From aalibali at yahoo.com Fri Dec 1 08:53:47 2000 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2000 05:53:47 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Inva Mula Message-ID: <20001201135347.28821.qmail@web106.yahoomail.com> Daily Variety, December 1, 2000 Daily Variety December 1, 2000 Pg. 10 La Boheme ALAN RICH (Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County; 3,098 seats; $ 148 top) A Los Angeles Opera presentation of Giacomo Puccini's four-act opera. Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, based on Henry Murger's "Scenes From Bohemian Life." Revival of the 1993 production by Herbert Ross. Stage director, Christopher Harlan; conductor, William Vendice, with the L.A. Opera Orchestra, Chorus and Children's Chorus; sets by Gerard Howland, costumes by Peter J. Hall. Opened and reviewed, Nov. 29, 2000; closes Dec. 21. Running time: 2 HOURS, 25 MIN. Rodolpho.....Aquiles Machado Mimi.....Valentina Vaduva Marcello.....Earle Patriarco Musetta.....Inva Mula Schaunard.....Malcolm MacKenzie Colline.....Eric Owens With: Jamie Offenbach, Bruce Sledge, Jason Housman, Kevin Hafenstein, Mark Kelley, Frank Strnad Third time around, the youthful ingenuity of Herbert Ross' 1993 reinvention of Puccini's evergreen weeper seemed to have lost something along the way. A less than top-notch cast bore some of the blame, although the utter believability of "La Boheme's" mix of high jinks and gloom has been known to surmount similar merely earnest efforts in the past. A trustworthy litmus test for a successful "Boheme" is an audience's collective tear ducts in the last act; this time, from a well-located seat, nary a sniffle could be heard. The charm of the Ross production --- the first directorial incursion into the L.A. Opera from neighboring Hollywood --- was its infectious humanness. Its characters were immensely recognizable. Even the anachronisms seemed part of an agreeable joke: the unfinished Eiffel Tower in turn-of-the-century Paris vs. a vintage car from at least 35 years later; Rodolfo and Marcello arriving on bicycles. This time Marcello rode but Rodolfo merely pushed in Christopher Harlan's routine restaging. There was a fair amount of pushing in the vocal department as well. As Rodolfo in his company debut, Venezuelan tenor Aquiles Machado displayed a set of impressively loud pipes but a tendency toward shrillness. The Mimi of Romanian soprano Valentina Vaduva had all the right notes but little of the vocal color in a role that can make strong men weak. Not until late in act two, when the splendid Albanian soprano Inva Mula, the evening's one true star, launched into Musetta's flamboyant waltz-tune was there much evidence of respect for the grand lyric line that makes Italian opera what it is. As fellow bohemians, baritone Earle Patriarco (in his company debut) and company stalwarts Malcolm MacKenzie and Eric Owens were merely OK. Conductor William Vendice led an unexceptionable performance; his boss, Placido Domingo, an old "Boheme" hand, will take the podium for two performances, Dec. 13 and 16. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/ From kosova at MAILCITY.COM Fri Dec 1 03:12:48 2000 From: kosova at MAILCITY.COM (Olsi) Date: Fri, 01 Dec 2000 00:12:48 -0800 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] {QIKSH ŤALBEUROPAť} Fwd: Greek paralimilitaries in Kosova Message-ID: --------- Forwarded Message --------- DATE: Thu, 30 Nov 2000 23:13:47 From: L. Gj. Greek paramilitaries in Kosova BBC Albanian section aired on Wednesday during its regular morning program for Albania a chronicle from Mr. Robert Goro, its correspondent in Athens, Greece. In its chronicle Mr. Goro interviewed the renowned Greek journalist Tachis Michas, who confirmed the participation of Greek paramilitaries in the Kosova massacres and ethnic cleansing during the spring of 1999. That unprecedented repression in Kosova caused last year's armed intervention by NATO and the present UNMIK administration in the region. Reliable sources, including the New York Times newspaper, have revealed in the past that Greek paramilitaries took part in the final assault in Srebrenica and raised the Greek flag in the Orthodox church after the fall of the town in 1995. In that occasion more than 7000 were killed or massacred by the troops of the Bosnian Serb General, Mr. Ratko Mladic, an indicted war criminal. Greek volunteers during the Bosnian War were regularly being registered in two offices, one in Athens and the other in Salonica, without facing any problems by the Greek police. The BBC interview reveals for the first time that Greek paramilitaries fought along the side of Serbian paramilitary and army during the Kosova War in 1999. To date Greece maintains a sizable military contingent under KFOR command in the area sorrounding Gjilan, Kosova. --------- End Forwarded Message --------- Get FREE Email/Voicemail with 15MB at Lycos Communications at http://comm.lycos.com -------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> eLerts It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! http://click.egroups.com/1/9699/1/_/920292/_/975680139/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> N?se don t? ?regjistrohesh nga ALBEUROPA, d?rgo nj? Email n?: albeuropa-unsubscribe at egroups.com From aalibali at law.harvard.edu Fri Dec 1 09:42:17 2000 From: aalibali at law.harvard.edu (aalibali at law.harvard.edu) Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2000 09:42:17 -0500 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Kosovo, 1999-2000: Inside and Outside the Balkans Message-ID: An embedded message was scrubbed... From: bieberf at seep.ceu.hu Subject: [balkans] Links: Kosovo, 1999-2000: Inside and Outside the Balkans Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2000 09:48:50 +0100 Size: 4494 URL: From pilika at yahoo.com Fri Dec 1 22:01:42 2000 From: pilika at yahoo.com (Asti Pilika) Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2000 19:01:42 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Speciale - Koshtunica Message-ID: <20001202030142.28878.qmail@web801.mail.yahoo.com> Lexoni nje interviste te gjate qe Koshtunica i dha Baton Haxhiut javen e shkuar, ne www.klan.albnet.net. Vereni se sa i indoktrinuar eshte presidenti i ri serb. Asti __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/ From aalibali at yahoo.com Sun Dec 3 09:43:31 2000 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2000 06:43:31 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] LA TIMES, 3.12.2000 Message-ID: <20001203144331.14629.qmail@web117.yahoomail.com> Los Angeles Times 3.12.2000 Book Review p. 2. THE BEST BOOKS OF 2000 THE BEST FICTIONS ................ ELEGY FOR KOSOVO By Ismail Kadare Translated from the Albanian by Peter Constantine Arcade: 128 pp., $ 17.95 "Blood flows one way in life and another in song," a Serbian minstrel sings on the eve of the legendary and bloody battle on the Blackbird Plains in Kosovo, on June 28, 1389. Here the Turkish Sultan, Murad, led his troops against a raucous coalition of Serbs, Albanians, Catholics, Bosnians and Romanians, whom they had cursed with the name "Balkans." "With such a name bestowed upon them by the enemy, they marched to battle and defeat." How could they win, the omniscient narrator muses, against an enemy united under Allah? And in the battle on the Blackbird Plains, they lose, and their Sultan is murdered, his blood spread on the plain like a curse. In this small novel, there is a twist of history: It is the Sultan's double who is murdered, and the Sultan himself lives entombed on the plains to witness the atrocities 600 years later. A Serbian minstrel, Gjorg, flees the battle and in the following days tries with his fellow fugitives to find shelter and food. In one village, he is asked to play in the home of a great lady who, mourning the ideals of Greek civilization and envisioning the bloody future, thinks, "One has to lose a thing in order to cherish it!" Ismail Kadare is a master at the pure explanation, the simple revelation. He has written many books about war, told from a perspective that most of us cannot imagine, and in so doing, he sheds a ray of light through our abject failure to understand the Balkans. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/ From wplarre at bndlg.de Sun Dec 3 09:42:54 2000 From: wplarre at bndlg.de (Wolfgang Plarre) Date: Sun, 03 Dec 2000 15:42:54 +0100 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] {QIKSH ŤALBEUROPAť} NEWS: Rugova Says Too Soon For Dialogue With Yugoslavia (AFP, 3 Dec 2000) Message-ID: <3A2A5BEE.AC066297@bndlg.de> http://www.centraleurope.com/yugoslaviatoday/news.php3?id=226514 Rugova Says Too Soon For Dialogue With Yugoslavia CAVOURI, Dec 3, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) The leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) Ibrahim Rugova said here Saturday it was too soon to begin a direct dialogue with Yugoslavia on the future status of the province. "We have to wait a little. We have time," the moderate nationalist Rugova told AFP and Swiss radio, adding that the majority of the former Yugoslav republics had become independent and "looked today towards Europe." "It's necessary that they themselves (the Serbs) change, that they have new ideas ... confidence will develop if they want it to," he said at the end of a two-day conference called "Albanians as a majority and as a minority." Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica said last week he wanted to talk with "Kosovo Albanian representatives, who were ready to talk ... those who won the local elections," referring to Rugova and his LDK. Zoran Zivkovic, one of Yugoslavia's three interior ministers, expressed his disappointment that no one had responded to the appeal, which he renewed at the conference. "It would be wise to begin discussions" on the future of Kosovo, he said, and appealed for a quick solution which "takes the citizens' interests into account ahead of political ambitions." Hashim Thaci, leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), had said Friday at the same meeting that he was opposed to any talks on the province's future that would exclude him. "No representative from Kosovo, including Rugova, can decide alone" the future of the province, Thaci said. "Dialogue with Belgrade can only begin with international mediation. Kosovo should be represented by its institutions and those who participate in them," he said. "As soon as that mediation is in place, we will be ready to negotiate a peaceful separation between Kosovo and Serbia," Thaci said Friday, adding that he wanted Kosovo to be "free and independent." UN Security Council Resolution 1244 provides for substantial autonomy for Kosovo, but as a part of Yugoslavia. Kosovo's UN administrator, Bernard Kouchner also took part in the discussions, which were organized by the US non-governmental group Project On Ethnic Relations and the Greek foreign ministry. ((c) 2000 Agence France Presse) -------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> eGroups eLerts It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! http://click.egroups.com/1/9698/1/_/920292/_/975857293/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> N?se don t? ?regjistrohesh nga ALBEUROPA, d?rgo nj? Email n?: albeuropa-unsubscribe at egroups.com From ipilika at hotmail.com Mon Dec 4 09:41:49 2000 From: ipilika at hotmail.com (Iris Pilika) Date: Mon, 04 Dec 2000 14:41:49 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Serb police attacked on Kosovo border Message-ID: Serb police attacked on Kosovo border December 4, 2000 Web posted at: 1240 GMT VRANJE, Yugoslavia -- Ethnic Albanian guerrillas have launched a fresh attack on Serb police in a tense area of southern Serbia. Novica Zdravklovic, chief of police in the southern town of Vranje, said the incident took place on Sunday afternoon in a five kilometre (three mile) wide buffer zone inside Serbia proper by the Kosovo boundary. "Yesterday at 4:15 p.m. (1515 GMT), Albanian terrorists attacked Serb police who were on regular assignment along the Gornji Vrtogos-Djordjevac road near Usi village, in the five km buffer zone," Zdravklovic said on Monday. "The terrorists fired four mortar shells, but there were no casualties. The police did not fire back." Four Serbian police officers were killed last month in an attack blamed on ethnic Albanian militants. The guerrillas say they are protecting local Albanians from harassment by Serbian police. Belgrade insists they are separatists intent on fusing the Presevo Valley area of Serbia with ethnic Albanian-dominated Kosovo. The latest attack comes after reports last week that more than 4,000 ethnic Albanians have now fled violence on the Kosovo-Serbia border. NATO's General Secretary George Robertson has urged Kosovo leaders to rein in rebels operating in the area. The NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force has stepped up surveillance and monitoring on the Kosovo side of the boundary to prevent any guerrilla infiltration into the buffer zone, where only local Serb police are allowed to patrol. "Kosovo has reported about 4,400 people crossing into Kosovo from southern Serbia at this point," Maki Shinohara, spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner said on Friday. Robertson urged Kosovo leaders to condemn the militants She said some 1,000 people had entered Kosovo last Wednesday alone, despite general calm in recent days as both sides observe a cease-fire. Lord Robertson said he was concerned about a recent upsurge in activity by the guerrillas. "The leadership here in Kosovo has also a role to play in restraining extremists in the area, because the activities of these extremists damage everybody's interests in Kosovo. "They should be isolated and they should be condemned both privately and publicly by all of the leaders here." The guerrillas operate mainly inside a three-mile wide buffer zone by the boundary. They say they are protecting ethnic Albanians in Serbia's Presevo Valley from police abuse. Belgrade maintains they are terrorists intent on joining the boundary region to Kosovo, an international protectorate since last year's NATO bombing campaign to halt Serbian repression of the province's ethnic Albanian majority. Reuters contributed to this report. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com From ipilika at hotmail.com Mon Dec 4 09:44:22 2000 From: ipilika at hotmail.com (Iris Pilika) Date: Mon, 04 Dec 2000 14:44:22 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Yugoslavia's missing cash found abroad Message-ID: Yugoslavia's missing cash found abroad Milosevic is accused of embezzling billions of dollars December 2, 2000 Web posted at: 1125 GMT BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) -- Yugoslavia's chief banker says $1 billion transferred abroad under former President Slobodan Milosevic has been traced. National Bank Governor Mladjan Dinkic said an organisation called the International Bureau for Control of Foreign Assets had traced the missing money to Cyprus and other countries. "These leads are very serious," the Fonet news agency quoted Dinkic as saying. "We have been told which countries the money had been transferred to." He said the organisation has offered help to Yugoslavia's new, pro-democracy authorities to retrieve the money from overseas bank accounts. "We hope that we will be able to transfer all the money back into the country," said Dinkic, who took over the National Bank following the ousting of Milosevic after September elections. Many in Yugoslavia believe Milosevic and his cronies embezzled billions of dollars during more than 10 years in power in Serbia and Yugoslavia. In October, a German intelligence agency report said Milosevic and his associates were criminals who had stashed more than $1 billion in ill-gotten funds in foreign countries. The German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) said Milosevic's private financial empire extended to Russia, China, Cyprus, Greece, Lebanon and South Africa. In Switzerland alone, the agency estimated holdings at $100 million. "If such accounts are really found, then they will be confiscated," Deputy Foreign Minister Gunter Pleuger said. The report said those involved in the financial dealings included the former president's brother and Yugoslavia's ambassador to Moscow, Borislav Milosevic, his wife Mirjana Markovic and son Marko, who fled the country after his father was toppled. The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com From ipilika at hotmail.com Mon Dec 4 10:28:59 2000 From: ipilika at hotmail.com (Iris Pilika) Date: Mon, 04 Dec 2000 15:28:59 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: Kostunica strikes again Message-ID: >From: Agron Alibali > >Subject: Kostunica strikes again >Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2000 18:30:46 -0800 (PST) > >03] Kostunica-Mount Athos-Visit >03/12/2000 19:45:46 >Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica arrived at the >semi-autonomous monastic community of Mount Athos, >northern Greece, on Sunday on a two-day pilgrimage and >said, referring to Greek-Serb relations, "the two >peoples will remain united until Doomsday." > >Kostunica is accompanied on his visit by Yugoslav >Prime Minister Zoran Zijic and a delegation of >ministers. > >In a brief statement, he said he is pleased to be >visiting Mount Athos, terming it the "cradle of the >Orthodox faith", while monks welcomed him with the >honours of a head of state. > >Kostunica and the members of his entourage were due to >attend a vigil at the monastery of Hilandariou in the >evening, where about 25 monks of Serb origin live. On >Monday, he will meet Minister of Macedonia and Thrace >George Paschalidis in Thessaloniki, despite the fact >he has termed his visit "strictly personal." > >Replying to an address from a monk, who said "the >steamroller of globalisation is sweeping away all >traditions and ideals", Kostunica agreed and said this >steamroller acted in a violent way in Kosovo. > >Kostunica, who is distinguished for strong adherence >to the Orthodox Christian faith, had expressed his >desire to visit Mount Athos and the monastery of >Hilandariou before the Yugoslav elections. In fact, >according to certain circles, he had vowed to make >such a pilgrimage in the event he won the presidential >elections in his country. > >He may also be visiting other monasteries on mounth >Athos as well and, returning from Thessaloniki on >Monday, he might visit the women's monastery in the >town of Ormylio in the Halkidiki prefecture. > >Provided the initial programme is observed in >Thessaloniki, he will visit the Aghios Dimitrios >Cathedral and lay a wreath at the allied military >cemetery of Zejdelik. > >Kostunica's scheduled official visit to Athens in >December is still pending, while the exact date of his >visit has not yet been set. > > >__________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. >http://shopping.yahoo.com/ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com From kbejko at hotmail.com Mon Dec 4 16:57:35 2000 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Mon, 04 Dec 2000 21:57:35 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Albanian-Serb rift unbridgeable Message-ID: [05] Rift between Albanians and Serbs unbridgeable in Kosovo Athens, 04/12/2000 (???) A conference on Albanians in the Balkans came to an end in Athens on Saturday night with Albanians and Serbs failing to agree on the future of Kosovo, while indicative of the negative mood prevailing was the exclusion of the media from the conference and a hasty conclusion to a press conference on grounds that a repetition of its discussion in the presence of journalists was pointless. The conference was organized by Princeton University was attended by leaders of the Albanian Kosovars, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Montenegro, the political leadership of Tirana and representatives of the democratic wing of Yugoslavia's leadership, as well as diplomats and dignitaries from many countries. The publisher of Kosovo's "Koha Ditore" newspaper Veto Suroy said the majority of the Serbs was responsible for the "genocide" of the Kosovar Albanians and reminded that the Serbs lost the war. Yugoslav Interior Minister Zoran Zivkovic accepted a return to the status anticipated for Kosovo by the Yugoslav constitution of 1974, but added that the principle of the inviolability of borders overrides the principle of self-determination for nations. Almost all Greek diplomats and officials responsible for Balkan affairs attended the conference, while Foreign Minister George Papandreou gave a reception for the delegates. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com From aalibali at law.harvard.edu Mon Dec 4 22:40:03 2000 From: aalibali at law.harvard.edu (aalibali at law.harvard.edu) Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2000 22:40:03 -0500 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] [balkans] Links: Voluntary Work in the Balkans Message-ID: An embedded message was scrubbed... From: balkansunflowers at bsfnet.org Subject: [balkans] Links: Voluntary Work in the Balkans Date: Mon, 6 Nov 2000 12:09:35 +0100 Size: 1878 URL: From albania at netzero.net Tue Dec 5 06:02:54 2000 From: albania at netzero.net (Nikoll A Mirakaj) Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2000 06:02:54 -0500 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] {QIKSH ŤALBEUROPAť} Occidental Starts First Onshore Drilling In Albania Message-ID: <001701c05eaa$ebf495a0$3245f6d1@albania> Occidental Starts First Onshore Drilling In Albania TIRANA, Dec 5, 2000 -- (Reuters) Occidental Petroleum Corp's Albanian unit started drilling for oil and gas in southern Albania on Monday, officials said. Occidental of Albania (onshore-2) Ltd has entered a venture with Lundin Oil and U.S.-owned Forest Oil to drill the 4,000 meters (yards) deep well in Mbrezhdan in the Berat region in six months, an operation that will cost around $16 million. The well, named Shpiragu 1, is Occidental's first onshore drilling in Albania. It came to Albania in 1991 and has unsuccessfully drilled offshore on the Adriatic coast twice, once on its own and once in partnership with Austria's OMV . (C)2000 Copyright Reuters Limited. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From wplarre at bndlg.de Tue Dec 5 14:42:38 2000 From: wplarre at bndlg.de (Wolfgang Plarre) Date: Tue, 05 Dec 2000 20:42:38 +0100 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] {QIKSH ŤALBEUROPAť} NEWS: European Parliament: Parliamentary questions of Bart STAES (MEP) concerning the Common Foreign Policy of the E.U. in Kosovo. Message-ID: <3A2D452E.F12D4F8A@bndlg.de> Datum: Tue, 05 Dec 2000 17:36:13 +0100 Von: "Bart Hubert Staes" An: Parliamentary questions of Bart STAES (MEP) concerning the Common Foreign Policy of the E.U. in Kosovo. The former Finnish president, Martti Ahtisaari, published a book entitled ? Mission in Belgrade ?. In this book he describes that he went to Belgrade 2nd of June 1999 as the then envoy of the E.U. for peace, together with the special Russian envoy Viktor Tsjernomyrdin, to put the peaceproject of the international community to the president of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic. Ahtisaari writes that Milosevic refused at first resolutely to negotiate about the peaceproject, but that he agreed next morning suddenly to accept the peaceproject. The logical explanation for this unexpected U-turn, according to M. Ahtisaari, is that Milosevic had settled a secret pact with the Russian generals to create a Serb zone in North Kosovo, so that these areas could have been annexed to Serbia later on. MEP Bart STAES asked some questions to the E.U. Council about this matter. 1. Does the Council confirm the thesis of Martti Ahtisaari ? If not, on the basis of which arguments does the Council reject this thesis ? 2. If so, how does the Council explain that the Kosovarian region in the north of Mitrovica has been yet a Serbian enclave de facto, in spite of the fact that the Russian army could'nt realize the secret pact by itself and in spite of the presence of KFOR ? 3. Does the Council want to leave no stone unturned to finish the Serbian cantonisation in North Kosovo and to return this region to the former inhabitants? If not, why not ? 