The day’s alarm: ALBANIA IN THE CLAWS OF CHOLERA - People’s lives are at risk. So be careful, careful, and careful again - Widespread filth, contaminated drinking water, indifference on the part of state institutions, and a dilapidated hospital system provide fertile ground for the spread of disease.

The Ministry of Health announces that, as of 9.9.1994, cases of frequent diarrheal episodes and the sudden death of two citizens for this reason had been reported in the district of Kuçovë. That day, epidemiologists, clinicians, and bacteriologists were sent to the area to clarify the situation. They determined that we were dealing with the beginning of an epidemic. Anti-epidemic measures were taken immediately, care for the sick was increased, and meanwhile laboratory work was under way to identify the cause. On 10.9.1994, the first suspicions that cholera was present in the observed outbreak came from the laboratory of the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and later from the Central Military Hospital. That same day, in accordance with procedure, the World Health Organization was notified; it requested that its specialists verify the results before they were communicated. The specialists arrived in Albania on 12.9.1994 to observe the examination procedures and take laboratory samples with them. Meanwhile, as early as the 10th, without waiting for the reply, the Ministry of Health had taken the strictest measures to isolate the epidemic. The patients were admitted to the hospital in Kuçovë, the hospital in Berat and Hospital No. 1, and subsequently to the Central Military Hospital. Doctors and the relevant teams are also working within the outbreak area; specialists from among the best at the Tirana University Hospital Center, as well as the entire team from the Demiri Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, are attending all the patients outside the district of Kuçovë. As early as 10.9.94, the Government appointed a group of ministers to assess the situation. On 12.9.94, the Council of Ministers carefully analyzed the situation and assigned tasks concerning the deployment of hospitals… (Continued on page 2) Tirana

The loud propaganda and antics of the party in power are vainly trying to mislead Albanian public opinion and pin the blame for the widespread crisis that has engulfed Albanian-Greek relations on the Socialist Party and its joint declaration with Greece’s PASOK. Indeed, the accusation goes so far as to say that “the expulsion of our refugees from Greece is a consequence of the Nano-PASOK declaration.” Anyone with even a little sense, anyone who can read and write Albanian, knows very well that the reason Albanian refugees are being sent back from Greece is not the joint PSSH-PASOK declaration, which was made known to the public as early as June 17, 1993. That declaration was indeed signed by the two respective leaders, Fatos Nano and Andrea Papandreu, but it was unanimously approved by the Presidium and the General Steering Committee of the Socialist Party and supported by the party’s entire membership. Because even then it called for a strategy different from the one being pursued—and still pursued to this day—in Albanian-Greek relations. Because from beginning to end it was guided by the civic spirit of today’s Europe and called for conflicts and disagreements to be resolved through dialogue and understanding, in the interests of peace, stability, and security in the region and beyond. The declaration contains nothing hidden or disguised. It has caused no harm to Albanian relations, nor will it do so. Therefore, once again, the Democratic Party’s propaganda has proved unsuccessful. The ongoing, low-level attacks and slander will not shake the Socialist Party from its principled, open, and constructive positions. They will never succeed in separating the party from the masses who support it, nor will they manage to sideline or discourage it; they will certainly not succeed in diminishing its consistent struggle for a just resolution of national problems and for the defense and consolidation of genuine democracy.

