The commission declares the second ticket the winner The Grand Prize claimants from Kuçova and Pogradec speak EDMOND LAÇI TIRANE — A complaint to the Court closes the lottery Benz “Around fate for 12 weeks.” Even after three hours of confrontation with the commission of this lottery, the claimant from Kuçova has refused to withdraw the request for the Grand Prize. “For me it’s over; only the path of a court remains,” Alma Rrapo, the winner of the third draw, tells Gazeta Shqiptare. “What God gave me, I am telling it to you in a sincere voice,” she adds. In the end, at midday on Wednesday, the Lottery Commission decided that the winner of the “Mercedes Benz” — despite the mistake during the live TV broadcast of the show — would be the winner of the second draw, Spartak Kodra, from Nizhavec in Pogradec. The decision officially brought a withdrawal wall: through legal means, the Grand Prize will remain blocked, just as all the documents and facts which the Commission will continue to safeguard fanatically in order to rebut hypotheses of any manipulation. In any case, both claimants are still in the capital, and for the first time on Wednesday they shook hands with each other. “I am 22 years old and have only completed military service for one year,” Spartak Kodra tells Gazeta Shqiptare. “I am unemployed and live with my mother and younger sister — only on my father’s pension, after he was injured in a mine accident some years ago. But we also have a lottery ticket...” When and how many tickets did you buy for the lottery “Around fate for 12 weeks”? “Only one, and only five days before the end of the show. That day I was returning from my sister’s place in Kavajë and had only 200 lekë in my pocket. At the ticket kiosk in Pogradec I went to buy a newspaper, but I was also tempted by the idea of spending 30 lekë to buy a ticket, which the vendor marked like all the others.” And then? “And then, since my mind was already there, I followed the lottery, because my mother and sister had fallen asleep. Luckily, it happened that the show had been interrupted twice; you didn’t change during the lottery’s progress. Twice in the same direction, and after Krasta showed that my ticket was definitely... I woke the people in the house. We didn’t sleep that night.” When did you set off for Tirane? “At dawn. In Pogradec, for two hours I couldn’t reach Tirane by phone. I had put the ticket against my chest, while I was watching so that someone wouldn’t steal it from me. I arrived in Tirane by the line bus around 5 p.m., when at my brother-in-law’s house I learned that TV had shown the second draw of my ticket announced as a winner.” If the Court declares you the winner, what will you do with the Mercedes Benz? “I want to sell it and buy a house, but definitely also a color television. I do not intend to go abroad either...” Meanwhile Alma Rrapo, the 18-year-old who lives in the “Llukan Prifti” neighborhood of Kuçova, went straight to the Court. With her in Tirane are her fiancé and her pregnant mother. “I thought our troubles were over now — Alma Rrapo tells Gazeta Shqiptare — I am an orphan and live in the house together with my stepfather, my mother and my younger sister, while we live only on my mother’s salary, as she works in Oil Transport. Do you remember the moment when Krasta — after reading the Commission’s decision — announced you the winner? “I had bought five tickets and at that moment my whole family was waiting. That night the whole building found out. After several hours of indescribable happiness, at my mother’s house in Tirane we also heard the news of a third drawing, in monochrome. I have the right to have doubts, so they should not send me away from Tirane before this story is settled once and for all.” And if the Court gives you the “Mercedes Benz”? “I would sell it and completely change my life. I would marry happily and, instead of the black-and-white television where I watched the show, I would bring color into my life. Then everything else that my house lacks so much. I am the winner of the Grand Prize, so I should not be sent away from Tirane...” The two claimants for the Grand Prize of the lottery «Around fate for 12 weeks»: Alma Rrapo from Kuçova and Spartak Kodra from Nizhavec in Pogradec (photo: Hektor Pustina) The two claimants for the Grand Prize of the lottery «Around fate for 12 weeks»: Alma Rrapo from Kuçova and Spartak Kodra from Nizhavec in Pogradec (photo: Hektor Pustina)

In the last two years, 700 people have lost their lives The accident toll in 1993 TIRANE — The number of road accidents in Albania is steadily increasing. The number of victims caused by them is also increasing — even more sharply. Children, women, the elderly, people of different ages have been seriously injured and have even lost their lives in accidents caused during vehicle traffic. The beginning of private car use — for the first time in 1990 in Albania — by an ever-growing number of wealthy citizens or people of higher social strata has greatly increased the many accidents. Their cases kept rising alongside the expansion of vehicle movement. Thus, during 1992, the number of road accidents had reached 587 cases. But the number of victims was even higher: nearly 350 people had lost their lives, while more than 400 others were injured. The greater part of these accidents occurred mainly in the second half of the year, when the number of injured was also higher. Thus, during this six-month period, more than 300 vehicles of all kinds collided on Albania’s roads, causing the death of about 240 people, while nearly 250 others escaped with injuries only. The phenomenon of accidents saw a noticeable increase during 1993. At the same time, the number of cars on the road also rose sharply during that year. Thus, compared with the previous year, accidents increased by about 18 percent. Their number — according to data from the Institute of Statistics in Tirane — reached 792 cases. The number of victims was even more alarming: about 400 people were dead; while the injured — and more than in the previous year — exceeded 900 victims. But road accidents reached their peak in 1993 during July and August. In those two months alone, nearly one quarter of the total number of all accidents occurred. While the expansion of vehicle movement — as a result of the increase in their number — continues to be one of the sources of accidents, the failure of drivers themselves to respect traffic regulations is another reason for these disasters. Among them, speeding and not keeping to the correct side of the road are foremost. In addition, from the verified cases, the use of alcoholic beverages is another harmful factor. Armand Mero

TIRANE — Another draft law in support of peasants had been approved these days by the Government. From now on, water and irrigation and drainage works will also be administered by different entities that are owned by villagers. In addition to water users’ associations, this asset will also be usable by the villagers themselves, who, organized in different groups, may take on the task of carrying out this activity. So far in Albania, water and irrigation works have been administered and have belonged only to the state. Even with the new draft law — soon it will pass Parliament — the question of ownership does not change and remains with the state.

“Greenpeace” blocks the road TIRANE — The journey of Bajza’s pesticides continues for several days in a row — as a protest — on the roads of Europe. The truck carrying 15 tons of poison — loaded in Shkodra by the organization “Greenpeace” — after leaving Albania at the beginning of March, had headed for Germany. Precisely at the border with Austria, the truck was stopped, blocking vehicle passage on both sides of the highway. The environmental activists of “Greenpeace” left the poison-laden vehicle motionless for several hours, thus protesting against a rare environmental incident. The truck with the pesticide load has now been stopped in an area on the Austrian-German border. Its further stages of travel are not yet known. However, a few days ago, one of the responsible officials of “Greenpeace” had declared to Gazeta Shqiptare that their plan was to unload this poison in front of the German Parliament. The stockpiled pesticides — about 40 tons — had arrived in Albania in November 1991. It had been a German company that brought them as aid. Blocked by the Albanian government, they still remain today in several warehouses near the station of Bajza. Meanwhile, the German government has stated that it will take responsibility for removing them from Albania. Ar. Me.

Soon a tender organized by the Ministry of Culture The equipment is a gift from an international organization TIRANE — Finally the greatest vulnerability will be reduced. Electronic anti-theft equipment will be installed in two of the most important institutions in the country. Soon alarm systems will be placed in the holdings of the National Historical Museum and in the Institute of Monuments. From now on, the work of anyone who intends to steal works of art will become more difficult. Another expensive device will be installed in one of the most important museums. It will serve to trigger the alarm and to signal the slightest fire. The place for installing this device has not yet been decided, but it is very likely to be placed in the “Onufri” Icon Museum in Berat, which — with its objects and numerous wooden structures — presents the greatest risk. All these devices will be donated to Albania by a specialized international organization: ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage). An expert from this organization, Basuti, visited Albania some time ago, becoming acquainted with the major needs of the Albanian institution. Shortly after his departure from Albania, the international organization decided to make these valuable gifts. The same institution has also taken responsibility for the expenses of the stay in Italy of an Albanian technician who will help with the installation and operation of these devices. On the other hand, efforts by the Albanian authorities themselves to increase the level of security of these objects have also intensified by increasing investments for alarm systems. According to Dashnor Kokonozi, Director of the Directorate of Culture in the Ministry of Culture, since some time the Ministry has been planning the organization of a tender for Albanian and foreign firms, the winner of which will take on the installation of a number of alarm devices and locks of considerable importance. “We have not yet determined the technical and financial details of the tender,” Kokonozi said, “but we aim to complete this as soon as possible.” Fatos Baxhaku

