UNION BATTLE / The clash over the throne goes to court. Xheka: “Let him use another name” Hajdari files a complaint: “He stole aid from Europe” Hajdari: “I have submitted materials to the Prosecutor’s Office proving that Xheka stole aid money and misused the Union’s assets” Xheka: “Fatmir Musaku—one of Hajdari’s loyalists—stole a full 4168 dollars during a visit he made to China in May this year” Azem Hajdari TIRANA - The war of accusations between Azem Hajdari and Valer Xheka has begun. Yesterday, two criminal complaints filed with the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office crossed the bounds of a civil dispute between the two “presidents” of BSPSH. While judges at the Tirana court began hearing two lawsuits—Hajdari’s concerning the legitimacy of the extraordinary conference in Durrës, and another by Xheka, who is demanding that Hajdari not use the name of his union for the “government union” he is creating—Hajdari sent an accusatory “case file” against Xheka to the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office. “I asked that Xheka be prosecuted and charged, because he stole large sums of money from aid that sister unions in Europe had given to BSPSH and misused the Union’s assets, selling them in accordance with his own interests,” Hajdari told the newspaper. Meanwhile, Xheka has filed another criminal complaint against one of Hajdari’s associates, on the same grounds. Meanwhile, following Hajdari’s complaint, “Albania” director Ylli Rakipi also ended up at the Prosecutor’s Office, for failure to report a crime. On page 3

TIRANA - Will Fatos Nano be released from prison? A request from “Amnesty International,” the human rights organization based in London, has reached Berisha’s desk, seeking the release of Nano and six other prisoners whom the organization considers political prisoners. On the occasion of November 28, Albania’s national holiday, President Berisha is expected to sign an amnesty, from which many prisoners appear likely to benefit. On this occasion, “Amnesty International” has also asked for the release of Nano and the other prisoners of conscience, such as Ismail Beqiri, chairman of the National Unity Party, accused of crimes against humanity, whose case has not yet been considered by the Court of Cassation; Timoshenko Pekmezi and Sami Meta, convicted by both levels of the courts in Tirana for founding the Communist Party; as well as three others convicted by the district courts of Sarandë and Gjirokastër on the same charges. Thus, although the imprisoned Socialist leader Fatos Nano has no more than a year and a half left to serve of the sentence imposed by the Albanian court, it seems that a ... it seems that another hope of regaining his freedom has emerged. Berisha had previously signed twice to reduce Nano’s sentence, but “Amnesty International” has called for his unconditional release. Nano was convicted of fraud and stealing humanitarian aid while serving as Prime Minister of Albania, and he has not admitted guilt; neither have the other people on the human rights organization’s list. For this reason, they cannot personally appeal to the President to request a pardon when the head of state grants general amnesties. Thus, on behalf of Nano, Beqiri, Pekmezi, Meta and the other convicted individuals, the BBC has intervened—the organization’s representative, Mellani Anderson, studied the court documents relating to their convictions and concluded that they are prisoners of conscience, after which she asked Berisha to release them, “since Albania is now a party to the European Convention on Human Rights.” (me.ki)

One trader dies, four others survive They had set off for Montenegro with their goods. A wave hit them

“He had hidden the car”

THE COMMITTEE REACTS TIRANA - “We do not recognize Zaçe’s order. It could have serious consequences for relations with FIFA and UEFA.” Just 48 hours after the order issued by the Secretary for Sports, Marjeta Zaçe, the AFF has responded with an even harsher statement. “After analyzing the order to suspend the ... secretary of the FSFH and the Executive Committee, the Executive Committee of the Federation decided: To declare the order of the Secretary for Sports illegal. The Executive Committee has justified its decision on the basis of five points. According to the statement distributed to the media, and also brought to the attention of the Prime Minister of the Republic, Aleksandër Meksi, first, the Executive Committee’s opinion must also be sought before suspending the Secretary, which was not done. Second, the appointment of the new Secretary must be proposed by the Executive Committee. Third, dissolving the Executive Committee is not within the authority of the Secretary of State for Sports, but is solely within the authority of the General Assembly of Football. Fourth, all the Federation Executive Committee’s decisions to date are entirely legal and will remain so until the new Committee is elected by the General Assembly of Football. Fifth, organizing the Football Assembly is within the authority of the Executive Committee. For this reason, the Committee had already decided that the statutes should be drawn up first and that the Assembly should also be held within the period from February 15 to March 15, 1997. These dates are also within the deadlines recommended by FIFA and UEFA. The Executive Committee therefore calls for the decision to be reconsidered, since otherwise there will be irreparable consequences for relations with FIFA and UEFA.”