4. If so, when the Albanian inhabitants shall be able to go back to their houses in North Mitrovica ? And when the hospital and the faculties in Mitrovica will be open to the Albanian population ? -------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> eLerts It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! http://click.egroups.com/1/9699/1/_/920292/_/976046367/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> N?se don t? ?regjistrohesh nga ALBEUROPA, d?rgo nj? Email n?: albeuropa-unsubscribe at egroups.com From wplarre at bndlg.de Tue Dec 5 15:04:57 2000 From: wplarre at bndlg.de (Wolfgang Plarre) Date: Tue, 05 Dec 2000 21:04:57 +0100 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] {QIKSH ŤALBEUROPAť} NEWS: 600 Albanian Refugees Go Back to Southern Serbia (AFP, Dec 5, 2000) Message-ID: <3A2D4A69.C78F50A7@bndlg.de> http://www.centraleurope.com/yugoslaviatoday/news.php3?id=227211§ion=default 600 Albanian Refugees Go Back to Southern Serbia PRISTINA, Dec 5, 2000 -- (Agence France Presse) Around 600 ethnic Albanians who fled their homes in southern Serbia after violence erupted between Albanian guerrillas and the Serbian police, have returned to their homes in recent days, according to the UN human rights agency UNHCR. "Returns have begun in the villages of Trnovac, Konculj and Lucane," UNHCR spokesman for the region Peter Deck said by telephone, adding that those going back to their homes felt safe as a result of a ceasefire in the region, in place since last week. Some 200 people returned on Monday alone, he said. There was still a trickle of people coming out of southern Serbia into Kosovo, but they were far fewer in number than those returning, Deck added. Fighting erupted two weeks ago between ethnic Albanian guerrillas and Serbian police in the buffer zone which stretches from the Kosovo's administrative border three miles (five kilometers) into Serbia. The zone was set up under an agreement last year between Belgrade and NATO which makes the area off-limits to security forces from both sides, with the exception of lightly armed Serbian police. But the power vacuum in the wooded and hilly area has allowed ethnic Albanian rebels to set up bases in the buffer zone, whose three main towns have significant Albanian as well as Serb populations. A ceasefire was agreed last Monday between the rebels and Belgrade after the killing of three Serbian policemen. But the situation in the buffer zone remains tense, with both sides accusing each other of violating the deal. Deck said that the new refugee arrivals in Kosovo, were fleeing the area around Presevo inside the buffer zone, where there has been a build up of Serbian forces in recent days. More than 4,000 people who fled the area when fighting broke out remain in Kosovo, Deck added. ((c) 2000 Agence France Presse) -------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> eLerts It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! http://click.egroups.com/1/9699/1/_/920292/_/976102007/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> N?se don t? ?regjistrohesh nga ALBEUROPA, d?rgo nj? Email n?: albeuropa-unsubscribe at egroups.com From wplarre at bndlg.de Tue Dec 5 15:04:42 2000 From: wplarre at bndlg.de (Wolfgang Plarre) Date: Tue, 05 Dec 2000 21:04:42 +0100 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] {QIKSH ŤALBEUROPAť} NEWS: To talk or not to talk - a dilemma for moderate Albanian leader Rugova (AFP, 5 Dec 2000) Message-ID: <3A2D4A5A.EC4BEBC@bndlg.de> http://sg.dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/world/afp/article.html?s=singapore/headlines/001205/world/afp/To_talk_or_not_to_talk_-_a_dilemma_for_moderate_Albanian_leader_Rugova.html Tuesday, December 5 4:37 PM SGT To talk or not to talk - a dilemma for moderate Albanian leader Rugova PRISTINA, Yugoslavia, Dec 5 (AFP) - The rejection by Ibrahim Rugova this weekend of an offer of dialogue with Belgrade highlights the tightrope the leader of Kosovo's moderate ethnic Albanians has to walk to keep hardline members of his own community as well as his international supporters at bay. The arrival in power of reformist President Vojislav Kostunica in Belgrade in October, and then the victory of moderate separatist Rugova's Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) in the province's municipal elections later in the same month, had raised hopes of an early start to dialogue over Kosovo's status. But caught between calls from the international community for dialogue as the only way forward and pressure from ethnic Albanians at home, many of whom maintain a deep distrust of the Yugoslav authorities, Rugova has given priority to local concerns by keeping Belgrade at arm's length. The assassination of his right-hand man Xhemajl Mustafa in Pristina at the end of November provided a stark reminder that despite strong overall support in Kosovo, his election victory was far from popular with extreme ethnic Albanian elements. Kostunica has twice held out an olive branch to Rugova, offering to discuss the status of the province which has been under UN control since the end of the NATO bombardments of Yugoslavia in June 1999. But the Yugoslav president has made it clear that independence is out of the question, citing UN resolution 1244 which envisages substantial autonomy for Kosovo within the Yugoslav Federation. Rugova, a pacifist, kept Kostunica waiting for almost a week before announcing that for now at least, he would not be taking up the invitation. "We have to wait a little. It's necessary that they themselves (the Serbs) change, that they have new ideas...confidence will develop if they want it to," he said Saturday at a two day conference in Cavouri, Greece, entitled "Albanians as a majority and Albanians as a minority." By standing firm but without ruling out dialogue in the future, Rugova avoids for the moment having to clash political swords with Hashim Thaci, leader of the more radical Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) -- a movement spawned from the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) which fought a guerrilla war against Serbian rule in Kosovo before the NATO bombardments. The KLA was disbanded under an agreement with NATO in September 1999, but there is still a body of opinion in Kosovo which secretly wishes former Yugoslav strongman Slobodan Milosevic had held onto the presidency. They believe they had a better chance of wresting independence from an arch rival than negotiating it with democratically elected Kostunica. The PDK received less support than it had hoped in Kosovo's municipal elections, but still won a significant 27.3 percent of the vote. International observers in Kosovo do not believe Rugova can keep a foot in both camps for long. They say he risks distancing himself from the international community if he resists dialogue for too long, and meanwhile Kostunica has made a series of accomodating gestures. He has said he is ready to assume responsibility for warcrimes commited by the Milosevic regime in Balkans region, and he sent Rugova his condolensces after the murder of Xhemajl. He has offered dialogue and he has pardoned and released the 53-year-old poet and paediatrician Flora Brovina, the most famous ethnic Albanian prisoner in Serbia. She was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the Milosevic regime for terrorist activities and having links with the KLA. But aside from the central issue of independence, two major obstacles to dialogue remain for the ethnic Albanians: Kostunica's unwillingness to hand Milosevic over for trial before the UN warcrimes tribunal in the Hague, and the continued imprisonment of around 800 ethnic Albanians in Serbia. For many, agreeing to talks before such issues are resolved would be seen as tantamount to treason. Ethnic Albanians have accused Rugova of treason once already, for meeting Milosevic and shaking him by the hand during the NATO bombardments. They subsequently showed a forgiving face at the ballot box in October, but Rugova can ill afford to face the charge a second time. Copyright ? 2000 AFP. -------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> eGroups eLerts It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! http://click.egroups.com/1/9698/1/_/920292/_/976102007/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> N?se don t? ?regjistrohesh nga ALBEUROPA, d?rgo nj? Email n?: albeuropa-unsubscribe at egroups.com From kbejko at hotmail.com Wed Dec 6 14:52:35 2000 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Wed, 06 Dec 2000 19:52:35 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] US supports Albanian govt Message-ID: U.S. Throws Weight Behind Albanian Government TIRANA, Dec 6, 2000 -- (Reuters) The United States has tacitly thrown its weight behind Albania's Socialist-led government, saying the country has made "impressive strides" in maintaining public order and resisting the threat of political violence. In a speech to Albanian judges, the text of which was issued on Monday night, U.S. Ambassador Joseph Limprecht delivered an implicit rebuke to the opposition Democrats of former President Sali Berisha. The Democrats have refused to accept the results of municipal elections in October won by Prime Minister Ilir Meta's Socialists, contending that they were rigged, and have been staging occasionally violent protest rallies in Tirana. International monitors said the elections were generally fair. Limprecht said there had been a true strengthening of Albanian state institutions -- government, parliament, police and judiciary -- in the past two years. "Together these institutions have shown an increased ability to withstand the challenges of those who would undermine public order through violence and intimidation to try to gain political advantage," he said. Limprecht said there was a persistent but incorrect image in Western media that Albania was still unstable. The country plunged into anarchy in 1997 after the collapse of fraudulent investment schemes. Order was restored only after the intervention of an Italian-led multinational force and Berisha lost power in a snap general election. The country saw another brief upsurge of political violence in 1998 when clashes following the funeral of a murdered Democratic politician nearly toppled the government. "What may have been true in 1997 and 1998 is not true today," the U.S. envoy said. "Albania has demonstrated, especially in the past month, that it will not descend into chaos with the first political confrontation." This was a clear reference to the government's handling of Democratic rallies in Tirana and the firm police response to an attack by Democratic supporters on a police station in the northern town of Bajram Curri -- a Berisha stronghold. Two people were killed in that incident last week. Limprecht said people had a right to demonstrate peacefully but the government had to step in to restore order if rallies turned violent. "Only in this way can it give its citizens confidence that its democracy is strong and that the state will protect their most basic rights." He welcomed the fact that the government was attacking crime more aggressively but said more needed to be done to curb corruption and organized crime. (C)2000 Copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters Limited. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com From kbejko at hotmail.com Wed Dec 6 16:32:26 2000 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Wed, 06 Dec 2000 21:32:26 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Sondazh:Ngjarjet e tropojes Message-ID: http://vote.pollit.com/webpoll?ID=330909 _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com From kbejko at hotmail.com Thu Dec 7 12:25:53 2000 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2000 17:25:53 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Rregjistrimi i fese ne Shqiperi Message-ID: Minoritari Melo do te fusi shqiperine ne nje kaos fetar qe te perfitoje me teper vota nga Ortodokset Shqiptare. PS: Feja dhe kombesia nuk do te regjistrohen Socialistet kane hedhur poshte dje kerkesen e kryetarit te partise se te drejtave te njeriut, Vasil Melo per perfshirjen e kombesise dhe te fese ne listat e votuesve perkrah emrit te tyre. Sipas tyre realizimi ne praktike i nje ideje te tille mund te ndikoje ne percarjen e shqiptareve. Sekretari organizativ i PS-se, Petro Koci tha dje se pranimi i propozimit te Melos do te institucionalizonte nje perkatesi fetare apo nacionale ne votuesit shqiptar dhe kjo, ndryshe nga sa dukej, si qartesuese apo siguruese per voten e secilit, ne thelb mund te materializonte dhe te kishte pasoja percarese ne elektorat. "Feja e shqiptarit eshte shqiptaria, keshtu qe besoj se mjafton fakti qe te gjithe te regjistruarit jane shqiptare" tha Koci. Sipas tij, sanksionimi kushtetutes i respektimit te minoriteteve dhe feve, nuk ka arsye te mjaftueshme sipas po se njejtes Kushtetute per te bere percaktimin e fese dhe te kombesise ne listat e votuesve perkrah emrit te votuesit. Po ashtu, sipas Kocit nuk eksizton asnje arsye tjeter morale qe te perkthehet ne percaktimin nacional e fetar te votuesit ne listat e zgjedhjeve. Koci shikon probleme, jo te thjeshta qe mund te lindin mbas marrjes se nje iniciative te tille nga PBDNJ-shi. Duke kujtuar ngjarjen e Himares ku u shtrua ceshtja e ekzistences se minoritareve atje ai tha: "Eshte e panevojshme, nuk mendoj se PBDNJ duhet t'i vihet nje iniciative te tille qe mund te sillte probleme jo te thjeshta. Kam parasysh edhe debatet e fundit lidhur me perfaqesimin nacional te himarioteve". Per sekretaren e marredhenieve me jashte ne Partine Socialiste, Arta Dade, zgjedhjet ne vendin tone jane per te gjithe shtetasit shqiptare dhe jo per te percaktuar nese do te qeverisin persona me fe te ndryshme apo me kombesi te ndryshme per te tjere te percaktuar perseri nga feja apo kombesia. Hollesi te tilla, sipas Dades nuk jane te nevojshme. Dihet shume mire, sipas saj se nje pjese e mire e shqiptareve qe kane shkuar ne Greqi, jane detyruar per arsye ekonomike dhe per te mos qene te diskriminuar te ndryshojne, jo vetem fene, por edhe nacionalitetin e tyre. Ajo kujton se njohja e minoriteteve dhe feve ne Kushtetute fetare eshte respektim i tyre. "Une nuk e shikoj aspak te nevojshme dhe per mendimin tim ne kemi bere shume per njohjen dhe respektimin e minoriteteve dhe te feve, ku ne Kushtetuten tone eshte futur neni mbi kete qendrim. Zgjedhjet politike nuk jane zgjedhje per te percaktuar nese do te qeverisin persona te njeres fe apo te tjetres, apo te njeres kombesi apo te tjetres, per njeren fe apo per nje kombesi, ato jane zgjedhje qe behen per shtetasit shqiptare", tha Dade. M.Topalli _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com From pulab at georgetown.edu Thu Dec 7 12:24:34 2000 From: pulab at georgetown.edu (Besnik Pula) Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2000 19:24:34 +0200 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] FW: United Nations Transitional Authority for the United States of America (UNTAUSA) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: It is with regret that the General Assembly of the United Nations takes note of the current impasse of the US electoral process. Whereas the General Assembly reaffirms the inalienable rights of US citizens to express their will and choose their own destiny, United Nations member states also have to consider the potential threats to peace and stability that the current situation implies. In line with its mandate and established jurisprudence, the General Assembly of the United Nations therefore decides that: The permanent seat left vacant at the Security Council shall be filled ad interim by the next country in alphabetical order, Uzbekistan; A United Nations Transitional Authority for the United States of America (UNTAUSA) is created to take over the administration of the territory until 2004, when the next presidential and congressional elections shall be organized; To avoid repetition of past problems, the next elections will be organized by UNTAUSA. Due to their particular ability to explain complex procedures in numerous languages, the European Parliament and the Indian Lok Sabha will provide technical guidance. To ensure a fair, equitable, transparent, representative and non-biased process, they will be assisted by a non-partisan, non-denominational, geographically weighted, impartial group of outstanding international civil society organizations elected by their peers. They include: The Saddam Hussein Institute for Democracy (Baghdad) Le Fonds Laurent Kabila pour la Preservation des Droits de l'Homme en Afrique (Kinshasa) Che Guevara Hasta la Victoria Final o la Muerte Fundacion para la Sobrevivienda de los Desperados (Habana) The Lee Kuan Yew Effective Governance Award Nomination Board (Singapore) The US armed forces are placed under UNTAUSA command. To limit the risk of nuclear proliferation, the control of US forces will be jointly exercised by the other four permanent Security Council members: Russia, China, France and Britain. Actually, as a former colonial power, Britain is disqualified. But India and Pakistan will be invited to join as observers. Or more if they wish; A no-fly zone will be enforced on the US territory south of the 35th parallel to control threats such as narcotraffic and terrorism. The Colombian air force has already offered to help police the zone; The US Treasury Department has been given seven days to pay its dues to the UN and all affiliated organisations. The Fed will be administered by the Bank of Japan. Both the US dollar and the yen are official currencies. To keep a balance with other UN missions, the official language of the new Transitional Authority will be French As a gesture of encouragement and a confidence-building measure,the headquarters of the United Nations will be maintained in New York. As an emergency measure, drug donations and food aid, including camembert au lait cru and British beef, are welcome to help assist vulnerable populations in and around the city. Logistical support will be provided by UNHCR. New York residents will be issued special passes to facilitate commuting. These passes will also facilitate travel to and from other UN-administered and designated safe areas such as Srebrenica, Kosovo and East Timor. If the mess persists in 2004, Florida and Texas will return to Mexican administration for a minimum period of 99 years. From ipilika at hotmail.com Thu Dec 7 13:29:10 2000 From: ipilika at hotmail.com (Iris Pilika) Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2000 18:29:10 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] U.N. interpreter abducted in Kosovo Message-ID: U.N. interpreter abducted in Kosovo December 7, 2000 Web posted at: 1434 GMT PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (Reuters) -- United Nations police in Kosovo are negotiating with Serbs after an interpreter working with the U.N. was beaten and abducted in the northern city of Mitrovica, officials said. The U.N. said the woman has not been seen since a group of Serbs attacked the vehicle which she and a U.N. police officer had been travelling in on Thursday. The officer was also beaten. U.N. spokeswoman Claire Trevena said the Serbs had been angered by the arrest of two men and one woman during a weapons raid conducted in connection with a murder investigation. A large number of weapons had been found in the Serb-dominated northern part of Mitrovica. A U.N. police force spokesman in Kosovo said that as word spread about the weapons raid by special police teams and NATO-led KFOR peackeepers, people gathered in the streets. They stopped a U.N. police car and beat the police officer and his female Serb interpreter, the spokesman, Dmitry Kaportsev, said. A spokesman for the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping forces said there had been a major weapons find. "There were 11 AK-47 assault rifles, seven hand grenades, nine anti-tank rockets, two packages of plastic explosives, a rifle and a pistol and 1,500 rounds of ammunition," said KFOR spokesman Steven Shappell. "This is one of the largest weapons finds in Mitrovica." The town, divided into Serb and Albanian-dominated parts by a river guarded by KFOR troops, is a regular flashpoint in Kosovo, where violence still flares regularly a year-and-a-half after KFOR took over the province from Serb forces. The troubles in northern Kosovo follow a period of violence on the southern border with Serbia where Yugoslav police have reported renewed action by ethnic-Albanian militia despite an agreed ceasefire. Last month, the insurgents allegedly killed four Serb policemen when they seized several strategic positions on the Yugoslav side of the Kosovo boundary. Yugoslavia's leaders and NATO officials have been trying to resolve increasing tension across Kosovo -- a republic within the Yugoslav federation which has been run by the western military alliance since the 1999 conflict. Reuters contributed to this report. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com From wplarre at bndlg.de Wed Dec 6 07:38:21 2000 From: wplarre at bndlg.de (Wolfgang Plarre) Date: Wed, 06 Dec 2000 13:38:21 +0100 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] {QIKSH ŤALBEUROPAť} NEWS: Amnesty Calls on Yugoslavia to Arrest Milosevic (Reuters, December 5, 2000) Message-ID: <3A2E333D.BFE19CD2@bndlg.de> http://news.excite.com/news/r/001205/19/international-yugoslavia-amnesty-dc Amnesty Calls on Yugoslavia to Arrest Milosevic Updated 7:27 PM ET December 5, 2000 LONDON (Reuters) - Amnesty International called on Yugoslavia's President Vojislav Kostunica Wednesday to order the arrest of former President Slobodan Milosevic and other indicted war criminals. As the European Union considered the first steps toward integration of Yugoslavia into the EU, the international community should be reminded of human rights violations perpetrated by the previous regime in Belgrade, Amnesty said in a statement. "President Kostunica must order the arrest of indicted suspects, including former President Milosevic, and their transfer to the custody of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia," the London-based human rights group said. The U.N. tribunal indicted Milosevic last year for atrocities committed by his forces against ethnic Albanians in the southern province of Kosovo that prompted NATO to launch a 77-day air war. Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte has told the U.N. Security Council that Milosevic must be extradited to stand trial before The Hague-based court. However, Kostunica has indicated since taking office that he would prefer to see Milosevic face charges in Yugoslavia rather than in a foreign country. A mass uprising in October forced Milosevic, long shunned by the West for his role in Balkan wars over the past decade, to admit defeat in Yugoslav presidential elections. Amnesty called for an end to what it called the impunity enjoyed by those suspected of having committed war crimes during the conflicts in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. "President Kostunica must address the culture of impunity (in Yugoslavia), not only for violations of international humanitarian law, but also for violations of both domestic criminal codes and of international standards," it said. Amnesty said arrests, harassment and ill-treatment of opposition groups, journalists and non-governmental organizations who opposed the Milosevic government were widespread. "In order to demonstrate that impunity for human rights violations is now over ... complaints made relating to allegations of ill-treatment by the police under the previous government should be fully and impartially investigated," Amnesty said. "Law enforcement officers suspected of ill-treatment should be brought to justice and victims should receive fair and adequate compensation." ? 2000 Reuters Limited. -------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> eGroups eLerts It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! http://click.egroups.com/1/9698/1/_/920292/_/976226589/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> N?se don t? ?regjistrohesh nga ALBEUROPA, d?rgo nj? Email n?: albeuropa-unsubscribe at egroups.com From wplarre at bndlg.de Wed Dec 6 14:14:03 2000 From: wplarre at bndlg.de (Wolfgang Plarre) Date: Wed, 06 Dec 2000 20:14:03 +0100 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] {QIKSH ŤALBEUROPAť} NEWS: BBC/AP/Reuters: Albanian PM in Kosovo (6 December, 2000) Message-ID: <3A2E8FFB.53924729@bndlg.de> http://news6.thdo.