HASAN AHMETAJ DISMISSED “I will reveal Minister Poçi’s secrets” He celebrated for Nano; the police chief falls On page 7

WALL IT IS: AIDS AIDS, wealthy Albanians are secretly receiving treatment in Italy On page 8

Albania risks being left without newspapers in two days. The “Demokracia” printing house, where some of the most important newspapers are printed, including “Gazeta Shqiptare”, has announced that it will suspend its operations because of its large debts. “The newspapers are not paying their bills in full,” director Fejzi Bozgo told “Gazeta Shqiptare”, “and have thus accumulated a debt of 200 thousand dollars; if we do not collect at least 80 thousand dollars within 48 hours, we will have no choice but to close.” Bozgo said there was not even enough money in the till to pay the wages of his 15 employees: “We have only 50 thousand lekë in the till, and when these employees find out they will be left without wages, you’ll see what a commotion they’ll make. We have no more paper, plates, film or chemicals for the newspaper-printing process,” the director explained. “We have no money to pay VAT to the State, or even the telephone bills. Under these circumstances, we are unable to continue operating. When I call the publishers of various newspapers and ask them to pay their debts, they are nowhere to be found, they do not answer, and I no longer know whom to turn to. And so I have made my decision: I will suspend work.” Besides “Gazeta Shqiptare”, the “Demokracia” printing house also prints “Koha Jonë”, “Albania”, “Republika”, “Rilindja Demokratike”, “Sport Ekspres”, “Ekonomia”, as well as several periodicals. “This is a situation that has been recurring for a long time,” Bozgo continued. “Since the beginning of this year, we have lowered our rates, so publishers have no excuse for not paying.” Many printing-house employees complain that some newspapers, although they do not pay their bills in full, keep their print runs far higher than actual sales, solely for reasons of “prestige”. A prestige that risks bankrupting the entire sector. The publishers, for their part, complain that paper prices are much higher, as are the taxes imposed on newspapers, and that this is why they are unable to pay the printing house’s other expenses. Perhaps the time has come for government authorities finally to intervene and find a solution.

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PARADOX Edmond TUPJA One day, while translating into French a speech that someone involved in politics was supposed to deliver somewhere abroad, I came across the word Continued on page 9