From aalibali at yahoo.com Sun Dec 1 05:03:51 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2002 02:03:51 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Greek National Commission on Human Rights Message-ID: <20021201100351.91059.qmail@web11508.mail.yahoo.com> : INFORMATION NOTE ON THE GREEK NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS GREEK NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS _______________________________________________________________ Herodotou 1, GR-106 74 Athens. Tel: +30 210 3385 537/580/581; Fax: +30 210 7254 050 INFORMATION NOTE ON THE GREEK NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS The National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) was founded by Law 2667/1998 and inaugurated on 10 January 2000, when it was first convened by the Prime Minister, and its President and two Vice-Presidents were elected. Mission and mandate of NCHR NCHR is a statutory National Human Rights Commission having a consultative status with the Greek State on issues pertaining to human rights protection. The creation of NCHR emanated from the need to monitor developments regarding human rights protection on the domestic and international plane, to inform Greek public opinion about human rights-related issues and, above all, to provide guidelines to the Greek State aimed at the establishment of a modern, principled policy of human rights protection. A source of inspiration for the creation of NCHR were the Paris Principles, adopted by the United Nations and the Council of Europe. According to Law 2667/1998, by which NCHR was established, NCHR has the following substantive competences: 1. The study of human rights issues raised by the Government, by the Convention of the Presidents of the Greek Parliament, by NCHR members or by non-governmental organisations; 2. The submission of recommendations and proposals, elaboration of studies, submission of reports and opinions for legislative, administrative or other measures which may lead to the amelioration of human rights protection in Greece; 3. The development of initiatives for the sensitisation of the public opinion and the mass media on issues related to respect for human rights; 4. The cultivation of respect for human rights in the context of the national educational system; 5. The maintenance of permanent contacts and co-operation with international organizations, similar organs of other States, as well as with national or international non-governmental organisations; 6. The submission of consultative opinions regarding human rights-related reports which Greece is to submit to international organisations; 7. The publicising of NCHR positions in any appropriate manner; 8. The drawing up of an annual report on human rights protection in Greece; 9. The organisation of a Human Rights Documentation Centre; 10. The examination of the ways in which Greek legislation may be harmonised with the international law standards on human rights protection, and the subsequent submission of relevant opinions to competent State organs. Membership of NCHR In accordance with Article 2 of Law 2667/1998, the following are members of NCHR: 1. The President of the Special Parliamentary Commission for Institutions and Transparency; 2. A representative of the General Confederation of Greek Workers, and his/her alternate; 3. A representative of the Supreme Administration of Civil Servants' Unions, and his/her alternate; 4. Four representatives (and their alternates) of Non-Governmental Organisations active in the field of human rights protection, that is, Amnesty International Greek Section, the Hellenic League for Human Rights, the Marangopoulos Foundation for Human Rights and the Greek Council for Refugees; 5. Representatives of the political parties recognised according to the Rules of Procedure of the Greek Parliament. Each political party designates one representative and his/her alternate; 6. One Counsellor of State and his/her alternate, proposed by the President of the Council of State (Supreme Administrative Court); 7. One Justice of the Court of Cassation (Areios Pagos) and his/her alternate, proposed by the President of the above Court; 8. The Greek Ombudsman and his/her alternate; 9. One member of the Authority for the Protection of Personal Data and his/her alternate, proposed by the President of the above Authority; 10. One member of the National Radio and Television Council and his/her alternate, proposed by the President of the Council; 11. One member of the National Commission for Bioethics and his/her alternate, proposed by the President of that Commission; 12. Two personalities widely recognised for their expertise in the field of human rights protection, designated by the Prime Minister; 13. One representative (and one alternate) of the Ministries of Interior, Public Administration and Decentralisation, of National Education and Religion, of Labour and Social Security and of the Press and Mass Media. Each of these persons (who do not have the right to vote) is designated by the competent Minister; 14. Three Professors or Associate Professors (and their alternates) of Public Law or Public International Law, members of the University of Athens, Faculty of Political Science and Administration, of the University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Law and of the University of Thrace, Faculty of Law; 15. One member of the Athens Bar and his/her alternate. The organisational structure of NCHR Since 10 January 2000 the President of NCHR (Commissioner) has been Professor Alice Yotopoulos-Marangopoulos. First Vice-President is Mr Nikos Frangakis and Second Vice-President is Professor Anna Frangoudaki. NCHR has established five Sub-Commissions: 1. The Sub-Commission for Civil and Political Rights; 2. The Sub-Commission for Social, Economic and Cultural Rights; 3. The Sub-Commission for the Application of Human Rights to Aliens; 4. The Sub-Commission for the Promotion of Human Rights; 5. The Sub-Commission for International Communication and Co-operation. According to the Rules of Procedure of NCHR (Decision of Prime Minister Y 138, Official Journal of the Hellenic Republic, B-475, 09.04.2000), each Sub-Commission holds at least one meeting per month. The Sub-Commissions' work consists of the preparation of reports on issues related to their specific field of action. All these reports are subsequently submitted to the NCHR (Plenary) for discussion and decision. Since 15 November 2000 NCHR has employed two Legal Research Officers while since 1 April 2002 NCHR has also employed an executive secretary. In 2002 NCHR plans to acquire its own premises in Athens and its own web site (www.nchr.gr). Summary of the work of NCHR from 2000 to date In the beginning of the first year of its life, 2000, NCHR collected and studied all major international documentation regarding human rights protection issues in Greece which have been raised in international and European fora, with a view to examining the actual compliance of Greece with international and European human rights standards and law. Accordingly, the major issues of concern have been the following: issues pertaining to the effectiveness of the Greek justice system; freedom of religion; conscientious objection to military service; conditions of detention; non-discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnic origin or sex; protection of minority populations. In the course of the meetings of the NCHR Plenary since 2000 the following issues have been discussed and relevant action was taken, including notification of relevant NCHR decisions and recommendations to all competent Greek Authorities: ? NCHR Proposals on the draft Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: NCHR submitted to the EU Convention and competent Greek Authorities proposals regarding the inclusion within the body of the Charter of specific substantive provisions for, inter alia, the establishment of effective equality, the prevention of modern forms of slavery (especially those pertaining to the sexual exploitation of women and children), the abolition of the death penalty and the implementation of social and economic rights. ? The issue of inclusion of religious affiliation in Greek citizens' identity cards: NCHR decided that the inclusion of religious affiliation in Greek citizens' identity cards was not in accordance with the Greek Constitution nor with current international human rights law. The relevant NCHR opinion and decision was notified to the Greek competent Authorities and mass media. ? The 2000 Bill on aliens/immigration: NCHR expressed its criticism and submitted recommendations regarding certain provisions of the above Bill which were considered to contravene current international standards of immigration and human rights law. NCHR also called upon the Greek Government to take all appropriate measures for the establishment of specialised research into contemporary conditions of migration and for the establishment of an integrated immigration policy. ? Human Rights Education and Promotion: NCHR initiated a programme of human rights education and promotion, giving priority to specific population groups, that is, policemen and policewomen, public servants, lawyers, journalists and students. In April 2001 the Greek Open University accepted and started work on the proposal of the Fourth Sub-Commission of NCHR regarding the creation of a new course on Human Rights. In June 2001 the Fourth Sub-Commission of NCHR commissioned the Communication and Mass Media Department of the University of Athens to carry out a special study on Greek mass media and the promotion of stereotypes and discrimination mechanisms by the latter. The study is planned to be completed by December 2001. ? Ratification of humanitarian law treaties: NCHR called upon the Greek Government to proceed to the ratification of the Second Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, as well as of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (Greece has already signed these Protocols). ? Ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: NCHR called upon the Greek Government to ratify the Statute of the International Criminal Court (Greece has already signed the Statute). ? Cremation of the deceased: NCHR proposed to the competent Greek Authorities the modification of the current legislative framework for the establishment by Greek law of the right of every person in Greece to choose by will between cremation and burial when deceased. The latter is exclusively provided for by current Greek law. ? Amendment of the Greek Constitution in 2001: NCHR submitted to the Greek Government and the parliamentary political parties recommendations regarding the amendment of a series of constitutional provisions on: conscientious objection to military service, abolition of the death penalty, protection of personal data, the right of association of civil servants, Greek mass media, the right to property, the protection of the natural and cultural environment, the participation of civil servants in political parties and in national elections, the competences of the Greek Council of State, and the Greek independent specialised authorities. ? Freedom of religion: In light of the recent case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, NCHR proposed the modification, according to the above-mentioned jurisprudence, of the current Greek legal framework regarding prosecution of proselytism, the establishment of places of worship, the election of the Muslims' Mufti in Thrace and the effective protection of conscientious objectors. ? Use of force and of firearms by police forces: Upon request of the Minister of Public Order, NCHR proposed the modification of the current relevant Greek legal framework in line with the relevant principles and norms of the United Nations and the Council of Europe, in conjunction with other practical measures. ? The protection of refugees (asylum) in Greece: NCHR submitted to all competent Ministries proposals for a series of legislative and administrative amendments aimed at the modernisation and harmonisation of the Greek asylum framework with the established and emerging standards of international and European law. ? Provision of legal aid: NCHR proposed to the Ministry of Justice the restructuring and modernisation of legal aid schemes in accordance with the legal aid standards established by the Council of Europe, the European Union and the case law on the European Convention on Human Rights. ? Conditions of detention in Greece: NCHR, having studied relevant recent reports of, among others, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and the UN Committee against Torture, having regard to recent case law of the European Court of Human Rights and having visited some Greek prisons and police detention centres, submitted to the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Public Order a series of proposals aimed at the urgent reformation and modernisation of the Greek detention centres and related legislation and practice. ? Law on organised crime: NCHR submitted to the Ministry of Justice a series of recommendations, based mainly on European human rights principles and the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, regarding the draft of the "Law on the amendment of the Greek Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure for the protection of citizens from indictable acts of criminal groups". ? Alternative civil-social service: NCHR proposed to the Ministry of National Defence amendments for the modernisation of the Greek law regarding alternative civil-social service, instead of military service, in accordance with the relevant established principles of the Council of Europe and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. ? Protection of social rights of refugees and asylum seekers in Greece: NCHR submitted to the competent Greek Ministries a series of recommendations, based on European and international human rights standards, for the modernisation and the strengthening of the current, inadequate system of refugee social protection in Greece. ? Implementation by Greece of ILO Convention No 111 on non-discrimination in employment and occupation (a formal request for an opinion has been submitted to NCHR by the Greek Ministry of Labour): NCHR submitted its comments to the Ministry of Labour, placing particular emphasis on the important, requiring particular attention by the Greek State, issues of affirmative action in favour of women in Greece (following the new Article 116.2 of the Greek Constitution) and of the equality of sexes in the framework of the relevant, evolving EU law. ? Draft Report of the Greek Foreign Ministry on Racism, Intolerance and Xenophobia to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe: Comments of the Second (Social, Economic and Cultural Rights) and Third (Application of Human Rights to Aliens) NCHR Sub-Commissions have been submitted to the Greek Foreign Ministry upon the latter's request. The above Sub-Commissions have stressed, inter alia, that the Council of Europe should in no way proceed to the devaluation of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance. ? Issues regarding protection of Roma in Greece: NCHR submitted to the competent Greek Authorities their report on Roma in Greece containing a long series of measures that Greece should take in order to meet the needs for social and legal protection of this particularly vulnerable social group. ? Main issues of racial discrimination in Greece - Proposals for the modernisation of Greek law and practice: NCHR with this report underlined the major issues concerning racial equality in Greece already raised by competent UN and Council of Europe organs and proposed that the Greek Government proceed to the overhaul of the relevant policy and legislation, taking in particular into account Directive 2000/43/EC implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin. ? 2001 Reports of the Ministers of Justice and of Public Order to the UN CAT: NCHR submitted their comments on the above Reports, upon request of the relevant Ministries, in accordance with Law 2667/1998 founding NCHR. ? Resolution on terrorism and human rights after the events of 11.09.2001: NCHR was one of the first National Institutions that issued such a Resolution calling upon States to abide by their international legal obligations in the course of their struggle against terrorism. ? Second Mediterranean Conference of National Human Rights Institutions: NCHR successfully organised the above Conference from 1-3 November 2001 in Athens which was attended by 14 National Institutions and was concluded with the Athens Declaration (see text at www.nhri.net). The major theme of the Conference was immigration and asylum following the Durban World Conference against racism of September 2001. ? Appeal to the Greek Foreign Minister pertaining to the treatment by the US authorities of Afghan detainees: NCHR has called upon the Greek Foreign Minister to exercise his utmost influence so that international human rights principles are adhered to in this case. ? Appeal to the Greek Foreign Minister for the ratification by Greece of the anti-discrimination 12th Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), already signed by Greece. ? Appeal to the Greek Foreign Minister for the signature and ratification by Greece of the 13th Protocol to ECHR (concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances). ? Resolution on the 2001 proposals for an EU Council Framework Decision on combating terrorism and for an EU Council Framework Decision on the European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between Member States: NCHR commented on the above proposals dated December 2001 and stressed that these Decisions should be squarely based upon international and European human rights standards and principles. ? Research project on TV news reports and human rights protection: The Fourth Sub-Commission of NCHR commissioned the Department of Communication and Mass Media of the University of Athens to carry out the above research that was concluded in the first half of 2002. The research demonstrated the existence of a pattern of serious violations of human rights by TV news reports of mainly private TV channels in Greece. The research results will be publicized in December 2002. ? Initial (2002) Report of Greece to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: NCHR submitted their comments on the above Report, prepared by thirteen Ministries, upon request of the Greek Foreign Ministry, in accordance with Law 2667/1998 founding NCHR. ? 2002 Core Document of the Greek Foreign Ministry to the UN Human Rights Committee: NCHR, upon request, submitted to the Greek Foreign Ministry their comments on the above Core Document pertaining to substantial information on the framework of human rights protection in Greece. ? Report on Law 2956/2001 pertaining to temporary employment through "companies of temporary employment": NCHR forwarded to the Greek Government the above report underlining their concerns at the raison d'etre and application of the above Law that provides for the hiring of employees from the above-mentioned companies to various businesses in Greece. ? Issues relating to reception and access of asylum seekers to the asylum procedure in Greece: NCHR submitted to the Greek Authorities a series of new proposals with a view to overhauling and improving the existing practical framework of refugee reception and access to refugee recognition procedures in Greece. ? 