From besnik at alb-net.com Mon Nov 15 22:36:40 1999 From: besnik at alb-net.com (Besnik Pula) Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 22:36:40 -0500 Subject: [ALST-L] Prishtina National Library will receive aid Message-ID: http://www.usia.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=99 111208.wlt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml 12 November 1999 Text: First Internet Information Center Opening in Kosovo (Private\public partnership to provide access, training) (810) The first of seven Internet information centers in Kosovo is scheduled to open this week in Ferizaj "and will serve as a technology and media training facility, providing Kosovars with free Internet access," according to a State Department announcement November 12. Several private firms teamed up in a private/public partnership with the State Department, the International Organization for Migration, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to establish the centers. The Kosovo Information Assistance Initiative will be headquartered in the Pristina National and University Library. There will be six regional centers: in Ferizaj, Gjakova, Prizren, Peje, Gjilan, and Mitrovica. Following is the text of the notice to the press: (begin text) U.S. Department of State Office of the Spokesman Press Statement Notice to the Press November 12, 1999 THE FIRST INTERNET INFORMATION ASSISTANCE CENTER TO OPEN THIS WEEK IN FERIZAJ, KOSOVO The U.S. Department of State Office of International Information Programs, the International Organization for Migration and USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives have formed an innovative public/private partnership to establish seven Internet information centers in Kosovo. The first of the seven centers is scheduled to open this week in Ferizaj and will serve as a technology and media training facility, providing Kosovars with free Internet access. The initial phase of the project will focus on the construction of the centers, hiring and training of local staff, and establishment of local and wide area networks to provide internet connectivity. The Kosovo Information Assistance Initiative will be headquartered in the Pristina National and University Library in downtown Pristina. There will be six regional centers established in the cities of Ferizaj, Gjakova, Prizren, Peje, Gjilan, and Mitrovica. All of the centers are centrally located and open to the general public. The Pristina National and University Library will be transformed into a state-of-the-art technology and information center. The center will include a "virtual" on-line library, US$1 million in book donations, a special children's learning center, a cyber-cafe and several other community information projects. The goal of this effort in Kosovo is to establish Pristina, with its National and University Library, as the "Information Center" in Kosovo - a lively environment where all Kosovars can come to learn about their history, prepare for their future, surf the net and develop the necessary skills to rebuild civil society. The Director of the Pristina National and University Library, Mr. Mehmet Gerguri, will be visiting the United States at the end of November as part of the U.S. Department of State International Visitors Program. While in the U.S., Mr. Gerguri will learn about community programming as he visits some of the country's most renowned public libraries in Washington, D.C., Chicago and New York. He will receive instruction from technologists and specialists in the field of Library Sciences and observe the latest in preservation techniques. As the project progresses, each regional center will be able to develop and implement its own unique programs tailored to meet the specific needs of each community. Through the State Department's Global Technology Corps, the Office of International Information Programs will continue to support the centers by providing government and private-sector speakers who will conduct seminars and interactive training in areas such as: computer-based languages and applications, journalism, media and e-commerce. The organizations taking the lead in this partnership include Adobe Systems, Inc., Apple Computer, Inc., Autometric, Inc., The Brother's Brother Foundation, Canon Computer Systems, Inc., Cisco Systems, Inc., The David Sarnoff Corporation, The Document Company Xerox, Gateway and the Waitt Family Foundation, Hewlett-Packard Company, IDG Books Worldwide, Inc., The Internet Society, 3M, The Markle Foundation, MVS/USA, Northwest Airlines, REAL Software, Riso, Inc., RPO Vienna (STATE), The Sabre Foundation, Inc., Scholastic Inc., Silicon Graphics, Inc., State Department Educational and Cultural Affairs and Surf Watch Software. This partnership will deliver hardware, software, connectivity, technical assistance, training and financial support. The contributions from the private sector highlight the important role that U.S. companies can play in the reconstruction of Kosovo. "Bringing modern technology to Kosovo through the Kosovo Information Assistance Initiative is one of the great ways that the information technology community can help the relief effort. This public/private partnership is an important step forward in our effort to help the Kosovars," said Gateway Chairman and CEO Ted Waitt. Journalists interested in further information on the Kosovo Information Assistance Initiative should contact one of the following individuals: -- Mary Thomas, Office of Press Outreach, thomasm at panet.us-state.gov (202) 647-3455 -- Nancy Ozeas, Office of International Information Programs, nozeas at usia.gov (202) 619-6340 (end text) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State) From hetzer at uni-bremen.de Wed Nov 17 05:56:28 1999 From: hetzer at uni-bremen.de (AHetzer) Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 11:56:28 +0100 Subject: [ALST-L] Uniunea albanezilor din Romania Message-ID: <383289DC.F11E3E22@uni-bremen.de> Several weeks ago, someone asked about the Union of Albanians in Romania. Now, I have got some information, and I would like to submit it to the list for fair use only. Kind regards AHetzer Quote Uniunea Culturala a Albanezilor din Romania permbledh nje numur te kufizuar burrash e grash te moshuara, te cilet ose e kane harruar gjuhen e te pareve, ose nuk e kane mesuar kurre ate. ... Ne Parlamentin Rumun eshte zgjedhur si perfaqesuese e shqiptareve te Rumanise nje rumune e mirefillte, qe pretendon se ka nje dell shqiptari dhe e cila ka marredhenie shume te keqia me XYZ. Arsyet e ketij konflikti mund te merren lehte me mend. Unioni, fale financimit bujar te shtetit rumun, boton heraheres vepra te shkruara ne gjirin e familjes Macsutovici, si dhe nje gazete, "Albanezul" (Shqiptari), qe del nje here ne muaj dhe qe ka shqiptar vetem emertimin, sepse shumica derrmuese e materialeve botohen ne rumanisht. Adresa e Unionit eshte: Strada Walter Maracineanu 1-3, Sector 1, Et. 3, camera 264, Bucuresti / Romania, kurse telefoni: + 401 315.46.62. Unquote -- Staats- und Universit?tsbibliothek Bremen Dr. Armin Hetzer, Fax: (0421) 218 2614 Referat Handschriften/Rara, Slavistik & Romanistik From besnik at alb-net.com Wed Nov 17 09:51:48 1999 From: besnik at alb-net.com (Besnik Pula) Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 09:51:48 -0500 Subject: [ALST-L] Fwd: CFP: "Identity and the State: Nationalism and Sovereignty in a Changing World" Message-ID: --- begin forwarded text **REMINDER: ASN 2000 WORLD CONVENTION, SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 9 DECEMBER 1999** Call for Papers "Identity and the State: Nationalism and Sovereignty in a Changing World" ASN 5th Annual World Convention International Affairs Building, Columbia University, NY Sponsored by the Harriman Institute 13-15 April 2000 The Annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN) has become the most attended international scholarly gathering dealing with issues of national identity, nationalism, ethnic conflict and state-building in Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Central Asia, and adjacent areas. The Convention grew in 1999 to a record 500+ attendees and 90 panels. More than 120 panel participants travelled from overseas for the event, particularly, but not exclusively, from Western and Eastern Europe. Panelists' disciplines included political science, history, anthropology, sociology, geography, and sociolinguistics. The central theme of the 2000 Convention will revolve around the questions of nationalism, sovereignty and self-determination. Proposals can focus on particular cases, theoretical questions, or cross-regional comparison (with some of the papers grounded in cases outside of our core area). Due to recent events, papers dealing with the Balkans and the Caucasus are encouraged. Unlike most conventions, ASN accepts individual paper proposals, although full panel proposals have a greater chance of being accepted because of space constraints. The ASN World Convention's yearly theme specifically refers to a core number of panels. As in previous years, the Convention invites proposals on a wide range of topics related to identity, nationalism, conflict and state-building in Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Central Asia, and adjacent areas. Themes in 1999 included Dimensions of Russian Foreign Policy, Social Networks and Corruption, Central Asian Presidents, Jewish Identities, National Dimensions in Ukrainian History, The Making of Macedonians, Language and Identity, Ethnic Violence, The Politics of Memory in the Baltics, The Challenge of Kurdistan, Caspian Geopolitics, Balkan Islam, and many more. The ASN web site (http://picce.uno.edu/asn) contains a complete list of the 1999 panels. Videos/Films. The 1999 Convention was enhanced by the highly successful screening of short videos (10-15 minutes), accompanying presentations in regular panels, as well as medium- and full-length videos or films, as special screenings followed by discussion. For 2000, proposals partly or entirely revolving around video, film, or audio-visual material are strongly encouraged. As in last year, one of the convention rooms will be exclusively devoted to the screening of video material while, depending on submissions, a film screening room may also be used. All suggestions should be sent to the Program Chair, Dominique Arel (address below). Location. As in previous years the Convention will be hosted by the Harriman Institute at Columbia University, New York (address below), and co-sponsored by the Watson Institute, Brown University, Rhode Island. Schedule. The convention will begin on Thursday, April 13th, at 1 PM, and ends Saturday, April 15th in early evening. No panels will be held on Sunday, and the dates do not coincide with the Jewish and Orthodox religious holidays, which all take place later in the month. Panel/Roundtable/Roundtable Proposals. There is no particular application form to fill out. The vast majority of proposals were e-mailed to the Program Chair last year, but proposals sent by fax or regular mail are also accepted. For instructions on the proposals, see the "Application Information" below. All proposals must be sent to the Program Chair, Dominique Arel (address below). Registration. Registration fees are $30 for ASN Members, $50 for Non-Members ($25 for East European Non-Members) and $15 for Students. All panel participants have to register by March 17th, 2000. Pre-registration by panel participants and attendees can be done electronically, by fax, or by regular mail. For information, please contact Gordon Bardos (address below). Funding. Participants are responsible for seeking their own funds to cover all travel and accommodation costs. ASN is unable to assist participants financially, including applicants from Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Central Asia. Accommodation. ASN has a list of several