INTERVIEW After landing in Tirana, Prosecutor Vichnievsky, who works in Paris on the negotiator’s file, speaks. For two days she will question all the Albanian defendants... “We are looking for Arsidi’s money” French investigators arrive in Albania Prosecutor Vichnievsky and her French companions at the Hotel “Dajti”, Tirana EDMOND LACI ARMAND MERO TIRANA — “The problem is to understand whether Arsidi kept the money himself or gave it to someone else.” A few moments after arriving in the Albanian capital — on Tuesday afternoon — the French investigator tells Gazeta Shqiptare the reasons for her visit to Albania. Laurence Vichnievsky thus refers to the visit of the three Albanian prosecutors who, three weeks earlier — through a Franco-Albanian rogatory commission — had investigated the Arsidi scandal in Paris. Vichnievsky, who works in the Paris Prosecutor’s Office on all economic crimes as well as the Arsidi file — together with her French companions will stay in Albania for only two days. “After the official return of the rogatory letter we brought to Albania — says investigator Vichnievsky — for me one thing has been closed.” The Albanian public still does not know exactly what is being investigated in France and what measures have been taken regarding the former negotiator Nicola Arsidi. Our investigations into Arsidi began two years ago, following a complaint from Albania. He is now considered a defendant and cannot leave France without my permission. But I think the investigation against him could soon be concluded. What exactly do you accuse Arsidi of? For the time being, Arsidi is facing charges of “fraud”. However, until the end of the investigation, the possibility of reclassifying this charge cannot be ruled out, for example as what our code defines as “abuse of trust”. If these accusations are proven, what sentence does Arsidi face in France? “The maximum provided by French law for these crimes is 5 years’ imprisonment. But in any case — before the investigation is fully completed — nothing can be said with certainty.” Can Arsidi’s sentence also be accompanied by a civil penalty, meaning the return of 1.6 million dollars to Albania? “At present I cannot say anything; otherwise I would not be in Albania. What matters is to establish where this money is. At the moment none of the defendants knows where it ended up. That is the problem. It must be understood whether Arsidi kept this money himself or gave it to someone else. Perhaps here in Albania there may be some idea of the path these funds took.” Whom will you question in Tirana to clarify your investigation? Naturally, everyone who is already a defendant in this case.” The character TIRANA — He would fit very well among the characters who populate Balzac’s universe. Nicolas Arsidi, the man said to have caused Albania economic losses of 1.6 million dollars, still remains — like the scandal that has long borne his name — a great enigma in the eyes of Albanians, perhaps known only together with corrupt people. Perhaps in his old age — which he spends in the evening and is aristocratic — Arsidi is often forced to leave his luxurious office located on the famous Paris boulevard, Saint-Germain. The French investigator now does not reveal where he is and the one for whom fraud charges were brought. In this French case Arsidi is by no means unknown. Some time ago he had been accused as a tax offender. Arsidi moves deftly among many commonplace scenes — first he was given a mandate as adviser for Albanian foreign trade and later he was appointed international adviser to the Albanian Commercial Bank. In the end, what brought a carefree smile to his lips — a fantastic sum, connected to the scandal — still remains unanswered as to where it went. Arsidi travels to and from Albania, and for a long time he has been the same as the others. The truth, it seems, about this extraordinary man is not very clear. Shipments of 700,000 dollars began to arrive in Tirana and later in life a sum calculated in leks, which in the end went back after not much time before the French public. But this statement, like many others, still remains covered in a basic fog. What about the other non-defendant persons? “No. The others are for routine investigations of the staff in France and Albania.” I have no personal opinion, but perhaps the police investigation into the case can shed light and could put Albanian prosecutors at risk. Thus Albania found itself once again in red-tape, using a cunning trick, as well as for public investigations it is feared that all the continuations developed from [?] in them, the body and the face, also in others.

