The sixth seropositive is a victim of a blood transfusion Tragic fate after a road accident ARMAND MERO TIRANE — A tragedy in healthcare. Just two weeks after the fifth seropositive case was identified, AIDS is raising its head again, this time in dramatic form. The person affected was infected through a blood transfusion. So an innocent person, hospitalized in order to be treated, has ended up a victim of the terrible disease. The sixth seropositive case recorded in Albania — he had been admitted two months ago to the Tirana hospital after a serious car accident. Because of this, despite having saved his life, he has been left with AIDS. The blood he was given was infected with the tragic virus. That blood belonged precisely to the 31-year-old donor from Tirana who two weeks ago tested positive as the fifth Albanian seropositive case. Thus the doctors’ suspicions about the possible infection of other people from the blood of the 31-year-old donor have tragically been confirmed. In fact, three people received blood from this donor. First, a woman from Tirana received the blood 4 months ago, but she tested negative. Unluckily, the other two people received blood later, two months afterward. One of them is now known, while for the other nothing can yet be stated with certainty. No analysis has been carried out on him because he suffers from hemophilia and the special test must be done under specific conditions. Nevertheless, even for him the chances of survival are very small. Perhaps he too will be another Albanian seropositive. The worrying spread of AIDS in Albania — only within July, 2 people have been identified — has put Albanian healthcare on alert. The day before yesterday, the National Commission for the Prevention and Fight against AIDS met urgently to examine the situation and the measures to be taken. “We are now in an emergency phase,” Nuri declared, “since the number of seropositives has increased.” Meanwhile, the discovery of the first case in which AIDS was transmitted through a transfusion adds to the concern. Medicine feels helpless in the face of this phenomenon. AIDS is detected only after a long period during which antibodies against the virus are formed; precisely this intermediate period — the incubation period, lasting several weeks — will always remain dangerous. “The greatest concern,” Nuri explains, “is that this could happen again tomorrow.” So is there no way out? “As long as blood donors continue to be paid, the risk will always hang over us,” Nuri replies. “That is why we doctors have taken steps to ensure that blood is given only in extreme life-or-death cases.” Meanwhile, a system of blood donation is also being applied — when the patient is not in an emergency condition — by the family members themselves. But according to Nuri, this is still not being implemented and doctors continue to abuse the practice by giving blood even when it can be avoided. “For this we will take strict measures against doctors,” Nuri declares. While the blood problem, now also one of the carriers of AIDS in Albania, has created a very serious concern, the route of infection through sexual relations continues to be acute. “A new category of people is now being encountered, homosexuals, who are not reacting to protect themselves from AIDS,” says Nuri. “This group (some of the cases discovered so far are homosexuals) is living a very loose life and infecting one another. We will soon begin an aggressive campaign to prevent AIDS and to promote ways of protecting oneself against it.” Tirana Hospital No. 1

Preliminary round for the Albanians With the draw for the European Cups held in Geneva, the international football season 1994-95 has begun. The draw has paired the two Albanian teams with opponents who, at least in theory, have a chance of getting through the preliminary round. But it must be taken into account that the matches in this round will be played in August, so preparations need to be intensified now. Teuta, as champions, because of their poor international ranking, will play in the UEFA Cup, where they will meet the Cypriot side Apollon of the city of Limassol, itself the last title winner in Cyprus. In its 40-year history, Apollon has won the championship 8 times and 7 national cups. Our side is a little favored by Dieter Ferner and three foreign players, who come from Panzer, OTK Beograd, Spasić. At least, and Komojevic. The latter has been the team’s top striker with 17 goals. The first match will be played in Tirana on 9 August, the return match in Limassol on 23 August. In the Cup Winners’ Cup, the most difficult opponent for Tirana will be the Belarusian side Fandok, from the city of Bobruisk, an important port on the Berezina River with 218,000 inhabitants. Fandok represents a club that has never played in the first division of the former USSR and finished fifth in the last championship. In the finals of the Belarusian Cup it was defeated by the well-known Dinamo Minsk, which was the only dominant force in Belarusian football. It is noteworthy that Fandok, despite being the most followed team, has a stadium with only 3,562 spectators per match! In fact, the Belarusian Federation is very young, having been founded in 1992. The best-known player is Sergey Yaromko, who managed to finish second in the scorers’ table with 19 goals. The first match will be played in Bobruisk on 11 August, the return match in Tirana on 25 August. Pino Montagna