recommended hotels, in various price ranges. For further information, please contact the Convention Director Gordon Bardos (address below). Advertisements/Exhibitors. Several dozen publishers and companies had exhibits and/or advertised in the convention program in 1999. Due to considerations of space, advertisers and exhibitors are encouraged to place their order early. For information, please contact the Convention Director Gordon Bardos (address below). Convention Papers. The convention papers will be available for sale at the Convention for $1 apiece. Web Site. Our web site provides continuously updated information on the ASN World Convention: . Membership Subscription to ASN. A yearly membership to ASN is $45, and $25 for students. Members receive the journal Nationalities Papers (four times a year), the periodicalAnalysis of Current Events (ACE, six times a year), the newsletterASNews (twice a year) and a registration discount at the ASN Annual World Convention. Beginning in 1999, ASN Members will also have the option of subscribing to Europe-Asia Studies at the cut-rate of $52 yearly. Membership forms are available at the ASN head office, c/o Gordon Bardos (see address below), or can be downloaded from our ASN web page. We look forward to seeing you at the convention! Dominique Arel, Program Chair Gordon Bardos, Convention Director Application Information ASN is accepting proposals for panels, roundtables, or individual papers. There is no particular form to fill out. Proposals can be emailed (preferably), faxed or mailed to the Program Chair (address below). Proposals for panels with presentations based on papers must include: oa chair, no more than three paper-givers and a discussant othe title of the panel and of the three papers othe affiliation, postal address, telephone, fax, and email (very important) of all participants oa one-paragraph cv of each participant Proposals for roundtables must include: oa chair and no more than four presentors othe title of the roundtable othe affiliation, postal address, telephone, fax, and email (very important) of all participants oa one-paragraph cv of each participant Proposals for individual papers must include: othe title and a one- or two-paragraph abstract of the paper othe affiliation, postal address, telephone, fax, and email (very important) of the applicant oa one-paragraph cv of each participant If audio-visual equipment is required, please indicate so in your application. As before, applicants must abide by three golden rules: oNo participant may be listed more than once on a given panel oNo participant may present more than one paper at the convention oNo participant may appear more than twice in the convention program The proposals must be sent to Dominique Arel (address below). Email applications are encouraged. Deadline for proposals: 9 December 1999 For information on panel and paper proposals: Dominique Arel ASN Convention Program Chair Watson Institute Brown University, Box 1831 130 Hope St. Providence, RI 02912 401 863 9296 tel 401 863 2192 fax darel at brown.edu For information on exhibits and advertisements in the convention program: Gordon Bardos Convention Director Harriman Institute Columbia University 1216 IAB 420 W. 118th St. New York, NY 10027 212.854.8487 tel 212.666.3481 fax gnb12 at columbia.edu --- end forwarded text From besnik at alb-net.com Wed Nov 17 10:09:23 1999 From: besnik at alb-net.com (Besnik Pula) Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 10:09:23 -0500 Subject: [ALST-L] Fwd: WNG: Position ~ Program Officer: Central & East Europe, NDI (fwd) Message-ID: --- begin forwarded text >Program Officer: Central and Eastern Europe >The National Democratic Institute >Washington, DC > >Background: The Central and East Europe team has programs in 10 countries >and provinces in the region including: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, >Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia >(presently operating in Budapest, Hungary), and Slovakia. Each country >program hosts a variety of components which can include legislative >development, women's participation, political party development, civil >society education and advocacy training, domestic election monitoring, and >youth political leadership. > >Job Summary: The Program Officer for Central and Eastern Europe will manage >one or more country programs with the support of program assistants and >resident representatives in the field. > >Primary Responsibilities: > >? Conducts political assessments, develops assistance programs; >? Designs and writes project proposals and negotiates grant agreements >with NDI funders and subgrantees; >? Works in coordinating with in-country staff to implement programming >activities; >? Manages program staff in Washington and communicates regularly with >in-country staff; >? Recruits and briefs expert trainers; >? Manages project budgets; >? Writes reports for grant makers and for external distribution. > >Qualifications: > >The ideal candidate will have: > >? A minimum of five years experience in international development, >political campaigns, organizational development or legislative affairs; >? Experience overseeing staff and coordinating multiple task and activities; >? Understanding of international organizations, familiarity with >international development work, and overseas experience; >? Bachelor's Degree in a relevant major; a Master's preferred; >? Political knowledge of East Europe, specifically the Balkans; >? Flexibility to work independently and with others; >? Strong writing skills and ability to write under deadline; >? Working knowledge of PC-based word processing and spreadsheets; >? Excellent organizational and interpersonal skills. > >Comments: The program officer will be based in Washington, DC, and work >with a team of 10 Washington-based staff and with 1 to 4 expats in the >region. The salary range is $27,000 to $41,000 depending on experience. >Travel