17,000 Albanians risk being imprisoned in Thessaloniki Deported refugees say they will return to Greece again Will Greece close its borders to Albanians? 17,000 Albanians risk being imprisoned in Thessaloniki Deported refugees say they will return to Greece again Will Greece close its borders to Albanians? These days Albania risks becoming isolated from the only European Community country with which it shares a land border. Following the incident involving the Greek priest Krisostomos, who was deported from Gjirokastra to Greece, thousands of refugees returned by the Greek police have begun pouring into Albania. The action by the Greek authorities followed the expiry of his Albanian visa. Following this incident, it was reported that Greece was responding by sending Albanian refugees back. According to the Voice of America (VOA), the number returned by Tuesday was around 10,000. This figure is also confirmed by the Greek press, which dates it to the period after that of 1948. Albanian President Berisha yesterday sent a letter to world figures Boutros-Ghali Bornuevo, Hou-juck, Ogata, Lalumierë and Delors concerning the incident in question. Minister Serreqi has also stated that the priest’s action is contrary to our laws. The Greek news bulletin ANA says that the operation began on the orders of the Greek Ministry of Public Order last Saturday. Greek government sources say that this operation to deport refugees will continue. ANA also reports, again citing the Greek authorities, that such an event could have consequences in Kosovo. This event, which began unexpectedly, took place a short time after Prime Minister Meksi’s visit to Athens. Among other things, the prime ministers of the two countries also discussed the legalization of Albanian emigrants in Greece. This issue, which received a positive response, was presented as one of the many bilateral successes. have begun pouring into Albania. The action by the local Albanian authorities against the Orthodox priest was taken as a consequence of the latter’s activities against Albanian territorial integrity. The Albanian side’s statement said that Krisostomos had distributed maps and leaflets calling for the Hellenization and union of southern Albania with Greece. — Meanwhile, other sources say that the priest’s deportation took place at around 3 a.m., and that the reason given was[?] the Greek press, which emphasizes that 23 million drachmas were spent on such an operation. Among those deported, it is said, there is a certainty that they will return to Greece again. Likewise, according to the Greek press, 17,000 Albanians in Thessaloniki risk being imprisoned as perpetrators of various crimes. To date, the Albanian press has provided no further details concerning this incident, which may be considered the most serious between the two countries. one of the many bilateral successes. But could this conflict have been avoided? The Albanian authorities could have reacted differently to the priest in Gjirokastër. It should be borne in mind that more than 300,000 Albanians work in Greece. No one wants national interests to be infringed, but statements such as “Albanians would rather go hungry than betray Athdeun”—statements that bring Enver Hoxha to mind—are outdated.

On 26 June 1993, the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office decided to charge Idajet Beqiri, chairman of PUKSH, and initiate criminal proceedings against him following the President’s lawsuit accusing him of defamation in an article in the newspaper «Kombi», No. 47, dated 22 June 1993, entitled «Mr Berisha, you are the murderer of all Albania». In the prosecutor’s decision, Mr Beqiri wrote the following note: «Mr President, take care to read not only [the text] but also the contexts involving the crime with others». In that article we told him one thing in particular, while the other 999 things we will tell him in court. On 28 June 1993, district prosecutor Fatmir Fagu ordered house arrest for the defendant Beqiri. On this decision by the prosecutor, Mr Beqiri wrote: «With these actions and absurdities, I am becoming convinced that the president neither became nor will become the president of Albania. He truly insists on seeking the destabilization of the country». It should be emphasized that, because Mr Beqiri has no home in Tirana, he is serving his house arrest in his office.

TIRANA — According to information we received from the Blood Donation Center and the Aksion Plus health section, we were informed that the first Albanian was identified in Albania as HIV-positive with AIDS. He is a man who, without wishing to sound racist at all, belongs to the Roma community living in Albania. He is married and has children who, according to the tests conducted, are negative for this disease. The person in question is not known to have ever gone outside Albania or to have had sexual contact with a foreigner; therefore, the only possibility is that he contracted the virus here. Is this not, perhaps, a question mark indicating that there may be other people in Albania with this disease? R. N.