The former President is coming from Togo and is responding to Berisha’s invitation The program also includes a meeting with representatives of religious communities TIRANA — The list of well-known American figures visiting Albania is growing. Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States, will arrive in Tirana this afternoon for a one-day visit. TIRANA — (fa. ba.) — The list of well-known American figures visiting Albania is growing. Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States, will arrive in Tirana this afternoon for a one-day visit. The purpose of his visit to Albania is to contribute to the advancement of human rights and freedoms. Carter himself heads a foundation whose purpose is precisely to protect fundamental human rights. The former American President has decided to accept an invitation from Albanian President Berisha. His visit to Tirana will take place after a trip to several African countries. Togo was Carter’s last stop in Africa. A very full program has been planned for Carter in Tirana. Tomorrow he will meet with representatives of the largest American companies operating in Albania. Senior Albanian government officials will also take part. The meeting will examine ways and means of increasing economic cooperation between the two countries. Another meeting has been planned with a group of American Baptist Christians. Carter, himself a Baptist, will attend a concert that a group of American Baptists will give in Tirana. Religious freedom and the role of religion in modern democratic society will be the subject of the former President’s meeting with representatives of Albania’s religious communities. In addition to the heads of the traditional religions, representatives of faiths that have arrived in Albania recently will also take part in the meeting. Carter will spend the day’s break on an excursion accompanied by the Speaker of the Albanian Parliament, Pjetër Arbnori. The visit by this well-known figure follows visits by Bar-kësit and Eagleberger-it. After them, a large number of senators and other senior representatives have visited Albania recently. Former American president, Carter

Ballet, the passion of the woman from Shkodër, Gjeloshi SHKODËR — She is Albania’s first top model. Her name is Vera Gjeloshi, the 20-year-old who was crowned these days at the fashion show in Shkodër. A worker, orphaned when she was little and raised in a large family, she had a very difficult childhood. Passionate about ballet and folk dancing, Vera too has not escaped the dream of working abroad: “I want to work to support my family. My life belongs to them.” She loves being at the center of attention, with so many arms around her. This is the first interview she has given wearing the top-model crown. What did you feel when you received the title? “A feeling I have never experienced before, but I can’t explain it to you.” Many girls dream of walking in a fashion show. With Vera Gjeloshi, that dream is beginning to become reality. Do you feel happy about this? “I was lucky to be the first, and the first—whether for something beautiful or something ugly—is always remembered. Wearing the top-model crown at a time when we do not hear or see many pleasant things is something that goes beyond happiness.” What kind of childhood did you have? “A very difficult childhood. My father died when I was only two, and my mother had to raise us alone and with great hardship. We are five sisters and [sic] boys, and there was no time, and I don’t think it is in orphans’ favor.” What did you think when the Shkodër audience applauded you as the title winner? “I wished I could see my father sitting in the front row, among all those people. I feel his absence deeply.” You are also involved in ballet. How long have you been doing it? “Ballet is my passion, and I would never give it up for anything. I have done folk dancing since I was little, and four years ago I performed at Rilindje with the ‘Rozafa’ Folkloric Ensemble of Shkodër. It was a very beautiful experience.” What is your dream for the future? “Life holds surprises for you that you never even imagine. Perhaps winning the top-model title will lead to something, but I am sure that I can give much more in ballet and in another field.” Any particular goal? “I don’t see any prospects here for achieving what I want. God made me the way I am, and I pray that He opens the way for my passion, which is Albania. My goal is to work for my family. My life is theirs.” Who is your idol in life? “My mother. I adore her in every sense of the word.”

Explosive material was suspected TIRANA — False alarm at one of the capital’s two prisons. TIRANA — False alarm at one of Tirana’s two prisons. Inmates in a cell at the “Re-education Institution,” formerly Unit 325, threatened three members of the staff with a lighter and a mysterious bottle. Only the ensuing struggle prevented the prisoners from achieving their aim. Two days later, an expert examination confirmed that the “explosive substance” was merely a trick. “It was one of the periodic checks carried out by the Prison Police in inmates’ cells,” Altin Dilaveri, an inspector at the General Directorate of Prisons, tells Gazeta. “The chief of police, together with two officers, entered the cell of the inmates S.P., 24, H.D., 24, and A.L., 20. One of the inmates was holding something that, at first glance, looked like dynamite. Then, with a lit lighter, he ordered the officers to leave immediately, or he would blow them up.” Everything ended quickly in the police’s favor, as they pounced on the inmate and took the “dynamite” from his hand. “The analyses showed,” Inspector Dilaveri continues, “that it was a deodorant bottle filled with bread pulp and a few match heads. According to the expert examination, this material proved to be completely harmless.” Tirana prison

Arafat’s struggle to convince his people TUNIS — According to PLO sources in Tunis, an agreement was reached for Israel to officially recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which it has always considered a “center of international terrorism.” The agreement, according to an unnamed source, was concluded between Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher at their meeting on Friday, during which an agreement was reached on the preliminary recognition of autonomy for the Gaza Strip and Jericho. Anticipating this recognition by the Israeli side, PLO President Yasser Arafat managed to win over the opposition faction of the organization’s Executive Committee by means of a first, partial territorial agreement—though one that remains controversial—with the State of Israel. Arafat had devised a political line with the Palestinian delegation that will leave for Washington to continue the bilateral Arab-Israeli talks; this line was rejected by his opponents, who were in the majority: 13 of the 18 committee members present. Statements of opposition by Arafat’s spokespeople and radical groups have been fueled by suspicions that the Israeli government has no intention whatsoever of withdrawing its security forces from the Gaza Strip and Jericho. Hanan Ashrawi, spokesperson for the negotiating delegation, said they felt “fear and doubts,” but did not think these could prevent the talks from progressing. PLO leader Arafat

