They had been ordered by the Albanian government; now 500 thousand dollars are needed Since ’91, 320 tons held up in a Greek port GJERGJ PILIKA TIRANA - The scandal has erupted over Chinese goods destined for Albania but held up in Greece since 1991. The shipment consists of 321.5 tons of goods worth 1.2 million dollars, ordered by the Albanian government under the clearing agreement it had long maintained with the Chinese government. The goods arrived at the port of Durrës on 19 February 1991 aboard the Danish ship “Dansus”. Two weeks later, on 2 March, unloading began. A few days later, the exodus of refugees to Italy broke out, and unloading was halted. The Danish ship, together with its remaining cargo, departed and unloaded it at the Greek port of Piraeus. Since then, despite the efforts of the Albanian governments, that cargo has remained in ... [text continues outside the frame] ... year. A sum nearly equal to half the value of the cargo itself. The Albanian foreign-trade intermediaries Makinaimport, Industria-limpëks and Transimpeks had ordered sewing machines, lining and buttons, spare bicycle parts, car tires, thermocouples and ammeters. Transshqip was supposed to pay the sea freight, but because of financial difficulties it failed to pay the shipowner the fee stipulated in the contract. After waiting in vain for several months, the latter took the matter to court at the Piraeus Court. The trial took place without representatives of the Albanian side, since the government sent no one to defend the interests of its enterprises. The case was won by the Danish shipowner and the goods were seized until all obligations had been paid in full... [The article column continues below the image boundary.] The matter was officially brought before all obligations had been paid in full. Later, groups of employers were formed and [cut-off portion] ... waited in vain for several months, then took the matter to [unclear text]. During this period, clearing the city's goods of customs duties and turnover tax [cut-off portion] 300 thousand dollars. To avoid this, the government has now asked parliament to exempt the shipment from customs duties and turnover tax. To save what can be saved. [fragment cut off above] Italian - that the then secretary of the PKI (abbr.?), Foscho Drunica, had proposed at the meeting in Rome that the money not be handed over to the Mother Party, but if it was requested, it should first be there; “better in Albania, coming from Belgrade or Budapest.” In Paris they are checking us - [cut-off portion]. [fragment cut off above] Paris. Here are apparently the officials of the Albanian Embassy, visited by their colleagues at the experimental market, which will be with Italian assistance and has, moreover, attracted the French illegal immigrants. The amount thus arrived, apparently having escaped justice. But from Italy Dinuccia immediately sends the signal: “Don't believe that man, he is a provocateur.” F. habx.

Gascoigne takes to the field Football, today the hour of two champions Samaranch wishes Bajko's team well. Tomorrow Tirana joins 40 European cities TIRANA - Today Albania's stadiums are taken over by football. And football itself is taken over by champions—young and old—who will come together in Durrës for 90 minutes. In any case, Albanian football is experiencing its finest days: a magical fax has just arrived in Tirana—[text continues outside the frame] Tirana heads to Durrës TIRANA - Tomorrow the great European cities marathon will take place, and Albania's main boulevard will also be taken over. Everything on page 3.

Prices in March TIRANA - The consumer price index for March rose by only 0.3 percent compared with the previous month. Meanwhile, the price of gasoline was found to have risen by 13.4 percent. This is according to data just published by the Institute of Statistics. Compared with the end of 1993, the index has risen by 120.94 percent. Compared with the end of last year, the price index has risen by 4.4 percent. March was the month in which medical service prices rose more than all the others: 7.6 percent, or an increase of 21.7 percent over the first months of this year. The “fruit and vegetables” group also saw a substantial increase: 2.5 percent, mainly due to the rise in the price of apples by 3.6 percent, oranges by 5.7 percent, and bananas by 6.3 percent, offset by lower vegetable prices: 19 percent for spinach and leeks, 29 percent for cucumbers and 22 percent for cauliflower. Small increases of 1.1 percent were recorded in the “meat and fish” group—as a result of beef rising by 1.3 percent and veal by 2 percent—and 0.4 percent in the “clothing and footwear” group, where men's [unclear in source] raised women's shoe prices by 3.9 percent. The “rent, water, fuel and energy” group also rose by just 0.2 percent, as a result of rents increasing by 2.2 percent. Transport and communication... [text continues outside the frame] In el.ko. [fragment cut off above] in the percentage of the “clothing and footwear” group, with women’s footwear prices rising the most, rent prices increasing by 2.2 percent. Transport and communications continued to rise during March by 0.4 percent, a figure driven by a 13.4 percent increase in gasoline prices and a 12.7 percent decrease in airfares. Meanwhile, many goods recorded lower prices during March. Prices in the “sugar, coffee, tea and spices” subgroup fell by 1.1 percent, due to a 2 percent drop in sugar prices and a 3.2 percent drop in coffee prices. Fats were also 3.3 percent cheaper last month, as cooking oil fell by 5.3 percent and butter by 1.3 percent.

