More than 500 thousand dollars must be paid back TRIAL / Prosecutor Gjokutaj seeks 67 years’ imprisonment for the ten former communist-bloc officials TIRANA — They risk losing their communist-era decorations, receiving a total of 67 years’ imprisonment, and having to pay back more than 500,000 dollars collectively: the ten highest-ranking former officials of the regime, who have been on trial for eight hearings at the Tirana Court, yesterday heard the closing arguments in their case from prosecutor Genc Gjokutaj. The explanations by the defendants, witnesses and accounting experts, who calculated the respective amounts allegedly misused by each defendant, according to the charges, have thus concluded. Today the defense lawyers will make their closing arguments, while the fate of their clients will be decided tomorrow, following the ruling of the panel of judges. The closing argument lasted just 50 minutes—almost five minutes for each defendant. Amid camera flashes and television cameras—this time not there to capture their glamour—the former communist-bloc officials listened to accounts of their time at the head of the Albanian State, though these were not summed up in a single charge: “Violation of the equality of citizens in collaboration, through the creation of privileges.” But that is not all: the ten former officials may now also lose the “wealth” bestowed on them by Hoxha and Alia during the height of their political careers. “When a defendant is sentenced to more than ten years’ imprisonment,” prosecutor Gjokutaj explained, “they are also automatically stripped of honorary titles or decorations, whereas when the sentence is from 1 to 10 years, the Court assesses the nature of the criminal offense.” Having declared all ten defendants guilty under a provision carrying a sentence of up to ten years’ imprisonment, the prosecutor then came to the penalties he was seeking. They range from six to eight years’ imprisonment, with Mihali and Gëgrifti receiving one or two years more than their colleagues. As for the sums to be repaid, Mihali and Gëgrifi—joined this time by Çuko—again face the largest amounts, all three exceeding 400 thousand lekë. According to prosecutor Gjokutaj, these amounts for the abuses committed by the former officials include expenditure on reconstructions and luxury cars. Other expenses, for example money withdrawn from Albanian diplomatic missions abroad, have been calculated only as the payment differences the defendants should have covered upon returning to Albania. This concludes the penultimate stage of the trial of the former highest-ranking officials of the communist regime. The prosecution has sought 67 years’ imprisonment, more than 500 thousand dollars in compensation, and the removal of decorations and titles they had earned and enjoyed up until the moment the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office began criminal proceedings against them. Today, for the last time, the ten former officials will recount their life stories, asking—as they did at the beginning of the trial—to be declared not guilty. A moment from the trial of the former communist-bloc officials

TIRANA — Here are the sentences sought in the prosecutor’s closing argument for each defendant, along with the sums they must repay: 1) Qirjako Mihali: 8 years’ imprisonment and 441,343 lekë. 2) Pali Miska: 7 years’ imprisonment and 334,963 lekë. 3) Besnik Bekteshi: 6 years’ imprisonment and 371,747 lekë. 4) Vangjel Çërrava: 6 years’ imprisonment and 201,698 lekë. 5) Prokop Murra: 6 years’ imprisonment and 504,553 lekë. 6) Llambi Gegprifti: 8 years’ imprisonment and 406,508 lekë. 7) Muho Asllani: 6 years’ imprisonment and 271,951 lekë. 8) Hajredin Çeliku: 6 years’ imprisonment and 310,149 lekë. 9) Foto Çami: 7 years’ imprisonment and 341,920 lekë. 10) Lenka Çuko: 7 years’ imprisonment and 461,899 lekë.

Dates of the World Cup matches (on p. 4) | Partizani takes second place in the tournament (on p. 3) | Albanian Cup results (on p. 3)

LONDON — Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia established diplomatic relations at embassy level on December 24. LONDON — Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia established diplomatic relations at embassy level on December 24, reports the daily newspaper “ATSHA”. According to the Albanian Foreign Ministry, the decision marks an important development in relations between the two Balkan peoples. Macedonia and Albania have recently experienced numerous moments of tension because of activities which, according to Macedonia, were “caused” by ethnic Albanian groups. On the international stage, Greece is among the few that have not recognized the new state.

Italy refuses permission to dock FOGGIA — The Albanian ship «Lukova», whose voyage ended badly, sought to dock off the Apulian coast because of bad weather, but its request was denied by the maritime authorities. The Albanian ship had weighed anchor on December 23 from the port of Pescara as a result of a measure ordering its expulsion from Italy, after its crew, according to the police, had been responsible for several thefts in the city. There are 15 crew members and seven other nationals aboard the ship; the authorities in Pescara had ordered them to be repatriated aboard the «Lukova» because they had no documents. After departing in the direction of Durrës, escorted by the border guard, the ship was taken over by a patrol boat from the port captaincy of Manfredonia (Foggia), to be escorted out of Italian territorial waters. But when it reached a point seven miles north of Vieste, the captain refused to continue because of the rough sea and asked to disembark the crew. After the port captaincy ordered him to set off again, the captain ordered the ship to move away slowly. Only after the weather calmed down further was the ship given permission to stop in the roadstead off the Gargano peninsula, a short distance from the Apulian coast. Late in the afternoon, the ship’s captain had detected a fault in the vessel’s small electrical generator and, as a result, he said, could not continue the journey on the open sea. The Albanians, who did not have enough food, again asked to dock, but the Italian maritime authorities, in agreement with the Ministry of the Interior, rejected the request.

