Study by a Dutchman Albania enters the third millennium with only 130,000 more inhabitants Study by a Dutchman How many Albanians in the year 2000 Albania enters the third millennium with only 130,000 more inhabitants TIRANA — The rate of growth of Albania’s population in the year 2000 will be quite low. According to a demographic study conducted by Hendrik Van der Pol, a Dutch specialist, in six years the population will change by only 130,000 people compared with its size in 1990. The main causes of this phenomenon will be births, which will continue to decline, as well as the number of Albanians emigrating abroad. A more pronounced increase will nevertheless be seen in 2010, when there will be 3,825,000 Albanians. The year 2000 will find Albania with 3,420,000 inhabitants. This figure does not represent a significant increase compared with 1990 — when there were 3,290,000 — but it is a somewhat larger increase compared with 1995, when specialists forecast a population of 3,250,000. According to Van der Pol’s study, the factors behind these fluctuations in population figures are explained mainly by the decline in births. Thus, while the total fertility rate was 3.1 children in 1985–1990, it is expected to be 2.1 in 2005–2010. This phenomenon is compounded by child mortality, which is close to 43 deaths per 1,000 live births. Meanwhile, average life expectancy will remain stable through 1995; by 2000, however, it will rise from 71.4 to 71.9 years. Another factor considered to affect population numbers, according to this demographic study, is emigration. By 1995, around 300,000 Albanians will be outside their homeland, while this figure will fall in the following five-year period, reaching 50,000 people. After 2000, emigration is assumed to be 0. The structure of Albania’s population itself will also undergo significant changes in the coming years. “These are the changes of an accelerated transition that Albania’s population will face in order to join Europe after its long isolation,” Ylli Vjesiu, Vice-President of the Academy of Sciences, told Gazeta Shqiptare. Thus, while the number of deaths will remain at a stable level, their profile will change considerably: more elderly people and fewer children will die. The population group aged over 60 will also grow. Rapid changes will also occur in the ratio of the rural population to the urban population, clearly favouring the latter. An.Stë/Ar.Me.

Albanian and Greek police search for the killers A Greek man brutally murdered at home Albanian and Greek police search for the killers The merchant’s mystery A Greek man brutally murdered at home TIRANA — An extraordinary investigation into the crime of the week in Tirana. For more than 150 hours, a Greek citizen — murdered in the Albanian capital by one of his compatriots — remained merely an unidentified person. Then, through a model investigation by the law-enforcement officers of the capital’s Precinct 2, almost the entire story of the crime, as well as its perpetrators, was uncovered. The latest confirmation from the Ministry of Public Order states that the killers of 30-year-old Qirjakos Dhudhis are Sotiris Apostolis, together with Jorgjica and Enrik Morina, while at present only Nikos Morina is being held, suspected of having full knowledge of the crime and its motives. The investigation that began on the morning of 2 June, after Greek citizen Qirjakos Dhudhis was found with two bullets in his head, seemed utterly hopeless. Dozens of statements would be needed to identify the victim, ultimately showing that he was a wealthy Greek who had come from Canada to conduct business in Albania and perhaps had $700,000 with him. But this time his fate as a foreigner — like that of many wealthy foreigners who often become targets of bandit attacks — took a different turn. A remarkable investigation at the home of the foreign Greek citizen, also a merchant, Sotiris Apostolis, finally untied the knot of the mystery. It was only a section of repainted wall that escaped neither the eye of the professional investigator. There, within minutes, one of the bullets that killed the Greek Dhudhis was found — and it finally revealed the names of those implicated. The law-enforcement authorities immediately detained the only one who had remained in Tirana: the father of Jorgjica Morina, wife of Greek citizen Sotiris Apostolis. According to sources at the Ministry of Public Order, Apostolis, together with Jorgjica and Enrik Morina — his son — is suspected of having left for an unknown destination, perhaps for their homeland, Greece. Meanwhile, another report — although unofficial — confirms that another Greek citizen implicated in the “Dhudhis case” was found hanged in a Greek village very close to the Albanian border. This new fact, together with the possibility that the crime was committed to obtain the $700,000, may nevertheless bring the mystery fully to light, although the Albanian and Greek police and Interpol have now joined forces. This concerns only the final part of the mystery, because most of it has already been uncovered, thanks to the Albanian investigators. (e.D)

