The former DP chairman issues a call. Kopliku: Get rid of Berisha “We called them thieves, but now let them come” The former DP chairman issues a call. Kopliku: Get rid of Berisha Shehu: Let those who left the DP return “We called them thieves, but now let them come” TIRANA - Tritan Shehu wants to stop the hemorrhaging from the ranks of the Democratic Party. “Enough is enough; now we must call on everyone who considers themselves right-wing to return,” the former chairman of the Democrats, now a member of this party’s National Council, told Gazeta Shqiptare yesterday. According to Shehu, the DP has suffered, and continues to suffer, from an old and incurable disease: attacking individuals and then driving them away, rather than having a battle of ideas within its ranks. “People have left, and afterward they have been branded as thieves, traitors, etc.,” Shehu said, also acknowledging his responsibility for this hemorrhaging, engineered at the Democrats’ blue-tinted top leadership. For the former chairman, the time has now come for the DP to unite, not split apart, especially given the climate of distrust toward the Albanian political class. On page 6

INTERVIEW / The former government star speaks out TIRANA - “What were Nano’s shortcomings and mistakes?” Former Culture Minister Arta Dade spoke in an interview with “Gazeta Shqiptare” about what she is currently doing, while also analyzing her relationship with Prime Minister Nano during the time she was part of his cabinet. “Nano operates through circles or cliques that he himself places in certain positions and that protect him both within the party and in the Government,” said Socialist Party MP Dade. She also spoke about the duties of the government cabinet, the SP, and her political commitments as an MP and member of the Socialists’ leadership. On page 2

ARBEN MALAJ Without wishing to repeat myself, we are aware of its negative effects, which are evident in the fact that corruption hinders investment in the economy and limits the country’s economic well-being. Of course, when analyzing this hidden phenomenon, it is essential to identify the causes that have allowed it to grow to these proportions, its most widespread forms, and the structures most affected by it, so that we can determine the steps to be taken, classifying them as immediate, medium-term, and long-term measures. Our main observation is that two structures within the Ministry of Finance appear problematic in terms of the corruption index, and, at the same time, it is precisely within these structures that people obtain considerable financial benefits by exploiting officials’ corruption. Continued on page 9

They were caught in the flames while playing Two four-year-old girls and a five-year-old boy CERRIK / An entire neighborhood on the outskirts of the town was at risk UÇK: WE WILL FIGHT FOR A GREATER ALBANIA Two four-year-old girls and a boy just five years old were engulfed by flames from burning hay in a neighborhood on the outskirts of Cërrik. The incident occurred on Friday afternoon, when a hayfield caught fire near the neighborhood, where the little ones were playing amid the grass. Their silent deaths remain a mystery, but one of them remains the testimony of a hayfield nearby, from which the fire spread and burned the haystacks belonging to the families. The neighborhood was shaken by the horrifying discovery, after what these people noticed had been obscured by the feeling [?] of Italy. France and after 3 hours of searching. The funerals of the three children were held in the village, with young people and hundreds of people from Cërrik and Elbasan in attendance. PRISHTINA - The UÇK has made its ultimate aim known. “This is our land, these are our people, and we want them to be integrated into Albania.” The 27-year-old UÇK member is in a Bosniak [?] grip. According to him, the army’s ultimate aim is the union of Albania with Kosovo and with the regions of Macedonia and Montenegro. In his view, if the unification of Germany could happen, the unification of the Albanians must happen too. The commander, who asked to remain anonymous, had spoken with a journalist from the newspaper “Osllobodjenje” in [?] (Photo: ANSA) UÇK soldiers in Tropojë The neighborhood was shaken by the chilling discovery, after [someone] noticed a mirror [the text is unclear]… of the three children were held in the presence of… by people from Çërrik and Elbasan. On page 4 UÇK soldiers in Tropojë (Photo: ANSA)

Meidani, Nano, Berisha, Islami, Fino, Karamito... On page 11

PRISHTINË UÇK made its final goal known. PRISHTINË UÇK made its final goal we expect them to be integrated into Albania of Kosovo,” a 27-year-old UÇK commander declared yesterday to the Bosnian press. According to him, the aim of the Army is the union of Albania with Kosovo and then if the world allows the unification of Germany, it should also allow that of the Albanians. The commander, who asked to remain anonymous, spoke with a journalist from the newspaper “Oslobodjenje” near the border with Albania. Photo: ANSA On page 16

ANTI-SMUGGLING CEA, Teta, Malaj special commission Ilir Çano takes charge of directing operations against trafficking by sea and land On page 9

GAZETA of Durrës The Chinese provide trains for the railway DURRËS - The railway is beginning to unload from the railways of 50 years ago. Two loads of scrap iron, remnants of old wagons from more than half a century ago, will be transported to be melted in the furnaces of China’s metallurgy industry. On page 8

GAZETA of Vlorë Lowering excise duties raises prices VLORË - Prices continue to keep the market in Vlorë in suspense. Although excise duties on some of the main products have now been lowered, the prices of those products have not changed accordingly. Only a few traders have lowered their prices in Vlorë. On page 7

SHKODËR - The fall of the Yugoslav dinar against the German mark has hurt Shkodër traders. GAZETA of Shkodër Strikebreakers in the Tuzi market SHKODËR - The fall of the Yugoslav dinar against the German mark has hurt Shkodër traders in Montenegro. Traders cannot easily compensate for the movement of the Yugoslav currency by raising prices in dinars. On page 6

GAZETA of Tirana This is how much it costs to die TIRANË - The holy scriptures mention that man was created from clay and will inevitably return to clay. But the prophets of the past had forgotten to mention that there would also be people who would help turn the dead back into earth. On page 5

TIRANË - Farudin Arapi “sues” 2K before Prime Minister Nano. Another pyramid firm has thus been exposed: 2K has collected what is reportedly the usual amount in privatization vouchers, promising to return them to citizens. Example, “Shtam gjeni” makes the chairman of the PD. On page 9

On pages 13–15

FATOS COCOLI What stands out in the torrent of accusations and public opinion about abuses and misappropriations by representatives of the state administration since 1991 is the reaction of those accused. Those state representatives who have been accused can be counted on one’s fingers. Associations spring up like mushrooms; why not have one that channels, gathers, and directs accusations of corruption where they belong? Why not a public telephone line for reporting waste and abuses by representatives of the public administration, just as there are such lines for the state [?] who have gone to court to defend their reputations. The vast majority of them have settled into the comfortable position of public or covert silence, as if to tell their accusers (groups of employees, former owners, ordinary citizens outraged, people knocked off their seats who know the workings of the state bureaucracy well, etc.): “You can rant and rave all you want; you can’t touch us.” What are the reasons for this relative confidence among possible state abusers and embezzlers (financial officers, administration chiefs, directorate staff, deputy ministers, ministers)? Could it be that they are incorruptible prisoners spread everywhere, angels descended from heaven? With a few exceptions, in a country described by the World Bank as the most corrupt in Europe, they sign the same papers. Their confidence lies in the fact that Albania still has no mechanism to monitor and quantify the conduct of state bureaucrats, their work results, or their private financial position. In Italy in 1994–1996, although the Court of Accounts was not functioning either, a group of carabinieri led by Di Pietro played such a role; it was called the “Clean Hands Group.” They punished the mentality of the state bureaucrat’s [?] in Italy. Such a group can and should also be established in our country, through investigations by joint commissions and working groups that create this media commotion rather than a genuinely bitter trial of the corrupt. These [?], lawyers and independent inspectors, as well as the state administration, must be guaranteed real independence, effective working tools, and high salaries (80,000–100,000 new lekë). These expenses would be justified tenfold if this Albanian “Clean Hands” group were to catch even a single major smuggler within the state administration or connected to it. Another reason the accused feel comfortable is the directness of the accusations made by outraged ordinary citizens or political groups. There is no effective organization that can make use of similar cases, so that they may be relieved of the state bureaucrat’s [?] genuinely bitter trial of the corrupt. These [?], use of similar cases. Independence in Albania

SPECIAL FRANCE ’98 On pages 13–15