A final government decision is expected soon From January, another increase in wages and pensions for every Albanian The changes to be applied will be around 30 percent TIRANA — The year 1994 will bring Albanians another increase in wages. It is expected that during this very week the Government will approve a decision to raise the wages of state administration employees and pensions. This increase is thought likely to reach 30 percent across the entire state system, although there have also been proposals for an uneven increase, phased according to sectors. The decision, expected to be approved very soon, will take effect in the first month of 1994. This general wage increase comes after changes in previous years and in specific sectors. The latest beneficiaries this year were teachers. In October of this year—after repeated insistence from the unions as well—the Government approved an increase of several percent in their wages. But the changes expected soon, and the enthusiasm they will bring, may also be accompanied by the fear of a possible rise in prices. This phenomenon, specialists explain, is present because a wage increase also means strengthening purchasing power. Currently in Albania, the state sector continues to employ more people than the private sector. Nevertheless, during 1993 a positive trend has been observed compared with previous years. This time—in contrast with 1992, when prices rose at a rate more than 10 times higher than wages—the rate of wage increases has been higher than the rise in the price index. Thus, during the first six months of 1993, according to statistical data, the average wage rose by about 145 percent compared with 1992, while the price index rose by about 85 percent. This year, therefore, the considerable gap between wages and prices, created as a result of the latter's galloping increase during 1992, has narrowed somewhat. Another wage increase would make the narrowing of this gap even more tangible, provided it is not accompanied by another rise in prices—which is indeed a possibility that specialists fear. The implementation of Economic Reform in the field of wages began for the first time in 1992. The wage system as a whole underwent radical changes, with almost the entire system restructured. It was built on a graded division comprising 22 classes, with a tenfold difference between the highest and lowest classes. Nevertheless, wage liberalization has been fully achieved only in the private sector, while certain standards and a system of rewards for exceeding production targets still exist in the state sector. Some state enterprises, forced to navigate the waters of the market economy, have begun to feel the limitations of this reward system and have called for its liberalization. Ar. Me. … urges respect — Altin Millo, one of the children pro- … tells Gazeta Shqiptare … more or less in the shape of a lamp that we use in our customs … turine of the Second World War. Because before … place where … … many people and travelers had gathered. Only those seven people who were around it became victims of its explosion, as they watched,”

RINAS/ Seven people injured by a mysterious grenade Explosion at the airport A 23-year-old loses one hand TIRANA — Fear and tension at Rinas Airport. The explosion of a mysterious grenade at the entrance to the airport parking lot caused seven injuries, one of them very serious. Mentor Millo, 23, after emergency surgery at the National Center for Traumatology and Orthopedics in Tirana, was left without his left hand, which had been almost torn apart by the sudden grenade blast. Among the victims of this incident, which happened on Monday morning—around 10 o'clock—were also three children aged 12–14, who are now admitted to the same clinic with various injuries to their faces, hands and legs. Edmond Sula, Kujtim and Vladimir Kullai, meanwhile, were taken to their homes after receiving first aid. It had all started as a children's game. Some of them, on this damp morning, had decided to shoot at birds with slingshots. As they continued their amusement for several minutes, very close to the airport's perimeter fences, someone spotted something strange in a bush. From that moment the “toy,” now lying hidden in the courtyard of a priest, also became an object of curiosity for the others. “It was more or less shaped like a lamp that we usually use for lighting,” Altin Millo, one of the children involved, who is now in the Traumatology ward, tells Gazeta Shqiptare, “red in color and with little squares.” The children's relatives, who for hours have been looking after their health alongside the medical team, say that the grenade was found very close to the airport fences, within its perimeter. “Although the children are shaken and are not able to say whether this grenade was new or not,” says one of them, “I think it was new, or at least it was not a remnant of the Second World War. Because three years ago, I remember very well that the whole place was cleared, and surely it would have been noticed before.” The Interior Minister and the relevant authorities immediately took an interest in where it had been found, so close to Albania's only civilian airport. Although—because of the confidentiality of the investigation—nothing has yet been announced, it is known that the group of investigative specialists went immediately to the scene of the incident, and also to the clinic where four people with various injuries are still being treated. As the people involved themselves recount, at the moment the grenade exploded there were many people and travelers in front of the airport. Only the seven people who were around the grenade became victims of its explosion, as they watched someone striking it against the ground to test it. “Then I don't remember anything,” says one of the children, aged 14, “it all seems like a long dream to me.” Near the group that set off the grenade, a few moments later, only a few pieces of metal remained, perhaps someone's watch, along with many traces of blood. At around 6 p.m. that evening, 23-year-old Mentor Millo was still under the effects of anesthesia, but, according to doctors, out of danger. His relatives Gentian and Albert Kullai, both 12, although injured, are no longer considered at risk. Ed. La.