The situation in the Balkans, which has once again become a theater of confrontation, is particularly unclear and unstable today. Ethnic conflicts, a severe economic situation, and acute social problems characterize the current situation in many of the states of the Balkan Peninsula. It is clear that there is an urgent need to find new ways for the peoples of the Balkans to live together and realize their aspirations for peace and democracy. The difficult situation that exists today, characterized by the danger of a more general confrontation in the region, makes the role of democratic and progressive forces throughout the Balkans particularly important. They have a significant responsibility to contribute to easing and overcoming the crisis and to defending the interests of the peoples of the Balkans. In light of all this, the Socialist Party of Albania and the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) publicly declare their firm commitment to ensuring peace, security, and stability in the region. They express their concern about the resurgence of nationalism, which is leading to conflicts and suffering and threatening stability in the region, and they consider it necessary to emphasize their unwavering support for the inviolability of the borders of the Balkan states. They condemn attempts to exploit national, religious, linguistic, and cultural differences in order to create antagonism among the peoples of the Balkans. They strongly support, and will work toward, dialogue and mutual understanding among the peoples of the Balkans and Europe, convinced that interdependence and peaceful coexistence provide a modern framework for ensuring independence and national identity. They express their firm belief that efforts to achieve a just and viable resolution of the Yugoslav crisis must continue through peaceful, political, and diplomatic means. They emphasize their opposition to any military intervention of any kind in the region. They believe that any involvement of Balkan countries in operations of this nature carries a serious risk of the fighting spreading more widely. They declare their confidence in the development of democracy for both peoples and in the guarantee of human and minority rights, as defined in the principles of the Charter of Paris, the CSCE, and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, as an important factor for peace and stability in the region. They declare their shared conviction that the Greek minority in Albania should enjoy full religious, political, financial, social, and cultural rights. Only in this way will it constitute a bridge of friendship and cooperation between the two peoples, and the area where it lives will become a center for the development of broader economic cooperation. The shared position of the PSSH and PASOK is the European orientation of the Balkan countries and pan-European cooperation. The European Union and economic cooperation

Tirana Alarming conditions in the water-supply system - There are around 800 crossings where there is a risk of drinking water mixing with sewage - The fear of a possible infection from contaminated water, together with the environmental degradation caused by garbage, is evident among every resident of Tirana. This is made tangible by the alarming state of the water-supply system, which has around 800 points where clean-water pipes cross sewage pipes. In general, the city’s system does not meet the requirements for economic viability, public health, and environmental protection. Shaban Ka, a specialist with the health and environmental protection office at Tirana Municipality, considers the situation extremely serious. Indeed, taking into account the investments planned by the Ministry of Construction and Environmental Protection, it is beyond what can be addressed. There are many defects, and many areas of the capital are exposed to possible infection from contaminated water. This concern is no less acute in the municipal services section. Specialist Eduart Baholli, although occupied with dispatching Tirana’s water tankers to meet the drinking-water needs of the residents of Kuçovë, is keenly aware of the responsibility for what could also happen in the capital. For this purpose, a working group has been set up at the water-supply company to assess the situation and also to do what it can to prevent it, using whatever resources the state has made available. It must be said that the situation is serious, and people, in order to escape this danger, have begun turning more to God. BASHKIM KOÇI

Yesterday morning, work began on removing pesticides at the pesticide warehouse in Milot. The removal has been undertaken by the company «Dutsch Umwelttechnik» Gmbh, with project director Mr. Thomas Heathal, equipped with all the necessary work and transport equipment. The company will carry out this task as part of a process. (Continued on page 2)

Despite Vlora’s abundant water resources, the population’s supply of drinking water was poor throughout the summer. Last week’s case was unprecedented. Several neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city, especially the «Lirim» and «15 Tetori» neighborhoods, were not supplied with a single drop of water. Hundreds of residents of these neighborhoods, with jugs, bottles, buckets and tubs in their hands, wander through other neighborhoods to secure drinking water. What is more, the caravan of people carrying containers passes by the municipality and the district council. According to the competent authorities, the cause of this situation is the breakdown of the water-intake pumps. It is said that efforts are being made to install two new pumps, but so far the situation remains the same. Citizens ask: When will the drinking-water problem be solved? Correspondent of «Zëri i popullit»

