An open letter addressed to the General Staff of the KLA and its political representatives. For their information, the Albanian government and the President of the Republic By Mero BAZE Now all that remains is to believe whether these people speak and the Serbs kill, or whether the Serbs speak and these people kill ON PAGE 2

The Municipality of Tirana is sheltering thousands of people at the tent camp by the Artificial Lake ON PAGE 6

Milošević is on the verge of capitulation, while the Albanians are close to their dream The United States and Europe now support the separation of the Albanians from Serbia ON PAGE 4

By Shemsi PEPOSHI The number of people displaced and forcibly expelled from Kosovo to Albania has exceeded 100,000 and is expected to rise. The situation of the arrivals remains dire. Kukës resembles a place where people keep arriving, while serious shortages and other problems have begun to be felt. In Tirana, an improvised camp has been set up and a Sports Palace has been adapted to receive the arrivals, but there are many problems here too, and numerous risks. In the other districts as well, despite the willingness of citizens, organizations and various groups to help, the increase in the number of people needing assistance, along with the increase in the number of arrivals, is expected to bring the same problems. In this entire grave situation, only in the last two days has Tirana been visited by the foreign minister of Western Europe and the EU Commissioner for refugees. The promises to help the arrivals, as well as the readiness of friendly countries and other countries to contribute to managing the situation, show signs of not having the desired effect in overcoming it. Government structures, as well as the Albanian government itself, not only were initially left out of the response to the arrivals crisis, but are displaying astonishing slowness in taking action to deal with the situation. The frequent government meetings, the rhetoric and other meaningless words from ministers such as “this was all we could do” and “we had not foreseen it,” as well as presidential gestures, provide neither food, nor medicine, nor toilets, nor minimum living conditions for the arrivals. The solidarity of the Albanian public with the displaced saved the arrivals from a human catastrophe after they escaped Milošević’s barbarities, but this solidarity and this sense of brotherhood demonstrated over these past days cannot replace the Albanian government. Epidemics, water problems and other difficulties caused by the large number of people crowded into cramped spaces are evident among the Kosovo arrivals, including in Tirana. Today, perhaps it is necessary to discuss the government’s role and contribution, but in the meantime it can be said that the government is still failing to anticipate situations. Prime Minister Majko says that the flow of displaced and expelled people who may enter Albania will be almost double the current number, but meanwhile he has not explained how his government will cope. At its recent meetings it has set up emergency committees, sought voluntary aid and left out of its plan the possibility of placing the response under government control. The government has not yet published briefing reports or figures on the quantities of aid needed, whereas the Macedonian government, weeks before the start of the displacement crisis, had presented detailed reports on everything needed to manage the situation. There is no point in dwelling on the other issues the government must address, because by now everyone understands that it does not want to—or cannot, or simply does not care—as is the case with foreign policy, the problem of ongoing Serbian attacks against our national territory, the fulfillment of constitutional and national duties in the international arena, etc., etc. The government asks for help; it does not even fulfill the duties of a relief organization. Perhaps it would be better for the international community, which takes the situation seriously and understands it as it really is, to consider a more appropriate solution among the Albanians for all those affected, so that the displacement crisis does not turn into a humanitarian crisis and a disaster for the expelled people of Kosovo. The appointment of a special Commissioner by the EU or other international bodies to monitor and address the problem of Kosovo Albanians expelled to Albania, and to administer and manage the situation and humanitarian aid, would be a very good solution and a concrete contribution to helping Albania and the Kosovo Albanians.

Prefects have appropriated the lists of arrivals in order to manipulate them More than 130,000 displaced people from Kosovo arrive in Albania

How is it possible that Rugova spoke English (a language he does not know) to an AFP journalist, when it is known that the leader of the Kosovo Albanians is perfectly fluent in French? Completely contradictory reports about the President of Kosovo Contradictory reports about the President of Kosovo dominated the world media yesterday, greatly increasing doubts about the fate and status of Ibrahim Rugova. After reports that he had died and then that he had been wounded and arrested, late yesterday evening came the unexpected report that Rugova was safe and well, under the protection of the Serbian police. First the Reuters agency and then AFP reported that Rugova had held a press conference for the foreign journalists who remained in Kosovo. But while the British agency immediately echoed the Serbian line, casting almost complete doubt on the veracity of the report, the French agency cited its sources in Pristina. The paradox does not end there: the French news agency writes that Rugova is quoted as calling for an end to NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia. According to the agency, the leader of the Kosovo Albanians made this statement in English to an AFP journalist. Leaving aside the fact that Rugova does not speak English, it seems entirely incomprehensible that he would not have spoken in French, a language he knows perfectly, to a journalist from the French news agency. It is quite possible that the journalist who quotes Rugova is a Serb working for AFP, and that he was the one used to spread the disinformation. His report, which at first glance appea A series of contradictions appear to be part of an information war waged by the Serbs, intended to create somewhat greater political difficulties for the Kosovo Albanians. NATO spokesperson Shea said yesterday at a luncheon that the Serbs had begun an electronic war on the Internet, and it is quite possible that everything being said about Rugova is part of this game. Astrit PATOZI

The Italian opposition stands with the Albanian nation During the day yesterday, the Chairman of the Democratic Party, Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha, held several conversations with the president of the Pole of Freedom, Mr. Silvio Berlusconi. Continuing his discussions with political leaders of Italy’s left-wing parties, the Bibliotinë and other parties, Mr. Berisha expressed to Mr. Silvio Berlusconi his gratitude for the strong support that he and the Pole of Freedom have given to NATO’s operations and the Albanian cause. He informed him about the scale of the genocide and ethnic cleansing, which, in terms of the speed with which they were carried out, surpass those of Pol Pot in Cambodia or the Nazis in the 1940s in Auschwitz. President Berlusconi strongly condemned Millosheviç’s heinous crimes, expressed his support for the Albanian nation, and undertook to intervene directly with European figures to bring about the swiftest possible resolution of the situation.

