After Xhixha and Shehi, the newspaper’s accountant too The investigation into the 400,000 dollars intended for a printing house widens further TIRANA - The temporary calm in the “ZP” case has been broken. Specifically, after 25 days, investigators have ordered a third arrest, this time of the “ZP” accountant, Fatbardha Carkanji. Thus, after the former editor-in-chief of “ZP”, Përparim Xhixha, and former finance officer Drita Shehi, another employee of the socialists’ newspaper is now obliged to remain at home, following the same charge of “abuse of office”, relating to the case of the 400,000 dollars which many months ago had been earmarked for the purchase of a printing house in Canada. As confirmed at “ZP”, Carkanji had been summoned to the Prosecutor’s Office for questioning. At 11 o’clock, when the “ZP” accountant was escorted to the investigators, they had already arranged for Fatbardha Carkanji to be informed of the charge and the security measure: “confinement at home with pay”. Because of the secrecy of the investigation, the Prosecutor’s Office only confirms that the third arrest concerns the same charge brought against Xhixha and Shehi, without confirming whether there are other details relating to the suspicions and her responsibility in the case of the 400,000 dollars. A few days ago—immediately after Xhixha and Shehi were charged criminally—the Prosecutor’s Office stated that this case would also have to undergo a financial investigation, necessarily to be carried out by experts. Perhaps the long period of calm in the “ZP” case can be attributed precisely to this financial investigation, during which other details may have been verified, including those that Fatbardha Carkanji, the “ZP” accountant, would have to testify about. In particular, the experts’ investigation may have encountered difficulties over what has for some time been the hottest point of debate between the reporting body—the State Audit Commission—and the accused themselves in the case of the 400,000 dollars: ownership of the money, which had been intended to purchase the “ZP” printing house in Canada. The Chairman of the State Audit Commission himself stated that this money belonged to the famous “solidarity fund” and therefore to the state; unfortunately, the newspaper’s representatives maintained the opposite, namely that the money was their property, as was the decision about how it could be used. A mystery which, although arrests have now been made, still remains unresolved.

INTERVIEW The PBDNJ chairman speaks Melo: “The departure of the five could benefit Omonia” SARANDA - The Governing Council of the Omonia organization has met, but has made no decision regarding the case of the five. Representatives of the Greek community in Albania met a week ago to discuss the delicate question of whether the five should or should not be present in politics. The weekly meetings, as confirmed by one of the five leaders of the organization, Qiriazi, have been held to prevent the pardoned convicts from returning to Omonia’s ranks. It seems the reaction has been strong, since the Council meeting can be described as extraordinary. After yesterday’s meeting, Qiriazi said that the decision was to make no decision. He stated that this position had been agreed upon at the Conference. Qiriazi did not fail to say that it would be appropriate if the five, convicted for Omonia’s political activities, and Simo N. Drita, who act solely for their own political interests, were to leave Omonia’s political life; he also left open discussion of his post as chairman of Omonia’s largest branch, that of Gjirokastër. TIRANA - “Perhaps the departure of the five from Omonia’s political life would be in Omonia’s own favor.” While this is not being debated in Gjirokastër, where the issue is the political status of the five, in Tirana it is Vasil Melo himself, chairman of the PBDNJ, the party closest to Omonia, who comments on what has happened in the minority organization following the Court of Cassation’s widely publicized decision to release them. “Some may have thought so,” Melo adds, “but someone else may have been motivated by other reasons.” As for Omonia, which is the organization of the five political convicts, Melo says that the PBDNJ is also interested in the matter, as it is of public concern. It seems the PBDNJ has been absent from the southern minority in recent times... “That is not true, because the Greek minority organization is very much divided within the minority. The truth is that the entire minority has supported our party, and I believe it will support us in the new elections as well. Mr. Qiriazi himself declared this when he said, ‘We support the PBDNJ,’ because it is the only party that has consistently defended the rights of the Greek minority, rights that are also in accordance with international documents.” You say Omonia will support us in the South, while Qiriazi has said: “No one has the right to speak on behalf of the Greek minority”... “I don’t think there is any contradiction between these two things. I believe that in this case Qiriazi wanted to express the idea that Omonia, the lawful organization of the Greek minority in Albania, is the only such organization that represents it and is entitled to speak for it. Omonia is now seeking to clarify the political situations taking shape ahead of a new election. It would be better for all its policies to be clarified in light of the situation. I believe its leadership has enough responsibility, discernment, maturity and wisdom to know how to resolve these problems constructively and maintain unity within its ranks.” How do you explain today’s debate over the fate of the five? “The issue of the five within Omonia and the debate that has arisen have various causes. I believe these are connected to the five’s current position. Their conditional release, which also means that they remain convicted, may have led someone to think they should leave political life, which would benefit Omonia itself and improve its image in relation to the Albanian state. Someone else may have been motivated by other reasons. I believe that Omonia will be able to resolve this situation in accordance with its statutes.” How do you see the future of relations between the PBDNJ and Omonia? “We continue to have very good relations with Omonia. Nothing has changed in the relationship we have had since the March elections, when we were strongly supported by it. In the next elections, too, our principal support will come from the minority.” Vasil Melo ...to speak on its behalf. Our party does not speak on behalf of the Greek minority. It has spoken through its political representatives. We have consistently supported the demands of the Greek minority. As an example, we can mention Omonia’s declaration addressed to the President, in which it requested the rights belonging to the Greek minority. Qiramazati made that declaration mainly to show organizations that they cannot speak on behalf of Omonia, not to our party.” Is Omonia in crisis today, or is it seeking its identity? “I think Omonia is clear about its identity, but during this transitional period problems and concerns have arisen, and this organization has not escaped them. Especially after the events of last April 18, when most of its members were checked and its offices were searched. It was precisely at this time that difficult situations were created for it. Omonia is now seeking to clarify the political situations taking shape ahead of a new election. It would be better for all its policies to be clarified.” Are arrests among the Greek minority being discussed? Qiriazi... “Not yet. Omonia is clear about its identity, but during this transitional period problems and concerns have arisen, and this organization has not escaped them. Especially after the events of last April 18, when most of its members were checked and its offices were searched. It was precisely at this time that difficult situations were created for it.”

