Berisha, criminal threat yesterday in the middle of Parliament “Burrel will be your prison” You will pay dearly for this • I will send you to Burrel prison • Accept the amendments or your end will come long before the elections

Prime Minister Meta responds sharply in the language of the law • Meta: I do not care about politicians’ heads, Berisha’s or anyone else’s who will…

Roads: regardless of the minister’s party membership card, the blame remains with the PS Albania faces important economic challenges at the beginning of the third millennium

Meta: I do not care about politicians’ heads, Berisha’s or anyone else’s, if they attempt to violate the Constitution • I am ready to take all the responsibility necessary to prevent Berisha from violating the Constitution and destroying stability anyone else’s, if they attempt to violate the Constitution • I am ready to take all the responsibility necessary to prevent Berisha from violating the Constitution and destroying stability. TIRANA Prime Minister Meta said yesterday during an interview on TVSH’s “Dritare” program that he was or anyone else from violating the Constitution, destroying stability in the country, using the country as a gambling chip, endangering citizens’ safety and peace, anesthetizing the opposition for political motives, imprisoning journalists for their criticism, carrying out political purges in the public administration—in other words, restoring authoritarianism in Albania. “I have made only one oath in my life. On the day I received my mandate in Parliament, I swore ‘never to allow this [unclear] to violate the Constitution of the Republic and the citizens of this country,’” Prime Minister Meta said yesterday in his interview. PAGE 2–3

. 271 million lekë from state reserves for roads, sewerage and lighting in 15 cities. Vorë–Rinas Junction: 7 million lekë; Kinostudio–Dajt: 8.9 million lekë; Road to the Brigades Palace: 4.1 million lekë; Structures on the F. Krujë–Mamurras road: 137 million lekë; F. Krujë–Milot – National Road: 54 million lekë; (Berat) Kombinat–Uznovë: 50 million lekë. PAGE 5

. 10 far-right MPs voted against, while Tritan Shehu and Ylli Vejsiu abstained. PAGE 2

Strong “pro” statement in support of the code drawn up with OSCE experts by the American ambassador at the OSCE Council in Vienna . [Text of the document in English, reproduced on the page:] U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION PROGRAMS. Washington File. 04 May 2000. Text: U.S. Statement to OSCE Permanent Council on Albanian Elections. (Local elections a critical prelude to national voting) (OSCE). Vienna - Ambassador David Johnson, head of the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), delivered a statement on local elections in Albania to the Permanent Council of the OSCE May 4. Johnson said the local vote is of “critical importance as a prelude to national elections in Albania for Albanian democratic development and for stability in Albania and the region.” Following is the text of Johnson’s statement: U.S. MISSION TO THE OSCE May 4, 2000 STATEMENT ON ALBANIA Delivered by Ambassador David T. Johnson to the Permanent Council, Vienna. Madame Chairperson: We have taken note Ambassador [illegible] Ahrens (head of mission of the OSCE Presence in Albania) April 24 presentation on the recent elections in Albania. We believe there is broad agreement, in the international community, that elections among the candidates in Albania of the critical importance for Albanian local elections as a prelude to national elections, the development of democratic institutions and the stability of Albania and the region. [The remaining part is illegible in the reproduction.] Strong “pro” statement for the code drafted with OSCE experts by the American ambassador at the OSCE Council in Vienna. PAGE 3

Albania faces important economic challenges at the beginning of the third millennium, and the country's integration into Europe is closely linked to their successful resolution. third millennium, and the country's integration into Europe is closely linked to their successful resolution. There is no more time to lose, and the productive use of the country's tourism and agricultural resources has become an immediate necessity. We have many opportunities to succeed in these fields, thanks to our natural assets. But they are closely linked to the country's infrastructure, which is at a miserable, no longer tolerable level! Our roads are anything but roads! They are ruining our tourism and bankrupting the investments made in this sector. Albania, stressed and devastated by excavations carried out by ‘dhjarët’, full of potholes, would rather not go on holiday than travel. These dreadful roads are what hold back agricultural production, which, given the state of the roads, takes days to reach the market; and these same pseudo-roads are the cause of overcrowding in major urban centers and the abandonment of peripheral areas. No one wants to live cut off from life, and our roads do not fulfill their role of uniting the country. In the face of such a shameful state of the roads, someone must take responsibility. It is absurd to spin tales about the coalition and party positions while roads absorb funds for someone and fall apart every minute! There really is a coalition called “Alliance for the State,” but the SP must not forget that it dominates Parliament and that, regardless of the minister's party membership card, the blame lies with the SP, which is doing nothing to intervene in the face of this chaos! There is no room for tolerance any longer! No excuse can absolve you in the face of our wretched roads, which have become major causes of our poverty and destruction. With these roads there can be no economic development, no order, no medical assistance, no Albania for Albanians! It is absurd to get from Rinas to London sooner than from Tirana to Shkodër! This shameful situation must be brought to an end through radical action, without yielding to pressure, because a people cannot suffer because of political whims! INSIDE • Poçi dismissed chief inspector Colonel Dilaver Bengasi yesterday ........ 9 • Minister honors the police officers killed on May 5 ........ 9 • Pollo: Yes, there were tanks with weapons in front of the PD ........ 8

The free vote, the surest weapon for progress against fascism PAGE 16