Topalli met with the Pope’s special envoy Corde[z] Yesterday afternoon, the Deputy Speaker of the People’s Assembly of the Republic of Albania, Ms. Jozefina Topalli, met with the Pope’s special envoy, the president of the Pontifical Council Corunum, Paol Jozef Cordez. His Excellency delivered to Ms. Topalli the Pope’s message, expressing the Holy See’s sorrow and concern for the Kosovars who had arrived after being expelled from their homes. His Excellency also informed Ms. Topalli about a very symbolic donation of 50 thousand dollars from His Holiness Pope John Paul II, which he had sent for those arriving from Kosovo, thus initiating a fundraising campaign for them as well. The Archbishop of Tirana, His Excellency Rrok Mirdita, attended the meeting.

Appeal by the Democratic Party of Albania The Albanian nation is in danger today! The aggression of the Serbian barbarians and their Slavo-communist ideologues aims to destroy our national existence! The most savage genocide in human history this century is being perpetrated against the Albanian nation today! This is the most tragic moment our nation is going through, although our history reminds us that Albanians have found themselves at the crossroads of national existence or nonexistence on other occasions as well. Our national consciousness, our instinct for survival, has shown us that nothing is more sacred, nothing more vital, than resistance. The DPA calls on all those whose homes are being burned and whose brothers are being killed not to give up a single inch of our sacred land and to defend it at any cost. Driven by Serbian barbaric genocide and forced deportations, let us not leave our lands, but remain in Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro, alongside our brothers of the same blood, who have opened their hearts and welcoming homes to us. Let us remain close to our hearths, determined to return to our country, our homes and our properties, where our ethnicity and history lie. Biblical exoduses have extinguished nations! Kosovo determines the future of the Albanian nation!

Omonia members threaten the Albanian state with “unwelcome friction and clashes” A Greek minority association in Gjirokastër, called “Omonia,” has issued a statement which, besides containing historical inaccuracies from its very first sentence, includes a strange threat—one that is not the first to be repeated to Albanians during their most difficult days. The issue is the settlement of people displaced from Kosovo in the southern districts, something opposed by some residents of the villages of Gjirokastër and Sarandë who belong to this association because of their Greek nationality. Their demand to determine the addresses where those fleeing Serbian genocide should go is so alarming that it compels us to remind this association that those arriving from Kosovo are not refugees from the Greek-Turkish war, nor hired farmhands working the lands of the southern beys, whom the kindness of Albanians turned from laborers into citizens. They are Albanians; they are on their own land, among their brothers. No one asks the community for permission over this, especially when the neighbor is on the side of the genocidaires who have expelled the Albanians of Kosovo, driven out by the Serbs, threatening trouble... [part cut off at the top] NATO, Shea, declared yesterday at a luncheon that all these facts about the policy of electronic [publication] on the Internet, and there is a strong possibility that everything being spread about Rugova is part of this game. Is it possible that the journalist who refers to is precisely the one being used to spread disinformation? His report, which at first glance appea- [interrupted section] They have temporarily left their lands. The “Omonia” statement repeats a statement made a year earlier by the same association, which was subsequently supported by Athens diplomacy. Back then, too, representatives of the Greek minority in Albania and the Athens government demanded that those expelled from Serbian territory not be settled in the villages or towns of the south, as if anyone had asked them where these people should be settled. If Serbs go to Greece, then the minority representative Dule may offer an opinion on whether they should be settled in Thessaloniki, Veroia or Athens; but the Albanians of Kosovo are coming to Albania, and none of them has asked for an address telling them whether they should live in Athens or not. The shameful statement, published two days ago and signed by “Omonia” chairman Vangjel Dule, not only says nothing about the massacres Millosheviç’s Serbs have committed against Albanians, and nothing about the Greek government’s support for Millosheviç at the Albanian nation’s darkest hour, but also does not hesitate to provoke gravely and threaten public order in Albania and its integrity. The statement directly threatens the Albanian state, and does so with such ease, as if certain that someone who carries out its deed in the Presidency will certainly hear its voice and take everything it says into account. A normal state with normal institutions should immediately begin criminal proceedings for a serious constitutional offense, so that they understand that the elderly people of Derviçan, Goranxi, Sofratikë or Livadhja, who keep the deeds to Albanians’ properties in their chests, should feel at ease only within the boundaries of their association, with the problems that this association has. We expect no support from it, but neither can we tolerate Serbian-style versions of genocide within the Albanian state. Demographic alterations took place when they settled here long ago, whereas others will decide where the Albanians who left their homes in Kosovo should go. From Tropoja to Kënsopë, it is all the same to them.

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To help those expelled from Kosovo, the newspaper “Rilindja Demokratike” is making its pages available free of charge for various notices, such as requests and offers for accommodation, messages from people arriving from Kosovo to other members of their families, etc. You are welcome to visit the editorial office or contact us using the telephone numbers provided: 303 29 and 323 55.