Large rally on the eighth-month anniversary of Azem Hajdari’s murder On the eighth-month anniversary of the murder of the tribune of Albanian nationalism, Azem Hajdari, “Union for Democracy” is organizing a large peaceful rally in “Skënderbej” Square in memory of those who fell in Kosovo, on 12 May 1999, at 19:30. PARTIES OF THE “UNION FOR DEMOCRACY”

The court and the Sajone police are using pretexts to drag out the 14 September trial ON PAGE 4

The head of the communist-rebellion gangs leaves his post as Minister of the Interior. Nano seeks to regain lost power

By Mero BAZE Paskal Milo went to Rome to meet Rugova at a meeting arranged by agencies through the protocol of Western diplomacy, which aims at an apology by official Tirana for everything they have done against Rugova. After the meeting, Milo is keeping silent, while it seems Tirana has definitively lost its chance to politically overthrow and physically eliminate Rugova. From the way events unfolded, Tirana seems to have been certain that Rugova would not come out of Prishtina alive, and with this logic of elimination, it began his political elimination. Everything Tirana did during these 40 days was based on the assumption that Rugova was absent. His return now to the position of President of Kosovo, strongly supported by the major Western chancelleries as well, puts official Tirana in a miserable position, since it now has neither the power nor the authority needed to be a factor in the talks and diplomatic actions concerning Kosovo. The government will simply continue to perform its sanitary duties concerning the refugees, but will not be able to be an institutional factor in their future. Tirana encouraged an Albanian “defiance” toward the West Rugova will visit three European capitals in the coming days and will be received at the highest levels, while he is expected to meet Clinton next week in Washington. All this is terrifying for official Tirana. They simply no longer know what to do either with Rugova or with those whom they invented as fighters and, at the same time, as the mandate-holders for a new government in Kosovo. In Tirana’s government press, on Saturday the first symptoms of this dilemma appeared, when it was declared that the UÇK would continue its war alone until Kosovo’s liberation. With this logic, efforts are being made from official circles to present Rugova’s political and diplomatic strengthening as a new “betrayal” of the Albanian cause by the West. Tirana now has, among the latest arguments against the West, the G-8 declarations on Kosovo and the division over reservations about Rugova expressed by Western heads of state. First, Westerners declared the G-8 statements false, and especially false is the reasoning that it calls for the disarmament of the UÇK. This is an effort that is written in black and white in the Rambouillet agreement, which the UÇK signed. The disarmament of the UÇK and all armed groups in Kosovo, and even in Albania, is the number-one condition for building a normal civilian life in the Albanian west. The army needs weapons for war, even though—God forbid—some UÇK leader might have thought of acting like Fidel Castro, with a gun at his belt, “after the revolution.” The G-8 declaration does nothing except

Rugova meets Chancellor Schröder in Bonn ON PAGE 2 Chinese embassy bombed in Belgrade

Berisha offers condolences to President Rugova and the LDK over Agani’s death Albanians lost a Kosovo has lost one of its distinguished personalities Belgrade executes

