DRUGS The major operation by the international police. The Albanian-Macedonian gang controlled narcotics trafficking to Italy. 40 kilograms seized. A mobile refinery in Albania DRUGS The major operation by the international police. The Albanian-Macedonian gang controlled narcotics trafficking to Italy. 40 kilograms seized. The heroin route is uncovered A mobile refinery in Albania FATOS BAXHAKU TIRANE — A mobile heroin refinery was operating in Albania. The sensational discovery was made two days ago during the major international police operation called “Macedonia” and carried out jointly by police forces from six countries. The major anti-drug action undertaken by the Italian police authorities, in cooperation with Albanian, Macedonian, Hungarian and Turkish counterparts, has sent a large number of people to prison, most of them Macedonian citizens of Albanian ethnicity. A very large quantity of drugs — 40 kilograms of heroin — was seized from this powerful trafficking network. In this heroin story, Albania appears to be the operational center for processing the drugs. In general, the heroin was sent from Turkey and passed through Macedonia to reach Italy. Produced in Turkey, it illegally crossed through Greece before arriving on Albanian territory. There it was refined in a laboratory set up inside a camping trailer of the “Camper” type, which moved about with little risk of discovery — sometimes in Albania and sometimes in Macedonia. From there, the drug passed along short routes from Turkey to the former Yugoslavia until it reached Hungary. Loaded onto trucks, it then reached the Italian black market. The methods used to hide the heroin in large trucks are the classic ones: double bottoms or fuel tanks are used, and the drugs are treated with aromatic substances that prevented detection by the special dogs used in customs inspections at border checkpoints. As the main person responsible for this international trafficking, investigators consider 30-year-old Burhan Maskuli, who is suspected of being the key intermediary between the Albanian-Macedonian organization and Italian drug traffickers. Together with him were arrested his brother Nehat Maskuli and Vebi Bajrami. The names of Alisa and Xhevdet Velu, all aged between 25 and 39. In Italy, as part of the operation organized by the Anti-Mafia Prosecutor's Office in Rome, a well-known figure from the criminal underworld was also arrested: Marcelo Spelanza, director of a nursing home in Ostia. Some time earlier, during the first phase of an operation, his brother Vittorio had also been arrested, with 20 kilograms of heroin seized from him. Thus, over a period of time, a number of heroin traffickers have been concentrated mainly on both sides of Macedonia. In our country, near Durrës, they had also followed the square, especially by hand, since drugs do not circulate only by truck. The preferred method for hiding the drugs was precisely to place them in sacks filled with coffee beans or dried plants. In a known episode, pomegranates were also found, from which small packets of heroin were coming out. For some time, the existence of a camp-laboratory in Albania had been signaled. In our country it has become possible to cultivate heroin and control it toward Italy by means of speedboats and ferries from the port of Durrës. In this case too, the chosen route was Vlorë. On a speedboat transporting illegal refugees from Vlorë to the Apulian coast, 20 kilograms of heroin were found. But perhaps Albania is not only a transit point for the illicit trafficking of heroin. The first signs that this drug — considered one of the most dangerous — has begun to be sold and used in Albania as well have become increasingly evident. “Now various kinds of narcotics are circulating, including marijuana and hashish, as well as hard drugs like heroin,” said a regular drug user just a few days ago in an interview with Gazeta Shqiptare. And precisely the results of the large “Macedonia” operation seem to confirm the dramatic statement made by this girl.

ANDREA STEFANI TIRANE — Greece forces the European Community to block aid for Albania. This reveals yet another source of tension in the still far-from-normal relations between Balkan countries. Unlike in previous cases, however, this time the “incident” is not on the shores of the border waters separating the two countries, but hundreds of kilometers away, in Brussels. Because of reservations raised by Greece, the European Community’s Council of Ministers of Economy and Finance (ECOFIN) did not approve an agreement worth 35 million ECU — more than 40 million dollars — intended for Albania. At the meeting, the ECOFIN Council approved a series of aid packages for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe as well as for several republics of the former Soviet Union. Among them, Bulgaria received a loan of 110 million ECU for its balance of payments, Romania 125 million ECU and Moldova 45 million ECU. The blocked 35-million-ECU agreement was of the same kind, and Albania will have to hope for another — perhaps positive — decision at the next ECOFIN meeting, scheduled for 6 June. Regarding the reservations voiced by the Greek representative, Elio Gërho, the EC Ambassador in Skopje, he lets us understand their political nature. “It is true that this possible blockage is linked — he told Gazeta Shqiptare — and perhaps to the Community’s hesitation over the manner of respecting the prior guarantee; unquestionably, their roots lie in Greece’s claims regarding respect for minority rights in Albania and the relevant legislation. This issue — he adds — will be discussed at another meeting of the Council.” It seems that in this case Greek policy has not been satisfied with its traditional arsenal, but has instead used tools from a field ideally distant from diplomacy, namely the economy. In fact, the 35-million-ECU fund was designed as a continuation of KfW’s contribution to the balance of payments of the Albanian state. Thanks to the advantage of immediate availability, it would allow the Bank of Albania to increase foreign currency reserves, thus providing important support for reform. Meanwhile, there is an inconsistency between the Greek embassy and the softer tones coming from the diplomacy of the two countries, as recently noted in bilateral talks.

