TIRANA: A DAY AFTER

REMZI LANI, AIM TIRANA, 25 MARCH

The dominant feeling in the Albanian capital a day after NATO air strikes against the Serbian military installations seems to be a mixture with pleasure and fear. The Albanians approve without reticence the punishment inflicted to Milosevic but they fear that the conflict would spill over to Albania and that Milosevic would take a revenge.

The northern cities of Shkodra and Kukes bordering respectively Montenegro and Kosovo have heard the NATO jetfighters, whose roar has panicked them. The capital, Tirana has not taken any sleep the night of the strikes. The television channels were transmitting non-stop the programs of CNN, Sky News, BBC, which were interrupted only by the official declarations of the Albanian Government and the political leaders of the country.

The Prime Minister Majko in a message directed to the country hailed the NATO air strikes and repeated that "Albania is ready for war in case of aggression." Albania has offered to NATO all its aeroportual facilities and its entire military infrastructure to support Allies' operations.

Majko announced to the Albanians that few hours before the bombardments, he had had a telephone talk with the US State Secretary Albright, had received a letter from the NATO Secretary General Solanas and had secured invulnerability for the sovereignty of Albania.

The leader of the opposition, Berisha, through a declaration in the late hours of the night considered the day of the beginning of attacks as "A turning day in the history of Balkans."

The war atmosphere is felt more in the media in Tirana than in its streets where no signs of panic have been noted. The airport of Tirana has been closed Wednesday afternoon. The authorities have taken all the measures that the air shelters for the population should be in order.

The Albanian Government has deployed along the northern border of the country the greatest military effort since the Second World War. The army has been put in the highest alert. The Parliament stays gathered. If the situation deteriorates, probably in the north and than gradually in the rest of the country the Emergency State may be imposed. A newspaper of Tirana said that the Government has prepared the Law on the Emergency State and depending on the situation it can be promptly declared.

Albania fears, above all, provocations from Milosevic, be them a vengeance for the use of the Albanian air space from NATO, or as a result of the relations Tirana has with the KLA. On the other hand, in Tirana it is not excluded that in a desperation move Milosevic may undertake adventurous acts against Albania. Incidents have not been absent any of the recent days. Last week, the Yugoslav Ambassador in Tirana has been called from the Foreign Affairs Ministry and has been consigned a severe protest note.

According to some news, the night of the strikes the Serbian artillery has hit Tropoja, a small village close the border, destroying some houses among which the house of the former President of Albania Berisha.

In the villages along the border with Kossovo has been completed the evacuation of women and children fearing a confrontation with Serb forces. Bunkers, build during Hoxha's dictatorship, have been cleared up. The hospitals are alerted. Practically all men under 55 years old are ready and armed. Army forces protect water deposits, electric and telephone installations.

There does exist the fear of waves of refugees and the sustainability of a human catastrophe, which would not be easy for our small and poor country. The Minister of Information, Ulqini announced that Albania is able to host up to 50 thousand refugees. Considerable food stocks have been sent to the north.

In Tirana, everything that is happening in the neighbouring countries is being followed with attention. During a Parliamentary session, the Chairman of the Commission for Foreign Affairs criticised severely the closure of the border between Macedonia and Yugoslavia ordered by the authorities of Skopje. The Macedonian Ambassador in Tirana, Nikovski, said that the closure of the border was misunderstood and the question has been definitively closed. The same, it is being taken care to send understanding messages to Podgorica. The Albanian media have dedicated a great attention to the Montenegro's decision not to declare the Emergency State on the territory of Montenegro. One day before the bombardments, Majko said in Shkodra "The President Djukanovic has an open door to visit Shkodra and Tirana."

Meanwhile, the KLA leaders, Thaci and Krasniqi, who actually are in Albania, have been continuously present in the media of Tirana. In a message at the Albanian television they called Kossovars for resistance.

Now that the bombardments have begun, in the cafes of Tirana the question is what would happen after the NATO strikes? It is too early to make previsions but there is one thing: Kossovo has brought a new edition of the Cold War between a divided West and a nervous Russia. Yeltsin, who is with one hand begging help and the other on nuclear buttons, has practically announced the return of nerve wars that nobody knows the duration.

The civil aeroplanes have interrupted the flies almost in all the Adriatic airports including Albania, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, and Macedonia. Instead, in the skies of Balkans now are the jetfighters to flight. Until when?