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1058000/1058239.stm Wednesday, 6 December, 2000, 16:19 GMT Albanian PM in Kosovo The prime minister of Albania, Ilir Meta, has been visiting Kosovo where he was opening the offices of an Albanian insurance company. Despite the unofficial nature of his visit, Mr Meta had talks with the United Nations administrator in Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner. They discussed recent clashes between Serb forces and ethnic-Albanian militants of the UCPBM group in the buffer zone set up by NATO-led forces between Kosovo and the rest of Serbia. On Wednesday, the militants attacked Yugoslav army forces for the first time. Previously they had focused on Serbian police units. Mr Meta backed what he called the national rights of ethnic Albanians in the buffer zone, but he also urged dialogue as soon as possible between the two opposing sides to avoid further violence. >From the newsroom of the BBC World Service _______________________________________________________________________ http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20001206/wl/yugoslavia_kosovo_52.html Wednesday December 6 11:48 AM ET Albania Prime Minister in Kosovo By FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press Writer PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (AP) - Albania's prime minister made his first visit to Kosovo on Wednesday, urging moderation in settling differences between Serbs and ethnic Albanians, shortly after fighting flared in a tense buffer zone. For a second straight night, ethnic Albanian militants fired on Serb police in the zone between Serbia and Kosovo, a largely ethnic Albanian province of Serbia, a Serbian television station reported. Serbia is the main republic of Yugoslavia. There were no casualties in the incidents, which YUINFO-TV said occurred late Tuesday in the village of Lucane. YUINFO-TV said about two dozen ethnic Albanian rebels fired Kalashnikov rifles and rocket-propelled grenades at Serb positions. The shootings have strained an unofficial cease-fire between Yugoslav forces and the rebels. Last month, the insurgents killed four Serb policemen when they seized several strategic positions on the Yugoslav side of the Kosovo boundary. Because Yugoslavia has no diplomatic ties with Albania, the visit of Albanian Prime Minister Ilir Meta was unofficial. Meta was formally in the province to open the offices of an Albanian insurance company. ``The visit is (at) his instigation,'' said Claire Trevena, a spokesman for the United Nations (news - web sites), which runs the province along with NATO (news - web sites). Meta met with chief U.N. administrator Bernard Kouchner, who said the two discussed ways to control the Kosovo-Albania border. Meta told reporters he backed the ``national rights of Albanians'' living in the buffer zone. He also urged dialogue between the hostile sides ``as soon as possible, in order to avoid any (further) act of violence.'' In Belgrade on Wednesday, a key aide to Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica (news - web sites) said ``no means will be spared'' to drive out the militants. The official, Zoran Djindjic, had previously warned of an offensive against the rebels after Dec. 23 parliamentary elections, unless NATO objected. Rada Trajkovic, a moderate Serb who sits on the U.N.-run provisional council governing Kosovo, said she welcomed Meta ``in our country, Serbia, but as someone who lives here, I have to say that politically, his visit is not welcomed before Albania and Yugoslavia establish diplomatic relations.'' On Tuesday, Yugoslavia sought a U.N. Security Council meeting over the buffer zone crisis. They demanded the withdrawal of ethnic Albanian rebels from the area and urged NATO-led peacekeepers in Kosovo to fulfill their obligations ``so the situation can be resolved in a peaceful manner.'' The United Nations and NATO took control of Kosovo in June 1999 after the Western alliance's 78-day bombing campaign against Yugoslavia. That campaign was launched to stop a crackdown by former President Slobodan Milosevic (news - web sites) against ethnic Albanian separatists. The buffer zone was set up to prevent Yugoslav forces from threatening the peacekeeping mission. Ethnic Albanian militants began operating in the zone, exploiting the fact that only lightly armed Serb police were permitted in the area. Copyright ? 2000 The Associated Press. _______________________________________________________________________ http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001206/wl/albania_kosovo_dc_2.html Wednesday December 6 12:19 PM ET Albania PM Makes Unprecedented Kosovo Visit PRISTINA, Yugoslavia (Reuters) - Albanian Prime Minister Ilir Meta made an unprecedented visit to Kosovo on Wednesday, but a representative of the province's Serb minority suggested he should not have come. Meta met both international and local officials in the provincial capital Pristina. It was the first official-style visit by an Albanian government leader to the majority ethnic Albanian province, still legally part of Yugoslavia. Rada Trajkovic, a Serb member of the inter-ethnic Kosovo Transitional Council (KTC), made clear she was not happy about his visit, saying Tirana and Belgrade should first restore diplomatic ties cut off during last year's NATO (news - web sites) air war. ``His visit is not politically welcome because they first have to re-establish diplomatic relations with Yugoslavia,'' she told reporters after Meta addressed the KTC, set up by the United Nations (news - web sites) as a sort of mini-parliament in Kosovo. Kosovo is a de facto international protectorate following last year's NATO bombing campaign, launched to halt Belgrade's repression of Kosovo's ethnic Albanians. Meta told Reuters last month that Albania was prepared to re-establish diplomatic ties with Belgrade provided Yugoslavia remained on the path of democratic reform. Yugoslavia cut relations because of Albania's support for the NATO air war which forced Yugoslav forces from Kosovo. But the new government of President Vojislav Kostunica (news - web sites) has been making overtures to its Balkan neighbors. Meta also met the French head of the U.N.-led administration in Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner, and discussed cooperation in fighting organized crime as well as agreements related to education, health and culture. Hashim Thaci, leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, the main political force to emerge from the Kosovo Liberation Army that fought Serb rule in 1998-99, said the first official visit by an Albanian prime minister was significant for Kosovo. ``The meeting with the KTC, also accepted by members of other communities living in Kosovo, is the most positive step because Albania is recognized also by members of other communities as a place that plays an important, positive part in the development in the region,'' Thaci told reporters. Copyright ? 2000 Yahoo! Inc., and Reuters Limited. -------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> eGroups eLerts It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! http://click.egroups.com/1/9698/1/_/920292/_/976226593/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> N?se don t? ?regjistrohesh nga ALBEUROPA, d?rgo nj? Email n?: albeuropa-unsubscribe at egroups.com From aalibali at yahoo.com Thu Dec 7 21:49:19 2000 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2000 18:49:19 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Mesim per politikanet shqiptare Message-ID: <20001208024919.25625.qmail@web106.yahoomail.com> KOHA JONE Pajtimi i partive behet ne Tragjas Zenepe Luka/ VLORE - Ate qe nuk e bejne politikanet ne Tirane e bejne fshataret e Tragjasit ne Vlore. Ne nje kuvend burrash te mbledhur dje si ne nje tryeze te rrumbullaket, njerezit e ketij fshati kane flakur bindjet partiake dhe i kane thene njeri-tjetrit vella. Keshtu, ketu komunisti Rustem Rama ka bere krushqi me njeriun qe ka kryer 27 vjet burg, ndersa nje demokrat ben "vella" kryetarin e PS-se. "Une njeriu i PD-se kryetarin e PS-se e kam vella. Jetojme prane, pijme nje uje, kemi mesuar nje shkolle dhe jemi te gjithe bashke per te ndertuar dicka te mire per veten, per femijet, per brezat qe vijne". Askush te mos cuditet ne perkujtim te nje kuvendi te ngjashem me 33 vjet me pare ku nga e gjithe Shqiperia, nga Veriu e Jugu u mblodhen ne kete fshat per te treguar vellazerine. Por, qe me kujtimin qe i ben asaj ngjarje, ata u kane dhene nje leksion te mire politikaneve ne Tirane qe nuk e gjejne dot gjuhen e pajtimit. E ne fund te ketij takimi, te gjithe i dergojne nje telegram presidentit Rexhep Meidani, te cilit i kerkojne qe edhe partite ne Tirane te pajtohen si ne Tragjasin e deshmoreve te luftes Cfare ishte kuvendi i sotem? Jane burrat intelektuale te ketij fshati qe jane mbledhur ne keto 70 ore nen hijen e nje rrapi gjigant qe i ka mbushur tre shekuj. Nje nder organizatoret eshte veterani Qani Kamberi, bir i ketij fshati qe ka punuar prej shume vitesh aty. Prej ditesh keta burra kishin menduar qe me 7 dhjetor do te behej nje kuvend i tille per dy arsye. E para, pasi pikerisht kjo dite ne vitin 1967, 33 vjet me pare cilesohet si nje levizje popullore jug-veri. Ishin rreth 50 veriore te ardhur nga Dukagjini qe qendruan per nje muaj e gjysme ne vatrat e Tragjasit dhe kur iken iu dhane nje tufe me 500 koke bageti, dy mushka, dy barinj dhe pas pak kohesh do t'u kthehej vizita nga 30 intelektuale dhe banore te Tragjasit ne fshatrat e Dukagjinit. Kjo levizje popullore pati efektet e saj, me pas solli krushqi, miqesi dhe keshtu jugore e veriore ishin nje e te pandare. Te gjithe bashke mendonin per Shqiperine. Sot ky kuvend ka vlerat e tij per shkak te situates qe kalon Shqiperia. I pari qe e ka marre fjalen ka qene Qani Kamberi. Ai u eshte drejtuar ketyre burrave se Tragjasi vendi ku behen kuvendet apelon per bashkim, per drejtesi, jo vellavrasje, jo dhimbje, jo plumba shqiptari shqiptarit. Te gjithe bashke te mendojme per Shqiperine. Eshte nje meraku yne, ka thene Qaniu. "Bustin e Zonja Curres e mbrojta me gjoks nga shkaterrimet e '97-es". Keshtu e ka nisur fjalen e tij ne kete kuvend intelektuali Naim Dano qe eshte kryetar i PD-se te Tragjasit. Ne '97 kur filluan shkaterrimet ne mase, nje grup njerezish erdhen te rrezonin dhe monumentin e heroines Zonja Curre. Por une i vura gjoksin asaj dhe iu drejtova shkaterrimtareve. "Nuk do ta prekni kete monument. Nese kerkoni Zonjen shkoni ne shtepine time, eshte nena ime". Keshtu ai u fiksua sikurse eshte nje intelektual qe kerkon demokraci, drejtesi dhe jo nje partiak ekstrem. Si mund te mos respektosh Zonja Curen thote ai ne kete kuvend, qe eshte nje shqiptare e rralle qe dha shembullin se gruaja eshte nje luftetare, por ajo dha jeten per atdheun. "Ne Tragjas ka parti te ndryshme, por ne jemi te gjithe bashke", thote ai. Ketu komunisti Rustem Rama ka bere krushqi me njeriun qe ka kryer 27 vjet burg. "Une njeriu i PD-se kryetarin e PS-se e kam vella. Jetojme prane, pijme nje uje, kemi mesuar nje shkolle dhe jemi te gjithe bashke per te ndertuar dicka te mire per veten, per femijet, per brezat qe vijne. Ka vlera dhe sot levizja popullore e 33 vjeteve me pare pasi Jugu dhe Veriu e gjithe Shqiperia eshte nje". Por ai nenvizon faktin se politikanet duhet te lene menjane grindjet. Ideali i tyre duhet te jete Shqiperia, jo kolltuku, jo posti. Ne nje shtepi ku rrihen njerezit nuk te jep kush para, aludon ai per sherret e politikaneve ne Shqiperi qe nuk duhet te presin ndihme nga jashte. Ali Curre eshte vellai i dy motrave deshmore, njera prej te cilave eshte heroina Zonja Curre. Ai eshte dhe nipi i deshmorit te 1920 Hasan Katrani te cilit ia dogjen trupin italianet. Ne Tragjas nuk ka hakmarrje ka vetem vellazerim. Keshtu duhet te ndodhe edhe ne Vlore dhe ne te gjithe Shqiperine. Eshte koha qe t'u behet apel politikaneve dhe ky shqetesim rrjedh vecanerisht nga ngjarjet e fundit ku shqiptari nuk mungon t'i jape dhe plumbin shqiptarit. Heronjte tane, trimat e kesaj treve qendresen e tyre e kane bere ndaj pushtuesve, okupatoreve, ndersa shqiptarit i kane dhene besen dhe doren. Keshtu duhet te ndodh dhe sot. Ky eshte apeli i Tragjasit. Kryeplaku Lame Bejo flet shkurt. Ai thote se ketu ne Tragjas kemi nje tyreze te rrumbullakte ku mblidhet kryepleqesia. Jane te partive te ndryshme, te bindjeve te kunderta por kjo tavoline diskuton se cdo te behet me tej per Tragjasin, turizmin. "Vijne te gjithe japin mendime, bejne pyetje, caktojne detyra dhe afate dhe pastaj mblidhemi perseri per te pare se c'kemi bere per Tragjasin. Keshtu duhet vepruar dhe ne tavolinat e rrumbullkta te partive qe behen rralle ose dhe kur behen degjojme grindje, fyerje e shamata". Ky eshte nje apel per politikanet dhe pushtetaret e bejme kete se Shqiperia na dhimbset te gjitheve dhe keshtu flasin njeri pas tjetrit tragjasiotet ku terheq vemendjen dhe ish agronomi i fshatit Matroqe. Ai nenvizon faktin se ky unitet midis partive, shqiptareve duhet te behet ne baze te parimeve demokratike duke mos cenuar pluralizmin, duke zbatuar ligjin dhe duke menduar vetem per Shqiperine asnjehere per vet. Pas ketij kuvendi qe zgjati per disa ore te pranishmit hartuan dhe nje tekst telegrami derguar presidentit Rexhep Meidanit ku nenvizojne se cili eshte qellimi i kesaj levizje popullore ne Terbac dhe se kreu i shtetit duhet te jape kontributin e vet per te bashkuar shqiptaret. Shqiptaret kane bere histori dhe duhet te mendojne per Shqiperi. Ky ishte qellimi i ketij kuvendi burrash ne Tragjas sot, 33 vjet pas levizjes popullore jug-veri. Kush eshte Tragjasi? Ne Jug te Shqiperise e vecanerisht ne Vlore, Tragjasi vleresohet si nje vater historike, patriotike e qendreses, e kuvendeve te burrave. Kuvende keto te mbajtura qe nga koha e tanzimatit, ne vitet e pavaresise, ne luften e 20, ne luften nacionalclirimtare e me tej. Tragjasi i ri shtrihet rreze malit me te njejtin emer. Eshte fshati me 42 deshmore, aq sa ndoshta nuk ka nje rreth ne Shqiperi, fshat qe ka nje numer te konsiderueshem vajzash dhe gra partizane, numri i te cilave arrin ne mbi 60, 9 prej te cilave jane deshmore. Ka kater heronj te luftes se 1920 si dhe kater heronj te luftes Nacionalclirimtare perfshi ketu Heroinen e Popullit Zonja Curre. Nga Tragjasi ishte sekretari personal i Ismail Qemalit, Xhaferr Xhuveli. Ne shkollen e ketij fshati ka dhene mesim Avni Rustemi. Eshte i vetmi fshat ne Shqiperi qe eshte djegur i teri me 360 shtepi gjate luftes nga italianet dhe gjermanet. Shkak ishte pjesemarrja masive ne luften nacionalclirimtare. Banoret e ketij fshati u larguan ne male, por sot Tragjasi i vjeter eshte nje germadhe, germadhe e shkaterrimit qe bene armiqte. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/ From AQeli at rushu.rush.edu Fri Dec 8 12:46:28 2000 From: AQeli at rushu.rush.edu (Albi Qeli) Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2000 11:46:28 -0600 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] 1. Rregjistrimi i fese ne Shqiperi (Kreshnik Bejko) Message-ID: Ne shtetin tone nuk duhet te kete fare dallime midis shtetasve me fe e me kombesi te ndryshme. Per shtetin shqiptar nuk duhet te kete rendesi se cfare feje kane shtetasit. Shteti shqiptar nuk duhet te perzihet fare ne te tilla pune. Shembuj per shtetin qe duam te ndertojme ne Shqiperi duhet te jene shtetet europiane dhe USA, e jo Greqia qe mburret me gjasme "homogjenitetin" e vet. Shqiperia duhet te ndjeke shembullin e shteteve si Franca, qe as nuk perpiqen te mbledhin statistika se sa jane algjeriane e sa jane franceze "de souche", sa jane te krishtere, sa islamike, e sa budiste. Ne Greqi shteti u kerkon shtetasve qe te deklarojne fene e tyre. Nuk eshte per t'u habitur pastaj qe ne Greqi behen dallime ndaj joortodokseve, (perfshi ketu edhe te krishteret joortodokse). Melo dhe PBDNJ duan te importojne tiparet me te keqija te shtetit grek e t'i instalojne ne Shqiperi per te keqen e te gjitheve. Albi _____________________________________________ Message: 1 From: "Kreshnik Bejko" To: albanian at listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu Cc: alb-club at alb-net.com Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2000 17:25:53 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Rregjistrimi i fese ne Shqiperi Minoritari Melo do te fusi shqiperine ne nje kaos fetar qe te perfitoje me teper vota nga Ortodokset Shqiptare. PS: Feja dhe kombesia nuk do te regjistrohen Socialistet kane hedhur poshte dje kerkesen e kryetarit te partise se te drejtave te njeriut, Vasil Melo per perfshirjen e kombesise dhe te fese ne listat e votuesve perkrah emrit te tyre. Sipas tyre realizimi ne praktike i nje ideje te tille mund te ndikoje ne percarjen e shqiptareve. From kbejko at hotmail.com Fri Dec 8 15:02:34 2000 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Fri, 08 Dec 2000 20:02:34 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Shqiperia edhe rrezikon BE Message-ID: 08.12.2000 (shqiperia edhe nje here rrezikon te mos perfshihet ne marreveshjen e 'shoqerimit' ne BE) MAPE edhe gjasht? muaj t? tjer? n? Shqip?ri P?rfaq?suesi i BE p?r politik?n e jashtme dhe t? siguris? s? p?rbashk?t Javier Solana deklaroi para asambles? s? BE se misioni Mape n? Shqip?ri do te zgjatet edhe gjasht? muaj t? tjer?. Gjat? debateve q? u zhvilluan n? k?t? asamble, u diskutua edhe p?r situat?n e rendit. Dy parlamentar?t britanik? autor? t? raportit p?r Shqip?rin? deklaruan nd?r t? tjera se p?rderisa ekonomia, institucionet dhe rendi nuk do t? funksionojn? si duhet, nuk do t? jet? e mundur arritja e nje marr?veshjeje asociimi dhe stabiliteti t? Shqip?ris? me BE, si? ?sht? parapar? n? paktin e stabilititetit p?r Ballkanin. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com From ipilika at hotmail.com Fri Dec 8 18:49:56 2000 From: ipilika at hotmail.com (Iris Pilika) Date: Fri, 08 Dec 2000 23:49:56 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Violence flares on troubled Kosovo border Message-ID: Violence flares on troubled Kosovo border December 8, 2000 Web posted at: 2313 GMT BELGRADE, Yugoslavia -- Ethnic-Albanian guerrillas have attacked a Serbian police patrol in a tense buffer zone between Kosovo and southern Serbia, a local police official said. Novica Zdravkovic, police chief in the southern town of Vranje, said the attackers used automatic weapons and grenade launchers before they backed off under return fire. The renewed troubles on Friday came as the United Nations (U.N.) announced the appointment of a new administrator for Kosovo. Danish Defence Minister Hans Haekkerup will succeed Frenchman Bernard Kouchner in mid-January, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced on Friday. Kouchner has served as U.N. administrator and Annan's special representative since the United Nations and NATO took control of Kosovo in June 1999 after the Western alliance's 78-day bombing campaign against Yugoslavia. During recent weeks troubles have flared in several parts of Kosovo but most concern has centred on the Presevo Valley -- the border area off limits to NATO and Serbian forces. An upsurge in militia activity last month left four Serbian police dead in the valley. "The terrorists carried out another of their actions today," Zdravkovic said. "The police responded to the attack and the terrorists withdrew after that." The attack took place as the Yugoslav parliament in Belgrade discussed the situation in southern Serbia. "A group of around 20 terrorists opened fire from personal arms on a 12-man police patrol. Nobody was injured," Yugoslav Interior Minister Zoran Zivkovic told the assembly. The incident, which occurred about 10 kilometres (six miles) north of the town of Presevo, was the most serious in the boundary area since the outbreak of fighting two and a half weeks ago. Getting Kosovo 'on the right track' The NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force negotiated a ceasefire between the ethnic-Albanian militia and the Yugoslav forces earlier this week but it has already been breached on a number of occasions. The guerrillas say they are protecting local Albanians from harassment by Serbian police. Belgrade insists they are separatists intent on joining the Presevo Valley area of Serbia to independence-minded Kosovo. The new appointee to the top U.N. job in the troubled province said of his challenge: "I hope that I can get Kosovo on the right track." "I hope I can contribute to solve the problems down there," Haekkerup told Denmark's TV2 channel. U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said the secretary-general is "very pleased to have recruited a man of Hans Haekkerup's stature and ability to take over the complex tasks of the U.N. mission in Kosovo." Haekkerup, 55, who has had an extensive political career, was first elected to the Danish Parliament in 1979 and has been minister of defence since January 1993. Denmark is a NATO member. Congratulating his successor and wishing him "a very productive time," Kouchner issued a statement in the Kosovo capital, Pristina, saying: "He will have many challenges ahead of him ... I hope it will be a fulfilling experience for him, here in Kosovo, as it remains for me." The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com From jibo97 at yahoo.com Fri Dec 8 18:56:12 2000 From: jibo97 at yahoo.com (tom steffon) Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2000 15:56:12 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] VIRUS ALERT Message-ID: <20001208235612.73672.qmail@web10008.mail.yahoo.com> Please be careful when downloading an e-mail attachment named Creative.exe. A cute virus is in town. (ben xhiro) Name: w32/ProLin at MM Occupation: messes up all your JPG and ZIP files. For more info. and how to cope with it check www.mcafee.com. ===== Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the less one traveled by, And that has made all the difference. r. frost __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/ From endril at rocketmail.com Fri Dec 8 21:06:18 2000 From: endril at rocketmail.com (Endri Leno) Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2000 18:06:18 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] 1. Rregjistrimi i fese ne Shqiperi (Kreshnik Bejko) Message-ID: <20001209020618.21037.qmail@web2901.mail.yahoo.com> Teper dakort me keto qe thote Albi, por te marresh Francen dhe Ameriken si shembull, sikur s'eshte ide shume e mire. Se, ne Amerike psh, nqs deklarohesh si mysliman apo nqs vjen nga ndonje vend arab, vertet nuk te persekuton njeri ama cdo institucion shteteror te shikon me dyshim, si nje terrorist islamik te mundshem. Ndersa ne France psh, pati gati 100 vjet luftera fetare, te "vulosura" nga nata e Shen Bartolomeut, apo jo? Endri --- Albi Qeli wrote: > ----------- ALBSA-Info Mailing List > --------- > - ALBSA Web Site: > http://www.albstudent.org - > > Ne shtetin tone nuk duhet te kete fare dallime midis > shtetasve me fe e me > kombesi te ndryshme. Per shtetin shqiptar nuk duhet > te kete rendesi se cfare > feje kane shtetasit. Shteti shqiptar nuk duhet te > perzihet fare ne te tilla > pune. > > Shembuj per shtetin qe duam te ndertojme ne Shqiperi > duhet te jene shtetet > europiane dhe USA, e jo Greqia qe mburret me gjasme > "homogjenitetin" e vet. > Shqiperia duhet te ndjeke shembullin e shteteve si > Franca, qe as nuk > perpiqen te mbledhin statistika se sa jane > algjeriane e sa jane franceze "de > souche", sa jane te krishtere, sa islamike, e sa > budiste. > > Ne Greqi shteti u kerkon shtetasve qe te deklarojne > fene e tyre. Nuk eshte > per t'u habitur pastaj qe ne Greqi behen dallime > ndaj joortodokseve, > (perfshi ketu edhe te krishteret joortodokse). Melo > dhe PBDNJ duan te > importojne tiparet me te keqija te shtetit grek e > t'i instalojne ne Shqiperi > per te keqen e te gjitheve. > > Albi > > _____________________________________________ > > Message: 1 > From: "Kreshnik Bejko" > To: albanian at listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu > Cc: alb-club at alb-net.com > Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2000 17:25:53 -0000 > Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Rregjistrimi i fese ne > Shqiperi > > Minoritari Melo do te fusi shqiperine ne nje kaos > fetar qe te perfitoje me teper vota nga Ortodokset > Shqiptare. > > > PS: Feja dhe kombesia nuk do te regjistrohen > > Socialistet kane hedhur poshte dje kerkesen e > kryetarit te partise se te > > drejtave te njeriut, Vasil Melo per perfshirjen e > kombesise dhe te fese > ne listat e votuesve perkrah emrit te tyre. Sipas > tyre realizimi ne > praktike i nje ideje te tille mund te ndikoje ne > percarjen e shqiptareve. > _______________________________________________________ > ALBSA-Info mailing list: ALBSA-Info at alb-net.com > http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/albsa-info __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/ From aalibali at yahoo.com Sat Dec 9 20:09:09 2000 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sat, 9 Dec 2000 17:09:09 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Janullatos kunder kultures shqiptare Message-ID: <20001210010909.14820.qmail@web106.yahoomail.com> Ortodokset gelltisin Naim Frasherin Kastriot Bezati /Perse nuk duhet te tjetersohet Shtepia e Kultures ne Permet? Sepse eshte ndertuar teresisht nga shteti. Tjetersimin e ketij institucioni kulturor nuk e kerkon Kisha Ortodokse qe ecen ne rrugen kombetare te Fan Nolit te Madh. Kete ndoshta e kerkojne apo deshirojne persona apo grupe te caktuara, nder ta mund te kete edhe me veladon, morali i te cileve vjen ndesh me moralin e shqiptarit dhe te Kishes Autoqefale te Shqiperise. Edhe pse ligji ne kete rast mendojme se e mbron shtepine e Kultures ka dhe nga ata qe, edhe pse jane te punesuar per mbrojtjen e ligjit, me mendimet e veprimet e tyre, pergatisin arkivolin e ketij ligji. Por e verteta eshte e shenjte, eshte progres dhe nje dite ajo do t'i nxjerre te gjithe ne driten e diellit per t'i thene dites dite duke mos lejuar njeheresh tjetersimin e shtepise se Kultures ne Permet. Shqiperia ne majin e '97-es rrezikohej te tundej ne djepin e shperberjes si shtet, ndersa Komisioni i KK te Pronave ish- pronareve te rrethit Permet, "punoi" edhe pse kishte dhe ka gezhoja ne rruget e Permetit. Nuk u mblodh ai as para marsit kur kishim shtet dhe nuk priti as me vone per kete problem sa te ribehej sic u ribe shteti nga populli. U mblodh ai kur s'duhej te mblidhej, pa mbeshtetje ligjore per problemin e Shtepise se Kultures dhe mori vendimin nr. 634 date 26 maj 1997, i cili ia njeh dhe ia kthen me pa te drejte ndertesen e shtepise se Kultures Kishes Ortodokse te Permetit. I padrejte dhe jo ligjor ishte jo vetem vendimi por edhe mbledhja e ketij komisioni per problemin e pronesise se shtepise se Kultures, ndaj, sapo u njoftuam, me 25 shtator 1997 kerkuam shfuqizimin ne rruge ligjore te vendimit numer 634 date 26 maj 1997. Ne kete vendim, nder te tjera, thuhet: "Salla e Kishes u pershtat ne salle shfaqjesh artistike dhe u ndertuan disa shtesa anesore qe plotesonin kuadrin e nje shtepie Kulture" dhe se "Sipas aktit te ekspertimit perqindjet e seciles pale, kundrejt vleres totale te objektit, jane 51.7 per qind per Kishen Shen Maria e Pazarit dhe 48.3 per qind per punimet e kryera nga shteti ne ndertesen e shtepise se Kultures". Po a qendron kjo ndarje e bere jashte ligjit? Ato te pakten jane ngritur dhe vendosur ne vendimin numer 634 te 26 majit 1997 per te lene Permetin pa Shtepi Kulture. Pse? Sepse e verteta eshte ndryshe, ajo mbron shtepine e Kultures "Naim Frasheri". Ne fillim nga Kisha e Permetit u kerkua pronesia mbi truallin e pastaj edhe ndertesa e shtepise se Kultures. Por, Komisioni i KK te Pronave, ish-pronareve te Bashkise Permet, me vendimin numer 75 date 27 shkurt 1995 nuk ia njohu e si rrjedhoje nuk ia ktheu shtepine e Kultures Kishes Ortodokse te Permetit. Ne kete vendim te ketij Komisioni me te drejte thuhet: "Ne baze te nenit 7 te Ligjes e pikes 3 te Udhezimit nr.3 date 21.06.1993 per siperfaqen qe zinte Kisha Shen Meri e Pazarit, ish prone e Kishes sot, ndertuar nga shteti, objekti shtepi e Kultures dhe Lulishte, me destinacion publik, pronari kompensohet ne menyrat e percaktuara ne nenin 16/a-c te Ligjes nr.7698 date 15.04.1993". Kur u mblodh e dha kete vendim Komisioni i KK te Pronave te Bashkise Permet, mbi c'baze ligjore u mblodh e dha vendimin nr. 634 date 26 maj 1997 Komisioni i KK te Pronave te Keshillit te rrethit Permet? Dokumentacioni i viteve '60 te shekullit XX, i siguruar ne Arkivin Qendror Teknik te Ndertimit Tirane dhe ne Bashkine e Permetit, gentplani e projektet e ndertimit te Shtepise se Kultures si dhe situacionet (te trupezuara apo shprehura ne vleren e inventarit te nderteses se Shtepise se Kultures si mjet themelor i Qendres Kulturore, Permet), hedhin poshte vendimin numer 634 te 26 majit 1997, nderkohe qe ky dokumentacion arkivor evidenton dhe flet qarte se Shtepia e Kultures, e vetmja ne qytetin e Permetit, u ngrit teresisht nga shteti ne vitin 1962 ne zbatim te vendimit nr.69 date 11.08.1960 te ish-Komitetit Ekzekutiv te rrethit Permet dhe u perurua ne kuadrin e 50-vjetorit te Shpalljes se Pavaresise dhe 18- vjetorit te Clirimit te Atdheut. Nga e gjithe siperfaqja prej 584 m2 mbi te cilen u ngrit shtepia e Kultures, ish-trualli mbi te cilin ngrihej me pare Kisha Shen Meri e Pazarit ka qene vetem 4.28 per qind ose me skatesisht 25 m2, cka tregon dhe hedh drite te plote qe nuk eshte perdorur holli i Kishes per salle shfaqjesh nga shtepia e Kultures dhe se nuk ka investuar 51.7 per qind Kisha ne ndertimin e shtepise se Kultures sic eshte vendimi i Komisionit te KK te Pronave te rrethit Permet numer 634 date 26.05.1997, por eshte shteti ai qe ka investuar e ndertuar shtepine e Kultures ne Permet. Madje kjo e vertete qe vjen nga dokumentet evidentohet edhe ne Vendimin nr.470 date 19.07.1994 te Gjykates se rrethit Permet, kur kisha kishte hapur gjyq e kerkonte truallin e vet ne qytetin e Permetit, ku nder te tjera thuhet: "Kisha Shen Meri e Pazarit...ka ekzistuar deri ne vitet 1959-60, kohe ne te cilen eshte prishur nga shteti dhe eshte ndertuar Shtepia e Kultures". Ne traditen permetare eshte guri i zi dhe jo guri i bardhe me te cilin jane ndertuar gjate ecurise historike kishat ne treven e Permetit. Me te tilla ndertime prej guri te zi ishin dikur edhe themelet dhe e gjithe ndertesa e Kishes Shen Meri e Pazarit, ndersa sot themelite dhe vete ndertesa e shtepise se Kultures jane me gur te bardhe, marre ky kryesisht ne guroren e Grykes se Kelcyres dhe me pak ne Dervican te Gjirokastres. Ketij fakti i shtohet edhe nje fakt i dyte: ndertesa e Shtepise se Kultures ne Tepelene, e cila ka te njejtin strukture ndertimore e arkitekturore me ate te shtepise se Kultures ne Permet, eshte ndertuar mbi bazen e te njejtit projekt te hartuar nga ish drejtoria e arkitektures se Ministrise se Ndertimit. Cdo permetar e di mire si eshte ngritur shtepia e Kultures "Naim Frasheri". "Shtepia e Kultures eshte ndertuar teresisht nga shteti", - thuhet ne kerkesen e dates 25.03.1998 te Keshillit te Rrethit Permet drejtuar Prokurorise se Pergjithshme ne Tirane. "Ne, nje grup intelektualesh, jemi teper te shqetesuar per vendimin e Komisionit te KK te pronave te rrethit Permet, mbi kthimin e Shtepise se Kultures Permet ish pronarit te truallit. Ky vendim eshte i padrejte se te gjithe permetaret e dine mire qe ky objekt eshte ngritur nga themelite gjate viteve te mbas Clirimit"- i shkruajne me 2.08.1997 nje grup intelektualesh te qytetit te Permetit kryetarit te Bashkise se Permetit. Ndersa, ne Letren e Hapur qe, te gjitha forcat politike dhe shoqatat atdhetare e kulturore te rrethit te Permetit, i drejtuan me 22.04.1999 Keshillit te Larte te Drejtesise, Ministrit te Drejtesise, Gjykates Kushtetuese dhe, per njoftim, edhe Kryeministrit e Ministrit te Kultures, nder te tjera thuhet: "Kjo godine eshte ngritur nga themelite ne vitet '60 te ketij shekulli dhe se pronare e ligjshme eshte Qendra Kulturore... Theksojme se shtepia e Kultures duhet te mbetet ne pronesi te ketij institucioni- Qendres Kulturore, sepse e drejta eshte me te dhe i sherben gjithe popullit te Permetit". Nuk kish nevoje per asnje gjyq persa i perket pronesise se shtepise se Kultures. Megjithate jane bere shume gjyqe dhe jane marre shume vendime, te cilat shpesh mohojne njeri-tjetrin, madje gjyqtare te "vecante" kane dhene edhe vendime ku i njejti vendim edhe pohohet edhe mohohet dhe, te gjitha keto, kur dihet se e verteta eshte vetem nje dhe, po te mos ngaterroheshin ligjet e shkresat ne disa nga keto gjyqe nga rushfeti, do te ishte zgjidhur prej kohesh pronesia e shtepise se Kultures ne dobi te Qendres Kulturore Permet. Me 7.09.1999, Gjykata e rrethit te Gjirokastres, mbi bazen e dokumentacionit, vendosi "marrjen e mases provizore per sigurimin e padise me objekt Shtepine e Kultures Permet deri ne perfundimin e shqyrtimit gjyqesor" dhe, me 13.09.1999, kjo gjykate leshoi urdher ekzekutimin e mases se sigurise "kunder Kishes Ortodokse Permet dhe ne dobi te Qendres Kulturore Permet". Por, edhe pse ky vendim i kesaj gjykate, nuk eshte rrezuar por eshte lene ne fuqi edhe nga Gjykata e Apelit Gjirokaster, Zyra e Permbarimit e Permetit, nisur ndoshta edhe nga telefonat e Drejtorise se Permbarimit te Ministrise se Drejtesise, na lajmeron me 4 tetor 2000 (shkresa nr.89 dt.13.09.2000) te dorezojme celesat e shtepise se Kultures te Kisha Ortodokse e Permetit. Menjehere, me 6 tetor 2000, kerkuam kundershtimin e ketij urdheri te kesaj zyre ne Gjykaten e Rrethit Permet. Por nga ana e vet, kjo zyre, me 23.10.2000, pa u gjykuar kerkese-padia qe ne ngritem kunder saj, pa asnje perfaqesues te Bashkise e Komisariatit te Policise, vendos drynat e vulos dyert e shtepise se Kultures. Ka nje muaj qe situata konfliktuale "u ngri" dhe kjo, sic duket, nga fakset qe cuan zerin e Bashkise dhe te Qendres Kulturore te Permetit te Presidenti Rexhep Meidani, Kryeministri z.Ilir Meta, te Ministri i Drejtesise Arben Imami dhe te Ministrja e Kultures Esmeralda Uruci. Ne te gjitha keto fakse kerkesa eshte e njejte te vazhdoje gjykimi me themel ne gjykate persa i perket pronesise se Shtepise se Kultures "Naim Frasheri". Perse veprohet ne kundershtim te plote me Vendimin nr.00447 te dates 7.09.1999 te Gjykates se Rrethit te Gjirokastres dhe Vendimin nr.156 te dates 26.05.2000 te Gjykates se Rrethit te Permetit? Perse kerkohet dorezimi i celesave te Shtepise se Kultures, qe ne fakt do te thote nderprerje te gjykimit me themel nga gjykata dhe tjetersim te Shtepise se Kultures, kur ceshtja e perserisim po gjykohet me themel ne gjykaten e shtetit dhe nuk iken as Shtepia e Kultures nga Permeti dhe as Permeti nga Shqiperia? A mund te prishet Shtepia e Kultures vetem se eshte ngritur mbi nje pjese te truallit ish-prone e Kishes? Edhe pse si problem s'eshte ngritur, pyetja mund te shtrohet: A mund te prishen shkolla e mesme "Sami Frasheri" dhe Pallati i Sportit ne Permet vetem se trualli ka qene i Xhamise? A mund te prishen keto institucione publike te ngritura nga themelite nga shteti mbas Clirimit kur i mbron ligji i ketij shteti me numer 7698 date 1993? A mund te prishen keto institucione kur i duan ato ashtu sic jane dhe ku jane permetaret dhe Permeti? Dihet qe populli ka nevoje pervec kultures laike edhe per kulturen fetare, por kur s'ta jep te drejten e verteta dhe ligji, s'duhet qe Kisha apo Xhamia te prishe ndertesen e Shtepise se Kultures apo vete Shtepia e Kultures te prishe ndertesen e Kishes apo te Xhamise. Permeti, qe i ka dhene aq shume kultures sone kombetare, Permeti, qe me bijte e tij te medhenj, me vellezerit pishtare te Frasherit, Abdylin, Naimin e Samiun, me skulptoret Odise Paskali e Janaq Paco me kengetaret Mentor Xhemali e Tefta Tashko Koco, me gjuhtarin Androkli Kostallari e historianet Stefanaq Pollo e Kristo Frasheri, me violinistin Tedi Papavrami, aktorin Naim Servet Frasheri e klarinetistin Laver Bariu, me poetin Nonda Bulka e fizikantit Koco Cako dhe figura te tjera madhore qe i bejne nder Shqiperise, ne kufirin e dy mijevjecareve, te 2-tit e te 3-tit, nuk duhet te mbetet pa Shtepine e Kultures "Naim Frasheri", e cila duhet te mbetet e ngritur aty ku eshte: ne ballkonin e qytetit te Permetit. Kete mendoj se e do Historia, e mbron Ligji, e do Shteti, e do dhe vete Zoti. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/ From ermal_a at yahoo.com Mon Dec 11 10:53:36 2000 From: ermal_a at yahoo.com (Ermal Abdi) Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2000 07:53:36 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] 1. Rregjistrimi i fese ne Shqiperi (Kreshnik Bejko) Message-ID: <20001211155336.28588.qmail@web4102.mail.yahoo.com> Endri me duket se e keni teper gabim kur thoni se ne Amerike nese je muslimane te shohin si terrorist te mundshem. Nuk e di nese jetoni ne USA po une kam ketu rreth 6 vjet dhe nuk kam hasur asnje person te me shohi me nje sy tjeter si terrorist te mundshem pervec injoranteve (rednecks). Nejse ti ke opinionin dhe eksperiencen tende por une personlisht edhe pse mundohem te jetoj jeten e nje muslimani respektohem me shume ne Amerike sesa ne Shqiperi (qe eshte vend me popullsi muslimane 75%). Ne pune kam te drejten e faljes pse here ne dite, kam te drejten e dy ore pushim te premteve per te shkuar ne xhami, dhe askush nuk me trajton ndryshe nga te tjeret. Eshte pikerisht prioriteti i popullit amerikan qe te respektohen te gjitha fete dhe ndjenjat e te tjereve. Ne Shqiperi (ku njerezit po vdesin te imitojne popullin amerikan) ndodhe komplet e kunderta. Njerezit persekutohen e ofendohen VETEM se i perkasin nje feje tjeter qofte ajo muslimane, bahai, baptist etj. Kjo me te vertete tregon se nje popull i tille nuk ka per te perparuar kurre derisa te pranoje gjithe kulturat dhe fete e tjera qe jane pjese e popullsise dhe historise se vendit. Nderime ermal ABDI --- Endri Leno wrote: > ----------- ALBSA-Info Mailing List > --------- > - ALBSA Web Site: > http://www.albstudent.org - > > Teper dakort me keto qe thote Albi, por te marresh > Francen dhe Ameriken si shembull, sikur s'eshte ide > shume e mire. > Se, ne Amerike psh, nqs deklarohesh si mysliman apo > nqs vjen nga ndonje vend arab, vertet nuk te > persekuton njeri ama cdo institucion shteteror te > shikon me dyshim, si nje terrorist islamik te > mundshem. > Ndersa ne France psh, pati gati 100 vjet luftera > fetare, te "vulosura" nga nata e Shen Bartolomeut, > apo > jo? > Endri > > > --- Albi Qeli wrote: > > ----------- ALBSA-Info Mailing List > > --------- > > - ALBSA Web Site: > > http://www.albstudent.org - > > > > Ne shtetin tone nuk duhet te kete fare dallime > midis > > shtetasve me fe e me > > kombesi te ndryshme. Per shtetin shqiptar nuk > duhet > > te kete rendesi se cfare > > feje kane shtetasit. Shteti shqiptar nuk duhet te > > perzihet fare ne te tilla > > pune. > > > > Shembuj per shtetin qe duam te ndertojme ne > Shqiperi > > duhet te jene shtetet > > europiane dhe USA, e jo Greqia qe mburret me > gjasme > > "homogjenitetin" e vet. > > Shqiperia duhet te ndjeke shembullin e shteteve si > > Franca, qe as nuk > > perpiqen te mbledhin statistika se sa jane > > algjeriane e sa jane franceze "de > > souche", sa jane te krishtere, sa islamike, e sa > > budiste. > > > > Ne Greqi shteti u kerkon shtetasve qe te > deklarojne > > fene e tyre. Nuk eshte > > per t'u habitur pastaj qe ne Greqi behen dallime > > ndaj joortodokseve, > > (perfshi ketu edhe te krishteret joortodokse). > Melo > > dhe PBDNJ duan te > > importojne tiparet me te keqija te shtetit grek e > > t'i instalojne ne Shqiperi > > per te keqen e te gjitheve. > > > > Albi > > > > _____________________________________________ > > > > Message: 1 > > From: "Kreshnik Bejko" > > To: albanian at listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu > > Cc: alb-club at alb-net.com > > Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2000 17:25:53 -0000 > > Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Rregjistrimi i fese ne > > Shqiperi > > > > Minoritari Melo do te fusi shqiperine ne nje kaos > > fetar qe te perfitoje me teper vota nga Ortodokset > > Shqiptare. > > > > > > PS: Feja dhe kombesia nuk do te regjistrohen > > > > Socialistet kane hedhur poshte dje kerkesen e > > kryetarit te partise se te > > > > drejtave te njeriut, Vasil Melo per perfshirjen e > > kombesise dhe te fese > > ne listat e votuesve perkrah emrit te tyre. Sipas > > tyre realizimi ne > > praktike i nje ideje te tille mund te ndikoje ne > > percarjen e shqiptareve. > > > _______________________________________________________ > > ALBSA-Info mailing list: ALBSA-Info at alb-net.com > > http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/albsa-info > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of > Products. > http://shopping.yahoo.com/ > _______________________________________________________ > ALBSA-Info mailing list: ALBSA-Info at alb-net.com > http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/albsa-info __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/ From endril at rocketmail.com Mon Dec 11 15:27:03 2000 From: endril at rocketmail.com (Endri Leno) Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2000 12:27:03 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] 1. Rregjistrimi i fese ne Shqiperi (Kreshnik Bejko) Message-ID: <20001211202703.5041.qmail@web2905.mail.yahoo.com> Ermal me behet qejfi qe paske pasur vetem eksperienca pozitive. Une per vete jo se kam patur ndoje problem, se te merresh me fe me duket humbje kohe, por psh, nje libian dhe nje algjerian qe kam ne pune, u duhet te merrnin leje nga qeveria amerikane a te leshonin deklarata te hollesishme per te vajtur ne vendet e tyre te vizitonin te afermit. Me fjale te tjera liria e levizjes eshte e kufizuar. Kjo nuk me duket teper tolerante. endri --- Ermal Abdi wrote: > Endri me duket se e keni teper gabim kur thoni se ne > Amerike nese je muslimane te shohin si terrorist te > mundshem. Nuk e di nese jetoni ne USA po une kam > ketu > rreth 6 vjet dhe nuk kam hasur asnje person te me > shohi me nje sy tjeter si terrorist te mundshem > pervec > injoranteve (rednecks). > Nejse ti ke opinionin dhe eksperiencen tende por une > personlisht edhe pse mundohem te jetoj jeten e nje > muslimani respektohem me shume ne Amerike sesa ne > Shqiperi (qe eshte vend me popullsi muslimane 75%). > Ne pune kam te drejten e faljes pse here ne dite, > kam > te drejten e dy ore pushim te premteve per te shkuar > ne xhami, dhe askush nuk me trajton ndryshe nga te > tjeret. Eshte pikerisht prioriteti i popullit > amerikan qe te respektohen te gjitha fete dhe > ndjenjat > e te tjereve. Ne Shqiperi (ku njerezit po vdesin te > imitojne popullin amerikan) ndodhe komplet e > kunderta. > Njerezit persekutohen e ofendohen VETEM se i > perkasin > nje feje tjeter qofte ajo muslimane, bahai, baptist > etj. Kjo me te vertete tregon se nje popull i tille > nuk ka per te perparuar kurre derisa te pranoje > gjithe > kulturat dhe fete e tjera qe jane pjese e popullsise > dhe historise se vendit. > > Nderime > ermal ABDI > --- Endri Leno wrote: > > ----------- ALBSA-Info Mailing List > > --------- > > - ALBSA Web Site: > > http://www.albstudent.org - > > > > Teper dakort me keto qe thote Albi, por te marresh > > Francen dhe Ameriken si shembull, sikur s'eshte > ide > > shume e mire. > > Se, ne Amerike psh, nqs deklarohesh si mysliman > apo > > nqs vjen nga ndonje vend arab, vertet nuk te > > persekuton njeri ama cdo institucion shteteror te > > shikon me dyshim, si nje terrorist islamik te > > mundshem. > > Ndersa ne France psh, pati gati 100 vjet luftera > > fetare, te "vulosura" nga nata e Shen Bartolomeut, > > apo > > jo? > > Endri > > > > > > --- Albi Qeli wrote: > > > ----------- ALBSA-Info Mailing List > > > --------- > > > - ALBSA Web Site: > > > http://www.albstudent.org - > > > > > > Ne shtetin tone nuk duhet te kete fare dallime > > midis > > > shtetasve me fe e me > > > kombesi te ndryshme. Per shtetin shqiptar nuk > > duhet > > > te kete rendesi se cfare > > > feje kane shtetasit. Shteti shqiptar nuk duhet > te > > > perzihet fare ne te tilla > > > pune. > > > > > > Shembuj per shtetin qe duam te ndertojme ne > > Shqiperi > > > duhet te jene shtetet > > > europiane dhe USA, e jo Greqia qe mburret me > > gjasme > > > "homogjenitetin" e vet. > > > Shqiperia duhet te ndjeke shembullin e shteteve > si > > > Franca, qe as nuk > > > perpiqen te mbledhin statistika se sa jane > > > algjeriane e sa jane franceze "de > > > souche", sa jane te krishtere, sa islamike, e sa > > > budiste. > > > > > > Ne Greqi shteti u kerkon shtetasve qe te > > deklarojne > > > fene e tyre. Nuk eshte > > > per t'u habitur pastaj qe ne Greqi behen dallime > > > ndaj joortodokseve, > > > (perfshi ketu edhe te krishteret joortodokse). > > Melo > > > dhe PBDNJ duan te > > > importojne tiparet me te keqija te shtetit grek > e > > > t'i instalojne ne Shqiperi > > > per te keqen e te gjitheve. > > > > > > Albi > > > > > > _____________________________________________ > > > > > > Message: 1 > > > From: "Kreshnik Bejko" > > > To: albanian at listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu > > > Cc: alb-club at alb-net.com > > > Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2000 17:25:53 -0000 > > > Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Rregjistrimi i fese ne > > > Shqiperi > > > > > > Minoritari Melo do te fusi shqiperine ne nje > kaos > > > fetar qe te perfitoje me teper vota nga > Ortodokset > > > Shqiptare. > > > > > > > > > PS: Feja dhe kombesia nuk do te regjistrohen > > > > > > Socialistet kane hedhur poshte dje kerkesen e > > > kryetarit te partise se te > > > > > > drejtave te njeriut, Vasil Melo per perfshirjen > e > > > kombesise dhe te fese > > > ne listat e votuesve perkrah emrit te tyre. > Sipas > > > tyre realizimi ne > > > praktike i nje ideje te tille mund te ndikoje ne > > > percarjen e shqiptareve. > > > > > > _______________________________________________________ > > > ALBSA-Info mailing list: ALBSA-Info at alb-net.com > > > > http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/albsa-info > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > > Do You Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of > > Products. > > http://shopping.yahoo.com/ > > > _______________________________________________________ > > ALBSA-Info mailing list: ALBSA-Info at alb-net.com > > http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/albsa-info > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of > Products. > http://shopping.yahoo.com/ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/ From wplarre at bndlg.de Tue Dec 12 15:57:44 2000 From: wplarre at bndlg.de (Wolfgang Plarre) Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2000 21:57:44 +0100 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] {QIKSH ŤALBEUROPAť} NEWS: Kostunica Says He Backs Autonomy for Kosovo (Reuters, Dec 12, 2000) Message-ID: <3A369148.2AADFEC5@bndlg.de> http://www.centraleurope.com/yugoslaviatoday/news.php3?id=229162 Kostunica Says He Backs Autonomy for Kosovo ROME, Dec 12, 2000 -- (Reuters) Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica said on Monday he supported future autonomy for the province of Kosovo within the borders of federal Yugoslavia. "I am for a common state of Serbia and Montenegro, for the essential autonomy of Kosovo in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia -- a truly multinational state with all human and minority rights," he said in an address to Italian parliamentarians during his first official visit to Rome. Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, whom Kostunica replaced after disputed elections in September, revoked Kosovo's autonomy in 1989. The ethnic Albanian majority in the province, who outnumbered Serbs by almost nine to one, came under severe repression by Serb military forces, which led to the bombing of Yugoslavia last year by NATO. Referring to the bombing campaign, Kostunica said: "These are things you cannot forget, but you must live looking to the future." A United Nations resolution set up to provide a mandate for Kosovo stated that the territory remained under Yugoslav sovereignty but said nothing about it being part of Serbia. Three possible solutions have been flagged for Kosovo -- an independent, mainly ethnic Albanian state, a Yugoslav federal republic with full autonomy or as a province of Serbia. Kostunica did not elaborate on his ideas for Kosovo but vowed to secure democracy throughout Yugoslavia. While Kostunica and his political allies have largely secured control of Yugoslav institutions, the outcome of Serbian parliamentary elections slated for December 23 will be the key to cementing his grip across the federation. Kostunica told Italian parliamentarians that his country needed foreign capital to protect and develop its fledgling democratic political system. "The new democratic institutions in Yugoslavia should be strengthened with the necessary economic aid," he said, adding that Italy had understood that need and was helping to meet it. Kostunica earlier met President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and Prime Minister Giuliano Amato, who welcomed Yugoslavia's transition to democracy and pledged Italy's support and investment in the country. The foreign ministers of both countries signed a raft of economic deals, including an agreement to protect and promote each other's economic investments. KOSTUNICA MEETS POPE Kostunica, whose country is predominantly Christian Orthodox, also had an audience with Pope John Paul following his address in the Italian parliament. "(President) Kostunica expressed the desire to work for peace in Yugoslavia and the Balkans," Chief Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in a statement after the meeting. "During the talks, the two men discussed the efforts made by the Holy See during these difficult and tragic years, and (both) wished that the situation will reach a meeting of minds and social peace," he added. (C)2000 Copyright Reuters Limited -------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> eLerts It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! http://click.egroups.com/1/9699/1/_/920292/_/976661896/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> N?se don t? ?regjistrohesh nga ALBEUROPA, d?rgo nj? Email n?: albeuropa-unsubscribe at egroups.com From ermal_a at yahoo.com Tue Dec 12 23:12:01 2000 From: ermal_a at yahoo.com (Ermal Abdi) Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2000 20:12:01 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] 1. Rregjistrimi i fese ne Shqiperi (Kreshnik Bejko) Message-ID: <20001213041201.11467.qmail@web4107.mail.yahoo.com> I nderuar Endri: E thate vete ne email-in tuaj "nje libian dhe nje algjerian". Kjo nuk do te thote se te gjithe muslimanet trajtohen si "nje libian dhe nje algjerian" pasi ketu une ka hasur edhe nje kinez i cili duhet te bente te njejtat raporte me INS dhe FBI pasi dyshohej si spiun komunist por kjo nuk do te thote se budistet shihen me dyshim nga qeverija amerikane apo jo? Nderime ermal ABDI --- Endri Leno wrote: > ----------- ALBSA-Info Mailing List > --------- > - ALBSA Web Site: > http://www.albstudent.org - > > Ermal me behet qejfi qe paske pasur vetem > eksperienca > pozitive. Une per vete jo se kam patur ndoje > problem, > se te merresh me fe me duket humbje kohe, por psh, > nje > libian dhe nje algjerian qe kam ne pune, u duhet te > merrnin leje nga qeveria amerikane a te leshonin > deklarata te hollesishme per te vajtur ne vendet e > tyre te vizitonin te afermit. Me fjale te tjera > liria > e levizjes eshte e kufizuar. Kjo nuk me duket teper > tolerante. > endri > > > --- Ermal Abdi wrote: > > Endri me duket se e keni teper gabim kur thoni se > ne > > Amerike nese je muslimane te shohin si terrorist > te > > mundshem. Nuk e di nese jetoni ne USA po une kam > > ketu > > rreth 6 vjet dhe nuk kam hasur asnje person te me > > shohi me nje sy tjeter si terrorist te mundshem > > pervec > > injoranteve (rednecks). > > Nejse ti ke opinionin dhe eksperiencen tende por > une > > personlisht edhe pse mundohem te jetoj jeten e nje > > muslimani respektohem me shume ne Amerike sesa ne > > Shqiperi (qe eshte vend me popullsi muslimane > 75%). > > Ne pune kam te drejten e faljes pse here ne dite, > > kam > > te drejten e dy ore pushim te premteve per te > shkuar > > ne xhami, dhe askush nuk me trajton ndryshe nga te > > tjeret. Eshte pikerisht prioriteti i popullit > > amerikan qe te respektohen te gjitha fete dhe > > ndjenjat > > e te tjereve. Ne Shqiperi (ku njerezit po vdesin > te > > imitojne popullin amerikan) ndodhe komplet e > > kunderta. > > Njerezit persekutohen e ofendohen VETEM se i > > perkasin > > nje feje tjeter qofte ajo muslimane, bahai, > baptist > > etj. Kjo me te vertete tregon se nje popull i > tille > > nuk ka per te perparuar kurre derisa te pranoje > > gjithe > > kulturat dhe fete e tjera qe jane pjese e > popullsise > > dhe historise se vendit. > > > > Nderime > > ermal ABDI > > --- Endri Leno wrote: > > > ----------- ALBSA-Info Mailing List > > > --------- > > > - ALBSA Web Site: > > > http://www.albstudent.org - > > > > > > Teper dakort me keto qe thote Albi, por te > marresh > > > Francen dhe Ameriken si shembull, sikur s'eshte > > ide > > > shume e mire. > > > Se, ne Amerike psh, nqs deklarohesh si mysliman > > apo > > > nqs vjen nga ndonje vend arab, vertet nuk te > > > persekuton njeri ama cdo institucion shteteror > te > > > shikon me dyshim, si nje terrorist islamik te > > > mundshem. > > > Ndersa ne France psh, pati gati 100 vjet luftera > > > fetare, te "vulosura" nga nata e Shen > Bartolomeut, > > > apo > > > jo? > > > Endri > > > > > > > > > --- Albi Qeli wrote: > > > > ----------- ALBSA-Info Mailing List > > > > --------- > > > > - ALBSA Web Site: > > > > http://www.albstudent.org - > > > > > > > > Ne shtetin tone nuk duhet te kete fare dallime > > > midis > > > > shtetasve me fe e me > > > > kombesi te ndryshme. Per shtetin shqiptar nuk > > > duhet > > > > te kete rendesi se cfare > > > > feje kane shtetasit. Shteti shqiptar nuk duhet > > te > > > > perzihet fare ne te tilla > > > > pune. > > > > > > > > Shembuj per shtetin qe duam te ndertojme ne > > > Shqiperi > > > > duhet te jene shtetet > > > > europiane dhe USA, e jo Greqia qe mburret me > > > gjasme > > > > "homogjenitetin" e vet. > > > > Shqiperia duhet te ndjeke shembullin e > shteteve > > si > > > > Franca, qe as nuk > > > > perpiqen te mbledhin statistika se sa jane > > > > algjeriane e sa jane franceze "de > > > > souche", sa jane te krishtere, sa islamike, e > sa > > > > budiste. > > > > > > > > Ne Greqi shteti u kerkon shtetasve qe te > > > deklarojne > > > > fene e tyre. Nuk eshte > > > > per t'u habitur pastaj qe ne Greqi behen > dallime > > > > ndaj joortodokseve, > > > > (perfshi ketu edhe te krishteret joortodokse). > > > Melo > > > > dhe PBDNJ duan te > > > > importojne tiparet me te keqija te shtetit > grek > > e > > > > t'i instalojne ne Shqiperi > > > > per te keqen e te gjitheve. > > > > > > > > Albi > > > > > > > > _____________________________________________ > > > > > > > > Message: 1 > > > > From: "Kreshnik Bejko" > > > > To: albanian at listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu > > > > Cc: alb-club at alb-net.com > > > > Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2000 17:25:53 -0000 > > > > Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Rregjistrimi i fese ne > > > > Shqiperi > > > > > > > > Minoritari Melo do te fusi shqiperine ne nje > > kaos > > > > fetar qe te perfitoje me teper vota nga > > Ortodokset > > > > Shqiptare. > > > > > > > > > > > > PS: Feja dhe kombesia nuk do te regjistrohen > > > > > > > > Socialistet kane hedhur poshte dje kerkesen e > > > > kryetarit te partise se te > > > > > > > > drejtave te njeriut, Vasil Melo per > perfshirjen > > e > > > > kombesise dhe te fese > > > > ne listat e votuesve perkrah emrit te tyre. > > Sipas > > > > tyre realizimi ne > > > > praktike i nje ideje te tille mund te ndikoje > ne > > > > percarjen e shqiptareve. > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________________ > > > > ALBSA-Info mailing list: > ALBSA-Info at alb-net.com > > > > > > http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/albsa-info > > > > > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > > > Do You Yahoo!? > > > Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions > of > > > Products. > > > http://shopping.yahoo.com/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________________ > > > ALBSA-Info mailing list: ALBSA-Info at alb-net.com > > > > http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/albsa-info > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > > Do You Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of > > Products. > === message truncated === __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/ From xhuliana at usa.net Wed Dec 13 00:37:03 2000 From: xhuliana at usa.net (Xh.A.) Date: 13 Dec 00 00:37:03 EST Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Abdiut me shoke Message-ID: <20001213053703.9764.qmail@nwcst313.netaddress.usa.net> Ermal Abdi, A s'u ngopet akoma duke infektuar listat me fjalen e shenjte sipas interpretimeve tuaja? Apo ju vune prite nga njera ane e u hodhet nga kjo tani... Ju siguroj qe do te ishte me me shume interes per te gjithe ne studentat diskutimi i nje ceshtjeje me imediate e preokupuese ne terma akademike apo edhe praktike sesa ajo c'ka na ofroni ju e te tjere. Mjaft me! Cdo gje me karar. Edhe propaganda(apo 'mesimet') fetare. Xh.A. ____________________________________________________________________ Get free email and a permanent address at http://www.netaddress.com/?N=1 From ipilika at hotmail.com Wed Dec 13 11:08:17 2000 From: ipilika at hotmail.com (Iris Pilika) Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2000 16:08:17 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Greek group's boast over murder Message-ID: Greek group's boast over murder December 13, 2000 Web posted at: 1424 GMT ATHENS, Greece -- The Greek group, November 17, has called the assassination of a British diplomat its "most important" operation in 25 years. In a statement published by the daily Eleftherotypia newspaper on Wednesday, the group claimed responsibility for killing Stephen Saunders, the defence attache at the British embassy in Athens. It said Saunders had been deeply involved in the Kosovo war, a campaign which was unpopular in Greece. Saunders was shot while on his way to work in Athens on June 8. The six-page November 17 statement added: "Brigadier Saunders was the No. 1 at the embassy. He was the most important target we have hit in our 25 years of action." Britain and Greece condemned the statement and British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook repeated the government stance that Saunders had played no role in the NATO-led bombing campaign. "I strongly condemn November 17's attempt to justify their brutal murder of Stephen Saunders," he said. Saunders was the group's 23rd victim since 1975, when CIA station chief Richard Welch became their first victim. Saunders was the group's first British victim. No-one from the group has ever been caught. It has since allegedly killed three more U.S. citizens and one Greek employee at the U.S. Embassy, a number of Turkish diplomats as well as Greek policemen, business leaders and politicians. Scotland Yard has been working with Greek counterparts to track down Saunders's killers and Greece has pledged to step up the fight against attacks, particularly ahead of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Cook said the British authorities would continue to work closely with the Greek police. 'Two guns used' In its statement, found in a central Athens rubbish bin after an anonymous telephone call, November 17 said the assassin had been able to weave through heavy rush-hour traffic on a motorcycle. The group said it had used two guns to kill Saunders and questioned why Greek police had not made this public. It said that as well as a .45-calibre pistol that is its trademark weapon it had used a G-3 semi-automatic rifle. The statement added that its members had fired a single shot from the rifle and then opened up with the .45-calibre handgun. "Hiding that fact runs counter to their (the Greek police's) desperate attempts to gather any information from eyewitnesses," it said. The group said it used the G-3 in case the car Saunders was driving was armoured, which it said it was not. It criticised the British Government for not providing such an "important military official" with an armoured vehicle. November 17, which says it has shifted its philosophy away from Marxism to anti-globalisation, takes its name from the date in 1973 when military rulers crushed a student uprising in Athens. Reuters contributed to this report. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com From ipilika at hotmail.com Thu Dec 14 11:02:02 2000 From: ipilika at hotmail.com (Iris Pilika) Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 16:02:02 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Serbs demand use of force against Albanians Message-ID: Protests put pressure on Kostunica December 14, 2000 Web posted at: 1348 GMT DAVIDOVAC, Yugoslavia -- Thousands of Serbs have blocked roads around the Kosovo border, demanding the government uses force against ethnic Albanian rebels in the area. Around 3,000 people closed routes in and out of the town of Bujanovac in protest at recent attacks in which rebels killed four Serb policemen and took control of several villages in the demilitarised border zone. Ethnic Albanians make up the vast majority of the population in the province of Kosovo and the rebels are pressing to break away from Serbia, Yugoslavia's main republic. Kosovo has been under international control since last year, and many ethnic Albanian residents back the call for independence for the province, together with the heavily ethnic Albanian Presevo Valley region in Serbia proper. The attacks have triggered fears of renewed clashes in the area -- and sparked anger from Serbs, who make up much of Yugoslavia's population but are the minority in this region. The protest, which has also shut down a railway line and roads that link Serbia with Macedonia and Greece, was set up by Serbs from Kosovo and local residents. Kostunica 'in a bind' Many said that the ousted president Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party had organised the action, trying to gain support ahead of December 23 parliamentary elections in Serbia. The ethnic Albanian attacks have left the new Yugoslav president Vojislav Kostunica in a tight spot, observers say, as he could lose support if he ignores the rebels, but could also anger the international community if his steps against the insurgents are seen as excessive. Zoran Djindjic, a Kostunica ally who is expected to become the next Serb prime minister said: "With every additional day, the terrorists are gaining ground and digging in. "We need strong action now because later it will be more difficult." Kostunica, who heads a pro-democracy coalition, has been eager to distance himself from his predecessor's belligerent policies, which led to NATO's bombing campaign last year and the establishment of the joint U.N. and NATO administration in Kosovo. On Wednesday, Kostunica appealed for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on the issue saying that the people of Yugoslavia need to know the international community would protect them. Council members issued a statement saying they "condemned acts of violence by armed groups in southern Serbia" and reiterated their call for "immediate cessation of violence in this area." An open meeting on the matter is scheduled for next week. The Associated Press contributed to this report. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com From wplarre at bndlg.de Sun Dec 17 05:06:39 2000 From: wplarre at bndlg.de (Wolfgang Plarre) Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2000 11:06:39 +0100 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] {QIKSH ŤALBEUROPAť} NEWS: Humiliation of Kosovo Albanians queuing for Yugoslav passports (AFP, 17 Dec 2000) Message-ID: <3A3C902F.9303B117@bndlg.de> http://sg.dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/world/afp/article.html?s=singapore/headlines/001217/world/afp/Humiliation_of_Kosovo_Albanians_queuing_for_Yugoslav_passports.html Sunday, December 17 11:47 AM SGT Humiliation of Kosovo Albanians queuing for Yugoslav passports PRISTINA, Yugoslavia, Dec 17 (AFP) - In a quiet Pristina backstreet around 60 Kosovo Albanians jostle each other in front of the the Yugoslav government's office in the province, keen to get their humiliation over with. "I'm ashamed to have come here," whispers one, "The Serbs killed so many of us, but now I have to beg them for a passport". Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority believes it deserves independence from Federal Yugoslavia and its dominant republic, Serbia, and refuses to accept the implications of the UN Security Council resolution which gives the breakaway province only "substantial autonomy." But if they want to travel Kosovo Albanians must swallow their pride and ask for a Yugoslav passport. "I refused for a year and a half to come to the Yugoslav office, but now I have no choice. It's a difficult step for me, because I don't consider Yugoslavia as my country," said a man in the crowd, one of a few that agreed to speak. Signs of the hate that still marks relations between the Albanians and the Yugoslav authorities are all around as he speaks. The office is guarded by a huge iron gate and eight British marine commandos. In the courtyard is the wrecked remains of a car that had been parked last month next to the home of the head of the office when it was the target of a bomb attack. The Albanians, who all asked not to be named in case their hard decision angered their nationalist neighbours, have varying reasons for seeking a passport. "Since June last year I've been paying a German to send me ceramic tiles, but he's too expensive. I have to go myself," says a shopkeeper, who said his last passport was seized by Serb troops during the war. Another young man leaves the office with a smile on his face and a passport in his pocket. "Now I can go and join my wife in Croatia, get myself naturalised there and get rid of this awful document. It's the beginning of a new life," he declares. The passport office is in the windowless basement of the building, where there is no electricity and the three Serb staff have to work with the door open to let in light. Since June 1999, when with the arrival of a NATO-led peacekeeping force Kosovo became a international protectorate, the Pristina office has been the only place to legally obtain travel documents. Since then it has issued 51,500 passports, 95 percent of them to Albanians, according to the chief of the office, who also asked not to be named. Passports are valid for ten years, cost 50 German marks (23 dollars) and are issued around a month after they are applied for. There is a quicker way, but it's much more expensive. Mimosa, a 22-year-old woman with a thirst to travel, paid 800 marks, a month's salary, to an Albanian go-between who "collaborates with the Serbs" and received her passport in less than a week. "It's the price of avoiding the humiliation of going to their office," she said. "I've been stuck in Kosovo for a year and a half. I could never have imagined wanting a new Yugoslav passport, but the United Nations didn't keep its promises, so I had no choice," she explained. Kosovo's UN mission will begin issuing identity papers and travel documents to "Kosovo residents" by the end of the year. Whether there will ever be a true Kosovo passport is still far from certain. Copyright ? 2000 AFP -------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> eGroups eLerts It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! http://click.egroups.com/1/9698/1/_/920292/_/977067975/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> N?se don t? ?regjistrohesh nga ALBEUROPA, d?rgo nj? Email n?: albeuropa-unsubscribe at egroups.com From aalibali at yahoo.com Sun Dec 17 18:09:45 2000 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2000 15:09:45 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] LA Times Message-ID: <20001217230945.37194.qmail@web11502.mail.yahoo.com> Los Angeles Times December 17, 2000, Sunday, Home Edition Opinion; Part M; Page 2; Opinion Desk THE PERILS OF STIFLING SELF-DETERMINATION Susan Blaustein, Susan Blaustein is a freelance writer and senior consultant for the, International Crisis Group WASHINGTON In its understandable rush to embrace Belgrade after the ouster of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in October, the West has all but abandoned its friends in Montenegro and Kosovo as they attempt to redefine their respective relationships to Serbia and the new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Western governments' and international organizations' rapid recognition of and promises of aid to Yugoslavia reflect their desire to bolster Serb democratic forces in anticipation of Serbian elections on Dec. 23. But after supporting the democratic Montenegrin government in its struggle against Milosevic and after mobilizing NATO forces to reverse the expulsion of Albanians from Kosovo, the international community now seems prepared to block the long-sought goal of each province: independence. Chris Patten, a top European Union official, has categorically dismissed the possibility of full independence for Kosovo, and the Clinton administration briefly threatened to suspend aid to Montenegro because its president planned an early referendum on the question of independence. There are, to be sure, good reasons for the West's approach. Most crucial, should Montenegro secede, Yugoslavia--and Vojislav Kostunica's job as president--would cease to exist. This, in turn, would effectively mean independence for Kosovo, since, under the 1999 U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing the international presence there, the province must remain within Yugoslavia, but not necessarily within Serbia. But other dominoes could fall. Independence drives in either Montenegro or Kosovo could encourage hard-liners in Bosnia's Republika Srpska--the half of Bosnia-Herzegovina from which virtually all non-Serbs were "cleansed" during the Bosnian war--to hold out for their own independence. This could spark efforts for reunification with Serbia, a move that would quash all hope for an ethnically reintegrated Bosnia-Herzegovina and would risk renewed conflict. While these are important arguments for holding Humpty Dumpty together, the reality is, "the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" is a Milosevic-forged fiction that, like the rest of his regime, should be junked. Kosovo Albanians have sworn never to return to Serbian rule; the message of their local elections in November was independence, independence, independence. Montenegrins, for their part, know well that their interests, aspirations and elected representatives are taken far less seriously than those of the Serbs. Serbia certainly needs Western support to consolidate its democracy and strengthen its civil society. But leaders of Western democracies must acknowledge that neither Yugoslavia nor Serbia can be truly democratic as long as their leaders insist on holding onto territories whose populations seek independence. Governing nearly 2 million hostile Albanians, some of whom refuse to renounce violence to achieve their end, imperils the Serbs' priorities to rebuild their economy and become a "normal" European country. Montenegro will continue to chafe under the domination of its far larger, more chauvinistic neighbor. And Kostunica's high-profile support for the extreme nationalist Bosnian Serb party of Radovan Karadzic encourages such nationalists to ply their separatist agenda. Continued Western denial of these realities can only result in renewed instability and outbreaks of violence in Yugoslavia, Bosnia and throughout the region. Already, a shadowy group of Kosovo Albanian guerrillas has staged a series of cross-border attacks on Serbian police in southern Serbia; Kostunica and other Serbian leaders have responded with threats of "a new war," and Serbian tanks and paramilitary units have reportedly moved into the area. Instead of attempting to orchestrate the ultimate shape of and relations among Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo, the West should step back and allow leaders of these entities to negotiate their own futures. Once this month's Serbian legislative elections are over, Montenegrin and Serbian leaders plan to work out details of a more fruitful association. Western allies should be grateful and not interfere. They should continue to focus on helping Montenegrins strengthen their democratic institutions and implement much-needed economic reform. In Kosovo, a date must be set now for parliamentary elections, so its elected officials can similarly engage the new Serbian leadership. Since Serb politicians appear unwilling to yield Kosovo to Kosovars, these negotiations are likely to be contentious and may thus require international interlocutors. Yet, the West should not attempt to forestall the process of self-determination. Rather, by allowing Kosovars to elect their own leaders and by establishing a clear set of prerequisites--respect for minority rights and the rule of law--it should create the conditions for self-determination to unfold peacefully. Finally, the new Serb leaders must be reminded of their international obligations. As part of the Dayton peace accord that ended the Bosnian war in 1995, Yugoslavia agreed to respect international borders, facilitate the voluntary return of refugees to their homes and cooperate fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague by turning over all indictees and evidence of war crimes. The U.S. has been more vigilant on these issues than have its European allies and lead international organizations. Congress rightly conditioned future assistance to Serbia on compliance with The Hague tribunal. This week, President Bill Clinton is expected to sign an executive order freezing the assets of all indicted war criminals and close Milosevic associates. In contrast, the EU, in deference to a request by the Kostunica government, has removed a number of Milosevic henchmen and alleged war criminals from its visa-ban list. Europe's offer of assistance to the new Yugoslavia was unconditional, as was Yugoslavia's lightning-paced admission to the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Such preferential treatment has aroused resentment in neighboring countries, which enjoyed no such honeymoon or pledges of cash as they navigated their own difficult transitions out of communism or authoritarianism. Yugoslavia's failure to comply with The Hague tribunal risks undermining that court's credibility at this critical juncture. It lends credence to Kostunica's often-repeated claim that the tribunal is an instrument of U.S. foreign policy that proved useful in marginalizing Milosevic but can be jettisoned without consequence. The West's failure to insist on the authority of the U.N.-mandated judicial body would not only represent a catastrophic setback for international humanitarian law after the remarkable advances made within the past decade. It would also ensure that "the new Serbia" would look much like the old: a safe haven for indicted war criminals and a place where Serbs can avoid confronting the multitude of crimes committed against non-Serbs in their name. * __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/ From wplarre at bndlg.de Mon Dec 18 03:33:39 2000 From: wplarre at bndlg.de (Wolfgang Plarre) Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2000 09:33:39 +0100 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] {QIKSH ŤALBEUROPAť} PRESS: Kosovo Still Seethes as U.N. Official Nears Exit (Washington Post, December 18, 2000) Message-ID: <3A3DCBE3.85485EDB@bndlg.de> http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A20014-2000Dec17?language=printer Kosovo Still Seethes as U.N. Official Nears Exit By R. Jeffrey Smith Washington Post Foreign Service Monday, December 18, 2000 ; Page A20 PRISTINA, Yugoslavia, Dec. 17 -- A huge poster behind Bernard Kouchner's desk here in Kosovo portrays three men--an ethnic Albanian, a Serb and a Gypsy--sharing a cup of coffee above the words: "Let's talk about us; the future starts with tolerance." The poster was crafted for a U.N. campaign of tolerance in Kosovo's schools, but it is a fantasy for this Serbian province at large; it is the kind of conversation that never occurs here, even after 18 months of international peacekeeping and nation-building under Kouchner's leadership as the top U.N. official in Kosovo. It has been a wearying and frustrating assignment for Kouchner, who plans to resign next month; Danish Defense Minister Hans Haekkerup will succeed him. For Kouchner, today was hardly different than any other over the past year and a half. There were frantic morning phone calls from the U.N. representative in the northern Kosovo town of Leposavic about rioting Serbs, an overnight arson attack on the U.N. police station and the seizure of some Belgian soldiers for seven hours at a NATO base. He also heard from an aide in the northern city of Kosovska Mitrovica that an ethnic Albanian was found shot to death in a Serbian neighborhood. Serbs in Leposavic, he learned, were angry about two things: the death of a Serbian nationalist who was injured during ethnic riots in Mitrovica nearly a year ago, and the arrest Saturday by U.N.-hired Serbian police of a former member of a Serbian militia, who was charged with speeding and possession of illegal communications equipment. In the resulting riot, two Serbs reportedly were killed; the Belgrade government blamed NATO soldiers for firing irresponsibly, while NATO blamed the Serbs for interfering with law enforcement. Those reports came in before U.S. troops assigned to the NATO peacekeeping operation here reported being shot at around lunchtime, purportedly by ethnic Albanians. The soldiers were in the process of blowing up a road used by ethnic Albanian militants to smuggle arms from Kosovo into southern Serbia, where they have been challenging government security forces. No Americans were wounded in the incident, the first use of force against the militants since the U.S. military they promised to seal Kosovo's eastern boundary early this month. There have been many ethnically inspired shootings, arsons and riots throughout Kouchner's tenure, during which he and his U.N. colleagues have struggled to obtain adequate financing and manpower to stabilize Kosovo--a province of Serbia, Yugoslavia's dominant republic. Lacking sufficient numbers of trained police and impartial judges, they have failed to halt a succession of violent attacks by Kosovo Albanians on the province's Serbs and other minorities--an ethnic cleansing in reverse by those whom the Serb-led Yugoslav government sought to drive from the province at gunpoint, leading to NATO military intervention and the present U.N. administration. Kouchner has endured furious criticism from the Yugoslav government and its Russian allies with each step the United Nations has taken to help Kosovo govern itself, including municipal elections in October that brought political moderates to power and displaced ethnic hard-liners. And Kouchner said he and other U.N. officials here have watched with amazement as the Western countries that fought to protect Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanian population from the Yugoslav government last year have rushed to embrace its newly elected leader, Vojislav Kostunica. Kouchner said he expected more reticence until Belgrade granted amnesty to ethnic Albanians in Serbian jails or made other efforts to atone for its bloody repression of the Kosovo Albanians. But Kouchner said in an interview that he remains optimistic a better future awaits Kosovo, the only U.N. protectorate in Europe and a territory that is neither independent nor subject to the dictates of Belgrade, capital of both Serbian and Yugoslavia. "It is a dream to make peace right now," Kouchner said when asked what message he wanted to send president-elect George W. Bush and his advisers, who have expressed skepticism about keeping U.S. troops in the Balkans for a long time. "It is our common dream. But we need to be realistic. . . . It is not possible for Serbs to have freedom of movement at the moment [because of security risks]. . . . This is a long run and not a sprint." "We need the Americans," Kouchner said. "We need the forces we have. . . . This [peacekeeping] is a common aim for all those involved in fighting [former Yugoslav president Slobodan] Milosevic," whose policies of Serbian nationalism stoked animosities and led to a decade of bitter divisions and human rights abuses. Milosevic, defeated for reelection by Kostunica in October, was ousted in a subsequent popular uprising. Those who think that Kosovo's residents will be adequately protected by the arrival of democracy in Belgrade after Kostunica's victory are naive, Kouchner said. "I'm sorry, that's not the way it works," he said, calling such notions disturbingly "colonial." Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo demand independence, and their bitterness over the war remains so great that any of their leaders who try to talk with Kostunica's government would risk being killed by extremists, he said. "Intolerance is a . . . political fact," not easily or quickly remedied, he said. Kouchner, a physician who helped found the humanitarian aid group Doctors Without Borders, says he is leaving Kosovo because he is restless. He unsuccessfully sought the position of U.N. high commissioner for refugees and is now headed for an unspecified French government assignment in Paris. His obvious empathy for human suffering and openly emotional style have won him many supporters among Kosovo residents, but many locals and Westerners have accused his team of being disorganized and faulted its slow repair of utilities and other basic services. Kouchner says he has made mistakes but feels the United Nations performed better in Kosovo than in other peacekeeping assignments, particularly because its territory and citizenry were so damaged by the fighting here. He added that he hopes his experience will guide the United Nations to do a better job in similar circumstances in the future. The first and most important lesson to be learned from Kosovo, he said, is that peacekeeping missions need a judicial or law-and-order "kit" made up of trained police officers, judges and prosecutors, plus a set of potentially draconian security laws or regulations that are available on their arrival. This is the only way to stop criminal behavior from flourishing in a postwar vacuum of authority, Kouchner said. "We did not succeed with the police," Kouchner said, noting that more than 50 countries contributed officers to the 4,000-member force but that they never trained for the mission. He acknowledged that his own staff had repeatedly spurned proposals to bring in foreigners who could prosecute crimes impartially. His staff was "absolutely wrong," he said, adding that Kosovo needs more such foreign judges and prosecutors now. Kouchner says he has no regrets about moving as quickly as possible to organize elections and begin handing power back to the citizens of Kosovo. After decades of authoritarian or communist rule, he said, they needed to learn it was their own responsibility. With backing from the Clinton administration, Kouchner has been pressing for additional elections soon after he departs, this time for a Kosovo-wide parliamentary assembly. Belgrade has opposed the idea, arguing that the balloting would make Kosovo Serbs feel even more excluded from the political process, but Kouchner argues that if such an election is postponed, ethnic Albanian militants will stoke new violence. Kouchner says that peace will be more secure in Kosovo after new elections are held, more jobs are created, ethnic Albanian prisoners are freed from Serbian jails, and missing Kosovo Serbs are accounted for. But he also says that Serbia needs to see Kosovo's majority population not simply as terrorists but as people "like they are, normal people." ? 2000 The Washington Post -------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> eGroups eLerts It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! http://click.egroups.com/1/9698/1/_/920292/_/977141136/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> N?se don t? ?regjistrohesh nga ALBEUROPA, d?rgo nj? Email n?: albeuropa-unsubscribe at egroups.com From aalibali at yahoo.com Mon Dec 18 07:48:01 2000 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2000 04:48:01 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Macedonian sale Message-ID: <20001218124801.49856.qmail@web11508.mail.yahoo.com> I think the Albanian Mobile Company was sold at about 85 million dollars, which was considered a "bingo" by Albanian Minister Sokol Nako. The Macedonian Mobile is for sale for about 7 times that price. SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) _ Macedonia"s government said Sunday that the two leading bidders for a 51 percent stake in the country"s mobile phone network are Hungary"s telecommunications firm Matav and the Greek company OTE. A final decision on the sale of the majority stake of Macedonia"s state-run mobile phone network is expected Tuesday. The announcement narrows the field to Matav, which is offering $552.2 million, and OTE, offering $543.3 million. The mobile phone network is considered one of a few profitable operations in the impoverished former Yugoslav republic of 2 million people. Opposition parties have been protesting the sale and threaten to contest it in court as allegedly damaging to the state. Matav is partly owned by Deutsche Telekom, Interamerican, Greece-based Cosmo Telco, and the U.S. firm SEEF. Greek OTE has an estimated market value of $12 billion. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/ From vcela at hotmail.com Mon Dec 18 22:02:23 2000 From: vcela at hotmail.com (valbona cela) Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2000 22:02:23 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Re: Looking for an Albanian roomate Message-ID: Hi everybody, Don't be surprised if you get this message. I am just using it to ask for some help. My name is Valbona Cela. I am from Albania. I am looking for a roomate ASAP. The apt. is in Arlington. The rent is $525.00 per month (including heat and hot water). If you know somebody please let me know. I really appreciate it. Thanks. Sincerely, Valbona Cela VALBONA CELA 19 Walnut Street, #3, Arlington, MA 02476 Phone:(781)-648-1438(H) (617)-576-0646(W) E-mail:vcela at hotmail.com _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com From i_spaho at hotmail.com Tue Dec 19 04:40:14 2000 From: i_spaho at hotmail.com (irma spaho) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 04:40:14 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] PORTRET SURREALIST I NJE FEMRE TE VETMUAR NE SHEKUJ Message-ID: PORTRET SURREALIST I NJE FEMRE TE VETMUAR NE SHEKUJ Copeza, copeza, copeza, copeza kujtimesh, copeza endrrash te perdhosura, copeza malli, fotografi te dalaboje nga lotet, pluhur te qeshurash, klithma deshperimi, mermeritje kenaqesie, psheretima brengash, nenqeshje pendimesh, e perseri copeza, copeza, copeza... Nje mbreteri e lindur nga copezat, e kufizuar nga copezat, e qeverisur nga copezat. Nje bote pafundesisht mistike, tmerresisht e panjohur, tmerresisht e frikshme, e ruajtur fanatisht, vulosur pas atyre buzesh. Dhjetera mijera dite-fshehur pas asaj heshtjeje-vetevrasese, qindra mijera vjet per te arritur pas asaj porte qe ruan sekretet, sekretet e krijimit, sekretet e ekzistences, sekretet e shtetit. Rruga per ne ferr do dukej kaq e lehte, kaq e perballueshme perpara ketij mundimi. Copeza, copeza, copeza... Copeza gjymtyresh te lengezuara, copeza pellembesh qe kane filluar te rrudhen nga pritja, copeza te buta gjoksi dale jashte trupit per te kerkuar duart ledhatuese, sy qe mbyllen duke parashikuar eksitimin. Ene gjaku qe nga lodhja zgjaten per te pushuar mbi dyshemene e ftohte, eshtra qe zberthehen ngadale-ngadale, duke krijuar nje figure te crregullt, nje fytyre e shperfytyruar ku vetem floket dallohen qarte. E tille eshte ajo cdo mbremje te mundimshme, kur thith oret e vetmise e ne lufte me gjithcka, mundohet t'i jepet e tera joshjes se gjumit, per te harruar veten dhe diten qe shkoi. Vjen mengjesi, ajo mbledh serish copezat, e me puthjen e femijeve imagjinare ne buze, niset per rruge. Dhjetor, 2000 _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com From ipilika at hotmail.com Tue Dec 19 10:18:54 2000 From: ipilika at hotmail.com (Iris Pilika) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 15:18:54 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Kostunica hopes for less U.S. presence Message-ID: Kostunica hopes for less U.S. presence Kostunica: "Insane" bombing campaign December 17, 2000 Web posted at: 1150 GMT BELGRADE, Yugoslavia -- Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica says he expects less U.S. presence in the Balkans under George W. Bush than from his predecessor's administration. Kostunica said he believed his country would not have been attacked by NATO had a Republican been in the White House. Yugoslavia was bombed by NATO in 1999 to punish Slobodan Milosevic, Kostunica's predecessor, for his crackdown on Kosovo's ethnic Albanians. Alluding to the strong U.S. support of the bombing, Kostunica said the administration of President Bill Clinton "made a series of moves that represented a deviation from the basic American foreign policy concept." "We had the misfortune to be the first and perhaps the last country in the world to which such insane concept of humanitarian bombing was applied to," said Kostunica. The Republicans "always had an isolationist wing," Kostunica said, "which is strictly against American interference in disputes in certain parts of the world, and which is against the thinking that protection of American interests demands presence in the Balkans or bombing like the one last year against Yugoslavia." The foreign policy brief on U.S. President-elect Bush's Web site names several countries of special interest to him. But none is in the Balkans, and that outlook worries some NATO members. There is also concern about statements he made on international policy during his presidential campaign. For example, members of NATO, along with Russia, are worried about suggestions that Bush might pull U.S. peacekeeping troops out of the Balkans. Condoleeza Rice, who is tipped to become Bush?s national security adviser, suggested during the campaign that a Bush administration would pull back U.S. troops from worldwide peace-keeping duties. Specifically, she suggested U.S. troops might be pulled back from Bosnia and Kosovo, leaving Europe to take over more of their duties in the Balkans. Tensions rise The Bush team has sought to moderate worries, saying that no troops would be taken out of the Balkans without the allies being consulted. But Kostunica is calling for some Western presence in the region. He has accused NATO of not doing enough to deal with the tense situation on the border with Kosovo where Yugoslav forces are on high alert amid reports that ethnic Albanian rebels are planning an offensive. On Friday NATO-led peacekeepers arrested five ethnic Albanians suspected of violence in Serbia as tensions mount in the region. The five were suspected of belonging to the Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac. Ethnic Albanians make up the vast majority of the population in the province of Kosovo and the rebels are pressing to break away from Serbia, Yugoslavia's main republic. KFOR has stepped up monitoring and surveillance of the boundary to stop any support for the rebel groups from Kosovo. Kostunica has called for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting next week on the issue. Council members issued a statement saying they "condemned acts of violence by armed groups in southern Serbia" and reiterated their call for "immediate cessation of violence in this area." The Associated Press contributed to this report. The Associated Press contributed to this report. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com From ipilika at hotmail.com Tue Dec 19 17:03:47 2000 From: ipilika at hotmail.com (Iris Pilika) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 22:03:47 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Kostunica wants security zone cut Message-ID: Kostunica wants security zone cut Kostunica wants to 'cleanse southern Serbia of terrorists' December 19, 2000 Web posted at: 2035 GMT BELGRADE, Yugoslavia -- President Vojislav Kostunica has called for a peace agreement to be changed to allow Yugoslav soldiers closer to the provincial boundary between Kosovo and Serbia. Ethnic Albanian rebels are threatening transport routes in the area, but Serbian police can carry only light arms under the Kosovo peace agreement that ended last year's NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Four days ahead of elections in Serbia, the main Yugoslav republic, Kostunica suggested changes in a provision of the peace agreement that also established a five kilometre (three mile) security zone between the NATO-run province and Serbia proper. "A possible solution is to have the five-kilometre zone reduced to two or one kilometres and free the communication route to the south," he said. "That would help return stability into the zone." Clashes in the zone last month left four Serbian policemen dead. "Our goal is to cleanse the southern Serbian region of terrorists," Kostunica said, referring to Albanian militants. NATO troops in Kosovo -- despite their "overwhelming presence" -- have "shown themselves incapable of the task" of stopping violence, he said. "And if they failed in Kosovo, what can we expect in the Presevo Valley," Kostunica added, referring to the buffer region. "This can evidently not be achieved single-handedly with the presence or intervention of (NATO's) Kosovo Force. Other solutions should be sought." Speaking ahead of Saturday's elections, Kostunica said much needed to be done to undo the wrongs committed by his predecessor former president Slobodan Milosevic. "When I took this office, I was aware of the scope of our problems," Kostunica said. "Democracy -- which we all coveted the most -- is still slow in coming ... and many issues will have to be solved on the road ahead." The Associated Press contributed to this report. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com From AQeli at rushu.rush.edu Wed Dec 20 11:24:30 2000 From: AQeli at rushu.rush.edu (Albi Qeli) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2000 10:24:30 -0600 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] kostunica Message-ID: ". . . Alluding to the strong U.S. support of the bombing, Kostunica said the administration of President Bill Clinton "made a series of moves that represented a deviation from the basic American foreign policy concept." . . ." Oh, I see now why Kostunica does not want to send Milosevic to the Hague. Kostunica probably thinks that after all, Milosevic should not be blamed that much for what happened to Serbia (of course, "who cares for the crimes against Albanians?"). In other words, Milosevic's earlier calculations had been right: his policies would not have caused so much damage to Serbia if it were not for the "deviation from the basic American foreign policy concept." From deti at ont.com Wed Dec 20 16:38:55 2000 From: deti at ont.com (etel) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2000 15:38:55 -0600 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] perkthime Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.20001220153855.006df818@mail.ont.com> Miredita te gjitheve, Sot me eshte kerkuar nga nje avokat i imigracionit ne Dallas te perkthej disa dokumenta nga shqipja ne anglisht. Nese dikush nga ju ben perkthime, mund te me thoni sa eshte cmimi per nje pune te tille? charge by words? Pages? Sa eshte cmimi standart, nese ka nje te tille? Ju lutem nese dikush nga ju ka dijeni, me njoftoni ASAP. Sinqerisht, Etel Haxhiaj Etel H. From aalibali at law.harvard.edu Thu Dec 21 23:56:03 2000 From: aalibali at law.harvard.edu (aalibali at law.harvard.edu) Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 23:56:03 -0500 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Greeks and Albanians in Greece Message-ID: *** Greeks and Albanians in Greece AIM Athens, December 7, 2000 Recently an event took place in a Greek school which is characteristic of the overall Greek attitude towards the Albanians from Albania residing in Greece. The Greeks, for the most part, have shown a marked intolerance towards the Albanian migrant workers and their families, an attitude which smacks of ethnic discrimination bordering on racism. Ironically this was precisely the attitude of the host countries and their people towards Greek migrants in the United States in the first part of the 20th century and towards Greek migrant workers in Germany in the 1950s and 1960s. In the case in question, a young Albanian pupil happened to excel in his class having earned the highest grades, an achievement which by reigning Greek school rules entitled him to bear the Greek flag during the school's parade in Greece's national holidays, something which is regarded a great honor. The Greeks at the local level were apparently appalled at the prospect of an Albanian bearing the Greek flag and ended up not permitting the youngster to carry the flag. Not being ethnically Greek, he was not deemed worthy of such an honor. Greeks at governmental level, including the Greek President, where mortified and took to upholding the young Albanian's right to bear the Greek flag. However the grounds for this more correct view are, it seems to me, suspect. They imply paternalism and a subtle attempt at ethnic assimilation. What is beyond doubt is that in the last ten years, the Albanians rank last according to the Greek images regarding other nations and ethnic groups, even below the Roma and the Turks who are also held in very low esteem. Why this downgrading? We will try to offer some possible reasons for this despicable state of affairs. Well before the upsurge of Greece ultra-nationalism, which manifested itself during the first part of the 1990s with the Greek-Macedonian dispute over "the name of Macedonia" and more recently with the hysterical fundamentalist nationalism of the Orthodox Church of Greece, nationalist sentiments were instilled in Greece by way of the most traditional and effective method: namely primary and secondary education (and in some cases even at university level). Education, as it is well known, has been used as a vehicle of political socialization, the process whereby young individuals learn to become enthusiastic patriots and loyal citizens of their country and state. The Greek educational system is of course not unique in pursuing such aims and hardly the inventor of such forms of socialization to the nation. Similar processes are more than obvious in all the countries of Southeastern Europe and beyond. Even a student in, say, Denmark is taught somewhat differently a historical event regarding inter-Nordic relations than a Swede or a Norwegian, though these countries have not gone to war between themselves for centuries. One is made to love his country and feel a sense of utmost devotion to his nation and by the same token to despise and hate his/her nation's historical enemies, who are regarded uncivilized, untrustworthy, immoral, hostile, aggressive, expansionist, devious and so one. The key is of course to convince one's fellow citizens of the supremacy of one's nation (a) by bestowing the nation with all the merits imaginable and (b) downgrading all foreign nations and groups, the enemies the more so. The national myth is part and parcel of the national narrative and national project. In the Greek case, the pupils are thought to be intolerant of other nations and ethnic groups (outside and within Greece). The Greek educational system teaches them and makes them believe that the Greeks are superior to all others; that the Greeks are the direct descendent of the illustrious ancient Greeks, who are said to be the greatest civilization of ancient times and the point of departure of Western civilization; and that the Greeks (presumably the ancient Greeks) are the creators of all major human values with an incomparable contribution to world culture. Greek students are also taught that their nation is more than 3000 years old. They do not recognize the well-known fact that nationhood is a very recent phenomenon in human history and that hardly any Greek nation or people existed in the classical ancient Greek cultural-linguistic milieu of antagonistic city-states. Again the attempt at historical depth is characteristic of most national historical narratives, but the Greek case is one of the most extreme, comparable only to the Israeli or Ethiopian cases. Furthermore it is deeply held and provides the Greeks of today with one of the most glorious myths ever conceived. It gives rise to self-esteem but also to arrogance and haughtiness towards all others. Another masterful stoke of the Greek national historical narrative is the fusion of two directly opposed movements and belief systems, namely the spirit of ancient Greek philosophy and culture (which remained alive in some peripheral intellectual and elite quarters of the Byzantine Empire) with its prime historical enemy, Christianity (notably Orthodox Christianity) and the theocratic Byzantium (which regarded itself as the state of the Christian world in its entirety) which was virulently anti-Greek (Greek being defined as heathen and infidel). In addition young Greeks are taught something even more far-fetched: that they have no relation or intermingling and cross-fertilization whatsoever with any other culture, nation or ethnic group in their vicinity. They end up regarding themselves as standing stand alone, unique, aloof, apart and well above all the rest! All this is deeply ingrained and remains valid for most adult Greek individuals (e.g. schoolteachers, administrators, politicians, diplomats even several academics which should have known better) who do not bother to check whether the information handed over to them in school bears correspondence to historical reality. After all it is such a soothing collective identity for Greeks, so why bother to question it? But let us focus on the Albanians and how they feature in the Greek national narrative. Throughout the 19th century with the Greek War of Independence ("Greek Revolution" as it is known in Greece) as the point of departure, the Albanian-speakers, notably the Orthodox Christian Albanian-speakers known as "Arvanites" were largely regarded as Greeks by the Greeks and Greeks-speakers, as Greeks in substance, "Greeks and Arvanites: two races, one nation" as some had put it at the time. And indeed this was to a considerable extent the self-definition of the Arvanites themselves at least in the southern part of the Balkan peninsula at a time when no sense of Albanian national self-consciousness had emerged. Albanian nationhood began in the last quarter of the 19th century in Kosovo, particularly as a reaction to the Serbian and Greek threats to those parts of the Ottoman Empire where the bulk of the Albanians lived for centuries. Prior to that the Orthodox Albanians in the Southern Balkans were among the most active and renown "Greek" guerrilla leaders on land and sea during the Greek War of Independence and with the advent of Greek independence and until today, fully assimilated and very prominent in politics, diplomacy, the army, etc. This leads us to another possible interpretation of the outrageous Greek stance towards the modern-day Albanians from Albania who have the misfortune to live in Greece. The fact that the two ethnic groups have been so intricately interwoven for centuries (well before the advent of nationalism) may have prompted them to erect fences between in-group and out-group, to solidify ethnic boundaries between them when none existed before (particularly as far as Orthodox Albanians and Greeks were concerned). What we are implying is the antithesis of the largely erroneous Samuel Huntington thesis of clash civilizations, namely the fissures which inexorably lead to endless conflicts. Nearness, being very close and intermingled as cultures to the extent of being indistinguishable in the course of the 19th century may have given rise to this trend for clear-cut boundaries on both sides (as seen on the Albanian side in Albania among nationalists and right-wingers such as Berisha and other like-minded Albanians). Boundaries almost by definition create a sense of shrill ethnocentrism and hate for the Other, the closer he is culturally and physically the more hysterical and ridiculous the downgrading, but also very real and explosive in inter-ethnic and inter-state relations, as in the case of Greece today. _____________________ (i) Alexis Heraclides is Associate Professor of International Relations at the Panteion University in Athens From kbejko at hotmail.com Fri Dec 22 12:47:46 2000 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2000 17:47:46 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Quote of the day Message-ID: "Ethnic Albanians have driven the West into military cooperation with Belgrade on the latter's terms," says Jim Hooper, a Balkan expert with the International Crisis Group. "Kosovo will destabilize if the West reverts to its policy of the early 1990s and avoids tough decisions because of the West's relationship with Belgrade." _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com From kbejko at hotmail.com Fri Dec 22 13:01:16 2000 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2000 18:01:16 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Tirana's latest pyramid scheme Message-ID: Tirana's Latest Pyramid Scheme By Geneva Anderson Dec 18, 2000 -- (Central Europe Review) ICC Director Edi Muka dismissed When Edi Muka, the director of Tirana's International Center of Culture (ICC), Albania's first and only center for contemporary art and culture, was fired by the Minister of Culture on 5 December without reason, it was a setback for the emerging Albanian art scene. It was also a signal from the powers that be that individual initiative can be very threatening and may not be rewarded. 31-year-old Muka?a well-known activist, curator and contemporary art teacher at Tirana's Fine Arts Academy?is credited with invigorating art in post-Communist Albania. Under Muka, the ICC, or "Pyramid," developed as a high-energy environment that entertained and educated the public with a constant array of exhibitions and arts performances, many of which were international in scale. In Muka's absence, the center may lose the financial support for its USD 100,000 Soros-funded Mediatheque, slated to open this January, and it will most likely lose its international reknown, the very lifeblood, along with funding, of an international contemporary institution in a transitional society such as Albania. "Edi Muka has been the most effective PR agent for contemporary Albanian culture and the country itself that I can think of," said internationally known Bulgarian artist Luchezar Boyadjiev, recipient of the Grand Prix for foreign participant at the "Onfuri 98" exhibition in Tirana. "This is an international embarrassment." "For over five years, Edi Muka has been a representative of the culture of change in Albania," echoed Dr Andreas Broeckmann, Artistic Director of Transmediale (Berlin). "His appointment as the Pyramid director was a sign of a new Albania opening up towards Europe and the world. His departure means the highly regrettable removal of a competent manager, an important curator, cultural networker and builder of bridges." Replacement Muka's successor, Shkelqim Daja, is a wild card. He has staged some outdoor festivals, but has little previous experience in arts management or in working with contemporary art. Even in Albania, this would be surprising were it not for the fact that the new minister of culture, Esmeralda Uruci, a mathematics and economics teacher from Shkodra, has no previous experience in cultural policy or in policy building. "Normally, you replace a director of an important institution when you don't agree with the vision he has for running an institution," said Gezim Qendro, director of the National Gallery in Tirana. "It is enough to compare the two CVs. Muka, besides being a painter, teacher, curator and lecturer all over Europe, has made an enormous contribution in the dissemination of information on Albanian art, its problems and achievements. He helped to break its long and absurd isolation from the rest of the world. Weren't his achievements in this very short period enough to show that he had the right vision and skills? Wasn't it a sign of confidence that the Soros Foundation gave him USD 100,000 for the Mediatheque project? For Daja there is no question of a curriculum vitae, because it is non-existent. The problem lies in the mess of this entire procedure of appointment and replacement." Pyramid The ICC is located within Tirana's landmark marble pyramid, on the capital's main street, Boulevard Deshmoret e Kombit, home to most of Albania's government institutions. This mammoth white structure is state-owned and comprises 11,000 square meters of prime commercial real estate leased out to both private and public clients. The space is also highly symbolic for Albanians and has morphed along with successive regimes. Initially, it was a mausoleum (officially the "Enver Hoxha Memorial Museum"), inaugurated in 1988 as the final resting place of Albania's ruler, Enver Hoxha, the lord of life and death in Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. With the fall of the Communist regime in 1991, Hoxha's corpse was evicted, just three years into its final rest. In 1992, the Pyramid became in name Tirana's main cultural center devoted to promoting contemporary arts (visual and performing arts, music, film and culture). In reality, its various halls were better known for the hosting of consumer goods trade fairs. It is Muka who is credited with the center's take-off, the merging of concept and design which, according to Stephen Kovats, former director of the Bauhaus Foundation's Electronic Media Forum, actively created cultural capital. "Albania, a virtual unknown on the international contemporary art scene, would remake this powerful symbol of its mystical gregarious socialist past into an internationally known art institution, an interface with the outside world of symbolic and highly practical value." Collapsed vision Throughout his 20-month tenure, Muka offered vision and bankable results. Albanian artists had professional exhibition space, young artists were supported, old ones were revived and new media art was strongly encouraged. Muka brought back and exhibited artists who had left for the West: Anri Sala, Sislej Xhafa, Adrian Paci and others. In the meantime, he made sure that people recognized artists who lived and worked in Albania, such as Alban Hajdinaj, Flutura and Besnik Haxhillari and the older artist Edi Hila. He exhibited Kosovo artists Sokol Beqiri, Mehmet Behluli and Erzen Shkololli. Moreover, he secured the Soros grant for the Mediatheque, a sophisticated public information center, the first of its kind in Albania, with a video archive, music library, Internet center and resource library. Slated to open in January 2001, the Mediatheque would have occupied 700 square meters within the ICC. When Muka was dismissed, Soros halted the disbursement of the first tranche of the grant money, and the project was put on hold. Muka had also worked with the German Embassy and the Goethe Institute to secure funding for Internet terminals for free public use at the new gallery space in the Pyramid. Upon his dismissal, that funding was pulled. Muka rescued the project and transferred the USD 10,000 funding to the National Gallery. The result: in mid-December, five computers connected to the Internet will be available for free public use. "The Pyramid became the place where people would expect something different to happen at least every week of the month," said Muka. "We started things?visual arts projects, a performing arts production center, music events?and we were starting to offer public projects, supported by various foundations. We worked with the British Council, Soros Foundation, Pro-Helvetia, the German Embassy and the Ministry of Culture. The center had programming almost year round. Not a single penny of the Albanian state budget was asked for that, and furthermore, all bills were paid regularly to the state." Not political enough "It is not that we were political," said Muka, "but maybe because we weren't political enough. I was removed with no motive whatsoever." Muka's dismissal comes after former Minister of Culture Edi Rama was elected mayor of Tirana in October. Rama appointed Muka and was highly supportive of the arts, especially contemporary art. As is common practice throughout Eastern Europe, Rama's replacement, Esmeralda Uruci, has been willing to replace persons who are a threat to her lack of experience. "That's something we know only too well," said Boyadjiev, "the 'wondrous' happenings in practically all post-totalitarian Eastern European countries. Some bloody official is jealous of Edi's efforts and accomplishments, or somebody else wants to use the Pyramid in Tirana for a more profitable purpose than running an alternative, foreign-thinking, troublemaker kind of art center which can only underline the ineffectiveness of the official cultural infrastructure." "While, unfortunately, it has not been the practice in the region," added Kovats, "it is especially important that strong and open administrations back up strong and unique visionaries without fear of one-upmanship. This is the only way to build institutions that will have a lasting impact." Wrong message Muka's dismissal sends precisely the wrong message to Albanian youth, who have few role models or mentors, added Broeckmann: "Muka's efforts for the past two years demonstrate that things can be accomplished in the country, that it may not be necessary to leave. For the good cultural and political development of the country, it will be vital that people like Edi and others have good reasons to stay in the country." Muka and his supporters, who include many prominent members of the international art community, immediately protested the action, claiming the reasons were political and not performance-related and that contemporary art in Albania would be set back by his dismissal. An e-mail petition with nearly 200 signatures from around the globe has been initiated by members of the Syndicate e-mail listserve, a network of artists, activists and intellectuals who address contemporary and electronic art. The petition was sent to the Albanian Minister of Culture and to the Albanian media, but it had no impact on reversing the decision. A similar petition initiated by Albanian artists and intellectuals is being circulated as this goes to press. Upon his dismissal, Muka was offered a position at the National Gallery under Director Gezim Qendro. He has accepted the new post. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com From aalibali at yahoo.com Tue Dec 26 22:45:44 2000 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2000 19:45:44 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] "Greek minority" in Korce?! Message-ID: <20001227034544.32794.qmail@web11503.mail.yahoo.com> Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 00-12-23 Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS [01] THE YOUTH ORGANIZATION OF NEW DEMOCRACY ORGANIZED AN EVENT IN KORCE [02] THE NEW BUDGET WAS PASSED IN PARLIAMENT LATE LAST NIGHT [03] MAFIA LEADER BRUTEDINO WILL BE EXTRADITED TO ITALY [04] FOREIGN MINISTER PAPANDREOU'S EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH MPA [05] GREEK-BULGARIAN CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION [06] ATHENS IS THE 5TH SAFEST CITY IN EUROPE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [01] THE YOUTH ORGANIZATION OF NEW DEMOCRACY ORGANIZED AN EVENT IN KORCE Thessaloniki, 23 December 2000 (17:52 UTC+2) Books and writing material were delivered to the cultural center in Korce, Albania by Thessaloniki's youth organization of Greek right-wing main opposition party of New Democracy. In a statement it has issued, the organization mentions that those who visited Korce had the opportunity to see for themselves that the Greek minority is hungry for Greek education. It is also mentioned that every initiative that backs the Greek communities and human rights must be the basic element of a serious national policy. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/ From berk01 at hotmail.com Fri Dec 29 07:52:45 2000 From: berk01 at hotmail.com (Epoka e Re) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2000 04:52:45 -0800 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] {QIKSH ŤALBEUROPAť} Rekomandim BOTËS SHQIPTARE Message-ID: <200012291357.eBTDvju03493@alb-net.com> Revista ?Epoka e Re? sh?rben me lundrim t? k?ndsh?m n? t? gjitha k?ndet shqiptare n? internet duke p?rdorur Java Applet-in BOTA SHQIPTARE. Faqet e seleksionuara jan? ato q? freskohen m? rregullisht. Ky sh?rbim plot?son m? s? miri edhe k?rkesat sipas interesimit tuaj. Interesat tuaja gjinden n? grupime dhe n?ngrupime. LEHT?SI-SHPEJT?SI-ESTETIK?! P?r marrje m? t? plot? duhet t? p?rdoret Internet Eksplorer n? ?full screen? dhe rezolucioni 1024-768 Ky Applet do t? pasurohet n? vazhdueshm?ri me faqe t? tjera, t? reja dhe t? r?nd?sishme. Si duhet t? veproni para se t? filloni lundrimin? * Kaloni n? adres?n URL: http://homepages.infoseek.com/~berk40/revista.htm * Vendoseni faqen n? (Favorit) m? t? preferuarat tuaja. * P?rndryshe duhet t? mbani mend form?n e shkurtuar http://welcome.to/epoka.e.re * Ndiqni udh?zimet n? tekstin q? rrotullohet Webmaster-at mund t? na ndihmojn? n? b?rjen e sygjerimeve t? tyre. Kritik?t mund t? japin mendimin e tyre pa ndrojtje dhe hezitim. S? bashku mund ta p?rmir?sojm? edhe m? shum? k?ndin, q? ti sh?rbejm? m? s? miri shqipfol?sve t? kudo ndodhur. Mos hezitoni dhe na shkruani n? adres? t? Webmasterit dhe Redaksis?! Vini Re! Kemi hapsir? t? mjaftueshme p?r t? vendosur banner p?r lidhje vizitor?sh si edhe rreklamime t? firmave dhe kompanive shqiptare. ********************************** Ky njoftim nuk ?sht? spam!!!...... Duke q?n? antar i grupit elektronik ju e mirrni automatikisht me antar?t e tjer? t? po k?tij grupi. ********************************** Epoka e Re Adresa: Kuusamakuja 2 D 27 33840 Tampere FINLAND Telefon: +358 (0)3 2651550 Mobil: +358 (0)50 5865965 E-mail: redaksia at visto.com URL: http://welcome.to/epoka.e.re Chatroom: http://go.to/beslinku Llogaria n? Bank?: Osuuspankki 573008-2123541 ___________________________________________________________________________ Visit http://www.visto.com/info, your free web-based communications center. Visto.com. Life on the Dot. -------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> With US & International rates as low as 3.9c a minute from Net2Phone Direct Plus Up to 1500 FREE minutes; you can call everyone on your list! http://click.egroups.com/1/10924/1/_/920292/_/978098263/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> N?se don t? ?regjistrohesh nga ALBEUROPA, d?rgo nj? Email n?: albeuropa-unsubscribe at egroups.com From wplarre at bndlg.de Fri Dec 29 05:54:41 2000 From: wplarre at bndlg.de (Wolfgang Plarre) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2000 11:54:41 +0100 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] {QIKSH ŤALBEUROPAť} NEWS: NATO willing to modify buffer zone (UPI, Thu 28 Dec 2000) Message-ID: <3A4C6D71.E0AC0F50@bndlg.de> http://www.kosovodaily.com/?action=display&article=5037927&template=kosovo/indexsearch.txt&index=recent NATO willing to modify buffer zone UPI, Thu 28 Dec 2000 NATO has signaled willingness to modify the agreement it signed with Yugoslavia at the end of their conflict last year, governing the demilitarized security zone surrounding Kosovo, now that Slobodan Milosevic's regime is removed from power, the Belgrade daily Glas Javnosti reported Thursday quoting a NATO source in Brussels. The source, who asked for anonymity, said changes to the rules NATO signed with the Yugoslav army and police in the Macedonian town of Kumanovo in June 1999 had been out of the question while Milosevic was in power, according to Glas. "This was the only reason as we believed neither him nor the people who were the top brass at the time," the source told the paper. The military-technical agreement established the three-mile buffer zone, barring entry to all military forces including the Yugoslav army and the NATO-led peacekeeping force (KFOR) and allowing in only lightly-armed Serbian police for patrol duty. "However much it may seem strange, things now are different. Although the Yugoslav army leadership is made up of the same