Slocombe: Our relations will continue to be good if you restore order and the rule of law NATIONAL LIBRARY TIRANA on page 3

Berisha: “Gjirokastra, a barrier against anti-Albanian racism” Gjirokastra with Berisha. An extraordinary meeting with the Democrats of the South on pages 4-5

By Arian STAROVA No one should remain silent when confronted with filth, whatever kind it may be. Meanwhile, people also remain silent, driven by an understanding of certain moral scruples; while public opinion takes those who spread filth for what they are, they, out of caprice and whim, take this as a green light to continue shamelessly polluting our shared environment. on page 2

The Prosecutor’s Office is fabricating a false case against the former Minister of Economy and Privatization Sources at the General Prosecutor’s Office say that the former Minister of Public Economy and Privatization risks ending up behind bars, since everything has been prepared in advance by Prime Minister Meta and Fatos Nano on page 6

By Shemsi PEPOSHI on page 7

Italian police have stopped more than 100 clandestine migrants from Vlora in Taranto on page 6

“Union for Democracy” argues for the necessity of early elections on page 2

The author of the slanderous reports on TV “Klan” and TV “Koha,” supposedly statements by the chairman of the Gjirokastër branch of the DP, Roland Bejko, in support of Genc Pollo, is Genc Pollo himself. One of the managers at “Klan” and a journalist at TV “Koha” confirmed to RD that the story came from the same source, namely MP Genc Pollo, already known for similar fabrications at home and abroad. According to them, the text arrived at the respective newsrooms by E-mail, from the address (gpollo@albaniaonline.net), after a warning phone call from the sender himself. Despite being asked to change it so it would not look as if it came from the same hand, the newsrooms of both private television stations did not avoid the same clichés. Especially at the beginning of the report, where both presenters innocently read the sentence: “The chairman of the DP was surprised in Gjirokastër when he heard the chairman of the Democratic Party’s Gjirokastër branch...” Having fired his last unsuccessful shots at the DP, Genc Pollo seems to be returning to his old trade of fabrications, for which he is also known at many foreign embassies in Tirana. Perhaps it is the only work he can do at present, all the more so at a time when this parliament’s days are being cut short with every passing moment.

Today, 488 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 henchman in the crime that shook the entire Albanian world. The former-communist government, which leaves its criminals—who took the life of the December Leader—free and at large, shows Albanians that it has been and remains on the side of the killers, who pose a danger but are not touched by those in power. Democrats and all grieving Albanians, who denounce the murder of Azem Hajdari, cannot tolerate his criminals. The government must either capture the criminals and bring them to justice, or publicly declare that it itself committed the murder of Azem Hajdari.