ILIR YZEIRI In all the countries of Eastern Europe, the transition from a centralized state economy to free enterprise and private property has brought problems. From one point of view, reactivating the economy, after it seemed impossible, was a fatal challenge. Nevertheless, in less than two years of the economy, to anyone who argues dispassionately, it seems changed; various analysts note that this is precisely now the most important phase of the economic and moral restructuring of the state. In this sense, the term “Albanian model” is used in journalistic writing. Philippines? According to analysts, the danger of this term, the “Philippine model,” is the reactivation of society by artificial means and with uncontrolled resources. The first thing is that states lose legal control over sources of economic profit; this refers to those states where economic activity is controlled and movement takes place through the recycling of “dirty money,” where corruption means that every part of the economy takes its cut, and the state is weak and without control. In this respect, the countries of the East, and Albania in particular, cannot be compared. The same is true of examples: here, the situation regarding the establishment of investments by powerful foreign firms remains a concern. Nevertheless, perhaps, foreigners or firms bringing consumer goods have entered Albania and are conducting business. Restaurants and bars in city centers are preferred (most have opened discos and shops). To be precise, in Tirana most of these premises have been occupied by foreigners, who have rented or been given the use of state-owned premises. No one can predict their prices or huge profits; the absence of a complete tax system will give these owners the right to avoid monitoring Tirana’s economic payments, blocking serious investment in other sectors. Considering Blerim Çela’s report to Parliament on corruption brings this problem into focus. It is striking that lower-level state structures have, in some cases, according to the SHKSH report, been involved in criminal activities and, as a result, millions of lekë have been squandered on criminal activities. From this point of view, “the violence of the law” seems to have found a comfortable niche, giving the law a different meaning. Thus, the unchecked ownership of clandestine businesses may be one of the reasons that frighten serious investors. In Tirana, and throughout the country, there are such properties as social and cultural facilities. The FRSH alone has more than ten thousand properties in Tirana that are outside state control. Foreign businesses operate in them, and nobody monitors them. In the Palace of Culture in Tirana and in the “Studenti” city complex there are two discos, set up by someone whose rent payments are unknown. This is happening in almost all state premises. Meanwhile, their allocation for premises has been blocked, and there is much debate about the property law. Yet using state property funds in the ways mentioned above, in the style of the government of stability (the shopkeepers should buy the shops), could risk artificially enriching groups known among the public as “the smart ones,” and consequently leave the real environment of people with genuine opportunities to become wealthy impoverished; it would create the idea that poverty in Albania is a moral problem.

Greek socialists’ victory causes tremors in the European Community and NATO The clear victory of the Greek socialists in Sunday’s parliamentary elections caused troubling tremors on Monday in the European Community and NATO, amid fears that Athens would take tougher positions toward its partners, the Reuters agency reports. Diplomats and various officials said that the return to power of veteran socialist leader Andreas Papandreou, who pursued a policy against NATO and the European Community when he was last in power in the 1980s, could cause upheaval on a range of key issues, including Yugoslavia. Moreover, Greece will assume the rotating six-month presidency of the European Community from January next year, a position that will allow it to set the Community’s agenda, while Greece itself faces a series of crises concerning its future. Investigation completed in the criminal case against former Prime Minister Fatos Nano The Tirana District Prosecutor’s Office announces that on 9.10.1993 the investigation was completed in the criminal case against the defendants Fatos Nano, Sokrat Plaka, Robert Gjini and Hasan Halko. On the same date, the spokesperson for the Tirana District Prosecutor’s Office says, the investigative file in this case was sent to the Tirana District Court. The defendant Fatos Nano, the announcement states, is accused of the crime of abuse of office in cooperation with the defendant Sokrat Plaka, causing economic damage of 71 343 728, 50 lekë, as well as, separately, the crime of falsifying official documents; these criminal offences are provided for under Articles 106 and 113, and Article 110 of the Criminal Code. Since the state of emergency was imposed, around 19,000 people have been detained in Moscow The military commandant of Moscow, Aleksandër [?] against 326 of them. In a

