Another adventure involving Greek hostages, masterminded by an Albanian emigrant Kapshtica is being fortified: Let the Greeks resolve the incident — page 2 Another adventure involving Greek hostages, masterminded by an Albanian emigrant Hostage bus or Trojan Horse? Kapshtica is being fortified: Let the Greeks resolve the incident — page 2

Yesterday’s adventure involving an Albanian who took the passengers of a bus hostage in Greece—the second such incident in a month and a half, after that of unfortunate Pali—could not help but cause serious concern in Albanian circles, first and foremost among the Albanian emigrants working in Greece. This concern is largely a consequence of the timing. First of all, for several weeks Albanian emigrants in Greece have been subjected to an unprecedented manhunt by the Greek police, which makes no distinction between those without legal status and those with valid documents issued by the Greek state. The extradition of Albanians is continuing, perhaps with even greater intensity, despite the unsuccessful visit of the Albanian foreign minister to Athens. Judging from experience, this incident could serve as a pretext for the Greek authorities to step up the pace of their campaign to expel Albanians. Not long ago, Greece was ranked among the countries with the highest levels of crime in the EU. The Greek government is certainly interested in attributing crime not so much to the inefficiency of its own crime-fighting institutions as to Albanian immigration, which is the dominant immigrant community in Greece. Perhaps the current wave of brutal mass expulsions of Albanians is also connected with this fact. And the incident that began yesterday on one of Greece’s roads, with an Albanian as its central figure, perfectly reinforces the idea of criminalizing Albanians as the main cause of crime levels in Greece. Adding to this the tragic outcome of the hostage-taking that occurred at the end of May, however faintly, it gives rise to suspicions that some kind of ploy may have been organized to criminalize all Albanians. But this adventure, because of the consequences it could have—or even because of the way it is resolved—risks affecting Albanian-Greek relations as well. The extradition campaigns themselves have always been a cause of considerable cooling in relations between the two countries. Staying with the current case, let us recall the controversy that erupted after one of the Greek hostages lost his life, when the Albanian authorities found themselves under a barrage of accusations from Athens. While the Greeks have declared, “We will resolve this case within Greece’s borders,” and the Albanian side has raised the possibility of closing the border, all possibilities remain open.

The foreign ministers of Albania, Greece and Macedonia meet

Corridor 8, an electricity line, roads and new border-crossing points — page 5

Majko: All strategic sectors will be privatized — page 17