From juniku at hotmail.com Sun Jun 4 11:16:09 2000 From: juniku at hotmail.com (Uk Lushi) Date: Sun, 04 Jun 2000 08:16:09 PDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Greece Message-ID: <20000604151609.3002.qmail@hotmail.com> >> >>Greek Jews Wary of Backlash >>By Brian Murphy >>Associated Press Writer >>Wednesday, May 31, 2000; 4:34 p.m. EDT >> >>ATHENS, Greece ?? The messages dripped of pure hate. "Hitler was right," >>vandals wrote during the desecration last week of the largest Jewish >>cemetery in Greece. A similar message appeared on a Jewish community Web >>site. >> >>The attacks are startling in a nation with no history of widespread >>anti-Semitism and a strong distaste for Fascist-style groups since the >>collapse of a military dictatorship in 1974. >> >>But Greece's small Jewish community is being targeted in the backlash >>against a government plan to remove religious affiliations from identity >>cards ? a proposal that has incensed the powerful Greek Orthodox Church. >> >>Many opponents blame a vague "conspiracy" of Jews and European Union >>bureaucrats for the ID changes. Church leaders have declared a "relentless >>struggle" to overturn the plan, which they see as a first step toward a >>possible separation of church and state. >> >>"We ask our politicians: Are they listening to the Greek Orthodox people >>or >>the Jewish lobby?" protest leader Panayiotis Lyras said at a march >>Wednesday >>of about 2,500 people opposed to the plan. >> >>"Those who lay a hand on Orthodoxy will pay for it. There are battles >>ahead," he said as the marchers headed toward parliament. >> >>Most mainstream clerics have been careful to distance themselves from any >>calls for violence. Yet cliques of religious fringe groups and >>ultra-nationalists have drawn considerable strength from the >>church-fostered >>controversy. >> >>The cemetery attack ? Nazi slogans and symbols painted on buildings and >>more >>than 90 graves last Friday ? was the third against Jews or Jewish sites in >>Greece in a month. >> >>"Jewish plot behind the IDs," said a headline in the Orthodox Press, a >>weekly newspaper thought to reflect church thinking. >> >>Meanwhile, the crusaders fighting the ID changes are trying to rally >>support >>with calls similar to the slogan of the 1967-74 junta: "Greece for >>Christian >>Greeks." >> >>A parliament member, Giorgos Karatzaferis, has made an issue of whether a >>respected colleague, Miltiades Evert, wore a yarmulke while accepting an >>award for his father's role in saving Jews during the Nazi occupation of >>Greece. Only about 5,000 Jews remain from a prewar population of more than >>80,000. >> >>"Who is, or who is not with the Jews?" said Karatzaferis, who has used his >>Athens television station as a soapbox to attack the ID changes. "Who >>conspires and who does not conspire against our country?" >> >>Jewish leaders note there are no signs of an organized ultra-nationalist >>political movement such as Austria's Freedom Party. But there are clear >>worries of a backlash against anyone not Greek Orthodox, who comprise more >>than 97 percent of the population. >> >>"It's xenophobia," said Jean Cohen, a Greek Jewish journalist and >>commentator. "There is a difference between being anti-Semitic and >>xenophobic ... Xenophobic means they are against anyone who is not Greek >>Orthodox." >> >>At a news conference Wednesday, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church, >>Archbishop Christodoulos, used descriptions that could be viewed as >>incompatible with the secular and multicultural strivings of the European >>Union. >> >>"The Greek church and people are one and the same," he said. "Greeks are >>Christian Orthodox." >> >>But, he later added, Jews "have no reason to be scared." >> >>Andreas Andreanopoulos, a commentator writing in the daily Exousia >>newspaper, blamed Greek Orthodox leaders for "cultivating a dangerous >>spirit >>of inquisitorial mania and fanaticism." >> >>This atmosphere can turn suddenly against minorities, some scholars say. >> >>"Anytime you have ethnic identity and religion intertwined, as in the case >>of the Greek Orthodox Church, there is the potential for very negative >>attitudes toward anyone considered an enemy of their perception of the >>world," said Doug Bandow, an analyst specializing in religion and politics >>at the Cato Institute in Washington. >> >>? Copyright 2000 The Associated Press >> ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From aalibali at law.harvard.edu Sat Jun 3 10:30:08 2000 From: aalibali at law.harvard.edu (aalibali at law.harvard.edu) Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2000 10:30:08 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] [balkans] MA in Southeast European Studies, Athens Message-ID: An embedded message was scrubbed... From: bieberf at ceu.hu Subject: [balkans] MA in Southeast European Studies, Athens Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2000 11:44:04 +0200 Size: 17161 URL: From aalibali at law.harvard.edu Sat Jun 3 10:32:56 2000 From: aalibali at law.harvard.edu (aalibali at law.harvard.edu) Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2000 10:32:56 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] PLEASE POST: International Symposium on Ethnic Identities - Western Thrace, Greece Message-ID: An embedded message was scrubbed... From: ia212 at hermes.cam.ac.uk Subject: [balkans] PLEASE POST: International Symposium on Ethnic Identities - Western Thrace, Greece Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 18:27:51 +0100 Size: 5895 URL: From aalibali at law.harvard.edu Fri Jun 2 08:01:53 2000 From: aalibali at law.harvard.edu (aalibali at law.harvard.edu) Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 08:01:53 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] contact in history at Tirana University Message-ID: An embedded message was scrubbed... From: KINGCH at gunet.georgetown.edu Subject: [balkans] contact in history at Tirana University Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 16:50:51 -0400 Size: 1862 URL: From aalibali at law.harvard.edu Thu Jun 1 13:20:30 2000 From: aalibali at law.harvard.edu (aalibali at law.harvard.edu) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 13:20:30 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] [balkans] New Maps of Balkans Message-ID: An embedded message was scrubbed... From: bieberf at ceu.hu Subject: [balkans] New Maps of Balkans Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 18:50:58 +0200 Size: 1967 URL: From aalibali at yahoo.com Mon Jun 5 20:43:57 2000 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2000 17:43:57 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Nga panairi i librit ne Athine Message-ID: <20000606004357.22539.qmail@web123.yahoomail.com> KOHA JONE "Phoenix" foli shqip ne Athine... Kristo Mertiri Lajmi se nje shtepi botuese nga Shqiperia do te ishte e pranishme me pavionin e vet ne panairin e madh te botuesve greke, kaloi drithshem e goje me goje te mjaft refugjate te etur per te "pire" uje nga burimi i Nenes, nga ai burim qe i rriti e i seliti me njemije halle. Interesimi dhe emocionet kane nje ngarkese teper te vecante ne mergim. Ne kete arratisje marramendese ku tani eshte hapur dhe ka nisur te pikoje dhimbshem nje plage tjeter kombetare: qindra femije shqiptare te lindur ne dhera te huaj nuk flasin, nuk lexojne dhe nuk shkruajne dot gjuhen tone te bekuar. Kjo e vertete e hidhur, teper e hidhur, nuk po ua leviz fare qerpikun (pa le me te ndenjurat neper kolltuqe) qeveritareve qe shkojne e vijne ne krye te shtetit ame. Eshte nga plaget me te tmerrshme dhe njekohesisht, AKUZE e gjalle sa nje mal mu ne ballin e ketij mijevjecari civilizues... Me keto mendime ne koke, po lija prapa godinen e Parlamentit grek, tek ecja per te mberritur ne Zapio (kompleks arkitektonik i lakmuar, por qe fare pak vendalinj, per te mos thene aspak, e dine se eshte ndertuar nga duart e bijve te Lunxherise plot lezete...) Ngadalesova hapin dhe s'lash pavion libri pa shikuar. Ne fund me zuri nje ankth e trishtim qe m'u kthyen si nje ngerc torturues. Iu riktheva panairit nga fillimi. Dhe pyesja veten: Mos valle lajmi per ardhjen e nje shtepie botuese shqiptare ne Athine, nuk ishte i sakte? Mos u kane thene "stop" ne Kakavije e Kapshtice?... Por nga ky siklet i padeshiruar me nxorri rastesisht nje bashkatdhetari im refugjat qe dikur ne Shqiperi ishte agronom me emer te nderuar e sot pastron me fshese mbremjeve, dy shkolla fillore ne periferi te Athines. Shkonte per ne pune. "Mos je munduar kot ketu, - me tha ai, - sepse ka edhe nje panair tjeter me te madh ne Pedhion Areos...". Po rrokullisej e hirte edhe kjo mbremje mergimtare. Te nesermen, mora prape udhe nga Pirea. Lumi i pavioneve te shumte kishte "permbytur" nje lulishte jo te zakonshme. Nisa t'i shikoj nje per nje. U ndala pak te pavioni me emrin e nderuar "Kazanzaqi" dhe vazhdova me tej. Ndjeva se po me vinte rrotull prape ai trishtim qe provova ne Zapio. Pas disa casteve hapat me ndalen vetiu. Brenda pavionit te nje shtepie botuese greke, befas syri me kapi te vetmin liber ne gjuhen shqipe. Pastaj autorin, ish-pedagogu yne i fakultetit, prof. Alfred Uci. Sikur po me shkrinin merzitja dhe trishtimi. Por s'qe e thene keshtu. Pershendeta dhe pyeta menjehere shqip, nje vajze qe me ngjante me nje te njohurin tim nga Shqiperia. Dhe vertet, nuk gabova. Ishte e bija. Por ajo me pergjigjej vetem greqisht??...Prane kalonin shume vizitore vendas e te huaj. Duke u larguar, nuk mund te rrija pa leshuar shqip pyetjen e fundit: Me fal moj vajze, mos ke lindur ne Bulqize te Dibres? Vajzes i shkrepetine syte. M'u pergjigj me edukate dhe jo pak e befasuar. Por...vetem greqisht. Ika si i leqendisur mos me keq. Po i qasesha fundit te panairit. Ne nje berryl te vogel, prane sekretarise informative, me rrahu zemra fort; fekste Flamuri yne Kombetar...Vetem shpirti i zhuritur i refugjatit e di mire zjarrin emocionues perballe atij simboli te shenjte shekullor. "Vritu, pritu per Flamur,/ Bota hiq e tine vur"! Gurgullima historike e popullit tim. Lashe menjane vershimin e vizitoreve ne Panairin e 23-te te Librit dhe shpejtova hapat per te pavioni i vetem shqiptar. Lexoj emrin e shtepise botuese "PHOENIX". Heshtjen time te mbarsur me ndjenja e enderrime te ndryshme, e theu nje e papritur e kendshme; vizitoret dhe bleresit e librave i priste e percillte Ndricim Kullai, nje miku im i vjeter nga Rrezoma e Delvines. Sot eshte krijues dhe president i kesaj shtepie botuese private ne Tirane. Po provoja nje kenaqesi te vecante. I pari qe cau nje akull absurd, me dinjitet e kulture...Ju intelektuale, shkrimtare, botues, gazetare, lexues, nxenes e studente te Athines, por edhe ju bashkevuajtesit e mi refugjate qe keni ardhur me autobuse e trena tek ky pavion, nuk e njihni shume Ndricim Kullain. Fati ne jete nuk e perkedheli kurre. Qe nga Vergoi, Saranda e gjer ne Tirane eshte nje udhe e gjate, e mundimshme dhe plot brenga e maraze. Ama, fukarallekun, penen dhe librin nuk i kembeu, as me servilizmin e, as me ndonje teser partie. I beson diturise, djerses se ballit. Po kujtoj ketu vetem minieren e Valiasit; 8 vjet punetor me tre turne galerive te nentokes. Vec gati cdo dite i qepej nje tavoline ne Biblioteken Kombetare. Duke qene ne miniere, filloi dhe mbaroi Fakultetin e Gjuhe-Letersise, endrren e tij te hereshme. Emri i tij po i kapercente faqet e gazetave, duke zene vend edhe ne vitrinat e librarive. Me vone provoi edhe udhet helm te kurbetit. Mjaft thinja i dolen para kohe. Nuk thone kot, edhe libri e rrit njeriun... Kur u tregoja keto per Ndricimin dy botuesve greke ne panair, ata shprehnin cudi dhe leshonin vetem fjalen "Bravo". Habiteshin ndoshta edhe me nje dukuri tjeter; ne se afendikonjte e shtepive botuese vendase linin ne sportelet e pavioneve "punetore me meditje" perballe vizitoreve dhe bleresve, te pavioni shqiptar nuk shkulej vete botuesi Kullai me nipin e vet refugjat, Albanin. Per shembull, librat e Tajar Zavalanit, Anton Harapit, Vangjel Koces, Kasem Trebeshines etj. i thane shpejt "lamtumire" panairit dhe tani jane neper duart e lexuesve refugjate. Po keshtu ato te Platonit, Nice, Erich From, Sartri, Konfuci, Kanti etj. Kjo shtepi botuese ka disa shtylla kryesore ku mbahet fort: kolana e mendimit shqiptar; kolana filozofike; kolana e mendimit te burgosur; kolana e autoreve te shquar; kolana e letersise per femije etj. Pune serioze pergatitore e studiuese. Sapo eshte futur ne shtyp Zgjimi i Shqiptarizmes ose Historia e Rilindjes Kombetare dhe te tjera vepra kane marre udhen per te lexuesi. - Si arrita ketu, ne zemer te Athines?,-pergjigjet Ndricimi.-Ne nje panair libri ne Gjermani, u njoha rastesisht me z.Vasilis Haxhijakovu, sot kryetar i shoqates se botuesve greke. Na beri menjehere ftese dhe per kete e falenderojme sinqerisht. Por me nje lule s'vjen behari...E kam fjalen te marredheniet tona kulturore, te cilat mendoj se i jane lene spontanitetit. Te pakten shteti ta luaje mire rolin e koordinatorit dinjitoz nepermjet dikasterit perkates dhe te mos kujtohet per botuesit vetem per t'u rrembyer taksat e tatimet qe ne Shqiperi jane nga me te lartat ne Evrope. Ketu ne panair erdhi vete kryeministri, zoti Simitis, e jo thjesht per kortezi. Ai foli me kompetence per problemet e librit ne Greqi, gje qe tek ne nuk e ben jo kryeministri, por as ministri i Kultures. Qeveritareve tane iu ka humbur busulla e librit... Etja e qindra refugjateve shqiptare per te "pire" uje nga burimi i Nenes ( nje pjese e madhe e tyre po bejne tashme 10 vjet ne emigracion), eshte reale dhe prekese. Vetem me gazeta nuk mund te shuhet kurrsesi kjo etje. Apo politika i do keto si shpate e mburoje perballe opinionit brenda e jashte vendit?... Na terhoqi vemendjen nje mesogrua me trup te paket, qe po shfletonte si me nxitim disa libra shqip te ekspozuar. U prezantuam. Ishte Adelina Balashi, shkrimtarja e mirenjohur nga libri dhe komedia e shumeshikuar "Pallati 176". Po ben gati 8 vjet refugjate ne Greqi. Ky eshte fati korb i mjaft intelektualeve tane te sfilitur gjer ne kocke, gjer ne ulerime. Kur e pyes se cfare po shkruan ne mergim, leshon nje buzeqeshje paksa ironike dhe thote vetem kaq: "Kryesisht komedi. Ne kete bote, me mire te qeshesh, se sa te vesh kujen e te qash...". Pastaj ndahet nga ne, duke blere dy-tre libra dhe merr me vete edhe adresen e plote te shtepise botuese "PHOENIX" ne Tirane. Ndersa po lexoja ne kembe e me nje fryme vellimin poetik "Vallja e jetes" me autor mesuesin tone te nderuar te shkolles tetevjecare ne Tepelene, Daut Gumeni, nuk po vija re lumin e njerezve ne ate mbremje athiniote. Dhe m'u kujtua nje gjyq i zi mbi 30 vjete me pare. Gjyq ku u tunden dhe u shkunden me furi e ligesi te pashoqe ne salle edhe disa vjersha te tij, shkruar kur ishte nxenes ne Shkollen e mesme "Pedagogjike". "Deshmi" per te rritur sa me shume vitet e syrgjynosjes neper qelite e burgjeve "te sigurise se larte"... Por mbeti NJERI, peneholle e plot cika sterralli nga mademet e Laberise. Ne librat e tij nuk shperthen asnjehere urrejtja apo hakmarrja. Sa here lexojme vargjet e Daut Gumenit, kurdohere gjendesh ne nje det te vertete dashurie e dhimbjeje njerezore, ne flaken e pashuar te shqiptarise. I mire, burreror si ai!... - Te lutem, a keni ndonje liber te shokut tim, Virjon Graci?, - pyet nje djale i imet e me fytyre te vrare neper kalvarin e llahtarshem te refugjatit. Ishte Vullnet Hodaj, dikur mesues ne fshatrat e Gramshit dhe ne ato te Gjirokastres. Qendron e bisedon gjate me mikun tim botues ne Tirane. Shkruan ne proze dhe gati tere subjektet nga mergimi. Pas puneve te rendomta e rraskapitese ne dhe te huaj, Vullneti nuk e leshon penen nga dora. "Do te ndihmoj me shpirt, qofte edhe me ndonje subvencionim privat a shteteror", - i thote me ne fund Ndricimi. Refugjatit krijues i shkrep nje qeshje e embel ne sy... Urine per librin shqip ne emigracion e prek tek shume e shume refugjate. Eshte nje skamje e ndjeshme e njekohesisht trishtuese. Sa dhe si e ndjejne valle kete plage politikanet dhe pushtetaret e shtetit ame? Apo per ta botuesit jane ende vrima e fundit e kavallit qeveritar?... Ne te dyja anet e kufirit levizin delegacione me deputete, partiake e shtetare, maune me gjalpe, portokalle, molle, cigare, karburante e deri droge, prostituta e arme etj. Kaq e veshtire eshte te realizohet levizja e lire e botuesve shqiptare?... - Ky hap qe beri shtepia jone botuese, kam besim se nuk do te mbetet si nje prove e humbur, - thote Ndricimi. - Jam optimist. Kete ma perforcon edhe fakti se shume greke qe vizituan pavionin tone, studiues, shkrimtare, historiane e lexues te thjeshte kerkuan libra shqip te perkthyera ne greqisht. Mendoj se ky eshte nje problem tjeter i mprehte e real qe duhet vleresuar seriozisht, me qellim qe edhe fqinjet tane ta njohin mire e sakte historine e paparagjykuar te kombit tone... Panairi i 23-te i Librit u mbyll. Nje rruge te bukur e hapi Ndricim Kullai. Miku im tani duhet te kete shkuar ne Prishtine. Do te promovohej nje liber i tij. Ndersa ne refugjatet i mbledhim tere pershtypjet e emocionet ne pohimin e thjeshte: "PHOENIX" foli shqip ne Athine... __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos -- now, 100 FREE prints! http://photos.yahoo.com From albboschurch at juno.com Thu Jun 8 13:43:23 2000 From: albboschurch at juno.com (Albanian Orthodox Church) Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 13:43:23 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] "Joseph S. De Natale" : Dante Message-ID: <20000608.134331.14582.5.albboschurch@juno.com> ***************************** "An Unknown Soldier's Child" A Woman's Tale of Sorrow and Survival A Music Drama by Raffeaele Fraticelli & Jonathan Hubbard Dedicated to the Women of Kosovo starring Luisa Marino, actress and Director with: Clemente Franciosa, baritone, Norma Giustiani, soprano and many other international artists Choreography by Kristian Cellini Music Director: Wilma Campitelli Stage Direction by Eminda Turfi & Robert D'Attilio reknowned Violinist Anton Berovski Sanders Theater Cambridge, MA Friday, June 23rd 8:00PM Tickets $45, $25, & $15 Harvard Box Office (12pm - 6pm daily) Holyoke Center Arcade Harvard Square 617-496-2222 From ailirjani at hotmail.com Fri Jun 9 21:28:59 2000 From: ailirjani at hotmail.com (A. Ilirjani) Date: Fri, 09 Jun 2000 21:28:59 CEST Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Call for proposals for International OSI Policy Fellowships for 2001 from CPS Message-ID: <20000609192859.75845.qmail@hotmail.com> --------Forwared email follows---------- Dear Colleagues, The Central European University Center for Policy Studies (CPS) is calling for proposals for its year 2001 International OSI Policy Fellowships (IPF) program. The deadline for the first stage of the application process is 1 August. Please note that we have lifted the age restriction for these fellowships; applicants of all ages are welcome to apply. Please find the brief description of this opportunity in the text of this message and the full announcement attached. We would greatly appreciate your help in distributing this call for proposals widely to ensure that as many candidates as possible are aware of this unique opportunity. Thank you for your cooperation. All the best, Pamela Kilpadi Olena Sydorenko International OSI Policy Fellowships ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From aalibali at yahoo.com Fri Jun 9 20:52:18 2000 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Fri, 9 Jun 2000 17:52:18 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Elena Kadare - Gazeta Republika Message-ID: <20000610005218.4215.qmail@web113.yahoomail.com> Intervist? me Elena Kadaren? E marrosur pas "t? marrit" Kadare... - Kush ?sht? Ismaili p?r Elena Kadaren?? - Si ka qen? f?mij?ria e Elen?s? Un? jam rritur n? nj? familje t? mbyllur nga pik?pamja e m?nyr?s s? edukat?s, babai ishte shum? konservator. Sipas tij, un? q? isha vajz? nuk duhet t? dilja nga sht?pia, nd?rsa me v?llan?... Ai ishte m? liberal. Babai mjaftohej t? m? k?naqte me librat q? doja, t? m? shoq?ronte kudo, n? kinema apo n? nj? pist? vall?zimi. Por imagjinoni nj? vajz? t? re t? k?rcej? me baban?! Besoj se nuk ?sht? nj? k?naq?si e madhe. At?here e gjith? kjo revolt? e brendshme, kjo k?naq?si m? b?ri t? mbaj ditar n? mosh? t? re. E vetmja fjal? q? d?gjoja ishte, q? un? t? mos gaboja. Megjithat?, gj?ja e par? q? b?ra sapo vajta n? universitet, q? p?r mua ishte nj? l?shim, vrapova t? njoh Ismailin, sepse e kisha lexuar n? gjimnaz dhe e kisha ?nd?rr ta njihja personalisht. - Kur e keni takuar p?r her? t? par? Ismailin? Un? e njihja q? kur ai botoi "End?rrimet". T? gjith? e dinin q? un? isha e marrosur pas tij dhe nj? dit? shok?t e klas?s s? gjimnazit m? kishin v?n? n? tavolin? fotografin? e tij t? prer? nga gazetat. N? k?t? koh? prej tij m? vjen nj? let?r nga Moska. M? shkruante p?r nj? tregim q? un? kisha botuar tek "Z?ri i Rinis?". Lexova tregimin tuaj dhe m? p?lqeu shum?, shkruani dhe mos u trembni..." dhe n? fund kishte v?n? emrin. K?t? histori e mori vesh gjith? shkolla dhe imagjinoni se ?far? evenimenti ishte kjo n? nj? gjimnaz t? nj? qyteti t? mbyllur si Elbasani. M? von? mora vesh se adres?n time e kishte m?suar nga miku i tij, Dhimit?r Xhuvani. P?r nj? far? kohe kjo histori u harrua. Vet?m kur ai u kthye nga Moska p?r t? marr? pjes? n? nj? mbledhje t? Lidhjes s? Shkrimtar?ve, ne u takuam. Ishte krejt mosp?rfill?s. U d?shp?rova se nuk ishte ai interes q? un? kisha p?r t?. M? pas raportet ndryshuan. Ai ishte i dashur n? momentet q? ishim bashk?, por pastaj harronte plot?sisht lidhjen. Ishte nj? luft? e d?shp?ruar me veten time, sepse shpesh m? duhej t? pyesja: "Po si ?sht? puna e k?tij njeriu m? do apo jo?", sepse at?her? nuk m? kishte th?n? t? dua. Ai at?her? kishte ardhur nga Moska dhe e quante p?r turp t? thoshte "t? dua". Gjat? gjith? koh?s q? rrinim bashk? ai m? tregonte se si ishin vajzat ruse, aq sa q? nuk pyesnin as p?r martes? as p?r kurrfar? gj?je. Motoja e tij ishte t? duheshim bashk?, po pa i premtuar nj?ri-tjetrit martes?, gj? q? p?r mua ishte tep?r e pakonceptueshme. Q? un? t'i dukesha atij si nj? vajz? moderne, ashtu si? e konceptonte ai jet?n dhe lidhjen ton?, e pranova menj?her? k?t? lloj mentaliteti. Un? isha krejt e sugjestionuar, sikur edhe marr?zin? m? t? madhe t? thoshte, p?rs?ri un? e pranoja. Koncepti i tij ishte, pavar?sisht q? rri me ty, un? mund t? kem dhe vajza t? tjera. Mua m? dukej normale, sepse e thoshte ai. Historia jon? vazhdoi e till? p?r dy vjet me radh?. Papritur nj? dit? ai m? k?rkoi t? martoheshim. Un? shtanga, sepse isha m?suar me nj? tjet?r Ismail. "Por un? nuk e kam menduar k?t? gj?", iu p?rgjigja. At?her? ai m? jep nj? shpull? dhe m? thot?: "U b?re ti t? mos martohesh me mua?". Ju duk nj? fyerje e madhe. - ?sht? folur shum? p?r ?iftin Kadare, por p?r ju si njeriu m? i af?rt i tij, dihet fare pak, cila ?sht? origjina juaj? Origjina ime ?sht? Gjirokastra. K?t? me sa vura re, pak njer?z e dinin n? Gjirokast?r, t? cil?t m? treguan sht?pin? e njer?zve t? babait n? lagjen "Varosh". Mandej u takova edhe me disa kush?rinj me mbiemrin e vajz?ris?, Gushi. Kur pash? sht?pin?, ndieva nj? emocion t? madh. Vitet e rinis? dhe f?mij?ris? s? hershme i kam kaluar n? Elbasan, ku im at? punonte si farmacist. - Ktheheni n? Gjirokast?r pas nj? mungese t? gjat?. Sipas jush, ?far? ndryshimesh ka p?suar qyteti i origjin?s s? bashk?short?ve Kadare? Ajo q? m? ka befasuar gjat? gjith? k?saj kohe, q? Ismaili nuk ka qen? prezent, ?sht? dashuria dhe kultura e k?tij qyteti. Dashuria njer?zore n? radh? t? par?. E shikoja n? syt? e njer?zve n? takimet e shumta q? kemi patur. Gjirokastrit?t rezatojn? nj? lloj fisnik?rie. - A mendoni se ky qytet n? pamjen e jashtme i ka ruajtur vlerat muzeale? Para s? gjithash do t? doja t'ju sillja nj? kujtim p?r rrug?t, i cili m? lindi duke sh?titur sot n? k?t? qytet. Kur Ismaili erdhi p?r her? t? par? n? Elbasan, gjat? gjith? mbr?mjes ai hapi disa flet? dhe filloi t? m? shpjegonte se si ishte qyteti dhe kryesisht sht?pia e tij. Ne jetonim n? nj? nga lagjet e vjetra t? Elbasanit, q? ishte k?shtu me gur? dhe kalldr?m, si Gjirokastra. Ismailit, duke sh?titur n? ato kalldr?me gjat? dit?s, iu kujtua qyteti i tij. Un? akoma nuk e kisha par? Gjirokastr?n dhe gjat? mbr?mjes m? tregonte: "... ja si ?sht? sht?pia, ja si ?sht? stera". Vite m? von? ato do t'i p?rshkruante tek libri "Kronik? n? gur". Un? isha me p?rshtypjet q? ai m? kishte treguar dhe n? imagjinat?n time ky qytet ishte shum? m? fantastik. Para disa vitesh, kur u zhvillua Festivali Folklorik, pat?m mund?sin? t? b?nim nj? sh?titje t? shkurt?r. Nuk arrit?m t? futeshim n? sht?pi, por duke e par? nga jasht?, nuk m'u duk aq e ?uditshme dhe e mrekullueshme, sa e kisha un? n? imagjinat?, Ismaili m? tha: "O po k?shtu duket nga rruga, duhet t? futesh brenda, q? ta kuptosh gjith? ?udin? e k?saj sht?pie". N? vizit?n e fundit, kaluam n? rrug?n para gjimnazit dhe tek "Sokaku i t? Marr?ve". Ishte nj? mrekulli. U fut?m brenda, megjith?se sht?pia ishte e shkat?rruar e n? nd?rtim e sip?r. Arkitekti po i tregonte Ismailit maketin dhe projektin e rind?rtimit. Ismaili i sugjeronte disa element? t? origjinalitetit, nisur nga kujtimet q? ai i ruante n? f?mij?ri. At? dit? maji kur b?m? nj? sh?titje tek "Sokaku i t? Marr?ve", un? prisja ?far? ?udirash do t? kishte. "Do t? ishte m? interesante kjo sh?titje n? qoft? se dita do t? ishte e vrenjtur", tha Ismaili. Por mua edhe k?shtu m? ngjan e madh?rishme e mjaft e bukur. Hym? n? sht?pin? gjirokastrite, q? nga jasht? dukeshin t? zakonshme. M? mahniti ?asti kur hapeshin dyert, dukeshin sikur prisnin mysafir?. Njer?zit e prisnin Ismailin me shum? dashuri. Plakat, komshijet e dikurshme, i flisnin p?r prind?rit e tij. Kemi shkuar edhe n? sht?pin? e Kako Pin?s, nj? nga personazhet e tij t? dashura. Arrita t? shikoj nga dera e hapur at? nrekulli past?rtie, q? ?sht? aq e njohur p?r gjirokastrit?t. K?t? e kam par? tek gjyshja, tek hallat e mia gjirokastrite. Jo vet?m nga familja e babait, por edhe n? sht?pin? e Ismailit kur hyra si nuse, flitej me t? nj?jtin kolorit. E njoh dhe m? jep emocion kjo lloj gjuhe. ?do gj? ishte kaq e rregullt, e sistemuar bukur, deri edhe lulet mbjell? midis gur?ve. Kjo m? ka prekur jasht?zakonisht. M? mahniti arkitektura, past?rtia, thjesht?sia e njer?zve. Boll t? hidhje syt? nga nj? port? dhe t? ndjeje ngroht?sin? e tyre. - A ka qen? v?shtir? t? jesh gruaja e Kadares?? Nuk di?! Mund t'ju them se Ismaili n? p?rgjith?si ?sht? nj? tip i p?rmbajtur, i ftoht? nga emocionet. Rrall? her? e kam par? kaq t? emocionuar sa ka qen? k?tu n? Gjirokast?r. Un? e kuptoj nga z?ri, nga m?nyra e l?vizjeve. Nuk them se k?to e tradhtonin, por pash? at? gj?, q? atij rrall? her? i kuptohet. Nj? emocion t? madh, q? e b?ri at? t? ?ilt?r si nj? f?mij?. Nisi t? m? shpjegonte mjaft ngjarje t? f?mij?ris? s? tij, q? kurr? nuk i kisha d?gjuar. - Si shkrimtare a ka ekzistuar ndonj?her? xhelozia mes jush? Jo, kurr?, p?r faktin se un? kam shkruar para se ta njihja. Njohja me t? ishte e paimagjinueshme, pasi si t? gjith? lexuesit, un? isha nj? lexuese e apasionuar pas atyre q? shkruante ai. Asnj?her? nuk e kam menduar se si mund ta rivalizoja. Jetesa me k?t? njeri m? ka b?r? q? t? kuptoj se ?'