SHKODËR - Smuggling ends in death. A boat loaded with goods, which had just set off for Montenegro, was overturned by a storm: five people fell into the water, but only four managed to survive. A 51-year-old trader, F. Mesini, lost his life, swallowed by the cold waters of the lake. At least, that is the tragic version prevailing for now, as rescuers have not yet found his body. They were only 150 meters from the shore, in the stretch of open water, when a strong wave struck the boat carrying the traders and their goods, capsizing it. Smuggling on Lake Shkodër

“He had hidden the car” The young man denied the accusation: “I kept the car only because Kulla was my friend, and I didn’t know what he had done with it” TIRANA - Another person has been arrested in the “Kulla” case. On Sunday, the court of first instance ordered the arrest of a young man, G. Hallushi, accused by the prosecution of hiding Kulla’s car, in which he and his friend had fled the scene after the killing of the police officers, the Neziri brothers. Hallushi denied the accusation, saying that he had sheltered the car—which the police found on the very night the crime was committed—simply because Kulla was his friend, and that he did not know what had been done with it.

FROM THE WORLD The Italian lira re-enters Europe The currency, which had been withdrawn, now returns as an SME currency after many efforts On page 2

The account of the man who shook Tirana TIRANA - “I did not come to Tirana to kill President Berisha, but to kill myself in a demonstrative act to protest the poverty that has engulfed my family,” Ilir Buza, the young man from a village in Krujë who, in April of this year, tried to meet Berisha with a bomb in his hand, told the judges yesterday how he ended up in the sights of the special forces’ snipers. The story, told with a smile by a man who does not realize how much the terrorism charge hanging over him is causing, is described as both spontaneous and painful. “I had only been back for a few days from Greece, where I had been an emigrant, but I never managed to make it. When I got home, I found my father drowning in debt. I felt a great responsibility for this situation, because I had not managed to earn money while abroad. I had no other way to get money. Faced with this situation, I decided to kill myself, with no other way out.” For this reason he had set out to find a weapon, which someone had obtained for him through other people. “I didn’t keep it to kill myself; first I thought I would meet the President, because only he could solve the serious problem I had.” The man had given it little thought; minutes later he would be in the sights of rifles with scopes and at the center of every television camera in Europe. Sitting on the sidewalk, waiting for Berisha to leave the presidency at 3 p.m., and not having met him, he went up to his floor, in his imagination to another place, while the others saw him as a threat. When the police, after surrounding the presidency where the Berisha-Skalfaro meeting was taking place, asked him to move away from the sidewalk, his entirely unusual adventure began. A full 43 minutes of struggle and alarm passed before the police subdued the bomb man. This is the account that also brought the judicial investigation to a close; the Prosecution’s request for Ilir Buza’s sentence is expected next. Mentor Kikia

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WEEKLY IN ALBANIA AND AROUND THE WORLD ALBANIAN GAZETTE Fashion ’97: Winter in cashmere “I’m 15 years old. I’m looking for a handsome boyfriend” Test: Do your muscles like it? Addresses of famous actors Internet! Now even on the telephone Dare to take a risk if you like screen horror

Don’t forget! On the day in 1996, at 14:00, for the first statistical broadcast?

William Shakespeare Hamlet The trio returns: Shakespeare, Hamlet, Noli After many years, the tragic playwright’s masterpiece is being brought back by “Çabej” On page 11