VLORA — Thirty-four people left at the mercy of the waves and bureaucracy. The crews of three vessels, two Italian and one Albanian, spent the Christmas holidays on foreign soil (the first two detained in Vlora, the third in Pescara) because they are accused of crimes. The Italians were fishing without a permit; the Albanians had selected goods on board their boats. But there is a clear coincidence in these events, and a common thread connects them: in both cases, state bureaucracy put the lives of the crews at risk. Here is the account of the two episodes. Pescara, December 22: the Albanian vessel «Lukowoa» is in port. Italian police detain one crew member while the rest of the crew and the vessel are left with goods purchased in a supermarket. At first it is thought that everyone will be arrested, then the opposite order arrives: the crews, fishermen, must leave Italy immediately, and the vessel must put to sea. By special order, seven Albanian fishermen who had entered Italy clandestinely are also put aboard. The sea is very rough, but the order does not change. The «Lukowoa» begins sailing amid the waves; the weather worsens and, given the conditions, the captain asks the Italian authorities for permission to enter port, but the authorities' position is clear. Then the vessel's electrical system fails, the captain asks for help, but the answer does not change. The vessel is at risk of sinking, and the captain sends out a distress signal; only at that moment does a vessel arrive to escort it close to shore. The «Lukowoa» enters the small port on the Gargano peninsula: only for a few minutes, until a patrol boat arrives to escort it to the boundary of Albanian territorial waters. Vlora, December 13: two fishing boats, «Saverio Padre» and «Europa», departing from the port of Mola, are stopped by the Albanian authorities while fishing without a permit in Vlora's waters. The crews (twelve people in all) are forced to pay a fine of 25 million lire. The money arrives from Italy and the fine is paid—but the fishing boats are nevertheless not allowed to return to Italy. Apparently, after the fine was paid, an order was issued to seize the fishing boats. Christmas arrives, but the Albanian authorities do not change their decision: the fishermen cannot return to their country. A storm also reaches Albania; the crew ask to moor their boats in a safer place, but they are forbidden to sail. They have no food on board; one of them—Paskal Cositrutta, 56—is unwell and needs a doctor. The Italian Foreign Ministry intervenes, and then the embassy in Tirana sends one of its officials to Vlora to bring food to the crew. These are festive days, and we do not like telling stories like this. It is true that bureaucracy does not concern itself with these circumstances, but no one has done anything wrong by asking for help when those who need it are brothers from a friendly people. A similar voice, but even more anguished, should be heard by everyone in Rome and Tirana.

In just three months, 38 sacks have gone missing TIRANA — Dozens of deliveries lost by the International Mail Service are casting an unpleasant shadow over the end-of-year account of the activities of the Albanian Postal Enterprise. These are sacks sent from Switzerland or Germany, mostly by Albanian refugees. In addition to ordinary correspondence, the contents of these sacks include sums of money in foreign currency as well as parcels of goods. Strangely, they have gone missing—the most widespread version is that they were stolen—and it is still not known where they ended up. Thus, in the period June–July–August alone, 23 sacks were sent from the offices by postal line to Rinas Airport. According to the inspection records drawn up by specialists from the Postal Enterprise, only 16 sacks were collected from Rinas and handed over to the International Mail section's committee. There is no documentary trail showing what happened to the seven sacks left at Rinas or to the other 16. Eleven of them had red labels, indicating that their contents were not ordinary. Likewise, in the shipments from Frankfurt, in addition to the missing consignments, a shortfall was found in the amount of money declared among the contents of the consignments that had arrived at the postal processing section. For the same period, it was also found that 12 sacks containing 19 packages sent from Germany had not been collected from Rinas, even though no sacks were recorded as being held there. The management of the Postal Enterprise says that, in connection with all these irregularities, four employees have been dismissed and are also being prosecuted, and that it owes the German postal service alone 3,000 US dollars. (An. St.)

On holiday in Rome, she had not wanted to become a prostitute She is eighteen years old, the daughter of a senior official in the Ministry of Finance ROME — She had come to Italy to spend the New Year holidays. In Rome she met her compatriots; among monuments and brightly lit shop windows, she was raped and seriously injured because she refused to «work as a prostitute». M.R., 18 (the first [unclear] a few days ago), is the daughter of a senior official in the Albanian Ministry of Finance: she is now hospitalized at Rome’s Umberto Primo Polyclinic, where doctors tried to save her seriously damaged right eye. According to the police, the person responsible for the brutal violence is another Albanian, a friend of the girl. M.R. arrived in Rome by plane on December 10. Through some female friends living in Italy, she met various compatriots. One of them, offering to accompany her and introduce her to Roman society, became a regular visitor to the girl. When he proposed that she work as a prostitute and the girl refused with great determination, he raped her and beat her brutally. On December 13, the girl went to a hospital in Rome but, terrified by threats from her dangerous rapist, she said nothing about what had happened to her, trying to conceal the person’s identity. Police officers entrusted with her case, after questioning her repeatedly, gradually pieced together the fragments and managed to reconstruct what had happened. Investigations to establish responsibility for the violence are continuing; for the time being, they have arrested one of his friends. Saimir Asmani, 24, is wanted under a prison warrant issued against him by the Bari court, according to which he must serve an eight-year sentence for attempted murder, as well as under another prison warrant issued by the Venice court, also for attempted murder. The hospital ward where the Albanian girl is hospitalized

TIRANA — The term of the Road Transport Protocol between Albania and Macedonia will be extended by a further six months. This agreement — reached recently at a meeting organized between representatives of the Transport Ministries of the two countries — came ahead of the expiry of the previous term at the end of this year. It is also envisaged that an agreement on the international transport of passengers and goods will be signed during the first months of 1994. Meanwhile, on December 22, Albania also established diplomatic relations — at ambassadorial level — with the Republic of Macedonia.

Three motorcycles YESTERDAY IN ALBANIA In just three months, 38 sacks have gone missing INSIDE

THE FLOW OF ALBANIANS RETURNING HOME TO CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR IS INCREASING — The number of Albanians arriving at the Port of Durrës has almost tripled. They are coming to Albania to celebrate the New Year with their relatives. To cope with this influx, the schedule of ferries arriving in Durrës has also been increased. THE INTERIOR OF SHKODËR CATHEDRAL WILL BE PAINTED — Albanian painter Lin Delia has expressed a desire to paint the interior of the Cathedral of the Church of Shkodër, considered one of the largest in the Balkans. Delia, together with a team of local painters, will decorate the interior of the Cathedral with frescoes and icons. BURRËL'S FIRST PAINTING EXHIBITION OPENS AFTER THREE YEARS — After three years of artistic silence, the first painting exhibition has opened in the city of Burrel. It features 20 works by the Mat painter Agim Derwishi, thus signaling the revival of artistic life—of this genre—in this district as well. Derwishi's paintings, exhibited at the Cultural Center for Military Personnel, are mainly landscapes and graphic works.

How many Albanians there are and what they do in the Apulia region A study presents this situation ON PAGE 3 War against tourists resumes in Egypt Attack on a bus: 16 injured ON PAGE 2