Schools, hospitals and telephone services to stop for one hour Today, from 11:00 to 12:00, more than 70,000 workers will leave work Emergency and resuscitation services for patients are guaranteed. Telephone connections between cities via exchanges will not operate TIRANA - Albania at a standstill for one hour. Today throughout the country, from 11:00 to 12:00, tens of thousands of employees in Education, Telecommunications and Health - all members of the Independent Unions - will stop work and go on a general strike. Schools will be emptied, telephone connections with the districts will not work, while in hospitals work will continue only in the emergency departments. The demand is the same for everyone: a wage increase of up to 35 percent and wage indexation. Today’s strike is the longest the union activists have staged so far - a 24-hour strike is planned for 22 April, when all these sectors will stop work for 24 consecutive hours. “And if no solution is reached by then,” the leaders of the Unions tell the Albanian Newspaper, “our protest will continue until our demands are met.” According to figures provided by the Independent Union, more than 70,000 employees will leave their workplaces at 11:00 today to protest. Those in Education - about 44,000 people - will abandon their classrooms and suspend lessons. The situation is more complicated in telecommunications. Telephone exchange operators will pull out the plugs and, for 60 minutes, absolutely no intercity connections will work. Only those districts that communicate with one another through automatic connections will be unaffected. The health system will continue to operate, albeit in a reduced capacity. From 11:00 until the strike ends, only the Emergency and resuscitation departments will be on standby. Meanwhile, a reduced number of other doctors and nurses - outside these departments - will remain at their posts to help patients in any eventuality. Today’s strike was announced last Thursday, following a lengthy meeting of the National Council of the Independent Unions. Armand Mero The BSPSH headquarters in Tirana

Partizani back in the UEFA zone Football, matches of Week XXIV Everything about the Italian Football Championship On page 4 A page of news from other sports around the world On page 4 “Teuta” celebrates the victory

Statement Athens pleased with Berisha TIRANA - Greek diplomacy immediately responded with an optimistic statement to the President’s celebration

Socialists at their parliamentary group meeting yesterday PS opposes privatization through vouchers. Yesterday, at a meeting of their parliamentary group, although the final word on the position of their parliamentary group will be given by the group’s specialists, Dokle does not hesitate to make his case about the results this will bring

Appeal from Mati “I want to take my dead brother’s body” MATI - “Help me retrieve the body of my deceased brother.” This is the appeal made through the Albanian Newspaper by Haxhi Lulka, from

TIRANË - Greek diplomacy immediately responded with an optimistic statement to Albanian President Sali Berisha’s celebration of the end of its support among the Serbs and Kosovo, devastated by a brutal conflict. Yesterday, the spokesperson for the Athens Government, Elefteros Venizellos, spoke in person. Prompted by the Greek press’s extraordinary interest, he also stated that “the declarative climate of Mr. Berisha is truly particularly positive... The Greek Government would like to express its satisfaction, for its part, with the way the President of Albania is now addressing the problem. Greece knows what its role in the Balkans is and recognizes its comparative advantages. Its basic objective is to do everything possible, within the framework of bilateral contacts and international and regional organizations, to help stability in the region.”

Dokle: “It should be done by law” TIRANË - The Socialists oppose privatization through vouchers. Yesterday, at a meeting of their parliamentary group, where their economics and finance specialists discussed the matter, they said they had reservations about this method of privatization. TIRANË - The Socialists oppose group, where their economics and finance specialists discussed the matter, they said they had reservations about this method of privatization. “We are concerned about the way privatization is generally being carried out here,” Namik Dokle, chairman of the Socialist parliamentary group, explained to Gazeta Shqiptare. “In principle, we accept privatization through vouchers, a method that has also been applied in many Eastern European countries. But we disagree with the way it is being implemented and, more generally, with the entire privatization process so far in Albania: without a parliamentary law, without a defined strategy, but through presidential decrees.” While the specialists in their group will have the final say on the position of their parliamentary group, Dokle does not hesitate to express his opinion about the results this method of privatization will bring for those who receive privatization vouchers. “We will indeed receive a share of the national wealth,” Dokle says, “but we will be forced to sell the vouchers for three times more than the price at which we received them, and then those who will benefit most from the privatization of the economy will be the people who already have large sums of money in their hands. And this makes this method of privatization uncertain.” “This position, also expressed on other occasions by the Socialists, seems likely to give rise to considerable debate in parliament during the forthcoming approval of President Berisha’s decree. Other political forces have also expressed reservations and doubts about Albania’s privatization strategy so far. Will the Socialists vote in parliament against privatization through vouchers? “I cannot say that for now,” explains the chairman of the Socialist parliamentary group, “but one thing is certain: we will express our reservations and suggestions.”