- Although their country has the highest rates of development in Europe - - Although the Democratic Party, as confirmed even by the English Conservatives, is the most successful in the East - A few days ago in Switzerland ... from Durrës. His name was Alban. But an Albanian also died in Italy, another died in Greece, another in Germany as well, and another in... And tears, not merely visible. The chronicle of sorrow goes on and on. Its pages also contain dozens and dozens of such cases. Murdered and returned, but also fallen and forgotten, not returned, left without a grave. And the state remains silent. Nobody asks about them. Nobody protests. In one of her reports, the television presenter anticipates, in emphatic tones, the pleasure that the girls from an institute who met President Berisha must necessarily feel. Those whom the President did not leave ... are now antinatore(?) who want çështin and want mekrin(?). A thousand undocumented Albanians try to go to Italy. The guards ... In Athens, the accusations against former Prime Minister Micotakis were forgotten. The party divisions were forgotten too. The problem with Macedonia was «forgotten» as well. Because in Tirana, five of their compatriots are being sentenced. But in Greece’s prisons, does anyone know how many Albanians have been locked up and forgotten? The government officials have finished their holidays. Parliament is still in session. There is nothing to suggest that it will begin work even on September 15, as announced. The jokes have started. As always, the first ones come from the people of Shkodër. Shkodran humor ... the number of the latest parliament, the next parliament’s holidays as long as a mother’s and a primary school’s. Another person said that parliament is on leave over there. It is preparing for the Constitution, but there are young people who want to abort it. The negotiating process may be postponed in this area too. The privatization board is ready. It is only waiting for the order. Albania is at a crossroads; Albanians are murdered, imprisoned, persecuted, forgotten. Not only in Greece and on Italy’s coasts, not only at the borders with Macedonia and Yugoslavia. Albanians have been forgotten by the government of Sali Berisha’s Albania. Our embassies in Athens, Rome, Skopje, and elsewhere could all be out in the field, but they do not concern themselves with anything except the fate of the Albanians. Because Albania is the country with the highest rates of development in Europe. LUAN M. RAMA

In Durrës, 73 percent of families ... receive ...; ... in Kavajë ... the title deeds, in 7 thousand. * In 25 schools in the country ... * The Academy of ...

* 100 thousand dollars for the «Jakov Xoxa» school ... the project of a ... Dutch ... * Albanians in ...

... published by the leaders themselves ... in the name of the association. The list also includes MP Ali Spahia. * In Kamëz ... occupation problem ... There are 115 families ... * On September 14–17, ... takes place in Tirana

... The third meeting in a series of the Commission for Economic, Trade, Technology and Environment Affairs ... Parliament ... European of the Black Sea Countries. * Life imprisonment for Pashk ... who a month earlier had killed ... of Shkodër. * Closure ... of the mines ...

... that are operating at a loss because of the high cost of extracting the mineral—a shocking announcement for their miners. * The editor-in-chief of the newspaper «Saran», Nebil Çelka, will appear in court on September 16, sued by the city’s mayor for insult committed in office. * An enterprise is established ...

The cause is that the cows have been stolen. * The Council of Ministers approved the draft for the Code of Criminal Procedure. * The press writes that ... in Korçë has run dry. The city of ...

A few days ago in Switzerland ... from Durrës. They called him in Greece, another in Germany as well, and in... And tears, not a spectacle. The chronicle of grief dozens of such cases. People killed about them. Nobody protests. The television presenter anticipates, in one of her reports, with emphatic tones, the pleasure that the girls of an institute must necessarily feel when they met President Berisha. Those whom the President did not leave (?) are now antinatore(?) who want to ask(?) and want mekrin(?). A thousand Albanian clandestine migrants are trying to go to Italy. The guards...

In recent days, radio and television and the press have reported that a widespread gastrointestinal (intestinal) epidemic has appeared in the districts and in Berat and Kuçovë, as a result of which five people have died. Preliminary findings from samples taken from patients for analysis indicate that we are dealing with the cholera microbe. Cholera is a serious infectious disease, one of the five diseases covered by the convention (WHO), with a relatively high mortality rate. It is highly contagious and mainly damages the digestive system. The source of infection is a sick person. Infection occurs mainly after consuming drinking water or food products contaminated with the feces of a sick person or of carriers of the microbe. The disease takes on a massive epidemic character, causing, in most cases, severe diarrhea (large amounts of loose stools), with loss of fluids and mineral salts from the human body. Mountain? (unclear section) ... earlier, during the analysis, they argued and set dyrta for the failures. Shtatlovë... ...his? ... in ... for ... ...the need for services... (partly illegible text) Cold spots of cholera for many years have been Baktashëshi. South Asia, Korea and Africa. In the epidemic area, cholera was recorded in 1927. The hygienic and sanitary conditions of these places are the main factors in the emergence and spread of cholera, affecting mainly children, but also adults. The incubation period is approximately 12 to 48 hours after ... it begins with the abdomen, loose and watery. (Continued on page 2)