From info at liriakombetare.com Tue Jul 10 00:10:03 2001 From: info at liriakombetare.com (Liria Kombetare) Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 00:10:03 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [NYC-L] Kumtesa: Demonstrate per lirine e shqiptareve ne Maqedoni (16 Korrik 2001) Message-ID: <200107100410.f6A4A3E11712@alb-net.com> A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text Size: 980 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.alb-net.com/pipermail/nyc-l/attachments/20010710/00c54bd8/attachment.pl From kosova at jps.net Thu Jul 12 18:49:36 2001 From: kosova at jps.net (kosova at jps.net) Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 15:49:36 -0700 Subject: [NYC-L] Translator/Interpreters Needed Message-ID: TRANSLATORS/INTERPRETERS AND "ACTORS" WANTED TRW, a Washington-based corporation is looking for translators/interpreters and role-players ("actors") to support military mission rehearsal exercises which train U.S. soldiers prior to their deployment to the Balkans. The next exercise will be held at the Joint Readiness Training Facility at Ft. Polk, Louisiana from August 29 through September 20, 2001. WHAT WE REQUIRE: Men and women in good physical condition to work as role players ("actors") and interpreters (translators) a. Provide proof of legal status (social security card). Medical insurance desired. b. Must be proficient in Albanian language with good English skills. c. Must be able to assume and continuously exhibit attitudes, traits, and demeanor of assigned character roles while at work and respond to directions of TRW and/or U.S. Army managers. d. Must be able to pass a screening physical. e. Must be willing to work up to 12 hours per day. f. Must be willing to live 24 hours/day with U.S. Army soldiers in simulated base camp during the field exercise. WHAT WE OFFER: a. Fee $150 per day (each exercise last approx. 20 days). b. Free transportation to and from Ft. Polk, LA. c. Free housing and food while at Ft. Polk. HOW WILL IT WORK? If you are selected, you will sign a TRW linguist consultant agreement before deployment. TRW will transport you to Ft. Polk, LA, where you will in-process and then undergo a few days of training program prior to the exercise. During this training, you will learn to use your language skills to play various roles and act out various scenes which are designed to train U.S. soldiers who are preparing to deploy to the Balkans. You might play the part of a local police officer, or a village leader, or an Armed Forces Commander negotiating with the U.S. Army Commander. You will live in Army barracks or tents and have access to the dining facility where you will eat or pick up your meals. During the exercise, role players will work in the field for up to 12 hours a day with U.S. Army soldiers in training villages that have been specifically built for this kind of training. Interpreters will work and live in the field with U.S. Army soldiers. No weekends or time off. When the exercise is complete, TRW will transport you back to your original destination. HOW DO YOU APPLY? Interested candidates must send a resume or request an application and fax it back as soon as possible to: (703) 968-1276 or mail to: Isuf Hajrizi TRW, 12900 Federal Systems Park Drive FP1/1109-C Fairfax, VA 22033 The sooner you get the request to TRW, the better chance you will have of being selected. We will send you more information and an application and then contact the desired candidates for a phone interview. For further information, call: (703) 968-1211 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 3148 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.alb-net.com/pipermail/nyc-l/attachments/20010712/710d7f40/attachment.bin From kosova at jps.net Tue Jul 17 18:29:53 2001 From: kosova at jps.net (kosova at jps.net) Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 15:29:53 -0700 Subject: [NYC-L] Letter to Powell - Demand for American leadership to take lead role for return of Albanian Prisoners Message-ID: Alice Mead Albanian Prisoner Advocacy July 14, 2001 Dear Secretary Powell, Yet another outrage has occurred regarding the Kosovar Albanian prisoners. Only this time, the dead prisoners happened to be American citizens as well. Their bodies have been found in a mass grave in Serbia. For two years, no one knew the whereabouts of the three missing Bytiqi brothers. It was assumed by many Albanians that they were being detained in Serb prisons, along with the other Albanian prisoners. The