48 families leaving Kukës Pollution alert also in Elbasan, Laç and Rubik Who pollutes KUKËS AND RUBIK — The copper smelters in Kukës and Rubik release around 60,000 tons of sulfur into the atmosphere every year. This quantity is equivalent to 120,000 tons of sulfur gas. The effects caused by the smelters extend within a radius of 3 kilometers. In the areas near the factories, forests and vegetation have been destroyed, and the land’s productivity is 50 percent lower. Irritation of the respiratory organs has also been observed in people. ELBASAN — The Elbasan Metallurgical Plant pollutes the atmosphere with chemical elements: cobalt, nickel, titanium, manganese, vanadium. The pollution covers an area 20 kilometers long and 16 kilometers wide. The poisonous substances have penetrated 30 centimeters into the soil. The chemical plant in Laç ANDREA STEFANI TIRANA — Alarming signs of environmental pollution from several metallurgical plants in Albania. In focus are the three copper smelting plants in Kukës, Laç and Rubik, as well as the Elbasan Metallurgical Plant. The pollution is so visible that it is no longer seen only by specialists. The population of these areas is also suffering from and protesting against this phenomenon. In the district of Kukës, 48 families from the village of Kodër-Lumë in the commune of Shiqitënit have asked to be evacuated. The reason is the terribly destructive impact of the waste released into the atmosphere by the Copper Smelting Plant in Rexhepaj. The evidence is a 3-kilometer-long mountain of waste. Besides the destruction of vegetation and forests, soil productivity in these areas is also 50 percent lower than in unpolluted areas. The effects on people are significant, too. Irritation of the respiratory organs has been observed not only among the workers at these plants, but also among those living within a radius of 2–3 kilometers of them. To partly compensate for the damage caused, the Copper Corporation pays the Kukës district around 15 million lekë each year. The same dramatic situation exists in Laç. Although the Copper Plant in this area has more advanced technology, the consequences are the same. Residents complain of lung and stomach pains. The Shul-tet Mountain and Elbasan. The wind blowing through the valley has carried the polluting dust, creating another area of high concentration in Labinot Mal. The main pollutants are nickel, cobalt, titanium, manganese and vanadium. All these chemical elements are present in the environment at levels above normal. But pollution has also penetrated the soil. At a depth of 30 meters, the level of pollution is almost the same as at the surface. Grass analyses indicate a higher percentage of iron. In this situation, people, specialists and government departments face major dilemmas. Because of the economic crisis, these plants have stopped or reduced production. Should they— the specialists. This phenomenon is also being suffered and opposed by the population of these areas. of Kodër-Lumë in the municipality of Shtiqen have requested evacuation. The cause is the terribly destructive effect of the waste discharged The mountain of Gjalliçë nearby is evidence of this. Its slope, once covered in greenery, is now stripped bare by the intensive and relentless effects of the sulfuric gas discharged into the atmosphere by the plant. In damp weather, this quantity of gas turns into acid, whose runoff is even more destructive to vegetation, soil, and everything else. “Only the smelting plants in Kukës and Rubik,” they told the newspaper at the Copper Corporation, “discharge around 60,000 tonnes of sulfur dust into the atmosphere, equivalent to 120,000 tonnes of sulfuric gas. The destructive effects on the environment extend across an active radius affecting the respiratory organs. To compensate somewhat for the damage caused, the Copper Corporation pays the district of Kukës around 15 million lekë every year. The same dramatic situation is also occurring of lung and stomach pain. Mount Shullaz, once green with pine trees, is now bare. The land is almost barren, because grass has difficulty growing. Concerning data have also been recorded for the Elbasan area. The Geophysics Directorate conducted a study to assess the extent and degree of pollution in the area, using tests on samples taken from the surface and from depths of up to 30 centimeters. Biogeochemical tests were also conducted on various types of vegetation. The results showed that kilometers wide: it includes Çërrik, Lixhat, and the town of Librazhd. economic crisis, these plants have halted or reduced production. Should they start spewing poison into the atmosphere again? The problem is made more difficult by the impossibility of carrying out technological reconstruction that would reduce pollution. Several attempts in this direction, a few years ago, were unsuccessful. Consequently, the workers at these plants, the residents of the areas, and even the Government are caught between two crises. They must choose: keeping the plants closed, which means unemployment, or resuming operations and pulling them out of the economic crisis, which would at the same time mean deepening the ecological crisis.

