Six dead. Cërrik gang responsible for the crime Police: “They fired a volley at the driver of the Mercedes. The other five victims were innocent” TRAGEDY IN ELBASAN / At ten in the afternoon, the victims were returning from the funeral of a relative A settling of scores between the gang and the vehicle’s driver is suspected. Police: We have identified the perpetrators On page 5 Fear and panic in the city. The road is blocked for two hours. The funeral is awaited. Eyewitness accounts are awaited On page 5

HOW LONG CAN THIS GAME GO ON? Refugees, the politicians’ football Arian Çani Only promises, an occasional noisy formal agreement, and a great deal of fuss about the plight of thousands of people who have by now become an entire industry. Refugees—in reality, this issue causes not only pain but also brings in a lot of money. Albania receives no less than 400 million dollars a year from them, these people abandoned by successive politicians. For more than six years, these people have continued to bear on their shoulders not only their own hardships, but also the hypocrisy of bilateral policies. From Rome, Prodi signs an agreement that will lead to thousands of refugees in Albania and threatens not to give money if Tirana does not stop clandestine migrants at the border. Nano replies that Albania needs money, first and foremost, to stop clandestine migrants. These statements never end; they are, why not, elegant, even couched in gentle diplomatic tones. Just a few hours earlier, while Milo was smiling at his counterpart Pangalos in Athens, more than 400 Albanians had crowded the gates of associations in Italy. There was no shortage of racism from those waiting—something dozens of Albanian refugees had to endure too. There have been many cases of their mistreatment by people enraged at Albanians trying to make a life for themselves. In these circumstances, caught between two fires, Albanian refugees truly no longer know which foot to put forward. On the one hand, Rome and Athens say they have laws and are obliged to take tough measures against the many Albanians who are seeking a different life. Meanwhile, Tirana hastens to say that it will seal the borders to clandestine migrants. Poverty compels them. Nano knows well that to secure the money this country, half-destroyed by the recent unrest, needs, he will have to make concessions. But at whose expense? Certainly, the Albanian Prime Minister—and not only he—would never want the huge army of refugees to suddenly come flooding back to Albania. Nano knows well that this vast industry brings in only dollars, although in recent years the balance… money, first and foremost, to keep the needy at bay. These statements never seem to end; why not—elegant, even in a mild, diplomatic tone. Only a few hours earlier, while S. than 400 Albanians had been crammed at the gates of the Kakavijë border crossing. The leaders of all three countries have to play with words, even though for weeks on end they have been denying help to those innocent refugees. Families split apart, husbands searching for their wives, and children held in separate camps. The drama of thousands of ordinary people set against the hypocrisy imposed by politics. In the south, and especially at the end, concessions will have to be made. But at whose expense? Surely great army of refugees to suddenly return to Albania all at once. Nano knows full in recent years the balance seems to have been declining. Nevertheless, it seems everything is expected to carry on as before. So, what is this game?

EMN! 15 thousand Albanians on the road

SHKODER On page 4

TIRANE On page 2

KAPSHTICE On page 5

Justice in debate

Two days before school starts, books are missing Education, teachers return

Tirana had rejected them

Justice in debate . The adjournment of trials: Judges and prosecutors clash. TIRANE - The Court and the Prosecutor’s Office are in dispute over the postponement of trials. “Prosecutors do not come to our court hearings,” say the judges, while prosecutors accuse the black-robed judges of issuing incorrect and late notices. The controversy arose after numerous complaints from citizens about the incomprehensible delays and dozens of criminal trials. Blame is passed from one institution to another, while trials continue to be postponed, hearing after hearing. According to the judges, the prosecutors’ negligence is unjustifiable. The prosecutors, on the other hand, say that they often wait two or three hours for the judges to finish civil cases, even though the time set by the judges themselves was fixed in advance. For Qazim Gjonaj, President of the Court of First Instance, the prosecutors’ failure to appear shows a lack of respect. On page 4

Two days before school starts, books are missing . Education, retired teachers return. TIRANE - There are 350 makeshift schools, either newly built or rented, that will replace those damaged in March. These are the ones that [unclear] the state of emergency in Albanian education. Only [unclear] will make it possible to understand the extent of the destruction and the shock suffered by the temples of learning in this country. The example of the library of the University of Kamëz is merely spectacular among hundreds of others scattered throughout the territory of the Republic. On page 8

Tirana had rejected them . Milo in Athens: Hope for 18 billion drachmas. TIRANE - Milo in Athens is seeking to obtain 18 billion drachmas. On the second day of his visit, the head of Albanian diplomacy has entered negotiations to secure the large amount of drachmas with which he will return to Tirana. Months earlier, Athens had granted this sum as a loan to the Government of National Reconciliation. But a refusal by the then Finance Minister Malaj left the large sum on paper. “The interest is very high; it is not worthwhile for us,” was Minister Malaj’s reasoning; he did not want to put his signature on a loan that would be a heavy burden on the Albanian economy and finances. It seems that now, several months later, Minister Milo is seeking to find a way to free this sum from the high interest rates. Athens has promised such a sum solely for the construction sector in Albania.

“It’s not so bad; Fan Noli also graduated at 70” ENROLLED IN LAW. Kurt Kola, the oldest student. “It’s not so bad; Fan Noli also graduated at 70.” Kurt Kola. TIRANA - Kurt Kola, a student? Is it true that Kola, the 60-year-old chairman of the Association of the Politically Persecuted, will be sitting in the law faculty’s lecture halls? “Kurt Kola will be our student this year.” That is what the deputy head of the law faculty in Tirana said yesterday. “I’ll take my first law exams in November,” Kola himself says. A rare story, even in the classrooms of the Faculty of Law. Kurt Kola may be the oldest student ever to cross the university threshold. After the great school of prison, the elderly man will have to take a seat in the Faculty of Law’s lecture halls. Apparently, even the head of the Department for the Rehabilitation of the Politically Persecuted has not been able to resist the subject most preferred by young people. “Fan Noli graduated in music at the age of 70. There’s nothing strange about that,” Kola says. “I enrolled in the faculty last year, but the recent unrest postponed the exams. In two months I’ll take my first exams. When I enrolled, the secretary was surprised and reminded me that I had listened to most of the students in this department. ‘The commander always sends the soldiers to the front,’ was the reply of the former political prisoner. The 60-year-old emphasizes that he has no particular need for professional training in law. “I don’t envy any intellectual their education, but education is never complete,” says student Kola. His life story is very long. Kurt Kola spent around 20 years in the notorious Burrel prison. In ’91 he was elected chairman of the Association of the Politically Persecuted. He initiated the hunger strike in ’95. Most recently, he joined the Albanian Right-Wing League and, after it was dissolved, became part of the Forum for Democracy. Berisha’s best ally and later his opponent. Most recently, he has headed the new department for the rehabilitation of the politically persecuted. It seems this man will continue moving from one challenge to the next. Erjon Tase

On page 5