Instead of meeting the students’ demands, the head of state makes a failed pilgrimage to Shkodër... Vlorë: Student strike on its fourth day: President’s speech in Shkodër greeted with whistles

Berisha accuses the opposition in the hope that he can hide the minaret in his own leaky sack. Meanwhile, we also ask a question: When will Tritan Shehu and Gëzim Zilja go to Fitim Gërxhaliu to bring him a pack of cigarettes, since “a good friend is known in hard times”?

I will always be close to people facing difficulties. I will address the concerns of Vlorë’s residents by avoiding delays and bureaucracy, and ensure that the municipal mechanisms are proper in their dealings, in accordance with the DP’s basic principles concerning d[?] [small text partly illegible] Gëzim, the DP has nominated you for mayor of the Municipality of Vlorë. Facsimile taken from RD, dated 8 October 1996, where an interview with DP MP Gëzim Zilja was published; at the time, he was a candidate for mayor in Vlorë and a close friend of Fitim Gërxhaliu. Page 3 Gëzim, the DP has nominated you for mayor of the Municipality of Vlorë. Facsimile taken from RD, dated 8 October 1996, where an interview with DP MP Gëzim Zilja was published; at the time, he was a candidate for mayor in Vlorë and a close friend of Fitim Gërxhaliu.

Statement of the Forum for Democracy The Government’s resignation, the first step toward easing tensions Page 4

The PSSH leadership responds: Unjustifiable expenses in an immoral election campaign are denounced The DP’s invitations to dialogue prove to be speculative and demagogic The PSSH is open to dialogue on equal terms Page 2

Albanian Helsinki Committee Page 5

The people of Vlorë explain to the President: Several protesters from Vlorë, in a letter addressed to the editorial office of “Zëri i popullit,” ask President Berisha to explain himself. From Peshkopi and Shkodër, he attacked the protesters of Vlorë, as if they had used gestures that were symbols of the Belgrade protests, referring to the three fingers raised during their demonstrations. “Berisha would do well to come to Vlorë, where we would show him our symbols more clearly,” the protesters from Vlorë stress, adding that he should not look for ties with Belgrade or Montenegro in Vlorë, but elsewhere. “The symbol of the three fingers in our protests,” they emphasize, “is nothing other than the ‘heads’ of Berisha, Meksi and T. Shehu. They must take responsibility by resigning, if they want to prove that they still have even a gram of a sense of responsibility. This is the latest and, at the same time, most credible explanation of the three-finger symbol used by the protesters of Vlorë.

The DP government stays in power for fear that its dirty dealings will be exposed Meksi threatens: “If I leave, I’ll talk!…” “The wheat rolled ‘double six’ and got stuck in my hand” “Tao-Tao,” or Adil of the Democratic Party Page 7