After wages were raised by 10 percent, food prices rose by 10 percent yesterday Page 3

EDITORIAL By Enkel DEMI Yesterday, before dawn, AFOR soldiers, carrying shovels and wearing their equipment on their belts, began digging in the middle of Durrës. The soldiers had been ordered to clean the ancient Amphitheatre of Durrës, which is sinking beneath the sludge and the squalor of Albania’s idle years. Although many people should know this, it is worth recalling that the Amphitheatre in question is in the centre of the city. According to sources of “Republika” [the lower part of the text has been cut off]. They have not stopped their work for a moment. Alongside the military duties they carry out in Teuta’s land, these soldiers have also begun thinking about how to save the treasures of Teuta’s city, whose descendants had buried it in mud and oblivion. Perhaps they are the same soldiers who, in 1997, remembered to tidy up the main park in this very city. Perhaps they are the same ones who have built roads and schools in this country. While it is certain [continues outside the frame]. [Next column:] ...who beat their chests over their grandfathers’ exploits and rattle their chains all day long have taken up shovels, done community work, and live amid rubbish; they walk among swarms of insects and raise children in piles of refuse. These are the citizens who complain from morning till night about their filthy cities, and yet they are the very ones who throw rubbish out of the window and spit in the middle of the boulevard. These citizens who do not want their votes stolen, who want a state, [continues outside the frame].

It is true that the basket of goods used to monitor inflation was created in 1993 and that since then there have been many changes in the structure of consumption. Page 3

The unwritten story of the General’s wife [Part of an article cut off at the top of the image] sources of “Republika”, many curious residents of Durrës stopped to watch the foreign soldiers at work. The gentle citizens of this city did not leave the soldiers, drenched in sweat, unwatched for even a single moment. Meanwhile, the soldiers [were] covered who, in 1997, remembered to tidy up the main gardens who have built roads and schools in this country. What is certain, however, is that they are the same Albanians who watch the foreign “caps” working in the blazing sun, and whose pride is stroked when they see “hired hands” doing their housework for them. Albanians, these people who boast amid the rubbish. ones who throw dirt stolen, who want a state, work, peace and quiet, do not take up the shovel to preserve their grandfather’s history, but instead expect foreigners to do this work for them. These are today’s Albanians. It was September 1965 when a shy but very determined girl, intent on continuing her secondary education, from Shëmbërdhenji in Gramsh, took her place in the dormitory of a small town in central Albania and set herself the task of completing all four years with excellent results. In 1969, the Gramsh district was granted only one scholarship to the United Officers’ School. In love with the idea of graduating from one of Albania’s higher education institutions, Ervehe Pole decided to become an officer. She won this scholarship through her hard work, sweat and honesty. Ervehe Andoni at a young age. Page 8

“Ownership with Justice”: How homes can be vacated Page 11

MPs seek their next privilege Page 4

“100 million USD,” under examination by investigators Page 5

The trafficking of undocumented migrants also involves NGOs Some time ago, one of the 179 NGOs operating in Albania, headed by a former Albanian policewoman, intervened by means of a letter, signed and stamped by the organization she heads, to obtain entry visas for several Kurds. The argument used to justify the request by the NGO in question was an international conference of homosexuals. Page 2

On Friday the Prime Minister signed the wage increase... On Monday, traders will raise the prices of goods REPUBLIC THE NEWS On Friday the Prime Minister signed the wage increase... On Monday, traders will raise the prices of goods

Office of the Resident Representative in Albania “Lek Dukagjini” Street No. 3, Tirana, Albania Tel: (355-42) 30821 Fax: (355-42) 27732 Tirana, 19 July 2000 Regarding what is referred to in the calculation of inflation, there have been [the continuation of the text has been cut off]. Since that year, it has undergone many changes in the structure of consumption. Therefore, INSTAT is applying the weights of the goods used to calculate this index, and a new index is expected for June 2001. On the other hand, while waiting for the quality of the index to improve, the International Monetary Fund considers the current index quite suitable for monitoring macroeconomic developments in Albania and does not expect dramatic changes after the new index is introduced. Indeed, taking into account the many indicators that reflect the development of the economy and inflation, such as the rise in food and clothing prices, it does not seem that actual inflation is very different from the currently used index. Volker TREICHLER IMF Resident Representative in Albania