Nano meets Milošević: Kosovo put forward for a solution Serbian President: “We will consider it under international law.” Albanian Prime Minister: “A positive meeting” CRETAN BALKAN SUMMIT / Talks last 1 hour and 30 minutes. The news spreads quickly CRETE TRAFFIC LIGHT Just one green light Fatos Baxhaku Statues, bloodshed, plans to wipe out an entire people, an unprecedented history of urgency between two peoples with a long border to share. Serbs and Albanians have lived door to door in the same region, with hatred between them, and, it seems, are trying to see one another, since even yesterday the people of Kosovo were being shot at by the Serbian militia and are accused today and always of being “terrorists.” What happened yesterday around the meeting in Crete? The conversation between the two leaders, Nano and Milošević, is still shrouded in many questions. What exactly did both sides agree on in these lines, and what did they discuss privately? The question is whether yesterday’s depth of sorrow marked two different things in the Balkans. Yesterday’s meeting is one of those whose significance can only be understood once it has entered history. But something happened that gives cause for concern—and history, even if it appears in this newspaper, may amount to nothing more than a simple handshake. Until quite recently, no one could imagine it, although a few had begun to call for it: a very important issue, the beginning of a dialogue between the two sides. But it did not take long for the Nano–Milošević dialogue to get under way, many kilometers from the capitals of both countries, in the place where, in the days of Minos and the whole of the free world, the first civilization flourished. Not only Nano and the Serb Milošević, but also the other leaders of the Balkans, which “wants to become European,” met at an event that strengthens efforts to cooperate in matters of shared economic interests. The shared experience of living together with ethnic problems and clashes has now been overcome; it shows that conflicts subside only when borders become merely formal and artificial barriers. Everyone knows how difficult this is in the Balkans. But that handshake over the table has offered hope that the time for dialogue has come. Albanians and Serbs must first show that they are ready to resolve their problems peacefully and through dialogue. The second step belongs to the Serbs. Let us wait and see. From left: first Fatos Nano, third Slobodan Milošević, fourth Kosta Simitis, yesterday in Crete (REUTERS)

TIRANA - Nano and Milošević shake hands. The ice between the two neighboring countries has thawed twice like this, after having been frozen for more than 50 years. Yesterday in Crete, Greece, the Albanian Prime Minister held a one-on-one conversation with the Serbian President, and the meeting lasted a full 1 hour and 30 minutes. The two leaders later appeared before the cameras and described the meeting as “very positive.” Diplomats in Crete confirmed yesterday to the newspaper that the talks addressed the question of Kosovo, the situation of the Serbian-Montenegrin minorities in Albania, and bilateral relations. Everything took place yesterday at the Crete Summit, where talks were also held between Greece and Turkey, two countries that still have not resolved their disputes. At first, the Nano–Milošević meeting had seemed difficult to arrange, yesterday, on the first day of the Balkan Summit in Crete. On page 3

TEPELENA - Explosions were heard constantly, with explosives being set off in the affected areas. The guns did not fall silent, while real fighting broke out in the middle of the city. The special forces took shelter in the police station to avoid the crowds of citizens. On page 6

Kicks and punches in Lezhë and Gjirokastër. Matches suspended VROLLOTOS RESULTS On page 7 FOOTBALL

On page 6 FIER

Majko-Brojka TIRANA - Brojka and Majko shake hands and reach an agreement. An act of cooperation was signed yesterday by Mayor Albert Brojka and the head of the Socialist group, Pandeli Majko. Local government, now also under opposition conditions. This was the content of the document signed by the two interlocutors from different camps. According to Brojka, this concerns a new scope of authority that local government is expected to receive, if the government takes it seriously. The second point of the agreement reached provides for Brojka to appear before the Albanian Parliament once every three months, to give an account of local government. While Majko described the meeting as a multi-layered symbol, for Brojka it had no political content. On page 2

Today at 18:00 at the Prime Minister’s Office The government team will ask Alimuçaj to implement the Council of Ministers’ decision to appoint administrators to VEFA TIRANA - After much back-and-forth between the Government and VEFA, Malaj and Alimuçaj will finally meet today. The meeting has been scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Prime Minister’s Office, and so far both sides have confirmed their attendance. The Government’s main aim is to appoint administrators to VEFA, while Alimuçaj is refusing to accept them. The Council of Ministers’ decision, dated 28 October, leaves Alimuçaj with little room for maneuver. Regardless of the latest court case and others still under way, the administrators have the right to knock on his door. The first Government–VEFA meeting took place at the beginning of Alimuçaj’s term. The last meeting, which is expected to be decisive, will take place at the time stated above. On page 3 Vehbi Alimuçaj

Yesterday, during an oath-taking ceremony TIRANA - The Albanian Army now has volunteers. Yesterday, Sabi Brojkaj greeted the soldiers of the Shijak Infantry Brigade, reminding them that they had not taken up arms because of a legal obligation, but through a spirit of volunteering. According to the Minister of Defence, the troops are no longer regular personnel, but people brought together by national pride. This is the first time that the army minister has described his personnel as volunteers. For Brojkaj, the new soldiers were brought under arms not by the force of law, but by their volunteer spirit. For some time, a different system for organizing the Albanian Army has been under discussion in the army’s senior circles. “Mercenaries will be the basic echelon making up this new [??] of defence. These plans go further, with claims that the army system will also include paid soldiers. Following NATO’s defence models, it appears that, in addition to its regular personnel, the Albanian Army will also include contingents of volunteers and paid mercenaries. Such an idea was raised several weeks ago in senior army circles after the introduction of [??], and the latter suffered this situation at the beginning of the year when it was dismantled following Zhulali-style democratic reforms.”

UNUSUAL KUKËS - The magical game that has recently spread across Albania has a particularly interesting history. It was played in the villages of Kukës as early as 1937, although less often than it is today. In recent days, in the border villages of Gorë, Borje and Shishtavec, it has been played under the name Tombolla. The first players of this game are no longer alive, but their sons remember how they brought it to Albania. Ramadan Doke, Isuf Alia, Sejdi Dokle, Sabri Kuliçi and Shaban Pala played the game 60 years ago, which today is enjoyed by all Albanians. The emigrants, as [??] 90 years ago, [??] in a house [??]; they had learned to play it in Belgrade and brought the “marvel” back to their homeland. The mechanism was very simple. A special sack held hard-material balls marked with 90 numbers. Players took turns drawing a ball and calling out the number to the ten people holding tickets, pieces of paper marked with 15 numbers from 1 to 90. For each ticket they paid a small sum. The owner of the bingo game took part of the winnings. The players usually played after dinner in one of the village houses. [??] they would reach in by hand, [??] the sack, and draw a number from one of the slots [??], calling it out to [??] the numbers in the set. At that time, special games were not known. What is interesting here is that the game was played continuously, often until the late hours of the night, and only now [??] on the village road. If twenty years ago, the 90 numbers [??] what had been [??] 60 years earlier. [??] after bingo, in one of the houses, [??] the first interesting feature of village life became better understood. In the village evenings, in these villages, it continued [??] All the main texts have been printed in the newspaper. Kukës The photograph shows a house. Ionuz Hallac