The charges of abuse of office and embezzlement remain in force The Investigation gives the final deadline in August: the “Blockmen” on trial The Prosecutor’s Office is examining the activities of Alia, Çarçani, Isai and other former leaders from 1956 to 1990 FATOS BAXHAKU TIRANA — The time for the trial of the “Blockmen” is drawing near. After several postponements, which have often had political consequences, the Investigation has set the final deadline: August of this year. In a statement, the spokesperson for the General Prosecutor’s Office announced the investigators’ intention to conclude the case as soon as possible. “The investigation will reach its conclusion at the beginning of August,” he said. There has still been no change to the charges long-standingly brought against the “Blockmen,” representatives of the old political caste, including former president Ramiz Alia, former prime minister Adil Çarçani and former interior minister Hekuran Isai. Sources at the General Investigation Office denied the rumours spread some time ago that the charges against them had been changed — at least so far — from abuse of office and large-scale embezzlement of state property to genocide against the Albanian people. All of this remains speculation. Investigators are examining the long-term activities of several former senior leaders concerning internments and the many killings carried out at the border, but there is still insufficient evidence to amend the current charges. It appears there are also problems with the legislation, whose definitions of genocide are relative. The Investigation is now awaiting supplementary information from the Ministry of Public Order, which has complete statistics on the number of internments and specific cases of killings at the border. Investigators are now working to provide further information requested by the Tirana Court. “We are working on the additions the Court requested some time ago,” Vasil Plaku, Deputy Prosecutor of the Republic, told the Gazette. “It is a very extensive and exhausting task for the investigators, because the entire period from 1956 to 1990 must be examined, but nevertheless I believe we will finish soon.” Two days before this promise from the Investigation, the parliamentary group of the Democratic Party issued a statement which, among other things, considered the slowness in dealing with cases involving the “Blockmen” unjustified. “Although Ramiz Alia is under house arrest, conditions have been created for him to involve himself in political events, to the detriment of the country’s stability and democracy,” the majority’s MPs stated. Calls for the former leaders to be tried have also come from below. Several days ago, groups of people demonstrated in front of Parliament precisely for this reason. Recently, many voices have also called — including the latest statement from the DP group — for the trial of those who violated the law in force during the dictatorship by executing and torturing innocent people. Among them were prosecutors from Paris and the writer Ismail Kadare. The former senior state leaders were charged two years ago with abuse of office and embezzlement of state property. Some of them, Hekuran Isai, Manush Myftiu and Adil Çarçani, ended up in the cells of Tirana Prison, while others were placed under house arrest. Former president Ramiz Alia Former president Ramiz Alia Former prime minister Adil Çarçani

Worked at “313” prison Police officer stabbed in Tirana: in very serious condition The attack took place in the outskirts TIRANA — (Ed.La.) Police officer Demir Lani, 26, was stabbed while returning home after finishing his shift. The incident took place near the last stop in New Tirana, where several people in a car tried to murder him brutally, stabbing him in the lower part of his body. According to officer Lani’s colleagues, his condition is extremely serious, since the three knife wounds also struck his liver. While doctors at the Tirana Military Hospital are doing everything possible to save the life of Demir Lani, who served at Tirana Prison, investigators have begun the necessary inquiries. Specialists from Tirana Police District 2 are now searching for those who attacked officer Lani. Although, so far, neither their identities nor their motives have been disclosed. It was 11 at night, and there were very few eyewitnesses, though there were some. They noticed the crime against the officer and immediately gave him first aid. Lani, seriously wounded, was later unable to escape the ambulance. Theories that the attack on prison officer Demir Lani was revenge, perhaps carried out by former inmates of the prison where he worked, cannot be considered credible for now. Many of his colleagues and supervisors categorically denied that he had behaved harshly toward prisoners. There are currently 130 people held in this prison, according to Lieutenant Colonel Bardhyl Lleshi, director of the Prison Administration. According to the same source, only one police officer died in 1991 — after the revolt in Lezhë. Police officer Franz Gustincich, and presented the video entitled “The Mountains, Candle and Saint Mary: the revival of an Albanian religious festival.”