is required in this position. >_____________________________________________________ > >TO APPLY: please see the following website: > >_____________________________________________________ > >IMPORTANT: We are pleased to provide this service to our WNG members and >others; In return, we ask that you please note in your cover message / >letter that you are responding to this Position Available announcement >posted by the Washington Network Group. This helps the WNG build >recognition and take credit for making these announcements available. >_____________________________________________________ > >The Washington Network Group is an independent, non-partisan, networking >group of professionals in business, economics, finance, and foreign >affairs. WNG members are affiliated with Washington area corporate >offices, law, consulting, public relations and information technology >firms, trade associations, think tanks, multilateral institutions, >government agencies, the Congress, foreign embassies, and the media. There >are no regular membership dues or fees. Current membership stands at 1200 >(1050 in the Metro Washington area and more than 150 others in the United >States and abroad). > >For a better sense of WNG demographics, please see our list of new members >at: > >The Group gathers every month or so for WNG Social Networking Events to >meet informally and exchange business cards. In addition, the WNG utilizes >its e-mail listerv to exchange job opportunity announcements, invitations >for special events, and updates on members' recent career moves. We >encourage our members and other organizations to use this service to post >announcements. Please see the WNG website for Posting Guidelines and recent >Testimonials regarding the great success of this service. > >To join the WNG we ask that you please send us the following information: > >? full name >? title and business affiliation >? work address >? telephone and fax numbers >? e-mail address >? website address > >? In addition, we ask that you include a Brief Biographical Background >piece (in either first person or third person voice). Please include >therein a somewhat detailed description of your professional work and >educational background, which includes mention of your current substantive >interests (regional /functional), professional skills, past work >experience, universities attended, language proficiencies, etc. (3-4 >paragraphs in prose; no resumes, please). > >To request joining the WNG membership, please reply to this message or type >to us at: >. > >With every best wish, > >Bill Stokes >Chairman, WNG >_____________________________________________________ > >WNG Board of Advisors: > >David Beaupre, Systems Planning Corp. International > >Liz Burke, Odell, Simms & Associates > >Yusuf Khapra, Net.Capitol, Inc. > > >Bill Stokes, The Merrimack Group, Inc. (Chairman, WNG) > > >The Washington Network Group (TM) can be found at > --- end forwarded text From besnik at alb-net.com Sun Nov 21 00:20:16 1999 From: besnik at alb-net.com (Besnik Pula) Date: Sun, 21 Nov 1999 00:20:16 -0500 Subject: [ALST-L] Reminder: ASN 2000 World Convention Message-ID: **REMINDER: ASN 2000 WORLD CONVENTION, SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 9 DECEMBER 1999** Call for Papers "Identity and the State: Nationalism and Sovereignty in a Changing World" ASN 5th Annual World Convention International Affairs Building, Columbia University, NY Sponsored by the Harriman Institute 13-15 April 2000 The Annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN) has become the most attended international scholarly gathering dealing with issues of national conflict and state-building in Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Central Asia, and adjacent areas. Panelists' disciplines included political science, history, anthropology, sociology, geography, and sociolinguistics. The central theme of the 2000 Convention will revolve around questions of nationalism, sovereignty and self-determination. Proposals can focus on particular cases, theoretical questions, or cross-regional comparison (with some of the papers grounded in cases outside of our core area). Due to recent events, papers dealing with the Balkans and the Caucasus are encouraged. ASN accepts individual paper proposals, although full panel proposals have a greater chance of being accepted due to space constraints. The ASN World Convention's yearly theme specifically refers to a core number of panels. As in previous years, the Convention invites proposals on a wide range of topics related to identity, nationalism, conflict and state-building in Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Central Asia, and adjacent areas. Themes in 1999 included Dimensions of Russian Foreign Policy, Social Networks and Corruption, Central Asian Presidents, Jewish Identities, National Dimensions in Ukrainian History, The Making of Macedonians, Language and Identity, Ethnic Violence, and many more. The ASN web site (http://picce.uno.edu/asn) contains a complete list of the 1999 panels. Videos/Films. Proposals partly or entirely revolving around video, film, or audio-visual material are strongly encouraged. One of the convention rooms will be exclusively devoted to the screening of video material, and a film screening room may also be used. All suggestions should be sent to the Program Chair, Dominique Arel (address below). Location and Schedule. The Convention will be hosted by the Harriman Institute at Columbia University, New York and co-sponsored by the Watson Institute, Brown University, Rhode Island. The Convention will begin on Thursday, April 13th, at 1 PM, and ends Saturday, April 15th in early evening. Registration. Registration fees are $30 for ASN Members, $50 for Non-Members ($25 for East European Non-Members) and $15 for Students. All panel participants must register by March 17th, 2000. Pre-registration by panel participants and attendees can be done