Closed gates, mobilized guards and an alarm system: this is how Albanian treasures are being plundered A journey through the looted museums History of Apollonia, Butrint and Durrës TIRANË — The exhibition and the exterior architecture are steps that make you attentive, but they ultimately do not matter. The rooms for displaying rare and valuable works, they say, are always visited by only a few people. No one has the will to stop and look at ancient works, and yet every day some sculpture, some painting, some rare object disappears from this place. In Albanian museums there is something strange: the guards stand only over the objects, not over the visitors, while the alarm is almost completely absent. From yesterday’s tour of the country’s main museums, we can say that the thieves are safer than the museum staff. In Durrës, Apollonia and Butrint there is a great historical wealth left unprotected. For the first time since the 1990s, many of the objects have been placed in storage or moved away out of fear of theft. In an environment where there is no light, where the windows are broken and the door does not close properly, a vase from the 4th century BC has remained for months without inventory. In another room, small bronze statues have been hidden under coverings, because there is no safe place to keep them. The workers speak hesitantly. They say they have grown used to the idea that one day, as soon as they open the door, they will find something else missing. In Apollonia, the museum’s silence has the look of a hall waiting to be shut forever. At the entrance there is an old wooden bench, while inside the shelves seem emptied. Part of the collection has been temporarily removed, but no one can guarantee that it will return complete. An elderly guard says that during the night he hears noises, but he cannot move far from the gate because he is alone. According to him, thieves know very well the building’s weak points. In Butrint the situation is just as dramatic. The road to the museum passes near the ruins and there is no regular supervision. Tourists are few, but antique dealers are always nearby. Employees mention several cases in which small objects disappeared unnoticed for days. A young specialist says that a stone relief was lost under unclear circumstances and that the report was filed late, because no one wanted to take responsibility. Durrës presents the most shocking picture. In the archaeological museum the lighting is poor and the staff is small. The corridors lack signs, while in some display cases there are visible signs of damage. An employee says the alarm system exists only on paper. When asked about funding, he shrugs and says the budget is insufficient even to repair the doors. This makes everything easier for those who know how to get in and what to take. Albanian museums today do not suffer only from poverty. They suffer from long-standing administrative neglect, from a lack of responsibility and from the mistaken idea that history can wait. But history does not wait. Every stolen object is a lost testimony, a sold memory, a part of the country’s identity that slips away in silence. Note: the text is partly illegible in the side columns; the transcription has been reconstructed only where it was visible. [?] Relic

A new stage between the two countries TIRANË — The white house of the government is still in the shadow of recent days. At these hours only the external mechanisms are moving, while the decision to recognize Macedonia has brought one of the most important statements of Albanian politics in recent weeks. Yesterday’s decision by the government was announced by the Albanian news agency and was immediately followed by numerous reactions. Berisha’s cabinet made the decision in the name of regional stability and good-neighbourly relations. According to official sources, Albania considers the recognition of Macedonia a step toward normalizing the situation in the Balkans. In diplomatic circles in Tiranë, an unusual stir was noted. Representatives of several Western embassies considered the move a balanced political signal. However, in Albanian political circles there was no shortage of voices asking for further clarification regarding the position of Albanians in Macedonia and guarantees for their rights. Government sources said that recognition does not amount to a retreat from the demand that the rights of Albanians across the border be respected. On the contrary, they said, it aims to give Tiranë a stronger position to pursue through diplomatic channels the issues related to education, political representation and the use of the Albanian language. In Tiranë, the move was also read as part of a broader approach to the Yugoslav crisis. The Albanian government is trying to present itself as a factor of stability and not as a source of tension. In this context, the recognition of Macedonia marks a measured and calculated turn. Note: parts of the original text are illegible in the image; only the readable segments and minimal traceable formulations have been included.

Another man from Tropoja killed in Pojë Five masked Albanians in Kukës on the border with Kosovo KUKËS — In this poor town, the increasingly frequent killing is always overshadowed by other news. In the outlying neighborhoods, near the unpaved roads and close to the border, people do not speak loudly. Fear and the fog of unclear news have created a sense of suspense. The latest incident has shaken the town: five masked persons were seen in an area near the border with Kosovo. Witnesses say they were moving at night and carrying weapons, but no one can say with certainty where they came from or what they intended. The local police have had to increase patrols, while the authorities have called for calm. At the same time, news has come from Tropoja of another killing, under unclear circumstances, in Pojë[?]. Residents of the area link the event to the tense climate of recent weeks and to armed movements that, according to them, are becoming increasingly visible in the north. Kukës and its surroundings remain a delicate area, where the border is not only a geographic line, but also a place of silent clashes, smuggling and uncontrolled crossings. Local sources admit that tension has increased and that every new episode immediately sparks panic. Note: the headline and subheading were read from the page; the rest is only partially legible.

Cooper’s balloon, Benetton’s banner: Albanians, a new fashion TIRANË — Benetton all around. Throughout this week, while Albanian public opinion was engulfed by heavy political and social events, another kind of invasion appeared in the sky above Tiranë and beyond: advertising. A large Cooper balloon and Benetton banners drew attention as signs of another world suddenly entering Albanian life. Many people saw these commercial symbols moving over a country still troubled by transition. For some, it was a sign of modernity; for others, an ironic proof that the market had arrived before the rules. In any case, the sight was unusual: foreign brands seeking space in a sky where until yesterday there was neither advertising nor consumption. The phenomenon was commented on as a metaphor for the new era. Albania was suddenly becoming visible not only as a country of crises, but also as a country ready to turn itself into a market. Advertising does not fly only to sell clothes or cigarettes; it flies to announce the arrival of a new culture of desire. (continued on page 13)

Written by Frrok Çupi ...The Albanian was distinguished by his laughter. In the few things he had, he smiled. Then, even when he became completely poor, he still laughed. Today he no longer laughs. A thick darkness has been planted on his face, a wild fog, and this is not only tiredness. It is the time of the strong. It is the time when the law retreats and is replaced by muscles, fear, money and gangs. Albania is living through days when the ordinary person feels like a stranger in his own country. On the street, at work, in the market, in the office, the last word is being said by the one who has strength, not by the one who is right. And that is the greatest tragedy: not poverty, not the lack of lights, not the lack of bread, but the lack of the state. There is a great silence in the cities, a silence that comes from fear. People avoid eye contact, speak in half-voices, no longer trust anyone. In this country where survival for a long time was a virtue, a new caste of rulers of the street, the market and violence is now rising. The state either does not exist, or seems to have given up. Instead of protecting the citizen, it looks at him as a helpless witness to the next loss. And so, in place of Albanians, the time of the strong is arriving. (continued on page 13)

Italian football championship, Serie A DANIELE VLLPI

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