“The reservations of both sides atrophied the ties between us” The former PPSH ideologue continues to reveal his secrets from prison EDMOND LAÇI TIRANA — Foto Çami continues to talk. But now he speaks not of nostalgia, but of the mysteries of his life at the head of the communist ideology of the former PPSH. Held in a cell on the second floor of Tirana Prison, very close to the cells of Hoxha’s widow and former president Alia, he is another important figure from the old regime who has agreed to reveal many secrets to the Newspaper for the first time. Especially those concerning the final years of his political life, up to 1990, when he was the first of the former regime’s old officials to call for resignation. But another mysterious story is also associated with Foto Çami: leading an Albanian delegation to the Federal Republic of Germany, from which Albanian public opinion—then under the communist regime—expected a great deal. For the first time, the protagonist of this story speaks. “For this issue, a few months ago the German ambassador Vollers himself came to my home, together with his commercial attaché. He, too, was interested and wanted to know why Albanian-German relations remained frozen after his visit. What prevented them, what ruined them?” Did you answer him, and how? “Of course. The objectives of this visit were three: 1) To open a new channel of relations between the two countries, especially parliamentary relations, with the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Parliament, the leaders of various parliamentary parties, the deputy foreign and economy ministers and, finally, Germany itself. Was that not enough for you to achieve your goal, or was there something else that caused relations with Germany to freeze? Always bearing in mind that this would lead to the violation of independence, freedom and sovereignty. There is great fear in this regard, and therefore our reservations could not help but be reflected. Because of this fear, for example, a [unfinished] “They did not impose conditions, but some things were also implied. For example, they all mentioned the issue in question to me. In fact, it was an open request to change our state’s atheist stance. That is why I think the German side was not very willing either, because it saw that things still were not moving in Albania. At a meeting somewhere, not without purpose, he mentioned that Germany gives more than 40 billion marks in aid around the world. Thus, relations atrophied because of mutual reservations, and not only through our fault.” After returning from Germany, you held many explanatory meetings with members of the PPSH. At the time it was said that relations froze as a result of Germany’s request to erect Nazi monuments in Albania. Did you say this, and how true is it? “This is how the story went: at a dinner, my German colleague on the Foreign Affairs Committee Ja-shtëm spoke to me about German soldiers killed in Albania. I told him about my experience with the Italians, and even about Kadare’s ‘The General’, but they insisted on their request to open German cemeteries here, explaining that public opinion there was sensitive about this issue. There was nothing left but for me to tell him, word for word, that there was an opinion in Albania that was no less sensitive. Do you think that if it had succeeded even a little— the German-Albanian [relations] after my visit there. Who obstructed them, who ruined them? Do you answer that, and how? “Certainly. a because I went there in my capacity as Chairman of the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee; 2) To give impetus to economic relations; and 3) To share information and our views regarding the Kosovo issue. But the fundamental problem, it must be admitted, was economic relations. Which dignitaries did you meet to discuss these issues? “I was received by the Chairman of the German Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, chairmen and finally Genscher himself.” Did they not encourage that caused relations to freeze, rather than develop as most people in Albania had expected? “I personally was not the author of this freeze. I emphasize that I always tried, and in particular insisted on economic relations. Don’t forget, it was 1987, and at that time there were conservatives in Albania who were reluctant to pave the way for investment, even on our own analyses indicate a higher percentage of iron. This time, no one injured in train chaos dilemmas. Because of the at the same time mean deepening the ecological crisis. German [investment] in Albania. There was always the belief that this would compromise independence, freedom, and sovereignty. There was great fear in this regard, and therefore our reservations inevitably showed. Because of this fear, for example, an agreement with the firm “Deminex,” which envisaged major investments in the oil sector, fell through.” Was it only your hesitation, or did the German side also fail to respond appropriately? “I think the German authorities were also hesitant. They were demanding various things in our country.” What condition did they impose? Their demand was that German cemeteries be opened here, explaining that there was a sensitive public opinion on this issue there. There was nothing else to do but for me to tell them that an equally sensitive public opinion existed in Albania too.” Do you think that if you had made even a small departure from the rigidity of your ideology, things could also have gone better on the national question, especially with Kosovo in mind? “On Kosovo, they agreed with us too. They concurred with our views, even making it clear to us that they regarded the Serbs as responsible for worsening the tense situation at that time.” Foto Çami photographed in prison

The danger of disinformation TIRANA — Despite promises of dialogue, relations between Albania and Greece remain tense. On Monday evening, in a note addressed to the Albanian Ambassador in Athens, the government of Andreas Papandreou accepted no responsibility for the deaths of three Albanian emigrants killed last week by a Greek border patrol. Meanwhile, the bodies of three Albanian emigrants shot with firearms were found a week ago in a village near the Greek border, close to Ersekë. For its part, meanwhile, it accuses the government in Tirana of “the brutal and inhumane treatment by the Albanian police” of the Greek minority in Albania. Greek government spokesperson Evangelis Venizelos stresses that “in the cemeteries taken in Greece I paid respect to the freedom and rights of the minority.” Meanwhile, Greek information sources report that the situation has entered a difficult phase, worsening relations between Greeks and Albanians, who, according to the Greek press, because of attacks by the Athenians by Delvinë police, when quickly results of ... [?] are not themselves accused. The fear of ... [?] and the implied discussion that these matters will be discussed to rebuild tension between the two countries, conducting a disinformation campaign.

DELVINË — Another place in Albania where the mother plant of Pollitës has been cultivated has been identified. Meto and Kanan Ahmeti, father and son living in the village of Finiq, were detained by the police; they were found with a quantity of 22 kg grams of Cannabis. The problem was at a drying site and being prepared for transport, packed in a sack. After 48 hours in detention, the Prosecutor’s Office has completed the investigations for their arrest and has itself remained silent, including about the information. Is this the case mentioned in 1998? [?] Thus, the police authorities have verified more connections with drug plants.

Domestic aviation takes off in Albania Four former military airports will be used ON PAGE 3 Another terrorist attack in London This time no one injured; trains in chaos ON PAGE 2