by e-mail, fax, or regular mail. For information, please contact Gordon Bardos. Funding. Participants are responsible for seeking their own funds to cover all travel and accommodation costs. ASN is unable to assist any participants financially. Accommodation. Please contact the Convention Director Gordon Bardos for a list of ASN-recommended hotels. Advertisements/Exhibitors. Space for exhibits and/or advertisements by publishers and companies is available in the convention program, but interested parties are encouraged to place their order early. Please contact the Convention Director Gordon Bardos. Web Site. Our web site provides continuously updated information on the ASN World Convention: . Membership Subscription to ASN. A yearly membership to ASN is $45, and $25 for students. Members receive the journal Nationalities Papers (four times a year), the periodical Analysis of Current Events (ACE, six times a year), the newsletter ASNews (twice a year) and a registration discount at the ASN Annual World Convention. Beginning in 1999, ASN Members will also have the option of subscribing to Europe-Asia Studies at the cut-rate of $52 yearly. Membership forms are available at the ASN head office, c/o Gordon Bardos (see address below), or can be downloaded from our ASN web page. We look forward to seeing you at the convention! Dominique Arel, Program Chair Gordon Bardos, Convention Director Application Information ASN is accepting proposals for panels, roundtables, or individual papers. There is no specific form to be filled out. Proposals can be emailed (preferably), faxed or mailed to the Program Chair. Proposals for panels with presentations based on papers must include: a chair, no more than three paper-givers and a discussant; the title of the panel and of the three papers; the affiliation, postal address, telephone, fax, and email (very important) of all participants; a one-paragraph cv of each participant. Proposals for roundtables must include: a chair and no more than four presentors; the title of the roundtable; the affiliation, postal address, telephone, fax, and email (very important) of all participants; a one-paragraph cv of each participant. Proposals for individual papers must include: the title and a one- or two-paragraph abstract of the paper; the affiliation, postal address, telephone, fax, and email (very important) of the applicant; a one-paragraph cv of each participant. If audio-visual equipment is required, please indicate so in your application. Please note that no participant may be listed more than once on a given panel, no participant may present more than one paper at the convention, and no participant may appear more than twice in the convention program The proposals must be sent to Dominique Arel no later than 9 DECEMBER 1999. Email applications are encouraged. For information on panel and paper proposals: Dominique Arel, ASN Convention Program Chair Watson Institute Brown University, Box 1831 130 Hope St. Providence, RI 02912 401 863 9296 tel 401 863 2192 fax darel at brown.edu For information on exhibits and advertisements in the convention program: Gordon Bardos, Convention Director Harriman Institute Columbia University 1216 IAB 420 W. 118th St. New York, NY 10027 212.854.8487 tel 212.666.3481 fax gnb12 at columbia.edu From besnik at alb-net.com Mon Nov 22 01:10:30 1999 From: besnik at alb-net.com (Besnik Pula) Date: Mon, 22 Nov 1999 01:10:30 -0500 Subject: [ALST-L] Fwd: Noel Malcolm on The Sunday Telegraph Message-ID: --- begin forwarded text Date: Sun, 21 Nov 1999 18:27:39 -0800 (PST) From: Agron Alibali Subject: ALBSA: Noel Malcolm on The Sunday Telegraph SUNDAY TELEGRAPH(LONDON) November 21, 1999, Sunday Pg. 17 Books: Who is to blame for the Balkans? Noel Malcolm on an inconsistent attempt to write a history of a complex region By NOEL MALCOLM The Balkans 1804-1999: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers by Misha Glenny Granta, pounds 25, 726 pp pounds 23 (free p&p) 0541 557222 AMONG OLD Balkan hands, Misha Glenny rejoices in the nickname "Misha Gloomy" - not because he is a particularly saturnine character, but because he has spent much of the last decade predict ing disasters that never happened. Almost since the day Macedonia became independent he has been warning of its imminent collapse, a development which stubbornly refuses to take place. During the Bosnian war he insisted that any Nato action against the Serbs would lead to a wider Balkan war; when Nato finally acted, the Bosnian war ended and no wider conflict began. In March 1995 he solemnly warned Croatia that "the Krajina Serbs are no pushover"; within a few months, those Serb forces fled overnight in the face of a Croatian advance. A book by Glenny on the future of the Balkans would be, I think it is fair to say, a dubious proposition. On the other hand, Glenny on the present is often worth reading: he writes well, putting to good use the skills of atmospheric description and epigrammatic summary which he acquired as a BBC radio reporter. But what about Glenny on the past? In his new book, The Balkans 1804-1999, he has taken on a peculiarly challenging task. Few historians in the world have all the necessary skills, linguistic and analytical, to write a combined history of Romania, the former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece and (to some extent) Turkey. The classic modern textbook, by Barbara Jelavich, takes nearly 900 pages to cover the period 1700-1981; yet its treatment of some key issues still seems skimpy, and it tends to reproduce the standard interpretations found in other textbooks. A more recent work, by Stevan Pavlowitch, covers the years 1804-1945 in fewer than 400 pages; but the writing is pedestrian, and the author, an Emeritus Professor, perversely boasts of his failure to consult original documents ("I have not gone to the archives"). Misha Glenny has not gone to the archives either, and although he has given himself