Listening to poor Alia’s words, one automatically wonders: were these people like this back then too?!! At Friday’s hearings, the defendant Robert Gjini asked one of the witnesses: Was Gavrosh Pogace a minister or an employee of the state apparatus? This question, posed quite spontaneously, contained not only irony but also an extremely clever answer. Gavrosh Pogace and Vladimir Pulaj are the two names constantly mentioned not only by the prosecution and the court, but also by the accused and the witnesses. When these two names come up, the events seem to recede and become shrouded in fog. But what do these two names actually represent? What were their positions and roles? Why are they mentioned so often? At first glance, perhaps because of their positions, they seem laughable, but that is not at all true. They appear to be figures, but their role is extremely significant. Gavrosh Pogace and Vladimir Pulaj are important instruments in Fatos Nano’s game. They are the legal cover for his theft. By using these figures, the master’s hand is hidden and the truth is obscured. The game of using figures has been played for hundreds of years. In modern times this game has become more widespread. Professional mafiosi and bandits constantly put pawns into play. When called as witnesses, they say nothing but words. Vladimir Pulaj, for example, throughout his testimony mentioned only the words: fax; Italian, fax. Gavrosh Pogace spoke at length and said nothing. Hearing after hearing, the many witnesses keep making the truth simpler; Ridvan Qarri explains in detail the documents found and, above all, Nano’s instructions. Former minister Shane Korbeci testifies that, despite his objections, the Ministry of Foreign Trade was sidelined in the handling of aid. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (!) was entrusted with these duties. The young former deputy secretary, Shkëlqim Cani, plays his part well in the scripts. He remembers nothing, recalls nothing?! And he was deputy prime minister! But what more could he do for his friend? Every witness avoids the evil, steers clear of the plague, pointing their arrows at former prime minister Nano and his instructions. Even the former Albanian ambassador in Rome (you had only the title, it seems), Dashnor Dervishi, avoids the evil. For 20 minutes straight he plays the fool and at times is silenced by prosecutor Gjokatak; he leaves with his head bowed. The other witnesses also try to stay out of it. But who received the aid? It remains the so-called CITIZENS’ COMMITTEE (even this name is something we have only just heard of), Gavrosh Pogace, Vladimir Pulaj and the wise Fatos Nano, fortified by two lawyers who from time to time prop their chairman up on the table and ... he speaks. Even hired young people, third parties, could not have done Nano as much harm. Between hearings, a very comical scene unfolds. It is caused by the arrival in the courtroom of Ramiz Alia. The man who for 50 years in a row said nothing to this people delivers one of those speeches of his, now proverbial: “The aid, proud that I used the people to save them from bloodshed, and me too.” But for what I have done, the people are grateful to me, and this is the answer that reaches me even in my cell. The people have eyes and see me. They know how to make comparisons. I had no way of knowing the desire to become a neo-dictator. I am a political persecuted person,” says his slightly belated delusion. Why? - sixteen people imitate a pitiful round of applause. These are serious delusions... Listening to poor Alia to the very end, the unfortunate man makes you wonder: Were these people like this back then too?!! Ylli RAKIPI

PHOTO: Armando Baben

The Italian aid case — More people are needed to shed light The trial concerning Italian aid to Albania began several days ago. Its main protagonist is Fatos Nano, former prime minister of the second-to-last communist government. The way this issue has been treated by the propaganda media, primarily those of the PS, as well as the anti-government media and certain sections of official circles, has created a false whispering campaign, leading this trial to be called the “Nano trial.” No, first of all, the role played by the press war, in which one side accused the other: the government press and the PD accused the former prime minister of being responsible for corruption and for the abuses involving Italian aid, while “ZP,” other press outlets linked to the PS and those supposedly independent presented the matter as something vague, describing it as “a political trial” and Nano as a “politically persecuted person.” In a democratic country, justice operates on the basis of facts, evidence and documents relating to the case in question, etc., and not according to the people involved, who come from different directions. There have been cases, unlike what is written in various newspapers and other sections of them, where people accused of various matters were arrested and, after the facts were examined by the courts, were acquitted. Thus, in this context, in the Italian aid case too, the possibility cannot be ruled out that Nano might be found innocent after the evidence has been examined. But the disputes concerning Nano’s role in the aid case have led the pro-Nano side to present this trial as something that ruins his political activity. This more or less means that when people learn he is the referee of the match, they develop the mindset that “since X is the referee, we have already lost the match.” The purpose of the trial currently under way is to uncover how the whole odyssey of bringing Italian aid to Albania unfolded and how the offence was committed (because there is indeed a difference between giving instructions at the time the aid arrived and taking the amount one is entitled to; meanwhile, the way the matter is being publicized in newspaper pages gives the impression that more people are concerned with whether Nano will be convicted or not, and that the aim is to make the offence in question, which is harmful to those involved, as in the case and testimony, inseparable from Nano’s name). It is known that the origin of the speculation surrounding Italian aid, the abuses and corruption connected with it, should not be sought only in January or February 1991, when “Levante & Co” was appointed for this task, but also in how it was carried out, etc. ...