The lawyer denounces it ELBASAN. A case file has made a mysterious “journey” from the Elbasan court to the Court of Appeal. In Tirana, this file arrived “cleansed” of several documents, which have repeatedly changed the course of the judicial proceedings. Lawyer Selim Beqiri denounces the case as “unprecedented” in judicial practice: “I don't know whether these documents disappeared at the Elbasan court or when the file arrived at the Court of Appeal,” he told Gazeta Shqiptare—but many documents are missing here, and as a result the Court of Appeal overturned the Elbasan court's ruling, which had been in favor of his client. A few words about a trial concerning a property dispute, which Beqiri's client had won in the court of first instance. But the Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation later ruled in favor of the other party, overturning the first decision. According to Beqiri, the cause of this outcome is the disappearance of documents that were extremely important to the case. “The documents were decisive,” the lawyer explains, “and their disappearance from the file raises serious doubts about the objectivity of the Court of Appeal's judgment.” Beqiri also protests another matter: “The Court of Appeal did not take into account the minutes from the Elbasan court, where the existence of the documents that later disappeared from the file it examined had been recorded.” Me.Ki.

After robbing a villager BERAT - A man wanted by the Tirana Prosecutor's Office has been arrested in Berat. The night before last, at around 18:00, Zhuka, 20, was stopped by police. The reason was the robbery Zhuka had committed against an elderly man, Xhavit Sanija, 60, from the village of Tunje. On Saturday, Sanija was returning home after going to the livestock market to buy a cow. At a place called Qafa e Kalasë, Zhuka confronted him, threatening him and taking all the money he had with him: 150 dollars. After the incident, the elderly villager reported it to the police, and throughout that night he rode around with the police patrol cars in search of the robber. Only after five days of searching did Zhuka fall into the trap and get arrested. It was discovered that he was the person wanted by the Tirana Prosecutor's Office, H. Ta.

Municipality in Gjirokastër GJIROKASTËR - Tense moments in Gjirokastër following a decision by the veterinary department to close the only place selling fish meat. Butchers and fish sellers even broke into the building in protest against the measure, but the decision by the Gjirokastër authorities was final: “The meat market must be closed because it risks becoming a center of infection.” Only the immediate intervention of the police and hygiene inspectors managed to prevent disorder that could have taken on serious proportions. The veterinary office immediately began cleaning and disinfecting the market. While work continues in the building, residents of Gjirokastër have been able to buy fish only along the streets of the 18 Shtatori neighborhood. Ra. Ko.

KORÇË - A toy revolver, a knife and a saw: these were the tools used to rob various people by two young men from Korçë, who were arrested yesterday by the police in this city. - A toy revolver, a knife and a saw: these were the tools used to rob various people by two young men from Korçë, who were arrested yesterday by the police in this city. The victims of the two young men, 20-year-old Armando Bezhani and Elion Filipi, were invariably people attempting to cross the border illegally to go to Greece. The robbers had often done this and then disappeared. Bezhani and Filipi had carried out their latest “attack” a few days earlier. This was clearly a robbery targeting a group of 10 people from Berat. As they were passing through the Tren area, a village near the border, the two young men appeared in front of them, seized them and took out their weapons to threaten them: a toy revolver and a knife. That was enough for them to search the victims and empty their poor pockets; in fact, they collected no more than 10,000 drachmas in total. But the people from Berat were the last victims of the two young robbers. They were caught by the police and are now in the cells of the Megji-dhatë Police Station, surrounded by numerous details about how they were identified and arrested. el.ko.

