Five days before the trial for his acquittal, the socialist leader seeks to leave his Tepelena cell Today Nano tries again to be released The Court of Appeal will decide whether he benefits from the new Code Today in the Court of Appeal, the socialist leader is once again seeking release. At exactly 9:00, Nano’s lawyers will appear before the judges, trying for the second time to get their client out of his cell. Meanwhile, 200 kilometres from the Court of Appeal, the imprisoned socialist leader will anxiously wait to learn his fate from others, many hours later. Because this time, too, he has refused to take advantage of the opportunity—at least for just a few hours—to set foot in his birthplace after so many months. On page 3

TIRANA - The Italian Anti-Mafia Commission will come to Albania next Tuesday. The delegation arrives next Tuesday Italian Mafia in Albania? Commission arrives from Rome Meetings with the authorities in Tirana TIRANA - The Italian Anti-Mafia Commission will come to Albania next Tuesday: its aim is to confront, together with the Albanian authorities, the threat posed by attempts to spread the Italian Mafia in Albania. The Commission delegation, led by its chair, Tiziana Parenti, will consist of eight parliamentarians, who will stay in Tirana for a week. According to initial information, the Italian experts—after a meeting with Ambassador Foresti—will be received in Parliament by representatives of several committees and, in the afternoon, will take part in a special government meeting chaired by Aleksander Meksi. Among those present will be Interior Minister Musaraj and Justice Minister Frashëri. The arrival of the Anti-Mafia Commission in Tirana (which rarely undertakes missions abroad) has been planned since the visit to Rome by the Speaker of the People’s Assembly, Pjetër Arbnori. On that occasion, it was said that cooperation between the Italian and Albanian parliaments would be intensified. The Anti-Mafia Commission—which is a parliamentary body—has as its main purpose verifying the extent of the Mafia’s spread and the adequacy of the state agencies engaged in the fight against crime. The purpose of the visit to Albania is therefore clear: it is expected to verify suspicions that the Mafia has extended its activities to the Land of the Eagles as well, particularly in drug trafficking and the circulation of money originating from criminal activity, including through legitimate investments. The same Commission wishes to offer the Albanian authorities its contribution on the legislative front, to bring certain regulations into line with European anti-Mafia standards. To date, two wanted Italians have been apprehended in Albania through Interpol; both had links to organized crime. The presence of the Italian Mafia (and in particular the Apulian Mafia) has been verified on a worrying scale in the area of Montenegro.

THE STORY Appeal from Durrës: “Don’t forget our kidnapped child”

The land law TIRANA - A sensational statement against President Berisha and the Democratic Party’s rule TIRANA - rule emerged yesterday from the Republicans’ headquarters. “We are against the approval of the draft law on the buying and selling of land that the Democratic Party’s government and the President seek to pass.” Sabri Godo, leader of the PR, reacted sharply immediately after the President backed the draft law at a meeting of the PD parliamentary group. “This is a betrayal in the Communist style.” On page 3

The disease had not been diagnosed since ’49 The patient is an HIV-positive person from Tirana. Official confirmation yesterday After AIDS, another dangerous disease has reappeared: syphilis. It was detected only a few days ago at Tirana’s infectious diseases hospital, and yesterday at midday, following tests conducted two days earlier at the Institute of Public Health, it was officially confirmed during a …marking the latest case of infection—the primary stage—with the sexually transmitted disease. From 1949 to 1972, 24,000 people were isolated for similar diseases. Here is how the disease begins, how it is treated, and above all how we can protect ourselves from infection. On page 5

LEZHË - All the Selamists out of the party leadership... - All the Selamists out of the party leadership. This was the motto of all PD members in the district of Lezhë. “He made us lose the referendum,” the participants at the activists’ meeting said. The debates were heated when they had to vote to elect the branch chairman. Nik Luli was one of the nine candidates proposed by the activists’ meeting; it was decided that the vote for him would be secret. The vote for Luli resulted in 71 against and 70 in favour, and this was the cause of disputes among the members at the PD activists’ meeting. “The vote must be by roll call,” shouted a group that had meanwhile moved to the platform, “otherwise we will give our votes to PPSH and PS.” This created an uproar in the hall where the PD activists’ meeting was being held. Nevertheless, the leadership decided to repeat the vote, making it a roll-call vote. The second vote ended with 80 in favour and 20 against, thus electing Nik Luli chairman of the PD in the district of Lezhë.

