Gjallica: Only deposits under 5 million lekë will be paid out. Gërxhaliu refuses to split up “People” attacks the banks again. BKT says Bashkim Driza is right Gjallica: Only deposits under 5 million lekë will be paid out. Gërxhaliu refuses to split up They escape by speedboat with 130 million dollars from the pyramid schemes “People” attacks the banks again. BKT says Bashkim Driza is right

Yesterday, nearly 700,000 people marched through the streets of Belgrade. This was also the largest demonstration ever organized by the Serbian opposition coalition “Zajedno”. The demonstration was deliberately scheduled for the eve of the New Year according to the Orthodox calendar. Thousands of young people have already won the solidarity of almost the entire Serbian people. The demonstration in question comes after the much-discussed visit to Belgrade by Greek Foreign Minister Pangallos. The head of Hellenic diplomacy repeated at Milosheviç's headquarters the same demands as the Spaniard Gonzales. In short, the stubborn Milosheviç government must recognize the local election results, including those in Belgrade. Serbia has been completely paralyzed by the opposition demonstrations, which are no longer limited by age. Workers have joined the young people, and even members of the military, who were known as unchanging conservatives. The Serbian style of protest seems to be catching on across the Balkans in general. It is the Bulgarians who are insistently demanding the removal of the socialist government in power. Thirty thousand demonstrators have called for early elections in the streets of Sofia. “We have no alternative if we are to stop the red mafia from robbing us of Bulgaria,” said a speaker at yesterday’s large rally. Two thousand students also joined the demonstrators, protesting in front of the Italian, Austrian and US embassies. The students called on these countries not to support their socialist government. Serbia and Bulgaria have now taken their future into the streets and squares. The most progressive part of these peoples, the students, have taken a major initiative. The Balkans seem set to become a scene of change once again. Perhaps there will be no more shifts in borders, but there will certainly be changes in mentalities, democratic standards and capitalism. In fact, the protests have emerged precisely in the two poorest countries of the Balkans. The Serbian and Bulgarian economic crises have forced people to take to the streets. Something similar was expected in Prishtina, but it did not happen. Albanians across the border have so far failed to organize even a protest of a few hundred people. The positive signals coming from Tirana have not yet motivated the Albanians of Kosovo and beyond. A single protest by Albanians in Macedonia is far too little to solve the national question. What is interesting is that this paradoxical silence comes precisely from people who are economically very poor, but who at the same time suffer occupation and repression. It seems as if the Albanians have made peace with this situation. The demagoguery of their leaders about resolving the national question, amid this wave of Balkan protests, is a major bluff. Hugova is not taking to the streets, even though his office looks out over Prishtina’s empty boulevard.

The Municipality of Padova is setting an example for all Italians of how the integration of immigrants into city life can be pursued. The municipality has created a special fund for this purpose and established a committee of cultural mediators whose aim will be to integrate immigrants. Three of the seven committee members are Albanians. The initiator of this initiative, Deputy Mayor Giovanì Santoni, explains the reason for this representation: “Albanian immigration has more social problems; it is more explosive. The most serious scourge is prostitution. My dream is to save Albanian girls, especially minors, from the clutches of prostitution.”

P.4 Chinese flu: Albanians, don’t kiss! P.2 The brother of Nigerian Nosa arrives at “Lushnja”