Shipments from Greece are blocked Offers for 30-year-old products continue ANDREA STEFANI TIRANE — The drama of the 30-year-old biscuits, brought into Albania as humanitarian aid, remains controversial, full of question marks but also enriched with new elements. While senior officials have officially taken differing positions on how to handle the shipment, at least part of it was brought into Albania — by land from Greece — some time before one of the ships, “Odesky konsomoles,” docked in Durrës, and more than 2 tons of biscuits had already been consumed long ago by the people of the Kurbnesh commune. It appears that the analysis of what would later be called the “biscuit mystery” was already underway in 1993, when the State Reserves Directorate in Durrës and Zekaria Palushi — then chairman of the Humanitarian Aid Commission — received a fax from the Aid Institute in Janina regarding the start of aid transport “on the basis of the agreement signed by both parties.” After that date, truck shipments began arriving from Greece. Previously, after traveling through ports in England to be unloaded at the port of Preveza, about three months later the State Reserves Directorate expressed concern in a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office about 448 tons of biscuits, 422 mattresses with springs, 700 bed frames with fabric slats, and 1,908 stretchers. The Albanian-Greek border at Kakavijë states that they were brought from Greece and deposited at the Povelë Agency. The letter describes the hospital materials as useless and a “source of infection.” Meanwhile, in this same direction, it is allowed that the offers from Greece have still not ceased to bring more truck convoys of this unclear humanitarian aid. “A few days ago I intervened at the Povelë Agency to have all the shipments sent back,” Hekuran Skuqi, General Director of State Reserves, told Gazeta Shqiptare. He also expressed concern that the biscuits and the excess materials stored may be costing the state thousands of dollars. So far, only 24 tons of biscuits, 422 mattresses, 700 beds and 500 stretchers have been cleared out of the Povelë warehouses. They have been distributed for consumption among the population of the Kurbnesh commune in Mirditë. But there is also an opposing view regarding the “aid.” It is Zekaria Palushi who tells the newspaper that “the biscuits are in order and their analyses — which have shown positive parameters — were also carried out in laboratories in Tirane. The reluctance of the State Reserves Directorate to unload the cargo of the ‘Odesky Konsomoles’ has cost a great deal,” Palushi adds, “because this ship stayed in Durrës 20 days longer than the time needed for unloading, when it is known that the ‘price’ of one day of stay is around 2,400 dollars.”

VLORE — On Thursday evening, a large group of undocumented Pakistanis arriving by sea — one of the 40 people jumped into the water as they were being pulled ashore — was stopped after a surprise check by law-enforcement bodies on the coast near a citizen from Vlorë. The Pakistanis, including minors, were immediately held at the city police station, awaiting a solution for their status. Sources from the Ministry of Public Order, confirming the event, say the group of undocumented migrants had been intercepted in international waters near the Albanian coast by a Russian ship that had departed from Turkey. It is suspected that the undocumented Pakistanis, in order to reach a transit route toward the West, had also been assisted by Albanian individuals. In any case, the investigations have just begun and suspected persons have been detained by law-enforcement bodies in Vlorë. The roughly 40 undocumented Pakistanis already arrested are now awaiting a final solution for their fate. A fate beyond what is happening, since — most likely for financial reasons — the “will” from Pakistan can do nothing else but carry out new traditional religious rites, actions which they continued even inside the premises of the police station. (Ed.La.)

Capacity will be 24 thousand bottles per hour Investment launched one year ago is being completed TIRANE — Now the birthplace of the famous Coca-Cola will also be Albania. After an odyssey lasting more than a year, the $9.5 million investment will begin to bear fruit. The factory for the production of the soft drinks Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta — construction of which began on 4 October last year — will start selling its products before the end of May. The official inauguration has been set for the first days of May. Anyone traveling along the road linking Tirane with Durrës can already see it on the roadside — near Vora — the white structure nearly completed. Many firms are contributing to its construction. The entire building is a prefabricated structure brought from Italy — costing around 2 billion lire — and assembled by the Italian firm Bial Costruzioni SAS. The construction work using local materials is being carried out by the Albanian company Rdb. The installation of the electrical systems, with the involvement of Albanian specialists, has been entrusted to the German company Kamer. Meanwhile, the Albanian-Italian firm Alban and the Italian company Bendeto are respectively responsible for fitting the windows and doors and installing the plumbing systems. Around 50 workers will be employed in this new factory, and during the summer they will work in two shifts. With a capacity of about 24 thousand bottles per hour, the factory aims to become a product of Albanian origin. At least 250 thousand liters per day will be distributed to sales outlets by 10 Coca-Cola trucks. It has been planned that the main cities of the country will be supplied from several storage points. “We think,” a Coca-Cola specialist told Gazeta Shqiptare, “that the price of the drinks will be lower than those sold so far on the Albanian market.” The first surveys on trading preferences have not shown anything promising. The Coca-Cola plant near Durrës (Photo A. Babani) An. St.

TENDERS FOR CONSTRUCTION UP TO 5 MILLION LEK WILL STOP — There will be no more tenders for firms carrying out public works worth up to 5 million lek. This is the substance of one of the government’s latest decisions. The measure mainly concerns the construction of small water supply systems in villages, the implementation of which has been delayed by the length of the tenders. Now the firm that will take on the work will be chosen from among the 7 applications to be submitted within the deadline set by the user. The latest decision aims to make full use of the funds approved from the State Budget for these constructions. THE GEOGRAPHY OF TOURISM IN SOUTHERN ALBANIA UNDER DISCUSSION IN GJIROKASTER — Geography and tourism in the southern regions of Albania have been the subject of a scientific session held in Gjirokastër. The organizer of the event was the Geography Department of the city’s “Eqrem Çabej” University. The session addressed, with a new spirit, the benefits that can be drawn from the tourism development of several regions and the types of roads that will be built around them. UNEMPLOYMENT A PROBLEM FOR HAS DISTRICT — The number of jobs is still high for Has district. According to the officially calculated figures of the press, the Head of the Labor Section at the local authorities of Has district, currently — according to the same source — the number of unemployed in this district is over 2,000 people, mainly not including those in the Golaj Mine and in the administration. (B. Kraja) According to local sources, it is considered that the Albanian state should invest foreign funds. For this reason, local government leaders in the district have intensified business contacts, and the first ones are expected to be further specified.

