From aalibali at yahoo.com Sat Nov 1 06:16:37 2003 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2003 03:16:37 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: [balkans] CfA: Junior Faculty Development Program (JFDP) Message-ID: <20031101111637.89455.qmail@web11506.mail.yahoo.com> > Dear Sirs, > > The American Councils for International Education > are proud to announce the > stipend for Junior Faculty Development Program > (JFDP) for academic year > 2004/05. > > The program places university faculty from Albania, > Armenia, Azerbaijan, > Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, > Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, > Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, > Turkmenistan, Ukraine and > Uzbekistan at selected higher educational > institutions in the United > States, through a process of open competition. JFDP > Fellows work with an > American colleague to further develop their > knowledge of teaching > methodologies, theoretical aspects of their field, > and to create new > courses and course materials for use at their home > institutions. The > program is intended to support those scholars who > plan to return to their > home country in order to continue their teaching and > professional activities. > > > The competition is open to citizens of the above > countries, who currently > teach at a higher educational institution in their > home country, have a > mastery of the English language, possess a > university degree, and have two > years of teaching experience in an institution of > higher > education. Applicants in the fields of Arts > Management and Library and > Archival Science need a university degree, two years > of work experience in > that field, and must currently teach or conduct > trainings at an educational > institution. > > > > For the 2004-2005 academic year, JFDP Fellows will > undertake a 9-month, > non-degree program (auditing courses, > teaching/lecturing, developing > curricula, attending conferences), and 2-month > summer practicum. Fellows > are placed at U.S. host institutions, which have > facilities and faculty > appropriate for their field of study. JFDP Fellows > receive round-trip > international and domestic transportation, medical > insurance, monthly > stipends, and a professional development fund. > > > > JFDP fields for 2004-2005 are as follows: > > American Studies > > Business Administration > > Economics > > Education Administration > > Environmental Studies > > History > > International Affairs > > Journalism > > Law > > Library & Archival Science > > Linguistics > > Philosophy > > Political Science > > Psychology > > Public Administration > > Public Policy > > Sociology > > Please, find the flyer with general information on > the JFDP and the > application for the Program in the attachment for > your review. We would > very much appreciate if you posted the flyer on the > Balkan Academic News > website. > > Sincerely, > > Sanja Ignjatovic > Office Manager South-Eastern Europe > American Councils for International Education: > ACTR/ACCELS > Resavska 58/1 > 11000 Belgrade, > Serbia and Montenegro > Tel/fax: ++381-11-657-940 > acie at sbb.co.yu > ignjatovic at sbb.co.yu > www.actr.org > www.jfdp.org > > > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/ From aalibali at yahoo.com Sun Nov 2 06:59:20 2003 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2003 03:59:20 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd:CfA: Civic Education Project Local Faculty Fellowships 2004-05 Message-ID: <20031102115920.6585.qmail@web11507.mail.yahoo.com> > > For Citizens of Eastern Europe, Former Soviet Union, > and Mongolia > In Social Sciences, Law, Journalism/Media Studies > > The Civic Education Project (CEP) invites > applications for its > 2004-05 Local Faculty Fellowship program. > Applications accepted > from October 1, 2003 to March 1, 2004. Fellowships > begin in > September 2004. > > The Local Faculty Fellowship program is open to > citizens of > Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, > Georgia, > Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, > Mongolia, > Serbia and Montenegro, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and > Uzbekistan. > > Academics from the above countries having graduated > (or expecting > to graduate by September 2004) from a North American > or West > European university with a postgraduate degree in a > social > science are encouraged to apply. CEP supports > efforts to return > to, and remain in, university teaching in the > Fellow?EUR(tm)s > home country by providing a monthly stipend, > teaching materials, > and participation in various CEP events and > activities. > > Local Faculty Fellowships are awarded in the social > sciences > (including area studies, anthropology, gender > studies, economics, > history, political science, psychology, public > administration, > and sociology). CEP also offers teaching fellowships > in law and > journalism/media studies. > > For application forms and guidelines, please see the > fellowship > programs area of our web site: > www.cep.org.hu/programs/index.html > > Deadline: March 1, 2004 > > Website: www.cep.org.hu > > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/ From aalibali at yahoo.com Mon Nov 3 08:34:40 2003 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2003 05:34:40 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] 14th Biennial Conference on Balkan Linguistics, Literature and Folklore, Oxford (Mississippi), 15-17.4.2003 Message-ID: <20031103133440.79910.qmail@web11508.mail.yahoo.com> > > > BALKAN CONFERENCE 2004 > > 14th Biennial Conference on > > Balkan Linguistics, Literature and Folklore > > > > Oxford, Mississippi > > Thursday-Saturday, April 15-17, 2004 > > > > The Conference is hosted by The University of > Mississippi, on the main > campus of the university, which is located in the > small town of Oxford in > the north central part of the state. Abstracts for > paper proposals of up to > one-half page in length are now being accepted by > electronic mail at > or by mail at Donald L. Dyer, > Balkan Conference, > Department of Modern Languages, The University of > Mississippi, University, > MS 38677. The deadline for submitting a proposal for > inclusion in the > conference program is December 31, 2003. All panel > sessions will be held on > campus in various rooms at the E.F. Yerby Conference > Center. Visit the > conference's official website at > > for more > information > > > Registration: > > All conference presenters must register. > Registration may be completed by > mail or fax or on the conference website. To ensure > enrollment for the > conference, please complete the registration form > and return it along with > your payment to the address listed on the form. To > register by fax, please > complete the form and include your Visa or > MasterCard number, expiration > date and signature. The fax number is (662)915-5138. > Registrants will > receive additional information with written > confirmation from the UM Office > of Professional Development and Non-Credit Education > office. Please notify > our office within two business days of the > conference should you need to > cancel your registration. > > > > Special Events: > > > > Optional excursions are being planned for conference > participants, > including: a Double Decker bus tour of Oxford; Rowan > Oak, the home of > William Faulkner; the University Museums; the J.D. > Williams Library (where > we will have a display of works on Balkan studies); > Square Books, the > famous local bookstore; the Peabody Hotel, Beale > Street, Graceland, the > Pyramid, Mud Island and the National Civil Rights > Museum in Memphis; and > Elvis Presley's birthplace in Tupelo. Details will > be forthcoming. > > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Exclusive Video Premiere - Britney Spears http://launch.yahoo.com/promos/britneyspears/ From aalibali at yahoo.com Fri Nov 7 18:05:04 2003 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 15:05:04 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: [balkans] CfP: New Doctoral Research on the History of Southeast Europe, June 2004 Message-ID: <20031107230504.33821.qmail@web11503.mail.yahoo.com> --------------------------------- CALL FOR PAPERS?A Workshop for new Doctoral Research on the History of Southeast EuropeIn June 2004Location to be announced?The Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeastern Europe (CDRSEE) is convening a workshop to present, compare and discuss new doctoral research relevant to the history of Southeastern Europe. The CDRSEE are seeking 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.?Scholars from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, FY Republic of Macedonia, Romania, and Serbia & Montenegro 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 27 and asked to submit a 5-page summary of their dissertations' findings, methods and sources to the Center by April 19. 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 CDRSEE by the deadline of 20 February 2004. 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 March 27 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 organisers.? The list of senior scholars attending will be available to selectees by April.?This project is supported by generous?funding from USAID.?The Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe (CDRSEE) is a non-governmental organisation incorporated in the Netherlands and based in Thessaloniki, Greece.? The CDRSEE 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 info at cdsee.org, Tel. +30 2310 960820, fax: +30 2310 960822. Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT ______________________________________________ Balkan Academic News In order to send your messages to Balkan Academic News, please send them to balkans at yahoogroups.com with the subject line describing the content of the message and without attachments. In order to subscribe send a blank email to balkans-subscribe at yahoogroups.com. To unsubscribe send a message to balkans-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com. If you would like to change your mailing address, first unsubscribe from the old and then resubscribe from the new email address. If you have any questions, contact the moderator at balkans at gmx.net Homepage: http://www.seep.ceu.hu/balkans/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree From aalibali at yahoo.com Sun Nov 9 11:03:28 2003 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (AAlibali) Date: Sun, 09 Nov 2003 16:03:28 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: GHM: Anti-Semitism and Racism in Greece: Op-Ed in WSJ on the Occasion of Kristalnacht Commemoration Message-ID: --- In balkanhr at yahoogroups.com, Greek Helsinki Monitor wrote: GREEK HELSINKI MONITOR (GHM) Address: P.O. Box 60820, 15304 Glyka Nera Telephone: (+30) 210.347.22.59. Fax: (+30) 210.601.87.60 e-mail: office at g... website: http://www.greekhelsinki.gr ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PRESS RELEASE 7 November 2003 TOPIC: ANTI-SEMITISM AND RACISM IN GREECE: AN OP-ED IN WALL STREET JOURNAL ON THE OCCASION OF KRISTLANACHT COMMEMORATION Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) distributes an article in today's Wall Street Journal, co-signed by its Spokesperson, on anti-Semitism and racism in Greece, published on the occasion of the commemoration of Kristalnacht on 9 November. Last minute necessary editing by the paper led to some -minor for the essence- errors like calling Dimitris Kitsikis a caricaturist rather than academic, and mentioning Kefallonia as a newspaper instead of as the place where the event mentioned took plACE Wall Street Journal 7 November 2003 Where Jews Are Unwelcome By SHIMON SAMUELS and PANAYOTE DIMITRAS online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB106816383763403600-search,00.htm Sunday marks the 65th anniversary of the Nazi "Night of Broken Glass," Kristalnacht, the prelude to the Holocaust. The slogan after that carnage was "never again," but in Greece anti-semitism has reared its head "again." Therefore, we in the Wiesenthal Center see it as our sad duty to issue hereby a travel advisory for Greece , suggesting that those visiting use extreme caution until authorities take appropriate measures to contain antisemitism and other expressions of hate. At the same time, the Greek Helsinki Monitor, the Greek branch of the OSCE's International Helsinki Federation, is launching litigation in the hope that the Greek courts and the Greek state will process those breaking laws against incitement to hatred. Why are we collectively taking such action? Antisemitism is a paradigm for all forms of xenophobia and a barometric measure of an atmosphere that can menace the very fabric of society for all its citizens. Incitement of it violates EU provisions and threatens to extinguish the ideals of the Olympic flame which, next August, will return to the birthplace of the Games. The Jewish community has been present in Greece since Biblical times. It reached almost 80,000 before the war, but most of them perished at Auschwitz. Today only 5,000 remain. Over the past 20 months we have monitored a pattern of attacks against this ancient community. One of the latest was the desecration last month of the Holocaust memorial in the Jewish cemetery of Ioannina. It was the sixth such incident against Jewish monuments in Ioannina, Salonika and Rhodes. Construction began on a Holocaust memorial on the island of Rhodes in May, 2002. On June 10, the Rhodes local daily Drasis reprinted a March cartoon from the pro-government paper Eleftherotypia equating the Nazi destruction of Warsaw Ghetto with Israeli attack on Ramallah. In it a Nazi ghost soldier mused: "Finally things are complete! Just as we killed the Jews then, so now are the Jews killing the memory of those who were