Vlorë, the city of houses, bears witness. Companies consider purchasing houses at low prices the most successful venture ON PAGE 5

Or from Tirana prison, a KLA soldier says: “Take off our handcuffs, because we are innocent.” ON PAGE 4

Yesterday, left-wing MPs committed the latest shameful act in the Albanian Parliament. Proposed by a clan of traffickers with clearly mafia-like interests, a law was approved to establish, within the Public Order and SHIK Committee, a subcommittee to oversee the Albanian secret service. At first glance, this might seem like a simple administrative measure by the left-wing MPs, but this act conceals entirely dark intentions. It is all connected to control of the secret service by people or mafia clans and the removal of obstacles that might arise from competing interests in illegal trafficking. For some time, a fierce war between mafia clans has been under way among those in power, over the division of spheres of influence connected with smuggling and other illegal trafficking. While Nano was at the head of the government, there was a kind of balance of power among the clans, in fact politically imposed by the “Bosses,” who held in their hands not only the government but all the other levers of power as well. Nano's departure upset these balances, bringing about an open war between the clans. Those who, with Nano's support, had until then controlled everything—from smuggling and the trafficking of clandestine goods to drugs and weapons—suddenly found themselves without support. Meanwhile, the other clans sought to grow stronger and seize the spheres of influence. Everyone entered this “game,” from government officials and MPs to law-enforcement bodies, customs officers and the secret service. The struggle is being waged on several fronts, but the main and most visible ones are personnel changes and public attacks. Changes in personnel within the law-enforcement agencies, secret service and customs after every major event have by now become a familiar fact. This is directly connected to taking control of spheres of influence. Meanwhile, ministers' departures have always been accompanied by public statements from them against the other side. Let us not forget Ceka and Teta's statements after they left the post of Minister of Public Order. Their statements contained grave, direct accusations against various smuggling clans. Thus the war between mafia clans among those in power is continuous, but becomes more visible and more brutal in specific cases. It is precisely such a “case” that has fallen into the hands of those in power at this moment. Milošević's massacres in Kosovo, the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Kosovars, and the aid that has poured in from around the world are the “case” that has intensified the war among the rulers' mafia clans as well. It is precisely within this struggle, and amid the interweaving of various other interests, that the law approved yesterday by the Albanian left-wing Parliament to create a subcommittee to oversee the Albanian secret service must be seen. It was no coincidence that this law was pushed through concerning the secret service without many left-wing MPs finding out, including MPs such as Ruci and Fino, or others, who have been connected with the service's wiretapping. These are precisely some of the MPs who have been accused more than others of smuggling and illegal trafficking. The dispute, initially also directed by Gjini, later acquired the sole objective of removing Ceka from the chairmanship of the Public Order and SHIK Committee (apparently, “contradictions” had been noted in Gjini's camp). In reality, creating this subcommittee is nothing other than Ceka's dismissal and placing the service under the authorities' complete control. This scandalous act puts paid to any other purpose the mafia MPs might have had. The history of democratic countries has shown that, for parliamentarism and voting to function properly, such bodies are placed under the government's control. A telling example is Germany under Helmut Kohl's government, where the parliamentary committee dealing with secret services or other institutions was controlled by the executive and the Social Democrats. Of course, something like this could hardly have been imposed by a Parliament full of thugs and criminals. But the scandal is that the whole thing is being brought under the control of the government leadership. This is a war between clans, with one side fighting the other. And all this is happening at a time when Kosovo is engulfed in war and flames. Where does Kosovo stand in the cause of peace? There, six? and [??] are asking for everyone's support... This is a newspaper of the world.

Several million marks appear to have been squandered. The Kosovo Government had allocated them for the Llap area. Fatos Nano and one of his associates took 1.5 million dollars to buy an important piece of equipment that has never been seen. KLA soldiers on their way to the front. PHOTO: AP

The Socialist Party forgets Kosovo. The clan war within the party continues. Nano's supporters escalate their protest. ON PAGE 3

The Vlora coast, the Albanian government's open gateway for deadly trafficking ON PAGE 4

Serbs with cannons and mortars above Tropoja e Vjetër, Kamenicë and Zherkë Serbian bombs kill a resident The Serbs continue to violate Albania's territorial integrity. Serbian army commandos entered Zogaj, in Tropojë, yesterday, where they encountered resistance from Albanian border guards and army forces. Sources in the region said the Serbs penetrated deep into the territory and took up positions for more than half an hour very close to the neighbourhood known as Mehalla e Epër. Their attempt to carry out acts of terror was met by the gendarmerie, border police and village residents. After an intense exchange of fire, the Serbian forces were forced to abandon the positions they had occupied and withdraw towards the border. The sources reported no casualties or other damage. Reports of Serbian forces penetrating deep into Albanian territory have become commonplace, and conditions for the residents of this region are worsening because of the passivity of our armed forces. (Continued on page 4)

Heavy fighting in Koshare, near Junik Rai UNO showed two live images from Belgrade, while RTV did not broadcast, a few days ago, the film footage of the fighting in which Agim Ramadani was killed. Heavy fighting was reported yesterday in Koshare, very close to Junik, where the KLA maintains a base on the Albanian border with the former Yugoslavia. The Italian television network Rai UNO showed footage of fighting between Serbs and Albanians, in which heavy artillery, tanks and other military equipment were used. Sources close to the KLA headquarters said the battle continued throughout yesterday, with dozens of Serbian soldiers killed or wounded and a few Albanians wounded. S.R.

Faced with warehouses full of aid, Kosovars protest: “Why is the government deceiving us?” While the pro-government press claims that Albania has won Telebingo and that the world is financing a “mountain of dollars,” those arriving from Kosovo have been left to rely on the assistance of families in Tirana. ON PAGE 2

Today marks 230 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 successors in the crime that shook the entire Albanian world. This government, this power, in this free and insecure [??] criminal [??] that took the lives of the commanders, who show the Albanians that they have been and remain in the name of the December Leader, whose name is a proper name, but who are not touched by those in power. The killers, before Albanian justice, [??] proves and [??] Azem Hajdari. Democracy can under no circumstances tolerate these culprits. The government must either apprehend and bring them before criminal justice, or publicly declare that it itself carried out the murder of Azem Hajdari.

The members of the National Council and the MPs of the Democratic Party of Albania are hereby informed that a meeting of the National Council will be held in Tirana on Monday, 3 May 1999, at 11:00, with the following agenda: 1. The Democratic Party's political position regarding the national question and developments in Kosovo, as well as the engagement of its structures in assisting those arriving from Kosovo as they try to escape the genocide and ethnic cleansing being carried out by Milošević's regime. 2. The situation in the north of the country and ensuring the protection of state sovereignty and territorial integrity. 3. The Democratic Party's position regarding the continuation of political revanchism, violence and political prosecutions undertaken by the governing coalition.

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 of accommodation, messages from those who have arrived from Kosovo to their family members, and so on. You are welcome to visit the editorial office or contact us at the phone numbers provided: 30.33.29 and 323.55. THE EDITORIAL OFFICE