2001 Greco-Turkish Protocol for the implementation of article 8 of the Greco-Turkish Agreement on combating crime and illegal immigration: NCHR issued a Resolution expressing their serious concern at, inter alia, the non-inclusion in the above Protocol of any express clauses pertaining to the effective protection of asylum seekers arriving in Greece from Turkey, according to the Geneva Refugee Convention. ? Bill on combating trafficking in persons and providing protection to victims: NCHR submitted to the Greek Authorities a series of substantial proposals for the amendment of the above Bill, in accordance with the relevant protection standards agreed upon by the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the European Union. ? Restrictive quotas against women employed by the Greek Police and Fire Brigade: NCHR issued a special report on the above issue calling upon the Greek Ministry of Public Order to abide by the new provisions of the Greek Constitution on affirmative action in favour of women and by the relevant case law of the Greek Council of State. ? Bill on the Greek administration's compliance with judicial decisions: NCHR submitted to the Greek Authorities a number of proposals for ensuring conformity of the above Bill with the prescriptions of the Greek Constitution, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. Athens, November 2002 --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Sun Dec 1 05:06:58 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2002 02:06:58 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] From Greek Helsinki Monitor Message-ID: <20021201100658.73673.qmail@web11502.mail.yahoo.com> --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Sun Dec 1 05:07:51 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2002 02:07:51 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] From Greek Helsinki Monitor - Rerun Message-ID: <20021201100751.73726.qmail@web11502.mail.yahoo.com> GHM: Policemen Killing or Incapacitating Albanians? So What, Who Cares? One Year After the Murder of Gentjan Celniku. GREEK HELSINKI MONITOR (GHM) Address: P.O. Box 60820, 15304 Glyka Nera Telephone: (+3) 010.347.22.59. Fax: (+3) 010.601.87.60. e-mail: office at greekhelsinki.gr website: http://www.greekhelsinki.gr ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PRESS RELEASE 21 November 2002 TOPIC: POLICEMEN KILLING OR INCAPACITATING ALBANIANS? SO WHAT, WHO CARES? ONE YEAR AFTER THE MURDER OF GENTJAN CELNIKU. Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM), on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of Gentjan Celniku's (an Albanian citizen) murder (at 8:40 pm on 21/11/01, at Amerikis Square), notes that, with a few exceptions, the attitude of Greek police and judicial authorities towards Albanian citizens that fall victims of police actions resulting to death or paralysis, gives the impression that they are treated in a disgraceful manner, hence the partial or total cover-up of these cases. GHM reminds that the xenophobic and Albanophobic feelings among law enforcement and Cost Guard officers are so much widespread, that the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture itself was able to detect them (see yesterday's report on Greece http://www.cpt.coe.int/en/reports/inf2002-31en.htm): "Further, during conversations held with law enforcement officials in several of the establishments visited, the delegation could not fail to note the disrespectful attitude displayed by some officers when referring to detainees, particularly those of Albanian origin." Here are some characteristic examples of unacceptable investigations and of inexistent or insufficient prosecution: 1. Gentjan Celniku (Athens, 21/11/01): The 20-year old was killed by a policeman and attempts were made ex post facto to fabricate how dangerous he was (see below); this happened as well at the border incidents presented here. The Sworn Administrative Inquiry (EDE) has yet to finish and GHM -being the organization that brought forward the allegations to the Hellenic Police (ELAS)- was never asked to testify. The investigating judge made no real inquiries and the Indictment Chamber indicted the defendant on misdemeanor only: despite the Amnesty International and International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights pleas to the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court that an appeal be lodged to secure a proper inquiry, and despite the relevant GHM petition to the Appeals Prosecutor's Office, the Appeals Prosecutor that handled the case did not lodge an appeal. 2. Afrim Salla (Greek-Albanian border, 4/6/01): The 15-year old was paralyzed from the waist down, after -as claimed by ELAS- the gun of a Border Guard went off accidentally? when he tripped over while firing warning shots against unarmed Albanians trying to enter Greece... "From a criminal and disciplinary respect, the case is archived", as stated cynically in a Ministry of Public Order document, which is at GHM's disposal. 3. Bledar Qosku (Greek-Albanian border, 1/11/00): The 23-year old was killed by a Border Guard after fire exchange, as claimed by ELAS. The gun he was supposed to be carrying was never found, while the other Albanians with him at the time, claimed under oath that they were ill-treated during their custody in order to testify that the victim was armed. Albanian judicial authorities started a prosecution, while the Ministry of Public Order informs rather stereotypically that "the case was archived from both a legal and a disciplinary respect". In addition, the Public Prosecutor's Office in Florina refused to submit the evidence requested by the Public Prosecutor's Office in Tirana ? 4. The most recent incident is the fatal injury of the 32-year old AK, son of D. The perpetrator is a Border Guard and the incident took place around 23:30 on 2/11/02, at the Messopotamia area of Kastoria. Following the exchange of correspondence and phone calls with ELAS and the Public Prosecutor in Kastoria, GHM was informed that a Sworn Administrative Inquiry had only been ordered on 12/11, and not right away, while the file on the fatal injury had not reached the Public Prosecutor by 14/11. Evidently, in this case as in so many other border incidents, the person responsible was not arrested nor taken before the Public Prosecutor immediately, as it tends to happen in Athens for similar cases that receive media coverage. On the contrary, ELAS in Kastoria, informed GHM on 8/11/02 that the report on the alleged offences committed by the three remaining Albanians, had already been sent to the Public Prosecutor's Office; in turn, the Public Prosecutor's Office had ordered their prosecution and detention, and had referred their case to a regular examining judge, while the accused had already been transferred to Ioannina Prison. Furthermore, on the same day of 8/11/02, the forensic medical examination report had not been delivered to ELAS, even though it may be presumed that the examination was carried out on 3/11/02. Let it be noted that a local television station in Kozani reported a completely different version of the events, obviously based on police sources: the four Albanians were not on foot, as stated officially by ELAS, but were passengers in a car; a chase and use of firearms took place to immobilize the car. This contradiction is another reason why a complete and independent investigation of the incident is necessary rather than letting it follow the beaten track of presenting the fatal or paralyzing injury of Albanians as lawful self-defense cases. ------------------------- THE CELNIKU MURDER CASE: CONDITIONS DURING ON-SITE EXAMINATION AND INVESTIGATION 1. An eyewitness describes: The well known ex-deputy governor of IKA (Social Security Fund), Antonis Karras, in statements to the media (Mega Channel 23/11 and Avgi 24/1 -the latter is attached herein) and GHM, claimed he witnessed the "planting" of the knife, so as to make it look as if it was dropped from the hands of the deceased. The relevant article that appeared in Avgi follows. Avgi 24-11-01 Staged scene after the Murder... By: Nikos Papadimitriou http://193.218.80.70/cgi-bin/hwebpressrem.exe?-A=271715&-w=&-V=hpress_int&-P -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The testimony of Antonis Karras reverses totally the claims made by the accused policeman Ioannis Rizopoulos and the police authorities. Karras was at the crime scene minutes after the murder took place. Antonis Karras, who gave evidence yesterday before the investigating judge, tells our newspaper all he saw: firstly, the knife which was supposedly used in the attack by the Albanian Gentjan Celniku, was found by a policemen in the pocket of the deceased; secondly, colleagues of the accused placed it later on the ground (with the obvious intention to be found by the Crime Scene Investigation unit). Antonis Karras, who was a member of the PASOK Central Committee and now heads the support committee for the hunger strikers in Turkey, choosing to be a simple "citizen" - in his own words -, explains what he saw exactly a couple of evenings ago at Lefkosia Street. He happened to pass by when he saw a law enforcement officer kicking (not very hard) Celniku's friends who were tied up with their arms behind their backs; he also heard him using insulting swear words. At this sight, he reacted immediately, along with another police officer. At their side, the 20-year old Albanian was lying dead, in a pool of blood and brain tissue. The bullet cartridge was lying twenty-five centimeters away; Karras picked it up, placed it in a packet of cigarettes and handed it over to the policemen. (It is also noted that from a first look of the wound, he got the impression that the Albanian was shot at close range). He states, "They searched him in my presence and they took a knife out from either his back pocket or some pocket on his belt" and, adding rather to the point, "someone who died instantly could not have the time to put it back in his pocket...". Further on, when we asked Karras to give a description of the knife (which was described by the police as? a serrated knife) he said that is was a "common, very ordinary knife, the kind of knifes you find anywhere". The most amazing thing, though, is yet to follow: Antonis Karras saw the policemen handing the knife over to the police officer in command who was at the time at a nearby establishment. However, the knife was found afterwards on the curb, where the deceased was lying a little bit earlier - as Karras and the stretcher-bearers were taking the dead young man in the ambulance. The Crime Scene Investigation unit arrived a few minutes later. Nikos PAPADIMITRIOU 2. The investigation conditions The depositions taken by one of the investigating police officers the night of the murder (M., usually with his colleague K.) give a completely different picture than that arising from the depositions taken by the others. In the case of the Albanian patron P. L., the depositions are diametrically opposite. Thus, in the supplementary deposition he gave to M.-K., the unknown (in the first deposition) to him Albanian, who is also the victim, becomes the Albanian whom the witness' son had gone to meet in order to reach an agreement with him, thus an Albanian familiar to him (in the second deposition). It is estimated that the father gave the second testimony at the time when the son was being questioned by those two investigating police officers, saying (only him from all the witnesses) that he had seen the victim brandishing a knife? These are the same two police officers that went on the spot to carry out the on site inspection, thus giving rise to the impression that they organized the cover-up. They were the ones to find on the same night a "convenient" Albanian (M. D.) to give a testimony about how dangerous Celniku was, though he had not been an eye witness?The versions of the meeting of the 5 Albanians differ substantially between each other, depending on the investigating officer who took the depositions as well. One of these Albanians (B. S.) actually designates another individual as the fifth member of the group (that is G. instead of M.). The crucial deposition is that of the police officer in command of the operation, in which it is stated clearly that Rizopoulos "ignored my explicit orders not to take part in the operation" and that "I reprimanded him for touching the knife with bare hands" that he (Rizopoulos that is!!!) supposedly found on the victim. Later on, the police officer in command placed it "on the Albanian's body, where Rizopoulos indicated that he had found it". Therefore, it could be doubted whether a knife even existed, since it has the fingerprints of the perpetrator police officer who needed to claim self-defense. Another eyewitness though, Antonis Karras (ex deputy governor of IKA), claims that Rizopoulos was ordered by another police officer to search the victim. With respect to the attempted cover-up of the policemen, it is generally noted that, in the first phase, the version made known to the public was the one that the police officers made up on the spot and distributed to the media on that same night, namely that the victim drew a knife. This is shown by the following day's press coverage of the event. The same version was repeated by Giannis Makris, the Chairman of the Panhellenic Police Officers' Federation Board, 36 hours after the murder (23/11/01) on Mega [TV channel]. He also added that, supposedly, the police knew that Celniku was "wanted for manslaughter in Albania", something that no one mentioned during the inquiry, except only one Albanian, and which was not substantiated later as it could be, by asking for his criminal record certificate. On the contrary, during the investigation, a second version came up, a supposed kicking of the policeman by the victim (a right lateral kick by someone who had previously fallen down, as if he was a master in oriental martial arts?) that supposedly caused the firing of the gun. Moreover, AFTER the murder, the police disclosed a previous incident (on 9/11/01) in which Celniku allegedly wounded 2 Albanians, according to the depositions that the relatives of the two victims gave on the night of 21/11/01 AFTER the murder and, what's more, at the Kolonos police station, while they reside near Amerikis Square that has its own police station. The aim of all this was apparently to support the suspicions against Celniku and his alleged dangerous character that made him a suspect etc. Soon after that, at the dawn of the 22/11, the victims of the first incident testified as well, since the police took them to the police station in the very early hours of that day in order, as one of them has stated, to testify who hit him on the 9/11 "so as to clear the Amerikis Square area from the 'Chinese' man's gang." Finally, it has not yet been clarified what exactly are the "two contusion injuries" for which the accused is asked to answer; according to the indictment brought in and the investigator's proposal, there were " ... two injuries in the scalp area, one in the posterior region of the auricle(NOTE: behind the ear) and one in the parieto-occipital area (NOTE: i.e. near the top of the skull)". However: ? There was only one shot (deposition under oath of all witnesses, testimony of the accused etc). ? The entrance point of the shot was in the "right mastoid area" (NOTE: in the posterior region of the auricle, see the Autopsy Report). ? The injury was blind, i.e. the bullet did not exit the skull but it is "?embedded in the inner region of the left temporamandibular joint" (Autopsy Report) How did this second "contusion injury in the scalp area" occur, as mentioned in the body collection document of IKA 7th Hospital, in the Investigation and Evidence Seized Report, in the preliminary investigation report of the police lieutenant? Can it possibly be that there was a second shot or that, maybe, before the fatal shot there was a fight between the accused and the victim or some blow on the victim's skull by the accused and that the fatal shot occurred after the victim had taken the blow on the skull and had dropped from his chair (testimony of police lieutenant ?.: " ? RIZOPOULOS was holding the gun in the right hand without aiming at the Albanian, raising his hand; he gave me the impression that he was going to try and hit him on the neck with the grip of the gun, in an effort to prevent the Albanian's intentions towards us that looked extremely suspicious and dangerous?")? In which case, the existence of intention is self-evident and there is a general effort to cover up the actions of the accused by his fellow police officers. ____________________________________________________ Internet Addresses: Balkan Human Rights Web Pages: http://www.greekhelsinki.gr The Balkan Human Rights List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/balkanhr The Greek Human Rights List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/greekhr Center of Documentation and Information on Minorities in Europe - Southeast Europe: http://www.cedime.net GHM Board: Panayote Dimitras, Orestis Georgiadis, Dimitrina Petrova, Alan Phillips, Gregory Vallianatos. International Advisory Committee: Savvas Agouridis, Teuta Arifi, Ivo Banac, Vladimir Bilandzic, Marcel Courthiade, Loring Danforth, Fernand de Varennes, Victor-Yves Ghebali, Henri Giordan, Krassimir Kanev, Will Kymlicka, Magda Opalski, Theodore S. Orlin, Dimitrina Petrova, Alan Phillips, Aaron Rhodes, Vladimir Solonari, Patrick Thornberry, Stefan Troebst, Boris Tsilevich, Tibor Varady, Marc Weller. Affiliation to International Organizations: Consortium of Minority Resources (COMIR), Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN), European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF), Minority Rights Group International (MRGI), One World Net, South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), World Organization Against Torture (OMCT). --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Sun Dec 1 05:09:00 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2002 02:09:00 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] From Greek Helsinki Monitor - Rerun Message-ID: <20021201100900.92865.qmail@web11506.mail.yahoo.com> GHM: Policemen Killing or Incapacitating Albanians? So What, Who Cares? One Year After the Murder of Gentjan Celniku. GREEK HELSINKI MONITOR (GHM) Address: P.O. Box 60820, 15304 Glyka Nera Telephone: (+3) 010.347.22.59. Fax: (+3) 010.601.87.60. e-mail: office at greekhelsinki.gr website: http://www.greekhelsinki.gr ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PRESS RELEASE 21 November 2002 TOPIC: POLICEMEN KILLING OR INCAPACITATING ALBANIANS? SO WHAT, WHO CARES? ONE YEAR AFTER THE MURDER OF GENTJAN CELNIKU. Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM), on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of Gentjan Celniku's (an Albanian citizen) murder (at 8:40 pm on 21/11/01, at Amerikis Square), notes that, with a few exceptions, the attitude of Greek police and judicial authorities towards Albanian citizens that fall victims of police actions resulting to death or paralysis, gives the impression that they are treated in a disgraceful manner, hence the partial or total cover-up of these cases. GHM reminds that the xenophobic and Albanophobic feelings among law enforcement and Cost Guard officers are so much widespread, that the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture itself was able to detect them (see yesterday's report on Greece http://www.cpt.coe.int/en/reports/inf2002-31en.htm): "Further, during conversations held with law enforcement officials in several of the establishments visited, the delegation could not fail to note the disrespectful attitude displayed by some officers when referring to detainees, particularly those of Albanian origin." Here are some characteristic examples of unacceptable investigations and of inexistent or insufficient prosecution: 1. Gentjan Celniku (Athens, 21/11/01): The 20-year old was killed by a policeman and attempts were made ex post facto to fabricate how dangerous he was (see below); this happened as well at the border incidents presented here. The Sworn Administrative Inquiry (EDE) has yet to finish and GHM -being the organization that brought forward the allegations to the Hellenic Police (ELAS)- was never asked to testify. The investigating judge made no real inquiries and the Indictment Chamber indicted the defendant on misdemeanor only: despite the Amnesty International and International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights pleas to the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court that an appeal be lodged to secure a proper inquiry, and despite the relevant GHM petition to the Appeals Prosecutor's Office, the Appeals Prosecutor that handled the case did not lodge an appeal. 