ARRESTED IN MILAN: NINETEEN ALBANIAN TRAFFICKERS OF MINORS PAGE 2

FOREIGN FINANCING, THE BASIS OF INVESTMENT IN THE '99 BUDGET PAGE 5

THE GRAVE SITUATION OF RECENT DAYS IN KOSOVO CONTINUES PAGE 9

Prime Minister Majko ... and the chairman of the parliamentary minority, Pollo Prime Minister Majko; ... and the chairman of the parliamentary minority, Pollo

By Pandeli MAJKO /Prime Minister As Prime Minister, together with the Deputy Prime Minister, on behalf of the government we held direct talks with leaders of the opposition, the PD, seeking to defuse a polarization that we have considered essentially not only artificial, but one which, given the situation our country is going through, is turning Albania into a country without hope. The situation in Kosovo is creating the impression that we Albanians are unable to help one another. In this context, I thought that my meeting as Prime Minister, together with the Deputy Prime Minister, with the highest representatives of the PD—not only to resolve the problems of some students who have gone on hunger strike—constitutes a step forward, without expressing any rhetorical optimism. It cannot be confined within the narrow limits of people’s confidence in the current government; rather, with the appropriate good sense, it makes clear to all Albanians, both inside Albania and beyond the country’s borders, especially those in Kosovo, who are going through extremely difficult and dramatic times, that the Albanian government has a duty to care not only for those who voted for it, but also for those who are called the opposition. Despite the traumas, despite the polarization, despite the problems carried over from the past, the Albanian government has expressed its readiness, and today it proved that readiness by responding to a political organization within the ranks of the opposition. Yet psychologically we feel no distance, as in December 1990, believing that in politics one must indeed reconsider things when the calm of the citizen is at stake—when it is a question of the state not concerning itself with the dangers of politics, but with fighting crime and corruption. In other words, it must deal with what not only socialists and democrats, but also the ordinary people of this country who have no party membership cards, want and hope for in the future of this country. In this context, I believe that today’s meeting can be considered fruitful, since, after so long following the June 29 elections, we managed to establish a normal dialogue with the representatives of the PD, in which it is hard to say that one side won, or that the other came out ahead. I believe the most necessary approach in Albania today would be to set aside the question of who won and who lost. I believe that, with the dialogue begun today between the Albanian government and the representatives of the opposition, the Albanian citizen came out the winner. The police came out the winner, as it will have greater support in fighting crime. The national cause came out the winner. Because now, I believe, there is greater coordination, more exchange of views, and proper guidance regarding Albania’s position in support of Kosovo and our national cause. I believe, without expressing excessive optimism, I repeat, that together with the representatives of the PD we have coolly assessed the situations our country is going through and have taken a step forward, while also fulfilling our duty as a government.

• The hunger strike is nearing its end. Today at 9:00, the students and the government will sign an agreement to meet the students’ demands. • An independent commission of inquiry will be established to clarify the murder of Hajdari, through the adoption of a law. • A unified position between government and opposition on the Kosovo issue. The organization of a roundtable with Albanian political forces and those of Kosovo in Tirana is proposed.

I can say that it is every citizen’s right, if they did not vote for the government or do not like its governance, to demand its resignation. It may also be the right of 49% of the Albanian electorate. The government will resign when there is a crisis in the elected majority, or if 51 percent of the people are against it.