Nothing new on the northern border Arben POPOCI The afternoon of 5 October 1993. A helicopter was flying over Kukës toward the border. “Someone must have been wounded, or fallen ill,” commented a person from Kukës. In the evening, the first rumors were heard too: “A soldier has been killed... two have been killed... one killed and one wounded.” The truth. On the night of 4 October, a patrol of two soldiers was ambushed. The burst of automatic-gun fire wounded both soldiers. Adriatik Ulqinaku (born in 1974), from Elbasan, was seriously wounded and taken to a hospital in Tirana for treatment, while Pellumb Sera from Shkodra was lightly wounded. According to the report from the scene, attended by commissions from both sides, and according to witnesses, events unfolded as follows: our patrol was making its regular patrol of the area under its control when it was ambushed by four Serbian soldiers and fired upon with a burst of automatic-gun fire. Our patrol was 11m inside our state territory, while the Serbian soldiers were likewise about 10 m inside from the other side. It was a sudden, entirely unprovoked attack, naturally from behind. The following day, when the report was to be signed by both sides, the Serbs refused to meet at all. Apparently, an agreement “On measures to prevent and resolve incidents on the state border” existed between the RPSSH and the SFRY, and is, in practice, still in force today. Despite this agreement, Albanian soldiers and civilians are killed at the border, as in the case of the five civilians killed a few months ago and the case of the wounding of two of our soldiers in the district of Tropojë (sector 4). Serbia’s official position is to claim that they were always attacked first and always escaped unscathed, leaving Albanians dead and wounded behind them. In none of the cases did they agree to sign a joint report. There is also a Central Commission that discusses all the incidents and meets once a year with its counterpart commission from Serbia to review all the cases that occurred during the year. And, as it happens, on that very day this Serbian commission was in Tirana to review this year’s cases. All these “incidents” do not, in fact, resemble incidents at all. They are carried out with clear premeditation. What does Serbia want to achieve with these killings at the border? First, it wants to impose on the Albanians that they call for the deployment of the Blue Helmets on this border, and only on this side, not on the other. Second, this is another useful step toward undermining Albania’s commitment to Albanians in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. Finally, it wants to keep the situation at the border tense so that the border remains as closed as possible. Otherwise, the border would become more open, whether through illegal crossings or by obtaining visas through bribery. Thus, there will be killings at the border for as long as the border exists.

These days, the chairman of the PR, Mr. Sabri Godo, received the leadership of the ‘Çamëria’ Association, represented by Mr. Arshin Rexha, chairman, Mr. Hasan Minga, secretary-general, as well as Mr. Resul Taipi and Musa Zeneli. Mr. Arshin Rexha said that the ‘Çamëria’ Association sees in ... leaving behind everything they had. Your suffering did not end there. Enver Hoxha’s government viewed you with suspicion and almost left you to fend for yourselves. But you are naturally strong and resourceful, and somehow got yourselves settled through hard work and effort. Suffering has also made you wise. In 1948 Enver Hoxha wanted to send you ... Once again, they affirm that this problem does not exist. Whereas we must fight together so that the Cham people have those basic rights that are not denied to peoples in today’s world. The PR recognized the lawful status of the Greek minority in Albania. The same must apply to the Cham in Greece. Our policy today must rest on these three points: - We do not seek changes to the borders. - We seek the best possible relations with Greece. - We demand that the Cham be recognized as a minority and that their indisputable right to return to their native lands, from which they were forcibly displaced, be recognized. Both sides noted that their views were in complete agreement and agreed on close and ongoing cooperation. These days the chairman of the PR, Mr. Sabi Gordo, that the “Çamëria” Association sees in the PR a party that clearly and forcefully defends the interests of the nation. The Association does not intend to turn into a political party, as some advise. The Cham issue concerns all Albanians, not one particular political party. But the parties and state institutions should show greater understanding toward the Association and toward the Cham issue as a whole. Many promises have been made, but in fact the Association has been left without any assistance. In his remarks, Mr. Gordo said: I welcome this conversation with pleasure. The Chams are among the most unfortunate people in Europe, forcibly displaced from their millennia-old lands. Some of you came to Albania in the ’30s–’40s. But most came in 1945–’47 to save their lives, there. Enver Hoxha’s government viewed you with suspicion and practically left you out on the streets. But you are naturally strong and resourceful, and somehow managed to get by wise. In 1948 Enver Hoxha wanted to send you to fight for EAM. You did not give in to your passions; you replied humanely that you would not go and fight under the Greek flag for a cause that did not concern you. You refused to go as mercenaries and, moreover, to help establish communism in Greece. This was a great act of friendship that you showed toward the Greek people, for which you paid with 800 people interned at once, and with many imprisonments and executions. Previous governments have not wanted to involve themselves in the Cham issue, which has helped Greek chauvinist currents to ...

Moscow’s military commandant, Aleksandër kulinov, announced that 18939 people had been questioned in Moscow since the state of emergency was declared on 4 October, and that the Prosecutor’s Office had begun a judicial investigation against 326 of them. At a press conference held in recent days, he emphasized that 180 firearms and 18 explosive grenades had also been found. THE EDITOR

A PR member is killed ELBASAN. He was passing by chance along the road by the PR headquarters, near the intersection at the House of Culture, when he was suddenly shot at from a dark-colored Volkswagen, which sped away. The victim was Ali Qipo, 42, director of the Construction Enterprise and a member of the Governing Council of the PR branch in the district. Witnesses at the crime scene, as well as the Criminal Police investigation, show that the victim had no connection whatsoever with those who shot him. In fact, the latter were pursuing another person by car, who hid behind the victim at the moment the Volkswagen approached. Shots were fired from the car and they mistakenly killed Ali Qipo. The crime took place at midday on Saturday. On Tuesday morning, the Criminal Police detained F.M., 33, and the other individuals were identified.