reason for this was that people knew they had been arrested in late June, 1999, after the NATO war, and accused of illegally crossing the border into Serbia. Now their bodies have been found in a mass grave in Serbia, their hands bound with wire, their prison documents in their pockets. But if it weren't for the Humanitarian Law Center in Belgrade, we wouldn't know how they got there. American officials have made no attempts to find their own missing citizens. As prisoners began to be released from Serb prisons, none of them knew any details regarding the whereabouts of these American citizens. Inquiries from the Office of Political Prisoners in Prishtina produced no answers or even replies. But then, Serb Ministry of Justice officials never notify Albanian families when their imprisoned relatives are transferred, released, ill, or even dead. When Albanian prisoners are transferred inside Serbia, family members in Kosova scramble frantically, trying to get word of mouth information on where their relatives have gone. So people hoped the Bytiqi brothers were being held in some military prison someplace. And what is the American role in the whole Albanian prisoner debacle? Over two hundred Kosovar Albanians are still deprived of basic civil rights, remaining indefinitely in Serb prisons. Why? According to retired General Wesley Clark, because the U.S. Pentagon intentionally REMOVED the language of the Geneva Conventions from the Kumanovo Agreement on June 9, 1999. One day later, over 2,000 Kosovars effectively disappeared. We demand that American leadership take a lead role in pressing for the return of all Albanian prisoners to Kosova. Americans created this particular mess two years ago, it's high time they cleaned it up. Sincerely, Alice Mead, coordinator of A-PAL (Albanian Prisoner Advocacy) www.khao.org/appkosova.htm -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 2788 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.alb-net.com/pipermail/nyc-l/attachments/20010717/a2d218a4/attachment.bin From Joe_Herron at navyfederal.org Wed Jul 25 10:33:59 2001 From: Joe_Herron at navyfederal.org (Joe_Herron at navyfederal.org) Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 10:33:59 -0400 Subject: [NYC-L] Macedonia and Language Message-ID: Could the Macedonian government and the rebels agree to English(or some other language) as the "standard" language of Macedonia while the different ethnic groups maintain their native tongue? It would be a 30-50 year process. Everyone would communicate in a third language. The ethnic languages would still be taught but the "Standard" language would be the primary language taught in all schools. There are several countries in the world that have this set-up. India for one. Joe Herron From mentor at alb-net.com Wed Jul 25 17:10:10 2001 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 17:10:10 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [NYC-L] CNN's Quick Vote: 53% Say US should stay in Kosova Until the Region is Stabilized Message-ID: Question: Do you think U.S. should remain in Kosovo until the region is stabilized? Yes: 53% 22774 votes No: 47% 20144 votes Total: 42918 votes Source: http://www.cnn.com/POLL/results/1607171.html From mentor at alb-net.com Mon Jul 30 14:55:18 2001 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 14:55:18 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [NYC-L] [AMCC-News] (1) Macedonia peace talks continue amid fragile truce; (2) Macedonia seeks to arrest ethnic Albanian leaders; (3) Macedonian rebels say they want peace but are ready to fight Message-ID: >>>>>>>>>>>>> PLEASE READ & DISTRIBUTE FURTHER <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< --------------------------------------------------------------------- Human Rights Violations in Macedonia http://www.alb-net.com/amcc/humanrights.