Tirana, had fired during his military service TIRANË - He had fired a rifle during his military service, killing a man, and has now been definitively sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. This was the ruling handed down yesterday by the Tirana Military Court for Taulant Hysejn, finding him guilty of “eventual murder.” Another soldier was also sentenced, as was a doctor, Florjan Shako, but only to four months for “violation of work regulations,” at a facility of particular importance, especially at this time. The incident that sent the two young men to prison happened more than a year ago, in October 1993. Hyseni and Sadiku were both new to the military unit where they were doing their compulsory service. That day, the car was about 200 meters from the unit’s checkpoint, where the two soldiers were on guard. The confrontation began there. The two young guards told the driver to leave. After an exchange of gunfire and another high-caliber weapon. At the end of the trial, the military prosecutor requested a 13-year sentence for Hyseni, but the panel of judges did not fully agree, reducing the sentence sought by the prosecution by three years. Throughout the trial, Hyseni maintained that the killing had been accidental. According to him, he had aimed his weapon at the car’s tires in order to stop it. The evidence and testimony presented in court also favored Hyseni. At the end of the trial, the prosecutor in the case the prosecution by three years.

Puka freed from the cold Spring has returned to Pukë, the cold city that has been particularly affected lately. The agricultural news agency reports that connections from Pukë to the country’s main centers have been restored to normal, and work is under way to clear the five blocked roads that remain impassable: those leading to Iballë and Fierëz. “Apollonia” seeks help “400 thousand lek are needed to save ‘Apollonia.’” The appeal comes from a well-known institution in the country’s sports world, the “Apollonia” Sports Club, whose management recently sent a letter to the Fier Municipality asking for substantial assistance, without which, they say, the club cannot survive. The managers also stated that the club has been in financial difficulty, which has even put its place in the second division—and its participation in the football championship—at risk. Saranda, hope for tourism Saranda looks ahead with hope after a press conference held in Malta by Alxhio Sherueb, president of “A.X. Holdings,” who described his interest in investing nearly 300 million dollars in the Saranda area to revive tourism. According to Maltese information, once the project he intends to carry out is completed, around 1,600 new jobs will be created in the hotel and tourism sector in Butrint and Saranda. Shereb wants the project to be seen as an Albanian-Maltese undertaking in which the two sides would work together. The project presented by the Maltese entrepreneur has been submitted to the ministers, along with dozens of requests to the Saranda District Territorial Planning Office.

The solidarity fund: how payments were made TIRANA - This is the previously unknown part of the history of the so-called “solidarity fund,” a pool of money with which the PPSH had financed, since 1961, small Marxist-Leninist groups from around the world to bring about “the triumph of the proletarian revolution.” How were payments made, and how did the money reach young European Marxists? The account presented in the PPSH archive documents had added Dinucci according to the port's beneficiaries, but the problem remains unresolved because the Greek side had charged very high storage fees, which were not justified in comparison with those applied by other European ports. In January 1993, the Albanian government, in cooperation with the Embassy in Athens, reached an agreement with the Greek government to reduce the payment to just 100 thousand dollars. This concession would be justified as “humanitarian aid for the neighboring country.” But this possibility was not approved by the Greek parliament. Now, if the 500 thousand dollars for recovering the goods were paid, along with customs duties and turnover tax—as required by law—the Albanian state would incur a total loss of nearly 300 thousand dollars. To avoid this, the government has already asked parliament to review the goods’ exemption from taxes... ... to review the goods’ exemption from taxes... [Small print in the side columns continues below the frame; many portions are illegible.]

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Shacks demolished: Roma left out in the open Feature on page 3