“Mother’s Heart” triumphs Flloko and Xhuvani are the best TIRANA - “I have no words. My success is due first and foremost to the great talent of Tina Kurti. She is an example for our generation of teachers.” Besnik Bisaku, director of the winning film at the Film Festival, can barely hold back his tears of emotion. It is 10 p.m. at the Palace of Congresses—the winners are about to come forward and take their places. Everyone on the podium bows respectfully before the wonderful audience gathered for the festival, as the Jury Chairman, the well-known Sulejman Pita, reads out the names of the best: “Mother’s Heart”, directed by Besnik Xha; best actress, Luiza Xhuvani; best actor, Timo Flloko; best cinematographer, Mihal Rama; best production designer, Arben Basha; first prize for direction of an animated film, Artur Daushi; best screenplay, Gjergj Xhuvani; best makeup artist, Dashamir Turku; best young cinematographer, the youngest, Gjeta. The jury awarded special prizes for historical documentaries and songs, and for the best actors; direction went to Nasrani. Brodoniku and Roshi received lifetime achievement awards. A scene from the winning film “I am pleased with the first prize, but we shouldn’t have had to wait so long; the celebrations were delayed for everyone,” were the first words of Timo Flloko, a familiar face on the Albanian stage. Alongside him was the Festival’s best actress, Luiza Xhuvani. “I had a difficult role overall, but that is precisely where its beauty lies.” Once again, the children’s section was noticeable during the awards ceremony. Many of them had come that evening, eager to show more than just a glimpse of their filmmaking activities together. Arlinda Causholli A scene from the winning film (photo: H. Pustina)

