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Deals gone sour, friends murdered, kidnappings and finally... a joint investigation

Cars are stolen, dismantled in Burrel, and the scrap crosses the border Smuggled scrap metal from Albania to Montenegro. A wide network of people is involved in smuggling Albanian scrap metal, much discussed lately because of its radioactive content. The raw material for traders dealing in iron, which they transport to Montenegro, consists of stolen vehicles, which are dismantled on the outskirts of towns and then melted down. For the first time, three people have appeared before the court as defendants, accused of stealing scrap metal and several heavy vehicles. Yest., the trial panel presided over by Judge Martin Deda began judicial proceedings against the defendants Julian Ymeri, Fatmir Pata, H. Pata, and Agron Puka. These defendants, acting in cooperation with one another P. 6

The Turkish captain of the ship “Selahdin Asllan” is killed. After the tragic death of the Greek captain of the ferry “Santa Barbara” several months ago, another victim was recorded at the Port of Durrës on Monday afternoon. P. 7

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The entire ministerial cabinet will not be changed GREECE: Prime Minister and PASOK leader Simitis received the mandate to form the new government from President of the Republic Kostis Stefanopulos on Monday, after winning Sunday’s general election with a majority of 43.78 percent of the vote. Renewal and continuity will play a primary role in forming a new government, Simitis stressed after visiting the president on Monday afternoon. P. 10

From Lame të! the Borova brothers, Ogja, Denis Gina, Ilir Bardhi, Alban Dani, and the arrest of Petrit Gazheli. All of these make up the case file for which the Prosecutor’s Office has requested full investigative authority. According to sources, these are a series of killings rooted in revenge between rival groups. The Prosecutor’s Office has also developed revenge as one of the possible leads in these murders, which began in the spring of 1998. The heads of the criminal investigation department “give account” before the capital’s chief prosecutor. The serious crimes committed recently in Tirana have forced the parties to sit down together to discuss how to solve the serious murders, which are said to be linked in a chain. According to official sources, the meeting was intended to coordinate the work of law-enforcement bodies and the prosecution in identifying the perpetrators of the high-profile murders that have taken place in the capital. Meanwhile, police sources say the high-profile murders in the capital are almost identical in terms of the way they were carried out. P. 2 The photograph shows a vehicle and a covered body on the road.

The OSCE Ambassador submits the revised Code to the Government. Before holding the press conference, the senior European official handed Prime Minister Meta a copy of the revised draft Code prepared by the Group of Experts, in English. Thus, the Albanian prime minister must first have it translated and then sit down to discuss it with the members of his cabinet. Ahrens stressed that in the coming days the government would also receive a new version of this Code based on the OSCE model. Ahrens said that Prime Minister Meta had also been given a proposal in which the OSCE considers the method for selecting members of the CEC and determining candidates to be valid. The OSCE took the initiative to review the electoral law after numerous objections were raised by the opposition. The proposed law will be reviewed by the government and then submitted to the Parliament of Albania for approval. The new draft Electoral Code will pass through the hands of the authorities twice, with a significant risk of changes in line with the wishes and passions of the Alliance for the State. B. Hoti

In view of the failure to reach consensus between the government and the opposition on the Central Election Commission and the Electoral Code, the Republican Party will invite the opposition parliamentary parties to a roundtable to discuss the Albanian opposition’s common positions going forward. The roundtable will be held on Tuesday, 11 April 2000, at 17:00, at the Hotel Dajti premises.