TRAGIC ACCOUNT / “As they hit us, they threatened us: We’ll get revenge for what you’ve done to us” Fists against the men from Vlora in Tirana Footballers beaten: “You want to overthrow Berisha” Eight civilians abduct the players in a car and take them to the lake. There they beat them brutally TIRANË - Footballers too are now bearing the brunt of violence. On Thursday evening, three footballers from Vlora were struck and beaten by unidentified people. Nevertheless, their staff confirms that they are ready to play in today’s final, thus defying the violence. The Federation is concerned, but the police confirm that all measures have been taken to protect the teams during today’s match. Thaka: “The incident is serious, but we are here to deliver a message of peace.” On page 5 Greek troops guard “Flamurtari” during training (E. Mino)

THE PRIME MINISTER SPEAKS Fino: Help from foreign soldiers “They should patrol the customs posts and weapons depots” TIRANË - Albanian Prime Minister Bashkim Fino is asking for help from foreign soldiers. “They must help us with strong patrols at customs points and with guarding the depots of our destroyed army.” The country’s No. 1 confirms to “Gazeta Shqiptare” his concern about the latest situation in the country, clarifies his position toward the public salvation committees, warns of resignation... On page 2 Prime Minister Fino

Armand Mero With almost 10 days left before the last possible deadline for announcing elections to be held in June, our politicians are still at a crossroads. Many consultations with foreigners, and even face-to-face talks, have changed nothing. The latest news from the election front is Prime Minister Fino’s ultimatum: “Either you pass the law, or I’m leaving.” A shocking decision, taken at a very delicate moment, but perhaps necessary to serve as a “slap” to politicians, who either do not understand that there is not enough time left to engage in hair-splitting and word games, something that has begun to cause sadness among many people, or ... [text continues, cut off at the bottom of the image] are pretending not to understand. If the latter is true, then this choice is even more serious. But it seems that even Fino’s latest move has not shaken the politicians, who have long been engaged in the “battle of interests.” One side calls it a “dangerous move,” while others declare: “He’s right to do it; that’s what they want,” forgetting that “they” and “these people” are all in the same boat, heading toward disaster. Majoritarian, Proportional—these two complicated words are the hooks on which politicians are swaying, or rather rocking, today. The Democratic Party insists that its candidates be registered in all the constituencies where they will seek votes, even though this would make the elections more difficult. On the other hand, they insist that “elections cannot be held in the presence of weapons,” because naturally every candidate is at risk. It is already well known that in the face of strong pressures for the majoritarian system. The reason given is that the other political forces favor this option. Thus both sides seem to have committed themselves, and the discussions concern the “formula” they propose; but when they sit down to talk, they “forget,” and after hours of talks they emerge looking tired and irritated by other matters, unable to make any appeal that would lift the Albanian people out of a grave and absurd situation. If everything is now wrapped up in the electoral system, it should not be forgotten that there are also a number of other “snags”—to use an elegant word for this whole affair—to resolve. It seems that politicians are so eager to seize on trivialities and agree on nothing—we recall the compromise reached only after the “Kalashnikov” talks were in deep crisis—that solutions look even farther away on a horizon still lit by the crackle of gunfire. If this happens, then it is better not to say what might occur… The least bad outcome that may befall us is that once again we will show the world that we can mend the rifts. If the country is once again unable to find common ground even in the most pressing case: before the country’s very existence.

TESTIMONY “We reached the hotel crawling, covered in blood” “They threw us out of the car in the middle of the road” On page 5

THE FINAL Federation alarm: super-checks at the stadium today Mission troops guard “Qemal Stafa”

Vlora Alba: “We will protect the schools” VLORE - The revolted capital is signaling a return to normal life: on Monday the first bells will be heard in the courtyards of all the schools in the district, which will also be guarded by “Alba” armored vehicles. This was announced at the district council meeting, attended by the highest military authorities in Vlora, the police station chief and the garrison commander. A strict chain of security measures has been planned, and the local authorities have asked the soldiers of the “Alba” mission to help guarantee absolute calm on school premises. Twenty-four-hour police patrols in front of school buildings and armed guards in front of each one: these are the two “conditions,” as explained by police station chief Milto Kordha, for involving the mission in ... guarding the schools, but that is not all. The head of the local administration has ordered the city’s Telecommunications branch to install a telephone in every school, to enable direct communication with the police in an emergency. Teachers, too, will have their part in creating normal conditions for lessons to take place. They will organize a guard service inside the schools around the clock. The measures have been welcomed enthusiastically, and local authorities are optimistic that any harmful consequences will be avoided. A request for help in protecting the schools has also been addressed to the military commanders of the “Alba” mission, and they have now given a positive response. (St. Ma)

