Reportage. A journey through a land that still smells of ashes. Clear signs of Kosovo’s revival. Rebuilders have begun work before Western money has arrived In Mitrovica, Kosovo’s artificial Berlin Wall—The «Hitler» frames of the KLA. The paradoxes of the absence of statehood. From the lack of a press to newspapers springing up like mushrooms in Pristina. Rilindja, the newspaper’s remains; 3 editors-in-chief to lose 2 million marks. The LDK under pressure to leave its offices. Bukoshi, within 8 years, takes a place in the leadership that made him prime minister. The Bosniak created by Rugova’s absence. Extravagant women in Thaçi’s government. The “independent” ministers who prefer to trade places with deputy ministers. The alliance of Pristina’s independents with Tirana’s independents, etc.... ON PAGE 2

The Albanian government delegation to the Sarajevo Summit could not help but bring to mind the Albanian “government” delegations that took part in the Peace Conference in Paris in 1920. At that time, three “governments” declared that they represented and defended Albania’s interests at the Peace Conference. After 80 years, the phenomenon has returned, but now in a very ugly form. The participation of the Albanian government delegation in the Sarajevo Summit turned into a cockfight between head of state Rexhep Meidani and Prime Minister Pandeli Majko. The two senior leaders of the Albanian state insisted on each delivering a speech at the Sarajevo Meeting on their own behalf, astonishing the organizers and leaving an extremely bitter taste among all the participants. Rexhep Meidani and Pandeli Majko both spoke at the Summit, and both spoke in the name of Albania. This unprecedented and unheard-of scandal in any government in the world, however inept, is all the more telling of how serious and interested Albania’s leaders were in securing something for the benefit of the country. The clash between Majko and Meidani continued yesterday, not in Sarajevo but in Albania. Meidani’s press office and Majko’s press office issued press releases about each man’s meetings, as though the two of them had represented different countries and governments in Sarajevo. After the Prime Minister’s office released a statement about his meeting with US President Bill Clinton and the informal conversation between them, Meidani’s office distributed an absurd item claiming that Meidani had met Kosovo administrator Kushner; as background to this item, it said that he had also met Clinton, Blair, etc., etc. Meanwhile, the Socialist Party’s government newspaper, “Zëri i Popullit,” had, days earlier, condemned the head of state for insisting on speaking in Sarajevo, thus officially confirming the “cockfight”—a shameful battle for those who claim to represent Albania. From the news issued yesterday by the respective offices of our two “governments,” Meidani’s and Majko’s, it was not at all difficult to understand how wretched and ridiculous the head of the Albanian state had become in this confrontation between the two political camps. According to his own self-serving propaganda, it was his insistence that Kosovo be mentioned in the final declaration, whereas prestigious news agencies report that American insistence prevented the Russian version, which excluded Kosovo from the final text, from being adopted. The upshot of this whole tragicomedy is very simple: Sarajevo, for Albania, turned into a brawl between two state leaders, seriously damaging Albania’s image before at least 30 heads of state and dozens of important international donor bodies and organizations. All that was served up yesterday and the day before from this important summit was a few individual meetings—a stage for some of Majko’s and Meidani’s young aides, who will serve the two men as they continue their battle over who represents Albania more abroad! Yesterday, Albania took a very heavy blow in Sarajevo, because, in addition to problems of order, corruption, smuggling, the state and the rule of law, the international community will also demand that the government first learn to function. In Sarajevo, the two Albanian “governments” not only forgot their grand projects for building Albania, but dealt the country another heavy blow, demonstrating a complete lack of responsibility toward the country they claim to represent. Nevertheless, perhaps even after all that happened, the Albanian public should not be surprised or shaken, because even Paskal Milo might have been embarrassed by the idea of another “government” and of him speaking in Sarajevo too, to complete the picture of Albania’s representation as it was in Paris in 1920. Surely no one would have prevented him not only from speaking, but also from meeting various Summit participants in informal meetings. Albanians really did gain a lot from Sarajevo: they gained the term “informal meetings.” That is enough to thank the representatives of our two governments for making us proud. Even if Slobodan Milosevic had begged for such a share of Albania in Sarajevo, it is hard to imagine that they could have accomplished it so perfectly.

