The district chairman and police commissioner expel NATO AFOR halts work in Gramsh ON PAGE 4

Shkodër women and girls march in a procession against crime Order must be restored in the city ON PAGE 4

“The Ministry of Food finds: Vërde and raki containing chemical colorants 90% of drinks are counterfeit ON PAGE 5

The mayor of Vlora, Zani Çaushi, once again confirms his close ties with senior Albanian officials, and for the first time exposes his relations with the police, which has not only made no effort to arrest him after the two latest murders in Vlora, but also escorts him on his trips. In an interview he gave yesterday to a Tirana daily, Zani speaks of the help he received from important figures in the Albanian state, such as Skënder Gjinushi, Rexhep Medani, and others. In his interview, Zani stresses that he saved these people at the time and that each of them owes him. The chief bandit also talks about the phone calls he made to these VIPs; meanwhile, his interview makes it quite clear that it was they, and not ordinary police officers, who helped him leave for Tirana and later return to Vlora in recent days. What Zani stated in a daily newspaper fully confirms what “RD” said a few days ago: Zani, the wealthy criminal who committed the attack in Vlora against the Shehu family, came to Tirana. The “RD” newspaper has learned that Gjinushi also went to Vlora that very day and was among the first to offer him help, while asking various sections of the Ministry of Public Order to stop the operation to capture him. Tirana would become a home for bandits from all over Albania, who are zealously protected from any revenge by Tirana’s chief of police, Mit’hat Havari, as in the case of Kateshi. Because of this protection, he chose Tirana, managing to travel from Vlora to the capital and back without being caught. Such a journey could only have been made in police cars, with security provided by Zani’s allies at the head of the Albanian state, although the latter have yet to admit this. In his interview, Zani reveals how close he is to important figures in the current government and the Socialist Party. Once again, he states what interests and ties he has with the Speaker of the Albanian Parliament, Skënder Gjinushi, dating back to the communist rebellion of ’97. Gjinushi had carried out the same things before, and Zani’s actions stemmed from there: the criminal acts, murders, robberies and rapes committed against hundreds of Vlora residents. Between the lines, he reminds Gjinushi of the debt he owes him—a debt which, as Zani says, does not stop with Gjinushi but extends to current president Rexhep Meidani and former Finance Minister Arben Malaj. The Vlora gang leader also made plans with the latter for Prodi’s reception, and it was Malaj alone who managed to persuade him to receive Italy’s prime minister. This suggests that even the events that took place in Vlora in ’97 and afterwards may have been rooted in Malaj’s ties with Zani and the power the former minister wielded over the gang leader. Zani, who has been wanted by the police for weeks, has also received help in recent days from another state official, who offered him the possibility of a passport to leave the country, since he has been declared wanted for a murder. The country is led by an important figure with the ability to issue such passports, who may himself be Foreign Minister Paskal Milo. Zani emphasizes this in his interview, while none of the officials has given a clear response to the statements he made yesterday and the day before. It appears that these cases, as well as his ties to the state, are still being considered in connection with crime in Europe and beyond.

The Vlora gang leader begins to talk: Milo promised me a passport to leave Albania

DP MPs request A bouquet of flowers at Azem Hajdari’s empty seat

Democrats enter Parliament. Berisha: Albanians are asking the DP to swiftly realize their desire for peace, prosperity, security and a future The murder of Azem Hajdari is the bitterest precedent in our history, and unless justice is done, no matter how far away those responsible sit, no matter how far away the perpetrators are, we cannot have a clear conscience or a normal situation, declared the chairman of the DP parliamentary group ON PAGE 3

The fair privatization of the mobile phone company ON PAGE 3

It emerges that the $350,000 with which AFOR bought the Rinas barracks was used for various purposes by the Albanian authorities ON PAGE 3

The Ministry of Transport admits corruption in connection with a tender awarded to a Greek company ON PAGE 2

The Secretary General of the Pan-European Union and the renowned British historian Noel Malcolm have also welcomed this initiative The American Democratic Institute welcomes the parliamentary initiative to declare President Clinton an honorary citizen of Albania. Noel Malcolm and the Pan-European Union have also expressed their appreciation. The Executive Director of the National Democratic Institute, Tom Melia, in a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Democratic parliamentary group, Genc Pollo, expresses his appreciation for this initiative, which will undoubtedly strengthen relations between our two countries. The Secretary General of the Pan-European Union and the renowned British historian Noel Malcolm also support the first [unclear] of Kosovo; in letters addressed to Genc Pollo, both welcome this parliamentary initiative.

Today, 306 days since the murder of the December Leader Every day that passes since the murder of Azem Hajdari, the symbol of democracy and pluralism, demonstrates the involvement of Fatos Nano’s government and representatives of crime in the stance of the entire Albanian world. The government of the former communists, which leaves free and undisturbed the criminals who killed this December Leader, shows Albanians that it has been and remains on the side of the gang of murderers, whose members are known by name but are untouched by those in power. Democracy and all the Albanians who loved and honored Azem Hajdari cannot tolerate this government’s guilt. The government must either conduct an investigation through the justice system into this crime, or publicly declare that it itself committed the murder of Azem Hajdari.

We will be a constructive opposition Dajçi: The upcoming interpellations called by Democratic MPs may concern Kosovo, public order and security in the country, corruption in the Ministry of Transport, governance and other matters, as well as issues concerning the fullest possible use of Albania’s limited stability ON PAGE 3

The former Minister of Agriculture explains what commitments the DP is making regarding property in the future By Hasan HALILI ON PAGE 8

By Tritan SHEHU ON PAGE 8