GOVERNMENT A proposal envisages doubling the budget deficit [following text cut off at the bottom of the image]

TIRANE - Mines at the entrance to the ammunition depots. The Fino Government has thus found a solution to prevent civilians from flocking to the military depots. Convened urgently yesterday, following the Qafë Shtamë tragedy, the government team held lengthy discussions on ways to prevent citizens from suffering tragic deaths. The depot in Qafë-Shtamë

A proposal foresees doubling the budget deficit Annual inflation at 45% TIRANE - The drastic widening of the state budget deficit is the first indicator of the shared social cost that Albanians must pay as a result of the economic and political collapse gripping their country. A draft law on the 1997 budget—submitted by the Government to Parliament for approval—has provided for an almost twofold increase in the state deficit in the coming months. The current year and the preceding one have perhaps been the most tragic in the sphere of state finances. In both cases, politics has had a very negative effect on the failure to meet financial expenditure and revenue targets. But there are also differences between them. In 1996, what had a powerful impact on the widening of Albania’s deficit was international politics.

Gjadër Airport, the tragic “adventure” of two young men LEZHË - He wanted a better life; the only thing he had chosen to achieve it was an airplane. It initially flew at a height of nearly 30 meters and then crashed tragically right where he had taken off to realize his dream of freedom. It happened in Gjadër, during the extraordinary month that has just passed, but the details of this tragic death—caused simply by the desire to fly free—are still little known to most people. Perhaps those who later deal with the many deaths of these times will remember that this may be one of the symbolic deaths. He was only 17 years old. He lived near the military airport at Gjadër and had often watched admiringly as the great metal “birds” landed and took off without pause. His desire would have its turn, but this time—as usually happens with the great machines—the consequences were disastrous. He was killed, and a boy his own age was injured and taken to a hospital. The airplane they decided to climb into was one of the many that had been stationed those days near the field’s tunnels at Gjadër. After pressing all the buttons they could find in the complicated cockpit of the military aircraft, the two hit upon a fatal idea: the ejection-seat handle. The handle was painted red and bore a warning, but at the time the two young men had neither seen it nor imagined that they were about to become the protagonists of a tragic event destined to go down in history. Luca pulled the red handle and, in an instant, found himself 30 meters up in the air. The rest is already known… The incident caused great sorrow in Gjadër, Lezhë and throughout the area. Some military experts also revealed another secret: the two aircraft were loaded with live ammunition; all it would have taken was the press of a small button for every projectile to fly off at high speed for kilometers. In this case, the crash did not cause the ammunition to go off, and one of the boys paid dearly, ending up in a difficult situation and losing his life.

Phone call reporting a fake attack TIRANE - Bomb scare in the center of Tirana. An anonymous phone call kept the police in Tirana on alert for about an hour and a half. “Hello, we’ve placed a bomb underneath the bridge on “Dëshmorët e Kombit” Boulevard”—that was more or less what the mysterious voice on the other end of the line said to Police Station 1 in Tirana at 7:45 on Thursday evening. Within minutes, large numbers of police officers arrived at the designated location and immediately evacuated the public. The police then searched the bridge and found that the report was false. It was a quarter to eight when four police vans came to a screeching halt in front of the Pyramid, carrying armed officers wearing hoods. The police immediately began moving away the many people sitting on the Pyramid’s steps. This is when many women, men, children and young people gathered there to spend their afternoons while waiting for the traffic lights to be installed. To avoid mass panic—there were hundreds of people in front of the Pyramid’s steps—the police did not announce a bomb scare or raise the alarm about a possible bomb, but simply moved people away without explaining why. Later, as eight o’clock approached, when traffic and pedestrians were due to stop moving, the police began removing cars parked near the [??] on both sides of the boulevard, in front of the Pyramid and the “America” bar. They set up a bomb-disposal [??]; someone whispered “bomb,” while the crowd [??] and continued on, sounding an alarm about the flooding [??]. Meanwhile, other police sirens sped by, and at that moment, on the large bridge, as if God himself had intervened, [??] girls riding a bicycle, who collided with a police car. A few minutes later all traffic crossing the bridge that “was a miniature” was blocked. Traffic was halted from the Ministries intersection, along Elbasan Road, and to the west in this area. After traffic was stopped and a cordon of vehicles was formed, the police inspected the bridge and searched the entire area where the “substance” had supposedly been. There had been no “substance.” It was not a “substance” of the kind the mysterious voice had described, and [??] connected it with two other calls which, several months earlier, had caused two false bomb alerts at public venues in Tirana. Mentor Kikia

The Tirana Revue celebrates its anniversary On page 4

Blair, the new master of Dawning Street On page 7 Blair

THE [??] FROM THE EXTRAORDINARY