“The file on the 1 million dollars has disappeared” MYSTERY The benefactor’s son speaks: “The missing money is said to be in the Bank.” And he accuses: “The Vatican knows nothing about the Emergency Hospital. The documents from the first trial cannot be found.” A new trial is being sought TIRANA — “I am tired of this situation; I want to recover the one million dollars donated by my father to the Albanian people, because the Emergency Hospital cannot be put into operation...”. MYSTERY The benefactor’s son speaks: “The missing money is said to be in the Bank.” And he accuses: “The Vatican knows nothing about the Emergency Hospital. The documents from the first trial cannot be found.” A new trial is being sought CARLO BOLLINO TIRANA — “I am tired of this situation; I want to recover the one million dollars donated by my father to the Albanian people, because the Emergency Hospital cannot be put into operation...” Bujar Ferra, son of Xhemal—the benefactor who donated 1 million dollars in 1989 for the construction of a hospital—has returned to Albania to file a new complaint. “In September we began the first trial,” he tells Gazeta Shqiptare, “the hearing was postponed, but now we have discovered that the case file has disappeared. Yes, it has disappeared; nobody knows where it is. My lawyer discovered this, and that is why we have filed another complaint. There will be a second trial... sooner or later our money must be found.” But in Albania it is said that the Emergency Hospital financed by your father will be built with the help of the Catholic Church, which has reached an agreement with the Ministry of Health... “That is a mystery. Nobody has ever contacted me. If there were such an agreement, they had the right to inform us. Moreover, the Vatican City denies everything: Cardinal Angelini, who is responsible for all initiatives in the healthcare field, wrote to me assuring me that they had undertaken no program and made no agreement. He told me to speak with the people responsible at the Nunciature, but nobody has replied.” Do you have any idea where that one million dollars might be today? “It is simple: I have a document from the National Bank dated September 19, 1992, in which Nelson Hiçka, the director of finance at the time, explained to the Control Commission that all 876,361 dollars deposited by my father were in that bank...” “The first hearing took place on September 21, 1993, in Tirana, and the judges, agreeing with me, asked the Bank officials to explain why the money had been deposited [unclear]. They asked to examine the documents, and so the trial was postponed.” And what happened afterwards? “My lawyer went to the Court several times, but the hearings [unclear] in the meantime, [he/it] was transferred. So I finally returned to Albania and decided to bring a second case against the Bank.” Do you still intend to build the Hospital... “Of course. My brother and I want to see this through to the end. We want to recover the money and then entrust the construction to a company. It is the wish of...” “...a bitter situation: we love the Albanian people. I don’t believe there is a private individual who has donated 1 million dollars out of his own pocket, but now, for mysterious reasons, we cannot carry out our project. No, we will not give up. We demand justice and sooner or later we will get it.” In the photograph: Xhemal Ferra and the documents sent by the Vatican and the National Bank. In these letters, [text cuts off]. the wish our father left us when he died. And we cannot give up on respecting his will. It seems like a dream to me.”

Justice TIRANA — (Ed.La.) The trial of the ten former members of the Political Bureau has been postponed. The Tirana Court finally decided that the defendants—accused of “violating citizens’ equality by creating privileges”—will appear before the court on December 10 of this year. The prosecutor, Genc Gjokutaj, has also been appointed, along with the presiding judge, Artan Zeneli. The reason for the several-day postponement of the trial is the very large volume of material contained in the case files. The criminal case against Mihalit, Miskës, Bekteshit, Çerravës, Murres, Gegriftit, Asllanit, Çelikun, Çamit and Çukos was initiated by the Tirana District Prosecutor’s Office on July 29, 1991. On the 29th [month/date unclear], the complaint had been submitted by the Ministry of Finance and the State Control Commission. Initially, the ten former members of the Political Bureau were accused of “theft and abuse of office,” but following further investigations the file was ultimately sent to the Tirana Court on the charge of “violating citizens’ equality by creating privileges and acting in cooperation.” Among the ten accused in this case, six have been arrested and sent to Tirana Prison on August 19 of this year. Qirjako Mihal has been under arrest since October 2, 1991, while Lenka Çuko has been confined to her home since July 4, 1992. Outside prison, awaiting trial, are [unclear wording] Lambi Gegrfiti and Hajredin Çeliku, for whom the Prosecutor’s Office deemed house arrest to be the only necessary security measure. Thus, on December 10, Albania will hold the first trial—since the fall of Hoxha’s dictatorship—in which the highest officials of the former communist regime will be tried. The figures for the “Pelican” mission are astonishing in showing the work carried out. Having arrived in Albania in September 1991, when the country was in a state of total emergency, the 6 [text cuts off]

Today’s ceremony in Durrës DURRËS — Today the soldiers of the “Pelican” bid farewell to Albania. The aid mission—which lasted 265 months—will end this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. with a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi, Safet Zhulali, the Albanian Minister of Defence, and the Italian Minister, Fabio Fabbri. As they leave, the Italian soldiers express one heartfelt wish: to be able to greet one last time the Albanian people with whom they lived side by side during these two years of the mission. All citizens who wish to bid farewell to the “Pelican” are therefore invited to attend the ceremony taking place this afternoon at the Sports Palace or the stadium in the city of Durrës. The figures for the “Pelican” mission... the soldiers rotated in and out of the bases in Durrës and Vlorë; they covered 10 million and 500 thousand kilometres in 124 vehicles; they delivered 663 thousand tonnes of food supplies (170,230 tonnes donated by the Italian Government, 224,000 donated by the European Community and 23,897 donated by other countries), unloading 164 ships; they flew 1,876 helicopter hours, transferring 129 seriously ill patients from Italy; the “Pelican” doctors examined and operated on, among others, 205,369 people. To complete the operation to transfer the equipment from the Durrës base camp to Italy, the ship “San Marco” of the Italian Navy has arrived at the port. The sailors of the XXI Naval Group are also part of Operation “Pelican”: they too will leave Albania today.

The disease also threatens people LAÇ — (p. re.) Following an alarm raised over the growing number of people suffering from tuberculosis, it has now emerged that animals are also at risk from this disease. There are 13 cows in the Laç district which, after testing positive in a tuberculosis diagnostic test, must be slaughtered and buried. Although the infectious disease can pass from animals to humans, the “execution” of the cows has still not been carried out. The reason is not reluctance to put down these unfortunate animals, but financial factors. The District Council has no funds to compensate the farmers who will lose their cows. The lack of financial resources is also one of the main causes of the disease’s appearance in the first place. For about three years the animals had not been vaccinated and the veterinary service network was not organized. During the vaccination of the sick animals, they reacted with a weakened immune system. Under these conditions, the increase in the number of livestock was accompanied by an increase in the number of animals sick with this disease. Fortunately, despite the careful surveys carried out by Laç veterinarians, no signs of the infectious disease “Alta Epizootica” of cattle were found to have spread; it has been reported as an alarm in our country and in Albania, as in Italy and Bulgaria.

DURRËS — An Italian entrepreneur, Raffaele Niccolli, a bricklayer working together with an Albanian from the “Shpresa” Agency in Durrës, was questioned by the police and then released. — An Italian entrepreneur, Raffaele Niccolli, a bricklayer working together with an Albanian from the “Shpresa” Agency in Durrës, was questioned by the police and then released. He was held for several hours at the Durrës Police Station and then in Tirana. A collaborator of the “Shpresa” Agency, who had reported him for dismissal from work due to low professional performance, had accused Niccolli of threatening him with a gun. The police soon established that the entrepreneur had explained the threats by showing that the pistol he was carrying was simply a toy. Niccolli was released.

A new television show begins today TIRANA — (Ar. Me.) — Harold Schwarzenegger may come to Albania. The famous “Terminator” actor is in Albania for a [unclear]—he has been invited to take part in a new show that will [unclear] at the Opera and Ballet Theatre. However, nothing is certain yet; Schwarzenegger has not said whether he will come to Tirana. Besides him, a number of guests are expected: singers and artists from Italy, France, Germany and other countries around the world. The guests have not been specified exactly, and it may be a [unclear] show. In that case, it would be 12 years since Tirana last hosted a show of this kind, with famous stars taking part. A [unclear] of this latest [event] will be presented in the city at the Opera and Ballet [Theatre]. Meanwhile, the stage performances—as they did a year ago—will begin in the evening hours, and will begin presenting the show. For everyone this will be a grand opening, as it was, and a group from the USA and Prishtina will come to Tirana. Vera Grabocka, the show’s director, will be [unclear] by Adrian Krasta, who will present the show’s guests on stage. A new television show [unclear] with great success, while a pleasant and natural aspect [is] to wish it to conclude.

100 students and family: a survey ON PAGE 3 Champions Cup: Milan wins 3–0 ON PAGE 2 The planet’s battle against AIDS begins ON PAGE 2

COUNCIL OF EUROPE AID FOR ALBANIAN MIDWIFERY [unclear] — There are scholarships lasting four months for Albanian surgery specialists. During this period, 50–60 thousand dollars for these scholarships have been guaranteed by the Council of Europe. As doctors Hubert Calderoli and Maurice Katzner, representatives of the Council of Europe, stated, this is only the first phase, but the progress of assistance in later phases will depend on its results. WORK CONTINUES IN THE MALLIQ PLAIN TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRES — In the Malliq plain, farmers continue to extinguish the fires by isolating them with trenches. Throughout last summer, there were many fires in the southern part of the Malliq plain—mainly in Sheqeras and Vreshtas. The water enterprise spent 4.2 million lekë extinguishing them, while four tractors worked specifically to dig trenches. This process, supervised by the District Council, is now nearing completion. ACTIVITIES ON THE OCCASION OF INTERNATIONAL AIDS DAY — The Ministry of Health and Social Protection, in cooperation with Albanian Radio-Television, organized an evening show on the occasion of December 1, International AIDS Day. Many doctors, psychologists, sociologists, journalists and representatives of humanitarian associations also took part in this event, organized at the International Cultural Centre.