more than 700 pages for the period since 1804, his coverage of the material is patchy. His linguistic skills seem somewhat over-ex tended: words from Balkan languages, which appear with ostentatious frequency in this book, are often slightly garbled, and many names are misspelled or inconsistently presented. Major episodes such as the great Bosnian revolt of 1831, or Mussolini's invasion of Albania in 1939, are passed over in silence; the internal political histories of Greece and Romania are treated only sporadically; there is little about the military history of the Second World War; and, surprisingly for a book updated at the last minute to include details of Kosovo in 1999, the treatment of that region is particularly thin, saying nothing at all about what happened there in the crucial period between 1912 and the 1950s. But then, as he explains in his Introduction, Glenny has not set out to write a comprehensive textbook. Rather, his aim is to highlight those episodes which have, in his view, "played a significant role in the shaping of the region". This book has been written to present a thesis, an idea. The thesis is that the Balkans have become a trouble-spot mainly because of outside interference; so the popular stereotype, which sees the Balkans as a permanent problem to which outsiders are sometimes forced to apply solutions, has got things exactly the wrong way round. At least, I think that is the thesis, because it is what Glenny says when summing up at the end of the book. Earlier, however, he makes a completely different claim, arguing that "the most common cause of war in the Balkans" has been competition between "nascent national groups" in the power vacuum left by a "retreating authority" - which implies that the trouble may be home-grown after all, and that the outsiders might be blamed more for retreating than for advancing. A quick survey of Balkan conflicts during the last 200 years would show that some wars were indeed home-grown, and others imposed from outside. This obvious truth comes across quite clearly in Glenny's account, indicating that his thesis can be applied only selectively. And yet the thesis, though seldom directly expressed, sets the tone of the whole book: the people of the Balkans often seem curiously passive creatures here, their destiny determined by others. So, for example, the political process by which Slovenes, Croats and Serbs came together to declare their own state in November 1918 is not discussed, and the declaration of Albanian independence six years earlier is completely ignored: both states, it seems, were just created at the whim of outsiders. More troublingly, Glen ny's brief summary of the Bosnian war says almost no thing about Milosevic's ac tive role, both in preparing the conflict and in committing his own armed forces to the "ethnic cleansing" campaign. As for Kosovo in 1999, it is perhaps predictable that Glenny should portray Milosevic as the passive victim here, but his bland statement that the Yugoslav leader responded by "directing hundreds of thousands of refugees into Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro" strikes me as painfully inadequate in its choice of verb, rather as if a mass of people who just happened to have left their homes had been given assistance by traffic policemen. If Glenny's political judgment is not always reliable, he should at least receive credit for emphasising that conflicts in the Balkans do have political causes, and are not just upwellings of congenital violence. His finger-wagging at those Westerners who have talked about a "Balkan mentality" and have portrayed the region as a place of permanent murder and mayhem is a useful corrective to many previous writings (includ ing, it must be said, some of his own). And yet one cannot help noticing that when his narrative pauses to give special attention to a particular event or episode, again and again it is murder and mayhem on which he has chosen so lovingly to focus - assassinatory conspiracies in Bosnia, mass-murder in Smyrna, the shooting of Radic in the Belgrade parliament, the annihilation of Jews in the Second World War, and so on. Some of these events were the product of external forces, some of internal. What they have in common, therefore, is not that they prove or disprove his thesis, but that they tend to reinforce the very stereotype against which he so passionately warns his readers. Noel Malcolm is the author of 'Kosovo: A Short History' and 'Bosnia: A Short History' (Macmillan). --- end forwarded text From besnik at alb-net.com Mon Nov 22 01:15:41 1999 From: besnik at alb-net.com (Besnik Pula) Date: Mon, 22 Nov 1999 01:15:41 -0500 Subject: [ALST-L] Fwd: Conference Announcement Message-ID: --- begin forwarded text THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM CENTRE FOR BYZANTINE, OTTOMAN & MODERN GREEK STUDIES ANNOUNCEMENT OF AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON GREECE AND THE BALKANS: CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS SINCE THE ENLIGHTENMENT The Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman & Modern Greek Studies is organising an international conference on "Greece and the Balkans: Cultural encounters since the Enlightenment" to be held in Birmingham from 28th to 30th June, 2001. The conference will focus on cultural interaction between Greece and other Balkan countries in recent centuries and scholars from Greece, Europe and USA have already agreed to participate. It will cover cultural contact and exchanges in the fields of literature, language, religion, music, folk culture, architecture, thought and film from the eighteenth century onwards. Papers on earlier periods will also be considered. The aim is to explore and compare patterns of cultural exchange over the years and to address the wider question as to whether Greece can best be described as a European, Balkan or East Mediterranean country. The conference will also seek to