BLAST DESTROYS AN ORTHODOX CHURCH IN KARLOVAC — A powerful explosion has destroyed an Orthodox church near which there is a museum, in the Croatian city of Karlovac, located about fifty kilometers from the capital, Zagreb. RUSSIA, HOSTAGES IN HELICOPTER — The four bandits who had been holding hostages in a helicopter at Mineralnye Vody airport since Thursday linked up with the last two students seized in Rostrov and the bus driver who had taken them to that city’s airport on Sunday evening. EGYPT, SHARP DECLINE IN TOURISM IN 1993 — Tourism revenues in Egypt in 1993 fell by 42.5 percent compared with the previous year, especially because of the violence unleashed by Islamic fundamentalist groups, Egyptian Tourism Minister Mamduh el Beltagui announced. In 1992 tourism—one of the country’s main sources of income, along with oil and the Suez Canal—had brought Egypt around three billion dollars. 30 THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE POLICE OFFICERS WHO KILLED ESCOBAR — A reward of 30 thousand dollars will be paid to each of the 17 Colombian police officers and soldiers who took part in the operation during which, on December 2, Escobar, the head of the drug traffickers of the “Medellin cartel,” was killed. This is the reward that President Cesar Gaviria had promised to everyone who took part in the operation to capture boss Escobar “dead or alive.” USA: FIRE BURNS DOWN THE HOME OF THE NOBEL PRIZE WINNER FOR LITERATURE — Fire has destroyed the home of American writer Toni Morrison, who won this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature, located just outside New York. According to information from one of the fire department officials, when the flames engulfed the house, only one of the writer’s sons was inside, and he managed to escape. Two firefighters were injured while trying to put out the fire.

A TELEVISION RELAY STATION FOR SATELLITE PROGRAMS IN KORÇË — 25 thousand dollars will be spent to set up five more stations and improve all the programs — today’s developments in the city of Korçë. This investment — which will finally establish a center in this city — will go to private firms responsible for television stations, all of which will be involved in building a transmission point for the construction of hundreds of foreign stations. This enabled the satellite transmission of several foreign stations. ALBANIA TO ORGANIZE THE BALKAN PUPPET THEATRE FESTIVAL IN 1996 — It will be held in Tirana, at the puppet theatre. The proposal was made by the Albanian side itself, which attended the first festival of this kind held in a city in Bulgaria. The Tirana Puppet Theatre’s production “Gërosti ose Katallani” was well received by specialists. IN KUKËS, 60 PERCENT OF ESTABLISHMENTS SELL ALCOHOL — There are 300 establishments selling alcohol. The network’s outlets are required to be located away from schools. The need for improvement has arisen mainly because of the many establishments. Within a month, in this district of about 90 thousand inhabitants, 1,500 liters of alcoholic drinks are consumed. IN GJIROKASTËR, THE NUMBER OF PRIVATE CARS HAS EXCEEDED 2,000 — More than 2,000 private vehicles are now circulating in Gjirokastër. This rapid increase has also brought changes to the traffic network. Many roads have become increasingly difficult to travel on.

Thousands of people mobilized to clear away the mud Rain floods half of Europe Damage in Belgium, Holland, Germany and France BERLIN — The danger of further flooding has now passed, following the “violent storms” and floods of recent days. A gigantic clean-up operation has begun to remove the mud brought by rivers to various areas of Germany, Holland, Belgium and northern France. Thousands of people spent Christmas “in the water,” in the countryside and villages, while others were forced to abandon their homes and cars. Meanwhile, in Italy, the bad weather is at its worst. In Germany, which was hit most severely by the flooding of the Rhine, Moselle and Saar rivers, many people have begun to withdraw, thus allowing operations to begin. The situation is similar in Holland: in Limburg (in the southeast of the country), water levels are slowly falling, while in the northeast the Rhine and IJssel are under control. In Belgium, the authorities have reported a general fall in water levels, but it will take a week without rain for levels to fall sufficiently for conditions to return to normal. In France, the situation remains critical in the Aisne department and in the city of Soissons, where the river has risen to 6.30 meters, nearing the 1924 record of 6.36 meters. The Dutch city of Venlo, completely flooded

Historic photograph of the German footballers celebrating after winning the World Cup in 1990 Everything about the ’94 football championship

New Year’s Eve program for Albanian families Comedy, folk songs and interviews ON PAGE 2 Migjeni’s precious work, a mirror of a life A study by critic Rinush Idrizi ON PAGE 2