The great journey begins: the deadline expired yesterday The camps will close, but returnees will be given money and support Only those with jobs may stay in Italy; Fassino and Tirana prepare the program There will be no extension of the deadline for the repatriation of Albanians, Prime Minister Prodi announces that everyone must return Economic support for families who return. Assistance will continue until June 1998 BRINDISI - Starting tomorrow, around 5,000 Albanian refugees will no longer be able to stay in Italy. Their permits expired at midnight tonight. All the camps in various Italian cities, set up to receive Albanians during the months of unrest, will thus be closed. There will be no extension of the deadline for refugees to stay in the camps; the repatriation of everyone will begin immediately. Meanwhile, today the directive of Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Piero Fassi-no was approved. It provides for financial support for families returning to Albania and easier access to a visa for Italy in the future. The first to receive support from the place where they had stayed for months were the survivors of the Otranto Tragedy. After returning from Vlora, the police informed them that they could no longer stay in the “Caraffa” barracks. Having been granted a one-year permit, they are considered free migrants who do not need support. On page 11 Veterans and fireworks Meidani, Nano and Gjynushi, also at the Martyrs’ Cemetery (Photo: P. Pilo) On page 3

FOOTBALL / Everything from Albania and Europe Partizani beaten in stoppage time TIRANA - Tirana returns to the top of the standings. A week that went their way. Partizani loses in Berat, Vlaznia in Elbasan. Laci has shown that it knows how to earn points away from home, too. Shkumbini has raised its ambitions and reached fourth place. Partizani has dropped a long way, and so has Teuta. They have now swapped places in the middle of the standings, in seventh and eighth positions. Olimpik is far down the table. Sejdini’s players have been joined by the Patos players after their win over Lushnja. In Germany, Kaiserslautern are “Autumn Champions.” In England, Chelsea triumphed thanks to Zola’s hat-trick. Tennis: Sweden wins the Davis Cup for the sixth time. Last night they also beat the Americans in doubles. Jube wants to strengthen its midfield; Boban and Davids are in its plans. On pages 10–11 Fortuzi in yesterday’s match (Photo: Plator Ilo) Fortuzi in yesterday’s match (Photo: Plator Ilo)

The miners threaten to strike

REPORTAGE

Miners threaten to strike TIRANA - “In May ’91, we brought Nano down for 11 days. Today he must not forget that we are the very same people as in ’91” “ Nano, we are the very same people as in May ’91” TIRANA - “In May ’91, we brought Nano down for 11 days. Today he must not forget that we are the very same people as in ’91.” The chairman of the Independent Union of Miners and Metallurgists of Albania, Gëzim Kalaja, says that if the Prime Minister refuses to meet them by December 15, the miners will go on strike on the 16th. The unionists have sent the Prime Minister their 16 demands, but in four months of governing they have still been unable to meet him. On page 2

REPORTAGE A frightening journey along the road of the masked bandits TIRANA - It is late; darkness has engulfed the entire Vain Lagoon, a few kilometers from Lezhë. Only the car headlights cut through the fog, which makes it impossible to distinguish the familiar landscape, with the reeds swaying in the wind. “Take off your socks and let’s put one over our heads like a mask,” says a well-known photojournalist, half-joking, in fact. It had never occurred to you that the only way to protect yourself from the “masked bandits,” the notorious nighttime robbers, might actually be just that. “They do sometimes show up—we’re told by our drivers from Lezhë—it’s better if we accompany you for part of the way.” They turn back at the outskirts of Lezhë, while our two cars set off along the road that has been written about so much in recent days. On page 4

KLA: Now we are here too; further actions soon AFTER THE KILLING OF TWO YOUNG KOSOVARS TIRANA - Tension and uncertainty have returned to Kosovo. Over the past two days, the political and interethnic temperature has risen markedly. The killing of a young man from Deçan, the tense ceremony at his funeral, the presence of armored vehicles and army units on the streets of Prishtina and other towns in Kosovo, as well as statements by KLA representatives that “it is capable of liberating Kosovo”—these are some of the latest developments coming from across the border, foreshadowing an unstable situation with flare-ups at any moment. Meanwhile, other political messages are arriving from Belgrade. “Kosovo is part of Serbia and Yugoslavia, and it is our internal affair.” With this statement, Milan Milutinoviç, a candidate for the post of president of Serbia, has stirred the political waters in the country. Political Europe has closely followed the latest developments. The first signals have come from the offices of French and German diplomacy: Be careful, do not play with fire. Worrying signals have begun arriving from Kosovo. Three days ago, the young Ismet Gjocaj was tortured and then killed in a bestial manner. Later, another young man was killed in Dukagjin. KLA fighters, the Kosovo Liberation Army, were seen at their funeral ceremonies. One of them, armed, declared that “the struggle for the complete liberation of Kosovo will continue” and that the KLA had “rrëmbyer thëllënjepoll.” The statement, made during the ceremony and in front of a TV camera, is the first of its kind to come from the KLA. The iron-fisted standoff between Serbs and Kosovars seems to have been put back on the table. Yesterday, further signals were sent from Belgrade to the Kosovars and to the international community. Slobodan Milošević’s closest ally, Milan Milutinoviç, said that Kosovo is part of Serbia and Yugoslavia and that everything happening there is an internal problem for Belgrade. Meanwhile, another warning has come from the LDK offices: Be careful with Kosovo; do not play with fire. Anton Noka, deputy chairman of the LDKJ, has described the situation created in Kosovo by Serbia’s systematic violence and terror as the consequence of the great historical injustice inflicted on Albanians through the partition of their ethnic territories. In this situation, the LDK and its politicians have put forward a proposal: the formation of a special group to prevent conflict and resolve the Kosovo issue. The war of nerves between the sides appears to be just beginning. Both camps are now playing hard. The appearance of KLA members on screen seems to have turned the latter into a visible reality, perhaps making room for the moderate politics of the circles. But firm and blunt positions are also coming from Serbia. The statements by Belgrade politicians present another bleak battle for Prishtina and beyond. Bujar Bukoshi and Rexhep Qosja in Vlorë

GAZETA TV FROM SUNDAY, 30 NOVEMBER, TO SATURDAY, 6 DECEMBER 1997 The secrets of the lives of VIP personalities from Albania and around the world. Then, details about the films and television programs you can watch this week On pages 5–8

SPECIAL our wound

SPECIAL AIDS, our modern scourge TIRANA - The 1990s were not kind to Albanians. Besides the other troubles of politics and the economic crisis, in this country for the first time the word “AIDS” began to be used widely—not as a fashionable name for women, but as the acronym for the disease that had caused millions of deaths in countries around the world. The 1990s were an unlucky time for Albanians, who may die even from diseases that perhaps have beautiful names. On page 9