The story of the company that sought to open the first casino in the capital / Prosecutors uncover a flagrant violation The Court Created the Pyramid Schemes “M. Leka,” registered three times under the same name Page 9

BY MARTIN LEKA Apparently, the meeting between Majko and Berisha has received an extraordinary amount of coverage in the Albanian media. Perhaps even in Havana there was not such an amount of coverage when the Pope met Castro. In no democratic country in the world would a meeting between a prime minister and the leader of the opposition attract such propagandistic interest. And although the comments have generally been realistic and in the spirit of peace and tolerance, there have also been extremes, with the “inviter” of this political meeting being singled out at the same time. Meanwhile, such a meeting has not been without diversions by some pseudo-analyst whose surname is more reminiscent of mud..., not to mention the fanatical militants of both political camps, who cannot break free from communist dogmas. In any case, such a meeting, whether spontaneous or prepared in advance, with internal or external advisers, and with real or fictitious mediators, has brought a different political climate to the country and restored people’s faith. Now is the time to put an end to the propaganda surrounding this meeting. This is not the time to comment on whether Berisha lost or Majko won, or the other way around; whether the DP won and the SP lost, or vice versa. If they lose, or continue to regard the Majko-Berisha meeting as a “curiosity,” as has now become the case, we will be entitled to question the low level of democracy, and will also become a laughingstock in international opinion, which cannot possibly treat as the event of the day a meeting between the prime minister of a country and the leader of an opposition party. This is an opportunity for the Government and the Opposition to begin normalizing their relations together, while respecting democratic laws and conduct. The much-discussed Majko-Berisha meeting should be considered only a “star” pointing the way toward a modern democracy. Otherwise, such a meeting will be “walled up” along with the hopes of Albanians.

Christmas Eve in Paris Photo REUTERS

Department heads have not completed their annual reviews on time Ministers Ignore the Instructions Page 3 Prime Minister Majko’s order, according to which ministers were to submit their annual plans, appears likely to be implemented next year. Issued by his office at the Prime Minister’s Office about 15 days ago, the prime minister asked his entire cabinet to submit all the annual work plans for each department to Deputy Prime Minister Ilir Meta by 20–22 December. In this way, the Prime Minister’s Office would compile the balance sheet and draw up all the data.

Yesterday, a poll on KOHA radio, broadcasting on FM 98.1 MHz On yesterday’s program on “KOHA” radio, journalist Anila Jole hosted the “Opinion” segment. The question was: “Who do you think should be the leader: Majko or Nano in the SP, and Berisha or Pollo in the DP?” During the more than two-hour program, 150 people called the radio station from the districts of Tirana, Krujë, Durrës, Kavajë, Fier, Lushnje, Peqin, Patos, Vlorë, Elbasan, Berat and Ersekë. The result was as follows: Pandel Majko received 44.6% of all callers, Fatos Nano 22.3%, Sali Berisha 20.6% and Genc Pollo 12.5%. In response to the question of who should lead the SP, Fatos Nano received 33.4%, while Pandel Majko received 66.6%. Regarding the question “Who should be the leader of the DP?”, Berisha received 62.7% of the votes, while Pollo received 37.3%. We should clarify that some callers also voted for Eduart Selami as leader of the DP. Naturally, this is a poll based on direct calls from listeners, and it cannot be claimed that it is nationwide; nevertheless, it is an indication of the new balance of forces in politics.