A Security Council meeting is being requested Serreqi: “We want the UN on the border with Kosovo” The Foreign Minister denounces in New York the alarming rise in tension with the Serbs TIRANA — (p. re) — Following the incidents reported recently on the Albanian-Yugoslav border, Albania has decided to take a serious step: Foreign Minister Alfred Serreqi has requested the urgent convening of the United Nations Security Council and the dispatch of UN observers to the border with Kosovo. The request was conveyed on Friday to the President of the Security Council, American Madeleine Albright, in a letter from Serreqi. According to Foreign Minister Serreqi: “Tension on the border between the two countries has risen considerably, and the Serbs’ provocations could lead to consequences that might risk spreading the war to the southern Balkans.” The situation is also tense inside Kosovo, where the Serbian authorities have begun a campaign of controls targeting Albanians, especially local politicians. In recent days, the Council for the Defense of Human Rights in Prishtina denounced dozens of cases of Albanians being arrested and mistreated by the Serbian authorities. A column of Serbian tanks heading toward Shtimje, about 30 km from Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo

TIRANA — The Italian Mafia is reaching Albania too. The alarm was raised by Italian Prime Minister Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, who informed the Parliament in Rome of the new danger. Alarm from Rome. Minister Shehi also voices concern “The Mafia is reaching Albania” Ciampi: arms and explosives trafficking TIRANA — (c.bo.) The Italian Mafia is reaching Albania too. The alarm was raised by Italian Prime Minister Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, who informed the Parliament in Rome of the new danger. “The information available to our secret services indicates infiltration by the Italian Mafia in Albania,” Ciampi writes in a report of his “on information policy and security,” submitted to Italian parliamentarians a few days ago. In practice, this is an account of the activities of the secret services, which are overseen by the government. Speaking of the penetration of “Cosa Nostra” into Albania, Ciampi adds: “Organized crime has landed in the areas along the eastern shore of the Adriatic, establishing links with Albanian elements for the trafficking of arms and explosives. In addition to Albania, the Mafia has also established links with elements from the former Yugoslavia.” Fears that Italian criminality could penetrate Albania were voiced a few hours before the Ciampi report also by Albanian Labour Minister Dashamir Shehi, during his visit to Rome. Speaking with some Italian journalists, Shehi said: “We believe Albanian territory lies within the operational range of the Italian Mafia, and this is causing our government great concern.” The Labour Minister stressed the need for “Albanian secret services to receive regular data and information on the development of Mafia activity and on the methods of organized crime. So far,” Shehi continued, “we have not had in Albania the presence of prominent figures of Italian organized crime: we have seen only alleged billionaires without a penny, convinced that our country could be an Eldorado for them. Today our security structures are not yet ready to deal with an emergency of this kind, and we must act by democratic means, not with repressive methods as happened in the past. We therefore feel the need to strengthen cooperation with the Italian government.” Several months ago, Italian Carabinieri from the narcotics squad and the Albanian police jointly investigated a suspected heroin-trafficking operation between Vlora and Puglia. The inquiries did not confirm the major suspicion; instead, in Italy, only 20 cigarette smugglers were caught, who also frequented the Albanian coast. And it was precisely two or three smugglers from Brindisi (Nicola Lavenenzana, Paolo Palmisano and Cosimo Del Monte) who were arrested by the Italian Guardia di Finanza: they had just returned from Albania in their speedboat and, in the hold—instead of cigarettes—were 29 Albanian refugees. Each of them had paid more than 1 million lire to make the journey to Italy. Durrës: 3 Italians arrested DURRËS — They were intercepted outside the Port of Durrës in a speedboat 13 and a half metres long, loaded with cigarettes. They were escorted to the Port and detained for questioning; then, one morning, they attacked the two Albanian policemen guarding their boat, trying to escape. For this reason the three Italians—already known as smugglers—were arrested, and are now in Durrës prison awaiting trial. They are Anto-nio Maggi, 39, Luigi Gordoni, 32, and Cosimo Montenegro, 35, all from Brindisi. The smugglers’ speedboat was first spotted by an Italian Navy ship patrolling near the Albanian coast. The large speedboat, with four engines of 360 horsepower each (worth several million lire), had run out of fuel. The Italian servicemen notified the Albanian authorities of the boat’s presence; they reached it and towed it to the Port. Hidden aboard the speedboat were 170 cases of contraband cigarettes. While waiting to find out to whom the cargo would be handed over, three of the twenty Italians were kept in Albania, at a hotel. One morning Maggi, Gordoni and Montenegro showed up at the Port: they were armed (who had given them the pistols?) and attacked the two policemen on guard, trying to take the speedboat and escape. But the Albanians proved quicker, and all three were disarmed and arrested. The trial will begin in a few days. One of the biggest questions still requiring an answer is whether the cases of cigarettes were bought in Albania (from whom?), or whether the three Italians were trying to sell them to an Albanian smuggling organization.