TIRANE — New suspicions about the existence of a clandestine printing house producing fake passports and other forged documents. Another operation — this time carried out by the 1st Police Commissariat of the capital — ended with the seizure of 5,500 forged lek, all in 500-lek notes. Along with them, three people were detained, one of whom — Liri Aleksi, 56 years old — was presented as the owner of a house in the capital. But in the “trap” of the law-enforcement officers’ operation — precisely in the house of the four detained persons — other forged documents were also found, such as international driving licenses and fake Italian passports. So the investigation of the 18-year-old from Fieri, the first person discovered with forged 500-lek banknotes, continued. Just a few moments later, another 90 banknotes of this denomination were also found at Liri Aleksi’s, while the links of the two people detained from Fieri with the citizen from Tirana, Arben Mullasi, have still not been made known — because of the investigation. This person is now accused of involvement in the illegal activity of forged documents, since six international driving licenses and three fake Italian passports were found in his home. The investigation continues and the persons still sought remain wanted. The police from time to time seize large quantities — may the mystery of the printing house that has produced large amounts of fake lek not be shed light on, or is it still continuing to do so. (e.l)

DAMAGE FROM THE RAINS IN TROPOJE — The natural disaster in the district of Tropojë continues. Torrential rains and hail that fell on Tuesday afternoon caused considerable damage in several villages of the district of Tropojë. The two neighborhoods of the village of Shishtavec were hit hardest. Here one person lost his life after being struck by lightning, 22 houses were damaged by a landslide, and 22 hectares planted with cereals, grapes and vegetables were destroyed. Now the inhabitants are at risk of bridges collapsing because of mountain streams, which could bring down the village houses at any moment. Roads in some areas have begun to be evacuated. There are still no precise reports on the condition of the inhabitants in the area. CREDIT FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE PORT OF DURRES — The World Bank has allocated 87 million dollars for the reconstruction of the Port of Durrës. The donor is the Kuwait Credit. The work will begin soon. THEY HAD STOLEN THE GERMAN EMBASSY’S CAR, THEY ARE DETAINED — The police of Gjirokastër have detained two 16-year-old boys who are accused of having stolen some items some time ago from a car belonging to the German Embassy. Among the stolen items are also the border entry-exit documents, which interested the police even more. It appears that the two young men admitted guilt after the stolen items were found in the house of one of them. The German Embassy has thanked the Gjirokastër police through diplomatic channels. The files of the two detained persons have now been transferred to the Prosecutor’s Office, which has opened a criminal case.

The attempt fails FIER — Fortunately, it remained only an attempt and was talked about by a group of still unknown people who tried to rob the Savings Bank branch in Fier. Some time ago, an armed group had attacked, stealing a large amount of foreign currency from one of its counters in Tirana. In Fier, the robbery was to be carried out with a more sophisticated system and with less violence: they tried to reach the night watchman in the building where the bank was located, and through an opening in the ceiling to enter this office and carry out the attack. Fortunately for them, who have not yet been caught by the police, the officers managed to interrupt their work in the middle. Thus the large sums deposited in the branch of the well-known bank escaped being robbed. The discovery of this attempt immediately set the police in motion, and they began searching for the planned theft and for the persons who may have helped them in this failed attempt.

