A large rally on the eighth month since the murder of Azem Hajdari On the eighth month since 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 19:00. PARTIES OF THE “UNION FOR DEMOCRACY”

The Chairman of the District Council, Bruka Shkodra, should have been elected with a concrete institutional plan ON PAGE 5

By Astrit PATOZI Interior Minister Petro Koçi and the faction within the Socialist Party that supports him managed to put Prime Minister Majko in a humiliating position, creating and openly declaring a rift with him. Now that Petro Koçi, after being “on notice” for several days, has returned to his ministerial seat, it is no exaggeration to say that Albania’s prime minister, since 1 December, has been at the mercy of the Minister of Public Order. A single meeting of the Socialist Party leadership and consultations with President Mejdani were enough to turn everything upside down in the factional balance of power and put Majko in a wretched position opposite the Minister of Order, who now feels more triumphant than ever in the country’s political hierarchy. Koçi needed to put an end to the whole uproar of accusations against him and, in a way, apologize to Koçi for all their ongoing disagreements, when at an extraordinary government meeting he offered the Minister of Order “cooperation in the name of political stability.” With this forced “self-criticism,” the new “prime minister of Europe” has publicly acknowledged that he and his government go much further than Koçi’s accusations—and Tedi’s, taken together. This is not the place to analyze who was the victim and who the aggressor in the Majko-Koçi conflict; rather, it is an occasion to point out once again that, in the Socialist Party’s factional relations with power, the winner is always the one with the strongest gangs. If Majko was forced to bow before Koçi and the faction that supported him, that means that, until ten days ago, the prime minister had badly miscalculated when he tried to dislodge the Minister of Order’s power structure. For Albanians who have followed this spectacle of dramatic resignations and the triumphant reinstatement of the Minister of Public Order, what matters much less is who makes the accusations and who they are made against than the ridiculous picture presented by the state they pay taxes to support. Now that Prime Minister Majko finds himself in this new relationship with the Minister of Public Order, he seems to have to admit that he heads a government of mafia gangs, as Petro Koçi had said before, or that he is no longer the number one figure in the executive branch of Democratic Rebirth. But if everyone understands that he is out, the lesson that the Albanian people have learned from their experience with those in power is perfectly clear: this country is sometimes governed badly, and sometimes not governed at all. This means that the state is made up of those who control the smuggling and customs operations, or who have filled the tenders and the “bodyguard” administration with theft in their struggle for power; for this reason, everyone here has fallen into the great prison of corruption. In this politically sick country, facing the minister who remains firmly in his powerful position, the prime minister is powerless. In either case, the message Albanian citizens have received from their experience with those in power is perfectly clear: this country is sometimes governed badly, and sometimes not governed at all. This means that the state is made up of those who control the smuggling and customs operations, or who have filled the tenders and the “bodyguard” administration with theft in their struggle for power; for this reason, everyone here has fallen into the great prison of corruption. This is the picture presented by the state in which we live today, which is nothing other than a justice system that has failed all Albanians, as well as the enrichment and self-enrichment of the Minister of Public Order. This is a picture in which it is unclear what this country is doing or where it is going, where the state and government stand, and who runs Albania’s executive branch. And it is always these factional rivalries within the Socialist Party, this entire masquerade, that once again end up being conducted in their name, under the clouds and through the relations of a “committee” for government stability. In the end, once again Pandeli Majko has shown Albanians not only that he cannot establish control of his government throughout the country, but also that he is powerless to impose the authority and obedience of the Council of Ministers. Of course, Petro Koçi’s return does not in any way mean an increase in his political credibility; all the same, the Minister of Order has been in an extremely comfortable position compared with Majko, who was forced to submit. In fact, Koçi’s entire superiority over Majko counts only within the Socialist Party, where, as always, this victory follows the logic of the gladiator—or, in the Minister of Order’s latest terminology, “the bodyguards’ muscles.” Now, for all the other ministers in this government, about which he had said just the day before that it was run by mafiosi and bodyguards, the situation is clear: after this meeting and the face-to-face confrontation it provoked, Majko has appeared frightened and submissive, and it has emerged that he is constrained even within his own government. In other words, Petro Koçi has shown that he has more “bodyguards” with him, which means that he is powerful in the ministerial seat above all because they had all been thrown into the government’s ranks. Regardless of who has lost or won in the Socialist Party’s factional battle, all this daily masquerade in debates and meetings with the administration’s Minister of Order is, in fact, the essence of the decay of the Rebirth coalition’s government. What matters here is not what anyone says about who that minister is; it is clear that the shortcomings are even greater than those of the opposition. What is alarming is the destruction caused by so much chaos in government, as it turns once again into Albania’s gangs. Pandeli Majko, who is trying to reclaim his name at the darkest moment of his life, now seems to have to explain that “political stability” was first mentioned to him by Petro Koçi, who is able to demonstrate that this government no longer has any hope of keeping Majko in office. And so everyone shows that Petro Koçi and Pandeli Majko have fallen into line in a political order where, even in recent times, everything has revolved around the Ministers of Order. “Petro Koçi’s accommodating resignation, as a minister trying to live up to the role, was designed with the aim of bringing down the Tirana government as the most corrupt national government, and also of filling the government with people from the ranks of the Order Ministry. Indeed, all this is part of a kind of decay in Majko’s system in the face of a rival faction, with many suspicions about his direct involvement in the dark scandals of power.”

