The government has still not taken action It is not known when the government will speak out about the acute problems facing our emigrants in foreign countries. Day after day, the news reports of television and radio stations, and above all the press, have filled with stories in which Albanian refugees are the protagonists. For example, in Italy alone, more than 100 Albanians have been arrested by the Italian police this week; there have been reports of clashes between various gangs of emigrants, in which Albanians have been injured and killed. Parents and other relatives of Albanian refugees, who have not yet been able to arrange the conditions for returning normally to Albania and rejoining their families, have gone to the Italian embassy to seek help obtaining visas. An even more problematic situation faces Albanians who work and live in Greece. The agreement that has been reached, but has not yet been ratified by the Greek parliament, concerns seasonal employment and not the resettlement of emi- have been injured and killed. Several girls from Albania have been caught by the Italian police or attacked by those exploiting illegal prostitution. Albanian children are constantly involved in activities around traffic lights, begging money from Italians, and so on. Alongside the indifference or inability of our state to act, the information blackout maintained by the official media concerning this painful story of our compatriots also draws attention. We never hear reports from our only television station about undocumented migrants who lose their lives in the depths of the sea or fall into the hands of the Italian police, or who have recently been forced by leaders of the illegal trafficking trade to become drug couriers to the shores of Italy. Since parliament is also on recess, no activity can be expected from the commission established to address the problems of our emigrants. So at this point everything is expected from the government, which, unfortunately, is completely silent. Considering this situation, one can imagine that our state has no figures at all on the true number of our emigrants in foreign countries, let alone any ability to solve their problems. In Italy, during the summer period, many Albanian refugees are now facing considerable difficulties obtaining residence permits, which prevents them from coming home for a holiday. Yet the Albanian government does not see fit to enter into talks with the Greek parliament, concerns seasonal employment and not the settlement of emigrants who are in Greek territory. Albanian emigrants in Greece continue to be horrifically sent back day after day by the Greek police. These mass expulsions are also accompanied by cases of mistreatment. On the other hand, not a day goes by without the bodies of Albanians being returned from abroad; they have been killed accidentally or by some criminal hand. Yet in these cases too, assistance from the Albanian state is virtually zero. G. l.

Forensic medicine raises its voice: “I urge all state institutions, and first and foremost the law-enforcement and justice authorities, to call for a complete autopsy to be performed on every victim, since in most cases it is not done and the victims are not brought to the morgue.” This is the request made in the courtroom by Fatos Harito, a renowned expert in the field of forensic autopsy. According to the expert, who has led more than 5,000 autopsies over the 37 years of his work in forensic medicine, an autopsy is the evidence that guides both the prosecution and the other parties in a trial toward discovering the truth. Today, around the world, an autopsy is considered one of the most reliable forms of evidence, determining the outcome of 50 percent of court cases. In our country, forensic autopsy evidence has been collected for 50 years, but it mattered when someone ordered it after a person died; over the last five years, however, forensic autopsy has become an essential requirement and one of the most effective forms of evidence. Continued on p. 3

- What are the reasons for the existence of an Albanian criminal organization in the USA? - The reasons should initially be sought in a number of thefts and robberies that have taken place from 1991 to the present. At first, it was thought that they were the work of small street gangs, with no organization at all. But the American authorities are now convinced that these acts were carried out in such a way that they are now linked to an Albanian criminal organization. - Is any figure given for the number of members of the so-called “Albanian Mafia”? - The authorities have no specific figure, but, for example, in New York alone—and, more precisely, in one of its neighborhoods called the Bronx—there are about 175,000 Albanians. The authorities believe that a number of units operate there. It extends its activities across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Their number is estimated at between 500 and 5,000; they are organized into small units, each with 4–10 members. - In which areas does the “Albanian Mafia” operate? - Their activities correspond to the places where Albanian communities mainly live, such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, and other places such as Boston, Detroit, and the surrounding areas. But they have now also begun coordinating their

On Saturday, 17 August 1996, at 10:00 a.m., the chairpersons or secretaries of the PR Branches in the districts of Berat, Gramsh, Pukë, Malësi e Madhe, Sarandë, Tepelenë, Vlorë, Elbasan, and Kolonjë are to attend the meeting at the PRSH Central Headquarters. THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

Residents of Tirana frightened by the explosion P. 2