Majko recounts the difficult contacts with the opposition “Is there a clash between the President and the Prime Minister? But this is only a political [unclear]” The number two of the Socialists speaks about today’s political problems TIRANA - Pandeli Majko reveals the behind-the-scenes story of relations between the PS and PD. “We have good friends among the Democrats,” the Socialist Party secretary said yesterday. Faced with the Council of Europe’s reservations about the lack of dialogue between the two major parties, the Socialist politician’s view was that the heart of current Albanian politics is not the lack of dialogue, but the crisis of ideas within it. According to him, the cordial talks held a few days ago between representatives of the two parties point to a different atmosphere between them, not one of icy coldness. Yesterday Majko also recounted his relations with Nano and Pëllumbi, as well as the “delicate” relationship between Meidani and the current prime minister. The PS figure characterized these relations not so much as delicate, but as a new phenomenon of a realistic separation of powers, in which Meidani can no longer be considered a member of the PS, and the latter can no longer be considered a state party. In any case, the politician, otherwise known as the author of agreements reached with his Democratic counterpart Pollo despite the difficulties, is optimistic... On page 2 Pandeli Majko and Genc Pollo

AFTER SO MANY TRAGEDIES Carlo Bollino Despite all its [unclear], despite the endless beauty surrounding it on every side, the Adriatic Sea is gradually turning into a foul-smelling swamp. Its boat is now tirelessly swallowing human lives; its sucking arms open irreversibly beneath the speedboats that have begun their race toward the surface, while its mud has begun to weigh so heavily that it completely blocks the slow channels of international diplomacy. The Adriatic swamp dissolves everything like an immense expanse of sucking mud, which pushes the Italian shores away from the Albanian ones, instead of— as would be normal—bringing them together, if it were Most of the clandestine migrants arrive from southern Albania. Have we ever asked ourselves why? Simply because it sometimes takes five hours by car—or seven by bus—to get from their [unclear] to the Italian Embassy, and meanwhile everyone knows that the journey may be completely pointless if the coveted visa cannot be obtained. By speedboat, however, the journey takes only 50 minutes. For many years, the population of the South has been calling for a consulate to be opened in Vlorë. Everyone assures us that only in this way will the wave of clandestine migrants be reduced, but the request has so far been postponed several times for financial reasons. It is a debatable reason, but it should not truly a sea. And then you want to shout at the others: Enough. Enough of the reports on this foretold tragedy, enough of the idiotic suggestions of those who want to fortify the Italian borders, while all they have in mind are racist thoughts, and who continue to call “hlandestinê” men, women and children who are nothing but emigrants, and therefore must be treated as such. You feel like screaming even when some kind of reporting “…” a filthy insistence on “flight from poverty”, or hunger, when all it takes is a trip to Albania to understand that these emigrants have a home, sometimes even a car, plenty of hope and work, and above all—a sum of money, without which there would be no place for them on the boat and the goddess. But then you remember that merely saying “enough” is pointless, because we know perfectly well that other tragedies will recur and that we will perhaps hear the same idiotic excuses a thousand times over. After that, the only thing left for us is to try to build. And what about the emigrants who are truly to come? When will the Italian Embassy in Tirana stop issuing “visas” to the unemployed and to bureaucracy, and instead want to send [them] to an office open to everyone, with a few transparent rules? Is a job required beforehand for an emigrant to go legally to Italy? Only if they can legally manage to do this. Getting an Italian visa is an “adventure” and can take months. … forgotten that in Belgium there are dozens of such places, left there since the time of Italian emigration. In our dream, it seems to us that the law regulating immigration ceases to be a tool for regulating “an evil coming to us from the opposite shore” and suddenly becomes what it truly should be: a normal movement, whose relations with a resource of value to Italy must be regulated. The emigrant comes about after taking stock of the country they are going to. If this is understood, Albanians at last—but not only they—will be treated according to the service they provide and not according to what we ourselves often force them to steal. But during our dream, other things also come to mind, involving the police. We ask ourselves: Wouldn’t it be better for the Albanian Government to stop the traffickers on land, while they are preparing to leave, rather than at sea, where intervention is much more difficult? Perhaps if this happened, tragedies such as that of the “Katër i Radës” would no longer be repeated. But dreams, of course, leave a bitter taste. Then, powerless as we are, we prepare to watch the mistreatment caused by other tragedies, hurrying on toward other truths and continuing to wander around hopelessly in relation to this evil alone, which we have begun to normalize. We no longer love our sea, the Adriatic, as we once did. (Taken from “La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno”)

So far, the file contains three charges that could weigh against them Reported to the Prosecutor’s Office TIRANA - A scandal has erupted involving the white coats. Millions of lekë are being stolen through travel allowances. An inspection team at the Military Hospital uncovered falsifications and theft. The complaint was submitted to the district Prosecutor’s Office three days ago, and it has just begun its investigation. The case concerns nine doctors as well as cashiers who signed the travel-allowance forms. Sources say there is a discrepancy between the allowances paid and the number of days in a month. Thus, in July of this year, which has only 31 days, one doctor was paid for 82 days. Other documents reportedly show almost the same pattern. The total amount of the allowances is 12 million old lekë, for the period December 1996–September 1997. The charges formulated are “forgery, theft, and abuse of office.” But so far they have not been brought against any individual; the later investigation will establish that. When confronted with the observations, the doctors shrugged. A well-known surgeon at the Military Hospital says that ordinary doctors make short trips and the payment is small. On page 4

A fierce dispute over Kosovo TIRANA - Berisha goes on the counterattack and harshly attacks Meidani. “Withdraw your statements about Milošević and apologize publicly”—having put him on the spot before journalists yesterday, the opposition leader was extremely harsh and attacking toward his predecessor. A climate of attacks and counterattacks has begun between the two statesmen, after Meidani described Berisha in Italy a few days ago as a politician who destroyed the state. But yesterday Berisha used the Kosovo issue as a weapon to respond to the current President: “His statements are the result of Nano’s submission to Milošević in Crete,” Berisha said, which, according to him, means that he is trampling on the blood and the violence suffered by his Kosovar brothers at the hands of Milošević’s tanks. On page 2 Berisha

The history of pyramid schemes The Haxhiu story Prosecutor’s Office closes the “VEFA file”: No wrongdoing found TIRANA - VEFA wins once again over Bitumi. The much-discussed case of “money laundering” and “suspicious transfers” has been closed. Prosecutor’s Office sources said yesterday that “no element of a criminal offense was found, so the case was dismissed.” This means that Vefa’s transfers were made in accordance with the rules. For many days, investigators studied the documents in the basic report that served as the complaint, but only a few days ago they decided to put an end to everything. None of the checks carried out identified any violation of the law or other suspicious actions. On page 3

TIRANA - Not only university students, but also secondary-school pupils, even those who are 8 years old, have begun to “enjoy” the effects of being “mesreve”. This was the conclusion of a project by the Independent “Eureka” Center, entitled “Youth and Drugs”. This study in Tirana’s secondary schools and universities began in June ’96 and continued until February ’97. The surveys brought something else to light, perhaps far more important: even in eight-year schools, the risk of drug use does not come from outside. On page 9

(Taken from “La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno”)

Why are young people poisoning themselves?

REPORTAGE KAVAJA - Golemi beach is deserted after the tragedy in which 17 people drowned in the Strait of Otranto. The speedboat operators and their boats are hiding from the threat of the police. The taxi driver who transports clandestine migrants tells “Gazeta” the story of the trafficking that starts from Golemi. Meanwhile, in Italy, another alarm has been raised over a missing speedboat. An anonymous phone call has prompted Italian naval and air force units to search, but so far there have been no results. On page 6

Once again, 12 pages, 30 lek Soros offers publishers an opportunity to get rich On pages 10–11 HEALTHCARE Be careful not to get sick: You’ll pay more On page 3 “LUSHNJE” Gang that robbed bus passengers caught On page 5 SHKODER The Buna threatens the centuries-old church On page 5