2. Afrim Salla (Greek-Albanian border, 4/6/01): The 15-year old was paralyzed from the waist down, after -as claimed by ELAS- the gun of a Border Guard went off accidentally? when he tripped over while firing warning shots against unarmed Albanians trying to enter Greece... "From a criminal and disciplinary respect, the case is archived", as stated cynically in a Ministry of Public Order document, which is at GHM's disposal. 3. Bledar Qosku (Greek-Albanian border, 1/11/00): The 23-year old was killed by a Border Guard after fire exchange, as claimed by ELAS. The gun he was supposed to be carrying was never found, while the other Albanians with him at the time, claimed under oath that they were ill-treated during their custody in order to testify that the victim was armed. Albanian judicial authorities started a prosecution, while the Ministry of Public Order informs rather stereotypically that "the case was archived from both a legal and a disciplinary respect". In addition, the Public Prosecutor's Office in Florina refused to submit the evidence requested by the Public Prosecutor's Office in Tirana ? 4. The most recent incident is the fatal injury of the 32-year old AK, son of D. The perpetrator is a Border Guard and the incident took place around 23:30 on 2/11/02, at the Messopotamia area of Kastoria. Following the exchange of correspondence and phone calls with ELAS and the Public Prosecutor in Kastoria, GHM was informed that a Sworn Administrative Inquiry had only been ordered on 12/11, and not right away, while the file on the fatal injury had not reached the Public Prosecutor by 14/11. Evidently, in this case as in so many other border incidents, the person responsible was not arrested nor taken before the Public Prosecutor immediately, as it tends to happen in Athens for similar cases that receive media coverage. On the contrary, ELAS in Kastoria, informed GHM on 8/11/02 that the report on the alleged offences committed by the three remaining Albanians, had already been sent to the Public Prosecutor's Office; in turn, the Public Prosecutor's Office had ordered their prosecution and detention, and had referred their case to a regular examining judge, while the accused had already been transferred to Ioannina Prison. Furthermore, on the same day of 8/11/02, the forensic medical examination report had not been delivered to ELAS, even though it may be presumed that the examination was carried out on 3/11/02. Let it be noted that a local television station in Kozani reported a completely different version of the events, obviously based on police sources: the four Albanians were not on foot, as stated officially by ELAS, but were passengers in a car; a chase and use of firearms took place to immobilize the car. This contradiction is another reason why a complete and independent investigation of the incident is necessary rather than letting it follow the beaten track of presenting the fatal or paralyzing injury of Albanians as lawful self-defense cases. ------------------------- THE CELNIKU MURDER CASE: CONDITIONS DURING ON-SITE EXAMINATION AND INVESTIGATION 1. An eyewitness describes: The well known ex-deputy governor of IKA (Social Security Fund), Antonis Karras, in statements to the media (Mega Channel 23/11 and Avgi 24/1 -the latter is attached herein) and GHM, claimed he witnessed the "planting" of the knife, so as to make it look as if it was dropped from the hands of the deceased. The relevant article that appeared in Avgi follows. Avgi 24-11-01 Staged scene after the Murder... By: Nikos Papadimitriou http://193.218.80.70/cgi-bin/hwebpressrem.exe?-A=271715&-w=&-V=hpress_int&-P -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The testimony of Antonis Karras reverses totally the claims made by the accused policeman Ioannis Rizopoulos and the police authorities. Karras was at the crime scene minutes after the murder took place. Antonis Karras, who gave evidence yesterday before the investigating judge, tells our newspaper all he saw: firstly, the knife which was supposedly used in the attack by the Albanian Gentjan Celniku, was found by a policemen in the pocket of the deceased; secondly, colleagues of the accused placed it later on the ground (with the obvious intention to be found by the Crime Scene Investigation unit). Antonis Karras, who was a member of the PASOK Central Committee and now heads the support committee for the hunger strikers in Turkey, choosing to be a simple "citizen" - in his own words -, explains what he saw exactly a couple of evenings ago at Lefkosia Street. He happened to pass by when he saw a law enforcement officer kicking (not very hard) Celniku's friends who were tied up with their arms behind their backs; he also heard him using insulting swear words. At this sight, he reacted immediately, along with another police officer. At their side, the 20-year old Albanian was lying dead, in a pool of blood and brain tissue. The bullet cartridge was lying twenty-five centimeters away; Karras picked it up, placed it in a packet of cigarettes and handed it over to the policemen. (It is also noted that from a first look of the wound, he got the impression that the Albanian was shot at close range). He states, "They searched him in my presence and they took a knife out from either his back pocket or some pocket on his belt" and, adding rather to the point, "someone who died instantly could not have the time to put it back in his pocket...". Further on, when we asked Karras to give a description of the knife (which was described by the police as? a serrated knife) he said that is was a "common, very ordinary knife, the kind of knifes you find anywhere". The most amazing thing, though, is yet to follow: Antonis Karras saw the policemen handing the knife over to the police officer in command who was at the time at a nearby establishment. However, the knife was found afterwards on the curb, where the deceased was lying a little bit earlier - as Karras and the stretcher-bearers were taking the dead young man in the ambulance. The Crime Scene Investigation unit arrived a few minutes later. Nikos PAPADIMITRIOU 2. The investigation conditions The depositions taken by one of the investigating police officers the night of the murder (M., usually with his colleague K.) give a completely different picture than that arising from the depositions taken by the others. In the case of the Albanian patron P. L., the depositions are diametrically opposite. Thus, in the supplementary deposition he gave to M.-K., the unknown (in the first deposition) to him Albanian, who is also the victim, becomes the Albanian whom the witness' son had gone to meet in order to reach an agreement with him, thus an Albanian familiar to him (in the second deposition). It is estimated that the father gave the second testimony at the time when the son was being questioned by those two investigating police officers, saying (only him from all the witnesses) that he had seen the victim brandishing a knife? These are the same two police officers that went on the spot to carry out the on site inspection, thus giving rise to the impression that they organized the cover-up. They were the ones to find on the same night a "convenient" Albanian (M. D.) to give a testimony about how dangerous Celniku was, though he had not been an eye witness?The versions of the meeting of the 5 Albanians differ substantially between each other, depending on the investigating officer who took the depositions as well. One of these Albanians (B. S.) actually designates another individual as the fifth member of the group (that is G. instead of M.). The crucial deposition is that of the police officer in command of the operation, in which it is stated clearly that Rizopoulos "ignored my explicit orders not to take part in the operation" and that "I reprimanded him for touching the knife with bare hands" that he (Rizopoulos that is!!!) supposedly found on the victim. Later on, the police officer in command placed it "on the Albanian's body, where Rizopoulos indicated that he had found it". Therefore, it could be doubted whether a knife even existed, since it has the fingerprints of the perpetrator police officer who needed to claim self-defense. Another eyewitness though, Antonis Karras (ex deputy governor of IKA), claims that Rizopoulos was ordered by another police officer to search the victim. With respect to the attempted cover-up of the policemen, it is generally noted that, in the first phase, the version made known to the public was the one that the police officers made up on the spot and distributed to the media on that same night, namely that the victim drew a knife. This is shown by the following day's press coverage of the event. The same version was repeated by Giannis Makris, the Chairman of the Panhellenic Police Officers' Federation Board, 36 hours after the murder (23/11/01) on Mega [TV channel]. He also added that, supposedly, the police knew that Celniku was "wanted for manslaughter in Albania", something that no one mentioned during the inquiry, except only one Albanian, and which was not substantiated later as it could be, by asking for his criminal record certificate. On the contrary, during the investigation, a second version came up, a supposed kicking of the policeman by the victim (a right lateral kick by someone who had previously fallen down, as if he was a master in oriental martial arts?) that supposedly caused the firing of the gun. Moreover, AFTER the murder, the police disclosed a previous incident (on 9/11/01) in which Celniku allegedly wounded 2 Albanians, according to the depositions that the relatives of the two victims gave on the night of 21/11/01 AFTER the murder and, what's more, at the Kolonos police station, while they reside near Amerikis Square that has its own police station. The aim of all this was apparently to support the suspicions against Celniku and his alleged dangerous character that made him a suspect etc. Soon after that, at the dawn of the 22/11, the victims of the first incident testified as well, since the police took them to the police station in the very early hours of that day in order, as one of them has stated, to testify who hit him on the 9/11 "so as to clear the Amerikis Square area from the 'Chinese' man's gang." Finally, it has not yet been clarified what exactly are the "two contusion injuries" for which the accused is asked to answer; according to the indictment brought in and the investigator's proposal, there were " ... two injuries in the scalp area, one in the posterior region of the auricle(NOTE: behind the ear) and one in the parieto-occipital area (NOTE: i.e. near the top of the skull)". However: ? There was only one shot (deposition under oath of all witnesses, testimony of the accused etc). ? The entrance point of the shot was in the "right mastoid area" (NOTE: in the posterior region of the auricle, see the Autopsy Report). ? The injury was blind, i.e. the bullet did not exit the skull but it is "?embedded in the inner region of the left temporamandibular joint" (Autopsy Report) How did this second "contusion injury in the scalp area" occur, as mentioned in the body collection document of IKA 7th Hospital, in the Investigation and Evidence Seized Report, in the preliminary investigation report of the police lieutenant? Can it possibly be that there was a second shot or that, maybe, before the fatal shot there was a fight between the accused and the victim or some blow on the victim's skull by the accused and that the fatal shot occurred after the victim had taken the blow on the skull and had dropped from his chair (testimony of police lieutenant ?.: " ? RIZOPOULOS was holding the gun in the right hand without aiming at the Albanian, raising his hand; he gave me the impression that he was going to try and hit him on the neck with the grip of the gun, in an effort to prevent the Albanian's intentions towards us that looked extremely suspicious and dangerous?")? In which case, the existence of intention is self-evident and there is a general effort to cover up the actions of the accused by his fellow police officers. ____________________________________________________ Internet Addresses: Balkan Human Rights Web Pages: http://www.greekhelsinki.gr The Balkan Human Rights List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/balkanhr The Greek Human Rights List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/greekhr Center of Documentation and Information on Minorities in Europe - Southeast Europe: http://www.cedime.net GHM Board: Panayote Dimitras, Orestis Georgiadis, Dimitrina Petrova, Alan Phillips, Gregory Vallianatos. International Advisory Committee: Savvas Agouridis, Teuta Arifi, Ivo Banac, Vladimir Bilandzic, Marcel Courthiade, Loring Danforth, Fernand de Varennes, Victor-Yves Ghebali, Henri Giordan, Krassimir Kanev, Will Kymlicka, Magda Opalski, Theodore S. Orlin, Dimitrina Petrova, Alan Phillips, Aaron Rhodes, Vladimir Solonari, Patrick Thornberry, Stefan Troebst, Boris Tsilevich, Tibor Varady, Marc Weller. Affiliation to International Organizations: Consortium of Minority Resources (COMIR), Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN), European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF), Minority Rights Group International (MRGI), One World Net, South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), World Organization Against Torture (OMCT). --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Thu Dec 5 06:21:12 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Thu, 5 Dec 2002 03:21:12 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: Cfare nuk i tha z. Gage Nanoberisha. Nga Genc Pollo Message-ID: <20021205112112.56990.qmail@web11508.mail.yahoo.com> Cfare nuk i tha z. Gage Nanoberisha. Genc Pollo* Te kujdesesh qe pakicat etnike ne vendin tend te kene standartet me te perparuara europiane eshte dicka e lavderueshme. Te degjosh kedo qe vjen nga afer e larg per kete ceshtje, qofte ky finlandez, grek apo kanadez eshte normale Edhe kur ky person quhet Nicolas Gage dhe ka nje te kaluar problematike me Shqiperine mendoj se eshte dinjitoze qe ofiqare, politikane, aktiviste te te drejtave te njeriut e personalitete te tjera te flasin per kete ceshtje me po ate seriozitet e angazhim sic e trajtojne edhe me kedo tjeter. Por mendoj se historia nuk mbaron e nuk duhet te mbaroje ketu. Zoti Gage eshte babai i tezes se nqs Tirana kerkon nje status per Kosoven, te njejtin status duhet ta adoptoje per ?Epirin e Veriut? alias Shqiperine e Jugut. Gjate viteve 90 kjo teze u adoptua edhe nga politikane ekstreme te te dy kraheve. Deshiroj te mendoj se i ballafaquar me realitete te reja ne Ballkan autori i njohur i romanit Eleni do ta kishte harruar kete ide te tij si nje mendim kalimtar. Nje inteviste ekskluzive e tij ne TV Vizion+ me qartesoi se nuk eshte dhe aq keshtu. Z. Gage, kesaj radhe disi vagullt tha se nuk mund te pretendoni ?te drejta per pakicen shqiptare ne Jugosllavi dhe te mohoni te drejta per pakicen greke ( apo tjeter pakice) ne Shqiperi?. Sidoqofte z. Gage, me te cilin autori i ketyre radheve plot 8 vjet me pare ka patur rastin te debatoje kete ceshtje, duket se nuk ka ndryshuar mendje dhe kjo eshte 100% e drejta e tij. Ajo qe mua me shqeteson si qytetar i kesaj Republike dhe si kryetar I nje partie parlamentare eshte heshtja per kete ceshtje e kryeminstrit dhe e ish-presidentit, qe te dy mikprites te z. Gage keto dite. Nuk dua te them se ata ndajne te njejten pikepamje, ruajna Zot. Por do te kishte qene ne dinjitetin e tyre qe te kishin kundershtuar kete simetrizem absurd si dhe ne dinjitetin e qeverise dhe politikes qe perfaqesojne qe kete kundershtim eventual t?a kishin bere publik. Meqe po flas per dinjitet te shtetit me duhet te them edhe dicka tjeter. Ne vitin 1994 terroriste te infiltruar nga Greqia vrane disa ushtare e nje oficer gjate nje sulmi te befasishem ne nje repart ne rrethin e Gjirokastres. Nje vit me vone nga nivelet me te larta te shtetit Nicolas Gage u akuzua si financues i ketij rrjeti terrorist. Harresa e shtirur e kesaj ngjarje nga dy bashkebiseduesit shqiptare eshte e dhimbshme. Nese duan te kene te bejne me fjalen dinjitet keta zoterinj kishin dy rruge: Ose te rishikonin akuzat dhe provat e tyre dhe ne vijim te nxirrnin greko-amerikanin te paperzier. Atehere takimi normal me te do te ishte dhe nje lloj ndjese diplomatike. Ose te bindur per lidhjen e mbrapshte duhej te gjenin nje sjellje pak me te ndryshme me te. Por ne te dy rastet qendrimet e tyre duhen te ishin publike. Ndoshta po gaboj duke kerkuar dicka diku si personazhi qe kerkon celesin e humbur poshte fenerit te rruges. Por i jap vetes te drejte te them se ndonjehere nje akt dinjitoz i shlyen borxhin dhe i kthen krenarine atyre qe vertet e meritojne emrin ?te rene per Atdhe? me shume se sa nje grandparade si kjo e sotmja. *Autori eshte kryetar i Partise Demokrate botuar ne gazeten ALBANIA --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Sat Dec 7 11:53:55 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sat, 7 Dec 2002 08:53:55 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: [balkans] CfA: Pristina Summer University 2003 - Apply to Teach Now, 14.7-1.8.2003 Message-ID: <20021207165355.25350.qmail@web11503.mail.yahoo.com> Florian Bieber wrote:From Florian Bieber Tue Dec 3 06:17:01 2002 To: balkans at yahoogroups.com From: Florian Bieber Date: Tue, 03 Dec 2002 15:17:01 +0100 Subject: [balkans] CfA: Pristina Summer University 2003 - Apply to Teach Now, 14.7-1.8.2003 Pristina Summer University 2003 - Apply to Teach Now 14 July 1 August 2003 International teaching faculty can now apply to teach at the Pristina Summer University (PSU 2003) in Kosovo. If interested, please visit www.academictraining.org to apply online. Visiting professors voluntarily teach the intensive courses, usually comprising 15 teaching days. Professors receive a per diem of 15 Euros per teaching day, travel expenses are reimbursed and free accommodation is provided. The PSU 2003 brings together regional & international professors and lecturers for a period of three weeks and will provide about 30 intensive courses and workshops in a wide range of academic fields (e.g. social sciences & humanities, economics, law, arts, education & pedagogy, languages, medicine, natural sciences and mathematics, electrical/civil/mechanical engineering, urban planning, computer science, etc.). In addition, public discussions and lectures will be organised on prominent issues in Kosovar and (South) East European society. Recreational activities for professors and students are also included in the programme. The PSU is the largest Summer University in the region and a magnificent academic experience for both, professors and students. The PSU is a project organised by the University of Pristina and the Academic Training Association (ATA). APPLY: Visiting professors interested to teach at the Pristina Summer University 2003 can apply online at www.academictraining.org. Academic Training Association PSU Coordination Info and application forms: www.academictraining.org Email: PSU at academictraining.org Yahoo! Groups SponsorADVERTISEMENT ______________________________________________ Balkan Academic News Post Messages to: balkans at yahoogroups.com Contact Owner at: bieberf at gmx.net 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!