From ipilika at hotmail.com Sun Jun 3 15:15:11 2001 From: ipilika at hotmail.com (Iris Pilika) Date: Sun, 03 Jun 2001 19:15:11 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Kosovo Liberation Army arming guerrilla group from within Greece Message-ID: Albanian irredentism on the Net Reports claim Kosovo Liberation Army arming guerrilla group from within Greece; government is dismissive By Miron Varouhakis Kathimerini English Edition News reports claiming that the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army was arming an Albanian guerrilla group inside Greece to "defend" the rights of Albanians were dismissed by government officials this week. But the claims highlighted what appears to be a growing agitation movement over the Internet. The Foreign Ministry and government spokesmen responded to a report over the Internet by a news agency of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on comments ostensibly made by a Switzerland-based representative of the KLA to Australian radio. Foreign Ministry spokesman Panayiotis Beglitis reacted angrily on Wednesday, charging that "the sick imaginations of some terrorist elements who are trying to raise non-existent issues have no limits." On Thursday, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas played down the report. "We don't give it more importance than necessary, because otherwise we are playing their game," said Reppas. He noted, though, that "we are watching closely the statements and actions of certain groups." The officials were referring to comments ostensibly made last week by KLA representative Ali Ahmeti regarding the existence of a "Camouria Liberation Army" in northwestern Greece, which is ready to "defend" the rights of ethnic Albanians living in the region. He reportedly told an Australian radio station that the rights of the Albanians living in northwestern Greece should be "defended" by the representatives of the "already established and well-trained Camouria Liberation Army." Yesterday Ahmeti denied that he had made such comments in an interview with the BBC. Playing the issue down Government officials were clear in their statements that no such group exists in the region, and that the Albanian government has discredited the actions of paramilitary groups such as the KLA and National Liberation Army waging a rebellion in FYROM. For the record, the Cams (pronounced "Chams") were a group of Albanians who lived in the northwestern Greek province of Thesprotia (with the 1926 population census putting their number at 19,605). During the Italian and German occupation of Greece in World War II, they cooperated with the invaders, leading to their flight to Albania after the war. They were condemned in absentia by a court and their land expropriated. Some of them have formed pressure groups in Albania but Athens has rejected any effort by Tirana to raise such an issue. On the Internet, though, Albanian groups appear to have launched an "information campaign" to put pressure on Greece on an issue that Athens says does not exist. Various groups present maps depicting a "Greater Albania" which includes a large area of northwestern Greece, and forums promoting the "repatriation" of ethnic Albanians. On one website (www.albabel.yucom.be) one reads: "A large number of Cam population is situated on the seaside and goes up to the Gulf of Preveza. Another considerable number of towns and villages are situated on both sides of the river 'Kalamait.' The rest of the Cam villages and towns are situated in more remote places and often on hills and mountains... The Greek government has been very hostile toward Cams and the main reason is the fact that Cams have a very strong Albanian identity... To this day we Cams in Greece are described as bad people from an increasing 'suffocating' Greek propaganda based on the fact that we refuse to be assimilated as is the case with some of 'Arvanites' in south and central Greece." The rather new website (it has had just 11 visits so far) also carries maps of what it calls "Chameria" and illustrations of historic Cam warriors. Another website is that of the Boston-based Frosina Information Network (www.frosina.org/infobits/albgreece), an electronic forum which Albanians use to exchange ideas over current affairs. In the section titled "Albanians in Greece" one reads: "The Albanians in Greece are divided in two categories: Albanians who live on Albanian territory but who have remained outside of the unjust borders which were drawn up by the Ambassadorial Conference of London (1913), and those Albanians who departed Albanian territory during the first diaspora in the 14th and 15th centuries." _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com From aalibali at yahoo.com Sun Jun 3 21:08:24 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sun, 3 Jun 2001 18:08:24 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] On Aromunian Language in Greece Message-ID: <20010604010824.66871.qmail@web11508.mail.yahoo.com> European Commission asks for more information about conviction of Greek language activist Brussels 14/5/01 by John Walsh & Johan H?ggman (EUROLANG) The European Commission is to ask the Greek government for more information about the recent conviction of a language activist. In February, Sotiris Bletsas of the Aroumanian minority was sentenced to fifteen months in prison, suspended for three years. His lawyer said that he had been convicted of 'disseminating false information' under Article 191 of the Greek Penal Code. Bletsas was first arrested in 1995 after distributing publications of the European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages (EBLUL) at a meeting of the Aroumanian community in central Greece. The publication mentioned the existence of the Aroumanian language. In response to a question from the European Parliament, the European Commissioner for Education and Culture, Viviane Reding, said the Commission considered the case to be 'of great importance' but could not respond exhaustively due to a lack of information. 'Therefore, it has asked the Greek government to send it a copy of the sentence as soon as possible, along with any other information relevant to the case', Commissioner Reding added. The question was asked by two members of the European Parliament's Green/Free Alliance group. Welsh MEP, Eurig Wyn, and Basque MEP, Gorka Kn?rr Borr?s, asked the Commission if it considered that the sentence was 'compatible with European values of freedom of expression and opinion and of cultural and linguistic diversity'. Article 191 of the Greek Penal Code has already been found to be violation of the European Convention for Human Rights, and has criticised by human rights groups such as Amnesty International and the International Helsinki Federation. The Hellenic League of Human Rights and the European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages have also expressed concern at the sentence. --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Personal Address - Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at law.harvard.edu Mon Jun 4 10:50:18 2001 From: aalibali at law.harvard.edu (aalibali at law.harvard.edu) Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2001 10:50:18 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Conference on Macedonia Message-ID: Centre for South-East European Studies, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London Macedonia Macedonias: Changing Contexts in the Changing Balkans 14-16 June 2001 Convenors: Peter Siani-Davies, Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers, Vesna Popovski & Zhidas Daskalovski Thursday 14 June 2001 Venue: First Floor, 21 Russell Square, London. 9.00 Registration 9.45 Welcoming Address 10.00 Perspectives on the Past Professor Victor Friedman (University of Chicago) Nations and nationalism in Gjorgji Pulevski s trilingual dictionary: what the Nineteenth Century can tell the Twenty-First Dr Nikola Jordanovski (Sts Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje) Between the necessity and the impossibility of a national history 11.30 Coffee/Tea 12.00 Interethnic Relations Goran Janev (Oxford and Sts Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje) Macedonia s ethnic politics and the informal political organisation of Albanians and Macedonians Vassiliki Neofotistos (Harvard University) Beyond stereotypes: the porousness of ethnic labels in the Republic of Macedonia Discussant: Dr Hugh Poulton 1.30 Lunch 2.30 Historical Perspectives Professor Stefan Troebst (Leipzig University) "Fuehrerbefehl" Adolf Hitler and the proclamation of an independent Macedonian state in September 1944 Professor Bernard Lory (INALCO, Paris) The first collective use of Macedonian as an ethnonym Dijana Despodova (Central European University, Budapest) National myths in contemporary Macedonian historiography and literature Discussant: tbc 4.30 Tea/Coffee 5.00 Film: Next Year in Lerin (UK, 50 mins.) Introduced by the Director Jill Daniels Films: Macedonia seen by&Six contemporary documentaries, including One day in the life of& (Director: Igor Pop Trajkov, 12 mins.) 6.30 Wine Friday 15 June 2001 Venue: Room 336, Third Floor, North Block, Senate House, Malet Street, London. WC1E 7HU. 9.30 Communication: Negotiating Boundaries Dr Keith Brown (Brown University) Brokering the Balkans: the abuses of culture in Macedonia Dimitar Bechev (St Antony s College, Oxford) Dot-com antagonisms: the Macedonian question on the web Rozita Dimova (Stanford University) From privilege to burden: tautological limitations of the name Macedonia Discussant: Dr Jane Cowan (Sussex University) 11.30 Coffee/Tea 12.00 Foreign Policy Perspectives Dr Dejan Jovic (University of Stirling) Macedonian foreign policy dilemmas Dr David Phinnemore (Queen s University Belfast) Macedonia and the European Union: security and regional cooperation through the stabilisation and association agreement Discussant: Maja Trajkovska (Journalist & LSE) 1.30 Lunch 2.30 Conflict Prevention and the Outside World Dr Alice Ackermann (Lancaster University) The evolution of conflict prevention norms: the case of Macedonia Andrew Loomis (Search for Common Ground in Macedonia) Politics and identity in Macedonia: intrinsic versus extrinsic understandings Discussant : Adelheid Feilcke-Tiemann (Deutsche Welle) 4.00 Tea/Coffee 4.30 Security: the Domestic Perspective Islam Yusufi (Assistant National Security Adviser to the President of Macedonia) Visions for Macedonian Security Dr Teuta Arifi (Sts Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje) Albanians in Macedonia: division or integration? Professor Ljubomir Frckoski (Sts Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje) The paradox of Macedonian stability and identity Discussant: Gabriel Partos (BBC) 6.30 Wine Saturday 16 June Venue: Room 336, Third Floor, North Block, Senate House, Malet Street, London. WC1E 7HU. 10.00 Spillover Dr Kyril Drezov (Keele University) Collateral damage: the impact of the Kosovo War in Macedonia Arsim Zekolli (Political Analyst, Skopje) Macedonian-Kosovar interactions in the 1980s and their implications for today 11.30 Coffee/Tea 12.00 Interethnic Relations and the Politics of Representation Farimah Daftary (European Centre for Minority Issues) The role of the local NGO sector in promoting inter-ethnic communication Brenda Lee Pearson (International Crisis Group) Census 2001 Discussant: Isak Ramadani (Journalist, Skopje) 1.30 Lunch 2.30 Communication: crossing boundaries Dr Christian Voss (University of Freiburg) Macedonian linguistic and ethnic identity in Aegean Macedonia Dr Gilles De Rapper (University of Marne-la Vallee)The son of three fathers has no hat on his head: minority status and personal strategies in a Macedonian village of Albania and among Albanians of Macedonia Discussant: Dr Galia Valtchinova 4.00 Tea/Coffee 4.30 Visions of the future? Professor Vladimir Ortakovski (Sts Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje) The Albanian minority in Macedonia Jenny Engstrom (LSE) Towards positive peace in Macedonia: resolving the tensions between individual and collective rights Zhidas Daskalovski (SSEES) Changing notions of citizenship and nationality: Macedonia's political identity and the Macedonian Albanians three scenarios for the future Discussant: tbc 6.00 Wine Conference Board: Wendy Bracewell, Zhidas Daskalovski, Vesna Popovski, Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers, Peter Siani-Davies and Stefan Troebst Conference Administrator: Nevenka Martin From aalibali at law.harvard.edu Tue Jun 5 11:18:28 2001 From: aalibali at law.harvard.edu (aalibali at law.harvard.edu) Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 11:18:28 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Annual Seminar in Prishtina Message-ID: From: Andreas Cyllok THE TWENTIETH INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR FOR ALBANIAN LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND CULTURE Faculty of Philology 38000 Prishtina, KOSOVA Tel. ++38138 518 387 mailto:rismajli at hotmail.com mailto:osmangashi at yahoo.com mailto:seminari at uni-pr.edu Institute for Linguistics and Literature Tirana, ALBANIA fax. 003554235134 Honorary Director: Prof. Dr. Idriz Ajeti Director: Prof. dr. Rexhep ISMAJLI, Prishtina Co-Director: Prof. dr. Jorgo BULO, Tirana. Secretary: Dr. Isak SHEMA, Prishtina. Dr. Enver HYSA, Tirana. Assistant Secretary: Osman GASHI, and Bardh RUGOVA, Prishtina, Ardian DOKA, Tirana. The International Seminar for the Albanian Language, Literature and Culture was founded in 1974 at the Faculty of Philology (Faculty of Philosophy at that time) of the University of Prishtina. This seminar is organised for the students, professors and researchers outside Kosova and Albania engaged in the Albanian sciences and in albanology in general. The Seminar has so far organised 19 Sessions. In 1991 the imposed Serbian rule oriented against the Albanian culture and everything Albanian, interrupted the activities of the Seminar. In 1995 and 1996, in co-operation with the Institute of Linguistics and Literature of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Albania, the Seminar was forced to develop its activities in Tirana. THE 20TH SEMINAR WILL DEVELOP THE ACTIVITIES IN PRISHTINA FROM 13-25 AUGUST 2001. The arrival of the participants in Kosova and their accommodation in hotel Iliria - Prishtina - the 12 August 2001. The Seminar opens on the 13th August at 11. The basic program of the Seminar contains the following activities: 1. Intensive courses in the Albanian language: three levels; 2. Lectures in Albanian linguistics, literature and culture; 3. A series of general conferences (on actual developments - economy, culture, history, ethnography, in Kosova and the region); 4. Additional cultural program with the aim to show the participants the natural beauties of Kosova and the activities in other centres; 5. A scientific conference on Azem Shkreli's literary works 6. The 100th anniversary of Zef Serembe COLLOQUIUM (24-25. 08. 