Again from Bensë: “Do not forget our kidnapped child.” DURRËS — “They have left my grandson to be forgotten.” This is how the grandfather’s desperate appeal for his kidnapped grandson has come. The issue of kidnapped children has once again returned to the scene, having been left somewhat behind the scenes—perhaps also a “victim” of bureaucracy. These are words about the only case officially acknowledged by law-enforcement authorities. Jonuz Luku, three years old, is mysteriously kidnapped in broad daylight. More than a month has passed, and his parents have been crushed by despair. But not his grandfather… On page 3

ELBASAN — “We will take the exam, but we’re completely unprepared.” In this way, the 28 lawyers of the Elbasan Bar Association, which also includes those from Gramsh and Librazhd, have agreed to sit the qualifying test set by the Ministry of Justice, but without looking at a single page of study material for the 360 questions prepared by the Commission. The Elbasan Bar Association had been among the first to protest against the Justice Ministry’s new initiative, even boycotting it in the first session. On page 5

After Laç, an alternative initiative has also emerged in the northern city . Shkodër, the persecuted against Kola: “A new association without you.” SHKODER — “We are against Kola and his politics.” We join the call made by our fellow sufferers. This time it is the persecuted people of Shkodër who, following the example of the Kurbin Conference three days ago, have joined the appeal issued and established an initiating committee to create an alternative association for the persecuted. They have adopted the declaration as their own and undertake to “show moral solidarity with the ranks of other persecuted people from Shkodër,” in response to violations of the Association’s bylaws by its current leadership, following its affiliation with the Right-Wing League. The political position signed by Kurt Kola, who is now also the League’s latest leader, and the violation of Articles 1 and 5 of the persecuted people’s “constitution,” have once again served as arguments against the Association’s current leadership, which for now is the only one whose bylaws protect the interests of all political prisoners. The team from the Laç meeting has thus arrived in the city where the persecuted have denounced their own… [source text unclear]. Shkodër has often been called the persecuted city, because of the mass opposition to the communist regime. Shkodër was the birthplace of the Association of the Politically Persecuted and Exiled in 1991. Its branches would later spread throughout Albania, but the Shkodër branch would always retain considerable influence. For this reason, the Laç initiative is expected to resonate among the city’s prominent figures as well. Meanwhile, alongside the other group, there are also 200 additional signatories in Shkodër, who may take part in formalizing the new grouping, which undertakes to “redefine and restore the honor” of Articles 1 and 5, which guarantee what is fundamental to an association of the persecuted: pluralism. Sokoli Balla

After a month of investigations, the robbers who killed Pirro Paloli have been caught. Five arrests from Vlora to Shkodër. TIRANE — The robbers and killers of capital-based money changer Pirro Paloli have been identified. Last night, official sources at the Ministry of the Interior announced the capture of five members of the gang, who are now accused of being the killers and robbers and of having taken part in the tragic episode of June 13, 1995, when the life of money changer Paloli was taken in exchange for the 60,000 dollars in his bag. According to what was reported yesterday, the person who shot the young man from the capital—at the entrance to the apartment building where he lived—was Palush Gjergji, 19, from Vlora. Meanwhile, Gjergj Shtolli, 19, from Tirana, is accused of snatching the victim’s bag just as he had been struck down by a bullet. The other suspects are also in prison: Leonor Papo, 21, from Vlora, who is said to have had no involvement in the serious crime; a pistol bullet was also found in his vehicle. Investigators have now reconstructed the entire story of this tragic episode, which had shocked public opinion. According to the Ministry of the Interior’s statement, the victim’s stolen dollars were used to buy vehicles, were invested in usury, and were also spent on trips to the beaches of Vlora. Last night’s breakthrough by officers of the capital’s 2nd Police Precinct is undoubtedly the Albanian police’s biggest success in recent months. Not only money changers, but also the victim’s family and the public at large, now have one more reason to hope that much of their property and lives… [source text unclear].

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. PS motion: Zhulali stands firm, remains minister. Socialists protest because the secret ballot was not accepted. On page 3

. The “Arsidi” trial: seven hours of defense. On page 3

The Bank’s director is also dismissed — The upheaval among senior state officials in the Gjirokastër district, directed from the center, has continued with great intensity. This time, the General Director of the central branch of the Albanian National Commercial Bank for the South did not pass the test. Two days ago, Director Arjan Islami was informed that he had been dismissed from his demanding post. On page 5

Shkodër. Accidentally killed while trying to break up a quarrel. On page 5

Vlorë. Albano & Romina return to the stage. On page 8