The mystery of the missing children widens Detailed report also on Meksi The child disappeared 2 years ago The mystery of the missing children widens Adoptions in Cassation Detailed report also on Meksi The child disappeared 2 years ago But for Luljeta the family is still waiting TIRANA — (Ed. La) — The anxiety of the Hoxha family in Tirana continues. Almost two years ago — precisely on the day when former President Alia had ordered the suspension of adoptions of Albanian children by foreigners — 7-year-old Luljeta had disappeared just a few meters from her home. Since that day, apart from the hopes that sometimes come alive again in adults, nothing has changed in the Hoxha family home. Now the father, Ganiu, no longer has his chair by the nightstand [?] of Valentinë [?], while the mother continues to work near the Shoe Factory in Tirana. Even the little toys of little Luljeta — remain in the same place, together with her one-year-larger suitcase — now hidden away somewhere, in the hope that one day she will touch them again. After also enduring the long wait following appeals published in Gazeta Shqiptare, RAI 3 or TVSH, the Hoxha family has no choice but to turn to God. “At the shores of Durrës — the mother of Luljeta believes — a man told me that my daughter was taken back by a woman and now lives with her in Athens.” Meanwhile, another person seems to have recognized the little child in Kaki-fou [?] in Follonica and saw a truck full of small children... “I am forced to believe every story that gives me even the smallest hope for my daughter,” concludes the exhausted Valentina, the mother of Luljeta, who disappeared about two years ago. TIRANA — New developments in the adoption mystery mean that soon the case will also go before the Court of Cassation. “I have of course communicated about this problem with Zef Brozi, the President of Cassation,” confirms to Gazeta Shqiptare Hmie Mare, Chairwoman of the Adoption Committee, “and I will present to him all the numbers of the decisions taken on adoptions.” Thus a new phase will begin — which of course will not be the last — in the latest scandal of illegal adoptions in Albania. The transfer of the case to Cassation will perhaps reveal many new things and uncover truths that until now have been unknown. The reopening of court proceedings could also shed light on many of the irregularities that perhaps lie hidden within the files of the decisions. For now, one of the possible hypotheses is the annulment of all decisions taken by the courts concerning adoptions. For her part, Mara herself — who is completing some checks in Albania and regarding the child — will go to court to see the decisions that were made. “I have seen the files of Vasili Paku, former deputy president of the Tirana Court,” she says — “these things are truly terrible: a child had been adopted twice.” But the review includes not only cases before March 1992 — when adoptions were legally suspended — it extends to the first days of 1994. Cases of adoptions and irregularities were also noted during 1992 and 1993. The most numerous were in Durrës, Shkodër and Tirana. The most recent case is that of the 9-year-old boy in Shkodër, where it was requested that a child be entrusted to an Italian couple. The case is now spreading widely and further. The highest Albanian authorities have also been informed. “I have also communicated with the Prime Minister,” Mara declares, “and now I am preparing a detailed report on this whole problem, which I will send to him.” Meanwhile, work is under way on the complete preparation of the documents for the children who are currently in state institutions. In compiling them, in addition to the requirements laid down by law in such cases, many other modern measures have also been taken into account. Only after the completion of the full files for the children and for the persons who have submitted requests will this Committee begin issuing adoption acts. “I want all this to be more than in order,” Mara states, “so that after the decision there will be no problem for the future, and so that what has happened until now will not happen again.” Ar. M. Little Luljeta Hoxha

