Albania celebrates NATO membership invitation

TIRANA, April 3- All Albania closely followed the NATO summit meeting Thursday, and later celebrated the country’s membership invitation. People remained at coffee bars to see live television transmission of the meeting while lawmakers followed it from the parliament hall. Albanian and NATO flags were flown along government buildings on Tirana’s main Martyrs of the Nation Avenue. Also, a convoy of cars with Albanian and NATO flags paraded through Tirana’s main street in celebration.
All TV stations had live broadcast of the summit. Opposition Socialist leader Edi Rama hailed the membership invitation as a “new day in our country’s history” asking for “greater responsibility to the people and the international partners.”
Berisha also considered the day of the NATO invitation “one of the most special one in our century-old history.”
“After Albania’s independence (in 1912) which marked the country’s real birthday, NATO membership is Albania’s most important event,” he said at a news conference after the summit chose to include Albania as a NATO member. (Tirana Times Staff)