From albboschurch at juno.com Sun Sep 2 07:57:30 2001 From: albboschurch at juno.com (Albanian Orthodox Church) Date: Sun, 2 Sep 2001 07:57:30 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Natick Picnic 2001 Message-ID: <20010902.075828.3294.3.albboschurch@juno.com> All welcome to PICNIC 2001 hosted by the Albanian Orthodox Church of the Annunciation of Natick, Massachusetts WHEN: Sunday, September 9th, 12:00 Noon to 5:00 P.M. WHERE: at the New England Laborers' Training Center, East St., Hopkinton, MA FEATURES: The picnic will feature *shish kabob, hot dogs and hamburgers * spinach pie (Lakror) * Albanian & American pastry, *beverages and more. * Ethnic & American Music & Dancing: ( Pavillion Available ) * Supervised Swimming in magnificent Pool *Basketball Court & Shuffleboard Admission is $3.00 per person or $5.00 per car No carry in food or alcohol-Please! DIRECTIONS: >From Boston: Mass Pike (West) to Exit 11A ( 495-South) Take Exit 21A Route 135 (Hopkinton / West Main ST ) Go 3 miles: turn right onto CLINTON Street. Go one mile: Right onto EAST Street Follow the signs for Picnic! >From Northern New England: Interstate 495 South Exit 21A ( Hopkinton / West Main St.) Continue as above directions >From Western Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York: Take MASS PIKE (East) to Interstate 495 (South) follow directions as above >From Providence, Rhode Island and Coast Take Interstate 95 North to Interstate 495 (North) Exit 21A (Hopkinton) follow directions as above. For additional information or directions call (508) 655-7927 ________________________________________________________________ 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 eriola20 at yahoo.com Sun Sep 2 22:41:34 2001 From: eriola20 at yahoo.com (eriola kruja) Date: Sun, 2 Sep 2001 19:41:34 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: Shtate menyra per te qene inteligjent(nga KLAN) Message-ID: <20010903024134.93870.qmail@web20606.mail.yahoo.com> > > Shtate menyra per te qene inteligjent > > (Marre nga revista KLAN (A.M.)) > > > Ashtu sic nuk perdorim gjithe trurin per te zgjidhur > nje problem, por vetem nje pjese te specializuar te > tij, edhe inteligjenca nuk eshte nje e vetme, por > ndahet ne inteligjenca te specializuara. Sipas > studimeve te fundit, jane te pakten shtate > inteligjencat e njeriut. > > Per greket e vjeter njeriu ideal duhet te ishte i > shkathet, racional dhe virtuoz. Per romaket: i > guximshem. Per arabet e Islamit: nje ushtar i luftes > se shenjte. Per kinezet duhet te ishte poet, muzikant, > kaligrafist dhe piktor. Ne kulturen Keres (te grupit > Puebles te vendasve ne Amerike), njeriu ideal eshte ai > qe kujdeset per te tjeret. Perkundrazi, per shoqerite > e Lindjes njeriu ideal eshte njeriu inteligjent. Por > c'fare do te thote te jesh inteligjent? C'eshte > inteligjenca? A eshte e trashegueshme apo e ndikuar > nga ambjenti? A eshte nje e vetme apo ekzistojne shume > te tilla? A mund te jesh inteligjent ne nje rruge te > vetme dhe me me pak dhunti ne nje tjeter? > > Testet raciale > > Argumenti eshte shume i rrahur. Edhe pse nuk ka shume > mirekuptim qofte edhe ne perkufizimin se c'do te thote > te jesh inteligjent. Ne shkolle, inteligjenti eshte i > pari i klases ne matematike dhe gjuhe. Ne biznes eshte > ai qe di t'u paraprije mundesive tregetare. Ne > futboll, ai qe di te parashikoje levizjen e shokeve, > te kundershtarit dhe te topit dhe, duke konsideruar te > gjitha keto, te gjeje kalimet e duhura qe skuadra e > tij te shenoje gol. Cilado qofte forma me te cilen > prezantohet, inteligjenca eshte gjithmone nje cilesi > shume e kerkuar. Dy mije vjet me pare zyrtaret e > Perandorise se Kalter kineze benin provime per te > identifikuar kush ishte ne gjendje te hynte ne > burokracine perandorake. Ne Mesjete prelatet kerkonin > studente qe ishin ne gjendje te kombinonin studimin, > shkathtesine dhe devotshmerine. Ne te vone te > shekullit te 19-te, psikologu anglez Francis Galton, > duke menduar qe inteligjenca trashegohet nga babai tek > biri, e kerkonte inteligjencen tek ata qe zinin > pozicione udheheqesi. Fenomeni me i vonshem i testeve > te inteligjences shenohet gjate Luftes se Pare > Boterore. Forcat e Armatosura te Shteteve te Bashkuara > te Amerikes, para se te rekrutonin ushtare, i > detyronin t'i nenshtroheshin testit te QI (perqindja e > inteligjences), te hartuar pikerisht per te vleresuar > aftesite intelektuale. Dhe ketu linden polemikat e > para. Mes te testuarve te bardhe dhe atyre te zinj, ne > fakt, ekzistonte nje diference prej 15 pikesh ne favor > te te bardheve. Pse? > > Ambienti apo genet? > > Sipas disave, inteligjenca duke pasur origjine > gjenetike dhe, si e tille, duke kaluar nga ati tek > biri, nuk mund te permiresohej me shkollimin. Per kete > aresye, natyrisht, zezaket ishin me budallenj se te > bardhet. Perkundrazi, sipas te tjereve ishte ne pjesen > me te madhe merite e ndikimit te mjedisit, e > shkollimit te marre, e stimujve sociale qe i jepeshin > njeriut nga jeta. Dhe keshtu shfaqej edhe ndryshimi > mes te bardheve dhe zezakeve, qe i detyrohej me teper > rrethanave sociale dhe ekonomike (qe mund te superohen > me investime te percaktuara) dhe aspak trashegimise > gjenetike. Ne favor te teorise se pare, asaj > gjenetike, asokohe ishin disa studime, qe deshmonin se > si binjaket kane nje koeficient inteligjence te > njejte. Po keto rezultate dukeshin te papajtueshme me > studimet e udhehequra nga James Flyn i Universitetit > te Otagos ne Zelanden e Re. Duke studiuar evolucionin > e koeficientit te inteligjences ne bote, ky studim > deshmoi nje gje teper interesante: brezi i fundit > ishte permiresuar minimalisht me 9 pike nga 20 te > mundshme ne koeficientin e inteligjences respektivisht > me brezin pasardhes. Dhe ky permiresim, i > pashpjegueshem ne baze gjenetike, ishte i shpjegueshem > vetem me permiresimin e mjedisit social te njerezimit. > > > Budallenj me oke? > > Pertej polemikave per inteligjencen e trashegueshme > ose te stimuluar nga mjedisi, sot kane filluar te > akuzohen testet e inteligjences. Jane te fokusuar ne > suksesin shkollor dhe funksionojne brenda kesaj > kornize. Te gjithe i njohim te paret e klases, qe me > vone jane te fundit kur dalin ne jete. Ne vitet '70, > George Valliant, psikolog ne Harvard, studioi 95 > studente ne universitetin e tij qe kishin ndjekur > studimet ne vitet '40. Ai tregoi qe piket e marra ne > testet e inteligjences, qe u ishin bere atyre ne > shkolle, ishin kontradiktore me rezultatet e po ketyre > njerezve ne jete. Ish- studentet me brilante nuk > kishin pasur ndonje sukses te jashtezakonshem ne > krahasim me te diplomuarit ne po ate kohe qe kishin > pasur rezultate mediokre. Me pak fjale, Koeficienti i > Inteligjences nuk eshte ne gjendje te parashikoje > suksesin personal te nje njeriu ne jete. "Sot eshte > matur qe koeficienti i inteligjences ka nje ndikim > vetem 20% ne te pasurit sukses ne jete", thote > psikologu i Harvard-it, Hoeard Gardner. "Pozicioni > final i nje individi ne shoqeri eshte i percaktuar ne > nje mase te gjere nga faktore te ndryshem: nga klasa > shoqerore se ciles i perket deri tek fati". > > "Besoj se testet e inteligjences zbulojne individe te > pershtatshem per pushtet, ata qe dine te arrijne > rezultate te mira ne sistem", shton Karen Arnold, > docent i pedagogjise ne Boston. > > Faktori i suksesit > > Me e rendesishme per suksesin eshte aftesia per te > kapercyer "frustracionet", per te kontrolluar > emocionet dhe per te shkuar dakort me te tjeret. > Domethene, cilesite qe Daniel Goleman, psikolog dhe > gazetar i New York Times, ia atribuon te > ashtuquajtures "inteligjence emotive" (ose shoqerore), > qe buron nga studimet e bera nga Gardner. > > Ky tip inteligjence ne praktike eshte ai qe ka si > aftesi me te madhe ose me te vogel ne jete raportin me > persona te tjere dhe te te kuptuarit te emocioneve te > tyre. Eshte ky lloj inteligjence, qe na jep mundesine > te kuptojme me mire te tjeret, te punojme ne grup. > Sipas Gardner, bota do te ishte shume me e mire nese > ky lloj inteligjence do te kultivohej me kembengulje, > ashtu si dhe inteligjenca njohese (konjitive), qe > mesohet ne shkolle. > > Por ky ishte vetem hapi i pare. Sot, shume studiues > kembengulin qe nuk ka nje inteligjence te vetme, por > ato jane te shumta. "Ajo qe ne quajme inteligjence, ka > shume mundesi qe te mos ekzistoje", thote vete > Gardner, sipas te cilit ka te pakten shtate tipe > inteligjence. Dhe qe te shtata mund te kultivohen ose > permiresohen. > > Tru modular > > Teza e Gardner dhe e shume studiuesve, qe e mbeshtesin > ate, bazohet ne kerkimet e dhjetvjecarit te fundit. > Njohjet mbi trurin dhe mendjen njerezore kane > ndryshuar katerciperisht. Tani e dime qe mendimi > njerezor reflekton strukturen e trurit: nje strukture > me module, e bere me funksione te ndara. Dhe duke > perdorur te ashtuquajteren "Pet" (tomografi me emision > pozitronesh), eshte e mundur te shohesh se cilat zona > te trurit aktivizohen, nderkohe qe ne kryejme > aktivitete te ndryshme. Keshtu per shembull, eshte > zbuluar se ka zona cerebrale, qe i kushtohen aftesive > linguistike dhe zona te specializuara ne orientimin > hapesinor apo ne logjike. Keto studime kane ndryshuar > vizionin tradicional te inteligjences dhe te menyres > se matjes se saj. Nese qenia njerezore ka shume module > dhe aftesi te ndara, domethene nje spekter te gjere > mundesish, problemi eshte si t'i stimulojme keto zona > cerebrale ne menyre qe te shprehin mundesine e tyre > maksimale. > > Shtate inteligjencat e Gardnerit jane: > > 1. Linguistiko - verbale > > 2. Logjiko -matematike > > 3. Muzikore > > 4. Truperore ose kinetike > > 5. Hapesinore > > 6. Intrapersonale > > 7. Interpersonale apo sociale > > Cdo individ eshte vecanerisht i prirur ne disa prej > ketyre inteligjencave, por kurre ne te gjitha. Dhe > kush ka zhvilluar me teper disa zona te trurit, tenton > t'i perdore gjithnje e me teper, sepse perdorimi i > tyre i kushton me pak dhe perpunimi eshte me i > shpejte. > > Ne praktike, eshte nje diference jo shume e ndryshme > nga ajo qe haset, kur mund te behet krahasimi mes > menyres se si nisin bicikleten nje zoteri, qe rri > gjithe diten ndenjur, dhe nje ciklisti profesionist. > Ciklisti, per te pershkuar te njejtin itinerar, perdor > nje energji pafundesisht me te vogel sesa nje njeri > normal, sepse fuqia e "motorit" te tij eshte me e > madhe dhe, per kete aresye, edhe rendimenti... shume > me teper superior. Truri ne fakt eshte nje sistem > biologjik, qe zhvillon nje detyre, duke konsumuar > burime biologjike per te furnizuar nje sherbim. Ne > kete rast, per te menduar apo per te perpunuar nje > informacion. > > Ekonomi prej gjeniu > > Kur ka mundesi te zgjedhe se si mund ta furnizoje nje > sherbim te caktuar, hyn ne loje nje lloj ekonomie > mendore dhe truri perdor metoden qe i kushton me pak, > ate me te cilen individi eshte me i rrahur. Por, a > jemi gjithmone te denuar te perdorim te njejtin tip > inteligjence apo mund edhe te permiresojme > inteligjencat, ne te cilat nuk kemi shume dhunti? > Studiuesit mbeshtesin tezen, qe truri mund te > permiresohet, sepse eshte nje organ plastik, > fleksibel. Kjo eshte e vertete, mbi te gjitha, ne > vitet e para te jetes, por jo vetem atehere. Te > semuret me iktus kane treguar qe edhe ne moshe te > pjekur, pjese te ndryshme te trurit mund te fillojne > te kryejne ato funksione, qe me pare kryheshin nga > zona e demtuar e trurit. > > Perpiquni te permiresoni > > Le te marrim per shembull inteligjencen gjuhesore, ate > qe na ben te mundur te mesojme gjuhe te huaja. Ka nga > ata qe mbeshtesin tezen qe, pas nje moshe te caktuar, > eshte gati e pamundur te eleminohen disa defekte te > shqiptimit. Nje shembull klasik eshte me japonezet, qe > nuk arrijne te bejne dallimin mes tingullit "r" dhe > tingullit "l". Studimet kane treguar se kjo s'eshte > nje gje e jashtezakonshme. Mjaftojne tre seanca > stervitje, me nga 20 minuta secila, per t'i mesuar cdo > lloj japonezi ndryshimin mes ketyre dy tingujve. "Duke > u bazuar ne njohjet e fundit mbi menyren se si meson > truri, jemi ne gjendje te arrijme progrese te verteta > ne harkun e nje ore kohe ushtrimesh me nje qellim te > caktuar". > > Inteligjenca artificiale eshte dyfishe > > Studimet mbi Inteligjencen Artificiale ne vitet e > fundit jane zhvilluar ne dy drejtime te dallueshme. E > para, e percaktuar si "Inteligjenca Artificiale e > Forte" kerkon te kuptoje dhe te rindertoje > inteligjencen njerezore dhe te zgjidhe problemet duke > ndjekur proceset mendore te perdorura nga njeriu; e > dyta, e quajtur "Inteligjenca Artificiale e dobet", > perben qellimin final per zgjidhjen e nje problemi qe > kerkon zgjuarsi, pavaresisht nga procesi i perdorur. > Megjithate, te dy sistemet jane te destinuara te > veprojne ne harmoni se bashku. > > Forme dhe memorie > > Nje shembull? Nder aplikimet me ambicioze te nje te > ardhmeje te afert, shkencetaret po perpiqen te vene ne > pune nje makine, qe mund te niset pa nderhyrjen e > njeriut. Zhvillimi i te parit artificial eshte pika e > nxehte e problemit: makina duhet te dije te njohe > format dhe te njohe rrugen jo duke shmangur pengesat, > por duke perceptuar pikat e referimit. > > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger http://im.yahoo.com From naac at naac.org Tue Sep 4 12:22:02 2001 From: naac at naac.org (National Albanian American Council - NAAC) Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 12:22:02 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Today's Articles on Albanian Issues, September 4, 2001 Message-ID: <007701c1355d$bf83c880$43521840@SOKOL> National Albanian American Council 1700 K Street, N.W., Suite 1201, Washington, DC 20006 (202) 466-6900 Fax: (202) 466-5593 Email: naac at naac.org _______________________________________________ For Your Information September 4, 2001 NEW YORK TIMES After NATO, a Vacuum in Macedonia By MICHAEL R. GORDON SKOPJE, Macedonia, Sept. 3 - There is an embarrassing and potentially fatal omission in the West's plan to bring peace to Macedonia: nobody knows how to make the settlement work if NATO troops leave on schedule just a few weeks from now. The looming security vacuum worries Western military commanders, diplomats and intelligence experts. Today, James Pardew, the American diplomat who helped broker the political settlement, brought their dilemma into the open in a series of interviews. He raised the prospect that some allied troops would be needed beyond the Sept. 26 deadline by which the alliance now hopes to complete its mission. The Central Intelligence Agency has already warned the Bush administration that the political settlement intended to end the ethnic Albanian rebellion in Macedonia may collapse after the NATO force withdraws. "The C.I.A. believes that without a NATO presence in Macedonia, there is a very high risk that this agreement will collapse in the implementation phase," an American official said. The essence of the issue is this: after NATO completes its mission of collecting 3,300 weapons from ethnic Albanian rebels, diplomats envisage an unspecified number of unarmed foreign monitors coming to Macedonia to oversee the political settlement between the minority Albanians and majority Slavs. Those monitors, Mr. Pardew said today, will need protection to operate in the country's tense regions. "In the post-NATO period, significant numbers of civil monitors are needed in these sensitive areas as called for in the framework agreement," Mr. Pardew said in an interview. "So security in the future for these monitors is a concern." To understand the increasingly urgent problem, it is important to understand how limited and how brief NATO's operation is. If the Macedonian Parliament does its bit by approving changes to the Constitution that enhance the rights of ethnic Albanians, the rebels are to reciprocate by disbanding and handing over 3,300 weapons to NATO by Sept. 26. Then the 4,500-member NATO task force dispatched here for the arms-gathering mission is to be withdrawn over a two-week period. Only then are many of the most important provisions of the peace agreement to be put into effect, over a period of months. So NATO may be pulling out its task force just when the risks are the greatest. Right now, the West has only a partly scripted plan for what happens after NATO collects the rebels' guns. The basic plan is to call on the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe and the European Union to provide monitors who will live in some of Macedonia's most volatile towns and villages and see that the Albanians do gain the increased civic rights promised in the settlement. One of the monitors' most important tasks would be to help Macedonia reform its police. The Macedonian police battled the Albanian rebels for months, and are both unwelcome and afraid to go into many Albanian-dominated regions. The political settlement calls for the hiring and training of 1,000 Albanian policemen, and the monitors will have to guard against mischief. The head of Macedonia's Interior Ministry, Ljube Boskovski, who oversees the police, is a certified hard- liner and no fan of the peace agreement. Even with the best of intentions, and those often seem scarce here, there is the potential for miscalculation as the Macedonian police try to re-establish authority in areas once controlled by the rebels. The United States believes that some 200 monitors are needed and is prepared to contribute about 15 percent of them. Some NATO officials say as many as 400 may be required. But lining up the monitors has been very difficult. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, for example, has balked at an earlier suggestion that it raise the current number of its monitors in Macedonia from 26 to 50. The French, among others, are worried that the monitors may not be safe. The Russians, for their part, dislike the idea that the organization would, in essence, be helping to consolidate a settlement in which NATO played a vital part. Mr. Pardew hopes to overcome that objection during a coming trip to Moscow. Security is the major hazard. Facing a potentially dangerous mission, neither the European Union nor the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is prepared to take on monitoring duties without some form of protection. According to the current plan, NATO, the world's mightiest military alliance, is not preparing to play that part. Keeping the NATO task force, or at least some portion of it, in Macedonia would require a new mandate from the alliance's 19 members. So far, that is an option with few fans at NATO headquarters. Another option is to remove the NATO task force from Macedonia on schedule but arrange for NATO troops in Kosovo and at the American logistics base in Macedonia to rush to the monitors' aid in an emergency. But it is far from clear that this would provide enough reassurance to the monitors. Macedonia's president, Boris Trajkovski, has raised the possibility that United Nations troops might have a role in guarding the nation's frontiers to stop arms smuggling. But there seems to be little, if any, discussion of a more substantial United Nations role in protecting monitors within Macedonia. Still another option would be for the British and other Europeans to decide among themselves to keep some sort of security force here in what diplomats are calling a "coalition of the willing." Again, there is no agreement on such a force. With visits from the British, German and French defense or foreign ministers this week, the "what next" question is receiving increasingly intense consideration. There is a growing recognition that Macedonia may soon find the rebels partly disarmed, the Macedonian authorities trying to re-establish their control over areas formerly held by the rebels, and NATO's soldiers gone. Mr. Pardew stirred up a bit of a storm today by pointing out that the organizations that would provide the monitors are insisting that the West keep some sort of security force in Macedonia. But he was only saying in public what other Western officials say in private. And some are far less diplomatic. "There is a general feeling," said one alliance official, "that something must be done, but nobody knows what to do." RADIO FREE EUROPE / RADIO LIBERTY MACEDONIAN PRIME MINISTER GRUDGINGLY ENDORSES PEACE PACKAGE... Speaking before the parliament on 3 September, Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski said that the political settlement agreed on recently in Ohrid "was made under direct pressure of violence and terror," by which he meant the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (UCK), dpa reported (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 17 and 21 August 2001). He stressed that "changing the constitution will not bring peace." Georgievski argued that, in approving the package, "we are sending a great gift to all terrorists or all those who want to be terrorists all over the world. The message [is] that terrorism pays off." He added, however, that Macedonia must agree to the package out of economic necessity. The session of the parliament was interrupted over the weekend of 1-2 September when speaker Stojan Andov adjourned the legislature to demand security for displaced ethnic Macedonian civilians to return to their homes. He agreed to reconvene the session under heavy international pressure and once he received a pledge from President Boris Trajkovski that the displaced persons could return home safely, "The Guardian" reported. PM ...SLAMS U.S., NATO. Georgievski told the parliament on 3 September that it should approve the peace package because "it is obvious that we shouldn't gamble with the authority of NATO," Reuters reported. He slammed the Atlantic alliance for "mounting a mission [costing] 1 billion German marks...to collect weapons worth two million [marks]," dpa reported ($1.00 equals 2.15 German marks). Georgievski argued that the U.S. "did nothing against the terrorists, apart from publishing a list of those disallowed from entering its territory." He said that the conflict in "Macedonia is collateral damage of the 1999 NATO intervention in Yugoslavia.... We cannot expect those who made a mistake then to admit it now. On the contrary." He did not mention that his government allowed NATO to use Macedonian territory in 1999 and took in thousands of ethnic Albanian refugees from Kosova in return for pledges of aid and assistance. In the run-up to the January 2002 general elections, Georgievski has sought to revive his sagging poll ratings by slamming Albanians, the U.S., and NATO (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 30 August 2001). PM MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENT PREPARES FOR VOTE. The legislature is scheduled to vote on 4 September in what AP called a "symbolic gesture" to give the green light for NATO to continue to collect UCK weapons and for discussions to continue on the peace settlement. The measure is expected to pass. The previous day, Georgievski said that the parliament should "look reality in the eye." Social Democratic legislator Radmila Secerinska said: "Let us have no illusions: we need courage and wisdom.... We face a huge responsibility before our country, our descendants." She noted that the settlement does not guarantee peace, but called it "a chance, a huge potential to build a legitimate democracy." PM MACEDONIAN POLL SHOWS DEPTH OF ETHNIC DIVIDE. Dpa on 4 September quoted the Skopje daily "Utrinski vesnik" as saying that its latest poll suggests that ethnic Macedonians oppose both the settlement and NATO. Some 50.7 percent oppose the plan, while 43.7 approve. Some 57.9 percent of Macedonian respondents said they do not trust NATO, and 3.6 percent said they do. Of ethnic Albanians surveyed, 78 percent support the settlement but 12.9 oppose it. Some 76.3 percent of the Albanians trust NATO, while 23.1 percent "partially trust" it. Regarding the proposed amnesty for UCK fighters, 81.8 percent of Macedonians are opposed, while 98.4 percent of Albanians agree to it. PM U.S. ENVOY: NATO PRESENCE IN MACEDONIA MAY CONTINUE. James Pardew, the U.S. special envoy in Macedonia, told the BBC on 3 September that some NATO troops may stay on in Macedonia after Operation Essential Harvest ends in late September. He noted that NATO has no mandate beyond that mission, but suggested that the alliance may be asked by the OSCE to provide "security" for OSCE monitors, "who will be watching the implementation of the peace agreement." He stressed that monitors "would not be armed, and that does raise the question...whether there should be an extension of the military mandate... But that hasn't been decided by NATO or anyone else at this point." Recently, President Boris Trajkovski suggested that the UN could play a role in keeping the peace in his country, but did not elaborate. PM DISPLACED MACEDONIANS RESUME BORDER BLOCKADE. Displaced civilians from the Kumanovo area blocked the border crossing at Tabanovce on 3 September, dpa reported. They said that they will not allow NATO or KFOR vehicles to pass until the authorities assure them that they can return to their homes, from which the UCK drove them. On 2 September, the displaced persons unblocked the road after a meeting between Todor Petrov -- the president of the Macedonian World Congress -- members of nongovernmental organizations, and the new Union of the displaced persons. Union leader Veljo Tantarov said that "if [recently] kidnapped Macedonians are not be released by [4 September], we will start kidnapping ethnic Albanians and will open a prison in the villages," but did not specify which ones. He added that the union plans more border blockades on 5 September at Stenje, Kafasan, and Sveti Naum. Tantarov stressed that the kidnapped Macedonians are ordinary farmers. "The Sunday Times" reported on 2 September that masked Macedonian paramilitaries have already begun kidnapping Albanian civilians. PM RADIO TV 21 UNMIK concerned about increased violence in region UNMIK expressed Monday about the increase in crimes of violence in Kosova. According to UNMIK Police, three separate killings occurred in Shtimje, Lipjan and Rahovec on Saturday and Sunday, in addition to two bomb attacks on the homes of Democratic League of Kosova (LDK) party members in Prizren. All the victims were Albanians. Qerim Ismaili, who, UNMIK Police said, was a member of the Serb-affiliated Democratic Initiative of Kosova before the war, was found dead at home in Lipjan. The body of another Albanian was found in his house in Lipjan and a third in Rahovec. According to UNMIK Police spokesman Dean Olson, the bombings of the houses of LDK officials took place in the village of Belobrod and Brodosavce Saturday at approximately 11 p.m. and 11:20 p.m., respectively. Olson said that the victims were treated for minor injuries. According to Olson, explosives dogs were sent to the scenes of the explosions and, as a precautionary measure, houses belonging other LDK party members were searched but no explosives were found. "A vigorous investigation into these acts of terrorism is being conducted," Olson said. He added that the Political Violence Task Force had been informed, but there are no suspects as yet. ALBANIAN DAILY NEWS Parliament Holds First Meeting TIRANA - The new Albanian parliament held its first session on Monday with 46 empty seats assigned to opposition MPs, exactly 80 years after the gathering of the first Albanian parliament. The 140 lawmakers had to pass through a long journey of court decisions and re-runs since general polls were held on June 24. New Meta Government in the Making TIRANA - The ruling Socialist Party confirmed on Monday that top priorities for the new government would include elimination of illegal trafficking and stronger relations with the European Union, besides economic development. "Our aim is to remove the name of Albania from the map of illegal traffic, the signing of an association and stabilization agreement with the EU and the economic development of the country," said SP chairman Fatos Nano. Balkan Oil Pipeline Under Way Soon SOFIA - The construction of an oil pipeline across the Balkans from Bulgaria's Black Sea port of Burgas to Vlora on Albania's Adriatic coast should begin by the end of the year, the US-led consortium in charge of the operation reported. A senior official of the Balkan pipeline consortium (AMBO) Ted Ferguson said on Saturday the company prefers Vlora to Greek ports in the Aegean Sea for the end of the pipeline, French news agency AFP said. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Sep 5 00:03:35 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 21:03:35 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Gazeta Shqiptare - Gjirokaster Message-ID: <20010905040335.79936.qmail@web11508.mail.yahoo.com> GAZETA E GJIROKASTRES "Ushtrit? bashk? n? rast fatkeq?sish natyrore" GJIROKASTER N? raste fatkeq?sish, dy ushtrit? tona t? gj?nden pran? nj?ra-tjetr?s". Ky ka qen? vendimi i marr? dje dhe thelbi i takimit t? zhvilluar n? Sht?pin? e Ushtris? n? Gjiro-kast?r, mes Komandantit t? Brigad?s s? K?mbsoris? (Ish-divizioni "Lab?ria") dhe komandantit t? Divizionit t? Janin?s, Van-gjellos Spandidhaqis. "N? ?far?do lloj rasti fatkeq?sie natyrore, t?rmete, zjarre, p?rmbytje apo t? tjera t? k?tij lloji, ushtrit?, divizionet tona duhet t? gjenden pran? nj?ri-tjetrit, q? t? shp?tojn? vendet dhe njer?zit nga k?to fenomene t? natyr?s", ka b?r? t? ditur n?nkolonel Nisllaj. Gjat? takimit, ushtaraku gjirokastrit dhe ai helen kan? biseduar edhe p?r zhvillimin e st?rvitjeve t? p?rbashk?ta mes dy ushtrive. "N? kuadrin e intesifikimit t? kontakteve dhe shk?mbimeve, ram? dakort me homolog?t grek?, q? m? 21 shtator t? k?tij viti, ekipe sportive t? ushtar?ve dhe oficer?ve t? Brigad?s s? K?mbsoris? t? Gjirokastr?s t? marrin pjes? n? nj? manifestim sportivo-ushtarak t? organizuar n? Pallatin e Sportit t? Janin?s", ka th?n? Nisllaj. Sipas t? nj?jtit burim, n? muajin tetor, ekipet ushtarake t? Janin?s do t? marrin pjes? n? nj? aktivitet t? till? sportiv n? qytetin e gurt?. Pas takimit n? Gjirokast?r, delegacioni i ushtarak?ve grek? ?sht? nisur p?r n? Sarand?, ku do t? vizitonte qytetin antik t? Butrintit, disa vende t? tjera historike, muzeun e Arm?ve dhe at? Etnografik t? k?tij rrethi. --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Sep 5 00:16:28 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 21:16:28 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Article by Takis Michas - 28 August 2001 Message-ID: <20010905041628.65696.qmail@web11502.mail.yahoo.com> WSJE: Column: A Greek Tempest In A Teapot Boils Over (by Takis Mihas, 28-8-01) WSJE: Column: A Greek Tempest In A Teapot Boils OverDow Jones News Service via Dow Jones By Takis Michas (Editor's Note: Mr. Michas's book "The Unholy Alliance: Greece andMilosevic'sSerbia during the 1990's" (A & M University Press) will be published inearly2002.) Like two locomotives racing toward each other on the same track, thestate-subsidized Orthodox Church of Greece - led by the telegenicArchbishopChristodoulos - will soon collide with the government of Prime MinisterCostasSimitis. After the collision, Greece may be the worse for it. The pending smash-up is apparently caused by the Greek government'swillingness to obey an EU directive and strike all reference to a person'sreligion from Greece's government-issued identity cards. Last year theGreekgovernment removed the religious entry saying that it violated individualrightsand privacy. The church strongly objected, accusing the government oftryingtoundermine the role of the Orthodox religion. The church organized massralliesin Athens that attracted more than 500,000 people. More recently the churchcollected over three million signatures for a petition demanding areferendum onthe issue. The only other petition in Greece in recent years that carried acomparable number of signatures was one demanding that suspected Bosnianwarcriminals, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, not to be extradited to theInternational War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague. The Orthodox Church of Greece has considerable institutional powers thatderive partly from the country's constitution, which establishes theinseparability of the church and the state. This arrangement endows thechurchwith political power while ensuring the acceptance of its views by manyGreeks. The church benefits from an unwillingness by Greek politicians toconfrontit.The conservative New Democracy Party - a major opposition party - refusestodistance itself from the church's political positions. Indeed, in mostinstances, the archbishop's views are openly advocated by the overwhelmingmajority of New Democracy Party lawmakers and by the conservative media.Thisattitude may prove to be very shortsighted. If the New Democracy is everable toform a government, its foreign and domestic policies will be shaped byviewssimilar to those of Archbishop Christodoulos. That may be bad news forGreeceand for the whole of southeast Europe. But a special sense of national identity may give the church more powerthanthe national constitution does. The dominant view of Greek nationalidentitysees Orthodoxy as its basic constitutive element. To be truly Greek is tobeOrthodox, or so many Greeks believe. The identification of Greekness with Orthodoxy poses a very real threattothemembers of other religious denominations. "A conflict of interest betweentheGreek Orthodox Church and other churches," says Prof. Dimitrios Dimoulis,atBrazil's Sao Paolo University, "is viewed as a conflict between what is intheinterest of the nation and what is against the nation." Whenever such aconflictoccurs, the Greek Orthodox Church can always resort to a nationalistdiscourseand accuse the other religious minorities of failing to act in accordancewiththe national interest. This was the case in 1993, when a Roman Catholicpriestargued for the abolition of the practice of including a person's religiousdenomination on Greek identity cards. In his reply to the priest, Mr.Christodoulos - who at the time was the bishop of Dimitrias - accused themembers of the Roman Catholic minority on the Cyclade Islands of sidingwiththeenemy when Italy attacked Greece during World War II. Thus do religiousfervorand excessive nationalism feed each other in modern Greece. Similarly, when the present row over the identity cards erupted lastyear,Archbishop Christodoulos rushed to blame the Jews: "You know who is behindtheidentity cards issue?" he asked, in an interview with a Greek daily. "TheJews!" What raises the stakes in the current conflict between the church and thegovernment is that for the first time in recent history the church iscallingimplicitly for the overthrow of an elected government. In his statementsArchbishop Christodoulos has questioned Prime Minister Simiti's ability togovern, saying that he is a poor substitute for the former leader of rulingPasok party, Andreas Papandreou, who died in 1996. ArchbishopChristodoulos'statements come at a difficult time for Mr. Simitis who has called for anemergency party convention for Oct. 11. He called the gathering to ask forthesupport of the party leaders for his policy of (modest) economic reform,whichhe believes is being undermined by the collectivist wing of the party,whichremains wedded to the statist-nationalist policies of the late Mr.Papandreou. The Greek Orthodox Church and its present leader have consistentlysupportedextreme nationalist positions. In the early 1990s the Greek church helpedleadthe opposition to the neighboring state's plan to call itself Macedonia. Itplayed a decisive role in fomenting nationalist feelings by organizing andparticipating in the mass rallies against the new state. High-rankingchurchofficials openly called for the forceful annexation of southern Albania(where asizable Greek minority lives) by Greece, in the mid-1990s. For almost a decade, the Greek church provided rhetorical cover for warcrimesin Bosnia. The church even invited Radovan Karadzic to visit Athens, in thesummer of 1993, in order to honor him at a rally in a Piraeus stadium.GreekOrthodox priests traveled regularly to war-ravaged Bosnia to providespiritualsuccor to the Bosnia Serb army in Sarajevo, Zvornik and other places. InJune1997, Republika Srpska President Biljana Plavsic awarded medals of honor tosomeGreek Orthodox priests for helping the Bosnian Serbs during the war. Mrs.Plavsic has since been indicted for war crimes and is currently awaitingtrialat The Hague. After a 1996 conflict over an islet in the Aegean Sea that brought GreeceandTurkey close to war, Archbishop Christodoulos denounced the peacefuloutcomeandadvocated a military solution. Recently the Greek archbishop rejected theU.N.-sponsored framework for talks that may resolve the decades-oldconflictinCyprus. Archbishop Christodoulos's worldview was outlined in an article he wrotein1993. In it he called upon Serbs, Russians, Romanians, Greeks andBulgarianstolay aside their differences and unite in an alliance against the Muslims.Naturally he expected the Greek Orthodox Church to play a "decisive" roleinthis alliance. In the part of Christendom that once answered to the Roman CatholicChurch,Western Europeans have learned the perils of combining church and state. IntheChristian East, the dividing line between political and religiousleadershipismuch less clear. That will mean big trouble to a beleaguered prime ministertrying to sustain a democratically elected government in the EU's southeastcorner. The real question is not whether religious affiliation remains ongovernment identity cards, but whether or not the Greek Orthodox Church iswilling to give up playing politics. (END) DOW JONES NEWS 08-28-01 --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From okv-dc at iom.int Wed Sep 5 11:39:53 2001 From: okv-dc at iom.int (OKV-DC Wash DC) Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2001 17:39:53 +0200 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Out-of-Kosovo Voting program: Registration only until September 8, 2001 Message-ID: <4BA9DDF31DE2D41199CC00508BE745452EB339@WASEXCHANGE> Dear subscriber, The International Organization for Migration is happy to inform you that the Special Representative of the Secretary General and Head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) announced Kosovo-wide elections for November 17, 2001 to elect a 120-member law-making Assembly. To vote in the November elections, every eligible voter must either apply to register or confirm registration from last year by completing a new registration form. Registration began 30 July and ends 8 September. IOM-OKV sent to all applicants from last year personalized registration materials to be completed and returned to IOM-OKV Vienna. As we are making every effort to reach all potential voters, we ask your important support to help inform potential voters. This year, generic registration forms and information may also be downloaded from our website at www.okvoting.org. For further information or application materials, applicants form the USA and Canada should either take advantage of our website or call our IOM Washington office at our toll-free number at 1.866.819.5158 or contact us by e-mail at okv-dc at iom.int. Sincerely, Henrike Lehnguth Head of Voter Information Office Out-of-Kosovo Voting (OKV) IOM Washington, D.C. Toll-free phone#: 1.866.819.5158 Fax#: 202.862.1879 From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Sep 5 12:21:12 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2001 09:21:12 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] England - Albania at Pier 4 Message-ID: <20010905162112.22286.qmail@web11505.mail.yahoo.com> ENGLAND - ALBANIA SOCCER Time - Today, September 5, 2001, 3:00 p.m. Place: Anthony's Pier 4, 140 Northern Avenue, Boston, MA 02210, Phone: 617-482-6262 Admission: Free Complimentary hoers d'oevres and refreshments courtesy of Mr. Anthony Athanas --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From mentor at alb-net.com Wed Sep 5 08:58:25 2001 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2001 08:58:25 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] [AMCC-News] HRW: Macedonian Troops Commit Grave Abuses: Crimes Against Civilians - Abuses by Macedonian Forces in Ljuboten, August 10-12, 2001 Message-ID: >>>>>>>>>>>>> PLEASE READ & DISTRIBUTE FURTHER <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< --------------------------------------------------------------------- Human Rights Violations in Macedonia http://www.alb-net.com/amcc/humanrights.htm Macedonian police brutality, abuse and massacres http://www.alb-net.com/amcc/abuse_violence.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.hrw.org/press/2001/09/macedonia-0905.htm Macedonian Troops Commit Grave Abuses Role of Interior Minister in Ljuboten Abuses Must be Investigated (New York, September 5, 2001) Macedonian government troops committed grave abuses during an August offensive that claimed ten civilian lives in the ethnic Albanian village of Ljuboten, Human Rights Watch charged in a new report released today. "The Macedonian government must answer to the people of Ljuboten. It is deeply disturbing that the Minister of Interior appears to have been so intimately involved in one of the worst abuses of the war. We demand an immediate and impartial investigation." Elizabeth Andersen Executive Director Europe and Central Asia division The complete report titled "Crimes Against Civilians: Abuses by Macedonian Forces in Ljuboten, August 10-12, 2001" is available on the Human Rights Watch website at: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/macedonia/. To access the photo gallery accompanying the report, please see: http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/macedonia/photos/. The report, titled Crimes Against Civilians: Abuses by Macedonian Forces in Ljuboten, August 10-12, 2001, charges that Macedonian police troops shot dead six civilians and burned at least twenty-two homes, sheds, and stores in the course of their August 12 house-to-house attack on the village. The rights group pressed for an immediate investigation, including an inquiry into the role of Macedonian Minister of Interior Ljube Boskovski, who was present in the village on August 12, the day the worst violations occurred. "The Macedonian government must answer to the people of Ljuboten," said Elizabeth Andersen, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia division. "It is deeply disturbing that the Minister of Interior appears to have been so intimately involved in one of the worst abuses of the war. We demand an immediate and impartial investigation." Human Rights Watch called on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to make public the results of its investigation into the events in Ljuboten. Human Rights Watch pressed for a separate investigation by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which has jurisdiction over war crimes committed in the Macedonia conflict. Based on a two-week in-depth investigation, including a visit to Ljuboten, interviews with victims and witnesses, and examination of photographic evidence, the report also documented indiscriminate shelling that claimed another three lives in Ljuboten. Contrary to the government's account of the offensive, researchers found no evidence that the ethnic Albanian rebel National Liberation Army was present in the village. Hundreds of ethnic Albanian civilians who tried to flee Ljuboten faced further abuse. Ethnic Macedonian vigilantes beat three men unconscious in full view of the Macedonian police on August 12. One of the men was shot in the head by the Macedonian police as he attempted to flee the beating. Police separated over one hundred men and boys from their wives and children and took them to police stations in Skopje, where they were subjected to severe beatings. Atulah Qaini, aged thirty-five, was taken away alive from the village by police officers, and his badly beaten and mutilated corpse was later recovered by family members from the city morgue. According to their relatives, at least twenty-four men from Ljuboten, including a thirteen-year-old boy, remain in police custody after suffering serious beatings from the police. The police abuse suffered by ethnic Albanians fleeing Ljuboten is consistent with patterns of systematic abuse Human Rights Watch has documented in Macedonia over the past six months. Human Rights Watch urged international monitors to make a priority of monitoring and reporting on the conduct of Macedonian police. "Endemic police abuse is a potential spark that could re-ignite the conflict in Macedonia," Andersen said. "We can't wait for a gradual restructuring of the police over the next three years. Immediate steps-including monitoring and accountability-are needed to curb abuse." ________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from this list visit: http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/amcc-news From naac at naac.org Wed Sep 5 14:06:28 2001 From: naac at naac.org (National Albanian American Council - NAAC) Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2001 14:06:28 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Today's Articles on Albanian Issues, August 5, 2001 Message-ID: <006f01c13635$80999540$265a1840@SOKOL> National Albanian American Council 1700 K Street, N.W., Suite 1201, Washington, DC 20006 Tel: (202) 466-6900 Fax: (202) 466-5593 Web: www.naac.org Email: naac at naac.org _______________________________________________________________________ For Your Information September 5, 2001 NEW YORK TIMES Report Says Macedonians Killed Civilians in Revenge By IAN FISHER That night's newscast showed Ljube Boskovski, the hard-line Macedonian minister of the interior, planted behind a stone wall in the village of Ljuboten, surrounded by soldiers and the sound of gunfire. He was there, the newscast said, as part of a military operation to sweep the village of the ethnic Albanian "terrorists" who had planted the antitank mines that had killed eight Macedonian soldiers two days before. On the day of the newscast, Aug. 12, seven ethnic Albanians were killed in Ljuboten. But nearly a month later, no evidence has emerged that those people, or three others also killed from the village, were anything but civilians. In a detailed report to be issued today, Human Rights Watch accuses the overwhelmingly Slavic forces of Macedonia's government of summary execution of civilians, arson and torture. The operation over that weekend, the report says, "had no military justification and was carried out for purposes of revenge." By the standards of a decade of war in the Balkans, the number of dead around Ljuboten was not high. But the killings were the worst single loss of life in six months of low-level warfare in Macedonia. They were also the clearest and bloodiest example yet of the cycle of revenge that prolonged other Balkan wars. NATO recently embarked on what is intended to be a one-month mission to calm the Macedonian conflict. In an interview, Mr. Boskovski, perhaps the most outspoken proponent of a military solution to the insurgency, sought to distance himself from what happened in Ljuboten. He said that he arrived only at 4 p.m. that Sunday, after the military operation had ended, and that he did not direct the operation. But he also maintained that it was "stupidity" to think that the ethnic Albanian rebel force - which calls itself the National Liberation Army - was not in Ljuboten that weekend, even though he said he had no idea if those who died were fighters or civilians. He also attacked Human Rights Watch, which investigated the incident, calling it an "international mercenary organization." "They accuse me of being present there and watching when civilians were murdered," Mr. Boskovski said. "That is a monstrous accusation." "Who would bring a camera with him if he wanted to do something like that?" he asked. The United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague, charged with investigating allegations of war crimes in all of former Yugoslavia, has sent investigators to Macedonia to decide whether to begin a full investigation into what happened in Ljuboten and who might be responsible. "It's important to understand that he doesn't have to witness the people being killed to have some responsibility for what happened," said Peter Bouckaert, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch who wrote the group's report on Ljuboten. "It was done by troops under his authority in an action in which he was intimately involved." Mr. Bouckaert said the killing of civilians in Ljuboten could be a dangerous precedent for Macedonia's future. The peace deal signed on Aug. 13 by the Macedonian and ethnic Albanian parties in Macedonia's government grants ethnic Albanians many of the greater civic rights the rebels say they have sought. NATO has 4,500 troops in Macedonia collecting arms from the ethnic Albanian rebels so that the political part of the peace deal can proceed. But no one is sure that the deal will hold, particularly, in Mr. Bouckaert's view, if a government minister like Mr. Boskovski is seen as condoning attacks on civilians. "As in all guerrilla conflicts, the question of who is a civilian and who is a fighter is a thorny one. Many rebels live in Albanian villages, and government officials often argue that their status as combatants is a matter of putting on a uniform. Ljuboten, home to about 3,000 ethnic Albanians and a handful of Slavic Macedonians, lies about five miles north of the capital, Skopje, and is surrounded on three sides by Macedonian villages and to the northeast by the Skopska Crna Gora mountain, where the rebel army is active. It was on the mountain that on Friday morning, Aug. 10, the two antitank mines exploded a few miles from Ljuboten, killing eight Macedonian soldiers. Two days earlier, 10 Macedonian soldiers had been killed in another ambush. Emotions were running high among the nation's police officers, soldiers and reservists. Almost immediately that morning, police checkpoints sealed off Ljuboten, and shelling began. The Human Rights Watch report says that Haxhi Meta Xhavit, about 70, died "apparently from shock or heart failure" when his home was hit by a shell. Early that evening, after a lull, the shelling resumed. A villager, Fazil Duraku, 25, said he saw a panic- stricken boy, Erxhan Aliu, 6, die in the shelling. "There were two or three people in one spot, and this boy was trying to go toward them," he said. "The shell landed maybe the distance of one palm-width away from him, and it threw him into the air." On Friday evening, he said, "We went to our basement because the shooting didn't stop all night." On Saturday, villagers said, the government continued its shelling, and many villagers were blocked by the police from fleeing Ljuboten. But it was not until Sunday that Macedonian soldiers swept into the village in search of what the government said were terrorists in the area. In a house across from a Macedonian Orthodox Church, the Jusufi family heard an explosion and crash at the front metal gate about 8:20 a.m. Rami Jusufi, 33, went to lock the door. A burst of machine gun fire bored through as he clicked the lock. The rest of the family - including his 58-year-old father, Elmaz, confined to a wheelchair - could do nothing but pour iodine on the three bullet wounds of Mr. Jusufi, who spent the next several hours bleeding to death. "In the last half-hour, he started breathing slower and slower," his father said. "And then he just faded away." One man, Aziz Bajrami, 66, was himself shot and lost two sons on that Sunday. Sitting with his left hand bandaged in a house in the Albanian quarter of Skopje two weeks later, Mr. Bajrami described an atmosphere of chaos and fear as the soldiers entered the village, firing into houses and setting cars, houses and barns ablaze. He said he hid in the basement of a neighbor, along with three of his sons and eight female relatives. The police found them, he said, shot into the basement, stole jewelry from the women and marched the men to a spot where perhaps 10 other Albanian men, most of them young, lay on their stomachs. "I heard one soldier go up to my son and kick him in his head," Mr. Bajrami said. "When they kicked him in the head, they shot me in the hand. Then my son stood up because of the pain. He tried to run, and they all opened fire on him." He said the police shot his son, Sulejman, 22, at least twice more before ordering Mr. Bajrami and his cousin, Muharrem, 68, to leave. "They said, `You old men go home,' " Mr. Bajrami said. "We got up, quickly, and I ran into a little door. Then I heard two shots. I was behind the wall and went into the garage. They killed my cousin. It was only me left." Two days after the attack, foreign journalists went to Ljuboten, where the bodies of Sulejman and Muharrem Bajrami still lay, each shot repeatedly, in the back and in the head. On a nearby ridge lay three more bodies, including another of Mr. Bajrami's sons, Xhelal, 24, along with the Jashari brothers, Bairam, 33, and Kadri, 31, who had arrived on vacation from Austria 10 days before. The three had been shot, witnesses said, fleeing a house that Macedonian forces had fired at with rocket- launched grenades. Later that week, a plumber named Bejtullah Qaili, 43, ended a search for his missing brother at the Skopje morgue. His brother, Atulla, 32, one of more than 100 men arrested in Ljuboten on that Sunday, had apparently been beaten to death, his skull crushed, eyes black and swollen shut, cigarette burns on his arm, his testicles blackened from blows. Most of the arrested were released and all are now accounted for, though roughly a dozen remain in prison, including a 13-year-old boy. "I wouldn't feel as bad if he was one of the guys who fought," said Mr. Qaili, who added that he had to pay $670 in bribes to have the body released. "If he was a soldier, he would have died for a cause." Family members of the dead contend that none of them belonged to the rebel army. None were armed, and none wore a uniform or combat boots. "It is significant that the government has not presented any credible evidence that there was an N.L.A. presence in Ljuboten, such as confiscated N.L.A. weapons or uniforms," the Human Rights Watch report says. Guerrillas held positions in the mountains outside Ljuboten in August, and had been in the village as recently as June, meeting with foreign reporters. One explanation put forward by outside monitors of what happened in Ljuboten is that government forces saw firing from the mountain and believed that it came from inside the village. Mr. Boskovski, the interior minister, said he had no doubt that the rebels were in Ljuboten, and that they had attacked Macedonian civilians, a contention that has been widely reported in the Macedonian press. "It is the easiest thing to make accusations today and to put an equal sign between the aggressor and the victim," he said. NAAC Note: The Human Rights Watch Report on Ljuboten can be found at the following address on the internet: http://www.hrw.org/press/2001/09/macedonia-0905.htm RADIO FREE EUROPE / RADIO LIBERTY NATO INTERVENES TO STOP MACEDONIAN INCIDENT. In the first reported case of NATO troops halting a violent incident in Macedonia, NATO soldiers acted to save the life of an ethnic Albanian member of the Macedonian police, who was under fire from Macedonian paramilitaries on the Skopje-Tetovo highway, dpa reported on 5 September. NATO spokesman Mark Laity told reporters in Skopje: "The only official policemen at that scene was the Albanian policemen [sic]. The group of paramilitaries were not official." NATO spokesman Barry Johnson added that the NATO troops defused "the situation and insisted in ensuring that the policeSleft the area safely. [The soldiers] felt that there was a threat to the life of the Albanian policemen. Within normal rules, then, they were doing the right thing to prevent the imminent threat to someone else's life." It is not clear whether one or more than one ethnic Albanian policeman was involved. The same paramilitaries killed a Macedonian soccer player recently when he refused to stop at their checkpoint. PM MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENT CONTINUES DEBATE. The Macedonian legislature is scheduled to continue debating the proposed peace settlement on 5 September after postponing a vote the previous day, Deutsche Welle reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 September 2001). AP reported from Brussels that top EU officials Javier Solana and Chris Patten will travel to Skopje on 6 September for two days of talks with political leaders. PM WESTERN MACEDONIAN ENVOYS TO MOSCOW. EU special envoy for Macedonia Francois Leotard, his U.S. counterpart James Pardew, and OSCE envoy Max van der Stoel will hold talks in Moscow on 6 September with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, dpa reported from the Russian capital on 5 September (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 September 2001, and "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 31 July 2001). Pardew arrived to meet Russian leaders on 5 September, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM LEGISLATIVE BOYCOTT IN ALBANIA. The parliament elected on 24 June (and in subsequent runoffs) convened on 3 September, Deutsche Welle's "Monitor" reported. The only opposition deputies present were the six legislators from the ethnic Greek party. Party leader Vasil Melo said that he hopes that the rest of the opposition deputies will soon take their seats lest a "vacuum" develop. Outside the building, supporters of former President Sali Berisha lit candles in a protest designed to call attention to what they say was electoral fraud. Most foreign observers feel that the elections were quite free and fair by Albanian standards (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 3 August 2001). Berisha is still hoping that legal experts from the Council of Europe will agree in his favor. PM -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From kruja at fas.harvard.edu Wed Sep 5 14:52:32 2001 From: kruja at fas.harvard.edu (kruja at fas.harvard.edu) Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2001 11:52:32 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] CNN.com - Archbishop: Mother Teresa underwent exorcism - September 5, 2001 Message-ID: <-1201840782.999715952236.JavaMail.root@localhost> You have received the following link from kruja at fas.harvard.edu ******************** If you are having trouble with any of the links in this message, or if the URL's are not appearing as links, please follow the instructions at the bottom of this email. Title: CNN.com - Archbishop: Mother Teresa underwent exorcism - September 5, 2001 Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to access the sent link: http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=viewThis&etMailToID=162135519&pt=Y Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to SAVE THIS link: http://www.savethis.clickability.com/st/saveThisPopupApp?clickMap=saveFromET&partnerID=2006&etMailToID=162135519&pt=Y Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to forward this link: http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=forward&etMailToID=162135519&partnerID=2006&pt=Y *Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified. ******************** Email pages from any Web site you visit - add the EMAIL THIS button to your browser, copy and paste the following into your Web browser: http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=browserButtons&pt=Y" Instructions: ----------------------------------------- If your e-mail program doesn't recognize Web addresses: 1. With your mouse, highlight the Web Address above. Be sure to highlight the entire Web address, even if it spans more than one line in your email. 2. Select Copy from the Edit menu at the top of your screen. 3. Launch your Web browser. 