A packed day of visits for the German President, who arrived in Tirana yesterday The German President advises the Albanian authorities to allow more time for debate on the fundamental law — Berisha thanks his counterpart for refugees: “Their work supports families in Albania” TIRANA — “There is no need to push yourselves to ratify the Constitution as quickly as possible.” German President Herzog, on his first visit, went straight to the “heart” of Albania’s current problems, pledging that German aid to Albania would continue. According to the regular announcements issued through Albanian official information channels, Herzog also discussed the Constitution and the debate it has sparked in today’s Albanian political life with Berisha. “As an expert in the field of constitutional law,” Herzog reportedly told the Albanian authorities yesterday, “I would stress that, for example, in a country like yours, I would apply constitutional laws to the letter,” Herzog continued. “What I can suggest to you is that there should be no rush on this issue and that time should be allowed for discussion.” As for restricting the powers of the Constitutional Court, he suggested that such a move would not be acceptable in Western Europe. It was Berisha himself who first raised the sensitive issue of Albanian refugees living in Germany. Before Herzog’s visit, it had been widely reported that this delicate subject would be one of the issues tested by the two presidents. After thanking Germany for its assistance in every field, Berisha added: “I thank Germany for helping Albania by hosting Albanian emigrants; the work of each of them supports one, two, or more families in Albania.” Herzog and the German “first lady” followed their packed schedule with proverbial German punctuality. While Herzog was holding talks, he was also received by Prime Minister Meksi and met the leaders of the political parties to discuss aid, democracy, and the Balkans, troubled by war and nationalism. Meanwhile, the spouses of the two presidents continued their humanitarian visits to several of the capital’s cultural and health institutions. The text of a declaration concerning Albanian-German relations, signed by Mimozë Serraj and State Secretary Dieter Kastrup, was also made public yesterday. The declaration stated, among other things, that the two countries would implement OSCE principles and support efforts to prevent conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. “This also includes resolving the problems of Kosovo,” it said, among other points. The sensitive issue of Kosovo was also discussed at the Herzog-Meksi meeting. (photo: P. Omeri) Western Europe.” He really was the one who first opened up the acute problem facing thousands of Albanians who were in Germany. Before Herzog’s visit, reports had circulated that the delicate issue would be among the points discussed by the two presidents. While war and nationalism were discussed, the wives of both presidents continued their humanitarian visits to some of the capital’s cultural and health institutions. Yesterday, the text of a joint Albanian-German declaration, signed by Foreign Minister Serrerçi and State Secretary Dieter Kastrup, was also made public. The declaration stated, among other things, that both countries would implement the principles of the OSCE and support efforts to bring the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia to an end. “This also includes resolving the problems of Kosovo,” the declaration said. The sensitive issue of Kosovo was also discussed again at the Herzog-Meksi meeting. f.b. Diplomats and... toilets. While the husbands were engaged in diplomatic meetings, the two “first ladies,” of Albania and Germany, also made sure their toilets were elegant. On this occasion, the protocol organizers paid attention to cleaning the city. While soldiers worked through the night to clear the streets, large garbage bins finally appeared in the center of Tirana. (photo: P. Omeri)

For 20 days TIRANA — She has been missing from home since 8 February ’95. Meanwhile, her parents can now only remember the sobs of their 18-year-old daughter... as the house is burgled and several disturbing phone calls in her voice are received, apparently “revealing” her whereabouts. She has been abducted, but the motives remain mysterious. Henrieta Blloshmi, daughter of Martyr of Democracy Vilson Blloshmi, was persecuted by the communist regime in the 1970s. At midday, the National Association of Former Political Prisoners distributed a protest statement to the Albanian press, demanding “the urgent return home of the daughter of its martyr.” The news has also reached President Berisha, Interior Minister Musaraj, and the Republic’s Prosecutor, Dragoishi. According to the family of 18-year-old Blloshmi, the abduction took place at 5:50 p.m. on 8 February. Her family also reported to the police “the beige-colored car that had taken Henrieta away.” The incident was immediately reconstructed, and in the city of Burugut, Tirana, the young man Andi Koçka was detained; according to the Blloshmi family, he had abducted their daughter. But only a few days later the Prosecutor’s Office ordered the young Koçka’s release “for lack of evidence,” provoking an angry reaction from the family as well as the National Association of Former Political Prisoners. “The girl is being held after being abducted, while the abductor walks free,” the statement distributed yesterday said. In any case, a young woman has been missing from her family since 8 February. Meanwhile, her teachers continue to “painfully skip over” her name during the daily roll call... (e.l)

Pëllumbi: “We have not drawn up any list of ministers” Ceka: “We have not submitted any names. Political alliances will be discussed only after the parliamentary elections” TIRANA — Heated debate, reactions, and controversy: this was the response from several opposition political forces and individuals whose names appeared on the shadow-government list of the Socialist Party, published yesterday by a daily newspaper. The Socialists were the first to react sharply. The PS deputy chairman himself — whose name appeared on the list as a possible future President — spoke in strong terms. “No such list exists,” Pëllumbi said yesterday. “Indeed, there have been no discussions with any other political force, whose representatives are mentioned in the purported list.” The Socialists took their argument further. According to Pëllumbi, someone from the other camp, that of the Socialists’ political opponents, had an interest in publishing the news, which he insisted on calling deliberate disinformation for specific political purposes. “I think,” Pëllumbi continued, “that this has only one explanation: the complicated situation within the Democratic Party as its Extraordinary Conference approaches. There seem to have been two aims: through this diversion, to create divisions among us, and also between our party and the other opposition parties.” Pëllumbi hinted that the Socialists had concrete suspicions about certain people who may have prompted publication of the news, but did not mention any names. The leader of the Democratic Alliance, Ceka, responded on behalf of his party. Ceka noted that in the published shadow government he was listed as a possible Minister of Defense. “Anyone in Albania can draw up as many such lists as they like,” Ceka said yesterday, “especially since the one published is not based on any reliable source of information. I do not believe any serious party would concern itself with drawing up such things. We have not submitted any names, and we are not making any kind of alliance now. The Democratic Alliance has repeatedly and clearly stated its political position regarding the country’s future government: we will decide solely on the basis of the results of the upcoming parliamentary elections.” The list once again brought one of the smaller parties into the spotlight, a party whose name had not appeared in the news coverage of current politics for some time: the Agrarian Party. One of its representatives, Prof. Lifter Xhuvelli, was assigned the Agriculture portfolio. Xhuvelli himself declined to say much about the matter. “I know nothing about this post that I’m supposedly going to get in the future,” he said simply. c.bo/ fa.bax Pëllumbi Ceka

PD meetings FIER — Selami has travelled again to defend his position, which has sparked debate and controversy within the Democratic Party. Yesterday Fier was a stop on Selami’s packed tour. As of late last night, no confirmed information was yet available about how the debate in Fier had gone or its final results. At the last two meetings in the districts, Selami had presented his arguments on the Constitution and on combining the two posts of Prime Minister and party chairman. The atmosphere among the Democrats — the latest meetings had been in Korçë and Elbasan — had been heated. Once again, it seems that the proposal approved by the PD National Council has won greater numerical support.

The father of a 16-year-old speaks “Goodbye to everyone; now I’m leaving you in peace”: these were the last words written by a 16-year-old boy last night in a notebook he had bought just two days earlier. His family found him lifeless, surrounded by a pool of blood. Mehmet Gegeli had suffered for a long time from paralysis that prevented him from moving like everyone else. The 16-year-old had only reached seventh grade. His limited physical and intellectual development had delayed his starting school at the usual age. Mehmet liked political literature and mathematics; a week before his suicide he had shyly asked his father whether he could get him a computer. Here is the grieving father’s account, just days after the tragedy. MENTOR KIKIA LIBRAZH — The conversation with the 16-year-old, recorded at the Gollhë family home, unfolds amid the grief of that day. Here is what his father, Gegeli, recounted. When did you find your son dead? “My wife and I returned home around midnight. Everything was quiet. The boy was lying in bed. It looked as if he had fainted, but then we saw that he was covered in blood. In fact, the bullet had hit him directly in the head, and then they found the pistol.” What did you find? Had he left anything written? “There was a sheet of paper lying across the table, next to a black notebook, on which was written in capital letters: ‘Goodbye to everyone; now I’m leaving you in peace.’” What kind of relationship did he have with his friends? “... [passage unclear in the source]. At that age, the others were able to walk, while he ... [passage unclear in the source]. Meanwhile...” The conversation with Mehmet’s father continues in the right-hand column: The 16-year-old was enrolled in seventh grade. His friends kept him close and included him in their games, although he often could not keep up. But Mehmet was very intelligent, did very well in his studies, and liked chess, police films, and karate. Did he suffer because of his disability? “Certainly, but he never showed it. In the family we treated him as an equal and fulfilled every wish he had. Perhaps that also made him think that this ‘privilege’ came from his disability.” How was he in his final days? “I had no premonition that anything was wrong. Everything was as before, but his inner anguish must have been great. The contents of the letter he left showed that he felt like a burden on the family; that apparently tormented him. Only now have I managed to learn that my son was much more withdrawn than I had thought.”

The sixth escapee is found TIRANA — The man who, according to investigators, may have organized the mass escape from Tirana Prison is back behind bars. Only minutes had passed since this news broke when the iron gate of Tirana Prison opened once again for another of the 20 prisoners who had flown out through a window of Tirana Prison on the evening of 15 January ’95. He is 41-year-old Ylli Zavalani, sentenced by an Albanian court to nine years in prison for “appropriation on a large scale and fraud.” Having enjoyed only 44 days of “freedom,” he now faces the additional old charge of “escape from the place of imprisonment,” which could add a further two years to his sentence, up to a maximum of eight years. “It is thought that Zavalani was one of the organizers of the major escape from the Prison,” said Petrit Fusha, head of the investigation team, immediately after the sixth escapee was caught. According to initial reports, Zavalani was apprehended at around 10:30 p.m. on Monday at a relative’s home on “Siri Kodra” Street, where he was making final preparations to leave Albania. Once again, the successful operation is credited to officers of the capital’s Police Station 3, who had also tracked down and returned another of the 20 escapees to cell block 313. The number of people arrested following the 15 January ’95 escape from Tirana Prison has thus reached 24. In addition to the six escapees, now back behind bars, 16 members of the staff of Tirana Prison and Unit 88 have also been held criminally responsible in connection with the same case. The investigation, which investigators say is in its final stages, has resulted in only Halit Ago and Osman Qordja being released from prison: two prison employees whose remand measure was changed from detention to “house arrest” on health grounds and due to the evidence. Edmond Laçi

YESTERDAY IN ALBANIA He had been wanted since September last year for the murder of a 50-year-old man from Lushnja. He was caught exactly five months later, in his own city of Berat. The man accused of this serious crime is named Hasan Radani and was recently arrested. Two found in the waters of a canal after a week An unidentified person has been found drowned near the village of Kuqan—along the “Naum Panxhi” canal. Investigations have begun immediately and are also being linked to another person, who was found drowned only a few days ago. The first was a former inmate of the notorious Spaç Prison. Korçë, a sarcophagus is discovered The sarcophagus found quite by chance in the village of Barç, Korçë, was almost ancient. The farmer—the protagonist of this discovery—came across it while working the land. The discovery was immediately made known to ethnographers in Tirana, who state that “the object belongs to an era that is not well known.”

The policeman in front of the children FIER — He wanted to explain to a group of children how actors in films use revolvers, but accidentally shot himself. It happened in Fier to the 22-year-old police officer A. Bano. “Why aren’t actors afraid of revolvers?” the children asked innocently. The unfortunate policeman then removed the magazine from his weapon and... pointed it at the others. Details of this shocking incident were confirmed by information from the Fier Police Station. It was a fatal gesture, intended to satisfy the children’s curiosity. “This is how,” were the policeman’s last words as he pulled the trigger. A single bullet, which had been “sleeping” in the chamber, caused the tragedy. Bano collapsed to the ground, dead on the spot. The children, waiting to satisfy their curiosity, rushed away in terror at the scene that had suddenly unfolded before their eyes. Me.Ki.

TIRANA — Explosive in an apartment building. Panic and terror for the residents of a building in Laprakë, who on Sunday evening were forced to abandon their homes by a terrible explosion. — Explosive in an apartment building. Panic and terror for the residents of a building in Laprakë, who on Sunday evening were forced to abandon their homes by a terrible explosion. The explosive device was at the door of one of the families in the building; fortunately, apart from broken windows and minor injuries to people, there was no other damage. Perhaps the building’s prefabricated construction did not “help” the attackers, who—according to the statements of the “victims” of this attack—must have got the address wrong. (e.l)

DIALOGUE Alba in Pipa’s arms Today, Gazeta TV is being distributed, the insert of “Gazeta Shqiptare” which was not published on Sunday because of technical problems. Starting next Sunday, the weekly TV schedule will be published regularly. From pages 3 to 6 Photograph of Alba

Here is who saves the most money in Albania The Tirana resident comes first On page 7 Job offers and opportunities for traders On page 7