Minister of Public Order: There are criminal and corrupt elements in the police “Gangs make the law, de facto and not de jure, in the North. The situation in these districts is difficult; I have been to Tropojë twice and have also sought the help of the local authorities to restore order” ON PAGE 4

Shehu: This government removes those who do not obey its political line. I will appeal this unjust decision to international judicial institutions Confirmation of Rexhep Meidani’s unconstitutional decree by former MP and

On Thursday, Democratic Party chairman Sali Berisha hosted a dinner for the US ambassador in Tirana, Mr. Frowick, on the occasion of his departure from Albania. The dinner was also attended by Deputy Speaker of Parliament Jozefina Topalli and Tirana Mayor Albert Brojka. During the dinner, which had a friendly character, the many problems facing Albania were discussed once again.

Albania The deputy officials also attended the dinner; the many problems facing Albania were discussed once again. Why didn’t Clinton wait for Meidani? At the Sarajevo Summit, President Clinton had a separate conversation with Prime Minister Majko, but did not have a similar meeting with President Meidani. Apart from a passing handshake, he did not exchange a single word with Albania’s top leader, choosing on this occasion to have only a brief conversation with the prime minister. ON PAGE 3

The confirmation of Rexhep Meidani’s unconstitutional decree by former MP and senior Socialist official Fehmi Abdiu, along with several other PS fanatics, proves once again that the entire pyramid of the justice system in our country is a political appendage, used by Rexhep Meidani and the executive branch to justify violations of the law in the service of total control over the branches of government. The senior Socialist official Fehmi Abdiu, along with several other PS fanatics, proves once again that the entire pyramid of the justice system in our country is a political appendage, used by Rexhep Meidani and the executive branch to justify violations of the law in the service of total control over the branches of government. ON PAGE 5

Opposition: The regional stability pact offered by international institutions should be followed by a pact of understanding at home The democratic opposition is seeking ways to lead Albania out of the crisis ON PAGE 3

“In Prishtina, many of the people I spoke with raised concerns about abusive conduct on the part of TVSH” Pollo calls on the state television broadcaster to stop deceiving people about Kosovo ON PAGE 3

Interview with LDK deputy chairman and chairman of the LDK Youth Forum, Naim Jërlihu ON PAGE 2

Today, 321 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 lets the criminals who took the December Leader’s life remain free and undisturbed, is showing Albanians that they have been and remain on the side of the killers, who have names and surnames but are not removed from power. Democrats and all Albanians who loved and honored Azem Hajdari cannot tolerate this fact under any circumstances. The government must either catch the criminals and bring them to justice, or publicly declare that it itself committed the murder of Azem Hajdari.

Sensational statement by the anti-smuggling prosecutor According to prosecutor Meta, smuggling is uncovered, but is rarely punished, because behind every truckload of smuggled coffee, cigarettes or fuel is the name of a government official ON PAGE 5

A police helicopter crashes in Ndroq. The officers were going to apprehend a gang of robbers According to police sources, a technical failure in the engine caused the helicopter accident. The helicopter’s engine failed and it came down in the village of Ndroq, where one police officer died and two others were seriously injured ON PAGE 4

The final declaration of the Sarajevo Summit is signed The Summit in Sarajevo on the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe has concluded. At the end of the proceedings, the summit’s final declaration was also signed. Discussions took place concerning this declaration, specifically paragraph four, which concerns the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, following a Russian proposal to remove references to Kosovo. After much discussion, this change was accepted in accordance with the proposal of the American delegation. Paragraph four of this declaration states: “It is our strong desire that all the countries of the region work together in a spirit of cohesion and solidarity through the Stability Pact to build a common, secure future. We regret that we were unable to invite the FRY to be present today as a fully equal participant in the Stability Pact. All participants must respect the principles and objectives of this pact. We appeal to the people of the FRY to embrace democratic change and work actively for regional reconciliation. In order to guide this country toward this goal, while respecting its sovereignty and territorial integrity, we will consider ways to make the Republic of Montenegro a beneficiary of the pact soon, and reaffirm our support for all democratic forces. In this context, we support the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, which concerns Kosovo, FRY. We also support UNMIK and KFOR in their efforts to ensure peace, democracy and security for all the inhabitants of Kosovo. We strongly urge the preservation of Kosovo’s multi-ethnic character, where the rights of all inhabitants and the rule of law are respected. We welcome the encouraging results of the Donors’ Conference on 28 July for humanitarian aid and other assistance.” Before this paragraph was changed, Kosovo was not mentioned in it.