killed." Stathis added its own flair by adorning the cartoon with "Warsaw Ghetto = Ramallah." By June the Jewish Community of Rhodes spokesperson was reporting verbal and physical harassment of workers at the memorial, requiring 24-hour police protection. Seven days after the official unveiling of the Memorial on June 23 the first signs of desecration began to appear, the gradual removal of letters of inscription. By July 3 we had the partial permanent destruction of the Memorial, with the decorative wire cut and the base of the monument attacked. In July this year the newspaper Stochos interviewed the caricaturist Dimitris Kitsikis, who said, "It's a fact that the Jews are the Greeks' great rivals . . . The Jews and the Greeks are competing for who will reign over the planet . . . I'm sure we will beat the Jews." Then in August, the left-wing newspaper Kefallonia objected to the presence of an Israeli delegation at the 50th anniversary commemoration of Israeli aid after a 1953 earthquake, using Holocaust analogies. The Communist Party and the left-wing Neo Aristero Revma party called Israel's ambassador and visiting Israeli military officers "agents of the worst holocaust in contemporary times" and Israel a "Hitlerist regime." These are just a few samples. On Oct. 14, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Greek Helsinki Monitor responded by presenting a report entitled "Twenty Months of Antisemitic Invective in Greece (March 2002-October 2003)" to the Warsaw Human Dimension Meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece also denounced "this climate of hysteria and anti-Semitism manifested under the pretext of the condemnation of the defensive military operations of the State of Israel, with anti-Semitic expressions, and the inadmissible vilification of the Holocaust of six million Jews." No Greek newspaper ever reported this statement. The quality press did however endorse an exhibit glorifying Palestinian suicide bombings against Israelis which opened on Oct. 20 in Athens. Greek legislation (Law 927/79) penalizes incitement to hatred or violence. It has remained unused due to lack of will of prosecutors and judges to condemn such expressions. The Greek Helsinki Monitor launched litigation actions regarding the publication of antisemitic, anti-Albanian, anti-Roma and anti-immigrant letters and discriminatory want-ads in mainstream newspapers. Almost all such suits have been quashed on grounds of "lack of intent" or statutes of limitations. GHM and the International Helsinki Federation called on Minister of Justice Philipos Petsalnikos in September to seek judicial review of all anti-Semitic, Roma-bashing or xenophobic statements that the Greek courts had determined were not racist but acceptable. No such action was taken. The Wiesenthal Center has also called on Prime Minister Costas Simitis to condemn this tolerance of antisemitism. On May 27 one of us, Mr. Samuels, met in Athens with the prime minister's diplomatic counselor, Ambassador Theodoros Sotiropoulos. He promised statements at the highest level against all forms of incitement, as did two of his diplomatic colleagues in Unesco and the OSCE. Their silence has since been deafening. Mr. Samuels is director for international liaison of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Paris, while Mr. Dimitras is spokesperson of Greek Helsinki Monitor in Athens. ____________________________________________________ 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: Kevin Boyle, Panayote Dimitras, Orestis Georgiadis, Dimitrina Petrova, 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). --- End forwarded message --- From albboschurch at juno.com Sat Nov 15 03:11:13 2003 From: albboschurch at juno.com (albboschurch at juno.com) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2003 08:11:13 +0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Nov. 13 NYT article on Albania Message-ID: <20031115.082135.1944.7.albboschurch@juno.com> [ If interested, we can forward the article by Nicholas Wood ] ___________________________________________________ ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: GQKokalari at aol.com To all concerned, Today, as a result of yesterday's insulting article on the front page of the New York Times about Albania and child trafficking, I had a long telephone conversation with a senior editor from the Times. In essence, I questioned the figure of 300,000 gypsies and asked him to provide me with a fact check and the source of this information, and he agreed to confirm this for me. I also expressed my opinion that the article was the most recent in a long series of articles published by the NYT that had an anti-Albanian bias. I cited another recent NYT article, Ian Fisher's August 6, 2003 piece that questioned Mother Teresa's ethnic identity. With respect to the Mother Teresa issue, I asserted that for the article to have been more balanced, Ian Fisher should have mentioned the fact that the Vatican website declares Mother Teresa an Albanian and that Agi Bojaxhiu, Mother Teresa's niece and only living relative, maintains that her father, Lazar, and her aunt, Mother Teresa, as well as their father, were Albanian. I also suggested that the NYT consider doing an interview with her. During my conversation with the editor, I inquired about why, to my knowledge, there were never any articles in the NYT praising Albanians for their heroic efforts at saving 100% of the Jews who sought refuge in Albania during the Nazi occupation. He said that he was not sure if this topic was ever covered by the NYT because he was not intimately familiar with Albanian issues, which is understandable due to the fact that it's not his area of responsibility. The editor claimed there is no "institutional bias" at the NYT against Albania, and I told him that although I appreciate his position on this matter, there may have been individual NYT journalists who had an axe to grind toward Albania, and I mentioned both Nick Gage and David Binder as examples What does this all mean? Well, first, it is not going to change the past vis a vis any negative articles the NYT has published about Albania - in this regard, "the horses have left the barn." That being said, I encourage Albanians to write to the NYT to protest yesterday's article. Although letters from Albanian organizations should be encouraged, it is also important that as many individuals as possible send letters so that the point is well made. Will your letters be published? Unlikely. But that's not the point. The NYT should know how we feel in hope that its editors will maintain objectivity over what is said about Albanians in the future. This is one method by which public opinions can be influenced. But at the end of the day, most of the problems within Albania, and human trafficking in particular (and make no mistake, the Albanians are no innocents in this regard), can be traced to the moral bankruptcy of its