explore perceptions of Greece and Greek culture by other Balkan peoples and the use of Greek history and culture in Balkan literature and the other arts. The conference aims to highlight the Balkans as an area of rich cultural interaction and to counteract the image of its inhabitants as the troublemakers of Europe. Those who are interested in presenting a paper to the conference should submit a topic and an abstract of 300 words by the end of April 2000. The papers will be in English and should not exceed 30 minutes. The organisers of the conference will provide accommodation and subsistence to the speakers during the conference, but they are encouraged to approach their own institutions for travel expenses. In the case of speakers with no institutional affiliation, efforts will be made by the conference organisers to cover at least part of those expenses. Topics and abstracts should be sent to: Professor Dimitris Tziovas, Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT. U.K. Fax: 0044-121-4146866, Tel: 0044-121-4145769, E-mail: d.p.tziova- at bham.ac.uk. Enquiries concerning the conference should also be addressed to him. Professor Dimitris Tziovas Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman & Modern Greek Studies University of Birmingham Birmingham B15 2TT U.K. Tel: 0044-121-4145769 Fax: 0044-121-4146866 E-mail: D.p. tziova- at bham.ac.uk --- end forwarded text From shqip at ath.forthnet.gr Mon Nov 22 05:29:56 1999 From: shqip at ath.forthnet.gr (Gazmens Kapllani) Date: Mon, 22 Nov 1999 12:29:56 +0200 Subject: [ALST-L] Fw: Mbi artikullin e LaTimes Message-ID: <199911221032.MAA24259@forthnet.gr> ---------- > ??? (From): Gazmens Kapllani < shqip@ ath. forthnet.gr> > ???? (To): ALBANIAN at LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU > ???? (Subject): Mbi artikullin e LaTimes > ?????????? (Date): ???????, 22 ????????? 1999 3:23 ?? > > Pa dashur te behem grafik dhe harresa t'i paraprije aktualitetit jam i > detyruar te them se artikulli i LaTimes mbi dhunen e ushtruar nga disa > ekstremiste qe e konsiderojne vetvehten me te drejta me te plota mbi kombin > se sa te tjere....eshte nje vertetim i analizes se Veton Surroit ne Kohen > Ditore (interviste e cila u sulmua ne menyre aq Gebeliane) se dhuna e > orkestruar sot mund te drejtohet kunder serbeve dhe kombesive te tjera (dhe > ebrejve!) por neser pasi ata TE TJERET te jene zhdukur duhen shpikur TE > TJERE te brendshem...cfare do bejme pa barbare? Prandaj edhe dhuna duhet > ngahere denuar...sidomos nga ata qe kane qene viktima te saj...sepse pas > dhunes "zene prite" gjithmone tregtare te urrejtjes ndaj TJETRIT...TJETRI > sot eshte i huaj (Serb, cigan, ebre, turk...) neser ata qe do ta > sistematizojne dhe ndoshta institucionalizojne dhunen do shpikin edhe > TJETRIN e brendshem (shqiptare tradhtare, jo dhe aq shqiptare, a-patriotik > etj.,)...Sepse tregtaret e dhunes jane perfaqesuesit e fajesimit te cdo > mendimi kritik...me pak fjale perfaqesues te cdo lloj > "totalitarizmi"...qofte ai fetar, komunist apo nacionalist....dhe > Shqiptaret e jetuan kete per 50 vjet...do ishte mekat t'a rijetojne > shqiptaret e Kosoves serish...nen nje maske te re... > From nita_london at hotmail.com Mon Nov 22 17:12:17 1999 From: nita_london at hotmail.com (Nita Luci) Date: Mon, 22 Nov 1999 14:12:17 PST Subject: [ALST-L] Newsletter Website: Social Sciences in Eastern Europe Message-ID: <19991122221218.13800.qmail@hotmail.com> The November 16 issue of the Scout Report for Social Sciences has provided a pointer to an outstanding source of information. As noted below, the German Social Science Infrastructure Services (GESIS) publishes a quarterly news-letter called "Social Sciences in Eastern Eruope". The first website in the profile takes you to the index of all issues, which are available in both pdf (recent issues) and html (all issues). The second website provides the pdf version of the September 1999 issue of the newsletter. Excellent site. GESIS: Newsletter -- "Social Sciences in Eastern Europe" http://www.berlin.iz-soz.de/publications/en/newsletter/socsci-eastern-europe/index.htm .pdf version of September 1999 issue(148K): http://www.berlin.iz-soz.de/publications/en/newsletter/socsci-eastern-europe/nl993/nl993_eng.pdf This quarterly newsletter provides extensively annotated listings of new publications, research projects, and institutions involved in social science research in Eastern Europe. The most recent edition includes reviews of and links to online databases for the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) and data from the first four installments of the European New Democracies Barometer. The newsletters are archived to 1997, searchable, and voluminous in their coverage of ongoing work in the field. GESIS, the organization that maintains the newsletter, is "an infrastructural association which supplies fundamental social science services on a national and international level" on the European continent. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com From nita_london at hotmail.com Tue Nov 23 21:24:26 1999 From: nita_london at hotmail.com (Nita Luci) Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 18:24:26 PST Subject: [ALST-L] (no subject) Message-ID: <19991124022426.15362.qmail@hotmail.com> Its a good site - anybody interested in women's issues should check it out. Also has information on a "Kosova women's fund" which the organization works with. Uses links for information from: albanian.com, koha ditore, and also has a listserv which discusses Kosova- from a feminist perspective. Network of East West Women http://www.neww.org/kosova/index.htm ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com From besnik at alb-net.com Wed Nov 24 20:08:42 1999 From: besnik at alb-net.com (Besnik Pula) Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 20:08:42 -0500 Subject: [ALST-L] Event in London Message-ID: --- begin forwarded text Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 