TIRANE — March 22, the second anniversary of the victory of democracy in Albania, turned into a great day of celebration in Tirane and in the country’s major cities. On this occasion, dozens of demonstrations were organized with the participation of people from all walks of life and of all ages. Streets and squares were filled with crowds, as happened two years ago in the city’s celebration streets. The photograph we are publishing reminds us of the joy of 22 March 1992. Back then, for several days in a row, spontaneous demonstrations were held expressing the joy of victory.

THE UNFINISHED EX-HOTEL IN RRESHEN BECOMES A RELIGIOUS CENTER — The former hotel in the town of Rrëshen, bought while it was still unfinished by an Albanian Catholic church center, is being transformed into a social and religious center. This center has been named “San Vincenzo House” and is a Dutch church organization that financed the creation of this center. It has planned the organization of the first religious and cultural activities here. For its purposes, the center also operates a small library. COOPERATION CONTACTS BETWEEN KORÇA AND BULGARIA — Economic and cultural contacts between Korça and Blagoevgrad will increase. The beginning of the concrete realization of these contacts will be marked by the opening of an exhibition of painters from Korça and then by the organization of a concert by the Korça Symphony Orchestra in the Bulgarian city. Contacts between the districts of the two cities will be further strengthened on the occasion of a special seminar to be organized also in Blagoevgrad. THE BAKER WHO STOLE BREAD IS ARRESTED IN BERAT — Lufetar Tafa, 40, owner of the bakery supplying bread to this city, has been arrested in Berat. Tafa is accused of stealing agricultural property from the system, of misusing flour and of falsifying official documents. The supply raid was carried out months ago by the State Control Service for these matters. According to sources in the Berat prosecutor’s office, in many cases other quantities were used in activities of buying and selling flour intended for the mass production of bread for the population.

He “helped” families with sons in the army Elbasan, villagers victims of a stranger’s game ELBASAN — This time the object of theft(?) is not banks or private shops, but some villagers’ homes in the district of Elbasan. But the preference of the young man, as he was called, was again disappointed on the path of a police defendant, like some “colleagues” of his in several other districts of Albania who have now been uncovered by the law-enforcement authorities. Only the latest perpetrator belongs to a policeman who so far was by no means preferred by swindlers, namely a military policeman. Thus, many families who have sons doing military service have become victims of this latest fraud. The swindler — unidentified — had wandered through the villages of Elbasan armed, but not to threaten his victims, only to pull off his preferred trick. In this way, with some families he had asked several times for “compromises,” so that their sons would not be sent to faraway units and would pass through without being harmed. “He knew everything about my son,” says Kujtim Subashi from the village of Pojan, “so when he told me he had an order in the unit for automatic-rifle cartridges, I believed him.” The proposal of the “Military Police officer” then became clear: some sums of money astonishingly suggested for “arrangements with the Prosecutor’s Office.” Meanwhile A.T. — a resident of the village of Papër in Elbasan — after handing M. U. 25,000 lekë, had anxiously waited for his son to be demobilized, taking away an automatic rifle(?) and 50 cartridges, the things allegedly taken from him. “I paid him,” says A.T., “because I got frightened when he told me that if this matter did not remain silent, my son could be sentenced to at least 10 years’ imprisonment.” In any case, it is still not known how many of his victims there are among the other villages. Those who fell into the trap only remember that he spoke in a Shkodran dialect. Mentor Kikia

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