NEW YORK — The lineup for the Woodstock '94 Festival has been enriched by another big name: Bob Dylan has also announced that he will take part in the major festival, which will be held on 13-14 August in New York State, in Saugerties. Saying that he “did not feel part of the Woodstock team,” the famous singer did not want to take part in the historic 1969 concert, in which Jimi Hendrix, Who, and Sly and The Family Stone performed. This time he will climb the stage steps alongside stars such as Aerosmith, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Peter Gabriel, etc.

Politics PS: “This is what we discussed with the Serbs” TIRANA — Should there or should there not be dialogue with the Serbs regarding the Kosovo issue? The problem returns once again to the center of public attention, after the Belgrade newspaper published the news about the meeting between Albanian socialists and Serbian ones in Sofia. “Yes, a meeting was held between our representatives and the Serbian ones in Sofia — explained to Gazeta Shqiptare Bashkim Zeneli, a member of the top leadership of the Socialists — but it will not block the fact that we have equally functionalized the links with “A few days ago an international event was held in Sofia within the framework of the celebrations for the anniversary of Political Studies, in the Bulgarian Socialist Party, where the two PSSH representatives, Vasilika Vrapi and Luan Gjanholli, were also invited. For that reason the meeting was also held; moreover, according to sources from PSSH, it was the Serbs who invited the Albanians to a discussion about the sensitive Kosovo issue. “The meeting did not last more than 30 minutes,” Zeneli says. Our representatives told the Serbs that they were not authorized to open official talks. “However, in the short conversation they expressed to them our position, clearly against the provocation idea in Kosovo.” On the other hand, from the rest they were with socialism to issue a long resolution in the conditions created after in Kosovo, dialogue between Albanians and Serbs in the presence of a third party. 18.03.

Investments by an Italian company Agreement for cleaning up the city KORÇË — Soon Korça will breathe freely and will be saved from waste and environmental pollution. The city municipality has signed a protocol agreement with an Italian company for the “Cleaning and clearing of urban structures.” This act initially provides for the Italian side to prepare a detailed study of the methods and plants to be used to carry out this investment. According to preliminary assessments made by representatives of the Korça Municipality and the Italian company, the latter has pledged that it will bring and make available a modern and efficient system for collecting and removing waste. They have planned to employ not only waste from homes in the city but also hospital waste and expired medicines. The protocol signed with Korça follows the tender held in Tirana for cleaning the capital, in which two companies won: “Nuova Ecologia,” the Italian firm, and “Tecnocomerc,” the Slovenian-Austrian firm. Although the tender closed long ago, neither company has managed to complete all the other necessary procedures and start work. In that case, it turned out to be the Slovenian-Austrian company, while the Italian one remained waiting for the proposal of the Albanian representatives of the Municipality of Tirana. (p.r.)

Accident: a child loses a leg FIER — She has survived an automobile accident but has lost part of her body. The 7-year-old girl, E. Toro — from the Fier district — is now left with only one leg. The serious accident occurred on Sunday, 5 June, when, as a result of a collision with a vehicle, the little girl was badly injured in one leg. Taken immediately to the city hospital, she underwent a difficult surgical operation. After several hours, the doctors, who managed to eliminate any risk to the girl’s life, were unable to restore her young body completely. (En. My.)

Cursive Reality Cursive Reality Old age, bureaucracy and love TIRANA — They have already passed the threshold of deep old age but do not accept giving up on the new dream so easily. Defeated, with wrinkles they would have fallen; in their quarrels, long ago, that age would not have been able to enter if bureaucracy and the national matter had not gotten in the middle. A 94-year-old man and a 74-year-old woman are waiting and preparing to be joined in the cells of Rome. The only obstacle so far is the death certificate. True? The elderly bride goes to the Albanian offices. The decision of the date to replace it with such others must, which had been worth giving them morning and hour, has created a commotion from the hours that the lady divided into two old men was in the game of growth in the law of playing. Now all the preparations are ready. The couple’s wish is to get married after both roads, there where and the faith. This rare pink story began two months ago, when Filippo Lancloni and Marla[?] Torjo met by chance in a residential neighborhood where they were sheltered. Marla, mother of seven children, had remained alone with her husband, after saving many lives with money. From Albania the man keeps memories of the years spent among friends and the great misery, among which the hardest were those of prison. Marla too could not escape the old mother, and they had apparat[?] and had gone through the old prison doors. Now that the suffering is behind them. Marla has decided to live a new life alongside Filippo, who was born in 1900 but is still in good shape as the end of the century approaches. The story of Marla and Filippo is now expected to reach its normal ending, if bureaucracy finally decides to hand over the autopsy document. Only then will they be able to get the room that is being given to them. In the matrimonial room, which has been at their disposal for a long time, to make it.