people, such as Gen. (Nebojsa) Pavkovic who was then and still is army chief of staff, there have been changes at the helm of the state," the source said. It said that since Vojislav Kostunica replaced Milosevic as Yugoslav head of state "we are confident that a direct and constructive dialogue on this issue is quite possible because, unlike Milosevic, we trust him and regard him as a man who will strictly abide by all that we may agree upon." The NATO Secretary General, Lord George Robertson, has not yet been in contact with Kostunica in person or by telephone but they have already exchanged four letters on the current situation in Kosovo, the source claimed. In the letters, the latest one coming from Robertson on Dec. 25, they expressed concern at current developments in southern Serbia, according to the source. In the past month, ethnic Albanian guerrillas from Kosovo and the Presevo Valley, a southern Serbian area, established their positions in the zone from where they have been attacking with heavier weapons the outposts of Yugoslav security forces outside the zone. They killed four Serb policemen. Although there has been no explicit references to the Kumanovo agreement, both sides are aware of the need for its modification and that this would be the topic of direct talks between them in the very near future, it said. The Yugoslav parliament passed a declaration on Wednesday calling on the United Nations Security Council to take urgent measures toward the withdrawal of "Albanian terrorists" from the security zone. Failing this, the declaration warned that "Yugoslavia would use its legal and legitimate right to resolve the problem on its own by applying all internationally recognized measures of struggle against terrorism." The NATO source pointed out, Glas reported, that the U.N. had no jurisdiction to modify the military agreement which is exclusively the matter for the NATO council of ambassadors from all the 19 member countries of the Alliance. -------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> With US & International rates as low as 3.9c a minute from Net2Phone Direct Plus Up to 1500 FREE minutes; you can call everyone on your list! http://click.egroups.com/1/10924/1/_/920292/_/978098262/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> N?se don t? ?regjistrohesh nga ALBEUROPA, d?rgo nj? Email n?: albeuropa-unsubscribe at egroups.com From albanianpride at hotmail.com Thu Dec 28 07:06:11 2000 From: albanianpride at hotmail.com (ardian kanina) Date: Thu, 28 Dec 2000 13:06:11 +0100 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Minoriteti Greke !!!! Message-ID: Minoriteti Greke eshte prezent vetem ne disa fshatra te Dropullit dhe nje perqindje e vogel ne Sarande dhe Gjirokaster.Keto njihen edhe si zona minoritare ku lejohet edhe edukimi shkollor ne gjuhen Greke.Ne Korce jeton minoriteti Vllehe (per mendimin tim shume pak Greke jetojne atje).Problematike eshte hapja e shkollave Greke gjitheandej dhe neglizhenca ndaj arsimit Shqipe ne keto zona.Ne Himare te cilen Greket e paraqisnin si Akropoli i Helenizmit ne Shqiperi zgjedhjet e 1 Tetorit treguan qe prezenca Greke ne kete zone nuk kalon 14% . Qeveria Shqiptare duhet te reagoje ndaj veprimeve ilegale te konsullatave Greke ne Korce dhe Gjirokaster te cilat keqperdorojne statusin e tyre diplomatike dhe merren me ceshtje antishqiptare ....... blejne njerezit e varfer per te nderruar nacionalitetin apo pagojne pensione naj atyre idioteve qe paraqiten si Vorio-Epiriote. Minoriteti Greke ne Shqiperi gezon te gjitha te drejtat bazuar ne konventat nderkombetare.Minoriteti Shqiptar ne Greqia nuk gezon asnje te drejte dhe kjo eshte teper cinike kur shteti Greke ka nenshkruar konventat nderkombetare dhe eshte anetar i Komunitetit Evropjan. Ne samitin e fundit Euro-Ballkanike Greket bllokuan paktin e asocimit midis Shqiperise dhe Bashkimit Evropjan ,ky akt i shemtuar Greke tregon politiken jo te sinqerte Greke ndaj Shqiperise dhe deshtimin e qeverise Nano-Meta ne definimin e miqve te vertete ndaj Shqiperise.Prandaj sot kerkohet depolarizimi i klases politike Shqiptare sepse polarizimi ka shkaktuar shume destabilizim dhe ka ndikuar negativisht ne zhvillimin ekonomike te vendit. Polarizimi ne Shqiperi i sherben vetem Greqise sepse ata duan te Helenizojne Shqiperine dhe Helenizimi i Shqiperise behet vetem ne nje Shqiperi te varfer ,te destabilizuar, ne kaos ,ku ka njerez te gatshem per te nderruar nacionalitetin per 5 dhrahmi Greke.Gjithashtu shteti Shqiptar duhet te kerkoje ndalimin e politikes se diskriminimit ndaj Shqiptareve ne Greqi.Kam mendimin qe pretendimi i sotem prej qarqeve te majta qe maredheniet Shqiptaro-Greke jane te shkelqyera eshte mashtrim ndaj popullit sepse ne maredheniet e sotme Shqiptaro-Greke shikohet nje perulje e jashtezakonshme e shtetit Shqiptar ndaj shtetit Greke. me nderime Ardi... _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. From aalibali at yahoo.com Sat Dec 23 09:20:44 2000 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2000 06:20:44 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Organized crime in Greece and Albania Message-ID: <20001223142044.1104.qmail@web11502.mail.yahoo.com> Kathimerini FRONT PAGE Updated: 12/23/2000 8:59 GMT Organized crime threat in SE Europe U.S. names Greece, Cyprus Thousands of islands, the long Aegean and Ionian coastlines, borders with Turkey and three other Balkan countries, a dynamic banking sector and policing that is often inadequate have gradually turned Greece into a hub of criminal activity in the region, a U.S. report claimed yesterday. It also criticized Cyprus for the offshore companies that provide a cover for money laundering. The report on international organized crime was drawn up by the departments of State, Justice, the Treasury and other services at the instructions of President Bill Clinton. It found that organized crime is a threat to democratic governments and the free functioning of the global economy, raising the need for more effective ways to combat it. The report stressed the role played by Turkey and Albania in money laundering (which is helped by the lack of adequate legislation), drug trafficking and the smuggling of arms, illegal immigrants and cigarettes from Asia to the West. Italian rackets are powerful in Greece, with turnover from contraband cigarettes coming to $50 million a year. Greek authorities are also worried by Russian criminal gangs operating in Greece which, apart from the above-mentioned crimes, are involved in the flesh trade, the report said. It added that Greece estimates that criminals make annual profits of $11.5 billion within the country. The U.S. report represents Cyprus as a smuggling and money-laundering haven, noting that of 24,000 companies ostensibly based there, only 1,100 have a physical presence on the island republic. As a tax haven, it charged, it attracts large amounts of dirty money. Nicosia reacted furiously to the report, with Foreign Minister Ioannis Cassoulides saying he would protest to the United States. He met with U.S. Ambassador Donald Bandler yesterday. "Is it worthwhile for Cyprus to cooperate with the United States when, without restraint and without reason, we are accused over matters which we have made so many efforts about, and so much progress on?" Cassoulides asked. He charged that American banks were not making any effort to control money laundering, leaving Cypriot banks with the job of clearing up the situation. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/ From aalibali at yahoo.com Sat Dec 23 09:35:55 2000 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2000 06:35:55 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Albanian archeology Message-ID: <20001223143555.55839.qmail@web11507.mail.yahoo.com> Albanian archaeologists launch defensive digs BY ANN ELDER Special to the Athens News [The photograph script] Nicholas Hammond pictured after returning from three months' walking in Epiros about 1930. "I had let my beard grow, a tawny one, so I was known by Epirotes as 'o kokkinos lordos', he recalls. The photo was taken outside a tent on Ithaka when excavating the Cave of the Nymphs. Map showing the borders between Greece and Albania, and the location of Butrint.] POLITICAL stability in Albania is yearned for not least by the country's archaeologists. If former president Sali Berisha ceased encouraging violent protests requiring police attention, more protection could be given to endangered archaeological sites, they believe. Known sites, meanwhile, are at serious risk of being robbed. To counter the hazard of looting which has been on the increase since the financial crash of 1997, a new rescue archaeology unit was set up in Tirana in October last year. Funded by the US Packard Humanities Institute, which backs excavations in Greece, Italy and Turkey, establishment of the new agency was a response to the Nato bombing campaign in Kosovo earlier in the year, said the director, Lorenc Bejko. With his Italian archaeologist wife Maria Grazia Amore, assistant director of the unit, Bejko spent November at the British School at Athens using library resources to write preliminary reports on a two-months' summer rescue excavation of a tumulus burial site at Korce, a short distance over the Greek border from Kastoria. Identified by archaeologists of the Albanian Institute of Archaeology in the 1970s, the site lay undisturbed for 20 years, he said. "Antiquities were safe in the old regime. Anything found would be handed to the authorities. There was no market for them. But after the crash in 1997, looters attacked the Korce burial site with bulldozers, so protection was urgent." Under the new rescue unit, excavation was launched with a team of six archaeologists, a physical anthropologist to study the human remains, 10 students and 20 workmen with pickaxes. Remains from late antiquity were unearthed, with Bronze Age burials thought to be lower down. A second season's digging is planned to begin next spring. Another major enterprise for the new unit has been investigating monumental stone remains of underground burial sites brought to light in gravel quarrying for the Eighth Corridor. This is the Albanian stretch from Durres on the coast to the border south of Lake Ohrid with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) of what is known in Greece as the new Egnatia highway to link the Adriatic with the Bosporus. With European Union funding, construction work on Albanian sections of the road is being done by a Fyrom company, said Amore. She has led exploration of two burial chambers much damaged by heavy machinery last summer. The first part of the road beginning from Durres - Venetian Durazzo, earlier Roman Dyrrhachium, founded as a Greek colony, Epidamnus, in the seventh century BC - follows the route of the Roman Via Egnatia. This was the trans-Adriatic continuation to the eastern empire, with its centre in Constantinople after 324 AD, of the Via Appia from Rome to the coast. Up in the hills, a paved section of the old Roman road has been identified, Amore said. In rivers once crossed by Roman bridges, immense stone columns still remain, though superstructure, possibly wooden, has vanished. From medieval days may be seen the caldirimia (in Albania kalldrem) from when Albania was part of the Byzantine Empire, till overrun by Serbs led by Stefan Dushan in the mid-14th century, free again under the hero Skanderbeg, till his death in 1467, when Ottomans under Sultan Mehmet II took over all except Durazzo, Venetian till 1501. The new unit is the first attempt at rescue archaeology in Albania, said Bejko. To meet the needs of the market economy, the entire Albanian archaeological service is in the throes of reorganisation. As a member body of the Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Archaeology previously did excavations, but in future systematic work will be done through the ministry of culture. Rescue work is done in the meantime in close collaboration with Muzafer Korkuti, director of the Institute of Archaeology, which employs all of Albania's 50 archaeologists working in seven regional offices. Main institute project just now is a survey of the south-central region due to be crossed by the new Egnatia highway. The small country is rich in archaeological sites, many still untouched by the archaeologist's trowel. For instance, of 30 or so hilltop settlements identified dat ing back to antiquity, only three or four are so far being systematically explored. Lorenc Bejko, director of the Albanian rescue archaeology unit in Tirana, and Maria Grazia Amore, assistant director of the unit. After the predictability of life in Rome, the couple finds the environment in Tirana 'stimulating and very dynamic'. In preparation for their work they toured rescue archaeology units in the UK and Italy. Their agency is backed by the Packard Humanities Institute of the US. Reorientation to the contemporary European archaeological viewpoint is also requiring a significant shift, observed Bejko. Members of the Institute of Archaeology are mostly of the older generation, some of whom studied in Yugoslavia, Bulgaria or Russia, before Hoxha broke off relations with the Soviet Union under Krushchev in 1961. Considered the father of archaeology in Albania is Frano Prendi, now retired, but still working part-time. His writings have till now afforded the only glimpse for the rest of the world of the Albanian view of the country's past. Apart from Prendi's contribution on Albanian prehistory in the Cambridge Ancient History, Bejko said the most influential treatment of Albanian ancient history is that by the redoubtable British scholar Nicholas Hammond in his classic work on Epiros. No armchair historian, Hammond, now aged 93, walked the length and breadth of Epiros and Macedonia in the pre-war period after his first visit in 1929. He liked to study at first hand the terrain the ancients wrote about, he said. His fluency in Greek and some Albanian, plus knowledge of the region, led to his appointment to a key position at British Military Mission headquarters at Pendalofos in the mountains south of Kastoria during the Second World War. Too close an acquaintance with the man appointed head of Albania's post-war secret police, he was forced to postpone revisiting Albania till the 1960s, said Bejko. Born and bred in Berat, a museum town of red-roofed, white-plastered houses, Bejko studied archaeology at Tirana University. After graduation in 1985, fluent in English through learning the language at school from an Albanian who had studied in China, he spent three months at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, then did a diploma at the Institute of Archaeology at the University of London under John Wilkes, noted for his study of ancient Illyria. Amore, who is from Turin in northern Italy, studied archaeology with specialisation in Magna Graecia, the area of ancient Greek colonisation in southern Italy. She gained experience at excavations in Calabria and in a museum at Metaponto. The couple met at an annual conference on Magna Graecia at Taranto and after their marriage worked in Rome. Albania's prehistory dates back some 60,000 years to Palaeolithic days, they relate. Carbon-14 dates of 43,000 years ago have been obtained from French and US laboratories and topological evidence suggests habitation back 60,000 years in the Komispol Cave. Studies of stone tools indicate Neanderthal man was active in the area prior to 100,000 years ago. In the late Bronze Age, Illyria, as Albania was known in antiquity, was part of the Greek world. Oral tradition has it settlers arrived as refugees from Troy. Some see this as bearing out the story immortalised by Virgil in the Aeneid. "But that is just a legend," warns Bejko. At Durres are ruins of a large Roman amphitheatre and city walls of the fifth century AD, built after the Visigoth invasion of 481, as well as Venetian towers used as lookouts for the dreaded Balkan pirates, the Uskoks. A Greek colony dating from the sixth century BC was at Apollonia, which still bears the same name, on the coast between Sarande and Durres. The city became a leading cultural centre in the days of the Roman Republic and it was there that Julius Caesar sent this nephew, Octavian, later the Emperor Augustus, to finish his studies. Many statuary and pottery finds from Roman times are in Apollonia's archaeological museum, housed in a 13th-century Orthodox monastery. While in Athens, Bejko and Amore gave lectures at the British School on recent developments in Albanian archaeological practice. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/ From ipilika at hotmail.com Fri Dec 29 12:32:45 2000 From: ipilika at hotmail.com (Iris Pilika) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2000 17:32:45 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Djindjic threatens Serbian intervention in buffer zone Message-ID: "If Kosovo does break away from Serbia as Kosovo Albanian leaders are demanding, "the Serb part of Mitrovica and northern Kosovo would not remain in such a state," Djindjic added." Serbs 'set deadline over Kosovo border' KFOR troops have no power within the buffer zone December 29, 2000 Web posted at: 1204 GMT BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- Force will be used against ethnic Albanian rebels in 20 days if a buffer zone between Kosovo and the rest of Serbia is not brought under control, Serbia's prime minister-designate is said to have warned. The German news magazine Spiegel quoted Zoran Djindjic as saying that Serbian police would "immediately intervene" if the NATO-led KFOR force has not stabilised the situation in that time. Djindjic accused the Albanian rebels of seeking to isolate Serbia from Macedonia and Greece, the German news weekly said. The fighting in the Presevo area of southern Serbia threatens to cut off a key highway to the two countries. Tensions in the region have increased since last month, when ethnic Albanian rebels of the "Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac" killed four Serb policemen and took several police positions in the buffer zone. NATO-led peacekeepers have no authority in the zone, which is located on territory under Yugoslav government jurisdiction. But only lightly armed Yugoslav police are permitted in the zone, under an agreement signed between NATO and the Belgrade government. On Thursday, rebels shot at Serb police and fired six mortar shells from the buffer zone village of Djurdjevac, police said. No one was injured in the attacks. Djindjic predicted NATO would switch sides in the conflict, now that there is a democratically elected government in Yugoslavia. He was quoted as saying: "We hope for that. It would be logical and reasonable. Joint border patrols between our soldiers and the Red Cross are already being discussed." Support for action If Kosovo does break away from Serbia as Kosovo Albanian leaders are demanding, "the Serb part of Mitrovica and northern Kosovo would not remain in such a state," Djindjic added. The comments by Djindjic, a moderate, sharpen the stand taken by nationalist Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica, and appears to widen support within the governing coalition for taking action against the rebels. A top Serb official and a NATO emissary met with ethnic Albanians on Thursday in an attempt to negotiate a solution to the tensions in the buffer zone. Serbia's deputy prime minister, Nebojsa Covic, and Shawn Sullivan, a political adviser to the top NATO official in Kosovo, met with ethnic Albanian representatives from the three-mile-wide area. "We made significant steps forward in our efforts for a peaceful solution ... but there still is fear of uncontrollable acts by parties or groups who seek to profit from conflicts and bloodshed," Covic said. He said Serbia was open to discussing the situation in the zone, but insisted "it is and will remain part of Serbia and no paramilitaries, killing or bloodshed would be tolerated." CNN's Berlin bureau chief Chris Burns & the Associated Press contributed to this report. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com From ailirjani at hotmail.com Sun Dec 24 13:43:29 2000 From: ailirjani at hotmail.com (Altin Ilirjani) Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2000 13:43:29 -0500 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Southeast European Politics (SEEP) 2/2000 Message-ID: Southeast European Politics (SEEP) Volume 1, Number 2, December 2000. Online version available at http://www.seep.ceu.hu/ TABLE OF CONTENT Serbia's Bulldozer Revolution: Conditions and Prospects. ERIC D. GORDY Clark University/Collegium Budapest The 'Taiwan of the Balkans'? The De Facto State Option for Kosova. SCOTT PEGG Bilkent University Learning to Play the Game: Bulgaria's Relations with Multilateral Organizations. VESSELIN DIMITROV London School of Economics Understanding Balkan Nationalism: The wrong people, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. SRDJA PAVLOVIC University of Alberta BOOK REVIEWS Schvpflin, George. Nations, Identity, Power. The New Politics of Europe. London: Hurst & Co., 2000. Reviewed by STEFAN WOLFF Ger Duijzings. Religion and the Politics of Identity in Kosovo. London: Hurst & Company, 2000. Reviewed by ISA BLUMI Mladen Lazic (Ed.) Protest in Belgrade. Winter of Discontent. Budapest: CEU Press, 1999. Reviewed by LAZAR NIKOLIC -------------------- Southeast European Politics CEU, Political Science Dept. Nador U. 9, Budapest 1051 Hungary Email: editor at seep.ceu.hu Web: http://www.seep.ceu.hu/ -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From kbejko at hotmail.com Fri Dec 29 13:16:05 2000 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2000 18:16:05 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Shqiperia nis shkaterrimin e armeve te vogla Message-ID: Filloi zbatimi i Memorandumit Shqip?ri, SHBA, Gjermani, Norvegji p?r shkat?rrimin e arm?ve t? vogla e t? lehta Filloi zbatimi i Memorandumit, p?r asgj?simin e arm?ve t? vogla e t? lehta t? grumbulluara pas ngjarjeve t? ?97 si dhe i atyre q? disponohen mbi nevojat organike t? Forcave tona t? Armatosura, i n?nshkruar n? Shtator 2000, midis Shqip?ris?, SHBA, Gjermanis? dhe Norvegjis?. N? Baz?n e Furnizimit t? Ushtris? n? Meng?l t? Elbasanit, ku ?sht? instaluar impianti i asgj?simit t? arm?ve, filloi sot, faza e par? e realizimit t? k?tij angazhimi t? p?rbashk?t, n? kuadrin e Tryez?s s? Tret? t? Paktit t? Stabilitetit. Ishin t? pranish?m Zv. Ministri i Mbrojtjes, z. Marko Bello, Zv. Ambasadori i Republik?s Gjermane n? vendin ton? z. Peter Blomeyer, p?rfaq?sues ushtarak? nga t? dy vendet dhe media e ftuar. Faza e par?, e cila p?rfshin asgj?simin e 40.000 arm?ve t? grumbulluara, do t? realizohet p?r 4 muaj, me mund?simin logjistik t? Ushtris? Gjermane, trainimin e personelit dhe asistenc?n e nj? ekipi prej 5-s? ushtarak?sh gjerman?. Zv. Ministri i Mbrojtjes Marko Bello falenderoi n? em?r t? Qeveris? Qeverin? Gjermane p?r k?t? mb?shtetje dhe shprehu sigurin? e vijimit t? k?tij angazhimi edhe nga dy shtetet e tjera n?nshkruese, deri n? asgj?simin e plot? t? 130.000 arm?ve q? parashikon Memorandumi. Duke u shprehur se se ky aksion do t? vazhdoj? deri n? asgj?simin e plot? t? t? gjitha arm?ve q? jan? mbledhur apo do t? mblidhen nga popullsia civile si dhe t? gjith? atyre q? disponohen mbi nevojat organike t? Forcave tona t? Armatosura, zoti Bello tha se: - ?Ne sot, demostrojm? fillimin e nj? hapi konkret i cili ?sht? tregues i kujdesit t? Qeveris? Shqiptare p?r sigurin?, paqen dhe stabilitetin n? Ballkan?. Zv.Ambasadori gjerman Blomeyer e p?rsh?ndeti k?t? veprim n? kuadrin e Paktit t? Stabiliteti, si nj? sh?mbull p?r t? gjith? vendet e Evrop?s Juglindore. ?Shqip?ria, - tha diplomati gjerman, - hapi sot nj? faqe p?r demilitarizimin e Ballkanit?. N? vazhdim p?r t? pranishmit u demostrua asgj?simi i disa prej llojeve t? arm?ve t? magazinuara n? Baz?n e Meng?lit. Komandanti i k?saj Baze Kol. Albert Bora deklaroi p?r t? pranishmit se: - ?Brenda 30 dit?ve do t? asgj?sohen t? 8.500 arm?t e grumbulluara k?tu nga popullata. Para asgj?simit, secila arm?, - tha kol. Bora, - do t`i n?n?shtrohet kontrollit p?r municion dhe do t? regjistrohet n? evidenca t? rregullta n? m?nyr? q? asnj? pjes? e saj t? mos humbas? p?r t`u b?r? e rrezikshme p?r m? von?. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com