Armed men have kept the road blocked for two weeks, for three weeks Rrëshen–Lurë road blocked ON PAGE 4

Gjiniushi’s Ministry blocks domestic investment funds Shuli has the budget employees’ salaries ON PAGE 5

By Shemsi PEPOSHI The Friends of Albania Group made no conclusions yesterday after a closed-door conference on corruption. After clearly presenting their demands on Monday, which were left on the government’s table, the friends once again called government officials to account for the fight against corruption. No conclusions, and meanwhile donors’ serious doubts about some laws, are what emerged from this meeting, which once again makes things more difficult for the government and makes Albania’s prospects for integrating on an equal footing with the other countries of the region into the Stability Pact, and benefiting from it, much bleaker. The meeting of the Friends Group, together with several important statements this week by heads of international institutions in Tirana and international analysts about the necessity of holding an electoral test, once again brought all the acute problems of the severe crisis the country is going through after the end of the war in Kosovo back into focus in Albania. The absence of public order and the rule of law, organized crime, an incapable and corrupt administration, economic crime, human-rights violations and their abuse by sections of the state, the police and the prosecution service, the lack of projects and absorptive capacity, and a credible investment policy: this is the picture confronting every Albanian and every foreigner interested in Albania. In fact, the end of the war deprived the Socialist government of its only “merit” in the crisis situation: the good fortune of holding power. Immediately after the conflict ended and discussions began about the postwar period and reconstruction, Albania found itself effectively excluded from all emergency discussions and facing a mountain of conditions to fulfill. All the demands that the Friends Group presented once again on Monday have been on the tables of Tirana’s Socialist government since 29 June 1997. There is no difference between the latest demands and the conditions set at the first donors’ meeting in Rome on 30 July 1997, or at all the subsequent conferences and meetings on public order, corruption, investment, the fight against smuggling, and the strengthening of democratic institutions. Even if no institution had existed in Albania before 29 June, after so many meetings, discussions, conferences and other similar events held about Albania, both in Albania and abroad, at least the outline of an institution’s front desk should have been established in two years. But apparently Tirana’s Socialist government is deaf to every appeal and, almost as a matter of routine, returns to the major issues, discusses them and promises to fight them—despite having taken power on 29 June. At a time when Albania could be taking part in multilateral discussions on reconstruction, development and integration, it appears in practice to have been kept out of all these discussions, or, at best, to have been left at the very end of the line among the Southeast European countries included in the Stability Pact’s plans. As yesterday’s meeting of the Friends Group also made clear, the official authorities in Tirana must first engage in discussions on combating all negative phenomena. The rhetoric and expressions of gratitude for Albania’s contribution to dealing with the refugee crisis and Milosheviç’s plans will now gradually fade, because the discussions are very concrete and concern money and investment. This is a situation entirely different from the war, where neither resolve, self-congratulation, grandiosity, nor words—much less anything else—count; only things that are concrete and substantiated matter. Ultimately, in the Balkans and Southeast Europe, those who will bear the burden of investment will be private investors, capitalists and wholly private companies. They do not link their investments to Albania’s political stance in favor of the Atlantic Alliance during the war, but to entirely different conditions and laws. The current government is in no way prepared to meet such reconstruction challenges. Although the conflict ended more than a month ago, no concrete forward-looking plan has been published. More or less the same thing happened before the start of the war in Kosovo, when Tirana’s government was completely unprepared to receive 3,000 people in this district, one day before the influx of expelled Kosovars across its entire territory, while Macedonia, three months before the war began, had secured all the humanitarian aid needed for more than 100,000 people. What remains troubling is the government’s lack of responsibility in openly accepting, in the country’s interest, the need for an electoral test as the most serious step toward rebuilding the country. The desperate propaganda is wearing thin, and comparisons with March 1997 are entirely unfavorable to the government’s claims of success. If today’s official Tirana has plans that serve its interests in keeping Albania and turning it into a part of all the negative phenomena of the Balkans and beyond, in order to preserve its monopoly over trafficking, smuggling and organized crime, then it is no wonder if this too is overturned. No foreigner, however much of a friend of Albania, will ever tell us what kind of government and administration our country needs. But everyone, together with others, will always say that what must be done is to build democratic institutions and the rule of law, establish public order, and fight a corrupt economy and organized crime—in other words, to fulfill the most basic duty of any government worthy of the name. Ultimately, after the war in Kosovo, there is not much room left for geopolitics and geostrategy, which, although we have never had them, the left-wing government that mismanaged the country has been interested in using as an excuse. Now that the rhetoric has become archaic, only one duty remains for Tirana’s Socialist government toward the country: to clear the way for an electoral test of those plans and projects that can bring about our country’s development, reconstruction and integration into the West, rather than turn it into a Colombia of the Balkans and Europe.