?sht? let?rsia me t? v?rtet?. Pa at?, un? do t? vazhdoja ndoshta t? shkruaja shum? m? tep?r nga ?'kam shkruar deri tani. Jam e sigurt se do t? kisha shkruar edhe m? keq. Pse? Sepse ?do gj? q? un? kam shkruar pas njohjes me t?, ishte gjithmon? syri i tij q? dep?rtonte dhe m? b?nte mua t? mendoja se si do t'i dukej atij kjo gj?. Shpeshher? m? q?llonte q? gj?rat q? shkruaja nuk ishin n? lart?sin? e duhur p?r t? t?rhequr v?mendjen e tij p?r mir? . Nga ana e tij, meqen?se flisni p?r ??shtje rivaliteti, ai ka qen? shum? i k?naqur kur un? kam arritur t? b?j di?ka si duhet. Ndihej v?rtet i k?naqur. - Tani, a jeni duke shkruar ndonj? lib?r? N? k?to momente un? jam duke shkruar kujtimet e jet?s son? t? p?rbashk?t. Dometh?n?, n? gjith? k?to vite q? kemi kaluar, cila ka qen? ajo rrug? q? ka ndjekur ai p?r t? arritur deri n? k?t? stad, t? nj? shkrimtari t? formuar, besoj t? formuar plot?sisht. - Jetoni n? Franc?. A ka qen? i v?shtir? integrimi juaj k?tu? Jeta jon? nuk ?sht? plot?sisht n? Franc?. N? periudhat me kryesore t? vitit, kryesisht n? vjesht? dhe n? pranver? ne jemi n? Shqip?ri. Me kalimin e koh?s q?ndrimi yn? do t? spostohet plot?sisht k?tu. Pasi t? rregullojm? mund?sin? q? t? kemi nj? banes? m? t? mir? dhe m? komode, q? ai t? punoj? pa presionin e vazhduesh?m t? lexuesit dhe dashamir?sve. Ju e kuptoni se ardhjet tona n? Shqip?ri jan? t? mbushura me vizita, takime, gj? q? ?sht? e bukur dhe e k?ndshme, por jo aq e p?rshtatshme p?r krijimtarin?. Humbet ritmi normal i pun?s s? tij. N? pik?pamjen e integrimit t? jasht?m, n? Franc? nuk kam patur ndonj? problem, sepse duke shoq?ruar Ismailin kam qen? e mir?pritur n? t? gjitha sferat. Franca ?sht? nj? vend i kultur?s. Atje, t? qenit artist merr nj? kuptim tjet?r, aq m? tep?r q? p?r Ismailin, Franca ka qen? vendi i par? q? i ka botuar krijimtarin? letrare. P?r ta ishte nj? k?naq?si dhe nder q? ta kishin mysafir n? rrethet e tyre. Nd?rsa p?rsa i p?rket integrimit t? brendsh?m edhe pse kan? kaluar dhjet? vjet, nuk e ndiej se jam integruar shpirt?risht n? jet?n franceze. Pavar?sisht nga t? gjitha nderimet q? na b?hen dhe luksin q? na shoq?ron, k?to nuk e kan? z?vend?suar kurr? at? k?naq?si shpirt?rore q? ndiej kur kthehem k?tu n? vendim tim. Kjo ndoshta ka t? b?j? me tipin tim, sepse un? e ?moj shum? familjen dhe miq?sit? e vjetra. Kam parasysh k?tu shprehjet, "miq t? rinj z?r, por t? vjetrit kurr? mos i harro", sepse "t? vjetrit jan? si floriri, nd?rsa t? rinjt? jan? prej argjendi" Pra, g?zimi im i v?rtet? shpirt?ror ?sht? kthimi q? b?jm? n? Shqip?ri. - A ?sht? e v?shtir? t? jesh bashk?shortja e Kadares?? Esht? e v?shtir?, sepse ai ka nj? rit?m pune q? nuk ?sht? aq e leht? ta ndjek?sh. Kjo ?sht? b?r? e domosdoshme duke jetuar jasht?. Kur ishte k?tu n? Shqip?ri, punonte dhe kishte shum? njer?z q? merreshin me pun?n e tij. Ismaili vazhdon t? punoj? me dor?, nuk pranon t? punoj? me mjetet e reja t? teknik?s kompjuterike, nuk d?rgon Fax-e, e e-mail. Nuk i pranon fare k?to mjete. K?shtu q? un? jam d?gjuesja e par? e motiveve t? veprave q? shkruan. M? ?sht? dashur k?to koh? t? b?ja edhe pun?n teknike, at? q? k?tu do ta b?nte nj? njeri tjet?r. Sh?nim: Intervista ?sht? marr? n? Gjirokast?r, n? dit?t e "Panairit t? par? t? librit shqip" __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos -- now, 100 FREE prints! http://photos.yahoo.com From ipilika at wellesley.edu Sat Jun 10 23:02:06 2000 From: ipilika at wellesley.edu (Iris Pilika) Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2000 22:02:06 -0500 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] DEATH OF A DIPLOMAT Message-ID: June 9 2000 DEATH OF A DIPLOMAT The assassins Sinister killers who strike with impunity FROM JOHN CARR IN ATHENS Map of the attack The blood-spattered car in which Brigadier Stephen Saunders died. He may be 17 November's first British victim Photograph: EUOKINISSI / AP ? THE news reports in Greece yesterday morning were grimly familiar: shots are fired through a car window in a morning traffic jam, the victim is either killed or critically hurt, and the attackers - always a pair of helmeted men on a highpowered motorbike - vanish. Greece's 17 November terrorist group has now apparently claimed its 23rd victim in 25 years of shootings, bombings and grenade attacks on wealthy targets. Three American diplomats, two retired Greek police officers and half a dozen Greek businessmen have met their end in precisely this way since the shadowy group emerged just before Christmas 1975 and said that it had shot dead Richard Welch, the CIA's senior man in Athens. If, as the Greek police expect, 17 November admits killing Brigadier Stephen Saunders, he will be the first British victim. After each attack, 17 November usually issues rambling anti-capitalist proclamations, compounded by angry Marxist-Leninist dialectic in the guise of radical economic theory. The 17 November group takes its name from the day in 1973 when Greece's military-backed dictatorship crushed a student uprising in Athens, killing 34 students and injuring up to 800 - an event still commemorated annually by the Left. Its members have eluded all efforts at detection. Large rewards for information have led nowhere and Greek police have failed to capture, kill or injure a single member. Security police officials believe the group to be masterminded by a radical academic who, since the 1970s, has recruited younger members to do the dirty work. Alleged links with the more extreme elements of the ruling Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok) dating back to the anti-junta struggle have been vigorously denied by the present party leadership. Security experts believe that the group is self-taught and has never compromised its security by availing itself of the expertise of either the IRA or guerrillas from the Middle East. Some deny that there is such a thing as an ideological 17 November, claiming that the far-left rhetoric is a front for a professional hit team employed by political or business interests to silence those who could get in the way of their plans. The diversity of the victims - bankers, magnates, publishers and diplomats - argues for such an interpretation, they say. In the 1990s the organisation appeared to have slowed down its rate of murderous attacks, limiting itself mainly to midnight bombings without fatalities. The last known attack was in May last year, when a rocket was fired at the German Ambassador's home. Earlier this week the Greek Goverment met American criticism by boasting of "better security than in many other countries of the world". Now, as Athens prepares for the 2004 Olympic Games, the Government may have a hard job ensuring that the event can proceed safely. From ipilika at wellesley.edu Sat Jun 10 22:59:00 2000 From: ipilika at wellesley.edu (Iris Pilika) Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2000 21:59:00 -0500 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Elusive terrorists claim the killing of British diplomat Message-ID: Saturday, June 10, 2000 Elusive terrorists claim the killing of British diplomat -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >From Helena Smith, in Athens GREECE: The elusive terrorist group, November 17, yesterday claimed responsibility for the killing of Britain's top military diplomat in Athens. His wife appealed to Greeks to help hunt the "wicked men" behind the assassination. In a 13-page proclamation, the group said it had killed Brig Stephen Saunders because he was a "professional murderer" who worked for a government that had committed "Nazi-like crimes." The 52-year-old soldier is the first British subject to be targeted by the revolutionary organisation since it emerged following seven years of military dictatorship in Greece in 1975. He was killed, the group said, as a result of his "participation in the planning of the barbaric airstrikes" in reference to the NATO campaign against Yugoslavia. This charge was immediately denied by the British Defence Ministry which said the brigadier had been seconded to a UN observer mission based in Kuwait at the time of the campaign. He later helped direct Kosovo-bound British troops, the ministry said. Lacing its traditional MarxistLeninist rhetoric with nationalism, November 17 also claimed credit for a series of attacks last year, including a rocket assault on the German ambassador's residence. Experts said the group's decision to backdate the document to March clearly showed it had been planning the killing for several months. Unlike other Western diplomats Brig Saunders, who had been based in Athens for almost two years, was without bodyguards and driving in an unarmoured car when he was shot at four times by two gunmen on a motorcycle. He died less than three hours later at Athens Red Cross hospital. The group had used its signature .45 calibre pistol to kill the diplomat, who was driving to a meeting at which he was to oversee the sale of arms to Greece. He was November 17's 23rd victim. Others have included prominent Greeks, Turkish diplomats and American soldiers and intelligence officers. The proclamation's publication in a Greek daily newspaper coincided with an emotionallycharged appeal by the British diplomat's widow. Mrs Heather Saunders implored Greeks to help track down the assassins. Despite the combined efforts of Greek, American and British police forces and the repeated offer of rewards, no member of November 17 has ever been captured or traced, raising speculation that elements in the ruling Socialist Pasok party may have some interest in protecting the organisation. Speaking outside the couple's Athens villa in the presence of her two teenage daughters, she said: "I appeal to the Greek people and to anyone who knows anything, because someone must know something about this terrible muder. We must prevent this kind of thing from happening again. Anyone who saw anything, anyone who knows anything please tell the police so that no one else has to go through what we are going through today. "For the sake of the future of Greece," she continued, "these people must be brought to justice. "Stephen was a man committed to peace and throughout his 35 years in the army he never raised his gun to kill anyone, In fact, in the past, I know he hesitated once, when someone opened fire on him in Northern Ireland, in case he hit an innocent bystander. . . As yet I cannot forgive the perpetrators of this horrible crime. But God may help me forgive in time." - Additional reporting: PA From ipilika at wellesley.edu Sat Jun 10 23:04:49 2000 From: ipilika at wellesley.edu (Iris Pilika) Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2000 22:04:49 -0500 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Clinton's Massive Ground Invasion That Almost Was Message-ID: Friday, June 9, 2000 Clinton's Massive Ground Invasion That Almost Was Yugoslavia: After 71 days of air war, White House had in place a memo to send in 175,000 NATO troops. By DOYLE MCMANUS, Times Washington Bureau Chief WASHINGTON--On the night of June 2, 1999, President Clinton's national security advisor, Samuel R. "Sandy" Berger, sat glumly in his corner office in the White House's West Wing. His task: drafting a memo advising Clinton to prepare for a ground invasion of Yugoslavia. NATO's air war against Serbia had been underway for 71 days, but Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic hadn't buckled. Almost a million refugees from Kosovo had fled into exile, and thousands more were homeless inside the province. For weeks, Berger had argued that an air war would be enough, that a land war was unnecessary. But now he was no longer sure, and time was running out. If the United States and its allies wanted to launch ground operations before the Balkan winter set in, they would have to start preparing now. "It was the longest night of my time in this job," Berger said later. About 2 a.m., scribbling on a yellow pad, he finished his memo. To be sure of winning in Kosovo, Berger wrote, the United States had only one option left: a massive ground invasion using 175,000 North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops, about 100,000 of them from the U.S. The "go/no-go" memo, freshly typed by a secretary, went to the Oval Office that same morning. Clinton was ready to approve it, Berger said. But before he could, unexpected news arrived from Belgrade: Milosevic had agreed to NATO's terms. The American public didn't know it, but Clinton had been within days of launching full preparations for an invasion. Berger's account, in an interview with The Times, marks the first time a highly placed U.S. official has publicly described how close the United States and its allies came to deciding to fight their way into Kosovo, a province of Serbia, the dominant Yugoslav republic. In the end, of course, the invasion didn't happen. It might not have occurred even if Clinton had ordered preparations to go forward. NATO commanders wanted three months to assemble their invasion force; Clinton aides planned at least one more "last-ditch" peace mission. But the episode is a reminder of how uncertain the outcome of the conflict appeared a year ago, even on the eve of victory; how fragile NATO's consensus was as the alliance waged the first war of its 50-year history; and how limited the choices were, even for the world's only superpower. NATO Enjoyed Huge Advantage in the Air NATO's war against Yugoslavia wasn't supposed to be that hard. All along, Berger said, "we believed that the air campaign would work." Moreover, he argued, a ground invasion could have mired the alliance in bloody, inconclusive and politically divisive combat. "In the air, we had a thousand-to-one advantage. Once we got on the ground, we still would have had an advantage, but what was it, three to one? . . . Milosevic would have been happy to see a force come in on the ground, because it would have allowed him to wage a war of attrition." Betting on a low-casualty victory from the air, Clinton publicly ruled out the riskier option of ground combat on the first day of the war. Critics charged that Clinton was unwittingly encouraging Milosevic to dig in and wait out the bombs. But Berger insists that taking ground forces off the table was the right thing to do at that point--because the alternative was a public debate, within the United States and among NATO members, that would have divided the alliance and potentially crippled the war effort. Even with a thousand-to-one advantage, NATO's air campaign took longer than most of the alliance's leaders anticipated when the war began March 24, 1999. Some hoped that Milosevic would back down after only a few days; he didn't. Bad weather made air operations difficult; dozens of bombing runs were canceled. At the same time, the allies argued about which targets to hit, with French President Jacques Chirac insisting on caution in striking politically sensitive facilities. Some officials, including Defense Secretary William S. Cohen, have contended that the allies' qualms hampered the air war, delayed victory and endangered allied pilots. But in "Winning Ugly," a book about the war released Thursday, foreign policy scholars Ivo H. Daalder and Michael E. O'Hanlon conclude that poor preparation, not allied squabbling, was the main reason for the slow progress. Daalder and O'Hanlon quote Adm. James O. Ellis, NATO's commander for southern Europe, as saying the alliance fell victim to "short-war syndrome." NATO assumed the war wouldn't last long and failed to plan for a long campaign. "We called this one absolutely wrong," Ellis said, according to the book. "NATO was clearly losing the war through late April . . . and could have lost the war entirely," said Daalder, a scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington. Instead, at a summit meeting in Washington at the end of April, NATO's leaders, in Berger's words, agreed: "We will not lose. We will not lose. Whatever it takes, we will not lose." Two escalations followed. One was visible: more airplanes, more airstrikes, and the first attacks against Belgrade's electrical power system, which was a "dual-use" (civilian and military) target that had been off limits. The other was invisible: a stepped-up debate inside government councils concerning preparations for a ground war. Laying Groundwork for Possible Invasion Gen. Wesley K. Clark, then NATO's supreme commander, had drawn up contingency plans for invading Yugoslavia a year earlier. Prodded by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, NATO's leading hawk, the alliance authorized Clark to update the plans, but Cohen and the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff were skeptical. In May, Clinton decided to put the option of ground troops back on the table--if only to threaten Milosevic and build public support in case an invasion was necessary. The issue would have divided NATO in March, but after almost two months of an indecisive air war, it could no longer be ducked. On May 20, 1999, Clark briefed Clinton and his advisors. The general presented several options, officials said. The largest was for a force of about 175,000 troops to take all of Kosovo by land, mostly from Albania. Other options required smaller forces: the allies could take only part of Kosovo, establish "safe areas" for refugees and open land corridors for fleeing civilians. But Clark recommended the "heavy option." Clinton agreed to Clark's request to increase the NATO ground force on Kosovo's borders from about 25,000 troops to almost 50,000. In public, the troops were described as advance units of a possible peacekeeping force, which was technically true. But the troops also were intended to start preparing for combat--and to let Milosevic see that an invasion force was building. As part of the psychological warfare, one official said, Britain leaked word that it was sending a heavy tank unit to the region. Then, on May 31, NATO authorized Clark to begin strengthening Albania's roads to support heavy tanks. Among other problems, Berger recalled, "the tunnels in the mountains were smaller than the tanks that had to go through them." In public, NATO spokesmen claimed that the road improvements were to help get supplies to Kosovo refugees, but in fact they were an essential part of Clark's war plan. At about the same time, Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott warned Russia's special envoy, former Prime Minister Viktor S. Chernomyrdin, that Clinton was seriously considering ground troops--deliberately prompting Chernomyrdin to carry the warning to Milosevic. The warnings were "very explicit," a senior U.S. official said. The State Department even arranged for two U.S. generals to brief Chernomyrdin. Chernomyrdin wasn't just alarmed. He was "apocalyptic," the U.S. official recalled. He warned that an invasion would cause a terrible crisis between NATO and Russia, and predicted that the Serbs would prove tough fighters in the defense of their homeland. "Chernomyrdin kept using one phrase over and over," the official recalled. "He said if there were a ground invasion, it would lead to a wave of blood--a sea of blood. . . . And you know what? That was fine. We wanted him to think it was (a) likely to happen and (b) going to be awful, because he worked all the harder in getting it fixed." As Chernomyrdin and Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari flew to Belgrade bearing NATO's threats, Berger was wrestling with what the alliance would need to do to carry them out--and how much time it had. To launch an invasion across Albania's mountains before the onset of winter in October, Clark had asked for a decision by mid-June. Berger listed three options in his June 2 memorandum to Clinton. The first, he said, was to "arm the Kosovars; but that would cause a chain of events that would produce a war that would last for years." The second option was to wait until spring--but that would require NATO to supply and protect thousands of refugees inside Kosovo through the winter. The third option was a major ground invasion. Not All NATO Members on Board "It was a pretty depressing memo," Berger said. "I said we basically should go ahead with what Clark had proposed if this [the Chernomyrdin mission] failed." Berger also recommended that the president go public with his decision; dispatching 100,000 or more troops to Albania could not be done without open debate. "We had about a week to do some very heavy lifting with [Capitol Hill] and the American people and the allies," he said. Would Clinton have agreed? "Yes. The president, I think, had made clear to me in principle that we could not lose." Would NATO have gone along? "We would not have had a consensus," Berger said, meaning some of the alliance's 19 countries would have refused to participate. Officials said they were confident that Britain, France and Germany would have joined, but Greece was almost sure to refuse and Italy was a question mark. The United States would have pressed forward nonetheless, they said--a decision that could have meant ending NATO's formal sponsorship of the war and forming a new coalition on the spot. In Belgrade, the Yugoslav and Serbian capital, Chernomyrdin and Ahtisaari presented NATO's terms to Milosevic: a full withdrawal from Kosovo, deployment of a NATO-led peacekeeping force, the return of all refugees. Milosevic agreed. "I was positively surprised," Ahtisaari said. "I was prepared to have negotiations that would have lasted longer." U.S. officials were amazed as well. They had expected Milosevic to turn down the mediators. Clinton aides already were planning to send one more diplomatic mission to Belgrade, direct from the United States, to give Milosevic his final chance. Officials initially were skeptical that Milosevic had really agreed. Not until June 10, after Yugoslav military officers signed a detailed agreement to allow NATO troops to enter Kosovo, did the U.N. Security Council officially declare the war over and NATO halt its bombing. U.S. Still Unsure Why Milosevic Gave In Why did Milosevic give in? U.S. officials still don't know for sure, and offer a mix of possible answers. Perhaps it was the damage inflicted by the air war, although the actual impact of the bombing has been debated even within the Pentagon. Or perhaps it was the growing threat of a ground invasion. Diplomacy helped; most officials believe Milosevic's recognition that he had failed to divide NATO enough to stop the air war and that Russia wouldn't stop the air war for him were key factors. And in the Chernomyrdin-Ahtisaari talks, NATO offered Milosevic enough leeway to allow him to tell his countrymen that he was not capitulating. The peacekeeping force in Kosovo was formally placed under the United Nations' authority, not NATO's, and the force was confined to Kosovo as opposed to Serbia proper. There was another factor, U.S. officials contend: The CIA and other allied intelligence services were tracking down the bank accounts and business interests of Milosevic and his closest supporters, seeking to freeze their assets and disrupt their financial dealings. Berger refused to comment about those reports, but acknowledged: "His own cronies were beginning to pressure him. We saw the noose tightening." "Milosevic, in the final analysis, is a survivor," one senior official said. "He made a very hardheaded calculation about his chances of survival physically and politically and concluded that he could turn this into a Pyrrhic victory for NATO--that he could survive the loss of Kosovo for a period of time, then whittle away at allied resolve, whittle away at the situation on the ground, whittle away at his own opposition, and come back and fight another day. "And guess what?" the official said, smiling, for that is largely what Milosevic has done. * * * Times staff writer Tyler Marshall contributed to this report. Saturday: Without a solution near on Kosovo's final status, U.S. and allied troops are likely to remain for years. From kbejko at hotmail.com Mon Jun 12 18:48:01 2000 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 22:48:01 GMT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Vritet Jaho Salihi Message-ID: <20000612224801.47405.qmail@hotmail.com> Vritet nj? person n? Shqip?rin? veriore http://www.bbc.co.uk/albanian/ Nj? person ?sht? vrar? dhe nj? tjet?r ?sht? plagosur n? qytetin verior t? Tropoj?s n? nj? atentat q? ka t? gjitha shenjat e hakmarrjes. Korrespondenti i BBC-s? n? Shqip?rin? veriore thot? se i vrari ?sht? babai i nj? ish- zyrtari te lart? t? policis? lokale, Jaho Salihi, i akuzuari kryesor nga opozita p?r vrasjen e deputetit Azem Hajdari, m? shum? se dy vjet me par?. Policia lokale beson se motivi i vrasjes se sotme mund t? jet? gjakmarrja. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From mehollim at hotmail.com Mon Jun 12 22:04:28 2000 From: mehollim at hotmail.com (Mimoza Meholli) Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 19:04:28 PDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] (no subject) Message-ID: <20000613020428.72742.qmail@hotmail.com> From: "Craig Zelizer" To: "STPEC" , , , , Subject: Paul and Daisy Graduate Fellowship for New Americans Date: Mon, Jun 12, 2000, 8:00 PM The next deadline is November 30, 2000. For more information see: www.pdsoros.org The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans Program Requirements The purpose of The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans is to provide opportunities for continuing generations of able and accomplished New Americans to achieve leadership in their chosen fields. The Program is established in recognition of the contributions New Americans have made to American life and in gratitude for the opportunities the United States has afforded the donors and their family. What is the Program and how many Fellowships for New American's are offered?The Fellowships are grants for up to two years of graduate study in the United States. The recipients are chosen on a national competitive basis.Thirty Fellowships will be awarded each year. Who is eligible to become a Fellow? A New American is an individual who (1) is a resident alien; i.e., holds a Green Card or, (2) has been naturalized as a U.S. citizen or (3) is the child of two parents who are both naturalized citizens. A Green Card holder must have had more than one year of IRS filings. The Program is open to individuals who retain loyalty and a sense of commitment to their country of origin is well as to the United States, but is intended to support individual who will continue to regard the United States as their principal residence and focus of national identity. The applicant must either have a bachelor's degree or be in her/his final year of undergraduate study. Those who have a bachelor's degree may already be pursuing graduate study and may receive Fellowship support to continue that study. Individuals who are in the third, or subsequent, year of study in the same graduate program are not, however, eligible for this competition. Students who have received a master's degree in a program and are continuing for a doctoral degree in the same program are considered to have been in the same program from the time they began their work on their master's degree. To be eligible you must not be older than thirty years of age as of Thursday, November 30, 2000. What are the criteria for selection? Candidates must demonstrate the relevance of graduate education to their long-term career goals and potential in enhancing their contributions to society. Fellowships are not solely awarded on the basis of academic record.The academic record is relevant as evidence of the candidate's ability to complete successfully a graduate degree program and it strengthens the demonstration of achieving the Program's specific criteria for selection. A successful candidate will give evidence of at least two of the following three attributes or criteria for selection: (1) creativity, originality, and initiative, demonstrated in any area of her/his life; (2) a commitment to and capacity for accomplishment, demonstrated through activity that has required drive and sustained effort; and (3) a commitment to the values expressed in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The third criterion includes activity in support of human rights and the rule of law, in opposition to unwarranted encroachment on personal liberty, and in advancing the responsibilities of citizenship in a free society. What does a Fellow receive? Each year the Fellow receives a maintenance grant of $20,000 (paid in two installments) and a tuition grant of one-half the tuition cost of the U.S. graduate program attended by the Fellow. The Fellowship Program pays the tuition grant directly to the institution. The size of the tuition grant depends on the cost of tuition at the institution the Fellow attends. Fees are not included in calculating tuition. If the program pursued is less than two years (e.g., Public Administration), the Fellow receives the amount to cover the period required for the degree. It is expected that the Fellowwill complete the cost of tuition from such other sources as summer employment, public and private grant and loan programs for advanced education, or matching funds from the graduate institution the Fellow attends. The Fellow will be asked to inform the Program of other awards that she/he has been offered and may be asked to accept a total award package that does not exceed full tuition and required fees, plus $20,000 for maintenance from The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans. A Fellow may not work during the period of the Fellowship without the permission of the Director ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From juniku at hotmail.com Mon Jun 12 22:02:32 2000 From: juniku at hotmail.com (Uk Lushi) Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 19:02:32 PDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] REMEMBER THIS NAME-ELIZA DUSHKU! Message-ID: <20000613020232.78040.qmail@hotmail.com> Who is ELIZA DUSHKU?! If you want to find out more about this actress of Albanian and Danish descent go to: http://www.efanguide.com/~eliza/ Uk Lushi New York ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From kbejko at hotmail.com Tue Jun 13 23:57:43 2000 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 03:57:43 GMT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Killed KLA volunteers from Albania honored Message-ID: <20000614035743.68749.qmail@hotmail.com> President Honours Albanian KLA Volunteers Killed in Kosovo TIRANA - Albanian President Rexhep Meidani has honoured two Albanians killed while fighting for the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) against Serbian forces last year, the presidency said on Tuesday. Meidani, marking the first anniversary of the entry of NATO troops into Kosovo, acknowledged for the first time the role played by Albanian volunteers by awarding Indrit Cara and Astrit Suli the Golden Eagle medal. Albania has already honoured former NATO commander Wesley Clark with its highest award for foreigners. The alliance?s former Secretary-General, Javier Solana, will also receive the Skenderbeg Award. Cara, originally from Kavaja in western Albania, joined Kosovo Albanian friends who had been living as immigrants in Britain in signing up for the KLA. Many Albanian volunteers, most of them former soldiers, joined the ranks of the KLA, moved by the atrocities Serbian forces had committed and were committing in Kosovo, some 90 percent of whose population were ethnic Albanian, or by the prospect of better pay in the irregular army. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Jun 14 13:36:38 2000 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 10:36:38 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Janullatos on ID cards in Greece Message-ID: <20000614173638.14967.qmail@web117.yahoomail.com> [10] Church hierarchy ready for Wednesday's Thessaloniki rally over ID cards furor Athens, 14/06/2000 (ANA) The Orthodox Church's powerful hierarchy is intensifying efforts to prepare Wednesday's rally in downtown Thessaloniki, due to begin at 7 p.m., regarding the issue of religion affiliation being listed on new identity cards. Church circles estimate that more than 600 coaches will be used to carry people to the rally. Vehicles fitted with loudspeakers were also driving through Thessaloniki in the morning, calling on people to attend the rally. Members of several Orthodox Christian organizations are also distributing printed material door-to-door and on the streets. A similar rally will also be held in Athens on June 21. In a related development, Jerusalem Patriarch Diodoros II has addressed a letter to Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos, stressing his undivided support for the people and the Church. An announcement by the Holy Synod also revealed that the Archbishop of Tirana and All Albania Anastasios had a telephone conversation with Christodoulos and offered assurances of his support and participation in the Autocephalus Orthodox Church of Greece's efforts to avert the removal of religious affiliation from new state-mandated identity cards. Gov't: Meanwhile, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said the identification of the main opposition New Democracy party with the Church on the issue of rallies was "unacceptable." He said the move altered the character, which should govern the functioning of the Church and indicated that the main opposition party was succumbing to temptations merely for petty-party reasons. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos -- now, 100 FREE prints! http://photos.yahoo.com From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Jun 14 13:45:55 2000 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 10:45:55 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Rilindja Message-ID: <20000614174555.16950.qmail@web117.yahoomail.com> Kosovo Albanian daily advocates cultural, territorial autonomy for Serbs SOURCE: Source: 'Rilindja', Pristina, in Albanian 8 Jun 00 p 2 BODY: [2] An editorial in a Kosovo Albanian daily has condemned violence against the province's Serbs, saying that it is inexcusable and harms Kosovo's interests. The editorial advocated different types of political and territorial autonomy for the Kosovo Serbs. The following is the text of an editorial by Ramush Tahiri, "Serbs are citizens of Kosovo", published by the Kosovo Albanian newspaper 'Rilindja' on 8th June: Organized attacks against the Serb population in Kosova [Kosovo], which have claimed the lives of dozens of people of all ages, reflect the bitter reality of Kosova, which is facing enormous difficulties in becoming pacified and being able to build a safe future for all its citizens. The killings and attacks are condemned by all Kosovar political entities, and they disgust the common citizens, who perceive all this with anguish, who see it as violence that is being tolerated, dangerous to all Kosova citizens regardless of their background, and dangerous for Kosova itself. There have been persistent calls to bring the culprits to justice and give them the punishment they deserve. There has been suspicion that this is a deed of the extended hand of the Serbian security forces, which by choosing any means to achieve its goals and by victimizing the people are intent on seeing tensions run high in Kosova, are willing to see that the insecurity and psychoses of conflicts prevail in Kosova, and are trying to prove that Kosova is not and cannot be different from Serbia, but with violence now targeting the other side. Crimes can be committed by irresponsible Albanians as well, who, encouraged by someone else or on their own think that in so doing they could scare the Serbs and make them leave Kosova amidst wild violence against all.... ['Rilindja' ellipsis] No matter where political analyses or analyses of any kind can lead us, the consequences of unchecked violence against the Serb citizens of Kosova will be very severe. Kosova cannot gain the sympathy and support of the international community if only Albanians stay in it and others leave, whether they be Serbs, Montenegrins, Roma or others. Kosova cannot exist any other way but the way it was: multiethnic. It is utterly wrong to condemn the Serbian policy, which was adamant about changing Kosova's ethnic structure through the use of force and other methods, while on the other hand supporting the policy, conditionally speaking, of Albanians, which aims at driving out all non- Albanians by exploiting various methods. Kosova cannot be supported either today or tomorrow, if it fails to become qualitatively different from what Serbia was and is today; if it fails to offer more to the nationalities than what Serbia offered and is offering. The international community did not intervene in Kosova because it accepted or denied Albanian or Serb concepts, but rather it did so to thwart and stop the policy of genocide, extermination, ethnic cleansing and usurpation of territories and properties. In so doing, the NATO forces were not led by Serb or Albanian historic rights, by the "national" political programme of either of the sides, but rather it reacted against a situation in time and space. On such a basis, NATO and UNMIK are natural allies of neither the Albanians nor the Serbs. A rule that has already been acknowledged by all is that it is not a wise policy by any state if it favours one nation and suppresses the other, even though such a policy at first sight could seem efficient and stable. You cannot say that a state that aspires to national, religious, cultural or any other kind of hegemony is a righteous one, but a state with multiplicity of ethnicities, beliefs, cultures, etc. All modern states and civilizations aspire to integration of cultures, not differences, alienation and exclusivity. Now when we are about to mark the anniversary of the return of people to their homes, there are many of those who aspire to impose their own influence for dubious profits. Efforts are being made to demonstrate that Albanians and Serbs cannot live together in these areas, that they will live in enmity everlastingly, and that solutions can only be found by dividing territories and by erecting iron boundaries. But no one seems to bother that even that kind of division between two hostile peoples would not provide stability in the region, but rather new and even more dangerous hostilities and regroupings. Another tendency, almost as dangerous as the one mentioned above, is the tendency to equate the two ethnicities in Kosova, the tendency to develop consensual government in Kosova with the right to veto for Serbs even though the Serbs as a people make up less than 10 per cent of Kosova's overall population. Such a political objective is meant to serve any other national community tomorrow so that it may be seen as being on a par with the Albanians in Kosova, and with the international community too. The effect of such a concept (elaborated by the group led by Serb Vice-President Markovic during the farcical talks on Kosova) aims at making any kind of governance in Kosova as a distinct international entity impossible. US President Bill Clinton told the Russian parliament members that there will be a government of the majority and there will be minority rights in Kosova, which is precisely the principle all civilized contemporary democracies are built on, a basis that provides for stability, equality and mutual cooperation. It remains for this principle to be put into effect in Kosova. Kosova as a new international entity should employ the experiences of advanced states in working out its internal arrangements. By eliminating the Leninist concept of peoples' rights to self-determination and secession, the Serbs should be courageously offered models of political and territorial autonomy. One should not repeat Serbia's mistakes; nor there should be room left for parallelisms, for two concepts, enclavization, divided life, separate administrative systems, self-defence as the Serb leaders in Kosova have been offering. They are responsible for the escalation of the situation to the level it is today, as well as for the consequences the Serb people have been facing. Without pretending to offer ready-made and solid models, it should be said that it is quite understandable that there should be a different kind of autonomy for Leposavic and Zubin Potok where the Serbs dominate as a population and as a territory, and another kind for small Serb settlements in Sterpce [Strpce], Sredcka, Gorazdec, Gracanica, etc, and again a different kind of autonomy for Serbs in bigger Kosova cities where they are in relatively large numbers, but are the minority in terms of percentage. There should be specific rights for cultural-historic monuments too, and there should also be an adequate solution for the entire territory of Kosova, so that one could be free in every place. In offering solutions we have to come up openly with arguments, because this way we help Kosova, and stability and peace in the region. [Note: The Pristina daily 'Rilindja' is an independent publication which has ties to Kosovapress, the news agency originally founded by the Kosovo Liberation Army .] __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos -- now, 100 FREE prints! http://photos.yahoo.com From aalibali at yahoo.com Thu Jun 15 13:24:10 2000 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 10:24:10 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Butrinti ne rrezik Message-ID: <20000615172410.25292.qmail@web114.yahoomail.com> Dea e Butrintit, fantazma e kohrave moderne KOHA JONE Nderkohe qe shkruhet per zbulime gjithfaresh ne Butrint, deri te periudha e neolitit, Instituti i Momumenteve te Kultures(IMK) ngre supet. "Butrinti, - thone disa specialiste qe nuk deshirojne te prononcohen (te pakten per momentin), - nuk eshte me ne juridiksionin tone". Keshtu institucionit me te rendesishem per ruajtjen e pasurive kombetare dhe te vetmit ne vend, qe ka punonjes te specializuar shkencore, i eshte hequr e drejta te merret me mbrojtjen e Butrintit. Ne kete institut marrim vesh se Butrinti prej dy vitesh varet nga Qendra e Administrimit dhe Koordinimit ne Sarande. Kjo Qender varet direkt nga Ministria e Kultures. Nderkohe financuese e kesaj qendreje eshte fondacioni "Butrinti", i cili ka marre persiper germimet arkeologjike si dhe restaurimet (!), duke u ndihmuar edhe nga Unesko. Butrinti eshte shpallur pasuri boterore dhe shteti shqiptar ka per detyre ta ruaje, por nderkohe, Butrinti eshte shpallur edhe monument ne rrezik. Normalisht ne kete Qender duhet te kete specialiste restaurues, arkeologe, specialiste ambienti. Aktualisht te vetmit specialiste ne kete qender jane specialistet e mbledhjes se parave nga turistet. Shuma e parave te biletave te mbledhur nga turistet eshte 50 mije dollare, "nje fond qe nuk eshte pare kurre ne kete IKM-ne", na thone punonjesit e IMK-se. Por eshte edhe nje tjeter problem. "Meqe nuk kane specialiste,- sqarojne punonjesit e Instituti te Monumenteve, - ata nuk bejne dot asnje projekt per restaurimin e Butrintit dhe projektet i kerkojne nga ne. Edhe pse nuk i mungojne fondacionet dhe ndihmat, Qendra i kerkon keto projekte falas, pa paguar as cmimet shteterore, duke na konsideruar ne "skllever shteteror". Per kete para disa ditesh eshte ngritur i propozuar nga IKM-ja nje komision i restaurimit, (vetem pas dy vjetesh) i formuar me specialiste brenda dhe jashte IMK-se, te cilet do te shqyrtojne projektet me qellim ardhjen ne ndihme te restaurimit te kesaj pasurie te rendesishme. Por shqetesimet vazhdojne. Para disa ditesh u zbulua ne Butrint nga kjo qender, nje mozaik i shekullit IV te eres tone. Per kete ishin marre 35 specialiste nga bota dhe 6-7 specialiste nga Shqiperia (edhe germimet na i bejne te huajt!). Ky zbulim kap siperfaqen 80-90 metra katrore, por deri tani nuk eshte marre asnje mase per ruajtjen dhe mbrojtjen e saj. Edhe fakte te tjera flasin per rrezikimin e Butrintit, kemi parasysh shkaterrimin e mureve arkeologjike nga prerja e pemeve etj. E gjithe kjo eshte indiferenca e shtetit apo paaftesia e "specialisteve" qe paguhen me miliona? Persa i perket ligjit per mbrojtjen e pasurive dhe vlerave Kombetare, ne Institutin e Monumenteve marrim vesh se, ky nuk eshte nje ligj i ri, por vetem po rishikohet ai ekzistuesi. Shqetesimi i me i madh eshte rishikimi i nenit per kontrollin e shtetit ndaj fondacioneve, qe jane ne Shqiperi. Sipas tyre, ato duhet te japin llogari per aktivitetin e tyre ketu, c'kane bere gjate vitit dhe c'eshte me e rendesishmja te lidhin kontrate me shtetin. "Vetem keshtu mund te kontrollohen keto fondacione dhe destinacioni i tyre qe deri tani eshte i dyshimte", perfundojne punonjesit e nervozuar. V.Zhupa __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos -- now, 100 FREE prints! http://photos.yahoo.com From kbejko at hotmail.com Thu Jun 15 10:21:44 2000 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 14:21:44 GMT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Kosova and Albania's politicians Message-ID: <20000615142144.68754.qmail@hotmail.com> Why Albania Politicians Are Not Welcome to Kosovo TIRANA - The chief editor of a leading Prishtina daily said in a television interview two weeks ago that both opposition leader Sali Berisha and the leader of the ruling Socialist Party, Fatos Nano, were not welcome in Kosovo. ?It would be good for Kosovo if Berisha and Nano would not come to Kosovo,? said Baton Haxhiu, the editor of Koha Ditore said in an interview to private TV channel Klan. For decades, Haxhiu said, Albania?s political class had manipulated Kosovo Albanian politicians and inflamed the already volatile political situation there. Albania?s politicians have mingled and often fueled the animosity between the politicians in Kosovo, often not to the benefit of Kosovo?s Albanians themselves, analysts in Tirana said. Nano decided not to take the step to Kosovo last month, where he was urged by the Democratic Party of Kosovo, the Hashim Thaci party, not to visit. The Socialists had supported during the war the former Marxist guerrillas, both with weapons and by allowing Albania?s territory to be used by the KLA. The Socialists also turned a deaf ear when the leader of a guerrilla group that was against Thaci, was killed in Tirana. No murderer of Ahmet Krasniqi, the Defense Minister of Bujar Bukoshi?s LDK government, had been arrested by their government. Berisha, as a former President of Albania, surely did not have a clean record in his dealings with the diaspora