After 16 months of investigations by the Prosecutor's Office One year of suspended deprivation of liberty for Perikli Samsuri, arrested seven months ago for “false testimony” TIRANE — The investigations into the Arsidi scandal are back. It is Perikli Samsuri — accused by the Tirana Prosecutor's Office of “false testimony” — who is the first person tried among the arrested suspects, who are believed to have been involved in Albania’s biggest financial scandal. Thus banker Samsuri — although convicted by the Tirana Court — is also the first person who had taken the whole situation home with his family from the cells of the Tirana Prison. In the trial against Samsuri — held on 10 May 1994 — the only witness was Ilir Hoti, former Governor of the Bank of Albania, who was arrested at the end of last year. The veteran Albanian banker — with a 47-year career at the Bank of Albania — was made criminally responsible after testimony given in the trial later annulled by the Court of Appeals — which had imposed a 15-year prison sentence on Saliu, Tartari and Ahmeti, former top directors of the National Commercial Bank and the former Prime Minister of the Government of Stability. Everything had to do with Samsuri informing former Governor Hoti about the recording of the famous 1.6 million-dollar bill. A few days later Hoti — then also a witness in this trial — instead admitted that he had been informed several months later, and not when Samsuri had stated in his earlier testimony. The confrontation of the two witnesses — the 69-year-old banker Samsuri and the former governor, Ilir Hoti — had led Samsuri to accept Hoti’s arguments. It was precisely after this episode — on 29 October ’93 — that the Tirana Prosecutor's Office decided to arrest Perikli Samsuri on the charge of “false testimony,” an offence under the Albanian Penal Code that provides for a maximum sentence of ten years and a minimum of two years’ imprisonment. The president of the trial panel, Uk Çena — declaring him guilty — decided to sentence banker Samsuri to one year in prison, counting the time already spent in pre-trial detention and stipulating that the remaining time be suspended for two years. Samsuri was thus ordered to be released in the courtroom, becoming also the first person among all those accused in the Arsidi scandal — a case whose investigation has now been completed and is therefore being tried. Meanwhile, the outcome of the investigations into Xhulian Tartin, Ahmeti, Saliu, Tonin, and also the father of the former governor, Hoti, who had been accused of “concealing after the crime” and is under house arrest, remains mysterious. In any case, the return from France of the three Albanian prosecutors — who investigated for ten days in cooperation with their French colleagues — is the first sign toward the conclusion of the Arsidi scandal. Albanian National Bank Edmond Laci

Art Gallery TIRANE — A new painting exhibition will be inaugurated in Tirana. It features two French artists, Michel Bouvet and Anita Gallego, who have chosen to present their works at the National Gallery of Arts in Tirana. The main focus of the exhibition will be painting, especially Gallego’s works. Bouvet, who is considered one of the well-known masters of posters, has brought some of his works in this genre. The exhibition, which will remain open for several days, is organized under the patronage of the French Embassy in Tirana.

BERAT, 30 QUINTALS OF POWDERED MILK BURIED — The fate of the 30 quintals of powdered milk found in the warehouses of the milk factory in Berat has now been decided: the entire quantity will be buried. It is recalled that the milk had been kept in storage for more than two years without any thought of selling it. It was a check by the Financial Police that found all the milk in a hardened state. In addition to this product, the same police also found in the same warehouse a large quantity of chewing gum, for which an order to bury it has also been issued. THE PREPARATORY PHASE OF THE FRENCH-ALBANIAN EXPEDITION IN THE CAVES OF THE SOUTH IS COMPLETED — The preparatory phase of the joint French-Albanian expedition in the caves of the South has been completed. Now — after the visit of French speleologists to Albania — the detailed plan for this expedition has been drawn up. Albanian and French speleologists will jointly explore several well-known caves in Gjirokastër and others hidden in the Përmet area. MALIBRAN, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN AID FOR THE CITY HOSPITAL — The association “Agimi” — an Albanian center in Toronto, Italy — has offered tens of thousands of dollars as aid for the hospital in Librazhd. This aid will consist mainly of important medical equipment such as EKG machines, equipment for operating rooms, or blood analysis devices. MEMALIAJ, TWO YOUNG MEN KILLED DURING A FIGHT WITH EACH OTHER — A tragic killing, resulting in death, ended the dispute between two young men in Memaliaj. Shpend Nako and Taulant Merja, in a bloody knife duel while taking part in a clash between two groups of young people.

“More local self-government” TIRANE — We are asking for stronger local self-government; this was one of the demands that the Greek minority organization “OMONIA” repeated once again on Wednesday evening in Tirana, in an official statement. According to its chairman, Sotir Qirjazati, “OMONIA” had put forward more than a year ago a number of demands to the highest state authorities. Among them were the right to education in the mother tongue, the preservation of the cultural heritage of the Greek minority, public broadcasting in Greek on radio and television, the right to form parties on an ethnic basis, the use of official languages and dual symbols in the minority area, and the participation of members of the Greek community at all levels of state administration, including the armed forces. The demands of the representatives of the Greek minority come at a time when Papullas’s response to visit Tirana has just been confirmed. The rights of this minority have traditionally been one of the most disputed points in relations between the two countries. Greece claims that the rights of minorities are still not in line with international documents, while Albania has always stressed that it has pursued a weak policy toward them. (v. bax.)

Cursive reality TIRANE — The Albanian Parliament has now been moving for two days. The deputies began this week’s plenary session in a new setting, with a mixed purpose. They are at the Palace of Congresses, where, a few days ago, the main hall was taken away from the People’s Assembly; work has been under way to adapt a project that had long been annexed. Technically, they have started with the special materials that will fully implement the voting of the deputies. Now, for the first time, it will be possible to see the seats of the council nearly ready and the seating arrangement for the deputies being prepared, where it will be known who voted and how many abstained. Meanwhile, although they have been forced to leave the traditional hall — with which they were accustomed to... — the groups do not have any particular complaint. Many are not satisfied. From many points of view, the new hall is more modern and more comfortable than the old, cramped one, even if it will often depart from the traditional procedures that forced them to switch colored chairs whenever they had to express their position through the lights. The temporary construction of this seems not to have caused work and the work of the categories without noise and with the hormones for changing the deputies’ hall, many of them have not prejudged the jubilee of custom as if to follow the plenary session. But this has been taken badly. The new hall — smaller than the previous one — has no special places for journalists, who for now have their work space in the same place as the deputies. Thus their work of monitoring Parliament’s work will for a while be somewhat more difficult. There has also been the saying that from the Palace of Congresses one has “rested beyond the doublet, where good will come in bad” Fatos Baxhaku Palace of Congresses

Preparatory measures toward the final phase TIRANE — A festive day for the capital on the occasion of June 1. Starting this Sunday, which will continue to offer concerts, entertainment and games, organized by the Municipality of Tirana, all children will be accompanied on their feast day. The Children’s Festival actually began yesterday with the concert organized in the church in front of the Odeon. “I need you” — that was the title of the concert — was more of a charity performance for the capital’s handicapped children. This activity will be followed by a very special one, being held for the first time: a group of children will hold a bicycle race in the stadium of the Children’s Center in Tirana. The race and sports games will continue later in the center, on 28 May, where, in Tirana’s main square, they will gather to play and have fun with one another. “Another attraction will be the parade that the children themselves will hold along the entire boulevard with which top Gazetën Shqiptare Saqir Rr[e]xhe[?], the culture inspector at the Municipality of Tirana — more than 200 children will march wearing masks (counting?)” But on these festive days, children do not seek entertainment only. With a large demonstration, among doves and candles in their hands, they will take the opportunity to remind their teachers and parents, all together, that they too have rights that must be protected. The celebration will close on June 1 with a major concert to be organized at the Palace of Congresses. Here the winners of the competition for the best song, painting and recitation will be announced. Armand Mero

Two victories for Berlusconi in politics and in football The Senate gives confidence to the new government ON PAGE 2 Educational activities for young people On safe sexual relations ON PAGE 3