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Mon Dec 9 09:08:03 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 06:08:03 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: Collaku i FDS: te shkarkohet Cupi pro GAGE i ATSH Message-ID: <20021209140803.8833.qmail@web11504.mail.yahoo.com> Forumi Demokrat Studentor (FDS), organi rinor i Partise Demokrate te reformuar kerkon largimin e Frrok Cupit nga posti i drejtorit te Agjencise Telegrafike Shqiptare (ATSH). Kete e beri te njohur kryetari i FDS Kreshnik Collaku ne nje tubim perkutimor te Levizjes Studentore te Dhjetorit 90 e cila coi ne rrezimin e regjimit komunist. ?Frrok Cupi ne menyre publike ka marre nen mbrojte ekstremistin Nicholas Gage dhe pikepamjet e tij radikale. Pikepamjet e z. Cupi jane ceshtje private e tij por nuk e kuptoj pse ky person, i duhet te jete patjeter drejtor i nje agjencie publike lajmesh qe mbeshtetet nga buxheti i shtetit kur pikepamjet e tij jane diametralisht te kunderta me ato te Presidentit te Republikes, Qeverise dhe opozites. Per kete i kerkoj kryeminstrit Nano te shkarkoje z. Cupi nga detyra dhe presidentit Moisiu qe te influencoje ne kete drejtim. - tha Collaku. Ne deklaraten e FDS, e cila pritet te gjeje mbeshtetje edhe nga Forumet Rinore te partive te tjera permendeshin edhe precedente te tjere te Frrok Cupit si vetedeklarimi e tij keshilltar politik i Zani Caushit (bandit i Vlores aktualisht ne burg) ne qeshor 1997 e me pas pozicionimin e tij, unikal nder publicistet shqiptare, kunder nderhyrjes se NATO-s ne Kosove ne vitin 1999. Ne tetor 1997 Cupi u emerua drejtor i ATSH me dekret te vecante ndersa sot, ligjet ne fuqi kompetencen e emerim/shkarkimit e ka kryeministri. Kryetari i PD? Genc Pollo ishte I pari qe denoncoi qendrimet e Nanos e Berishes ndaj N. Gage si jodinjitoze dhe deputet e kesaj partie kerkuan shpjegime ne parlament. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Mon Dec 9 09:10:31 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 06:10:31 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: [balkans] CfA: Institute for Holocaust and Jewish Civilization Studies, 1-14.7.2003, Cracow (PL) Message-ID: <20021209141031.38009.qmail@web11502.mail.yahoo.com> CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR THE INSTITUTE FOR HOLOCAUST AND JEWISH CIVILIZATION STUDIES Cracow, July 1-14, 2003 The Holocaust Educational Foundation at the Northwestern University, Chicago, USA and the Centre for European Studies at Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland announce a Summer Institute for Holocaust and Jewish Civilization Studies to be held on July 1-14, 2003 in Cracow. The Institute for Holocaust and Jewish Civilization Studies is open to all academic instructors from Central and Eastern Europe who have an interest in developing a course on teaching the Holocaust in their respective universities and to academic instructors who are already teaching a course and would like to benefit from the courses offered. We welcome applications from the teaching faculty in a range of disciplines, including history, political science, international relations, sociology and pedagogy. We also encourage Ph.D. candidates to apply. A total of 25 participants will be selected to attend the Institute. Those accepted will receive full fellowships, including tuition, written materials, room and board, access to computers and the library. Travel allowances will be considered on an individual basis. The Institute is located at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland. The Jagiellonian University, founded in 1364, is the oldest university in Poland and the second oldest university in Central and Eastern Europe. Located in one of the most beautiful European cities, ancient Cracow, Jagiellonian University offers a unique opportunity not only to study, but also to experience over 600 years of its own history, magnificent architecture, and art. Distinguished scholars in their respective fields from the USA and Poland will staff the Institute. Apart from the rich academic program, the Institute will organize visits to Cracow?s finest museums, concert halls and theatres, as well as field trips. PROGRAM Topics to be addressed at the Institute include the following themes: A. Who are the Jews, their history, religious practices. B. The history of the Holocaust. C. The Holocaust in literature. D. The Holocaust in film. E. How to build a course. F. Visiting lecturers. G. Social outings, concerts, architectural tours, etc. WORKING LANGUAGE The working language of the Institute will be English with translation into Polish or Russian. APPLICATIONS: Applicants should write a resume and a short letter indicating their interests, how they would benefit from the Institute and fill out the application form which can be found at www.europeistyka.uj.edu.pl . The requirement for receiving the fellowship is that participants must then conduct a Holocaust related course at their university. The confirmation of conducting such course at university from the University President or Dean is requested. Ph.D. candidates should include a recommendation from their thesis advisor. The deadline for application is February 28, 2003. Application may be sent to either of the following: Jagiellonian University Centre for European Studies Ul. Oleandry 2a 30-063 Krak?w, Poland tel. +48 12 623 74 58, fax +48 12 632 64 66 www.euroepistyka.uj.edu.pl or via e-mail: gora at ces.uj.edu.pl Yahoo! Groups SponsorADVERTISEMENT ______________________________________________ Balkan Academic News Post Messages to: balkans at yahoogroups.com Contact Owner at: bieberf at gmx.net 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!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Mon Dec 9 09:41:56 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 06:41:56 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Deshmori i Peshkepise - Shekulli Message-ID: <20021209144156.85399.qmail@web11506.mail.yahoo.com> N? sht?pin? e ushtarit 17-vje?ar nga Sheq Marinas i Fierit, vrar? nga Komandot greke n? Peshk?pi N?nt? vitet e zis? n? familjen e Arsenit Babai: ?Duam ndihm?. M? 8 n?ntor shkova t? takoj kryeministrin, por nuk m? priti? Nga i d?rguari yn? Olsi Kolami Sht?pia p?rdhese e Llazi Gjinit n? Sheq Marinas t? Fierit, ?sht? kthyer n? nj? grumbull tullash dhe lla?i. Tavani i sht?pis? ka krijuar nj? hart? lag?shtire pas s? cil?s jan? formuar bul?zat e ujit q? pikojn? mbi dysheme. N? dhom?n e mobiluar varf?r, familja Gjini ka nisur t? b?j? disa nd?rtime, pasi ka hedhur pas shpine kujtimin e hidhur t? vitit 1994, kur djali i tyre i madh Arseni mbeti i vrar? n? at? q? tashm? njihet si ?ngjarja e Peshk?pis??. Gjurm?t e zis? ndihen ende n? sht?pi. N?na e Arsenit vazhdon t? jet? e veshur me t? zeza edhe pse kan? kaluar n?nt? vjet nga gj?ma e madhe q? i ra familjes Gjini. ?M? 22 mars e kam takuar djalin p?r her? t? fundit, nd?rkoh? q? me 27 shkurt e p?rcoll?m p?r t? kryer sh?rbimin ushtarak. Shkova me gruan p?r ta takuar. Pasi e lajm?ruan e pash? q? po vinte me pushk?n puthuajse t? l?shuar p?rtok? q? e t?rhiqte zvarr?. I thash? pse e zvarrit ashtu. Mund t? t? ndodh? ndonj? shkrepje pa dashur. Por ai m? tha: ?Eh, mor babi, se mos ka fishek? kjo?.? ?Mora vesh se pas 15 dit?sh do t? l?viznin nga ky repart p?r n? nj? repart tjet?r ushtarak. Kisha vendosur q? disa dit? m? par? t? shkoja ta takoja, por ai u kthye n? sht?pi m? her?t?! Ishte data 10 prill, kur trupin e tij t? pajet? ma soll?n n? sht?pi. M? than? se e kishin shpallur d?shmor t? r?n? n? kufi. Plumbi e kishte goditur n? shpatull dhe i kishte dal? n? gjoks ?,- r?nkon babai i Arsenit. Nd?rsa e ?ma Maria, m? lot n? sy tregon se ishte duke gatuar buk?n kur e mori vesh lajmin e hidhur. Ajo tregon se kishte ngelur e mpir? n? vend p?r disa minuta, nd?rkoh? q? vajzat nis?n t? qanin. Llazi Gjini akuzon shtetin. Sipas tij, shteti ka pjes?n e fajit n? vdekjen e djalit t? tij. ?Nj? ushtar q? e l?n? pa arm?, nj? repart ushtarak pa telefon p?r t? k?rkuar ndihm?n e par??, - shpreh indinjat?n kryefamiljari i k?saj familjeje t? varf?r. Ai shton se djali i tij nuk ishte 20 vje?, si? ?sht? th?n? n? deklaratat zyrtare, por vet?m 17 vje?. Ka n?nt? vjet q? djali i tyre po tretet n? dhe, por asnj? nuk ka menduar ende q? t? ndihmoj? familjen e tij ekonomikisht. P?rve? dekorat?s q? i ?sht? dh?n? menj?her? pas vdekjes, asnj? ndihm? ekonomike nuk ka mb?rritur nga shteti p?r familjen me 5 an?tar?. ?Shkova t? takoja kryeministrin dhe t?i thoja se si q?ndronte puna. Un? punoj i vet?m me nj? traktor t? vjet?r dhe kam nevoj? q? familjjes sime t?i lidhet nj? pension p?r djalin, por nuk mora asnj? p?rgjigje?,-tregon Llazi. Ka shum? vjet q? n? zyrat e shtetit i thon? t? p?rgatis? dokumente pas dokumentesh. M? 8 n?ntor t? k?tij viti, kryefamiljari i familjes Gjini ?sht? nisur drejt Tiran?s p?r t? takuar kryeministrin Nano. ?Nuk m? priti?, - thot? Llazi. Vet? familja vazhdon t? jet? ende e paqart? n? lidhje me ngjarjen e kufirit, ku u sakrifikua djali i tyre. Ata kan? k?rkuar q? t? takojn? nj? prej shok?ve t? tij dhe t? m?sojn? t? v?rtet?n. Tjet?r rrug? nuk kan? gjetur. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Mon Dec 9 14:19:19 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 11:19:19 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: Albanian New Year's Eve Party at Holiday Inn in Dedham (Boston) Message-ID: <20021209191919.7307.qmail@web11502.mail.yahoo.com> Attached is an announcement for an Albanian New Year's Eve Party on December 31st at the Dedham Holiday Inn just outside of Boston. All of the proceeds are intended to benefit the Albania United Soccer Team which is a local team playing in the Massachusetts 2nd division. You can contact Florian Struga at 617-792-7204 or Piro Ikonomi at 617-922-4985, or send an email to Florian Struga at struga_4soccer at yahoo.com. They are taking care of arrangements (not me I am just the mailman -- jam thjeste postieri!!!), and I am sending this email along on their behalf. Please forward this e-mail as you see fit to any other groups or lists or people. If you want the full announcement in jpg form (in Albanian) for printing let Florian Struga know and he will send it on to you since I did not want to overload people's mailboxes with a large jpg file. You have all of the information you need below. The program features: Anita Bitri (singer) Orchestra e Radio Shqiptar Vait Hajdaraj -- keyboard Sokol Asllani -- clarinet Tom Lleshi -- guitar Artan Kushi -- drums Also Invited are: Pranvera Veizi -- Comedienne Valentin Veizi -- Composer Astrit Cerma -- Artist i Merituar Gezim Cela -- Singer Grigor Qiriazi -- Mjester Sport What: New Year's Eve Party When: Tuesday December 31st, 2002 from 8:00PM - 1:30 AM Where: Holiday Inn, Dedham, 55 Ariadne Road (Hotel Phone is 781-329-1000). Take I-95 to Exit 15A, make a U-turn at lights and take the first right, it is at intersection of I-95 and Route 1A Who: Organized by Piro Ikonomi (617-922-4985) and Florian Struga (617-792-7204, struga_4soccer at yahoo.com) to benefot Albania United Soccer team Price: $70 per person, $35 for children under 12 with a deadline of December 26th. Payment: Make out check and mail to Piro Ikonomi 1151 High Street Westwood, MA 02090 Thanks, Mark ===== Mark Kosmo 781-843-1056 (phone) 617-262-2340 (fax) __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Dec 11 03:15:21 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2002 00:15:21 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] "Linguistic Genocide" - RFE/RL Message-ID: <20021211081521.68269.qmail@web11504.mail.yahoo.com> --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Dec 11 03:16:01 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2002 00:16:01 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] "Linguistic Genocide" - RFE/RL Message-ID: <20021211081601.94977.qmail@web11505.mail.yahoo.com> --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Dec 11 03:20:44 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2002 00:20:44 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Parallel Report on Human Rights in Greece Message-ID: <20021211082044.40485.qmail@web11501.mail.yahoo.com> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/balkanhr/message/4867 --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Dec 11 03:24:36 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2002 00:24:36 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Parallel Report on Human Rights in Greece Message-ID: <20021211082436.19687.qmail@web11502.mail.yahoo.com> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/balkanhr/message/4867 --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Dec 11 03:28:06 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2002 00:28:06 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Minority Languages Conference = Proceedings 1 Message-ID: <20021211082806.42321.qmail@web11501.mail.yahoo.com> Welcoming Address by the President of the Greek branch of EBLUL, Mr. Athanasios Parisis to the EBLUL conference on linguistic diversity in Greece Salonica, 15 November, 2002 Subject of conference: Promotion of the lesser used languages in Greece Mr. President, Bojan Brezigar, Honoured guests, On behalf of the Greek EBLUL Committee I take great pleasure in welcoming you to the first EBLUL international conference dedicated to the various linguistic groups in Greece. Across the European Union, no fewer than forty million people speak languages in their everyday lives which are different from the official language of the state in which they are living. At present this figure represents 10% of the total European population, but shortly, with the expansion of the Union, the number of people speaking a different language from the official language of their state will be much, much greater. Greece, too, is no exception; however vigorously the state may deny it, the facts tell their own story. A by no means negligible section of the Greek population is bilingual. It is not possible to provide precise figures, since none of the censuses carried out to date has included a question on language. The one exception was the census of 1920, yet the figures it yielded for the northern regions of the country were never published. Moreover, the long-standing policy of marginalisation and suppression has succeeded, naturally enough, in reducing the actual number of those speaking the non-official languages. This hostile treatment of heteroglossy in Greece had its beginnings in the early days of the modern Greek state, 170 years ago. In those areas of the country where Arvanitika was prevalent, every effort was made to discourage its use. There was perhaps some justification for this in the desperate efforts being made to unite the regional populations into a single Greek state, using as a means to this end a policy of homogenisation of the various populations. At the beginning of the 20th century, when new territories were annexed by the Greek state, the process of displacing alternative languages and forcing their speakers to assimilate the Greek language and Greek national ideology - one state, one nation, one language, one religion - assumed new dimensions. The state resorted to violence, persecution, exchanges of populations and the mass 'cleansing' of villages which refused to submit. Later, in the course of the Civil War, many tens of thousands of individuals, among them whole villages, were forced to flee as political refugees to eastern Europe. Some of the children of these refugees are still living in exile, a situation almost incomprehensible in the context of the modern Europe. Those of us who remained in Greece were subjected to special schooling, kept in the classroom all day to minimise our contact with our family environment - the environment where our native tongue was spoken. It is worth mentioning that the 1961 census lists just ten child day care centres for the region of Messenia, whereas in the area of Florina no fewer than 48 such centres were in operation. The numbers are , of course, inversely proportional to the size of population in each region actually in need of these centres. The selective policy of the Queen Frederika Foundation, which was accompanied by the movement of 'poor children' - the actual phrase used - to isolated schools in southern Greece, was intended to encourage the children to change their language and thereby further the process of national integration. In the years which followed the tactics of psychological violence, the undermining of the dignity of the child and the intimidation of the parent - all produced the results the state desired, the 'persuasion' of individuals to deny their own identity, their tradition, their language. And this in a Europe which claims to respect the ideal, among others, of respect for human rights and the linguistic and cultural disparity of its peoples. As President of the Greek branch of EBLUL I should like to stress the need to introduce our languages into the Greek educational system. We also seek access for the linguistic communities of our country to the mass media, radio and television. We very much hope that in this endeavour we shall enjoy the support of the Brussels office, the European Parliament, the European Commission, the Council of Europe and all the other agencies of the European Union with an interest in these issues. Athanasios Parisis --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Dec 11 03:28:29 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2002 00:28:29 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Parallel Report on Human Rights in Greece Message-ID: <20021211082829.14492.qmail@web11508.mail.yahoo.com> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/balkanhr/message/4867 --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Dec 11 03:37:11 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2002 00:37:11 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Minutes of the Minorities Language Conference Message-ID: <20021211083711.57204.qmail@web11506.mail.yahoo.com> Minutes of the EBLUL conference on linguistic diversity in Greece (Salonica, 15-11- 2002) Minutes of the conference on linguistic diversity in Greece Thessaloniki 15th November 2002 Hotel Capsis The conference on "Linguistic Diversity in Greece", organised by the European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages (EBLUL) together with the Greek Member State Committee of EBLUL, took place the 15th November 2002 in the Hotel Capsis, in Thessaloniki. The conference started at 9 A.M. and finished at 8 P.M. Previous to the conference a fact-finding mission of 3 experts took place; the conference was followed by a visit to the areas where lesser-used languages are spoken. Morning session: Results of the fact-finding mission 1. Opening speech by Mr Bojan Brezigar, President of the European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages. In his introduction the President of EBLUL, Mr Bojan Brezigar showed his satisfaction with this first conference of EBLUL in Greece. Facing enlargement, the EU has to find standards regarding lesser-used languages. In the future all of the Balkans will be part of the European Union. There will be no borders from Athens to Helsinki and all countries will have the same currency. One of the advantages is a common currency and other common standards. But not everything should be standardised. Europe is full of diversity, where every village has its own church, museum and above all language. It's not a melting pot like the United States and Europeans want to preserve the diversity. They can accept a common currency and other standardization, but not the same language, the same theatre nor the same history. This is the reason why the European Institutions defend the values expressed in the Charter for Fundamental Rights. The preservation of cultural and linguistic diversity can make us accept the standardization in all other domains. The European Union should give opportunities to those who want to keep their own language. While a general promotion and respect for lesser-used languages should be found, each regional or minority language should - according to the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages of the Council of Europe - decide its way. The situation in Greece is a bit different from the rest of Europe. The Balkans has suffered from several wars apart from the two world wars. The European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages has always been working with the governments and not against the governments. 