TIRANA — A small change in the Tirana Municipality’s plan to broadcast the USA '94 World Cup matches live in the square. The giant installation — planned to be set up near the University — will not be a television center, but a large panel onto which three powerful projectors — from a distance of just over 3 meters — will throw live images from the matches. The reason for this change has been the bitter experience of some other countries, where in such cases disappointed fans have thrown hard objects at television screens, breaking them. (A.M.)

1 The Division Bell Pink Floyd 2 Remix '94 Umberto Tozzi 3 Equivocando Mina 4 Mazzini canta Battisti 1994 Paolo Vallesi 5 Non mi tradire Fabio Concato 6 Song For Europe Gino Paoli 7 King Kong Gino Paoli 8 Laura Mariah Carey 9 Music Box Soundtrack 10 Philadelphia Jovanotti 11 Lorenzo 1994 Mango 12 Mangia Nomadi 13 La settimana od8 Gerardina Trovato 14 Sotto il segno di Caino Miguel Bosè 15 Il mare calmo della sera Andrea Bocelli 17 Come uomo tra gli uomini Michele Zarrillo

ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER IN SOUTH CAROLINA — At the invitation of the National Guard of South Carolina, the Albanian Defense Minister Safet Zhulali departed for a visit to the USA — at the head of a high-level military delegation. Zhulali is expected to meet military and political personalities from the American Defense Secretariat William Perry, senior officials from the U.S. State Department as well as senators and American politicians. IN LEZHË THE CEREMONY OF BISHOP NIKOLLË TROSHANI’S INSTALLATION WAS HELD — In the Kallmet area of the Lezhë district, the ceremony of the installation of Monsignor Nikollë Troshani took place, a well-known and prominent figure of the Albanian Catholic Church. Present at the ceremony of the appointment were also the Ambassador of the Holy See to our country, His Excellency Uin Diasi, and the Bishop of Durrës and Tirana, Monsignor Rrok Mirdita. The first Albanian bishop in the Diocese of Lezhë, Monsignor Troshani, was imprisoned twice by the communist regime on charges of Vatican ties, serving 22 years. IN TIRANA A SEMINAR FOR THE PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF LAGOONS — The European Union and for Environmental Care (ECUC), the Institute of Urban Studies and Projects of the Committee for the Protection of the Environment, organized a theoretical-practical seminar for lagoon administrators. Domestic and foreign specialists — for five consecutive days — discussed the situation in the lagoons of Karavasta, Narta, Butrint and Kune. They noted the need to raise public awareness against the damage that has been identified in the lagoon areas recently. The speakers also raised the need to draft a legal framework and implement rules by the countries of the region.

TIRANA First Category Consoglialli Restaurant Recommended Restaurants TIRANA First Category HOTEL “DAJTI” with its restaurant offers you specialties of various kinds, European and typical Albanian cuisine, high-quality service and competitive prices. Hours: breakfast 6-9:30; lunch 12:30-16; dinner 18-22. Tavern from 22-5:00. In addition to the tavern, the hotel orchestra’s music will accompany customers in the restaurant as well. QDOSH: with typical European and Balkan specialties and traditional Albanian cuisine. Typical Balkan and Turkish specialties, traditional Albanian cuisine, etc., air conditioning, considerable space. All service categories. Product guarantees space for all categories[?] ssa. Competitive prices. Durrës Street,

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