Shamata: “We are solving the mystery.” Victims’ families: “We have no confidence” Urgent clarifications sought from the Parliamentary Committee on Public Order and SHIK Atlanta, Swede Peterson in the archery competition Janullatos is waiting to see what the Albanian authorities will say. Under the current conditions in Albania, where every branch of the state is controlled by President Berisha, the only statement, even an indirect one, is expected from him. Meanwhile, Berisha is on holiday in Pogradec, but holidays also come to an end. It is still difficult to predict whether Berisha will adopt toward the three metropolitans the position he took four years ago, when he said yes to Janullatos, or whether he will take the position set out in the draft constitution he tried to have approved in November two years ago. In any case, this issue is expected to be reflected in the annals of Albanian-Greek diplomatic relations, which have been shaken in recent weeks, when Athens objected to Tirana’s attacks on the Greek lobby in the US. The best course for Athens and Tirana would especially be not to interfere in church affairs. ILIR BABARAMO

The Patriarchate of Istanbul has decided to send three metropolitans of Greek nationality to Albania, but Archbishop Janullatos has said “no.” For the vacant posts of metropolitan in the cities of Gjirokastër, Vlorë and Korçë, the centre of the Orthodox Church in Istanbul appointed three senior clerics of Greek nationality. The Patriarchate asked Janullatos, Archbishop of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania, to perform the rite of blessing them for these posts. But J. Janullatos objected. “My election as Archbishop of the Albanian Orthodox Church sparked reactions in Albania four years ago because of my Greek nationality,” Janullatos explained as the reason for his hesitation. “I am in favour of developing dialogue with the Albanian state authorities,” he is reported to have said in recent days. Janullatos, who came to Albania in 1991 as an exarch of the Patriarchate of Istanbul, was elected Archbishop of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania a year later, also with the approval of President Berisha. But since then, the Greek-born archbishop of the Albanian Orthodox Church has often found himself at the centre of relations between the two states. The chill in Albanian-Greek relations has “reminded” Albanian state leaders that the Orthodox Church is headed by a Greek cleric. Amid such tensions between the two states, the statements President Berisha sought to have adopted through the first constitution in Albania’s history stipulated that the president and the head of state in Albania had to be of Albanian nationality. This greatly angered Janullatos, who has still not accepted it. Awaiting statements from the Albanian state authorities, he has blocked the appointment of the Greek clerics to their posts in Albania. [Parts of the text are illegible due to damage to the page.]

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