Two others are injured ERSKE — (p.re). Massacre on the border with Greece. Three Albanian citizens (though, according to other reports, there are at least five) were killed on Tuesday night and Wednesday while attempting to cross the border into Greece clandestinely. The bodies were found in Albanian territory, in a ravine between Korçë and Ersekë, on Mali i Kuq. Not far from the Greek town of Kalovris. No one is currently able to explain what happened, and the mystery has deepened because of the different versions circulating about this tragedy. On the Greek side, the press agency “Ana,” reporting from Athens, says that the Albanians, “all illegal immigrants,” “were killed in an exchange of fire between Albanians.” The “Ana” agency also adds that five bodies were found. The version of an armed clash “between Albanians” is, naturally, unconvincing. The suspicion—an extremely grave one—is that the massacre was carried out by Greek border guards, who opened fire on the clandestine migrants and then threw their bodies into the ravine. This hypothesis has so far received no official confirmation. On the Albanian side, the Head of the District Branch in Ersekë—confirming the news—limited himself to reporting that three people had died, while two other migrants had been admitted to the town hospital, not seriously wounded. No explanation was given of how the incident unfolded. It is estimated that at least 300,000 Albanians have emigrated to Greece, many of them without legal permits. The issue of clandestine immigration remains one of the problems that makes relations between Albania and Greece difficult. In July of this year, Greece repatriated more than 20,000 migrants in retaliation for Albania’s expulsion of the Orthodox archimandrite Christostomos, accused by the Tirana government of anti-nationalist propaganda. A few days ago Athens accused Albania of seeking to close the schools of the Greek minority, an accusation that was returned, as it was deemed unfounded. This is the first time a tragedy of this scale has occurred on the Greek border. Many incidents have also taken place in the North, with many Albanian citizens dying in clashes with Serbian guards.

The story of a report Smugglers’ ship carrying 86 tons of cigarettes detained and released CARLO BOLLINO VLORË — The Financial Police’s request to legally detain the ship was not enough: the “Sotirios” therefore had to leave Albanian territorial waters urgently, escorted by a District judge. It is 14:30 on 15 October: and this phrase, spoken by the Albanian Naval Fleet operations officer and addressed to the port authority in Vlorë, conceals the mystery of the Greek ship “Sotirios.” A vessel with 86 tons of smuggled cigarettes on board, reported by the Italian authorities, detained and then seized on the orders of the Minister of Finance, and mysteriously released a few hours after the Albanian navy intervened. Contradictory orders in a case that still needs to be clarified. The chronicle of this terrible day was recorded step by step in the report drawn up at the Vlorë Port Authority offices throughout 15 October. A document signed by all the officials who that day dealt with the detention and unexpected release of the “Sotirios.” The ship, flying the Greek flag, had arrived in Vlorë waters on the morning of 12 October; a Financial Police team boarded and discovered—not only the cargo of 86 tons of cigarettes—but also a number of irregularities in the documents. The goods, worth at least 6 million dollars, were intended for the company “Pannoia Forwarders” of Durrës: a company unknown in Albania, whose details had not been filled in on the same documents. Not even its address. On the morning of 13 October, the Ministry of Finance had ordered the seizure of the ship and the transfer of all documentation to Tirana, pending further clarification. But on the night of 14 October, an order suddenly came from the commander of the Naval Forces: within one hour, the “Sotirios” was to leave the Port of Vlorë and prepare to exit Albanian waters, because it had been deemed “undesirable.” According to the order recorded in the report, “the departure from Albanian waters must be southward, toward Greek territorial waters, in order to hand the ship over to the Greek authorities.” At 10:00 the report states: “The border police pilot will not allow the ship to leave unless a written order is received. The news is conveyed to the Naval Fleet District operations officer, who agrees and says he will pass it on to Fleet Command.” At 14:40 it reads: “The operations officer of the Third District communicates the order of the Naval Fleet commander: ‘The Greek ship Sotirios has been declared undesirable by our state and must leave territorial waters urgently. The captain is to hand over the documents and not pay a fine if he refuses. The Financial Police’s request has no legal basis.’” In the same report, the Port Authority commander notes: “We are following the order of the Naval Fleet commander because it is our duty. But this order conflicts with the order of three ministers, existing laws and the order of the Minister of Defense. We request a written order so that we, as the Port Authority, are beyond any risk.” At 20:15 the “Sotirios” leaves the waters of Vlorë with 86 tons of cigarettes. It departs in violation of a seizure order, disappears over the horizon, heading south, taking its cargo—and its mystery—with it. Between 26 October and 10:00, the prosecutor and Nano’s lawyers will again appear before the court. But this time the defendant will be absent, because it will only be a preliminary hearing. The Tirana lawyers Sannxhakut? have sent a written request to the Tirana Court, claiming that the procedural rules were not followed in the Nano case. And the Court has accepted it. Agim Bendo, President of the Trial Panel and, at the same time, President of the Tirana Court, will again rule at this preliminary hearing, together with the prosecutor, whose identity has not yet been made known. Thus, perhaps, the Nano case will resume, and his trial connected with the Italian aid scandal will also be postponed. “This is not a trial,” Përparim Sannxhaku, one of Nano’s lawyers, tells the newspaper, “but a preliminary hearing where either our request will be accepted, or the prosecution’s request, which would mean a speedy trial for Nano.” The request submitted by the lawyers—on the grounds of breaches of procedural rules—seeks to return the Nano case to the Investigation Department. That would mean months of investigation. But it is still not known how the prosecution will respond; it too is represented by a well-known Tirana lawyer, who has requested that the case be brought to a close. Nor have his lawyers so far agreed to examine their client’s files. It is the file that will shed light on the mystery of the 8 billion lire from Italy, intended to help Albanians—who at the time were in an extremely difficult situation—but which, it appears, ended up in someone’s pockets. A view of Vlorë