and the Albanians in the Balkans. The DP leader is still considered a provocative and inflammatory politician, who exerts an authoritarian personality and survives out of conflicts he aggravates. His mingling with the Albanian political classes in Kosovo and Macedonia have also proven to be conflictive. Berisha was credited with using Ibrahim Rugova, the moderate Albanian leader, for political benefit when he obliged Rugova to rally behind him in the hot Albania political issue of a draft constitution he wanted to pass. Voters turned that draft down, and saw Rugova?s interference as inappropriate. He then strained the relations with Rugova, by urging Kosovars in 1996 to take the roads and abandon Rugova?s civil disobedience method. He supported at the time Adem Demaci, an adversary of Rugova. Rugova himself did not forget about this. In Berisha?s worst moments, during 1997, the Kosovar leader urged him to resign. ?It is no big misfortune if a president resigns,? Rugova had commented in March that year, when Berisha was resisting popular demands to leave the office. Rugova remains aloof to Berisha now, and he refused to hand him an official invitation of the LDK, the Democratic League of Kosovo, diplomatically saying that ?Berisha is being invited by the people of Kosovo.? Equally problematic were Berisha?s mingling with the affairs of the Albanian politicians in Macedonia. In 1994, he played down Nevzat Haliti and lobbied Albanians to vote for Arben Xhaferri, whom he had considered as loyal at the time. Xhaferri has long abandoned Berisha. The biggest mistake Berisha made was during the Rambouillet talks of Kosovar Albanians with Serbs, where he urged them not to sign the agreement. The agreement was being pressured by the international community. ?This scrapped him of the right to visit Kosovo,? said speaker Skender Gjinushi on Wednesday. But his record of creating turbulence in Albania, much to the fashion of a post-communist authoritarian and tricky ruler, had also been an example that the model Albania gives does not serve much to Kosovo. In the end, both Socialists and Democrats, in their share to power, had trained their own Kosovo guerrilla groups, which would frequently turned against each other during the war last year. (By ARTUR LAZEBEU and ALTIN RRAXHIMI) ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From pilika at yahoo.com Thu Jun 15 15:07:19 2000 From: pilika at yahoo.com (Asti Pilika) Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 12:07:19 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Kosova and Albania's politicians Message-ID: <20000615190719.18131.qmail@web805.mail.yahoo.com> Mashtrim ose naivitet... Sigurisht qe segmente te caktuara politike jane kunder vizitave te politikaneve te anes se kundert te spektrit nga pertej kufirit. Kjo nuk do te thote se vizitat e ndersjellta te politikaneve nuk i duhen Kosoves a Shqiperise. Kjo do te thote te ndalohet artificialisht kembimi i mendimeve mes shqiptareve. Budallallek! Nje nderprerje e tille iu intereson vetem te huajve, ndaj Kushneri nuk ngurroi te ndalonte viziten e Berishes ne Kosove. Ama nje keshill nderpartiak i mbledhur per te organizuar viziten e tij beri nje deklarate te forte proteste kunder ketij vendimi antishqiptar te kreut te UNMIK-ut. Keshtu eshte puna, pavaresisht nga deklaratat gazetareske te zz. Haxhiu, Llazebeu, e Rraxhimi. Ka nje ndryshim thelbesor mes mosvajtjes se Nanos e Berishes ne Kosove. I pari vendosi te mos shkonte, i paralajmeruar per nje pritje te ftohte, se afermendsh, Kosoven e kishte shitur me kohe. I dyti u ndalua, sepse, si duket, pritja do t'i behej me e nxehte nga c'e deshironte Kushneri e te majtet. --- Kreshnik Bejko wrote: > ----------- ALBSA-Info Mailing List > --------- > - ALBSA Web Site: > http://www.albstudent.org - > Why Albania Politicians Are Not Welcome to Kosovo > > TIRANA - The chief editor of a leading Prishtina > daily said in a television > interview two weeks ago that both opposition leader > Sali Berisha and the > leader of the ruling Socialist Party, Fatos Nano, > were not welcome in > Kosovo. > ?It would be good for Kosovo if Berisha and Nano > would not come to Kosovo,? > said Baton Haxhiu, the editor of Koha Ditore said in > an interview to private > TV channel Klan. > For decades, Haxhiu said, Albania?s political class > had manipulated Kosovo > Albanian politicians and inflamed the already > volatile political situation > there. > Albania?s politicians have mingled and often fueled > the animosity between > the politicians in Kosovo, often not to the benefit > of Kosovo?s Albanians > themselves, analysts in Tirana said. > Nano decided not to take the step to Kosovo last > month, where he was urged > by the Democratic Party of Kosovo, the Hashim Thaci > party, not to visit. The > Socialists had supported during the war the former > Marxist guerrillas, both > with weapons and by allowing Albania?s territory to > be used by the KLA. > The Socialists also turned a deaf ear when the > leader of a guerrilla group > that was against Thaci, was killed in Tirana. No > murderer of Ahmet Krasniqi, > the Defense Minister of Bujar Bukoshi?s LDK > government, had been arrested by > their government. > Berisha, as a former President of Albania, surely > did not have a clean > record in his dealings with the diaspora and the > Albanians in the Balkans. > The DP leader is still considered a provocative and > inflammatory politician, > who exerts an authoritarian personality and survives > out of conflicts he > aggravates. > His mingling with the Albanian political classes in > Kosovo and Macedonia > have also proven to be conflictive. > Berisha was credited with using Ibrahim Rugova, the > moderate Albanian > leader, for political benefit when he obliged Rugova > to rally behind him in > the hot Albania political issue of a draft > constitution he wanted to pass. > Voters turned that draft down, and saw Rugova?s > interference as > inappropriate. > He then strained the relations with Rugova, by > urging Kosovars in 1996 to > take the roads and abandon Rugova?s civil > disobedience method. He supported > at the time Adem Demaci, an adversary of Rugova. > Rugova himself did not forget about this. In > Berisha?s worst moments, during > 1997, the Kosovar leader urged him to resign. ?It is > no big misfortune if a > president resigns,? Rugova had commented in March > that year, when Berisha > was resisting popular demands to leave the office. > Rugova remains aloof to Berisha now, and he refused > to hand him an official > invitation of the LDK, the Democratic League of > Kosovo, diplomatically > saying that ?Berisha is being invited by the people > of Kosovo.? > Equally problematic were Berisha?s mingling with the > affairs of the Albanian > politicians in Macedonia. In 1994, he played down > Nevzat Haliti and lobbied > Albanians to vote for Arben Xhaferri, whom he had > considered as loyal at the > time. Xhaferri has long abandoned Berisha. > The biggest mistake Berisha made was during the > Rambouillet talks of Kosovar > Albanians with Serbs, where he urged them not to > sign the agreement. The > agreement was being pressured by the international > community. > ?This scrapped him of the right to visit Kosovo,? > said speaker Skender > Gjinushi on Wednesday. > But his record of creating turbulence in Albania, > much to the fashion of a > post-communist authoritarian and tricky ruler, had > also been an example that > the model Albania gives does not serve much to > Kosovo. > In the end, both Socialists and Democrats, in their > share to power, had > trained their own Kosovo guerrilla groups, which > would frequently turned > against each other during the war last year. (By > ARTUR LAZEBEU and ALTIN > RRAXHIMI) > > ________________________________________________________________________ > Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at > http://www.hotmail.com > > _______________________________________________________ > ALBSA-Info mailing list: ALBSA-Info at alb-net.com > http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/albsa-info __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos -- now, 100 FREE prints! http://photos.yahoo.com From besiana at yahoo.com Fri Jun 16 00:27:20 2000 From: besiana at yahoo.com (BESIANA VATHI) Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 21:27:20 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Degjoni cdo dite Radio Tiranen ne www.aths-travel.com Message-ID: <20000616042720.12525.qmail@web209.mail.yahoo.com> Degjoni cdo dite Radio Tiranen ne www.aths-travel.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/ From kbejko at hotmail.com Fri Jun 16 09:03:59 2000 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 13:03:59 GMT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Kosova and Albania's politicians Message-ID: <20000616130359.15809.qmail@hotmail.com> C'ti besh. Kushneri qenka egoist. Sakrifikoi principin per hir te interesit personal (i.e mospasjes te kokecarjeve qe zakonisht Berisha i sjell atyre qe kane te bejne me te)Por nqs ja ben jeten me te lehte Kushnerit per mua ska problem fare kjo pune. Mua me vjen keq vetem per ata "qindra mijra" (sipas RD) qe ishin mpref me e takue e u zhgenjyen keq. >From: Asti Pilika >To: Kreshnik Bejko , albanian at listerv.acsu.buffalo.edu >CC: albsa-info at alb-net.com >Subject: Re: [ALBSA-Info] Kosova and Albania's politicians >Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 12:07:19 -0700 (PDT) > > ----------- ALBSA-Info Mailing List --------- > - ALBSA Web Site: http://www.albstudent.org - > Mashtrim ose naivitet... > >Sigurisht qe segmente te caktuara politike jane kunder >vizitave te politikaneve te anes se kundert te >spektrit nga pertej kufirit. Kjo nuk do te thote se >vizitat e ndersjellta te politikaneve nuk i duhen >Kosoves a Shqiperise. Kjo do te thote te ndalohet >artificialisht kembimi i mendimeve mes shqiptareve. >Budallallek! Nje nderprerje e tille iu intereson vetem >te huajve, ndaj Kushneri nuk ngurroi te ndalonte >viziten e Berishes ne Kosove. Ama nje keshill >nderpartiak i mbledhur per te organizuar viziten e tij >beri nje deklarate te forte proteste kunder ketij >vendimi antishqiptar te kreut te UNMIK-ut. > >Keshtu eshte puna, pavaresisht nga deklaratat >gazetareske te zz. Haxhiu, Llazebeu, e Rraxhimi. Ka >nje ndryshim thelbesor mes mosvajtjes se Nanos e >Berishes ne Kosove. I pari vendosi te mos shkonte, i >paralajmeruar per nje pritje te ftohte, se afermendsh, >Kosoven e kishte shitur me kohe. I dyti u ndalua, >sepse, si duket, pritja do t'i behej me e nxehte nga >c'e deshironte Kushneri e te majtet. > > > >--- Kreshnik Bejko wrote: > > ----------- ALBSA-Info Mailing List > > --------- > > - ALBSA Web Site: > > http://www.albstudent.org - > > Why Albania Politicians Are Not Welcome to Kosovo > > > > TIRANA - The chief editor of a leading Prishtina > > daily said in a television > > interview two weeks ago that both opposition leader > > Sali Berisha and the > > leader of the ruling Socialist Party, Fatos Nano, > > were not welcome in > > Kosovo. > > ?It would be good for Kosovo if Berisha and Nano > > would not come to Kosovo,? > > said Baton Haxhiu, the editor of Koha Ditore said in > > an interview to private > > TV channel Klan. > > For decades, Haxhiu said, Albania?s political class > > had manipulated Kosovo > > Albanian politicians and inflamed the already > > volatile political situation > > there. > > Albania?s politicians have mingled and often fueled > > the animosity between > > the politicians in Kosovo, often not to the benefit > > of Kosovo?s Albanians > > themselves, analysts in Tirana said. > > Nano decided not to take the step to Kosovo last > > month, where he was urged > > by the Democratic Party of Kosovo, the Hashim Thaci > > party, not to visit. The > > Socialists had supported during the war the former > > Marxist guerrillas, both > > with weapons and by allowing Albania?s territory to > > be used by the KLA. > > The Socialists also turned a deaf ear when the > > leader of a guerrilla group > > that was against Thaci, was killed in Tirana. No > > murderer of Ahmet Krasniqi, > > the Defense Minister of Bujar Bukoshi?s LDK > > government, had been arrested by > > their government. > > Berisha, as a former President of Albania, surely > > did not have a clean > > record in his dealings with the diaspora and the > > Albanians in the Balkans. > > The DP leader is still considered a provocative and > > inflammatory politician, > > who exerts an authoritarian personality and survives > > out of conflicts he > > aggravates. > > His mingling with the Albanian political classes in > > Kosovo and Macedonia > > have also proven to be conflictive. > > Berisha was credited with using Ibrahim Rugova, the > > moderate Albanian > > leader, for political benefit when he obliged Rugova > > to rally behind him in > > the hot Albania political issue of a draft > > constitution he wanted to pass. > > Voters turned that draft down, and saw Rugova?s > > interference as > > inappropriate. > > He then strained the relations with Rugova, by > > urging Kosovars in 1996 to > > take the roads and abandon Rugova?s civil > > disobedience method. He supported > > at the time Adem Demaci, an adversary of Rugova. > > Rugova himself did not forget about this. In > > Berisha?s worst moments, during > > 1997, the Kosovar leader urged him to resign. ?It is > > no big misfortune if a > > president resigns,? Rugova had commented in March > > that year, when Berisha > > was resisting popular demands to leave the office. > > Rugova remains aloof to Berisha now, and he refused > > to hand him an official > > invitation of the LDK, the Democratic League of > > Kosovo, diplomatically > > saying that ?Berisha is being invited by the people > > of Kosovo.? > > Equally problematic were Berisha?s mingling with the > > affairs of the Albanian > > politicians in Macedonia. In 1994, he played down > > Nevzat Haliti and lobbied > > Albanians to vote for Arben Xhaferri, whom he had > > considered as loyal at the > > time. Xhaferri has long abandoned Berisha. > > The biggest mistake Berisha made was during the > > Rambouillet talks of Kosovar > > Albanians with Serbs, where he urged them not to > > sign the agreement. The > > agreement was being pressured by the international > > community. > > ?This scrapped him of the right to visit Kosovo,? > > said speaker Skender > > Gjinushi on Wednesday. > > But his record of creating turbulence in Albania, > > much to the fashion of a > > post-communist authoritarian and tricky ruler, had > > also been an example that > > the model Albania gives does not serve much to > > Kosovo. > > In the end, both Socialists and Democrats, in their > > share to power, had > > trained their own Kosovo guerrilla groups, which > > would frequently turned > > against each other during the war last year. (By > > ARTUR LAZEBEU and ALTIN > > RRAXHIMI) > > > > >________________________________________________________________________ > > Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at > > http://www.hotmail.com > > > > >_______________________________________________________ > > ALBSA-Info mailing list: ALBSA-Info at alb-net.com > > http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/albsa-info > > >__________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >Yahoo! Photos -- now, 100 FREE prints! >http://photos.yahoo.com >_______________________________________________________ >ALBSA-Info mailing list: ALBSA-Info at alb-net.com >http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/albsa-info ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From juniku at hotmail.com Fri Jun 16 11:46:35 2000 From: juniku at hotmail.com (Uk Lushi) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 08:46:35 PDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Greece Fiddles as Terrorists Work Message-ID: <20000616154635.5787.qmail@hotmail.com> >The Los Angeles Times >Thursday, June 15, 2000 > >EDITORIAL > >Greece Fiddles as Terrorists Work > >Brig. Stephen Saunders, the British military attache in Athens, was shot >to death last week, apparently by members of the November 17 group, the >same terrorist organization that killed CIA station chief Richard Welch in >the >Greek capital in 1975 and at least 20 Greeks and other foreigners since >then. >Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis has vowed to hunt down the Marxist >gunmen, but until he produces results his promise rings hollow in London >and Washington. > >Greek leaders have consistently been soft on political violence in the >streets and have given little help when foreign authorities attempted to >track >down killers on Greek soil. If Greek police and security agents cannot >offer >more help in these cases, they should not expect the support of European >Union authorities when the tables turn and Greek institutions come under >threat. > >In the 25 years since the Welch assassination, Greek police have proved >incapable or unwilling when it came to solving these cases. Domestic >politics are at the root of their refusals and delays. Anti-American >sentiment >among Greeks stems from Washington's support for a military junta that >ruled the country in the late 1960s and early 1970s, plus resentment over >the >U.S. bombing of Serbia in last year's war in Kosovo. > >If Athens wants to be fully accepted in Europe, it has to get in step. >Prime >Minister Simitis and his government must take action now in the fight >against terrorism, specifically by bringing in the killers of Brig. >Saunders. > >Being part of the European Union requires in Athens the same standards >of justice that other EU nations provide. Delay invites retaliation. Greeks >should consider whether they want to risk loss of passport-free access to >other European countries, for instance, or the possibility of a boycott of >the >2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. EU membership is not without cost. > >Copyright 2000 Los Angeles Times ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From albboschurch at juno.com Fri Jun 16 16:20:57 2000 From: albboschurch at juno.com (Albanian Orthodox Church) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 16:20:57 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Southbridge, MA: ALBANIAN DAY PICNIC 2000 Message-ID: <20000616.162425.9678.2.albboschurch@juno.com> ALBANIAN DAY PICNIC 2000 When: Sunday June 25, 2000 from 12 Noon on Where: Parish Grounds of Saint Nicholas Albanian Orthodox Church 126 Morris Street, SOUTHBRIDGE, MA Features: Tree-shaded grounds; Albanian Pastries, Lakror, Shish Kebab,Ethnic Items and Books Table Music and Dancing to Near East Sounds Admission: Free ( Rain or Shine ) All are welcome to this traditional and popular family day outing in Southcentral Massachusetts, hosted by the oldest Albanian parish built in the United States in 1912. From juniku at hotmail.com Fri Jun 16 17:20:36 2000 From: juniku at hotmail.com (Uk Lushi) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 14:20:36 PDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Te jetosh mbi ari dhe te jesh i varfer! Message-ID: <20000616212036.92648.qmail@hotmail.com> Nga: Integration Wirtschaftsinfos Sued-Ost Europa, 23. KW 2000 SERBISCHE FORSCHUNGSERGEBNISSE UEBER BODENSCHATZE AUFGETAUCHT (te interesuarit per verifikim te shkojne te http://kosova-info-line.de/kil/neuste_nachrichten-7266.html ose te http://integration.org/balkan) GJINDEN REZULTATET HULUMTUESE SERBE MBI PASURITE TOKESORE (TE KOSOVES) Ne kazermat e ish Armates Jugosllave jane gjetur dy dokumente rreptesisht sekrete, te cilat ishin pune e eksperteve me iminente serbe te Institutit Hulumtues Per Studime Xehtaro-Gjeologjike ne Beograd, dhe nje deftese mbi pasurine enorme te Kosoves ne minerale te vlefshme. Keto dokumetacione gjeologjike detajizuese jane gjetur ne fshatin Stubell ne afersi te Vitise dhe ne rrethinen e fshatit Sojeve 15 kilometra ne jugun e Gjilanit. Hulumtimet gjeologjike, gjeometrike dhe gjeomekanike evidencojne se ne nentoken e Kosoves ka uran. Sipas kerkimeve serbe te cilat bazohen ne keto dokumente te fshehta rezervat me te medha te arit ne Kosove nuk jane ne Trepce- ne regjionin e Artanes qe shtrihet mes regjioneve te Mitrovices dhe Pejes, por ne Runik ne Drenice ku jene gjetur edhe mostra te metaleve te shkelqyeshme tjera si titan. (ATA/MD) ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From aalibali at yahoo.com Fri Jun 16 17:39:10 2000 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 14:39:10 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Southbridge, MA: ALBANIAN DAY PICNIC 2000 Message-ID: <20000616213910.5231.qmail@web106.yahoomail.com> Does anybody know what "Music and Dancing to Near East Sounds" means? Thanks, Agron --- Albanian Orthodox Church wrote: > ----------- ALBSA-Info Mailing List > --------- > - ALBSA Web Site: > http://www.albstudent.org - > > > ALBANIAN DAY PICNIC 2000 > > When: Sunday June 25, 2000 from 12 Noon on > Where: Parish Grounds of Saint Nicholas Albanian > Orthodox Church > 126 Morris Street, SOUTHBRIDGE, MA > Features: Tree-shaded grounds; Albanian Pastries, > Lakror, Shish > Kebab,Ethnic Items and Books Table > Music and Dancing to Near East Sounds > Admission: Free ( Rain or Shine ) > > All are welcome to this traditional and popular > family day outing in > Southcentral Massachusetts, hosted by the oldest > Albanian parish built in > the United States > in 1912. > _______________________________________________________ > ALBSA-Info mailing list: ALBSA-Info at alb-net.com > http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/albsa-info __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/ From kbejko at hotmail.com Sat Jun 17 00:20:04 2000 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2000 04:20:04 GMT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] After the telcom Greece inc. eyes the cromium sector Message-ID: <20000617042004.81420.qmail@hotmail.com> Metal Research Withdraws from Copper Concession TIRANA - Utah?s Metal Research Group Corp. has withdrawn its bid to purchase the Albanian copper industry, dashing hopes of a revival in this sector in the country, government sources told Albanian Daily News on Friday. Metal Research, which was close to reaching an agreement with the government for a concession that would allow it to exploit the copper mines in eastern Albania, enrich them at a plant in Rubik, in northern Albania, and enable the copper wire plant in Shkodra to resume work, withdrew for reasons government officials refused to divulge. The government said in January it had endorsed the deal with Metal Research Group, while the Ministry said it expected the take-over of the industry by June 13, last Monday. ?The last information we had from them was not clear at all,? Halit Shqarthi, the general director of the Albanian copper corporation, Albbakri, told daily Koha Jone. A trade unionist of the copper industry was bitter: ?It would be better if Albanians themselves invested in the industry,? said Kole Nikolli sarcastically, given the poverty of Albania and its inability to rebuild the once-booming mining industry. The newspaper cited a Greek company that has begun to approach the government for the industry. Metal Research would have invested $75m over five years to create a closed-circle raw mineral extraction to metal production. It was to reactivate copper mines in Vlahne and Prrollaj in the north-eastern region of Has, open new copper resources in Munella, Karma and Perlat, and restart the plant of Rubik and that of Shkodra. Any take-over will dissolve Albkromi. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From kruja at fas.harvard.edu Mon Jun 19 11:48:03 2000 From: kruja at fas.harvard.edu (Eriola Kruja) Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2000 11:48:03 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] PERDORIMI I DUHANIT?! (fwd) Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2000 22:02:03 EDT From: ALBODean1 at aol.com To: aLBSA-INFO-ADMIN at alb-net.com Cc: aLB-MUSLIMSTUDENTS at egroups.com Subject: PERDORIMI I DUHANIT?! PERDORIMI I DUHANIT Shumica e atyre q? e pijn? duhanin, pak e besojn? se bota civilizuese para pak koh?sh, ka mundur t? jetoj? pa p?rdorimin e tij. Duhani ka ardh? n? Europ?, tek mbas zbulimit t? Amerik?s, dhe n? fillim p?rdorimi i tij ishte n? form? p?rtypjeje. Kolomboja dhe p?rcjell?sit e tij, as nuk e kan menduar se vet?m prej atyre far?ve t? duhanit q? ua dhan? indian?t e Amerik?s, do t? b?het kjo q? u b? dhe do t? shtohet aq shum?, sa do t? b?het si epsh i bot?s s? shekullit XX. Nuk kan kaluar as nj?qind vjet? nga paraqitja e cigares s? par?, e q? ve? e ka pushtuar globin tok?sor?. Esht? p?rdorur edhe m? par? me an?n e llull?s, por n? nj? sasi shum? t? vog?l se po p?rdoret sot. LLogaritet se sot, gati ?do i dyti banor? i rruzullit tok?sor? (t? mosh?s madhore) e p?rdorin duhanin. Cigarja n? goj?, ose n? mesin e gisht?rinjve, ka qen? para gjys?m shekulli sjellje armiq?sore e shpesh edhe i ndaluar (me ligj). Sot ajo e ka fituar t? drejt?n e jet?s n? mas?n ma t? gj?r? t? bot?s. P?rdorimi (pimja) e duhanit dikur? shum? ka qen? i ndaluar dhe p?rdoruesit e tij kan qen? t? d?nuar. Papa urban VIII i ka d?nuar n? shekullin 17 me p?rjashtim nga kisha, inkuizicjon me ndezje n? turr? t? druve; Sulltan Murati i IV me t? rrasur n? hu; perandori rus Mihailo me rrahje me shkop...Me rastin e zhvillimit t? shpejt? t? mardh?njeve ekonomike kane paraqitur mundsi t? shumta p?r t? fituar me k?t bar (duhan) aq t? d?msh?m, dhe p?rdorimi i duhanit jo q? asht lejue t? perdoret por asht ba edhe monopol shtetror?. N? disa qindra p?rb?rje, t? cilat kimist?t i gjet?n n? cigare, si dhe studiuesit medicional, p?rb?rjet m? t? r?nd?sishme (negative) jan?: nikotini, Katrani dhe monoksidi i th?ngjillit.N? cigare ka 2% nikotin, por p?r fat n? organiz?m ndalet nj? sasi shum? e vog?l. Themi p?r fat t? mir?, sepse nikotini ?sht? helm shum? i rreziksh?m nervor. Vet?m nj? pik? e nikotinit (50 mg) paraqet doz?n e vdekjes p?r ata q? nuk e pijn? duhanin. Nj? cigare n? vehte p?rmban 1-3 mg nikotin gj? q? mvaret prej llojit t? duhanit. Doza ditore prej kat?rdhjet cigaresh, kur ?sht? n? pyetje gruaja shtatz?n?, rrjellon vdekjen e frytit t? saj t? palindur. Katrani ?sht? produkt i destilimit t? that? procesi i s? cil?s, paraqitet n? temperatur?n prej 600`C, ecila zhvillohet me rastin e ndezjes (n? majen) e cigares. Kush e pin duhanin 20 vjet? nga 20 cigare n? dit?, thith? rreth 6 kg ?agj? ecila shtron n? sip?rfaqe t? m?l?is?. Monoksidi i th?ngjilit, shkaktohet at?her? kur ndezja e cigares nuk b?het plot?sisht. Esht? helm i rrezikshem i gjakut, icili nd?rpret mund?sin? p?r t? sjell? oksigjenin. Pimja e 20 cigareve n? dit?, shkakton humbjen prej 5% homoglobin?s. Ky zvoglim i oksigjenit n? organiz?m, zvoglon fuqin? punuese (aft?sin?) aq sa njeriu b?n pun?n e tij 2300 m n? nivelin mbidetar?. Sipas disa statistikave thuhet:P?rdoruesi duhanit icili fillon ta pij? n? moshen 25 vje?are dhe icili vazhdimisht pin nga 40 cigare n? dit?, jeton 8 vjet? m? pak se ai icili nuk e pin duhanin. N? mosh?n 85 vje?are, do t? arrijn? vet?m 19,2% q? nuk e pijn? duhanin. Aj q? heret fillon ta pij? duhanin, ai edhe heret do t? vdes?.T? dh?na t? tilla na jep edhe komisioni i mjek?sis? Britaneze "Roy Al College of Physicians 1962". Sipas k?tij komisioni ?sht? th?n? se duhani ?sht? armiku m? i madh i t?r? njerzimit. Prej 20 t? s?mur?ve nga kanceri, vet?m nj?ri ?sht? q? nuk e p?rdor? duhanin, por edhe ai thith? tymin e duhanit sepse ?sht? n? kontakte t? shumta me ata q? e pijn? duhanin... Cdo i gjashti person, p?rdorues i duhanit, vdes nga kjo s?mundje e tmerrshme. Katrani i duhanit, icili sa p?r prov? qitet n? l?kur?n e minit, b?het shkak i vdekjes n? 90% t? rasteve. Megjithate b?het e njohur se kancerin nuk e fitojn? t? gjith p?rdoruesit e duhanit, por mesiguri ekziston edhe ndonj? arsye tjet?r deri tani e panjohur. N?se u besojm? statistikave, p?rdorimi i duhanit konsiderohet tragjedia m? e madhe bortrore. Kjo nuk ?sht? nj? loj? me an?n e s? cil?s mund t? humbasish nj? sasi t? caktuar pasurie ose t?r? pasurin?, por ?sht? loj? me jet?n e vet. Sikur p?rdoruesit e duhanit t? ishin prezent dhe ta kuptonin nj? vdekje t? till?, ose sikur ai t? mund ta shihte m?l?in e vet, mesiguri se kishte me u lirue nga ai ves i mbrapsht?. Dikur KUGA, ishte shkaku m? i madh i vdekjes, pastaj lajmrohet tuberkolozi... k?shtu me radh?, statistikat gjithashtu tregojn? p?r vdekjet e hershme (te moshave n?n pesdhjet? vje?are) nga Infrakti. Prej 20 personave t? cil?t infraktohen, 19 jan? p?rdorues t? duhanit. (Heglin CiriX). Prej 205 t? infraktuarve para mosh?s 44 vje?are, jan? vet?m dy q? nuk e pijn? duhanin (klinika e Hamburgut EPENDORF). Nuk ka asnj? organ n? trupin e njeriut, e q? duhani t? mos ndikoj? negativisht. Por pasijat m? t? m?dha, i kan? organet e frym?marrjes. Mushk?rit? e nj? njeriu tridhjet vje?? icili e pin duhanin jan? t? nj?jta me mushk?rit? e nj? njeriu t? mosh?s 50 vje?are q? nuk e pin duhanin. Aft?sia e fuqis? fizike, humbet, b?het e pathyeshme. Krahas kancerit, infraktit, bronhitistit... ekzistojn? edhe disa s?mundje tjera lokale. - P?rdorimi i duhanit zvoglon t? pamunit, p?r k?t? arsye edhe pilotave ushtarak amerikan, n? koh?n e fluturimeve t? nat?s, u ?sht? e ndaluar pimja e duhanit. - PImja e duhanit t? shpie n? impotencim (Enciklopedia mjek?sore Zagreb) sepse 45% t? njer?zve q? e pijn? duhanin, nuk kan f?mij? (Bernhard). - Duhani negativisht ndikon n? zorr?. - Prej 200 njer?zve t? s?mur? nga raku n? girgilan, vet?m nj?ri ?sht? ai q? nuk e pin duhanin. - P?rdorimi i duhanit ndikon edhe te diabitisi po edhe n? tensionin e lart? t? gjakut. - L?kura e njeriut 40 vje?ar? icili e pin duhanin, ?sht? e ngjajshme me njeriun e mosh?s 60 vje?are q? nuk e pin duhanin. - Njeriu q? e pin duhanin trurin e ka m? t? dob?t, prandaj n? t? shumt?n e rasteve, studentat q? e pijn? duhanin jan? m? t? dob?t. Duhani p?rmban helme t? shumta, nd?r t? cilat, m? t? rrezikshmet jan?: avulli i katranit, monoksidi i karbonit, nikotini etj. Pirja e duhanit konsiderohet nd?r helmet m? t? rezikshme. Ajo shkakton rritjen e numrit t? rrahjes s? zemr?s dhe e shkatrona at?. Sikur t'i jepen kat?r (4) pika nikotin nj? lepuri, do ta mbytnin, nd?rsa njeriun do ta mbytnin 60 mgr. - Pirja e 20 cigareve n? dit?, e pengon trupin e njeriut nga fitimi i 15% t? hemoglobin?s, ecila ?sht? l?nda kryesore p?r formimin e rruzave t? kuqe t? gjakut. - Personi icili pin duhan ?sht? i rrezikuar nga s?mundja e kancerit t? buz?ve, goj?s, laringut, gabzherrit dhe mushk?rive. - Duhanxhiut poashtu i ekspozohet arterioskleroz?s n? trup, ve??narisht n? arterjet e zemr?s apo t? trurit icili shkakton vdekjen e papritur apo paralizimin. - Duhanxhiu i ekspozohet edhe kalljes kronike t? hund?s e t? goj?s, fytit, laringut, gabzherit, dhe mushk?rive (pneumonia) e kjo shkakton v?sht?rsimin e frym?marrjes dhe t? kollitjes kronike. - T? pirit e duhanit shkakton dob?simin e oreksit p?r ushqim, pastaj kalljen kronike n? mukoz? t? stomakut, e ndonj?her? ndihmon edhe formimin e t? thatit (?ibanit) n? shtomak. - Pirja e duhanit shkakton dob?simin e aft?sis? seksuale, nga ndikimi i d?msh?m q? b?het n? qendrat nervore, t? cilat e rregullojn? procesin seksual. - Duhani ?sht? shkak i humbjes s? fuqis? (aft?sis?) trupore. Duhanxhiu i ekspozohet lodhjes s? shpejt. Ajo ndikon negativisht edhe n? aft?sit? e t? menduarit, andaj edhe nx?n?sit e shkollave t? larta jan? m? t? dob?t ata q? e pijn? duhanin. - N?se pin duhan n?na shtatz?n?, shkakton prapambetejen metale t? f?mij?s dhe b?n ?rregullime trupore t? embrionit, ngase nikotini mbartet me thithjen e qumshtit. Nuk kemi ndonj? tekst Kur'nor? po as n? synet t? pejgamberit, icili drejt? p?r s? drejti ndalon p?rdorimin e duhanit. Kjo ?sht? shkak q? disa duhanxhij t? thon? se pirja e duhanit nuk ?sht? haram. Mir?po, kjo ?sht? p?r shkak t? mosnjohjes s? sherjatit Islam, gjat spjegimit t? hallallit dhe t? haramit. Q?ndrimi ndaj duhanit dihet nga rregullat dhe tekstet e p?rgjithshme, andaj t? k?rkosh argument t? ve?ant? q? ndalon p?rdorimin e duhanit ?sht? kok?fort?si, t? cil?n nuk e pranon feja as logjika, p?r arsye se n? koh?n e Pejgamberit duhani nuk ?sht? p?rdor?. Ai icili v?ren me kujdes rregullat e sherjatit Islam, sheh dhe kupton qart? se pirja e duhanit dhe tregtia me t? ?sht? haram p?r shkaqet dhe arsyet q? vijojn?: 1. Esht? tep?r i d?msh?m p?r sh?ndet, p?r arsye se t? sjell n? prak t? vdekjes. K?tu, pasiq? jemi t? bindur se ?sht? k?shtu, kemi ball? p?r ball? ajetin Kur'anor?: "dhe mos e mbyteni vehten (as nj?rit - jetrin)! Allahu ndaj jush ?sht? shum? i m?shirsh?m". (IV:29) Ose ajeti tjet?r: "...por vehten mos e ?oni n? shatrrim" (II:195). Ruajtja e vetvehtes ?sht? nj?ra prej pes? domosdoshm?rive p?r t? cilat pajtohen t? gjitha sherjatet. 2. D?met nga pirja e duhanit, nuk p?rq?ndrohen vet?m n? smundje t? p?rdoruesit, por ato kalojn? edhe tek antar?t e tjer? t? familjes dhe t? njerzimit q? rrijn? me t?. Ajri t? cilin duhanxhiu e qet ?sht? me pasoja t? d?mshme me p?r njerzit q? rrijn? p?r-rreth. T? gjith dijet?rt e sherjatit jan kompakt dhe thon? se "Nuk guxohet t'i b?het kurrfar d?mi askujt (as vetvehtes)", d?mi duhet t? evitohet. 3. D?met nga p?rdorimi i duhanit shkaktojn? edhe dob?si mentale, sepse ajo zvoglon forc?n e koncentrimit. K?to v?rehen tek duhanxhiu vet?m n? faz?n p?rfundimtare. Mbrojtja e mendjes ?sht? ?sht? nj?ra prej 5 domosdoshm?rive mbi domosdon? e ruajtjes s? t? cilave jan? kompakte t? gjitha sherjatet. 4. Duhanxhiu shopenzon pasurin?, ajo ?sht? baz? e jet?s. Me t? Allahu ka begatuar gjinin njerzore dhe ua ka caktue rrug?n e shpenzimit t? saj. Andaj besimtari pasurin? e tij duhat ta harxhoj? vet?m atu ku e ka urdh?ruar All-llahu. E Allahu thot?: "...Jepnu nga pasuria q? ua ka dh?n? juve All-llahu..." (Nur?:33). K?shtu njeriu do t? jap? dhogari p?r pasurin? e tij dit?n e gjykimit. Transmeton Tirmidhiu se Muhamedi n? nj? rast ka th?n? "Asnj? njeri dit?n e gjykimit nuk do t? l?viz? nga vendi, p?rderisa t? mos jap? llogari dhe t? mos p?rgjigjet n? kat?r pyetje - N? ?ka e ka harxhe rinin? e tij, - N? ?ka e ka kaluar jet?n e tij, - P?r diturin? e tij dhe ?ka ka punuar me t?, - P?r pasurin? e tij prej nga e ka fituar dhe ku e ka shpenzuar..." Prandaj shpenzimi i pasuris? n? blerjen e duhanit, ?sht? humbje e pasuris? aty ku nuk ka dobi. 5. Duhani ?sht? i d?msh?m p?r pasardh?sit, nga n?nat q? e pijn? duhanin gjat? shtatzanis?. Nd?rkaq mbrojtja e pasardh?sve nga gj?rat e d?mshme ?sht? ?sht? detyrijm fetar? i parapar? nga ana prindore. 6. Duhani ?sht? nj?ra prej gj?rave t? k?qia, andaj gj?rat e k?qija Zoti na i ka ndaluar me an?n e ajetit Kur'anor? (shih kaptin?n El-A`raf n? ajetin 157). 7. Duhani ?sht? prej narkotik?ve, kurse i d?rguari i Allahut ka ndaluar ?do pije deh?se dhe narkotike n? hadithin t? cilin e transmeton Imam Ahmedi dhe t? tjer?t. 8. P?rdorimi i duhanit, duhanxhiun e shtyn? q? ti urrej? disa ibadete fetare e ve?mas agj?rimin e ramazanit. Nganj?her? disa njer?z e kan lan? agj?rimin e ramazanit p?r shkak t? pirjes s? duhanit. N?se vet?m nj?ra nga k?to tet? arsye gjendet tekkjo veti e sh?mtuar, at?her? nuk do mend se duhani ?sht? HARAM. Disa hulumtues t? psikologjis? kan v?rejt? se duhanxhiu ?sht? person i shqet?suar, andaj ky shqet?sim e shtyn? ate t? fus? duhanin n? goj?, p?r t? ndier nj? k?naq?si. N?se nj?ri nga prind?rit pijn? duhan, at?her? f?mij?t p?rpiq?n q? ti emitojn? prind?rit e vet.Brez?t e ri pijn? duhan sepse ata p?rpiqen ta v?rtetojn? burr?rin? e tyre, duke emituar k?shtu disa personalitete t? m?dha t? cil?t pijn? duhan. B?hu shembull i mir? p?r f?mij?t apo nx?n?sit tu, menj?her? l?re duhanin dhe mos e p?rdor m? kurr?. Duhet t? ngritet vet?dija e f?mij?s p?r rrezikun e p?rdorimit t? duhanit. N?se don ta l?sh duhanin, k?rko s? pari ndihm?n e All-llahut, jepja bes?n vet?vehtes p?r forcimin e vullnetit dhe vendos menj?her? e p?rfundimisht p?r nd?rprerjen e p?rdorimit t? duhanit. Do t? jet? m? leht? t? vendoset nj? gj? e till? n?se shpesh i kujtojm? rreziqet q? mund t? na vijn? prej tij. Menj?her? ndaju prej shoq?ris? q? pin duhan dhe mos rri n? mesin e duhanxhnjve. Puno n? forcimin e vullnetit me p?rkujtimin e m?simeve Islame duke u larguar nga gj?rat t? cilat e d?mtojn? njeriun. N? baz? t? nj? emisioni televiziv, n? 25 vjet?t vijuese n? bot?, nga pasojat e duhanit do t? vdesin 500 milion njer?z. Kjo ?sht? e pakrahasueshme nga numri i njerzve t? cil?t jan vrar? nga luftrat e gjertanishme. K?t? e them p?r shkak t? atyre musliman?ve t? cil?t duan t? pranojn? k?shill?, t? cil?t nuk jan? kok?fort? dhe t? cil?t thon? se duhani si haram nuk ?sht? i cekur as n? Kur'an as n? hadith?. As droga nuk ?sht? e cekur n? Kur'an, por pa dyshim t? gjith pajtohemi se ?sht? haram. Duhani, pra zhduk? m? shum? njer?z, sesa droga, vet?mse droga vepron m? shpejt, e duhani e infekton organizmin t?r? jet?n, e mbi t? gjitha k?to t?r? familja e paguan ?mimin e dob?sis? suaj. P?r k?t?, ju o musliman, q? d?shironi vet?m t? flisni, l?nije duhanin sepse ithtar?t e disa religjioneve tjera, kaher? e kan l?n? duhanin, n? vend q? t? zhvillojn? diskutime t? gjata e shterpe rreth duhanit. (Preporod 11/90) From mehollim at hotmail.com Mon Jun 19 13:27:33 2000 From: mehollim at hotmail.com (Mimoza Meholli) Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2000 10:27:33 PDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] FW BPT-K Monthly Report No. 15, June 2000 Message-ID: <20000619172733.67196.qmail@hotmail.com> >============================================================== >This is the mailing list "BPT-Reports-Kosovo-a" >It is a distribution mailing list for the BPT public reports. >============================================================== >Balkan Peace Team-Kosovo/a >Monthly Report No. 15 > >June 2000 > > >Balkan Peace Team in Kosovo/a >Rruga N?na Tereze 72-A/9 or Vidovdanska 72-A/9 >Prishtina, Kosovo >Tel/Fax: ++381-38-42 708 >E-mail: BPT-K at BalkanPeaceTeam.org > >******* > >International BPT Office >Ringstr 9a, D-32427 Minden, Germany >Tel: ++49-571-20776 >Email: BPT at BalkanPeaceTeam.org > >******* > >If you wish to use or require clarification of any of the information >included below, please contact the Balkan Peace Team at the above address. >Please forward this report to anyone you think may be interested. > >******* > >CONTENTS > >I. WORK OF THE TEAM >1. BPT Coordinating Committee Meeting >2. Observation of Kosovar Women's Meetings >3. Campagna Kossovo per la Non-violenza e la Riconciliazone >4. Dragash/s update > >II. KOSOVO/A POLITICAL UPDATE >1. Returnees >2. PPDK General Assembly >3. Preshevo Valley >4. Civil registration >5. Assassination of Ekrem Rexha >6. Mass trial in Serbia > > >I. WORK OF THE TEAM > >1. BPT Coordinating Committee Meeting > >The quarterly meeting of the Balkan Peace Team's Coordinating Committee >(CC) was held in Prishtina from 5 May through 7 May. The meeting provided >an opportunity for team members to update CC members on the work in >Kosovo/a and to plan future strategies. > >A major decision was taken by the CC to cancel the "Stories of Survival" >project. The decision followed a recommendation by the team that the >project, as it was originally conceived, was no longer appropriate for the >changing environment within Kosovo/a. The team had consulted with several >local activists during the month of April to reassess the need of local >communities to have their stories heard and recorded. These contacts >suggested that local communities' willingness to revisit potentially >traumatic experiences at this stage is limited. This was particularly true, >they felt, when the request came from internationals, who as a group are >widely perceived to have failed to deliver justice since their arrival to >Kosovo/a. While the CC agreed to cancel the "Stories of Survival" project, >there was general recognition of the importance of issues of collective >memory in post-war Kosovo/a. The CC encouraged a new project addressing >collective memory in the future. > >2. Observation of Kosovar Women's Meetings > >The team observed two meetings in May that proposed to engage local women >in public dialogue on their future role in Kosovo/a. On 13 May, the Gender >Task Force of the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the Prizren >office of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) jointly sponsored a meeting on >"Gender, Governance and Leadership in Kosovo." The Prizren event gathered >approximately 150 participants, including both local and international men >and women, from around Kosovo/a. Participants included representatives of >local women's groups and organisations, women politicians, businesswomen, >representatives of Municipal Boards and Councils, and members of the >academic community. > >Nina Lahoud of the Office of the Special Representative to the Secretary >General (SRSG) gave the opening remarks, focusing on the initiatives >undertaken by the SRSG, Dr. Bernard Kouchner, to address issues of gender >perspective and balance and to increase the representation of women in >Kosovo/a institutions. These remarks, delivered to an audience anxious for >the opportunity to express their own views on the representation of women >in Kosovo/a, were followed briefly by panel presentations from Ms. Elheme >Hetemi, president of the "Progressive Women" organisation within the PPDK; >Ms. Pakize Kiseri, Director of Education and member of the Administrative >Board of Prizren; and Mr. Ross Reid, a representative of the National >Democratic Institute. Both Ms. Hetemi and Ms. Kiseri pointed out some of >the current obstacles challenging Kosovar women's involvement in positions >of leadership. Ms. Kiseri identified the prevalence of gender >discrimination and a lack of childcare and support services as major >hurdles. > >These panel presentations were followed by a brief "question and answer" >session intended to involve the attendees in public discussion of issues of >concern to them. However, time constraints severely limited this >discussion and many local participants expressed dissatisfaction with the >meeting's format, claiming it did not allow for a genuine exchange of views >on the important issues being raised. As a result, a follow-up meeting was >scheduled for 27 May. > >On 27 May, the Office of the SRSG sponsored this second meeting, focusing >on "Women in Elections and the Peace Process in Kosovo." At this meeting, >UNMIK representatives called upon "distinguished" members of the Kosovo/a >women's community to come forward and share their concerns. The need for a >genuine, "democratic debate" was again a primary concern for the local >women present. In fact, many of the well-known activists who were called >upon to speak defied the agenda created by the SRSG's office; they made a >point to turn their time over to the local women present who do not often >have the opportunity to share their views in such a forum. > >3. Training workshop in conflict transformation and reconciliation > > From 26 May to 28, May team member Kajsa Svensson participated as a >trainer in the first of three workshops for future local trainers in >conflict transformation and reconciliation. The workshop was organised >jointly by Campagna Kossovo per la Non-Violenza e la Riconciliazione and >the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Local >OSCE employees and representatives of local organisations, including one >Serb and one Turk, were participants in the workshop. Kajsa contributed >her theatre skills to the skills of co-trainers Pat Patfoort and Professor >Alberto L'Abate. Two more workshops will take place in June for this group >of participants. > >* Note: The Monthly Report for April reported erroneously that Kossovo per >la Non-Violenza e la Riconciliazione was jointly organising this series of >training workshops with the UN Mission in Kosovo. Please note that these >workshops are being jointly conducted with the Organisation for Security >and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), not with UNMIK. > >4. Dragash/s Update > >Members of the team attended the Dragash/s secondary school's 30th >anniversary celebration on 11 and 12 May. The celebration had been greatly >anticipated during March and April by the school administration. It held >particular significance since the school, opened in 1969, actually marked >its thirtieth year last spring during the war. > >In an opening presentation, Feyzullah Trinjaku, the school's principal, >proudly reminded attendees of the school's multiethnic character. (Gorani, >who are Slavic Muslims, also attend the school) He pointed out the fact >that the Dragash/s secondary school is the only school in Kosovo/a >currently conducting classes in both the Albanian and Serbo-Croatian >languages. However, most of the presentations and performances that >followed were celebrations of Albanian culture and achievements in >reopening the school after last year's war. In one of the very few >performances by Goran students, a young Goran woman was loudly heckled and >"booed" by the Albanian audience. Overall, the celebration made clear that >the school is still struggling to accomplish the truly multiethnic and >neutral environment the administration speaks of. > >Throughout the month of May, the team continued with its course of English >language classes for Goran and Albanian students in the secondary school >and for a mixed group of teachers from the school. This first round of >classes ended on 31 May with exams, evaluations, certificates, and a >"graduation" party for all. > >The team continued its efforts this month to have a space for the youth >centre donated by the municipality of Dragash/s. As that proceeded, the >language classes provided us with an opportunity to build trust within both >communities as well as to develop individual relationships with students >and teachers alike. > >As part of our closing "ceremonies" with the two groups of students, the >team discussed the concept behind the youth centre project. We explained >that the centre will be developed with their input and guidance and that it >will be a space that is open to both Goran and Albanian youth. It was >difficult to assess what impact this information had upon the students, as >no one registered a reaction. > >As it happened, the team's final session with the Goran and Albanian >students coincided with the last day of classes for those students who were >graduating from the secondary school. The team's sessions with these >students are separate. We meet with the Goran students first and shortly >thereafter we have our session with the Albanian students. One could not >help but notice very different perspectives among the graduating students >in our classes, regarding their future prospects. In the Goran class, for >example, there was a young man who said that he was happy he was graduating >because it meant that he no longer had to do homework. However, he then >stated that he was unhappy because he no longer had any freedom in post-war >Kosovo/a. As a Goran, this young man can not attend the University of >Prishtina because of issues of physical safety. This is a situation quite >unlike that of his Albanian peers who, when they entered our classroom on >their final day of classes, were dressed in their best clothing, had just >attending a special dance held to celebrate their scholastic achievement, >and discussed with eagerness their plans for university study. The >Albanian graduates were, in a word, hopeful - a feeling that was not shared >by their Goran counterparts. > > >II. KOSOVO/A POLITICAL UPDATE > >1. Returnees > >In a plan brokered by United Nations Mission in Kosovo this month, the >three Kosovo/a Albanian political leaders on UNMIK's Joint Interim >Administrative Council (Ibrahim Rugova, Hashim Thaci and Rexhep Qosja), >agreed to a series of meetings with representatives of the territory's >Roma, Ashkalija and Egyptian communities. These meetings will be held to >begin the process of building trust between the groups, so that the return >can be facilitated of an estimated 30,000 members of the Roma, Ashkalija >and Egyptian communities to their homes. > >What seems to be an important step forward in mending broken relations >between these various minority groups and the Albanian majority has been >taken. Leaders of the Roma, Ashkalija and Egyptian communities have >recognised that some of the members of their respective groups had >perpetrated crimes against humanity during last year's war. In return, >Rugova, Thaci and Qosja rejected the notion that the entirety of these >communities should be held collectively responsible for the crimes >committed by a few. However, both Thaci and Qosja refused to participate >in a planned visit to a Roma community in Ferizaj/Urosevac with the heads >of UNMIK and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). They did this >after they learned that Rugova would not be returning from a holiday abroad >for the occasion. This then forced a postponement of the event. > >The issue of Serb return is also a topic also being discussed in >Kosovo/a. However, the idea of a large-scale return of Serbs to the >province is a far more emotional issue than that of Roma return. A five >million dollar reconstruction project due to be funded by the government of >the United States will rebuild the razed Serb village of Osojane in western >Kosovo/a. Dennis McNamara, the UNHCR special envoy to Kosovo/a, has warned >that the time for Serb return to the territory is not yet ripe. He said >that before any such return project gets underway, outreach to neighbouring >Albanian villages must be conducted as a preparatory measure. At this >time, however, no such plans are under discussion. > >Another issue of concern in the territory is that of the anticipated forced >return of thousands of Kosovo/a Albanians from western European countries >this summer. Virtually all European countries, which had granted temporary >protection to Albanians from the province during last year's conflict, are >phasing out this special status. They are using both enticements and >coercion to return these individuals to Kosovo/a. The number of Albanian >returnees from western Europe, according to the UNHCR, is expected to reach >100.000. In fact, large-scale return has already begun. From Germany >alone, for example, there were between three and five flights of Albanian >returnees per week into Prishtina airport during May. > >The UNHCR and UNMIK are calling for western European countries, which are >hosting large numbers of Kosovo/a Albanians, to co-ordinate their return >efforts so that the impact upon the social services and administrative >structures of the province can be minimised. However, the numbers of >returnees to some regions are already beginning to cause "secondary >displacement." Albanians who have been temporarily residing in the homes >of their compatriots living abroad are being displaced by these returnees, >thereby straining both the limited local services and the operations of >international humanitarian relief operations, which are in the process of >cutting back > >2. PPDK General Assembly > >Kosovo/a's first post-war political party conference was held this month in >Prishtina. The Democratic Progress Party of Kosovo or PPDK (is the >political party formed last October by Hashim Thaci and other former >members of the disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army. Several hundred members >met for a weekend conference, during which a 61-member steering committee >was elected. Also during the general assembly, the name of the PPDK was >changed officially to the PDK - the Democratic Party of Kosovo. The >apparent reason for the change in name was an internal dispute over whether >the Albanian word being used to signify "progress" in the party's name, was >actually a word of Albanian origins. > >3. Preshevo Valley > >Preshevo Valley lies inside Serbia proper along Kosovo/a's eastern boundary >and is home to more than 70,000 Albanians. The Serbian police and the >Liberation Army of Preshevo, Medvegje and Bujanoc (known by its Albanian >acronym of UCPMB), are reported to have clashed repeatedly throughout the >latter half of May. The UNHCR received reports that some 200 Serbian >police had taken up positions in an Albanian village in the valley, >resulting in the exodus of virtually the entire village population. Many >of these individuals made their way into Kosovo/a and will be sheltered >with host families in the Gjilan/Gnilane area. > >4. Civil Registration > >The civil registration process that began in April under the auspices of >UNMIK and the OSCE continues. This process is being conducted in order to >identify the resident population of Kosovo/a and to create a list of >individuals eligible to participate in municipal elections in autumn >2000. All registration centres are operational and the OSCE is reported to >be pleased with the turnout. Dome 300,000 Kosovars have been registered to >date. The Serb population in the territory continues to boycott the civil >registration process; only a few thousand of the 120,000 Serbs in residence >in the territory have registered. Most minority communities, however, are >now participating. For example, after what appeared to be an slow start, >most of the residents in the Goran villages of Dragash/s municipality are >reported to be registering themselves with the OSCE. > >5. Assassination of Ekrem Rexha > >On 9 May, Ekrem Rexha, a former commander in the UCK (Kosovo Liberation >Army), was gunned down in front of his home in Prizren. Rexha, known as >Commander Drini during his time with the UCK, was one of the first to shed >his uniform and enter the Kosovo/a political scene when fighting ended last >June. He was widely regarded to hold relatively "moderate" political >views. While it is still unclear if his murder was politically motivated, >power struggles within the Albanian community in Kosovo/a remain rife. > >6. Mass trial in Serbia > >In a mass trial on 22 May, a Serb court in Nis found 143 ethnic Albanians >guilty of terrorism against the Serbian state. The defendants had been >accused of participating in a Gjakova/Djakovica based unit of the UCK >during the spring of 1999. The mass trial and conviction devastated many >family members and loved ones of the indicted and resulted in large >demonstrations across Kosovo/a - especially in Gjakova/Djakovica. > >The judicial proceedings were monitored by both international and local >organisations working in Kosovo/a and Belgrade, including the peace and >human rights group, Grupa 484, in Belgrade. Amnesty International has >called the proceedings "bluntly unfair," citing a failure to protect >individual rights and, instead, applying collective guilt to the group of >defendants. > >************************************************************** >To unsubscribe from the list send a message to: >majordomo at list.BalkanPeaceTeam.org >with this command in the body of the email: >unsubscribe bpt-reports-kosovo-a-team >------------------------------------------------------------- >If you have questions about this list, then contact: >Owner-bpt-reports-kosovo-a-team at BalkanPeaceTeam.Org >************************************************************** ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 10992 bytes Desc: not available URL: From kruja at fas.harvard.edu Tue Jun 20 10:57:51 2000 From: kruja at fas.harvard.edu (Eriola Kruja) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 10:57:51 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fadils university shop (fwd) Message-ID: Note to all: Please send postings to albsa-info at alb-net.com and NOT to albsa-info-admin at alb-net.com. The later is to be used only for administrative requests. thanks, eriola. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 14:08:33 GMT From: sadat shabani To: alb-muslimstudents at egroups.com Cc: alb-club at alb-net.com, aLBSA-INFO-ADMIN at alb-net.com Subject: Fadils university shop Nga k?ndi im Fadil?s university shop Tregon cilin e ke shok do t? tregoj se kush je ti, thot? nj? fjal? e urt? popullore, mbase e nj?jt? ne t? gjith? guh?t e bot?s. Kjo porosi e urt? vetvetiu imponohet kur merr njeriu t'i analizojw tezat e kritikuesve t? ndrysh?m t? kursit politik t? PDSH-s?. Koh?t e fundit ?sht? hapur nj? front i gjer? kund?r PDSH-s?, ku mercenar? sojesh dhe botkuptimesh t? ndryshme, me nj? orkestrim t? dirigjuar mir? e kritikojn? PDSH-n? dhe drejtuesit e saj duke p?rdorur gjat? t?r? koh?s argumente t? nj?jta. Pos kritikave n? adres? t? PDSH-s? k?ta kritikuc? kan? edhe nj? em?rues t? p?rbashk?t: veprimi n? terrenin kosovar, p?rkat?sisht kontaminimin e opinionit kosovar. Pas ?lirimit t? Kosov?s shum? d?shtak?, demagog?, manipulant?, besa edhe deformues t? paguar t? opinionit publik u bart?n n? Kosov?, p?r t? vazhduar me avazin e vjet?r derisa t? mos zbulohen kush jan? dhe p?r ?ka angazhohen. K?ta persona q? kan? shum? pak kredibilitet dhe ndikim n? opinionin shqiptar? t? Maqedonis?, paraqiten n? faqet e shtypit kosovar me analizat, komentet, komunikatat e tyre plot teza bombastike q? krijojn? huti. Ata din? q? opinioni kosovar nuk i njeh mir?, ashtu si k?tu njihen, prandaj sulmet e tyre i nisin nga terreni kosovar, ngaq? po t'i nisnin nga k?tu, at?her? s'do t? kishte asnj? efekt: atyre k?tu askush nuk u beson. Sa m? shum? q? ata e kritikonin PDSH-n? k?tu, aq m? shum? asaj i rritej rejtingu. Prandaj q?llimi i tyre nuk ?sht? Maqedonia, ku ata njihen si paraja e kuqe, por Kosova ku n? m?nyr? filigranike punohet q? t? delegjitimohet kredibiliteti i subjekteve politike. Ata duhet t'i bindin kosovar?t, pjes?n m? idealiste t? kombit shqiptar se nuk vlen t? flijohen p?r projektet shqiptare ngaq? kudo q? jan? shqiptar?t, aty jan? telashet, sharjet, deformimet. P?r t'i bindur ata duhet folur p?r ??shtjet shqiptare, n? gjuh?n shqipe, qofshin ato edhe t? p?rkthyera nga gjuha serbe, si ?sht? rasti me at? Iso (me at? "O" sipas vokativit sllav q? i zbulon rr?nj?t) Rusi, me Kim Mehmetin q? asnj?her? s'ka qen? i ngroht? p?r k?to ??shtje, apo me at? Milaim Fejzi, ish deputet i parlamentit jugosllav, tash mbrojt?s i paguar i kauz?s private. Se si k?ta t? tre kan? nj? gjerem t? p?rbashk?t, nj? mang?si n? vete, nj?ri sufiks "o" sllav, njeri emrin kozmetik Kim pa kurfar? dometh?nie, tjetri mbiemrin Fejzi, pa sufiksin karakteristik shqiptar "u". Ata gjithsesi do t? ishin t? pav?rejtsh?m n? shoq?rin? tolerante shqiptare, po t? mos ishin mbrojt?s kaq t? ekspozuar, t? panatyrsh?m t? shqiptarizm?s nga vet? shqiptar?t, po t? mos kishin qen? m? katolik? se Papa. N? k?t? varg t? kritikuc?ve hyjn? edhe paradokset e natyr?s tjet?r si bie fjala: i paarsimuar, i pagdhendur prof. dr. Fadil Sulejmani e mbron konceptet dhe standardet e tija t? arsimit nga ato evropiane q? i ironizon me emrin e Van der Stulit. K?ta deformues t? opinionit publik nj? koh? t? gjat? punojn? q? ta bindin faktorin e jasht?m madje edhe vet? shqiptar?t se ata vet? nuk vlejn? asnj? dysh: jan? t? mallkuar t?jen? t? p?r?ar?, t? pap?rgjegjsh?m, cuba grabitqar, t? pakorigjuesh?m, anues delirant p?r veprime kriminogjene. K?ta isoxhinj? se si zun?, ashtu paduruesh?m, papritur, kur PDSH-ja i dha gjith? ato provime t? r?nda politike, sidomos ato lidhur me zhvillimet n? Kosov?, ku ata tash e p?rhapin helmin dhe rrjetin e tyre, t? kumtojn? z?sh?m se edhe ajo, PDSH-ja na pask?sh d?shtuar. K?t? tez? ata e bluajn? n? momentin kur rejtingu i partis? u rrit tejmase, sa q? aktualisht ?sht? parti e dyt? me forc? politike n? t?r? Maqedonin?. Kumtimin e tyre ogurzi ata nuk e mb?shtesin me asnj? argu-ment politik, me asnj? sondazh t? opinionit, madje as me sondazhin privat t? tyre, por me etiketime, p?rkat?sisht mesazhe q? t'i mos i besohet k?saj partie. K?to mesazhe flasin p?r frik?n e tyrejo p?r kredibilitetin, rejtingun e PDSH-s?. K?to skile q? i qepen sken?s politike shqiptare si usbujza, kund?r PDSH-s? fabrikojn? k?to argumente, tashm? t? st?rp?rdorura nga ana e propagand?s serbe: marksiz?m-leniniz?m ose, n? var?si nga mediumi q? p?rpunohet, fundamentalizmin. N? radh?t e PDSH-s? sipas k?tyre pohimeve, ose atyre t? sh?rbimeve t? kund?rzbulimit ende jugosllav t? Maqedonis? qenkan futur grupet ile-gale t? kuq?losh?ve marksist-leninist, ose t? jeshil?ve fundamentalist? q? dirigjojn? tinzisht me kursin politik t? k?saj partie. Pra k?ta t? PDSH-s? q? mb?shtesin projektet evro-amerikane na qenkan anti-per?ndimor. Mesazhi -kujdes prej tyre; -kriminalitet, korrupsion, kontraband? me cig-are, drog?, reketiz?m. Mesazhi: t? gjith? shqip-tar?tjan? t? till? ose sa m? shqiptar? q?je aq m? devijant je. Prandaj nuk ?sht? ?udi pse ky argu-ment ngritet sidomos kund?r atyre grupimeve politike q? veprojn? n? rrafshin komb?tar. Imagjinoni sa tendenca pat deri m? tani p?r njollosjen e U?K-s?. Koh?t e fundit me k?to اalor b?lb?zoi, me nj? maqedonishte t? serbizuar para mediumeve maqedonase edhe ?obani i rektor-izuar i UT-s?, Fadil Sulejmani q? n?nkryetarin e PDSH-s? e quajti kapobandit dhe ftoi autoritetet maqednase ta zbatojn? ligjin kund?r tij. Pra, ky person t? denoncon, ta k?put davan? dhe i fton autoritetet maqedonase ta zbatojn? gjykimin dhe denoncimin e tij; -veprimin kund?r Universitetit t? Tetov?s duke zbatuar metod?n e idealizmit jokritik t? gjith?kajes brenda UT-s?, pa analiza konkrete t? dukurive brenda dhe njollosjes s? gjith?kajes q? synon t? v? n? rregull, t? legalizoj?, nj?her?sh dhe ta transformoj? k?t? institucion t? fadilizuar t? arsimit sip?ror n? gjuh?n shqipe. Fillimisht kjo ide p?r universitet u brumos n? radh?t e q? tash e p?rb?jn? substanc?n e PDSH-s?, pastaj u uzurpua nga Sulejmani dhe Fejzi, gjithnj? pa at? "u" karakteristike t? shqipes n? fund dhe p?r-fundoi si dyqan personal apo grupor i tyre. Po t? mos ishte ashtu, at?her? ata ne interes t? arsimit sip?ror n? gjuh?n shqipe, n? interes t? legalizimit t? UT-s?, te pun?s se deritashme, n? interes t? transformimit evropian t? tij, pun? q? fundja i pret edhe institucionet e tjera t? ngjashme do t? duhej me t? dy duart ta p?rqafojn? projektin e Van der Shtulit, i cili n? esenc? i p?rmban t? gjitha k?to aspekte, pos q? financohet nga fondet evro-amerikane. Nga goja dhe mendja e ndyr? e k?tyre konta-minuesve t? opinionit kosovar, PDSH-ja q? k?t? ??shtje e shnd?rroi n? ??shtje me interes par?sor nd?rkomb?tar, del si anti-UT. T? gjitha ata q? nga jasht?, LSDM, PPD, q? sillnin kushtetuta anti-shqiptare apo q? d?rgonin autoblinda, bul-dozer? apo polic? p?r ta rr?nuar UT-n?, t? gjith? ata q? nga brenda e rr?nonin, e atro-fonin, e fadilizonin UT, duke shnd?rruar n? FADIL'S UNIVERSITY SHOP, pra Branko C?rvenkovski, Imer Imeri (edhe ky e zvog?lon alfabetin shqip p?r nj? germ?), Naser Ziberi (edhe ky), puthadori zulm?madh nga komentet e ATSH-s?, Mahi Nesimi, t? gjith? me nj? goj? flasin kund?r projektit t? Van der Shtulit, te PDSH-s? dhe t? qeveris? q? s'prek njeri, as universitet, as busta t? d?shmor?ve, as iniciativat e tjera qytetare, si bie fjala shoqat?n e sapo t? regjistruar t? ish t? burgosurve, q? sot aspak nuk merret me fatin, risocializimin e an?tar?ve t? vet, por me probleme q? s'ka ka?ik t'i zgjidh?. Sot ata t? gjith? jan? b?r? nje jo kund?r PDSH-s?, se asaj s'kan? ?'i b?jn?, as Van der Shtulit, as Evrop?s, se as atyre s'kan? ?'u b?jn?, por p?r ta kontaminuar hap?sir?n mentale kosovare, eventualsht t? diaspor?s se mos do t? fito-jn? cop? terren p?r allishvereshet e tyre. Kjo ?sht? ajo shok?ni q? trumbeton kund?r PDSH-s?, por mos t? harrojn? ata, prej Brankos e deri te Fadili se mulliri i PDSH-s? t? gjitha ata do t'i bluaj? me nj? dor?. Pra, tregom? k? e ke shok? te tregoi se kush je. Menduh Tha?i. Marrur nga FAKTI. E mart?, 20. Qershor 2000 ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From i_spaho at hotmail.com Tue Jun 20 22:55:54 2000 From: i_spaho at hotmail.com (irma spaho) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 19:55:54 PDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Nje Sugjerim Message-ID: <20000621025556.92047.qmail@hotmail.com> Sapo doli nga shtypi libri "Transitional Justice" i Ruti Teitel, Profesore e se Drejtes se Krahasuar ne NYU Law dhe Senior Fellow ne Yale Law. Pata fatin ta takoj Prof. Teitel ne nje seminar te organizuar ne Harvard Law, dhe fale saj, te jem nje nga lexueset e para te ketij libri. Do doja vetem te thoja se per te gjithe njerezit e apasionuar pas politikes, filozofise te se drejtes, te drejtes kushtetuese apo rolit qe luan ligji ne transformimet radikale politike, ky liber i Prof. Teitel, eshte nje nga ata libra, qe duhet te jete pjese e bibliotekes se gjithsecilit. Shpresoj ta lexoni me po aq endje sa dhe une. p.s. Per ata pak prej nesh qe kane patur privilegjin dhe "denimin" te kalojne neper "ferrin" e Andras Sajos, mjafton t'ju citoj vleresimin qe ai, midis emrave te tjere me fame ne fushen juridike, i ka bere librit ne kopertinen e fundit. "This is the 1st comprehensive treatise on the philosophy of modern transitional justice. Teitel is uniquely successful in explaining the extraordinary nature of the various transition processes. It will be a revelation even to those who were personally involved in democratic transition." ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From kbejko at hotmail.com Tue Jun 20 16:54:53 2000 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 20:54:53 GMT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Greece to double investments Message-ID: <20000620205453.68483.qmail@hotmail.com> Greek investments in Albania expected to be doubled during 2000 KORCE, June 19 (ATA) - By G.Ashimi: Greek investments in Albania will be doubled during this month reaching a value of $ 220 million, Greek ambassador accredited to Albania Aleksandros Mallias said during a meeting held with leaders of local government in Korce, after a 4-day visit in districts of this prefecture. During the talks held Mallias said that now it is time to pass in the stage of great investments, and this will be achieved through the implementation of important projects by Greek serious investors who will be back to Albania. He hailed the economic and cultural potential in four districts of this prefecture, but voiced the necessity of improvement of road and energetic infrastructure as main conditions for 'attracting' investors. On this occasion Greek ambassador confirmed the aid of 3.3 million Euro delivered by Greek government in the context of Stability Pact on construction of Korce-Pogradec main road axis, aid which was publicized in the donor's conference in Brussels. Perfect Alickolli expressed the interest of local government for investments in the domains which are not exploited yet such as tourism, industry and agriculture. /dast/A.A/ ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From kruja at fas.harvard.edu Tue Jun 20 23:34:00 2000 From: kruja at fas.harvard.edu (Eriola Kruja) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 23:34:00 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] ORA E SHQIPTARISE (fwd) Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 23:20:03 EDT From: LoveMe1590 at aol.com To: Alb-muslimstudents at egroups.com Cc: Albsa-info-admin at alb-net.com Subject: ORA E SHQIPTARISE ORA E SHQIPTARISE (1997-2000) I Kushtrim djal?ri, burra, qytetar? e katundar?, Kushtrim t? gjithve q? ndiheni shqiptar? Pash Madh?rin? e Zotit, mendoni ve? pak, Apo mos u duket se pak kem derdh? gjak, Si nuk u shkoi mendja t'mendoni nj?her?, Sa mij?ra dyer u mbydhen me ferr?, Sa qindra vatrash shkret? mbeten fare, E qyqja po k?ndon mbi trojet shqiptare, Me tre milion njer?z Shqip?ria mbet, Kundro si po humbet si komb e si shtet. II Gjam?t e nanave sot a po i ndigjoni, Lot?t e bijave shqiptare nj?soni, Hijet e vdekjes mbi familjet tona shikoni, Se si po humbasim si shtet e si komb kundroni, Dhe n?se s'keni mend q? t? kujtoni Le t? keni zem?r e t? nd?gjoni! III T? pikon zemra gjak, simptome tue shikue, E ankime t? forta tue ndigjue, Q? deri dje kena mendue se i kena kalue, E kush prej tiran?ve k?rkon me derdh? gjak, po a nuk u duket se kena derdh? mjaft. IV Udh?heq?s, Shqip?ria n? dit? rreziku u k?rkon, Sot q? tmerri dhe potera e kaplon, E mos u strukuni si pulat n?n kotec sot, Kush p?rve? jush asaj do t'i dali zot, Rrogat e majme i mor?t nga ajo Shqipni, Me pand?rgjegje me dhun? e padrejt?si, Tani po strukeni si gjarpen pas murit, kur e b?t? vendin me ju dhimt? gurit e drunit, E kush n'ball? t'rr?muj?s sot do t? dali, Nga tmerri kur l?kunden fusha edhe mali, ?ohuni t? mjer? sa s'keni mbaruar, A ?sht? kjo dita p?r t? cil?n jeni betuar, Eh... trimat si ju zana i shitoft?, Kur i mbydhni zyt?... Zoti u v?rboft?, Se kur i lyp? puna njer?zit me p?rvoj?, Ju mbeteni t? shurdh?t e t? pagoj?. V Vet?m BASHKIMI ?sht? shp?tim p?r ne, P?r token e t'par?ve t'gjith me u ba pre, E mos t? vritemi v?llau me v?lla, Tash 900 vjet? ?'ka ngjar? n? shka... Po si do t? jemi neve t? bashkuar, Kur asnjani t'veten s'don p?r ta l?shuar, Mos shikoni me e ba pron? t? veten Shqip?rin?, Se ajo asht moll? e papjekun q? dh?mb?t ua m'pin?. VI Me ndie si njer?z nuk asht dob?si, Me iu shtrue arsyes nuk asht lig?shti, Me l?shue arm?t sot asht gjall?ri, Asht vitalitet, shpirti n'past? fuqi, Q? tregon fisniki, urti e burrni, Si t? par?t na e lan? trashigimi, P?r hir? t? Atdheut n'do t'sakrifikojm?, Pik?pamjet tona, duhet t'i ndryshojm? VII Mallkimi i Atdheut raft? mbi hileqar? e jo mbi t'pa fajshmit f?mij zem?rbardh?, O mendje t? err?ta me zem?r katran, O duar t? ndyra m? zi se hajvan Pse e shpuat anijen e shqiponjave t? shqet?suara, q? k?rkonin strehim n? vendet tuaja? A k?shtu ndihmohet fqinji kur ?sht? n? hadh? A k?shtu pritet miku kur ka zaval...? A k?shtu veprohet me n?na e me f?mi, N? detin e shqet?suar plot dallg? e stuhi? Kur fqinji ka uri e i mbushur me plag?, si mund t? veproni kaq zi, e t? thoni "ndasht?"? Ju kapiten?t e ri t? Rom?s s? lasht?, q? p?r musafirin nuk jepni as kasht?! Mos qofshi bijt e Italis? s? Garibaldit, kur n? gjuhen tuaj keni helm t? gjarp?rit. O kriminel t? k?ti fundshekulli tradhtish?, O Zot, p?rse kombi sot n? t? zez? ?sht? vish?. Sa e poshter qenka kjo bot? me shum? f?tyra, kur mu para hund?ve ndodhin tragjedira. Itali e Dantes a ?sht? i yti ky civilizim, kur n?nat pa bij i le n? mjerim,? A k?shtu ndihmueka paq?sorja Evrop?, q? mbyt? njer?z t'pa fajsh?m dhe i shtje n? grop?, Ku ?sht? humanizmi yt, O Rom? me shenjt?ri, q? le f?mit? pa n?na e n?nat pa f?mi. Ku je ti Papa Gjon Pali i par? e i fundit, q? n? vend t? zemr?s mbart? nj? cop? plumbit? A ishin k?to vras?s besimtar?t tuaj? Ata q? japin urdh?ra e mbysin njer?z t? huaj. A ishin ata njer?z apo djaj t? maskuar, me f?tyra njer?zish e me zemra t'bluar, Fol i shenjti Pap?, fol e shenjta Rom? e mikja Itali, Si t'arsyetohemi p?r k?t tragjedi, Ja si t'pret i huaji n? dallg? jete e deti, nga urrejtja, se m?shir? n? zem?r nuk i mbeti. Apo p?r t? kursyer nj? pjat? makarona a nj? strehim, apo p?r vet?dijen ton? t? humbur ndoshta ?sht? d?nim, Eh... kush ?sht? m? fajtor n? mos vet? ne, q? n? ikje i lam? truall e atdhe...?! VIII O Zot, i sheh hajnat, vras?sit e tradhtar?t, t? pamoralshmit e kombit martir e hileqar?t,' n? p?rpjekje p?r liri e bashkim komb?tar sa keq ?sht? degdisur e me gjak ?sht? lar?. Boten hileqare e shikon o Zot, q? me goj? plot paqe, kjo shtriga Evrop? na ndau, na p?r?au e na coptoi, n? kurriz? t? tjer?ve, ve? ajo t? rroj?. IX I shoh mir? - me keqardhje Zoti sikur flet, form? t'bukur ua dhash? dhe vendin e shtrenjt?, pse t'ket? tradhtar t? vendit t? huaj, edhe ndaj Meje dhe ndaj vehtes tuaj... Un? Shqip?rin? ua fala m? par?, mi?ra vjet?, ju vet? po i ktheni shpin?n e leni t? shkret?, e pastaj i huaji ua merr n?p?r k?mb?, duke ?pikur ligje me dhun? deri n'dh?mb? X Nj? frik? e madhe, mua m? kaplon, sikur d?gjoj z?rin q? s?rish vazhdon: T? keni kujdes fatin tragjik t? anijes n? det? se mund ta p?soj? t?r? kombi dhe atdheu vet? Kjo ?sht? v?rejtja e fundit p?r mohuesit e Mi, e shajn? njani tjetrin, shkruajn vallco histori, ata q? bajn k?shtu mos qofshin rob?t e Mi XI Sa t'a ruajm shqip?rin?, prej shqiptarve n'vend O ju shqiptar? zem?rbardh?, futuni n? rend, n? vendin tuaj vet?, krijoni rregull e qet?si, Un? ua kam dh?n? mend, sh?ndet e pasuri, Mos e l?shoni t? huajin, armikun n? sht?pi, Punoni p?r shqip?rin? n? m? njihni Mua p?r Per?ndi. XI Andaj, le ta ruajm shqip?rin? si syt? e ballit, sikur e ruajt?n t? par?t djal? pas djalit, si e ruajt?n n? rr?nj? lisash e gur?sh, n? far?n e papjekur t? kallit t? lules, n? arom?n e kandshme t? buk?s s? zez?, n? bregun e detit ku peshku l?shon vez?, n? majen e malit ku zogu k?ndon, n? fusha e ograja ku bujku lavron, p?r hir? t? vajz? e djalit t? lindur e t? pa lindur, q? t'kem parajs? n'k?t jet? dhe n'jet? t? pasosur, parajs?n q? buron e lul?zon nga syt?, nga fidanishtet e kombit q? s'din? m'u venit?. Se ne t'gjith jemi t'nj? gjuhe e t'nj? gjaku, t? gjith ne i takojm nji praku e oxhaku, e t? nj? shqiponje me dy krer?, bash si nj? lulishte arom?mir? plot er?, se Per?ndia mundin nuk e humb? asnj? her?, ?'kado q? shkon mbrapsht? vet? e b?jm? poter?, t? Mos e mohojm? Zotin, n'djall?zi t'vetvetes, t'b?hemi p?rkrah?s t? s? mir?s dhe t'v?rtet?s, At?her?, t? lir? e t? g?zuar t? jetojm? n? mbetjen, me lindjen, me jet?n edhe me vdekjen. Me ringjallje edhe me besim n? Zotin nj?, si ai, si un? ashtu edhe ti, Kush shp?ton nj? jet? njeriu, shp?ton nj? bot?, Na shp?to nga e keqja e nj?ritjetrit O Zot! Na i largo t? k?qiat, urrejtjen dhe hasm?rit?, na i largo nga zemra nga mendja e nga syt?, p?r nj?ri tjetrin na fal dashuri, M? fal dituri, liri, mir?si e miq?si, fali gjith shqiptar?t kudo q? gjenden n'bot?, T? qofshim fal? O Zot, M?shirues e fuqiplot? SELAM Hajrudin S. Muja From kbejko at hotmail.com Thu Jun 22 15:23:30 2000 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 19:23:30 GMT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Tales from the INS crypt Message-ID: <20000622192330.31108.qmail@hotmail.com> ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com -------------- next part -------------- Return-Path: Received: (qmail 78784 invoked by uid 0); 22 Jun 2000 18:51:13 -0000 Message-ID: <20000622185113.78783.qmail at hotmail.com> Received: from 206.243.134.74 by www.hotmail.com with HTTP; Thu, 22 Jun 2000 11:51:13 PDT X-Originating-IP: [206.243.134.74] From: "Kreshnik Bejko" To: albsa-info at alb-club.com Cc: albanian at listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu Subject: Tales from the INS crypt Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 18:51:13 GMT Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Taken from todays Wall St. JournalJune 22, 2000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Undocumented Students Are Guaranteed K-12 by Law, But College Isn't So Easy By DANIEL GOLDEN Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL BARNSTABLE, Mass. -- Monique Silva's tangled odyssey through the American education system began one day in 1988, when she showed up at an elementary school in this Cape Cod resort. She was a cherubic eight-year-old from Brazil, deaf and unable to communicate in any language. As she learned sign language and began to read and write in English, she blossomed into a stellar student and captain of her high-school track team. In 1999, she was accepted at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. But Ms. Silva never enrolled. Instead, in a sweltering warehouse, she presses 65 shirts an hour for $6.50 -- ten cents a shirt. A language barrier divides her from her Brazilian co-workers. They don't know English or sign language; she knows no Portuguese. When the boss has something to tell her, he scribbles a brief note. Asked how she endures the monotony, the 20-year-old hangs another wrinkled shirt by its sleeves on the machine press, then writes in a neat hand, "Sometimes I stop working and start daydreaming about college." Ms. Silva is unlikely to achieve that dream for one reason: although she emigrated to this country 12 years ago, she doesn't have a green card. And for undocumented immigrant students -- many of whom have spent nearly their entire lives here -- coming to America can both unlock their potential and prevent them from fulfilling it. The students are entitled by law to a subsidized education through high school. If they do well enough to get into college, though, they are caught in a financial vise: Ineligible for federal aid, they are also charged nonresident or international tuition rates -- generally double or triple the standard tab. "My heart goes out to these kids who were brought here by their parents surreptitiously," says University of Houston Prof. Michael Olivas. "They really are in no man's land." Since 1990, the undocumented proportion of the nation's foreign-born population has increased from one-eighth to one-fifth. Of the estimated six million undocumented immigrants, about 1.5 million are children under 18. About 50,000 graduate from U.S. high schools each year. Under a 1982 Supreme Court decision, undocumented children can attend public elementary and secondary schools for free and enjoy equal access to services. In that ruling, the court struck down a Texas statute authorizing public schools to turn away undocumented children or to charge them nonresident tuition. In Ms. Silva's case, she was provided with interpreters in the Barnstable schools. Then the school system and the Massachusetts Department of Education split her $40,000 a year tuition at the private American School for the Deaf in West Hartford, Conn. But the aid stops there. The 1965 Higher Education Act, which spawned federal financial aid, limited it to citizens, permanent residents, refugees and those granted asylum. Ever since, undocumented immigrants have been denied student loans when they reach the college level. Unless they move to one of the six states where they can establish residency, they also must pay higher out-of-state tuition at public universities -- and out-of-district fees at community colleges. Ms. Silva is even more constrained in her options. Gallaudet, which is private but federally supported, is the country's only liberal-arts university for the deaf. The school would charge Ms. Silva the international-student rate of $25,480 -- double its tuition for domestic students. No law bars the undocumented from receiving private aid. But most colleges see little benefit and high risk in aiding undocumented students. Uncertain of the legal ramifications and wary of antagonizing federal officials, colleges are also reluctant to allocate scarce scholarship dollars to applicants who may never be able to work legally or participate openly in U.S. society. The last amnesty program for the undocumented expired in 1989. But before 1996, a student like Monique who had been in the U.S. for seven years, with demonstrable good character and hardship, could still have qualified for a green card at a judge's discretion. The exemption was then restricted after immigration foes complained it was being overused. Now, Ms. Silva would qualify only if her situation caused hardship to a spouse, parent or child who is a permanent resident. "I helped Monique get her sights set on college," says Susan Anarino, a teacher and Ms. Silva's mentor. "Now it's like, 'Just kidding!' She's the girl without a country. America has created this unique cultural specimen. Don't we have a responsibility to continue to help her grow?" Are these students embodiments of the American dream or gate-crashers? Advocates of tougher immigration enforcement question whether the government should be in the business of funding their higher education. "By the time these students get to college, they're adults. If we start providing taxpayer funding beyond K-12, where do we draw the line? Postgraduate studies? Residencies?" asks Daniel Stein, executive director of the Washington-based Federation for American Immigration Reform. "At some point, you throw up your hands and say, 'Why do we have immigration laws at all?" Even students who qualify for permanent residency often have to delay college for years while papers are processed. As the son of a permanent resident, Adan Carranza, a Mexican immigrant and the valedictorian this year at a Houston high school, applied for a green card six years ago -- but never received it. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service told the family it has no record of the filing. Adan reapplied this year, but faces a seven-year backlog and possible deportation. After his case was publicized in the Houston Chronicle, Texas Southern University in Houston awarded him a scholarship from privately donated funds. Generally, high schools don't even know whether a student has a green card. Still, undocumented seniors often turn to guidance counselors for help. One undocumented immigrant from British Guyana, who topped her class at her Boston high school, is struggling to scrape together tuition for a technical college she plans to attend next fall. The guidance office steered her to several private scholarships that don't ask about immigration status. The valedictorian, who requested anonymity because she fears deportation, also intends to save money by commuting to campus, while her blue-collar parents hope to find second jobs. The Cultural Divide Ms. Silva lives with her mother and sister in a $700-a-month apartment in a faded duplex. College dreams linger in her room, from the Gallaudet stationery pad to her bedtime reading: "College and Career Programs for Deaf Students," "A Dictionary of American Idioms," and "Chicken Soup for the College Soul." Her high-school graduation gown hangs on the wall. The room is an American island surrounded by Brazilian culture. While she watches "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" on television or e-mails former classmates now in college, her mother and sister are glued to Brazilian news programs via satellite or Portuguese-language magazines in the living room. Monique's sister, Camille Silva, and her mother, Zelia Ottoni, patronize Brazilian coffee shops, groceries and video stores. Every weeknight, Camille worships at a Brazilian evangelical church. But Monique prefers going to the mall or eating a wrap at the Lunch Box on Main Street with American friends. "She's American," says Camille Silva, 25, who came to the U.S. in 1994 and works as a home health aide. "She doesn't know anything about Brazil." Mrs. Ottoni, 62, doesn't know English or sign language. One afternoon, in their living room, Ms. Silva tells her story through an interpreter. She signs with vivid gestures reinforced by smiles, pouts and noises of disgust. When her mother interrupts, she shushes her with a raised arm. "Is my daughter happy?" Ms. Ottoni asks timidly. "Yes," the interpreter says. "Thank you, God," Mrs. Ottoni says, sighing. "My life is Monique." Monique Silva hasn't seen her father, Ernani Silva, since he moved to Florida in 1992. (He returned to Brazil two years later.) When he calls, her mother sometimes hands her the phone. Her father shouts, "I love you." "My hopes for Monique are study, study and study," Mr. Silva, 69, recently wrote from Brazil. "I would like she spend her life in United States, especially if we get college and green card for her." As a child in the city of Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais, Monique was full of curiosity. She drew pictures to ask questions. A hearing aid proved useless. She was sent to a public school, where the teachers didn't know sign language. As busywork, they made her copy her name and the alphabet day after day. But word was sweeping Minas Gerais of plentiful jobs in Cape Cod's hotels and restaurants. Mr. Silva, who had fallen on hard times as a buyer and seller of beef cattle, migrated in 1986 to the area, where he had relatives. He worked as a dishwasher and landscaper. Long Overstayed Monique and her mother followed two years later. Since no employers were recruiting them, and no U.S. citizens or permanent residents were in their immediate family, the Silvas could enter the country only on six-month tourist visas, which they have long overstayed. Monique's immigration status made no difference to the Barnstable schools. Mrs. Anarino, a kindergarten and special-education teacher, tried for hours to elicit a response from the girl. Finally exasperated, Mrs. Anarino crumpled up a sheet of paper and threw it in a wastebasket -- making the sign for "trash." To the teacher's surprise, Monique beamed, grasping the connection between object and gesture. She signed back, "Trash." Then she ran down the hall, dragging Mrs. Anarino by the hand and emitting loud, guttural sounds of joy as she pointed at everything from the nurse's office to a painted cow jumping over a moon, demanding their signs. Soon Mrs. Anarino became Monique's godmother. They spent every Sunday together, first in church, where Mrs. Anarino would translate the sermon into sign language, then often going to the beach. Playing in the sand one afternoon, Monique began shivering with fear and signing, "Ghosts, ghosts." The fog was rolling in -- and she had no idea what fog was. At Mrs. Anarino's urging, Monique was moved into a class with hearing students in fourth grade in 1990. Two years later, Monique's mother naively asked the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service for advice on how to straighten out the family's status. The INS moved to deport the family. After Barnstable school officials intervened, praising Monique's academic promise and warning she would sink into "extreme depression" if forced to return to Brazil, an administrative judge gave the family until June 30, 1993, to leave voluntarily, which they didn't do. The deportation order then took effect, but was never executed. Mrs. Anarino persuaded Barnstable officials to enroll Monique in eighth grade at the American School for the Deaf, a K-12 private school where American sign language was developed. About 40% of its graduates go to college. Half of the students commute; half reside in dorms during the week and go home on weekends, as Monique did. At the school, Monique quickly displayed a talent for art, winning a national poster-design contest for the deaf. Her paintings adorn several campus buildings. One canvas, finished a week before her graduation in June 1999, envisions that ceremony on the school's front lawn. Amid flowers, balloons and butterflies, three girls toss their tassled caps in the air. One of the girls, wearing jeans under her purple gown and signing "I love you" at the audience, resembles Monique. A Late Start When she enrolled, Monique's sign-language skills lagged behind other students, reflecting her late start. Most of her teachers expected that she would attend community college. Monique had other ideas. At the end of her sophomore year in 1997, she asked school psychologist Billie McNealey how to improve her vocabulary to get into Gallaudet. The psychologist encouraged her to read more. "I never saw her after that without a book in her hand," says Dr. McNealey. "You can't let a child with so much potential and so much motivation fall through the cracks." >From May 1997 to January 1999, Monique's reading comprehension on the Stanford Achievement Test increased from fourth-grade to seventh-grade level, higher than 80% of deaf students. Her math leaped from just under fifth-grade to 10th-grade equivalency -- the 84th percentile. Yet she was having difficulty following class discussions. Her teachers soon realized that she was unaware of sign-language comments by students outside her direct line of sight. In June 1998, she was diagnosed with Usher Syndrome, a genetic disorder characterized by deafness, tunnel vision and, eventually, blindness. Monique was devastated -- and even more determined to make it to Gallaudet, which offers support services for students with the syndrome. A big-sister program paid her way to Washington for an interview. Danny Lacey, Gallaudet's admissions counselor, greeted her with the news: She was in. "When I reviewed her application file last year," Mr. Lacey says, "I was pleased to see how much progress she had made. If she is a student at Gallaudet, her reading level will skyrocket." But Monique's immigration status was catching up to her. For months, her French class had been raising money for a trip to Paris. She collected $200 by baking cookies and washing cars. But when she confided to her teachers that she lacked a green card, they realized that if she left the U.S., she couldn't return. In April 1999, her classmates boarded the plane without her. 'I Had Lost Hope' Last summer, Ms. Silva was filling out the federal student-aid application, when she saw that it required an alien-registration number, which the immigration service uses to identify permanent residents. For the first time, she realized that her immigration status stood in the way of going to college. "I felt I had lost everything. I had lost hope," she says. Once they learned at the end of her junior year that Monique was undocumented, her mentors at the American School for the Deaf had begun consulting immigration lawyers about her case. The outlook was bleak. Then the school arranged for Monique to win four private scholarships totaling nearly $1,500. Those barely dented Gallaudet's tuition. Under 1992 amendments to the Education of the Deaf Act, all Gallaudet students who aren't citizens or permanent residents must be categorized as foreign students -- with a 100% tuition surcharge. Ordinarily, according to Mr. Lacey, Gallaudet doesn't provide any aid at all for international students in their freshman year because they must be self-supporting to qualify for student visas in the first place. But the university draws from a small pool of funding to offer $3,000 per semester to selected foreign students. The school did award Ms. Silva that aid, hoping, Mr. Lacey says, that she could supplement it from other sources. But that still left her $18,000 short. In Barnstable, Mrs. Anarino pitched for donations everywhere from Brazilian churches to the Kiwanis Club, to no avail. Last August, as seven of her 33 American School of the Deaf classmates entered Gallaudet, Ms. Silva began looking for work. Dozens of employers spurned the undocumented deaf girl before she landed the laundry job this spring. Although she is in the country and working illegally, taxes are deducted from her paycheck. She is saving her pay for college -- if not Gallaudet, which deferred her acceptance for a year, then a community college. But a community college would charge her extra, out-of-district tuition, and wouldn't have adequate services for her disability. "I feel stuck," she says. "I've always wanted to be a professional, a teacher. I would dearly love to teach deaf children. I don't want a menial job." ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From mehollim at hotmail.com Fri Jun 23 14:17:11 2000 From: mehollim at hotmail.com (Mimoza Meholli) Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 11:17:11 PDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] RFE/RL BALKAN REPORT, Vol. 4, No. 47, 23 June 2000 Message-ID: <20000623181712.25595.qmail@hotmail.com> >RFE/RL BALKAN REPORT >Vol. 4, No. 47, 23 June 2000 > >A Twice-Weekly Review of Politics, Media and Radio Free >Europe/Radio Liberty Broadcasts in the western Balkans. > >HEADLINES > * Some Thoughts on Kosova > * Senior Albanian Socialist Warns Of Defeat > * Sarajevo Daily Under Pressure > * Round-Up Of Short Items From Croatia And Bosnia > * Tito's Yacht Sold > * Our Pleasure To Serve You > >SOME THOUGHTS ON KOSOVA. This week marked the first >anniversary of the withdrawal of Serbian forces from Kosova. >The U.S.-based Kosova Task Force sent out a message raising >some important points in conjunction with the current Kosova >debate in some Western countries (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," >16 May 2000). > The report noted that many "journalists in leading >newspapers are suffering from a serious bout of collective >amnesia. Critics in alliance with the Serbian lobby are >questioning whether NATO intervention on humanitarian grounds >was justified. Instead of acknowledging NATO's role in the >heroic resistance waged by the people of Kosova against >genocide, the focus is on whether the number of Serbian tanks >hit were worth the costs of intervention. > "The following facts need to be remembered and brought >forward to the media's attention." There then follows a list >of nine points, which may be summed up as follows: > 1. Kosova still does not enjoy self-determination and >majority rule. Serbia continues to have political sovereignty >over Kosova despite the overwhelming vote for independence by >Kosovars in 1991. To deny the aspirations of Kosovars could >lead to new wars and further atrocities. > 2. The UN Security Council [in Resolution 1244] assigned >UNMIK the impossible task of creating a multiethnic Kosova >subject to Belgrade. Any talk of reconciliation and creation >of a multi-ethnic society is futile so long as there is no >acknowledgment of the wrongs done. Even if amends are not >made, then there should be at least a sense that some measure >of justice is being done. > 3. NATO went to war against Belgrade not to create some >multiethnic and democratic nirvana but to prevent an >escalation of Serbian attacks against Kosova's civilian >population. > 4. A political settlement with ethnic Albanians as full >partners is needed. > 5. The upcoming municipal elections are no more than a >UN plan to assuage Kosovars and a bid for time in the hope >that some sort of compromise short of Kosovar independence >will emerge. > 6. French forces have allowed a de facto partition of >the mineral-rich region of Mitrovica by the Serbs. > 7. War criminals have not been arrested. Kosova still >has no court that can deliver impartial judgments regarding >war crimes. > 8. About 1,200 Albanians are still being illegally held >in Serbian prisons, subjected to mock trials that make a parody >of justice. Last month, 143 of these prisoners were sentenced >to a total of 1,632 years in prison. Another 5,000 Kosovars >are reported missing. The weak international response has >fostered a profound cynicism among Kosovars regarding the >prospects for realizing other Western promises such as self- >governance or real peace. > 9. Kosovar sources estimate that 20,000 Kosovar women >were raped by Serbs. None of the guilty men have been >arrested. Few services are available for these women to deal >with their personal traumas. Local humanitarian groups, >including the Red Cross, have estimated that 100 babies >conceived through rape were born in January alone. > Of course, this is only part of the story. The crimes >mentioned here do not justify the recent violence done to >Serbs and other non-Albanians who stayed on in Kosova. Any >moves to prevent the return of non-Albanians to Kosova are >not acceptable. Kosovar society itself is partly to blame for >the psychological and other difficulties that many of the >rape victims--to say nothing of the unwanted children--are >having. And KFOR's recent discovery of 67 tons arms in the >Drenica valley has cast more than a shadow over General Agim >Ceku and his Kosova Protection Corps. > But these developments--and sometimes sterile >discussions about bombing raids--should not obscure the fact >that NATO intervened in Kosova for sound reasons and >succeeded in bringing the genocide to a halt. (Editing and >commentary by Patrick Moore) > > >SENIOR ALBANIAN SOCIALIST WARNS OF DEFEAT. The Socialist >Party (PS) is losing public support. This comes just three >years after the PS took office in general elections following >widespread anarchy after the collapse of fraudulent pyramid >investment schemes. The party has been slow in improving >general living conditions, and its term in office has been >characterized by infighting among its own politicians. Within >those three years Albania has had three different prime >ministers from the PS (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 2 May >2000). > Kastriot Islami, the chairman of the PS Election >Committee, has warned his fellow party members that they >could lose the upcoming local elections, "Albanian Daily >News" reported on 19 June. Islami said in an interview to >"Koha Jone" that the PS "lacks solidarity" and is going >through a "moral crisis." He added that "cliques formed on >the basis of various kinds of interests" dominate party >politics and that "there is also an absence of principles." > He did not mention names, but apparently he targeted >most of his criticism at Party Chairman Fatos Nano and >circles around him. Nano, who embodies an emotional conflict >with rival Democratic Party (PD) leader Sali Berisha, has >repeatedly attacked the government of his successor, Pandeli >Majko, for being too conciliatory toward the PD, triggering >Majko's resignation in November 1999. Ilir Meta is the >current prime minister. > In what was an apparent reference to the Nano-Majko >conflict, Islami remarked that "there are tendencies to oust >outstanding party figures while keeping servile people and >yes-men around." He warned that as a result, "the internal >problems of the factionsSmay well bring about a split in the >party ranks and reduce the size of the PS electorate." > Islami went on to say: "With time the Socialist Party >has lost its leading qualities, at all levels. And its >government is mostly composed of mediocre officials. There >has been a tendency to oust the intellectuals, and this has >caused an impoverishment in all respects. The PS is making >preparations for the forthcoming local elections, and I >notice that many of its leaders are euphoric, but there is no >reason for them to feel that way. There is a desire to win, >but there is also a gap between the wish and the systematic >work required to make this wish a reality." > Referring to a tendency in Albanian politics to vote >against rather than for political options, Islami stressed >that the last victory of the Socialists was based largely on >the public dissatisfaction with Berisha: "Unfortunately, the >strongest card of the PS remains the anti-Berisha card." >Islami furthermore slammed the PS for failing to "define its >alternative and strategy" to the PD, adding that: "I find it >hard to believe that [the PS's] good people will [be able to] >work out a clear strategy that