2001) Current uses of Standard Albanian in Public Albanian Literature of the 20th Century APPLICATION AND ENROLLEMENT Surname and name .................................... .................................... Date and place of birth ..................................... ..................................... Sex................................. Profession.......................... Nationality......................... Country............................. Address............................. .................................... Would you like to present a communication, a scientific reference? The subject: ..................................... ..................................... The Directory of the Seminar will take over the expenses for accommodation and eventual excursions in Kosova. The travel expenses to Prishtina and return must be covered by the participants them selves. The application for participation at the 20th Seminar should arrive to the Directory by 25th June 2001 in one of the announced addresses. The Directory of the Seminar From aalibali at law.harvard.edu Tue Jun 5 12:27:09 2001 From: aalibali at law.harvard.edu (aalibali at law.harvard.edu) Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 12:27:09 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Jobs at Harvard Message-ID: Requisition Number 9843 Title Faculty Assistant II School / Unit Harvard Law School Department Faculty Support Location Cambridge Full Or Part Time Full-Time Salary Grade 53 Date Posted 05/09/2001 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Duties And Responsibilities Works under direction of two senior faculty members whose combined areas of interest include int'l contemporary legal theory, law of European Communities, family law and discrimination, sexuality and the law. Provide moderately complex secretarial support including preparation of course materials and other academic materials. Maintain databases.Organize intricate travel arrangements. Process financial transactions using web based applications;sort, prioritize mail; maintain files.Act as liaison between faculty member and high volume of foreign students, staff and external contacts. Handle library requests. Support European Law Research Center activities: oversee Visiting Researchers/Scholars appointments(admissions and contact with funding agency). Prepare and track budget,organize events;upkeep web page,oversee work and payroll for research fellow. Process visa and registration paperwork. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Required Education BA strongly pref; 2 years f/t related experience required.Strong interpersonal skill for communicating with multiple constituencies,strong writing and editing skills for drafting letters, email correspondence, website text, and other announcements. Strong organization and admin skills. Must be flexible, able to set priorities, manage deadlines, and work effectively with people. (50 wpm).Windows proficiency required. Word, Eudora, Netscape and Internet research skills, basic HTML/javascript, demonstrated ability to learn and work with new technologies. MS Outlook, Excel, Access, FTP helpful. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How To Apply Please use the apply on line feature below or send your resume and cover letter to: Harvard University Resume Processing Center Req# 9843 11 Holyoke Street Cambridge, MA 02138 Please note that upon submitting your credentials, you will become part of Harvard's applicant database, and therefore, may be considered for other suitable positions at the University. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Harvard University is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity. From Gazhebo at aol.com Tue Jun 5 13:31:08 2001 From: Gazhebo at aol.com (Gazhebo at aol.com) Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2001 13:31:08 EDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] A New Atlantic Charter: NEWSWEEK Interview with Gen. Wesley Clark Message-ID: <59.b8bc94c.284e715c@aol.com> A New Atlantic Charter An interview with Gen. Wesley Clark NEWSWEEK Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld spoke recently of pulling U.S. troops out of the Balkans. Secretary of State Colin Powell, touring Africa, told reporters that the Bush administration is looking for opportunities to "back off" some of America?s overseas commitments, adding: "The president wants that." Such talk makes Gen. Wesley Clark nervous. As the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO during the war in Kosovo, and author of a newly published memoir, "Waging Modern War," Clark has been a forceful advocate of humanitarian interventionism and American engagement in the world, especially Europe. Last week he spoke with NEWSWEEK?s Michael Meyer. Excerpts: MEYER: In early 1998, seeing war coming in Kosovo, you urged Washington to intervene before the situation got out of hand. But you were told to back off by Gen. Joe Ralston of the Joint Chiefs: "We?ve got a lot on our plates back here." Are you feeling a bit of deja vu? CLARK: It?s worse. We?re seeing the same institutional infighting as in the past, with the Pentagon pushing its own interests and no clear vision of where it is going in terms of U.S. leadership in the world. How so, exactly? The cold war is over. But we haven?t come to terms with this. We hear a lot of talk of preparing for the "next threat," whether that?s rogue missiles or new enemies. The cold war is over. But we haven?t come to terms with this. Our new world is not dominated by one hostile ideology that seeks, as Khrushchev put it, to "bury us." It?s about democracy, individuality, choice. Our new challenges involve cooperation more than confrontation. The strategic problem the U.S. faces is how to help its friends, strengthen its allies, reinforce those who share its values. We haven?t thought this through, articulated our goals. Our policies will therefore be haphazard and episodic. What?s the main challenge, as you see it? Europe. The rivalry between the United States and the European Union is worse than during Kosovo. Yes, our allies in Latin America and Asia are important. But I look first to Europe. It?s our natural base?with 400 to 500 million people, depending on how you define its borders, and a GDP as big as our own. We share a history and culture. Europe has two votes on the U.N. Security Council. Together with us, they?re the force that can move and shape diplomacy to promote peace and progress in the world. We are a de facto member of Europe, and the Balkans is therefore a vital U.S. interest. Newsweek International June 11 Issue Yet in Bosnia, Secretary Rumsfeld says "mission accomplished." The easy military tasks have been accomplished?the return of territory, separating the warring forces, patrolling flash points. But peace has not been achieved. Neither have the Dayton accords, in part because of pusillanimous ... that?s too strong a word ... because of hesitant, excessively cautious international civilian leadership. It takes a combination of strong, forceful, determined civilian leadership and forward, active military engagement on the ground to ensure success. The military mission is not finished. What about Kosovo? Much of the violence is impelled by our failure to address the issue of "final status." In 1999, when the fighting began, we knew it would be difficult, if not impossible, to reintegrate Kosovo into Yugoslavia. Humpty Dumpty had fallen off the wall. Independence may or may not ultimately be the best solution for Kosovo, but it has to be an option. The West is going to have to sponsor a process by which that will be determined. It can?t happen without active U.S. participation and possibly U.S. leadership. Why couldn?t that be Europe?s job? Because of the varying and often conflicting interests of many European nations, not only Yugoslavia?s neighbors but also countries farther removed that might be dealing with their own separatist movements. They are going to need reassurance, shoring up, firm commitments of support on many different dimensions. Such as Macedonia? Yes. Macedonia needs urgent NATO assistance. Troops on the ground? Absolutely. It?s time to act. Any thoughts on next week?s Europe summit? We need a new Atlantic Charter. Europeans have always questioned the real strength of America?s commitment, but never so deeply. On our side, there?s talk of "differing interests," worries about a separate European defense force. We need to tell Europe, in clear and certain terms, that the United States will be there to help meet any security challenge, whether it requires a company of U.S. Marines or three divisions and all our air assets, as in Kosovo. And we need assurance that Europe will always turn first to NATO. The talk may be more about missile defense ... Yes, but the important thing is a new charter. Then second-level discussions, like missile defense, will take their rightful place, to be decided in consultation with our allies. From Gazhebo at aol.com Tue Jun 5 13:55:09 2001 From: Gazhebo at aol.com (Gazhebo at aol.com) Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2001 13:55:09 EDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Legalization of migrants begins: Kathimerini Message-ID: <7b.15c84911.284e76fd@aol.com> Legalization of migrants begins Major operation of registering immigrants and granting temporary residence permits starts today Ten centers like the one pictured will deal with around 200,000 migrants expected to register in the city of Athens. By Pikia Galati Kathimerini The process of granting temporary residence permits to migrants begins today. An estimated 400,000 migrants are expected to take part, and the majority of them are expected to receive a six-month residence permit. The law stipulates the process must be complete by 2 August, but there has been talk of allowing an extension for the municipality of Athens. During the registration period, no illegal migrants will be expelled for failing to have residence permits. Documentation >From today, all illegal migrants may apply to the municipality in which they live. In order to complete the application form, they must produce: - Two color photographs; - A passport or birth certificate or family status certificate or identity card from their own country, verified and translated into Greek. - Official documents proving their residence in Greece from at least June 2, 2000 until today (such as mobile or fixed-line telephone bills, electricity or water bills, or documents from the Greek school attended by the applicant's child, an unlimited-trip bus pass, or a green card which has expired or will expire by June 2). - "Paravolo" (receipt for deposit) of 50,000 drachmas paid to the taxation office (for adults only). Applicants who have none of the above documents, may buy 250 social insurance stamps from any fund, paying for them without a fine being levied. Applicants who live in a municipality with fewer than 20,000 residents may get a certificate from the municipality that they have been living in since June 2, 2000. Recognition of 250 working days requires that a migrant be insured with OGA by paying 100,000 drachmas, with IKA for 469,750 drachmas or TEBE for 487,000 drachmas. When applicants have lodged the application and supporting documents with the clerk at the municipality, the clerk will issue them with a certificate from the municipal clerk. Once the authorities have checked their documents, applicants can get their six-month residence permit from the the municipality on production of the certificate. Municipalities have done their best to prepare for the registration process. In Athens, where the majority of migrants are expected to register, there are 10 reception centers, where applicants may register by appointment (arranged by telephoning 195 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily). During the first phase, 150 council and Interior Ministry staff will register migrants. Interpreters in nine languages will be available. Piraeus authorities say the reception center at 38 Ermoupoleos Street, Kaminia is in operation. Seven municipal employees, aided by regional authority and Interior Ministry staff will register applicants. There will be access to the telephone number 1446 for legal advice to settle any procedural snarls. In Macedonia, municipalities are at varying stages of readiness. Responses from local authorities ranged from: "We'll start and see how we go," as Mayor Michalis Selvidis of Echedoro said, to: "It will be chaotic but we hope there won't be any panic during the first days," according to an employee at the Menemeni Municipality. In Thessaloniki, the local council administration says it is ready but does not know quite what to expect. To avoid crowds, the council will accept applications in alphabetical order, starting with those whose surnames begin with the first letters of the Latin alphabet. There is a reception center with about 10 staff at the Music Center in the port (18 Kountouriotou Street). The municipality of Patras is the best prepared in Achaia, said Mayor Evangelos Floratos, with 12 employees working double shifts to register migrants. The council expects to receive 400 million drachmas. By contrast, the Dimis Municipality in Kato Achaia is the least prepared. As Mayor Dionysis Gotsoulias says: "We'll use two employees, because we don't have any others, and other work will be held up. Besides, many of the 600 or more foreigners in the area have expressed caution about registering, for fear the process may lead to their expulsion." "No staff are available, but we'll do our best and we are thinking of taking on extra personnel, in which case the problem will be how to train them," says Mayor Stylianos Korovesis of Aghios Stefanos, Attica. "There are many problems. Apart from finding staff and space, we will probably face the problem of interpretation, contact and understanding." While Elefsina's Deputy Mayor Antonis Manolakas said: "We hope two employees will be enough, even though a large number of people in the area need to be dealt with. Otherwise we'll try and send others. But where can we send them from, when permanent administrative staff have not been approved for the municipality in recent years?" Mayoral protests Other mayors protest that they have not had enough time or information to prepare for the process. "We weren't given enough time or the necessary information. It's not reasonable," said Perama Mayor Yiannis Patsilinakos. "A responsibility which we shouldered willingly has found us unprepared to deal with it properly," said Deputy Mayor Panayiotis Psyllas, adding: "This is additional work for councils with few staff. And more so when the end-date essentially is not August 5, because the work will continue to come in periodically, if not quite so much of it (for example, issuing green cards)." As Mayor G. Liakos of Aspropyrgos points out: "For municipalities, this process is unprecedented. Problems are sure to arise, but we'll see during the course of events." Nea Erythraia Mayor Vassiliki Tambaki-Magoula comments: "We can't meet the needs of the municipality, much less staff secondments." An estimated 20,000 migrants live in Peristeri, many of whom are illegal. "The infrastructure of the municipality cannot guarantee the staff, many of whom will be on summer leave," says General Secretary Dimitris Tsekouras. "The employees have not been trained, but I don't think it's so difficult. But the process is ongoing and laborious. Let's hope they don't protest." Of course, some municipalities say there are no particular problems. "The procedure is simple and there is no problem. With 20 people we managed to pay 6,500 grants in five days," says Ano Liosia Mayor Nikos Papadimas. Drapetsona Mayor Constantinos Chronopoulos takes a similar line: "It is a simple matter for us. Some employees will have to work overtime, but not very much." Thanassis Tsinganas, Ilias Kanistras, N, Bardounias and G. Lialios have contributed to this article. Where to apply AGHIOS STEFANOS: Oion sports club, 2 Iroon Polytechniou. ANO LIOSIA: Drosoupolis covered gym, at end of M. Alexandrou. ASPROPYRGOS: 8 Athanasiou Diakou (behind town hall). AVLONA: Cultural Center, old Athens-Halkida highway. DRAPETSONA: City Hall, Agoniston Polytechneiou & Karaiskaki ELEFSINA: Ethnikis Antistaseos & Tsoka. KALLITHEA: City Hall, 76 Matzagriotaki. KAMATERO: City Hall, 54 Phylis. KOROPI: City Hall, 47 V. Constantinou & Karaiskaki. LAVRION: 1 Kountourioti. MEGARA: City Hall, C. Moraiti & G. Mavroukaki. PERSITERI: Municipal offices, opposite City Hall, Plateia Dimokratias. PERAMA: Old City Hall, 28 Leoforos Dimokratias. SALAMINA: City Hall, C. Karamanlis & Ammochostou. TAVROS: City Hall, Pireos & Eptalofou. From Gazhebo at aol.com Tue Jun 5 13:56:15 2001 From: Gazhebo at aol.com (Gazhebo at aol.com) Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2001 13:56:15 EDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Balkan defense meeting: Kathimerini Message-ID: <82.b930e15.284e773f@aol.com> Balkan defense meeting Region's ministers and US defense secretary convene in Thessaloniki Defense ministers of southeastern European countries gather today in Thessaloniki for an informal meeting that will focus on ways to deal with the ethnic Albanian insurgency in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the future of Kosovo and the general situation in the Balkans. Defense Minister Akis Tsochadzopoulos is to hold separate meetings with several of his counterparts today and tomorrow, including Turkey's Sabahattin Cakmakoglu. Tomorrow Tsochadzopoulos will meet with US Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, on the second day of his most extensive overseas trip since the Bush administration was sworn in in January. Other ministers and delegations are expected from Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, FYROM, Romania, Italy, Ukraine and Slovenia. It will be the first time the Ukrainian defense minister, Olexander Kuzmuk, will be taking part in such a meeting. Also participating will be officials from NATO, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union and the Balkan Stability Pact. In their last meeting, in Skopje, the region's defense ministers had agreed on a joint statement condemning extremist actions and supporting the territorial integrity of countries. They had also agreed on stronger measures to prevent ethnic Albanian guerrillas from infiltrating FYROM from Kosovo. In Skopje they had disagreed over whether a newly-established brigade made up of troops from the region's countries should help patrol the Kosovo-FYROM border. The subject was postponed until Thessaloniki's session. From Gazhebo at aol.com Wed Jun 6 12:34:53 2001 From: Gazhebo at aol.com (Gazhebo at aol.com) Date: Wed, 06 Jun 2001 12:34:53 EDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Rumsfeld Convinced of Kosovo Need for U.S. Troops Message-ID: <7e.16039d7e.284fb5ae@aol.com> Rumsfeld Convinced of Kosovo Need for U.S. Troops By Charles Aldinger THESSALONIKI, Greece (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Wednesday that his visit with U.S. peacekeeping troops in Kosovo this week convinced him of the need to keep an American military presence there. "Oh, certainly," he told reporters when asked if U.S. troops should remain in a 43,000-member multinational military force maintaining stability in the troubled southern Yugoslav province. The secretary flew into Kosovo on a military helicopter on Tuesday, received classified briefings from U.S. commanders and met with dozens of the 6,000 U.S. troops there before flying to Thessaloniki for a meeting of Southeast European defense ministers. "There is no question but that the SFOR and KFOR forces in the Balkans are making a very valuable contribution to stability in the region," Rumsfeld told a press conference with Greek Defense Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos on Wednesday. President Bush has said that the U.S. military is stretched too thinly by non-combat tasks around the world and that its participation in such tasks should be reduced. But Rumsfeld reiterated that no cutback of U.S. peacekeepers in the Kosovo force (KFOR) or from the more than 3,000 American troops in a stabilization force (SFOR) in Bosnia would be made without close consultation with allies. "WITH FRIENDS AND ALLIES" "The Bush administration's policy is that we are engaged in the Balkans with our friends and allies. We have always worked closely with them with respect to any adjustments or changes that have taken place over the years with respect to the force levels and force deployments and organizations," he told reporters. "And that will continue to be our policy and our full intention," the secretary added. "Obviously, the hope and goal and intention of all of the nations that have troops in the Balkans is that, over a period of time, the parties on the ground will sort through their differences in a peaceful way and find the kind of civil structures that will enable them to have the stability that would be necessary for them on a more durable basis." Rumsfeld praised U.S. peacekeepers in Kosovo on Tuesday during a visit to Camp Bondsteel for helping secure peace there, but made no mention in his talk to troops of sentiment in Washington for reducing overseas deployments. On the first visit to Kosovo by a senior figure in the new U.S. administration, he spoke to a gathering of several hundred cheering army soldiers in a tent at the main U.S. base in the Yugoslav province, calling their job "truly a noble calling." Rumsfeld, on a six-day European tour, did not refer to the debate over the role of U.S. peacekeepers in Kosovo, a de facto international protectorate since NATO's 1999 bombing campaign to halt Belgrade's repression of its ethnic Albanian majority. U.S. reports last month that Rumsfeld was pushing to withdraw troops from Bosnia caused concern in a country struggling to heal the ethnic divide after its 1992-95 war. But the Bush administration has toned down its pre-election rhetoric, assuring NATO allies recently that the United States would not unilaterally withdraw peacekeeping troops and would consult them carefully on any drawdown. From Gazhebo at aol.com Wed Jun 6 12:41:30 2001 From: Gazhebo at aol.com (Gazhebo at aol.com) Date: Wed, 06 Jun 2001 12:41:30 EDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Registration begins: Kathimerini Message-ID: Registration begins 20,000 immigrants queue at municipal offices but few apply for permits EPA Squashed in a deep press outside the only registration center functioning in central Athens, hundreds of illegal immigrants queue for information on the legalization process which started yesterday. A minority tabled applications, while only a few had all the necessary documents. The process, intended to offer temporary, six-month residence permits to an estimated 800,000 illegal immigrants resident in Greece, ends on August 2. The legalization process for an estimated 800,000 illegal immigrants living in Greece lumbered off slowly yesterday with some 20,000 people queuing outside local council offices all over the country, mainly to seek information on the procedure. "I came to find out what I must do," a young Iraqi man waiting outside the Athens municipality office on Maisonos Street, near Vathi Square in the city center, told Kathimerini. "But I will have to stay off work for a second day, which will be a problem. They want a lot of papers, and I don't know if I will be able to collect them in time." Many hundreds of immigrants crowded outside the office from early in the morning, waiting for their turn. Most just wanted information, while the majority of those queuing to register were told that they lacked the necessary papers. This usually included a receipt of payment for the 50,000-drachma registration fee, as well as the social security fund coupons proving that their bearers have paid a year's contributions. "I have no proof that I have lived in Greece for a year," 37-year-old household help Galina from Ukraine said. "I live in the house where I work, so I have no rent receipts or public utility bills. Now they tell me to buy 250 coupons for the year 2000 from the OGA farmers' fund, which are cheapest. I have already paid the 50,000 drachma fee; where will I find another 100,000 for the coupons?" Interior Minister Vasso Papandreou visited the Maisonos Street center, and voiced satisfaction with what she saw. "Both the preparations carried out and the flow (of applicants) are most satisfactory," she said, adding that immigrants could receive information regarding the legalization procedure over the phone on the 1464 hotline. The Municipality of Athens has launched an information campaign by handing out leaflets to the estimated 20,000 immigrant children attending lessons at local schools. This is also intended to circumvent the scores of intermediaries who hang around registration centers offering immigrants to go through the procedure for them, for a fee. However, only one of the seven registration centers supposed to be functioning in the municipality opened for business yesterday. Over 300 applications were submitted, while 1,118 appointments were made over the phone. Immigrants are only admitted if they have made an appointment on the 195 line. Another four centers are expected to open today in Athens, at 152 Harilaou Trikoupi Street, 22 Bairaktari Street, 31 Kormouli Street and 11-13 Galaxia Street. From Gazhebo at aol.com Wed Jun 6 22:26:41 2001 From: Gazhebo at aol.com (Gazhebo at aol.com) Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2001 22:26:41 EDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] EU raises prospect of closer ties with Albania Message-ID: <4c.166169cc.28504061@aol.com> EU raises prospect of closer ties with Albania BRUSSELS, June 6 (Reuters) - Albania, one of Europe's poorest countries, took a modest step towards its eventual goal of membership of the European Union on Wednesday. The European Commission, the EU's executive body, adopted a report recommending the opening of negotiations on a so-called Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) -- the first formal step on the road to membership. The 15-nation EU recently forged such an accord with Albania's neighbour Macedonia, now racked by fighting between government forces and ethnic Albanian rebels. The EU is also set to sign an SAA accord with another Balkan state, Croatia. "The perspective of opening SAA negotiations is seen by the Commission as a way of helping to maintain the momentum of recent political and economic reform, and of encouraging Albania to continue its constructive and moderating influence in the region," the Commission said in a statement. Albania has won Western praise in recent months for its condemnation of the gunmen fighting in Macedonia and for its refusal to endorse their call for a 'Greater Albania' state. But EU officials said the SAA negotiations were unlikely to begin until the end of this year at the earliest and still hinged on the degree of political stability reached in Albania. "We support the idea of opening negotiations as soon as possible but there are clear conditions which Albania must first meet," said one official. Albanians elect a new government later this month in what is seen as a litmus test for democracy in the tiny Balkan state. The ruling Socialists hope to win a second four-year mandate to follow up what they say was a first term restoring law and order and stabilising the economy after fraudulent pyramid schemes collapsed and sparked nationwide riots in 1997. From Gazhebo at aol.com Wed Jun 6 22:28:30 2001 From: Gazhebo at aol.com (Gazhebo at aol.com) Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2001 22:28:30 EDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Balkan defence ministers blast Macedonian violence Message-ID: Balkan defence ministers blast Macedonian violence THESSALONIKI, Greece, June 6 (Reuters) - Balkan Defence Ministers condemned on Wednesday the continuing violence between ethnic Albanian rebels and Macedonian troops and urged political talks among Macedonia's ethnic groups. "We strongly condemn the continuing terrorist actions by extremists, who are urged to cease their activities," Greek Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos told a news conference after a South-Eastern European Defence Ministerial meeting. The ministers had earlier released a statement stressing "the need to intensify the dialogue on inter-ethnic relations within the parliament...in view of achieving urgently needed reforms." The informal ministerial meeting began with Macedonian Defence Minister Vlado Buckovski calling for a one-minute silence to honour five Macedonian soldiers killed overnight on Wednesday in the deadliest rebel attack in almost six weeks. U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, on a week-long European tour, also attended the meeting. Ministers attending the two-day talks agreed to use the joint Balkan military force, known as South-Eastern Europe Brigade (SEEBRIG) after the summer. "The Ministers have been informed of the operational readiness of SEEBRIG," Tsohatzopoulos said. "In the autumn we will take a decision on the deployment of this force." The South-Eastern Europe Brigade was set up in 1999 and has not yet been used. Its members are Greece, Turkey, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. From Gazhebo at aol.com Wed Jun 6 22:30:12 2001 From: Gazhebo at aol.com (Gazhebo at aol.com) Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2001 22:30:12 EDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Macedonia PM Seeks War Declaration Message-ID: <9.1694e8cd.28504134@aol.com> Macedonia PM Seeks War Declaration By MISHA SAVIC SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) - A day after ethnic Albanian rebels killed five Macedonian soldiers, the prime minister gave word Wednesday that he wants parliament to formally declare war, deepening a four-month crisis. The European Union and the United States hurried to discourage Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski from making the formal request to parliament. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said declaring war against the rebels ``would only be playing into the hands of extremists.'' Tuesday's fighting, which left another seven wounded, was the most serious escalation of violence in weeks. It underlined the government's tenuous hold on areas near the border with the southern Yugoslav province of Kosovo. Late Wednesday, riots erupted in the southern Macedonian city of Bitola, destroying dozensd of ethnic Albanian businesses. Slav rioters outraged over the slain members of the security forces broke into small groups and eluded police efforts to quell the violence, state television said. The rioters set fire to about 100 shops and 10 private homes, state television reported. Three people were injured, witnesses and a hospital source said. Georgievski's intention to demand parliament declare war came via his spokesman, Antonio Milososki. Milososki also urged the legislature to call for war, ``because it is not possible to respond otherwise to the threats against Macedonia's security and sovereignty.'' Besides imposing a draft, calling a state of war would give President Boris Trajkovski the ability to rule by decree and appoint a government of his choosing. Borders could be sealed, a nationwide curfew imposed and demonstrations banned. Beyond giving the government more authority, however, such extreme measures could also radicalize the country's ethnic Albanian minority, which makes up as much as one-third of the population. European officials fear such a move could further destabilize this former Yugoslav republic by pushing more of its ethnic Albanians to support the rebel cause. Such a measure would be difficult to pass. It would need more than two-thirds majority approval - or 81 of parliament's 120 deputies. But 24 deputies in Macedonia's parliament are ethnic Albanian, and they would likely vote against. The country's Slavic leaders regard the rebels as terrorists bent on grabbing a piece of Macedonia's territory to unite it with neighboring Albania or with Kosovo, an ethnic Albanian-populated province of Serbia, the larger Yugoslav republic. The rebels say they are fighting for more rights for the country's ethnic Albanian minority. Amid escalating tensions, gunmen fired two shots at the president's office Wednesday evening, officials said. The gunfire hit the bulletproof windows of Trajkovski's office, but didn't penetrate the glass. No one was injured. Though fighting between troops and ethnic Albanian rebels began in February, the leadership has forgone a formal declaration of war for fear it would make things worse. Macedonia's leaders had suggested such a declaration last month. But international officials persuaded them to expand negotiations rather than escalate attacks on the militants. The call for restraint came again Wednesday. Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, condemned Tuesday's killings - what she called a ``cowardly attack'' - but urged Macedonia not to call for war. In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the Bush administration does not see how a declaration of war would advance a political solution. ``We reiterate, once again, the importance of the measured response that the government has taken, showing maximum concern for the safety of civilians and pressing forth with this dialogue,'' Boucher said. The increasing tensions were sparked by a rebel assault on a vehicle bringing food to government forces near the village of Gajre late Tuesday, Milososki said. The attack in the village just outside the second-largest city, Tetovo, killed one soldier and wounded three others. An ambulance carrying a military escort was dispatched to rescue them, but the vehicle also came under fire and the rebels killed four more soldiers. Fighting later wounded four more policemen. From Gazhebo at aol.com Wed Jun 6 22:31:07 2001 From: Gazhebo at aol.com (Gazhebo at aol.com) Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2001 22:31:07 EDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] U.S. opposes Macedonia declaring "state of war" Message-ID: <15.156f0ece.2850416b@aol.com> U.S. opposes Macedonia declaring "state of war" By Jonathan Wright WASHINGTON, June 6 (Reuters) - The United States oppose on Wednesday the idea of a declaration of a state of war in Macedonia, while condemning the latest attack on Macedonian forces by ethnic Albanian rebels. Macedonian Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski suggested declaring a state of war to help the country fight the rebels, who killed five soldiers late on Tuesday. The United States and the European Union have broadly supported the approach of the Macedonian government, which is based on isolating the rebels while negotiating political reforms with mainstream ethnic Albanian politicians. U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the government in Skopje should press on with inter-ethnic dialogue and maintain a "measured response" to the violence. He added: "We don't see that a declaration of a state of war would serve to advance this kind of political reconciliation, political solution. "We reiterate the importance of the measured response that the government has taken, showing maximum concern for the safety of civilians and pressing forth with this dialogue." Boucher called the attack on the soldiers -- the deadliest in five weeks -- "a reprehensible act of violence." "These actions by armed extremists must stop now. Ethnic Albanian extremism is harming greatly the interests of Macedonia and all people of Macedonia," he added. Earlier on Wednesday, the U.S. diplomat who led a monitoring force in Kosovo in 1999 said the Macedonian government and its Western allies were mistaken to exclude the ethnic Albanian guerrillas from peace talks. William Walker, who worked in Kosovo when Kosovo Albanian guerrillas there were fighting Serbian forces, said that by trying to isolate the National Liberation Army, or NLA, the Macedonians risked driving recruits into guerrilla ranks. "NO PLACE FOR EXTREMISTS" "They should definitely communicate with them to find out what their grievances are and what their solution to the problem might be," he told Reuters in an interview. The State Department spokesman rejected the recommendation to include the rebels in the political process. "We do not see a place in that process for armed extremists, people holding civilian hostages, people attacking ambulances, people seeking to disrupt the peaceful, normal life of the Albanian community in Macedonia," he said. "They seem to prove every day that they are not interested in addressing the real concerns and needs of the Albanian community," Boucher added. Walker likened the Macedonian conflict to the insurgency in El Salvador, where he was U.S. ambassador from 1988 to 1992. "We, the United States and the Salvadorean government, wouldn't talk to the guerrillas, and as we refused to talk, they grew in strength and they grew in capabilities," he said. He said he did not accept the Western governments' argument that Macedonia is a model multiethnic democracy, unlike the Serbian state which oppressed ethnic Albanians in Kosovo under former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. "If you talk to members of that ethnic Albanian community in Macedonia, the general perception is that they are not treated as full-fledged citizens," he said. "Their language is not an official language. They are a very large group and they see themselves as second-class citizens. If Macedonia were truly a fully functioning multiethnic society, you wouldn't have that feeling among a third of the population. The complaints are there." Boucher rejected any comparison between ethnic Albanian guerrillas in Macedonia and those in southern Serbia. "In Macedonia, you had an inclusive government that already included Albanian leadership, that already had avenues for Albanians to express their political needs," he said. From Gazhebo at aol.com Wed Jun 6 23:00:56 2001 From: Gazhebo at aol.com (Gazhebo at aol.com) Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2001 23:00:56 EDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Rumsfeld Pays Visit to Troops in Balkans Message-ID: <16.d9a4c67.28504868@aol.com> Rumsfeld Pays Visit to Troops in Balkans By JAMES DAO AMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo, June 5 ? In his first foray into the Balkans, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld heard today from American troops and commanders about the difficulties of stemming ethnic fighting along the Kosovo- Macedonia border, where some Bush administration officials want to curtail the United States' role. Traveling by Blackhawk helicopter in the shadow of Kosovo's snow- capped peaks, Mr. Rumsfeld surveyed the intricate networks of mountain trails used by Albanian rebels to smuggle weapons into Macedonia from Kosovo. He also talked to soldiers involved in gun battles along the border and was shown dozens of weapons seized from smugglers in recent weeks. Though Mr. Rumsfeld has said little about what he wants to do with the 6,000 American troops in Kosovo, he has made clear in the past that he believes American forces are overextended across the globe, specifically pointing to Bosnia as one place where United States involvement should be wound down. During the American presidential campaign, Condoleezza Rice, now President Bush's national security adviser, called for having the Europeans take up more peacekeeping duties in the Balkans ? a position the administration has since backed away from. In brief remarks to several hundred soldiers inside a tentlike movie theater here, Mr. Rumsfeld did not mention the debate in Washington over peacekeeping missions, and instead praised the troops for having taken up a "noble cause" that he said has often been overlooked. Brig. Gen. William David, the new commander of the American contingent in NATO's peacekeeping force in Kosovo, told reporters that conditions seemed to have improved somewhat along the border in recent days. He said the recent decision to allow Yugoslav troops back into a buffer zone around Kosovo had allowed NATO troops to focus more resources on stemming rebel activity along the Macedonia border. But General David said it remained difficult to stop the flow of fighters and weapons across the hilly and heavily wooded Kosovo-Macedonia border, where Albanian smugglers using mule trains and cell phones sometimes operate with impunity. Asked if he thought American troops were still needed to keep the peace, General David said yes. "This can be a deadly place," he said. Camp Bondsteel is in a way emblematic of the growing entrenchment of the American military here. Two years ago, it was little more than an encampment of tents. Today, it is a sprawling, self-contained city with wooden barracks and command centers, a water treatment plant, makeshift helicopter hangers, a movie theater, gymnasiums and a hospital under construction. Mr. Rumsfeld and his contingent, aboard the helicopter protected by two Apache gunships, also dropped into a hilltop outpost just yards from the Macedonia border. During a brief clash in early March, an Army platoon captured the hilltop from Albanian rebels, who had been using a schoolhouse there as a base to fire mortars into Macedonia. As he surveyed the outpost, Mr. Rumsfeld, dressed in a dark suit and raincoat, looked like a politician on the stump, shaking hands, posing for photographs and entering a bunker to chat with the troops. "We're keeping track of you every day from Washington," he told them. In Skopje, Macedonia, the secretary also inspected six unmanned aircraft known as Hunters that are being used for reconnaissance along the Kosovo border. The planes, slow- moving but hard to shoot down because of their small size, carry powerful cameras and infrared sensors that can transmit information almost anywhere in the world. The planes represent the kind of high- tech weaponry Mr. Rumsfeld has said should be at the heart of a new American military. Mr. Rumsfeld began his day in Kiev where he met with the Ukrainian president and minister of defense to discuss the nation's recent political crisis, its efforts at military and economic reform and missile defense. Washington views Ukraine as an important buffer against Russia but has been alarmed by the recent ouster of its Western-minded prime minister, Viktor Yushchenko, and accusations that its president, Leonid D. Kuchma, ordered the killing last year of a journalist, Georgy Gongadze. Mr. Rumsfeld said in a news conference after his meetings that he had been "impressed with the very solid commitment" of the Kuchma government to making political reforms and strengthening ties to the West. But he said he also urged Mr. Kuchma to conduct "a thorough and transparent" investigation into the death of Mr. Gongadze. From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Jun 6 23:45:17 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2001 20:45:17 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Per Zgjedhjet ne Shqiperi - Gazeta Shqiptare Message-ID: <20010607034517.81392.qmail@web11508.mail.yahoo.com> P?rse un? kund?r Angjelit "Monopolet greke po na mbysin ekonomin?" Ministri i Financave, Anastas Angjeli, kandidat p?r deputet n? zon?n 33 t? qytetit t? Tiran?, dhuroi k?to dit? n? qytetin "Studenti" nj? sasi biletash t? shtrenjta p?r koncertin e grupit "Skorpions". Me ket? gjest kandidati socialist " ua kaloi" kandidat?ve t? tjer? t? zon?s 33 , t? cil?t as e ?ojn? n? mend t? sajdisin zgjedh?sit me bileta pes?dhjet?mij?lek?she p?r koncerte t? porositura si ai i dit?s s? diel? n? stadiumin "Dinamo". K?ta kandidat? , ku p?rfshihet edhe i n?nshkruari, e kan? t? qart? se me rushfete t? tilla Angjeli " fiton" kund?r gjith? shqiptar?ve. Por fushata nuk ?sht? tender, gara zgjedhore ?sht? tjet?r gj?. Gara zgjedhore p?r zgjedhjet parlamentare b?het p?r kat?r vitet q? lam? pas dhe p?r kat?r vitet e ardhshme. Ajo ka kuptim dhe dobi kur n? t? fokusohen problemet madhore t? shoq?ris?, analizohen bilance dhe propozohen zgjidhje. Me ket? vet?dije d?sh?roj t? shtroj p?r debat dhe gjykim tre prej ?eshtjeve madhore t? koh?s. ?eshtja e par? lidhet me Koridorin Tet?. Ky koridor i shpres?s dhe ardhm?ris? s? re p?r Shqip?rin? nuk ka gjer m? sot asnj? gjurm? n? tok?n ton?. Prej tre kat?r vjet?sh, her? nga padituria, her? me q?llim, disa zyrtar? t? Tiran?s ngat?rrojn? projektin e BE_s? p?r rahabilitimin e rrug?s ekzistuese Durr?s-Qafthan? me Koridorin Tet?. Ne ket? m?nyr? ata sherbejn? nj? genjesht?r t? madhe p?r veten e tyre, p?r opinionin shqiptar si dhe p?r arkitekt?t e sponsor?t euroamerikan? t? Koridorit. Bashk? me ket? ngat?rres? t? pajustifikueshme p?rparon edhe nj? mendim n?nvler?sues p?r kuptimin dhe p?rmasat e Koridorit duke e paraqitur at? thjesht si nj? rrug? kamionash e makinash E verteta ?sht? se Koridori Tet? paraqet materializimin e nj? poli t? ri zhvillimi n? Europ?n Juglindore deri n? thell?si t? Azis?. Shtrati i k?tij Koridori p?rban rrug?, hekurudha, impiante, porte, lidhje telekomunikacioni e tjer?. Trungu i Koridorit n? segmentin shqiptar ndjek drejtimin Durr?s-Tiran?-Qaf?than? dhe ?sht? i gjat? 63 kilometra. Deg?zimet mbulojn? portet e tjer? t? Shqip?ris?. Projekti e sheh portin e Durr?sit si nj? "paket?" t? madhe shp?rndar?se q? do t? konkuroj? me portet e m?dha t? rajonit. N? fakt, Koridori Tet? sjell nj? shd?rrim cil?sor te gjeopolitk?s shqiptare dhe rajonale. Nga nj? vend tradicionalisht tranzit, ne b?hemi edhe udh?kryq i l?vizjes s? mallrave, njer?zve e pse jo edhe ideve. Koridori Tet? n? Shqip?ri do t? fillonte me investimin e Bank?s Bot?rore n? portin e Durr?sit. Por ky investim ?sht? vonuar e penguar nga prania n? port e shoq?rive greke t? naft?s. T? gjendur mes nxitjes amerikane p?r pastrimin e portit dhe presioneve t? Athin?s p?r mbajtjen e depozitave, zyrtar?t shqiptar? jan? l?kundur andej-k?ndej me fjal? por si p?rfundim kan? shkuar vazhdimisht n? an?n e Athin?s. ( A mund t? imagjinohet q? tri firma shqiptare t? bllokojn? shansin e Greqis? n? Selanik?). K?to fakte jan? botuar her?pasher? n? shtyp. Duhet shtuar se Athina nuk ka ndonj? merak t? ve?ant? p?r ca depozita nafte. Nd?rhyrjet greke pran? zyrtar?ve shqiptar? jan? brenda stretegjis? s? vonimit t? Koridorit Tet? n? kuadrin e betej?s nd?rajonale t? koridoreve. Pritja, indiferenca, komplloti i heshtjes dhe sabotimi i kujdesh?m-me k?to fjal? mund t? shprehet q?ndrimi i qeverisjes son? ndaj Koridorit Tet?. P?r t'u ber?, Koridori n? ter?si kushton mbi dy bilion dollar?. Nuk e di sa paguhet p?r t? mos u ber?. Nj? prej ministrave q? ka kontribuar p?r ngrirjen e k?tij Koridori ka ven? tani kanditatur?n n? zon?n 33 dhe u blen student?ve bileta t? shtrenjta me q?llim q? t? fitoj? votat e tyre dhe t? rizgjidhet! ?eshtja e dyt? ka lidhje me trajtimin e disa prej sektor?ve strategjik? t? ekonomis? komb?tare. Po kufizohemi me shembullin e telefonis? s? l?vizshme. Edhe n? ket? rast u p?rgatit dhe u p?rhap me kujdes nj? genjesht?r e madhe sikur AMC-ja po i n?nshtrohej privatizimit. E verteta ?sht? se AMC-ja nuk ?sht? privatizuar por i ?sht? shitur entit publik grek, pra shtetit grek.K?sisoj, p?r t? qen? korrekt?, mund t? flasim p?r shitje dhe transferim pron?sie por jo p?r privatizim. Me kalimin e AMC-s? n? pron?si t? huaj, tarifat e sherbimit celular n? Shqip?ri jan? m? t? larta se n? Greqi dhe Itali. K?tu kemi nj? nga rastet e rralla kur i ashtuquajturi " privatizim" i nj? sherbimi fitimprur?s sjell rritje ?mimesh dhe shrregullime n? funksionim. Kjo situat? ka shtuar dyshimet sikur AMC-n? po e paguajn? me k?ste p?r llogari t? grek?ve klient?t shqiptar?. Prandaj ?sht? i nevojsh?m nj? akt minimal transparence nga qeveria shqiptare p?r sasin? dhe destinacionin e deritanish?m t? shumave q? jan? siguruarr nga shitja e AMC-s?. Nuk do t? ishte hiq e k?ndshme po t? dal? se kemi shituar kaun p?r t? thurur gardhin. ?sht? th?n? se li?ensimi i operatorit t? dyt? t? sherbimit celular do t? ?oj? n? uljen e tarifave. Kan? kaluar disa muaj dhe ka pak gjasa q? kjo t? ndidh? shpejt. I njejti aksioner q? ka bler? rreth 70 p?rqind t? aksioneve t? AMC-s?, ka bler? edhe 32 p?rqind t? aksioneve t? operatorit t? dyt?. Ky aksioner ?sht? enti publik grek, pra shteti grek, i cili v?shtir? se do t? konkuroj? vetveten me operatorin e dyt? pa shfryt?zuar mir? e mir? AMC-n?. K?tu jemi n? nj? situat? monopolistike, sikurse edhe n? mjaft sektor? t? tjer?. Por e keqja nuk mbaron me kaq. Parat? q? fitohen n? Shqip?ri nga sektor?t e sherbimeve si? ?sht? trasporti i udhetar?ve dhe telefoni i l?vizsh?m apo nga lodrat e fatit si? ?sht? telebingoja depozitohen n? bankat e huaja dhe p?rdoren p?r zhvillimin e vendeve t? tjera. Ky ?sht? problemi i problemeve. Si t'ja b?jm? q? t? frenojm? " eksodin" e valut?s. Njeriu q? nuk mendon fare p?r ket? problem ka ven? kandidatur?n n? zon?n 33 t? Tiran?s, u blen student?ve bileta t? shtrenjta me q?llim q? t? fitoj? votat e tyre dhe t? rizgjidhet. Privatizimi ( n?nkupto shitja dhe tranferimi) i Telekomit ?sht? ber? gati. ?eshtja e tret? ka lidhje me modelin e zhvillimit. Ne kemi nj? model kryesisht treg?tar q? nuk prodhon, por vet?m konsumon para. ?sht? e pamundur t? pikas?sh n? administrat?n ton? ndonj? zgjidhje apo projekt q? nxjerr para nga paraja. Sterilitetin e modelit ton? e d?shmon m? mir? se ?do teori krahasimi i dy qyteve kufitare, i Janin?s dhe Gjirokastr?s. Janina lul?zon q? prej dhjet? vitesh p?r shkak t? hapjes me Gjirokastr?n. Gjirokastra vet?m rr?nohet. Konstrasti i k?tyre qyteteve ?sht? njeher?sh edhe kontrasti midis politikave efektive q? ndjek Greqia dhe politikave shterp? q? ndjek Shqip?ria n? rrafshin e zhvillimit. Ja pse themi se qeverisja jon? nuk ?sht? lart?sin? e detyrave t? qeverisjes q?ndrore por merret kryesisht me ?eshtje q? i perkasin nivelit lokal t? qeverisjes. Kjo duket qart? edhe n? dublimin e p?rditsh?m t? kryetarit t? bashkis? nga kryeministri, ministri i financave dhe ministra t? tjer?. Mendoj se na mjafton nj? kryetar bashkie. Kryeministri dhe ministrat duhet t? kryejn? detyrat e tyre. Detyra themelore e ministris? s? financave ?sht? hartimi dhe v?nia n? veprim e zgjidhjeve q? ndihmojn? zhvillimin. Vet?m ket? nuk b?n ministri yn?. Ministria e Financave paraqitet si truri i fikur i ekonomis?. Ekonomia jon? ?sht? ekonomi gjymtyr?sh. Tani ky minist?r ka ven? kandidatur?n n? zon?n 33, blen bileta t? shtrenjta p?r student?t me q?llim q? t? fitoj? vot?n e tyre dhe t? rizgjidhet. Po gara? A do t? kemi gar? p?r problemet e m?dha? --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Personal Address - Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Jun 6 23:53:15 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2001 20:53:15 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] State Department Daily Briefing Message-ID: <20010607035315.28704.qmail@web11502.mail.yahoo.com> Q: Have you seen the reports for Macedonia? The president wants to ask parliament for a declaration of war in response to the latest casualties suffered by the Macedonian forces. MR. BOUCHER: Let me say a couple things, and starting with the terrible ambush, the attack by extremists on late Tuesday. We strongly condemn this attack and these killings. We certainly express our sympathies to the soldiers that were tragically killed. It is a reprehensible act of violence. We understand the insurgents attacked an ambulance, that it arrived to provide medical attention to the wounded soldiers. These actions by armed extremists must stop now. Ethnic Albanian extremism is harming greatly the interests of Macedonia and of all people in Macedonia, including the Albanians and people throughout the region. Even in these most difficult moments, we think Macedonia's legitimately elected government and party leaders should press forward on the path that they have chosen, which we see as the correct path, and that is the path of inter-ethnic dialogue, to address the concerns of all citizens of Macedonia together with a continuation of their measured response to extremist provocations. During his visit to Macedonia yesterday, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld repeated our strong U.S. support for Macedonia, and for the National Unity Government. Secretary Rumsfeld joined regional defense ministers today in Thessaloniki in condemning the extremist violence. So we believe a continuation of the path that has been chosen is the way to go forward and the way to move forward with this. We don't see that a declaration of a state of war would serve to advance this kind of political reconciliation, political solution. We reiterate once again the importance of the measured response that the government has taken, showing maximum concern for the safety of civilians, and pressing forward with this dialogue. Q: The declaration of war is against insurgents who were never included in this ethnic dialogue. I mean, are these two things mutually exclusive? Can they prosecute a war against a radical element of Albanians while continuing a reconciliation dialogue with more mainstream and moderate Albanians in the country? MR. BOUCHER: Certainly the armed actions that they've taken are not incompatible with the political dialogue. We think they have chosen a correct path and they have been following the right mix, the right balance, between dealing militarily with the extremism and the reprehensible acts of violence that we've seen and dealing politically with the legitimate concerns of the Albanian community. So there is no inherent contradiction between the military action and the political dialogue. I guess the question would be, does the declaration of a state of war advance that process or not. We don't see that it particularly does. Q: What do you think of the comments by your former colleague Mr. Walker in The Washington Post and to various reporters, saying that it's probably shortsighted to ignore the NLA as an element in the -- in getting a political settlement in Macedonia? MR. BOUCHER: I guess it's been a while since Mr. Walker was one of our former colleagues, or since he was one of our colleagues -- yes, that doesn't make sense at all. Anyway, he is a former colleague. The situation, in our view, has been quite clear all along. The needs, concerns, interests of the Albanian community need to be accommodated to the political process. I think we agree on that. We do not see a place in that process for armed extremists: people that are holding civilian hostages; people that are attacking ambulances; people that are seeking to disrupt the peaceful, normal life of the Albanian community in Macedonia. We have never seen a role for them in the political negotiations and don't see one now. They seem to prove every day that they are not interested in addressing real concerns and needs of the Albanian community. So the issue of addressing the needs and concerns of the Albanian community is important. But in Macedonia, there are legitimate avenues. There are legitimate representatives. There are legitimate opportunities to address those concerns and especially this latest step of forming a National Unity Government provides the appropriate mechanism of doing that and we have encouraged the government to work together and to use this opportunity to address any legitimate needs of the Albanian community. Q: Richard, can you speak to how this is different than the situation in southern Serbia where armed extremists were encouraged to begin a dialogue with the Serbs? MR. BOUCHER: The situation is politically different and militarily different as well. In Macedonia, you had an inclusive government that already included Albanian leadership, that already had avenues for Albanians to express their political needs and their political concerns. And we encourage people in the Albanian community to take advantage of that and we encourage people in the government to provide legitimate satisfaction to those grievances. Given the history of Serbia and the Yugoslav Government under Macedonia, there were people with Albanian interests and concerns who were outside that system and who needed to be brought in. Q: Since we're doing comparisons -- MR. BOUCHER: Maybe I never should have started. (Laughter.) Q: How does it differ from Northern Ireland where -- Q: Or Chechnya? Q: -- where there were always legitimate avenues and yet the United States was very much in favor of dialogue with the IRA? MR. BOUCHER: We are not going to try to compare every, to contrast every situation in the world. I think exam season is open, it's time for graduation. Let's -- Q: You let one in. MR. BOUCHER: I know, I let one in, but that's enough. One a day. One comparison a day -- that's a new rule. (Laughter.) Q: This proposition has some serious support. Ambassador Walker's piece the other day in the Post -- MR. BOUCHER: I mean, there is one fact, I think, that is repeated in some of the press articles and repeated, I think, by Ambassador Walker, at least in some of the articles about him that are, as far as we understand, just plain not true. And that's that Ambassador Froelich did not negotiate with the NLA and did not endorse any document that others might have signed with it. And somehow the whole edifice of criticism seems to be based somewhat on that fact. --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Personal Address - Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Thu Jun 7 22:41:40 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2001 19:41:40 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Conferences on Macedonia Message-ID: <20010608024140.92958.qmail@web11505.mail.yahoo.com> Two academic conferences in Washington over the past seven days have highlighted some of the difficult policy questions facing Macedonia, the southern Balkan country which is confronting guerrilla war by disaffected Albanian separatists. At a conference on the Balkans one week ago, British academic Jane Sharp said if violence came to the capital, Skopje, she feared that the Macedonian conflict, like Bosnia before it, could descend into civil war. Ominously, on Wednesday gunmen fired shots on the Skopje office of President Boris Trajkovski. Other speakers said it is imperative that the Macedonian government act quickly to grant equal rights to the up to 30% Albanian minority. Law professor and Institute of Peace scholar Julie Mertus blames the international community for not moving faster to promote ethnic equality in Macedonia. "A couple years ago I was a little bit concerned because a lot of attention was being paid to democratization in Macedonia," said Ms. Mertus. "But Macedonia stood out as a kind of an illiberal democracy. Because there was democracy in terms of voting, and political parties and more speech but still not full human rights. And there were a lot of problems in terms of policing and the military. And I see we're paying the price for that now." Ms. Mertus spoke Wednesday at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington. But at the conference sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies several speakers put the blame on the ethnic Albanian guerrillas, accusing them of seeking polarization and civil war. Jim O'Brien until recently was the U.S. presidential envoy for the Balkans. "Part of the problem is in Kosovo," Mr. O'Brien said. "There is a very small group of people who have been behind the problems in southern Serbia, Kosovo, and Macedonia. And I think it is important that the special U.N. representative Hans Haakerup and KFOR take all the robust action they can in order to stop the people who are fomenting the violence." The Albanian guerrillas operate along the mountainous border that separates Macedonia from Kosovo. Law professor Mertus, who has been studying the effects of humanitarian intervention in Kosovo and Bosnia, said a long-term solution might involve changing national borders so that they better match the ethnic makeup of the inhabitants. There have been suggestions that Albanian populated western Macedonia could be joined to either neighboring Albania or Kosovo. This idea is vigorously rejected by western governments. "It's very ironic because there's great reluctance on behalf of the international community to deal with the redrawing of boundaries question," Ms. Mertus said. "Because they fear that would be an intrusion into state sovereignty. But what we're talking about here in many different ways [ie, the bombing of Kosovo and the sending of KFOR to Kosovo] is the intrusion into state sovereignty. But when it comes to the redrawing of borders, hands off." For now the Macedonian government is moving on two tracks, one peaceful and one military. It is mounting, with increasing international support, a sustained campaign against the rebels. And it is also moving to address the grievances of the Albanian minority, whose principal political parties are part of a new national unity government. Voice of America --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Personal Address - Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at law.harvard.edu Fri Jun 8 08:17:26 2001 From: aalibali at law.harvard.edu (aalibali at law.harvard.edu) Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2001 08:17:26 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Kathimerini on Albanian elections Message-ID: Kathimerini Commentary Greek minority pains By Stavros Lygeros Sixteen days ahead of the Albanian elections, everything seems to point to the ruling Socialist Party prevailing. This time, however, the margin dividing it from the Democratic Party is likely to be much smaller than in 1997. It is worth noting that the two main parties are attempting, through apparently legal machinations, to turn the electoral system into a majority vote system. The ethnic Greek Omonoia party is waging its own battle in a highly unfavorable political landscape. The fact that the Socialist Party needs Greece does not seem to prevent it from resorting to extremes in order to eliminate Omonoia and, by extension, also the core of the Greek minority. In the local elections last year, it resorted to extensive vote-rigging to sabotage the Omonoia candidate in Heimarra. Once again its tactics are anything but fair. In Dromopolis the entire state mechanism has been mobilized for this purpose. The tax office, customs, the police and the secret services make lavish promises, blackmail and threaten the Greek minority, pressuring it to vote for the socialist candidate or, at least, not vote for Omonoia candidate Vangelis Doulis. In the Vourkos district in the Sarande municipality, the ruling party does not have the power to contest the seat, hence it has chosen to back - with similar tactics - Konstantina Betziani. Betziani actually failed to be named candidate in Omonoia's primaries and now is now running independently with support from her partner, an escaped convict. What is interesting is that in her election campaign Betziani received indirect support from Nicholas Gage-Gatzoyiannis who, a week ago, visited her constituency along with Joseph Librecht, the US ambassador to Tirana. It is no coincidence that the well-known visitors ate together and wandered in the village of Livadia together with Betziani while they avoided meeting the official Omonoia candidate Andreas Mitsis. Unfortunately, Athens - at least for the time being - has not paid sufficient attention to the sufferings of ethnic Greeks while Tirana continues its fixed policy of destroying the Greek minority through indirect means. From aalibali at law.harvard.edu Mon Jun 11 06:47:05 2001 From: aalibali at law.harvard.edu (aalibali at law.harvard.edu) Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2001 06:47:05 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Call for papers Message-ID: From: "Thomas Cushman" | CALL FOR PAPERS Xenophobia HUMAN RIGHTS REVIEW Human Rights Review is an interdisciplinary, quarterly journal published by Transaction Publishers. The journal, now in its third year of publication, seeks a new level of integration of social - scientific information, theory, philosophy, history, and critical perspectives in the study of human rights. Reflecting the growing interest in the relationship between globalization and human rights, Human Rights Review is international in scope. Human Rights Review welcomes topics not traditionally covered in the existing literature on human rights, as well as attending to practical and policy dimensions of human rights issues. HRR welcomes submissions in a variety of formats, including essays, scholarly articles, critical reviews of existing literature, and interviews. Human Rights Review seeks articles for a special issue on "Xenophobia". The global intensification and expansion of movement of people across borders has elicited a variety of political, economic, and cultural reactions. These responses range from benign attempts to protect certain ways of life to more serious and often violent responses which are meant to do harm to "outsiders." Human Rights Review invites articles which examine any aspect of xenophobia. In particular, we are interested in case studies of xenophobia in particular countries or areas of the world; comparative studies of xenophobia; analyses of xenophobic state responses to outsiders; and theoretical and philosophical analysis of the phenomenon of xenophobia. Human Rights Review is committed to expanding interdisciplinary discourse on human rights. Toward that end, submissions by scholars in a diversity of fields are sought for this issue. Queries to the Editor are especially welcome and encouraged. All articles should be a maximum of 30 pages, double spaced, and include a title page with the author?s current position and contact information. A style sheet, as well as more general information about Human Rights Review can be found at the website: http://www.wellesley.edu/Sociology/HRRindex.html. It is the responsibility of authors to ensure that articles are in proper HRR format before publication. Manuscripts under simultaneous submission elsewhere or materials that have already been published will not be considered. Authors should send two copies of articles as well as a disk copy, in Microsoft Word format to: Thomas Cushman, Editor, Human Rights Review , Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481. Email submissions are especially encouraged and should be marked "Xenophobia Issue" in the subject line. Please send electronic submissions and queries to: hrr at wellesley.edu. The deadline for submissions is November 1, 2001 From aalibali at yahoo.com Mon Jun 11 13:44:30 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2001 10:44:30 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Shkrimi me i hershem ne Shqiperi? Message-ID: <20010611174430.58455.qmail@web11503.mail.yahoo.com> Pogradec: Zbulohen n? Mok?r 4 tabula t? periudh?s romakeLajmi i ores 3:30 PM TIRANE - Kater tabula (pllaka te lyera me dyll), te cilat mendohet se i perkasin periudhes romake, jane zbuluar kohet e fundit ne krahinen e Mokres (Pogradec). Tabulat u gjeten nga nje fshatar i kesaj zone i cili paskesaj ia kishte dhene nje mbledhesi te antikuareve nga qyteti i Elbasanit. Sipas deshmive te fshatarit ato u gjeten n? nj? qyp hermetik brenda nj? varri t? vjet?r. Specialistet theksojne se, tabulat jane shkruar sipas menyres se stampimit dhe nuk mbajne asnje shenje, kryq apo lule trifleteshe, te semiotikes se krishterimit dhe paleokrishterimit. Shkrimi mbi tabula duket i perzier me germa te alfabetit latin dhe helen, eshte i vazhdueshem, pa ndarje ne mes, ndersa disa nga bashkimet e shkronjave mund te interpretohen permes shqipes. Njera nga tabulat ka nje vizatim dhe shprehjen "Kaeirta", qe ne greqisht do te thote "nderime". Aktualisht tabulat ndodhen ne Drejtorine e Pergjithshme te Arkivave te Shqiperise per t'iu nenshtruar analizave qe do te deshmojne mbi karakterin dhe burimin e paleografise. Per te kryer ekspertizen jane ftuar konsulente te arkivave franceze, italiane, zvicerane dhe rumune. Nderkohe, prane ketij institucioni eshte ngritur nje komision i posa?em i perbere nga specialiste me ne ze te arkeologjise, historise, dhe arkivistikes si Muzafer Korkuti, Dhimiter Shuteriqi, Muzafer Xhaxhiu, Kristo Frasheri etj. Shaban Sinani, drejtor i Arkivave te Shqiperise tha per ATSH-ne se, "ne qofte se vertetohet se keto tabula i perkasin periudhes romake, atehere do te ishte nje zbulim i madh i shkences shqiptare pasi shkrimi me i lashte do te datonte tete shekuj me pare nga sa eshte deshmuar deri tani". Analiza e lendes, e cila eshte dyll i perzier me nje lende tjeter, do te hedhe drite mbi vjetersine e tabulave. Sipas dr. Sinanit, analizat po behen ne bashkepunim me laboratorin e Shkencave te Natyres te Shqiperise, dhe se se shpejti mund te bashkepunohet edhe me laboratorin e Pekinit, i cili ka restauruar edhe kodiket e Shqiperise. Ne kete faze fillestare mendimet e specialisteve jane te diskutueshme lidhur me epoken se ciles i perkasin tabulat, por dy deri tani tani mendohet qe keto shkrime datojne ne shekullin III-II para eres sone, ose ne periudhen bizantine. in/an (ATSH/BalkanWeb) --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Personal Address - Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From Gazhebo at aol.com Mon Jun 11 14:56:14 2001 From: Gazhebo at aol.com (Gazhebo at aol.com) Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2001 14:56:14 EDT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Going From Bad to Worse Macedonia now wages war on its own people Message-ID: Going From Bad to Worse Macedonia now wages war on its own people By Juliette Terzieff and Rod Nordland NEWSWEEK Forty-two-year-old Hamdi Klenja knew it was bad when hundreds of men poured into Tsar Samuel Street in the southern Macedonian town of Bitola last Wednesday. The day before, Albanian guerrillas had ambushed and killed five Macedonian soldiers. Three of the dead came from Bitola, and now a mob was taking revenge on the town?s ethnic-Albanian civilians. As they broke down his front door Klenja ran upstairs and passed his small children from the balcony to a neighbor next door. Then he jumped after them. Police stood by as looters ransacked his house, then threw in Molotov cocktails. Klenja tried to douse the blaze with a garden hose, but police ordered him to stop. "Let it burn," they said. And it did, along with dozens of other Albanian homes and shops in the city. WHEN IT COMES TO WINNING hearts and minds, Macedonians are doing a much better job on the diplomatic front than in their own streets and front lines. As evidence of widespread human-rights abuses mounted, NATO secretary-general Lord George Robertson continued to condemn the Albanian insurgents of the National Liberation Army (NLA) for provoking the crisis. NATO pledged to tighten the Kosovo border to cut off guerrilla supply lines. The international community has supported Macedonia?s government of national unity, composed of both ethnic Macedonians and Albanians, and has backed its refusal to negotiate with the NLA. But the group is increasingly hard to ignore. Last Friday a NEWSWEEK reporter saw NLA fighters dug in at the hillside village of Aracinovo, only three miles from the outskirts of the capital, Skopje. They were hurriedly bringing in truckloads of automatic weapons. Macedonian Army and police watched from a safe distance. A series of humiliations for the military, which has few Albanian members, seems to have spurred outrages against civilians. After four months of conflict, the NLA has eluded Army pursuit and managed to fight on two fronts, near the cities of Kumanovo and Tetovo. Villages taken by the Army have been swiftly retaken by the guerrillas. The fighting has caused thousands of Albanian civilians to flee. Over protests from the Red Cross and other agencies, men have been separated from women and taken by police. Many have been beaten, even tortured. Interviews by journalists, aid workers and Human Rights Watch investigators depict systematic abuse by police and, in some cases, the Army. Many witnesses reported hearing protracted screaming from victims held in the Kumanovo police station. "One of them must have been very young, from the sound of his voice," said Zija Ismaili. "He kept screaming for his mother and God to save him." Ismaili, 52, said he was held June 3 and 4 and beaten c! ontinuously by masked?and laughi ng?policemen until he convinced them that he knew nothing about the guerrillas. He is black and blue from head to foot. The prime minister?s spokesman, Antonio Milososki, does not rule out "isolated cases" but says, "Our policy is not to beat every Albanian." Seeking refuge with family members in the town of Cerkes, the eight members of the Hamidi family are heavily bruised from rifle butts wielded by troops who burst into their compound in Runica on May 21. The father of the family was so badly beaten that two weeks later he can neither walk nor talk. The troops splashed their house, then their car, with gasoline and set them on fire. Then they doused 21-year-old Avni Hamidi and threatened to burn him alive before frog-marching him and the others into the village center. There the soldiers burned down the mosque, the school and, reportedly, most of the hamlet?s houses. Avni saw his chance and bolted for the river. "If they caught him, he must be dead," said his mother, Avdie Hamidi, who has not seen her son since. Last week?s rampage in Bitola, some 100 miles from the war zone, can best be described as a police-sanctioned looting-and-arson spree. Numerous witnesses reported police escorting Macedonian mobs into Albanian neighborhoods?and doing nothing to restrain them. Hamdi Klenja returned the next day to pick through the charred remains of his home. All he found was three teacups, a vase, a pair of slippers and a half-burned blanket. On a wall someone had scrawled death to the albanians. One of the arsonists brazenly walked up to Klenja and informed him that Albanians had a week to leave Bitola, or be killed. Those fighting words are likely to be returned in kind. The NLA has already cut off the water supply to the cities of Tetovo and Kumanovo, and authorities claim the rebels shelled two Macedonian villages in the hills near the capital. The next casualty may be the government itself. President Boris Trajkovski genuinely seems to want to work with moderate Albanians?but Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski has been much more hard-line, threatening to declare a "state of war" that would drive Albanian parties out of the government. "I am for war without mercy," he said Thursday. The two leaders are barely on speaking terms. Small wonder, perhaps, that authority in Macedonia has devolved to mobs and extremists. From aalibali at law.harvard.edu Mon Jun 11 16:27:53 2001 From: aalibali at law.harvard.edu (aalibali at law.harvard.edu) Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2001 16:27:53 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] CAREER FORUM AT HARVARD Message-ID: Harvard University Career Forum 2001 On Tuesday, June 12, representatives from schools and departments from across the University will gather from 11am - 7pm in Gund Hall at the Graduate School of Design (corner of Cambridge and Quincy Streets in Cambridge) to meet with job seekers. Recruiters and Human Resources Officers will be on hand to introduce you to the many world class opportunities at Harvard, discuss specific job openings, review your resume and answer any questions you might have about current or future openings. You can also gather information about the benefits of a Harvard career from a benefits representative; learn how to use HIRES, Harvard?s online application system; and explore Harvard?s various career development resources, including the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), offered by the Center for Training and Development. In conjunction with Parents in a Pinch, Harvard will provide limited on-site childcare for job seekers attending Career Forum 2001. To reserve a space, contact Parents in a Pinch at 617-739-8366, Ext. 2. Attendees should bring multiple copies of a resume that can be scanned. For more information, call the Employment Office at 617-495-2772. If you are unable to attend, you can review and apply for current opportunities by clicking on "Jobs at Harvard" or stop by the Employment Office at 11 Holyoke Street, Cambridge. From aalibali at law.harvard.edu Tue Jun 12 16:02:34 2001 From: aalibali at law.harvard.edu (aalibali at law.harvard.edu) Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 16:02:34 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] AIM on Minorities in Greece Message-ID: AIM Athens, May 31, 2001 Greece "distinguished" itself as the only one of the sixteen countries participating or facilitating the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe (SP) that snubbed the meeting in Strasbourg, on 22 May 2001, where SP minority-related projects of the Council of Europe (including an anti-discrimination review) were furthered or launched. Greece along with Turkey are the only SP countries that have not ratified the Framework Convention on National Minorities (FCNM): so Greece was not present either in the Council of Europe's meeting to discuss minority rights the day before (21 May), while even Turkey was there When the Council of Europe was asked about Greece's glaring absence, the secretariat informed participants that Greece did not even reply to the invitation calls. They also heard that, fifteen months ago, Foreign Minister Papandreou had told the Council's Political Director that Greece would participate in the SP projects on minorities, and even assigned his representative. Since then, Greece managed to put at the head of the SP's Working Table I, on Human Rights and Minorities, an individual never known to be favorable to the Table's topic, as well as to veto a NGO minority project selected by the SP's Task Force on minorities, that would have included minorities in Greece In the meantime, in the past twelve months, Greece has been widely criticized internationally, by NGOs but also and most importantly by expert bodies of inter-governmental organizations (IGOs) -UN and Council of Europe-, for its intolerant attitude towards minorities. In every instance, the official state reply was a confirmation of what Panteion University Associate Professor Alexis Heraclidis has called "Greece's anti-minority attitude" (in his newly published book "Greece and the 'Danger from the East,'" Athens: Polis Publishers, 2000). Greek authorities persisted in claiming that there were no ethno-national minorities in the country, while those who supported such ideas are dubbed "separatists" and/or "foreign agents," even if they happen to be minority MPs of the governmental party! "The only official recognized minority in Greece is the Muslim minority of Western Thrace. The minority is composed of three distinct ethnic groups: those of Turkish origin, Pomaks, and Roma . All Greek governments have resisted the collective self-identification of the Muslim minority as Turkish. The reason for this is, first of all, the composition of the minority itself and the conviction that the political aims behind this assertion do not contribute to the peaceful coexistence of the various groups." These were the exact words (transcribed by Greek Helsinki Monitor) of Maria Telalian, head of the Greek delegation that presented Greece's report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) on 16 March 2001. How then does Greece see those who, in its words, have the political aim to recognize the Muslim minority as Turkish? Greek Ambassador to Ankara Mr. Korantis, in his report to the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), published in its entirety by the weekly "Pontiki" on 5 April 2001, calls that minority's leadership "planted and Kemalist," and the only minority MP present in both previous and current parliament (in the ranks of the government party PASOK), Galip Galip, "zealous in promoting the positions of the Turkish agencies." As, upon the publication of that report there was a controversy over the reaction of the MFA George Papandreou to its content, the MFA's spokesperson stated that his minister considers "the responsibility and ability of Ambassador Korantis given and undeniable" (quoted in Papandreou's own website, http://www.papandreou.gr/2001/April/ana_ypex_beglitis_05042001.html). How did the Turkish minority leadership react to such characterization? No one reacted even when probed, as if they were happy to be portrayed as Turkish agents How did Greek majority media and politicians react to the fact that the government admits having Turkish agents in its ranks? No reaction here either. Probably because for more than a decade all Greek media have portrayed the minority leadership in identical terms, while politicians of the major parties know that they must compose with that "planted, Kemalist" leadership, if they want to gain any minority votes, necessary for their party to secure parliamentary seats in the two districts inhabited by the minority. What about the Macedonian minority then? "I would like to remind the Committee that there is no such a minority officially recognized in Greece," said Ms. Telalian, answering a question of a CERD member on 19 March 2001. Her transcribed by GHM statement continued as follows: "And I would like to mention that it is really embarrassing that certain circles outside Greece, or within Greece, certain activists try to convince the international community that we have such a national minority on the Greek territory. I would like to mention that the only element that these circles have about the existence of such a minority is that, in the northern Greece areas, people speak a second dialect, the Slavic dialect. However, Mr. Chairman, nobody has asked these people if they are willing to self-identify themselves as belonging to a different ethnic nation. They never have expressed themselves in favor of not being Greeks. They never expressed themselves as having a distinct ethnic identity. And I believe this does not do justice to this population, that, because of the geographical area where they live, simply speaks a different dialect. So if we agree that a very important determinant factor for the realization, for the recognition of the existence of a national minority is the will of the people to self-identify themselves, I think that we have to respect at least the wish of these particular people, who live in these areas and who have never expressed themselves in favor of them belonging to such a national, a different from the Greek nation, minority. This is the reason why Greece consistently denies the existence of such a group." Anyone who has followed the issue knows of course that the Greek delegation leader was lying to her teeth. Before the CERD sessions, many experts of that UN body were briefed, inter alia, on concerns related to the Macedonian minority by representatives of two Macedonian organizations, "Rainbow" and "Home of Macedonian Civilization." Both groups' members and/or followers identify themselves indeed as "belonging to such a national, a different from the Greek nation, minority" to use the terminology of the Greek delegation. Since the first group, Rainbow, contested a few elections with a similar platform, and received up to 7,500 votes (which correspond to some 10,000 citizens), there are many more Macedonians in Greece than Greeks in Turkey (whose existence no one has denied). These activists are really a thorn in the throat of the Greek authorities, which have now resorted to defaming them. "Most, but not -I stress: not - all of these activists pursue a policy of secession of a sizeable part of Greek territory," declared unabashedly the Greek MFA's representative in the OSCE Implementation Review Meeting, on 25 October 2000 (http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/english/pressrelease/GD-25-10-2000-osce2000.htm l). Unlike the Turkish activists, Macedonian activist cherish their non-nationalist, pro-European profile and reacted on the spot to the Greek delegation's statement, with a joint statement with Greek Helsinki Monitor and Minority Rights Group-Greece (http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/english/pressrelease/GHM&MRG-G-macedonian-25-10 -2000-osce2000.html): "It is well known to anyone living in the area inhabited by the Macedonian minority in Greece, and to Greek authorities, that no activist from any organization has ever promoted secessionism. On the contrary, the diplomat who spoke for the Greek delegation today was a guest, on behalf of his Ministry, in the special meeting our NGOs had organized for the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) in October 1999 in Athens. During that meeting, representatives from the Macedonian and Turkish minorities, responding to an OSCE HCNM question, categorically condemned not only secession but also autonomy as possible solutions to the many problems the two minorities face. These statements were subsequently published widely and have since been available in the Internet sites of our NGOs, and many other ones." Greece's attitude towards all critical NGO and IGO reports is "to downplay them, an attitude that the National Commission on Human Rights (EEDA) cannot understand," as this newly establish institution stated in its first ever "Report 2000," released in May 2001 (p. 30, http://www.ananeotiki.gr/dikaiwmata/ekthesi2000.htm). "It is necessary that they should be seen by the Administration as a challenge for continuing confirmation and improvement of the protection of human rights, and not as an undermining of the country" added EEDA, recommending immediate and comprehensive answers to these texts rather than "banalities or exaggerated promises" (p. 29). The UN CERD issued in March 2001 recommendations criticizing, inter alia, Greece's lack of respect for the international principles of self-identification and its consequent practice of recognizing some and refusing of recognizing other minorities in contravention of CERD's own General Comments: "While noting that the report of the State party refers to the 'Muslim minority of Western Thrace,' and within this to Turkish, Pomak and Roma groups, and not to other ethnic groups in the country, the Committee draws the attention of the State party to its General Recommendations VIII (38) on the right of each person to self-identification and XXIV (55) concerning article 1 of the Convention in this regard. The Committee encourages the State party to build upon its education programs at all levels in order to counter negative stereotypes and promote the objectives of the Convention. The Committee recommends that the State party take into account the Committee's General Recommendation XXVII (57) concerning Roma in further legal and policy initiatives. The Committee encourages the State party to pursue further its dialogues with representatives of the Roma, Pomak, Albanian and other minority populations, with a view to expanding as necessary the available range of multi-lingual educational programs and policies" (http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/MasterFrameView/d3fcc3818953c1c0c1256a1800 5a1218?Opendocument). In May 2001, the UN Committee against Torture (CAT), in its concerns and recommendations highlighted the racial dimension of the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by Greek law enforcement authorities: "There is evidence that the police sometimes use excessive or unjustifiable force in carrying out their duties particularly when dealing with ethnic and national minorities and foreigners; ... such measures as are necessary, including training, [should] be taken to ensure that in the treatment of vulnerable groups, in particular foreigners, ethnic and national minorities, law enforcement officers do not resort to discriminatory practices" (http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/CAT.C.XXVI.Concl.2.Rev.1.En?OpenD ocument). These recommendations emulated the more comprehensive critique by the Council of Europe's European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, whose report was published in June 2000 (http://ecri.coe.int/en/02/02/12/e0202120036.htm). In the midst of this imaginative world encouraged by Greek political culture, it is not surprising that even the MFA G. Papandreou himself is allowed or perhaps obliged to declare: "In our country, we do not have minority problems, for the simple reason that our country is profoundly democratic, where the full presence, participation, integration of every citizen, irrespective of his/her origin or religious belief, has been consolidated not only in law but also in practice." (http://www.papandreou.gr/2001/April/ana_ypex_beglitis_05042001.html). # Panayote Dimitras From aalibali at yahoo.com Tue Jun 12 16:31:58 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 13:31:58 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] US State Department on the situation in Macedonia Message-ID: <20010612203158.38147.qmail@web11502.mail.yahoo.com> DAILY PRESS BRIEFING Richard Boucher, Spokesman Washington, DC June 11, 2001 INDEX: MACEDONIA 1 Statement: National Liberation Army Escalates Conflict 1-3 Situation on the Ground / Ceasefire 2 Travel Advisory 2 Placement of NATO Forces 3 Refugee Flows --------------------------------- TRANSCRIPT_: MR. BOUCHER: Ladies and gentlemen, if I can, I would like to start out with a statement about the situation in Macedonia, and then I would be glad to take your questions on this or any other topic. The United States condemns in the strongest terms the extremist actions of the so-called National Liberation Army. We oppose their violent tactics which aim to undermine Macedonian democracy and threaten regional stability. We call for an end to the violence and for the National Liberation Army to withdraw immediately, beginning with Aracinovo. With the occupation of Aracinovo, the extremists have escalated the conflict and pose a potential threat to NATO supply lines. The National Liberation Army actions run directly counter to political reform efforts, harming the true interests of ethnic Albanians in Macedonia and throughout the region. Let me expand on that last part. The United States welcomes President Trajkovsky's June 8th speech and strongly supports his initiative to advance the political reform dialogue and provide opportunities for those who turn their backs on extremism to reintegrate into Macedonian society. We welcome the Macedonian Government's declaration today of a cease-fire as another strong indication of the courageous restraint in face of extremist provocations. We continue to urge the Government of Macedonia to act with restraint in response to the extremist provocations, to use only that force which is necessary and proportionate, and to take steps to avoid endangering civilians. QUESTION: It sounds like you're not too optimistic the cease-fire can hold if the extremists are carrying on like that, correct? MR. BOUCHER: No. QUESTION: Are they a threat? Obviously. MR. BOUCHER: I don't think I said one way or the other. I think I said, first of all, the actions of the extremists, particularly in occupying this town, constitute an escalation; second of all, the actions of the government in exercising restraint remain the appropriate way for them to go. We think that's still the best course, and added to that, the offer of a cease-fire today. We think it's imperative that the warring factions, that the extremists, abide by that and that they take this offer, and that Albanians as a whole in Macedonia take advantage of these opportunities that the government is creating in order to resolve this peacefully. QUESTION: Has the situation on the ground reached a point where you are considering or getting ready to expand on your weekend Travel Warning with perhaps an authorized or ordered departure of diplomats? MR. BOUCHER: Well, the Travel Warning was June 9th. It replaced and updated the previous security situation information. At this point, that was just done two days ago. I think that's where we want to be for the moment. QUESTION: So this new activity doesn't change -- it's not enough yet to make you -- have you change your -- QUESTION: (Inaudible.) MR. BOUCHER: We haven't changed anything since Saturday. QUESTION: Excuse me? Who is answering the questions? MR. BOUCHER: I'm answering the question. We haven't changed anything since Saturday. We'll stick there for the moment. QUESTION: The State Department has been very clear about the placement of NATO forces in Macedonia proper, but do you have an opinion on forces from, I guess, the coalition of Southeastern European countries and whether they should be able to go in there and stabilize the region? MR. BOUCHER: I'm not aware of any proposals to that effect that we've been asked to deal with, so I don't know that we have taken a position on something like that. That would be speculative at this point. QUESTION: Do you have any idea if the US Government is communicating with elements of NLA or the Albanian Government to accept the kind of pressure not to continue to fight against Skopje? MR. BOUCHER: We don't have talks with the extremists. We don't think they deserve or have a seat at the table. As far as other governments in the area, like the Albanians, I am sure we are in touch with them. We are in touch with the Albanian political leadership inside Macedonia, as well. And I think generally our view as expressed here is the same one we have expressed to them, and that is we should encourage Albanians in Macedonia to take advantage of the opportunities of the political system to work out their difficulties. And we have put a lot of emphasis on the leadership, including the government coalition which now involves all the parties, in actually opening up those avenues and providing ways for them to resolve their grievances. QUESTION: Do you have any idea who is arming the insurgents? MR. BOUCHER: I will see if I can get you something on that. I don't have anything here on it. QUESTION: One more on this. What is your assessment of the level of popular support for the NLA at this stage? And do you think -- does it seem to be increasing? MR. BOUCHER: I think our view remains more or less the same, that there is not widespread popular support for this; that the Albanian political leadership in Macedonia, the leaders of the political parties enjoy the broadest possible support. If you look at some of the actions that the extremists have taken, including trying to cut off water supplies to the town of Komanovo, you have seen the actions that they have taken in terms of keeping civilians forcefully bottled up inside some of these cities and now allowing them to leave, you have to assume that, on one hand, their actions alienate the local population and, on the other hand, that they don't consider -- they don't think they do have the support of the local population because they have to keep them locked up at gunpoint sometimes in some of these towns they are in. QUESTION: Have you reached any assessments as to why this latest series of attacks has erupted? Do you think it was because the rebels saw that there was a coalition government starting to start political negotiations, or do you think that they were just retreating and waiting for a better opportunity? MR. BOUCHER: I can't speculate on their kind of activities. They do a lot of things that don't seem to make sense, so I wouldn't want to try. QUESTION: Do you have anything in here specifically about the refugee flow into Kosovo? Or was what you said pretty much it? MR. BOUCHER: No, I don't think I have too much. We know that they have pushed even, I think, Albanians out of some of the areas that they have gone into. In other places, they haven't allowed them to leave. And we know that they have denied access to Red Cross officials to go into these areas as well. So there is a lot of concern about what they are doing with regards to the local population, and that in turn is causing some people to go into Kosovo. But I don't have any numbers for you at this point. QUESTION: The Singapore --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Personal Address - Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Jun 13 00:01:03 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 21:01:03 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] KOHA JONE - Fushata e zgjedhjeve ne Sarande Message-ID: <20010613040103.55816.qmail@web11507.mail.yahoo.com> Cakuli: Me kane dale ambasadoret kunder Sarande- Kandidati per deputet i koalicionit te djathte "Bashkimi per Fitore" per zonen elektorale nr.100, Filip Cakuli, ka bere takime me tere banoret e zones ku ai kandidon. Ai, i ndihmuar nga stafi i tij elektoral i drejtuar nga humoristi Koco Devole, partnership i kandidatit Cakuli, takimet e tij nuk i ka perqendruar vetem me turma njerezish, por edhe me individe te vecante, deri edhe shtepi me shtepi. "Porta ime eshte e hapur per te gjithe", ka thene ne takime me elektoratin e tij kandidati Cakuli. "Jam biri juaj. Madje nuk jam nga ata qe te jap premtime, qe tashme jane bere te modes neper fushata elektorale, sepse me duken genjeshtra. Rolin e deputetit nuk e konceptoj si njeri qe ve dhe heq njerez nga puna sipas oreksit te tij, por si koordinator midis zgjedhesve dhe qeverise", tha Cakuli. Deputeti konstaton gjendjen e zones se vet dhe qeveria ploteson kerkesat e tyre, mendon humoristi i njohur. Ne fund te takimeve kandidati Cakuli u eshte drejtuar bashkebiseduesve se: "Vota juaj per mua eshte e juaja per ju". Lidhur me disa shqetesime te hasura keto dite gjate fushates elektorale te ketij kandidati ne zonen nr.100, zedhenesja e shtypit prane zyres se kandidatit per deputet Filip Cakuli, deklaron: "Zyra e shtypit e kandidatit per deputet ne zonen 100, Filip Cakuli, eshte e autorizuar te deklaroje se ne kete zone po shkelet ligji per zgjedhjet ne Republiken e Shqiperise. Ambasadore e diplomate te huaj, kane zbritur ne kete zone per te bere fushate ne favor te njerit apo tjetrit kandidat. Nje greko-amerikan i quajtur Nikolla Goxojanis ka folur me fshataret e zones elektorale kunder kandidatit te "Bashkimit per Fitore" dhe keto ne prani te ambasadorit Limpreht. Nga ana tjeter, konsulli grek ne Gjirokaster, Janis Pedhjotis, i shoqeruar nga kandidati i PBDNJ-se, Andrea Mici, ben fushate ne favor te ketij te fundit, duke dhene dhurata dhe premtime per viza dhe se "Bashkimi per Fitore" eshte vetem mashtrim. Keto levizje dhe veprime te paligjshme krijojne kushte ne favor te tyre dhe sjellin nje konkurim te pabarabarte e coroditje ne kete zone, duke ndikuar dhunshem dhe hapur mbi voten e lire te zgjedhesve. Per keto veprime informojme Komisionet e Zgjedhjeve, si ate zonal dhe te rrethit, qe nga ana e tyre te nderhyjne energjikisht per t'i dhene fund ketyre praktikave dhe nderhyrjeve antidemokratike qe komprometojne institucionin e votes se lire". Sh. Dine --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Personal Address - Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From albboschurch at juno.com Wed Jun 13 08:15:28 2001 From: albboschurch at juno.com (albboschurch at juno.com) Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001 08:15:28 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Sculpture Tours at Forest Hills Cemetery Message-ID: <20010613.083222.-503847.2.albboschurch@juno.com> Sculpture Tours The Educational Trust of Historic Forest Hills Cemetery presents two Sculpture Tours on the Saturday afternoons of June 16th and July 14th at 2 PM. Enjoy a Summer day on the magnificent grounds and explore the nationally acclaimed collection of Victorian sculpture, including the works of Daniel Chester French, Martin Milmore and Thomas Ball. Forest Hills is site of the resting places of many notables in the Albanian community, including Archbishop Fan Stylian Noli, whose monument is also featured in brochure of the Educational Trust. A Cenotaph marks the former grave of the eminent Albanian literary stylist and former Ambassador of Albania to the U.S. Faik Konica whose remains are now in Tirana. Other Albanian notables include author, patriot and former Consul Constantine Chekrezi; historian and late editor of Dielli, Qerim Panarity; writer and editor of Dielli, Refat Gurrazezi; Editor of Liria, Dhimitri Trebicka; the first Albanian physicians in Boston, Dr. Andrew and Dr. Dhimitra Tzina Elia; Chairman of the Albanian Relief Fund, Dr. Nicholas and Pauline Prift, Bishop Stephen Lasko and Bishop Mark Lipa, and many other notables in the Albanian-American community.. The Scupture Tours are led by Curator of Collections, Rebecca Reynolds, noted art historian. Admission is free. The tours mark a transition in cemetery awareness and are means living memorials for meditation and reflection. New features include horticultural tours and concerts held in the Chapel, with its splendid Tiffany Windows. For further information call (617) 524-0128, ext 22, or visit the website at ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. From kbejko at hotmail.com Wed Jun 13 10:50:37 2001 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001 10:50:37 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] The internationalism of the Alb. govt Message-ID: Dear All, If the international community(through one of its mouthpieces such as the International Crisis Group which published the report where the following excerpt is from)thinks the Albanian authorities are sacrificing LEGITIMATE national interests on account of internationalism what should we as Albanians think? (of course this is a rhetorical question) http://www.intl-crisis-group.org/projects/balkans/albania/reports/A400299_25052001.pdf [?] the current Albanian government has embraced internationalism so avidly that it has failed to articulate what is considered a legitimate national program. With growing conerns over the perceived Hellenisation of southern Albania, the problems in Presevo and Macedonia, and the unresolved status of Kosovo, both the Albanians of former Yugoslavia and many within Albania have accused Tirana of selling the nation out. To some degree, the Albanians living outside Albania accept the predicament the Albanian authorties face in having to toe the West?s line. They also recognize that Albania has a role to play in the delicate balance of power between the various Albanian entities while simultaneously building closer economic links with its Balkan neighbors. But their message to Tirana is clear: don?t sacrifice the national interests _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com From kruja at fas.harvard.edu Wed Jun 13 11:07:49 2001 From: kruja at fas.harvard.edu (Eriola Kruja) Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001 11:07:49 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] [2001ajs] Free Refrigerator -- Does Anyone Need/Want One?? (fwd) Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001 10:28:55 -0400 From: ALBANIA 2001 Reply-To: 2001ajs-owner at yahoogroups.com To: 2001ajb at egroups.com, 2001ajs at yahoogroups.com Subject: [2001ajs] Free Refrigerator -- Does Anyone Need/Want One?? Anyone who wants one (or knows someone who wants one) let me know. The person would need a small truck to move it since it is standard size. The fridge is at 160 Commonwealth Avenue in Back Bay, and available as soon as possible. First come, first serve!!! Mark -- ALBANIA 2001 Investment and Finance Suite #72 Rruga Ismail Qemali, Pallati Fratari Tirana, Albania Telephone: 355-4-230700 Telephone: 355-38-21-63603 (Mark Kosmo -- Cell Phone) Telephone: 355-38-20-26031 (Diana Rodi -- Cell Phone) Fax: 355-4-230700 E-Mail: alb2001 at icc-al.org ALBANIA 2001 Investment and Finance Suite #417 160 Commonwealth Avenue Boston, MA 02116 Telephone: 781-843-1056 Telephone: 617-262-6665 Fax: 617-262-2340 E-Mail: alb2001 at beld.net -- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: 2001ajs-unsubscribe at egroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From kruja at fas.harvard.edu Wed Jun 13 16:30:11 2001 From: kruja at fas.harvard.edu (Eriola Kruja) Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001 16:30:11 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fleet Scooper Bowl Message-ID: going on today and tomorrow.. Fleet Scooper Bowl Billed as the nation's largest all-you-can-eat ice cream festival, this Jimmy Fund benefit features 36 flavors supplied by nine makers. When you're full, enjoy games and live music. 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. City Hall Plaza, Boston. Also Wed.-Thurs. $5, ages 3-10 $2, under 3 free. 800-52-JIMMY. From aalibali at law.harvard.edu Wed Jun 13 17:15:08 2001 From: aalibali at law.harvard.edu (aalibali at law.harvard.edu) Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001 17:15:08 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Komiteti Shqiptar i Helsinkit reagon Message-ID: [ SHQIPERIA ] Fushata, KSHH KQZ-s?: T? quhen t? paligjshme nd?rhyrjet e t? huajve Lajmi i ores 5:00 PM TIRANE - Komiteti Shqiptar i Helsinkit paralajm?ron kandidat?t q? me premtimet e tyre, t? mos dalin jasht? kufijve t? ligjit dhe i b?n thirrje KQZ-s?, t? denoncoj? si t? paligjshme nd?rhyrjen e t? huajve n? fushat?. Drejtuesit e k?tij Komiteti t?rheqin v?mendjen se "kandidati Arben Lika i Partis? Demokrate ka premtuar t? b?j? kontrat? me zgjedh?sit p?r 1000 familjet m? nevojtare t? Koplikut e Bajz?s, t? cilave do t'i paguaj? p?r nj? vit nj? rrog? mujore prej 50 markash gjermane". Sipas KSHH-s?, nj? premtim i till? bie n? kund?rshtim t? hap?t me nenin 328 t? Kodit Penal. Gjithashtu KSHH, duke analizuar ankimin e kandidatit Filip ?akuli p?r nd?rhyrjen e t? huajve n? fushat?, ka k?rkuar nga KQZ "t? marr? q?ndrim duke i denoncuar si t? paligjshme k?to nd?rhyrje dhe t? mos lejoj? p?rs?ritjen e tyre". Sipas kandidatit ?akuli, t? BF-s?, "konsulli grek n? Gjirokast?r, Janis Pedhjotis ?sht? v?n? n? krah t? kandidatit t? PBDNJ- s?, duke dh?n? dhurata e duke b?r? premtime p?r viza". Gjithashtu, n? baz? t? njoftimeve, Komiteti i Helsinkit kund?rshton edhe veprimin e Nikolla Goxojanis, i cili ka folur me fshatar?t e nj? zone elektorale, kund?r kandidatit t? "Bashkimit p?r Fitore". Drejtuesit e KSHH-s?, n?nvizojn? se "k?to veprime bien n? kund?rshtim me nenin 190 pika 5 e Kodit Zgjedhor". il/ko (BalkanWeb) From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Jun 13 23:43:54 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001 20:43:54 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Kadare Message-ID: <20010614034354.10249.qmail@web11504.mail.yahoo.com> > Nga Ismail Kadare > > Nj? jet?n e popujve q?llon shpesh q? problemet e m?dha shfaqen n? trajt? > ciklike. Ky riciklim tregon se hallet e m?dha, t? mbetura pa zgjidhje, e > trazojn? n? stin? t? ndryshme nj?lloj si t?rmetet nd?rgjegjen e k?tyre > popujve. Ato m? s? shumti quhen si faj i t? tjer?ve, shpesh n? m?nyr? > p?rd?llyese poetizohen si fat tragjik dhe vet?m rrall?her? konsiderohen si > > faj i vet? popujve. > Historia ballkanase ?sht? e shenjuar nga nj? viktimologji e till?. E jona > ve?an?risht. N? k?t? sprov? do t? ceken disa nga k?to probleme.P?r t? > tjera > ??shtje, q? kan? lidhje t? t?rthort? madje rast?sore me to, do t? flitet > gjithashtu. Por as p?r t? parat, as p?r t? dytat nuk pretendohet t? flitet > n? > m?nyr? shteruese. Jan? thjesht sh?nime t? nxitura nga dita e ngarkuar, nga > > pak?naq?sia apo nervozizmi yn? n? or?n e lajmeve n? TV ose fill pas > mbylljes > s? ekraneve, n? or?t e vetmis? son?. > > ME PER?NDIMIN APO KUND?R TIJ > > ?sht? pyetja q? ndoshta m? s? shumti ?sht? p?rs?ritur n? k?t? gadishull t? > > vjet?r. Ka qen? shtruar, me sa duket, qysh me ndarjen e Rom?s nga Bizanti, > n? > fillim t? mij?vje?arit t? dyt? p?r t'u p?rt?rir? n? mes t? tij at?her? kur > > nj? forc? e tret?, e vrullshme si nj? luan i ri, iu sul dy mbret?rive t? > vjetra, Perandoria Osmane. > Midis ?oroditjes s? plot? q? u krijua n? gadishull, midis trumbetave t? > luft?s dhe fyejve t? paqes, midis k?rc?nimeve e joshjeve, shkurt midis > kaosit > proverbial ballkanik, u gjet dhe populli shqiptar. Nuk ishte as m? i mir? > dhe > as m? i keq se t? tjer?t, ndaj ishte e natyrshme t? b?nte t? nj?jtat > gabime e > t? kishte t? nj?jtin fat si t? tjer?t. Nj?ri pas tjetrit k?ta popuj u > rr?zuan. Ata i n?nshtroi jo vet?m jatagani turk, si? pretendojn? > ballkanasit > dhe as vet?m shpirt?sia osmane, si? pretendojn? otoman?t, po t? dyja > bashk?.Nd?rkaq, pak p?rpara se t? binte perdja e aktit t? fundit t? nj?r?s > > prej dramave, asaj shqiptare, prij?si i k?tij populli, Gjergj Kastrioti, > bashk? me rebelimin e tij t? bujsh?m kund?r shtetit osman, shpalli nj? ide > t? > re e nj? ideal t? ri: ndarje me Lindjen, aleanc? me Per?ndimin. > Ky nd?rrim i kahut t? historis?, ky programim i ri i saj u b? p?r > shqiptar?t > orientimi themelor i jet?s s? tyre. Ishte kaq i fort?, saq? nuk e shuan > dot > as shekujt e gjat? t? pranis? turke, as pluhuri e p?rgjumja e "pax > ottomana". Shqiptar?t t? dalluar si p?r dashuri, si p?r mohim t? > atdheut,b?n? > gabime e marr?zi t? nj?pasnj?shme, megjithat? nuk mund t? thuhet se i > kthyen > krah?t idealit kastriotian. Edhe kur nd?rruan atdhe e fe, n? nj? k?nd t? > nd?rgjegjes s? tyre mbeti si qiri i zbeht? kujtimi i princit katolik q? u > kishte m?suar se liria e tyre ishte pjes? e liris? s? Evrop?s. > Nj? hero nuk p?rb?n gjithmon? nj? kujtim ngaz?llyes. Ai mund t? jet? edhe > bezdis?s. Gjergj Kastrioti ka qen? p?r nj? koh? t? gjat? p?r nj? pjes? t? > popullit shqiptar nj? qortim i heshtur. P?r t? jetuar me nj? kujtim t? > till? > nuk ?sht? leht?. Dhe n? raste t? tilla ka dy zgjidhje: ta shkul?sh nga > nd?rgjegjja ose ta modifikosh. > Nj? pjes? e shqiptar?ve e ruajti t? paprekur figur?n e Kastriotit. > Pjesa m? e prapambetur e tyre e modifikoi at? sipas mend?sis? s? saj t? > varf?r e oportuniste. Nga nj? ideator e programues t? madh, e shnd?rroi n? > > nj? kondotier ballkanas, te i cili shpata dhe kali zinin vendin kryesor. > Nd?rkaq kultura dhe let?rsia shqipe e mbajti t? gjall? figur?n e prij?sit. > > Kjo u d?shmua n? veprat e shkrimtar?ve katolik? t? shekujveXVII-XVIII. Por > > nj? gj? e till? u rid?shmua sidomos gjat? Rilindjes Shqiptare, kur > personazhi > i ngritur befas nga terri e mori gjith? shk?lqimin e tij si bart?s i > evropianizmit. Vargjet e famshme: "O drit?z e bekuar q? lind nga > per?ndon", > n? t? cilat shpallet programi i rilindasve p?r rikthim te Evropa > Per?ndimore, > jan? shkruar nga nj? poet bektashi, pra i universit mysliman, Naim > Frash?rit. > Dilemat tragjike t? nj? populli shfaqen sidomos n? prag ose n? fund > epokash. > Ishte e kuptueshme q? pyetja: nga do t? shkonte Shqip?ria, t? ngrihej n? > koh?n q? Perandoria Osmane po jepte shpirt. Duke dal? prej saj gati e > p?rgjysmuar, Shqip?ria e pagoi dyzimin e saj. M? shum? se shp?rblim p?r > q?ndres?n, ajo mori nga Evropa d?nimin p?r oportunizmin e saj. E sikur t? > mos > mjaftonte ky fshikull, fill pas daljes n? liri, nj? l?vizje prapanike dhe > monstruoze shp?rtheu n? Shqip?rin? e Mesme: kryengritja e Haxhi Qamilit. > Mesazhi i saj ishte i qart?: kthim te Turqia, kund?r liris? s? Shqip?ris?. > > N? historin? e vendit ?sht? v?shtir? t? gjendet nj? njoll? m? e err?t. P?r > > her? t? par? vulgu shqiptar guxoi t? hidhte balt? kund?r ?do shenje t? > vet. U > shkel me k?mb? flamuri shqiptar, fytyra e Gjergj Kastriotit, gjuha shqipe > dhe > m?suesit e saj. > N? luft? me bandat me shallvare t? Haxhi Qamilit e me bandat esadiste, t? > nxitura nga Serbia, u vra koloneli holandez Thomson, i d?rguar n?Shqip?ri > prej Fuqive t? M?dha, p?r organizimin e xhandarm?ris? s? shtetit t? par? > shqiptar. Fan Noli, peshkopi dhe poeti i madh, i kushtoi nj? vjersh? > mall?ngjyese, duke e quajtur martir t? Shqip?ris?. Nacionalist?t primitiv? > > shqiptar? hesht?n p?r vrasjen, sepse,sipas mendjes s? tyre t? mykur, > vras?sit > nuk mund t? d?noheshin, ngaq? i p?rkisnin komb?sis? shqiptare. Pa?ka se > ata > ishin llumi i zi i k?tij vendi. > Pyetja: me Per?ndimin apo kund?r tij u shtrua n? at? koh? m? tragjikisht > se > kurr?. Tridhjetepes? vite m? pas, shefi i komunist?ve shqiptar?, Enver > Hoxha, > do t? deklaronte se koloneli Thomson ishte agjent i imperializmitdhe se > "Haxhi Qamili ?sht? i partis?". ?sht? nj? nga deklaratat makabre kur > shpallej kumti ogurzi: Shqip?ria i kthente krah?t Per?ndimit, p?r t? > shkuar > p?rfundimisht me Lindjen. > Gjith? kronika e komunizmit n? Shqip?ri mund t? p?rmblidhet n? disa radh?: > > shkelje me k?mb? e orientimit t? Gjergj Kastriotit dhe Rilindjes > Komb?tare. > Armiq?si e eg?r ndaj qytet?rimit per?ndimor. Miq?si e mbrapsht? me ata q? > nuk > i kishim miq: serb?, sovjetik?, kinez?. N? fund, ve?im vet?vras?s. > Ndarja nga bota e Shqip?ris? ishte n? radh? t? par? ndarje nga Evropa dhe > SHBA. Katastrof? m? e pashpres? nuk mund t? projektohej p?r shqiptar?t. > Gabimeve t? tyre t? vjetra po u shtohej nj? tjet?r faj, k?t? her? i > pafalsh?m > dhe fatal. Ky ve?im po i merrte frym?n jo vet?m Shqip?ris? shtet?rore, por > > gjith? shqiptar?ve kudo q? jetonin e sidomos Kosov?s. Shpresa p?r lirin? e > > saj ishte varrosur m? thell? se kurr?. > > > E PABESUESHMJA > > Mbarimi i mij?vje?arit t? dyt? kishte ruajtur p?r popullinshqiptar > surpriz?n > m? t? pabesueshme: Evropa Atlantike, e mallkuar p?r dyzetvjet nga > propag