The great problem of the Albanian right: alliance with crime By ERION BRAÇE Colonel Arten Zylyftari was laid to rest yesterday as a martyr of this country, a symbol of our struggle—all of us—against crime. For the first time, yesterday in Berat, I saw such defiant solidarity—people from Skrapar, Vlora, Shkodra, Korça, Berat—against crime. Perhaps for the first time, yesterday too, I did not envy the Spanish solidarity in the struggle against the political terrorism of the Basques of ETA. But yesterday I saw that something had shifted within those tens of thousands of people accompanying the colonel, from the Prime Minister down to the last policeman firing his weapon in the honor salute. Everyone swore to fight crime, now many times more savage, and to change the painful tally of police officers who have become martyrs. But, unfortunately, not all the people who swore to wage a fierce fight against crime were among those who should have stood alongside the people opposed to crime. Sali Berisha, the ideological leader of terrorism and every other kind of common crime in Albania, did not place himself, his party (if he has one), or his supporters (if he has any) alongside the citizens of the state who fight crime in order to establish order, peace and security for everyone. Not even for “politician” Shaban Berisha. Many expected it, and it is true that Sali Berisha and all his ilk, so utterly lacking in humanity, neither condemned the killing nor attended; let alone did they pay their respects for even a minute beside Colonel Zylyftari’s coffin—a policeman who went to establish justice in Shkodra, where two bandits had recently killed two more citizens. This is his (Sali Berisha’s) public choice. And he has finally and dispassionately placed himself among the criminals, with a criminal’s tie. A choice that, in Colonel Zylyftari’s case, became evident as far back as ’93, the year he drove him out of the police force under Article 24/1; and it was brought to a close yesterday when, asked for his opinion about the colonel’s murder, he answered shamelessly, disgracefully, criminally: “Let’s move on to another question.” A choice that, in my case, your case, or anyone else’s, manifests itself in murder, blowing up electric poles and water pipes, and perhaps very soon schools as well. Nevertheless, this was, is, and will be Sali Berisha, who honors not policemen but the killers of policemen. Indeed, those who kill two policemen at once. I’m sure you remember the bandit from Levan, Fier. Beyond that, Berisha alone, absent yesterday from an event that was something more than a ceremony, would not in itself be enough to put him among those who kill policemen. But yesterday the entire right wing was absent, regardless of the clowns who represent it. Absent were everyone from Fatmir ...’s “anti-crime” party (shkr...qind kjo? [?]), which later showed kindness to bandits, to Genc Pollo’s reformist movement. It may have been an oversight, but in a case like yesterday’s, everyone sees it as a public, political and humane position. This is the real problem of the Albanian right.

In Tirana—tribute, but also outrage and a call for revenge against crime In Berat—the Prime Minister vows to avenge him and change the balance of the fight • In Tirana—tribute, but also outrage and a call for revenge against crime • In Berat—the Prime Minister vows to avenge him and change the balance of the fight

In ’93, Berisha drove Zylyftari out of the police force under Article 24/1 Yesterday he answered reporters: “Let’s move on to another question” TIRANA—No representative of the right wing, which has joined together in a grouping called “Union for Democracy,” took part yesterday in the ceremony honoring the former Director of the Shkodra Police, Colonel Arten Zylyftari. The President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and the entire cabinet, Socialist leader Fatos Nano, and political representatives of the “Alliance for the State” coalition were present at the ceremony. But the right wing had been excluded from the ceremony by the right-wing parties led by Sali Berisha’s PD. People initially interpreted this charitably as a PD protest against the state, until Sali Berisha publicly revealed the reason: “We’re not going to the ceremony; we’re with crime.” Asked by reporters to comment on the killing of Colonel Zylyftari while he was on duty, Berisha replied: “Let’s move on to another question.” In ’93, Sali Berisha had driven Zylyftari out of the police force under the infamous Article 24/1. SPECIAL—PAGES 2, 3, 4, 5 In the photo: Colonel Zylyftari’s wife and mother yesterday during the funeral ceremony (REUTERS)

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