From UDB agent to State Security Bezhani recounts the sins of the head of the Constitutional Court. He is a double agent The man from the Commission for Verification sheds light on the shadows of the past. What lies behind the file? Information deposited with the State Security about ordinary Kosovars as well as well-known names from Pristina INTERVIEW / “I was astonished by what I saw and read in his file” (Left) Bezhani (Right) Gjata TIRANA - Nafiz Bezhani, chairman of the Commission for the Verification of Figures, yesterday brought to light the shadows of the past of the man who heads the Constitutional Court. In an interview given to the newspaper, the jurist brings the mysteries of Gjata 007 to the surface. His early links with the UDB, his mysterious return to Albania, his appointment to high-ranking posts, and also his putting himself at the service of the former State Security. These are the catacombs entwining Rustem Gjata’s past, which Bezhani himself has been unraveling for months. “Gjata has the right to a full verification of the documentation,” Bezhani says, since he is entitled to documents prepared during a historical period burdened by the delusions of class warfare. But Bezhani has no doubt that the figure of the head of the Constitutional Court is highly complex, and that a mountain of questions and mysteries surrounds him, weighing heavily on his standing as head of Albanian justice. But who, in fact, is Rustem Gjata, and what is his curriculum? On page 12

ALBANIAN DIES On page 6

GREECE / 2 TONNES CROSS THE BORDER On page 6

KORÇË / 20 MINUTES OF TERROR On page 8

TIRANA On page 2

The testimony of the former Prefect and video footage weigh against them “Inciters and organizers” TIRANA - Charges are ready for Democratic Party MPs Jozefina Topalli, Mark Kroqi and Feri Hoti. “Incitement, participation in clashes, organizing”—these are some of the charges drawn up by the Tirana Military Prosecutor’s Office, which has focused on the facts concerning the Democratic MPs. “We cannot yet say definitively what the charge is, since they must first provide explanations. On page 6

Championship Vllaznia now one step closer to the title Champions League: Four draws in the four quarter-final matches. Juve and Leverkusen are the worst affected; they conceded goals on their home pitches On pages 10-11

Rallies for Kosovo in all cities on Friday . Berisha’s roundtable: Let NATO come. Right-wing parties sign the resolution. TIRANA — NATO troops should come to Albania. The proposal emerged yesterday from a resolution by political forces and associations that are not part of the governing coalition. The resolution announces a large rally to be held in Tirana and other cities in Albania, to be led by the Democrats themselves and parties from the right-wing spectrum. The roundtable has abandoned calls for war, toned down the extreme language, and condemned the massacre in Kosovo’s Drenica. In addition to proposing that facilities be provided for NATO troops in Albania, the resolution calls on the United States and the EU to ensure the normal conduct of the March 22, 1998 elections in Kosovo. Berisha also did not hold back in his accusations against his political rival, Prime Minister Nano. According to Berisha, some of Nano’s phrases are identical to Milosevic’s, indirectly accusing the prime minister of being a secret ally of the intelligence services or of the “butcher of the Balkans,” as Berisha called him. On page 2.

AFTER THE COMPLAINT Prosecutor’s Office: Alimucaj

Police station attacked . US prepares to enter Serbia. From the latest events in Kosovo. WASHINGTON — If the situation in the province of Kosovo deteriorates, the United States will send a military force there. On this issue, Washington’s special envoy to the Balkans, Robert Gelbard, said in a written statement that America has done everything possible to prevent the conflict in Bosnia from spreading to Macedonia and Kosovo. “We are ready to deal with the problem this time as well, and we are ready to use all the necessary means.” On page 9 On page 12

AFTER THE COMPLAINT . Prosecutor’s Office: Alimuçaj is guilty. TIRANA — The Tirana Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed that all the facts presented in Robert Cameron Elli’s complaint are against the “Vefa” business. “On the basis of these facts, he is found guilty, but in any case Alimuçaj himself must provide an explanation regarding the accusation made against him,” sources say. Cameron has testified, while Alimuçaj was absent, reportedly ill. After the company bosses’ unanimous statements, the case file is expected to be sent to court soon. On page 8

Two Albanians win the “Gratta e Vinci” lottery ONE BILLION LIRE IN THEIR POCKETS ONE BILLION LIRE IN THEIR POCKETS. They scratch and become billionaires in Milan. Two Albanians win the “Gratta e Vinci” lottery. MILAN — When fortune knocks, you open the door. And this time it has chosen a young Albanian couple especially, who, pale with astonishment, have found themselves billionaires in Italy. Monday was the happiest day for the two young people, refugees for a few months in a province of Milan. With a “scratch and win” lottery ticket costing just 2,500 lire, they became the owners of a billion-lire prize. With just one light scratch, one billion lire now “rests” in their pockets. “They came into my bar around midday,” says the owner of Bar Sport, Cosimo Priscindaro, “and, as they do every day, they asked me if I had heard of any job openings. Then came the usual ritual: they bought a phone card and called someone else who was looking for machine operators. Nervous and hopeless, the young man—he calls him that because he hasn’t remembered his name, but says he is around twenty-five—hung up. The girl beside him bought two lottery tickets, which they scratched at the counter. I saw them turn pale,” Cosimo continues. “They showed me the ticket on which four ‘A’s were marked. Then they asked how they could collect the money, said goodbye to everyone having coffee at the bar, and left.” A large photocopy of the winning ticket has been put up in the small café in the Milanese province since yesterday. It hangs behind the counter, in the most visible spot, where everyone—especially pensioners—can talk about the win. “Strangely enough, they won,” the owner continues, “because people in my bar try their luck every day, even with a lot of small change.” Their friends also called, bought another phone card, and got in touch with a company everyone having coffee at the bar, and left. lot of small change. But it was the first time they had bought tickets, at least at my café.” Another sign has been added to the bar’s simple furnishings, which have become famous: “Luck is [mon te] feeling a little better.” The Albanian billionaires, meanwhile, have not been seen crossing the café’s threshold. They have “disappeared” amid the haze of [hamashëve], which will remain on the lips of the small crowd of celebrants for a long time.

RD reply . This is what our work is about. TIRANA — Gazeta Shqiptare works to provide truthful information. This would be the briefest answer we would like to give our colleagues at Rilindja-Demokratike. The previous day, the opposition party’s newspaper insinuated, claiming that it gets its news about Kosovo from sources in Belgrade. It is unnecessary to remind “RD” that we, like the entire Albanian press, have relied on ATSH and the Kosovo Information Office as our primary sources of information about the latest events in Kosovo. We cannot understand our colleagues’ hasty eagerness to attack at a time like this, when an article with more about Kosovo on its pages would be of greater interest to everyone than a banal attack on an Albanian newspaper that does what is called journalism—something that remains journalism to us, whether the information comes from Kosovo or Athens, from Rome or from PD.