they could put into practice >and apply" in time. > Islami warned: "If this trend continues, the electorate >will respond to the overt optimism of the leaders and the >servile officials with a silent boycottS. Many people who are >not PS membersSbut who considered the PS as a hope for good >government after the PD... are disappointed. This is despite >the fact that [the government made] many positive and >progressive changes compared to the situation in 1997. But >the experience and the achievements to date offer little hope >of guaranteeing victory in the local elections and the >subsequent general elections. This is how ordinary people see >thingsS. The smugness of some leaders may thus lead to >failure." > Islami furthermore criticized the fact that many party >officials are unwilling to make peace with their rivals >inside the party: "If we serve the narrow interests of a >clique or specific persons, then failure is certain. [There >is a] tendency on the part of certain leaders, or cliques >close to them, to force out those PS leaders who have made a >significant contribution to the party in the past. This >policy of ousting politicians will not get the party very >far. And a complete failure is likely if such an attitude >envelopes the PS and its strategy as a whole. So far, many >intellectuals and party leaders have kept silentS,but I >assume that this will not last for long." > Looking ahead, Islami said that an upcoming party >congress before the elections scheduled for fall "should send >a signal [that the PS] has broken with the policy of >excluding leaders and operating on the basis of cliques. If >[the party fails to generate] a different atmosphere, then >the present opposition will come to power again and do what >it feels it must. This will be very painful, especially for >all honest people." (Fabian Schmidt) > > >CROATIAN LIBERAL LEADER CRITICIZES COALITION PARTNER. Drazen >Budisa, who heads the Social Liberals (HSLS), told "Jutarnji >list" of 20 June that state-run television "flatters" his >senior coalition partners, the Social Democrats. Budisa added >that "this isn't the way to [set up] public television." He >expressed the hope that there will soon be a law to establish >public television according to European norms and with a new >administration. But former German Foreign Minister Hans >Dietrich Genscher, who was visiting Budisa in Zagreb, >cautioned his host against criticizing one's coalition >partner in public (see "RFE/RL South Slavic Report," 22 June >2000). (Patrick Moore) > > >CROATIAN EX-MINISTERS STILL ON FULL SALARY? "Jutarnji list" >reported on 20 June that only one person--Health Minister >Zeljko Reiner--from the previous government has returned to >his previous profession in the private sector. All others >remain in government service in one capacity or another, >primarily in the parliament, the daily adds. At least five >ministers continue to draw their full salary although they >have been out of office for five months. > In another case, the daily noted that five of the >generals who recently lost their status as war invalids had >between them 48 orders and medals. The current government >believes that President Franjo Tudjman and his administration >gave many politically loyal officers war invalid status so >that they could collect pensions and have access to >privileges that they would otherwise not receive. (Patrick >Moore) > > >PADDED PAYROLLS IN BOSNIA, TOO. "Dnevni avaz" of 20 June >reported that a careful comparison of government documents >indicates that several hundred non-existent people are >"drawing" government salaries. It is not clear who is >responsible for the inflated figures and who is pocketing the >pay of "dead souls." Total salaries of all government >officials come to $41 million for the year 2000. > And there's mischief in Banja Luka as well. Vesti" >reported on 21 June that it has obtained access to a >confidential internal report suggesting that large sums of >money have been misappropriated in the government of Prime >Minister Milorad Dodik. The report noted that the government >spends $800 per day on flowers and that its daily allowance >for public affairs expenses is $2,300. The daily added that >if the figures were correct, it would mean that the >government bought at least 47 large bouquets of flowers per >day at local prices. (Patrick Moore) > > >SARAJEVO DAILY UNDER PRESSURE. Bosnian tax authorities have >frozen the bank accounts of Sarajevo's "Dnevni avaz," >"Oslobodjenje" reported on 20 June (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 >June 2000). The daily is thus unable to pay for shipments of >newsprint and may be forced to stop publishing soon. Staff >have agreed to work without pay for as long as is necessary. >The tax police recently searched the offices of "Avaz," which >until recently had long been considered close to the >governing Muslim Party of Democratic Action (SDA). > The editors-in-chief of several leading periodicals >issued a joint statement in Sarajevo on 21 June to protest >recent financial and other pressures by the Muslim >authorities on the press, "Oslobodjenje" reported. The >editors of "Oslobodjenje" and "Avaz" and of the weeklies >"Slobodna Bosna" and "Dani" expressed solidarity with each >other in the face of "every form of pressure against the >freedom of the press." They demanded that the authorities act >only in accordance with the law and called upon local >representatives of the international community to >"energetically" respond to any attempt to curtail the freedom >of the press. The editors specifically called on the >authorities to unblock the bank accounts of "Avaz." (Patrick >Moore) > > >TITO'S YACHT SOLD. An unidentified Greek buyer has paid >$750,000 for the "Galeb" (Seagull), which was once the yacht >used by Josip Broz Tito on trips to Europe, Africa, India, >and Indonesia. The 5,100-ton and 117-meter-long ship began >life as an Italian minelayer and was later converted into a >training ship for the Yugoslav navy. > Since the collapse of former Yugoslavia, the ship has >been moored in the Montenegrin harbor of Bijela, where its >condition has been deteriorating, AP reported. Efforts in >1995 to save it as a museum failed. The late U.S. President >Franklin D. Roosevelt's yacht "Potomac" was more fortunate, >having been turned into a museum in Oakland, California, but >only after decades of decline including a stint as a drug >smuggler. (Patrick Moore) > > >OUR PLEASURE TO SERVE YOU. A frequent compliant about living >in post-communist countries is that old attitudes about >service sometimes take awhile to disappear among shop clerks. >On 20 June, "Jutarnji list" reported a story from Sibenik >that illustrated a rather extreme case. > It appears that a 30-year-old woman customer complained >to a 45-year-old woman clerk in a shoe store that the shoes >available were far too expensive, considering their quality. >The clerk began shouting at the customer, and then proceeded >to beat her up. The customer was admitted to hospital with a >concussion and bruises. The clerk is in police custody and >will be tried for assault. (Patrick Moore) > > >QUOTATION OF THE WEEK. > >"The Bosnian was respected as [though he were] a Brazilian, >and now the Italians want him." -- "Danas" on 20 June about >Yugoslav national soccer team star Savo Milosevic and his >reputation during the regular season as a player in Spain. >The daily added that Milosevic, who comes from the Bijeljina >region of eastern Bosnia, can expect a "seven- or eight- >digit" price when his Spanish team "auctions him off" to an >Italian team in the near future. The Yugoslavs played >pitifully in their first Euro 2000 match and were behind >underdog Slovenia 3-0 when they came from behind and scored >three goals in six minutes, two of the goals coming from >Milosevic. One wag wrote to "Danas" about the irony of a hero >named Milosevic playing so close to The Hague. > >************************************************* >Copyright (c) 2000. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved. The >RFE/RL Balkan Report is prepared by Patrick Moore based on >sources including reporting by RFE/RL's South Slavic Service. > >Direct content-related comments to Patrick Moore in Prague at >moorep at rferl.org or by phone at (4202) 2112-3631. > >Technical queries should be emailed to >listmanager at list.rferl.org >For information on subscriptions or reprints, contact Paul >Goble in Washington at (202) 457-6947 or at goblep at rferl.org. >Back issues are online at http://www.rferl.org/balkan-report > >NEWS BROADCASTS ONLINE >Listen to news for the South Slavic region daily at RFE/RL's >24-Hour LIVE Broadcast Studio on the RFE/RL Web site: >http://www.rferl.org/realaudio/index.html > >HOW TO SUBSCRIBE >Send an email to bosnia-report-request at list.rferl.org with >the word subscribe as the subject of the message. > >HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE >Send an email to bosnia-report-request at list.rferl.org with >the word unsubscribe as the subject of the message > >_____________________________________________________________ >RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC > > ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 11412 bytes Desc: not available URL: From kbejko at hotmail.com Sun Jun 25 11:08:27 2000 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2000 15:08:27 GMT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: New PBS Documentary travels to Albania (fwd) Message-ID: <20000625150827.17732.qmail@hotmail.com> >please reply directly. etrit. > >---------- Forwarded message ---------- >Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 18:17:41 EDT >From: KWhelan320 at aol.com >To: staff at alb-net.com >Subject: New PBS Documentary travels to Albania > >Hello: > >I work for a television production company outside Washington, DC. We are >currently in preproduction on a documentary film about a 27 year old >Albanian-American's visit to Albania for the first time. The film "Becoming >Bekim" will tell the intimate story of a family's reunion and explore the >richness of Albanian cultural traditions. > >I am trying to raise money or secure investors to cover production >expenses. >Do you know of any organizations or companies that might be willing to >underwrite this film with a partial contribution? Any suggestions you can >give me would be greatly appreciated. > >Thank you, > >Kevin Whelan >Roland House Productions >2020 North 14th Street >Arlington, VA 22201 >T 703-525-7000 >F 703-525-7001 > >__________________________________________________________________________ > Kosova War Crimes > http://www.alb-net.com/warcrimes-img/warcrimes.htm > >__________________________________________________________________________ >Opinions expressed on ALBANIAN do NOT necessarily reflect the views of the >owner, co-owners and/or moderators, nor any of their host institutions. >**>>> Technical support: albanian-request at listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu <<<<** ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From ipilika at wellesley.edu Mon Jun 26 11:08:24 2000 From: ipilika at wellesley.edu (Iris Pilika) Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 10:08:24 -0500 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Out Yugo As Patrick Bags Hat-Trick Message-ID: Monday June 26, 12:21 PM Out Yugo As Patrick Bags Hat-Trick ONE of the finest attacking displays seen in the European Championships helped Holland to set up a semi-final clash with Italy as records tumbled with the Dutch side defeating Yugoslavia 6-1, as Patrick Kluivert scored a hat-trick and Marc Overmars twice in Feyenoord. The Barcelona hitman struck twice in the first half and once in the second to destroy the depleted Yugoslavian team and deservedly send the orange faithful into ecstasy, and almost wrote his own name in the record books as the first man to score four times in a game in the European Championships. After the match when he was awarded a fourth goal, when he was credited with Holland's third goal despite admitting that he didn't touch the ball after flinging himself at an Overmars cross only to miss it and see it rebound off Dejan Govedarica and into the Yugoslavia goal. Uefa studied the goal on Monday morning and decided that the ball did, in fact, come off Govedarica, so Kluivert had to settle for a hat-trick. Overmars added a brace in the latter stages to ensure that Holland were the first to score six in a game in the European Championships, although a late consolation for Savo Milosevic meant that they only equalled the largest winning margin record of five goals. Arsenal man Dennis Bergkamp was at his mesmerising best, being at the heart of all that was good about Holland's play, and it was he who set up Kluivert for the opening goal, clipping a pass over the startled Yugoslav defence and into the path of the Barcelona man, who stabbed past Kralj. The second goal saw Edgar Davids play Kluivert clear and he fired past Kralj to send the Feyenoord crowd into raptures with a sublime half-volley. The Arsenal contingent in the Dutch side linked up to create the first chance of the game, when Overmars teased the Yugoslav defence down the right, before teeing up Bergkamp - who fired in a rasping drive that was blocked on its path to goal. It took just 12 minutes for Edwin van der Sar to justify Holland coach Frank Rijkaard's decision to recall him, as he made a fine punched clearance from a wicked Sinisa Mihajlovic free-kick. An expectant crowd were nearly silenced on the quarter-hour, when Savo Milosevic showed superb skill to trick his way past Frank de Boer and tee-up strike partner Pedrag Mijatovic, but he shot wastefully at van der Sar with the goal at his mercy. Bergkamp continued to dictet the play and, on 20 minutes, he drifted past Nisa Saveljic as if he was not there and curled a shot towards the top corner which forced Ivica Kralj into a fine save. The incessant Dutch pressure eventually led to Kluivert's opener on 24 minutes, but they did not sit back on their lead and Boudewijn Zenden forced Kralj into yet another save when he cut in from the left and hit a low shot. The second goal saw Davids set up Kluivert on 38 minutes, but Rijkaard's men could have gone further clear when Bergkamp forced Kralj into a reflex save as half-time approached. It took just six minutes after the interval before the crowd were once again on their feet, as Paul Bosvelt went down the right and curled a low cross towards the near post, where Kluivert had got in front of Govedarica but missed with his swipe before it cannoned off the defender and into the roof of the net. Overmars nearly created Holland's fourth goal, when his clever cross picked out the incoming Zenden, but Kralj was quickly off his goal-line to smother the ball as the Barcelona man reached it. However, the fourth goal was clearly coming and, a minute later, Zenden pulled the ball back for his Camp Nou team-mate to calmly place the ball in the far corner for what was eventually confirmed as his hat-trick goal. The Dutch attack continued to press forward and create chances as Yugoslavia searched for a consolation, with Mihajlovic, Darko Kovacevic and Milosevic all going close. The final gloss was put on a magnificent performance by the Dutch when Bergkamp passed across the edge of the area to Overmars, who flicked the ball up and volleyed past Kralj, who could only get his fingers to the ball in vain as it flew into the top corner. Overmars added the record sixth when Philip Cocu's shot rebounded off the post to the Arsenal winger, who passed the ball into the net past the flailing Kralj in the 90th minute. The consolation for the Yugoslavs finally came in injury time when Pedrag Mijatovic saw his volley come off the underside of the bar to Milosevic, who hit the ball past substitute goalkeeper Sander Westerveld, on for van der Sar as manager Rijkaard looked to preserve his number one custodian for the clash with Italy on Thursday. From mehollim at hotmail.com Wed Jun 28 18:37:10 2000 From: mehollim at hotmail.com (Mimoza Meholli) Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 15:37:10 PDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: [kosovo-news-discuss] Balkan News Items Message-ID: <20000628223710.93468.qmail@hotmail.com> >From: "INFO @ BIE" >Reply-To: kosovo-news-discuss at egroups.com >Subject: [kosovo-news-discuss] Balkan News Items >Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 10:53:07 -0400 > >Below please find news items recently reported in the international media, >and carried on the Balkan Information Exchange web site at >www.balkan-info.com. For the full text of these stories and more regional >news, visit www.balkan-info.com. > >The Balkan Information Exchange is a news and information clearinghouse >that >reflects the reporting of international and regional news agencies. >Information on the site is written in Albanian, English, French, Greek, >Russian and Serbian language, and is updated daily. > >Please send any comments to info at balkan-info.net. > > >>> > >Leaders Condemn Kosovo Violence >(Sources: Reuters, Associated Press (AP), and IPR Strategic Business >Information Database) > >In response to a rising tide of violence against Kosovo Serbs, the >international community and local leaders have issued damning condemnations >of the brutal incidents while prescribing various remedies to thwart >further >attacks and to promote long-term stability within Kosovo, according to >reports. In the past three months, Kosovo Serbs have been the frequent >targets of violent attacks largely blamed on ethnic Albanian insurgents, >the >reports said. > > >U.S. Forces and Hungarian Troops in Military Exercises >(Sources: U.S. Department of Defence (DoD), MTI news agency, Sofia) > >The four-day U.S.-Hungarian exercise "Lariat Response 2000" got underway in >the region of Kecskemet and Taborfalva in central Hungary on 22 June 2000, >MTI reported. "The exercise is designed to demonstrate NATO's commitment to >maintaining peace in the >region and the capability to rapidly reinforce coalition forces. It also >exercises the military's ability to conduct combined operations, to >include >airborne assault and airland training," a DoD statement said. > > >Slow Urban Registration In Kosovo Raises Concern >(Source: BIE Staff) > >Officials of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe >(OSCE) >have expressed their concern that rural and urban populations in Kosovo are >not engaging in the civil registration process at the same pace. OSCE and >UNMIK are in charge of registering the population of Kosovo for the purpose >of a census, to issue identity and travel documents, and to compile an >electoral roll. > > >Stability Pact Countries Affirm Progress >(Sources: Associated Press (AP), Financial Times and Xinhua news service) > >Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou stressed on 7 June the importance >of Balkan countries' assuming responsibility for the successful >implementation of the Stability Pact, the investment vehicle for >international donors, Xinhua reported. Bodo Hombach, special co-ordinator >for the pact, said a "quick start" aid package for the region was on track, >with more than 200 projects approved for funding, the Financial Times >wrote. > > >FAO Says Kosovo Agriculture Rebounding > (Source: Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)) > >Significant progress has been made to restore agricultural production in >Kosovo one year after the end of the conflict, the FAO said in a statement >on 12 June. The organisation will begin to scale down its emergency >assistance, one of its largest operations ever, and transition to >rehabilitation projects, providing policy advice, information gathering and >dissemination, and capacity building, the FAO said. > > >UNMIK Chief Appeals for Participation in Elections > (Sources: Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) and The Toronto Star) > >At a press conference marking the first anniversary of the arrival of >international troops in Kosovo, UNMIK Chief Bernard Kouchner said success >for Kosovars hinged on their registering for upcoming elections, the >Toronto >Star reported. Kouchner also called on the people of Kosovo, especially >the >Serb minority, to engage in the reconstruction and democratisation of the >province, the Toronto Star reported. > > >Mass Grave Sites Discovered in Kosovo >(Sources: Associated Press (AP), Agence France Presse (AFP), The Daily >Record (Scotland) and The Toronto Star) > >UN war crimes investigators began a second stage of mass grave site >excavations in Kosovo that have revealed the brutal slaying of hundreds of >mostly ethnic Albanian men, women and children, news services reported in >late May. Investigators have already uncovered 440 new gravesites this >year, a number the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former >Yugoslavia >(ICTY) expects to rise in the coming months, AP noted. > > >IOM Starts Campaign Against Trafficking of Women >(Source: BIE Staff) > >The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has announced the launch >of an information campaign for zero tolerance in the trafficking of women >into and out of Kosovo. IOM has recently launched similar campaigns in >Bulgaria and Hungary that highlight that sexual exploitation of women is a >growing problem in Central Europe and the Balkans. > > >Kosovar Boy Happy To Be Home After Life-Saving Treatment >(Sources: The Scotsman, The Herald (Glasgow),The Mirror, Daily Record, >Aberdeen Press and Journal) > >A two-year-old boy from Kosovo saved by Scottish doctors has brought >happiness back to his village in the war-torn Yugoslav province. > > >Bosnia Criticised for Slow Economic Recovery >(Sources: Associated Press (AP), The Financial Times and IPR Strategic >Business Information Database citing Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty >(RFE/RL)) > >The international community is losing patience with Bosnia's slow progress >towards a self-sustaining economy and could put an end to aid if change >doesn't come about soon, Bosnia's top international official Wolfgang >Petritsch told AP in late May. > > >United Nations Mission in Kosovo Marks Year of Progress and Challenges >(Sources: United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), >Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and Associated >Press (AP)) > >On 10 June 1999 the United Nations Security Council authorised the >Secretary-General to establish in Kosovo an interim international civilian >administration under which the people of the war-ravaged Yugoslav province >could enjoy substantial autonomy. The Council took its action by adopting >Resolution 1244 after NATO suspended its air operations following the >withdrawal of Yugoslav security forces. The task of the United Nations >Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) was to turn the province >into a functioning, democratic society, and under this mandate it has >worked >under a four part operational framework > > > > > >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com From aalibali at yahoo.com Fri Jun 30 14:00:08 2000 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 11:00:08 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Butrint in Greek hands Message-ID: <20000630180008.12837.qmail@web115.yahoomail.com> [09] Culture minister agrees to immediate implementation of educational protocol in meeting with Albanian ambassador Athens, 30/06/2000 (ANA) Culture Minister Theodoros Pangalos held talks with the Albanian ambassador to Athens on Wednesday and agreed to the immediate implementation of the educational protocol existing between Greece and Albania. In this context, Greek presence will be strengthened in Vouthroto and the region of Korce where, in cooperation with the Archdiocese of Albania and Archbishop of Tirana and All Albania Anastasios, the plan to preserve all the Byzantine churches and monuments will be developed. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get Yahoo! Mail - Free email you can access from anywhere! http://mail.yahoo.com/ From acapa at bu.edu Fri Jun 30 13:43:27 2000 From: acapa at bu.edu (Alma Capa) Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 13:43:27 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Culture Message-ID: <000f01bfe2ba$b2608e50$eb5dc580@bu.edu> Culture http://www.bu.edu/nis/consultants/vlalwani/bostonlinks/boston/culture.html -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed