Staff stops the work Protest at the hotel: “We want guarantees for tomorrow” TIRANË — Work on the reconstruction of Hotel Tirana has been blocked before it even began. This time it is the union that is telling the foreign investor to stop. The hotel’s staff of 180 employees has refused to follow management’s order to hand over the equipment of a health center in the renovated premises. The reason is a small “oversight”. In the text of the contract signed by representatives of the Italian firm “Di Vincenzo Esteri” and the Albanian side, it is not clearly stated what will happen to the existing Albanian staff during the year of reconstruction work and after it is completed. “We are asking for a contract to be signed — hotel workers told Gazeta Shqiptare — which, among other things, guarantees that we will be taken back on after the reconstruction work is completed, as well as payment based on our current salaries for as long as the work continues.” In fact, these workers have been given several promises about job security and pay, but nothing has been set out in a document from which a legal obligation toward them would arise. Now, through the trade union organization, they have asked for these necessary formalities to be completed. The union has even drawn up a draft contract that provides for the fulfilment of all their demands and has presented it to the managers of the company DV Alba, which is a joint venture of the Italian firm DVE, the Albanian enterprises Albitrust and INSIG, as well as the Savings Bank. The chairman of the union of Hotel Tirana employees, when asked about the substance of the dispute and the prospects for its resolution, refused to give explanations to the press, stating only — perhaps unintentionally — the position and interests of the representative group. The same position was taken by the lawyer — who is also the author of the drafted contract — called in to defend the interests of the unions in this conflict. In any case, the absence of a strike seems to underline that everything is still at the negotiation stage with the investors. Meanwhile, some staff members also state the possibility of a strike being called soon if their demands are not taken into account. It seems that securing an investment is not determined solely by an internationally known company. In their statement, clearly in hand and with one more argument “overloaded” by an unusual measure in Albanian life: they speak of a contract that, instead of serving only the present, must be made in their interests. It is precisely around these values that this conflict involving the hotel employees is built. Above, Hotel Tirana; below, the project as it will look An.St.

The journalist stabbed with a knife tells his story TIRANA — “Everything happened suddenly. It was envy that forced me to open the apartment door and take a knife blow from a person who immediately disappeared down the stairs. After the blow struck the lighter that was in the pocket of the jacket near my chest, the knife slashed me hard on the left side, lightly wounding me in the ribs.” Apollon Baçe, a journalist on the staff of the well-known German radio station Deutsche Welle, tells Gazeta Shqiptare about the astonishing attack from which he narrowly escaped death. It was around four o’clock when he was “knocking” on the door with the appearance of a 25-year-old man, unshaven and wearing a black jacket. Baçe is unable to explain the reasons for this criminal act. Was it the result of an attempted robbery or revenge for his work as a journalist? It is not the first time that the life of an Albanian journalist has been put at risk recently. But the truth has remained undiscovered and clouded by different versions that try to explain it by other methods, which in fact distance journalists from the problem, only for them to then become victims of an ordinary crime. One of these cases was also the death of an ATSH journalist, whose killer or motives have still not been uncovered. In Baçe’s case, he himself does not want to speculate either, leaving that task to the law-enforcement authorities.

Sport Italian Serie A championship The great Milan are stopped by Lecce Inter and Juve are also halted A duel in the Milan area between the red-and-black player Desailly and Lecce midfielder De Paula Results of the other matches (on page 4) Football The champions of '93 (on page 3) Ylli Shehu returns to Tirana (on page 3)

Mirditë Police chief killed: 2 arrests RRESHEN — Two of the alleged perpetrators suspected of being the killers of the Police officer Ndu[e?] Kaza have been arrested. The announcement, issued by the Ministry of Public Order, also states that law-enforcement agencies are searching for a third person, also suspected in the same crime. The 25-year-old Kaza was killed by firearm on the evening of last Friday in the town of Rrëshen. The funeral ceremony for the victim was attended by the Minister of Public Order, Jacek, as well as many other officials of this institution and local authorities in the district.

— The ruins of an ancient medieval church have been discovered in Çorrovodë. The church — which, according to specialists, dates from the 12th century — was found by chance during work on building a house in one of the town’s neighborhoods. What is interesting is that this church — which resembles those of Perondi and of Shën Mëria in Berat and Tiranë — is located in an area where the population is currently Muslim. The materials found so far are mainly brick constructions, bricks, and stones. On the walls and columns, various paintings and frescoes have also been noticed.

The emigrant is found in prison, the girl has disappeared Mystery between Durrës and Potenza: has Eris kidnapped his friend Elisa? POTENCA — On 1 November, Durrës and a girl from Potenza are at the center of a mysterious drama that is shaking life in the Basilicata capital. In a dark vehicle from southern Italy. The girl, Eliza Capi, 16 years old, disappeared on 12 September as she had announced, and no one yet knows or says where she is, while her friend, Eris Osja, 20 years old, is currently in prison on the charge of giving false testimony yesterday. Erika, the girl, had said Eliza gave a grave. Eris Osja, who continues in hotel [?] if he is innocent, according to the statement sent to the hotel, he must have lied about some circumstances, especially since on 12 September he probably did not have her beard (?) under the white Fiat Uno, while several witnesses say that at that time in the city, precisely with the car and accompanied by another girl. A very interesting event. The mystery was deepened by Eliza’s similarly disappointing testimony: she too states that she did not meet him that day, while other witnesses declare the opposite. The event involving Eliza and Eris has been covered by a huge cloud of confusion. On New Year’s Day, hundreds of Potenza residents sat on their balconies with white sheets in a gesture of solidarity for the young student. While her brother had said earlier. Eris and those who think he is guilty. faqior, who killed her silently and hid the body of his companion. The abducted girl in Potenza

For now it enters only into “partnership for peace” The Atlantic Alliance meeting concludes today in Brussels BRUSSELS — “Partnership for peace” (Cooperation for Peace) has marked the entry into NATO of Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, the Czech and Slovak Republics; countries that had applied for membership or independence in 1991. Yes, for at least 2 million people and others from the former USSR who want it, in cooperation with the prospect of achieving operational standards that allow a permanent moment of entry, support, and the treatment of the consequences of reconstruction and, on the other hand, membership, because the aim is to meet security requirements both for the countries in the community (which in the event of a threat may consult NATO) and for Russia, which in turn considers the possible entry of its former satellites into NATO a direct threat. This is the initiative of “Partnership for peace” with which the heads of state and government of the Alliance propose to the countries of former communist Europe, at the high-level meeting that closes today in Brussels, to take part in the military activities of the organization and to become one of the instruments of aid for their eventual membership. Contributions to security and stability can speed up the peaceful spread in the post-Cold War period. NATO Secretary General Manfred Woerner speaks of the high-level meeting as historic; others are more cautious. NATO Secretary, Manfred Woerner

WINS 2.5 BILLION THROUGH GAMES — With a sum of around four thousand lire, she cashed in two and a half billion by playing very difficult combinations in a video game. It was a woman around fifty years old, who refused to give her name and who lives at the casino in Divonne-Le-Bains, in central France. SOMALIA, PREGNANT WOMAN KILLED, POSSIBLY BY AMERICAN SOLDIERS — A pregnant woman, who had been on a street in Mogadishu, was killed by bullets from firearms that, it appears, were fired by American soldiers from a checkpoint under the command of the peacekeeping blue helmets. This was confirmed by several witnesses. UNMARRIED WOMAN THROWS HER NEWBORN CHILD OUT OF THE WINDOW — A twenty-nine-year-old woman threw her newborn baby out of the bathroom window where she had given birth, without her parents knowing. The incident, which happened in a small town in Bavaria, was reported by the police. IN BERLIN, 80 THOUSAND PEOPLE DEMONSTRATE FOR THE LUXEMBOURG REVOLUTIONARIES — About 80 thousand people, according to police data, took part in Berlin in memory of the two German revolutionaries Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, killed 75 years ago. The demonstrators gathered near the Friedrichsfelde cemetery in former East Berlin, where the two figures of the socialist movement are buried. SARAEVO AIRPORT CLOSED AGAIN — After being opened for a very short time to allow the departure to Bonn of the Bosnian president Alija Izetbegoviç, Sarajevo airport was closed again and will remain so until Wednesday.

CONSTRUCTION WORKS IN KUKËS ARE BLOCKED — Construction work in the Kukës district has been blocked. The reason for this halt is the lack of quality control of construction materials. There is no laboratory in this district that could carry out the necessary analyses. All construction firms work with unchecked materials, which puts the safety of buildings at risk. IN BURREL 6.5 MILLION LEK ARE ALLOCATED FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION OF A BURNT BUILDING — 6.5 million lek have been allocated by the government for the reconstruction of the burnt apartment building in Burrel. In addition, for the 13 families affected, the city municipality will provide one payment per person. This money will be distributed by 15 February. IN DURRËS THE DOCUMENTATION OF SOCIAL INSURANCE IS AT RISK OF DAMAGE — The directorate of the center attached to the Institute of Social Insurance has sent an urgent request to the city police station. The premises of the building where all the data were processed did not allow for the proper organization and security of the documentation. THE TOWN OF LAÇ IS ALSO THREATENED BY POLLUTION FROM VEHICLES — Environmental pollution in the district of Laç poses a serious risk. Industrial pollution has now been joined by that from vehicles as well. The increase in their number, as well as their poor technical condition, greatly raises the percentage in lek [?]. UNPAID ENERGY BILLS THREATEN THE WORK OF THE ELECTRIC ENTERPRISE IN TROPOJË — Debts to the district electricity enterprise amount to several million lek. This shortage has led to the weakening of the financial situation of this enterprise, which is unable to secure the necessary material base to meet the needs of the residents.

An interview with the director who staged Beckett for the first time “Waiting for Godot” will be made into a film ON PAGE 2 Prizes of the Contest “Onufri '93” The money arrives, the winners are announced ON PAGE 2