Reportage On the surface of Lake Fierza, the ruins of a city can be made out. The ruins date back 30 years, with the process ending in 1978. People were leaving the city behind, abandoning their homes among the ruins of the [unclear]. The last of them left with the “help” of ... The waters of Lake Fierza reveal the ruins of a city. The end. The lake’s water level has fallen, and part of the 1,370 ha of agricultural land has emerged. Its owners have planted it, and here and there the first houses have begun to go up—houses that are submerged in winter. This is what it is like around Lake Fierza. Further on, the “old” city lives peacefully in the water. New Kukës, too, feels peaceful. Its calm is disturbed by the wind blowing from all four directions and by people’s efforts to survive in a city where nothing is produced. Only the city produces nothing. Only this city, the line of people was ... The people of the district ... 1,156 families received social assistance for September, and their number is expected to increase, N. Halilaj, head of this group, tells us. Sixty-eight enterprises are not operating, and unemployment, as a result of the reform, has reached 7,000. Far too many for a city of 19,000 residents. The socialists run the Municipality of Kukës. A municipal official, a former council chairman who oversaw municipal services and trade, was reluctant to talk about Kukës’s problems and how they might be solved; as for the problems in the ... sector: “The market economy has sorted everything out nicely.” “I have no authority whatsoever,” complains the mayor, O. Përllaku, and protests about several transfers of teachers and telephone staff that “were carried out without professional testing.” “Here the socialists took local power on July 26, and within a few days they completed the reform,” says the secretary of the PD branch. “They replaced all the Democrats with their own people, who have spent their whole lives working in offices. By authority, you mean only the transfer of personnel. If not ... The former Kukës, with all its private houses, is trying to awaken this ... They are satisfied; they ask you for nothing,” concludes the secretary of the PD branch, who then has to explain to an unnamed student in the village of Shtiq that “the PD does not make decisions for the authorities; it only makes proposals.” “Given its particular situation (isolated on both sides), the city of Kukës should continue to receive help from the government. All our interlocutors say this, and by help they mean the opportunity to work. ‘We are satisfied with the electricity supplied to several communes, but jobs need to be created.’” Kukës is a city “far” from Tirana, but circumstances cannot move it to the other side of the border (where most people have cousins), just 20 km from Prizren. Today they can only look at the border as a “forbidden fruit.” People also want things to improve, and they are optimistic about this. But if Kukës cannot actually be helped today, at least officials from Tirana should not toss out the cliché: “What can we do for you, when you’re at the end of the world!” After all, Kukës is part of Albania, too. Lutfi Dervishi

The Editorial Office

During the first two days of this week, the capital’s madwoman N., unlike her usual behavior, was seen moving through the streets and alleyways of Tirana completely silent and indifferent. Her silence was so solemn that many who saw her did not dare to tease her with their customary taunts. In any case, this did not last long, because on Wednesday morning, at around nine o’clock, she climbed the steps of Hotel Arbëria and delivered this speech: “Honorable ordinary and insignificant people, old and young, Communists and Democrats! You lot are not informed about yesterday morning’s meeting of the Council of Europe, and it is my duty to explain this matter to you point by point. There were four issues for which this meeting was organized. - The major issue of comrade Fatos’s imprisonment. - The impartiality of the newspaper “Koha Jonë”. - The Council of Europe’s struggle and efforts to bring the Albanian Communists to power as soon as possible. - The fourth issue: Greek ethnic lands in Albania and the impartiality of old lady Çudero. As for the first issue, it should be mentioned that the Council of Europe held a minute’s silence for comrade Fatos’s imprisonment during the filming session. After the minute’s silence, it was unanimously decided that comrade Fatos Nano should be elected honorary president of the European Parliament in absentia. - The second and most important issue was an article on the impartiality of the newspaper “Koha Jonë”. This issue was discussed at length in separate sessions. After several hours of discussion, tensions rose, and it was unanimously decided that this newspaper should gradually begin to come out with blank pages. The decision seems to have reached the newspaper, because, as you saw, it began implementing it immediately by ... leaving page 2 blank in yesterday’s issue. Once all the pages are blank, perhaps the Tirana Municipality will also have less trouble with the rubbish covering the streets. On the third issue, it was decided that the Communists would come to power in Albania on November 29 of this year. November 29 was chosen so that this red month would not be entirely packed with holidays. On the fourth issue, the Council of Europe decided that the ethnic lands of Greece should extend as far as Lezhë. It was promised that this objective would be achieved before old lady Çudero’s death. For her part, the old lady in question protested against this arbitrary decision by the Council of Europe: “How can I make this decision before the old men Papandreou, Mitsotakis and Karemanlis?” she said. “I am old, while the three of them together are 230 years old.” Finally, the Council of Europe decided that the writings in blue by Fatos Nano should be placed in the Vienna Museum.