The Ministry of Public Order sets up checkpoints for those expelled by Serbian genocide, police beat the sheltered people in the “Arbëria” hotel Tirana, a forbidden zone for Kosovars. Five checkpoints at the entrance to Tirana turn them back by force. After 6:00 p.m. the police also closed last night the passenger routes The socialist government continues to hinder the arrival in Tirana of Kosovars expelled from their lands, while the chiefs of the state police order their subordinates to terrorize all those from Kosovo sheltered in the Albanian capital. Yesterday, around 10 in the morning, the setting up of checkpoints on the national roads linking the Albanian capital with the districts was ordered, turning back all vehicles transporting Kosovars to Tirana. The order from the Ministry of Public Order, given to all district police commissariats, stated: “No vehicle transporting Kosovar citizens will be allowed to enter Tirana.” At the same time, Tirana police ordered the closure of all premises in the city where Kosovars forcibly expelled from their homes in Kosovo were staying. According to numerous sources, the order to prevent the entry of those expelled from Kosovo into Tirana was rigorously enforced by the district police. Yesterday, almost all vehicles traveling toward Tirana with displaced people from Kosovo were stopped by the police in Lezhë, Fushë Krujë, Elbasan and Kavajë and forced to turn back. From 4:00 p.m. until evening, police posts and numerous patrols stopped cars with Kosovars near Vorë, near Fushë Krujë, on the Tirana-Durrës road, on the Tirana-Elbasan road, as well as on the secondary roads leading to the capital. More checkpoints were set up throughout the day and night at the entrances to Tirana. To avoid being sent back, hundreds of Kosovars were forced to walk long distances, entering Tirana via unpaved roads and footpaths. A large group of displaced people from Gjakova, who arrived near Vorë by bus, were forced to get off their vehicles and, to enter Tirana, walked for 4 hours. Only late last night did the police allow several buses carrying Kosovars to enter the capital. Around 5–6 p.m., news spread rapidly in the capital that Tirana had been declared a forbidden city for those expelled from Kosovo. After this news, hundreds of Tirana residents, hotel owners, or private citizens who were waiting to shelter the arriving Kosovars in their homes broke out in protest against the government decision. While police and numerous special forces had surrounded much of the Tirana neighborhoods where displaced people from Kosovo were concentrated, the chiefs of the capital’s police and public-order inspectors continued yesterday a psychological terror campaign against Kosovars sheltered in private hotels or homes. In many neighborhoods of Tirana, yesterday morning numerous police forces forcibly ordered the expulsion of Kosovars from the places where they had been sheltered a few days earlier. Some Tirana families testified that police threatened private homeowners with the loss of their licenses where families expelled from Kosovo had been accommodated. Also yesterday, police commissariat no. 1 ordered the immediate closure of Hotel “Arbëria”, where a large number of Kosovar families were staying. Around 5:00 p.m. police and special forces used violence and beat several Kosovars sheltered in the hotel premises. For two days the police had ordered the prohibition of movement of citizens from Kosovo on the streets of Tirana after 6:00 p.m. According to several police orders, all Kosovars must not move around the capital’s streets after that hour. They are also prohibited from frequenting bars and cafes, except those where they have booked rooms. Such an order was accompanied by numerous police patrols that stopped Kosovars on the street and told them to go back to the homes where they were staying. The Ministry of Public Order and Tirana police have made no official statement regarding the adoption of such measures against those expelled from Kosovo. This decision has caused deep indignation in the Albanian public opinion. It was also denounced yesterday at midday by the leader of the Christian Democratic Party, Mr. Nikollë Lesi. According to the newspaper’s sources, the order from the Ministry of Public Order was issued by Minister Petro Koçi. The latter yesterday refused to speak about the scandalous order. Koçi was not present at yesterday’s parliamentary session. Meanwhile, in the Parliament chamber, the chairman of the Christian Democratic Party, Mr. Nikollë Lesi, also reacted. Denouncing Koçi’s order to stop the arrival of expelled Kosovars in Tirana, Lesi said that “the police state is the greatest evil being done to Albania and to Tirana as a capital.” According to Lesi, the police order harms not only Kosovars but also Tirana residents. “As if it were not enough that they have supposedly banned the arrival of Kosovars in Tirana, the police are also preventing Tirana residents from the districts from coming to their homes,” said Lesi. The Christian Democratic deputy demanded the dismissal of the police chiefs and called for the suspension of the “anti-Kosovar” order. Lesi described the Ministry of Public Order’s order as unworthy of a country seeking integration into Europe. Likewise, Lesi said that “the age of the restriction on movement after 6:00 p.m. for Kosovar citizens creates a dramatic and unprecedented situation.” According to him, “Kosovars cannot be treated as second-class citizens in Albania.” Last night, the spokesman of the Ministry of Public Order told journalists that the police do not prevent Kosovars from coming to Tirana. According to him, the checkpoints are only for checking them. But the testimonies collected during yesterday and last night showed the opposite. Column, last week from Kosovo were killed and abducted [?] SURROUNDING Column, last week from Kosovo were killed and abducted [?]

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The members of the Presidium and the PPSH deputies are informed that on Thursday, 29 May 1999, at 11:00 a.m., a meeting of the National Council of the National Reconciliation Committee will be held in Tirana. All those elected to the local forums of this committee, as well as all PPSH deputies, regardless of their current positions, are invited to take part in this meeting if they wish to contribute to the humanitarian and democratic effort for Kosovo and to help put an end to the Balkan tragedy being played out at the expense of the citizens of Kosovo. The participation of members of the Presidency and the secretaries of the party committees for the districts is also necessary. The invitees will gather at the PPSH central headquarters, Rruga e Durrësit, opposite the Russian Embassy.

The Italian army has built an airfield near the hill of Roskoveç, very close to the village of Kosovë, in the administrative unit of Kozarë. Placed outside any kind of control by the Albanian authorities, this airfield has long been used for the landing and takeoff of Italian helicopters with unknown destination. Considering it harmful to the sovereign interests of the Albanian state, the branch of the National Front Party for Berat informs the public and the highest state authorities in Tirana as follows: 1. We call on the Albanian authorities, including the NATO command, to allow the entry of Albanian state bodies into this military base. 2. We consider it unacceptable for Albanian territory to be used for purposes unknown to public opinion. 3. Since this military base is located in highly unsafe surroundings and poses a risk to the area’s residents, we demand the implementation of rules for its transfer to another, more suitable place. BERAT BRANCH OF THE NATIONAL FRONT PARTY

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Thinks about you! Just 20 minutes and your stove shines Thinks about you! Just 20 minutes and your stove shines ADDRESS: Shkozet, Durrës Tel and Fax 052 229 29