AID SCANDAL / Fifth arrest Fardin Hoxha also in prison

They will be used differently

AID SCANDAL / Fifth arrest TIRANA — (fa.ba.) He is the fifth among those arrested in connection with abuses involving Italian humanitarian aid, but no less important because of the positions he held: Farudin Hoxha, former chairman of the Committee for Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries and Minister without Portfolio in the Presidium of the Council of Ministers in the Caritani government, has ended up in the same prison where many of his associates from that period are held. On Friday evening, a police patrol escorted Hoxha to the cell where he will await the start of questioning. In the “Cela report,” presented to Parliament in April, Farudin Hoxha’s name is among the first to be mentioned. The report makes clear that it was his official invitation that enabled Ajdin Sejdisë to come to Albania for the first time in September 1990. According to the same document, Hoxha was the one who, two months later, signed the “famous” agreement with Sejdisë, under which “Iliria Holding” was granted exclusive rights in many activities, ranging from banking to culture. “A right to which it was not entitled, even under the laws of the time,” is the view of the Audit Commission, which also accuses Farudin Hoxha of a series of other violations: he granted Iliria Holding broad powers in foreign trade too—which under the Constitution of the time was a state monopoly—and allowed Sejdisë’s company to extend its activities beyond the scope approved in its statutes.

They will be used differently To be used differently «Levant Co.» aid blocked TIRANA — Aid worth 1 billion and 700 million lire in medicines, which was given to Albania by the Italian Government in 1992, has been blocked. The news is now official. The transfer of this aid to Albania was to be carried out by the Bari-based firm “Levant. Co.” The amount has been blocked by the Italian government. This was when the aid scandal broke and an investigation began into the fate of aid for Albania, an investigation that brought to light the compromising of “Levant. Co.” The question arises: what will happen to this blocked aid? Maria Pia Garavaglia, Italy’s Minister of Health, who visited our country, told Gazeta: “This aid should not be considered lost. It will come to Albania, but now in a different form.” Minister Garavaglia came to Tirana to sign an important cooperation memorandum which, among other things, will promote the exchange of experience and specialists. Oversight of the implementation of this agreement will be carried out by the Italian-Albanian Technical Committee established in recent days.

Sport An overview of the main sports clubs This is how the Albanian teams will face the championship The preparatory phase is coming to an end for all the Albanian teams ahead of the new athletics season. Here is the situation of the main clubs. PARTIZANI — Since July 28, it has been in Italy near Terni, at a modern tourist complex; the Italian sponsor “ABACO” has created ideal working conditions, under which coach Stano is holding two training sessions a day; several training matches have been played against teams from the surrounding areas, while the most impressive friendlies are scheduled for August 11 and 14, respectively, against Orvietana and Perugia; a third friendly may be against Ternana; a third friendly may be against Ternana; the return home is scheduled for August 15; meanwhile, it has been announced that the first European Cup match against the Icelanders of Ia Akranes will be played in Tirana on August 22 at 17:00. KP TIRANA — The team is carrying out one of its long training sessions on Mount Dajti; there is great enthusiasm to win, particularly thanks to the support of the highly prestigious Italian sponsor “ARISTON”; this has led to the team signing 10 players and coach Fatmir Frashëri; Tirana is certainly Partizani’s first opponent; Gazeta will soon publish a special column. ALBPETROL OF PATOS — The Albpetrol Corporation has made 6 million old lek available to the club. Material assistance has also arrived from an Australian sponsor in the form of sneakers and sports equipment and clothing; we recall that Patosi will take part in the Cup Winners’ Cup and, in the qualifying round, will meet FC Balzers (Liechtenstein), with a strong chance of progressing. The team held its training camp in Vlora; Çauçillan (Tomorr) and Vito (Flamurtari) have arrived, while D Poçi, wanted by a German team, may leave. TEUTA OF DURRËS — Another title contender; now on a steady upward trajectory, this year it has found Adriatikun (a Slovenian airline) as its sponsor; it has been training since July 19 in the Ljubljana region (Slovenia); a complete lineup which, after finishing second in last season’s championship, is aiming directly for the title. BESA OF KAVAJË — Another club coming off a positive third-place finish, thanks to which it made a good showing in the championship and the Balkan Cup. In keeping with tradition, training takes place in the morning near Golem beach and in the afternoon at the Kavajë city stadium. VLLAZNIA OF SHKODËR — Training is taking place at the Razma tourist resort; the only noteworthy development is the return, after experience abroad, of the well-known coach Astrit Hafizi. DINAMO — A club in deep crisis because of financial problems; it has had to release 8 players, including the promising Fortuzi (given to KF Tirana); coach Sejdini has been left with numerous young players and, fortunately, can make use of the club’s excellent facilities and the grounds near the capital’s artificial lake; there are high hopes of securing significant sponsorship from the Italian company «DinamicA», a sports goods factory in Bergamo. The other seven first-division teams are discussing economic and financial problems, seeking sponsors who will provide ongoing support, or at least assistance from the districts to which they belong; in practice, Laçi and Lushnja will be forced to play their matches on their own grounds, as the sports authority and the federation have declared their playing fields unsuitable.