leaders. I am afraid we may have to wait until we have credible, responsible leadership in Albania before we see a series of positive NYT articles on Albanians. The email address to send your letters is: letters at nyt.com Address you message to the Editor, limit your letters to 150 words or less and include your name, address and home and daytime telephone numbers. Talking points could include: 1) The figure of 300,000 gypsies has no basis in fact and request a retraction; 2) The article did not merit front page NET coverage; 3) Request the that the NYT do a story on Albania's Rigthteous during WWII; 4) Stressing Mother Teresa's Albanian ethnic identity. You may be thinking, "what is my letter going to do?" Alone, who knows? But if they get enough letters it will get their attention. You can sit there and stew about this and complain to other Albanians, or you can do something about it. The choice is yours and its just one click away! Please feel free to pass this along. Gary Kokalari -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Fri Nov 21 06:48:27 2003 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 03:48:27 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fellowships Message-ID: <20031121114827.11080.qmail@web11505.mail.yahoo.com> One year fully-funded Teacher-Fellowship in Albanian Studies tenable in London. The School of Slavonic and East European Studies (University College London) and the British Embassy, Tirana, invite applications from academic specialists in history, politics, economics, sociology, linguistics, anthropology, ethnic and minority studies, gender studies, or cultural studies for a fully-funded Teacher-Fellowship in Albanian studies. The purpose of the Teacher-Fellowships is to provide training and experience of British university teaching, research, and administration. The post is funded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Offices Chevening Scholarships Scheme and SSEES/UCL, and will support a Teacher-Fellow for ten months from the 1 September 2004 until 30 June 2005 as a visiting faculty member at SSEES attached to the Centre for South-East European Studies. The Teacher-Fellowship will be awarded by the School of Slavonic and East European Studies following free and open public competition. Applicants must be citizens of Albania and must propose a research project in an area of the humanities or social sciences supported by SSEES. Preference will be given to candidates writing PhDs or recent doctorates. Full job specification and the application form are available on http://www.ssees.ac.uk (staff vacancies). Applications should be made in duplicate using the form provided to arrive no later than 28 November 2003. One set should be sent to: The Directors Office, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU; fax: 44-20 7862 8640 or by email to c.fernandes at ssees.ucl.ac.uk. The second set should be sent to: Press and Public Affairs Section, attn of Mrs Telo, British Embassy, Tirana, Albania or by email: Gentiana.Telo at fco.gov.uk. Short-listed applicants will be interviewed at the British Embassy in Tirana in January/February 2004. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now http://companion.yahoo.com/ From aalibali at yahoo.com Sat Nov 22 10:02:17 2003 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2003 07:02:17 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fellowships Message-ID: <20031122150217.70284.qmail@web11507.mail.yahoo.com> Open Society Justice Initiative Central European University Department of Legal Studies CEU Budapest Justice Initiative Fellows Program at Central European University (2004-2006 session) The Open Society Justice Initiative (Justice Initiative), part of the Open Society Institute (OSI), joins with Central European University (CEU) to announce Justice Initiative Fellows Program. The aim of the program is to support and further develop a 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. Up to ten applicants will be selected in 2004 to participate in the program. Applicants from the following regions and countries are eligible to participate in the program: Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Mongolia, West and Southern Africa, Great Lakes region in Africa, Southeast Asia, Middle East, 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 will include the experience of the applicant, 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 their selection, Fellows will be required to sign an agreement with Justice Initiative according to which they will commit themselves for two years in the program: the first year to be spent with the Central European University. The second year is to be spent in his/her home country working with the nominating NGO. Human Rights Fellows will reside a total of one year in Hungary, at CEU Legal Studies Department. They will undertake a degree program (M.A. or LL.M. in Human Rights, dependent on their undergraduate degree), in which they will be required to fulfill the requirements of the Human Rights Program at Central European University. During their stay at CEU the Fellows will also participate in a three-month internship placement with leading NGOs in Europe from January till March. The Justice Initiative Fellowship will be administered by the Legal Studies Department of the CEU in the partnership with Justice Initiative during the first year of the program. Financial terms will be identical to CEU policies for full scholarship students. Human Rights Fellows will return to their nominating NGOs after the first year, where they will spend at least one year working on human rights advocacy on a non-profit basis: providing legal services, undertaking human rights litigation, providing training and education, etc. Justice Initiative will pay a local salary during this second year that is equal to an amount determined to be similar to equivalent work by the nominating NGO. This amount will be provided to the nominating NGOs in the form of a grant. Application Procedure Please note that applicants must submit their applications to the CEU Admissions Office. Applicants must meet 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_2002.html). In addition, applicants must include: 1.????? Nominating letter from an NGO describing the need for having a lawyer, activist or scholar working in the organization and contractually committing to Justice Initiative to hire the applicant for at least one year after he/she returns from the twelve-month training program in Hungary. The nomination letter should also indicate a monthly salary gross rate in USD (including all taxes and fees) that will be offered to the applicant by the NGO in the event that he or she is selected for the program (which would be provided to the NGO by Justice Initiative in the form of a grant). 2.????? If applicable, a copy of your Bar Association membership, or the date scheduled for your examination. 