The lawyers’ request is accepted A decision will be made on whether investigations will resume Prosecutor Qeleshi in Italy next week TIRANA — This time Fatos Nano’s lawyers have won. After their defeat in the 7 October proceeding, where they sought revocation of the arrest measure, the Nano case is now returning to court. On 26 October, at the judge. But this time the defendant himself will be absent, because it will be a ... ...prepared for Nano’s trial, and even for the three other former officials accused alongside him. Next week the Tirana District Prosecutor, Arben Qeleshi, will travel to Rome. As prosecutor Evelina Canale also warned through the newspaper, the visit by Qeleshi’s chief would be followed immediately by Canale’s visit to Tirana. Intensive investigations are being conducted on both sides of the sea into the Italian aid scandal, in which maf[...] are involved. Former Prime Minister Fatos Nano

They demolished illegal homes POGRADEC — (al.) — A large-scale operation against unauthorized construction has also begun in Pogradec. The Public Order forces from the city of Elbasan—protected by bulletproof clothing—began implementing the decision adopted by the Territorial Planning Council the day before yesterday, but taking into account only unauthorized buildings constructed from 1990 onward. Although the owners of the illegal structures had been informed of this operation three months ago, after the Police intervened, widespread dissatisfaction was felt. Nevertheless, confrontations with city residents were avoided. There are around 120 illegal structures within the city of Pogradec, as well as in the municipalities of Utemisht and Buçimas. Most of them are small workshops, walls and garages. “The work of the Public Order forces,” Vladimir Dumbaku, Head of the Public Order Branch, told the newspaper, “is hindered most by the onlookers.” To prevent possible excesses, the Police did not intervene in residential buildings, even though families, women and children were inside. The operation carried out on Thursday in Pogradec had already begun in many other cities. It has been particularly extensive in Shkodër, Durrës and Tirana, where there are more than 1,700 illegal structures.

TIRANA — Drug growers are being sent to trial. There are six people, arrested some time ago following the discovery of several areas planted with Cannabis Sativa, from which marijuana is produced. The largest area was discovered in Ersekë at the end of September, and covered around one and a half hectares. The Ersekë field is the latest one discovered planted with drug-producing plants. The Prosecutor’s Office investigation found that the seeds used to grow the plants had been brought to Albania by an Albanian foreign trader.

From today, FSHF uses technology to impose sanctions TIRANA — (ed.l.). - For the first time in Albania, footballers are being punished by television. On Thursday, FSHF called an urgent panel meeting to review the clubs’ cases and the decisions made by the FSHF Disciplinary Commission. The Disciplinary Commission has imposed severe sanctions on various footballers and teams, only after using video recordings of the matches. This is the birth of “Moviola”—slow-motion replay—in Albania. A new model is thus emerging, one that has long been widespread in various countries around the world. Although these broadcasts have not yet become the property of the main telecommunications provider, “Moviola” is now part of Albanian TV and FSHF. These are a series of new measures by a Federation to prevent hooliganism and violence in stadiums. “If such incidents are repeated,” Eduard DerVishi, FSHF Secretary, tells Gazeta, “we have measures at our disposal, up to exclusion from the Championship, and even the resignation of FSHF’s own leaders, if a serious incident were allowed to happen.” A few days ago, while a Championship-week match was being played, the game in Peçër was stopped for three minutes. 22 footballers from both Albanian teams? were sent off. “Moviola” showed everything, and all the reckless players have now been punished. Someone else has also joined FSHF in opposing violence and aggression on the green pitch: every Championship match will be recorded by an FSHF delegate. Another adversary for nervous and unruly players is “the thing that raises the football library? takes the television sets.” So from today, someone is watching: “Beware of Moviola.” A replay machine in Rai television studios

. Tomorrow readers will receive free the third panorama in the series distributed every Sunday together with the Albanian Newspaper. Tomorrow’s panorama is a reproduction of an old painting of Foggia.

Half of France paralyzed by strikes at airports 3,000 Air France employees protest ON PAGE 2 Kotherja officiates in the capital Direct showdown: Dinamo-Partizani Myzeqe derby: Fieri travels to Patos ON PAGE 3

GERMAN INVESTMENT IN ALBANIA NEEDS TO INCREASE — “It is necessary for German investment in Albania to increase,” was the essence of the talks between the Albanian delegation and the Germans. The delegation, headed by Bashkim Kopliku, Deputy Prime Minister, held numerous meetings with both senior German officials and various businesspeople interested in investing in Albania. PRESS CONFERENCE BY PAD ON THE VISIT OF THE PARTY DELEGATION TO BELGRADE — The PAD press conference was held the day before yesterday in Belgrade, where Albanian political issues and matters concerning this party’s delegation, which had been in Belgrade for several days, were discussed. In the press statement, the visit was considered a step forward toward dialogue with the northwestern neighbors; with conviction, this liberal-democratic party had taken part in the meeting. A CULTURAL FOUNDATION IS ESTABLISHED — The Ministry of Culture and Tourism approved the establishment of a new cultural foundation the day before yesterday. Its aim will be to assist and support various cultural projects. The foundation, which will operate as a non-governmental? organization, will have a coordinating board and will soon draw up its statute. At the beginning of its activities, it will be funded by a state.