MAT- “Help bring back the body of my deceased brother!” MAT- “Help bring back made through Gazeta Shqiptare by Haxhi LLuka, from Gur i Bardhë in Mat. His brother, Hamit LLuka, died in Italy. But for four months he has remained in the morgue in Bari because the family has no money to arrange his transport to Albania. “I’ve gone everywhere,” says Haxhiu, “but there’s been no solution. Even at the state enterprise that handles the repatriation of refugees’ bodies, they told me they are not responsible. I only want my brother’s body; perhaps I could work there until I’ve earned the money,” Haxhiu appeals.

TIRANË - He had robbed a Tunisian and now the Trial Panel sentences him to 3 years in prison. TIRANË - Brilliant Iljazi, who admitted during the trial to having stolen 3 million lek from the director of the Third World Charity Association. Taking advantage of the fact that his mother worked in the Tunisian man’s house, Iljazi copied the key to the foreigner’s house and went inside intending to steal a large sum of money. However, suspicion was aroused immediately inside the house, and now he will face the court’s decision to deprive him of 3 years of his freedom.

Tomorrow’s decision TIRANA - It seems that the “battle” by Albanian journalists against high taxes will escalate further. Following the first public protests and steps toward more forceful forms of protest, the heads of some of the country’s best-known newspapers and the Association of Professional Journalists of Albania—which was among the first to protest energetically against the high taxes immediately after the cost of printing newspapers increased—have decided to meet tomorrow at a special meeting to discuss the extremely delicate situation and approve a coordinated set of measures to be taken to improve the state of the press. “What form of protest will be decided on, and what path might be taken to resolve this situation, will be decided tomorrow,” they told the newspaper. The association supports holding a joint protest, and if tomorrow at ... [a meeting] to which all newspaper editors-in-chief and publishers are invited.

The place where the fire started TIRANA - The National Theatre in Tirana was at risk of catching fire on Saturday evening. The cause was the city’s cleaners, who lit a fire to keep warm near the corner of an office[?] on the building’s outer side (as seen in the photo). The wall, which is in one of the theatre’s wood-panelled areas, did not withstand the flames for long. They quickly began to penetrate inside. At that point the alarm went off and a firefighter[?] A[?] rescuers intervened[?], who had set up[?] to prevent the carelessness[?] from turning into a catastrophe.

Court TIRANE - He had robbed a Tunisian and now the Trial Panel sentences him to 3 years in prison. It is 20-year-old Bri-

A 35 percent wage increase and indexation in line with the rate of inflation are the two issues that have led more than 70,000 workers to strike today. According to the senior leaders of the Independent Union, these demands are entirely achievable. Although previous talks with the Government have not led to any concrete solution - especially on the issue of a wage increase - union representatives hope that there is room to reach an agreement. How does the Government respond? So far, the Government’s position has remained unchanged: “For this year, an increase of only 10 percent has been planned. We have no other options. This amount for increasing employees’ wages is provided for in this year’s budget.” Nevertheless, the Government has expressed its willingness to engage in dialogue.

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Turkish Defense Minister in Tirana “Albania is the most trusted country for us in the Balkans.” This is what Turkish Defense Minister Mehmet Golhan said, who arrived in Tirana yesterday at the head of a military delegation. A memorandum of cooperation in the field of defense is expected to be signed on the occasion of this visit. Turkey is currently the country that has provided the greatest military assistance to Albania. In just the past four months, the two countries have exchanged visits by military delegations at every level. “Camp” of the best doctors Fushë-Kruja will host the country’s best medical specialists for a ten-day period, until 17 April. This is an initiative sponsored by the Islamic Community and the Bektashi Teqe of this area, which aims to help poor patients. In fact, in addition to a free consultation, patients will also be given a complete course of treatment to take home, naturally free of charge. Elbasan’s three police officers found guilty Two years in prison for one police officer and six months’ imprisonment, suspended, for two of his colleagues. This was the decision of the Elbasan military court, which ruled on the charges against the three police officers: Y. Sina, G. Duka and A. Hermia. All three had been charged following the killing of a citizen from Peqin.