14:39:13 +0000 (GMT) From: Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers Subject: UCL/CSEES/Albanian Studies (fwd) Anthropology/Albanian Studies Please note on short notice: Albert Doja of Musee des Sciences de l'Homme, Paris will give a lunchtime lecture THIS THURSDAY 25th November 1.00-2.00 pm IN THE SCR first floor, SSEES 21 Russell Square. He will talk informally on Albanian Social Structure and Religion and answer questions about his research. Dr Doja is an Albanian anthropologist of Albania currently working in France. Michael Stewart Centre for Democracy and Society - UCL/SSEES, Cambridge & SOAS UCL Gower St WC1E 6BT 0171 504 2442 Dr Michael Stewart Tel: +44 171 504-2442 Leverhulme Research Fellow Department of Anthropology Fax: +44 171 380-7728 University College London E-mail: m.stewart at ucl.ac.uk Gower Street from April 2000 Tel: (020) 7679 2442 London WC1E 6BT UK Fax: (020) 7679 7728 web site: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Anthropology/ Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers (Nash Fellow for Albanian Studies) --- end forwarded text From besnik at alb-net.com Fri Nov 26 14:55:24 1999 From: besnik at alb-net.com (Besnik Pula) Date: Fri, 26 Nov 1999 14:55:24 -0500 Subject: [ALST-L] please read Message-ID: --- begin forwarded text Date: Fri, 26 Nov 1999 12:43:13 -0500 From: canos Subject: Help, please To: webmaster at albanian.com Dear Albanian Webpage Webmaster, My name is Sokol Cano, and I am a senior at Wabash College in Indiana, USA. I am in your list of Albanian webpages, and I currently operate a webpage of the Albanian Students studying abroad. I am writing you today for a very specific and important reason. Ilir Kullolli is a friend of mine who is currently a freshman in Cerro Coso Community College in California, U.S.A. He is extremely sick, and he is in dire financial need to help finance his operation. Following is a message I have posted in my own webpage at http://persweb.wabash.edu/student/canos/ilir-help.htm Please take a moment to read this message, or follow the link. ----------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE HELP A Page Dedicated to Helping Ilir Kullolli, an Albanian Student Abroad in Fight for His Life A friend of mine, Ilir Kullolli, is an Albanian student currently studying as a freshman at Cerro Coso Community College in Ridgecrest, California. Apart from being a good friend of mine, he is also a very active member of this Albanian Student Webpage, as you can see from the Guest Book. He currently lives with his American host family in Ridgecrest. However, in what came as shockingly tragic news, in the beginning of November Ilir was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia, which is a very rare but extremely dangerous blood disease. This means that his bone marrow has stopped producing white blood cells and platelets, entities necessary to our body for fighting bacteria and infection and for blood clotting. In fact, his immune system is gone down to zero. The doctor's prognosis is not very good, and he is constantly under intensive care down in Los Angeles Medical Center. In short, he would die if put off medication. His only survival chance is bone marrow transplant. As any kind of transplant, Ilir needs someone whose DNA and blood type is as close to his as it can be. Currently, Ilir's American host family is making every effort possible to get his mother and sister to come to U.S.A., because his sister might become a bone marrow donor. But as difficult as this is, Ilir's main problem, as you can easily imagine, is the financial one. The operations are extremely expensive, as the doctors put the cost at over $100,000. Ilir's host mother, Cindy Edwards, is trying to get money donated for Ilir. That is where we Albanians could help. Anything, absolutely any amount of money you could donate, would go towards helping Ilir become independent again and go on with his life. No transplant probably means the worst for him. I understand the difficult financial situation we all Albanian students are; I am one myself. But anything, no matter how little, could add up and make a difference. If you could help, there is no way Ilir, his real family and his host family, his friends, and anyone who knows him, could really thank you. Otherwise, there is not much else we can do for him, other than having him in our thoughts. So, if anybody could help, please make your checks be payable to: United Methodist Church (tax-deductible as a charitable contribution) 639, North Norma Ridgecrest, CA 93555 (for Ilir Kullolli) If you would like to pass some messages on to him through e-mail, you can write them to Ilir's host mother, Cindy Edwards, at frontier at iwvisp.com. She will print them out and read them to him at the hospital. If you would like to write to him, you could send your letters to: Ilir Kullolli (Ward 4B North) Olive View UCLA Medical Center 1145, Olive View Drive Sylmar, CA 91342 Thank you for your time, and thank you all for helping Ilir live normally again! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Given this difficult situation, I would ask you to post this message, or link it to my webpage, on the Albanian Webpage. I understand the Albanian Webpage's purpose is to inform the entire world on Albania, and not to deal with such personal situations. Nevertheless, I am asking to save a human life! If you could please post this message anywhere in your webpage, so that other Albanians who might know Ilir or who would like to help could do so, I would have no words to thank you with. I thank you for your time, and I hope in your understanding and empathy. Thank you for being the world's gate to Albania on the internet! Sincerely Sokol Cano Sokol Cano Address: 201 Morris Hall, Crawfordsville, IN 47933 E-Mail: CanoS at Wabash.edu Tel: (765) 361-7222 Fax (personal): (209) 391-3948 Web: http://persweb.wabash.edu/student/canos --- end forwarded text