Serious denunciations in court The Nano case, pressure on the expert and the lawyer TIRANA — Another scandal erupts in the trial over the aid affair, in which four defendants and Socialist leader Fatos Nano are involved. While in today's trial, on Friday, documentary evidence was expected — testimony concerning the written evidence and the investigative file — the accused have shaken the proceedings. We are talking about acts of pressure and serious threats against those directly or indirectly involved in this trial, and linked to the further conduct of the trial against Fatos Nano. Through a sharp protest, Prosecutor Arben Qeleshi publicly confirmed a direct threat against the husband of expert Vjollcë Shkrelli, warning him by name if his wife were to testify against Nano in the trial. Immediately after this testimony, Nano's lawyer, Perparim Sanxhaku, raised another fact, according to which — he said — an identified person had threatened him this time because he was the defense lawyer of the Socialist leader. Former Prime Minister Fatos Nano during the trial "Several people still unidentified by the organs of Public Order and Justice, in the afternoon of 17 March, in a despicable and corrupt place, applied physical and psychological pressure on the husband of expert Virgjinë Shkrelli — says the prosecution scandal so that the aid case be sent to court — calculating the amount of losses for the Italian aid, which the prosecution alleges was embezzled and misused. But according to procedural rules in court, during the trial the acts and expert reports carried out by the investigative body must also be examined, which would also constitute the final stage of the judicial investigation. Meanwhile, only moments after Prosecutor Qeleshi's protest, lawyer Sanxhaku reported another serious threat, this time against him. "On 15 March, at 5:30 p.m., an identified person, the driver of car TR 2651 A, threatened me personally," says Sanxhaku, "telling me that they would kill you in Italy, you who defend Nano." Thus two highly unusual testimonies come to light, joining an earlier one as well, when a few days before the trial began, Prosecutor Qeleshi had declared that he himself had also been personally threatened.

KAVAJË — New construction for tourism on the Albanian coast. Now it will be the tourist area in Golem, in the district of Kavajë, that will soon begin to be built. The Territorial Planning Council has now approved the project submitted by the Italian company "Babin Kanton SPA". It will be 1 million 200 thousand dollars that "Babin Kanton SPA" will invest in building the tourist village in Golem. According to the project, this village will extend over an area of nearly 8 hectares. There will be a group of villas with about 600 beds, refurbished to offer the most comfortable conditions. In addition, various entertainment and leisure facilities will be built, adapting different cultural and sports facilities. The first phase of implementation of this project — with the creation of accommodation for 150 beds — will be completed in 1995. The green light for tourist construction in this area of the Albanian coast had been given months earlier by the decision of the National Territorial Planning Council, which designated more than 300 hectares of Golem as a free tourist zone.

Cassation changes the Durrës court ruling The new sentence is applied for the first time TIRANA — Life imprisonment is applied for the first time in Albania. It was the Cassation Court, which a few days earlier had issued this decision by changing a death sentence previously handed down by the Durrës Court. Albanian justice is thus making the leap from capital punishment to repentance. A man who had been brought close to death by a court decision has now been returned to life forever. The Court of Cassation has decided definitively: life imprisonment. Saim K.[?], 29 years old, is the first to benefit from this penalty measure, approved only a few months ago. Thus it was a murder that had brought Kila, from Ishmi in Durrës, before the dock of the accused. Some time ago he had shot 50-year-old Lush Stan, for reasons of revenge, causing his death as well. And for this crime against life, the Durrës Court had not hesitated to punish him by taking another life, that of Kila himself. Its decision had been unequivocal: death sentence. But life, once again, could triumph. The Cassation Court recalled that the death penalty has now been replaced in Albania's Penal Code by life imprisonment. Life imprisonment found its place in Albania at the end of last year. It was Parliament which, by reducing the cases of the death penalty — now only 6 remained — recognized the need for this new measure as well. But until now it had never been applied. Death sentences continued to weigh heavily in several other cases. And it was the Cassation Court that broke this pattern. "Our court will keep in mind that when death sentences are reviewed — Zer Biba, President of the Cassation Court, declared to Gazeta Shqiptare a short time ago — especially for young ages, it should find an alternative solution that turns them into life imprisonment." Furthermore, it is this same court that, only two days after the first application of life imprisonment, returns to the death penalty. It upheld this second sentence in January of this year, issued by the Tirana court against Luan Isufi. Isufi was accused of the murder — one year earlier in Roskovec, Fier — of a 24-year-old young man. Ar.Me. The strong man is pardoned TIRANA — Sami Kila is awaited by the firing squad. If Parliament had not changed the Penal Code, and if the Court of Cassation had not applied the new fact and for the first time left it at the level of life imprisonment, Kila would have been sentenced to death. Justice over a blood feud case was ending it with more blood. For the first time, a life sentence, with the death sentence struck down but turned into a severe penalty. The law takes away by eliminating difficulties, it cannot remove grief from life, but it hopes to at least lessen the burden of murder. The law is a little like man: only when it is truly strong is it capable of forgiving. (c.b.)

TIRANA — More democratic culture. That was the aim of a seminar currently taking place in Tirana, organized by the "Association for Democratic Culture" in cooperation with the American Cultural Center. The seminar has been given by the organizers the title "Quo vadis Albania?"; the participants will attend discussions on the fundamental themes of democracy, business, education, and the role of government in the democratic state. To avoid the usual ways of organizing these seminars and to increase the effectiveness of this activity, the organizers have thought this time of a new form of organization: that of a free conversation.

Tragic event in Tirana TIRANA — A sad event in Tirana. A girl — she was only 18 years old — killed herself. In another moment, and the argument, and the 18-year-old — a resident of the capital's villages — after a family quarrel, used a heavy knife to take her own life. A deep despair, a great loneliness, and every moment of life seemed darkened in the young girl's mind. The voices of the family members — with whom on Thursday evening she had had one of the usual teenage quarrels — seemed very heavy to her, very difficult for her fragile soul to bear. She moved aside, secretly from her parents, and made the terrible decision. For some time, a human being — used against the millstone — waits quietly. Very soon, in her body, life began to lose the battle. The girl begins to feel severe pain and says. Only then do the parents understand the terrible event that had befallen their daughter. Quickly they head to the hospital, leaving in the hands of the doctors a body that was writhing. Minutes of anxiety passed. But it was too late. No one could do anything. Death had defeated life by snatching from it a human being, a very young life. Ar.Me.

Parliament's approval is awaited The city municipality asks for a revision of the figures ELBASAN — The urban development plan of Elbasan and the distribution of funds still remain unapproved by the Municipal Council of Elbasan. Meanwhile, awaiting Parliament to approve the figures for 220 million lek allocated from the government fund, the leaders of the Elbasan Municipality are appealing: "This figure could be increased. It is too little to solve the problems." It has therefore been planned that from this fund only 80 million lek will be used by the Ministry of Construction, for municipal completion, housing construction, city cleaning, road building, and even lighting. "This figure is too small to cope with the problems," says Emin Haxhiahmeti, mayor of Elbasan, in an interview with Gazeta Shqiptare, mentioning a number of factors. The excessive concentration of industry in this city led to the departure of thousands of workers from all regions of the country, some of whom, together with their families, are on the list of the homeless. Also, due to the interruption of industrial work, Elbasan — according to statistics — now ranks among the cities with the highest number of unemployed. The contingent also includes dozens of former internees who, after the victory of democracy, chose the city of Elbasan, as well as other families who arrived illegally. Part of the allocated funds should also be spent on environmental pollution, which, due to the specific conditions, has so far been heavily polluted by industrial gases and smoke. All this has placed Elbasan in the face of numerous social problems. For these reasons — Haxhiahmeti explains — Elbasan must be viewed more realistically. According to the municipal leaders, even though Elbasan is the second city in Albania in terms of population — with around 120,000 inhabitants — in terms of the allocated amount it ranks sixth. "We have also consulted the group of deputies from Elbasan," Haxhiahmeti adds, "so that they may influence Parliament as much as possible." Mentor Kikia

A federation is born between Croats and Muslims The agreement is signed in Washington ON PAGE 2 More than 6 billion lek are allocated only for education Defense is privileged too ON PAGE 3

DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SELL? DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO BUY? This space is free for your classified economic notices. Send your message, no longer than 15 words, to one of our addresses: In Tiranë: Bajram Curri Street, 370. Or in Bari: Viale Scipione l'Africano, 264. State in the message what you are looking for and what you offer, your name and address. FOR SALE a house on the second floor, two rooms with a kitchenette and balcony. Interested parties should contact this address: Niko Avrami Street, Building 15, Staircase 1, Apartment 9 in Tiranë. FOR SALE a two-storey house with four rooms, a courtyard and many trees, also with two plots of land. This house is located 15 kilometers from Durrës, on the Durrës-Tiranë road. Address: Hamza Guza, Koxhas, Durrës. FOR SALE a new two-storey house, with a courtyard and a kitchen, kitchenette, corridor, veranda, an 18-square-meter balcony and a yard with an area of 540 square meters. Address: "Budi" Street, Kodra e Shën Pjetrit, no. 9, (near "Qyteti Studenti"). For sale: Unid dental devices. Diponogj and portable (8 kg). Address: Near restaurant "Durresi", building 66/1, apartment 19, Tiranë. FOR SALE a portable compact disc player "Tencats" with rechargeable battery, transformer and headphones. Interested parties can call number 3246, Tiranë. FOR RENT a two-storey villa, with four rooms and a kitchen, with kitchenette, two basements and two bathrooms. The yard can be used as parking. Address: "Peti Niko" Street, no. 38, Tiranë. FOR RENT a two-storey house in the center of Shkodër, with a shop downstairs and 3 rooms and a kitchen upstairs, in the yard. Interested parties should call: 042 24262. FOR RENT a two-storey house in the center of Tiranë, on the first floor, with five rooms, kitchen, bathroom, a yard with an area of 240 square meters, as well as storage-garages with metal doors. The house also has a telephone. Interested parties can call 42 021, from 9:00 to 14:00. FOR SALE a plot of land with an area of 650 square meters. Address: Thanas Ziko Street, building 66/3, staircase 1, apartment 21, Tiranë. FOR SALE a plot of land with an area of 650 square meters. Address: "Thanas Ziko" Street, building 65/3, staircase 1, apartment 21, Tirana. FOR RENT an apartment near restaurant Durresi, second floor, with one room and a kitchen with kitchenette and balcony. Address: Laga 49, "Feri Xhajko" Street, building 59, staircase 1, apartment 1, Tiranë.

CONSULTATIONS BETWEEN TIRANA AND SKOPJE ON THE TRANSPORT OF MACEDONIAN IMPORTS — In Tirana, bilateral talks were held between the Albanians, Kopliku and his Macedonian counterparts, Ismaili and Sulejman. The purpose of these meetings was the assistance that Albania could offer to Macedonia by transporting Macedonian goods through one of its ports on the Adriatic. The details for handling the logistical issue have still not been finalized. Contacts between the two states on this problem intensified especially in last December with the agreement on the Greece-Macedonia line. Only some time ago Athens closed its ports to the traffic of goods heading toward Macedonia. PREPARATIONS IN TIRANA ON THE OCCASION OF 22 FEBRUARY — Intensive preparations have begun in the capital for the celebration of the anniversary of two and a half years of democracy in the country. On this occasion, a spring festival for children will also be organized, lasting three days. Preparations are being led by the municipality of the capital. NEW CONSTRUCTIONS IN KUKËS — Construction activity is increasing in the district of Kukës. One of the largest construction companies in this field is the new firm "Frutri", which has already completed a residential apartment building with 15 apartments and has also delivered several other buildings in the Has district. The private company will operate in this sector and has already achieved cooperation to undertake the implementation of the most important projects. In a new tender for the construction of a house, three construction firms from this district will take part. THE RENOVATION OF BOOKS IN THE NATIONAL LIBRARY — There are 350 rare and antique books in the collection of the National Library of Tirana, valuable donations to this future cultural institution from a Swiss foundation. Some of these items will be put on display in Tirana in an exhibition featuring these books.

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