3.????? English Proficiency Proof (if available). If no language test had been taken, this test will be carried out during the procedure (the period of time will be clarified later). For the applicants from FSU and CE Europe the test will be carried our by local Soros Foundation/Open Society Institute Coordinators, in other regions applicants will be contacted separately. 4.????? Statement of purpose for applying to the Justice Initiative Fellows program. Proposal of project activities that the candidate plans to work on during the second year of fellowship. The DEADLINE for receiving applications in at CEU is January 5, 2004. 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, tel: 361 327-3204, e-mail: ballam at ceu.hu, web: http://www.ceu.hu. For more information about the overall program, please contact Rita Bakradze, Program Coordinator at Justice Initiative, Nador u. 11, Budapest 1051, phone: 361 327-3102; fax: 361 327 3103; e-mail: rbakradze at osi.hu ? __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now http://companion.yahoo.com/ From albboschurch at juno.com Fri Nov 28 03:28:01 2003 From: albboschurch at juno.com (albboschurch at juno.com) Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2003 08:28:01 +0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Albanian Flag Day - 2003 Message-ID: <20031128.082807.2464.1.albboschurch@juno.com> Thoughts on Albanian Flag Day - 2003 Just one hundred years ago, the Albanian people found themselves in their own ancestral homeland living in the fog of foreign suzerainty. Deprived for centuries of joy in their own identity, many had sought and achieved success by other means, or even elsewhere, usually under the flags of whomever happened to pass through their neighborhoods at any given moment. Eager to learn, but without their own schools; lacking a consistent and open means of expressing their own unique heritage, they were altogether marginalized by willful circumstances beyond their control. A venerable folk, inheritors of worthy values and codes, they managed to struggle and endure in the clouded ambience of a world already in the throes of its own transitions. Theirs had been an ambiguous history unknown to others and barely known to themselves. From the cauldron of the regional wars of that time, they emerged anew, overcoming enormous obstacles both external and internal. Exceptional leaders arose among them to forge a new path and find a new way for a fledgling young state. Before 1912, even the visionaries among them were unsure as to what course to take. As with any pioneering venture - with no map to guide them or compass to orient their journey - they shuffled with characteristic passion and not without ambition, to fathom the formation of a 20th century state. Caution and prudence are not words usually found in our diplomatic vocabulary. Pride and assertion are more common. More often than not, they only partially succeeded in that endeavor; and to this day find regional or individual self-interest a more familiar turf to handle, than a more comprehensive approach to governance. We are not alone in this, of course; but our expectations are higher, especially of ourselves and of our kind. By now, we've come to learn that survival alone is not enough of a satisfaction, and that more appropriate and enduring avenues are yet to be identitfied and - more importantly - applied in order to fulfill the dreams of those who have gone before us. Negotiating and orchestrating the means and methods for a promising future still lies ahead for today's Albanian. There is no question that we have the energy, the will and all the necessary aptitude to accomplish it. If it was possible in 1912 to achieve difficult tasks in our awakening, it is certainly possible now to proceed with the next, vital steps in attaining what all Albanians desire for themsevles, for their families, for their nation and for the next generation. How grateful we all are today to be able to remember those days and that time and to recall those extraordinary persons who gathered to raise a rediscovered emblem and call it their flag. Very Rev Arthur E. Liolin -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Fri Nov 28 18:42:22 2003 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2003 15:42:22 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Prof. Elezi per Kanunin - Koha JOne Message-ID: <20031128234222.43905.qmail@web11505.mail.yahoo.com> E Shtune, 29 Nentor 2003 "STUDIMI" DHE REALITETI Prof. Dr. Ismet Elezi Ne datat 8 e 9 tetor 2003, eshte botuar i ashtuquajturi studim: "Gjakmarrja midis realitetit dhe retorikes" nga z. Aurel Plasari. Pershtypja e pare qe krijohet per ata qe nuk e njohin nga afer problemin eshte se kemi te bejme me nje studim te shumanshem te Kanunit e te gjakmarrjes, se autori orvatet te krijoje opinion per njohuri te gjera. Mirepo duke e analizuar thelle ne forme e ne permbajtje del se jane iluzione te gabuara. Me bindje te plote mund te thuhet se nuk kemi te bejme me nje studim serioz e te argumentuar, pavaresisht se eshte kryer nje pune voluminoze. Dhe kjo shpjegohet per arsye subjektive e objektive. Z. Plasari njihet si publicist. Ai ka mbaruar Fakultetin e Gjuhesi-Letersise. Kuptohet, se duke mos qene etnolog, historian, as jurist e as sociolog, nuk mund te perballonte ate detyre qe i ka vene vetes, te bente nje studim per kanunin e gjakmarrjen, qe kane ligjesite e pergjithshme dhe vecorite e tyre ne Shqiperi. Eshte njelloj sikur juristi te pretendonte te bente studim per operat e Verdit. Ne kete veshtrim te cudit fakti se si nje njeri qe e heq veten intelektual ka kurajon qytetare te merret me Kanunin e gjakmarrjen, qe nuk i di se ku bien me shtepi. Me sa duket ka mendimin se ne tregun e lire mund te shitet cdo placke e pa vlere. Megjithese une kam mese kater dekada qe merrem me kete teme dhe kam bere me shume se 25 botime "libra, artikuj e referate), ne parathenien e librit te fundit "E drejta zakonore mbareshqiptare", botuar ne Prishtine me 2003, kam pranuar se: "cdo here qe shkruaj bindem gjithnje e me shume se sa i madh eshte ky thesar i kultures popullore shqiptare, qe kerkon hulumtime e kerkime te vazhdueshme shkencore". Nuk mund ta marr me mend se si z.Plasari e titullon studimin: "Gjakmarrja midis realitetit dhe retorikes", kur nuk e njeh dhe nuk jep asnje te dhene per vrasjet per gjakamrrje ne vitet e fundit, kur nuk di gjendjen, dinamiken, shkaqet e tyre, nuk ben asnje propozim per masat parandaluese dhe se si duhet zhdukur gjakmarrja. Derisa keto mungojne, a mund te flitet per gjakmarrjen midis realitetit dhe retorikes? "Studimi" perbehet nga nje konglomerat idesh e frazash te huazuara nga te tjeret. Kete po e ve ne dukje, sepse nuk kam pare deri me sot ne ndonje artikull gazete te permbaje 190 rreshta me citate nga autore te tjere dhe me 60 rreshta jashte teme, qe flasin per revolucionin francez, jakobinet, Rusoin, revolucionin rus, Marksin, Leninin etj. pa asnje lidhje me temen. Por, e keqja me e