Laç, the great pilgrimage today TIRANA — This is the story of a holy place, steeped for centuries in the admiration of believers of all three faiths, who go there to witness the miracle, a kind of “Albanian Lourdes.” According to a tradition reaching back to the depths of the distant Middle Ages, the two holy sites near Laç — the cave of Shna Vlashit and the Shrine of Shna Ndout — are able to cure people’s illnesses. The disabled, the poor, and those suffering from illnesses considered incurable swear that they have been able to speak with God and explain their troubles to Him. And many of them, according to tradition, have been heard by God, who has delivered them from serious illnesses. The annual pilgrimage will take place again today — 12 June is the feast day of Shna Ndout — with many believers attending, this time at the Shrine, renovated some time ago through an initiative promoted by the Albanian Catholic Church. Catholic tradition links the history of the holy place with that of the Franciscan Convent founded in Sebaste around 1349. The church in Sebaste, besides being a before the demolition initiative began. The large crowds of people who, despite the Party’s propaganda, continued to perform the ritual at the holy place kept growing. So a quick solution was found. The entire surrounding area was fenced off with barbed wire and declared a “military zone.” A year later, the church and the cave were blown up with dynamite. Nevertheless, the miracle of the blessed place continued for a long time. By then the church had been reduced to a … of Michala, promoted by the Albanian Catholic Church. Catholic tradition connects the history of the holy site 1349. Besides being a well-known pilgrimage site, the church in Sebaste has witnessed the long and troubled history of the Albanians. For a time, the famous Gjeçovi served here; he was later killed by the Serbs. The flames of the Second World War did not spare the “beneficent church” either. In 1944 it was burned by German troops. Over the last 30 years, the sanctuary has had no better fate than the hundreds of church institutions forcibly closed during the communist campaign against religion. Indeed, the Sanctuary of Shna Ndou is remembered as the first holy site closed by the government of the time. Few people know that it was closed in 1966, one year… … and surrounded by the church and the chapel blessed place continued for a long time. Although the church was now reduced to a pile of ruins, people’s faith in the miraculous nature of this place continued. Once again, Shna Ndou continued to pray to God for the healing of human suffering. They say that someone there took advantage of the believers’ determination to speak with the Saint. Soldiers, tired of the monotony of military service and discipline, would hold out their hands and take the symbolic gifts that believers had left as a sign of devotion. For the soldiers of that time, who were badly in need of everything, this was, after all, a kind of blessing, and not an insignificant one. As for those who had to leave again, Shna Ndou remained the benefactor. (p.re.)

SHKODËR, ALARM OVER ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION — Shkodër environmentalists have raised the alarm over widespread pollution and damage to the environment recorded in their city. Particular concern has been expressed about the condition of Lake Shkodër, which, according to the environmentalists, is threatened by rampant, unauthorized fishing. Extensive damage has also been observed in the area’s forests as a result of abusive logging. TIRANA, 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF SAMI FRASHËRI’S DEATH COMMEMORATED — A special commemorative meeting marking the 90th anniversary of Sami Frashëri’s death was held in Tirana by the Albania-Turkey Friendship Association and the National Library. At the meeting, many historians spoke about this distinguished patriot and thinker, as well as a number of his well-known works. BERAT, ARMED ROBBERY OF A CITIZEN — Edmond Bega, from Cerma in Lushnjë, was threatened with a knife and then robbed by an unknown person. Bega, recently returned from Italy, was leaving his father-in-law’s house when a man pointed a knife at him, took his car, watch and 300,000 lire, and then held him hostage in a house. Fortunately, the robber, who drove off in Bega’s car, collided with another vehicle. The accident enabled the police to identify the robber, who fled in an unknown direction.

TIRANA — Another money changer in Tirana was robbed by force. This time, the victim of the armed gang was a man around 40 years old from District 42, from whom, on the stairs of his apartment building at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, they snatched a bag containing the equivalent of $25,000. After injuring the victim on the head with blunt objects, the robbers immediately drove off in their car. It is confirmed that law-enforcement authorities have identified the perpetrators and are now pursuing them. Just a few days ago, another money changer in Tirana was robbed of around $9,000. (p.re.)

A total of 250,000 people killed ON PAGE 2

TIRANA — The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Dhimitër Anagnosti, has departed for Austria. The Albanian minister will take part in the official opening ceremony of the exhibition “Albania, the Land of the Albanians.” The event, considered one of the most important events for Albanian culture abroad this year and the latest of its kind, will be held in a historic medieval castle in the state of Niederösterreich. During his visit, Anagnosti will also hold working meetings with senior Austrian officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture.

A bureaucratic... adventure TIRANA — “They told me they wouldn’t renew my professional operating permit. The only document I presented was from Tirana and not from Durrës,” Arlën Minarolli, the owner of a bar near Shkëmbi i Kavajës, tells Gazeta Shqiptare about his bureaucratic and rather strange adventure from Tirana to Durrës. Ardiani is one of the businessmen who have received commercial credit from SMEAs. On the eve of the summer season, he began his private activity, equipped with all the other documents required in such cases. Everything went smoothly, and when it was time to renew the papers, everything was in order. Just as his season was getting underway, however, the old problem arose. And this is precisely where his odyssey began, until an absurd response came: “We won’t give you a permit because you’re not from Durrës.” Ardiani, who in fact lived in another city, had now turned to the state institutions; as the negligence was quite real, he has now appealed to the Republic’s highest state authorities, right up to the Presidency of the Republic. Adriatik’s case is the first conflict of its kind between him and the local authorities in Durrës, who have decided not to issue him a permit to open his business. This is part of the difficulty of the present day, when many people are waiting for things to be put right. Every day, officials in their offices have to resolve problems that have been carried over from the past and have resurfaced. In the course of this great deal of work, of course, not everything will end well. In some cases, as this report about Adriani suggests, the story may sound extraordinary; yet for a businessman today it could be compared with a case of this kind, along with the right to a permit that remains undefined and absurd in the present-day system. (Text partly illegible)