The funds were raised by the citizens of Tirana The Austrian state of Tyrol, following a documentary by the Tyrolean television channel about Albania and on the recommendation of Mr. Alfred Karamuço, has decided to build a new general outpatient health center in the municipality of Gjeparlat, in the district of Durrës. The president of this state, Veingartner, personally appealed to the authorities for Mr. Karamuço to oversee, in his capacity as deputy head of the State Audit Service, the progress of the construction and the full equipment of the center. On 8 March, the first equipment arrived in Tirana, as did, according to reports, three vehicles for this municipality. “This is only the first phase of the aid — as Mr. Kara-muço explains — which will continue with the construction of a school and a regional hospital. The donors requested that the Red Cross and political parties not be involved in the operation. All the funds made available were raised entirely by the citizens, without assistance. A. B

The new annual plan has been improved by extending the city toward the Kamza area, farther north and west of the city, where a large industrial zone is also planned, in line with the prevailing winds. In addition, north of the city, in the Paskuqan area, Park No. 2 is planned (Tirana is many times larger than the existing Park of the Lake Hills). To the west, the city of Tirana will extend to include, within the outer ring road—which to date has been sketched only in broad strokes—the Rinas airstrip and the customs house. The Council of Ministers has approved a 700-hectare green zone east and northeast of Tirana, as far as Mjull-Bathore, where the residents of the Bovilla reservoir building will be relocated, as well as 16 centers of 60 young people? 16 centers... In construction... “The law on illegal construction.” The area studied so far for future expansion is the northern area around the railway station and the eastern part of this area, or the Siri Kodra area, as it is called. These studies were completed two years ago. A large-scale study is now being conducted in the area behind the Student City as far as Shkozë, an empty area affected by unauthorized construction. Traditional elements will also be preserved in these buildings. According to the plan, construction will be mixed in densely populated areas, while in new areas, for example in Kodër Kamëz, there will be a villa district, with the rest consisting of high-rise buildings of up to 20 floors. This area covers around 30 hectares. The industrial zone plan envisages an area in the northeast, where most of the industrial investment will be concentrated, with clean industry only up to Mjull-Bathore; industries with smoke (unclear) will be moved north of this line. The only facility affecting the environment is the Autotractor Plant. Studies have been carried out for all the profiles of Tirana’s internal roads. Their widening has also been planned. The regulatory plan for the Tirana municipality has also been studied. Their widening has also been planned. The regulatory plan for the Tirana municipality has also been studied. Despite all this planning and implementation work in approving construction sites, permits for temporary structures (kiosks), etc., the State Audit Office found several irregularities in the Urban Planning Directorate of the Tirana Municipality. Thus, for 1993, 1,022 kiosks were planned for installation in designated locations; permits were issued for 501 in designated locations and 26 in undesignated locations; 280 kiosks were installed without permits in undesignated locations; and the installation of kiosks damaged 15,288 square meters of green space. These are all the sites in Tirana. From these sites alone, around 1.5 million lekë was lost in 1993 from unpaid rent on the occupied areas. “It is true,” they tell us at the Urban Planning Directorate of the Tirana Municipality, where we obtained this information, “but the longest permit for a recreational and temporary structure is 14 months. So this is a problem that can be rectified.” For Tirana’s urban planning, the most important issue in this case is the reduction in green space per capita, which is an important indicator of development. ALBAN BALA Photo: M. Mjaku

On Saturday evening the mad N. e kryequejt spoke to the many kids from the steps of the National Museum. “The two lawyers for Fatos Nano, namely Messrs Sanxhaku and Tirana, asked Bill Clinton to defend him in the ‘Waitor Case’? They say that at the court hearings Clinton will be accompanied by his wife Hillary. It is also said that victory is certain because the ‘kalart’ have chosen the ‘nesh-njën’. The hotelier who drinks up Mali Ziu. Zoi’s requests for political asylum. Molotov Zeqo and the chairman of the nation’s ‘uteti’, Hydajet Beqiri. They say they went to Montenegro to pay the long-overdue visit of Milan Popoviç and Dushan Mugosha. Rjabic is being given a ‘bonxh’. Comrade Molotov Zeqo gave Ulcinj to Montenegro on this occasion. A course for turning candidates into chairpersons will open near the headquarters of the Democratic Alliance Party. The director of this course will be the president of the presidency of presidencies, Neritan Ceka. Four builders from the lowland areas will take the preliminary exam of the ‘gre-mes qishës së vetjer’. Well-informed sources, who did not wish to be identified, report that Dyljeman Karaj will be appointed ambassador to Karajeva. A well-known Albanian lawyer will sue L. Hajdaraga, the ‘Makarenko’ of the two locals. They say a ‘gazç’ will be appointed as the representative for the prosecution. After the revolution in democracy, Prof. Frokor Çupi will be appointed chief preacher of the first democratic newspaper, “Zëri Popullit.” It is said that comrade Sabit Brokaj was comrade Enver’s ‘seasona’ for 18 years in a row. The ‘dërkhurni’ chairman of the PS for Dina and Bajram will be Arben Arben Imami... THE CHRONICLER

The media report that on 11.03.1994, unknown individuals committed an act of hooliganism by shooting at Teodor Keko, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Aleanca. The Journalists’ Association of Albania strongly protests this vile and vandalistic act and calls on the security forces to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice. The sooner they are found, the sooner such incidents will be prevented. The law enforcement agencies have the full capacity to protect life and peace and to guarantee journalists a genuine opportunity to carry out their duty and their noble mission. The sooner the perpetrators are found, the less scope such vandalistic acts will have for political manipulation and violence. The Journalists’ Association of Albania condemns this extremely vile act, and also condemns all the attempts by various groups to score political points by exploiting another person’s misfortune. CHAIRMAN OF THE JOURNALISTS’ ASSOCIATION OF ALBANIA YLLI RAKIPI The editorial staff of “REPUBLIKA” wishes all Muslim believers a “Happy Eid al-Fitr, and many happy returns!”