4. Paste the address into your Web browser by selecting Paste from the Edit menu. 5. Click Go or press Enter or Return on your keyboard. ******************** -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From naac at naac.org Wed Sep 5 20:22:49 2001 From: naac at naac.org (National Albanian American Council - NAAC) Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2001 20:22:49 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] NAAC Launches Hope Fellowship Program in Prishtina Message-ID: <00a801c1366a$142b2650$be5a1840@SOKOL> National Albanian American Council 1700 K Street, N.W., Suite 1201, Washington, DC 20006 Tel: (202) 466-6900 Fax: (202) 466-5593 Web: www.naac.org Email: naac at naac.org __________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release: September 5, 2001 Contact: Sokol Shtylla (202) 466-6900 Press Release Hope Fellowship Program To Be Launched in Prishtina Commitment Ceremony Welcomes First Group of Fellows Prishtina, Kosova (September 5, 2001) - The National Albanian American Council issued the following statement regarding the initiation of the Hope Fellowship program. The National Albanian American Council ("NAAC") will launch its Hope Fellowship during a Commitment Ceremony on Saturday, September 8, 2001 at the Grand Hotel in Prishtina to welcome the first group of women participating in the program. The Hope Fellowship Program is created and implemented by NAAC in partnership with the US State Department and the United States Agency for International Development ("USAID"). Saturday's ceremony will recognize the first group of ten women for their commitment to this leadership-training project. Speakers include US Ambassador to Prishtina, John Menzies, Ibrahim Rugova (invited), Hashim Thaci, Hope Fellowship Program Advisory Board members, Dr. Vjosa Dobruna and Aferdita Kelmendi. After a three-day pre-departure orientation that takes place in Prishtina prior to the Commitment Ceremony, the fellows will travel to Washington DC where they will participate in a two-week leadership workshop. Training sessions during the workshop include proposal writing, public speaking, advocacy skills, collaborative leadership, and networking. Guest speakers, informational interviews with women leaders, meetings and visits on Capitol Hill and other institutions in Washington, will provide the fellows with experiential knowledge that will aid them during the next stage of the program, the practical experience with different organizations in the fellows' professional areas of interest. During this last phase of the program fellows will gain hands-on experience that will help them learn how to better address challenges facing Kosova. The first Hope Fellows will work at The Empower Program, the Arlington County Department of Public Health, World Learning Star Network, RTKL Associates Ins., The League of Women Voters, PEPCO, the National Democratic Institute, the Center for Policy Alternatives, the United Nations, the United States Institute of Peace. The Hope Fellowship program is designed to enhance the competence and confidence of women leaders at a critical time for the future of Kosova. In its initial phase of funding from September 2001 through December 2002, the program will provide training for 60 Kosovar women. NAAC hopes to expand the program further throughout the Balkans and provide leadership training for women from other countries, including Albania, Macedonia, and Montenegro. The National Albanian American Council ("NAAC") is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advocating for Albanians and promoting peace and economic development in the Balkans by fostering democratic policy, promoting respect for human rights, and conducting educational and developmental programs. ### -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Sep 5 23:47:46 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2001 20:47:46 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Before the match between England - Albania - The Mirror Message-ID: <20010906034746.27336.qmail@web11505.mail.yahoo.com> The Mirror September 5, 2001, Wednesday A MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLE OF ALBANIA.. GIVE UP OR YOU MAY NEVER SEE YOUR NATIONAL HERO AGAIN Jan Disley TIED ASSET: Kidnapped Sir Norman promised to back England; DIVIDED:; Norm in split strip THE Mirror today sends a warning to Albania's footballers - win and your countrymen will not see Norman Wisdom again. Legendary comic Sir Norm is a national hero in the Balkan land thanks to his slapstick movies shown there in the 50s and 60s. But if Albania derail England's World Cup bid tonight we will kidnap their best -loved star and deprive them of his special humour. The psychological pressure that puts on their players will no doubt be too much to bear and Sven Goran Eriksson's boys should seal a victory. We've already kidnapped Sir Norm once, but let him go after he promised his hero-status in Albania hasn't shifted his loyalties. The 86-year-old said: "I'm English and I'll be supporting England. Who else? "The Albanians are charming people and I'm very fond of the country. They go potty when I'm there. But my heart lies with England." And he declared England's strikers could go one better than Saturday's 5-1 demolition job on Germany by putting six past his adopted country. Albanians took Sir Norm to their hearts when his 18 films were the only Western movies to escape censorship during the Communist regime. Now he regularly turns up at the country's football games to boost the national team. In Tirana for the first leg of this clash he did a lap of honour dressed in a half Albania, half England strip. But tonight, he will break Albanian hearts by taking his place at St James's Park to cheer on Sven's rampant team. And we'll be watching him. --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From naac at naac.org Thu Sep 6 12:07:15 2001 From: naac at naac.org (National Albanian American Council - NAAC) Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2001 12:07:15 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Today's Articles on Albanian Issues, September 6, 2001 Message-ID: <007201c136ee$282b5790$66531840@SOKOL> National Albanian American Council 1700 K Street, N.W., Suite 1201, Washington, DC 20006 Tel: (202) 466-6900 Fax: (202) 466-5593 Web: www.naac.org Email: naac at naac.org ________________________________________________________________________ For Your Information September 6, 2001 REUTERS Macedonia Assembly Votes to Draft Reforms for Peace By Mark Heinrich SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia's parliament voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to draft reforms vital to a Western- backed peace plan with ethnic Albanians, after delays that threatened to derail NATO's progress in disarming guerrillas. By a 91-19 margin, well over the two-thirds majority required, parliament authorized a procedure to rewrite key parts of the constitution to improve the civil rights of Macedonia's large ethnic Albanian minority. Parliament will be required to ratify the changes as soon as NATO completes a 30-day mission to disarm the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA), which began handing in its weapons last week. NATO's deadline is September 26. The peace debate opened on Friday but was frozen for two days by nationalist hard-liners who demanded concessions, such as immediate returns of refugees, in return for drafting reforms. They backed off after Western envoys warned the demands would jeopardize disarmament of the guerrillas. NATO said the guerrillas would resume handing in weapons as soon as parliament flashed the green light for the drafting of reforms. ``We were waiting for the vote and finally it has been achieved. This makes us 80 percent sure that the war is about to end and we're willing to continue our cooperation,'' a guerrilla brigade officer known as Commander Qela told Reuters. Reforms mandated by the peace plan would decentralize power, allow greater official use of the Albanian language, recognize higher education for Albanians and more jobs for Albanians in public services, particularly the police. PEACE NOT IN THE BAG Despite Thursday's resounding vote, pitfalls lie ahead given Macedonian suspicions that the rebels have hidden weapons and resentment over Western pressure applied to push government leaders into signing the August 13 peace accord. Ratification will require a two-thirds majority and parliament's predominant nationalists who railed over Macedonia's ``capitulation to terrorism'' during four days of bitter debate have hinted they will block or dilute key reform clauses. Ethnic Albanian legislators and guerrillas have warned that Macedonia will be hurled back into war in that case. ``The vote has substantial significance, especially the wide margin, and is an important psychological hurdle, but it does not mean that the final passage of reforms is a foregone conclusion,'' Edward Joseph, Macedonia analyst for the International Crisis Group think tank, told Reuters. ``The potential for strategems by hard-liners or a violent incident on the ground still exists,'' he said. ``But what this does mean is that the international community can now focus squarely on the difficult question of what follows the NATO weapons-collection.'' With Macedonian-Albanian animosity still smoldering on the ground, Western officials have grown worried about a relapse into violence after a small NATO task force finishes collecting weapons from rebels later this month. Two senior Western envoys to Macedonia have been floating the idea of an international stabilization force to plug a security void, calling into question the reluctance of NATO countries to plunge into another Balkans peacekeeping mission. American envoy James Pardew said on Thursday that Russia, which has resented its secondary role in Balkan peacekeeping missions since 1995 and has religious and ethnic ties with majority Macedonians, had approved the proposal. INTERNATIONAL SECURITY FORCE NEEDED? ``We...agreed on the need for an extended international presence in Macedonia for a period of time. The nature of that was not defined,'' Pardew told reporters after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov. ``But I think the ministry agreed with us that there is a need for an extended international presence to stabilize the situation,'' said Pardew, co-mediator of Macedonia's peace pact. Russia had concurred that ``an increased civil presence requires adequate security from the (Macedonian) government or from some form of international security force,'''' he added. Only 49 European monitors -- 24 from the EU and 25 from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) -- are now in Macedonia but officials are studying ways of increasing the mission to several hundred. The OSCE agreed on Thursday to almost double the size of its mission to Macedonia, where it will monitor the security situation. After several weeks during which Russia had blocked agreement on extra monitors, the 55-nation security and human rights group agreed to send an additional 25 monitors to reinforce those already there. Meanwhile, U.N. refugee agency the UNHCR called for an international security force in Macedonia, saying it was the only way to avoid fresh violence and secure the return of thousands of refugees. The NLA rose up in February and overran much of the northern highlands, saying they were fighting to end state discrimination against Albanians after years of futile political negotiations by Albanian civilian leaders. Scores of people have been killed and more than 100,000 displaced in the Balkans' fifth nationalist conflict since 1991. European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten were due to arrive in Skopje with weighty diplomatic and financial arguments for Macedonian leaders to get cracking on the road to peace. The EU is a co-sponsor of the peace accord and its financial aid will be vital to Macedonia, the poorest former republic of the old federal Yugoslavia. Nationalist Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski blasted the peace plan in debate, but said with resignation that the reforms would have to be approved because Skopje could not afford to alienate would-be Western patrons. Western governments had originally hoped the vote would take place on Tuesday. They worried that further delays would rob the fragile peace process of momentum and give credibility to pro-war extremists within the guerrilla movement. RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY LEOTARD WANTS EU FORCE FOR MACEDONIA Former French Defense Minister Francois Leotard, the EU's envoy for Macedonia, wants a 1,500-strong EU force to deploy there after NATO's Operation Essential Harvest is completed, the "Financial Times" reported on 6 September. The daily adds that, if approved, "it would be the first deployment of an EU military force independent of the U.S. in the Balkans, though it would still need U.S. logistics. The Macedonians will need to invite the force to operate." Leotard stressed that "the EU, for the first time in the history of the Balkans, [will be able] to show it was able to cope with a crisis." The plan is one of several that EU foreign ministers will discuss over the 8-9 September weekend near Brussels. One unnamed EU official told the British daily that "this is not EU policy. This is Leotard's private view. The whole issue of the follow-up to Essential Harvest [NATO's 30-day operation to collect weapons from Albanian rebels] has yet to be decided." OTHER PLANS FOR MACEDONIA? Another plan under consideration by some EU officials is to set up a "coalition of the willing" among those countries willing to send troops to provide security for OSCE monitors, who will be observing the implementation of the political settlement, Reuters reported from Brussels on 5 September. Elsewhere, a NATO spokesman said that the alliance "is not...considering a new mission or making plans for an extension" of the current one. U.S. envoy to Macedonia James Pardew recently suggested that NATO might indeed consider a continuing role in Macedonia (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 4 September 2001). Whatever the nature of the international presence, Germany and France intend to be involved. The "Financial Times" reported that German and French leaders agreed in Berlin that NATO's arms-gathering mission will be completed by 26 September as scheduled, and that they are "willing to remain involved beyond then." German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said: "We also agreed that France and Germany will work closely over what will come...[later, including] the necessary things that go beyond Essential Harvest." PARDEW: RUSSIA AGREES TO INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE IN MACEDONIA U.S. special envoy to Macedonia James Pardew said in Moscow on 6 September that he and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov have agreed on the need for a continued international presence in Macedonia, Reuters reported. "We talked about the matter and agreed on the need for an extended international presence in Macedonia for a period of time. The nature of that was not defined. But I think the ministry agreed with us that there is a need for an extended international presence to stabilize the situation." Pardew noted that the Russians agreed that "an increased civil presence requires adequate security from the [Macedonian] government or from some form of international security force." Pardew said his meeting was "very, very good," and that Ivanov's analysis of the Balkan situation is "very sophisticated." Pardew added that "We talked about how Russia could be helpful in ensuring long-term peace in the region. We want to work closely with Russia to move forward on this common interest" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5 September 2001 and "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 31 July 2001). IVANOV GIVES FAMILIAR MESSAGE ON BALKANS Ivanov told a press conference in Moscow on 6 September that "we are witnessing attempts by certain forces to further destabilize the situation and undermine the legitimate Macedonian government's moves to normalize the situation. And we know where those forces are based -- Kosovo. Their policy is aimed at undermining stability in the whole of the Balkans," AP reported. He added that "the main goal of the world community is to prevent the development of the situation in Macedonia from leading to destabilization of the situation and not to worsen the already difficult situation in the Balkans." Moscow's policy (and that of Belgrade) is to portray NATO's work in Kosova as incompetent at best in order to embarrass and discredit the Atlantic alliance. Both Russia and Serbia want an international Balkan conference in hopes of regaining influence in the region at the expense of NATO countries. RADIO TV 21 Kosova Transitional Council supports improvement of Serb schools but not parallel structures Conditions should be created for Serb minority education in their native language in Kosova, but parallel educational institutions will not be allowed, according to the Kosova Transitional Council (KTC) Wednesday. Albanian members of the KTC strongly criticized the position of international co-head of the Department for Education and Science Michael Daxner that Serbs in Kosova be allowed to study according to Serbian state curricula. "I must assure you that there will be no parallelism in education and this was also determined by the international education representative. The Serbs should have the conditions to study in their own language. However, there will be no university in their language," said Vice-president Kole Berisha of the Democratic League of Kosova (LDK). "Of course there will be cooperation with Serbia on curriculum issues, just as there will be cooperation with Albania and other countries for advancing education in Kosova," he added. Muhamet Kelmendi, Vice-president of the Alliance for the Future of Kosova (AAK), expressed a different opinion regarding curricula for the Serb minority in Kosova. "The points of views of the internationals, mainly Daxner, are that the Serb minority should study according to curricula from Serbia. AAK is for having a [unified] educational system on all levels and an integrity of the working program," Kelmendi said. He suggested that no other methods should be applied because they would only create difficulties that would benefit no one. Kelmendi further stated that educational reforms begun in Kosova should be intensified because, he said, they are quite superficial. "Beginning with elementary school, to university, there are no reforms that remind us that we are moving toward a modern educational system, which would create skilled workers for Kosovar society," he said. The issue of raising salaries for employees in education - "an issue that concerns all," according to Berisha - was also discussed at the KTC meeting. He said that it would be necessary to increase Kosova's budget and create an educational fund, but it was not decided at the meeting when this would occur. Regarding raises for teachers and professors, some Albanian KTC representatives said that current salary levels would not attract more teachers and professors. "It is not logical to ask a teacher who receives DM 170 monthly, a high school teacher who gets DM 300 or a university professor who receives DM 500 to acquire more qualifications and skills, and to do more work, because they also have to work outside their regular schedule to provide for their families," Kelmendi said. President of the Social Democratic Party of Kosova (PSDK) Kacusha Jashari asked for daily politics to be removed from the University of Prishtina. "Politics should support the autonomy of the university, but we are against politics being a daily occurrence at the university, particularly when the general elections in Kosova are now in sight," Jashari told reporters. KOSOVALIVE (Kosova News Agency) Two People Injured by Mines Left Over from 1999 Conflict TIRANA (KosovaLive) - The border zone between Kosova and Albania continues to present a high risk of danger to civilians due to mines left over from the 1999 conflict in Kosova. Police reported that two people were hurt in mine explosions in the Has region on Tuesday. Nine-year-old Gazmend Gecaj from Kruma was injured when a mine exploded no more than 100 meters from his house. Esat Dauti from Golaj was cutting hay to feed his cattle when a mine exploded nearby. Both of the injured are out of danger, according to police sources. ATA (Albanian News Agency) Ilir Meta - the thirty-one-year old who will head Albanian Government for the second term in succession TIRANA, Sept. 5 (ATA) - Ilir Meta, the thirty-one-year-old socialist, was decreed for the second time in continuation as Albanian Premier by the country's President, Rexhep Meidani. Born in 1969 in Skrapar, Meta got involved in the political life of the country at the beginning of the 90ies, becoming part of the Students Movement leadership, which brought about collapse of the 50-year-long regime. In 1992 he was member of the Socialist Party General Committee, while from 1995 to 2001 he was at the office of the chairman of the Youth Euro-Socialist Forum of Albania. Ilir Meta is a member of the Socialist Youth International, and during 1993-1996 period he held the post of the SP vice-chairman. Premier Meta is elected deputy for the first time in 1992, and has later won all the elections in Skrapar, respectively the elections of '96, '97, and 2001. Over 1996-1997 period he was the vice-head of the Parliamentary Commission for Foreign Relations. Ilir Meta was elected Albania's 31st PM on October 29, 1999, following the post of the Vice-PM of the previously-running government. Before that Ilir Meta was State Secretary for Integration in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Meta, married and father of two children, is graduated in the University of Tirana, Economic Faculty, Political Economy branch. PM Meta, who will get voted by the new Parliament, knows two foreign languages; English and Italian. Social-democrats negotiate with PM on seats they will occupy in government TIRANA, Sept 5 (ATA) - By A.Haxhiu: Social Democratic Party (SDP) representatives asked Premier Ilir Meta, at negotiations held on Wednesday, to be represented by two ministers in the new government. "We have demanded the post of the Vice-PM, and that of the Minister of Local Government, but even another ministry was included while negotiating", Gaqo Apostoli, SDP vice-leader told ATA on Wednesday. "However, what is important is that the problem has entered the right path", he added. Apostoli added that SDP asks for a representative even in the new Parliament. "We back the proposal of the SP head Fatos Nano for three Deputy Speakers, because one of the posts will be left to the allies", said he. SDP won four deputy mandates in the general parliamentary elections of June 24. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From krenar at juno.com Thu Sep 6 14:03:31 2001 From: krenar at juno.com (krenar at juno.com) Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2001 14:03:31 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Interpreter's Job Opening Message-ID: <20010906.140608.-455821.1.krenar@juno.com> Interpreter's job opening. ALbanian-English. 5 weeks in Maine. All expenses paid ( travel, food & lodging ) plus $700. a week. Contact Larry Costa below. Worldwide Language Resources, Inc. P.O. Box 125, Andover, Maine 04216 Tel: (207)392-1403 Fax: (207) 392-1404 E-mail: LarryCosta at worldnet.att.net From aalibali at yahoo.com Thu Sep 6 18:40:18 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2001 15:40:18 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] KOHA JONE - Emrat ne Korce Message-ID: <20010906224018.32995.qmail@web11508.mail.yahoo.com> Korca heq greqizimin e emrave Gezim Ashimi Korce - Keshilli Bashkiak i qytetit te Korces vendos te mos miratoje ndryshimin e emrave me prapashtesa helene. Te merkuren, ne mbledhjen e radhes se ketij keshilli u rrezuan jo pak, por mbi 5 kerkesa per nderim emrash, duke hedhur keshtu hapin e pare institucional per ndalimin e tjetersimit te identiteteve. Sipas kerkeses te paraqitur nga zyra e gjendjes civile dhe qe perbente edhe kete here nje nga pikat e rendit te dites ne mbledhjen e keshillit, rreth 40 persona pretendojne ndryshimin e identitetit, kryesisht te emrave dhe me pak te mbiemrave. Keshtu, Hekurani kerkon te behet Dhimiter, Ramazani Vasil, Valteri Aleksandros, Saliu e kerkon emrin Sarmaivi, Fatjoni Fotios, Ergysi n` Kostandinos etj. Jo pak debate u zhvilluan ne keshillin bashkiak per te miratuar ose jo keto kerkesa. Misto Lolo, nje nga anetaret e keshillit bashkiak, perfaqesues i PSD-se e kundershtoi me force tendencen e emrave me prapashtesa helene. Pas tij, foli nje tjeter anetar i keshillit bashkiak Nuci Tanco, i cili gjithashtu doli kunder miratimit te ketyre emrave. "Une vete jam i krishtere, por nuk perkrah miratimin e emrave te tille si Aleksandros", u shpreh keshilltari Tanco. Ai propozoi qe te merret nje vendim per mosmiratimin e emrave te tille duke gjetur mbeshtetjen e pjeses me te madhe te anetareve te keshillit bashkiak. Me i prere ne kundershtimin e tij ishte autori i ketij keshilli dhe kryetari i keshillit te Qarkut Fehmi Xhemo. "Ne nuk duam te kthejme listat e emrave si ne kohen e dikurshme, por te mos lejojme qe te greqizohet me zor qyteti i Korces", tha Xhemo, i cili permendi faktin se deri tani nuk ka patur emra te tille ne historine e Shqiperise. Te vetmit perkrahes per ndryshimin e te gjithe emrave ishin dy keshilltaret e PBDNJ, por qe nuk arriten te bindin koleget e tjere te shumices ne keshillin bashkiak. Te vetedijshem se shume prej personave qe kerkojne ndryshim emrash kane probleme me dokumentacionin ne Greqi anetaret e keshillit bashkiak diskutuan gjate rastet e paraqitura, duke rrezuar vetem 5 nga afro 40 kerkesa te paraqitura. "Te gjithe jemi te ndergjegjshem se dokumentat e ketyre emrave pergatiten ne menyre te falsifikuar tek "Flamengo" dhe ne po kthehemi ne instrument te legalizimit te ketyre dokumentave fallso", u shpreh keshilltari Roland Raco. Nje tjeter keshilltar permendi shembullin e disa viteve me pare kur mjeshtrat e sportit Jani Kaci dhe Teodor Vaso u prezantuan ne nje emision televiziv si Janis Kacis dhe Theodhoris Vasos. Megjithe pretendimin kembengules te nje prej keshilltareve te PBDNJ, pothuajse te gjithe anetaret e keshillit bashkiak votuan kunder ndryshimit te emrave te greqizuara. Kjo dukuri ne fakt, ka zene fill qe pas viteve 90-te. Per cdo muaj ne mbledhjen e keshillit bashkiak nje pike te rendit te dites e te ndryshimi i emrave. Per nje periudhe gati 10 vjecare, ne mbledhjet e keshillit bashkiak jane paraqitur lista me afro 40 emra per ndryshimin e identitetit, pasi "lagjia, shoqeria i njeh me emrat e rinj" apo keshtu u pelqen te quhen qytetareve te ndryshem. "Ne cdo mbledhje ka patur mosaprovime per ndryshim emrash, por ky eshte rasti i pare qe nuk miratohet ndryshimi i identitetit me motivin e greqizimit te emrave shqiptare", thote nje punonjese e gjendjes civile te Bashkise. 9/5/2001 --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Thu Sep 6 22:09:13 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2001 19:09:13 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] DPA - New massgrave in Kosova Message-ID: <20010907020913.91871.qmail@web11501.mail.yahoo.com> Deutsche Presse-Agentur September 6, 2001, Friday, BC Cycle Exhumation begins from fifth mass grave in Serbia Belgrade Serbian authorities began exhuming bodies of suspected war crimes victims from a fifth mass grave in Serbia, the Belgrade radio B-92 reported Thursday. It said several human bones, clothing items and parts of the refrigerator trailer were dug from the location near the artificial lake Perucac, in western Serbia. According to media reports, the bodies in the grave were dumped into Lake Perucac in April 1999 - during the Kosovo war - in a truck which was driven into the deep water from a 70-metre cliff. The victims are presumed to have been Kosovo Albanians, brought in for secret burial from the province to hide the evidence of crimes. The trailer, with an estimated 60-70 corpses, sank after it was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, witnesses told the Belgrade daily Danas, but bodies began floating out through the hole in the trailer and were reburied where the river Derventa flows into the lake. More than 300 bodies were dug out from the four mass graves previously discovered in Serbia. Between 36 and 40 bodies were found in a grave in the Belgrade suburb of Batajnica and more than 214 in another grave at the same location, on which the work was still underway. Two nearby sites close to the eastern Serbian village Petrovo Selo contained a total of 75 bodies. Serbian Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic said in early July that available information indicated that around 800 victims of the Kosovo war were buried or reburied in Serbia. In June, Mihajlovic said that the apparent effort to hide crimes in Kosovo was linked to a meeting of the deposed Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic's cabinet in March 1999. The Serbian government extradited Milosevic to the United Nations war crimes tribunal in late June, which so far indicted him f or crimes against humanity committed by security forces in Kosovo. dpa bb ms --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Thu Sep 6 22:44:25 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2001 19:44:25 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] The Mirror - England Albania the Day After Message-ID: <20010907024425.82979.qmail@web11503.mail.yahoo.com> The Mirror September 6, 2001, Thursday PHEW:NIL ENGLAND 2 ALBANIA 0 ENGLAND TRIUMPH ..BUT IT'S TORTURE Jeremy Armstrong IT was dodgy, it was scrappy, it was nerve-racking. It was nothing like Munich. But last night England fans were celebrating. The edgy 2-0 victory over Abania puts us one win away from next year's World Cup finals. Michael Owen was the hero again - scoring in the 44th minute. And after a first half of missed chances, the second 45 minutes became a nightmare. Albania had more near-misses, with England keeper David Seaman at one stage making a superb fingertip save. In the 88th minute Robbie Fowler finally put the nation out of its misery with the second goal. England manager Sven Goran Eriksson said: "We were a little bit tired and a little bit afraid - but we won." ===== The Mirror September 6, 2001, Thursday GERMANS GIVE OUR RIVALS BIG BILD-UP ALL Germany was rooting for Albania last night. Berlin's BZ tabloid screamed: "Keep your fingers crossed for the little Albanians." And Bild had a "bad luck" TV sticker saying Forca e Shqipris, Albanian for Away the Lads! And a headline said: Dear Albania, Flatten Englishmen. =========== The Mirror September 6, 2001, Thursday MUCH TORTURE; WE'RE GOING ALL THE WAY - VICTORY FOR ENGLAND HEROES BUT IT'S AGONY Jeremy Armstrong And Steve Dennis ENGLAND'S footballers put the nation through 90 minutes of torture last night. The heroes of Munich found little Albania harder to crack than mighty Germany in their latest World Cup qualifier. Michael Owen put them on the way in the 44th minute, but victory was only assured late in the game when his Liverpool teammate Robbie Fowler added a second goal. For more than 50,000 fans at St James' Park, Newcastle, it was a nerve-wracking night. Albania, on just pounds 500 a man to win, simply refused to lie down as chance after chance was spurned by the men who hit Germany for five. At the weekend it was thrills all the way in Munich. Last night, it was total tension as the millionaire aristocrats of the Premiership struggled against Europe's soccer minnows. The goal that paved the way for victory was down to the genius of 21-year-old Owen, the hat-trick hitman in Germany. The Liverpool striker pounced just before half-time with a deftly-struck volley. Fowler's late strike was even better and England now stand at the top of their qualifying group above Germany. Captain David Beckham drove his team on relentlessly, watched by wife Victoria and their two-year-old son Brooklyn. A win against Greece at home next month should ensure automatic entry to the World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea next summer. That would represent a footballing miracle worked by Swedish manger Sven Goran Eriksson, who took over the team last January with results at rock-bottom. He had said before the game he would settle for 2-0 and warned the fans not to expect a massacre. Last night St James' Park rocked to the Euro 96 anthem Football's Coming Home as Eriksson's men ran out to an electric atmosphere. Tens of thousands of home supporters sported specially produced "Five-One" T -shirts to mark the occasion - and hoisted Mirror "Come on England" posters aloft. The skyline was transformed from the usual mass of Newcastle United black and white in the stands to a sea of red, white and blue. England poured forward with attack after attack in the opening minutes. But it soon became clear there would no repeat of the Munich goal avalanche. A tiny contingent of around 200 Albania fans desperately tried to make their voices heard in one corner of the ground. But chorus after chorus of "England" chants drowned them out. The biggest cheer of the night reserved for Albania's hero Sir Norman Wisdom. He made a special guest appearance at half-time, running around the pitch in full Albanian kit at the age of 86. As the second half dragged on, England's slender lead looked increasingly fragile. Every fan in the ground knew that a draw would throw away all the good work of the win against Germany. Even cool manager Eriksson was looking increasingly nervous, taking deep breaths and rocking backwards and forwards on his seat. But substitute Fowler's late goal stopped all the nerves jangling and put us on course for Japan. Happy England fans had thronged Newscastle's bustling pubs and bars in the hours before the game. Afterwards the narrow margin of victory was forgotten as they danced congas through the night to celebrate. Three Lions supporter Gavin Foster, 28, of Sunderland, said: "England can book their tickets to Japan. "People up here certainly know how to party and the welcome they gave the team was absolutely fantastic." Jimmy Fletcher, a 28-year-old dustman from Wilmslow, Cheshire said: "I was in Manchester for the celebrations after the Germany game, but the atmospere here was even better. "I've never known such a brilliant atmosphere in a football ground." Bill Ginn, a 39-year-old accountant from Gateshead, said: "It's like a dream to play host to England and all their fans on a night like tonight. "St James' Park was the perfect setting and the town has been buzzing day and night with the excitement of it all since the win over Germany. "I'm a Newcastle fan and have experienced all the highs and lows of football at St James', but nothing can touch this. "Everyone believes England can win the World Cup now." His brother David, 35, a joiner, added: "England were out of this world against Germany and Sven has really got them playing like world-beaters now." ============ The Mirror September 6, 2001, Thursday THERE AREN'T ANY EASY GAMES IN INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL..EXCEPT FOR THE GERMANS; WE'RE GOING ALL THE WAY Jeremy Armstrong At St James's Park AFTER the glory of Munich, the nerve-jangling reality of St James's Park. Iceman Eriksson had warned us not to under-estimate little Albania. How right he was. The heroics of Saturday night in the Olympiastadion seemed light years away as England stuttered, struggled...and sweated And after the scrappy, nail- biting 2-0 victory, Gary Lineker summed up the relief of a nation with a gleeful dig. Signing off the BBC Match Of The Day coverage, he said: "There are no easy games in international football, except for Germany." Michael Owen put England on the way in the 44th minute and his Liverpool teammate Robbie Fowler added a second two minutes from the end. Afterwards relieved manager Sven Goran Eriksson admitted: "This was not a great performance but the result was more important. "In one 15 minute period we suffered more than in the whole game against Germany. But this is unbelievable. To win five qualifiers is a dream come true." Victory against Greece at Old Trafford next month should ensure automatic entry to the World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea next summer. Last night, bookies William Hill made England 7-1 on favourites to win their qualifying group and 9-1 to win the World Cup. Captain David Beckham drove his team on relentlessly, watched by wife Victoria and their two-year-old son Brooklyn, who were in an executive box. Afterwards Beckham said: "We weren't pleased with the performance, just pleased with the win. It was always going to be difficult after that 5-1 victory. But it's two games and six points and that's sweet." Owen said: "It's been a great four days. Six points is what we wanted and what we got. It's great to have it in our own hands. It wasn't in our hands four days ago. To beat Germany was great and this was a good result as well. Obviously we can play better than that and the whole nation knows that. But we are in a great position now." It was a scary night for the 51,046 fans at St James's Park, Newcastle. Albania, on just pounds 500 a man to win, refused to lie down as chance after chance was spurned by the men who hit Germany for five. Last night the supporters wore special "Five-One" T-shirts to mark the German rout. They waved Mirror "Come on England" posters as a tiny crowd of 200 Albanian fans desperately tried to make their voices heard. A huge cheer greeted Sir Norman Wisdom, 86 - a hero in Albania - who made a guest appearance at half-time, running around the pitch in full Albanian kit. After the match all the nerves disappeared as fans celebrated. Gavin Foster, 28, of Sunderland, said: "England can book their tickets to Japan." Jimmy Fletcher, a 28-year-old dustman from Wilmslow, Cheshire, said: "I've never known such a brilliant atmosphere in a football ground." Bill Ginn, 39, from Gateshead, said: "It's like a dream to play host to England and all their fans. "I'm a Newcastle fan and have experienced all the highs and lows of football at St James's, but nothing can touch this. "Everyone believes England can win the World Cup now." Stephen Carter, 25, of Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham, said: "England did the job but they weren't all that convincing. "I think Albania looked a better side than the Germans. They certainly didn't roll over and die. "We should finish the job off against Greece without any trouble now. England have proved they have resilience and talent." Gary Burns, 32, of Wallsend, North Tyneside, said: "It's been a brilliant four days, with two great results, but no-one expected Albania to run us so close. "They were a good side and for a while it looked as if they might really upset the party. "But that goal by Fowler was pure class and I think we deserved the win. "The pubs and clubs will be packed tonight. "I met some Albanian fans on the way out and shook their hands. They were brilliant." --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Fri Sep 7 06:53:50 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 03:53:50 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Per arsimin ne Kosove Message-ID: <20010907105350.55272.qmail@web11507.mail.yahoo.com> http://www.see-educoop.net/education_in/yugoslavia/kosovo/legislation/english/legislation.htm#povezava1 --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From naac at naac.org Fri Sep 7 10:35:16 2001 From: naac at naac.org (National Albanian American Council - NAAC) Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 10:35:16 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Today's Articles on Albanian Issues, September 7, 2001 Message-ID: <007701c137aa$575ff900$c8521840@SOKOL> National Albanian American Council 1700 K Street, N.W., Suite 1201, Washington, DC 20006 Telephone: (202) 466-6900 Fax: (202) 466-5593 Web: www.naac.org Email: naac at naac.org ________________________________________________________________________ For Your Information September 7, 2001 REUTERS New Albanian government formed after elections TIRANA, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Albanian President Rexhep Meidani nominated on Friday the new coalition government of Prime Minister Ilir Meta, whose ruling Socialists won general elections more than two months ago. Parliamentary approval of the government, expected on Monday, is seen as a formality because of the Socialists' majority in the assembly. Meta's 22-member cabinet includes for the first time in the Balkan country's history a female foreign minister, Socialist Arta Dade. Meta, who first became prime minister in 1999, has won international praise for successful privatisations, improvements to Albania's dilapidated road network and his firm opposition to ethnic Albanian violence in neighbouring Macedonia. The 32-year-old premier told Reuters in a recent interview that resolving energy shortages and bringing the country closer to the rest of Europe would be among his priorities over the next four years. Albania's elections were held in two rounds in June and July but the formation of a new government was delayed by a series of vote re-runs and the selection process for a prime ministerial candidate by the victorious Socialists. They won 73 of the 140 seats and dominate the single-chamber assembly with the help of 13 seats held by four smaller parties also included in the coalition government -- the Social Democrats, the Agrarian Party, the Democratic Alliance Party and the Union for Human Rights Party. The opposition Democrat-led Union for Victory coalition has 46 seats. However, the Union has accused the Socialists of manipulating the elections. It has not recognised the result and boycotted the new parliament's first session last Monday. The government includes a new environment ministry and also ministerial posts for European integration, energy, and minority rights. Ten members of the previous government stay on, but not all of them in the same posts. Former foreign minister Paskal Milo, a Social Democrat who won international praise for his moderate attitude during the 1999 conflict in neighbouring Kosovo, becomes state minister for European integration. Finance Minister Anastas Angjeli and Privatisation Minister Mustafa Muci retain their posts, reflecting what are seen as their successes in stabilising the economy and selling state-owned firms. ATA (Albanian News Agency) Composition of the new Albanian Government 1. Prime Minister Ilir Meta 2. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Skender Gjinushi 3. Minister for Foreign Affairs Arta Dade 4. Minister for Public Order Ilir Gjoni 5. Minister of Defence Pandeli Majko 6. Minister of Justice Sokol Nako 7. Minister of Finances Anastas Angjeli 8. Minister for Public Economy and Privatisation Mustafa Mu?i 9. Minister for Economic Cooperation and Trade Ermelinda Meksi 10. Minister for Public Affairs and Tourism Bashkim Fino 11. Minister of Agriculture and Food Agron Duka 12. Minister of Transport Maqo Lakrori 13. Minister of Education and Science Ben Blushi 14. Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Luan Rama 15. Minister of Health Gjergj Koja 16. Minister of Local Government and Decentralisation Arben Imami 17. Minister of Environment Ethem Ruka 18. Minister of State for European Integration Paskal Milo 19. Minister of State for Energy Dritan Prifti 20. Minister of State Ndre Legisi 21. Minister of State Niko Kacalidha 22. Minister of State Lufter Xhuveli NEW YORK TIMES Rights Desired by Albanians Appear Closer in Macedonia By CARLOTTA GALL SKOPJE, Macedonia, Sept. 6 - After nearly a week of debate, Macedonia's Parliament voted today in favor of constitutional changes to grant the ethnic Albanian minority more rights, allowing NATO to resume its collection of weapons from ethnic Albanian rebels and setting the peace process back on track. The drawn-out debate had threatened to delay NATO's operation beyond its planned 30 days. The rebels are to hand in 3,300 weapons in three stages - about one-third have been collected so far - and the Macedonian Parliament will take three votes - today's was the first - to ratify constitutional and political reforms. NATO immediately announced that the next weapons collection would take place on Friday morning. But the delays and obstructions of the last six days have underlined the political opposition to the peace plan in the majority Slav assembly. In another move that may threaten the peace, members of Macedonia's Security Council today rejected a proposal to allow any international military force to take over after NATO's 30-day operation, the independent television station A1 reported, citing sources at the meeting. European leaders are pondering how to provide security for unarmed international monitors needed to guarantee the rights of the ethnic Albanian minority foreseen under the peace plan. President Boris Trajkovski raised the idea of an international military force, A1 reported, but all the other ministers present said that NATO should leave after 30 days and that no other force would be needed. In Parliament, legislators were critical of the government and of the Western-mediated plan, which they said had forced them to give in to rebel violence and accept the loss of control of one-fifth of the country. They accused the president of treachery and urged NATO to leave so they could deal with the insurgency with force. The leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Petar Gosev, speaking for the Slavic Macedonian majority, noted that the plan might not stave off the worse alternative, war. "Ninety percent of the Macedonian population does not support the agreement, but a lot of people understand that the other solution is maybe worse," he said. "People ask themselves where this will end." Much of the obstruction has been orchestrated by the party of Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski, raising questions about his commitment to the peace process. The peace plan offers constitutional changes and reforms to respond to the grievances of the ethnic Albanians, who account for about one-third of Macedonia's 1.9 million people. Some political power would devolve to regional governments, Albanian would become an official language in areas where Albanians account for more than 20 percent of the population and more Albanians would receive positions in state bodies, in particular the police force. In exchange, the rebels, who have won control of swaths of northern and western Macedonia, would disarm and disband. NATO Troops Collect Rebel Weapons By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) -- NATO resumed collecting weapons from ethnic Albanian rebels Friday after Macedonia's parliament overwhelmingly backed a peace plan to end the armed conflict in return for upgrading minority rights. There were no immediate details on the number or type of arms being surrendered in the second phase, which aims to take about 1,100 weapons, said a NATO spokesman, Maj. Barry Johnson. British and Dutch troops with NATO's Operation Essential Harvest set up a collection site in the rebel-held village of Radusa, nine miles northwest of Skopje and close to the border with Kosovo. Maj. Johnson said the arms gathering was ``running smoothly.'' The peace plan is a Western-sponsored, step-by-step process that involves rebels' voluntarily surrendering arms to NATO in phases, to be followed by parliamentary approval of legislation to grant more rights to the ethnic Albanians. The rebels, known as the National Liberation Army, began an insurgency in February that they said was aimed at winning more rights for the ethnic Albanians, a third of the country's 2 million people. Lawmakers on Thursday finally buckled to international pressure and voted 91-19 in favor of changing the constitution to improve ethnic Albanian rights. The vote ended a weeklong, impassioned parliamentary debate that had threatened to stall the peace process. The alliance has already taken more than a third of the 3,300-piece rebel arsenal to be surrendered this month. In the second phase, NATO plans to collect another third of the arsenal, or about 1,100 weapons. After that comes what many see as the deal's main hitch. Lawmakers must wrestle with 36 specific constitutional amendments for greater political and language rights for the ethnic Albanians. The final cache of rebel weapons will not be taken until after parliament passes the constitutional changes. Hardline Macedonian legislators are expected to push for changes in the draft amendments that could undermine the extent of planned reforms. ``There is a new tendency in the second phase, some people want to change the meaning, the contents of the amendments,'' said ethnic Albanian leader Arben Xhaferi. ``We will not accept this game.'' Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign affairs chief, urged ``as few changes as possible.'' ``The agreement should be considered as a whole. ... The most intelligent thing would be that no changes are made,'' Solana said Friday in Skopje. Earlier, the assembly vote drew only praise. NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson called it a ``historic decision'' that helps ``bring their country back from the brink of war.'' The peace process also calls for an amnesty for demobilized rebels, excluding those who could face war crimes prosecution. The rebels, now in control of large swaths of the dominantly ethnic Albanian northwest, are meant to disband and return to normal life. EU Commissioner Chris Patten predicted the parliament decision would help boost EU aid and encourage pledges at donor conferences. The EU has already put together $27 million to repair damage caused by the recent fighting and is considering speeding up the handover of an additional $44 million package to bolster state finances. Patten on Friday signed a separate financial agreement with Macedonian officials for a $38 million aid package for 2001, mainly for infrastructure projects, agriculture, economic and judiciary reforms and the environment. Some of the funds will go to emergency reconstruction of villages damaged in recent fighting. Many Macedonians believe the ethnic Albanian rebels are only handing in outdated hardware to NATO. On Friday, some of them mocked the NATO mission in a street performance. Sticking fuses into giant watermelons to represent their most powerful weapon, the protesters said they would hand over the fruit to the alliance in a symbolic show of disarmament. RADIO TV 21 OSCE: Voter registration for Kosova elections extended by two weeks The deadline for registering to vote in the forthcoming elections for a Central Assembly in Kosova has been extended by two weeks, until 22 September, 2001. The extension period will not only apply to voter registration operations in Kosova, Serbia and Montenegro, but also to the mail-in process being co- ordinated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Vienna. The Head of the OSCE Mission, Ambassador Daan Everts, said that the decision had been taken in response to what he called, "the quite spectacular surge" in demand to register over the past fortnight, especially amongst Kosova's smaller communities. "It would not be right to stop the process this weekend when the momentum to register is clearly there. The OSCE wants a Voters' List which is as accurate and as inclusive as possible. What we've done over the past six weeks is to mount a very focused drive to reach out to those communities which did not take part in the process last year. We've also been targeting all those Kosova Albanians who have returned to Kosova since the last election and have been added to the Civil Register but now need to be advised on where to vote on 17 November." Ambassador Everts welcomed recent statements by political leaders from inside and outside Kosova, encouraging the communities to take part in the registration process, which had clearly had a positive impact. Latest voter registration figures confirm the upward trend of the past fortnight. By close of business on Wednesday 5 September, a total of 23,582 people had visited Civil Registration and Voter Services sites for communities in Kosova which chose not to register last year - almost 3,500 on Wednesday alone. Those who have visited Voter Services Centres to check or update their details on the Voters' List number 58,493. These include people who have changed address in the past year, or who were obliged to vote by conditional ballot last year. However, OSCE election officials remain concerned about the low number of Kosova Albanians registered with the United Nations since the 2000 Municipal Elections that have visited the Voter Services Centres to find out where they should vote on 17 November. Roughly 80,000 of these voters still need to be assigned polling centres. The OSCE strongly urges them to take advantage of the deadline. The process only takes a few minutes but will save them, other voters and polling station staff a lot of trouble on Election Day. They can visit one of the 47 fixed Voter Services Centres around Kosova which will open for business as usual on Monday 10 September. Meanwhile, 35 joint OSCE/UNMIK (United Nations Mission in Kosova) mobile registration teams will revisit about 100 locations populated by small, isolated communities. The final deadline will be Saturday 22 September. It will not be possible to extend beyond that date and still leave sufficient time to produce the updated 2001 Voters' List in time for this year's Central Assembly elections. Outside Kosova, the latest figures from the IOM show that 57,624 people have registered in Serbia and 1,984 in Montenegro. A total of 13,498 mail-in applications received have been approved so far. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From naac at naac.org Fri Sep 7 15:01:29 2001 From: naac at naac.org (National Albanian American Council - NAAC) Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 15:01:29 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] FYI Message-ID: <004401c137cf$858d6a40$c8521840@SOKOL> National Albanian American Council 1700 K Street, N.W., Suite 1201, Washington, DC 20006 Tel: (202) 466-6900 Fax: (202) 466-5593 Web: www.naac.org Email: naac at naac.org _______________________________________________________________________ For Your Information Deutsche Presse-Agentur September 6, 2001 Exhumation begins from fifth mass grave in Serbia Belgrade - Serbian authorities began exhuming bodies of suspected war crimes victims from a fifth mass grave in Serbia, the Belgrade radio B-92 reported Thursday. It said several human bones, clothing items and parts of the refrigerator trailer were dug from the location near the artificial lake Perucac, in western Serbia. According to media reports, the bodies in the grave were dumped into Lake Perucac in April 1999 - during the Kosovo war - in a truck which was driven into the deep water from a 70-metre cliff. The victims are presumed to have been Kosovo Albanians, brought in for secret burial from the province to hide the evidence of crimes. The trailer, with an estimated 60-70 corpses, sank after it was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, witnesses told the Belgrade daily Danas, but bodies began floating out through the hole in the trailer and were reburied where the river Derventa flows into the lake. More than 300 bodies were dug out from the four mass graves previously discovered in Serbia. Between 36 and 40 bodies were found in a grave in the Belgrade suburb of Batajnica and more than 214 in another grave at the same location, on which the work was still underway. Two nearby sites close to the eastern Serbian village Petrovo Selo contained a total of 75 bodies. Serbian Interior Minister Dusan Mihajlovic said in early July that available information indicated that around 800 victims of the Kosovo war were buried or reburied in Serbia. In June, Mihajlovic said that the apparent effort to hide crimes in Kosovo was linked to a meeting of the deposed Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic's cabinet in March 1999. The Serbian government extradited Milosevic to the United Nations war crimes tribunal in late June, which so far indicted him for crimes against humanity committed by security forces in Kosovo. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Fri Sep 7 19:04:30 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 16:04:30 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] National Anthem in England - Albania match Message-ID: <20010907230430.39628.qmail@web11502.mail.yahoo.com> Asylum seekers help out with Albanian anthem A soprano asked to sing at England's World Cup qualifier was taught the Albania national anthem minutes before kick-off by two asylum seekers. Suzannah Clarke contacted the Albanian embassy earlier in the day to get the words, but they couldn't help. A local refugee centre sent two asylum seekers to the ground and they sang the anthem 28 times until Suzannah learned it off by heart. The 31-year-old said: "The Albanian anthem certainly proved to be a bit difficult as even the embassy didn't have the words. "I was getting a bit desperate. They [the asylum seekers] were absolutely superb. They were quick to put me right on a few things." Their training paid off and the singer performed a word-perfect version of Hymni Kombeter (Hymn to the Flag) before the match in Newcastle, reports The Sun. Story filed: 07:59 Friday 7th --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Sun Sep 9 00:12:40 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2001 21:12:40 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Zbulime Arkeologjike - ATSH Message-ID: <20010909041240.25689.qmail@web11504.mail.yahoo.com> Zbulime t? reja arkeologjike n? vendbanimin e hersh?m t? Sovjanit KORCE,8 Shtator/ATSH-G.Ashimi/.-G?rmimet n? vendbanimin e hersh?m t? Sovjanit (Kor??) kan? nxjer? n? drit? objekte t? reja arkeologjike t? pazbuluara m? par?. Nj? ekspedit? e nisur nj? muaj m? par? nga nj? grup arkeolog?sh shqiptar? dhe francez? ka nxjer? t? dh?na mjaft interesante lidhur me venbanimin e Sovjanit. Petrika Lera, nj? nga drejtuesit e k?saj ekspedite, tha p?r ATSH se,arritja m? e r?nd?sishme e k?saj ekspedite ishin zbulimet n? fush?n arkitektonike drusore. "K?to zbulime kan? q?n? deri tani t? panjohura jo vet?m n? vendin ton? por edhe n? Ballkan" tha Lera. N? saj? t? k?saj ekspedite u zbuluan gjithashtu punime t? metalurgjis? q? i p?rkasin periudh?s s? bronxit. Sipas Ler?s, k?to zbulime n? vendbanimin e Sovjanit lidhen me periudh?n e bronxit t? hersh?m, dhe jan? d?shmi e nj? kulture m? t? hershme se ajo q? njihej deri tani. Sidoqoft?, priten rezultatet e analizave laboratorike dhe karbonike p?r t? sakt?suar m? mir? k?to zbulime nga pikpamja kulturore dhe kronologjike. Kjo ?sht? ekspedita e n?nt? arkeologjike q? kryhet n? vendbanimin e hersh?m t? Sovjanit. N? t? mor?n pjes? spesialist? t? disa fushave,n?n drejtimin e Prof. Zhil Tushe nga Universiteti i Parisit dhe Prof. Petrika Lera. G?rmimet arkeologjike n? k?t? vendbanim, sipas Ler?s, do t? vazhdojn? edhe vitin e ardhsh?m. /f.n/ Lezhe; Restaurimi i sheshit te qytetit zbulon mure antike LEZHE,8 Shtator/ATSH M.Malja/.