NATO: Rugova has made no agreement with Millosheviç The President of Kosovo calls on Belgrade to implement NATO’s conditions. Yesterday, a meeting with the Pope. Soon in Washington, London and Paris ON PAGE 2

Former Interior Minister accuses the power structures of being run by gangs.

“What you call factions is incorrect terminology. They are gangs; there are no factions—what factions? They all come to the Ministry of Public Order only to smuggle and steal; it is the mafia that brings them in. The PS has failed. It cannot govern the country.” ON PAGE 3

The situation in the district of Gjirokastër remains tense following the killing of two young men in Lazarat . Sources in Gjirokastër report that “light and heavy weapons have been placed on the terraces of all the apartment buildings in the ‘Punëtori’ neighborhood, and many people are standing ready behind the weapons, causing fear and panic among all the city’s residents.” ON PAGE 4

Albanian authorities annoyed by the reception of President Rugova in the West ON PAGE 3

Topalli concerned about pressure on the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court ON PAGE 3

Majority MPs oppose the West A draft resolution on Kosovo presented last night in the Albanian parliament increases the risk that the split which the current government has long pursued with regard to Kosovo’s political forces will finally be institutionalized. Some members of parliament called last night for the urgent adoption of the submitted draft resolution. The parliamentary group E Djathta e Qendrës immediately reacted sharply, declaring itself against the resolution. The content of the submitted draft led the Socialist parliamentary group to hold a heated debate at its meeting, which concluded that adoption of the resolution should be postponed for another two days... ON PAGE 2

They had come to fight in Kosovo wearing UÇK uniforms Albania’s Association of Mayors receives support from its partners in the Council of Europe 2 Albanian-American citizens arrested ON PAGE 4

Berisha offers condolences to the families of the Apach helicopter pilots The chairman of the DP, Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha, offered his condolences yesterday to the families of the pilots who died during a training operation in Albania. In his statement, Berisha said, “I wish to express my most sincere condolences to the families of the Apach helicopter pilots,” who were killed the previous day. “On this occasion, I offer my condolences to President Clinton, the NATO command in Brussels and the NATO command in Albania,” Berisha emphasized. Continuing his statement, the opposition leader said: “They fell in a training operation, training with projectiles of those universal types that have enabled societies to be free and peoples to be free. Albanians will honor the sons of the American nation, who in this case were training for an Albanian cause.”

Today marks 241 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 government of the former communists, which leaves free and unaccountable the criminals who took the life of the December Leader, shows Albanians that they have been and remain on the side of the killers, who have specific names but are not touched by those in power. Democrats and all Albanians who loved and honored Azem Hajdari cannot possibly 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.”

Commemorative meeting: “Azem Hajdari and the national cause” The “December 90” group announces that on Wednesday, 12.05.1999, at 12:00, a commemorative meeting will be held in the hall of the National Historical Museum on the eighth month since the shooting of the Tribune of Albanian Nationalism, the December Leader. The topic will be “Azem Hajdari and the national cause.” All the protagonists of December ’90, as well as friends, well-wishers and associates of the hero, are invited to attend.

On 11.05.1999 at 13:00, an expanded meeting of the DP Tirana branch will be held at the DP headquarters, with the participation of members of the National Council, the DP Tirana leadership and all DP structures in Tirana.

The parliamentary group “E Djathta e Qendrës” is holding a press conference today at 12:00 at the “Dajti” Hotel on the latest developments in Kosovo and Mr. Rugova’s positions.