The Greek Foreign Minister arrives in Tirana Serreqi - Papulias: “How can we reconcile?” Meetings begin between the Albanian and Greek delegations ■ Closed-door talks between the two ■ Today Berisha will receive the Greek delegation TIRANA - “I am not talking about a new phase, but about a period of review of Albanian-Greek relations,” Minister Serreqi did not want to appear overly enthusiastic during his first conversation after several months of cooling relations with his Greek counterpart. The two met yesterday in the early afternoon at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tirana. First, a tête-à-tête meeting, followed by the start of talks that continued for several hours. Only at this point were journalists allowed to attend the most important meeting between the two countries in recent times. Serreqi described Papulias’s visit as “evidence of the political will to improve Albanian-Greek relations and to show enthusiasm and moderation in show enthusiasm and moderation in his Greek counterpart. Meetings with Albanian members of parliament on the Foreign Affairs Committee, a reception with President Sali Berisha - just back from the Copenhagen summit - and then with Prime Minister Mecksi, at the Greek Embassy and with Archbishop Janullatos. The Greek minister was accompanied by a large team of journalists from his country. Added to volume 31 of the bloc, Papulias did not want to speak to journalists before the points of contact between him and his Albanian counterparts had been established. A packed schedule of meetings awaits the Albanian Foreign Minister today. Journalists were countries in recent times. Serreqi described Papuliassis’s relations and of the responsibilities arising from these relations, which are of mutual interest.” Serreqi also expressed a personal assessment yesterday. According to official sources, the Albanian Foreign Minister “praised Minister Papulias’s personal willingness to put an end to the gloomy and cold period in Albanian-Greek relations.” Papulias also expressed words of hope. The same official sources conveyed the substance of his brief statement in the presence of journalists. “Albanian-Greek relations are very important,” Papulias said, while also thanking the Albanians for their hospitality. “We are two neighboring states and two neighboring peoples; we must find ways of cooperation and peaceful coexistence in the interests of both countries.” The Foreign Minister is expected to follow a packed schedule of meetings and hold talks behind closed doors. p.re. The smile between Serreqi and Papulias (photo: P. Omeri)

Hygiene measures TIRANA - Fines to get the rubbish out of Tirana. Eleven managers from two Public Cleaning companies in the capital have been subjected to strict measures following the operation carried out in recent days by the Hygiene Directorate. The reason: the rules for waste collection were not observed. “There were a number of shortcomings,” Kujtim Zazo, Tirana’s director of Hygiene, told Gazeta Shqiptare. “The rubbish is not collected every day, the streets are not cleaned properly, waste is dumped in unauthorized places, and it is transported in open vehicles.” The operation by the hygiene inspectors will continue again. The Italian company that has taken responsibility for cleaning the capital is also being inspected and, according to the Hygiene Directorate, “is working well.” But it too faces obstacles. Many of the rubbish bins it has distributed throughout the city have been stolen. From the very first days, many of them disappeared without a trace. ar.me.

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BERAT - The hunger strike launched at around 10:30 yesterday by 170 workers - 100 women and 70 men - at the Textile Factory in Berat, affiliated with the Independent Trade Unions of Albania (BSPSH), lasted only a few hours. The emergency visit to the city of a thousand windows by government representatives, led by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Dylber Vrioni, produced positive results. After several hours of talks with the representatives of the strikers, the government delegation agreed to meet their demands, bringing the hunger strike to an end. Around 2,000 workers at the Berat Textile Factory - the largest of its kind in Albania - had announced a strike on the last day of February, protesting against the projects of the Enterprise Restructuring Agency, which had proposed closing the factory on the grounds that it was unprofitable. At the same time, the strikers had demanded that the jacket-making, spinning and dyeing departments not be closed, that workers not be put on welfare, and that wages be paid, along with compensation for the unpaid wages owed to 240 factory workers. The strikers’ demands also included signing a collective labor agreement and punishing corruption among the managers. According to statements by one of the textile union leaders, poor management of the factory’s operations has caused abuses amounting to 1.38 billion lekë for ... Talks with the factory managers and government representatives had not produced satisfactory results for the textile workers, who therefore decided to escalate their protest into a hunger strike. Its opening yesterday was quite harsh. Crowds of women strikers confronted police forces who tried to stop Përparim Çuedari, chairman of the Ylli Kapllani Independent Textile Union, Secretary General of the BSPSH. All the enterprises, and even the schools in the city of Berat, expressed solidarity with the textile workers’ union. But it seems that dialogue with the government representatives resolved everything. Under the agreement signed by both sides, 210 textile workers - who had been forced to leave the factory because of the reforms - will return to their jobs on 1 May. In the meantime, they and the other workers who supported the strike will be paid in accordance with Council of Ministers Decision 420. The trial operation of the jacket-making department will continue, and 38 machines will be refurbished. Other points in the agreement just signed between government officials and the Berat union members include signing a collective labor agreement and implementing the tasks assigned to the factory managers by the State Audit. An.Ste.