Sharp criticism from representatives of the international community toward Tirana’s government officials for failing to fulfill their commitments ON PAGE 3 The Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice, the Finance Minister, the Interior Minister and even the head of the Intelligence Service waited in line to account to “the Friends”

Government officials’ smuggling prevents Albanian traders from entering Kosovo Finance Minister Anastas Angjeli does not allow Albanian traders to enter Kosovo, in order to give them

More than six thousand refugees returned from Greece over the past four days The Foreign Minister cannot achieve any success during his visit to Greece, except to declare from that country that the operation to purge Albanian migrants will be stopped; and this will be described by the Greek government—not Milo—as “a success of the measured policy of the Albanian Foreign Minister, or as a further rapprochement in relations between the two countries” ON PAGE 3 The Gramsh policeman continues to terrori-

The Minister of Finance, Anastas Angjeli, does not allow Albanian traders to enter Kosovo, giving smugglers—who are directed by government officials—a free hand. Every day, dozens of trucks carrying smuggled goods enter at this crossing point. The Minister of Finance, giving smugglers—who are directed by government officials—a free hand. Every day, dozens of trucks carrying smuggled goods enter at this crossing point. ON PAGE 4

The former chairman of the Albanian Journalists’ Association fiercely attacks the right-wing press and the DP To express his solidarity with Mr. Rakipi, Prime Minister Majko had sent the government spokesperson, Lorenc Vangjeli, to the hall of the “Rogner” hotel; he followed the press conference with great interest. ON PAGE 2

The former chairman of the Tirana Court, Qazim Gjonaj, levels serious accusations against the justice system ON PAGE 4

Albanians demonstrate against the arrival of Russian forces in Rahovec ON PAGE 3

The chairman of the Democratic Party, Prof. Dr. Sali Berisha, welcomed the Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Barak, and his government’s program, a program that embodies the outstanding legacy of Izhak Rabin and Shimon Peres for peace in the Middle East.

Berisha welcomes the decision of the Montenegrin authorities to arrest Millosheviç as well as any other criminal on the territory of this republic. The chairman of the Democratic Party welcomes the decision of the President of Montenegro and the Montenegrin government to arrest Slobodan Millosheviç and all other criminals accused by the Hague Court of crimes against humanity. With this act, President Đukanović demonstrates not only respect for the United Nations, the Security Council resolutions, and confidence in the justice of the International Court, but also that he regards justice as indispensable for a lasting peace; he also proves his friendly feelings toward Albanians, victims of Serbian aggression and genocide.

Today, 296 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. The government of the former communists has left free and unchecked the criminals who took the life of the December leader, showing the Albanian people that they have been and remain on the side of the killers, whose names are known but are not mentioned by this government. Democrats and all Albanians who loved and honored Azem Hajdari cannot tolerate this farce under any circumstances. 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 Presidency of the PDSH informs the delegates and guests of the Extraordinary Assembly that the date of the Assembly meeting, for technical reasons, is postponed to Sunday, 11 July 1999, at 10:00.

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