TIRANA — It is a journey into Albania’s past, to better understand the present and imagine the future. With this serious ambition, the photographic exhibition “Bread, Salt and Heart” opens this afternoon in Tirana, near the National Historical Museum, under the direction of photographer Franz Gustinich and anthropologist Emanuela C. Del Re. The exhibition illustrates a route travelled by the authors through the impassable mountains of northern Albania, where they found traces, still alive, of the Kanun of Lek Dukagjini, an example of ancient folk culture. The project was born from cooperation between Italian-Albanian cultural institutions and was organized under the auspices of the Italian Embassy and the “Albanian Gazette,” with contributions from the Universities of Tirana and Bari and from private companies. The exhibition will be opened by the Rector of the University of Tirana, Prof. Rajmondo Sharmako, and the Vice-Rector of the University of Bari, Prof. Giovani Dotoli. Emmanuela C. Del Re will present the anthropological research conducted in the mountains of Albania and, together with Franz Gustinich, will present the video entitled “Mountains, Candles Photograph from the exhibition: the village of Salcë, returning from the spring

Coming from Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro TIRANA — The Albanian Government will once again undertake to welcome students from Albanian territories outside its borders to its higher education institutions for the coming academic year. According to the quotas recently announced by the Ministry of Labour, Emigration and Politically Persecuted Persons, 150 students from Kosovo, 200 from Macedonia and 50 from Montenegro will be admitted. The manner in which they will be admitted to these universities has also been announced: because of financial difficulties, the Albanian state does not guarantee accommodation or financial support. “According to a draft proposal prepared by the Ministry of Education, the number of Albanian students from the country’s districts for the 1993–94 academic year who will be admitted to higher education institutions is projected to be 3,920. Of these, 2,290 will be admitted through entrance examinations, and 1,230 places have been reserved for the politically persecuted. Students who earned the Gold Medal in secondary school are also exempt from entrance examinations. It has also been announced that the departments of journalism, law, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry and the Faculty of Economics must account for 60 percent of all admissions of students from Albania.”

Three more people will soon stand trial EDMOND LAÇI TIRANA — Skënder Hanhxaku, Gjolek Zeneli and Muhamet Mema have been released from Tirana Prison. They had been indicted during the previous campaign and arrested on March 1, 1993, on the charge of “preparing and selling alcoholic beverages dangerous to people’s lives and health.” The General Prosecutor’s Office, which has been working for months on the “deadly alcohol” case, as it was called at the time, recently decided to revoke the arrest measure against these three people and close the case for lack of a criminal offence. However, despite the Prosecutor’s latest decision, three other people accused of the same thing will soon appear in court. The case concerns the trading, processing and sale of alcohol with a very high percentage of methyl alcohol. This activity also resulted in the deaths of 11 people who had consumed drinks of this kind. In the space of just three days, five citizens died in the capital, some of them from the same family. The panic that spread during those days — especially in Tirana — caused many establishments to lose their usual customers, and every alcoholic drink was viewed with suspicion. Skënder Hanhxaku and Gjolek Zeneli were held in Tirana Prison for four months after being identified as exporters of a quantity of alcohol from Greece. Muhamet Mema was held as the person who stored the goods they had imported. According to the investigators, who had to travel to Greece during the investigation to contact the alcohol-selling company, no evidence was sufficient or met the requirements for a criminal offence. The date when the other three people will appear in court has not yet been set.

A NEW MUSICAL ASSOCIATION IS ESTABLISHED — A new musical association began its activities in Tirana. It includes composers, instrumentalists and musicologists from all places inhabited by Albanians. The association’s aim is to explore new musical spaces with contemporary content and spirit. On this occasion, an evening was organized at the headquarters of the League of Writers and Artists in Tirana, attended by representatives of the Albanian musical world. Albanian instrumentalists performed various pieces during the evening. Artists from Kosovo also took part; they are participating in the Kosovo Culture Week taking place these days. THE “ORDER OF MALTA” BEGINS ITS ACTIVITIES IN ALBANIA — The German humanitarian organization “Malteser Hilfsdienst” began its activities in Albania. On this occasion, it brought three ambulances and an emergency-response vehicle to Tirana. The German association has also drawn up a program for its future activities in Albania, envisaging a pilot project for the northeastern areas, the establishment of contacts with other similar organizations operating in the country, and the creation of a branch of this order in Albania. DISPUTES OVER PROPERTY IN BERAT — Several disputes over property have arisen in Berat. Three people have produced title deeds for the hall currently administered by the Travellers’ Park. Another person claims the hall as their own, using witnesses and through legal proceedings. Several premises in the “Mangalem” neighbourhood have also become the subject of disputes. The establishment of a commission to verify and confirm property ownership is expected to resolve these disagreements very soon. Coming from Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro Three more people soon to stand trial Yesterday in Albania Inside