What Serie A will be like Today we continue publishing the profiles, begun last Wednesday, of the teams in the Italian football championship’s Serie A. These profiles take stock after the players’ buying and selling campaign. GIANI ANTONUCCI The man with the icy eyes, Gigi Radice, has returned to Cagliari, where it will not be easy to improve on the work done by Mazzone. It is the same Cagliari adventure in Serie A, where it has already played 594 matches for (596 points (slightly more than one point per match). It is a Cagliari that always brings to mind the goalscorer Gigi Riva, who was capable of scoring 156 goals. Taking part in the UEFA Cup forced Cagliari to spend around 20 billion, compared with the 12 billion received from sales, leaving a deficit of 8 billion: no small amount for a Sardinian club like this. Radice’s fixation was the striker Valdes, who had already scored for Sporting Lisbon but, at the last minute, arrived in Cagliari from Montevideo. The sale of goalkeeper Ielpo to Milan and the arrival of Fiori from Lazio were not well received by the fans. Ielpo, moreover, risks becoming a reserve for Milan. It is, however, a Cagliari that can always rely on Fricano and De Napoli to provide absolute solidity, while Matteoli and Cappion guarantee a calm championship or, at least, a substantial showing in the UEFA Cup. The arrival of Allegri and that of Aloisi, together with Bellucci’s recovery, make Cagliari even more SIGNINGS: Valdes (Montevideo), Allegri (Pescara), Fiori (Lazio), Aloisi (Torino), Veronese S. (Inter), Pitta (Olbia). DEPARTURES: Ielpo (Milan), Festa (Inter), Francescoli (Torino), Gaudenzi (Pescara). SQUAD Goalkeepers: Fiori, Di Bitonto, Sarpi. Defenders: Aloisi, Bellucci, Fricano, Murgia, Napoli, Pusceddu, Pancaro, Villa, Veronese. Midfielders: Allegri, Bisoli, Cappion, Herrera, Matteoli, Sanna, Moriero, Pitta, Tejera. Forwards: Valdes, Criniti, Olivera. COACH: Radice 2 · continued Cagliari’s new coach, Radice

ACTOR TANO BANUSHI DIES IN SHKODËR — The famous comedy actor Tano Banushi, “People’s Artist,” has died in Shkodër after a serious illness. For around four decades, Banushi became famous throughout the country thanks to his talent and his ability to express and develop traditional Shkodër humor. During his career he performed hundreds of roles in cinema, theatre and, especially, in the variety theatre. He also left a rich legacy of comic plays and other archival materials related to the theatre of Shkodër. DISTRICT COUNCIL CHAIRMAN WOUNDED IN DELVINË, CULPRITS ARRESTED — Delvinë police have arrested two young men and are searching for a third. They are all accused of being responsible for an incident that took place at the end of last month, when a group of criminals stopped the car of Vasil Bileo, Chairman of the District Council, and assaulted him. After taking the Chairman’s pistol, they also tried to kill him. According to the victim, who stated that he did not know his attackers, someone had urged them to carry out this act. PREPARATIONS IN KORÇË FOR THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR — Methodological preparations are underway with teachers in Korçë. This school year, 81 eight-year schools and 22 secondary schools will be open. The number of pupils will be 25,400. Two foreign schools are scheduled to begin operating this school year: an American primary school and a Maltese lyceum.

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