The 6-year-old child has been missing from Tirana for 13 months Desperate appeal from the parents. Perhaps she was “sold” to an Italian family The family’s anguish calls for everyone’s attention A six-and-a-half-year-old girl disappeared from Tirana 13 months ago, and no one knows what became of her. One of her uncles is offering all the money he has, hoping to find her. Her father would be satisfied even “with a little bone” so he could weep over a grave, because sometimes the grief of death is less painful than uncertainty. Her mother wants only one piece of news: that Luljeta is alive. There is a suspicion that the little girl may have been abducted and sold abroad, perhaps to Italy, where many families—and it may seem unbelievable—are ready to buy a child in order to have a son. It has happened other times in Italy. This is not just the story of a private tragedy, nor only the tragedy of two parents who have lost their child: it is, in fact, one of those sorrows that must belong to everyone. It must matter to Albanians, because anyone who hears about it feels as though the victim were their own sister or daughter, even though her father is no longer in good health. But neither his meeting with President Berisha nor the report to Interpol has so far brought anything to light. “Her father, Ganiu,” says Bajrami, “would be satisfied even if they found one of the child’s hands. At least he could bury it and know that he has a dead child.” Luljeta Hoxha should now be in first grade. Her friends, with whom she played “Who can strike the prettiest poses?” and many other games, will not easily forget her. One of them, seven-year-old Denisa Bengu, shaken by the loss of her friend, says that her [text corrupted in source: the following passage repeats earlier text] her friend, says that TIRANA — Little Luljeta Hoxha was abducted on 12 March last year, at 11 in the morning. From the moment the six-year-old left home to buy a “tollombac” at the nearby shop until today, no one has seen her again. “My wish is that at least she is alive,” says her mother, Valentina, sobbing, “even if they have taken her to Italy.” Meanwhile, the girl’s uncle, a private shopkeeper who has been most involved in searching for her, has set aside 2,000 dollars for whoever finds his niece. “If I know she is alive, I will legally sign over to whoever now has this child what I own, whether she is [text corrupted in source] or dead,” Bajram Hoxha, Luljeta’s uncle, assures us. Meanwhile, her family in Tirana and her poor parents wait for some happy news, at least to be sure that Luljeta is alive. The Albanian police, too, have remained in the same position as the family since that moment. The abducted girl’s parents live in a ground-floor house somewhere east of the Albanian capital, Tirana. The walls of this two-room house, recently renovated, are still unpainted. The disorder and poverty of the home make it possible to understand how little they can do. The Hoxha family remains bewildered, just as it was a year ago. year ago,” interjects another uncle of Luli, Kuqi. “Her father can neither write nor read. Perhaps he doesn’t even know which party he voted for.” There are no similar cases in the surrounding area. Perhaps the kidnappers did not know that her father, when she was abducted, was a simple cart driver who worked only to keep body and soul together. “If they took her for money, I would crawl into a mousehole to get my daughter Luljeta back,” her mother, Valentina, swears. The Hoxha family is still as it was a year ago. Only the tears and distrust have increased. That little girl of the past, with black eyes and short chestnut-colored hair, is even listed in police files as a “closed case.” “There was nothing more we could do,” says local police officer Llazar Qose, who handled the case from the first day. “We searched as much as we could, but we were unlucky.” Reports of a car that drove around near the house on 12 March 1992, as well as of a blonde girl who seemed to be [text corrupted in source], did not provide enough information to catch the abductors of little Luljeta. Even after 13 months, life goes on as if nothing had happened. At least on the surface. Ganiu, her father, continues to work with his cart, but now the little girl who used to ask him for a ride on the horse after work no longer [text corrupted in source]. Floriani, her mother, continues to keep watch. Meanwhile Floriani, her eight-year-old brother, goes to school, but now he is [text corrupted in source] only by her and has no one left to shout at him to behave nicely in the street. A project to improve healthcare This is not only the story of a private drama. unpainted. In the disorder and poverty of this home, one can also understand the impossibility of doing anything more. Valentina, the mother of the little girl who was stolen, works at the Tirana Shoe Factory, which cooperates with “Filan”-to-n; at 4 p.m. she has just returned from work. A little soup has just been cooked on the makeshift stove for the master of the house and her little son, eight-year-old Florian. Neither a color TV nor a refrigerator can dispel the gloom in this home, which has been shrouded in mourning for 13 months. The lady of the house is tormented by the thought that someone used her daughter for the organ trade, even though she was frail and sickly. “Little Luljeta had even had botkin, and on the very day she disappeared she had the flu,” Valentina says, as if to warn the kidnappers. Everything has now been tried. The girl’s uncle is personally trying to find her. Kuj Muka is not merely the story of a private drama, nor only the tragedy of a human [?] matter that should concern everyone. It should concern Albanians, because anyone who thinks they have the right to make a business out of a child’s life must be found and handed over to justice. But it should also concern Italians: anyone who claims to have found happiness by doing “business” as if it were a trinket, throwing an entire family into despair, deserves to be punished by the competent authorities with equal severity. Starting today, we will take up the story of Luljeta Hoxha. We will put all our resources at the disposal of shedding light on her fate and finding anyone who can contribute to the truth, and set things in motion. It is our duty and everyone’s: in the name of solidarity and justice, and in the name of justice. (c.bo.) with whom she used to play will not forget her easily. One of them, seven-year-old Denisa Benga, shaken by the loss of her friend, tells of the dream she keeps having: “That day, a friend of mine saw some bad people take Luli. Then they [cut?] her head with an axe, cut her on the lap and took her.” Ilmë and Vanë, too, Luli’s little playmates, miss her very much. They remember that on the day in question Luli was wearing a pair of blue corduroy trousers, a brown blouse with white stripes along the sleeves, and a pair of black sneakers. Meanwhile, in her kindergarten, the photograph taken with her peers still hangs on the display board. On the right, the missing little girl photographed with her mother and brother. Above, with her school friends: she is second in the front row from the right

The plan against Giovanni Paolo II remains shrouded in mystery Italian police continue the investigation Giovanni Paolo II: during his visit to Albania, someone planned to kill him TRIESTE — Italian police will soon submit a report to the Ministry of the Interior in Rome on the alleged plot to assassinate the Pope. The file will be written by two officials who came to investigate in Tirana and Shkodër on the eve of Giovanni Paolo II’s visit to Albania. They had received information from a person close to the matter about a plan to attack the Pope during a helicopter journey over Albanian territory. The report will set out the results of the investigations conducted so far, as well as any concrete evidence that may have been gathered. As for the rest... Ten years ago Giovanni Paolo II was the victim of an attack in St Peter’s Square in Rome. A Turkish terrorist, Ali Ağca, was arrested for the incident, but it was never discovered who had sent him. The Bulgarian theory was joined by another, Soviet one. Was it the KGB that organized the attack, on orders from Moscow, which at the time was still in the hands of the Communist government? …tar is negative. Stories about a mechanic who drove around in a car with kangaroos [?] in it, in connection with an attack on the Pope during a helicopter flight over Albanian territory. The report will refer to the findings of the investigations conducted so far, as well as the possible concrete evidence that has been gathered. Without providing further details, the Italian authorities are not denying the alarm that was raised a few days before the Pope’s arrival in Albania. The investigations were also conducted by the Albanian police and SHIK investigators. The hypothesis is that a Serbian commando unit—which apparently intended to enter Albania from the northern border with Montenegro—had planned to hit the helicopter carrying the Pope from Tirana to Shkodër with a surface-to-air missile. The news of the alert was met with great interest by all Italian newspapers and news agencies. It is not the first time that a papal trip has been accompanied by “rumors” of assassination plots, but the Vatican security services—

A project to improve healthcare TIRANA — The pharmacies of Albanian hospitals have begun receiving direct supplies from the central office of Furma, the national pharmaceutical enterprise that administers international donations of medicines and local production of pharmaceutical goods. This was the result of the implementation of a plan devised by the Albanian enterprise in cooperation with international organizations. The plan aimed to modernize the reorganization of Furma and gradually manage the depots in the various districts, in order to achieve faster and more appropriate distribution of medicines throughout the country. The huge quantity of medicines that has entered Albania in recent years as aid from the European Community and the United States has overwhelmed the Albanian pharmaceutical system, which, being inadequately equipped with transport vehicles and logistical systems, found it difficult to supply hospital pharmacies regularly, especially those in the districts. Until now, medicines arriving from abroad, as well as the few produced in the country, went through a veritable odyssey before reaching patients. One of the links that caused the greatest confusion was the storage of medicines in district warehouses, where they were processed. A long time passed—given the means of transport currently available to the Ministry of Health—before the medicines reached their destination.

The new tourist route of the Harikla is inaugurated SARANDA — The “Harikla” ferry has returned to plow the waters of Saranda Bay. The same vessel, with the Albanian flag at its mast and tourists on board, can finally bring the beauty of Saranda’s coastline back to life and let people admire it. Previously, Saranda Bay was closed to the public, which could only [text corrupted in source] dirty, dangerous border [text corrupted in source]. With the arrival of the democrats, private craft and fishing boats also arrived; most were quite small, but some were larger and intended for the tourist season. It will be another kind of journey, instead of the tourist route by road, and in a ... [?] Today comes the good news: Saranda Bay is returning to its tourist function, as a tourist port. Butrint, Ksamil and Borsh can also be reached by sea. By paying a small sum, people will finally be able to see Albania’s landscapes again—not only Albanians. The country is being rediscovered: its colors, its sea, its beaches and ... [?] in its natural setting, will ... [?] Albania has ... [?] as if it delights and beautifies us ... [?] Tourism, with the passage of time, will become one of Albania’s major sources of income. There are already tourism agencies operating, and 14 private agencies are guiding visitors [?] in an organized way. The “Harikla” ferry setting out on its excursions is the clearest sign of a change that is now close at hand. Its administrators wanted to inaugurate it with this trip on the first of May, a holiday that recalls old and faded scenes, [text corrupted in source], but today—amid the confusion, to be honest—it is becoming a small step on this journey straight toward the future.

It was violating the embargo VLORA — The tanker “Nikos K” has been detained by the Albanian authorities. After a sea voyage [?] along the Italian, Yugoslav and Albanian coasts, the Greek ship was finally detained in the port of Vlora. “It is believed that the ship was transporting fuel, thereby violating the embargo against Serbia”—this is also the official confirmation from the Saranda Public Order Department. However, the Albanian port authorities also cite other grounds for detaining the “Nikos K”, such as violations of navigation regulations and the discovery that members of the crew had crossed the border illegally. For greater security, the Greek ship was transferred from Saranda to Vlora.

UEFA Cup tonight: Dortmund–Juventus An Albanian arrested in Turin for rape A whole page of economic news

In issue 4 of the newspaper, the article “There are two mass graves in the village of Mnik” was published. On rereading the article, we identified several inaccuracies that we consider it our duty to make known: Dali Ndreu and Lile Gega were sentenced to death by the dictatorship following the events connected with the Tirana Conference in 1956, and not in 1961, as stated in the article. Furthermore, [text corrupted in source] began in the first years after the war, and in the year of their execution they held no high-ranking party or state positions. In the same article, because of an editorial error, the witnesses’ accounts of the victims’ final moments were wrongly attributed to Dr Aleksandër Dhima. We emphasize that those accounts belong only to the state witnesses who were present at those moments. We apologize for all of this to the families of the Ndreu spouses, Dr Dhima, and all our readers.

A letter from across the sea

Dear editors of “Gazeta Shqiptar”! I am very happy that these days I got hold of your newspaper, which I think does not belong to a group of journalists who write for it, but to a very large group of people; it belongs to many hearts aching with the pain of separation. It belongs to those who left their homeland, not because they did not love it, but for various reasons and because circumstances forced them to abandon it; it also belongs to all those hostages who, through a few lines in this newspaper, “keep their days and waves close to them.” But how? A letter, an announcement, an article—or why not a poem, a poem written for them. I, too, inspired by the painful tragedy described in this article, inspired by your newspaper, am writing a poem at this address. It was driven away and, in an embrace [?], pain has brought it too. Flower of the emigrant? Under? It has been so long since I was born that I no longer hear you! I am so far from you, but not at all badly, Monopoli, with the evening’s arrival, sets; the word “good—” rises, and “good night,” my heart, from you... [?] I need you so much! I love you so much, just as I love these two eyes here! But to the eyes of