The visible portion of the text begins mid-sentence: «… toward the Albanian cause. Recommendations have been given to them…» [?] «are the G-8 declarations on Kosovo, and unconditional support for Rugova, described as conservative and pro-Western. Separately, the reservations about the G-8 declarations are false, and especially false is the claim point was written in black and white in the Rambouillet agreement, and the UÇK signed it. establishing a civilian future in the Albanian region. The army does not need weapons for war, unless—God forbid—some UÇK leader has except restate the Rambouillet agreement in diplomatic terms and deprive Belgrade of its last diplomatic and military allies in the world, whom it is using to stir up the Serbs by saying that “they are not alone.” The attempt to have Albanians defy the G-8 is hypocrisy and a failure to understand Western policy, which turned Kosovo into its historic proving ground for defending human values and the ethics of the world’s democratic system. The Albanians’ defiance of the G-8 is like that famous joke about the cobblers, who say, “Together with the Russians we are 300 million, but without them, just one truck.” If the Albanian cause is now on the agenda of world politics, it is simply not because Albanians have grabbed their rifles and are liberating Kosovo, but because NATO’s army is liberating Kosovo and the Albanians are its allies. Any other dilemma about being outside this alliance would be an unpleasant adventure, including for official Tirana itself, which is trying with great effort to sow this seed among some irresponsible individuals who claim to speak in Kosovo’s name. Now that the balance of 50 days of war in Kosovo is being drawn up, it turns out that the Serbs’ victims include Rugova’s two close allies in Prishtina, Bajram Kelmendi and Fehmi Agani, while among the ranks of the UÇK, local LDK leaders are its most prominent martyrs. The cases of Sali Ceku and Latif Berisha are among the most prominent LDK martyrs who fell fighting for Kosovo; together with other LDK activists who fell fighting for Kosovo, they are a source of anguish for those who want, through dishonest methods, to seize a monopoly over and legitimacy for the war and peace in Kosovo. Bajram Kelmendi’s wife, Nekibe Kelmendi, who today is one of Kosovo’s true martyrs, having given Kosovo the lives of her sons and husband—the latter an authentic witness to the Serbian genocide against Albanians—was, at one point, a distinguished LDK activist who was arrested by irresponsible people from Stalinist groups within the UÇK in her own country, where she had gone to meet her family and establish the credibility of Kosovo’s intellectuals. Now, when you analyze who is being killed by the Serbs and who is trying to claim credit, it becomes clear that Fehmi Agani was killed by the Serbs, but the irresponsibility of a Stalinist group at the head of the UÇK, closely linked to SHIK in Tirana, had put him at the top of the execution lists for “treason.” (Continued on page 3)

Today, 239 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 governments of the former communists, which leave [?] the criminals who took the life of the December Leader free and undisturbed, show Albanians that they have been and remain on the side of the murderers, whose names are known but who remain untouched by those in power. The 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 committed the murder of Azem Hajdari.

The Governing Council of the “Union for Democracy” endorses the document approved at the G-8 meeting ON PAGE 3

European Union Commissioner: Families hosting Kosovars should be helped ON PAGE 3

Berisha offers condolences to President Rugova and the LDK on Agani’s death The brutal execution of Prof. Fehmi Agani is shocking news for the Democratic Party, the democratic forces, and the entire Albanian nation. This brutal act by the Millosheviç regime is new evidence of the platform of extermination being pursued [?] in Kosovo, and of the elimination of its genuine political leaders. On this occasion, on behalf of the Democratic Party, I extend to you my deepest condolences for this irreplaceable loss. With Prof. Fehmi Agani, the people of Kosovo and Albanians in general have lost one of their most distinguished representatives, one of the many who strove [?], who together with Rugova and Ibrahim Rugova and the Democratic League of Kosovo, Kosovo’s first political party, expressed and defended the interests and ideals of Kosovo Albanians for freedom, dignity, and independence. As the LDK’s second leading figure during this decade, Prof. Fehmi Agani made a substantial contribution to building Kosovo’s parallel state and representing it and its interests in the various chancelleries of Europe and the world, in Rambouillet, and everywhere. After the signing of Rambouillet, Prof. Fehmi Agani, together with President Rugova and other representatives of the people of Kosovo, crossed the border by solemn decision [?] and went to share with Kosovo’s unarmed civilian population the flames and barbarity of Serbian aggression. During this period, while underground together with Kosovo’s political leadership, he remained in Prishtina, where he stayed until he was killed, becoming an example of resistance and a source of encouragement for his compatriots. That is why Pol Pot of Europe ordered his phalanxes to execute the distinguished politician of the people of Kosovo. His family, the LDK, Parliament, and the entire Albanian nation will honor the shining legacy of Prof. Fehmi Agani.

Zarati, shaken by the killing of two young men with state involvement, warns the government ON PAGE 2

Hundreds of judges from districts across the country peacefully protested in front of the Palace of Congresses ON PAGE 2

If you wish to contribute money for the exhausted children of Kosovo, you may deposit your contribution into account number 34220/00/0376 at “Dardania Bank,” in the name of the association: “The Children of Kosovo, Our Children.”