Today, the “pyramid-scheme victims” take to the square. Police issue a warning

Andrea Stefani It seems that financial pyramids, unlike their ancient sisters, which were built of stone, did not collapse but closed hermetically, burying inside them—along with the billions belonging to ordinary people—the mysterious mechanism that had built them. The streets of several major cities are filled with conflict, wailing, and the cries of people, yet the main cause of this turmoil, which is shaking the state—the pyramid scheme—still stands like a sphinx-shaped pyramid with a frozen face that does not speak. A commission was set up to ensure transparency and enable the public to see what had happened and what was happening inside the mysterious firms and companies, but it has remained silently in the dark. In fact, established very late, it has become a commission performing an autopsy at the funeral of the pyramid schemes. But it seems it is even failing to carry out this rigid mission. The transparency commission has now examined the accounts of two foundations. Beyond that, nothing has been communicated to the public. And the questions troubling the public are numerous. Hundreds of thousands of people have been left at the mercy of a murky business, and the murky dealings of the pyramid-scheme businesses must be brought to light as soon as possible in the name of justice. How did the schemes arise? Why were they allowed to spread their metastases into the very heart of state finances? Were there bank transfers abroad by the firms and foundations operating the schemes? What about money laundering? How can Sudja’s sudden collapse be explained, just hours after she had collected substantial sums thanks to monthly super-interest of 50 percent? But there are also other dark areas that must be made public so that a way out can be found with as little pain as possible. How much money has each firm or foundation deposited in banks, and is that money sufficient to compensate clients? What is the real value of their property? Are they pyramids or not, and is there another firm like Sudja with not a penny in its coffers? So far, the only transparent element in this financial storm is the woman’s death knell, uttered as she stood aside amid the ruins of her fraudulent business: “I was a pyramid scheme.” Everything else enveloping the pyramid-scheme catastrophe is a confused din with invisible content. …the top of the funeral of the pyramid schemes. But it seems that even this mission it hesitates to carry out. So far, the balance sheets of two foundations have been examined by the transparency commission. Besides this, the public has not been informed. And there are many questions troubling them. Hundreds of thousands of people were left at the mercy of a murky business, but one that was humanly bound by a fraudulent obligation. And let us forget the destruction for a moment and suppose that—if this is all the evidence it has had a chance to see, let it call to mind a picture of a wilderness by Bruçegi—it urged the leadership to verify. But now these people have the right to a little light, to see what is happening. And information in this matter is all the more essential now, when it seems that we have entered the phase of emerging with as little pain as possible from a catastrophe whose scale, unfortunately, we still do not know. In these circumstances, this is a repeatedly expressed wish and the most precise formulation of the concern. This cannot be the task only of government officials who, as in every pluralist state, cannot encompass the entire intellectual capacity of society in this field. The division—the complete lack of information—has also sidelined possible technical operations that could be offered by sections of non-governmental organizations. And information concerning an issue affecting the lives of fifty? and today the livelihood of the overwhelming majority of the population, which after many years of “forgetfulness” was raised to the level of a state issue, cannot be treated as a “state secret.” It has…

Interview with the Prime Minister on the pyramid-scheme phenomenon Meksi: “Aid for those harmed” Interview with the Prime Minister on the pyramid-scheme phenomenon “The commission was set up late” Meksi: “Aid for those harmed” TIRANA - The Albanian Government will stand by citizens in the difficult situation created after the collapse of pyramid-type schemes. This was stated by Prime Minister Aleksandër Meksi in an interview given to the microphone of the radio station “Voice of America”, commenting on the recent events that have shaken many Albanians. What place did the pyramid-scheme problem have at the meeting of the National Council? “Of course, it could not be left unaddressed, and, after President Berisha spoke at length, he pointed out the Government’s interest in intervening to manage the losses suffered by Albanian citizens as a result of a pyramid-type economic policy, such as lending at interest. The Albanian Government’s aim in freezing the bank funds of firms suspected of having a pyramid structure was precisely to manage their losses and then find ways to ensure the accurate and fair distribution of these funds.” Is the Government prepared with a concrete package of laws on this? “First of all, the Government will try to accurately determine the losses incurred, the measures that can be taken to manage them, the assistance that can be provided in one form or another, and the concessions that can help these families develop businesses. As for legislation, the Extra-Parliamentary Transparency Commission is certainly investigating the phenomenon. It was proposed before it became clear that the phenomenon had taken a distorted course, but for various reasons it was delayed.” Some voices are calling for your resignation or replacement because of the problems caused by the pyramid schemes. How do you comment? “These are voices that have arisen from yesterday’s idea. This is simply a matter of observations and criticism intended to improve the work, not to replace people. If these voices continue using the old method, I believe their target is not Meksi, because Meksi is a member of the Presidency of the Democratic Party and Prime Minister of a Government made up of Democratic Party members who implement the DP’s program. In this case, my name is used because it is easier to criticize than the others’ names, but the aim is to attack the DP and its program.” There was only one voice, that of Tomor Malasi, with whom an old friendship connects me. He said there are no investments, we know no figures, and there is no domestic or foreign policy. I believe that the Albanian Government’s transparency has been total. Every month we publish the inflation figures; we submitted the law to change the budget deficit and stated how large that deficit is; our foreign policy is clear, and a domestic policy exists. Such reasoning seems out of place to me.

TIRANA - Hajdari was forcibly expelled from the meeting of the National Council. A group of guards also stopped her at the entrance to the hall. About six years ago, she had taken part in the founding of the Democratic Party. “The Selami precedent is being repeated,” the MP said. “The same group within the DP is constantly attacking its founders.” On page 3 Azem Hajdari

Malasi sounds the alarm: “The DP has made mistakes. The government and the Party have lacked ethics. Things cannot go on like this.” On page 3 Berisha: “Along with the interest, we will return every penny to the citizens. More relief measures for them, too.” On page 3 Yesterday, too, the police patrolled the capital. Vans and blue uniforms in the center and at intersections. Incident at Sudja On page 9

FROM THE WORLD Jerusalem “No concessions” On page 2 REPORTAGE Light for people in the shadows Behind the scenes of the Theatre Invisible and in the darkness backstage, a large “industry” of people work quietly like this for years on end On page 11 At the National Theatre

SPORTS NEWSPAPER “Partizani” advance by a superlative margin On pages 5–8