The Cassation issue turns into a controversy that also involves the international human-rights organization An unexpected protest by the Committee from Vienna A sharp statement comes to the defense of the members of the Court of Cassation and calls the proposal to remove them “open interference with Justice” TIRANA - A heated debate over the request to dismiss two judges of the Court of Cassation, Pjetër Plloci and Tefta Zaka, has become an international issue. Following their defense by the Albanian Helsinki Office and Committee and the Tirana [unclear], a sharp response has come from the headquarters of the International Helsinki Federation in Vienna, a particularly forceful move by the well-known organization. Strong support for the case of the two, accusations against Albanian politics of “an open attempt to eliminate the proper functioning of the rule of law,” and then an equally forceful appeal to Albanian parliamentarians: “Reject these attempts.” On page 3

REPORT TIRANA - Albanian businesspeople are threatened by criminals. Albanian traders are being threatened by criminals. According to some sources, death threats have also been made, amid waves of attacks. First, they pressure them not to change [unclear] at that location; then they threaten them through blackmail, and it ends with damage to the premises themselves. The person speaking to the Albanian Gazette is Haki Laze, President of the Confederation of Employers. TIRANA - Crime now exists, but Albanian law still does not provide for it. It is precisely a kind of organized crime that systematically seeks to profit from the earnings of traders and businesspeople. They are being [unclear] by threats. The person speaking to the Albanian Gazette is Haki Laze. Albanian traders are forced to pay for crime. Gjegji Pilika on page 5

The PD secretary outlines the objectives TIRANA - “We will not form a coalition for the elections,” Tirjan Shehu has confirmed the PD’s confidence that it will win the next elections. Speaking to journalists, the secretary-general of the governing party once again set out this political force’s position on the PD Constitution, which was supported two days ago. “Regeneration of our structures” was presented as the PD’s new proposal in this regard, and the changes the PD will propose “will take 100 days,” which, he guarantees, will ensure that no more deputies are appointed. “We will aim to get the work under way this year,” Shehu said. During the 100 days, all the people who hold PD inscriptions and have the party’s large organizational machinery will be replaced, according to the party’s statement.

Çeku explains TIRANA - “The reorganization of the Financial Police is intended to give us a European-style structure in which the [unclear] and tax authorities have their own armed forces, a well-established practice with a long track record.” Robert Çeku tells the Albanian Gazette about this change. “Everything was decided four years ago by a decree of Ramiz Alia, and things should now be able to move forward because the reform has progressed. Meanwhile, under its current organizational model, instead of being a supporting factor in collecting revenue, the Financial Police has gradually become an obstacle.” Why has this happened? “Because of the widely differing professional training, the heterogeneous mix of professions, and the lack of willingness to learn and work as well as possible on the part of those who have served in this institution.” How will these two units, which will now be separate, work in the future, and who will move from the one being downsized? “The important thing is to separate the two police forces. The tax police, and also the financial police, will not have the right to issue fines. Their presence will be needed only when these fines are assessed, or when customs officers need police assistance to check connections, etc.” This is how the new agencies will work On page 3

TIRANA - Citizens’ security is one of the fundamental elements for a country’s democratic development. Economic security is one of the necessary steps toward its financial growth. Threats against traders, with criminals demanding money from them, mark a doubly troubling phenomenon because they strike at people’s safety and their income at the same time. This kind of consideration seems to concern not only the phenomenon in Albania, but Mr. Laze’s account is nevertheless troubling. Even though the wounds caused by this kind of extortion remain hidden: frightened traders agree to pay and do not report the crime. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is widespread in all Western countries, because it is a crime linked—by its very nature—to the economic development of the market; as the market grows, it turns into an invisible cancer. It must be confronted and crushed through action. On one side are the police and judges, who must protect and investigate; on the other are traders, who must have the courage to report the crime. In this case, it seems it must also become something that concerns us [unclear]. Forty years ago the phenomenon began and spread in just this way, by being ignored; and it was precisely because of this neglect by the state that the mafia spread. Now all of us, ordinary people and the state, must not let this happen in Albania too.