madhe eshte se ne "studim" ka jo pak ide e fraza ilgale te huazuara nga libri im "E drejta zakonore penale e shqiptareve" "botim I vitit 1983), qe nga faqet 4, 8, 15, 70, 72, 73, 74 dhe 170-190 tj. Po ju kujtoj vetem nje fjali: "e drejta e gjakmarrjes se popujve primitive", "qe te freskohet gjaku me gjak" "f.172), pa krahasuar fjalite e frazat e tjera te huazuara. Mesa duket kjo metode eshte pervetesuar mire nga ju Z.Plasari dhe eshte perdorur edhe ne libra e artikuj te tjere, prandaj jeni akuzuar si vjedhes profesionist per plagjaturat edhe ne gazeten "Albania" date 11 tetor 2003. Me miell hua nuk mbahet shtepia- thote populli. Jo vetem se huazoni nga libri im, por me keqdashje edhe kritikoni tre citate me permbajtje politike e ideologjike te tij. Kushdo e di dhe e kupton se gjate regjimit te kaluar nuk mund te botoje pa citate me permbajtje politike e ideologjike, derisa politika dhe ideologjia ishin sunduese. Besoj se edhe juve si student kini dhene provim ne marksizem-leninizem. Une vete ne parathenien e librit: "Vrasjet per hakmarrje dhe gjakmarrje ne Shqiperi" "2000), kam pranuar nevojen e rivleresimit te pikepamjeve dhe mendimeve te autoreve vendas e te huaj, perfshire botimet e vete autorit te ketij punimi" "f.4) kam reflektuar me kohe per te pastruar teprimet. Megjithate, une mbroj idete e mia dhe nuk heq asnje presje pikepamjeve e argumenteve shkencore qe permban libri, i cili eshte vleresuar lart, ka marre cmimin e Republikes te shkalles II, sidhe nga recensionet e Botuara ne shtyp nga personalitete shkencore. Ndonese kritikon pikepamjet ideologjike, vete kini pranuar tezen materialiste te librit se "vetgjyqesia e armatosur nuk mund te kuptohet as nga vetvetja, as nga i ashtuquajturi "zhvillim i pergjithshem I shpirtit njerezor", vetgjyqesia eshte nje dukuri qe i ka rrenjet ne marredheniet materiale e jetes". Kjo fraze eshte kopjuar nga libri, vecse ne vend te termit gjakmarrje eshte zevendesuar me vetgjyqesi te armatosur. Ndaj cdo autori paraqiten, vec te tjerash, dy kerkesa themelore: etika morale dhe objektiviteti shkencor. Pikerisht nga keto vuan edhe studimi ne fjale dhe zevendesohen me shtremberime te fakteve. Ja disa prej tyre: 1. Ne "studim" thuhet se lufta kunder gjakmarrjes ishte e gjithanshme kunder kanunit. Kjo nuk eshte aspak e vertete, por shtremberim i se vertetes. Lufta kunder koncepteve patriarkale-fisnore qe kerkonin te mbanin gjalle gjakmarrjen, kurre nuk eshte shtrire kunder krejt kanunit. Gjate regjimit te kaluar jane luftuar anet negative "per te cilat flet edhe Fishta) si gjakmarrja, mosbarazia e gruas etj) por jo vlerat e medha te kanunit. Per kete deshmojne shume fakte, si trajtimi qe iu be kanunit ne Konferencen e dyte albanologjike, ne Konferencen kombetare te Etnografise dhe ne botimet e kohes. Ne librin tim "E drejta zakonore penale e shqiptareve" thuhet: "Meritat e Gjecovit jane te medha, duke i dhene popullit te vet dhe shkences shqiptare nje monument kulture shume te cmuar" "E drejta zakonore shqiptare eshte deshmi tjeter e gjalle, krahas gjuhes shqipe dhe gjithe kultures materiale e shpirterore, qe verteton autoktnine dhe individualitetin e popullit shqiptar" "f.6). "Shkenca juridike shqiptare nuk pajtohet as edhe me pikepamjet, sipas te cilave kanunet kane karakter reaksionar dhe nuk duhen shikuar me sy" "f.8) etj. Qe ketej rezulton se sa te paverteta jane deklarimet e z.Plasari. 2. Autori i "studimit" pretendon se ne te kaluaren moniste nuk lejoheshin botimet per kanunet. Edhe kjo deklarate eshte pa baza. Mjafton te permendim botimet e Rrok Zojzit, te Emid Tedeskinit, Vangjel Meksit, Kahreman Ulqinit, Pal Docit, Shefqet Hoxhes, te autorit te ketij shkrimi, sidhe botimi ne "Drejtesia Popullore" te Kanunit te autorit anonim 1868, e sa e sa te tjera. Botimet nuk ndaloheshin, por do deshironim te ishin me shume. 3. Z. Plasari shpreh urrejtje te shfrenuar kunder Luftes Antifashiste Nacionalclirimtare te popullit shqiptar dhe nuk thote asnje fjale kunder fashizmit qe pushtoi Shqiperine. Kete as ju Z. Plasari nuk kini te drejte ta beni, derisa e dini qe edhe mjaft bashkekombes tuaj kane qene figura te njohura te luftes clirimtare. Mirepo derisa Z.Plasari mohon kombesine shqiptare te Nene Terezes, nuk e ka per gje te mohoje gjakun e deshmoreve dhe sakrificat e partizaneve trima. Ky eshte militantizem i verber partiak. Ne lidhje me gjakmarrjen, Z.Plasari shtremberon te verteten historike te periudhes se luftes, kur thote se ka sunduar kulti i dhunes. Faktet flasin ndryshe. Rezolucioni i Konferences se Pezes "16 shtator 1942) parashikonte "te pajtojme gjaqet". Rregullorja e Keshillave Nacionalclirimtare "1943) thote: "Te luftojme me energji gjakmarrjen, duke i shpjeguar me kohe popullit se nje pune e tille i sherben okupatorit dhe eshte ne dem te popullit". Vec ketyre, nga Jugu ne Veri, u bene beselidhje kunder gjakmarrjes. Rol te madh luajten edhe partizanet e organizatat antifashiste me nje pune te madh edukative, pa perjashtuar edhe perdorimin e dhunes. Si rezultat ne zonat e cliruara u pakesuan shume vrasjet. Ne vitin 1944 u kryen vetem 7 vrasje per gjakmarrje. Perdorimi dhunes ishte ne plan te pare kunder kundershtareve politike, po kunder gjakmarrjes nuk ka qene mjeti kryesor as gjate regjimit monist. Qysh ne vitin 1946 u krijuan Komisionet e Pajtimit, qe luajten nje rol te madh ne pajtimin e hasmerive dhe parandalimin e gjakmarrjes. Keshillat popullore, organizatat shoqerore, shtypi, radio dhe opinioni publik vepruan kunder gjakmarrjes, pervec faktoreve te tjere. Rezultatet ishin se ne vitet 1945-1955 u kryen 152 vrasje gjithsej, nga te cilat 13% per gjakmarrje e hakmarrje. Me 1956-1960 - 11% per gjakmarrje e hakmarrje. Me 1960-1990 u zhduken krejt. Mbi keto baza e argumente mund te nxirren perfundime te sakta dhe jo me fraza te pakuptimta se shteti ne te kaluaren "vetem sa e ndrydhi, e mbuloi perdhunshem ose e tjetersoi". Natyrisht, kunder gjakmarrjes luajti rolin e vet edhe legjislacioni penal, qe e parashikonte si vrasje te cilesuar si dhe tere praktika gjyqesore, por kurrsesi nuk mund te thuhet se kulti i dhunes ishte kryesori kunder gjakmarrjes ne te kaluaren. 4. Persa u takon shkaqeve te vrasjeve per gjakmarrje ne regjimet e meparshme, une kam bere analizen e tyre dhe sintezen, pavaresisht nese I pelqejne ose jo Z.Plasari. Mjafton te kujtojme vrasjet me pagese nga te pasurit per te marre gjakun ne te kaluaren, apo rolin percares te fashizmit, per te qartesuar se ato qe jane thene nuk jane retorika, por fakte te pamohueshme. 5. Nje falsifikim trashanik i Z.Plasari verehet ne paraqitjen e bibliografise, dukedhene 44 autore. Ne realitet per 17 autore, te marre nga libri im, eshte dhene vetem emertimi i tyre dhe i vepres se tyre, pa asnje reference brenda studimit. Kjo behet me qellim per te kujtuar te tjeret se ka shfrytezuar shume libra si drejtor biblioteke. Ne bibliografi u referohet librave te shekullit te kaluar dhe asnje burimi te tanishem, si psh. "Vrasjet per hakmarrje e gjakmarrje" "2000), botimit te Konferences Kombetare per gjakmarrjen, organizuar nga Avokati i Popullit dhe Fondacioni per Zgjidhjen e konflikteve dhe Pajtimin e mosmarreveshjeve me titull: "E drejta e jetes, e drejte universale" "2002). 