The mystery of Nikolla in Italy: searching for his parents REGGIO CALABRIA — An Albanian mystery in Calabria. A 13-year-old child, Nikolla Taza from Durrës, has been missing for several days from the “Charitable Center” in Reggio Calabria, where he was brought by Ecuadorian police, who had apprehended him in Gioia Tauro. People throughout Italy have been looking for him since a year ago. (Text cut off and partly illegible.) According to information communicated, Nikolla Taza had arrived in Messina aboard a merchant ship, then boarded a train intending to continue to Bari, where, according to the information, his mother and father were. He lived in Reggio Calabria for only a week. “I have to go to Bari,” he had told some boys. “I’m sure my parents are there.” In Gioia Tauro, Nikolla Taza was stopped by Ecuadorian police for a routine check and was found without documents. After he was transferred to the “Charitable Center” for children, while waiting for news from his parents, who had been in Italy for a year after coming from Durrës, the boy suddenly disappeared. When Nikolla was stopped, he was barefoot, wearing torn clothes, and looked hungry. Now the police are searching for him throughout Italy: “We want to help him find his parents,” investigators assure us. What puzzles them most is that the child had no money in his pocket and, above all, does not speak Italian.

Today we will discuss the problem of hydrocarbons. Since the issue is quite broad, we will devote the next issue to it as well. EDMOND HALDJERI Hydrocarbons are among the most widespread and harmful pollutants found in the environment around us. According to various estimates, 3–4 million tons of hydrocarbons end up in seas and oceans every year. Sources of pollution include discharges from industrial plants and oil refineries, leaks from oil-storage tanks and pipelines, losses from offshore oil exploration drilling, and so on. Also considerable is the amount of atmospheric hydrocarbons that enters the seas and oceans every year through vents (300,000 tons). It is estimated that 68 million tons of hydrocarbons enter the atmosphere every year, and that around two-thirds of them come from emissions from transport vehicles. But the most serious consequences, with effects that last a long time, come especially from cases of massive pollution of the marine environment by hydrocarbons. This concerns crude oil and its by-products, which spill into the sea as a result of accidents involving oil tankers. In the past year, such incidents have been observed in areas most exposed to them because of intensive maritime transport. If around 1,500 million tons of oil and its by-products are transported by sea around the world each year, more than 350 million tons pass through the Mediterranean, and 650,000 tons of them spill into the sea as a result of accidents, negligence, and so on. The consequences of hydrocarbon pollution are varied. When spilled into the sea, hydrocarbons create a thin covering layer on the water’s surface, isolating it and preventing the exchange of gases, particularly the penetration of oxygen. One ton of crude oil spreads so rapidly that it forms a thin layer in 10 minutes. The surface layer causes the mass death of planktonic organisms. In general, the effects on marine fauna and flora vary according to the hydrocarbons and the nature of the seabed. These effects are particularly severe for coastal organisms living in the intertidal zone. On a rugged, exposed coastline, the choppy sea speeds up the breakdown and removal of the oil layer. The opposite happens in bays and sheltered places, where this layer tends to accumulate along the coast and cover it depending on the tides. The greatest damage occurs especially on sandy coasts, where crude oil, if not removed while still liquid, penetrates the substrate, prolonging its toxic effects; these are aggravated by slow bacterial degradation resulting from a lack of oxygen. The sinking of the “Amoco Cadiz” in March 1973 off the coast of Brittany caused 250,000 tons of crude oil to spill into the sea. Within 10 days it had covered around 350 km of coastline, causing the mass death of mollusks inhabiting the rocky intertidal zone. The damage to populations of bivalve mollusks on sandy and muddy seabeds was even greater. Studies carried out after oil-tanker accidents show that the effects of pollution are felt for a relatively long time. This is also confirmed by the sinking of the “HAVEN” off the Ligurian coast two years ago. At the end of the process, the heavier fractions of crude oil precipitate and settle on benthic organisms, making them unfit for consumption.

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