been unable to establish a framework, but has not even had MPs giving interviews on this issue—not even MPs giving interviews about Albania’s military situation.

Topalli and Beja at the press conference: The Democratic Party, a serious partner of the West Topalli: Europe sees the DP’s return to power as the only possibility for rec-

A group of MPs led by Pollo in Rome At the invitation of the parliamentary groups of the Freedom Pole (Forza Italia, Alleanza Nazionale, Christian Democratic Centre), a group of MPs from the DP and the opposition, led by Genc Pol- ... will hold meetings in Rome on March 1–3. The program includes meetings with leaders of the Freedom Pole, other parliamentary parties, and the Italian government.

Citizens killed by police in police station premises through violence and torture on June 29

Petro Koçi’s gangs, violence against Democrats in Peshkopi

Another person killed by police in police station premises through violence and torture since June 29 Another person torture since June 29 Police kill citizen Ylli Velaj ON PAGE 2

The program includes meetings with leaders of the Freedom Party, other parliamentary parties, and the Italian government. Petro Koçi’s gangs, violence against Democrats in Peshkopi Two Democrats beaten in Dibër ON PAGE 2

Interview / The former Minister of the Interior explains the reasons for the crisis of public order and the rule of law in Albania. What the arrest and imprisonment of the six were about As for the six and those who were arrested later, there is only one piece of evidence, a testimony that is as readable as it is compromising, which neither side, government or opposition, disputes. Initially, with the parliamentary accusations of July twentieth last year, backed by a majority of green voting cards, and then with the arrests after midnight, attempts were made to prove to those same Albanians that dictatorship is the lesser evil in comparison with democracy, which is the greater evil. ON PAGE 7

Ridvan Bode, Secretary General of the Democratic Party, speaks “I do not think that changing a series of laws concerning taxes and duties has any genuine economic rationale within today’s global economy. They have only one purpose: to make up for budget revenues lost to the smuggling networks of mafia clans, which today’s state is unable to bring under control.”

Today, 168 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 its successor in the crime that shocked the entire Albanian world. The governments of the former communists, which left the criminals and killers of the December Leader free and undisturbed, show Albanians that they have been and remain on the side of the murderers, who have names and identities but are not touched by those in power. Democrats and all Albanians who loved and honored Azem Hajdari can in no way tolerate this fact. The government must either capture the criminals and bring them to justice, or publicly declare that it itself carried out the murder of Azem Hajdari.

The blood of those killed on February 28, ’97 in Vlorë calls for justice The spilled blood of officers Lekë Çoku, Besnik Hidri, and many others—these are only the ones in the territory of Vlorë—appeals to this civic court of all Albanians. An appeal not to forget any longer. Because an unpunished crime is an open grave, a grave that is swallowing the lives of innocent people every day. The burning of the bodies of the officers of the Albanian state is a grave matter. It cannot be extinguished easily, since they (those responsible for this event) are making demands again today, though now not through killings and terrorists’ hideouts.. ON PAGE 7

Five PD MPs speak after returning from the Kukës border area After their visit to Kukës and Has, the MPs of the Democratic Party’s Parliamentary Group presented the press with the situation in the border districts and their concern about the shortcomings they had observed, including the lack of interest and genuine government organization to ensure an adequate presence in Kukës and... ON PAGE 2