6. Konkluzionet e "studimit" jane thjesht ritransmetim i mendimeve te Mjedes, te Fishtes, te Valentinit te shekullit te kaluar, pa lidhje me realitetin e sotem. Autori flet per pershtatje te kanunit ne ligjet e sotme, pa mbajtur parasysh se Republika e Shqiperise ka nje Kushtetute demokratike, ka ligje bashkekohore, duke perfshire edhe institute te se drejtes zakonore, sidomos ndermjetesimin e pajtimin, si ne Kodet e Procedures Penale, Civile, ne ligjin e posacem "8465) 1999. Shoqeria shqiptare kerkon qe studimet e bera per probleme sociale t'I sherbejne teorise e praktikes, t'i pergjigjen realitetit objektiv. Vertet demokracia pluraliste garanton lirine e mendimit e te shprehjes. Por me shqeteson shume pirateria kulturore, ne te gjithe sektoret, te cilen shteti ka per detyre ta frenoje. Po te mendoja vetem si jurist, mund te ndiqja edhe rrugen ligjore per kopjimet, por gjykoj si njeri e intelektual, duke e keshilluar Z. Plasari te heqe dore nga keto praktika dhe te kerkoje falje publikisht, se kjo e larteson. --------------------------------- Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From aalibali at yahoo.com Sun Nov 30 09:06:22 2003 From: aalibali at yahoo.com (Agron Alibali) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2003 06:06:22 -0800 (PST) Subject: [ALBSA-Info] Fwd: [balkans] CfA: Conference: Minority Protection and the EU: The Way Forward Message-ID: <20031130140622.20394.qmail@web11508.mail.yahoo.com> > > Minority Protection and the EU > The Way Forward > Conference > 30 and 31 January 2004 > European Academy Bolzano/Bozen > > At the end of January 2004 - that is, four months > before Eastern Enlargement becomes a fait accompli - > a dozen experts in the area of European integration > and minority protection will present their ideas in > the capital of South Tyrol about how the enlarged > Union should approach the countless minorities > living on its substantially enlarged territory. > The ???respect for and protection of minorities??? > has been one of the prominent EU-imposed Copenhagen > criteria which the candidate countries have had to > fulfill in the last decade. Various pre-accession > instruments have served to streamline candidates' > attitude vis-??-vis their minorities. In the EU???s > internal sphere, however, this topic has remained > very much a non-topic. Will minority protection > vanish from the EU-scene once the candidate states > acquire full EU membership? > This conference brings experts, NGO representatives > and politicians together in order to raise and > discuss the question of how the importance of the > integration and protection of minorities (which is > acknowledged at the political level) could be > transformed into concrete legal instruments inside > the framework of the newly-enlarged and re-designed > European Union. > > The conference bases on a project called PECEDE > (Platform for an Enriching Culturally and Ethnically > Diverse Europe) which is co-sponsored by the > European Commission and the Open Society Institute. > The project is run in cooperation with the Local > Government and Public Service Initiative (LGI, > Budapest, Petra Kovacs), and the European Academy > Bolzano (EURAC). The latter provided the European > Commission in 1998 with a bundle of proposals for EU > involvement in the area of diversity and minorities > ??? the so-called ???Package for Europe???). The > conference proceedings will be published in June > 2004. Project Manager is Gabriel N. Toggenburg. > > The conference consists of eight concise key > contributions. All speakers will make suggestions > from their respective fields of expertise. Each of > these contributions will be commented on by a > relevant expert in the field (a discussant). Each > session will be followed by a short discussion in > plenum. Participation is open to everybody as long > as space is available. > > The conference takes place in the new Convention > Centre of the European Academy. Contacts: EURAC > Convention Centre Viale Druso 1/Drususstrasse 1 > I-39100 Bolzano/Bozen > > Participation in the conference is free. However, > space is limited. Please do, therefore, register in > due time ??? at the latest, before the end of > December via email, phone or fax: Mr. Robert Asanger > Tel: 0039 0471 055 201 Fax: 0039 0471 055 099 Email: > Robert.Asanger at eurac.edu > > Details are displayed under the following link: > http://www.eurac.edu/Org/Minorities/workshop.htm > > Antonija Petricusic > > Minorities and Autonomies > __________________________ > EURAC research > Viale Druso/Drususallee 1 > I-39100 Bolzano/Bozen > Italy > > Tel: +39 0471 055225 > Fax: +39 0471 055299 > Email: apetricusic at eurac.edu > Website: www.eurac.edu/miris > > > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now http://companion.yahoo.com/ From mentor at alb-net.com Tue Nov 11 12:07:04 2003 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 17:07:04 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] [Kcc-News] Petition for Kosova Missing Persons Inquiry Message-ID: --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kosova Crisis Center (KCC) News: http://www.alb-net.com/index.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- WE ARE ALL MISSING THEM Petition text Link: http://www.kan-ks.org/index1.html Sign it at: http://www.kan-ks.org/cgi-bin/gb1/guestbook.cgi?action=add Coordinating Council of Family Associations of the Hostages, Missing and families with war victims (KKAF), and the network of activists Kosova Action Network (KAN) consider that: Four years after the war in Kosova, the fate of over 3.500 persons who were kidnapped and kept hostage remains unknown. Families of the missing have the right to know about their loved ones. Revelation of the truth is needed urgently. The conflict is not over until what has happened to them is disclosed and justice is implemented. Until now, there were no arrests, accusations or sentences concerning this issue. Why from out of over 900 bodies found in mass graves in Serbia since the spring of 2001, only 153 of them have been returned to Kosova?! The Government of Serbia was in the past responsible for committing the crimes and nowadays it is responsible for concealing the truth. This Government does not open dossiers and leaves criminals walking around free. UNMIK has not produce any results, even though it is able to do so and is the responsible authority. Inhuman and groundless delay in returning the bodies is a violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention, which states that the disappearance and keeping secret the evidence about the location of war hostages is a form of psychological torture to families who are in a state of emotional strain and anxiety. The crime perpetrated