“Populli”: Special assistance fund for journalists. The homeless will be given priority Broken contracts block “Gjallëca”. “We will wait for the emigrants who have come for the holidays to leave”

. After the collapse of Sudja, the world of pyramid schemes and declared pyramid schemes seems to have fallen into a lull. The foundations have loosened their purse strings and are handing out gifts for Christmas and New Year. “Populli” continues to keep its promises, distributing the first installments for January ’97 and offering guarantees for the coming century. And the fools believe they have nothing to lose by trusting them. Who doesn’t want extra money? While Sudja takes comfort in its own loneliness, the arena of the battle has shifted to the companies. It seems they had all been hand in hand. “Arkondi” fell, but its clients did not want to believe it. Apparently, the end of the Nigerian credit scheme was a horrifying wake-up call for “Arkond” ABC and their managers, who have now all been sentenced by the courts to between 2.8 and 3 years in prison. But it cannot be said that this “dream” has ended for the defrauded clients of these firms, either. Some of them asked the President of the Republic in Selanicë to intervene and inquire about the fate of their money. When the state put their leadership behind bars (it is likely they themselves were deceived), the clients appealed to the courts to release the accused from their cells. “Grunasi” went under, and its distraught clients asked the state to intervene and bring President Aleksandër Grunasi to the dock, because he had defrauded them. Poor Albanians, deceived by their own naivety, sometimes ask the state to intervene and sometimes to leave in peace those who lost their money. But it is not only “Grunasi” and “Pogoni” that abandoned their clients, who had entrusted them with their savings, emigrant earnings, pensions, and even their homes. Now the bells of sorrow are tolling for many depositors. Other companies, too, described as prestigious, with capital and supposedly secure investments, are showing that they are infected with the contagious disease of bankruptcy. Capitalism seems to be a difficult test for Albanian communities. Their entry into these schemes has left them like a rachitic child. Will they recover? From now on, Albanians will have to think long and hard before putting their savings into circulation. The companies seem to have entered the arena, while the foundations, acting as brokers, are increasingly watching from afar. What will happen tomorrow? Let us wait for ’97.

At the VEFA counters

Photo: Zhani Terpini

Clubs and iron bars to the heads of rivals Page 2

The editorial staff of the newspaper “Republika” wishes all Albanian Christians, at home and abroad: Merry Christmas!