BY ARBAN HASANI Having gone to Spain for party engagements, Sali Berisha received yesterday the final invitation to join the Albanian constitutional process. Ahead of the 22 November referendum, Imam and Godo presented the Democratic leader with the document that also opens the way for a “YES” from the Albanian opposition, on the condition that all the DP’s objections be discussed at an inclusive roundtable. More than a move to leave the former president bearing responsibility for the boycott in the eyes of international public opinion, the effort by the two heads of the constitutional process appears to be a final call for Albania’s political class to resolve its problems at home. After the West’s sustained support for the constitutional draft and its outright opposition to the opposition’s boycott, the West cannot create domestic harmony through its own role alone. For all international organizations, such a deep division—which is expected to emerge in Albania on 22 November through voting and boycotting—will make it impossible to bring the political sides closer thereafter. In this context, Godo and Imami’s final appeal seems to be the most considered step for avoiding the consequences of such an enormous divide as is expected to emerge. Berisha’s visit to the Iberian Peninsula, planned earlier, delays the opposition’s response to this invitation by several days. But if it is treated as a merely political gesture, the invitation will lose its meaning. It is no longer a challenge to the DP, just as a possible response—the opposition’s triumph through stubbornness—would not be one either. More than an achievement in Albania’s harsh political game, the constitutional appeal also seems to be the most testing moment, as well as the most opportune one, for beginning a permanent dialogue between the government and the opposition. After many years of fierce struggle with one another, regardless of which side was in power, this relationship has seriously harmed not only the parties themselves but the lives of all Albanians. A possible compromise would not be a symphony of defeat for either side, but merely the beginning of a different kind of music in a country that, after 22 November, awaits the end of this century with bated breath.

A Bedouin on a camel and the ancient city of Petra in Jordan Photo: REUTERS

The Deputy Speaker of Parliament is concerned Topalli: Europe Is Boycotting the DP “They are the EU representatives who are doing this, and it is nonsense” Page 3 The Democratic Party admits that it is becoming isolated from the West. This was stated yesterday at a press conference by the Democratic deputy speaker of parliament, in response to an EU statement condemning the boycott of the constitutional process. “They are telling the Democratic Party not to boycott the referendum. But in fact, we are not boycotting it. There are three ways to vote: a vote in favor, a vote against, and abstention, and we have chosen the latter.”

Godo-Imami invitation Roundtable with the DP on the Constitution “Let us discuss the articles we will change after the referendum” Page 7

The Prime Minister on a visit Majko: I Will Not Sit Down with Milošević The head of government declares his departure from Nano Page 32

Albania-Greece football “Shpresa” at an Army Unit Mëma’s team trains on a field in Hadaraje

The “Meta-Monika” scandal In an attempt to defend himself, the deputy prime minister incriminates himself The accusations against Deputy Prime Minister Ilir Meta are intensifying. Confidential documents, which cannot be made available to the general public, have begun to emerge from the archives of the Albanian state. This is best confirmed by opening yesterday’s issue of the newspaper “Zëri i Popullit,” in which several documents from the Ministry of Public Works were published with their protocol numbers and the relevant notation.

The Ministry of Public Order deploys its entire arsenal for 22 November Strict security measures; Zall-Herr troops in operation Page 9