700 million lekë for Meidani’s car PAGE 3 The inn with two gates 500 mafiosi are believed to have found refuge in Albania. A report by the Italian Anti-Mafia agency sounds the alarm—a grave warning for the first time. Our Ministry of Public Order now has in its possession a list of the names of mafiosi, not only Italian, who have found a grave in this country. The Albanian Prosecutor’s Office is asking for more information. In brief, that is the news. This poor country, politically overheated and rife with problems of corruption, smuggling and stability, appears to have been found a warm nest by the Mafia around the world. Wanted men of various ranks have changed their identities, move about as businessmen or humanitarian assistants, travel with UNHCR cards (the Muo-lo case) and carry out their criminal activities. With the high-profile arrests of Xhusepe Muolos and Françesko Gotolas, it is not difficult to portray Albania as the closest base of the Apulian mafia. The lack of control encourages this. After the grim image presented in connection with the camouflaged refuge of Islamic terrorists, today’s story is the second instalment in portraying Albania once again as Europe’s Black Hole. Faced with this reality, Albanian public opinion is asleep. Politics is still preoccupied with Pellumb Dalti’s garlic garden, which yielded gold, the “heads or tails” clashes in Vlora, and infighting. Little by little, Albania is degenerating into a haven for crime. During Duce’s rule, the Italian Mafia was forced to leave its areas of operation in Italy and emigrate elsewhere, as far as the USA. That experience left its “hosts” with a bitter taste. After such an experience, it turned out that the Mafia controlled even more black markets around the world. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, black markets expanded eastward. Russia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and the former Yugoslavia were open territories. Albania has not yet been heavily penetrated, but after the Kosovo war and the opening of the Tetë crossing, the “small country” has begun to attract interest. The 500 mafiosi may be nothing more than paranoia about a pack of dirty traders who could find peace in this country, where vices rule. The news sent by the Italian Anti-Mafia agency is important, but how it is conveyed depends on us Albanians, who shut ourselves indoors during an eclipse, but not when disaster knocks at our door.

Fernando Morientes scored the first goal, while Real Madrid beat Valencia 3–0 in last night’s final Page 15

A secret report puts police on alert More than 500 mafiosi of various nationalities are hiding in Albania. The lack of law and order has led mafia figures to find refuge in Albania, thereby also driving up the curve of organized crime. This figure has been reported by various sources in the Ministry of Public Order, while an operational investigation is expected to be launched very soon to find the hideouts of foreign mafiosi in Albania. Page 5

Albanian gold is suspected of being taken out of the country Identifying the people involved in the theft of the Albanian treasury cannot be left solely to experts from the Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of Public Order. As with everything else, foreign assistance has also been sought in this case. Initial contacts were made with Greece, Italy and Turkey, asking through the equivalent agencies in those countries for help in finding the Albanian treasure. Several official letters were urgently sent to these countries, essentially setting out the coins, their types, the quantity of jewelry and other such information. Page 7

Well-informed sources at the meeting of the ruling party’s second-highest body told “Republika” that the focus was placed mainly on the sectors considered most problematic. The source did not hesitate to report that the sharpest attacks were directed at the Ministry of Public Order and at Minister Spartak Poci. Page 2

Deadline for submitting CEC nominations expires Page 3