Communist Party underground? 4 arrested

TIRANA - The controversy from the previous day over a sensational statement allegedly made by Kastr(i)ot Muços, leader of the Confederation of Trade Unions, has given way to a kind of mystery. A report published yesterday by the official news agency said that Muço had declared in Podgorica that he considered the incident involving the Albanians in Malta Zëri an example of the treatment of minorities. Muço himself has completely denied making such a statement. The Albanian news agency had based its report on a BBC correspondent’s dispatch from Ulcinj in Albanian. And this is precisely where the mystery begins. At the BBC, they shrug: “We are not aware of any such dispatch having been broadcast.” One cannot help but ask: what is the source of the information about Muço’s position and statements in the Montenegrin capital? An answer that, it seems, will remain unanswered.

GJIROKASTER - Nostalgia for Enver Hoxha and true communism has put 4 people in the cells of the Gjirokastër police station. Yesterday, the prosecutor’s office in this city opened criminal proceedings against them on charges of “anti-constitutional activity”; they are suspected of having tried to organize the Communist Party clandestinely, its creation having been prohibited by law for some time. Among those arrested are two former leaders of the Albanian Communist Party who had broken away from Hysni Milloshi and had often contributed to the far-left press—Laver Stroka, a doctor by profession, and Fitim Çausi, a well-known folklorist and one of the leaders of the renowned Labëria group—while the others are two 17-year-olds. The first signs of Hoxha’s return began last week when, in the village of Vlorë, six kilometers from Gjirokastër, police caught five young people—aged 12 to 17—who had distributed leaflets, photographs and portraits of dictator Hoxha among the village houses. Meanwhile, the police operation was widened and the arrests followed when Stroka and Çausi were detained. Their homes were searched thoroughly. At Stroka’s home in Valare, several propaganda materials and leaflets from the Communist Party’s 1992 meetings were found. Meanwhile, at Çausi’s home, after his detention in the 18 Shtatori neighborhood—he lives alone in the city of Gjirokastër—it is still not known exactly what was found. Investigators have limited themselves to saying that “these are propaganda materials.” On Friday, Stroka was released along with three of the teenagers who had been detained. But his release lasted only a few days, since yesterday he was returned to the police station and reunited with Çausi, where he learned that criminal proceedings had been opened against him. All four are now charged with “anti-constitutional activity.” The most serious allegation, however, is the suspicion that they tried to reorganize the Communist Party underground. Meanwhile, according to the little information that has emerged from the investigators’ guarded stance, leaflets had been prepared in special support of Enver Hoxha and were to be distributed throughout the state [unclear].

Reason: “He did not carry out an order” Sharko: “I myself asked to be removed.” At the Rectorate: “The story began with the dismissal of three lecturers” The Rector of the University of Gjirokastër is also leaving TIRANA - Meksi has dismissed the heads of the country’s universities. Professor Raimond Sharko, Rector of the University of Tirana, and the rector of the University of Gjiu, that of Gjirokastër, will have to leave their posts. The news was also confirmed to the Albanian Gazette by the Minister of Education, Xhezair Teliti. University of Tirana On page 3

A harsh reality ELBASAN - A 20-year-old woman is in prison for killing the father of her two children, aged 3 and 5; the children have been left without a family and are seeking an orphanage. This is the fate of the two little ones, Bardhuli and Besiana Plogu, from the village of Gjonuc in Dumre, Elbasan, who, after spending a year and a half going from one relative’s home to another, have been left without any support. The painful story of the two orphans began in July 1993. Their father, Agim Plogu, was brutally killed at night while he was sleeping, by his wife, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison. After the tragedy, the two little ones began their struggle to survive. At first they were taken in at Gramsh by their mother’s relatives, and later they returned to their village of birth. But even there, their hope of living with family did not last long. Their grandmother, Yllkën Plogu, after his death, distraught, decided to send the two beloved little ones away from her home; she says, with a broken heart, that she had fed them as well. The children’s remaining problem is the orphan-support association in Elbasan, to which their grandfather has turned for help for the two little ones left at home. Following this case, the association has once again appealed to the district council and the prefecture to establish an orphanage in Elbasan. “In most cases, children are not covered by insurance when they are orphans, and children are offered to be taken into guardianship,” says the head of the Elbasan association—this would make the drama of the two children even more terrible. Meanwhile, the children’s grandfather has now begun the battle with the paperwork needed to secure a home for his two grandchildren. Mentor Kikia

Milan beaten 1-0 FOOTBALL On page 3

Privatization On page 3