2. Welcoming speech by Mr Athanasios Parisis, president of the Greek MSC. Mr Parisis stressed that within the EU there are 40 millions of lesser-used language speakers. All Member States have lesser-used languages and Greece is no exception in this regard, although some people like to think of a monolingual Greece. Education and Media are the most important fields for lesser-used languages in Greece, and in relation to this Mr Parisis asked for the support of the European Union, the Council of Europe and the European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages. He also spoke about the troubled history of the Balkans, with wars and consequently refugee problems. The history and a long tradition have shaped the mentality of the Greek people. Parisis urged for the support of the mass media for the different linguistic communities. 3. Presentation of the results of the fact-finding mission by Mr Gabriel von Toggenburg, Mr Bela Tonkovic and Mr Domenico Morelli. The fact-finding mission was composed of Mr Bela Tonkovic - Vice-president of FUEN, Mr Domenico Morelli - President of the Italian MSC, Mr Gabriel von Toggenburg - EURAC. Consultations took place with approximately 40 persons from the Macedonian and the Vlach languages communities. According to Mr Toggenburg, psychological pressure with the interlocutors was obvious. Many think they are the last generation being able to speak the minority language and often they feel ashamed of their identity ("second class citizens"). There are virtually no cultural organisations which expressis verbis promote minority cultures and languages. This primary scope seems often hidden. Some people were convinced, that the chances for a career would be limited if the real lesser-used language identity is revealed. Facts: 1. People think diversity is getting lost; 2. Loyalty towards the Greek state is strong, but additional identity is requested; 3. EU as a source of hope. Mr von Toggenburg also pointed out that the situation is dire, there's an enormous loss of identity. The languages are not represented in the media. When Macedonian speakers tuned into to listen to the transmissions of a Radio channel from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, a Greek channel was placed on exactly the same frequency. Mr Tonkovic stressed that the solution to all these problems should be found through dialogue. Mr Morelli pointed out the strong belief in the European institutions. The establishment of a Greek Member State Committee has given them hope. 4. Presentation by Mr Lampros Baltsiotis, lawyer, KEMO, Minority Languages Research Centre. Mr Baltsiotis explained first the reason for the centre, which lies in the fact that so far the scientific voice was absent in Greece. Then he focused on the historical development of lesser used languages in Greece and the different treatments of the Greek states towards the language groups. Baltsiotis also spoke about the conception of a Greek homeland, about the motto of a Greek national state, but pointed out that Greece has changed a lot in recent years. A representative of the Turkish speaking community asked why his lesser-used language community was not visited by the fact-finding mission. Mr Brezigar added, that the fact-finding mission depended on geographical constraints. 5. Presentation by Mr Sotirios Bletsas, Vice-president of the Greek MSC Recent experience with media showed, that people who defend linguistic diversity in Greece are looked upon with disapproval by the Greek authorities. Nevertheless, now lesser-used languages have access to the media. To make our presence known, we should send letters to famous people. This could create an immense support. We should also aim for increased presence in TV and Radio. Above all we should show the Greeks that learning lesser-used languages is an asset. Bletsas stressed that with the presence of EBLUL in Greece we could more easily carry out these things. Comment by Mr Brezigar: Mr Brezigar suggests preparing a draft project for the promotion of linguistic diversity within the Expo 2008 in Thessaloniki. Regarding the Olympic Games 2004 time seems to be running out. When people ask me why they should learn a lesser-used language instead of English I used to give the basic policy of Commissioner Reding as an answer; one language does not exclude another, they should learn both. For instance Greeks could learn English together with Macedonian. The teaching of regional or minority languages could be improved together with Greek and an International Language. Comment by Mr Baltsiotis: Too often the lesser-used language speakers have to apologise for using his mother tongue and not the official language of the state. Comment by Ms Kata Kulavkova of PEN International: Linguistic problems in this region are often closely linked to neighbour states. Comment by Bojan Brezigar: One of our main principles is that there should be no change of borders; lesser-used languages should not have anything to do with the drawing up of borders. Brezigar also gave his recognition for the good work that PEN International has done in this field. Afternoon session: Best practices in the promotion of lesser used languages. 6. Presentation by Mr Peter Nelde, Professor at the Brussels Research Centre on Multilingualism: Do lesser used languages need a common European language policy? Prof. Nelde explained the importance of a new overall and inclusive approach, taking into consideration not only traditional languages but migrant languages as well. The first problem language planners encounter is that the terminology changes from a country to another. Nevertheless, it is certain, that the future Europe will be a linguistically diverse and a multilingual one. He mentioned seven aspects that affect language policy. The concept for multilingualism is important. The future of Europe will be a multilingual one. It's easy to tell how many official languages there are but more difficult to estimate the number of lesser-used language speakers. Translation and Interpretation, Nelde mentioned that translation and interpretation costs are very low in comparison with other expenses. Globalisation, he said that people are generally afraid of loosing their roots, even though most are open to globalisation. Due to globalisation we have new identities. Before you had Greeks, Germans, French etc, now new ones are challenging these identities. Nelde mentioned the example of a person from Wemmel, who in Brussels would call himself a Wemmelaar, in Flanders maybe Brusselaar, in Wallonia he would present himself as a Fleming, outside Belgium as a Belgian and in Japan perhaps as a European. Information Technology, Nelde mentioned for instance that the Sorbs have used an IT-programme to revitalise their language. He also said that the ideology of education is important. There's a trend to teach English and French as foreign languages in schools throughout Europe. There's seldom an education ideology of neighbouring languages. Having International in Athens and Thessaloniki does not tell anything about the education of lesser-used languages. Nelde also pointed out that language education varies from country to country. In Luxemburg most children learn 4 or 5 languages, but this is not at all the case in the neighbouring countries. Finally he brought up the topics of subsidiariety versus centralism and the concept of positive discrimination. Nelde made a comparison of the centralism in France and the decentralist structure of the German state. To illustrate the concept of positive discrimination Nelde mentioned that lesser-used language communities could be guaranteed special rights, for instance the Dutch teachers in Brussels are more expensive than the French teachers. 7. Presentation by Mr Domenico Morelli, President of the Italian MSC: A comparison of lesser-used language legislation in Greece and Italy. Mr Morelli compared the history of the unitary states of Greece and Italy and pointed out some fundamental similarities. In spite of the substantial ethnic, linguistic and religious unity of the whole of the Italian peninsula political unity was only reached in 1861. The Hellenic state was established in 1830. The model both states had in mind goes back to the liberal idea of a unitary state, which can be summarised in the phrase "one state, one language, one culture". This policy has very much characterised both Italy and Greece. Morelli mentioned that Italy imposed the Florentine dialect as the only recognised national language to the detriment of all other languages spoken. This linguistic policy was aggravated by fascism, which waged a hard war of assimilation and destruction of the linguistic minorities. The same model characterises the Greek state, where Greek was declared official language and the existence of any other language was ignored. Morelli pointed out that in Greece the national identity drew a particular character from religion. The recognition of regional or minority languages has been granted only thanks to international agreements both in Greece and in Italy. Morelli said that he hoped that the creation of Member State Committee in Greece might be a helpful initiative for the recognition of the lesser-used languages and their cultures. That recognition does not clash either with the unitary nature of national States or with the process of construction of the European Union, but it may encourage it. And this is shown by the experience of trans-frontier relations. He stressed that trans-frontier co-operation, in fact, has grown to strengthen cultural, social, linguistic and economic ties beyond traditional frontiers. He mentioned the case of the Griki in Apulia. Thanks to the Italian law of protection and to their frequent and fertile relations with Greece they have worked out a whole series of initiatives, going from exchange of teachers to twin-ships between schools and to commercial and cultural exchanges. All this has made the Griki community flourish again. It has been internationally acknowledged that an action in favour of lesser-used languages guarantees peace and stability of nations. Morelli finally stressed that a common Europe may give us an opportunity to strengthen a general regional or minority language protection policy. The interest in regional or minority languages and cultures would become a sign of pluralism and tolerance in a multicultural and multiethnic society. 8. Presentation by Mr Gabriel Von Toggenburg, researcher at the European Academy: Chances and limits set by the EU. The European Union is a newcomer in the area of regional or minority language protection. There are positive and negative aspects. The Council mainly represents the member state interest, which is usually reluctant to changes, whereas the European Parliament is more in favour of regional or minority languages. The resolutions of the European parliament are not legally binding for the member states. The financial side is very positive, the budget line for the safeguard for regional and minority languages grew from ? 100.000 when it started to ? 4 million last year, but it was finally put down because of the decision of the European Court of Justice. Concerning the eastern enlargement, the Copenhagen criteria are used in all negotiations for the protection of minorities. There are however no legal obligations for the new member states concerning regional or minority language legislation. The common market could also be seen as a threat, it tends to realise the mobility of workers, capital etc. Regional or minority language protection tends to favour the preservation of things. It's rare under International Public Law that in an international organisation, the languages of the member states become official languages of the whole organisation. It could be claimed that this linguistic diversity hampers the free market. The ideal situation from a free market economy point of view would be that all speak one language or that all speak all languages. The most recent policy is that all should speak all languages, this is good for linguistic diversity but does not really matter for regional or minority languages. Since EU is a common market, if a member state wants to promote it's own language, it risks infringing the common market. When it comes to the labelling of products and the protection of the consumer, the European Court of Justice has ruled that the label on the product only has to be clear to the consumer, signs for instance could be used instead of languages. A problem concerning EU intervention is the article 6 that claims that EU can't demand that a member state is more diverse than itself. Culture is also competence of the member states. 9. Presentation by Ms Marieke Sanders, Member of the European Parliament. MEP Marieke Sanders said that one of the important tasks of the Inter-group for Regional and Minority Languages in the European Parliament is to raise awareness among fellow MEPs. She also noted that the discussion is quite tense here in Greece when it comes to lesser-used languages. Sanders stressed the importance of languages and said that being denied the right to speak the language was social amputation. Governments should realise what they do if they suppress lesser-used languages in the public domain. The European Parliament can support linguistic diversity. The fact that there is not any legal base for regional and minority languages is outrageous, according to Sanders. She also pointed out that the European Parliament has demanded special attention for lesser-used languages and demand a follow up to the successful programme the European Year of Languages 2001. Sanders mention the possibility of the EU to support lesser-used languages through its budget, the parliament can help with structural funds and allocate money for language teaching. The European Parliament should keep lesser-used languages on the agenda. For Greece this means that the European Parliament can help raise awareness. Sanders stressed that linguistic diversity is an asset and a richness. 10. Presentation by Ms Teresa Condeco, Administrator at the DG for Education and Culture at the European Commission. Ms Condeco presented the Commission Working Document on the promotion of language learning and linguistic diversity. The Commission Working Document will be put soon on the official web site www.europa.eu.int and will launch a public consultation on the promotion of language learning and linguistic diversity. Condeco also mentioned that the European Union action to promote language learning through the Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci programmes alone is worth around 35 millions euros every year. She added that whilst some support is available from the Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci programmes, it should be investigated whether they could play a greater part in promoting linguistic diversity by the funding of projects to improve the quality of teaching of these languages. The commission is also investigating possibilities to find more funding Leonardo da Vinci and Sokrates and the other programmes of the EU. Condeco also explained how the Commission could support projects promoting lesser-used languages and integrate the projects into their programmes. She also said that the Commission would like to hear what the language activists had to say and hoped that they would present proposals. Condeco also mentioned the debate on the future programmes that are going on right now. 11. Presentation by Ms Regina Jensdottir, Administrator of the Charter for Regional and Minority Languages at the Council of Europe. Ms Regina Jensdottir gave a brief presentation of what the Council of Europe can do for the promotion of regional and minority languages. She mentioned the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the Charter for Regional and Minority Languages. The Charter protects the historical regional and minority languages in Europe that are different from the official languages of the state, it does not include dialects nor the languages of immigrants. There is a risk that some of these regional or minority languages may become extinct in the near future. She underlined that the Charter is clear on the fact that regional or minority languages should not be protected at the detriment of the official language of the State. The Council of Europe is also encouraging the use of regional and minority languages in the field education. Comment by Gabriel von Toggenburg: Gabriel von Toggenburg pointed out that article 22 is not a legal basis and that there could never be a legal act based on this article, but there are other articles that could function as a legal basis. He stressed that when the EU is acting in other fields than culture it has to respect diversity. Von Toggenburg also asked what happens after enlargement of the European Union when the accession criteria disappear? Could a new mechanism {for regional or minority language protection} be established? Marieke Sanders answered that in the convention they strive to change the decision-making on culture from unanimity to majority voting, but also stressed that there are certain risks with majority voting as well. Concerning the problems related to enlargement she answered that the debate is still going on and there are no final proposals yet how to solve the problem. 12. Mr Tonkovic forwarded a greeting from the Federal Union of European Nations. 13. Concluding remarks and thank you speeches by Mr Brezigar and Mr Parisis. Mr Brezigar and Mr Parisis stressed in their speeches of thanks the importance of the conference for the promotion of lesser-used languages in Greece. They both noted that the conference was well organised and thanked the speakers and the participants for their valuable contribution. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Dec 11 10:30:31 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2002 07:30:31 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] "Linguistic Genocide" - Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Message-ID: <20021211153031.63916.qmail@web11505.mail.yahoo.com> RFE/RL: Greece: Minority Languages, Plea For More Recognition Greece: Minority Languages, Plea For More Recognition By Breffni O'Rourke Greece is being urged to grant more recognition to its minority languages -- Vlach, Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish, and a version of Bulgarian called Pomak. At present, only Turkish is recognized. Now the European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages (EBLUL) has undertaken an initiative designed to highlight the plight of these neglected minorities. In this first of a two-part series on language issues in the Balkans and East Europe, RFE/RL reports on the situation in Greece. Prague, 26 November 2002 (RFE/RL) -- Greece, the cradle of European culture, appears less than sympathetic to its own minority languages. Among the country's minority cultures with their tongues and dialects other than Greek, only one -- Turkish -- is fully recognized by the Athens government, and then only because the Turks are categorized as a religious minority. The other languages, although largely ignored by Athens, reflect the rich history of the region through the millennia. For instance Vlach, or Aromanian, spoken by several tens of thousands of people, is an echo of Imperial Rome. It is found in northern Greece, along what used to be in ancient times the road linking Rome and Constantinople. The marching legions, as they disappeared into history, left behind them settlers and the language now known as Vlach, a Latin tongue similar to Romanian. The other minority languages in Greece are Macedonian, an Albanian Tosk dialect called Arvanitika, and what's called Pomak, a version of Bulgarian used by a Muslim minority. Johan Haeggman is an official with EBLUL, the Brussels-based European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages, a nongovernment organization working on behalf of the European Union's minority-language speakers. He explained the difficulties faced by those in Greece who use unrecognized languages like Vlach. "They have no rights whatsoever. They have no education in their language, no schools, no media in their language, they can't use it in administration." According to EBLUL, the Greek authorities are apparently unaware of the number of citizens who speak minority languages. The last census in which minority-language speakers were counted separately was in 1951. Looking to focus attention on the plight of these neglected languages, EBLUL recently held its first conference in Greece. The gathering, held in the northern city of Thessaloniki, was organized by EBLUL's recently formed Greek chapter. A score of journalists were among those attending, and it's hoped they will help inform the Greek public about a subject rarely dealt with in the national media. "We hope, of course, that this will give a more positive picture of minority languages and lesser-used languages, and that they will not be seen a threat. Our message is that lesser-used languages are a richness; and we are not going against any language. We think that these languages should be taught alongside Greek," Haeggman said. EBLUL President Bojan Brezigar said that, "putting it politely," Greece has not reached the level of its European Union partners in recognizing linguistic diversity. He said that the situation regarding the Macedonian minority, for instance, is "terrible." "The situation we found was worse than we were expecting, because specifically in some areas where the Macedonian language is spoken, that language is not allowed at all in public. I'm not talking about only the official use of the language in public -- also the public use of the language by private individuals." Brezigar said in one area he visited, even the singing of Macedonian songs is prohibited -- a severe restriction he calls a kind of "linguistic genocide." He said he understands that for historical reasons linked to chronic instability in the Balkans, Greece has not been willing to see the fragmentation of its national fabric. But now, he said, it is time to move forward. "We [at EBLUL] would like to start [talks] with the Greek government, to start a discussion on specific topics. For example, we would like the Greek government to sign the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages." In Athens, Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Nicholas Giotopoulos declined to acknowledge the existence of minorities in the country, with the sole exception of the Turks. "We understand that there are certain people who see the existence of other minorities in Greece. But the reality is that there are, in certain parts of the country, bilingual Greeks, who may also have adopted an oral tradition, but [who] do not consider themselves to be minorities." He said he cannot comment on EBLUL's desire for talks with Greek officials on the minority-language issue. In view of Athens' unyielding stance on the issue, it would seem that EBLUL is going to have an uphill struggle. 1995-2001 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc., All Rights Reserved.http://www.rferl.org --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Fri Dec 13 13:32:41 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2002 10:32:41 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: [balkans] CfA: International Non-Governmental Youth Organisations Message-ID: <20021213183241.11529.qmail@web11502.mail.yahoo.com> Florian Bieber wrote:From Florian Bieber Fri Dec 6 15:28:58 2002 X-Apparently-To: aalibali at yahoo.com via 216.136.172.37; 13 Dec 2002 01:10:48 -0800 (PST) Return-Path: Received: from 66.218.66.76 (HELO n20.grp.scd.yahoo.com) (66.218.66.76) by mta403.mail.yahoo.com with SMTP; 13 Dec 2002 01:10:47 -0800 (PST) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1148209-1993-1039770591-aalibali=YAHOO.COM at returns.groups.yahoo.com Received: from [66.218.67.198] by n20.grp.scd.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 13 Dec 2002 09:09:52 -0000 Received: (qmail 28488 invoked from network); 13 Dec 2002 09:09:50 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.218) by m5.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 13 Dec 2002 09:09:50 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO n5.grp.scd.yahoo.com) (66.218.66.89) by mta3.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 13 Dec 2002 09:09:50 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: bieberf at gmx.net Received: from [66.218.67.251] by n5.grp.scd.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 13 Dec 2002 09:09:50 -0000 X-Sender: bieberf at gmx.net X-Apparently-To: balkans at yahoogroups.com Received: (EGP: mail-8_2_3_0); 6 Dec 2002 23:37:00 -0000 Received: (qmail 60280 invoked from network); 6 Dec 2002 23:37:00 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.216) by m11.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 6 Dec 2002 23:37:00 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.gmx.net) (213.165.64.20) by mta1.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 6 Dec 2002 23:37:00 -0000 Received: (qmail 6254 invoked by uid 0); 6 Dec 2002 23:36:51 -0000 Received: from isdn-1-15.kotor.cg.yu (HELO VAIO.gmx.net) (195.66.176.47) by mail.gmx.net (mp019-rz3) with SMTP; 6 Dec 2002 23:36:51 -0000 Message-Id: <5.1.0.14.2.20021206182807.02c90eb8 at pop.gmx.net> X-Sender: 3694699 at pop.gmx.net X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.1 To: balkans at yahoogroups.com From: Florian Bieber X-Yahoo-Profile: fbieber X-eGroups-Approved-By: fbieber via web; 13 Dec 2002 09:09:48 -0000 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, 06 Dec 2002 18:28:58 -0500 Subject: [balkans] CfA: International Non-Governmental Youth Organisations Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="sfDRxNUeeUlFcjjKAjXWdcGvuGxaCVN5xZ7Ao6w" Content-Length: 2254 Call for Proposal: Support for International Non-Governmental Youth Organisations The European Commission has published in the Official Journal C280 a call for proposals for the award of grants to support the work of International Non-Governmental Youth Organisations during 2003. The main aim of these grants is to encourage the development in Europe of international non-governmental youth organisations and to promote activities of European interest involving and/or targeting young people. Grants are intended to cover part of the beneficiary organisation's operating costs, so as to enable it to carry out youth activities in a European context. Beneficiary organisations must make provision in their annual programme for a series of activities devoted to promoting and developing European ideals among young people and helping young people to play an active part in European civil society. In particular, such activities must be closely connected with the following subjects covered by the Commission's White Paper on youth 'A new impetus for European youth' : Participation; Information; Voluntary service; Greater understanding of youth; Education, lifelong learning and mobility; Employment; Social integration; Young people against racism and xenophobia; Autonomy for young people; Debate on the future of Europe. Essentially, the subjects listed above must form the basis for a series of activities, which can be subdivided into the following groups: exchanges of young people and voluntary service, education programme sand informal training courses, seminars, conferences, meetings, debates, various cultural activities: drama and music courses and workshops, festivals, summer camps, etc., information (infopoint, website, publications, etc.). All five groups will l be regarded as of equal value for the purposes of assessment. The grants will be based on the organisations' actual operating costs and activities in 2003. The total budget available will be in the region of EUR 1.5 million. In 2002 grants were made available to 93 international non-governmental youth organisation. The eligible organisation must have member organisations in at least eight of the following countries : Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Sweden, United Kingdom, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey. These must include at least two EU Member States. However in the case of organisations which have never received support under this budget heading, member organisations in at least six of the above countries (including two EU Member States) will be sufficient. A Vade-Mecum on Grant management and application forms are available on the DG education and Culture website. They can also be requested by fax (32 2) 299 41 58. The deadline for application is the 31st of December. For further information, please visit: http://www.europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/dat/2002/c_280/c_28020021116en00310034.pdf ______________________________________________ Balkan Academic News Post Messages to: balkans at yahoogroups.com Contact Owner at: bieberf at gmx.net 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!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Sat Dec 14 05:40:46 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 02:40:46 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: [balkans] CfA: PhD fellowship, Baltic and East European Graduate School 2003, Stockholm Message-ID: <20021214104046.90147.qmail@web11508.mail.yahoo.com> Doctoral candidate positions in the humanities and social sciences at the Baltic and East European Graduate School 2003 dnr 675/22/2002 Closing date: February 10, 2003 The Baltic and East European Graduate School (BEEGS) is located at the Flemingsberg campus of S?dert?rns h?gskola (University College), Stockholm, Sweden. It is an international research center, graduate school, school of further education and resource center for studies focusing on the Baltic and East European region. All doctoral students have a four-year doctoral position with the possibility of extending the position to five years through part-time teaching and administrative work. The Graduate School is a cooperative venture between S?dert?rns h?gskola and the University of Stockholm. Financing comes through grants from the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies. The School lays special emphasis on studies concerning such themes as international relations, culture and language and contemporary social, political and economic change. Interdisciplinary approaches are welcome. At present applicants are accepted in 9 different disciplines. You will find more information at: www.sh.se/beegs. How to apply Application forms can be downloaded from our Web page or requested from beegs at sh.se. Applications should include three copies of: 1. A completed and signed application form. 2. A statement of your intended graduate research plan, 3-5 pages in English. 3. Certified transcripts in English or Swedish of previous undergraduate and graduate studies, with grade-point averages. 4. Your Curriculum Vitae. 5. Your Master other relevant scientific publications. For further information contact: Co-ordinator Lena Arvidson, phone +46 8 608 42 91, or send an e-mail message to beegs at sh.se. Trade-union representatives: Git Claesson Pipping (Saco-S/S?dert?rn), ph: +46 8 608 44 64 Per Fagerberg (ST-ATF), ph: +46 8 608 47 30 Gunnar Stenberg (Seko), ph: +46 8 316 43 41 Your application with the reference number (dnr 675/22/2002) should be sent no later than February 10, 2003 to: Registrator, S?dert?rns h?gskola, SE-141 89 Huddinge, SWEDEN. Lena Arvidson Handl?ggare f?r forskarutbildning/Co-ordinator Baltic and East European Graduate School S?dert?rns h?gskola (University College) Address:141 89 HUDDINGE, SWEDEN Phone.+46 8 608 42 91 Fax. +46 8 608 43 60 E-mail: lena.arvidson at sh.se www.sh.se/beegs ______________________________________________ Balkan Academic News Post Messages to: balkans at yahoogroups.com Contact Owner at: bieberf at gmx.net 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!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Sat Dec 14 05:44:26 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 02:44:26 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: [balkans] CfA: Youth co-operation in SEE Message-ID: <20021214104426.90827.qmail@web11508.mail.yahoo.com> Florian Bieber wrote:From Florian Bieber Fri Dec 6 15:27:55 2002 X-Apparently-To: aalibali at yahoo.com via 216.136.172.36; 13 Dec 2002 01:10:45 -0800 (PST) Return-Path: Received: from 66.218.66.107 (HELO n39.grp.scd.yahoo.com) (66.218.66.107) by mta499.mail.yahoo.com with SMTP; 13 Dec 2002 01:10:45 -0800 (PST) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1148209-1992-1039770589-aalibali=YAHOO.COM at returns.groups.yahoo.com Received: from [66.218.67.201] by n39.grp.scd.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 13 Dec 2002 09:09:51 -0000 Received: (qmail 98132 invoked from network); 13 Dec 2002 09:09:48 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.217) by m9.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 13 Dec 2002 09:09:48 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO n25.grp.scd.yahoo.com) (66.218.66.81) by mta2.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 13 Dec 2002 09:09:48 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: bieberf at gmx.net Received: from [66.218.67.251] by n25.grp.scd.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 13 Dec 2002 09:09:48 -0000 X-Sender: bieberf at gmx.net X-Apparently-To: balkans at yahoogroups.com Received: (EGP: mail-8_2_3_0); 6 Dec 2002 23:36:41 -0000 Received: (qmail 33438 invoked from network); 6 Dec 2002 23:36:41 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.217) by m7.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 6 Dec 2002 23:36:41 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO mail.gmx.net) (213.165.64.20) by mta2.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 6 Dec 2002 23:36:41 -0000 Received: (qmail 5767 invoked by uid 0); 6 Dec 2002 23:36:36 -0000 Received: from isdn-1-15.kotor.cg.yu (HELO VAIO.gmx.net) (195.66.176.47) by mail.gmx.net (mp019-rz3) with SMTP; 6 Dec 2002 23:36:36 -0000 Message-Id: <5.1.0.14.2.20021206182716.02b58008 at pop.gmx.net> X-Sender: 3694699 at pop.gmx.net X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.1 To: balkans at yahoogroups.com From: Florian Bieber X-Yahoo-Profile: fbieber X-eGroups-Approved-By: fbieber via web; 13 Dec 2002 09:09:48 -0000 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, 06 Dec 2002 18:27:55 -0500 Subject: [balkans] CfA: Youth co-operation in SEE Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="uQ6Gl40YuWmRznLrRQE81vNxCxu5gP7kqseuCFO" Content-Length: 1654 Grants Programme for youth co-operation within South-East Europe Allavida SEE announces its Grants Programme enabling youth co-operation within South-East Europe, funded by Allavida, UK and implemented initially for a period of two years in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia. The Programme's aim is to encourage sharing of skills, knowledge and experience between young people across South-East Europe, in order to increase their visibility and to encourage and strengthen their involvement in their local communities and beyond. The Programme is based on tolerance and respect for others, whatever ethnic, religious or political differences exist between them. It encourages equal opportunities and environmental concern as well as protection of human rights and children's rights. Applicant groups should consist of young people (16-30 years old) or work with people in this age range and should come from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania or Serbia. The scope of activities include training workshops, seminars or study visits covering skills development; joint projects, campaigns or other events; volunteer placements/exchanges in other youth organisations and action-oriented joint research. Participation by individuals in regional events, such as conferences where genuine grass-roots access is rare, may also be considered. It is hoped to award 50-60 grants, over four rounds, not exceeding 3000 Euro. The Programme will be managed for Allavida from Sofia, Bulgaria, in partnership with other organisations from SEE. The first deadline for applications will be 1 February 2003. Full details of its guidelines, application and decision-making procedures can be obtained from the websites: www.allavida.org, www.suncokret.hr, www.oiabih.info or by mail from Richard Cunningham (info at allavida.org ), Monica Christova (mhristova at wcif-bg.org), Marlena Plavsic (suncokret-pula at pu.tel.hr) or Jelena Kuzmanovic (oia at oiabih.info). ______________________________________________ Balkan Academic News Post Messages to: balkans at yahoogroups.com Contact Owner at: bieberf at gmx.net 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!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Sat Dec 14 05:48:24 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 02:48:24 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: [balkans] CfA: Training in Interactive Youth Participation, 4-10.1.2003, Shkodra Message-ID: <20021214104824.97630.qmail@web11503.mail.yahoo.com> Course on Interactive Youth Participation, Shkodra, Albania, 4-10 January, 2003. An interesting Training Course on Interactive Youth Participation will take place in Albania, Shkodra, 4th - 10th January 2003, giving the opportunity to reflect on the different meanings of active participation in our own communities; to share different experience of participation and citizenship around Europe; to identify and learn different working methods on these issues; to experiment new common methods doing direct actions on Albanian streets; to freely express yourselves, be active and make new contacts. Work in peer groups will enable participants to reflect on the intercultural and international dimensions of youth participation and active citizenship with colleges coming from different countries and realities. Experiential learning will transfer theory to action and practice new and old methods that you can use in your work within your context and an open space will touch in the depth of the subjects. This training course is addressed to youth volunteers, youth leaders and youth workers and trainers who are coming and/or working in formal or informal groups in the following countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Italy, Macedonia, Moldova and United Kingdom. Participants should be not younger than 18 years, strongly motivated to work on those issues and to multiply gained skills and knowledge and improved attitude among young people and English speakers. Participants will play important role in this training course, bringing ideas, competencies, enthusiasm and motivation, meeting the others and sharing experiences in an active and participative way. The training course and the program have been projected and will be implement from an international team of trainers. This team will be supported by experts in different part of the training course. The team of the trainers will select 25 taking into account balances (sex, cultural background, different level of experiences, and organisations). The participants will be from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, France, Italy, Macedonia, Moldova, United Kingdom. Youth workers, leaders or volunteers from these country are encouraged to apply. The list of the selected candidates will be known on 10 December 2002. The selected candidates will be sent the necessary materials and information for the training course. A waiting list will be announced also to the other applicants Travel costs will be covered by organizer up to 75% but not more than 300 Euro. The participants are invited to organize their travel in the most economic way. The reimbursement will be done during the training course. Food and Accommodation are provided free of charge. Participation fee is 15 Euro for Non European Union Country participants and of 30 Euro - European Union Country participants. For further information, please contact:Bujana Hoti, Fax: +355 4 22 79 41 , E-mail: bujanahoti at yahoo.com ______________________________________________ Balkan Academic News Post Messages to: balkans at yahoogroups.com Contact Owner at: bieberf at gmx.net 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!