-Restaurimi i nje sheshi ne qytetin e vjeter te Lezhes ka nxjerre deshmi te reja te antikitetit prehistorik te ketij qyteti i quajtuar ne lashtesi Lissus. Punonjesit e nje firme ndertimi gjate punimeve kane zbuluar rrenjet e nje muri te lashte prane memorialit te vendvarrimit te heroit Kombetar Gjergj Kastrioti Skenderbeu, i cili sipas, arkeologeve deshon per rrenoja muresh antike dhe rruge te lashta qe te cojne nga lumi Drin drejt ne kalane 2400 vjecare te qytetit te lashte. Drejtues te Institutit Arkeologjik thane se, "fakti qe keto rrenoja jane zbuluar prane portes kryesore te qytetit te poshtem antik te Lezhes tregon se ne kete vend ka shenja te periudhes helenistike, periudhes romake dhe asaj mesjetare. Ndertimet e mureve te pjeses se poshtme te qytetit antik te Lezhes, tregojne se kemi te bejme me nje qender te banuar,ose nje qender shume afer momumenteve kryesore. Specialistet kane vene ne dukje se, per te patur nje konkluzion te sakte duhet te vazhdojne germimet arkeologjike, nderkohe qe gjate germimeve firma e ndertimit ka gjetur pjese amforash, copeza qeramike, si dhe disa kafka apo kocka qe momnetalisht nuk dihet sakte se kujt i kohe i perkasin./f.n/ 2001-09-08 --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Sun Sep 9 17:43:43 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2001 14:43:43 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Gazeta Shqiptare - 9 shtator 2001 Message-ID: <20010909214343.78945.qmail@web11505.mail.yahoo.com> AKTUALITET "Pasaportat, tenderi u vendos n? zyr?n e kryeministrit" Vendimi p?rfundimtar p?r tenderin e pasaportave, ?sht? marr? n? zyr?n e kryeministrit". Elias Samaras, President dhe Manager Director i Euroget Technologies, ka sqaruar n? nj? intervist?dh?n? p?r Gazet?n, se si konkurrent?t gjerman? kan? marr? informacione sekrete nga brenda qeveris?, p?r t? p?rshtatur ofert?n e k?tyre kritereve specifike, t? parashikuara nga tenderi i pasaportave shqiptare. Kompania q? ka prodhuar pasaportat amerikane dhe kanadeze tregon n?p?rmjet Samaras, v?shtirsin? e madhe shqiptare. P?rse ju vendos?t t? hidhni ??shtjen e tenderit t? pasaportave n? gjyq, duke padituer qeverin? shqiptare? Sepse, ne besojm? se kishim teknologjin? m? t? mir? t? printimit t? pasaportave, q? iu ofrua qeveris? shqiptare dhe me cmimin m? t? ul?t krahasuar me konkurrent?t e tjer? dhe pavar?sisht nga kjo, ne u skualifikuam m? nj? m?nyr? tep?r t? pandershme. P?rse mendoni se u kualifikua pik?risht kompania gjermane, ndon?se oferta e ofruar prej saj ishte shum? m? e lart?...? Specifikimet n? k?t? tender nd?rkomb?tar, ishin formuluar n? form? t? till?, q? t'i p?rputheshin ekzakt?sisht teknologjis? gjermane. Kompania jon? dhe Ambasada Amerikane u ankuan n? lidhje me m?nyr?n se si ishin shkruar k?to specifikime, por asnj? veprim korrigjues nuk u nd?rrmor nga ana e qeveris? shqiptare. P?r m? tep?r, gjerman?t ishin t? vetmit, t? cil?t nuk morr?n asnj?her? pjes? n? mbledhjet publike, t? organizuara nga qeveria n? lidhje me tenderin e pasaportave, duke sugjeruar n? k?t? m?nyr? se gjerman?t merrnin infortmacion nga burime, tek t? cilat konkurrent?t e tjer? n? tender nuk kishin akses.. Nj? fakt i till? ngriti mjaft pik?pyetje tek konkurrent?t e tjer? n? lidhje me ndershm?rin? dhe korrektes?n, gjat? procesit t? vler?simit t? ofertave. A mendoni se ekzistojn? shanse t? mira p?r ju, p?r t? fituar "betej?n" me Qeverin? n? gjyq?sorin shqiptar? Ne besojm? fuqimisht, se zot?rojm? teknologjin? m? t? mir? t? printimit t? pasapartova n? mbar? bot?n dhe p?r ket? ekzistojn? referencat m? t? mira "ne k?mi l?shuar m? tep?r se 10 milion pasaporta amerikane (SHBA) dhe mbi 5 milion t? tjera me zero mund?si falsifikimi. Asnj? konkurent tjet?r n? tenderin n? fjal?, nuk kishte k?ta tregues t? shk?lqyer). Ne ofruam ofert?m m? t? mir? dhe me ?mimin financiar m? t? ul?t p?r qeverin? shqiptare, pasi n? k?rkonim q? kjo teknologji (maksimalisht e aprovuar dhe nj?koh?sisht fuqimisht e rekomanduar nga Departamenti Amerikan i Shtetit) t? b?nte t? mundur prodhimin e pasaportave shqiptare m? t? sigurta.. Bazuar mbi sa m? sip?r, ne presim t? fitojm? k?t? betej? juridike edhe pse besojm? se sistemi gjyq?sor n? Shqip?ri ?sht? objektiv dhe i drejt?. A mendoni se ndonj? politikan i caktuar ka nd?rhyr? n? procesin e tenderimit, p?r t? favorizuar kompanin? gjermane? Institucioni i ngarkuar p?r k?t? tender ka qen? Ministria e Rendit Publik dhe mendoj se vendimi final ?sht? marr? me aprovimin e zyr?s s? kryeministrit. Ne nuk jemi n? dijeni t? ndonj? emri konkret politikani t? p?rfshir? n? k?t? q? thoni ju, sa koh? q? ne vet? ishim t? p?rqendruar p?r t? p?rgatitur oferten teknike dhe financiare m? t? mir? p?r qeverin? shqiptare. A ka patur kompania juaj precedent? t? ngjash?m si n? rastin e Shqip?ris?? JO. Ne kemi fitur tendera t? pasaportave, n? mbi 15 vende ku p?rfshihen SHBA dhe Kanadaja. N? asnj? vend tjet?r nuk keni kaluar v?shtir?si t? tila, p?rve?se n? Shqip?ri. --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu Mon Sep 10 06:57:43 2001 From: xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu (xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu) Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 10:57:43 GMT Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Pakistani Doctor sentenced to Death for BLASPHEMY!!! Message-ID: <200109101103.FAA15684@stumail.sjcsf.edu> You guys might have heard or read about this, but I hadn't until now. http://www.secularhumanism.org/thisjustin.htm --------------------------------------------- This message was sent using Endymion MailMan. http://www.endymion.com/products/mailman/ From admin at albstudent.com Mon Sep 10 10:35:38 2001 From: admin at albstudent.com (Admin@ AlbStudent) Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 07:35:38 -0700 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Super Tare, e il Brescia passa a Torino Message-ID: <200109101435.HAA28098@mail11.bigmailbox.com> An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: not available URL: From vanchristo at frosina.org Mon Sep 10 13:47:00 2001 From: vanchristo at frosina.org (Van Christo) Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 13:47:00 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] DV-2003 Visa Lottery Program Message-ID: <3B9CFC93.2D233CF0@frosina.org> Dear friends: For information about the forthcoming DV-2003 Immigration Visa Lottery Program, please visit the Frosina Forum/Message Board at www.frosina.org. Te fala, Van Christo From aalibali at yahoo.com Mon Sep 10 23:35:02 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 20:35:02 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] New York Post Message-ID: <20010911033502.36627.qmail@web11503.mail.yahoo.com> THE GRAVEYARD OF NATO? By STEPHEN SCHWARTZ --------------------------------- September 10, 2001 -- UNFORTUNATELY for the future of peace in the Balkans, the West is continuing its path of incompetence there, and the consequences of another Balkan bungle mean real trouble for America's legitimate, broad aims in the world. The inevitability of failure in the latest exercise - the crafting of a peace deal in Macedonia - is especially galling because a resolution of that country's crisis needn't be that expensive in treasure or lives. But given that much of the Macedonian reconciliation effort has been left in the hands of the European Union - not notably successful in dealing with the Balkans - America will probably end up having to shoulder the main burden of normalization. Does the United States have real interests in the Balkans? Only to the degree we take seriously the continued existence of NATO as a stabilizing force. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed to guarantee European security, and its plans call for its institutional framework to be extended to the Balkans sooner, rather than later. Yet the Macedonian conflict has been treated as a second-rate affair by Western politicians and media alike, seen as much less dramatic or needful of action than either the Bosnian or the Kosovo wars. In fact, this is the most dangerous of all the post-Yugoslav wars, especially for Western strategic and security concerns. Why? Bordering on a Greece which has its own discontented Albanian and Slavic Macedonian minorities, the Slavo-Albanian conflict in Macedonia could be the first of the post-Yugoslav wars to spill out of the former Yugoslavia. Greece, which could be the next falling domino, is a NATO member. And Bulgaria, another Balkan nation so far relatively unaffected by the post-Yugoslav chaos, has a historic interest in the fate of the Slav Macedonians, whose language is closely related to Bulgarian. Of course, poor and corrupt Albania (whether or not one credits fears of a "Greater Albanian" conspiracy) can't be expected to remain completely passive if the Macedonian peace accord fails and the Slavs and Albanians commence fighting for real. To make things even more interesting, there have always been some who argued that Macedonia should be partitioned between Albania and Bulgaria. And here's the punchline: Macedonia, Bulgaria and Albania are all on the calendar for entry into NATO next year. If NATO has a mission, it is security, and security in this instance cannot but include an effort to prevent three prospective members from setting each others' houses afire. The destabilizing effects of a continuing Macedonian war could be felt in Romania as well, which is also slated for rapid NATO entry. The Macedonian conflict repeated past history, and was therefore eminently predictable, but the West was still caught by surprise. Once fighting broke out, the West responded with hasty, improvised proposals that consisted of little more than a plea for reconciliation and a symbolic disarming of Albanian fighters. But the Balkans have had enough of first-aid solutions, which have contributed to the spread of war. The real causes of Balkan bloodshed - economic weaknesses and disparities inherited from Communism - must be attacked. America and NATO should provide security cover for a new era of capitalism, as we did in the Asian cases of South Korea and Taiwan, which were once poorer than even the Balkan countries. This seems to clash with the U.N.-European Union perspective that compulsory "reconciliation" through multiculturalism is the first order of business in the Balkans. But waiting for Albanians and Slav Macedonians to love each other means no peace at all. And that's why the United States should take a new initiative for the coupling of peace and capitalist reform in the Balkans. Stephen Schwartz is the author of "Kosovo: Background to a War." --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Tue Sep 11 08:10:10 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 05:10:10 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Events on SEE in Washington, D.C. & Harvard Message-ID: <20010911121010.87242.qmail@web11503.mail.yahoo.com> wrote: From Nobody Fri Sep 7 13:06:52 2001 X-Apparently-To: aalibali at yahoo.com via web11506; 10 Sep 2001 23:58:02 -0700 (PDT) Received: from n27.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.77) by mta421.mail.yahoo.com with SMTP; 10 Sep 2001 23:58:02 -0700 (PDT) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1148209-953-1000191469-aalibali=YAHOO.COM at returns.onelist.com Received: from [10.1.4.56] by fh.egroups.com with NNFMP; 11 Sep 2001 06:57:50 -0000 Received: (qmail 5902 invoked from network); 11 Sep 2001 06:57:48 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.26) by l10.egroups.com with QMQP; 11 Sep 2001 06:57:48 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO n7.groups.yahoo.com) (10.1.10.46) by mta1 with SMTP; 11 Sep 2001 06:57:48 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: diezch10 at yahoo.com Received: from [10.1.4.64] by fj.egroups.com with NNFMP; 11 Sep 2001 06:57:48 -0000 X-eGroups-Approved-By: fbieber at yahoo.com via web; 11 Sep 2001 06:57:44 -0000 X-Sender: diezch10 at yahoo.com X-Apparently-To: balkans at yahoogroups.com Received: (EGP: mail-7_3_2_1); 7 Sep 2001 20:06:58 -0000 Received: (qmail 74286 invoked from network); 7 Sep 2001 20:06:52 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.26) by l8.egroups.com with QMQP; 7 Sep 2001 20:06:52 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO web14605.mail.yahoo.com) (216.136.224.85) by mta1 with SMTP; 7 Sep 2001 20:06:52 -0000 Message-ID: <20010907200652.61258.qmail at web14605.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [64.50.149.223] by web14605.mail.yahoo.com via HTTP; Fri, 07 Sep 2001 13:06:52 PDT To: balkans at yahoogroups.com X-eGroups-Edited-By: fbieber at yahoo.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list balkans at yahoogroups.com; contact balkans-owner at yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list balkans at yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 13:06:52 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [balkans] Events on SEE in Washington, D.C. & Harvard Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="9tTsorTv34VEVe57Ij3Ddx97GpMwdBTQy6wlZev" Content-Length: 15943 From: charlotte Diez PREVENTION AND PRACTICE: THE BALKANS FORUM Organized jointly by the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, Georgetown University's Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies, and Search for Common Ground Session 10 Negotiating Peace in Macedonia With a presentation by Ambassador James Pardew Special Advisor for Southeast Europe Monday, September 17, from 4 - 6 p.m. Georgetown University - Program Room, Leavey Conference Center The peace accord signed on August 13 by ethnic Albanian and Macedonian political leaders was an impressive achievement. Negotiations dragged on for nearly three months amidst public demonstrations, incidents of violence, breaches of attempted ceasefires, and mounting domestic and international pressures. Adding to the challenge is the persistent perception throughout the Balkans that ethnic relations have a zero-sum character: what one group gains the others lose. As parliamentary support for the framework agreement hangs in the balance, NATO troops cautiously proceed in disarming the Albanian insurgents. Yet since the early negotiating process was conducted behind closed doors, a clear understanding of the intricate bargaining has been elusive. Speaking on the subject of the Macedonian peace negotiations and the enormity of the task ahead, Ambassador James Pardew, chief U.S. negotiator in the talks, will illuminate the complex array of issues that had to be considered and agreed upon before reaching the final accord. Ambassador Pardew will also provide commentary on how negotiation efforts and NATO's mandate in Macedonia were influenced by previous peacemaking efforts in the Balkans and the prospect of long-term peace and stability in Macedonia. Ambassador Pardew served as Deputy Special Advisor to the President and Secretary of State for Democracy in the Balkans during the conflict in Kosovo and subsequent peace implementation from 1999-2001. He was appointed to the rank of Ambassador on August 1, 1997. Previously, he represented the Secretary of Defense on the U.S. negotiating team that concluded the Dayton Peace Agreement, ending the war in Bosnia. He formerly served as the director of the Balkans Task Force in the Office of the Secretary of State. Foreign assignments included Germany, Turkey, Japan, a combat tour in Vietnam, and service in Operation Restore Hope in Somalia. He received a BA in journalism from Arkansas State University and an MA in Political Science and International Affairs from Loyola University of Chicago. The discussion will be held Monday, September 17, from 4 - 6 p.m. at Georgetown University (Program Room, Leavey Conference Center). Directions to the Leavey Conference Center follow this letter. Entering its second year, the Balkans Forum brings together a diverse group of experts-academics, activists, policy makers, and practitioners-for sustained dialogue on U.S. policy in the Balkans. Each monthly session is organized around a brief presentation from one or two Balkan specialists followed by a roundtable discussion. The theme for the 2001-2002 session of Balkans Forum is "Learning Peace in the Balkans." While the experience of building peace in the Balkans has been significant, it has not proven to be cumulative. Lessons learned in some instances have not always been replicated in others. During the coming nine sessions of the Balkans Forum, we will examine the strategic choices-and the outcomes of those choices-made by international actors in their attempts to prevent deadly conflict in the region We hope you will join us for what promises to be a fascinating conversation. Please contact Charlotte Diez at Search for Common Ground by September 14 at cdiez at sfcg.org or call (202) 777-2206 to reserve a space at the September 17 Balkans Forum. Regards, Ana Cutter Andrew Loomis Program Officer Project Manager Carnegie Program on Conflict Prevention Search for Common Ground in Macedonia 170 East 64th Street 1601 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. New York, NY 10021 Suite 200 Tel. (212) 838-4120, ext. 212 Washington, DC 20009 Tel. (202) 265-4300, ext. 203 Directions: If you are taking a taxi or parking off campus, enter the Georgetown Campus at 37th Street and O. Turn right on the diagonal brick path across the lawn. At the red square, veer right, go under the arc, up several stairs, and continue straight on the path (the Reiss Science building will be on the left) to another flight of stairs on the left. Take the stairs and cross the bridge pathway to the Leavey Conference Center. If you are parking on campus, use the University entrance at Canal or Prospect Streets. Follow the driveway/access road past the large construction site (the tennis courts are on the left). The driveway leads to Lot T. Please mention to the parking attendant that you are attending the Balkans Forum, co-sponsored by Georgetown's Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies. The flat rate is $5. The building adjacent to Lot T is the Leavey Center. -___________________________________________________________ From: nicole_stewart at ksg.harvard.edu The Kokkalis Program on Southeastern and East-Central Europe invites you to the following events: Friday, September 14th, 2001 4:00 p.m. Kokkalis Program Open House Learn more about the Kokkalis Program on Southeastern and East-Central Europe. Meet our staff, students, and new fellows. Refreshments provided! Kokkalis Program Offices 124 Mt. Auburn St. Suite 160, Room 105 Cambridge, MA 02138 Tuesday, September 18th, 2001 6:00 p.m. "Southeastern Europe: Dangers & Prospects" A lecture by H.E. Stepjan Mesic, President of the Republic of Croatia ARCO Forum of Public Affairs JFK School of Government 79 JFK Street Cambridge, MA 02138 Thursday, October 4th, 2001 4:00 p.m. "Kosovo: Successes & Failures" A lecture by Dr. Mark Baskin, Director of Research, Pearson Peacekeeping Center, and former Deputy Regional Administrator Prizen, Kosovo, United Nations Mission in Kosovo. Littauer 280 JFK School of Government 79 JFK Street Cambridge, MA 02138 Monday, October 15th, 2001 4:00 p.m. "Turkey Between Two Worlds" A lecture by Stephen Kinzer, former New York Times Istanbul Bureau Chief. Taubman Room A, 5th Floor JFK School of Government 79 JFK Street Cambridge, MA 02138 Nicole Stewart Program Assistant Kokkalis Program John F. Kennedy School of Government 79 John F. Kennedy Street Cambridge MA 02138 (617) 496-0175 _______________________________________________ Balkan Academic News Post Messages to: balkans at yahoogroups.com Contact Owner at: fbieber at yahoo.com Subscribe: balkans-subscribe at yahoogroups.com Unsubscribe: balkans-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com Homepage: http://www.seep.ceu.hu/balkans/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From jetkoti at hotmail.com Tue Sep 11 17:49:45 2001 From: jetkoti at hotmail.com (Xhuliana Agolli) Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 15:49:45 -0600 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] (no subject) Message-ID: http://www.virtourist.com/newspapers/ http://www.worldpress.com _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp From xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu Wed Sep 12 02:55:18 2001 From: xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu (xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu) Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 23:55:18 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] ABCNEWS.com: Explosions Shake Afghanistan Capital Message-ID: <80854.1000277718695.JavaMail.!NTservice@smtp-relay.starwave.com> You have received this ABCNEWS.com mail from: XhA xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu I thought you might find this story interesting. Explosions Shake Afghanistan Capital http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/afghanistan010911_explosions.html From albboschurch at juno.com Wed Sep 12 09:24:04 2001 From: albboschurch at juno.com (albboschurch at juno.com) Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2001 09:24:04 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fw: Prayers in Wake of Tragedy Message-ID: <20010912.093251.-199323.7.albboschurch@juno.com> Boston - Saint George Albanian Orthodox Cathedral is open for prayers of consolation and comfort in the aftermath of the national tragedy which has occured as a result of terrorism. On Friday, September 14 at 10 am, the Divine Liturgy will be held on the Day of the Veneration of the Holy Cross in spiritual solace and in remembrance of all victims. Very Rev. Arthur Liolin reflected upon the calamity: "We lament this heart-wrenching tragedy which has befallen our nation as a result of the evil acts of misguided others. It is time both for intensified prayer and focused deeds which will tame the violent and bring justice and peace to a world sorely torn by its absence." Metropolitan THEODOSIUS Calls for Prayers in Wake of New York, Washington Terrorist Attacks SYOSSET, NY -- Immediately upon learning of the unprecedented terrorist attacks on New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington, DC on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Theodosius, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, led members of the OCA Chancery staff in a Service of Prayer in Times of Tragedy in Saint Sergius Chapel here. "It is in the midst of such crises -- the likes of which we have never experienced -- that our faith is especially tested," Metropolitan Theodosius said after the service. "Our prayers are with all who have suffered and lost their lives in this horrible tragedy, and especially with their families, that 'they may not be like those who have no hope,' as Saint Paul reminds us. I also call upon the faithful of the Orthodox Church in America to pray all the more fervently for the eradication of the evil which prompts a complete lack of concern for human life." Metropolitan Theodosius called upon the faithful of the Orthodox Church in America "to gather in our churches across North America, especially as we approach the Great Feast of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross on Friday, September 14, and to offer fervent prayers to Our Lord, that senseless hatred and attacks against the innocent and vulnerable, both among the private citizenry and within the halls of government, cease." While an official statement by the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops on the tragedy is being drafted and is expected to be released shortly, the OCA Office of Communications is preparing special prayers andpetitions for distribution to all parishes on the OCA's web site and by mail. Updates will be posted on the Orthodox Church in America web site at www.oca.org as further developments occur. _______________________________________________________________________ Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2001 00:08:59 -0400 Subject: Statement of Holy Synod OCA Statement Of His Beatitude, Metropolitan THEODOSIUS And The Holy Synod Of Bishops Of The Orthodox Church In America On The Tragic Terrorist Attacks On New York And Washington, DC September 11, 2001 To the Venerable Hierarchs, Reverend Clergy, Monastics, and Faithful of the Orthodox Church in America: This morning, our minds and hearts were shocked beyond belief as images of terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon flashed across our television screens. As the subsequent events of this morning began to unfold - the collapse of the World Trade Center's twin towers, the severe damage done to an entire wing of the Pentagon, the crash of an additional hijacked airliner near Pittsburgh, and the subsequent fear of further attacks against other cities and targets throughout the United States - the faith of a nation was severely tested in a manner hitherto unknown. In an instant, the security and stability which we and our fellow Americans all too often take for granted vanished, reminding us that indeed "all things are but feeble shadows and deluding dreams," to quote Saint John of Damascus. Even more numbing than the visual images now indelibly etched on our minds is the fact that hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent lives were lost as a result of this senseless evil. The perpetrators of these terrorist attacks blatantly revealed their complete lack of respect for the sanctity of human life, including their own. While buildings can be rebuilt and systems restored, the earthly lives of the innocent victims who perished this day cannot. And the lives of their spouses and children, their parents and friends, and, indeed, all of us who have witnessed these events surely will be changed in ways we have yet to consider or to comprehend. As the realities of today's horrors begin to challenge the very heart of our lives and our faith, we might well join Saint John of Damascus in asking, "What earthly sweetness remains unmixed with grief? What glory stands immutable on earth?" Our faith is being tested, individually and collectively, as it has never been tested before, and we are reminded in the midst of this tragedy that it is in Our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ alone that we find the faith and the hope we need to discover, in the midst of our righteous indignation, God's love and presence. On behalf of the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America, I appeal to the faithful of our Church and to all North Americans to turn to God at this moment, to reach out to those who are forever scarred by the tragedies of this day, to strive all the more fervently to see within all whom we encounter the living and loving image of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, and to pray with renewed fervor and intensity "for the peace of the whole world" - for the peace that "passes all understanding," for which our world today so desperately hopes and seeks. Pray for those whose lives were cut short as a result of today's evil deeds, as well as for those who are suffering and who will continue to suffer in the days, weeks, and months ahead. Pray for those who lost their families and friends, for those whose grief we can barely begin to imagine, and for those who will be scarred forever as a result of today's devastation. Pray for those who in countless ways are assisting the injured and the bereaved, that Our Lord will guide them in their efforts to bring about physical, spiritual, and emotional healing. Pray for those who may be tempted to lose hope in the face of tragedy, that they may be touched by God's mercy and compassion and the love of those who surround them. Pray for our civil authorities and leaders, that Our Lord will inspire them to do the right thing in the face of unimaginable anguish. Pray for the children of our nation who once again have been robbed of their precious innocence by witnessing such incomprehensible evils and tragedies. Pray for those who perpetrated today's evils, asking the Lord to "make the evil be good" by His Goodness, as we pray in the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great. And finally, let us pray for ourselves, that Our God will strengthen us to face the consequences of today's tragedies and fill us with renewed faith and hope to abide in His love in a world which has grown cold and hard-hearted. Our faith has been, and will continue to be, tested as a result of today's horrible tragedies. May Our Lord use us as instruments of peace in the face of war, of love in the face of hatred, and of supreme goodness in the face of all that is evil. With love in Jesus Christ, our only Helper in the face of adversity, + THEODOSIUS Archbishop of Washington Metropolitan of All America and Canada And the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America: +KYRILL, Archbishop of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania +PETER, Archbishop of New York and New Jersey +DMITRI, Archbishop of Dallas and the South +HERMAN, Archbishop of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania +NATHANIEL, Archbishop of Detroit +JOB, Bishop of Chicago and the Midwest +TIKHON, Bishop of San Francisco and the West +SERAPHIM, Bishop of Ottawa and Canada +INNOCENT, Bishop of Hagestown and Auxiliary to His Beatitude +NIKOLAI, Bishop of Baltimore and Auxiliary to His Beatitude ________________________________________________________________ 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 xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu Wed Sep 12 13:51:06 2001 From: xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu (Xhuliana Agolli) Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2001 11:51:06 -0600 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] CNN:The day after Message-ID: <000b01c13bb3$7ffb3980$6528a8c0@sjcsf.edu> Chronology: The day after September 12, 2001 Posted: 1:24 PM EDT (1724 GMT) 1 p.m. Wednesday (all times are EDT): CNN reports that the FBI has taken several people into custody for questioning in Boston, Massachusetts, and in Florida. Authorities also are checking passenger manifests from the crashed airplanes to see if they include anyone who attended flight schools in the United States or who used facilities that have airline simulators. 12:10 p.m.: Officials from Boston's Logan International Airport say the Federal Aviation Administration is requiring all U.S. airports to comply with some emergency safety measures, including banning the sale or use of knives, even plastic ones, at airports; evacuating and sweeping all terminals with K-9 teams; and discontinuing curbside check-in. CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT VIDEO/AUDIO Exclusive video of crash at WTC Sights and sounds MORE STORIES Terror attacks hit U.S. Blast rocks Pentagon Industry, media figures among crash fatalities World shock over U.S. attacks EXTRA INFORMATION Chronology of terror Partial list of those killed in Tuesday's attacks Photo Gallery CNNFN: Special Report RESOURCES Text of Bush's address Quotes from witnesses and leaders Emergency contact information 11:25 a.m.: A total of nine survivors have been rescued so far in the rubble in New York. Six are firefighters, and three are police officers. 11:20 a.m.: CNN reports that the FAA will not allow domestic air traffic to resume at noon Wednesday. 10:54 a.m.: CNN reports that the United States has intercepted two phone calls made after Tuesday's terrorist attacks against the Pentagon and New York's World Trade Center, and the conversations were between members of al Qaeda, an organization sponsored by suspected Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden. In those conversations, U.S. law enforcement officials say the individuals discussed hitting two U.S. targets. 10:50 a.m.: President Bush labels Tuesday's attacks "acts of war" and says the United States faces a different enemy than ever before in its history. "This will be a monumental struggle of good vs. evil. But good will prevail," Bush says. 10:30 a.m.: New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani warns that the death toll would be grim. "The numbers we are working with are in the thousands," Giuliani told reporters at a briefing. 10 a.m.: Congress reconvenes in the U.S. Capitol with members of both parties denouncing Tuesday's events. 9:05 a.m.: The assistant director of the Washington, D.C., Airport Authority tells CNN that Dulles and Ronald Reagan airports will open at 3 p.m. Wednesday only to allow people to pick up their luggage and vehicles. 8:45 a.m.: All European stock markets cease trading for one minute's silence to remember Tuesday's events. 5:20 a.m.: Pope John Paul II opens his weekly address with a statement condemning Tuesday's attacks, saying "evil and death will not have the last word." Early Wednesday morning: Six firefighters and a police officer are reported rescued from the rubble of the World Trade Center. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: attack.include.box.gif Type: image/gif Size: 2346 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: spacer.gif Type: image/gif Size: 60 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: bullet.gif Type: image/gif Size: 45 bytes Desc: not available URL: From xhuliana at usa.net Thu Sep 13 04:28:10 2001 From: xhuliana at usa.net (xhuliana at usa.net) Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 01:28:10 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] NYTimes.com Article: As F.B.I. Tracks Hijackers, bin Laden Tie Is Cited Message-ID: <20010913082810.0D3C915C28@email4.lga2.nytimes.com> This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by xhuliana at usa.net. /-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\ Let NYTimes.com Come to You Sign up for one of our weekly e-mails and the news will come directly to you. YOUR MONEY brings you a wealth of analysis and information about personal investing. CIRCUITS plugs you into the latest on personal technology. TRAVEL DISPATCH offers you a jump on special travel deals and news. http://email.nytimes.com/email/email.jsp?eta5 \----------------------------------------------------------/ As F.B.I. Tracks Hijackers, bin Laden Tie Is Cited By DAVID JOHNSTON and JAMES RISEN WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 ? The hijackers who commandeered commercial jets that attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were followers of Osama bin Laden, the Islamic militant who has been blamed for some of the bloodiest attacks against Americans, federal authorities said today. The authorities said they had also identified accomplices in several cities who had helped plan and execute Tuesday's attacks. Officials said they knew who these people were and important biographical details about many of them but declined to provide their names or nationalities. Seperately, government officials disclosed that at least two people believed to be associates of Mr. bin Laden, and who may have been involved in the attack, entered the United States recently, slipping into the country before the Immigration and Naturalization Service was told to prevent their entry. Acting swiftly today, investigators obtained warrants and searched businesses and homes in New Jersey, Massachusetts and Florida. They made no arrests but interrogated several people, compiling an outline of the terror group's structure. They prepared biographies of each identified member of the hijack teams and began tracing the recent movements of the men. Attorney General John Ashcroft said that each flight was seized by three to six hijackers who boarded as passengers, then, with knives and boxcutters, overwhelmed the crew. Officials said the hijackings featured many elements of previous operations sponsored by Mr. bin Laden: small teams; a coordinating commander who arrives on the scene at the final moment; and logistical support by local sympathizers. Investigators were focusing on possible confederates in Boston, metropolitan Washington and Union City, N.J. ? near the three airports from which the hijacked planes departed. Mr. Ashcroft said that the hijack teams included pilots who had been trained in the United States, at least two of them at a commercial flight school in Florida. Officials said that a breakthrough came when a witness alerted the authorities to a rental car parked at Logan International Airport in Boston. The vehicle yielded an Arabic- language flight manual and other documents that contained a name on the passenger list of one of the flights. Also from the car search, officials said, investigators found names of other suspects. Separately, officials said a group of about five men were now under investigation in Union City, suspected of assisting the hijackers. In addition, the officials said the men had apparently set up cameras near the Hudson River and fixed them on the World Trade Center. They photographed the attacks and were said to have congratulated each other afterward, officials said. Investigators were reviewing the activities of Mr. bin Laden's associates around the world in recent months. A senior federal official said that American intelligence had recently identified several people believed to be linked to Mr. bin Laden and his organization and had told the immigration service that they should be placed on a watch list to prevent them from entering the United States. "There was intelligence that these guys were potential problems," the official said. After a check following that notification, immigration officials responded that at least two of those identified people were already in the United States, the official said. The F.B.I. was told, and began a search for them, the official said. The official, who did not provide their names, said that it is possible the people were involved in Tuesday's attacks. "Of course, just because they were possible associates of Osama bin Laden doesn't tell you that the World Trade Center is about to be attacked," the official added. Another official said that one passenger aboard American Flight 77, which left from Dulles International Airport and struck the Pentagon, had been placed on the list after entering the country in June through Los Angeles. It was unclear whether the man, who traveled using a Saudi passport, was one of the bin Laden associates cited in the report. With 4,000 F.B.I. agents and 3,000 support personnel on the case, Mr. Ashcroft called the inquiry "the most massive and intensive investigation ever conducted in America." Officials said that each of the four hijacking teams had a leader but worked independently, though the teams appeared to be aware that their actions were being closely coordinated with the other groups. At least one team entered the United States via Canada and made its way to Boston, where the flights of the two aircraft that struck the World Trade Center originated. Each team was aided by confederates in Newark, Boston and Virginia, who were responsible for logistical support, including money, rental cars, credit cards and lodging, law enforcement officials said today. In addition to the flights from Boston that struck the trade center and the one from Dulles which crashed into the Pentagon, a fourth flight, departing from Newark International Airport, crashed in a field in southwestern Pennsylvania. Officials also said the teams were coordinated by one supervising commander who has not been identified, but who apparently helped select the flights and targets and orchestrated the attacks to occur at roughly the same time. The whereabouts of the commander are unknown. The officials said they reached that conclusion after assembling information from the flights' passenger lists; pay telephone records; phoned reports from passengers aboard the hijacked flights and evidence taken from the rental car found at Logan Airport. Robert S. Mueller III, the director of the F.B.I., said the bureau was investigating the activities of several suspected hijackers who were known to have lived for months in Florida and attended flight training school. As of tonight, several people, whom the authorities declined to identify, had been detained on immigration violations and were being questioned. In Massachusetts, law enforcement officials said they were investigating whether several hijackers crossed the border from Canada and flew from Portland, Me., to Boston. At Logan Airport, F.B.I. agents and the local police seized a car that was registered in Virginia. A witness reported the car to authorities, recalling two men having an argument next to the car on Tuesday morning. In Maine, a spokesman for Gov. Angus S. King Jr. said that the F.B.I. had determined that two suspected hijackers took an early-morning commuter flight from Portland to Logan on Tuesday, before boarding a flight that was hijacked. At the request of the F.B.I., the local police impounded a rental car the men left at the Portland airport, according to John Ripley, Governor King's spokesman. Early today, F.B.I. agents searched Huffman Aviation in Venice, Fla., where they believed two suspected hijackers learned to fly commuter jets last year. Rudi Dekkers, the company's president, said that agents asked him about two former students, Marwan al-Shehhi and Mohammed Atta. Mr. Dekkers said that both men attended his flight school from July until November 2000 for training on single- and multi-engine small jets. Mr. Dekkers said they completed the course and graduated to training for larger jets, but he did not know where they conducted that training. "We gave the F.B.I. the files and passport copies and everything," Mr. Dekkers said. "We hold them for every student." He added that the authorities "suspect they had something to do with the hijackings." The school has conducted flight training for 20 years. Mr. Dekkers said that thousands of students from around the world attend it. "I am mad as you are about what happened," he said. "There is no way of knowing what they had in mind." State-owned television in Abu Dhabi reported today that two suspects connected to the flights from Logan were Wa'el Mohammad al- Shihri and Ahmad Ibrahim Ali al- Hazzouni. The network said that the pair carried Saudi passports. The police in Coral Springs, Fla., said that F.B.I. agents also searched an apartment there late on Tuesday. Federal authorities released a bulletin for two vehicles ? a 1989 two- door red Pontiac with license number D79 DDV or DVD, and a tan four- door Oldsmobile with license number VEP 54N. A senior crash investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board said it would be a huge challenge to find the voice and data recorders ? the "black boxes" ? from the planes that hit the trade center. First, he said, the sonic pingers that let searchers home in on boxes only function in water. Then, he added, "The airplanes are probably so fragmented, and with all the other debris there, that coming up with those boxes is going to be a very difficult task, assuming they even survived the blast and fire." http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/13/national/13INQU.html?ex=1001369690&ei=1&en=15219b97565422d2 /-----------------------------------------------------------------\ Visit NYTimes.com for complete access to the most authoritative news coverage on the Web, updated throughout the day. Become a member today! It's free! http://www.nytimes.com?eta \-----------------------------------------------------------------/ HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact Alyson Racer at alyson at nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help at nytimes.com. Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company From xhuliana at usa.net Thu Sep 13 05:06:36 2001 From: xhuliana at usa.net (xhuliana at usa.net) Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 02:06:36 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] NYTimes.com Article: World War III Message-ID: <20010913090636.0E37615C27@email4.lga2.nytimes.com> This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by xhuliana at usa.net. "In June I wrote a column about the fact that a few cell-phone threats from Osama bin Laden had prompted President Bush to withdraw the F.B.I. from Yemen, a U.S. Marine contingent from Jordan and the U.S. Fifth Fleet from its home base in the Persian Gulf. This U.S. retreat was noticed all over the region, but it did not merit a headline in any major U.S. paper. That must have encouraged the terrorists." /-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\ Let NYTimes.com Come to You Sign up for one of our weekly e-mails and the news will come directly to you. YOUR MONEY brings you a wealth of analysis and information about personal investing. CIRCUITS plugs you into the latest on personal technology. TRAVEL DISPATCH offers you a jump on special travel deals and news. http://email.nytimes.com/email/email.jsp?eta5 \----------------------------------------------------------/ World War III By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN If this attack was the Pearl Harbor of World War III, it means there is a long, long war ahead. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/13/opinion/13FRIE.html?ex=1001371995&ei=1&en=f966174196f74840 /-----------------------------------------------------------------\ Visit NYTimes.com for complete access to the most authoritative news coverage on the Web, updated throughout the day. Become a member today! It's free! http://www.nytimes.com?eta \-----------------------------------------------------------------/ HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact Alyson Racer at alyson at nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help at nytimes.com. Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company From rlukaj at bear.com Thu Sep 13 10:28:38 2001 From: rlukaj at bear.com (Lukaj, Richard (Exchange)) Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 10:28:38 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] God Bless America! Message-ID: First and foremost, my family and I are all healthy. Thanks to God's will. I can't describe how I have been feeling and how sorry I feel about the tragic developments of the past couple of days. Cantor Fitzgerald, AON, Morgan Stanley and the staff at the "Windows of the World" restaurant, all bright, young talented people, prematurely lost. We have lost many of the bravest and finest rescue workers trying to save their lives. New York will not be the same. Americans are resilient, though, and I pray we will recover. I hope this email finds you and your loved ones well. I still cannot believe the images we saw two days ago. I contrast these images with those we shared during our last NAAC annual dinner at the World Trade Center. I reviewed the photos from the event on our web site last night and could not believe how much had changed due to the dastardly acts of a few maniacs. We had such a wonderful time that evening and felt like we were on top of the world. Now nothing remains of the landmark towers. I pray for you and all the people who are directly or indirectly effected by this tragedy and I also hope that this is not the beginning of a spiral of hatred and renewed violence. God bless you. Richard Nostradamus' predictions: "In the year of the new century and nine months, From the sky will come a great King of Terror... The sky will burn at forty-five degrees. Fire approaches the great new city..." "In the city of York there will be a great collapse, 2 twin brothers torn apart by chaos while the fortress falls the great leader will succumb third big war will begin when the big city is burning" Earth-shaking fire from the center of the earth. Will cause the towers around the New City to shake, Two great rocks for a long time will make war, And then Arethusa will color a new river red. At forty-five degrees, the sky will burn, Fire approaches the great new city, Immediately a huge, scattered flame leaps up When they want to have verification from the Normans. Note: New York is located at the 41st degree Latitude. From kbejko at hotmail.com Thu Sep 13 10:39:41 2001 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 10:39:41 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] A quote from LA Times Message-ID: Personally, I think it was not hatred of the US that drove the hijackers to commit such unspeakable acts of terror. The issue goes back to colonial times, to British imposition of Western values on countries that did not go through a Englightment movement like the Europeans did. Due to British and European exploitation these people see the Western lifestyle as evil and the only way to prevent such things from happening again is to make them see that individualism, separation of church and state, free market capitalism are good things. This would mean another form of colonization, a cultural colonization, will have to be implemented. Once you get them to watch MTV and wear Levi's I doubt they'll want to hijack planes again. Following is a quote from an LA TIMES article: "Likewise, many Arabs and Muslims view the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as far older than the Americans perceive. To them, the conflict is a continuation of centuries of Western meddling. They think that the West, which today includes America, declared war on Islam with the first Crusade--a Christian holy war more than 1,000 years ago. They see the establishment of Israel as the United States' insertion of Jews into the region, another step of Western conquest." _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp From xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu Thu Sep 13 10:54:37 2001 From: xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu (Xhuliana Agolli) Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 08:54:37 -0600 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fw: Security Watch: Thursday, 12 September 2001 Message-ID: <000901c13c64$05240f50$6528a8c0@sjcsf.edu> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Security Watch" To: "Security Watch Mailing List" Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2001 1:44 AM Subject: Security Watch: Thursday, 12 September 2001 > ISN Security Watch - Your daily security check on the > Partnership for Peace region. For our full news service > visit our website, http://www.isn.ethz.ch > _________________________________________________________ > > -Suicide bomber kills Afghan resistance chief > -UN pulls out of Afghanistan > -US troops in Gulf on alert > -EU holds emergency meeting > -Germany suspects bin Laden > -US must focus on terrorism, not NMD - Russia > -Kursk bow cut in salvage program > _________________________________________________________ > > > Suicide bomber kills Afghan resistance chief > > The guerrilla leader of Afghanistan's opposition force > appears to have been killed in a suicide bombing that > senior US officials said Monday could lead to the demise > of the last movement fighting the Taliban regime. > Ironically however, the terrorist attacks against the US > on Tuesday will likely be the salvation of Masoud's > Northern Alliance, as US opinion hardens against Islamic > extremism. Ahmed Shah Masoud, a guerilla leader who beat > back seven Soviet incursions into his home region in the > 1980s, was the victim of a bomb hidden in a television > camera or on the body of a man posing as a journalist. The > bomb went off at the remote base of the Northern Alliance > in Khodja Bahauddin, according to Masoud's aides. They > insisted on Monday that he had survived the attack, > possibly in an attempt to prevent the Taliban military > assault that could easily have been a knockout blow for > the fragile coalition. Senior US officials reported on > Monday that Masoud had died shortly after the explosion. > They said the movement appeared to be trying to buy time > and mobilize its limited military force in case the > Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime attempted to take > advantage of the charismatic leader's death. Opposition > leaders immediately accused the Taliban of being > responsible for the attack. The style of the bombing led > several US officials to suspect the organization of Osama > bin Laden, a Saudi militant and Taliban ally who is also > suspected of involvement in the attack on the US. Bin Laden > is on the FBI's most wanted list, with a US$5 million > reward, and has taken refuge in Afghanistan, where he > finances camps and training for Muslim militants, many from > Arab nations. If bin Laden's forces were responsible for > killing Masoud, the Taliban would be indebted to him, but > if the US believes he is behind the terrorist attacks on > New York and Washington, then it is likely Taliban will > hand him over to avoid massive retaliation. Nonetheless, > the loss of Masoud would be a devastating blow to the > already shaky Northern Alliance of Burhanuddin Rabbani, who > claims to be president of Afghanistan even though he and > his allies control only about five per cent of the country > along the Tajik border. Masoud's death could also trigger a > power struggle among the diverse factions in the Alliance. > On Monday US officials said the assassination could, in > effect, finish off the alliance as a significant military > force, but if the tide of US opinion turns decisively > against bin Laden, the Taliban and Islamic extremism in > general, the Northern Alliance will be a primary > beneficiary. (LA Times) > > > > UN pulls out of Afghanistan > > The UN envoy for Afghanistan said on Wednesday he had > ordered a temporary pullout of UN staff from the country > because of fears of US retaliatory strikes there in response > to the attacks in America. In an interview with Reuters, > Francesc Vendrell stressed the evacuation of 80 expatriate > staff was a precautionary measure and he had no information > that Washington was preparing to strike at the war-ravaged > country ruled by Taliban authorities. The United States has > not accused any group of hijacking commercial planes on > Tuesday to carry out the deadly attacks on the World Trade > Center in New York and Pentagon in Washington. But US > officials have said their suspicions focus on Saudi > militant exile Osama bin Laden, being sheltered in > Afghanistan. "The United States government had made it > clear in the last three months at least to both me and > directly to the Taliban authorities that should any > terrorist incident occur of the kind that took place in > Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in 1998, or in terms of the US > ship Cole, that this time there would be no hesitation in > carrying out some retaliatory measures," Vendrell said. "I > want to make it clear that we don't have any inside > information that the United States government or anybody > else is planning anything at the moment in terms of > Afghanistan, this is just a logical precaution," he said. > Vendrell, a Spaniard who became Afghan envoy 18 months ago, > was speaking at the UN European headquarters in Geneva > after holding private talks with the son and grandson of > the former Afghan king, Mohammad Zahir Shah, who lives in > Rome. (Reuters) > > > > US troops in Gulf on alert > > The US sealed off its military bases in the Gulf area on > Wednesday and security steps for US civilians were swiftly > introduced after massive attacks on buildings in New York > and Washington rocked the superpower. But Western defence > sources said that although all US forces overseas had been > put on top alert, the measures might not directly affect > US-British air patrols over Gulf War foe Iraq to enforce a > no-fly zone from bases in the region. The British have not > raised their level to top alert but because they share > regional bases with US forces, they are conforming with > American security measures. US troops guarding the perimeter > of Camp Doha on the outskirts of Kuwait City have all > pulled back into the compound, which has been sealed off to > minimise any threat. The camp houses hundreds of US > ground forces who train in the desert state near the Iraqi > border almost all year round, as well as heavy military > hardware pre-positioned for immediate deployment in case of > a crisis. Elsewhere in the small Gulf Arab state bases > hosting US forces and aircraft were also put on top alert > and extra security measures introduced. Similar measures > were taken across the Gulf region, where the US has some > 15'000-25'000 military personnel. In Qatar, witnesses said > local authorities blocked access roads to US military > facilities, including two bases for storing heavy military > hardware. Strict security measures already in force at US > military facilities in the region were upgraded after > Tuesday's attacks, including at the headquarters of the US > Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and in Saudi Arabia where Washington > has warplanes deployed. (Reuters) > > > > EU holds emergency meeting > > EU foreign ministers opened an emergency meeting on > Wednesday, attended exceptionally by NATO's secretary- > general, to discuss a joint response to Tuesday's > terrorist attacks in the United States. British Foreign > Secretary Jack Straw told reporters the ministers would > express solidarity with the American people and discuss > measures to strengthen security at airports, public > buildings and on airlines in the 15-nation bloc. "It was > an attack on all of us - an attack on freedom and > democracy, on civilisation and on humanity," Straw said. > He refused to comment on the possibility of US retaliation. > NATO Secretary-General George Robertson told reporters: > "We stand together. We are two organisations with one > voice, one strong voice, that we will not stand for this > terrorism." A draft declaration pledged full cooperation > in combating terrorism, tracking down the perpetrators of > the US attacks and helping in search and rescue operations, > if needed. Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh said > everyone must help find those guilty of the devastating > attacks on the New York World Trade Center and the Pentagon > in Washington, but she cautioned against hasty retaliation. > (Reuters) > > > > Germany suspects bin Laden > > Germany said on Wednesday that its intelligence agencies > agreed, with those in France, Britain, and Israel, that > Saudi militant Osama bin Laden was probably behind the > attacks on the United States, but they did not have hard > evidence. Chancellery Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier > told a news conference that Germany's intelligence agencies > had consulted their counterparts in Israel, France, and > Britain. He said they agreed that the attacks bore the > hallmarks of bin Laden, a Saudi-born dissident who now > lives in Afghanistan. Steinmeier, responsible for German > intelligence operations, said the type of attack, the > highly professional nature of the preparations, and the > ample financial resources apparently made available lead > the agencies to suspect bin Laden of involvement. Bin > Laden, a 44-year-old multi-millionaire is blamed for > bombing two US embassies in East Africa in 1998, killing > 224 people and injuring 4'000, and other anti-US attacks. > The US has also branded bin Laden the prime suspect in > bombings that killed 24 US service personnel in the Saudi > cities of Riyadh and Khobar in 1995 and 1996. Steinmeier > said that Germany's Bundesnachrichtendienst intelligence > agency had not yet been able to consult with its > counterparts in the US but that they hoped to within the > next few days. "After yesterday's attacks in Washington and > New York it is clear that we are facing a new level of > international terrorism," he said. US officials said on > Tuesday that people who conducted the attacks may have had > links to bin Laden or his organisation. Names of people > with possible ties to bin Laden's organisation were > found on the passenger rosters of the hijacked planes. > German Interior Minister Otto Schily reiterated that he was > in contact with his European Union counterparts and that > they were discussing holding an emergency meeting of EU > interior ministers to review security measures. > (Reuters) > > > > US must focus on terrorism, not NMD - Russia > > Russian officials urged the United States on Wednesday to > join a global fight against terrorism instead of focusing > on a missile defence shield that could not have stopped > Tuesday's devastating airliner attacks. Although the > attacks sparked genuine sympathy in Russia, officials said > the devastation caused by hijacked planes plunging into > the World Trade Center and the Pentagon showed that > Washington should change the emphasis of its defence > strategy. "It is becoming clear that the US side have been > seeking answers to the wrong questions," Dmitry Rogozin, > head of the parliamentary committee on international > affairs, said. "This is a strong argument that the United > States is building a system against non-existent threats," > analyst Alexander Golts said. The dramatic attacks in the > heartland of the US struck a raw nerve in Russia, its > traditional big-power rival, which, with a sprawling > territory and huge borders, identifies with Washington's > security fears. Russia is opposed to a US missile defence > program aimed at defending the US against strikes from > "rogue states" and which will run up against the landmark > 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty between the two powers. > After Tuesday's tragedy Russian experts said Washington > had to recognise that its defence strategy was going the > wrong way. Former head of the Federal State Security > Service Nikolai Kovalyov said the US shift from a doctrine > of global security to one of purely national security was > a strategic error. Building a national missile shield would > only push extremists to look for new ways of operating, > including with chemical weapons. He said the US special > services had clearly failed to pick up the threat of an > attack because of lack of information. (Reuter) > > > > Kursk bow cut in salvage program > > An international team cut the bow off the sunken nuclear > Russian submarine Kursk on Wednesday bringing salvagers a > step closer to raising the wreck from the bed of the Barents > Sea later this month. Salvagers plan to raise the Kursk, > which sank after explosions ripped through its bow last > August, killing all 118 men aboard, and bring it to dock in > Roslyakovo on Russia's northern coast by 27-28 September. > "The bow has now been cut off," said Lars Walder, spokesman > for the Dutch Mammoet-Smit team aboard the Giant 4 barge, > docked off Kirkenes in northern Norway. The barge will hoist > the wreck to the surface using 26 mammoth cranes. Divers > have been working for more than a week in icy waters 100m > deep to slice off the bow using robot cutting gear. Russian > President Vladimir Putin has vowed to raise the Kursk > before winter storms and darkness make work too hazardous. > Putin has said he wants to find out the cause of the > disaster, recover the Kursk's nuclear reactor from the > seabed and give crew members a proper burial. But experts > say the mangled torpedo bay in the bow holds the key to the > sinking. Some Russian navy officials have said the Kursk > may have collided with a Western submarine, while many > other experts say an onboard torpedo explosion caused the > disaster. Either way, Walder said the 25-metre bow had to > come off in order to salvage the rest of the submarine. > "The problem is that the bow is completely damaged," he > said. Otherwise, in the worst case, it might have fallen > off during the salvage. Walder said the most critical stage > of the rescue operation would be to loosen the Kursk from > the seabed, when rescuers drag a giant steel wire under > the submarine. The cranes will lift the Kursk by attaching > other wires to 26 pre-bored holes. > > _________________________________________________________ > > INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND SECURITY NETWORK - ISN > Your one-stop information network for global security > http://www.isn.ethz.ch > > To unsubscribe from the list, send a message to > isn-daily-news at sipo.gess.ethz.ch with "Unsubscribe" (no > quotes) in the subject. Your record will be permanently > removed from our database. > > We welcome your feedback at isn at sipo.gess.ethz.ch > From xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu Thu Sep 13 11:09:39 2001 From: xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu (Xhuliana Agolli) Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 09:09:39 -0600 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Security Watch Special:US Terror Attacks Message-ID: <001401c13c66$1d41d930$6528a8c0@sjcsf.edu> SECURITY WATCH SPECIAL: US TERROR ATTACKS -US reels under terrorist attacks -Attack result of massive intelligence failure -Bin Laden emerges as prime suspect _______________________________________________________ US REELS UNDER TERRORIST ATTACKS By Christopher Findlay ISN Staff The US is reeling from a series of terrorist attacks that took place on Tuesday and that are likely to have far- reaching consequences for global security for some time and are already being compared to America's most traumatic events like the attack on Pearl Harbor and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The twin towers of the 110-story World Trade Center collapsed on Tuesday morning after two consecutive kamikaze- style attacks with jet airliners carrying civilian passengers. The number of victims buried under the rubble is likely to be in the thousands. Almost simultaneously, another airliner crashed into the Pentagon building. So far, no group has credibly claimed responsibility for the attacks, and US officials have refrained from pointing the finger, while intimating that there are strong suspicions towards the Al-Qa'ida group of Osama bin Laden. US government officials later said that names of suspected terrorists with possible ties to bin Laden's organization had been on the passenger rosters of the hijacked planes, according to Reuters. The US is currently on near-war footing (delta alert); all armed forces are on maximum alert short of full war posture. National emergency plans are being implemented and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is working with the FBI's Strategic Operation Information Center (SOIC), according to a FEMA press release. The Department of Justice has immediate responsibility for crisis management. The US has also closed its borders with Canada and Mexico to ground traffic and air traffic. In the chaos that has followed the attacks, emerging reports have to be critically assessed. US officials are reluctant to disclose their next steps, and it is therefore difficult to predict which direction the events will take. On Tuesday a high-ranking spokesman for the US armed forces would emphatically not rule out the possibility of retaliation. It will be difficult for the Bush administration to find an appropriate response to what is rapidly being perceived as, and openly labeled, a declaration of war, not only because the attackers are as yet unknown, but also because it will be difficult to retaliate in any meaningful way. Should a country or government be blamed for the attacks, the US could only achieve tit-for-tat retaliation as practiced by the Israeli security forces by a heavy military strike against an urban area. This would probably lose the US some of the sympathies and solidarity it enjoys in the current situation. http://www.isn.ethz.ch/infoservice/index.cfm?service=cwn&parent=special# US reels under terrorist attacks ATTACK RESULT OF MASSIVE INTELLIGENCE FAILURE By Andrew Tait ISN Staff The lethal terrorist attacks that devastated downtown New York and hit the nerve center of the US military in the Pentagon have been described as a monumental failure of US intelligence services, unparalleled since the 1941 Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. As with Pearl Harbor, many are questioning how the world's largest intelligence gathering organization, with a budget of billions of dollars, could not have known anything about what was about to happen. BBC defense correspondent Jonathan Marcus said the attacks represented a major setback for the US intelligence services. "The fact that four separate terrorist teams seem to have been involved, each hijacking one airliner, suggests a level of organization that should not have gone unnoticed by the intelligence services." Senator Bob Graham, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, called for immediate increases in the intelligence budget for new agents, increased eavesdropping capabilities, better ways to analyze materials collected by intelligence officers, and advanced technology. Though the exact figure is classified, the overall US intelligence budget for the 2002 financial year is estimated at US$30 billion. Jane's Defense Weekly Editor Clifford Beal said the subject of "asymmetric warfare" - the use of terrorist methods to strike at weaknesses in Western countries - has been a significant worry for strategic planners in the US for most of the 1990s. Beal said the failure of US intelligence could be a result of funding high-tech intelligence gathering systems to the detriment of human intelligence (HUMINT) capabilities. "Areas such as analysis, linguist skills, cultivation of agent networks, and 'tradecraft' were all of paramount importance during the Cold War, particularly before the advent of space-based intelligence assets, but have suffered a lack of resources of late," he said. If the US increases its human intelligence capability, Israel is likely to be a major winner, Friedman said. Besides the fact that US sympathy for Israel will increase as a result of the US having experienced suicide bombings at first hand, Israel's intelligence infrastructure, particularly in the Middle East, will make Israel a vital partner for the US: "The United States is obviously going to launch a massive covert and overt war against the international radical Islamic movement that is assumed to be behind this attack," Friedman said. "Not only does this align US and Israeli interests, but it also makes the United States dependent on the Israelis - whose intelligence capabilities in this area, as well as covert operational capabilities, are clearly going to be needed," he said. Yesterday's terrorist attack is also certain to strengthen US resolve to increase military spending. "If spending more money on intelligence means dipping into money that would otherwise pay down the national debt or dip into the Social Security trust fund, so be it," senior Republican senator Orrin Hatch said. "It's always easier to spend money domestically than on national security matters," Hatch said. "We've been neglecting our military. We've been not putting the monies in that should be there." (Janes, BBC, The Atlantic, Stratfor, SNHS) http://www.isn.ethz.ch/infoservice/index.cfm?service=cwn&parent=special3 BIN LADEN EMERGES AS PRIME SUSPECT By Andrew Tait ISN Staff As US emergency services struggled to cope with the devastation of Tuesday's coordinated attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the FBI launched a massive campaign to try to identify the perpetrators. "These heinous acts of violence are an assault on the security of our nation," Attorney General John Ashcroft declared, as thousands of federal investigators fanned out across the country pursuing leads. While anonymous callers have claimed responsibility for a Palestinian radical group, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and for Kashmiri separatists the Lashkar-e-Taiba, both of these organizations have denied involvement, and multi-millionaire terrorist Osama bin Laden has emerged as the prime suspect. Bin Laden is a Saudi dissident US investigators blame for 1998 car bombings that killed 224 people at the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and for last year's bomb attack on the USS Cole at a harbor in Yemen that killed 17 US sailors. In a surprising reversal of their long standing protection of bin Laden, a leading spokesman for Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia has said it would consider extraditing him based on US evidence. US officials have described the Saudi-born dissident as their chief suspect in off-the- record briefings, saying they have intercepted messages between his people talking about the attacks. The Taliban ambassador to neighboring Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, said, when asked about bin Laden's possible extradition, that the first step would be to discuss any US evidence. It would be "premature" to talk about extraditing the Saudi dissident. "If any evidence is presented to us, we will study it," he told reporters. "About his handover, we can talk about that in the second phase." Protecting bin Laden has been a matter of honor for the Taliban, and observers say the reversal is an attempt to save Afghanistan from bearing the brunt of US fury. Bin Laden has denied involvement in the attacks on the US but says he fully supports such "daring acts": "I support the attacks because they constitute a reaction of the oppressed people against the atrocities of the cruel." Bin Laden has repeatedly denounced the US for sending troops to Arab countries and for its support of Israel but has denied involvement in Tuesday's attack. The FBI is using intelligence intercepts, last-minute cell phone calls from jet crash victims, and search warrants to tie evidence from the attacks to bin Laden, who is in hiding in Afghanistan. Federal investigators believe they know the names of the four pilots who commandeered two airliners out of Boston Tuesday and steered them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, sources told CNN on Wednesday. Plane tickets for seven people suspected of being the hijackers were purchased with one credit card, information federal investigators deem extremely critical evidence. The credit card apparently belonged to a person arrested in Boston, not one of the hijackers. Authorities in Massachusetts have identified five Arab men as suspects in Tuesday's attack on New York City and have seized a rental car containing Arabic-language flight training manuals at Logan International Airport, according to the Boston Herald newspaper. Two of the men were brothers whose passports were traced to the United Arab Emirates, the Herald reported. One of the men was a trained pilot. Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban's ambassador to Pakistan said: "We want to tell the American people that Afghanistan feels their pain." But according to Grigory Bondarevsky, an Afghanistan expert who advised the Russian military in the 1980s, in the past month bin Laden was appointed "inspector general" of the Taliban militia. Bin Laden was once a revered member of Afghanistan's Islamic mujahideen resistance against the Soviets in the 1980s - trained by the CIA, and so effective as a recruiter that close comrades at the time actually thought he was working for the CIA. Bin Laden's organisation, Al-Qa'ida (the Base), is a militant organization whose goal is to unite Islamic terrorist organizations and eliminate Western influence from the Islamic world. Al-Qa'ida is an umbrella organization with an operational reach that stretches around the globe. It has been extremely successful at maintaining a high level of security and secrecy. Despite the efforts of several world powers, bin Laden's organization has continued to support or facilitate acts of international terrorism. No nation has successfully penetrated the organization. (Reuters, AP, BBC, Boston Herald, CSMonitor, MSNBC) http://www.isn.ethz.ch/infoservice/index.cfm?service=cwn&parent=special2 _________________________________________________________ INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND SECURITY NETWORK - ISN Your one-stop information network for global security http://www.isn.ethz.ch To unsubscribe from the list, send a message to isn-daily-news at sipo.gess.ethz.ch with "Unsubscribe" (no quotes) in the subject. Your record will be permanently removed from our database. We welcome your feedback at isn at sipo.gess.ethz.ch -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From kbejko at hotmail.com Thu Sep 13 16:40:23 2001 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 16:40:23 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] They're not insane Message-ID: Again articles are surfacing in the press stating the truth about these suicidal maniacs. They are not fighting a state they are fighting a way of life. This is, arguably, baggage from the half-assed work of the colonial era. You introduce these people to a lifestyle radically different, you take what you want and then you leave them to sort things out in their own. Well they did!! Twisted view of the world drives some to mass murder By MARCUS GEE >From Thursday's Globe and Mail When most people picture a terrorist, they imagine a sadistic madman like the Russian hijacker played by Gary Oldman in the movie Air Force One . In reality, many modern terrorists are more like Saeed Hotari. Until June, he was known to neighbours and friends as a shy, devout young man with boyish looks that made him appear younger than his 22 years. He attended mosque, observed fasts, studied the Koran and worked hard at his job as an electrician. But one night he rode by car to Tel Aviv, joined a lineup outside a beachfront disco and detonated a bomb hidden in his clothing. Twenty-one Israelis died, including the teenage girl he had been talking to in the line. To most reasonable people, this week's terrorist attacks on the United States seemed to be the acts of madmen. Who but a lunatic would fly an airliner into an office building crowded with innocent people? In fact, say those who study the matter, terrorists are seldom out of their minds. Psychological profiles of captured terrorists have shown they often do not fit the stereotype of unhinged loners or embittered outcasts. Instead they are like Mr. Hotari: rational, logical, deliberate and deeply devoted to their cause. "The notion that they are insane in a clinical sense is misplaced," said Philip Schrodt, a terrorism expert at the University of Kansas. "They are not hearing voices in their heads. They are just utterly convinced that what they are doing is right, and they will do anything to achieve their objective." Mark Juergensmeyer, a California scholar who interviewed several terrorists for his book on religious terrorism, Terror in the Mind of God, said he was struck with how sane they seemed. "My impression of virtually everybody with whom I talked was that they seemed not only normal but pleasant, affable, with above-normal intelligence. If you didn't know they were associated with terrorism, you'd think they were good people." What made them different from ordinary people, he said, was their twisted view of the world. Whether they were radical Sikhs from India, Christian militants from the United States or Islamic fundamentalists from the Middle East, he said they believed they were part of a titanic struggle between good and evil. As for the mindset of those who carried out Tuesday's attacks, Prof. Juergensmeyer said: "I have no question in my mind that these people died with a feeling of exhilaration that they were entering an enormous struggle on the side of the forces of good," he said. For the terrorists, the struggle is so important they could easily rationalize killing thousands of people, he said. "If you view the world as at war, then all things are possible." For Saeed Hotari, the war was close to home. A refugee, he returned from Jordan to his father's West Bank hometown to find the place beggared by years of Israeli occupation. Like many young Palestinian men, he was brought up to despise Israel, Israelis and all that they stand for. In a note he left for his parents, he promised to turn his body into "fragments and bombs which run after the people of Zion, blowing and burning what remains of them." His father later told the newspaper USA Today that he was proud of his son's sacrifice. "He has become a hero. Tell me, what more could a father ask?" Terrorism experts say the approval of the community is an important reason why terrorists do what they do. In a recent opinion poll, 78 per cent of Palestinians said they supported suicide bombings against Israel. The encouragement of radical Islamic clerics is also key, experts say. In some Islamic schools in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, young people are taught that if they sacrifice themselves in the struggle against Israel, they will reap rich rewards in the afterlife, including the services of 72 beautiful virgins with "complexions like diamonds." "In the West, we might say that these people are mentally ill, but in parts of the Middle East, what they do is sometimes culturally accepted, even encouraged," said David Schenker, a research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East policy. "There is a certain school of thought that this type of thing is selfless ? it helps your community, it helps your family." He said the Koran forbids suicide, so radical clerics describe suicide attacks as acts of "self martyrdom." Far from being loners, Mr. Schenker said, terrorists are often part of a close web of comradeship that supports and encourages them. Like soldiers in battle who sacrifice themselves to protect the lives of their brothers in arms, today's terrorists may give up their lives at least partly because they know their peer group will respect them for it. Walter Laqueur, a scholar and the author of a book on terrorism, said the growing breed of religious or sectarian terrorism accounts for half of the terrorist attacks in recent years. "The new terrorism is different in character, aiming not at clearly defined political demands but at the destruction of society and the elimination of large sections of the population," he writes in The New Terrorism: Fanaticism and the Arms of Mass Destruction . "In its most extreme form, this new terrorism intends to liquidate all satanic forces, which may include the majority of a country or mankind." That makes them different from previous kinds of terrorists who had specific demands, such as the release of imprisoned comrades. The aim of the new breed is simply to lash out against a perceived enemy, more often than not the United States. It is not just Islamic militants who see the world that way. Prof. Juergensmeyer sees the same war-to-the-death mentality in American Christian militias, right-wing Jewish fanatics and Sikh extremists. "What makes religious violence particularly savage and relentless is that its perpetrators have placed such religious images of divine struggle ? cosmic war ? in the services of worldly political battles," he writes in his book. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp From kbejko at hotmail.com Fri Sep 14 10:17:55 2001 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 10:17:55 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] American Muslims Message-ID: 'But would that I had been made to feel like a criminal a thousand times than to live to see the grisly handiwork of real criminals in New York and Washington.' American Muslims: Be American! By Tarek E. Masoud, a graduate student at Yale. This is from today's edition of the Wall St. Journal There's a famous photo of a Japanese-owned grocery store in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor with these words emblazoned across the front: "I AM AN AMERICAN." It accurately encapsulates the way many of us in the Islamic and Arab community feel at this hour. As it becomes ever more apparent that our co-religionists have visited slaughter upon our compatriots, so many of us want to declare from the rooftops our allegiance to this great nation, to show our solidarity with our fellow citizens, and to join the fight against our common enemy. Despite their demonstrations of patriotism after Pearl Harbor, Japanese-Americans were thrown into internment camps. This is not likely to happen to us. President Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Sen. Ted Kennedy and countless pundits have bent over backward to make sure that Americans know that all Arabs are not to blame, and to explain that Islam and Islamic fundamentalism are not the same thing. They are correct, of course, and it is good to hear them say it. Because even I need to be reminded sometimes. In fact, I wonder, when I hear these words of ecumenical brotherhood, whether Islam and Muslims are not getting a bit of a pass on this one. When I read Muslims posting messages of joy on Internet newsgroups, declaring, Malcolm X style, that the chickens have come home to roost, I wonder where these people come from. Are they the people I pray with at the mosque? Are they the New York cabbies I greet with a hearty "salam alaikum" and who in my mind have always been models of hard work and the American way? Could it be that Islam is not the religion of peace that I've been telling everybody it is, but instead a faith of bloodthirsty fatwas that exalts murder and suicide? Is it conceivable that Muslims are not the noble people I believe them with all my heart to be, but rather the kind of monsters who celebrate death and destruction? No. It cannot be. But if I -- a man born and raised into the faith, of Arab parents and with a deep love for the culture of the Arab world -- can ask these questions, what questions must my Protestant and Jewish and Catholic friends be asking? And how can I, as a Muslim, give them an answer? I certainly cannot look to the national leadership of the Islamic community in America for guidance. The American Muslim Council tells us to be careful, to be on the lookout for suspicious and anti-Muslim behavior, presumably by other Americans seeking revenge. The Council on American Islamic Relations even sent out an e-mail with a handy form for reporting hate crimes against Muslims. I wonder if these groups are oblivious to the fact that it is Muslims, with names like Mohammed and Abdullah and, yes, Tarek, who have committed the greatest hate crime in American history? Instead of trying to think of ways to help the victims, the leadership of the Muslim community would rather wrap itself in the mantle of victimhood. Actually, that's not quite right: It is wrapping itself in the mantle of potential victimhood. The feared hate crimes have not materialized. No one is taking to the streets and shouting "Death to Muslims." No mosques have been burned to the ground. And so every day, as the nation mourns, as foreign countries pledge support and offer condolences, American Muslims are strangely absent from this tragedy, save the occasional press release. As a result, the only Muslims that America sees are Osama bin Laden and the mugshots of Tuesday's suicide bombers. Already we can hear rumblings in the Muslim community about the need to keep fighting against profiling, the practice of singling out Arabs and Muslims for increased scrutiny at airports. They had been making headway with this cause -- both presidential candidates denounced profiling during the 2000 campaign -- and now they fear public sentiment will slide in the other direction. But Tuesday's events should have demonstrated the folly of their position. How many thousands of lives would have been saved if people like me had been inconvenienced with having our bags searched and being made to answer questions? People say profiling makes them feel like criminals. It does -- I know this firsthand. But would that I had been made to feel like a criminal a thousand times than to live to see the grisly handiwork of real criminals in New York and Washington. I can hear my co-religionists now, arguing that the Muslims bear no special responsibility for these attacks, that a community of six million law-abiding Americans should not apologize just because a few of them committed a crime. Perhaps they are right. But looking at the images of shattered buildings and dead bodies, of people jumping to their deaths and of planes wielded as instruments of death, how can we not apologize, knowing that these images were brought to us by people who claim to act in the name of the faith we call our own? It seems to me that an apology would be very little to ask. Instead of jealously protesting our innocence and girding against repercussions, we should be asking, "What else can we do to help?" Like the New Yorkers who even now are volunteering in greater numbers than relief workers can make use of, it is time for American Muslims to start acting like Americans. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp From budoe at fh-gpc.com Fri Sep 14 11:21:01 2001 From: budoe at fh-gpc.com (Budo, Eri) Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 11:21:01 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] very moving images of vigils in other countries Message-ID: <3108E223B2EFD311826C00508BC26AD646B817@BOSTON1> Please click on the link below. (for Tirana and Kosova, scroll down) Thanks, eri http://coldleaf.org/thankyou.htm From budoe at fh-gpc.com Fri Sep 14 11:24:22 2001 From: budoe at fh-gpc.com (Budo, Eri) Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 11:24:22 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] an interesting editorial from the NY Times Message-ID: <3108E223B2EFD311826C00508BC26AD646B818@BOSTON1> I think this raises some good points. Smoking or Non-Smoking? By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN JERUSALEM -- If this attack on America by an extensive terrorist cell is the equivalent of World War III, it's not too early to begin thinking about what could be its long-term geopolitical consequences. Just as World Wars I and II produced new orders and divisions, so too might this war. What might it look like? Israel's foreign minister, Shimon Peres, offers the following possibility: Several decades ago, he notes, they discovered that smoking causes cancer. Soon after that, people started to demand smoking and non-smoking sections. "Well, terrorism is the cancer of our age," says Mr. Peres. "For the past decade, a lot of countries wanted to deny that, or make excuses for why they could go on dealing with terrorists. But after what's happened in New York and Washington, now everyone knows. This is a cancer. It's a danger to us all. So every country must now decide whether it wants to be a smoking or non-smoking country, a country that supports terrorism or one that doesn't." Mr. Peres is on to something - this sort of division is going to emerge - but we must be very, very careful about how it is done, and whom we, the U.S., assign to the smoking and non-smoking worlds. As Mr. Peres himself notes, this is not a clash of civilizations - the Muslim world versus the Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Jewish worlds. The real clash today is actually not between civilizations, but within them - between those Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and Jews with a modern and progressive outlook and those with a medieval one. We make a great mistake if we simply write off the Muslim world and fail to understand how many Muslims feel themselves trapped in failing states and look to America as a model and inspiration. "President Lincoln said of the South after the Civil War: 'Remember, they pray to the same God,'" remarked the Middle East analyst Stephen P. Cohen. "The same is true of many, many Muslims. We must fight those among them who pray only to the God of Hate, but we do not want to go to war with Islam, with all the millions of Muslims who pray to the same God we do." The terrorists who hit the U.S. this week are people who pray to the God of Hate. Their terrorism is not aimed at reversing any specific U.S. policy. Indeed, they made no demands. Their terrorism is driven by pure hatred and nihilism, and its targets are the institutions that undergird America's way of life, from our markets to our military. These terrorists must be rooted out and destroyed. But it must be done in a way that doesn't make us Osama bin Laden's chief recruiter. Because these Muslim terrorists did not just want to kill Americans. That is not the totality of their mission. These people think strategically. They also want to trigger the sort of massive U.S. retaliation that makes no distinction between them and other Muslims. That would be their ultimate victory - because they do see the world as a clash of civilizations, and they want every Muslim to see it that way as well and to join their jihad. Americans were really only able to defeat Big Tobacco when whistleblowers within the tobacco industry went public and took on their own industry, and their own bosses, as peddlers of cancer. Similarly, the only chance to really defeat these nihilistic terrorists is not just by bombing them. That is necessary, but not sufficient, because another generation will sprout up behind them. Only their own religious communities and societies can really restrain and delegitimize them. And that will happen only when the Muslim majority recognizes that what the Osama bin Ladens are leading to is the destruction and denigration of their own religion and societies. This civil war within Islam, between the modernists and the medievalists, has actually been going on for years - particularly in Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Pakistan. We need to strengthen the good guys in this civil war. And that requires a social, political and economic strategy, as sophisticated, and generous, as our military one. To not retaliate ferociously for this attack on our people is only to invite a worse attack tomorrow and an endless war with terrorists. But to retaliate in a way that doesn't distinguish between those who pray to a God of Hate and those who pray to the same God we do is to invite an endless war between civilizations - a war that will land us all in the smoking section. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/14/opinion/14FRIE.html?ex=1001489764&ei=1&en= d1d292e650e44125 /-----------------------------------------------------------------\ \-----------------------------------------------------------------/ HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact Alyson Racer at alyson at nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help at nytimes.com. Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company From naac at naac.org Fri Sep 14 18:10:35 2001 From: naac at naac.org (National Albanian American Council - NAAC) Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 18:10:35 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] NAAC Condemns Heinous Terrorist Attacks Against the U.S. Message-ID: <009d01c13d6a$189489a0$c4531840@SOKOL> National Albanian American Council 1700 K Street, N.W., Suite 1201, Washington, DC 20006 Telephone: (202) 466-6900 Fax: (202) 466-5593 Web: www.naac.org Email: naac at naac.org ________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release: September 14, 2001 Contact: Sokol Shtylla (202) 466-6900 Press Release NAAC Condemns Heinous Terrorist Attacks Against the U.S., Calls on Albanian-Americans to Help the Victims Washington DC, (September 14, 2001) - The National Albanian American Council issued the following statement regarding the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, DC. Albanian-Americans, like all Americans, are feeling great disbelief, sorrow, and anger over the recent tragedy that struck New York City and Washington D.C. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the families of all the victims of the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. NAAC strongly denounces these inhuman acts of violence that have claimed the lives of so many innocent people. For Albanian-Americans, the United States, and New York in particular, has been a wonderful home. We have a special relationship with America. Most of us came to this great nation to escape political oppression, and in search of democracy, freedom, and opportunity. We were drawn to America because Americans saved our motherland. Once here, our special affinity for our new homeland became stronger when the United States intervened to stop the genocide in Kosova and to find a resolution to the war in Macedonia. During both those tragedies in the Balkans, Americans opened their hearts and donated their time and money to help those in need. In New York, we felt welcomed and embraced. This city of nationalities gave us hope that our homeland may find peace someday. In New York, we found opportunity and we lived, we learned, and we prospered. For us, the Twin Towers were a symbol of all that was good and powerful in our greatest city. Like all Americans, we feel wounded and saddened now that that symbol is gone. We find solace, however, in the outpouring of grief and condolences of Albanians in the Balkans and throughout the world. Members of our community are already engaged in raising funds to help the victims of this tragedy. We call on our entire community throughout the U.S. to help in any way they can during this time of need. There are several centers throughout the country to donate blood. In addition, we will set up a hotline to collect and provide information regarding Albanian-Americans who were victims of the attacks. The number to call is: 202-466-6900. Finally, we offer our solidarity with the leadership of the United States. We are eager to do all we can to support the effort to put an end to terrorists acts against the greatest country on Earth, the United States of America. The National Albanian American Council ("NAAC") is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advocating for Albanians and promoting peace and economic development in the Balkans by fostering democratic policy, promoting respect for human rights, and conducting educational and developmental programs. ### -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Sat Sep 15 00:17:06 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 21:17:06 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Gazeta Shqiptare - 15 shtator 2001 Message-ID: <20010915041706.11497.qmail@web11505.mail.yahoo.com> GAZETA E GJIROKASTRES Gjimnazi: Kisha na vuri kryqin Ortodoks?t mbrohen: "Ka qen? toka jon?" GJIROKASTER T? gjith? ata njer?z q? kan? kaluar k?to tri dit? para shkoll?s s? mesme t? p?rgjithshme "Siri Shapllo", kan? mbetur t? habitur nga vendosja e simbolit fetar -nj? kryq ortodoks- n? port?n hyr?se t? territorit ku ?sht? vendosur shkolla, i cili m? par? i p?rkiste kish?s dhe ka vite q? ka ngjallur debate mes dy institucioneve. Ky debat jo rrall? her? ?sht? p?rcjell? edhe n? institucionet m? t? larta shtet?rore e fetare. Historia ka nisur pas vitit '92, kur kisha ka k?rkuar prej KKRT-s? njohjen e territorit t? shkoll?s si pron? t? saj. Nd?rkoh? drejtuesit e nj?rit prej dy gjimnazeve m? t? m?dhej t? Gjirokastr?s jan? shprehur p?r "Gazet?n", se "n? baz? t? ligjit, atje ku jan? ngritur institucione publike trualli i tyre duhet kompensuar". Nd?rsa p?rfaq?sues t? kish?s vazhdimisht jan? shprehur se territori u takon atyre. Debateve pa fund se kujt i p?rket territori duket se p?rfaq?suesit e e kish?s kan? tentuar t'i japin fund t? m?rkur?n pasdite n? 16.00, kur e kan? b?r? fakt t? kryer vendosjen e nj? kryqi t? madh mbi port?n e shkoll?s. Ndaj k?tij veprimi ka reguar menj?her? Genti Hyka, drejtori i shkoll?s. Ai shprehet se "ky ?sht? nj? akt i paligjsh?m. Ne jemi institucion publik dhe vendosja e simboleve fetare ?sht? e palejueshme". M? tej ai i ka k?rkuar "ndjes? dhe mir?kuptim komunitetit ortodoks p?r l?ndimin e ndjenjave fetare". "Por, shton drejtori, deri sa k?tu jan? shkelur ligjet, mua nuk m? mbetet tjet?r, ve?se t? k?rkoj drejt?si". Megjithat? drejtuesit e shkoll?s shprehen se do t? p?rpiqen edhe nj? her? ta zgjidhin problemin me mir?kuptim. P?r k?t? q?llim ata do t? organizojn? nj? takim me p?rfaq?suesit e kish?s. Por drejtori Hyka garanton "nx?n?sit, prind?rit e tyre dhe m?suesit se dit?n e h?n? ata do t? hyjn? n? nj? institucion publik dhe pa simbolin fetar te dera e shkoll?s". Nd?rsa at? Fodhoriu sqaron: "Ne vendos?m ta nd?rmarrim k?t? hap p?r faktin se ky ?sht? nj? territor i kish?s, i p?rket dhe do t'i p?rkas? kish?s". == FAQJA SOCIALE Kryepeshkopi Anastas, "Pro Humanitate" TIRANE Kryepeshkopi Anastasi premiohet me ?mimin "Pro Humanitate". Fondacioni kulturor Evropian "Pro Europa", ka nderuar me k?t? ?mim kryepeshkopin e Tiran?s dhe t? gjith? Shqip?ris?. Ky fondacion vepron n?n kujdesin e presidentit t? K?shillit t? Evrop?s, lordit Russel Johnston, t? presidentit t? Parlamentit Evropian, Nicole Fontaine si dhe t? presidentit t? Komisionit Evropian, Romano Prodi. Bashkshorti i mbret?resh?s s? Danimark?s, princi Erik, ?sht? president i Komitetit drejtues. Z.Anastasi ?sht? "Pro Humanitate" i k?tij viti, nd?rkoh? n? vitet e m?parshme me k?t? ?mim jan? nderuar kardinali Franz Koing, Simon Wiesenthal dhe Mstislov Rostropovitch. Dh?nia e ?mimit do t? b?het mbr?mjen e s? shtun?s, m? 15 shtator n? Sarajev?. Ceremonia b?het n? kuadrin e Kongresit Nd?rkomb?tar "T? krishter?t dhe mysliman?t n? Evrop?". N? t? nj?jt?n dit?, Anastasios do t? flas? n? k?t? kongres, lidhur me tem?n e "Kontributit fetar p?r zhvillimin e vlerave t? p?rbashk?ta, t? pranueshme n? Evrop?". K?t? kongres e organizon "K?shilli i Kishave Evropiane", n? t? cilin b?jn? pjes? kishat e Evrop?s(p?rve? kish?s katolike romane) si dhe "K?shilli i Sinodeve Episkopale Katoliko-Romane n? Evrop?". gazetari --------------------------------- Terrorist Attacks on U.S. - How can you help? Donate cash, emergency relief information inYahoo! News. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From eriola at hotmail.com Sat Sep 15 13:00:31 2001 From: eriola at hotmail.com (eriola at hotmail.com) Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 10:00:31 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] CNN.com - American Red Cross warns of online donation scams - Sseptember 14, 2001 Message-ID: <948982050.1000573231244.JavaMail.root@localhost> You have received the following link from eriola at hotmail.com ******************** If you are having trouble with any of the links in this message, or if the URL's are not appearing as links, please follow the instructions at the bottom of this email. Title: CNN.com - American Red Cross warns of online donation scams - Sseptember 14, 2001 Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to access the sent link: http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=viewThis&etMailToID=1441601911&pt=Y Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to SAVE THIS link: http://www.savethis.clickability.com/st/saveThisPopupApp?clickMap=saveFromET&partnerID=2007&etMailToID=1441601911&pt=Y Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to forward this link: http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=forward&etMailToID=1441601911&partnerID=2007&pt=Y *Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified. ******************** Email pages from any Web site you visit - add the EMAIL THIS button to your browser, copy and paste the following into your Web browser: http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=browserButtons&pt=Y" Instructions: ----------------------------------------- If your e-mail program doesn't recognize Web addresses: 1. With your mouse, highlight the Web Address above. Be sure to highlight the entire Web address, even if it spans more than one line in your email. 2. Select Copy from the Edit menu at the top of your screen. 3. Launch your Web browser. 4. Paste the address into your Web browser by selecting Paste from the Edit menu. 5. Click Go or press Enter or Return on your keyboard. ******************** -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From albboschurch at juno.com Sun Sep 16 17:36:51 2001 From: albboschurch at juno.com (Albanian Orthodox Church) Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001 17:36:51 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Candlelight Vigil Message-ID: <20010916.173736.-187213.9.albboschurch@juno.com> CANDLE LIGHT VIGIL On Tuesday evening, September 18th at 7 pm, there will be a Candle Light Vigil in Rememberance of the Tragedy which occurred on the 11th. It will be held in the Plaza in front of the Albanian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint George, 523 East Broadway in South Boston. It is organized by the Boston Chapter of the National Albanian American Council (NAAC) with the cooperation of the Albanian organizations and parishes of the Boston area. Albanian Americans welcome all those who wish to express their sentiments in this meaingful way. From agron at rcn.com Sun Sep 16 22:22:02 2001 From: agron at rcn.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001 22:22:02 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Albanians in Requiem Service Message-ID: <000c01c13f1f$89eaff60$881806d1@law.harvard.edu> Requiem service in Catholic Church in honour of U.S. victims - Attending ceremony President of the Republic Rexhep Meidani - TIRANE, Sep 16 (ATA)- By Klotilda Harka, The catholic Church in Tirana, "Zemra e Krishtit" (Heart of Christ", on midday Sunday conducted a requiem ceremony in respect for the victims who lost their lives on September 11 in the United States of America. Attending the ceremony were Albanian President Rexhep Meidani, U.S. Ambassador in Tirana Joseph Limrecht, Apostolic Nuncio of Vatican in Tirana, Giovanni Bulaitis, representatives of the diplomatic corps present in Tirana, clerics and believers. The requiem was addressed by the Bishop of Tirana-Durres and all Albania, Father Rrok Mirdita. Father Rrok Mirdita in his speech stated that :Today, we commemorate the victims of the world metropolitan, New York and deeply share sorrow with the American people. /f.n/so/ 2001-09-16 -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From jetkoti at hotmail.com Mon Sep 17 00:03:33 2001 From: jetkoti at hotmail.com (jetkoti at hotmail.com) Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 00:03:33 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] NYTimes.com Article: America Inspires Both Longing and Loathing in Arab World Message-ID: <20010917040333.4FBBC58A4D@email5.lga2.nytimes.com> This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by jetkoti at hotmail.com. /-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\ \----------------------------------------------------------/ America Inspires Both Longing and Loathing in Arab World By JOHN F. BURNS ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sept. 15 ? Of all history's great powers, from Athens and Rome to Byzantium and imperial Britain, perhaps none has ever so dominated the globe as America does now. Nor has any of these powers aroused such a complex of feelings, positive and negative, that could go some way toward explaining how extremists from a distant world could mount an attack of the unfathomable hatred seen this week in New York and Washington, followed by the unrestrained outpouring of sadness and support from some of the very peoples that America's terrorist enemies claim to represent. America, with its daunting economic, political and military power, its pervasive popular culture, and its instinct to spread the freewheeling, secularist ways of American life ? even to those who may prefer to shun them ? has an impact on people's lives to the farthest corners of the earth. Just how great this impact is, and how, in many places, it is resented, may be more than many Americans can grasp. If they consider their country's place at all, many Americans may see it in uncomplicated terms, as the "beacon of freedom" President Bush spoke of with moistened eyes this week. But the feelings of many of the peoples who live in America's shadow are frequently less sanguine, or at least deeply contradictory. Grievances run side by side, and often in the same person, with a consuming passion for things American. Outside American embassies, particularly in the poorer parts of the world, there is almost always a long, clamoring crowd of visa seekers, desperate for their chance at the American dream. In the same cities, and often enough outside the same embassies, other impassioned crowds will gather at the slimmest pretext to protest against America, and to shout for its downfall. In recent days, when the crowds have returned, it has been, invariably, to weep, and to mourn. Such paradoxes present themselves almost everywhere, but nowhere more starkly than in the Arab and wider Muslim worlds. There, bitter political grievances abound, among them: the United States' support of Israel; its troop presence in the "holy land" of the Arabian peninsula; its military encirclement and economic strangulation of Iraq; and its alliances with governments across the Middle East and Asia that are widely perceived as corrupt. But the complaints are often accompanied by an unquenchable appetite for Marlboro cigarettes and Levi's jeans and adoration, of course, of the two Michaels, Jackson and Jordan. These enthusiasms are inseparable from the deprivation that besets much of the world, and a yearning for the bounty of America. It is, however, not only the tangible things about America that excite. Freedom, to those without it, is irresistible, too. Among those who spend exhausting days in visa line-ups in Beijing, Cairo or Islamabad, it is this sense of America as a place where everyman can pursue his dreams that comes pouring through, as it has for the fettered of the world since America's beginnings. "America, free!" the visa-seekers say, even if they are the only two English words they have. But to be free, rich and powerful in a world that is mostly none of these things is, inevitably, to engender resentments. Freedom itself can be considered deeply disturbing, even threatening, in many of the world's poorer societies that are anchored to the old pillars of faith, tradition and submission. Much the same can be said for the flood of American popular culture. When the Taliban began their rule in Afghanistan in 1996 by hanging television sets from trees and outlawing music and films, they were at the extreme edge of an uneasiness that is widespread in traditional societies that have begun to feel inundated by Western, and particularly American, culture. Americans, with the richness of intermingling cultures, can find it difficult to grasp how vulnerable other societies can feel. This anxiety has found a ready focus in American rock music, and in Hollywood movies. But even with the Taliban's draconian restrictions on Western lifestyles and women ? or, just as likely, because of them ? the blockbuster movie "Titanic" became so popular that it spawned a fad in hairstyles among men wanting to look like Leonardo DiCaprio. Islamic terror groups have their own ideology, rooted in a deeply conservative reading ? and, Islamic moderates say, a distortion ? of the Koran, Islam's holy book. They reject American values like democracy, tolerance and respect for individual rights, then rouse their followers by arguing that the United States violates those principles in its support for Israel, and with the sanctions that stifle Iraq. Osama bin Laden, the Saudi militant based in Afghanistan, rails against American "falsehood" in claiming that principle drives its interaction with the world, even as he mocks the values he says America violates. No doubt, organizations like Mr. bin Laden's Al Qaeda group feed off broader resentments against America. Often, in discussions with Islamic militants, anger over Israel or Iraq or Bosnia spills over into a recounting of more personal experiences, sometimes trifling, sometimes not, in which encounters with America ? time spent working in menial jobs or studying in the United States, or a brush with United States immigration authorities ? stirred resentments that became a trigger for antagonism. But even in these cases, there is sometimes a lingering sense of kinship with another America, the America of unrequited yearnings. It is this duality, in part, that makes it possible for American reporters to work, more or less safely, in places like the Taliban-ruled parts of Afghanistan that, on their face, are profoundly hostile to America. During one cold night four years ago spent sheltering with a group of soldiers at a remote mountain checkpoint, the sight of a reporter's satellite telephone produced amazed whispers among the soldiers, and then, in English, a quiet request. "I have a brother in Detroit," a man said. "Would you mind if I call him?" http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/16/international/16AMER.html?ex=1001699413&ei=1&en=50e6a74e8291b5bf /-----------------------------------------------------------------\ \-----------------------------------------------------------------/ HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact Alyson Racer at alyson at nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help at nytimes.com. Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company From jetkoti at hotmail.com Mon Sep 17 00:06:57 2001 From: jetkoti at hotmail.com (Xhuliana Agolli) Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2001 22:06:57 -0600 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Most popular articles sent by NYTimes.com readers in the last 24 hours Message-ID: http://ea.nytimes.com/cgi-bin/poppage _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp From aalibali at yahoo.com Mon Sep 17 07:42:12 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 04:42:12 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Various news Message-ID: <20010917114212.19767.qmail@web11508.mail.yahoo.com> HLC - PRESS - JUDGMENT DELIVERED TO KOSOVO ALBANIANS TWO AND A HALF YEARS AFTER BEING PRONOUNCED JUDGMENT DELIVERED TO KOSOVO ALBANIANS TWO AND A HALF YEARS AFTER BEING PRONOUNCED Four Kosovo Albanians from the so-called "Urosevac Group" received the judgment handed down against them by the Pristina District Court two and a half years after the event. The Court thus denied these four men, who have been illegally held since June 1998, the right to defend themselves. Their defense counsel, including Humanitarian Law Center attorneys, can only now lodge an appeal with the Serbian Supreme Court. On 5 February 1999, a panel of the Pristina District Court presided by Judge Dragoljub Zdravkovic found 26 Albanians from the Kosovo town of Urosevac, 17 of whom were tried in absentia, guilty of seditious conspiracy and/or terrorism and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from two to 15 years. The Court's decision was based on confessions extracted by torture. Cen Dugolli and Rexhep Bislimi died in July 1998 after being tortured by State Security inspectors at the police station in Gnjilane and the Pristina prison. Xhavit Zariqi was severely beaten and subjected to electric shocks almost every day from 28 June to 20 July 1998 by State Security Inspectors Rajko Doder and Radovan Klaric and some 20 police officers. As a result of this brutal treatment, Zariqi, who was sentenced to three years in prison, is now unable to move about without assistance. Zariqi and Haxhi Bytiqi were released until their sentences become final as they received terms of less than five years. Enver Topalli and Ahmet Hoxha were killed during the NATO bombing of the Dubrava Penitentiary in Kosovo. Ilber Topalli was released in March 2001 under the Amnesty Act. Another four Kosovo Albanians - Sulejman Bytiqi, Besim Zumberi, Skender Ferizi and Agim Rechica - who are charged with of acts of terrorism, are still in the penitentiaries at Nis and Sremska Mitrovica. For more information please contact Mojca Sivert Tel./fax: 381 11 444-3944, 381 11 444-1487; e-mail: mojca at hlc.org.yu ======= News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International * 10 September 2001 EUR 01/004/2001 150/01 Europe is not immune from the scourge of enforced disappearances, Amnesty International said today as human rights defenders and relatives of the "disappeared" around the globe come together to reclaim their right to truth and justice. The organization is calling on the governments concerned to take any necessary steps to clarify all cases of "disappearance" by conducting independent and impartial investigations, with the aim of bringing all those responsible to justice. "Not only does 'disappearance' infringe virtually all the victims' personal rights, it subjects their families to agonizing suffering, which has been recognised as tantamount to torture," Amnesty International added, stressing that "disappearances" constitute a continuous or permanent offence as long as the fate and whereabouts of the victims have not been determined. "The war in the former Yugoslavia brought to Europe human rights violations on a scale not seen since World War II -- including scores of 'disappearances'," Amnesty International said, recalling how at least 8,000 Bosniac men "disappeared" after the Bosnian Serb army captured the UN-protected enclave of Srebrenica in July 1995. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, six years after the end of the war, 90 per cent of the 20,577 people registered with the International Committee of the Red Cross as "disappeared" or abducted remain unnaccounted for. While a DNA-based identification program set up by the Missing Persons Institute should speed up the identification of more than 4,000 bodies exhumed to date, little progress has been made in investigating "disappearances" and bringing the perpetrators to justice. In Croatia a governmental commission for detained and missing persons of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) acknowledged for the first time in November 2000 that over 1,000 Croatian Serbs remained unaccounted for. In Kosovo more than 3,000 people remain unaccounted for. Most are ethnic Albanians believed to have "disappeared" after arrest by Serbian Police or paramilitaries between early 1998 and June 1999. In May and June 2001, mass graves -- thought to contain the bodies of ethnic Albanians transported out of Kosovo in 1999 in refrigerated trucks -- were discovered in Serbia. Family associations of Serbs and Roma from Kosovo believe that over 1,500 ethnic Serbs and Roma were abducted by the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK, KLA), during and after June 1999. Abductions of minorities in Kosovo continue to be reported. During the conflict in Chechnya, over a thousand people have simply "disappeared" in custody. The bodies of some of the people who "disappeared" after being detained by Russian forces were later sold to the relatives by the military or found in mass graves. While the Office of the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Human Rights in the Chechen Republic has received 1,200 complaints concerning arbitrary arrest and "disappearances", during the first part of the year the procuracy -- the only agency in Russia authorized to investigate crimes committed by Russian federal forces in Chechnya -- has launched fewer than 150 investigations into "disappearances". During cleansing operations carried out in the last weeks, hundreds of Chechen men were detained and many "disappeared" in custody. "However 'Disappearances' do not occur exclusively in conflict situations, and appear to be used to silence opposition figures and independent journalists," Amnesty International said, citing the situation in Belarus. The organization recently expressed concern about the possible "disappearances" -- reportedly ordered by very senior appointees of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka -- of members of the Belarussian opposition and of Russian Public Television cameraman, Dmitry Zavadsky, who apparently "disappeared" from Minsk in July 2000. It has been alleged that the Belarussian police elite unit, Almaz, have been responsible for several possible "disappearances" -- including those of Dmitry Zavadsky, of former Minister of the Interior Yury Zakharenko, and the Deputy Speaker of the dissolved Belarusian parliament Viktor Gonchar, and his companion, Anatoly Krasovsky. In Ukraine, independent investigative journalist Georgiy Gongadze, failed to return home to his family on 16 September 2000 after he left a friend's house in the capital, Kyiv. Six weeks later, a decapitated body -- thought to be his -- was reportedly found in a shallow grave not far from Kyiv. In late November the Georgiy Gongadze affair escalated into a fully-blown political scandal when President Leonid Kuchma was accused of being implicated in the incident. Very little progress has been made in determining who was responsible for the "disappearance". In Turkey, unacknowledged detentions carry a serious risk of "disappearance". This was recently the case with two representatives of the legal pro- Kurdish party HADEP, Serdar Tanis and Ebubekir Deniz, who have been missing since 25 January 2001 when they were called to a gendarmerie station. In the former Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan, "disappearance" can be part of a pattern of harassment against members of religious groups, seen as a threat to the stability of the government. In December 2000, Amnesty International received new information about the 1995 "disappearance" of Abduvali Mirzayev, the independent Imam of an Andijan mosque. The organization learnt that Abduvali Mirzayev was reportedly held in an underground cell of the Ministry of Internal Affairs immediately after his arrest by officers of the National Security Service (SNB) at Tashkent International Airport in August 1995. Abduvali Mirzayev is one of four religious figures -- including two of his assistants and the leader of the banned Islamic Renaissance Party -- to have "disappeared" between 1992 and 1997. The Uzbek authorities have consistently denied any official involvement. "Thousands of families are being denied their basic right to know the truth about what happened to their loved ones," Amnesty International said, renewing its call for each and every case of "disappearance" to be investigated and for the impunity that covers those responsible to come to an end. Background 30 August is commonly commemorated as International Day of the Disappeared. This custom was started by the Latin American non-governmental organization FEDEFAM (Federaci?n Latinoamericana de Asociaciones de Familiares de Detenidos-Desaparecidos) and is now marked all around the world. "Disappearance" is a global scourge, with instances occurring in at least 30 countries throughout the world. The UN's Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, which has 45,998 outstanding cases of "disappearance" on its registers. A "disappearance" occurs whenever there are reasonable grounds to believe that a person has been deprived of freedom by the authorities or their agents, with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the state, and the authorities deny that the victim is held in their custody, thus concealing the victim's whereabouts and fate, thereby placing the person outside the protection of the law. === The Macedonian Human Rights Movement of Canada ("MHRMC") and Vinozhito (Rainbow) - Greece, would like to clarify the news report that was released on August 29, 2001 regarding the "Platform of Macedonian Minorities and Diaspora". While the MHRMC and Vinozhito did attend the "First Macedonian World Congress" in Skopje, Macedonia, along with several other Macedonian organizations from the Balkans and Australia, the reported platform was not endorsed or signed by our group. The platform was released by the United Macedonians Organization of Canada. The MHRMC and Vinozhito do not and will not endorse any particular programme of political change for the Republic of Macedonia as that state's citizens have the ability to do so through lawful, democratic processes. The MHRMC'and Vinozhito's sole objectives are to achieve human rights for oppressed Macedonians and other minorities in the Balkans. ---------------------------------------------------------------- For those who missed the related newstory on the "Platform" here it is again: _____________________________________ =========== MACEDONIAN INFORMATION AND LIAISON SERVICE =========== The Independent MILS News, Est. 1992 -------- www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/5052 -------- Email: milsppp at soros.org.mk ===================Copyright c All Rights Reserved================== MILS NEWS Skopje, Wednesday, August 29, 2001 MILS SUPPLEMENT ("Utrinski Vesnik", August 27, 2001) MACEDONIA FACES DEPERSONALIZATION Macedonian organizations, movements and associations , fighting for greater national, ethnical, cultural, and religious rights on the Balkans and beyond , held their first Macedonian World Conference last weekend, in organization of the united Macedonians in Canada and Macedonian Human Rights Movement for Canada. The following associations attended the gathering: Macedonian human rights associations OMO Ilinden, OMO Ilinden Pirin - Bulgaria, Vinozito ( rainbow) - Greece, Bratstvo, Mir, and Med - Albania, MAK- Macedonian Association - Serbia, and Macedonian Human Rights Committee - Australia. The participants at the conference spoke of the status of Macedonian people in the Balkans and worldwide , adopted an Action program defining the methods for pursuing national and human rights and created a coordinating body in charge of its realization. Macedonian government and all other institutions were reminded that Macedonian state and Macedonian people should valiantly and dignifiedly resist all external pressures. That way, Macedonian name, language, flag, country's unitary character, and territorial integrity would remain intact . Otherwise, Macedonia faces depersonalization. Describing the current situation in the country `a result of years of traitorous politics of Macedonian politicians' the conference suggested a Platform for survival of Macedonian nation in Macedonia , the Balkans, and worldwide. This Platform suggests dismissal of the Parliament and scheduling of new parliamentary elections where Macedonian people would be given a chance to choose reputable, honest politicians aware of their national identity. All Albanian immigrants >from Kosovo with yet unregulated status should be expelled , whereas all citizenships granted in the last decade should be reassessed and taken away if found to represent threat to national security. --------------------------------- Terrorist Attacks on U.S. - How can you help? Donate cash, emergency relief information inYahoo! News. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From kbejko at hotmail.com Mon Sep 17 11:35:28 2001 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 11:35:28 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Affirming Western Greatness Message-ID: War of the Worlds By Shelby Steele. Mr. Steele, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, is the author of "A Dream Deferred: The Second Betrayal of Black Freedom in America" (HaperCollins, 1998). A week ago today, I set out to write a piece for this page on the recent United Nations conference against racism and intolerance in Durban, South Africa. My point was to be that the conference was an absurd and theatrical confrontation of First World guilt and Third World anger born of ineffectuality. Then, after last Tuesday morning, I put all that aside. Against the horrors of that day, the conference seemed remarkably trivial. But now I believe there is a relationship between that bizarre little conference and Tuesday's horrors. After all, Tuesday's events were also a collision of the First and Third worlds, and I believe their subtext was also one of Western guilt and Third World ineffectuality. Decisive Heritage In looking at difficulties in the black American community over the years, it has always astounded me how much white Americans take for granted the rich and utterly decisive heritage of Western culture. There is no space here to reiterate the vast and invisible web of ideas, principles, values and understandings that have evolved over the millennia to undergird the American civilization. To mention only the fewest highlights, there was the magnificence of Greek thought, the Roman development of law, a renaissance of reason, the concept of a social contract, the idea of the individual as a self-contained and free political unit with rights and responsibilities, free markets, the scientific method, separation of church and state -- all this and so much more converging to make the American and Western way of life successful in so many ways. It is not too much to say, as Francis Fukuyama did a few years back, that the West now represents -- all things considered -- the Hegelian "end of history." If the Second and Third worlds now "Americanize," it is more out of Darwinism than a love of blue jeans and Big Macs. The evil of slavery and colonialism was that these oppressions kept their victims out of history, disconnected them from the evolutionary struggle. The great white advantage has been living inside history, adapting to its constant demands, nurturing the values and the habits of life that allow one to keep pace. This is the cultural capital that whites too often take for granted and rarely think of insisting on in the former victims of exclusion. It is so easy to look at minority weakness and think of sweeping programmatic solutions when a simple insistence on responsibility for one's own development might serve far better. (After all, this is how Israel came to thrive after the Holocaust.) Oppression made such attitudes irrelevant, so that even when freedom came there was an incomplete knowledge of how to seize it. And this is where a new kind of trouble began. Where slavery and colonialism once imposed inferiority, new freedom has too often only added the fresh embarrassment of inferiority without the excuse of oppression. I think the Durban conference was inspired by this embarrassment. Its founders realized they would never get reparations of any significance. The wiser among them know that reparations are no answer anyway. I believe this conference -- with its almost religious embrace of victimization -- wanted to keep racism alive as a face-saving excuse, to let it temper the shame of so much ineffectuality in the face of freedom, so much correlation between independence and decline. Today the First World is dealing with an embarrassed Third World that is driven to save face against the anguish of an inferiority that is less and less blamable on others. The deep appeal of a Jesse Jackson or a Yasser Arafat, one reason they hang on as leaders despite every kind of public and private failing, is their ability to hide inferiority behind blame, to be the parent who sees no wrong in the child. But blame is only the most common defense against this embarrassment. Terrorism is another. The shame of languishing in the midst of freedom generates a touchy, narcissistic sensibility and an abiding faith that, but for the evil of others, one's superiority would be self-evident. The terrorist act is a self-referential event, a self-congratulation that smothers the feeling of inferiority in one glorious blaze of spite. Here, finally, is the effectiveness that is so absent elsewhere. Even if you cannot build the World Trade Center's towers -- emblems of demonstrable Western superiority -- you can come along of a Tuesday morning and, like God himself, strike them down. But there is another actor in this drama -- white guilt; one of the most powerful yet under estimated forces in modern societies. At least 50 whites have told me in the same conversation both that they feel no racial guilt and that on some occasion they have not said something they truly believed for fear of being marked a racist. But white guilt is precisely the latter, not a belief in one's guilt but a vulnerability to being stigmatized as a racist because of one's skin color alone. And this is the larger terror that hangs over the Western world. White guilt is what causes minority and Third World "inferiority" to stand as a negative moral judgment on the Western way of life. It presumes that Western success is the result not of three millennia of cultural evolution (much of it enhanced by contributions from what today we call the Third World) but of the ill-gotten gains of slavery and colonialism. Western success is presumed to have come at the price of Third World inferiority. This doesn't just mean that Western moral authority is hostage to helping the Third World overcome inferiority. More importantly it means that Western culture is inherently sinful, that its superiority is a measure of its sinfulness. Thus, the World Trade Center towers become monuments not of a great civilization but of a great evil. Moral Equivalency White guilt pushes the West into a place where it can redeem its moral authority only by making a virtue of moral equivalency. This means that weakness, backwardness, even sinfulness in minorities and the Third World are unmentionable. Yasser Arafat visited the Clinton White House more than any other world leader. American civil rights organizations almost entirely live off white corporate and foundation money despite their total ineffectiveness in solving black problems. Western money has gone to blatantly corrupt Third World leaders for decades. White guilt morally and culturally disarms the West. It makes the First World apologetic. And this, of course, only inflames the narcissism of the ineffectual. In the vacuum of power created by guilt, a world-wide class of guilt hustlers has emerged. America and the West must cease this three-decade-long indulgence in guilt, moral equivalency, and apologia. None of this redeems the West or uplifts the Third World. In the place of this there should be only a profound commitment to fairness. Here, something like fanaticism is not out of place. After this, America and the West should unapologetically pursue their self-interest, let others take the lead in their own development, and allow the greatness of Western civilization to speak for itself. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp From naac at naac.org Mon Sep 17 17:00:55 2001 From: naac at naac.org (National Albanian American Council - NAAC) Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 17:00:55 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Albanian-Americans to Hold Candle Light Vigils Across the Nation Message-ID: <00a001c13fbb$da33d9f0$27531840@SOKOL> National Albanian American Council 1700 K Street, N.W., Suite 1201, Washington, DC 20006 Telephone: (202) 466-6900 Fax: (202) 466-5593 Web: www.naac.org Email: naac at naac.org ______________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release: September 17, 2001 Contact: Sokol Shtylla (202) 466-6900 Press Notice Albanian-Americans to Hold Candle Light Vigils Across the Nation Washington DC, (September 17, 2001) - The National Albanian American Council, in association with other Albanian American organizations, is organizing candle light vigils around the country on the one week anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States. What: Candle Light Vigil in Remembrance of the Tragedy of September 11th Who: Albanian-Americans around the United States When: Tuesday, September 18, 2001, 7pm-9pm Where: Washington D.C. - Farragut Square, 17th and I Streets, NW Contact: Sokol Shtylla (202) 466-6900 New York City - Union Square Park, 14th Street and 4th Avenue Contact: Richard Lukaj (212) 272-6670 South Boston, MA - Albanian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint George Plaza, 523 East Broadway Contact: Stefan Kochi (617) 359-8132 Worcester, MA - St. Mary's Albanian Orthodox Church, 535 Salisbury St. Contact: Eva Millona (617) 350-5489 Warren, MI - St. Paul's Albanian Catholic Church, 4311 Twelve Mile Rd. Contact: Gjevalin Gegaj (248) 399-0007 Chicago - Daley Plaza, Jackson St. and Clark St, Across City Hall Contact: Ilaz Kadriu (847) 322-7209 Waterburry, CT - Downtown Green, West Main Street Contact: Nick Ozkan (203) 206-8773 Hikmet Zhuta (203) 755-7674 ### -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From kruja at fas.harvard.edu Mon Sep 17 17:47:30 2001 From: kruja at fas.harvard.edu (eriola) Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 17:47:30 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Candlelight vigil in Worcester (fwd) Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 17:43:16 -0400 (EDT) From: Peter R Christopher Subject: Candlelight vigil Dear Students, The National Albanian American Council (NAAC) plans to hold a multi-city candlelight vigil on Tuesday, September 18, the one-week anniversary of the tragedy that hit this great country. The cities include: New York, Chicago, Boston, Detroit, Washington, Waterbury and Worcester. The Worcester vigil will be outside of St. Mary's Albanian Church at 535 Salisbury St. It will begin at 7 pm and end before 8 pm. We will have a simple quiet vigil with no speeches. Feel free to bring your own candles and American flags if you have them. The purpose of this event is to provide our community with a chance to come together to share individual reactions and feelings, and also to show Albanian support for the victims and heroes, and for America in this time of crisis. We realize that this is short notice, but please try to make it if you can. Also, please spread the word to your friends and relatives of all ages, and to Albanian students at other local colleges. Thanks for your support. Gjithe te mirat, Peter Christopherr From jetkoti at hotmail.com Tue Sep 18 00:51:11 2001 From: jetkoti at hotmail.com (Xhuliana Agolli) Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 22:51:11 -0600 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] (no subject) Message-ID: For those who study or are interested in the classics (Ancient Greek and Latin languages and literature) here are a few links to some online resources. I've found especially helpful with my translations the Tufts University online classics project (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu). So I would highly recommend it because it is not even limited to the classics. http://www.loc.gov/global/classics/claslink.html http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/classics.html http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~tlg/index/resources.html http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/Faculty/links.html http://www.sms.org/mdl-indx/internet.htm http://www.classics.ox.ac.uk/resources/etexts.html http://studentweb.tulane.edu/~rwoods/classics.html _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp From naac at naac.org Tue Sep 18 11:53:44 2001 From: naac at naac.org (National Albanian American Council - NAAC) Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2001 11:53:44 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Albanian-Americans Hold Candle Light Vigils Across the Nation Message-ID: <009a01c1405a$1bfec400$1c5a1840@SOKOL> National Albanian American Council 1700 K Street, N.W., Suite 1201, Washington, DC 20006 Telephone: (202) 466-6900 Fax: (202) 466-5593 Web: www.naac.org Email: naac at naac.org ________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release: September 18, 2001 Contact: Sokol Shtylla (202) 466-6900 Press Release Albanian-Americans Hold Candle Light Vigils Across the Nation Washington DC, (September 18, 2001) - The National Albanian American Council issued the following statement regarding candle light vigils organized by Albanian-Americans across the nation. On the one-week anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington D.C. Albanian-Americans are coming together across the country to remember the victims of these tragic events and their families and to express their support for President Bush and the Government's efforts to combat terrorism. The National Albanian American Council, along with Albanian-American organizations throughout the U.S., is organizing candle light vigils in New York City; Washington D.C.; Boston; Worcester, MA; Chicago, IL; Warren, MI; and Waterbury, CT on Tuesday, September 18, from 7pm-9pm. Like all Americans, Albanian-Americans are feeling great disbelief, sorrow, and anger over the recent tragedy that struck America. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the families of all the victims of the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. NAAC strongly denounces these inhuman acts of violence that have claimed the lives of so many innocent people. For Albanian-Americans, the United States, and New York in particular, has been a wonderful home. We have a special relationship with America. Most of us came to this great nation to escape political oppression, and in search of democracy, freedom, and opportunity. We were drawn to America because Americans saved our motherland. Once here, our special affinity for our new homeland became stronger when the United States intervened to stop the genocide in Kosova and to find a resolution to the war in Macedonia. During both those tragedies in the Balkans, Americans opened their hearts and donated their time and money to help those in need. Now is the time for all Americans to join together to give aid and comfort to the victims and their families and to support the war against terrorism. By turning out nationwide, we offer our solidarity with the leadership of the United States and our fellow Americans. We are eager to do all we can to support the effort to put an end to terrorists acts against the greatest country on Earth, the United States of America. The following is information about the candle light vigils organized in each city: Washington D.C. - Farragut Square, 17th and I Streets, NW Contact: Sokol Shtylla (202) 466-6900 New York City - Union Square Park, 14th Street and 4th Avenue Contact: Richard Lukaj (212) 272-6670 South Boston, MA - Albanian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint George Plaza, 523 East Broadway Contact: Stefan Kochi (617) 359-8132 Worcester, MA - St. Mary's Albanian Orthodox Church, 535 Salisbury St. Contact: Eva Millona (617) 350-5489 Warren, MI - St. Paul's Albanian Catholic Church, 4311 Twelve Mile Rd. Contact: Gjevalin Gegaj (248) 399-0007 Chicago - Daley Plaza, Jackson St. and Clark St, Across City Hall Contact: Ilaz Kadriu (847) 322-7209 Waterbury, CT - Downtown Green, West Main Street Contact: Nick Ozkan (203) 206-8773 Hikmet Zhuta (203) 755-7674 ### -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From kruja at fas.harvard.edu Tue Sep 18 19:15:13 2001 From: kruja at fas.harvard.edu (eriola) Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2001 19:15:13 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] FW: U.S., Germany, Japan Investigate Unusual Trading Before Attac k (fwd) Message-ID: --- Trent Morris 09/18/2001 10:04 AM Subject: U.S., Germany, Japan Investigate Unusual Trading Before Attack U.S., Germany, Japan Investigate Unusual Trading Before Attack 2001-09-18 00:45 (New York) U.S., Germany, Japan Investigate Unusual Trading Before Attack Washington, Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Trading skyrocketed in options that bet on a drop in UAL Corp. and AMR Corp. stock in the days before terrorists crashed hijacked United and American airlines jets into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co., which occupied 22 floors of the 110-story 2 World Trade Center, and Merrill Lynch & Co., with headquarters near the destroyed twin towers, also experienced pre- attack trading of 12 times to more than 25 times the usual volume in so-called put options that profit when stock prices fall, according to Bloomberg data. Now, securities regulators in the U.S., Germany, Japan and Hong Kong say they are investigating whether terrorists raised money from insider trading on their knowledge of attacks that devastated New York's financial district and closed U.S. stock markets for four days. ``They not only set out to destroy capitalism, but also to beat us at our own game,'' said Duke University law professor James Cox. ``These are people who hate capitalism and see that you can turn capitalism against itself.'' Some airline, insurance, and brokerage stocks had jumps in the days before the Sept. 11 attack in so-called put options, which profit when a company's shares fall. One day before two American Airlines jets were hijacked and crashed, for example, 1,535 contracts changed hands on options that let investors profit if AMR stock falls below $30 per share before Oct. 20. That was almost five times the total number of those October $30 put options traded before Sept. 10, according to Bloomberg data. AMR shares fell $11.70 today to $18. `Terrorist Involvement' Those 1,535 contracts were worth $1.6 million at today's closing price compared with $337,700 at the end of trading on Sept. 10, according to Bloomberg data. A contract represents options for 100 shares. Similarly, October $30 put options for UAL soared, with 2,000 contracts traded on Sept. 6, three trading days before the attack. A total of 27 contracts had traded previously. UAL shares fell $13.32 today to $17.50. The 2,000 contracts were valued at $2.4 million today, compared with $180,000 on Sept. 6. ``We've heard those reports about terrorist involvement in our markets,'' U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt said in a statement. ``Our enforcement division has been looking into a variety of market actions that could be linked to these terrible acts including the subjects of the rumors.'' Trading records may help show whether Osama bin Laden or other terrorists were behind suspicious trading in airline, brokerage, and insurance stocks or options, and may help securities regulators trace a money trail to some of those responsible for the attacks at the World Trade Center. Evidence of Murder Plans ``It's a matter of great interest to intelligence. To the extent we find this evidence, we shouldn't just focus on it as proof of insider trading but as evidence of a desire to commit murder and terrorism,'' said Columbia University law professor John Coffee. Deutsche Boerse AG spokesman Frank Hartmann said that exchange and German regulators also are examining trading in stocks, options, and futures before the Sept. 11 attack. On Sept. 6 and Sept. 7, trading almost doubled the average for the past six months in shares of Munich Re, the biggest reinsurer. Initial spot checks had found nothing irregular, Hartmann said. A spokeswoman for the Chicago Board Options Exchange declined comment. Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission is probing TOPIX futures trading at the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Nikkei futures trade at the Osaka Stock Exchange, SESC officials said, confirming an earlier Jiji news service report. Hong Kong's stock exchange and the market regulator are also checking for unusual trading activities. Banking regulators told lenders to check suspicious accounts for any connections with alleged terrorist Osama bin Laden. ``There is no evidence of the reported involvement of Hong Kong in any money-harboring activity related to Osama bin Laden,'' said Jasmin Fung, spokeswoman for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. ``However, banks in Hong Kong need to be aware of the issue.'' `Sophisticated Strategists' The prospect of insider trading based on knowledge of the attacks suggests a good deal of sophistication on the part of far- flung terrorist networks, which may have used U.S. markets to raise money for more assaults. ``It sure presents these people on a whole different level as sophisticated strategists rather than religious zealots,'' Coffee said. ``I suppose from their standpoint ... they're trying to pay for future terrorist activities by profiting from their past terrorist activities.'' At Morgan Stanley, trading in October $45 put options jumped to 2,157 contracts between Sept. 6 and Sept. 10, almost 27 times a previous daily average of 27 contracts. Options to sell Merrill Lynch shares for $45 apiece before Sept. 22 had 12,215 contracts traded from Sept. 5 to Sept. 10, 12 times the earlier daily average of 252. Morgan Stanley shares fell $6.40 today to $42.50. Merrill Lynch shares fell $5.37 to $41.48. Other brokerage and insurance companies where options trading surged include: -- Citigroup Inc., which has estimated that its Travelers insurance unit may pay $500 million in claims from the World Trade Center attack. It had a jump in trading of October options that profit if shares fall below $40 apiece. Almost 14,000 of those options contracts were traded from Sept. 6 to Sept. 10 -- about 45 times the previous daily average. Citigroup shares fell $2.85 today to $39.60. -- Bear Stearns & Cos., where investors traded 3,979 contracts from Sept. 6 to Sept. 10 on September options that profit if shares fall below $50. The previous average volume for those options was 22 contracts. Bear Stearns shares fell $3.79 today to $46.45. -- Marsh & McLennan Cos., the biggest insurance brokerage, which had 1,700 employees working in the World Trade Center. Traders on Sept. 10 exchanged 1,209 contracts on options that profit if company shares fall below $90 through the third week of September. Previously, 13 contracts had traded on an average day. Marsh & McLennan shares fell $2.50 today to $84.50. --Judy Mathewson and Michael Nol in Washington and New York, (202) 624-1915 or jmathewson at bloomberg.net < mailto:jmathewson at bloomberg.net > and (212) 318-2384 or mnol at bloomberg.net < mailto:mnol at bloomberg.net > , with reporting by Vicky Stamas in Washington, Vita Bekker and Silje Skogstad in Frankfurt, Theresa Tang in Hong Kong and Takahiko Hyuga in Tokyo/bd/ba/ajk/*adbm Story illustration: To chart trading in AMR Corp.'s October $30 From kruja at fas.harvard.edu Tue Sep 18 21:08:35 2001 From: kruja at fas.harvard.edu (eriola) Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2001 21:08:35 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] [lev-open] Security Response to "Nimba" Worm (09/18/01) (fwd) Message-ID: I got this from my school. Thought it might help some of you. eriola. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >From FAS Network Security Adivisors Users should be aware that another worm, which is being referred to as "Nimba", began making rounds through the Internet earlier today. This particular exploit is particularly nasty in that it utilizes a number of methods to attempt to propagate, including email, web, and file sharing. The Internet community has noted the unprecedented speed in which this worm has spread, and the ensuing network loads which have resulted. We are sending out this advisory to make individuals aware of the situation and to encourage all users to update to the latest antivirus software which detects and removes this worm from infected systems. We are in the process of attempting to identify and contact as many local systems as possible which may have been infected. Due to the rapid spread of this worm and the resulting impact on network resources, we are faced with having to disable connectivity to the most active of these systems until the problem can be addressed. FAS Computer Services supports the McAfee VirusScan product, and this software is available at the Help Desk in Science Center B-13 or via download at: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/computing/antivirus Users already using the McAfee VirusScan product should note that they may need to update to the latest virus definition software (4159) in order to detect Nimba. This file can be obtained via the web at: http://download.mcafee.com/updates/4xa.asp More information about Nimba can also be found at: http://www.mcafee.com/anti-virus/viruses/nimba/default.asp?cid=2444 For assistance, students may schedule an appointment with a Residential User Assistant by calling 495-9000 or visiting the Help Desk in the basement of the Science Center. Faculty and Staff should call 496-2727. FAS Network Operations From aalibali at yahoo.com Tue Sep 18 21:45:20 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2001 18:45:20 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Finally - Financial Times, 18/09/2001 Message-ID: <20010919014520.60697.qmail@web11504.mail.yahoo.com> Financial Times (London) September 18, 2001, Tuesday London Edition 1 EUROPE; Pg. 13 Greece to examine Milosevic accounts By KERIN HOPE ATHENS BODY: Greece's justice ministry has started procedures to examine more than 250 accounts held at Athens-based banks by companies linked to Slobodan Milosevic, the former Yugoslav president. The move followed a request by Carla del Ponte, chief prosecutor at the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Details of the accounts were provided by authorities in Belgrade as part of an effort to trace the Milosevic regime's illegal financial dealings. Eleftherotypia, a Greek newspaper, yesterday said the accounts were active between 1992 and 1996, when Yugoslavia was subject to international trade sanctions. They were used by the Serbian government to channel customs revenues and income from state-owned companies to buy weapons for ethnic Serb forces fighting in Bosnia and Croatia. The existence of such a large number of Belgrade-linked accounts in Greece appears to reflect the support shown for the Milosevic regime by former Greek governments. Athens was accused then of breaking international sanctions by allowing Greek companies to supply fuel to Yugoslavia. Previously Cyprus was considered the main conduit for illegal transactions by the Serbian government. The accounts under investigation belonged to offshore companies based in Cyprus, Eleftherotypia said. Most were held at Greek branches of Bank of Cyprus, the biggest Greek-Cypriot bank, and at European Popular Bank, the Greek subsidiary of Popular Bank of Cyprus. Other accounts were held at three Greek banks: Commercial Bank, Egnatia Bank and Alpha Bank. --------------------------------- Terrorist Attacks on U.S. - How can you help? Donate cash, emergency relief information inYahoo! News. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Sep 19 08:28:34 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2001 05:28:34 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Re: [balkans] Book Review: Triantaphyllou: The Albanian Factor, Reviewed by Tamas Berky In-Reply-To: <5.1.0.14.0.20010903152624.00a0add0@pop.mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20010919122834.74024.qmail@web11508.mail.yahoo.com> I read with interest Mr. Berky's excellent review of the book by D. Tryantaphyllou, and learned a lot about the book to the extent that one can get from its review alone. Regarding the content of the book - and not Mr. Berky's review - I am surprised to learn that even "modern" Greek academicians - like Mr. Tryantaphyllou - continue to maintain a unrealistic view of the Balkan region, which somehow resonates the old "Megali Idea" nationalistic doctrine. of "Greater Greece". Mr. Berky gives some examples in his review in support of this view, and I am certain that the book itself would contain more elements. To mention only a few, one can cite the so-called "Vorio-Epirus problem", or the "unsettled situation of the Greek minority" in Albania - both apparently referred by the author - and which have historically been used by Greek nationalists as arguments in support of the annexation of Southern Albania. While it is unfortunate that, apparently, the author in a sense seems to advocate Greek nationalist claims in Southern Albania, in this context one would wonder whether the author has at all analyzed in his book the issue of the Albanian minority in Greece, especially in the Chameria region in Northwestern Greece. For those who are unfamiliar with the issue, this population's Albanian ethnic minority status was officially recognized by the Greek government during the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Moreover, in 1923 this minority was officially excluded from the Lausanne Convention on the Compulsory Exchange of Population between Greece and Turkey. In 1944-1945, the Moslem portion of the Chams was forcibly expelled from Greece by forces of General N. Zervas, allegedly due to their collaboration with the Nazis. It should be noted that in 1948 Zervas himself was obligated to resign as Minister of Interior of Greece due to revelations in the Nuremberg Trial of his own collaboration with the Nazis. To this day, the Greek government has refused to allow the return to Greece of those Greek citizens and their families of Chameria descend who were forcibly expelled from Greece, and who wish to return to Greece and live there in peace. Perhaps the author does not mention at all these historical facts in his book. But, certainly, the book contains several elements of pure fiction or fabrication, which cast serious doubt on the content of the book. One is the so-called "Ghegh/Northern" character of the Democratic Party of Albania or the "Southern/Tosk" character of the Socialist Party of Albania, an opinion which would raise eyebrows to any serious person with even superficial knowledge of the region. Another pure fabrication is the author's claim that the communist government in Tirana was responsible for the freezing of relations with Greece until 1987. One would wonder whether the author has at all looked in Greece for the real reasons that were at the basis of this action. Indeed, one key reason for the freezing of Albanian - Greek relations was Greece's constant refusal to abolish the "Status of War" Law with Albania dating since 1940, when Italy attacked Greece after it occupied Albania in 1939. To this date, Greece has yet to fully abolish this absurd legislation and all related laws deriving from it. For these reasons alone, and contrary to Mr. Berky conclusion, Tryantapyllou's book cannot "be taken seriously" from "decision makers that want to find enduring arrangements" in the region. Agron Alibali, LL. M. Florian Bieber wrote: Balkan Academic Book Review 22/2001 _______________________________________ Dimitrios Triantaphyllou, The Albanian Factor (Athens: ELIAMEP, 2000), 70 pp. Reviewed by Tam?s Berky (Budapest University of Economics) Email: berky.tamas at mobilitas.hu _______________________________________ Order the book _______________________________________ The study of Dimitrios Tryantaphyllou currently research fellow at the WEU Institute for Security Studies and former deputy director of ELIAMEP is a complex approach towards the so-called ?Albanian Question?. The events and changes follow each other so rapidly in the Balkan peninsula, that one can only try to interpret them properly, if they are observed from a complex viewpoint, keeping the distance from the everyday happenings. Starting with the discussion of the development of 2000, the conclusions regarding the future of the region and the Albanian ethnicity in it, are based on a historical analysis and the one of the connection between the ?Albanian Question? and the political situation in the most vulnerable countries in this respect. The new millennium has brought good news for the Balkans a new government in Croatia, strengthening and unification of Serbian opposition, the Helsinki Summit of the European Union but most conflict points remained unstable and unsolved and the Dayton settlement tested daily. Kosovo continued to be the major source of turbulances, but the fate of FYROM and the relation between Serbia and Montenegro appeared as new critical problems. The political consequences of an unresolved situation were high, as the respect and authority of the UN and the NATO were at stake, while the settlement depended on the security environment that only the international community could provide. Still, though the launch of the Stability Pact, the Cologne and Helsinki summits of the EU, the total sum of assistance the European countries invested in the region since 1991 and offered till 2006, signed a positive move towards increased international responsibility, foreign interest remained relatively low and a comprehensive approach was lacking writes Tryantaphyllou. The regional trends deserve particular attention, according to him: one is that the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s stem from the disintegration of one and only state and the conflict has not spread beyond the borders of the former Socialist Federal republic of Yugoslavia. The other trend is that the process of regional co-operation suspended after the disintegration of Yugoslavia is gaining importance again a process that has always been considered by Greek researchers as a key factor in regional settlement. Apart from the above mentioned trends, there are several critical issues of special importance, such as the situation of the Albanian ethnicity, the role of Serbia and the future of FYROM. However, the role of the international community in the settlement of these issues is decisive. Nevertheless, it is necessary to re-evaluate how the international community interpret the nature of the problems of the region, and the policy it implements. Tryantaphyllou calls the attention to the dangers of using double standards in the same region, as the international community supported the territorial sovereignty of one state (FYROM) while denying it to another (Yugoslavia) - undermining the success of its own policy in Kosovo. To understand the genesis of the current tensions, one has to have a solid overview of the region's history. The Ottoman Empire dominated the Balkans for 500 years and outside interference has been present in the region since the disintegration of the empire. Strong native traditions of democratic government and civil society are also absent and many of the Balkan nations failed to fulfil their national goals as well. World War I and the Versailles settlements not only meant the end of the former status quo but once again excluded regional actors from the deliberations while marking the political boundaries up to now. The geopolitical concept in the redrawing of boundaries was to fill the space of Austria-Hungary, and to curb the spread of communism and German revanchism. Ideologically, frontiers were supposed to coincide with the ethnical division lines, but instead, the new states were just as multinational as the old empires - establishes Tryantaphyllou - only the oppressed peoples became oppressed minorities. Ethnic considerations were disregarded by the great powers for their strategic objectives, which made it possible for Ahmed Bey Zogu to preserve Albania's territorial integrity and to hold elections in 1920. The question of minorities remained unsettled however resulting in the transfer of populations and in the creation of a new problem: the integration of co-national immigrants in the motherland and in the new territories seized by the motherland - such as Macedonia and Thrace in Greece. The lack of civil society is also a distinctive phenomenon in the region, as society is basically formed along ethnic lines. This explains why in the political culture of these states sate and nationhood coincide, thus posing other groups as potential threats to the sovereignty of the state. This nationalism is exclusive and messianic in nature, claiming rights for a chosen people, not for the individual, and appearing in various forms, such as historical revisionism. In the wars of Balkan people for independence in the 19th century, religion and Orthodoxy also became a tool of the state in its national goals. The national evolution of the Balkan people tended to lead to several directions. Among those people emerging from Ottoman domination, they competed among themselves for territories they all laid historical-religious claims. Such territory was Macedonia, where the fight began over ecclesiastical jurisdiction, then the main player were Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece, leading to the present situation, when the main question is the role of the Albanian ethnicity. Beside the competition for territories, another characteristic feature of the nationalism of these was irredentism, claiming that the frontiers of the state had to be expanded to coincide with those of the nation or ethnicity. Analysing the case of Albania, Tryantaphyllou notes that Albanians, were the last people to express national consciousness for such impediments as the geography of the country, the religion, the lack of great power interest, the development of small, autonomous units ruled by strong native landowner aristocracy, the division along tribal lines and for the existence of the Gheg and Tosk groups. The first form of national protest, the League Of Prizren was formed in Kosovo after the Berlin treaty, demanding autonomy for Albanian territories under Ottoman administration. The league was dissolved soon, but the process of cultural and linguistic awakening continued, rediscovering the historical roots and developing a new Latin-based script in Christian schools. The Young Turk Revolution in 1908 lead to Albanian revolts in Kosovo and Pristina, which was declared independence in 1913, without fixed boundaries and with various claims from its neighbours for its territory (Serbia and Montenegro for Durres, Greece for Vorio Epirus) Although Kosovo was an important centre of national fight, it was left outside of the new state, which was primarily established for strategic considerations of Austria-Hungary and Italy. Albania was admitted to the League of nations in 1920 and consolidated its territory by 1928. During World War II, Great Albania was established under Italian tutelage, including Kosovo and some parts of Macedonia. It is clear, writes Tryantaphyllou, that Albanian political culture was heavily influenced by the continuous presence of different foreign powers and the constant claims of its neighbours for Albanian territories - all these made Albanians suspicious of foreign states. After World War II Tito had plans for the unification of its client state, Albania, with Kosovo in a Yugoslav republic. The break between Tito and Stalin allowed for independence from Yugoslavia, providing more space for maneuver for Albania, which in the 1960s became a Chinese ally. Albania was totally isolated which was accompanied by a xenophobic and paranoid dictatorship, and a brutal assimilation campaign, freezing relations with Greece till 1987. After the fall of communism, and from the late 1980s, Albania pressed Yugoslavia, then FYROM as well, for the improvement of the situation of Albanians in Kosovo and Tetovo. Relations with Greece and the international community was normalised, however, the situation of the Greek minority is still far from being settled. According to Tryantaphyllou, Albania's problems stem from four factors: 1) Albanian population is the fastest growing in Europe 2) Albanians in ex-Yugoslavia were granted only the status of nationality, even though they outnumbered four of the official nations. 3) Albanians live in areas contiguous to each other and Albania 4) The revoking of Kosovo's autonomy Furthermore, the years of communism did not contribute to the betterment of the situation, but on the contrary, communist dictatorship was only a means of national oppression - suggesting for some, that pre-communist days were utopic compared to the present. Discussing the developments in post-cold war Albania, Tryantaphyllou describes the massive unemployment, lack of food and administrative chaos in the country after the 1992 riots, then the nature of political fights between the conservative, northern and Gheg Democratic Party of Albania (DPA) and the socialist-post-communist, southern and Tosk Socialist Party. As the situation of Albanians in ex-Yugoslavia worsened, efforts for national unification appeared, such as the Assembly for National Reconciliation and Unification, suggesting that national unification was an effective way of pulling out the country from its deep crisis. The Co-ordinating Council of the Albanian Political Parties in Yugoslavia considered in 1991 that the changing of borders was a viable solution for the problems. The existence of this council had a positive and significant effect on Albanian political life in the motherland, for its working multi-party organisation. The national question gained momentum in Albanian political life and contributed to the deep division and polarisation of political and social life, while Albania by no means could challenge neither politically nor economically Yugoslavia over the minority issue. It was especially the DPA of Sali Berisha that played the national card, partly because Berisha and the DPA represented the northern Gheg region, that is adjacent to Kosovo. The efforts of Fatos Nano, prime minister, were greatly undermined by the DPA's policy - according to Tryantaphyllou. He establishes, that political developments in Albania coincided with the events of the Yugoslav crisis, that eventually started in Kosovo in 1988 and culminated there eleven years later. The fact that the Yugoslav crisis was expanded after 1991, allowed for Albanian leaders to connect the Kosovo issue to other developments in Yugoslavia, thus arising the interest and attention of the international community. In parallel with the strong declarations, the Socialist Party at first place, but the DPA as well, sought for peaceful solutions and third party mediation too. With the emerging threat that Serbia meant, Albania tried to normalise its relations with other neighbours, among them with FYROM, freezing the Albanian question there and preventing the strengthening of FYROM-Serbia relations. As the situation in Kosovo rapidly deteriorated in 1998, Albania, especially the DPA took a more active stand, and the influx of refugees, the massacres, the transfer of arms into Kosovo contributed to the polarisation of the political landscape in Albania. Moderate forces were sidelined, and in the UCK emerged a fascist and a Stalinist wing too. The developments in Kosovo, particularly the appearance of UCK, folowed the pattern once proved working in Bosnia - writes the author, since taking up arms mobilised the international community there as well. Observing this tendency, and under the present circumstances, the Albanian dimension is bound to grow if the following concerns are not taken properly into consideration- sates Tryantaphyllou: 1) The further marginalisation of the region - the lack of interest and harmonised action on behalf of the West will leave the region unstable - this statement has been justified in the past year with the worsening of the situation on spot and with the problems of the Stability Pact 2) The role of Serbia: Serbia is a key factor in regional stability, but its endangering nationalism is not only the property of the Socialist party, but also that of the present government parties. Tryantaphyllou notes that with the disintegration of Yugoslavia, two regional centres emerged: Thessaloniki and Budapest, however, both are out of the proper region. 3) The viability of FYROM - this point cannot be more actual now, even though the current NATO action to collect the arms of Albanian guerrillas prevents the escalation of the crisis - which is far from being solved. 4) Kosovo's ambiguous status - the present uncertainty about the future status of the province only leads all sides to be less willing to compromise- establishes Tryantaphyllou. The present conditions meet the minimum demands of the parties thus cannot be a solid basis for future settlement. Any solution, as well as NATO's presence should take into consideration the regional implications of any deliberation or action. 5) The future of Montenegro: the future of the republic is tied to the one of Kosovo, as the independence of one would press for the independence of the other. Montenegro's independence would also leave Serbia landlocked, that increased anti-Western sentiments in the country and fuelled the issue of Great Albania - states Tryantaphyllou - not without any basis, but the nature of the relationship between an independent Montenegro and Serbia would be decisive in this respect. The current political situation in Serbia fortunately is not likely to evolve into one similar to Milosevic's time. 6) Bosnia-Herzegovina: The Dayton Peace Accords (DPA) have been partially implemented only and the DPA allowed for the de facto partition of the country. The political changes in Croatia and Serbia will probably facilitate the implementation of the DPA, the political dialogue between the Serbs, Croats and Muslims and allow for the return of refugees. However, the international community has resources only to safeguard the treaty but no means to move beyond it. 7) Relations with Russia and China: The Kosovo conflict proved only that Neither Russia nor China is able to act against Western plans and it raised fears that it could encourage separatist tendencies in Russia and China. The future status of Kosovo will be an important testing ground of Western-Russian/Chinese relations as both would probably vote and act against the independence of the province. 8) Other issues: Tryantaphyllou mention such problems as the economic landscape, organised crime, the existence of grey zones form the point security and economy, instable political systems. These are partly due to historical, geographical reasons, partly for the instability and chaos of the former decade that prevented economic development and foreign investment. In this respect the growing Albanian assertiveness in Kosovo and FYROM has to be controlled as it is linked to the above mentioned problems, just as the situation of Albanians in Kosovo and FYROM cannot be separated. The poor economic condition in Albania and in the Albanian populated territories, the deep political division of Albania proper and the Albanian elite in Kosovo and FYROM can only radicalise Albanian politics in the future. Tryantaphyllou is absolutely right to establish that the situation of Albanians is a key factor in any kind of Balkan settlement, but the dangers of radicalisation necessitate the international monitoring of regional developments. The events of 2001 fully justified this statement and showed that international intervention was necessary to control the situation in Kosovo, Serbia and FYROM - thus preventing another serious escalation of the conflict. To conclude Tryantaphyllou establishes that the security concerns are many and inter-linked but can be controlled by international presence - which is also a testing ground of the conflict-managing capacity of the international community and the West at first place. The Stability Pact itself is a good means to induce positive regional processes but needs to be more effective, for which the following difficulties have to be handled: - the role of co-ordination has to be defined properly to act in harmony with other initiatives - the interest of regional actors clash (Royamount process, SECI, Stability Pact) - there is an imbalance between the working tables - the implementation is problematic - timing is crucial, as there is a need for immediate results To manage the above mentioned problems, the international community has to formulate a common strategy towards FYROM while maintaining the current peacekeeping and conflict prevention arrangements. This is not enough however, as the framework of the Pact has to be filled with content and the prospect of EU integration has to be offered for the region. The international community cannot solve all the problems though, and the reform laying the foundation of a functioning market economy and democracy can only come from the countries themselves. The considerations and statements of Tryantaphyllou mentioned and commented in this review are basically right, some of them have been justified by the developments this year. It is difficult these days to analyse Balkan political situation as changes are sometimes so fast, that the conditions observed change dramatically till a book is published. This is exactly why a complex approach, with a deeper understanding of the historical, political, ethnic, economic roots of the problems is necessary. It is true that international intervention and action should be increased at the moment both in financial and military terms to handle the current problems, but probably a long-term solution can only be delivered by the natural economic-political developments of Balkan countries. This unfortunately cannot be made faster but can be facilitated by the maintaining of peaceful conditions and by economic programmes. It is however doubtful that illusionist promises as the European integration of the region should be offered as unfulfilled promises can only embitter the situation later. Concrete financial and economic programmes, help for the building of democratic institutions and civil society and peacekeeping- that is what can be expected form the international community. Real change will only come from the natural progress of the regional states. That is probably why it is difficult to find any other solution then those mentioned in this book and in others and why it is difficult to create a complex approach. There is no remedy for the lack of inner progress, but such researches, considerations and pieces of advice as those of Tryantaphyllou should be taken seriously if decision makers want to find enduring arrangements. _________________________________________ This an earlier book reviews are available at: www.seep.ceu.hu/balkans _________________________________________ ? 2001 Balkan Academic News. This review may be distributed and reproduced electronically, if credit is given to Balkan Academic News and the author. For permission for re-printing, contact Balkan Academic News. _______________________________________________ Balkan Academic News Post Messages to: balkans at yahoogroups.com Contact Owner at: fbieber at yahoo.com Subscribe: balkans-subscribe at yahoogroups.com Unsubscribe: balkans-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com Homepage: http://www.seep.ceu.hu/balkans/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. --------------------------------- Terrorist Attacks on U.S. - How can you help? Donate cash, emergency relief information inYahoo! News. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From admin at albstudent.com Wed Sep 19 16:29:19 2001 From: admin at albstudent.com (Admin@ AlbStudent) Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2001 13:29:19 -0700 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Save up to 50% in an American University. Message-ID: <200109192029.NAA24462@mail19.bigmailbox.com> An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: not available URL: From mhasanaj at msn.com Thu Sep 20 13:29:39 2001 From: mhasanaj at msn.com (Migen Hasanaj) Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2001 13:29:39 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] (no subject) Message-ID: Hi, Does anyone here work or know someone who works in the insurance industry? (Brokering, sales agent, IT manager). A friend of mine from London needs to conduct a phone interview concerning the insurance business for about 20 minutes. Thank you for your help. Migen Hasanaj Boston, Ma W:(617)423-3600 H:(617)515-6011 _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp From mentor at alb-net.com Thu Sep 20 15:51:33 2001 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2001 15:51:33 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] [AMCC-News] Macedonia MPs Mull Peace Reforms, U.S. Blasts Delay (fwd) Message-ID: >>>>>>>>>>>>> PLEASE READ & DISTRIBUTE FURTHER <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< --------------------------------------------------------------------- Human Rights Violations in Macedonia http://www.alb-net.com/amcc/humanrights.htm Macedonian police brutality, abuse and massacres http://www.alb-net.com/amcc/abuse_violence.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- "The U.S. envoy to Macedonia accused [the Macedonian] political leaders Thursday of distorting last week's hijacked airliner attacks in the United States to sabotage a peace accord with minority Albanians." "James Pardew, the U.S. special envoy to Skopje, said Macedonians in a position to influence public opinion were trying to discredit the peace accord by making invidious analogies with the assaults on New York and Washington." "``Comparisons between what happened in Macedonia (the guerrilla uprising) and the events in the United States last week are completely false,'' he told Reuters in an interview." http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010920/wl/balkans_macedonia_dc_471.html Thursday September 20 12:28 PM ET Macedonia MPs Mull Peace Reforms, U.S. Blasts Delay By Mark Heinrich SKOPJE (Reuters) - The U.S. envoy to Macedonia accused political leaders Thursday of distorting last week's hijacked airliner attacks in the United States to sabotage a peace accord with minority Albanians. After two weeks of obstructions by nationalist hard-liners, parliament met for a preliminary vote on 14 constitutional amendments that would grant Albanians better civil rights mandated by the Western-brokered agreement signed in August. But momentum toward implementing the pact generated by swift handovers of weapons to NATO by Albanian guerrillas has broken down over the resistance of legislators to crucial legal changes and a gambit to submit the deal to a referendum. Parliament, whose sessions on the peace plan have been plagued by procedural chaos or canceled for lack of a quorum, decided at the last moment Thursday to put off a referendum vote until Friday and look at amendments instead. Western officials fear a referendum could pitch Macedonia back into bloodshed, given popular distaste for concessions to ''Albanian terrorists'' and the guerrillas' readiness to resume armed struggle if reforms are aborted. James Pardew, the U.S. special envoy to Skopje, said Macedonians in a position to influence public opinion were trying to discredit the peace accord by making invidious analogies with the assaults on New York and Washington. 