REPORTAGE / In Tropojë, where they all found shelter SHKODER - “When you see them so battered and exhausted, you don’t even have the heart to tell them they still have to walk for several more hours.” This is what one of the refugees, Bill Pexteon, head of the OSCE office in Tropojë, says. Every day he prepared the border line. Nothing about being Western can stop him from being moved as he tells stories about the many refugees crossing the border. The flow of displaced people in Kosovo grows every day. On the first day, 200 Kosovars crossed the border; then the numbers were 700, 1,300, 3,000. As their numbers grew, so did the responsibilities of the governing structures. Old Tropojë is the first stop. The head of this municipality, Isa Memia, does not sleep for a moment as he tries to organize their registration and distribution among homes. Someone has a room for 60 people. They do not even have space to lie down. They sit with their knees drawn up, just so they can tuck their heads somewhere. Meanwhile, the woman of the house does not sleep at all. Together with her daughter, she washes the newcomers’ clothes and bakes bread for the next morning’s breakfast. On page 11 A KLA soldier in Tropojë (Photo: Arben Zaimi)

KOSOVO / Heated debate in Parliament between the defense chiefs Hajdaraga: We are ready, we have NATO’s support Hajdari: Our army is incapable of defending us TIRANE - Hajdaraga says the Albanian Army is ready to defend the borders in the event of a cross-border conflict, and added that in this context the Western allies, NATO, will never allow Serbia’s aggression against Albania. The Minister of Defense spoke in Parliament after being summoned to an interpellation by the head of the Defense Committee, Azem Hajdari. Hajdaraga stressed that a number of military units and brigades had quickly been placed on alert following last year’s unrest and destruction. Meanwhile, Democratic Party MP Hajdari emphasized that the Albanian borders are still undefended in the face of the deployment of some 45,000 Serbian Federal Army troops in Kosovo, as well as other militia and paramilitary forces. On page 3

Sabri Godo No Albanian politician would be able to answer the question of where we are going with Kosovo. But what we can say is that this time we will stand with Kosovo. During the Second World War, many cadres of the Albanian Communist Party were subjected to the harshest punishments, the kind Enver knew how to impose, because they asked questions about Kosovo. The final answer came from the party leadership toward the end of 1944, in the form of a joke that served as an instruction to party organizations and partisan units: “We are in- openly how it sees the solution to the Kosovo problem. The Government is elated today by the Contact Group’s decisions, and tomorrow seems happy about the supposed start of talks between Prishtina and Belgrade. More or less, this reminds you of the noise of a tin can tied to a dog’s tail. In its eagerness to appear as moderate as possible and to use polished language, the Government sometimes goes further than it should, as, for example, by calling for Kosovo to join the Yugoslav Confederation without asking whether the Kosovars themselves want such a thing. Meanwhile, fever has gripped all of Kosovo. I return to the issue of NATO. How would our Government feel tomorrow if NATO decided to send troops to Kosovo? In that case, it would be said that this Government wandered like a forest in the fog, without finding the direction it should have taken. Personally, as an MP, adhering to the three resolutions of the People’s Assembly, at recent meetings with foreign dignitaries, including Mr. Vatoni, Secretary General of Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ishinger, Political Director of Germany’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and others, I have said that there is only one solution for Kosovo and peace in the Balkans: the intervention of NATO troops. Let us make a simple assessment: even if we suppose that the world community changes its position and forces Millosheviç to withdraw his troops from Kosovo, given how things have developed, Millosheviç cannot do so. A number of villages are already outside Serbian rule. If the troops withdrew, nothing could stop Drenica, Deçan, etc. from declaring their freedom, with all of Kosovo following in their wake. Millosheviç knows this is what would happen, and therefore cannot retreat. I have said it before: today Millosheviç has only one path—to choose war and implement a plan to achieve two goals: crush the resistance in Kosovo and destabilize its rear, Albania. To do this, he must keep concentrated just as Enver knew how to give them, because they were asking a joke that served as an instruction for party organizations and partisan units: “We are internationalists; Yugoslavia can govern Kosovo better, while we are like a mouse that cannot fit into its own hole and wants the pumpkin behind it as well.” I call as witnesses all the former partisans of the VI Assault Brigade. I have no doubt that the instruction was given in the same form to all partisan units. In our Government’s current policy, dressed up in phrases like a rifle in a pile of money, Kosovo is talked about. But only to a certain extent, because Europe calls us good boys, pats us on the shoulder and tells us that we are working for the stability and emancipation of the Balkans, and that under no circumstances should we spoil this fine image we have created of ourselves by asking for anything more for Kosovo and the Albanian nation than Europe wants to hear. However, this excessive zeal for conformity could also be self-destructive. The US Secretary of Defense, Kohen, is heading to Europe to persuade NATO to intervene in Kosovo. Other political figures have been speaking for some time about NATO’s preparations for a possible military intervention in Kosovo. The People’s Assembly has made this request in three documents. Meanwhile, our Government is restricted to asking for NATO to come to Albania, and perhaps even for NATO troops to be stationed on our border with Kosovo. If things have really gone this far—that is, if we have asked for foreign troops on our border with Kosovo—the least that can be said is that this Government is looking only for a volume it can snuggle up in to keep warm. Such accusations, which may be completely baseless, are circulating because the Government does not come out and say Continued on page 3

The opposition is seeking new ways to strike at its rivals in the Government. The opposition’s position on foreign aid had already been declared by Berisha. But now it has taken a more radical stance. On page 2

GAZETA of Shkodër SHKODER - It was 9:30 yesterday morning, while all the rooms in the government building were full of people, when the terrible news electrified everyone. Police officers on duty at the main entrance evacuated those trapped in the building’s courtyard, including a 65-year-old woman in whose bag there was nothing else except a grana-

On page 4 Dispute with the Greeks: He was stopped in our waters

GAZETA e Vlorës Customs gets its revenge for the whole year VLORË - The port takes action against companies that abused customs. More than twenty-nine private entities are involved, and a lawsuit has now been filed with the District Prosecutor’s Office for failure to pay customs duties and for violently obstructing customs officers during the unrest. According to the heads of this customs office, the loss they caused the state amounted to around eighty-nine million lekë. On page 7

GAZETA e Durrësit Police abandon the beach DURRËS - Rubbish and the lack of ORDER threaten the beach. The second Sunday of the holiday season, which has just begun, has not been without its troubles. Despite the cleaning of the sand and the area near the coast, the beach’s first weekend left behind a mountain of rubbish strewn here and there by holidaymakers. On page 8

Dispute with the Greeks: It was stopped in our waters A smuggling vessel has been seized in Sarandë. The cargo of unregistered cigarettes was intended to be unloaded during the night on the Albanian coast. As soon as it crossed into territorial waters, the ship encountered the coast guard. The alarm raised also mobilized Greek vessels, which blocked the smuggler’s route back. After surrendering, the ship remained in territorial waters near Sarandë, pending further orders to dock at the port. Yesterday, the chief of police, Bregu, asked the authorities in Corfu to seize the ship, since it had violated Albania’s waters. If this is agreed to, the contraband goods will be auctioned, bringing revenue to the police coffers. On page 4 Photo of goods being loaded/unloaded beside a truck. The truck reads: MIFUT.

TIRANË - The Communists attack Rugova for betrayal, but they also have plenty to say about Alia, Nano and Berisha, against whom they have leveled a flood of accusations. They have even stated that the PK exists in the Albanian regions of Kosovo as well, and that its members are fighting for freedom against the Serbian occupier. While awaiting the legalization of the Communist Party, Maks Hasani has not hesitated to make accusations and launch attacks left and right against all politicians. On page 2

WITH 60 MILLION TIRANË - By the end of June, Tirana will have a few fewer potholes. With a fund of 60 million lekë from the state budget, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport has improved 6 road sections in Tirana that were among the most damaged. Naturally, 60 million lekë cannot work miracles, but the changes are noticeable on the sections where work has been done. In general, the potholes have been filled and the most damaged sections asphalted. Four companies were selected through direct procurement by a decision of the Council of Ministers. On page 9

WORLD CUP ENCYCLOPEDIA / Today, installment No. 9 ITALIA MONDIAL 98

LIST OF WINNING PRIZES IN THE DRAW OF 07.06.1998 AT THE NATIONAL TELEBINGO MINI-BINGO PRIZE Win the Mini-Bingo prize worth 4,000 lekë: all tickets bearing No. 2992 GRAND PRIZES Win the right to compete for the grand prizes. Ticket No. 2992 Series 548; Ticket No. 2992 Series 581; Ticket No. 2992 Series 544; Ticket No. 2992 Series 554; The 4 winners listed above will compete against one another next Sunday, 14 June 1998, for the following prizes: TWO APARTMENTS ONE CAR ONE TOURIST TRIP SUPPLEMENTARY PRIZES: Win the fifth supplementary prize, worth 60 lekë: all tickets in Series 506 Win the fourth supplementary prize, worth 120 lekë: all tickets in Series 519 Win the third supplementary prize, worth 180 lekë: all tickets in Series 570 Win the second supplementary prize, worth 240 lekë: all tickets in Series 588 Win the first supplementary prize, worth 300 lekë: all tickets in Series 522 Winners of the Supplementary and Mini-Bingo prizes can collect them at any Tele-Bingo or TOTO-Futbollit sales point. Winners of the grand prizes must contact the National Telebingo immediately at telephone numbers 334 48 and 414 - 29. For the next draw, dated 14 June 1998, 100 series numbered from 601–700 have been put on sale.