Other priorities: Reform of the Central and Local Government and curbing inflation Nano: We will find the money from the pyramid schemes The new Prime Minister reopens the old wound: “What happened to the pyramid schemes?” Yesterday the Government program was read before Parliament. An urgent objective is also the elimination of criminal gangs TIRANA—Clearing the country of criminal gangs and finding the money lost in the pyramid schemes will be two of the primary objectives of the Government program that Prime Minister Nano presented yesterday to the deputies for a confidence vote. The strategy for returning the money to citizens has been conceived as closely linked to ensuring transparency about the pyramid schemes. This operation will reveal the true scale of the damage, as well as where the money went. On this basis, the new cabinet promises to find and return the money, even if it has been transferred abroad. At the same time, the Government plans to undertake swift operations to restore order and eliminate criminal gangs. This objective will be achieved in three phases. The first, the shortest-term phase, envisages securing national roads and maintaining order in the cities. After that, the fight against crime will also be intensified in the country’s most remote areas. The Government considers the restructuring and depoliticization of the police and rapid-response special forces an important means of achieving this. Nano: “We will try to find the money from the pyramid schemes even if it has been deposited abroad.” “Checks on the rentier firms will begin immediately, along with an investigation into their ability to pay people.” Prime Minister Nano and President Mejdani (Photo: Plator Ilo)

VLORA—“Alba” abandons Vlora, and gunfire immediately begins in the city. Yesterday evening, an armed group fired for several minutes toward the former base of the Friuli regiment, which had just been handed over to the Albanian police. There are no reports of casualties; the police returned fire resolutely and called for reinforcements. One of the four armored vehicles at its disposal went near the scene and calmed the situation. Yesterday the last Italian soldier of the “Alba” mission also left Vlora. At 14:00, the warship San Giorgio entered the port; four hours later it left, carrying the soldiers of the San Marco battalion and the carabinieri of the Friuli regiment. All their military equipment was also evacuated. Some of this took place using other vehicles. It had been thought that this operation would be completed only on Wednesday, and the reason it was carried out with such urgency is unknown. The “Alba” soldiers completed their departures and [abandoned?] their positions. Their place was immediately taken by the Vlora police force; at the port, at the former children’s holiday camp, and precisely where the foreign soldiers had been stationed for several months, there are now only the blue uniforms of the Albanian police. At the entrances to the facilities, an armored vehicle [?] is now stationed at each one. Vlora had been fearful of “Alba”’s departure. Some time ago, local officials had requested a further extension of the foreign soldiers’ mandate, but this was not granted. Stavri Marko

KOPLIK On page 5 KOPLIK Attempted assassination of the chief of the Criminal Investigation Department On page 5

VLORA On page 5 VLORA Bullets even at children On page 5

ELBASAN On page 5 ELBASAN Fear returns: polio appears On page 5

—F. M., 40, from Tirana, was ambushed by two unknown assailants and died instantly. The victim was the president of a private security firm and was shot on the ring road, near the Durrës restaurant. The incident occurred at around 16:00 and, for the police, who arrived at the scene only a few minutes after the crime, the perpetrators and their motives remain unknown. On the asphalt, some stones arranged in a semicircle marked off the scene. It was there that police experts found two of the six shell casings from the killer’s weapons. Neither the motives for the crime nor its perpetrators are known. Eyewitnesses stated at the scene yesterday that they saw a Vespa-type motorcycle approach the car in which the victim was riding; shots were fired from it, killing the victim.

Mystery surrounds the 11-year-old: “I sent him to Greece” TIRANA - A child trafficker has ended up in handcuffs. He was caught by the police on Saturday evening and is now behind bars. His name is Rexhep Kuqi, from the village of Shtyaj in Tirana. He has been arrested and is now accused of kidnapping an 11-year-old child two months ago. But while the kidnapper has ended up in jail, it remains a mystery where the child has ended up. The boy was kidnapped two months ago, and the Tirana police had begun an investigation into the case. On Saturday, they managed to catch the kidnapper.

Regional directors and chiefs are being removed TIRANA - A storm of changes at the Ministry of the Interior. Just three days after taking charge of the most important institution at this time, Interior Minister Neritan Ceka has removed all the directors of the departments in the Ministry from their posts. The names of the new directors have become known within the Ministry. Changes have also been made at all the police stations in Tirana, while the Director of the Tirana Police, Pashk Tusha, has kept his post. All the new appointees have more than 10 years’ service in the police. Ministry of the Interior On page 2

VLORA, SURVIVORS OF THE OTRANTO TRAGEDY AT THE PORT VLORA - Protest by the survivors of March 28 at the port of Vlora. They were joined by many relatives of the victims, while Italian officers averted a possible clash between the crowd and the guards at the port’s main entrance. The gathering of people in Flag Square lasted for more than an hour. There, the speakers at the protest strongly condemned the conduct of the Italian authorities in connection with the Otranto incident. “We demand the establishment of a joint commission and for the trial to be held in Albania.” Krenar Xhavara, one of the survivors of the tragedy, made this statement to the Albanian newspaper. According to him, neither government is making an effort to resolve their problem. “There have been many promises, but we have seen nothing. The Italian side’s interest has been extremely poor. They absolutely want to conceal the incident. Our lawyers are Italian, and I don’t think they will do anything against their own government,” Xhavara declared angrily. Yesterday, he was one of the leading figures in the protest. After remaining in the square for a long time, the crowd set off toward the port. The Italian guards stopped them at the entrance. A few exchanges between the crowd’s leaders and the guards at the main gate briefly heightened tensions. Only the intervention of several officers averted a possible clash. The officers showed them the way to the sea, where the family members, mostly women and elderly women, carried out their monthly ritual: throwing flowers into the sea for those lost in the March tragedy. sta.ma. From the Otranto tragedy

TIRANA Mystery surrounding the 11-year-old: “I sent him to Greece” Directors and regional chiefs are being dismissed At the Police Department:

I feel it is my duty to clarify to the public that, as should be very easy to understand, the article published on Sunday, July 27, 1997, in the so-called newspaper “Albania” and signed A. Isaku has nothing to do with me. Trusting in your understanding, Agim Isaku