Papoulias: «Ready to meet Serreqi» ATHENS — Greece has finally taken a step toward easing strained Albanian-Greek relations. In Brussels, at the meeting of the foreign ministers of the European Community, it was finally decided — after the lifting of the Greek veto — to release to Albania European aid worth 35 million ECU, to be used for purchasing budget deficit financing. Soon the first tranche of this aid, amounting to 15 million ECU, will be disbursed. Meanwhile in Athens, Karolos Papoulias declared that he is now ready to meet once again with his Albanian counterpart, Alfred Serreqi, to discuss the disputed points in relations between the two countries. The decision by the European foreign ministers came after several meetings of the EC ECOFIN committee. During them, the Greek representative repeatedly stressed that he would vote against granting aid to Albania as long as, in his view, there were violations of the rights of the Greek minority in Albania. After that, the foreign ministers themselves took the matter in hand, since Greece’s insistence was considered a political reason. According to the official spokesperson for Irinid bulokadis, the refusal to grant European aid had come only a few days earlier. In a statement from the Greek Foreign Ministry the next day, the first signs had appeared that Greece’s policy had already begun to change. “Improvements have been noticed in Tirana’s policy toward the Greek minority in Albania,” said the senior Greek diplomat. Meanwhile, the latest decision by the Greek government has caused considerable controversy in the press and political circles of Athens. First of all, the nationalist forces have reacted sharply, always sensitive to problems connected with relations with Albania.

Cursive reality KAVAJE — A single film was enough to disturb, however slightly, the complicated relations between religious communities and faiths in Kavajë. The Protestants’ “Johny” was shown in the city cinema — or rather during an interruption of the ongoing service in the city hall. And perhaps for the first time in the “Kavaja” city, a film ended with a quarrel and with the “tolerance” previously shown toward Protestants and Muslims. The screening of the film had been only one of the triggers of the highly tense situation, which for two weeks has been particularly tied to the construction of the church in Kavajë. The Protestants are being discussed — especially regarding the construction — without any official opposition from the Kavajë religious committee. A few moments after the film started, Muslim youths entered the cinema and, after speaking with the organizers, were able for a few minutes to answer the “pressure.” And the tolerance of the “hall’s” opposition on the part of the Muslims resumed once again, as soon as the film ended with the Muslim youths. The latest episode was thus part of the suspected history of religious incidents in the city of Kavajë, where for centuries — as throughout Albania — three major religious communities have coexisted. Perhaps the protagonists are not even Muslims, Catholics or Orthodox believers, but the spreader of a religion still little known and little widespread in Albania. It is said that the Protestants, for their part, and their new conviction have a God of their own. (c.a.) Kavajë

The U.S. Secretary of Defense visits Tirana TIRANE — Ambulances, trucks, airplanes, spare parts for airplanes and plenty of equipment for soldiers: these were the promises that concluded the official visit to Tirana by the U.S. Secretary of Defense, William Perry. The Albanian capital was only one of the stages of his trip through the Balkans, which had previously taken him to Bucharest, Sofia, Athens and Skopje. Yesterday in Ri in, Perry — who was welcomed by military personnel and by a military band playing the American anthem — met President Berisha and the Minister of Defense Safet Zhulali, with whom he also discussed the tense political situation in the Balkans. At the center of the talks was, first and foremost, the risk of rising tensions between Tirana, Belgrade and Skopje because of the massive pressure of the Albanian population in these countries and because of the policy pursued toward them. In Tirana Perry also visited the Military Academy “Skënderbeu”. “We are determined to help Albania face the challenges ahead,” Perry said at the Academy. “The USA strongly support Albania’s independence; in particular, we support your efforts to carry out economic reforms and to reorganize the army” (A.P.) The U.S. Secretary of Defense, Perry, at the moment of his arrival in Rinas, with the Minister of Defense Zhulali

Bosnia, two American aircraft were hit While diplomats are discussing in Geneva ON PAGE 2 “Expo” between trade and art at the Tirana Culture Center The opening of the fair, music and a fashion show ON PAGE 3