towards those same families continues. By not seeking and restoring justice for its citizens, UNMIK has also breached many articles and protocols of the International Convention for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) towards victims and their families. UNMIK as a peace mission can only create peace if it implements justice. Our main objective is justice and should, by all means, be upheld by those who govern our country and represent us. Solution of this criminal situation includes return of hundreds of exhumed bodies from mass graves in Serbia and bringing to light the fate of over 3.500 Kosovar citizens, with no ethnic, religious or racial discrimination. This should be of the highest priority which cannot wait any longer. Taking into consideration all these facts, we, the above-mentioned, are organizing collection of signatures for the following: PETITION that is addressed to the: - Secretary General of the UN, Mr. Kofi Annan - U.S. Secretary of State, Mr.Colin Powell - Commissionner in charge of European Commission External Relations, Mr.Chris Patten - EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Mr.Javier Solana - Special Representative of the Secretary General of UN, Mr. Harri Holkeri - Assembly, Government, and President of Kosova and with which we demand: 1. Uncovering of the facts about the fate of Kosova kidnapped citizens and their return to Kosova. We ask that international aid and loans to Serbia be conditional upon the opening and publication of police and military dossiers. We also demand UNMIK should open the dossiers and initiate legal proceedings. 2. Return to Kosova of about 800 bodies exhumed from mass graves in Serbia by 24th March 2004. We request forensic evidence for more than 900 bodies to be submited to Kosova authorities and all further proceedure to be promulgated in Kosova. 3. An independent investigator to inquire into all issues related to the transportation and exhumation of these corpses and to initiate the conduct of the legal prosecution of these crimes. 4. The return of corpses and opening of dossiers, as a non-negotiable and non-technical issue, to serve as a priority prerequisite in all future talks between Kosova and Serbia, whenever they take place and regardless of whom will they be chaired and/or conducted by. KKAF Sheremet Ademi Nesrete Kumnova KAN Linda Gusia Albin Kurti ______________________________________________________________ If you wish to unsubscribe, send a blank message to: kcc-news-unsubscribe at alb-net.com , or visit KCC-NEWS's page at: http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/kcc-news From mentor at alb-net.com Sun Nov 16 12:29:57 2003 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Albanians-Today News and Information) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2003 17:29:57 -0000 Subject: [ALBSA-Info] [Albanians-Today] Greece: Immigrantion control-Human rights abuses against Albanians Message-ID: --------------------------------------------------------------------- Albanians-Today News and Information: http://www.alb-net.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engeur250082003 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL Public Statement AI Index: EUR 25/008/2003 (Public) News Service No: 259 14 November 2003 Greece: Immigrantion control-Human rights abuses against Albanians Amnesty International is concerned by a persisting pattern of ill-treatment of Albanians suspected of being undocumented immigrants by Greek police officers and soldiers. Shpetim Shabani (28) from Lushnja district in Albania, who says that he was legally in Greece, was arrested on 10 November in the town of Agrinio. In a statement to Albanian border police on 12 November, he alleged that three Greek police officers, dressed in camouflage uniforms, entered the bar where he was drinking coffee, asked to see his papers, and then, in public view beat him with their guns, kicked and punched him. He was then taken to a police station, where he was held for two days, before being forcibly returned to Albania. Three days later, the bruises on his body were still reportedly visible, and his left shoulder was very painful. Two other men gave written statements to the Albanian police alleging ill-treatment. Albert Prifti, from Kucova district, and Vetiak Mane from Lushnja district, alleged that they were beaten by border guards or soldiers on border duties, after being arrested as they attempted clandestinely to enter Greece on foot. Another young man, Lisian Telhaj, also from Lushnja district, who claimed to be legally employed in Athens, told journalists that he too had been beaten by police after his arrest near the Greek-Albanian border. These incidents follow upon the tragic death in September of Vullnet Bytyci (18) from Has district in Albania, about whom Amnesty International wrote earlier to the Greek authorities. He was fatally shot by a Greek border guard on the evening of 23 September 2003 while attempting to enter Greece clandestinely. He was not armed. According to press reports, the guard was arrested but released several days later pending investigation on a charge of "reckless homicide". In the same letter, Amnesty International raised six other cases said to have taken place in the week from 15 to 22 September 2003 involving Albanian citizens who alleged that they had been brutally beaten by border-guards after being arrested. One of these, Gori Halili (46) from Elbasan district, who had been working in the village of Kalithea, alleged that he was beaten, kicked and robbed by guards serving on the Greek-Albanian border near Krystallopigi, before being returned to Albania. On his return he was admitted to hospital where he was found to have suffered a ruptured spleen, and had to undergo an operation for its removal. Another man, Rrahman Pashollari, who alleged that he had been similarly detained and ill-treated by border guards, sustained a fractured rib. At least two further such incidents have been reported in October and early November. Amnesty International has called on the Greek authorities to instruct police and soldiers on border guard duties to limit the use of firearms to situations involving imminent threat of death or serious injury, in line with international standards. It emphasized that torture and ill-treatment are absolutely prohibited by international human rights treaties ratified by Greece and by Greek domestic law. The organisation calls for all such incidents and allegations of ill-treatment to be promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigated, and for those responsible to be brought to justice, and the victims granted compensation. ______________________________________________________________ If you wish to unsubscribe, send a blank message to: albanians-today-unsubscribe at alb-net.com , or visit Albanians-Today's page at: http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/albanians-today