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Dec 18 06:27:38 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 03:27:38 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: [balkans] Link: Institute of Central and East European Studies, Glasgow Message-ID: <20021218112738.95667.qmail@web11503.mail.yahoo.com> Dear All, The 2002 Annual Directory of the Institute of Central and East European Studies (ICEES) at Glasgow University, which lists the activities and research interests of all members of the Institute, together with future events, is now 'online' and can be accessed through the Institute's website: www.gla.ac.uk/icees Best wishes, Derek Hutcheson ------------------------------------ Dr Derek S. Hutcheson, ESRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Politics, Adam Smith Building, University of Glasgow, G12 8RT SCOTLAND/UK Tel: (+44) (0)141-330 3910 (office) E-mail: d.hutcheson at socsci.gla.ac.uk Web: www.geocities.com/derekhutcheson ______________________________________________ Balkan Academic News Post Messages to: balkans at yahoogroups.com Contact Owner at: bieberf at gmx.net 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!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Dec 18 06:29:35 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 03:29:35 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Leter ne Shekulli Message-ID: <20021218112935.59332.qmail@web11507.mail.yahoo.com> Emigrant?t shqiptar? dhe prangat greke? Lirimi, Dukat Vlor? Ne shqiptar?t, sipas nj? riti t? lasht?, hapim kuj?n kur na largohet nga jeta nj? njeri i af?rt duke shprehur k?sisoj dhimbjen ton? p?r t?. Por sot, mesa duket ka ardhur koha q? t? gjith? s? bashku t? l?shojm? nj? klithm? p?r nj? motiv shum? m? t? madh se sa largimi i nj? njeriu nga jeta. Dhe m? duket se kam t? drejt? q? po e nis shkrimin tim me k?to radh? q? ndjellin zi. K?to dit? lexova n? nj? nga gazetat tona nj? lajm q? m? nxiti t? shkruaj me nxitim k?to radh?. B?hej fjal? p?r nj? automjet t? policis? greke t? mbushur me emigrant? shqiptar? pa dokumente q? po udh?tonin drejt Kakavij?s p?r t?u riatdhesuar, i cili ishte p?rmbysur n? t? dal? t? Selanikut. Por nuk ?sht? kjo arsyeja pse duhet t? k?lthasim fort, sepse p?r fat t? mir? nuk pati viktima. Ajo q? m? indinjoi teksa po lexoja k?t? lajm ishte se bashkatdhetar?t tan? edhe duke udh?tuar n? shoq?rin? e policis? greke kan? qen? t? prangosur. Dhe jo vet?m kaq. Ata jan? shoq?ruar p?r n? spitalet e Selanikut p?r iu hequr prangat? Ishin kriminel? apo njer?z t? zakonsh?m q? t? vetmin ?krim? q? kan? b?r? ?sht? shkelja e ?tok?s s? premtuar? greke? I shkruaj k?to radh? e nuk po di kujt t?i drejtohem. Ky z?ri im i mekur natyrisht q? nuk mund t? arrij? n? veshin e autoriteteve greke q? ata t? mund t? kuptojn? se i kan? shkelur t? drejtat e njeriut me t? dyja k?mb?t. Por s? paku deri sa po g?rm?zoj shqip, po i lutem Zotit q? ta ?oj? k?t? z? deri n? veshin e shqiptar?ve. Mbase bashkohet me z?rat e t? gjith? atyre q? do t? ken? mir?sin? t? lexojn? shkrimin tim p?r t?u shnd?rruar n? bubullim?. E ashtu, gj?m?madhe, ndoshta shkon n? veshin e politikan?ve dhe t? diplomat?ve shqiptar?. Sepse jan? ata dhe vet?m ata q? duhet ta ?ojn? k?t? z? n? veshin e autoriteteve greke q? s? paku t?i heqin prangat nga duart e shqiptar?ve, at?her? kur nuk kan? b?r? krime, e aq m? shum? kur jan? t? p?rgjakur. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Wed Dec 18 06:32:32 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 03:32:32 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: [balkans] CfA: ITS Grant Program Announcement Message-ID: <20021218113232.73153.qmail@web11504.mail.yahoo.com> INSTITUTE OF TURKISH STUDIES 2003-2004 GRANTS PROGRAM The Institute of Turkish Studies (ITS) is pleased to announce its 2003-2004 grant competition in the field of Turkish Studies. The following grant opportunities are available only for United States citizens (or those who have acquired permanent resident status in the US) who are currently affiliated with a university in the U.S. The institutional grants are available only for educational institutions located in the United States. * Dissertation Writing Grants for graduate students in the social sciences or the humanities who have completed all the requirements for the Ph.D. except their dissertation by June 1, 2003. These grants are for advanced students who have finished the research stage of their dissertation. Stipends range from $5,000 to $10,000. * Summer Language Study Grants for graduate students in the social sciences or humanities for summer travel to Turkey for language study in preparation for graduate research at an established Ottoman or Turkish language facility. Normally, the recipients of these grants are expected to spend a minimum of two months in Turkey. Stipends generally range from $1,000 to $2,000. * Summer Research Grants for graduate students in the social sciences and humanities for summer travel to Turkey to carry out research projects. They are not intended for students who are currently engaged in dissertation writing. Normally, the recipients of Summer Research Grants are expected to spend a minimum of two months in Turkey. Stipends generally range from $1,000 to $2,000. * Post-doctoral Summer Travel Grants to scholars in the social sciences and humanities for travel to Turkey to carry out research projects. Normally, the recipients of these grants are expected to spend a minimum of four weeks in Turkey. Maximum award is round-trip airfare to Turkey. * Grants for Undergraduate Study for students who wish to participate in study abroad programs in Turkey. These awards will be made to institutions, which will be responsible for their distribution to qualified applicants. ITS welcomes applications from institutions seeking to either expand or develop overseas programs in Turkey. Maximum award is $10,000. * Matching Seed-Money Grants for New Positions in Turkish Studies for institutions. ITS offers matching seed money grants to universities for the establishment of new positions in any discipline in the field of Turkish Studies. Universities are expected to make commitment to establish a tenure-track position for this position. Maximum award is .50 FTE of a junior faculty appointment. * Matching Seed-Money Grants for New Positions in Turkish Language Instruction for institutions. ITS offers matching grants to universities to hire instructors to teach Turkish language. Universities are expected to match these grants for three years. Maximum award is $20,000 per year for three years. * Matching Lecture, Conference, and Workshop Grants for university-sponsored lecture series, conferences, and workshops in Turkish Studies to be held in the U.S. Maximum award I 50% of the funds required to cover the costs of these events. * Grants for the Publication of Scholarly Books and Journals to cover part of the publication costs of scholarly books and journals in the field of Turkish Sudies to be published in the U.S. * Teaching Aids Grants for the development of instructional materials in the field of Turkish Studies, such as language teaching materials, maps, slides, etc. * Grants of Library Acquisitions to institutions in the US for the purchase of books related to Turkish Studies (maximum award $2,500 per institution). Deadline for all applications is March 14, 2003. For information visit: http://www. turkishstudies.org or contact The Institute of Turkish Studies Intercultural Center, Georgetown University Washington, D.C., 20057 Phone: (202) 687-0295 Fax: (202) 687-3087 E-Mail: institute_turkishstudies at yahoo.com ______________________________________________ Balkan Academic News Post Messages to: balkans at yahoogroups.com Contact Owner at: bieberf at gmx.net 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!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From albboschurch at juno.com Mon Dec 23 07:05:59 2002 From: albboschurch at juno.com (albboschurch at juno.com) Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 08:05:59 -0400 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] The Christmas Story ( ne Shqip ) dhe Programi i Sherbesave ne Boston Message-ID: <20021223.080632.1144.7.albboschurch@juno.com> ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: albboschurch at juno.com To: albboschurch at juno.com Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 06:28:43 -0400 Subject: The Christmas Story ( ne Shqip ) dhe Programi i Sherbesave ne Boston Message-ID: <20021218.064042.2996.14.albboschurch at juno.com> Sherbesat e Krishtlindjes dhe te VItit e Ri ne Kryekishen e Shen Gjergjit Boston E Diela Perpara Krishtlindjes 22 Dhjetor Mesha fillon: 10 ne mengjez [ kungimi i besimtareve ] Programi i Femijeve per Kirshtlindjes te Marten Mbrema 24 Dhjetor 7 darkes Vengjilla e Kershendellave [ besimtaret bekohen me Vaj te Shenjte ] Pritje tradicionale ne Sallen e Kryekishes te Merkurren 25 Dhjetor 10 ne mengjez Kremtohet Lindja e Shpetimtarit tone, Jezu Krisht Mesha kryesohet prej Imzot, Hiresia Peshkop Nikon [ kungimi i besimtarveve ] HISTORIA E KRISHLINDJEVE UNGJILLI SIPAS SHEN LUKES 2:1-21 1. Tani, ne ate dite u shpall nje dekret nga ana e Cezar Augustit, per te kryer regjistrimin e popullsise te gjithe perandorise. 2. Ky rregjistrim qe i pari qe u krye kur Kuirini ishte guvernatori i Sirise. 3. Dhe te gjithe shkonin te rregjistroheshin, secili ne qytetin e vet. 4. Tani dhe Jozefi doli nga qyteti i Nazaretit te Galilese, per te shkuar ne Jude, ne qytetin e Davidit, qe quhet Bethlehem, sepse ai ishte i shtepise dhe i familjes te Davidit, 5. per t'u rregjistruar bashke me Marine, gruan e vet, me te cilen ishte martuar dhe qe ishte shtatzene. 6. Keshtu, ndersa ishin atje, asaj i erdhi koha te linde. 7. Dhe ajo lindi djalin e saj te parelindur e mbeshtolli me pelena dhe e vendosi ne nje grazhd, sepse ne han nuk kishte vend per ta. 8. Tani ne po ate krahine ishin disa barinj qe rrinin jashte, ne fusha, dhe naten ruanin kopene e tyre. 9. Dhe ja, nje engjell i Zotit iu paraqit atyre dhe lavdia e Zotit shkelqeu rreth tyre dhe ata i zuri nje frike e madhe. 10. Por engjelli u tha atyre: "Mos druani, sepse une po ju lajmeroj nje gezim te madh per te gjithe popullin; 11. sepse sot ne qytetin e Davidit lindi per ju nje Shpetimar, qe eshte Krishti, Zoti. 12. Dhe kjo do t'ju vleje si shenje: ju do te gjeni nje femije te mbeshtjellur me pelena, te shtrire ne nje grazhd". 13. Dhe menjehere engjellit iu bashkuan nje shumice e ushtrise qiellore, qe levdonte Perendine, duke thene: 14. "Lavdi Perendise ne vendet me te larta, dhe paqe mbi toke njerezve mbi te cilet qendron miredashja e tij!" 15. Dhe ndodhi qe, kur engjejt u larguan per t'u kthyer ne qiell, barinjte i thane njeri-tjetrit: "Le te shkojme deri ne Bethlehem per te pare ?ka ndodhur dhe ?'ka bere te ditur Zoti". 16. Shkuan pra, me nxitim dhe gjeten Marine, Jozefin dhe femijen qe ndodhej ne nje grazh. 17. Mbasi e pane, perhapen ato qe u ishte thene per ate femije. 18. Dhe te gjithe ata qe i degjuan, u mrekulluan nga keto gjera qe u treguan barinjte. 19. Maria i ruante te gjitha keto fjale, duke i medituar ne zemren e saj. 20. Dhe barinjte u kthyen, duke perlevduar dhe lavderuar Perendine per te gjitha gjerat qe kishin degjuar dhe pare, ashtu si u ishte thene atyre. 21. Dhe kur kaluan te tete ditet, pas te cilave ai duhej rrethprere, ia vune emrin JEZUS, emer i dhene nga engjelli para se ai te ngjisej ne bark. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ky fragment eshte marre nga Bibla qe eshte bazuar ne TEXTUS RECEPTUS, qe eshte teksti me i plote dhe besnik ndaj origjinalit. Eshte perkthyer ne 1611, ne italisht nga versioni KING JAMES dhe nga italishtja, Dhiata e RE, u perkthye ne shqip nga Konstandin Kristoforidhi ne 1866. ______________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Earn $20 for every new person you bring to Juno Platinum To learn how, go to www.juno.com/refer -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Mon Dec 23 15:08:23 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 12:08:23 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: Upcoming events, January 2003 Message-ID: <20021223200823.32586.qmail@web11502.mail.yahoo.com> ;" > > > Below please find listings of some events we will > be hosting in the month > > of January 2003. > > We hope too see you at events in the New Year! > > > > WorldBoston > > presents... > > > > Poland: What Does the Future Hold? > > > > Ambassador Christopher Hill > > United States Ambassador to Poland > > > > Friday, January 10, 2003 > > > > 12 Noon Luncheon / 12:30 PM Discussion > > > > The Offices of Palmer & Dodge, LLP > > 111 Huntington Avenue, 20th Floor, Boston > > > > Free to Current Members / $20 Non-members > > If you are unsure of your membership status, > please call to inquire. > > > > Reservations are required and must be received by > 3 PM on Wednesday, > > January 8, 2003. > > Please call (617) 542-8995 ext. 112 or e-mail > wac at worldboston.org to > > reserve a space. > > Cancellations must be received by 3 PM on January > 8, 2003 for a full > > refund. > > Please consult our website, www.worldboston.org, > for our full cancellation > > policy. > > > > Sponsored by Palmer & Dodge, LLC > > ___________________________________________ > > > > The Evolution of the Political and Humanitarian > Situation in Iraq > > > > Kanan Makiya > > Professor, Department of Near Eastern and Judaic > Studies, Brandeis > > University > > Director, The Iraq Research and Documentation > Project, > > Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard > University > > > > Dr. Mohammed Ahmed > > Former Senior Economic & Social Affairs Officer, > United Nations > > Former Professor, University of Baghdad > > > > Monday, January 27, 2003 > > 6 PM Reception, 6:30 PM Presentation and > Discussion > > Suffolk University Law School > > > > More information on this event will be available > shortly. > > ___________________________________________ > > > > If you are receiving this email in error, please > hit reply and type REMOVE > > in the subject line. > > > > Questions? Comments? Please contact: > > > > WorldBoston > > One Milk Street, 3rd Floor > > Boston, MA 02109 > > (617) 542-8995 ext. 112 > > fax (617) 423-7918 > > www.worldboston.org > > > > Boston's source for global engagement > > __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com From aalibali at yahoo.com Mon Dec 23 15:09:54 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 12:09:54 -0800 (PST) Subject: Fwd: [ALBSA-Info] The Christmas Story ( ne Shqip ) dhe Programi i Sherbesave ne Boston Message-ID: <20021223200954.98158.qmail@web11503.mail.yahoo.com> > Sherbesat e Krishtlindjes dhe te VItit e Ri ne > Kryekishen e Shen Gjergjit > Boston > > E Diela Perpara Krishtlindjes > 22 Dhjetor Mesha fillon: 10 ne mengjez > [ kungimi i besimtareve ] > Programi i Femijeve per Kirshtlindjes > > te Marten Mbrema > 24 Dhjetor 7 darkes > Vengjilla e Kershendellave > [ besimtaret bekohen me Vaj te Shenjte ] > Pritje tradicionale ne Sallen e Kryekishes > > te Merkurren > 25 Dhjetor 10 ne mengjez > Kremtohet Lindja e Shpetimtarit tone, Jezu Krisht > Mesha kryesohet prej Imzot, Hiresia Peshkop Nikon > [ kungimi i besimtarveve ] > > HISTORIA E KRISHLINDJEVE > UNGJILLI SIPAS SHEN LUKES 2:1-21 > > 1. Tani, ne ate dite u shpall nje dekret nga ana e > Cezar Augustit, per te > > kryer regjistrimin e popullsise te gjithe > perandorise. > 2. Ky rregjistrim qe i pari qe u krye kur Kuirini > ishte guvernatori i > Sirise. > 3. Dhe te gjithe shkonin te rregjistroheshin, secili > ne qytetin e vet. > 4. Tani dhe Jozefi doli nga qyteti i Nazaretit te > Galilese, per te shkuar > ne > Jude, ne qytetin e Davidit, qe quhet Bethlehem, > sepse ai ishte i shtepise > > dhe i familjes te Davidit, > 5. per t'u rregjistruar bashke me Marine, gruan e > vet, me te cilen ishte > martuar dhe qe ishte shtatzene. > 6. Keshtu, ndersa ishin atje, asaj i erdhi koha te > linde. > 7. Dhe ajo lindi djalin e saj te parelindur e > mbeshtolli me pelena dhe e > vendosi ne nje grazhd, sepse ne han nuk kishte vend > per ta. > 8. Tani ne po ate krahine ishin disa barinj qe > rrinin jashte, ne fusha, > dhe > naten ruanin kopene e tyre. > 9. Dhe ja, nje engjell i Zotit iu paraqit atyre dhe > lavdia e Zotit > shkelqeu > rreth tyre dhe ata i zuri nje frike e madhe. > 10. Por engjelli u tha atyre: "Mos druani, sepse une > po ju lajmeroj nje > gezim te madh per te gjithe popullin; > 11. sepse sot ne qytetin e Davidit lindi per ju nje > Shpetimar, qe eshte > Krishti, Zoti. > 12. Dhe kjo do t'ju vleje si shenje: ju do te gjeni > nje femije te > mbeshtjellur me pelena, te shtrire ne nje grazhd". > 13. Dhe menjehere engjellit iu bashkuan nje shumice > e ushtrise qiellore, > qe > levdonte Perendine, duke thene: > 14. "Lavdi Perendise ne vendet me te larta, dhe paqe > mbi toke njerezve > mbi > te cilet qendron miredashja e tij!" > 15. Dhe ndodhi qe, kur engjejt u larguan per t'u > kthyer ne qiell, > barinjte i > thane njeri-tjetrit: "Le te shkojme deri ne > Bethlehem per te pare ?ka > ndodhur dhe ?'ka bere te ditur Zoti". > 16. Shkuan pra, me nxitim dhe gjeten Marine, Jozefin > dhe femijen qe > ndodhej > ne nje grazh. > 17. Mbasi e pane, perhapen ato qe u ishte thene per > ate femije. > 18. Dhe te gjithe ata qe i degjuan, u mrekulluan nga > keto gjera qe u > treguan > barinjte. > 19. Maria i ruante te gjitha keto fjale, duke i > medituar ne zemren e saj. > 20. Dhe barinjte u kthyen, duke perlevduar dhe > lavderuar Perendine per te > > gjitha gjerat qe kishin degjuar dhe pare, ashtu si u > ishte thene atyre. > 21. Dhe kur kaluan te tete ditet, pas te cilave ai > duhej rrethprere, ia > vune > emrin JEZUS, emer i dhene nga engjelli para se ai te > ngjisej ne bark. > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Ky fragment eshte marre nga Bibla qe eshte bazuar ne > TEXTUS RECEPTUS, qe > eshte teksti me i plote dhe besnik ndaj origjinalit. > Eshte perkthyer ne > 1611, ne italisht nga versioni KING JAMES dhe nga > italishtja, Dhiata e > RE, u > perkthye ne shqip nga Konstandin Kristoforidhi ne > 1866. > > ______________________________________________________ > > ________________________________________________________________ > Earn $20 for every new person you bring to Juno > Platinum > To learn how, go to www.juno.com/refer> _______________________________________________________ > ALBSA-Info mailing list: ALBSA-Info at alb-net.com > http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/albsa-info > __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com From aalibali at yahoo.com Mon Dec 23 15:12:11 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 12:12:11 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: [balkans] CfP: New Doctoral Research on the History of SEE, June 2003, Sofia Message-ID: <20021223201211.28020.qmail@web11507.mail.yahoo.com> - > The Center for Democracy and Reconciliation > in Southeast Europe > > NEW DOCTORAL RESEARCH ON THE HISTORY OF SOUTHEASTERN > EUROPE > > A WORKSHOP, JUNE 2003, in SOFIA, BULGARIA > > The Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in > Southeastern Europe is > convening a workshop to present, compare and discuss > new doctoral research > relevant to the history of Southeastern Europe. The > workshop seeks to bring > together younger scholars who have undertaken the > primary research for > their doctoral dissertations or who have completed > their dissertations > within the recent past (typically 3-4 years). In > addition to dissertations > from History Departments, those that deal primarily > with the history of any > part of the region but are being done or completed > in departments other > than History are also welcome. > > Younger scholars from Albania, Bosnia and > Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, > FY Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, and > Yugoslavia are invited to > apply. A limited number of spaces are also > available for students who > originate from other countries but who are working > on Balkan issues. The > 15 selected will be notified by March 15 and asked > to submit a 5-page > summary of their dissertations' findings, methods > and sources to the Center > by April 15. At the workshop, selectees will be > asked to make a 15-20 > minute oral presentation on their work, as well as a > 10-minute discussion > on somebody else's pre-circulated presentation to > others selected, and to 6 > senior historians drawn from the Center's > international Board of Eminent > Scholars. The majority of the workshop's time will > however be devoted to a > joint discussion of papers and presentations. > > Applications should reach the Center by the deadline > of February 28, 2003. > All applications, papers, presentations and > discussions will be in English. > > Applications should consist of the following: > ? A short CV of three pages maximum > ? A one or two page description of your > dissertation and its main theses. > ? An e-mail or other address for April 1 > notification > > Applications should be submitted by e-mail to > info at cdsee.org. > > The travel and accommodation, together with a small > honorarium, will be > covered by the Center. > > The list of senior scholars attending will be > available to selectees after > April 1. > > The Center is a non-governmental organisation > incorporated in the > Netherlands and based in Thessaloniki, Greece. The > Center seeks to foster > democratic and pluralist societies and to encourage > cross-border > cooperation and reconciliation between peoples of > the region. The workshop > is a part of the History and History Teaching > Project of the Stability Pact > for Southeastern Europe, and is an annual event. > For further information, > please consult the Center?s web site: www.cdsee.org > or contact us at the > address below. > > > > Krispou 9, Ano Poli, 54634 Thessaloniki, Greece > Tel: +30-2310- 960 820 - Fax: +30-2310- 960 822 - > E-mail: info at cdsee.org > > __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com From aalibali at yahoo.com Mon Dec 23 15:14:40 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 12:14:40 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: [balkans] Human Rights Fellows Program 2003 - 2005 Message-ID: <20021223201440.98830.qmail@web11503.mail.yahoo.com> > > Human Rights Fellows Program > (2003 ?2005 session) > > > The Open Society Justice Initiative ("Justice > Initiative"), part of the Open Society Institute > ("OSI"), joins with Central European University > ("CEU") to announce the Human Rights Fellows > Program. The aim of the program is to support and > further develop a worldwide network of lawyers and > activists working on human rights-related issues. > > The Human Rights Fellows Program is a two year > program of study and practical work experience. Ten > applicants will be selected in 2003 to participate > in the program. Applicants from the following > regions and countries are eligible: Central and > Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Mongolia, > West and Southern Africa, Southeast Asia, Middle > East, Colombia, Haiti, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru. > > Applicants must be nominated by a non-governmental > organization concerned with human rights. The > applicant must demonstrate a strong commitment to > human rights, a university degree and a high degree > of proficiency in English. Criteria for selection > include the applicant?s educational and work > experience, the applicant?s potential to contribute > to the protection and promotion of human rights, and > the suitability of the applicant?s proposed role in > the nominating NGO. Upon selection, each Fellow will > be required to sign an agreement with the Justice > Initiative committing to two years in the program: > the first year to be spent at the Central European > University, the second in the Fellow?s home country > working with the nominating NGO. > > Fellows will spend the first year at the CEU Legal > Studies Department in Budapest, Hungary, with > financial terms identical to those afforded full > scholarship students. Fellows will undertake a > degree program (M.A. or LL.M. in Human Rights, > dependent on their undergraduate degree), and must > fulfill all degree program requirements. The > academic year commences on August 4, 2003. For > degree requirements, please see > http://www.ceu.hu/legal/legalpro.html. During their > stay at CEU Fellows will participate in a > three-month internship placement with a leading > human rights NGO in Europe. > > After completion of the first year of the program, > Fellows will return to their nominating NGOs to > devote one year working on human rights advocacy on > a non-profit basis: providing legal services, > undertaking human rights litigation, and/or > providing training and education. During this second > year of the program, Fellows receive a local salary > (paid for by the Fellowship) commensurate with > salaries provided for equivalent work by the > nominating NGO. > > Application Procedure > > > Applications must be submitted to the CEU Admissions > Office. Applicants must satisfy the general CEU > Admissions requirements > (http://www.ceu.hu/prospective_students.html), as > well as the CEU Legal Studies Department Admissions > requirements > (http://www.ceu.hu/legal/legent.2001.htm). In > addition, applicants must include a nominating > letter from an NGO describing the need for a lawyer, > activist or scholar working in the organization and > contractually committing to hire the applicant for > at least one year after he/she returns from the > twelve-month program at CEU. The nomination letter > should also indicate a gross (including taxes and > other fees) monthly salary rate that will be offered > to the applicant by the NGO in the event that he or > she is selected for the program. > > If your application is successful, you will be > asked, as a precondition of accepting the grant, to > consent to subsequent internal or public disclosure, > by OSI, CEU, and their affiliated organizations in > the Soros Foundations Network, of your name and > other identifying information about you, such as > your nationality and professional affiliation(s), > and information about the fellowship, including > fellowship purpose and grant amount. > > > The DEADLINE for receiving applications at CEU is > January 6, 2003. If you have questions regarding the > first year of the program, please contact Maria > Balla, Department Coordinator, Legal Studies > Department, Central European University, N?dor u. 9, > Budapest 1051, tell: 361 327-3204, e-mail: > ballam at ceu.hu, web: http://www.ceu.hu. For more > information about the second year of the program, > please contact Eszter Filippinyi, Program > Coordinator, Justice Initiative, Nador u. 11, > Budapest 1051, tell: 361 327-3102; fax: 361 327 > 3103; e-mail: filippinyi at osi.hu. > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com From aalibali at yahoo.com Tue Dec 24 10:52:11 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2002 07:52:11 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] IPWR Report Message-ID: <20021224155211.54580.qmail@web11505.mail.yahoo.com> Subject: GREECE: MINORITIES FACE ROUGH JUSTICE WELCOME TO IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, No. 390, December 13, 2002 GREECE: MINORITIES FACE ROUGH JUSTICE Judiciary's failure to prosecute a policeman for killing an Albanian migrant is said to typify the injustices suffered by minorities in Greece. By Gazmend Kapllani in Athens and Jeta Xharra in London Over a year after the fatal shooting of Gentjan ?elniku in an Athens caf?, the Greek policeman who killed the 20-year-old has yet to be brought to justice. An immigrant from Albania, ?elniku was shot in the head during an identity check. His murder was one of several cases of police brutality against members of minorities in Greece, highlighted in a report published by Amnesty International and the International Helsinki Federation in September. The respected Athens daily Kathimerini has warned that the number of violations could exceed the 38 cases investigated by Amnesty because Albanian immigrants are often too afraid to report attacks against them. As an EU member, Greece certainly has the legislative framework to deal with crimes of this nature, yet in practice law enforcement officers have rarely been brought to justice. Even those who have been tried or convicted have faced only nominal punishment, such as a suspended prison sentence. Gentjan ?elniku's sister Rajmonda is already resigned to the fact that her brother's killer will get off lightly. " A year after the killing nothing has been done, so I don't expect much of this investigation," she said. Ioannis Rizopoulos, the policeman who shot ?elniku, was charged with "reckless homicide", which carries a prison sentence of five years to life. Despite the gravity of the charge, Rizopoulos was immediately released on bail and has not been suspended from duty. Accounts of the incident vary. At a hearing before an investigating judge on November 23, 2001, Rizopoulos testified that when he saw ?elniku reach into his jacket pocket, he approached him, warning him not to move. ?elniku then kicked his hand, causing his pistol to discharge. This was in direct conflict with an earlier statement in which he claimed the gun had gone off accidentally as he attempted to handcuff the young man. The police authorities ordered an inquiry, but a joint report by Amnesty International and the International Helsinki Federation criticised the way it was conducted. "The investigating judge declined to summon witnesses - including eye-witnesses - who gave statements to the police during the preliminary investigation and, as a result, certain important facts have not been clarified," said the report. Greek Helsinki Monitor confirms that the inquiry relied mainly on statements from colleagues of Rizopoulos, who were likely to be biased in his favour. Attempts by the police to present the victim as a dangerous criminal seem to bear this suspicion out. When the public prosecutor presented his case to the court on July 2002, it was claimed that ?elniku had been carrying a knife in his jacket, although no details were supplied. But Greek Helsinki Monitor, which is acting on behalf of the victim's family, says that prosecutors are ignoring the testimony of Antonis Karras, an eyewitness who passed the cafe shortly after the shooting. Karras testified that he saw police search the body and remove a knife from a back trouser pocket or a sheath attached to the belt. Shortly afterwards, he saw the blade being handed over to a police commander. And as the body was removed from the scene, it was placed on the spot where ?elniku had lain. For the police officer who had shot ?elniku to then participate in the collection of evidence, even handling the knife in question, was a clear contravention of the rules of procedure. A superior officer later testified that he had reprimanded Rizopoulos for this, but the evidence in question appears not to have been compromised in the eyes of the public prosecutor. The latter has already reduced the charge against Rizopoulos from reckless homicide to the lesser charge of manslaughter, said Panayote Dimitras of Greek Helsinki Monitor. "Considering how this and other cases concerning minorities have been handled so far, I suspect Ioannis Rizopoulos will get away without spending even a single day in prison," he added. Though limited, the official figures available for the prosecution and conviction of policemen for torture or ill-treatment seems to bear his suspicion out. Between 1996 and 2000, there were 163 complaints - 121 were dismissed and 42 criminal investigations launched. But not a single police officer has been convicted for such offences. Official police figures released in March 2001 revealed that 43 disciplinary proceedings were carried out in 2000 against policemen charged with the following offences: violations of human dignity; use of psychological intimidation; and inflicting physical injury. Only one officer was found to be at fault and he was fined. The Greek interior minister Evangelos Malesios has denied that minorities are subject to police brutality, or that any cases have been covered up. "Greece has one of the lowest incidents of human rights violations in the world. We have an independent justice system and we respect its decisions," he told the Greek press. However, some commentators would argue that Athens' refusal to acknowledge any human rights abuses is part and parcel of a more general refusal to acknowledge the rights or existence of minorities. Although the country has longstanding indigenous Slav-speaking, Vlach, Roma and Albanian minorities, Greeks still cling to an outmoded "Balkan" notion of a homogeneous nation, which must resist the impingement of other ethnic groups. >From the early 1990s, social and demographic trends have changed dramatically, as the populations of neighbouring Balkan states were able to emigrate in large numbers for the first time since 1945. Unofficial estimates put the number of immigrants now in Greece at around 800,000, of whom half are illegal. Albanians form by far the largest group of around 350,000 to 400,000, with Bulgarians and Romanians making up the remainder. "During the last decade, Greeks have begun to realise that we are not really a homogeneous society at all, and this has provoked strong feelings," Greece's assistant ombudsman George Kaminis told the daily paper Eleftherotypia, in a tacit admission of the problem. His candid observation was borne out by a delegation from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, whose report noted that during a visit to law enforcement institutions "the delegation could not fail to note the disrespectful attitude displayed by some officers when referring to detainees, particularly those of Albanian origin". The Amnesty report lists five other cases where police officers were prosecuted for killing or fatally wounding members of minority communities. Three of the victims were Roma, one was a Serb and another a Greek, included because the officers later told an investigating judge, "We thought he was some gypsy." Meanwhile, Rajmonda ?elniku spent the first anniversary of her brother's murder in Greece, waiting for his assailant to be brought to justice. "My parents in Albania have been driven to distraction by this tragedy. I can't wait to leave Greece and I won't be in a hurry to come back. We really are at the bottom of the pile here," she said. Her experience seems to be typical for the grieving relatives of victims of police brutality. For them, the Greek justice system is a long and winding road that leads nowhere. Gazmend Kapllani is an independent journalist based in Greece and Jeta Xharra is a freelance journalist in London. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Fri Dec 27 07:39:53 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Fri, 27 Dec 2002 04:39:53 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] kathimerini Message-ID: <20021227123953.33392.qmail@web11507.mail.yahoo.com> ORTHODOXY FOR ALL Archbishopric speaks in languages The Athens Archbishopric introduced services in Albanian, Romanian and Russian for Orthodox faithful at three churches this Christmas. Services were held in Albanian at the Aghios Constantinos Church in Omonia and in Romanian at Aghios Nikolaos Pefkakion in Neapoli. They will also both celebrate the Epiphany on January 7, while the Omonia church will hold a New Year?s service in Albanian. The Aghios Panteleimon Church on Acharnon St will hold a Christmas service on January 7 and an Epiphany service on January 19, as Russians, Ukrainians and Georgians follow the Julian Calendar. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Sat Dec 28 18:10:06 2002 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sat, 28 Dec 2002 15:10:06 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Minority Languages Message-ID: <20021228231006.64090.qmail@web11507.mail.yahoo.com> European Minority Languages and Research: Shaping an Agenda for a Global Age [ 8/4/2003 - 10/4/2003 ] --------------------------------- A substantial corpus of research and documentation now exists on various aspects of minority languages, conducted by those working on linguistics, sociolinguistics and other disciplines, as well as those directly concerned with language revitalisation and promotion. To what extent does this existing corpus supply needs on the part of minority language speakers and communities and how far does it facilitate the process of language revitalisation and normalisation? What are the principal lacunae in the current research and information provision and what are the priorities for their development? This two-day symposium will take a wide ranging look at the research and information agenda for minority languages in the global age, pinpointing priorities in the fields of academic research and dissemination of information and awareness around European minority languages. It will be an opportunity for participants to present their own most recent work and to indicate what they see as the cutting edge of research and information activity in their fields as well as the most urgent needs for further development. The discussion will also consider how the overall research and information agenda is best to be taken forward. Contributions will be welcomed from those working with minority languages in any academic discipline as well as those practically involved with these languages and their promotion in other professsions. The discussion will seek to bring together academic research and language promotion, looking at how the one can supply the needs of the other. Minority languages in this context are define as autochtonous European languages present within their current territories since before modern times and in some way restricted in terms of their fields of use. Those wishing to present papers should send an abstract of approximately 500 words to be e-mailed as a word file or as plain text within the e-mail to george.jones at aber.ac.uk by 6 January 2003. Those offering papers will be informed by the end of January whether or not their proposal has been accepted. Papers must then be sent in full as word files by 17 March 2003. The languages of the symposium will be English, Welsh, French and German and papers may be delivered in any of these. Simultaneous translation will be available, however, only from Welsh to English. Click here for the registration form. 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