Gramsh, trial adjourned GRAMSH - They are accused of killing their father and are now before the court. But the trial opened in Gramsh against the two brothers lasted only a few days, as the presiding judge suspended it, requesting a medical expert’s report on one of the defendants. The shocking incident had taken place several months earlier. What began as a simple argument then turned into a tragedy. B.N., the 50-year-old father of the two accused, had had a serious argument with his daughter. The two sons intervened to defend their sister and, after repeatedly striking him, killed B.N. At first they tried to conceal the serious crime by presenting it as an ordinary accident: “He fell down the stairs.” But the police investigation showed otherwise: the two sons were responsible for the 50-year-old’s death. Me.Ki.

ELBASAN - “Bring us electricity or we’ll destroy the entire line.” - “Bring us electricity or we’ll destroy the entire line.” They have expressed their frustration and warned the managers of the Electricity Enterprise in Elbasan. In fact, for two months the villagers have not paid their bills to the enterprise, accumulating a debt of 4 million lekë. As a result, the enterprise has been forced to cut off the electricity. But the villagers’ threat has also begun to show signs of becoming reality: in Shalës, villagers have started damaging the power lines. M.K

At the Ministry of Labor TIRANA—The problem of the hundreds of thousands of Albanian refugees working in Greece was on the agenda yesterday in talks between the two delegations. Although it was discussed only in principle—perhaps leaving the technical details to specialists—the draft law on legalizing Albanian migrants is now ready, and only the conclusion of the Tirana talks is awaited. This highly delicate problem between the two countries was given a prominent place in the talks between the two heads of diplomacy. Beyond the official meetings, the senior Greek official for Labor and Humanitarian Aid is meeting with senior officials from Tirana’s Ministry of Labor. The meeting—its reason is not yet known—did not take place yesterday, and official sources in Tirana have confirmed that it will be held today. The fate of hundreds of thousands of Albanians employed over the past four years in Albania’s southern neighbor will be decided by the outcome of these talks.

Eight girls detained in hotels: destined for prostitution? VLORË—Albanian girls destined for the prostitution market in Italy? That is the preliminary view of experts from the Vlorë Police Commissariat following several blitz operations carried out in the city’s hotels in recent days. Eight young women from various districts were found staying there without identification documents, and in some cases also showing signs of abuse. According to Police sources, the operations were carried out on the orders of the highest authorities responsible for public order and are expected to be only the culmination of a fierce campaign to stop the trafficking of refugees. The operation by the public-order forces—headed by Commissariat chief Mysafër Zaho—began on Sunday. The target was various hotels in the city of Vlorë, where many Albanians stay while waiting to depart for Italy by speedboat. On Sunday evening, five girls from Durrës, Shkodra, Berat, and Lushnja were detained at the “Sazani,” “Adriatiku,” and “Uji i Ftohtë” hotels; they were due to leave later for the shores of Puglia. The girls had no documents with them and appeared to have been abused—they had marks and bruises on their faces and bodies—even though they denied everything and tried to conceal it all. Yesterday they were released to return to their homes. The operation continued yesterday, when three more girls were detained. One was found at the “Sazani” hotel, while the other two were caught as they were proceeding along the coast. Today, they are expected to be collected from the Commissariat by officials from the districts they came from—Elbasan, Tirana, Fier—and by their families. En. My./ St.Ma

A huge blaze to burn the wafers TIRANA—A huge blaze to burn expired food. A total of 2.6 tons of wafers imported from Syria have been destroyed near Bregu i Lumit by the Tirana Directorate of Hygiene after their expiry date had passed. The wafers’ odyssey began in March last year, when they arrived at the Albanian border. At first everything seemed to be in order, as the expiry date was still in the future: December ’94. During this period, more than 200 boxes remained unsold, worth 364,800 lekë in total; they had all been impounded by the Financial Police and the Financial Inspectorate. a.m.

Mallakastër, 15-year-old dies from poisoning A tragic death has occurred in Mallakastër. A 15-year-old girl died after drinking fotoksinë, or medicine used to kill rats. The girl did not tell anyone the reason for her action. Gjirokastër, heavy traffic The number of accidents in Gjirokastër has reached its peak. With traffic in such a condition, the number of road accidents has also risen. The 4,000 vehicles circulating in this city, together with those coming from other districts, resulted in 12 accidents being recorded over the past year—there were 7 fatalities—and 3,554 fines. Berat, Onufri protected by rays Onufri’s icons and paintings will now be protected by electronic equipment. The Onufri Museum in the city of Berat has been allocated a sum of 7,700 dollars by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Sports to modernize its protection and alarm system in the event of theft.

FIER—They speculate by selling passports for profit. In Fier’s black market, a passport for travel abroad costs up to 9,000 lekë, while its official state price remains 200 lekë. Such a shortage of the raw materials needed to produce them has meant that this product continues to be in very high demand among the citizens of Fier. High prices have also been set for ordinary identity cards, which have not been produced for many years.

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