'COMPLETELY FALSE' ``Comparisons between what happened in Macedonia (the guerrilla uprising) and the events in the United States last week are completely false,'' he told Reuters in an interview. ``I am informing the government that we object to the use of the (U.S.) tragedy ... to attempt to delay or disrupt the peace process ongoing in Macedonia,'' he said before going into talks with government leaders. ``There have been public statements about the U.S. re- evaluating its position in Macedonia based on what happened in New York and we see that as an attempt to delay or disrupt the peace process by redefining the situation here,'' he said. ``I am advising Macedonian leaders that there is no change to U.S. policy and that we stand totally behind the framework agreement and its 45-day timetable for implementation.'' The deadline is the end of this month. But the crashing of hijacked passenger planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by suspected Islamic extremists, leaving almost 6,000 dead or missing, is turning into a serious distraction in Macedonia. Nationalists at the heart of parliamentary delays liken the attacks, which Washington has sworn to avenge by war, with ''Albanian terrorist aggression'' against Macedonia. The conflict killed about 100 people in seven months and affected about 10 percent of the former Yugoslav republic. Guerrillas of the National Liberation Army insisted they were fighting only for equal rights for Macedonia's large Albanian minority after years of futile political negotiations. Pro-government media have also run stories this week tarring the guerrillas by alleged association with the suspected mastermind of the U.S. attacks, Saudi-born Muslim radical Osama bin Laden and his Afghan-based al Qaeda group. Quoting unspecified sources, the newspapers said al Qaeda acted as the main financier of the Albanians' National Liberation Army and that it had contributed ``mujahideen'' fighters to the NLA identifiable by their beards. NATO spokesmen have spent much time at news briefings this week batting down the stories, stressing that there is no evidence of links between the NLA and bin Laden. ALBANIANS 'NOT RELIGIOUS' NLA commander in chief Ali Ahmeti also denied it in an interview with Reuters Television at his mountain headquarters. ``They are saying things like that to discredit the reasons why the NLA came into being so we will not realize our demands. I am Albanian and we do not judge things on a religious basis.'' Most Albanians are Muslims but strongly secular. More than 90 percent of Macedonian casualties in the conflict were police or soldiers. Guerrillas did not target Macedonian cultural sites, except for an Orthodox church blown up last month. Skopje and leaders of the rebellious Albanian minority signed coordinated political and military agreements aimed at defusing the Balkans' fifth ethnic conflict since 1991 and stabilizing the whole region over the long term. But many Macedonians suspect the guerrillas are hiding hardware from NATO to wage separatist war later or that they will stage violence to lure NATO troops into dividing the tiny former Yugoslav republic along an ethnic ``Green Line.'' The NLA turned in more than two thirds of its declared arsenal in the first half of NATO's 30-day disarmament mission expiring September 26. Rebels resumed the handovers Thursday after hesitating in concern over parliament's behavior. Reporters saw about 120 guerrillas queued up in pairs in the northern NLA highland bastion of Radusa to dump assault and bolt-action rifles and a Strela anti-aircraft missile launcher among other weaponry. They also surrendered a T-55 tank captured from the Macedonian army in a summer battle. ________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from this list visit: http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/amcc-news From kbejko at hotmail.com Thu Sep 20 16:47:08 2001 From: kbejko at hotmail.com (Kreshnik Bejko) Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2001 16:47:08 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Economist:Islam's Tensions Message-ID: "The judgment of Samuel Huntington, the Harvard scholar who ignited controversy with a 1993 article entitled ?The Clash of Civilisations?, was cruel and sweeping, but nonetheless acute. Today, he wrote, the world's billion or so Muslims are ?convinced of the superiority of their culture, and obsessed with the inferiority of their power.? Islam's tensions Enemies within, enemies without Sep 20th 2001 | CAIRO >From The Economist print edition Reuters Islam remains a tolerant faith, despite its apparent new ferocity LIKE every great religion, Islam is, and has been for all but the first of its 1,400 years, a varied and fractious faith. Muslims do not differ on essentials such as the oneness of God, the literalness of his word as voiced by Muhammad, or the duty to perform prayer, charity, fasting, pilgrimage and jihad, which means something like ?struggle?. There is not much debate over the first four of these duties, though quite a few Muslims choose to ignore them. But the last, which embraces everything from resisting temptation to attacking Islam's perceived enemies, is a much more contentious term. Nearly all Muslims, almost all the time, lean to the softer meaning. They think of jihad as striving to perfect oneself, or to give hope to others by good example. In short, they get on with their lives much like anyone else. When the faith is under threat, however, some may be inspired to go further?to fight to expel crusaders from Palestine, say, as Muslims did in the 13th century, or to kick Russians out of Afghanistan, as they did in the 1980s. A few may go to greater extremes. Some, for example, follow the teachings of a 14th-century firebrand, Ibn Taymiyya, who stated unequivocally, ?jihad against the disbelievers is the most noble of actions.? And some of these, a tiny radical minority, may go so far as to plot carefully, and execute fearlessly, a suicidal slaughter of thousands of innocents in the name of Allah. Yet such a calamitous misdirection of energy can occur only under certain conditions. The sense that the faith is under threat must be strong enough, and widely enough perceived, to provoke real fear and anger. Leaders?men with the charisma and credibility to warp the words of Islam's founding texts to suit their own convictions?are needed to channel noble thoughts into ghastly deeds. There must be a pool of recruits who are so frustrated by, or so blinded to, the other options of this world that their minds remain concentrated on the next. And there must be proper logistical underpinnings: easy access to transport, communications and information, and skill at using them. Reuters More religious need not mean more violent Tragically for America, and just as tragically for Islam, the modern age has generated all these conditions at once. A modicum of money and education can now provide anyone with the means of rapid movement, organisation and proselytising, as well as the capacity to cause immense destruction. A sense of being under threat is now shared, to some degree, by many sects in many religions. From Buddhist monks to Jewish Hasidim to left-wing Luddites, there is no shortage of voices decrying such alleged ills as materialism, secularisation, sexual permissiveness, or the drowning of cultural variety in the tide of globalisation. Because most such groups are marginal, their Utopian yearnings are diluted. In the case of Muslims, however, history and numbers combine to magnify the grudge many hold against their present fate. The judgment of Samuel Huntington, the Harvard scholar who ignited controversy with a 1993 article entitled ?The Clash of Civilisations?, was cruel and sweeping, but nonetheless acute. Today, he wrote, the world's billion or so Muslims are ?convinced of the superiority of their culture, and obsessed with the inferiority of their power.? Post-colonial wounds European colonialism was not entirely a bad thing. It created nations where there were none before, in America and Africa. It shocked the resilient old cultures of Asia into modernity, and ended up freeing India's Hindus from centuries of Muslim overlordship. But colonialism and its aftermath fractured the Islamic world both horizontally and vertically. Rival states replaced its congenially porous old empires. Impatient, western-minded governments dropped Islamic law in favour of imported systems. This brought genuine progress, yet it also cut the chain of rich tradition that linked present to past, and ruptured the old Islamic notion of unity between religion and state which, in theory at least, tied the temporal to the eternal. To the pious, Islam seemed to have been cast adrift from its own history. Modern Islamism, a term that describes a broad range of political movements, most of them peaceable, some aggressive, is a product of this sensibility. >From Egypt's venerable Muslim Brotherhood, founded in 1928, to the brutal maquisards of present-day Algeria, what unites these groups is a determination to save Islam, to recapture the reins of its history. Like the religious right in the United States, or for that matter in Israel, Islamists seek to return religion to centrality, to make faith the determining component of identity and behaviour. The past three decades have provided fertile ground for these ideas. Nearly every Muslim country has experienced the kind of social stress that generates severe doubt, discontent and despair. Populations have exploded. Cities, once the abode of the privileged, have been overrun by impoverished, disoriented provincials. The authoritarian nature of many post-colonial governments, the frequent failure of their great plans, and their continued dependence on western money, arms and science have discredited their brand of secularism. The intrusion of increasingly liberal western ways, brought by radio, films, television, the Internet and tourism, has engendered schism by seducing some and alienating others. Growing gaps in wealth, both within Muslim societies and between the poor nations of the Islamic world and the oil-rich Arabian Gulf, have spawned resentment, too. Islam has also suffered external stresses. Although the post-colonial fires troubling much of the globe have now subsided, the Muslim world's wounds continue to fester. In the past decade alone a score of conflicts have simmered on its borders. These range from ethnic war in the Balkans, to militant insurgency in the Philippines, to what sometimes looks like anti-colonial revolts in Chechnya, Kashmir and the Palestinian territories. The Palestinian struggle, in particular, has stoked rage against not only Israel and its backers, pre-eminently the United States, but also the feebleness of Arab and Muslim governments in the face of them. Even conflicts that did not at first involve religious adversaries have, in the minds of many, taken on religious overtones. America's continuing strikes against Iraq and, in particular, the persistence of sanctions, have aroused widespread anger. This sudden accumulation of woes has reinforced the notion that Islam itself is somehow in danger. For the first time in the modern world, a sense of Islam as a whole, as a nation or a polity, has marched back upon the stage. A stiffening orthodoxy In response to all these pressures, the outward nature of the faith has changed. A religion that once included diverse strands of mysticism, and even of mild paganism?especially in countries like Indonesia, whither Islam was borne by traders, not conquerors?has begun to harden around a very rigid textualism. Money, migrant labour and the pilgrimage to Mecca have spread far and wide the Saudis' bleak desert version of Islam. To the dismay of many Muslims, this doctrine, one stripped of subtlety, nuance and compromise, is being presented as a new orthodoxy. This hard-edged modern Islam has produced a new kind of preacher. As the clerics of the Ottoman empire foresaw five centuries ago when they banned printing, the spread of literacy has ended the professional scholars' monopoly on interpreting religion. Their hold, already undermined by their association with unpopular regimes, is further weakened by the dispersion of Muslims in small communities around the globe, communities that are often isolated among non-believers. Amid the general dislocation, staid supporters of the older tolerant ways are often shouted down. The increasingly dominant voice is an angry one that sees Islam as a beleaguered faith, surrounded by enemies without and within. And yet the emotionally charged, electronically amplified tone of today's mosque sermons still has only limited influence. Islam remains a diverse and broadly tolerant faith. A growing number of Muslims, better educated than their forebears and far more exposed to alternative ways of life through television and the Internet, rather like much that is on offer. They want a chance, naturally, to have a bigger share in the modern world's material comforts. More important, many of them are attracted by the idea of individual responsibility, the notion that each person has the right to think his or her own way through life's problems. The Muslim world, in short, may be starting to grope its way towards its own Reformation. At the same time, the painful experience of countries such as Iran, Algeria and Egypt has convinced many that excessive zeal is misguided. The Taliban's blinkered atavism, for example, is abhorrent to nearly everyone else. Its destruction of ancient Buddhist monuments earlier this year was condemned by virtually every Muslim authority in the rest of the world. In Arab countries generally, the ultra-radical fringe has seemed to be shrinking. Most Arab governments have long since recognised the threat it poses. Concerted and often brutal policing has decapitated most of the extreme groups. Some organisations that were once considered dangerously radical, such as Lebanon's Shia militia, Hizbullah, have moved into the mainstream. Even Egypt's Gamaa Islamiya, an organisation that wrought havoc in the early 1990s, has renounced violence, although its jailed leader has since wavered. To most Muslims, the contention of Osama bin Laden and his followers that God has ordered Muslims to kill Americans is not only silly, but presumption bordering on heresy. In all but a few cases, the inroads made by Islamism are reflected not in violent extremism, but in an increased religious consciousness. Muslims today are in general more knowledgeable about their faith, more attuned to its demands, and more assertive about their identity. But which direction does this assertiveness take? Does it tend to inward jihad, or offensive jihad? This is a question that must be settled, in the long run, by the people of the Muslim world themselves, and by their success or failure at making their societies better ones to live in. If they succeed, there will be no place for the bin Ladens of this world. Historically, Islam has reserved its greatest wrath not for outsiders, but for heretics. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp From okv-dc at iom.int Fri Sep 21 14:59:38 2001 From: okv-dc at iom.int (OKV-DC Wash DC) Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2001 20:59:38 +0200 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Press release: Out-of-Kosovo Voter Registration Deadline Saturday Message-ID: <4BA9DDF31DE2D41199CC00508BE745452EB359@WASEXCHANGE> Dear list-member, Please find our press release, Sincerely, Henrike Lehnguth Head of Voter Information Office Out-of-Kosovo Voting (OKV) IOM Washington, D.C. Toll-free phone#: 1.866.819.5158 Fax#: 202.862.1879 IOM: Out-of-Kosovo Voter Registration Deadline Saturday VIENNA, 20 SEPTEMBER - The International Organization for Migration (IOM) urges all potential voters living outside Kosovo to register before this Saturday's final deadline in order to be eligible to vote in November's Assembly election. Registration closes at 1800 hours on Saturday, 22 September. The deadline applies to both the in-person and by-mail registration procedures run by IOM's Out-of-Kosovo Voting programme (IOM-OKV). Registration centres in Serbia and Montenegro will close their doors at 1800 on Saturday, while all mail and faxed applications from all other countries must be received by IOM-OKV by 1800 Saturday. With two days remaining, IOM-OKV recommends that applicants in by-mail countries send their applications by fax. Applications should be sent to: IOM-OKV OF 609, A-1040 Vienna, Austria FAX ++ 43 1 503 15 33 or 503 0853 or 504 5763 Vienna Helpline: ++43 1 503 1511 or 1509 Registration centres in Serbia and Montenegro, operated in conjunction with local Commissariats for Refugees, have registered nearly 90,000. Applicants in all other countries continue to register by mail. Special IOM-OKV offices in Albania and Macedonia offer in-person assistance to potential voters filing by-mail applications. The Vienna headquarters has registered approximately 19,000 persons outside Serbia and Montenegro. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is organising the elections, called on IOM to run the Out-of-Kosovo programme. Registration began on 30 July. The registration is for the 17 November Assembly election in Kosovo. Registration was extended by the OSCE from 8 until 22 September, based on strong interest. OSCE has indicated there shall be no further extension. For more information, contact Henrike Lehnguth, Head of Voter Information Office, IOM-OKV Washington at toll-free number 1.866.819.5158 or okv-dc at iom.int From aalibali at yahoo.com Fri Sep 21 21:03:42 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2001 18:03:42 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Sejfi Vllamasi - Gazeta Shqiptare Message-ID: <20010922010342.66798.qmail@web11508.mail.yahoo.com> SPECIALE D?nimi i Vllamasit, njeriut q? mbajti Enverin me buk? D?shmia e nipit Faslli Vllamasi: "Kur Enver Hoxh?s ju pre bursa dhe ngeli pa asnj? t? ardhur n? Paris, Bari Omari i telefonoi xhaxhait tim q? ishte n? Franc? dhe i tha: Sejfi, ma mbaj ca koh? at? rebelin tim Enverin n? apartamentin t?nd sa ta rregulloj me ndonj? pun? gj?kundi" Kush ishte Sejfi Vllamasi Sejfiu u lind n? fshatin Novosel? t? Kolonj?s n? 24 shtator t? vitit 1879. Arsimin fillor ai e kreu n? fshatin e lindjes n? gjuh?n turke dhe m? pas me ndihm?n e xhaxhait t? tij Ademit, ai vazhdoi gjimnazin n? Edrene q? asokohe ishte kryeqendra e Turqis?. Pas vdekjes s? xhaxhait t? tij, p?r Sejfiun u kujdes?n duke e ndihmuar edhe financiarisht bashk?patriot?t e tij Neim Demisha (Topollaj), Shahin Kolonja dhe Veliko Mesika. Gjat? viteve t? gjimnazit turk, Sejfiu u njoh dhe me bashkatdhetarin e tij Fan Nolin, q? studjonte n? gjimnazin grek t? Edrenes? me t? cilin lidhi nj? miq?si t? ngusht?. Pas mbarimit t? gjimnazit me rezultate t? larta, Sejfiu i b?ri nj? let?r Port?s s? Lart? duke i k?rkuar nj? t? drejt? studimi, gj? e cila ju plot?sua nga qeveria turke e cila e d?rgoi p?r t? vazhduar studimet e larta n? Universitetin Bujqsor t? Vjen?s n? Austri n? deg?n e Veterinaris?. Sejfiu i mbaroi studimet e larta me rezultate t? shk?lqyera dhe n? p?rfundim ju akordua titulli Bej Diplom. Edhe gjat? periudh?s s? studimeve n? Vjen?, Sejfiun e ndimuan finaciarisht Nasuf Bej Novosela dhe Shahin Kolonja. Mbas diplomimit, Sejfiu u muar me k?rkime shkencore n? fush?n e veterinararis? dhe arriti t? shpik nj? ila? p?r s?mundjen e deles, p?r t? cil?n iu akordua titulli Doktor n? Shkencat Zooveterinare dhe 2000 napolona ari, t? cilat nuk i pranoi dhe i k?mbeu me nj? muaj pushime duke shkuar n? nj? kamp me t? fejuar?n e tij. N? vitin 1905 Sejfiu e la Vjen?n dhe u kthye n? Shqip?ri ku u em?rua kryeveteriner i Bashkis? s? Tiran?s. N? vitin 1905 ai mori pjes? n? Komitetin e Manastirit dhe mb?shteti Gjergj Fisht?n n? debatin p?r caktimin e alfabetit t? gjuh?s shqipe. P?r aktivitetin e tij atdhetar n? ato vite, ai u arrestua nga Porta e Lart? s? bashku me Halit B?rzesht?n dhe u internuan n? Anadoll ku q?ndroi tre vjet deri n? 1908-?n, nga ku mundi t? lirohet me trazirat e hyrjetit. Gjat? viteve 1908-1912 Sejfiu zhvilloi nj? aktivitet t? dendur patriotik n? dobi t? ??shtjes shqiptare duke bashkpunuar ngusht? me Ismail Qemalin, Seit Najdenin, Fuat Bej Dibr?n, Spiro Dinen etj, t? cil?t p?rpunuan platform?n e politik?s e cila ?oi n? shpalljen e pavarsis? s? Shqip?ris? m? 28 n?ntor 1912. N? Luft?n e Par? Bot?rore, me nd?rhyrjen e Sejfiut pran? konsullit anglez u b? e mundur t? ndaloheshin masakrat e dy batalioneve greke tek popullsia myslymane e Kolonj?s, p?r t? cil?n Fan Noli kritikoi Kish?n Ortodokse greke si t? implikuar n? ato ngjarje. N? vitin 1914-t?, Sejfi Vllamasi u em?rua Prefekt i Shkodr?s dhe gjat? asaj kohe mori pjes? n? luft?n e Koplikut dhe m? pas u zgjodh n? Komitetin q? u formua n? Shkod?r p?r Mbrojtjen e Kufirit Komb?tar?. Po k?shtu n? vitin 1918-t?, ai u zgjodh edhe n? Komitetin p?r Mbrojtjen e Kosov?s. N? vitin 1920-t?, Sejfiu mori pjes? n? Kongresin e Lushnjes si nj? nd?r figurat kryesore nga ku u zgjodh tre her? Senator. M? pas gjat? viteve 1920-1924 ai u zgjodh si deputet i Kolonj?s n? Parlamentin shqiptar duke qen? dhe kryetar i grupit parlamentar t? Partis? Popullore. Mbas vitit 1924 me d?shtimin e qeveris? s? Fan Nolit, Sejfiu emigroi jasht? Shqip?ris? me grupin e politikan?ve t? njohur si fanolist? e antizogist? si Bahri Omari, Sheh Karbunara, Qazim Koculi, Qazim Mulleti, Hasan Prishtina etj. Nga viti 1924 deri n? vitin 1942 ai u vendos n? disa shtete t? Europ?s si Franc?, Austri, Zvic?r, Itali etj. N? vitin 1942 ai u rikthye n? Shqip?ri dhe u mbyll n? jet?n e tij private duke u shmangur plot?sisht nga politika. Njeriu q? flet ?sht? Faslli Vllamasi, nipi i Sejfiut (djali i v?llait Aliut t? cilin Sejfiu e adoptoi si djalin e tij pasi ai nuk kishte f?mij?) i cili d?shmon p?r her? t? par? p?r "Gazet?n" mbi jet?n e xhaxhait t? tij gjat? viteve t? regjimit komunist q? nga takimi me Enver Hoxh?n n? Hotel "Dajti", arrestimin e burgun e gjat? n? Burrel pasi u akuzua si agjent i anglo-amerikan?ve dhe peripecit? e tij n? internime e deri sa vdiq n? gjendje t? mjeruar n? qytetin e Fierit n? janarin e vitit 1975. Kthimi n? Shqip?ri n? 1942 Pas nj? kohe t? gjat? prej 15 vjet?sh n? emigracionin politik si fanolist, pasi i kishte refuzuar disa poste Mbretit Zog, n? vitin 1942 Sejfi Vllamasi u kthye n? Shqip?ri. Lidhur me k?t?, nipi i tij Faslli Vllamasi (ish inxhinier mekanik sot 74 vje?) kujton: "Sapo erdhi n? Shqip?ri, Sejfiu s? bashku me gruan e tij Naxhije Angoni u vendos?n n? sht?pin? e mikut t? tij Prof. Aleksand?r Xhuvanit i cili kishte nj? vil? tek rruga e Elbasanit. Gjat? periudh?s s? luft?s Sejfiu nuk u p?rzie fare me asnj? forc? politike por q?ndroi krejt?sisht indiferent, duke jetuar me nj? pension jetik t? cilin ja kishte lidhur kryeministri Mustafa Kruja p?r veprimtarin? e tij patriotike n? vitet 1920-t?. Ai pothuaj nuk dilte fare nga sht?pia e merrej vet?m me studime pasi kishte nj? bibliotek? shum? t? pasur. Pasi q?ndroi disa koh? n? sht?pin? e Xhuvanit, Sejfiu mori nj? apartament me qera tek pallatet e Lan?s ku q?ndroi deri n? fillimin e vitit 1945 kur regjimi komunist q? erdhi n? fuqi e p?rzuri q? andej duke i konfiskuar dhe nj? pjes? t? paisjeve t? sht?pis?. Gjat? viteve t? luft?s n? Tiran? banonte dhe xhaxhai tjet?r Muharremi (si qeraxhi tek Halil M?niku) q? ishte m? i vogli nga kat?r v?llez?rit Vllamasi. Enver Hoxha ishte mik i ngusht? i familjes son? Vllamasi dhe m? kujtohet se aty nga viti 1942 xhaxhai Muharremi e kishte th?rritur at? p?r drek? n? sht?pi s? bashku me Dr. Ymer Dishnic?n. Gjat? asaj dreke Enveri i k?rkoi babait tim Aliut nj? nagant t? bukur q? ai e mbante me vete, por babai nuk ja dha duke i th?n? se e kishte kujtim nga vallai Muharremi. Pas k?saj, Enveri i tha: "Ali mbaje nagantin, por ta p?rdor?sh duke luftuar p?r ne". Dhe k?shtu ndodhi, babai Aliu u b? Kryetar i K?shillit Nac-?lirim. t? fshatit Novosel? t? Kolonj?s dhe s? bashku me Hajrulla Taren, e Ceno e Muharrem Maluk?n etj, organizuan l?vizjen antifashiste n? fshatrate krahin?s son?. Po k?shtu edhe ne djemt? e nipat e tij u lidh?m me l?vizjen e dol?m t? gjith? partizan?. At? drek? n? sht?pin? e xhaxhait Muharremit n? Tiran? e prishi Halil M?niku, pasi kur pa Enver Hoxh?n aty iu drejtua xhaxhait duke i th?n?: "Muharrem, ?'i ke k?ta q? i ke mbledhur k?tu", rr?fen Faslliu mbi miq?sin? q? kishte Enver Hoxha me familjen Vllamasi 10 vjet n? burgun e Burrelit Po si rrodh?n ngjarjet pas mbarimit t? luft?s p?r emigrantin antizogist Sejfi Vllamasi i cili dikur n? Paris kishte ndihmuar duke e mbajtur me buk? Enver Hoxh?n q? ishte b?r? numri Nj? i Shqip?ris?? Lidhur me k?t? Faslliu kujton: "Aty nga prilli i vitit 1945 Sejfiu s? bashku me xhaxh?n? tjet?r Muharremin (dikur kishte qen? n?nkryetar i Shoqat?s "Bashkimi" me Avni Rustemin) shkuan n? Hotel Dajti dhe takuan Enver Hoxh?n. Gjat? bised?s ata i than? atij se kishin shkuar vet?m p?r t'i th?n? q? t? mos e pushkatonte Bahri Omarin, pasi ai kishte qen? nj? dipllomat dhe patriot i shquar. Enveri pasi i d?gjoi deri n? fund iu p?rgjigj: "Sejfi, thuaj shyqyr q? nuk t? gjet?m dhe ty dokumenta kompromentuese se nuk do ta kishim kursyer nj? plumb". M? pas biseda nuk vazhdoi m? dhe ata u ndan?. Nuk kaloi m? shum? se dy vjet dhe n? majin e 1947-?s, organet e Sigurimit e arrestuan edhe Sejfiun duke e akuzuar se kishte b?r? agjitacion e propagand? dhe se kishte pasur lidhje me misionet anglo-amerikane. Pasi e mbajt?n p?r pak koh? n? hetuesi n? Tiran?, at? e nxorr?n n? gjyq me dyer t? mbyllura dhe n? p?rfundim e d?nuan me dhjet? vjet burg politik duke i shtuar dhe akuz?n se p?rse ai nuk i kishte denoncuar dy baxhanak?t e tij, deputetin Riza Dani dhe ish ministrin Xhevat Kor?a t? cil?t ishin arrestuar disa koh? para tij. Akuzat ndaj Sejfiut ishin t? gjitha t? sajuara sepse ai nuk fliste kurr? me asnjeri, por arrestimi i tij erdhi si pasoj? e d?nimit t? dy baxhanak?ve Riza Danit e Xhevat Kor??s. T? gjith? d?nimin prej dhjet? vjet?sh, Sejfiu e vuajti n? burgun e Burrelit ku n? qelin? e tij kishte pran? Sefedin Dumen (ish komandant i milicis? n? Kolonj?, xhaxhai i Petrit Dumes dhe babai i Bakiut d?shmor i luft?s, i cili vdiq n? burg) si edhe baxhanakun e tij Xhevat Kor??n. Nga burgu i Burrelit Sejfiu u lirua n? vitin 1957, duke e b?r? at? t? plot? pa iu falur asnj? dit?.. Gjat? atyre dhjet? vjet?ve q? Sejfiu q?ndroi n? qelit? e burgut t? Burrelit, ai p?rpiloi dhe shkroi librin "Ballafaqime Politike n? Shqip?ri 1897-1942" (q? tashm? ?sht? b?r? i njohur dhe i fam?sh?m duke u ribotuar dy her? n? 1994 dhe 2000) n? t? cil?n ai p?rshkruan me objektivitet ngjarjet kryesore dhe personazhet e politik?s shqiptare t? asaj kohe", kujton Faslli Vllamasi. Takimi me Enverin n? stall?n e derrave Mbas mbarimit t? d?nimit sapo u lirua nga burgu i Burrelit n? vitin 1957 Sejfiu erdhi dhe u vendos n? nj? dhom? te Tirana e Re ku e priste e shoqja e tij Naxhija e cila e kishte ndjekur at? gjat? gjith? koh?s s? vuajtjes s? d?nimit n? Burrel. Lidhur me k?t? periudh? Faslli Vllamasi kujton: "Edhe pas daljes nga burgu organet e Sigurimit nuk e lan? Sejfiun q? t? prehej i qet? n? hallet e pleq?ris?. N? at? apartament n? Tiran?n e Re, at? nuk e lan? m? shum? se nj? vit, sepse mbasi ishte acaruar shum? lufta e klasave (pas Konferenc?s s? Tiran?s) organet kopetente i "sugjeruan" atij q? p?r t'i shp?tuar ndonj? burgu t? dyt?, t? largohej dhe t? shkonte n? Gos? t? Kavaj?s p?r t? punaur n? stallat e derrate n? zanatin p?r t? cilin ishte diplomuar n? Vjen?. Sejfiu iu bind sugjerimit q? iu b? dhe s? bashku me gruan u vendos n? Gos? t? Kavaj?s duke punuar si veteriner n? stall?n e derrave t? asaj nd?rrmarje bujq?sore. Gjat? atyre viteve q? ai punonte aty si veteriner, n? ato stalla vajti p?r nj? vizit? Enver Hoxha t? cilit Sejfiu i doli p?rpara dhe i k?rkoi q? atij t'i jepnin pensionin q? ja kishin nd?rprer? padrejt?sisht kur e kishin futur n? burg, pasi ai ishte n? mosh?n 80 vje?are dhe nuk kishte mund?si t? punonte dot. Enveri iu p?rgjigj Sejfiut duke i th?n?: "Puno Sejfi, se nuk t? takon pension". Mbas asaj vizite q? b?ri Enveri aty n? Ferm?n e Gos?s, Sejfiun e hoq?n q? andej dhe e internuan p?r shum? vjet fshatrave t? Elbasanit n? C?rrik e Belsh si dhe n? Ballsh t? Fierit. Gjat? viteve t? fundit t? jet?s s? tij t? gjat? t? cil?n Sejfiu e kaloi n? qytetin e Fierit, ai shoq?rohej dhe pinte kafen? e m?gjezit me babain e Pirro Gushos, Sekretarit t? Par? t? Fierit i cili sapo ishte riatdhesuar nga m?rgimi i gjat? i SHBA-s?. Kjo periudh? kohe korespondon dhe me nj? udh?tim t? Enver Hoxh?s p?r n? Gjirokast?r, p?r t? cilin n? kujtimet e tij t? botuara n? vitin 1984 n? librin "Kur Hidheshin Themelet e Shqip?ris? s? Re", midis t? tjerash ai shkruan: "Teksa isha duke udh?tuar p?r n? Gjirokast?r, aty n? t? hyr? t? Fierit pash? n? rrug? Sejfi Vllamasin i cili ishte p?rkulur nga nj? pleq?ri e thell? dhe i thash?: Vuaj se ke sh?titur t? gjith? Bot?n". Po k?shtu n? at? lib?r Enver Hoxha shkruan afro 15 faqe p?r Sejfiun dhe v?llan? e tij Myharrem Vllamasin duke i shar? ata dhe i etiketuar si borgjez? e bixhoz?ij etj, dhe m? pas i lavd?ron ata", kujton Faslliu nipi i Sejfi Vllamasit n? lidhje me q?ndrimin q? Enver Hoxha mbante ndaj ish mikut t? tij t? dikursh?m q? e kishte mbajtur me buk? gjat? viteve kur ai mbeti pa asnj? t? ardhur n? Paris t? cilin her? e shante dhe her? e lavd?ronte n? kujtimet e tija. Vdes n? Fier, Aleks Buda n? varrim Sejfiu ndon?se kaloi shum? peripecia n? jet?n e tij me vitet e gjata t? burgut e internimeve t? her?pasher?shme, ai mundi t? jetoi shum? gjat? dhe vdiq kur ishte n? mosh?n 97 vje?are n? banes?n e tij n? qytetin e Fierit ku kaloi vitet e fundit t? jet?s. Lidhur me k?t? nipi Faslliu kujton: "Pas shum? internimeve n?p?r fshatrate Elbasanit dhe t? Fierit, m? n? fund n? nj? mosh? t? thell? Sejfiun e lan? t? banonte n? qytetin e Fierit. N? ato vite ai u muar dhe me librin e tij "Ballafaqime Politike n? Shqip?ri 1897-1942" t? cilin e kishte shkruar n? burgun e Burrelit dhe nga dor?shkrim e shtypi vet? at? n? tre kopje. Nj? kopje ai e dorzoi n? Institutin e Historis?, nj? kopje tjet?r ja dha v?llait tim t? madh Novruzit dhe kopjen e tret? e mbajti p?r vete. Megjithse Sejfiu ishte nj? kund?rshtar? i vendosur i komunizmit, ai nuk fliste dhe nuk shante kurr? regjimin n? fuqi. Me miqt? e tij t? ngusht? ai bisedonte dhe ju thoshte shpesh: "Djema, mbajuni fort e q?ndroni, se komunizmi dogmatik n? Shqip?ri ka r?n? n? nj? humner? t? thell?". Kund?rshtia e tij ndaj komunizmit, nuk kishte ardhur p?r shkak t? trajtimit q? iu b? atij personalisht, ajo e kishte zanafill?n q? n? mesin e viteve 20-t? kur ai debatoi gjat? me Fan Nolin se p?rse ai ishte v?n? n? krye t? KONAR-s? dhe pse kishte shkuar n? krime me delegacionin e saj. N? qytetin e Fierit ku Faslliu kaloi vitet e fundit t? jet?s n? nj? mjerim t? tejskajsh?m, at? e donin dhe e respektonin t? gjith?. Kjo gj? u v?rtetua kur ai vdiq n? janarin e vitit 1975, ku n? varrimin e tij megjithse nga ne pjestar?t e familjes nuk mundi q? t? shkonte asnjeri, (pasi na kishte njoftuar m? p?rpara me telegrame q? t? mos i shkoninm, pasi e dinte se pushteti na p?rndiqte prej tij), mor?n pjes? me qindra vet? n? shenj? respekti q? kishin pasur p?r t?. Po ashtu n? varrimin e tij mori pjes? dhe ish Kryetari i Akademis? s? Shkencave Prof. Alekas Buda duke e nderuar si nj? nga miqt? e tij m? t? af?rt. Kur nuk kishin kaluar m? shum? se dy vjet nga vdekja e tij, organet e policis? me urdh?r nga lart tentuan t? nxirrin nga sht?pia gruan e tij Naxhijen q? kishte mbetur krejt e vetme (pasi ata nuk pat?n f?mij?). Nga m?rzitsia e madhe se mos ajo do t? p?rfundonte p?rs?ri internimeve, n? nj? gjendje shpirt?rore t? turbullt, i dha fund jet?s duke u varuar veten n? sht?pi me kollaren e t? shoqit t? cilin e kishte dashur aq shum? dhe nuk e kishte braktisur kurr? edhe n? ?astet m? t? v?shtira t? jet?s", kujton Faslliu fundin tragjik t? familjes s? xhaxhait t? tij Sejfi Vllamasi, njerit prej personazheve dhe aktor?ve kryesor? t? politik?s shqiptare s? gjysm?s s? par? t? shekullit t? XX-t?, i emigruar p?r 15 vjet jasht? Shqip?ris? si kund?rshtar? i Zogut, ti cili u persekutua edhe nga Enver Hoxha, njeriu me t? cilin kishte ndar? kafshat?n e goj?s n? Paris. gazetare>> Dashnor Kalo?i --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Fri Sep 21 21:11:30 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2001 18:11:30 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Shekulli - monopoli i telefonise ne Shqiperi Message-ID: <20010922011130.67527.qmail@web11508.mail.yahoo.com> N? Shqip?ri ka dy kompani celular?sh, por konkurrenca ?sht? n? nivele minimale. Priten dy licenca t? reja Celular?t vazhdojn? t? na rrjepin Ekspert? t? Ministris? s? Privatizimit thon? se qeveria n? ?do koh? ka mund?sin? p?r t? dh?n? licenca t? reja celular?sh. Kjo ?sht? edhe m?nyra m? e mir? p?r t? ulur ?mimet Nga Alban Gjoni "Nevojitet nj? licenc? e tret? p?r celular?t p?r t? shp?tuar nga ?mimet skandaloze t? trash?guara nga koha e tregut monopol t? celular?ve t? AMC-s?". Burime nga Ministria e Ekonomis? Publike dhe Privatizimit njoftuan dje p?r "Shekullin" se niveli aktual i ?mimeve t? sh?rbimit telefonik celular, ofruar nga dy kompanit?, AMC dhe Vodafone ?sht? shum? larg kostos reale q? duhet t? kushtoj? nj? bised? telefonike. Ekspert?t e telekomunikimit n? k?t? Ministri shpjegojn?, gjithashtu, se p?rdoruesit e celular?ve jan? t? persekutuar jo vet?m si pasoj? e ?mimeve t? larta, por edhe p?r shkak t? praktikave abuzive dhe deri mashtruese, t? p?rdorura nga kompanit? q? ofrojn? sh?rbimin. K?shtu ndodh shum? shpesh q? telefonata t? nd?rpritet tri sekonda pas fillimit, p?r faj t? sh?rbimit t? dob?t, nd?rkoh? q? qytetari deryrohet t? paguaj? tarif?n fillestare prej 20 sekondash. Megjithat?, p?r t? shmangur abuzimin e vazhduesh?m me shqiptar?t, duket se nuk mjafton vet?m dh?nia e nj? licence t? tret? apo t? kat?rt celular?sh. Nevojitet, para s? gjithash, nd?shkimi i kompanive p?r shkeljet e vazhdueshme t? ligjit p?r konkurrenc?n dhe ligje t? tjera. AMC-ja shiti nj? pafund?si aparatesh celulare t? cil?sis? m? t? dob?t t? mundshme me ?mim t? shtrenjt? duke p?rfituar nga fakti se, si operatore e vetme, nuk shiste sh?rbim pa aparat. Megjithat?, Prokuroria e P?rgjithshme nuk e ka p?rjashtuar mund?sin? e hapjes s? procedur?s p?r nd?shimin ligjor t? shkel?sit, por p?r shkak t? kaosit t? p?rgjithsh?m t? kuadrit ligjor ende nuk ka vepruar konkretisht. Zhvillimi i konkurrenc?s n? tregje t? r?nd?sishme, si ai i telekomunikacioneve, ?sht? edhe nj?ri nga kushtet p?r t'u zbatuar n? kuad?r t? Marr?veshjes s? Stabilizim-An?tar?simit n? Bashkimin Evropian. Ekspert?t e MEPP-s? mendojn? se ekzistojn? t? gjitha mund?sit? p?r zgjidhjen e shpejt? t? problemit. Aktualisht po mendohet p?r t'i dh?n? kompanis? shtet?rore t? telefonit fiks Albtelekom nj? licenc? p?r t? vepruar n? fush?n e telefonis? celulare. N? k?t? rast kostoja e kompanis? s? re do t? ishte shum? e ul?t. Megjithat?, nuk p?rjashtohet mund?sia p?r t? dh?n? nj?koh?sisht dy licenca t? reja p?r telefoni celulare. Ekzistojn? t? gjitha mund?sit?, pasi kompanit? e reja do t? k?rkojn? nj? investim fillestar shum? m? t? vog?l se dy kompanit? ekzistuese. Kjo sepse pjesa m? e madhe e investimit, licenca, do t? kushtoj? m? lir?. Shteti vet? do t? ket? p?rfitime t? tjera nga shitja e dy licencave, pasi n? buxhet t? shtetit mund t? hyjn? brenda tre muajve t? par? t? vitit t? ardhsh?m miliona dollar?, shum? t? nevojsh?m p?r t? p?rballuar situat?n e r?nd? financiare ku gjendet shteti. Aktualisht, ekzistojn? t? gjitha hap?sirat ligjore p?r t? realizuar hapjen e tenderit n? ?do koh?. Mjafton p?rgatitja e nj? projektvendimi nga ana e Ministris? s? Ekonomis? Publike dhe Privatizimit p?r t'u miratuar pastaj n? qeveri. Por p?rvoja e kaluar tregon se projektvendimi p?r hapjen e tenderit p?r licenc?n e dyt? u zvarrit n?p?r koridoret e Kryeministris? p?r gjasht? muaj me radh? deri n? miratimin p?rfundimtar. Ekonomia komb?tare humbet para ?do dit? q? tregu vazhdon t? mbetet me tarifa t? larta. Xhiroja e biznesit t? telefonis? celulare n? Shqip?ri ?sht? aq e lart? se edhe ekspert?t nd?rkomb?tar? habiten. Miliona dollar? t? fitimit neto t? celular?ve largohen nga Shqip?ria. --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From jetkoti at hotmail.com Sat Sep 22 03:47:35 2001 From: jetkoti at hotmail.com (jetkoti at hotmail.com) Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2001 00:47:35 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] NYTimes.com Article: For Bush, a Mission and a Defining Moment Message-ID: <20010922074735.CDAA915C27@email4.lga2.nytimes.com> This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by jetkoti at hotmail.com. For Bush, a Mission and a Defining Moment September 22, 2001 By FRANK BRUNI WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 ? When President Bush first sat down with his full cabinet after last week's terrorist attacks, he told them that nothing about their roles or charges as federal officials would ever be the same. "I expect you to work hard on our agenda," Mr. Bush said, an almost obligatory nod to the various initiatives, like education reform and prescription drug coverage, that had consumed their attention before Sept. 11. Then, a senior administration official said, Mr. Bush made it clear that all of that paled beside the war on terrorism that he planned to wage. "This," he told them, "is the purpose of this administration." That statement, which echoed and amplified others in the days after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, was apparently more than a succinct bit of White House cheerleading. It was a window into what some of Mr. Bush's friends and advisers say is his own wholly transformed sense of himself and his presidency. He believes, they say, that he has come face to face with his life's mission, the task by which he will be defined and judged. "He frequently says that we will be known to history by the way we approach this great cause," said one of his top White House aides, adding that Mr. Bush had made that statement to the religious leaders with whom he met in the White House just hours before his address to Congress on Thursday night. One of the president's close acquaintances outside the White House said Mr. Bush clearly feels he has encountered his reason for being, a conviction informed and shaped by the president's own strain of Christianity. "I think, in his frame, this is what God has asked him to do," the acquaintance said. "It offers him enormous clarity." That is not something that Mr. Bush has always had. He often meandered through his life, occasionally ambled toward the presidency and exhibited a palpable ambivalence about his good political fortune along the way. During the protracted, bitter denouement of the 2000 election, there were times when he seemed to shrink from the tension and recoil from the messiness, his eyes dazed, his shoulders slumped. But many of the people around him say that now, facing an extraordinary crisis in his first year in office, he has acquired a kind of certainty that perhaps eluded him before. He is sure, they say, about what he should be doing. He is sure he cannot turn back. Administration officials and others who have recently spoken with Mr. Bush differed in their assessments of how overtly religious his approach to his ? and the nation's ? current crisis is. But they agreed that he was interpreting this juncture in grand, emphatic and even Manichaean terms, a perspective evident in his recent use of the word "crusade" and in his speech to Congress, in which he said that "this is civilization's fight," that freedom and fear were at war and that "God is not neutral between them." People close to Mr. Bush attributed his poise in that speech, which he delivered without the stiffness or hyper-earnestness that characterized many previous turns in front of the teleprompter, to a heightened self-assurance about his priorities and a deepened determination about his responsibilities. Karen P. Hughes, the counselor to the president, said that three nights before the speech, when he went over the first draft of it on the telephone with her, he said: "This is a defining moment. We have an opportunity to restructure the world toward freedom, and we have to get it right." Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, who has met with Mr. Bush repeatedly since Sept. 11, said, "He has told me several times that he is staking his entire presidency on this ? that the mark of whether he's successful is whether he can succeed in his goal of wiping out terrorism." Not everyone who has observed Mr. Bush's ardor and commitment views them as indisputably positive developments. Although the current moratorium on presidential criticism in the nation's capital prohibits most on-the-record carping, there is off-the-record concern, expressed not only by Democrats but also by some Republicans. They fear that there is something headlong and immature in some of Mr. Bush's exhortations over the last few days. They wonder if he is making promises he cannot keep and threats he cannot back up. They note it is impossible to know how ? and how much ? Mr. Bush has really changed, because efforts by the White House to control what gets said about him, and who says it, have been unusually aggressive. Most of the people in a position to talk knowledgeably about Mr. Bush's emotions are not talking at all. Those who do talk have often sought the administration's permission, and they reel off the same adjectives, like focused and resolute, that White House spokesmen do. Moreover, there are indications that Mr. Bush's nonchalant, jocular demeanor remains the same. In public, his off-the-cuff language still veers toward the colloquial. In private, say several Republicans close to the administration, he still slaps backs and uses baseball terminology, at one point promising that the terrorists were not "going to steal home on me." He is not staying up all night, or even most of the night. He is taking time to play with his dogs and his cat. He is working out most days and arrived at a 6:30 p.m. speech rehearsal on Wednesday straight from a half-hour session on the treadmill. But administration officials said that the president was investing certain duties, like Thursday night's speech, with extraordinary care. Ms. Hughes said that Mr. Bush had not been willing to schedule the address definitively until he was certain that he and his aides had nailed the speech, and she said that the event was not set in stone until Wednesday. People who have visited the White House in recent days said there was a changed, charged atmosphere there. One of them, Mark McKinnon, a senior adviser to Mr. Bush's presidential campaign, said that the president obviously feels that the business at hand "is the country's destiny ? and his destiny." Others who are close to the president said there was a discernible spiritual dimension to his thinking. A senior administration official recalled Mr. Bush's response on Thursday when one of the religious leaders said that Mr. Bush's leadership was part of God's plan. "I accept the responsibility," the president said. One of his close acquaintances said that Mr. Bush had essentially "begun a new life that is inextricably bound to Sept. 11 and all that it implies." One implication, which he said he was sure that the president understood, was that from this moment forward Mr. Bush would be the despised enemy of violent extremists, and it might affect the tightness of the security around him even after his presidency. For now, the acquaintance said, it was giving Mr. Bush the clearest, sharpest compass he had ever possessed. "There's no question of what Bush's legacy will or won't be," he said. "He either beats this back ? or we lose." http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/22/national/22MEMO.html?ex=1002144855&ei=1&en=b5deea09bb639d3a HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact Alyson Racer at alyson at nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help at nytimes.com. Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company From xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu Sat Sep 22 01:38:09 2001 From: xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu (Xhuliana Agolli) Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2001 23:38:09 -0600 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] NewYorkTimes/CBS News Poll Message-ID: <001201c14328$c3d4caa0$6528a8c0@sjcsf.edu> Complete Results -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related Articles a.. Poll Finds Strong Support for U.S. Use of Military Force (Sept. 16, 2001) a.. Conducting the Poll (Sept. 16, 2001) a.. Issue in Depth: Polls -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- he latest New York Times/CBS News Poll is based on telephone interviews conducted September 13 an 14, 2001, with 959 adults across the United States. 1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as President? Approve Disapprove DK/NA 2/10-12/01 CBS 53 21 26 3/8-12/01 60 22 18 4/4-5/01 CBS 53 35 12 4/23-25/01 CBS 56 29 15 5/10-12/01 CBS 57 30 13 6/14-18/01 53 34 13 8/28-31/01 CBS 50 38 12 9/11-12/01 CBS 72 15 13 9/13-14/01 84 9 8 3. Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon? Approve Disapprove DK/NA 9/11-12/01 CBS 76 9 15 9/13-14/01 85 7 8 14. How would you describe how you feel about the attacks now? 9/11/01 CBS 9/12/01 CBS 9/13-14/01 Shocked 31 8 7 Bad feelings in general 29 31 29 Anger/retaliation* 27 25 Devastated/horrified 16 14 19 Violated 2 4 1 No words can describe 3 1 1 Surreal/disbelief 6 5 2 Stunned numb 4 2 1 Concern for victims 1 2 4 Other 7 7 8 DK/NA 1 2 2 * On 9/11 Anger coded with Bad Feelings. 5. How much confidence do you have in the ability of the U.S. government to catch the people who planned the attacks -- would you say you're very confident they will be caught, somewhat confident, not too confident, or not at all confident? Very Somewhat Not too Not at all DK/NA 9/11/01 CBS 53 38 5 3 1 9/12/01 CBS 55 35 6 3 1 9/13-14/01 62 29 5 1 2 19. Do you think the U.S. should take military action against whoever is responsible for the attacks? ASKED OF HALF THE SAMPLE N = 483 Yes No DK/NA 9/13-14/01 85 6 8 7. IF YES in Q.19, ASK: Do you think the U.S. should take military action against whoever is responsible for the attacks, even if it means that innocent people are killed? Yes No DK/NA 9/13-14/01 64 13 8 20. IF YES in Q.7 ASK: What if that meant going to war with a nation that is harboring those responsible for the attacks, then do you think the United States should take military action against whoever is responsible for the attacks? Yes No DK/NA 9/13-14/01 63 - 1 21. IF YES in Q.7, ASK: What if that meant that many thousands of innocent civilians may be killed, then do you think the United States should take military action against whoever is responsible for the attacks? Yes No DK/NA 9/13-14/01 58 3 4 10. Would you say you personally are very concerned about a terrorist attack in the area where you live, or not? Yes No DK/NA 9/11/01 CBS 43 56 1 9/12/01 CBS 36 62 2 9/13-14/01 39 59 2 VARIED WORDING: Would you say you personally are very concerned about a terrorist attack in the United States, or not? CBS News 1/27-28/91 Very concerned-52%, Not concerned-46%, DK/NA-2%. IF VERY CONCERNED, ASK How about in the area where you live? Would you say you personally are very concerned about a terrorist attack in the area where you live, or not? Very concerned-35%, Not-63%, DK/NA-2%. 12. Do you think Tuesday?s attacks will mean that the United States will go to war, or not? Yes No DK/NA 9/11/01 57 28 15 9/12/01 55 27 18 9/13-14/01 68 15 17 22. Do you think Americans will have to give up some of their personal freedoms in order to make the country safe from terrorist attacks, or not? Yes No DK/NA 9/13-14/01 74 21 5 23. Do you think the United States SHOULD return to business as usual as soon as possible, or is it important to take more time before that happens? Soon More time Mixed (vol.) DK/NA 9/13-14/01 59 31 6 4 24. Do you think the United States IS ready now to return to business as usual, or is it too soon for that? Ready Too soon Some ready/some not(vol.) DK/NA 9/13-14/01 37 47 10 5 25. IF TOO SOON in Q. 24, ASK: When do you think the U.S. will be ready to return to business as usual - in the next few days, the next few weeks, several months, or longer than that? Few Few Several Never days weeks months Longer (vol) DK/NA 9/13-14/01 14 22 4 1 6 16. Do you think George W. Bush has strong qualities of leadership, or not? Yes No DK/NA 10/28-30/99 67 18 15 3/19-21/00* CBS 68 23 9 5/10-13/00* 63 28 10 7/20-23/00B* 66 24 10 8/18-20/00* CBS 69 23 8 9/9-11/00* 65 25 10 9/27-10/1/00* 67 27 6 10/6-9/00* CBS 65 26 9 10/18-21/00* 70 24 6 1/15-17/01 CBS 57 35 8 2/10-12/01 CBS 59 31 10 4/23-25/01 CBS 58 36 6 6/14-18/01 54 38 8 9/11-12/01 CBS 55 27 18 9/13-14/01 70 19 11 26. Are you a frequent air traveler, do you fly only occasionally, or have you never flown? Frequent Occasional Never flown DK/NA 9/29/85 CBS 12 65 23 - 6/4-6/95 CBS 10 73 16 - 5/15/96 CBS 10 72 17 1 7/21/96 CBS 16 69 15 - 9/13-14/01 14 67 18 1 27. IF FREQUENT OR OCCASIONAL in Q. 26, ASK: Would you be willing or not willing to arrive three hours early for any flight you might be taking within the United States? Willing Not willing DK/NA 9/13-14/01 69 11 2 28. In order to reduce the threat of terrorism, would you favor or oppose having more security checkpoints with guards and metal detectors at public events and public buildings, even if that meant you personally would spend at least an hour or more waiting in line and going through security checkpoints every time? Favor Oppose DK/NA 9/13-14/01 86 11 3 VARIED WORDING: Would you favor having more security checkpoints with guards and metal detectors at public events and public buildings, even if that meant you personally would spend more time waiting in line and going through security checkpoints? CBS News, 7/29/96: Favor-89%, Not favor-8%, DK/NA-3%. IF FAVOR, ASK: How much more time would you personally be willing to spend doing that at a public event or building: less than 15 minutes, 15 to 30 minutes, 30 minutes to one hour, or more than one hour? Less than 15 minutes-15%, 15-30 minutes-42%, 30 minutes to 1 hour-20%, More than one hour-17%, DK/NA-5%. 29. In order to reduce the threat of terrorism, would you be willing or not willing to allow government agencies to monitor the telephone calls and e-mail of ordinary Americans on a regular basis? Willing Not willing DK/NA 9/13-14/01 39 53 9 30. Currently it is against United States law for the government to seek out and assassinate people in foreign countries who commit terrorist acts in the United States and elsewhere. Do you think this law should be changed so the U.S. government can assassinate people in foreign countries who commit terrorist acts, or should the current law not be changed? Should be changed Should not be changed DK/NA 9/13-14/01 65 23 12 31. Should legal immigration into the United States be kept at its present level, increased, or decreased? Present level Increased Decreased DK/NA 6/24-29/65 1 39 7 33 20 3/25-28/77 1 37 7 42 14 6/19-23/86 2 35 7 49 9 6/21-24/93 3 27 7 61 5 9/8-11/94 3 27 6 63 4 9/18-22/95 3 30 6 54 9 12/3-6/95 NYT 4 31 2 64 3 10/23-27/96 CBS 35 8 50 7 2/26-28/99 5 41 10 44 5 9/11-13/00 5 41 13 38 8 3/26-28/01 5 41 10 43 6 9/13-14/01 29 10 53 8 1.. THE GALLUP ORGANIZATION: Should immigration be kept at its present level, increased or decreased? 2.. Question read: Should immigration be kept at its present level, increased or decreased? 3.. Question read: Should immigration to the United States be kept at its present level, increased or decreased? 4.. Question read: Do you think immigration into the United States should be increased, decreased, or kept about the same? 5.. THE GALLUP ORGANIZATION: In your view, should immigration be kept at its present level, increased, or decreased? 32. Do you think the United States has made it too easy for people from other countries to enter the U.S., or not? Too easy Not made it too easy DK/NA 9/13-14/01 80 15 5 33. How likely do you think it is now that Arab Americans, Muslims and immigrants from the Middle East will be singled out unfairly by people in this country - very likely, somewhat likely, not too likely or not at all likely? Very Somewhat Not too Not at all DK/NA 9/13-14/01 46 41 8 3 3 34. Do you think Arab Americans are more sympathetic to terrorists than other American citizens are, or not? More sympathetic Not more sympathetic DK/NA 9/13-14/01 28 51 21 -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: t.gif Type: image/gif Size: 199 bytes Desc: not available URL: From aalibali at yahoo.com Sat Sep 22 08:26:17 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2001 05:26:17 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] AFP on Kosova Message-ID: <20010922122617.79869.qmail@web11501.mail.yahoo.com> Europe's backyard threat? Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo have so far ignored calls to embrace radical Islam REUTERS Orthodox Slav-Macedonian priests pass a NLA rebel at the Matejce monastery yesterday. By Alexandre Peyrille Agence France-Presse PRISTINA - Ethnic Albanians in predominantly Muslim Kosovo practice a tolerant form of Islam and are ignoring calls from fundamentalist Islamic groups to embrace radical views that could damage their ties to the West. "Albanians are not very religious - only 10 percent are practicing Muslims," Qemail Morina, the head of the highest religious authority in the UN-administered province, said. The Western-clad leader of the Islamic Community in Kosovo dismissed any fears that radical groups linked to Osama bin Laden were active in Kosovo. The interior minister of Serbia, the Yugoslav republic of which Kosovo is formally a province, said on Wednesday he had "a good deal of information on the activities" in the Balkans "of the world's best-known promoter of terrorism" - a reference to bin Laden. The minister, Dusan Mihajlovic, also charged that "bin Laden's organization has two bases in Bosnia-Herzegovina, two in Kosovo, and is also present in Albania." Morina viewed the comments by Mihajlovic - whose country is predominantly Christian - with considerable skepticism. "We have a hard time just filling up the mosques, so the fundamentalist threat..." he commented, tailing off with a sigh. Indeed, Kosovo's Albanian community shows great admiration for the Christian West, their infatuation being especially pronounced for the United States, which led the NATO bombing campaign against Slobodan Milosevic's Yugoslav government in 1999. In the streets of Pristina, Kosovo's largest city, women dress in distinctly Western style. Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo want to join the European Union and become a member of NATO if their province ever wins independence. Their negative opinion of fundamentalism hardened after projects funded by Islamic NGOs to restore or rebuild mosques in Kosovo resulted in the destruction of part of the province's Ottoman architectural heritage. Kosovo's three main leaders are solidly pro-Western and want nothing to do with radical branches of Islam. Ibrahim Rugova has even gone so far as to give pride of place in his office to a photograph of Pope John Paul II. --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Sun Sep 23 08:57:42 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2001 05:57:42 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Reactions after Sep.11 - LA Times Message-ID: <20010923125742.17840.qmail@web11508.mail.yahoo.com> Los Angeles Times September 23, 2001 Sunday Home Edition Part A; Part 1; Page 16; National Desk AFTER THE ATTACK; IN BRIEF / GREECE; Soccer Fans Lash Out at U.S. During Tribute >From Times Wire Reports Fans of a Greek soccer team tried to burn the American flag and jeered during a pregame tribute in Athens in honor of the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, witnesses said. A minute's silence was held before all 77 European soccer games played this week. But some AEK Athens fans jeered Thursday, soccer coach Alex McLeish of the Scottish club Hibernian said upon returning to Scotland. Several hundred fans booed and jeered during the silence before the UEFA Cup game, some chanting, "Americans, killers," according to Greek reports. One group set fire to an Israeli flag, and others tried to burn a U.S. flag but couldn't get it to light. --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Sun Sep 23 09:01:32 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2001 06:01:32 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Commentary by Noel Malcolm Message-ID: <20010923130132.51948.qmail@web11502.mail.yahoo.com> SUNDAY TELEGRAPH(LONDON) September 23, 2001, Sunday Do free societies win wars? Noel Malcolm considers a persuasive account as to why in war the West has usually beaten the non-West . . . until now at least By Noel Malcolm Why The West Has Won: Carnage and Culture from Salamis to Vietnam by Victor Davis Hanson Faber, pounds 20, 492 pp pounds 17 ( pounds 1.99 p&p) 0870 155 7222 THE TITLE of this book may strike a jarring note in some people's minds, appearing as it does at a moment when the sheer vulnerability of the West has just been appallingly exposed. One imagines that the editors, here and in America, are now looking at it with pursed lips, wondering whether they should have chosen something a little less brash, less triumphalistic. But the truth is that this is a brash book, purveying a refreshing brand of intellectual and political self-confidence; the title may need some explanation, but anything more timid would have done this work no justice at all. First, the explanation. "Has Won" is in the past tense here, not because the author is claiming that the West has achieved a final victory, an end to all conflicts, but merely because he is writing a history book, and history is what has happened in the past. "Why the West Has Usually Won" might have been more accurate, though less snappy. For what Victor Davis Hanson is trying to do in this book is to discover the underlying reasons for a huge and apparently simple fact - the fact that, for the last two-and-a-half millennia, the West has generally beaten the non-West whenever it has engaged in armed conflict with it. By "the West" he means (question-beggingly, perhaps) a continuous civilisational entity, extending from ancient Greece and Rome, via medieval western Europe, to modern Europe and America; by the "non-West" he means the Rest. Because his direct concern is with the actual conduct of war, the book is structured around a series of military case-histories, from the great sea-battle between Greeks and Persians at Salamis in 480 BC to the year of fighting between Hernan Cortes's conquistadors and the Aztecs in 1520-1521, from Rorke's Drift in the Zulu War to the Battle of the Midway in June 1942. Two major counter-examples are also discussed: the destruction of the Roman army by Hannibal's forces at Cannae, and the slide towards American defeat in Vietnam that seems to have begun with the Tet Offensive in early 1968. Each battle is carefully analysed - disposition of forces, tactics, weapons, discipline and morale. Blood and guts are also described, sometimes in sickening detail; this is the new trend in military history, ostensibly justified by the moral argument which says that to present war in coolly analytical terms is to mislead readers about its nature. (The moral argument is impeccable, but one suspects that the true motives of the publishers who encourage authors to pile on such details are not.) However, although there is a lot of military detail in this book, its aim is to get behind the military realities; in each case, Hanson wants to identify the social, political or civilisational factors that gave Western forces the edge. A handful of British soldiers at Rorke's drift had more effective discipline than thousands of Zulu warriors; why? American forces in the Pacific may not have been braver than their Japanese foes, but they displayed more improvisation and initiative at every level; why? And so on. Some of the answers are, and must be, statements of the obvious. The basic problem with this book, in fact, is that it has too many answers, not too few. Victor Hanson tends to pile up his arguments like a barrister in court, convinced that the more he has of them, the better; he also tends - again, like a lawyer - to pick and choose, seizing whatever will make his point in one aspect of the case and then silently omitting it if it does not fit the next. The causes of Western superiority identified here cover a very broad spectrum. At one end there are huge, long-term factors, such as the development of Western science and the growth of capitalist economies: these ensured that Western armies would have better weapons, and more of them. Somewhere in the middle are the large-scale political conditions surrounding the conduct of war: the fact that Western armies tended to use citizens and freemen, not just mercenaries or slaves, or that the management of war was generally subject to political audit. (Oddly, he says almost nothing about the huge political implications of financing wars from taxation.) And at the other end of the spectrum there are factors that bear directly on the behaviour of soldiers on the battlefield: the better morale of citizen-soldiers, or the superior initiative of people brought up in free societies. Sometimes we are given several of these arguments at once. Readers might think that the technology gap between the Zulus and the British sufficed, in the long term, to explain which side was likely to prevail; but Hanson piles on the fact that the Zulus served a despotic leader (as if these spear-throwing warriors could have won the war, if only they had adopted a Bill of Rights). Sometimes Hanson nimbly retreats - one might call it a strategic withdrawal - from one point on the spectrum to another. His chapter on Vietnam, for example, having begun with an emphatic demonstration that the Tet Offensive was a military disaster for the Viet Cong, then goes on to blame the "coffeehouse academic posturing" of liberal opinion for turning that American victory into a defeat. (These pages offer a refreshing blast of political incorrectness; let us hope that Professor Hanson, who teaches at California State University, has tenure.) This seems to undermine one of his key arguments - that societies with democratic scrutiny of the military win more wars. Quickly, however, Hanson retreats to a more general statement: democracy and media freedom may not have won the war in Vietnam, but they did ensure victory in the Cold War. That may be true in a very general sense, but in this context it is scarcely Q.E.D. Specialist historians will pick holes here, there and everywhere in the argument of this book. Some of the holes will have to be quite large: 300 years of military defeat by Ottoman land forces - the longest episode of fighting between the West and the Rest in the last millennium - are just passed over here, and the little that Hanson does say about the whole Ottoman system is woefully inaccurate. And yet, and yet . . . At the heart of this big, combative and gutsy book there is an argument which is powerful and convincing. Wars are not technical exercises in a vacuum; they are products of human societies, and some of the key values and strengths of those societies will be expressed in their conduct of war. The West has been good at winning wars, because it has been good at other things of even greater importance. Now that our leaders are declaring a new kind of war, against an unseen enemy who fights by none of the old rules, we must hope that this principle still holds true. Noel Malcolm's books include 'Bosnia: A Short History' and 'Kosovo: A Short History'. --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From jetkoti at hotmail.com Sun Sep 23 15:18:20 2001 From: jetkoti at hotmail.com (jetkoti at hotmail.com) Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2001 12:18:20 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] NYTimes.com Article: A Top Boss in Europe, an Unseen Cell in Gaza and Decoys Everywhere Message-ID: <20010923191820.73BD715C27@email4.lga2.nytimes.com> This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by jetkoti at hotmail.com. A Top Boss in Europe, an Unseen Cell in Gaza and Decoys Everywhere September 23, 2001 By DOUGLAS FRANTZ with RAYMOND BONNER ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sept. 22 ? Officials in Europe, the United States and Pakistan say they have identified new elements of the bin Laden terrorist network, including a top lieutenant in Europe and a previously undisclosed cell in the Gaza Strip. At least 11,000 terrorists have been trained in the past five years at camps operated by Osama bin laden across the border in Afghanistan, these officials say. Many have since been dispatched abroad to destinations unknown. Mr. bin Laden and his Afghan camps are only part of the problem, the officials say, and his network of loosely linked cells may already be so vast that eliminating those camps or even Mr. bin Laden himself would go only part way toward confronting the terrorist threat. Western governments have concluded that many of the terrorist operations linked to Mr. bin Laden are being run by a very senior lieutenant in Europe whom officials would not name. Europe was a far easier place from which to operate because of access to telephones, travel and banks, one European ambassador said. There is also substantial evidence that once terrorists are dispatched around the globe as "sleepers," they are given considerable latitude in selecting their targets and executing their plans in order to minimize communication and detection. Even before the Sept. 11 attacks on America, security agencies in Europe rounded up several groups of followers of Mr. bin Laden. Suspects were arrested this summer in Spain, Italy, France, Germany and Britain. The scope of the network was illustrated by an operation that started with the arrest of four militants in Frankfurt last Dec. 26. The suspects were two Iraqis, a French Muslim and an Algerian. An intelligence official familiar with the arrests said authorities suspected the group intended to bomb the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. The leader of the terrorist cell, an Algerian identified as Muhammad Bensakhria, escaped. He was arrested later in southeastern Spain, and prosecutors say he and his colleagues had been trained by Mr. bin Laden's Al Qaeda organization in Afghanistan. Other cell members were arrested over the summer in Italy and Germany, and an Italian antiterrorist official said evidence seized indicated that the group planned to supply weapons to militants in Britain, Germany and Belgium. Earlier this year, Israeli authorities "stumbled on" an Al Qaeda cell in Gaza, a senior American official there said. The official, who offered few details of the operation, said the Israelis were not even looking for the bin Laden organization and did not know they had a cell in their midst. President Bush said this week that the network operates in 60 countries. But the harder truth, the intelligence officials said, is that no one knows how far Mr. bin Laden's reach really extends. It is certain, however, that the organization's influence goes beyond secretive terrorist cells. It has exported instability on a global basis by training and financing Islamic-oriented insurgency movements from the Philippines and Malaysia to Nigeria and Chechnya. A good example of its influence is the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which is trying to create an Islamic state in the Ferghana Valley that includes parts of three Central Asian countries: Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. American intelligence officials said the group's members were trained at a former Soviet military base now operated by the bin Laden organization near the city of Mazar- i-Sherif in northern Afghanistan. Estimates of the Uzbek group's strength range from 2,000 to 3,000 fighters, most of them well-equipped with the latest weapons and surveillance equipment. From bases in northern Afghanistan and Tajikistan, they have carried out numerous hit-and-run attacks through the region over the last three years. "Without a doubt, the strength of the I.M.U. is external support," Michael R. Hickok, an expert on Central Asia at the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, said in an interview. "Among its supporters are the Taliban and Osama bin Laden." Training terrorists and those who assist them is carried out by the military wing of the bin Laden organization. Another wing deals with public relations, trying to spread the anti-American message as far as possible through interviews and videotapes. Muhammad Ismail Khan, a Pakistani journalist based in Peshawar, described a morning in August of 1998 when he was awakened by a telephone call informing him that Mr. bin Laden wanted to be interviewed. He and several other journalists went to the airport, where a bin Laden associate gave them tickets to Banno, south of Peshawar. There they were met by a van and escorted across the Afghan border at an unmarked crossing point and on to Mr. bin Laden's camp. Such camps in Afghanistan have provided the training grounds for at least 3,000 hard-core terrorists recruited from Arab countries as well as Pakistan and Muslim regions like western China, Chechnya and Central Asia, officials said. A NATO ambassador said the most frightening aspect of the bin Laden organization was that so many of his adherents joined Al Qaeda as young boys and were indoctrinated thoroughly in terrorist techniques and a deep hatred of the United States. Another 8,000 men have received instructions on logistics, like moving money, planning sophisticated attacks, blending into Western cities and communicating secretly, officials said. Intelligence authorities have tracked a network of business dealings that includes agriculture companies, banking, and export-import firms around the world. Along with providing money for the training, the authorities said, the empire can be used for moving people and money around the world. There has been little success in shutting down his finances, the step regarded by many intelligence officials as one of the keys to stopping his operations. "The massive amount of money is the fuel of this," said a NATO ambassador in an interview in Brussels. "The international system is so globalized, so instant, with so many opportunities for anonymity that these guys can take advantage of it." Another expert, Peter Bergen, a journalist who is completing a book on Mr. bin Laden, said the Saudi exile is only the best-known leader of the organization and the public starting point for a particular brand of transnational terrorism. "We use the name bin Laden with multiple connotations," he said. "There are groups that have sworn allegiance, others who might work with him, and others who think he is a good guy." http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/23/international/23NETW.html?ex=1002272700&ei=1&en=3015d54a530a1b58 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact Alyson Racer at alyson at nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help at nytimes.com. Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company From jetkoti at hotmail.com Mon Sep 24 05:11:03 2001 From: jetkoti at hotmail.com (jetkoti at hotmail.com) Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2001 02:11:03 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] NYTimes.com Article: U.S. to Publish Terror Evidence on bin Laden Message-ID: <20010924091103.5638E15C27@email4.lga2.nytimes.com> This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by jetkoti at hotmail.com. U.S. to Publish Terror Evidence on bin Laden September 24, 2001 By JANE PERLEZ and TIM WEINER WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 ? The Bush administration plans to make public evidence linking Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda network to the terror attacks on the United States in an effort to persuade the world, and particularly Muslim nations, that a military response is justified. The evidence will embrace new information gathered by law enforcement and intelligence agents on the Sept. 11 attacks, as well as material used in indictments against Mr. bin Laden in the bombing of American Embassies in East Africa in 1998, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said today. It may also cite leads developed in the investigation of the bombing of the destroyer Cole in Yemen last October. The administration sees the evidence as crucial to the support of friendly Muslim countries ? Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan ? whose governments fear that punishing military action by the United States against the terrorists will spur widespread popular unrest. In the Saudi port city of Jidda, the foreign ministers of six Persian Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, pledged "total support and co-operation for international efforts to find the authors of the terrorist acts and bring them to justice." But the statement offered no specific military or other assistance. King Abdullah of Jordan ? which failed to side with the United States in the gulf war ? sounded less equivocal in his support of whatever Washington might do. "We realize that the start is always going to be difficult, the first step is always going to be a burden," the king said on ABC's "This Week." "But I believe that the steps undertaken by the American armed forces will have the full support of the international community." Two reports are expected within days, officials said: a public one from the State Department, and a secret one prepared by United States intelligence agencies and including details from trusted foreign sources. Officials say they are still arguing over how much information to release ? and to which countries. The list of nations trusted with all the secret information would be short, and some countries might receive fewer details than others, they said. The evident intention is to produce evidence before any American military strike. "If you release it after the action, you're lost," one official said, since Muslim governments would have no chance to make the case for the American acts. The evidence, American officials say, reaches from the southern tip of Manhattan to the foothills of the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan. It traces a group that started out running material aid to the rebels fighting the Soviet invaders of Afghanistan in the 1980's and wound up declaring war on the United States. The strongest is Mr. bin Laden's declaration of war on Feb. 23, 1998. He proclaimed from his Afghan redoubt: "To kill Americans and their allies, both civil and military, is an individual duty of every Muslim who is able." The national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, said today that the government had "very good evidence of links" between bin Laden operatives "and what happened on Sept. 11." She added: "We are drawing in investigative services, law enforcement, intelligence from a lot of countries. And so we need to be careful with how we use this information." The public report will omit intercepts by the National Security Agency, including conversations among people on the fringes of Mr. bin Laden's network right after the attacks, officials said. The secret report will include that type of intelligence information, which will be shared only with some trusted governments. Counterterrorism and intelligence officers are sifting through a flood of warnings and threats against the United States made this spring and summer, looking for leads back to Mr. bin Laden. Some of those reports were not quickly reviewed before Sept. 11, in part because of a lack of trained analysts and trusted translators throughout the government, officials said. "There are not enough people to examine all the information," said Representative Porter Goss of Florida, the ranking Republican on the House intelligence committee and a former C.I.A. officer. Too few analysts and translators must pore over "reams and reams and reams and reams of take, and say, `Does any of this stuff mean anything?' And especially if it's in a foreign language or in code, that's very hard to deal with. That's hard work." Senior officials said they could not include sensitive intelligence information because it could compromise their sources and methods of investigation. But they were also aware, they said, of the concerns of Arab and other leaders. The Saudi foreign minister, Saud al-Faisal, has said the American response should be based on justice, not vengeance. The Egyptian leader, Hosni Mubarak, has repeatedly said the United States must be sure that it had the evidence against the suspects. An American attack could otherwise backfire and nurture more Islamic extremists, he has warned. Mr. Mubarak did not appear to suggest that the evidence be sufficient to prove a court case but rather that it persuade the man in the street that Mr. bin Laden is to blame. Previous administrations have made effective use of public presentations ? most often at the United Nations Security Council ? to convince the world that military action was necessary. As the chief United States delegate to the United Nations, Madeleine K. Albright displayed photographs of the bombs and integrated circuits that American officials said were to be used in a plot by Iraq to assassinate former President George Bush when he was visiting Kuwait in 1993. The presentation was intended to justify the Clinton administration's missile attack on an Iraqi intelligence site in Baghdad. One of the most dramatic evidentiary presentations was made by the Kennedy administration's ambassador to the United Nations, Adlai E. Stevenson, who appeared in the Security Council chamber with photographs of Soviet missiles in Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. But in 1986, American intelligence agencies were dismayed that the Reagan administration publicly cited its electronic interception of messages between Libya and its diplomatic posts after the terrorist bombing of a West Berlin discotheque to win support for a retaliatory bombing raid against the Libyan leader, Muammar el-Qaddafi. Administration officials took care today to note that the White House was not preparing evidence on Mr. Bin Laden to satisfy the demand for it from the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan. "This is not a government that has given to Western jurispudence, so these calls for proof are somewhat misplaced," the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, said on CNN's "Late Edition." Ms. Rice said the evidence would be laid out for "friends, allies and the American people and others." In an extended interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Secretary Powell said that both he and the Pentagon were sensitive to the warnings of Mr. Mubarak that a new generation of militants could emerge from American military assaults. The secretary stressed that the first objective would be "Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and his presence in Afghanistan." After that goal had been reached, the administration would consider options against other sources of terrorist activity. By keeping the narrow scope, and not immediately focusing on Iraq, as Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul D. Wolfowitz has urged, the United States could keep international support, he said. For now, Secretary Powell declined to link Iraq to the attacks. "There are some reports of linkages, but not to the extent that I would say today there is a clear link, but we're looking for links and we're watching very, very carefully," he said. While Secretary Powell argued for a narrow focus, Ms. Rice did not exclude toppling the Taliban government. "It's a very repressive and terrible regime," she said. "The Afghan people would be better off without it. We will see what means are at our disposal to do that." http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/24/international/24DIPL.html?ex=1002322663&ei=1&en=fcf022a9586e2939 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact Alyson Racer at alyson at nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help at nytimes.com. Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company From aalibali at yahoo.com Mon Sep 24 07:40:10 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2001 04:40:10 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Kathimerini Editorial Message-ID: <20010924114010.91827.qmail@web11504.mail.yahoo.com> EDITORIAL & COMMENTARYUpdated: 09/24/2001 9:44 GMT Editorial The unknown fallout The recent statements by US President George W. Bush and other top Washington officials have clarified the outline of America's response to the devastating blow of international terrorism. It is clear that the Bush administration, in contrast to the fruitless efforts of its predecessors, has not opted for some military strikes aimed primarily at domestic consumption but for a prolonged, multidimensional campaign in order to uproot this major new threat to global security. In this context, military violence will come under political objectives so as to drain all social support for international terrorism. The recent ceasefire between the Israelis and the Palestinians highlights the American determination in that direction. Greece's unreserved support for the American nation as expressed by Prime Minister Costas Simitis was inevitable. Being an integral part of the family of liberal, Western democracies, Greece could not possibly have remained neutral in a war declared by the forces of obscurantism, not only on the USA but also on freedom and democracy per se. The nascent anti-terrorist campaign will bring sweeping changes to the Balkan periphery. The revelations about Osama bin Laden's links with Albanian irredentism and Bosnian Muslim extremism will affect the situation in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo and Bosnia. In the meantime, Turkey's NATO support against Islamic fundamentalism will bring the military and political establishment of Greece's neighbor into confrontation with its domestic political Islamic forces. The outcome of this confrontation will largely determine Turkey's European prospects. Greek foreign policy will have to carefully weigh its hopes and possible dangers stemming from the collateral effects of the international anti-terrorist struggle in the Balkans and develop any necessary initiatives. "War is the father of all things," Heraclitus said. It is just that no one knows, in advance, what exactly will be born... --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From endril at rocketmail.com Mon Sep 24 09:57:12 2001 From: endril at rocketmail.com (Endri Leno) Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2001 06:57:12 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] What the hell is that???!!! In-Reply-To: <20010924091103.5638E15C27@email4.lga2.nytimes.com> Message-ID: <20010924135712.25731.qmail@web14607.mail.yahoo.com> Has anyone seen this picture? __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: wtfisthat.jpg Type: image/pjpeg Size: 41374 bytes Desc: wtfisthat.jpg URL: From aalibali at yahoo.com Tue Sep 25 07:15:00 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 04:15:00 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Tolerating Intolerance in Greece Message-ID: <20010925111500.54775.qmail@web11508.mail.yahoo.com> GHM: Greece: Tolerating Intolerance (Statement to the OSCE) available at: http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/bhr/english/organizations/ghm/ghm_osceB_19_09_01.doc GREEK HELSINKI MONITOR (GHM) Address: P.O. Box 60820, 15304 Glyka Nera Telephone: (+30-1) 347.22.59. Fax: (+30-1) 601.87.60. e-mail: office at greekhelsinki.gr website: http://www.greekhelsinki.gr ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Statement to the 2001 OSCE Implementation Meeting Working Session on "Tolerance and Non-Discrimination" 19 September 2001 Greece: Tolerating Intolerance Speaking yesterday before this forum, the Greek delegation stated that this is a forum to review the implementation of human rights standards only of totalitarian or at most authoritarian states. Therefore, discussing problems in Greece, like the demolition of a house of a Rom -to cite the example mentioned with contempt by the Greek delegation that spoke in fact of ? Sinti (sic)- is inappropriate. We would like to ask the moderator and the delegations of the participating states that have been the object of criticism in this forum over the years, including such well-known ? "authoritarian" countries like the USA and France, whether they agree with that description of this meeting. If not, perhaps they should remind Greece that all countries, including long-standing democracies, should welcome criticism and respond with arguments if not with specific answers to specific allegations made by NGOs or other participating states. The Greek delegation's arrogant approach reflects, unfortunately, the views of competent Alternate Foreign Minister Elisabeth Papazoi, in charge of Greece's answers to related criticism in/by intergovernmental organizations. After the release of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) Second Report on Greece, in June 2000, which included a categorical and impertinent rejection of ECRI's criticism, Ms Papazoi stated "that there are only isolated instances of racism in Greece and the Greek society is not possessed by an inclination to xenophobia." A few months later she added that "Greece has nothing to fear in the area of human rights protection; evidence of that is that in our country no major human rights violations are observed or denounced." Luckily for Greece, the government includes a few sound voices as well. Minister of Justice Mihalis Stathopoulos, a non-politician with a NGO background, commenting exactly on Ms. Papazoi's reactions to the ECRI report, said "all those who boast for the absence of racism in Greece are people who are not used to criticism and self-criticism." More recently, he added that "only nationalists can claim that our country does not face the problems [of racism and oppression of minorities] that are plaguing every other country today. Societies are made up of human beings, not angels. And Greece is no exception to that rule. At some point we must rid ourselves of this Hellenocentric attitude that, in the end, is detrimental to our nation's interests." Professor Stathopoulos is the Minister who initiated in May 2000 the suppression of the reference to religion on identity cards. The move triggered reactions by the Orthodox Church and many sectors of the Greek public that were not only verbally violent but often outright racist and especially anti-Semitic. Many condemned the verbal violence but hardly any the racist overtones. Also, at the height of debate on whether Albanian pupils can bear the Greek flag in national day parades, Minister for Macedonia and Thrace George Paschalidis said that: "We are a country which is afraid." "We have cities which are afraid? A country afraid of foreigners, of others, has a bleak future. We have to overcome claustrophobic syndromes? Our civilization does not allow us to be a country that needs foreign workers until sunset, then calls on the police to expel them, only to ask them back the next morning. There is also the fear of the different." In 2000, two surveys -carried out by the EU and a Greek state institution- confirmed the gravity of the problem of xenophobia in Greece. The EU's spring 2000 Eurobarometer survey showed that 38% of Greeks are disturbed by the presence of foreigners ("citizens with other nationalities") in Greece. The EU average was 15% and the second highest percentage of xenophobia was among the Danes (24%). Even more revealingly the same survey showed that, while 64% of EU citizens consider it a good thing for any society to be made up of people from different races, religions, and cultures, only 36% shared that view in Greece (the second lowest percentage was 52% for Austrians), with 52% of Greeks disagreeing with it (vs. 26% for EU citizens as a whole and 35% for the second highest percentage for Belgians). Moreover, a spring 1999 survey, carried out by the state National Center for Social Research (EKKE), showed that, on a composite index, 47%-54% of junior high and senior high school pupils, their parents and their teachers are xenophobic. It is obvious that Greece faces serious intolerance, which is met with prevailing tolerance. The most characteristic case was the complete and uninhibited pogrom against 150 Albanians in the village of Loutra, Lesbos, last August. Its Greek residents, enraged by the attitude of some Albanians who had a violent argument with a bar owner and some Greek patrons, asked all Albanian residents of the village to leave it within a week. Although the ultimatum became widely known, no one -not even the prosecutor- intervened to protect the Albanians who ended up leaving a village where many had been leaving for a few years. No legal action was taken against the perpetrators even after the fact, while their activity was regrettably condoned a week later by the President of the Republic. That was not an "isolated incident:" -the government's and the Greek delegation to the OSCE's favorite phrase. Over this and previous years, Albanians and even more Roma, were threatened with or actually the victims of pogroms, because of being allegedly collectively prone to crime, or a threat to public health, without anyone ever been punished for such racist acts. GHM feels sorry for such events, as it feels sorry that the Greek Foreign Ministry scorns related criticism in front of international institutions like these OSCE meetings, making it a tacit accomplice to such hideous acts. --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Tue Sep 25 07:20:01 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 04:20:01 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] US Envoy on Macedonia Message-ID: <20010925112001.95350.qmail@web11501.mail.yahoo.com> RFE/RL: U.S. ENVOY SLAMS MACEDONIAN MANIPULATION OF TERROR TRAGEDY... RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 5, No. 179, Part II, 20 September 2001 U.S. ENVOY SLAMS MACEDONIAN MANIPULATION OF TERROR TRAGEDY... James Pardew, the U.S. special envoy in Macedonia, told Reuters in Skopje on 20 September that the Macedonian authorities have sought political gain from the terrorist tragedy in the U.S. by trying to place the ethnic Albanian guerrillas on the same footing with the terrorists who attacked the U.S. (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 September 2001 and "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 18 September 2001). Pardew said: "Comparisons between what happened in Macedonia and the events in the United States last week are completely false. I am informing the government that we object to the use of the tragedy for local political advantage or to attempt to delay or disrupt the peace process ongoing in Macedonia." PM ...SAYS THAT U.S. POLICY IS UNCHANGED. Pardew also told Reuters in Skopje on 20 September that "there have been public statements [in Macedonia] about the U.S. reevaluating its position in Macedonia based on what happened in New York, and we see that as an attempt to delay or disrupt the peace process by redefining the situation here.... I am advising Macedonian leaders that there is no change to U.S. policy toward Macedonia based on the tragic events last week. I am telling them that we stand completely behind the framework peace agreement and its 45-day timetable for implementation." Pardew stressed that "the international community will not forgive any people in Macedonia who seek to delay, distort, or disrupt parliamentary endorsement of the framework agreement or who seek to return to the hills to threaten violence." PM --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu Tue Sep 25 14:15:25 2001 From: xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu (Xhuliana Agolli) Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 12:15:25 -0600 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fw: Security Watch: Special - Terror attack updates Message-ID: <001301c145ee$0c81a300$6528a8c0@sjcsf.edu> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Security Watch" To: "Security Watch Mailing List" Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2001 10:02 AM Subject: Security Watch: Special - Terror attack updates > ISN Security Watch - Your daily security check. > For our full news service visit our website, > http://www.isn.ethz.ch > _______________________________________________________ > > > CENTRAL ASIAN STATES REMAIN WARY > The Central Asian states of Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan have > offered the US help in possible military operations in > Afghanistan after pledges of assistance from Russia and > Kazakhstan. > > http://www.isn.ethz.ch/infoservice/index.cfm?service=cwn&parent=special3 > 0 > > > PAKISTAN FACES UNCERTAIN FUTURE > While his army officers were locked in talks with a US team > on possible war preparations, Pakistan's military ruler, > General Pervez Musharraf, was busy meeting a EU delegation. > > http://www.isn.ethz.ch/infoservice/index.cfm?service=cwn&parent=special2 > 9 > > > US TIGHTENS NET AROUND BIN LADEN > The US on Monday tried to surround Islamic militant Osama > bin Laden with a far-flung political and military net, > sending a team to Pakistan, positioning troops on land and > sea, and promising a written indictment against bin Laden. > > http://www.isn.ethz.ch/infoservice/index.cfm?service=cwn&parent=special2 > 6 > > REFUGEES LATEST VICTIMS OF TERROR ATTACKS > Thousands of Afghan people are fleeing their homes amid > fears of US vengeance for the Taliban regime's sheltering > of suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden. However, they are > unlikely to find much refuge, as governments in the region > and around the world tighten their borders > > http://www.isn.ethz.ch/infoservice/index.cfm?service=cwn&parent=special2 > 2 > > _________________________________________________________ > > INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND SECURITY NETWORK - ISN > Your one-stop information network for global security > http://www.isn.ethz.ch > > To unsubscribe from the list, send a message to > isn-daily-news at sipo.gess.ethz.ch with "Unsubscribe" (no > quotes) in the subject. Your record will be permanently > removed from our database. > > We welcome your feedback at isn-daily-news at sipo.gess.ethz.ch > From xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu Tue Sep 25 14:17:34 2001 From: xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu (Xhuliana Agolli) Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 12:17:34 -0600 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fw: Security Watch: Monday, 24 September 2001 Message-ID: <001b01c145ee$599d5260$6528a8c0@sjcsf.edu> Skopje hardliners link NLA to bin Laden Macedonian nationalists are likening the assault on America to Albanian "terrorist aggression" in a desperate bid to derail a peace deal in the Balkan state, analysts say. "The best way to destroy your enemy's reputation and support is to try to link him to the world's worst nightmare," a diplomat said. Macedonian hardliners and their followers in the mainstream media are trying to do just that, even as the guerrillas hand in their arms to NATO and demobilize, analysts say. When hijacked airliners crashed into US landmarks, Macedonians recalled the shock of a rebel uprising at home and that linkage is being milked by foes of a peace deal with unforeseeable consequences, analysts say. Newspapers have been full of stories over the past week tarring the guerrillas by alleged association with the suspected mastermind of the US attacks, Saudi-born radical Osama bin Laden and his Afghan-based Al-Qaida group. They report that "mujahideen" fighters identifiable by their beards had joined the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) in battle against government troops. "They are desperately trying to find any linkage between their enemies, the NLA and bin Laden's organization," a NATO official who asked not to be named told Reuters. "Except for the beards they have nothing." From the moment the NLA burst out of Macedonia's northern border mountains seven months ago, the Skopje government has sought to convince the international community that it was facing a "terrorist" threat, not a human rights struggle. Some Macedonians were driven from their homes by fear of guerrilla attack but more than 90 percent of Macedonian casualties in the conflict have been police or soldiers. NLA rebels insisted they were fighting only for equal rights for the large Albanian minority after years of futile negotiations by its civilian leadership. In August, the NLA agreed to disarm and disband but the price, to Macedonian eyes, was heavy and humiliating - a sweeping package of minority rights reforms benefiting those who had, effectively, held a sovereign state to ransom. Western diplomats who brokered the accord argued to Skopje that there was no other way to placate an adversary it could not beat militarily and preserve Macedonia intact. Constitutional amendments required by the peace agreement must be ratified with legislation. But parliamentary resistance, already evident before the US attacks, has stiffened in the aftermath. "They (government) are still trying to gain support for their position from the international community by linking the NLA with that evil in the United States," the NATO aide said. Analysts versed in Byzantine Balkan politics said the goal of the propaganda campaign might not be so simple. "It is in part an opportunistic attempt to play on Macedonian resentment about being forced to make concessions to those they consider 'terrorists'," said Edward Joseph, Skopje-based analyst for the International Crisis Group think tank. "It's clear that the international audience is not buying this, but it remains to be seen how much or how strongly this will resonate among Macedonians and Albanians," Joseph said. Western diplomats in Macedonia have urged Macedonian nationalists not to distort the American tragedy for their receptive domestic audience to derail the peace process. "This message includes an orchestrated media campaign to associate the NLA with bin Laden. Why did they wait until after the peace agreement to talk about alleged bin Laden connections?" a senior Western diplomat said. Some critics believe the media accusations are only a new phase in a propaganda war by nationalists aimed at blackening the NLA and clinging to ethnic primacy assured by the current constitution before it is "too late". "If the NLA hands over their weapons and if they disband, they will no longer exist so they can no longer be portrayed as a terrorist organization," the NATO official said. Waiting along with the rest of the world for Washington's military response to the assaults on New York and Washington, Macedonians perceive hypocrisy among Western leaders in their approach to international security threats. "The double standards of the international community in its attitude to terrorism became obvious after the tragic events in the US last week," said Ljubco Georgievski, Macedonia's nationalist prime minister. He said that in the eight months of Macedonia's crisis he had not seen a decisive policy to vanquish "terrorism" in the small Balkan republic, whose insecurity is rooted in historical territorial claims by neighboring states. One Western analyst warned that a US onslaught against bin Laden's network might give wrong ideas to some Macedonian politicians and endanger prospects for a peaceful resolution of the country's ethnic strife. "Somebody might think, 'If the US can do it, why can't we?' And that will kill the peace process," he said. (Reuters) From jetkoti at hotmail.com Tue Sep 25 21:05:17 2001 From: jetkoti at hotmail.com (jetkoti at hotmail.com) Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 18:05:17 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] NYTimes.com Article: How to Protect the Homeland Message-ID: <20010926010517.6E20015C27@email4.lga2.nytimes.com> This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by jetkoti at hotmail.com. How to Protect the Homeland September 25, 2001 By JOSEPH S. NYE CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Five years ago, with James Woolsey, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, I headed a government study that found a lack of preparedness to face catastrophic terrorism. Our warnings and those of similar groups went largely unheeded. On Sept. 11, complacency was wiped away, but the fragmented bureaucratic structure and procedures of our government remain a barrier to action, despite President Bush's decision to name Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania to head a new Office of Homeland Defense. By using the rhetoric of war to frame our response to the terror attacks, President Bush has marshaled the public's patriotism and persuaded Congress to provide financing. But the danger in the rhetoric is that the new office may be structured like a military organization. There are many types of terrorism and many kinds of terrorist weapons. Even if we succeed in eliminating Osama bin Laden, we have to remember that Timothy McVeigh was home-grown. And as we succeed in battening down the cockpits to prevent civilian aircraft being used again as giant cruise missiles, terrorists will be exploring other vulnerabilities in our open society and investigating even more devastating weapons. Fortunately, nuclear and biological weapons are not as easy to make as popular fiction suggests, but there have been reports that Mr. bin Laden and others have tried to purchase stolen nuclear weapons from the former Soviet inventory. We also know that a few years ago the Japanese Aum Shinrikyo cult killed people with both chemical and biological agents. Suppressing terrorism is very different from a military campaign. It requires continuous, patient, undramatic civilian work and close cooperation with other countries. And it requires coordination within our government. The C.I.A. and F.B.I. must improve their ability to work together on detection and must reconcile their different authorities and programs in intelligence and law enforcement. The F.B.I., the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Customs Service, the Defense Department and other agencies must improve their cooperation. Because of poor coordination, two suspects were able to enter this country even after their names had been placed on a watch list, and the jet fighters that scrambled after the Federal Aviation Administration notification of the hijackings arrived too late. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has to work with local governments on domestic responses. New federally funded research and development programs are needed to address each phase of a crisis, as well as to accelerate new technologies and devise special training and testing exercises. It would be a mistake if the Office of Homeland Defense merely added another layer of bureaucracy. Instead, Governor Ridge should head a committee of deputy secretaries from the agencies with control over budgets and programs involved with terrorism defense. He should create a small staff that works closely with the Office of Management and Budget to monitor plans to be carried out by existing agencies. His office should be supported by new research corporations created to deal with terrorism, as the RAND corporation was created in the cold war to deal with the nuclear threat. These groups should not be bound by the rigidities and inadequate salaries of the federal bureaucracy. Their independence should allow them to plan an antiterror system that can find gaps and overlaps in government agencies' antiterror efforts and examine weaknesses in private systems like computer networks. Planners should conduct regular exercises with teams simulating terrorists and defenders, trying to outsmart each other. Had we done this for our airport security system, we might have realized that it was designed to detect guns and bombs but not to stop suicide pilots armed with knives and box cutters. As recently as last spring, a commission on national security headed by former Senators Gary Hart and Warren Rudman also warned of our lack of preparedness. Sadly, the commissioners were right. Now we must organize ourselves effectively to combat terrorism. Joseph S. Nye, dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, was chairman of the National Intelligence Council and an assistant secretary of defense in the Clinton administration. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/25/opinion/25NYE.html?ex=1002466317&ei=1&en=760c4b601e0210e2 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact Alyson Racer at alyson at nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help at nytimes.com. Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company From aalibali at yahoo.com Tue Sep 25 21:39:22 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 18:39:22 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Kico Blushi ne Koha Jone Message-ID: <20010926013922.70156.qmail@web11501.mail.yahoo.com> [input] --> -->C'kane greket me ne? Ajo qe po kurdiset nga fqinjet e cartallosur e antishqiptare eshte as e re, as e panjohur. Shume fushata te tilla jane ndermarre kunder nesh gjate ketij shekulli. Por ky i tanishmi eshte me i rrezikshem e me djallezori, pasi fobia ndaj shqiptareve kerkon te riizoloje Shqiperine e shqiptaret. Ne kete loje te ndyre nepermjet honorareve e njohjeve po penetrojne edhe neper stacione mediatike me reputacion boteror per te "provuar" se stacioni i dyte i mundshem i Bin Ladenit, pas Cecenise, do te jete ne Shqiperi. Diplomacia e lobingjet shqiptare gjithmone ka provuar se jane te dobeta e te pafuqishme per te perballuar rrebeshe te tilla propagandistike. Ky eshte kulmi i kulmeve por, sidoqofte, kjo magme antishqiptare nuk do te zere vend ne kancelarite perendimore, pasi ata e dijne me mire se pashallaret e Ballkanit se kush eshte me te vertete antiamerikan e antiperendim; qellimi i nacionalisteve serbe, maqedonas e greke eshte te fitojne kapital politik vetjak duke ngjallur racizmin ndaj shqiptareve. Shumekush ne Shqiperi nuk e ka te veshtire te kuptoje perse nacionalistet serbe e maqedonas vjellin vrer kunder nesh. Por ka naive qe thone: po greket, pse, c'i ka gjetur ata nga Shqiperia e, pse jo, edhe nga SHBA, se ciles jo vetem ia djegin cdo dite flamurin kombetar neper sheshet e stadiumet e Greqise, por edhe hedhin bomba e shashka kunder Nato-s, SHBA e Britanise se Madhe, duke vrare edhe diplomate te njohur. Por ne Shqiperi, as shtypi, as qarqet zyrtare, as kreret partiake e as qytetaret e thjeshte nuk kane deklaruar kurre qe Greqia eshte terroriste, se aty ka baza e njesi terroristesh, se paraqet rrezik per rajonin e Evropes etj.etj. Kjo nuk ka ndodhur tek ne as kur racistet greke kane vrare me cifte refugjate shqiptare te pafajshem e as kur televizionet greke kane akuzuar shqiptaret per vrasje e krime e, me pas, eshte zbuluar se ato krime i kane bere greket vete...As kur ushtaret greke masakrojne gjate "fshesave" te pervitshme dhjetra shqiptare e as kur organizatat Mavi apo vorioepiriotet kane sulmuar me arme e me fletushka propagandistike territorin tone e as kur shume refugjate te gjore detyrohen me dhune "te pagezohen" apo te marrin karten e gjelber, te mjekohen e te marrin nje vize duke nenshkruar se jane vorioepiriote... Pra, ne nuk kemi bere "namin" jo se nuk e kemi te zhvilluar ne shkallen e mjaftueshme ndjenjen kombetare, as pse jemi te varfer, pra kemi me pak dinjitet se greket, por se ne Shqiperi e te shqiptaret nuk ekzistojne ende ndjenjat e racizmit e te ksenofobise. Kjo s'do te thote pra se ne jemi me te dobet e me te pafuqishem per t'u pergjigjur me te njejten monedhe. Po atehere mire serbet e maqedonasit, po c'kane greket? Kjo pyetje, se e cuditshme aq edhe e thjeshte, duket se e ka nje pergjigje e cila do te jepet nje dite. Pra, nuk eshte aspak e besueshme se, me qe shqiptaret bejne zullume neper Greqi, ndaj eshte ngallur antishqiptarizmi. E verteta eshte se Greqia ka nje popullsi te plakur, nje popullsi te pamjaftueshme autoktone per te luajtur role te kenaqshme ne Ballkan, te cilat mund te ushqejne megallomanine e vjeter greke. Ndaj frika se, pas disa vitesh, shqiptaret do te behen domosdo shumice ne rajon, e cka eshte me e rendesishme, djersa, gjaku e mundimet e refugjateve shqiptare do te kene kapercyer varferine e prapambetjen e tanishme te vendit e te shoqerise shqiptare e, atehere, greket, maqedonet e, pse jo, edhe serbet, te gjithe se bashku nuk do te mund te ndjehen superiore ndaj rraces shqiptare. Ketu pra, ketu e ka burimin kjo lloj fushate e shpifur, mesjetare, antishqiptare. E sigurte eshte se ata, edhe kesaj here do te deshtojne, jo vetem se shqiptaret jane rreshtuar aty ku duhet e me vendet me te perparuara te rruzullit, porse ata po deshmojne se as racizmi e as talebanizmi nuk mund te infektojne popullin me te shumevuajtur te Ballkanit, shqiptaret. Kico Blushi 9/24/2001 --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From naac at naac.org Wed Sep 26 16:22:46 2001 From: naac at naac.org (National Albanian American Council) Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2001 16:22:46 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] NAAC Michigan Dinner with General Wesley Clark Message-ID: <008f01c146c9$028a3f70$0301010a@sokol> National Albanian American Council Michigan Chapter Cordially Invites You to Attend A Dinner in Honor of General Wesley Clark Friday, October 12, 2001 Royalty House 8201 East 13 Mile Road Warren, MI 48093 VIP Reception 5:00 pm Dinner 7:00 pm VIP Reception & Dinner $150 Dinner Only $50 Please contact Palok Lulgjuraj or Marie at (248) 588-7272 no later than Friday, October 5th to purchase tickets or to reserve tickets to purchase at the event. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From jetkoti at hotmail.com Thu Sep 27 03:00:42 2001 From: jetkoti at hotmail.com (jetkoti at hotmail.com) Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 00:00:42 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] NYTimes.com Article: A Time of Gifts Message-ID: <20010927070042.A06BC15C27@email4.lga2.nytimes.com> This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by jetkoti at hotmail.com. A Time of Gifts September 26, 2001 By STEPHEN JAY GOULD The patterns of human history mix decency and depravity in equal measure. We often assume, therefore, that such a fine balance of results must emerge from societies made of decent and depraved people in equal numbers. But we need to expose and celebrate the fallacy of this conclusion so that, in this moment of crisis, we may reaffirm an essential truth too easily forgotten, and regain some crucial comfort too readily forgone. Good and kind people outnumber all others by thousands to one. The tragedy of human history lies in the enormous potential for destruction in rare acts of evil, not in the high frequency of evil people. Complex systems can only be built step by step, whereas destruction requires but an instant. Thus, in what I like to call the Great Asymmetry, every spectacular incident of evil will be balanced by 10,000 acts of kindness, too often unnoted and invisible as the "ordinary" efforts of a vast majority. We have a duty, almost a holy responsibility, to record and honor the victorious weight of these innumerable little kindnesses, when an unprecedented act of evil so threatens to distort our perception of ordinary human behavior. I have stood at ground zero, stunned by the twisted ruins of the largest human structure ever destroyed in a catastrophic moment. (I will discount the claims of a few biblical literalists for the Tower of Babel.) And I have contemplated a single day of carnage that our nation has not suffered since battles that still evoke passions and tears, nearly 150 years later: Antietam, Gettysburg, Cold Harbor. The scene is insufferably sad, but not at all depressing. Rather, ground zero can only be described, in the lost meaning of a grand old word, as "sublime," in the sense of awe inspired by solemnity. In human terms, ground zero is the focal point for a vast web of bustling goodness, channeling uncountable deeds of kindness from an entire planet - the acts that must be recorded to reaffirm the overwhelming weight of human decency. The rubble of ground zero stands mute, while a beehive of human activity churns within, and radiates outward, as everyone makes a selfless contribution, big or tiny according to means and skills, but each of equal worth. My wife and stepdaughter established a depot on Spring Street to collect and ferry needed items in short supply, including face masks and shoe inserts, to the workers at ground zero. Word spreads like a fire of goodness, and people stream in, bringing gifts from a pocketful of batteries to a $10,000 purchase of hard hats, made on the spot at a local supply house and delivered right to us. I will cite but one tiny story, among so many, to add to the count that will overwhelm the power of any terrorist's act. And by such tales, multiplied many millionfold, let those few depraved people finally understand why their vision of inspired fear cannot prevail over ordinary decency. As we left a local restaurant to make a delivery to ground zero late one evening, the cook gave us a shopping bag and said: "Here's a dozen apple brown bettys, our best dessert, still warm. Please give them to the rescue workers." How lovely, I thought, but how meaningless, except as an act of solidarity, connecting the cook to the cleanup. Still, we promised that we would make the distribution, and we put the bag of 12 apple brown bettys atop several thousand face masks and shoe pads. Twelve apple brown bettys into the breach. Twelve apple brown bettys for thousands of workers. And then I learned something important that I should never have forgotten - and the joke turned on me. Those 12 apple brown bettys went like literal hot cakes. These trivial symbols in my initial judgment turned into little drops of gold within a rainstorm of similar offerings for the stomach and soul, from children's postcards to cheers by the roadside. We gave the last one to a firefighter, an older man in a young crowd, sitting alone in utter exhaustion as he inserted one of our shoe pads. And he said, with a twinkle and a smile restored to his face: "Thank you. This is the most lovely thing I've seen in four days - and still warm!" Stephen Jay Gould, a professor of zoology at Harvard, is the author of "Questioning the Millennium." http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/26/opinion/26GOUL.html?ex=1002574042&ei=1&en=52c1714cae4b544e HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact Alyson Racer at alyson at nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help at nytimes.com. Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company From aalibali at yahoo.com Thu Sep 27 21:14:40 2001 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 18:14:40 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] The Hartford Courant Message-ID: <20010928011440.30653.qmail@web11508.mail.yahoo.com> THE HARTFORD COURANT September 27, 2001 Thursday, STATEWIDE EDITORIAL; Pg. A13 WILL GAMES GO ON IN GREECE? Laurence D. Cohen Laurence D. Cohen is a senior fellow at the Yankee Institute for Public Policy in Hartford and a public-relations consultant. His column appears every Sunday and every other Thursday. To leave him a comment, please call 860- 241-3643. BODY: Few nations are more horrified, if not petrified, at the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center than Greece, home to the 2004 Summer Olympics. >From the moment the relatively tiny European nation (about 11 million people) won the competition to host the games, there have been questions about whether Greece is rich enough, disciplined enough, organized enough and safe enough for the challenges of holding such a large, complex international gathering. Greek Olympic officials, who work in one of the most heavily guarded buildings in Athens, complete with metal detectors and submachine gun-toting security forces, operate a publicity-generating machine that cranks out reassuring stories that the nation will be ready for the games -- and Greek government officials are quick to promise that Greece is, and will be, as safe as any other site for the games. But that was before the World Trade Center horror. New scrutiny will be aimed at Greece. International Olympic Committee staff members and tourists alike will be particularly sensitive to the Greek security blanket, which over the years has been accused of being a bit frayed around the edges. This past summer, the Greek police chief, Costas Passaris, was forced to resign when the most wanted criminal in Greece escaped from an apartment surrounded by more than 50 officers. The incident dredged up dozens of examples in recent years of a relaxed attitude in Greece about crime and terrorism -- and a lack of professional rigor among security forces. The Greeks have their own home-grown left-wing terrorists, dubbed "November 17," who periodically engage in what, by World Trade Center standards, is low-key terror -- a one-at-a-time assassination campaign that has murdered 23 Greeks and foreign dignitaries and journalists over the past 25 years. As the press counselor at the Greek Embassy in Washington delicately put in an op-ed essay in the Los Angeles Times last winter: "Success against this group has been elusive." The International Olympic Committee has been quietly, but not too quietly, pressuring the Greeks to show substantive progress in every aspect of preparing for the games, from road construction to security. But others have been inclined to express their concerns out loud. The American ambassador to Greece, R. Nicholas Burns, told The New York Times this past summer: "The big thing here is that November 17 is not the only threat to these [Olympic] games. The real threat is international terrorism, broadly defined." When I interviewed Greek security and defense officials this past summer, they were quick to explain that Greece was soliciting advice and expertise from anti-terrorism experts from across the globe, including the United States, Germany and Israel. The promise from the Greeks is that the games will be patrolled by 50,000 police, army, coast guard and commando units -- and last week, Prime Minister Costas Simitis promised that the country will "do the utmost" to guarantee the safety of the games, including a review of the $600 million security package. Of course, Greece is not the only nation with Olympic jitters. Last week, the president of the International Olympic Committee was granted the discretion to cancel the winter games scheduled for next February in Salt Lake City -- although he characterized the Salt Lake City athletes' village as "the most secure place in the world." Canceling the Salt Lake City winter games would be embarrassing, expensive and fear-generating. However, canceling the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece, or moving the games to Sydney, Australia, as some have suggested, would be devastating for Greece, which has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Olympic facilities and transportation infrastructure in and around Athens, the most traffic-gridlocked metropolitan area in Europe. Last spring, the Greeks recruited more than 1,200 Cambodian workers to help with Olympic construction -- a nod to concerns about meeting deadlines. The Greeks are reasonably convincing when they promise that all will be fine. But for a world haunted by images of explosions, fire and death, patience for uncertainty of any kind is at a premium. --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Listen to your Yahoo! Mail messages from any phone with Yahoo! by Phone. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu Fri Sep 28 12:35:23 2001 From: xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu (Xhuliana Agolli) Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2001 10:35:23 -0600 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] American Freethinker, Secular Humanist, Paul Kurtz, speaks out Message-ID: <000b01c1483b$92c5a020$6c28a8c0@sjcsf.edu> American freethinker, Secular Humanist, Paul Kurtz, speaks out By Mark Sauer COPLEY NEWS SERVICE -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pollsters report that 90 percent of Americans say they believe in God. If that's so, Paul Kurtz might be the most visible and outspoken among the remaining 10 percent. Kurtz, 75, is founder and chairman of the Council for Secular Humanism, the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal and Prometheus Books. He is also editor-in-chief of Free Inquiry Magazine and professor emeritus of philosophy at State University of New York at Buffalo. The father of four, Kurtz grew up in Newark, N.J., in a family he has described as "independent freethinkers." As an Army sergeant in World War II, he helped liberate Nazi death camps. He has devoted most of his adult life to debunking psychics and scientific and medical quacks, mystics, mediums, men of the cloth and anyone else who promotes the supernatural, paranormal or organized religion. Kurtz laments that he is often labeled a pessimist, but insists he is possessed of an optimistic nature. Recently, he took time for a telephone interview from his home in upstate New York: Q. What is secular humanism? A. We are committed to the proposition that in order to fulfill our best capabilities as human beings, we ought to achieve happiness and enrichment here and now. Secular humanism is a positive philosophy of human fulfillment. We are interested in the separation of church and state, and the idea that the state should not interfere with human liberty. And we are skeptical of supernatural claims - we do not believe there is sufficient evidence for that. We believe in human freedom and human reason. In my view, most Americans are secularist and humanist, but don't know that they are. The Religious Right is in the business of demonizing secular humanism. Q. There seems to be a feeling in our society that you must be a religious person to be a moral person. What is your feeling about this? A. I think that is profoundly mistaken. I don't think you can say all the moral saints are churchgoers and all the wicked people are outside of churches. There have been many infamous wars throughout history fought between religious believers, Muslims and Jews, Catholics and Protestants, to name but a few. In the name of God, people have committed tremendous crimes. On the other side, there are many people who are good and kind and just and thoughtful, yet are not members of a church, synagogue or mosque. People like Mark Twain, for example, and Clarence Darrow, Margaret Sanger. Many fathers of the American Revolution were deists and humanists who did not accept traditional religions. Then you have Einstein, John Dewey, Isaac Asimov, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and many other great people in history who were non-believers, yet very moral. Q. With all the scientific advances mankind has made, how is it that the notion of God and religion, not to mention psychic powers, past-life regression, communication with the dead, etc., still have such a hold on Americans? A. That is puzzling, it really is. I think America is an anomaly today compared with the other great democracies of the world. Religious belief in countries like England, France, Germany, The Netherlands is much less widespread than it is in the United States. As a matter of fact, 60 percent of American scientists are either agnostics or atheists. Over 90 percent of elite scientists fit that category, by that I mean members of the National Academy of Science and other prestigious organizations. This comes from a recent poll that repeats a similar poll done in 1915. I think the United States is suffering a kind of distemper, what with our penchant for communing with the dead, visits with ghosts, reporting of hauntings and all sorts of miracles. Major news magazines do cover stories on angels; TV shows and movies are devoted to them. Our belief in angels is the highest among all major countries of the world. This stuff is played up by TV producers and publishers, who support belief in the paranormal and superstition, and there is not sufficient criticism of this. That is one of our main complaints. We investigate everything, from faith healers and the laying on of hands to Jesus sightings on tortillas. But few others criticize this stuff. It's considered in bad taste to criticize. Q. Can an atheist be spiritual? A. It depends on what you mean by spiritual. Surely an appreciation of the aesthetic dimension of the human experience has to it a moral dimension, a sense of awe about the universe. I have that, and so do my friends. Do I have a spiritual relationship with ghosts? I'm skeptical of that. Q. In the 1960s, we were debating whether God is dead; 40 years later organized religion seems more powerful than ever. What caused this revival? A. Again, I think the United States stands out among countries. The Australian president recently said Australia was sent the convicts, America the Puritans. Maybe we never got over Puritanism. There are 1,350 religious sects in America. Anyone can form a group and get devotees. There is such a wide diversity of beliefs. Just look at (the) Heaven's Gate (mass suicide) in San Diego. The fact is, people are gullible. Wave after wave of immigrants have brought their own religions here. We are the most religiously diverse culture on the planet. Q. What purpose do you think religion serves for most people? A. America is changing so rapidly, with the personal-computer revolution and everything else in the technological field. Many people go back to old traditions as an anchor. They find comfort in that old-time religion. As secular humanists, we say you need to think for yourself. We try to use science and reason to develop a new ethic. Many ancient ethical systems, we think, are not relevant today. We don't think in dealing with the 21st century and beyond that you can go back to the agricultural value systems of the Hindus, of Judaism, or what have you. Q. The notion of life after death and eternal happiness seems such a comfort for many people. Does secular humanism offer anything to replace that? A. Comfort can be found in enjoying life here and now, in finding fulfillment here and now, and in trying to build a better world for everyone without the illusion of immortality. We don't find evidence of life after death. Anyway, can you imagine holding hands and singing hymns throughout eternity? It's so boring. Q. Is the debate over cloning and stem-cell research and other scientific endeavors often associated with Frankenstein becoming a battle between religion and science? A. I hope not. We believe in freedom of research and seeing what great wonders occur through scientific inquiry. There was a great battle between Galileo and church fathers 300 or 400 years ago, and I hope we're not repeating that today. Stem-cell research will be a boon to human happiness, but there remains this great fear of science, and I think that's very unfortunate. Obviously, we need a wise use of scientific research, and we need to avoid abuses. On the other hand, science has had a very positive effect on mankind, helping to extend life and ease suffering and poverty around the world, and we ought to applaud that. Q. Is there an important issue facing us today that gets very little attention? A. Yes. The one thing we're really lacking in America is wisdom. It's very important. We have the old great religious traditions, but what we really need is a new kind of wisdom, an understanding of the universe and our place in it, and we need to develop a moral wisdom, a guide to leading a good life. We need a practical wisdom to try and accept the world for what it is; a long-range wisdom - that is the rarest commodity today. You can't live sound bite to sound bite. There is an information overload today: Vote for this guy; buy that; believe this. People need to develop critical thinking and employ more common sense instead of relying on blind faith. We need to learn to rely on our own reasoning powers in order to live wisely. Publish Date:Thursday September 27 . Accents Home & Garden . RAVE! . Premiere Lifestyles . Las Vegas/ Laughlin . South Bay's Best 2001 . Parade Magazine -------------------------------------------------------------------- . Jobs . Cars . Homes . Auctions . Restaurants . Business Opportunities . Place an Ad . More -------------------------------------------------------------------- . Custom Coupons . Personals . Movies . School Test Scores . Beach Report card . Link Ups Web Index Allstate Termite Busters Home || Marketplace || Subscribe || Contact Us ? Copyright 2001 The Copley Press Inc. -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: sbsrcbtn.gif Type: image/gif Size: 6907 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: newcolumnshead.gif Type: image/gif Size: 951 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: smmeredithg.gif Type: image/gif Size: 4166 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: otherpubhead.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1337 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: onlineclasshead.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1229 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: alsohead.gif Type: image/gif Size: 908 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: allstatetermite.gif Type: image/gif Size: 3256 bytes Desc: not available URL: From mentor at alb-net.com Fri Sep 28 16:45:47 2001 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2001 16:45:47 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] [AMCC-News] Rebel Head in Macedonia Gives Order to Disband Message-ID: >>>>>>>>>>>>> PLEASE READ & DISTRIBUTE FURTHER <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< --------------------------------------------------------------------- Human Rights Violations in Macedonia http://www.alb-net.com/amcc/humanrights.htm Macedonian police brutality, abuse and massacres http://www.alb-net.com/amcc/abuse_violence.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- "Ali Ahmeti, the political leader of the National Liberation Army, said he gave the order to disband at midnight on Wednesday, hours after NATO agreed with the Macedonian government on the mandate for a new task force to deploy here to keep the peace effort on track." "NATO has been particularly concerned about Macedonian Slav paramilitary groups that emerged a few weeks ago. They have been accused of starting firefights at night around several frontline villages and harassing ethnic Albanian villagers by day." "Arben Xhaferi, the leader of the main Albanian political party, said that if the Macedonian Slav parties tried to change a small part of the political agreement, then his party would reject the whole package." http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/28/international/europe/28MACE.html September 28, 2001 Rebel Head in Macedonia Gives Order to Disband By CARLOTTA GALL SIPKOVICA, Macedonia, Sept. 27 Ethnic Albanian rebels declared today that they have formally disbanded and are returning to civilian life, ending their eight-month insurgency for more rights in Macedonia. Ali Ahmeti, the political leader of the National Liberation Army, said he gave the order to disband at midnight on Wednesday, hours after NATO agreed with the Macedonian government on the mandate for a new task force to deploy here to keep the peace effort on track. Surrounded by former fighters, now all dressed in dark suits, Mr. Ahmeti was speaking in this mountain village in western Macedonia that has been his headquarters. In a conciliatory speech, he vowed to cooperate with the peace effort and said he was sure that with the help of the international community the ethnic Albanian minority and the Macedonian Slav majority could overcome all security problems. "We should not create conditions that could reactivate the National Liberation Army," he said. Despite the talk of peace, the potential for a resurgence of violence is very real. Sandbagged checkpoints on the roads in western Macedonia have been abandoned, and children play in the trenches and foxholes. But an invisible front line remains along with off-limits areas between government controlled and rebel-held territory. While the rebels have by all appearances handed in their weapons and disbanded, the Macedonian Parliament has yet to ratify the political agreement that would grant the Albanian minority in the country broader political rights. Nor has the government yet organized an amnesty for the rebel fighters as was promised during the peace negotiations. These final steps are expected to last at least another two weeks. NATO, meanwhile, is moving out. It has ended its 30-day mission to collect and destroy rebel weapons, and the first of its 4,500 troops began departing today. A new force of 1,000 troops will take over, but there are concerns that trouble may break out before the new force is ready. "The next two weeks are perhaps the most critical," a NATO spokesman said. "We need these guys right now on the ground," said Maki Shinohara, spokeswoman for the United Nations refugee agency in Skopje. "Numbers are not so important, but we want a very effective presence that would discourage people from taking up weapons for self-defense, and reduce the fear that is very real in these communities." NATO has been particularly concerned about Macedonian Slav paramilitary groups that emerged a few weeks ago. They have been accused of starting firefights at night around several frontline villages and harassing ethnic Albanian villagers by day. Their presence threatened to derail the rebel disarmament process until finally President Boris Trajkovski was persuaded to order their removal. NATO troops have swarmed into the area, and regular units of the Macedonian Army and police have taken over security of the Macedonian Slav villages, but these paramilitary groups are a potential danger, NATO troops say. Another potential danger is that former rebels admit that, while they have handed in most of their weapons, many have kept a side arm. Independent analysts estimate that the rebels have handed in only half of their weapons and can procure more on the black market. A member of Parliament, Nikola Popovski, argued that any flare-up of fighting would prove that NATO's weapons collection mission had been a failure. If so, he said, Parliament should not give final approval to the political agreement and thus effectively stop the peace process dead. Arben Xhaferi, the leader of the main Albanian political party, said that if the Macedonian Slav parties tried to change a small part of the political agreement, then his party would reject the whole package. The rebel leader, Mr. Ahmeti, said the Macedonians could not renege on the peace deal. "It would be the same as us asking for our broken and destroyed weapons back from NATO," he said. "You know it is not possible." In the next two weeks, the two most taxing issues will be the return of the displaced Macedonian Slavs to their homes in western Macedonia, and the re-entry of Macedonian police officers to the rebel-held areas. Macedonian legislators are insisting both happen soon, before the approval of the peace accord. ________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from this list visit: http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/amcc-news From jetkoti at hotmail.com Sat Sep 29 12:40:45 2001 From: jetkoti at hotmail.com (jetkoti at hotmail.com) Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2001 12:40:45 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] NYTimes.com Article: Response to Attack Splits Arabs in the West Message-ID: <20010929164045.50CBF58A4D@email5.lga2.nytimes.com> This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by jetkoti at hotmail.com. I found this to be an extremely interesting article. jetkoti at hotmail.com Response to Attack Splits Arabs in the West September 29, 2001 By PATRICIA COHEN Since the end of the First World War, when the French and British willy-nilly carved up the decaying Ottoman Empire, people have been divided over who is to blame for the veil of misery that shrouds millions of people across the Arab world. Are outsiders or insiders, Westerners or Arabs primarily responsible for the persistent poverty, corruption and repression? The question has been bubbling up since Sept. 11, as people grope to explain the virulent radicalism that has been growing across the region. For while a single madman can be dismissed as an evil aberration, what intelligence reports describe as a sprawling army of nearly 11,000 cannot. Among Arab intellectuals educated and living in the West, who are at once both outsiders and insiders, the question is particularly pointed. Revulsion at the murderous attack has brought a moment of unity here. (In the Arab world it is not hard to hear voices calling the attack justified retribution.) Across continents Arab writers and scholars have been e-mailing one another vehement condemnations. But the attack has also created new pressures to choose sides within a group that is at times wrung with suspicion over loyalties and motives. Now, like feuding brothers who etch a chalk line across their bedroom floor, Arab intellectuals in the West are split over how to respond to the attack. All are horrified at the senseless deaths. But on one side are those who argue that it is essential to understand how United States policies helped create the conditions that produced such monstrous fanatics. On the other are those who insist that any attempts to link the attacks to grievances against the West play into terrorist hands. "I say that's wrong," the author Kanan Makiya said. "Of course there's power and there's injustice, but we should be at the forefront of separating those issues from what happened Sept. 11." Islamic extremists have appropriated "anti-imperialist and anti-Zionist rhetoric" in order to erase the distinction between themselves and the broader Muslim world, he said. Including such qualifications now lends "credence to what the terrorists did," he continued, adding, "That's what they want to do." Fawaz A. Gerges, a professor at Sarah Lawrence College and the author of "America and Political Islam," agreed. "This terribly hideous act, you can never justify it, never rationalize it, regardless of what American foreign policy has done," he said. "This is not the time to condemn" United States policy, he continued. "This is the time to condemn what has happened. It's time Arab intellectuals rise to the occasion." To Edward Said, one of the most prominent intellectuals, Arab or otherwise, such logic is flawed. "The appropriation or hijacking of language by self-appointed spokesmen goes on all the time," he said in an e- mail. "But why should we simply accede to the hijackers? To understand is not to condone." This split among the community of Arab scholars here mirrors the long- running - and at points bitter - discussion over American responsibility for the wretched conditions in most Arab countries. Vigorously defend the United States (and Israel) and risk being labeled an Uncle Abdul, the Arabs' Uncle Tom; keepquiet about the absence of freedom and rights and risk being called a silent accomplice. No serious scholar denies that the reasons for the Arab world's ills are enormously complex. The question is how to calculate the algebra of blame. And to most Arab intellectuals the United States now commands the stage. As Rashid Khalidi, a professor of Middle East history at the University of Chicago, said, "To say the U.S. determines everything is to deny agency of the people, and that's obviously wrong." But he added, "The greater share of power is obviously in the hands of the West." America's entry into the Arab theater came midcentury. Before then the United States was considered a world apart from corrupt European imperialists. Woodrow Wilson's call in 1918 for self-determination electrified the Arab world. The following year an unscientific survey of representatives from some 1,500 Arab villages found that if forced under the rule of a foreign power, a majority would choose the United States. >From the moment the United States supported Israel's creation in 1948 and the partition of Palestine, Arabs scholars detail the catalog of wrongs: American and British support for the 1953 overthrow of the democratically elected Mossadeh government in Iran; backing of Israel in the 1967 war that led to its occupation of the West Bank and throughout the intifada; cold war opposition to Arab nationalism; support of undemocratic regimes like the one in Saudia Arabia; sanctions imposed after the gulf war that blocked food and medical supplies, contributing to malnutrition and death among Iraqis; American-led globalization that has widened the chasm between rich and poor. "I think blame can be distributed pretty evenly," Mr. Said said in a telephone interview, adding that "the main problem with the Arab national movement throughout the century has been the lack of attention to democracy and democratic rights." Still, he offered a blunt summation of America's shortcomings. "To most people in the Islamic and Arab worlds the official U.S. is synonymous with arrogant power, known mainly for its sanctimoniously munificent support not only of Israel but of numerous repressive Arab regimes and its inattentiveness even to the possibility of dialogue with secular movements and people who have real grievances," he wrote last week in The Observer in London. "Anti-Americanism in this context is not based on a hatred of modernity or technology envy," he continued. Rather, "it is based on a narrative of concrete interventions, specific depredations and, in the cases of the Iraqi people's suffering under U.S.- imposed sanctions and U.S. support for the 34-year-old Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, cruel and inhumane policies administered with a stony coldness." Mr. Said sees imperial designs in the United States' threatened military attack on Afghanistan as well, arguing that it would help solidify its control of oil "from the gulf to the northern oil fields." Afghanistan, one of the most blighted spots on the map and where Osama bin Laden is said to be holed up, is a place where outsiders - in this case the former Soviet Union even more than the West - has a lot to answer for, Mr. Khalidi said. The Soviets, who fought a brutal 10-year war there, and the Americans, who helped train militant rebels to oppose them, "created the conditions which put a monster into the world, a golem," he said, "one million killed, one and a half million maimed and five to six million refugees." Muslims' view of the United States now very much depends on America's next move, Mr. Khalidi said. If its military response fails to distinguish "between innocent people and people who have committed these crimes against humanity," and thousands of Afghans are killed, he said, to most Arab eyes the United States will be seen as no better than the suicidal hijackers. To a small group of Arab scholars in the West, however, too many of their colleagues devote too much energy detailing outsiders' wrongs instead of focusing on the maladies at the heart the Arab system: tyrannical regimes, rejection of modernity and individual rights, rigidly hierarchical social structures and lack of freedom. "The dominant tendency among Arab intellectuals is to put the blame for most of the problems in the area on the shoulders of the West," said Mr. Gerges, who spent the last two years doing research in the Arab world. That doesn't exonerate American policies, he said. "To suggest that somehow the U.S. in the second part of the 20th century has not played a preponderant role is to simplify and distort." He cited in particular United States support of Israel in its gnawing conflict with the Palestinians. But to ignore "the failure of the Arab leadership" to create accountable political institutions, ensure civil liberties and provide their people a measure of social justice and economic equity, he said, is also to distort and simplify. These failings are the major reasons for the lack of Arab development, yet few Arabs take moral or personal responsibility for their predicament, he argued. Mr. Makiya, who detailed the atrocities of Saddam Hussein's regime in his book "Republic of Fear," said that since Israel defeated the Egyptian-led Arab alliance in the 1967 war, Saddam Hussein and other dictators in Libya, Algeria and Sudan have legitimized their rule by "finding scapegoats for their problems." "For a while it worked," said Mr. Makiya, who is compiling an archive of Iraqi documents for the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard. But then "one catastrophe followed another: the Iran-Iraq war, the Lebanese civil war, the Iranian revolution, all leading to enormously large body counts and claiming more victims than all the Arab-Israeli wars together." "A very, very important lost opportunity was the 1991 gulf war," he said. "Here the bankruptcy of this previous two decades of rhetoric was revealed in Saddam's land grab, the exposure of his Nazilike terror of the Arab world." But Arabs failed to seize the moment. That's when Mr. Makiya wrote "Cruelty and Silence," which he described as his "J'accuse" of Arab intellectuals, a book that he said elicited some expressions of support and lots of fury. "The responsibility for the failure of the Arab political order can no longer be placed on the West or Israel, as Arab intellectuals are so fond of doing," he wrote. "It cannot even be placed only, or primarily, on the shoulders of the rulers of the Arab world." "The deeper problem lies not in their psychology, but in the distorting lens through which they have been viewed by the real source of failure in the culture of modern Arab intellectuals," he continued. The title of his book referred to their silence on human rights. Mr. Makiya argues that the language of human rights and the language of Arab nationalism and political Islam are irreconcilable. Rather than trying to accommodate these two traditions, Arab intellectuals have defended not only the noble elements of Islamic culture but the repressive ones as well, said Hazem Saghyeh, an author and columnist for Al-Hayat, an Arabic newspaper published in London. The intellectual should be "the one who contradicts his nation, his army, his church, his national institutions," Mr. Saghyeh said in a telephone interview from London, "while the tradition that predominates in the Arab world is that the intellectual is the one who fights for the sake of his nation, his institutions, his hierarchy and his own heritage." Whether the terrorist attacks will prove a transforming moment for Arab thinkers depends both on what the United States does and whether Arab intellectuals can shake their habit of mind, he said. Mr. Gerges said he was hopeful that would happen. "For me as an Arab-American intellectual it's a watershed," he said. But to Mr. Said, the dilemmas of expatriate intellectuals are ultimately beside the point. "I think the crucial debate is the one taking place inside the Arab world," he said, adding that was why he started writing for an Arab audience at the end of the 1980's. "That's where the battle is, not in New York." http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/29/arts/29ARAB.html?ex=1002781645&ei=1&en=a7bcf6d20c659e31 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact Alyson Racer at alyson at nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help at nytimes.com. Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company From besnik at alb-net.com Sat Sep 29 13:04:18 2001 From: besnik at alb-net.com (Besnik Pula) Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2001 13:04:18 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Village Voice article Message-ID: http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0139/sietsema.php The Village Voice, New York Week of September 26 - October 2, 2001 Albanians have their own Arthur Avenue at Restorant Shqiptar. (photo: Chrissie Ferrara) Counter Culture by Robert Sietsema Brains and Brawn Now that the Times has finally discovered that many Arthur Avenue Italian restaurants are being run by Albanians, the real story is that restaurateurs are coming out of the closet. Proudly festooning their awnings with hard-to-pronounce names, replacing the Italian tricolor with the two-headed black eagle, they've begun serving their own country's food. Restorant Shqiptar takes its moniker from the Albanian name for Albania, and it seems to have replaced a much older Neapolitan joint. Spilling tables onto the sidewalk, this raffish hangout is populated with dudes smoking, playing cards, and nursing Buds. A well-worn oak bar dominates one side of the room, and flames leap up from a grill in a corner kitchen. The menu is less complicated than it looks. The section designated Makarone lists familiar Italian pastas, and the poultry section remains Italian too. Who could resist the poetic "chicken shoemaker" ($9.95), even if you know it will turn out to be rather prosaic breast tidbits swamped in mushroom sauce? Still, if you're looking for real Albanian food, turn your attention instead to the sections headed Salad, Fish, and Meat. Sallate turshie ($3.25) is a platter of cucumbers and red peppers, pickled and pinned down with a plank of feta?a refreshing starter. Entr?e-wise, peshk zgare ($9.95) grills an entire sea bream till the thick skin is crisp and the yellow-tinged flesh aromatic of lemon and garlic. Also remarkable is qofte, a chef's special that features a patty of ground beef that?in a wonderful feat of food architecture?squirts sour cream when you slice into it. But blowing everything else away is qingj I pjekur ($14), a sizable haunch of baby lamb roasted deep brown and plated elegantly with just a pair of lemon wedges. ----------- Restorant Shqiptar 660 East 187th Street, Bronx, 718-562-4700. Gurra Caf? 2325 Arthur Avenue, 718-220-4254. All Star Caf? & Restaurant 2328 Arthur Avenue, 718-367-3917. ----------- There's no Italian component at Gurra Caf?, just around the corner, where the awning grandly proclaims "Shqiptare Cuisine." The interior resembles a Swiss chalet, with exposed beams and peeling murals of snowcapped mountains that look suspiciously like the Rockies. When asked for a menu, the owlish waiter smiles and shakes his head, offering instead, "I make assortment for you." Five minutes later he materializes with a metal tray bearing a landscape of meat mountains separated by meadows of iceberg dotted with tomatoes and crisscrossed with picket fences of feta. The peaks are indeed awesome, formed from pounded-thin filets, short skinless sausages, and hamburger patties that glow with tallow and exude a faint odor of smoke. Pointing and beaming, the waiter boasts, "All veal!" With more than a pound allotted to each diner, we didn't leave hungry ($10 per person). Just across the street is Arthur Avenue's longest-running Albanian, the All Star Caf? & Restaurant, which took an odd turn last year when it was bought by a pair of Swedish dames, who soon imparted a Scandinavian spin to the menu. Though it doesn't come with lingonberries, there's a nicely grilled salmon filet, and a pair of ethereal crumbed and butter-saut?ed trout that would find a hearty welcome in both Sweden and Albania. But where All Star really distinguishes itself is in the fulfillment of the Albanian passion for variety meats. Well-cleansed kidneys come doused with butter and garlic, while brains can be had two ways: simply grilled and drizzled with lemon, or?even better?battered, fried, and inundated with a light lemon sauce. Finally, there's a homely stew of navy beans that tastes just like Campbell's Bean With Bacon. Not bad. It comes bobbing with slices of a thin sausage flagrantly named suxhuk, a Kosovar specialty with an intriguing winey aftertaste. But residents of the neighborhoods surrounding Arthur Avenue will identify it differently: chorizo. From jetkoti at hotmail.com Sat Sep 29 13:07:30 2001 From: jetkoti at hotmail.com (jetkoti at hotmail.com) Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2001 17:07:30 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] For your attention Message-ID: <20010929170730.E16B897E@mullet.gul3.gnl> xha spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited Observer site and thought you should see it. To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited Observer site, go to http://www.observer.co.uk Leave God out of it Bin Laden invokes Allah, Bush talks of a Christian crusade. Bad religion hides dirty politicsWar on terrorism - Observer special Guardian Unlimited special: terrorism crisis Cristina Odone Saturday September 22 2001 The Guardian I've done my head counts. My family, in Washington DC, is fine. The house shook when the Pentagon was hit, but no one was injured. My former neighbour, who works at the Pentagon, is unscathed, having fled his office when he heard the explosion. My friend Charlie, a banker based in the Twin Towers, was still away on holiday in Cape Cod on 11 September. But while the tragedy has spared my family and friends, it has hijacked my God. The Taliban and bin Laden invoke God as the co-pilot in their jihad. (In a recently recycled interview bin Laden gave to Time magazine two years ago, the word 'Allah' punctuated his every threat.) Yet talk to any moderate mullah, and he'll tell you that the ethos of the Koran is compassionate and inclusive, and that Islam values the peace lover as highly as the soldiering martyr. Meanwhile, a distorted Christianity is being megaphoned by public figures like the US televangelists Gerry Falwell and Pat Robertson - not to mention President George Bush. In a shameful double-whammy that showed 'compassionate conservatism' had made no inroads into Bible Belt bigotry, Falwell and Robertson worked themselves into a fire and brimstone fury, blaming the present crisis on gays, feminists and the pro-choice movement: these sinners had offended God, and here was his vengeance. No sooner had the duo delivered their holy-roller sermon than George Bush was telling the American people to get ready for an all-out war on terrorism - and pray. Presumably the President's Prayer, unlike the Lord's, wastes no breath on forgiveness, but urges the faithful to bomb the hell out of those towel-heads, Amen! Coming in the wake of his talk about launching a 'crusade', the President's message was clear: God's on our side. Beware the infidel - ie, anyone who does not subscribe to our belief in America the beautiful. To American ears, this kind of noise is as cosily familiar as Songs of Praise is to British ones. Since President Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke of the 'spiritual weapons' which 'forever will be our citizens' most powerful resource' at the beginning of the Cold War, successive governments have turned Americans' piety into their best defence shield system. Whatever the fight - the pinko commie enemy within, or the Evil Empire of the Soviet Union - the citizens of the world's No 1 superpower can rest easy in the knowledge that, when God's on your team, you've got nothing to fear. In the sinister, trenchcoat and fog world of the Cold War, when a few too many embarrassing questions (like 'Hey, is that a bug in my phone?') were being asked by a few too many ordinary citizens, the powers-that-be were eager to frame any conflict in religious terms. Thinking of themselves as the Godly taking on the ungodly might just convince Americans of the legitimacy of the campaigns being waged in places like Chile, Nicaragua, or - under Joe McCarthy's witch-hunts - Hollywood. No wonder that, as Frances Stonor Saunders shows in her book about the CIA, Who Paid the Piper? , God was dragged into every aspect of American civic life. In 1954 the words 'one nation under God' were added to the pledge of allegiance with which every child begins their school day. In 1955, Congress mandated the use of 'In God we trust' on all currency; a year later those words became the official national motto. The same decade saw the emergence of Billy Graham, patriarch of American evangelism, who rushed from sea to shining sea, delivering Bible-thumping sermons that reassured WASPs they were holy (shame about the Jews, the Papists and the 'Mohameddans'). His wild-eyed proselytising was aided by two publishing magnates,William Randolph Hearst and Henry Luce, who puffed the Graham Crusade in their newspapers and magazines. God was turned into an instrument of national policy, sanctioning every intelligence and military operation. In this way, the murkiest CIA plots and the most senseless military manoeuvres could be given the imprimatur; shady dealings were bathed in divine light. It's a tactic that, in a nation where the overwhelming majority call themselves believers, works wonders - or at least, helps citizens turn a blind eye to phone tapping and other infringements of their civil liberties; and a deaf ear to the faulty logic of invading Vietnam, say, or Kent University campus. The American patina of God-speak is about as true a religious statement as some tatty plaster saint in church. The paint and the gold leaf inevitably peel to expose a soulless mould. There's nothing Christian about nuking Afghan civilians, nor spying on American students; just as there is nothing Muslim about hijacking planes and flying them into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre or the Pentagon. Yet US history has shown that, by appealing to their Christian identity, Americans will accept much that is contemptible, and confuse the ideological with the theological. With this mindset, 'Hallelujah!' amounts to a war cry, and 'Onward, Christian Soldiers' to a latterday crusade. This is bad religion passed off as good. We should beware Dubya's Bible-thumping. When a US President invokes God, he has something to hide. Bad religion hides dirty politics. Cristina Odone is deputy editor of the New Statesman Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited From xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu Sat Sep 29 23:20:18 2001 From: xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu (Xhuliana Agolli) Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2001 21:20:18 -0600 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Telegraph.co.uk: "I was one of the Taliban's torturers: I crucified people" Message-ID: <000b01c1495e$d4fbcdb0$6528a8c0@sjcsf.edu> I was one of the Taliban's torturers: I crucified people (Filed: 30/09/2001) In an astonishing interview with Christina Lamb, the Afghan leader's former bodyguard reveals the full brutality of the fundamentalist regime sheltering Osama bin Laden "YOU must become so notorious for bad things that when you come into an area people will tremble in their sandals. Anyone can do beatings and starve people. I want your unit to find new ways of torture so terrible that the screams will frighten even crows from their nests and if the person survives he will never again have a night's sleep." These were the instructions of the commandant of the Afghan secret police to his new recruits. For more than three years one of those recruits, Hafiz Sadiqulla Hassani, ruthlessly carried out his orders. But sickened by the atrocities that he was forced to commit, last week he defected to Pakistan, joining a growing number of Taliban officials who are escaping across the border. In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, he reveals for the first time the full horror of what has been happening in the name of religion in Afghanistan. Mr Hassani has the pinched face and restless hands of a man whose night hours are as haunted as any of his victims. Now aged 30, he does not, however, fit the militant Islamic stereotype usually associated with the Taliban. Married with a wife and one-year-old daughter, he holds a degree in business studies, having been educated in Pakistan, where he grew up as a refugee while his father and elder brothers fought in the jihad against the Russians. His family was well off, owning land and property in Kandahar to which they returned after the war. "Like many people, I did not become a Talib by choice," he explained. "In early 1998 I was working as an accountant here in Quetta when I heard that my grandfather - who was 85 - had been arrested by the Taliban in Kandahar and was being badly beaten. They would only release him if he provided a member of his family as a conscript, so I had to go." Mr Hassani at first was impressed by the Taliban. "It had been a crazy situation after the Russians left, the country was divided by warring groups all fighting each other. In Kandahar warlords were selling everything, kidnapping young girls and boys, robbing people, and the Taliban seemed like good people who brought law and order." So he became a Taliban "volunteer", assigned to the secret police. Many of his friends also joined up as land owners in Kandahar were threatened that they must either ally themselves with the Taliban or lose their property. Others were bribed to join with money given to the Taliban by drug smugglers, as Afghanistan became the world's largest producer of heroin. At first, Mr Hassani's job was to patrol the streets at night looking for thieves and signs of subversion. However, as the Taliban leadership began issuing more and more extreme edicts, his duties changed. Instead of just searching for criminals, the night patrols were instructed to seek out people watching videos, playing cards or, bizarrely, keeping caged birds. Men without long enough beards were to be arrested, as was any woman who dared venture outside her house. Even owning a kite became a criminal offence. The state of terror spread by the Taliban was so pervasive that it began to seem as if the whole country was spying on each other. "As we drove around at night with our guns, local people would come to us and say there's someone watching a video in this house or some men playing cards in that house," he said. "Basically any form of pleasure was outlawed," Mr Hassani said, "and if we found people doing any of these things we would beat them with staves soaked in water - like a knife cutting through meat - until the room ran with their blood or their spines snapped. Then we would leave them with no food or water in rooms filled with insects until they died. "We always tried to do different things: we would put some of them standing on their heads to sleep, hang others upside down with their legs tied together. We would stretch the arms out of others and nail them to posts like crucifixions. "Sometimes we would throw bread to them to make them crawl. Then I would write the report to our commanding officer so he could see how innovative we had been." Here, sitting in the stillness of an orchard in Quetta sipping tea as the sun goes down, he finds it hard to explain how he could have done such things. "We Afghans have grown too used to violence," is all he can offer. "We have lost 1.5 million people. All of us have brothers and fathers up there." After Kandahar, he was put in charge of secret police cells in the towns of Ghazni and then Herat, a beautiful Persian city in western Afghanistan that had suffered greatly during the Soviet occupation and had been one of the last places to fall to the Taliban. Herat had always been a relatively liberal place where women would dance at weddings and many girls went to school - but the Taliban were determined to put an end to all that. Mr Hassani and his men were told to be particularly cruel to Heratis. It was his experience of that cruelty that made Mr Hassani determined to let the world know what was happening in Afghanistan. "Maybe the worst thing I saw," he said, "was a man beaten so much, such a pulp of skin and blood, that it was impossible to tell whether he had clothes on or not. Every time he fell unconscious, we rubbed salt into his wounds to make him scream. "Nowhere else in the world has such barbarity and cruelty as in Afghanistan. At that time I swore an oath that I will devote myself to the Afghan people and telling the world what is happening." Before he could escape, however, because he comes from the same tribe, he spent time as a bodyguard for Mullah Omar, the reclusive spiritual leader of the Taliban. "He's medium height, slightly fat, with an artificial green eye which doesn't move, and he would sit on a bed issuing instructions and giving people dollars from a tin trunk," said Mr Hassani. "He doesn't say much, which is just as well as he's a very stupid man. He knows only how to write his name `Omar' and sign it. "It is the first time in Afghanistan's history that the lower classes are governing and by force. There are no educated people in this administration - they are all totally backward and illiterate. "They have no idea of the history of the country and although they call themselves mullahs they have no idea of Islam. Nowhere does it say men must have beards or women cannot be educated; in fact, the Koran says people must seek education." He became convinced that the Taliban were not really in control. "We laughed when we heard the Americans asking Mullah Omar to hand over Osama bin Laden," he said. "The Americans are crazy. It is Osama bin Laden who can hand over Mullah Omar - not the other way round." While stationed in Kandahar, he often saw bin Laden in a convoy of Toyota Land Cruisers all with darkened windows and festooned with radio antennae. "They would whizz through the town, seven or eight cars at a time. His guards were all Arabs and very tall people, or Sudanese with curly hair." He was also on guard once when bin Laden joined Mullah Omar for a bird shoot on his estate. "They seemed to get on well," he said. "They would go fishing together, too - with hand grenades." The Arabs, according to Mr Hassani, have taken de facto control of his country. "All the important places of Kandahar are now under Arab control - the airport, the military courts, the tank command." Twice he attended Taliban training camps and on both occasions they were run by Arabs as well as Pakistanis. "The first one I went to lasted 10 days in the Yellow Desert in Helmand province, a place where the Saudi princes used to hunt, so it has its own airport. It was incredibly well guarded and there were many Pakistanis there, both students from religious schools and military instructors. The Taliban is full of Pakistanis." He was told that if he died while fighting under the white flag of the Taliban, he and his family would go to paradise. The soldiers were given blank marriage certificates signed by a mullah and were encouraged to "take wives" during battle, basically a licence to rape. When Mr Hassani was sent to the front line in Bagram, north of Kabul, a few months ago, he saw a chance to escape. "Our line was attacked by the Northern Alliance and they almost defeated us. Many of my friends were killed and we didn't know who was fighting who; there was killing from behind and in front. Our commanders fled in cars leaving us behind. "We left, running all night but then came to a line of Arabs who arrested us and took us back to the front line. One night last month I was on watch and saw a truck full of sheep and goats, so I jumped in and escaped. "I got back to Kandahar but Taliban spies saw me and I was arrested and interrogated. Luckily I have relatives who are high ranking Taliban members so they helped me get out and eventually I escaped to Quetta to my wife and daughter. "I think many in the Taliban would like to escape. The country is starving and joining is the only way to get food and keep your land. Otherwise there is a lot of hatred. I hate both what it does and what it turned me into." 29 September 2001: Calls for jihad reach fever pitch 29 September 2001: Action against bin Laden not yet finalised 29 September 2001: Taliban chief rallied support in Germany 28 September 2001: Islamabad lays down law on post-Taliban regime 27 September 2001: We can beat Taliban, say Mujahideen 26 September 2001: Sraw asks Teheran for help after fall of Taliban Related reports Taliban bring terror to refugee camps Simpson on Sunday External links al-Qa'eda - Federation of American Scientists Afghanistan Online Islamic Republic of Pakistan Campaign against torture - Amnesty International -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: bullet.gif Type: image/gif Size: 55 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: trany.gif Type: image/gif Size: 43 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: box_line.gif Type: image/gif Size: 44 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jetkoti at hotmail.com Sun Sep 30 15:29:19 2001 From: jetkoti at hotmail.com (Xhuliana Agolli) Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2001 13:29:19 -0600 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] What the hell is that???!!! superstition Message-ID: Hey, if you could pass that 'discovery' for yours and start selling pictures of it, claiming that the WTC towers were possessed by alien spirits, you could make lots of money, as most Americans have a tendency for finding answers in 'evidence' that is not necessarily supported by reason. This way, not only could the collapse of the towers be justified, but it might also lessen some Americans' intense anger and need to avenge "those responsible"--to quote GWB--even if it means killing 10, 20, 100 thousand starving, innocent people. >From: Endri Leno >To: albsa-info at alb-net.com >Subject: [ALBSA-Info] What the hell is that???!!! >Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2001 06:57:12 -0700 (PDT) > >Has anyone seen this picture? > >__________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! >Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com ><< wtfisthat.jpg >> _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp From albboschurch at juno.com Sat Sep 15 07:03:58 2001 From: albboschurch at juno.com (albboschurch at juno.com) Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 07:03:58 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Talking to Kids about Sept 11, 2001 - Discussion Guide - PLEASE FORWARD Message-ID: <20010915.070835.-364081.11.albboschurch@juno.com> ReTransmitted by the Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese Talking to Kids About September 11 2001 Office of Youth Ministries Orthodox Church in America ---------------------------------- Hello Brothers & Sisters Forgive me if you are receiving this more than once. With the events of Sept 11, 2001, it became clear that kids were going to be asking a lot of questions and trying to sort out a lot of issues related to their faith. We got right to work - asking clergy and laity from around the Church for input on what should be in a discussion guide on these terrible events and the teachings of the Church Attached is a copy of what we came up with. Please forward it to all brother clergy, church school and youth people you know so that they can be well prepared for this Sunday when a lot of these issues be addressed - with little chance of the us mail getting to people in time for Sunday - we are relying on your ability to distribute this as widely as possible via phone and email contacts you may have I pray that it will help kids and families come to terms with the Orthodox Christian response to the tragedy we are facing The study guide is also available on the oca website at and on the Special Messages Page on the Terrorist Attacks of the main oca webpage www.oca.org In Christ Fr Michael Anderson Director, Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries Orthodox Church in America -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Application/OCTET-STREAM (Name="maketheevilgood.pdf") segment of a ] From xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu Sun Sep 23 00:47:41 2001 From: xagolli at stumail.sjcsf.edu (Xhuliana Agolli) Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2001 22:47:41 -0600 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] pictures from around the world Message-ID: <000b01c143ea$e203c270$6528a8c0@sjcsf.edu> A woman cries as she holds her child in a hospital in the Afghan capital Kabul on September 22, 2001. Afghan doctors have warned that their medical supplies will run out in the coming days and urged the international community to dispatch urgent aid. Border closures have prevented medical supplies from entering the nation. (Reuters) An Afghan man prays in Khudja Bahaoudin in Northern Afghanistan, September 22, 2001. Afghanistan's ruling Taliban found themselves further isolated when the United Arab Emirates severed diplomatic ties, leaving Pakistan the only country with full relations. Saudi Arabia, the only other country to have recognized the Taliban, froze its relations with the movement in 1998 over its refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden, who had been stripped of his Saudi citizenship for activities against the royal family. (Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters FILE--An ethnic Albanian man walks in the yard of an old mosque in Macedonia's second largest city Tetovo, Monday, Sept. 10, 2001. As the United States turns to an all-out battle against terror, Muslims across much of the Balkans fear that their part of the world will fall off Washington's map and their enemies will gain the upper hand. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) Ethnic Albanian muslim women walk in Skopje, Macedonia, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2001. Pakistani boys hold a toy gun and an Osama bin Laden poster at a rally organized by Jamat-e-Islami, or Party of Islam, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2001 in Karachi, Pakistan. The rally was held to oppose possible U.S. attacks on neighboring Afghanistan where accused terrorist bin Laden is hiding. Poster on top says 'Russia lost lost the war and now America's turn.' Boys' head bands read 'God is great.' (AP Photo/Athar Hussain) Some one thousand of people carry banners and placards during a demonstration for peace in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2001. The protesters expressed fears for war and were demonstrating for a peaceful solution after the terrorist attacks on the United States. The banner in background reads: 'Peace, and the placard in front reads: 'No military strike. Stop the War.' (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) An Afghan refugee shows bread baked in a refugee camp near the village of Khaga Bawden, northern Afghanistan, some 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the Afghan-Tajikistan border, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2001. Tajikistan is the poorest and weakest of several former Soviet states on Russia's southern periphery bracing for an influx of refugees or spillover violence from possible strikes on Afghanistan, in response to the terror attacks on America last week. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel) Afghan refugee women and children sit in front of makeshift tents at a refugee camp near the village of Khaga Bawden, northern Afghanistan, some 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the Afghan-Tajikistan border, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2001. Tajikistan is the poorest and weakest of several former Soviet states on Russia's southern periphery bracing for an influx of refugees or spillover violence from possible strikes on Afghanistan, in response to the terror attacks on America last week. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel) An Afghan child holds a bowl on his head at a refugee camp near the village of Khaga Bawden, northern Afghanistan, some 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the Afghan-Tajikistan border, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2001. Ethnic Albanian children wait to fill containers with drinking water in Aracinovo, 10 kilometers (6 miles) west of Skopje, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2001. Aracinovo's inhabitants are still without electricity and running in thier homes as a result of damage sustained during clashes last month between the Albanian rebel National Liberation Army and Macedonian government forces. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) A Palestinian boy drinks water from a tank donated by the United Nations while living under a tent, the day following the destruction of his house by Israeli troops in Khan Younis, Southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2001. Fearing exchange of fire between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli soldiers, Palestinian people living under tents move to safe places during the night. Plans to arrange a meeting between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres continued despite sporadic violence in the region. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours) Ethnic Albanian girls throw bricks while cleaning up a bedroom that was hit by a Macedonian army shell during clashes with National Liberation Army rebels last month, in Aracinovo, 10 kilometers (6 miles) west of Skopje, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2001. Aracinovo's inhabitants are still without electricity and water. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) Marie Therese Berthault, 78, sits on her bed in her devastated apartment in Toulouse, southwestern France, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2001. The force of the chemical fertilizer plant explosion ripped walls and roofs off nearby homes, killed at least 25 people and injured 700 others.(AP Photo/Patrick Gardin) General view of the remains of the AZF chemical fertilizer factory in Toulouse September 22, 2001. The AZF unit of oil giant TotalFinaElf exploded on September 21 killing at least 25 people and injuring more than 600. The explosion on the outskirts of the southwestern city of Toulouse flattened the surrounding area, blew out windows in the city center and sent a plume of smoke billowing over nearby houses. Officials ruled out a criminal attack, saying the explosion was due to an accident. REUTERS/Jean-Philippe Arles Afghan men who have been stopped at the Chaman border crossing with Pakistan, 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of the Afghan city of Kandahar, wait in no man's land under Pakistani border police control, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2001. Some have been at this desolate border crossing for five days, desperate to find a haven in Pakistan against what they believe are inevitable U.S. airstrikes on their homeland.(AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Pakistani Muslim women raise their hands in front of a banner supporting Osama bin Laden during a rally in Karachi on September 22, 2001. Nearly 500 Pakistani women gathered for the anti-U.S. protest on Saturday. REUTERS/Beawiharta Bangladeshi Islamists burn an effigy of U.S. President George W. Bush during a demonstration in Dhaka on September 22, 2001. The Bangladesh Islamic Front, a radical Muslim organization, rallied against the Bangladesh government's decision to permit the United States to use its airspace, ports and other facilities for a possible air strike against Afghanistan. REUTERS/Mohammad Shahidullah BEST AVAILABLE QUALITY Indonesian Muslim protesters raise their fists as they hold posters condemning the U.S. and supporting Osama bin Laden during a demonstration outside of the U.S. Consulate in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2001. Dozens of Muslim students staged demonstrations in several Indonesian cities on Saturday to protest a possible U.S. retaliation against Afghanistan for the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States. (AP Photo/Guntur Alphin) Afghan women sit beside their children at the Children's Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2001. Hospital officials claim the hospital has one week of medical supplies left because their national borders are closed. The U.S. has demanded that the Taliban regime hand over Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. (AP Photo/Amir Shah) A resident of Peshawar, Pakistan, makes a donation for the jihad, or holy war, against America Saturday, Sept. 22, 2001. Militant groups in Pakistan have threatened the United States with jihad if they attack Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Shabbir Hussain Imam) A malnourished baby lies in a hospital in the Afghan capital on September 22, 2001. Afghan doctors warn that medical supplies will soon run out and have urged the international community to dispatch urgent medical aid before the United States launches a possible attack on Afghanistan. No medicine has entered the war-torn country in recent days because of border closures, doctors said. (Staff/Reuters) Activists of Shiv Sena party, a Hindu fundamentalist group, burn the effigy of Osama bin Laden during a demonstration near the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2001. The activists were demanding the immediate arrest of Osama bin Laden and that Pakistan should also be declared as a terrorist state, since there are allegedly many terrorist training camps in the country. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="lamdf56785.jpg") segment of about 10,933 bytes. ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="lamdf56903.jpg") segment of about 10,725 bytes. ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="lthumb.1001181057attacks_balkan_worries_xvg104.j ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="lthumb.1001180809attacks_balkan_worries_xng103.j ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="lthumb.1001178066pakistan_attacks_kar104.jpg") s ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="lthumb.1001175975germany_attacks_wber103.jpg") s ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="lthumb.1001174454afghanistan_attacks_refugees_af ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="lthumb.1001174121afghanistan_attacks_refugees_af ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="lthumb.1001174193afghanistan_attacks_refugees_af ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="lthumb.1001173213macedonia_xvg102.jpg") segment ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="lthumb.1001172993mideast_israel_palestinians_aga ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="lthumb.1001172616macedonia_xvg101.jpg") segment ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="lthumb.1001172348france_explosion_xtou101.jpg") ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="laimdf22092001111522a.jpg") segment of about 7,6 ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="lthumb.1001171757pakistan_refugee_misery_xjd107. ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="laimdf22092001095856a.jpg") segment of about 14, ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="laimdf22092001095758a.jpg") segment of about 10, ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="lthumb.1001165713indonesia_us_attacks_jak102.jpg ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="lthumb.1001164817afghanistan_us_attacks_kab102.j ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="lthumb.1001160316pakistan_us_attacks_reax_pes103 ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="lamdf56792.jpg") segment of about 11,494 bytes. ] -------------- next part -------------- [ The following attachment was DELETED when this message was saved: ] [ A Image/JPEG (Name="lthumb.1001151021india_attacks_del102.jpg") segm ] From Vivezaj at PJI.COM Sat Sep 15 17:07:30 2001 From: Vivezaj at PJI.COM (Ivezaj, Viktor) Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 17:07:30 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] blood drive & vigil Message-ID: FYI -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: flag.doc Type: application/octet-stream Size: 117248 bytes Desc: not available URL: