Nine months after the regime’s execution of the Leader of the December Movement, the Hero of Pluralism and Tribune of Albanian Nationalism, Azem Hajdari In remembrance of the ninth month since the regime’s execution of the Leader of the December Movement ’90, the Hero of Pluralism and Tribune of Albanian Nationalism, MP Azem Hajdari, today, on 12.06.1999, at 20:00, the branches of the DP will organize the lighting of hundreds of thousands of candles in the main squares of every municipality. In remembrance of the ninth month since the regime’s execution of the Leader of the December Movement, the Hero of Pluralism and Tribune of Albanian Nationalism, MP Azem Hajdari, today, on 12.06.1999, at 20:00, the branches of the DP will organize the lighting of hundreds of thousands of candles in the main squares of every municipality. Democrats and Albanian nationalists, the DP invites you each to place a lit candle in the main square of your municipality to honor the immortal hero of democracy and the Albanian nation, Azem Hajdari, and to demand that the organizers and perpetrators of the ugliest political crime of this century against Albanians be brought to justice.

Prime Minister Majko, during a meeting held yesterday with customs officers, told them that he had information from NATO and non-governmental organizations that mafia networks operate in customs, “which,” he said, “must be eliminated.” The fact that mafia networks operate in customs and must be eliminated is a refrain that has been heard for at least two years. But the fact that the prime minister gets his information about mafia networks in his country’s customs from NATO or NGOs is happening for the first time, and is as laughable as it is enough to make you hold your head in your hands. If, for example, the Italian prime minister or the German chancellor were to make a statement at a seminar in their country similar to that of our prime minister, saying they had information from NGOs about what was happening at the most crucial point of the state they govern, it would be impossible for them to continue their term at the head of a government—not to mention the jokes the media would make about such statements. The dramatic significance of such a statement by Majko lies in the prime minister’s public admission that the state and the structures that keep it standing do not exist. It would be normal for Majko to say that information about the existence of the mafia in customs came to him from the National Intelligence Service, the Ministry of Finance, on which customs depends, the police, or some parliamentary commission. But Majko has mentioned none of these institutions; instead he mentions NGOs, the strangest organizations Albania has known over the last nine years. It would be normal for Majko to say what information he had from NATO about its entry into Kosovo, the zones of Kosovo divided among NATO countries, and other related issues. We are grateful to NATO for everything it has done and is doing for an Albanian cause such as Kosovo, and we do not doubt that this powerful organization could also rein in the customs mafia, or build roads in Albania. But it is difficult to understand: if NATO carries out all these tasks, why do we need a prime minister and his government? In these circumstances, Majko has no choice but to hand over the keys to the government to an organization such as NATO and place Albania under a protectorate, but he refuses to do so. This is a duty NATO carries out; refuses to do so. On the other hand, it would be normal for Majko to get information from NGOs about how many people, for example, became ill with AIDS in Albania, how many young people have drug problems, or how many non-governmental women’s associations there are here. But in this country, it seems that even customs matters have to be discussed by NATO or NGOs. If Majko gets his information from NATO or NGOs about what is happening in the capillaries of the Albanian state, then what purpose do the aforementioned institutions serve, if NATO or NGOs are doing their work? What kind of prime minister can Majko consider himself when he publicly declares that he has no power to control or cooperate with the institutions supposedly under his authority? What guarantee does this prime minister offer the citizens of his country when he says that Albania exists as an NGO-style state? Thousands of budget-paid employees work in the state institutions mentioned above, supported by poor Albanian taxpayers, who perhaps in fact pay the highest taxes on the continent. If these institutions, as Majko seems to suggest, are not fulfilling their duties, then something is wrong and must change. At the very least, poor Albanian taxpayers should no longer pay taxes for such an inefficient administration and institutions—or Majko should gladly give those taxes to NATO soldiers, who have been stationed in front of the Albanian administration and are carrying out the duties that this administration owes its citizens. The longstanding contradictions between the Prime Minister and the head of the Intelligence Service are well known. But it is absurd to hear from Majko that relations between the prime minister’s institutions and the Intelligence Service are frozen, simply because this service does not inform the prime minister about what is happening in its sector or elsewhere. Can anyone imagine a prime minister in another Western country not being informed by the secret police about the main problems facing his country? How can a finance minister answer to himself if he has no information about a mafia network operating in customs, when these networks have not been caught and thoroughly investigated? If there is a mafia in customs, that is the final thing the commentary makes clear! If there is a mafia in customs, it was created by the current rulers, who are responsible for what goes on in those customs offices. The fact that this customs mafia is run by those in power is also evident in the dozens of customs officers dismissed as corrupt, none of whom has been summoned to the prosecutor’s office or made an example of by the courts. Instead, they swagger around the streets of Tirana like “bosses,” in expensive cars. Many of them have become owners of luxurious establishments and have bought expensive homes, and they feel proud that they have stolen the hard-earned money of poor Albanian taxpayers. Meanwhile, these taxpayers, burdened by their daily hardships and often unable even to provide bread for their children, have to watch the bosses who have become rich by robbing them. The tragedy of the prime minister’s statements was the absence of the state and the institutions that make up that state. But even more tragic are all the Albanians who remain distant from these institutions and pay, from their own hard work, the highest taxes in Europe to support an administration of bureaucrats completely incapable of responding to their hardships; they pay with their sweat for parts of this administration, which has been set up to rob them indefinitely.

“I have information from NATO and some NGOs that mafia structures exist at the port of Durrës customs office, and they must be eliminated” The mafia once again controls the taxes that fill the state budget ON PAGE 5

Bradashesh, ceremony proclaiming Azem Hajdari an “Honorary Citizen.” The DP chairman, Berisha, also attends Berisha: From this great sacrifice, from this pain, we emerge with great dignity and a great name, as the Serbian occupation comes to an end. Kosovo, the Kosovars and all Albanians now have friends among the greatest in the world. They have Clinton, Blair, Schröder and Chirac by their side as never before. ON PAGE 3

Pollo, Arbnori, Cikuli and Mehmeti meet the arrivals in Pukë and take part in the DP assembly ON PAGE 2

“Union for Democracy” welcomes the UN Security Council resolution “Official Tirana is cunningly and cynically exploiting the situation and its power, at the expense of the nation’s fate, to gain advantages in the future” “Official Tirana is cunningly and cynically exploiting the situation and its power, at the expense of the nation’s fate, to gain advantages in the future ON PAGE 3

The DP strongly condemns the tragic killing of two employees of the OSCE office Criminal groups linked to segments of the Albanian government seek to drive away foreign investors, MAPE and other international organizations, in order to turn Albania into an isolated island of crime, gangs and mafia trafficking . ON PAGE 3

Court hearings against the opposition over the “coup d’état” continue Prosecutors install surveillance devices in the courtroom ON PAGE 4

Ambassador Everts: only this time has he not declared that the killings were carried out for reasons of revenge The killer, “liqansë” by police chiefs and PS clans Ambassador Everts, only this time, has not declared that the killings were carried out for reasons of revenge ON PAGE 4

Today, 275 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 shocked Albanians around the world. The government of the former communists, who were free, and the criminals who took the life of the December Leader and were in power, show Albanians that they were and are on the side of the killers, who have names of their own but are untouched by those in power. Democrats and all Albanians who loved and honored Azem Hajdari can in no way tolerate this fact. The government must either come forward and bring the criminals to justice, or publicly declare that it itself committed the murder of Azem Hajdari.

NATO soldiers waiting for the order to enter Kosovo