The blood feud, begun a century ago over the most beautiful girl, has killed all the men of the Hakaj family in Nikël, Krujë The story of the Hakaj clan, which buried nine men in ten years page 8

While the leaders of the PS were putting the finishing touches yesterday to the electoral platform for the Local elections, the chief administrator of the pyramid schemes declared that transparency was expected to be completed within this year. In October, after 3 years, Albanians will return to the polls. Before casting their ballots, they will also remember the promise to return the “maximum possible” amount of the money they lost. And if the PD gets more than 27% of the vote this time, it will owe this expected result a great deal of gratitude to Farudin Arapi as well. The governing left-wing coalition promised then, By ALFRED PEZA While the leaders of the PS were putting the finishing touches yesterday to the electoral platform for the Local elections, the chief administrator of the pyramid schemes declared that transparency was expected to be completed within this year. In October, after 3 years, Albanians will return to the polls. Before casting their ballots, they will also remember the promise to return the “maximum possible” amount of the money they lost. And if the PD gets more than 27% of the vote this time, it will owe this expected result a great deal of gratitude to Farudin Arapi as well. The governing left-wing coalition promised then not only to restore the state, which had been destroyed during the unrest of March ’97, but also to recover as much as possible of the 1.2 billion USD they lost and punish the bosses of the fraudulent schemes. As if the failure of these court proceedings were not enough, so far only 5% of creditors have received their money. The sale of assets has raised 25 million USD, or 2.083% of the money invested in the pyramid schemes. Although 3 years have passed since the companies closed, nearly 200,000 creditors of “VEFA”, “Kamberi”, “Cenaj”, “Gjallica”, “Silva”, “M. Leka”, etc., must wait another 6 months before returning to the counters. After this period, according to Arapi, they will receive from the banks 10 to 20 percent of the money they handed over. Nothing is certain—not even this—when the chief supervisor says that “the sale of the remaining assets of the borrowing companies is expected to be completed by October.” And if you continue to believe Arapi, it is clear that Albanians will not get their pyramid-scheme money back during this year’s Local election campaign either. Berisha, who holds press conferences every day, has remained silent and continues not to be heard on this issue. The opposition has no reason to play the Ace it has kept up its sleeve for months just yet. Those who were once driven from power by this argument have no reason not to use it, at least to knock points off their opponent. Had this process been completed months and months ago, Albanian voters, like so many other issues, would by now have forgotten about the pyramid schemes too. Farudin Arapi and his supervisory group have been drawing salaries for 3 years, and using offices, cars and mobile phones paid for out of the creditors’ fund. Together with the company “Deloitte & Touche”, which won the multimillion-dollar tender, they undertook to provide transparency on the pyramid schemes, sell the assets, compile lists of creditors and distribute the money. Until this process is completed, Farudin Arapi’s people will continue to spend millions more lekë from the creditors’ fund. By then, the 2000 election may also be drawing near, during which Fatos Nano expects the general parliamentary elections to be held. Asked whether there will be even a lek left for them to collect, Albanians seem destined to receive the same answer as in the game: “Is Arapi the black one here?”

The proponents of the motion:

Erjeta’s little girls, two children split in half. Page 9

The “Besëlidhja” football club of Lezhë is looking to buy footballers for the 2000-2001 football season. Footballers interested in signing a contract with the Lezhë team should contact the coach and the head of the “Besëlidhja” club in Lezhë. Contracts close on 15 July.

Last night, sources within the PS confirmed that the two people closest to PS chairman Fatos Nano had resigned. They are Ben Blushi, who resigned from the post of chairman of the KPD Foreign Policy Commission, and Koço Danaj, chief of staff and political adviser to the PS chairman. No official explanation has yet been given for the reason for the resignations, but according to sources within the PS Presidium, the reason they left these important positions was disagreement over the way the Socialist Party is led. Danaj’s departure seems paradoxical, since in the vote for the Steering Committee of the PS Tirana Conference he placed third, after Prime Minister Meta and the Minister of Public Order, Spartak Poçi. The estrangement between MP Arben Malaj and the PS chairman also remains unexplained to the PS structures.

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