Clinton meets Meidani and Majko today; here is the message Clinton: If you stay on this path, we will stand by you Tuesday 22 June 1999 No. 144 (16946) Newspaper of the Socialist Party of Albania Price 30 lekë. For Greece 3000 drx 70 AMERICA WILL DO EVERYTHING ▪ No other country did more for the victory of humanism. ▪ The greatest barbarity Europe has ever seen was defeated with the help of one of the greatest acts of generosity. ▪ More NATO troops will be deployed in your country. ▪ Greater opportunity for partnership with NATO and integration in Europe. ▪ We want you to be on the front line of democracy and prosperous development.

The armed scum from Fier, Shkodër, Laç and Tropojë had gathered in Mamurras They had gathered in Mamurras: the armed scum from Fier, Shkodër, Laç and Tropojë They had rockets; they are suspected of having stolen them in Qafë Mollë Registered by the police; they are suspected of having blown up the northern power poles PAGE 11

Eight Socialist MPs, led by the secretary of the Parliamentary Group, Jupe, arrived in Kukës yesterday morning and stayed in the villages hit during the war in Has and Kukës. They said yesterday evening that the situation was calm and that the security forces had the situation under control. Optimism about coping with the flow of Kosovars who have been heading toward Kosovo for days was evident everywhere. The MPs said yesterday evening that this morning they would meet in Prizren with the prefect of that city, and in the evening in Prishtina with Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi.

They had previously been convicted by a court and are accused of murdering a police officer PAGE 11

All those who retired before 1 October 1993 are eligible. Specifically, the recipients of the new increases will be those whose pensions were established under the old 1966 law. PAGE 12

"abc" The message that US President Clinton addressed yesterday to the Albanian people, ahead of his meeting today with President Meidani and Prime Minister Majko, represents the highest level of esteem that the world’s most powerful country and its highest authorities have shown our people. In the annals of comprehensive Albanian-American cooperation, which has taken on a qualitatively higher character over recent months, this message will remain a point of reference for a very long time. To appreciate the scale of Mr. Clinton’s esteem for our people, only these words are needed: “History will record that one of the greatest acts of barbarity Europe has seen this century acts of generosity.” And naturally, following this position comes the commitment: “America will do everything it can to help you ... to prosper ... America will increase its military presence in Albania.” After this expression of esteem, there is nothing else to say but: Thank you, Mr. Clinton, great friend of the Albanian nation, champion of democracy and progress! But there are among us certain political pygmies who fabricate hypotheses about a hypothetical cooling of relations between the two countries. They are not worth engaging with. But the fact that Mr. Clinton will meet the highest Albanian authorities in Skopje, not Tirana, is interpreted by them as “a cold wind” coming from across the Atlantic; they do not hesitate to say that “the US is abandoning Albania,” prompting us to say a few words. These voices will remain among us as long as there are political forces—or particular politicians—who fan tensions in the country to secure some immediate gain, instead of making the necessary cause of stability their own. But two points are enough to demolish this house of cards, raised as a challenge to the government. First, Mr. Clinton himself has spoken of a “trip to the region” of the Balkans, so it matters little where he meets Albanian leaders, in Skopje or in Tirana. Naturally, every Albanian would like to see the American President in Albania. But it is worth saying that the United States has very good relations with many countries, and the American President has not needed to visit them for that to be so. To stay within the region, let us mention Turkey or Greece. Second, to invent or explain a so-called “cooling” between our two countries by the absence of “plans, doctrines or formulas” that supposedly bear the names of Majko, Meidani or Millos, as the authors of these fabrications put it, means conceiving of politics as a kollekjall. Doctrines do not spring up like mushrooms after rain, so the issue is not their emergence in Albania; they are already here, and the time has come to work, as we have worked, to meet the great historical challenge of recent months.