Special public service TIRANA — Another project is being added — this time a special one — to Albania’s telephone revolution. Very soon, the residents of Tirana — and later those of other cities — will for the first time have the chance to make telephone calls through a magnetic card. According to a pilot project, within 45 days ten such devices will initially be installed at Tirana Central Post Office. “Citizens can buy these cards at any sales outlet,” Adrian Shëhu, Director of Albanian Telecom, tells Gazeta Shqiptare — “it will be enough to insert them into the corresponding devices and automatically the impulses will be deducted according to the minutes used during the conversation.” It is a prepaid type of call, but one that will also minimize any possibility of theft. The magnetic card devices — according to the head of Telecom — will also be valid for international calls. Thus, for the first time, magnetic cards will also appear in Albania, for now within Albanian Telecom. The pilot project is part of another more important project, which will make possible the overall restructuring of Tirana Central Post Office and later that of Durrës. e. l. Laç, 300 more numbers LAÇ — The new telephone exchange has just been inaugurated in the city of Laç, doubling the telephone lines from 200 to 500. But that is not the only advantage. During this year, according to the PTT office in that city, the previous exchange — which was cut off after every electricity outage — the new exchange can continue operating for another 6 hours after power is restored in the electrical network. After being installed by city specialists and technicians, the exchange with 200 numbers was inaugurated with 20 [?] other numbers. The installation of this exchange with 500 numbers is only the first phase of improving telephone connectivity in Laç. It will very soon be followed by the installation of another automatic exchange with 1,000 numbers. In addition to increasing the number of subscribers for domestic telephone communication, the exchange will also have connections for international telephone lines [?]. The works for installing this, more modern exchange, are expected to be completed in the third quarter of 1994.

The file is sent to the Court The millionaire was informed of the final charge: “Forgery of state documents” The file is sent to the Court Investigations into Marsel Skëndo are concluded The millionaire was informed of the final charge: “Forgery of state documents” Marsel Skëndo at the moment of his arrest EDMOND LAÇI TIRANA — The investigations against the imprisoned Albanian millionaire Marsel Skëndo are concluded. The file of the former head of the Tirana Court is now complete, and the final decision on the exact date of the trial is awaited. “Yes, my client was informed of the charge the day before yesterday,” Pirro Tota, Skëndo’s lawyer, tells Gazeta Shqiptare — “the investigation has also been concluded.” Skëndo, who arrived from Berat only a few days ago at the Prison Hospital in the capital, will await his trial while also being treated for hypertension. In the charge communicated to Skëndo and signed by him, although he considered it unacceptable, the Albanian millionaire will have to defend himself against the same accusation for which he had earlier been arrested: “forgery of official documents.” Thus the final results of the investigation, which included a series of mistakes from the outset, leave Skëndo accused, after he was investigated for three months in prison until October 26 of last year. Only after the Prosecutor General closed the file was he finally notified on October 28 of the proceedings. From now on, the case will perhaps again be in the hands of the Tirana Court and linked to the prosecutor’s office. In the Tirana prison, in the pending charges [?], there is talk of a series of documents — according to the investigative authorities — that are fake. Just one week before his arrest, in a special RAI 2 program, Skëndo had been called the first Albanian millionaire. His arrest was also accompanied by the immediate reaction of ADA co-president Zylhjen Rosh, who at that time was also under investigation by the Albanian authorities, even subject to a travel ban. Rosh — now accused as Advisor for Foreign Trade of France in Albania — had yesterday sent a letter to the Albanian Republic’s Prosecutor’s Office, asking for his own arrest as a collaborator in all ADA actions. Then for about a month Skëndo was isolated in the cells of Tirana Prison, until in early December, together with Million [?], Arin, Ahmeti and Hoti, they were sent from the “Pershid scandal” far from Tirana Prison, and isolated in the one in Berat. At that time, their removal from Tirana had been justified by the Prosecutor’s authorities as a “violation of the rules and breach of oaths.” A week earlier, the Tirana Court had deemed the “arrest measure legally grounded” against Skëndo, after lawyer Totoani’s request to revoke this measure. Skëndo is now being treated for hypertension in the Prison Hospital located in Tirana. He will thus appear in his trial, but with the original charge of the millionaire of today. For him, the charges now include, in addition to an alternative sentence of exclusion from use ranging from five days to eight years of imprisonment.

Skopje, the Prosperity figure in prison Weapons trafficking with Albania? Former political leader arrested SKOPJE — The scandal of arms trafficking with Albania is erupting again in Macedonia. On Wednesday afternoon, the prosecutor in Skopje, Zdravko Vasilev, confirmed the arrest of Mithat Emini, former secretary of the Democratic Party of Prosperity, the most important political force defending the interests of the Albanian minority. Vasilev assured that Mithat Emini, accused of trafficking arms intended for several Albanian separatist groups, was arrested “after the testimony of collaborators imprisoned in the city the previous day” by Macedonian police, who were also accused of arms trafficking. In the same investigation, on November 10 the advisor to Macedonia’s Minister of Defense, Hisen Haskaj, of Albanian nationality, was arrested, accused of espionage “for having passed information to recruiters with the security of the province, foreign secret services.” The first arrests had occurred the day before. On November 9, 1993, Macedonian police had arrested seven people, seizing 300 rifles and accusing them of having organized a weapons trafficking network with Albania, in order to supply military equipment to elements of the Albanian minority in view of a possible conflict. Macedonian sources at the time denied having found documents according to which at least 20,000 people would have joined these paramilitary units. On that occasion, general accusations of internal collaboration and against Albania were made. The very serious denunciation, accompanied by no evidence, was immediately rejected by the Ministry of Defense in Tirana. Since then, the news had faded, and now comes the report of the arrest — politically edited on Saturday — of Mithat Emini. At present, the chairman of the Democratic Party for Prosperity, representing 30 candidates from the Albanian minority living in Macedonia, is Menduh Taçi.

TIRANA — Albania will prepare to draft the joint document with all the allies in Brussels, on the Partnership for Peace Agreement. It will also send its permanent representatives to the relevant NATO bodies. This was concluded in the talks that the high-level NATO delegation — led by its assistant secretary-general Gebart Moltke — held with the Albanian Minister of Defense Safet Zhulali. Albania undertakes to take part in joint exercises, in humanitarian peacekeeping operations, as well as in the creation of airport facilities.

The woman of Croatian origin has been detained by the police Paralyzes the porter of the «Dajtit» with spray The woman of Croatian origin has been detained by the police A foreign woman... quite dangerous Paralyzes the porter of the «Dajtit» with spray TIRANA — A foreign national uses a paralytic bomb against a guard employee at the Hotel “Dajtit”. The incident occurred yesterday morning, while the hotel worker — according to internal rules — had tried to stop the Croatian Mare Djekov [?] from entering the premises of the building. It took only a moment when the unknown woman with money and Djekov, 30 years old, directed the paralytic bomb at the eyes of the guard, and the employee of the guard, Spartak Bllizi, was [ ? ] promptly. For equal with Djekov, 30 years old, they managed to stop her at the Tirana police station. After being taken to the Tirana Prison for the Croatian Djekov, after being taken to the Tirana Police, it is learned that the Croatian woman had been a renter in a house in the capital. Regarding the motive for this act, about which two whole days have passed, nothing is yet known. The criminal case has also immediately been opened by the prosecutorial authorities concerning the incident. ( e. l )

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IN SHKODRA THE CATHOLIC CEMETERIES ARE REOPENED — After a request made by the Catholic clergy of the city, the Municipality of Shkodër has decided to allow the old Catholic cemetery to resume operation. This cemetery, known as “Rrmaji,” was demolished at the beginning of the years when the communist dictatorship banned the practice of religious beliefs. The deceased are buried without distinction of religion in the city’s new cemeteries. This is why the Catholic clergy’s request also includes the rules for transporting and safeguarding the remains of Catholics from the new cemeteries to that of Rrmaji. IN THE FLOUR MILLS IN LUSHNJE, ABUSES ARE FOUND — Damages amounting to around 18 million lek have been caused to the economy through violations of administrative rules in the two flour mills in the district of Lushnje. State inspection has found, over 7 months, damage of 3,268 cubic meters of wheat; in all the other plants losses have occurred as a result of failure to respect the technological process, and criminal proceedings have been initiated against the responsible persons. IN TIRANA ALBANIAN TRADE UNIONISTS MEET WITH FRENCH TRADE UNIONISTS — Representatives of the independent electromechanics union met with representatives of the electricity and gas union “Force ouvriere”. Present were Pjesë Kostante and Bernard Xhibon. The French representatives promised assistance and cooperation to strengthen the Albanian trade union movement.

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