LEZHE — The phenomenon of illegal fishing continues again. This time, however, the finding is more serious, because — in order to make illegal profit — various people are also using dynamite for fishing. On Monday, law-enforcement bodies in Shëngjin on the Shëngjin coast caught two citizens who were fishing with dynamite. The persons later detained were from Lezha and Shkodra. Meanwhile, the investigations continue and it has not yet been specified whether the perpetrators carried out this type of fishing repeatedly or whether this was the first time they were discovered by the police. (pr. re.)

Unrestored for three years SARANDE — Several valuable mosaics in Butrint, one of the most important museum centers in Albania, have begun to be damaged. The alarm came from one of the workers at the workshop of the Institute of Cultural Monuments in Sarandë. The ancient mosaics of the Baptistery, the Roman Baths and two others placed on the surface of the city are in a state of neglect. Apparently, this is because the workshop workers are unable to carry out their duty. Little by little, part of the surface, along with others, is beginning to deteriorate. In one section, the person who recently came to inspect it, according to the workshop worker’s statement, caused damage not only through publication, but the restorer also asked him not to make any further remarks. At one time it was well maintained; now the surface is being damaged. Ancient mosaics are very delicate objects that require constant maintenance in the delicate process in which they were made. The interruption of the restoration of the Baptistery was very important for the country’s artistic history, but the continuation of the work has left a new wound open. This is the first case of the destruction of a valuable ancient site within a few years. Only a few days earlier, the loss of an ancient stele from the National Museum of Apollonia was reported. The authorities also took measures against the custodians for this work. (pr. re.)

DURRES — The role of school and culture in educating young people in democracy and peace. This was the theme of an event organized in Durrës by Caritas Diocesani Bari-Bitonto and the Education Section of Durrës in cooperation with Caritas-Shqipëria. Many teachers and lecturers from several Italian cities took part in the meeting with their Albanian colleagues. The event had a dual purpose: on the one hand, to further deepen the relations of cooperation and friendship that are developing between many Albanian teachers and their Italian colleagues, and on the other, to highlight the themes shared by the cultural heritage of the two countries.

— Ironically, he is called Partizan, while he is now accused of having stolen weapons and other items from the village museum — belonging to the real partisans. A former chairman of the Pluralist Council of a village in Skrapar and another person are suspected of having appropriated several old museum weapons at the time when the village museum was being destroyed and looted. In any case, the competent district authorities continue the investigations until the real responsibilities are clarified. In recent years many village museums have fallen victim to massive damage. (m.l)

CURSIVE REALITY TIRANE — The pharmaceutical fashion for animals is also exploding in Albania. The 700 veterinarians across the country are opening, little by little, a special kind of center — pharmacies — for treating animals. Haxhi Halili, Minister of Agriculture — who was also present the other day in the market for medicines and drugs for animals — says that “the decision very soon” — alongside pharmacies for people, licenses for animal pharmacies are also increasing, and their “clients” will enter the system normally. After this, through the order of the Minister of Agriculture, he has insisted that the market be liberalized and that food doctors be included — so that private pharmacies could also be distributed in remote villages. Thus, very soon the needs of the country and of private farms using animal pharmacies will have their own “consumption.” A sort of pharmacy, always — Doctor Naxhmedin Mitëri — in cooperation with the Veterinary Research Institute in the capital, should be known as the latest for the future. The document issued — which allows veterinarians to open a special license, in addition to showing that the sale of drugs and medicines prohibited by law is not allowed. Veterinarians believe that the new outlet will finally close the abusive market of shops, especially in recent times, run by incompetent and unclear people. Thus, only in the last two years — when the trade in livestock biopreparations has been so much under state control and with controlled prices — many of them ended up in the hands of farmers at high prices. Now supply and demand can determine an affordable price for the revived Albanian farmer. (pr. re.)

The senior official is appointed by Parliament TIRANE — The new Deputy Prosecutor of the Republic has been approved by the Albanian Parliament. It now belongs to 39-year-old Fatos Dervishi to be the first assistant to Alush Dragoti, the Prosecutor General of the Republic. Dervishi’s approval for the high post in the Albanian justice system was supported by a majority of the deputies in the parliamentary assembly. Fatos Dervishi — born in Burrel and residing in Durrës — completed his studies (while working) at the Faculty of Law in 1989 and later worked in the investigation office of the Kavajë district. At the beginning of the year, Dervishi was appointed Deputy Director of the Legal-Administrative Directorate in the Ministry of Public Order and two months later became acting head of that directorate. In the Tirane Prosecutor’s Office, Dervishi had been appointed — by the High Council of Justice — on 29 July of last year. In addition to the Nano case, Fatos Dervishi — during the more than eight-month period of investigation into the case of the Others’ Use — also dealt with both groups concerning the defense of the bunkers and former senior officials of the regime, as well as the “K.Ë” case in Qafë Arrëz. Deputy prosecutor Fatos Dervishi Edmond Laçi

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