The epicenter was in Greece KORÇË - Fear and panic over earthquakes have returned. Yesterday, a powerful tremor measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale, centered in Greece, in Saitika—about 150 kilometers from the Greek-Albanian border—shook the entire southeastern part of Albania. Fortunately, no damage was reported, while in Greece 15 people were injured and dozens of houses destroyed. In Albania, the places hit hardest by the earthquake were once again—as after the May tremor—the cities of Korçë and Pogradec, although the waves were also felt in Tirana. The strongest shock came at around 10:30 and caused panic among residents of the cities, who rushed out of apartment buildings and local establishments. Another wave was felt at around 14:00, but it was lighter than the first. The fact that there have been earthquakes within just a few days has increased fear and anxiety. In Pogradec, there has even been talk of a drop in the level of the lake, although this phenomenon had already appeared several months ago. But what do the specialists say? “Albania, and the Balkans as a whole, is known to be a seismic zone,” Eduard Sulztanova, a specialist at the Seismology Institute in Tirana, explains to the Albanian Gazette. “Nevertheless, yesterday’s earthquake is surprising because it occurred in an area that even Greek researchers do not consider seismic.” How can this frequency of earthquakes be explained? “The earthquakes that occur in our area have several phases. First come the light tremors, or foreshocks, such as those on May 9 may have been. Then comes the peak, the main shock, like yesterday’s. After that, the phenomenon continues until the accumulated energy is released through the aftershocks.” So will there be another earthquake? “Several more tremors will continue; these are called aftershocks.”

A curious brochure about Albania TIRANA - Are financial titles in Albania available or not? Requests from abroad continue to arrive without interruption, even though the Ministry of Culture long ago declared illegal the association that had undertaken this “noble” activity. But while the requests reveal nothing about the interest of those who collect them, they leave us with another, much more interesting question: apparently, the source of income at stake is making the prospect of Albania’s vacant noble titles attractive to people all over the world. The agency that serves Albania may first need to clarify its responsibility regarding these foreign inquiries. It was not in a newspaper from Shkodër, but in the international American “Herald Tribune” that an advertisement appeared some time ago for an informative brochure about Albania. “How to become rich in Albania?” is its title, and on one page there is an address in Singapore, where someone is ready to help foreigners who want to become rich in Albania, naturally in return for a “reasonable” fee. The brochure deals mainly with noble titles, but there are also plenty of “official” positions listed. The brochure has now arrived in Albania too, and its contents are so “rich” that they may be more interesting to Albanians themselves—who have hardly ever heard such things before—than to anyone else. Here are some of the prices listed in the brochure: a foreigner arriving in Albania can obtain Albanian citizenship for 7.00 dollars; with a little more money, you can pay 35,000 dollars to become a consul of Albania in a foreign country, and if you pay 135,000 dollars, you can become an Albanian ambassador.

They handed the heroin over to Italians on the ferry TIRANA - An Albanian policeman was part of the network distributing drugs from Albania to Italy. It was a member of the public order police in Vlora who, on March 5 of last year, transported a quantity of heroin while evading customs, and then handed it over to one of the bosses of the Apulian mafia, Stefani Primavera, who was to travel by ferry on the route to Otranto. The truth is made even clearer by the telephone recordings that Italian police made of conversations between Primavera and his associate Slavica Jovisc. Parts of the telephone conversation, recorded on the Italian police’s surveillance tapes, unequivocally confirm the involvement of the Albanian policeman in drug trafficking. Here are some excerpts from a phone call by the Apulian mobster to his wife, in which he tells her about the “goods” bought in Albania: “Now everything goes through there—I asked for it, the police brought us the goods... the shipment... They were there and bought it... the corporal is with me. Nice, isn’t it... He was selling the goods...” The ferry-route tickets and the records of the “Ellade”, which compiles the ferry journeys on the Vlora–Otranto route, have also helped to fully establish that this trafficking took place. According to the dates, it is certain that on March 5 of last year, Primavera and two other Italians were in Albania. Further confirmation that the journey was made for the purpose of transporting drugs comes from another recording of intercepted telephone conversations, during which Primavera spoke to his wife about the “goods” bought in Albania and the need for her to arrange for them to be transferred at the port of Otranto to another car. The members of this trafficking group were arrested the day before yesterday by Italian police in an operation called “Sol Levante”, which led to the arrest of 26 people. Among them is an Albanian, C.Hoxha, who, according to the initial investigation, appears to have been a drug courier. There is still no precise information about the identity of the police officer who collaborated with them. C.Hoxha, Albanian drug courier

Lawyers: problems at the outset On page 7 Between football and the marathon On page 7 Elbasan: police officer kills a police officer On page 7