Perisic repeats accusations against Albanians PRISTINA — (p. r.) — U.S. Senator Paul Koverdell was detained by Serbian police for more than two hours. The senior American envoy was on a two-day visit to Kosovo when he was stopped on August 28. The official explanation given by the Yugoslav authorities was: “The car in which the American dignitary was traveling was not in proper technical condition, and after a thorough inspection they were allowed to leave.” Comments by various observers about the incident diverge considerably from the official version. They explain the detention as a form of retaliation by the Serbian police against the purpose of the American senator’s visit to Kosovo, which was to examine reports of abuses committed by Serbian police against its Albanian residents. The incident occurred at a time when tensions between Kosovo and Serbia are rising. Statements by senior Serbian military officers have increased, declaring that they will not allow the conflict to spread to Kosovo, where, according to them, “some Albanian separatist leaders want to provoke conflicts.” This is compounded by a statement from General Momçilo Perisic—the new Chief of the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army, who replaced Zhivota Panic—about the successes achieved by the Yugoslav police in preventing any rebellion. The detention of the American senator apparently forms part of these preventive police measures.

The new customs duty remains at five percent TIRANA — The customs duty on spacecraft has not changed. Even after the 24th of this month—when the annex to the Customs Tariff Law came into effect—the duty on spacecraft and their parts remained at 5 percent. It is not yet known how Albanian spacecraft traders have received this measure. The 5-percent tax was the lowest on the entire list in this “Customs Tariff Law.” After many years of hermetic isolation, Albanians have now begun thinking about spacecraft, too. The Albanian desire to reconnect with the rest of the world lasted only two years. Now they are going further: a visit to the planet closest to Earth is no longer surprising. Spacecraft have arrived in Albania, too. 1. Even if only through a document, they are subject to customs duty. Because spacecraft and their parts are virtually the only items provided for in the Customs Code that have not been exported. The low tax, which remains unchanged, is a great attraction for Albanian “space traders.” The Space Shuttle

Provocations continue: a former concentration camp is defaced with swastikas BERLIN — While neo-Nazi violence and gatherings continue, the Bonn government is warning that new measures will be introduced to ban extremist organizations, but appears divided internally over its strategy for combating the right-wing threat. On Sunday, two young men found a swastika painted on a statue at the former Sachsenhausen concentration camp, now a memorial to the horrors of Nazism, located a few kilometers from Berlin. Both were immediately detained, but the episode has rekindled the outrage provoked a year earlier by the arson attack against the camp’s “Jewish barracks.” Police announced that they had also held for several hours a group of around 30 skinheads (young people with shaved heads) who were having a party in a private courtyard in Hennigsdorf (Brandenburg, northeast of Berlin), where Nazi and right-wing extremist songs were being requested. Several skinheads, almost all of them drunk, resisted the law-enforcement officers, but no one was injured. As police intervened on the outskirts of Berlin, Federal Interior Minister Manfred Kanther gave a smiling response to Sunday’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, warning: “In the future, bans will be a more appropriate means of fighting the phenomenon of right-wing extremism.” The minister also expressed support for banning symbols similar to, or used as substitutes for, Nazi symbols. Further bans on neo-Nazi or right-wing extremist symbols were also endorsed by Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger. However, the minister stressed once again, speaking on Assia radio, that these were “symbolic” measures that did not entail general amendments to the laws in force. In contrast to Kanther and Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, other demands have been voiced. Schnarrenberger reiterated that there is no legislative shortcoming, but rather a failure in its implementation: essentially, she said, the police simply need to make a greater effort against right-wing extremists. Moreover, the Social Democratic opposition (SPD) had previously pointed out that strengthening the laws, without subsequently applying them effectively, remains a superficial solution. Although more than a thousand extremists are counted, four organizations have been banned, together comprising around 600 people. The police have sought the dissolution of two of the organizations; this was noted two weeks ago by a march of around 500 neo-Nazis in Fulda (in Assia). Speaking about this demonstration, Karl Werbernbach, head of the federal state’s intelligence service, said that in Fulda the neo-Nazis had shown they could form a united front.

“My name is Jimm Carter and I intend to announce my candidacy for President of the United States. I am a farmer, engineer, businessman, public official and Christian.” This was how, on December 13, 1974, an unknown man from the South presented himself in Washington to enter the race for the White House. And two years later he achieved the coveted goal. Four years of conflicts and major movements marked his time in the White House. To his critics, he was merely a “president of defeats,” because of his activity as an industrialist. To his supporters, he was the man who brought peace to the Middle East with the Camp David Accords. For everyone who came after him, another Democrat in the White House would have to wait for Bill Clinton.

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What kind of family did you have? “A very difficult family. My father died when I was 28.”