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Macedonia peace talks continue amid fragile truce 2. Macedonia seeks to arrest ethnic Albanian leaders 3. Macedonian rebels say they want peace but are ready to fight ### /// (1) \\\ http://sg.news.yahoo.com/010729/3/19up3.html Sunday July 29, 9:35 PM Macedonia peace talks continue amid fragile truce By Philippa Fletcher OHRID, Macedonia (Reuters) - Macedonian and ethnic Albanian politicians held a second day of talks on Sunday to end an Albanian guerrilla revolt while diplomats and monitors worked to maintain a shaky truce. Two Western envoys are mediating in the closed-door talks, chaired by President Boris Trajkovski at the lake resort of Ohrid, on a draft plan to end five months of clashes between ethnic Albanian guerrillas and the security forces. A breakthrough in the negotiations, deadlocked over the use of the Albanian language in Macedonia, where one third of the two million population is ethnic Albanian, is seen as crucial if a ragged ceasefire is to hold. A source on the Albanian side said an agreement could be reached later on Sunday between the four mainstream parties -- two Macedonian and two Albanian -- that make up a fragile emergency government coalition. But another source, close to the Macedonian side, suggested it may take longer. U.S. envoy James Pardew and his European Union counterpart Francois Leotard have made clear the talks are difficult but have given no further comment. Around two thousand Albanians returned to the shattered village of Aracinovo near Skopje in the latest of a series of confidence-building measures diplomats hope will hold off a resumption of fighting that has so far killed dozens of people. The return of the Albanians, allowed by Macedonian police who took over the village last month after a rebel withdrawal, followed a visit on Saturday by displaced Macedonians to homes they had fled near Tetovo to the west. HOMES RUINED In each case some people found their homes destroyed. "Fifteen years of work gone in two minutes. It doesn't make a person feel nice inside," said a member of the Asani family returning to their home in Aracinovo badly damaged by fierce fighting between the rebels and the army. In a village near Tetovo from where Macedonians say they were driven out by the guerrillas, burned out houses greeted some of the Macedonians returning on Saturday. Few stayed, fearing attacks from rebels still in the area. A diplomatic source said that even if temporary and painful, the two returns were crucial to allow the talks to take place in a constructive atmosphere rather than one of mutual recrimination. So far dozens of people have been killed since the guerrillas first appeared in February, but much larger casualties are feared if the clashes spark a civil war. The basis of a peace deal is all but agreed, but the issue of language is a major sticking point. The Macedonian majority sees proposals to make Albanian an official language in some areas as the thin end of a wedge leading to the division of the country. "They have not made any progress yet," said a source from the second biggest ethnic Albanian party, the PDP. "They are still working on the latest version of the draft, but it is not clear whether it will be signed." The negotiations have frequently been interrupted by bouts of heavy fighting between government troops and fighters of the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army who now hold large swathes of northern and western Macedonia along the border with ethnic Albanian-dominated Kosovo. Macedonian officials have accused the West of siding with the rebels and pressure for a military crackdown is growing. Thousands of angry Macedonians protested in the capital Skopje on Saturday, calling the peace plan a betrayal of national interests. A crowd of about 3,000 gathered in front of parliament carrying placards saying "NATO out!" and "NATO wants to completely Albanise the country!" and comparing the peace talks with the appeasement of Nazi Germany before World War Two. (Additional reporting by Leon Malherbe in Aracinovo and Shaban Buza in Kosovo) ### /// (2) \\\ http://sg.news.yahoo.com/010730/3/19we1.html Tuesday July 31, 12:02 AM Macedonia seeks to arrest ethnic Albanian leaders By Philippa Fletcher OHRID, Macedonia (Reuters) - Macedonian prosecutors asked local courts on Monday to issue arrest warrants for 11 ethnic Albanian guerrilla leaders, overshadowing last-ditch peace talks that Western envoys are trying to mediate. The guerrillas are not involved in the negotiations, which participants said had edged forward, but a draft peace plan under discussion is designed to persuade them to end their five-month-old rebellion and disarm. This would also require an amnesty. President Boris Trajkovski is chairing the closed-door talks, at a villa in the lake resort of Ohrid, between the leaders of four mainstream parties -- two Macedonian and two Albanian -- in a fragile emergency government coalition. The move against the guerrilla leaders was initiated last week by the Interior Ministry headed by hardline Macedonian nationalist Ljube Boskovski. Police said the minister and his convoy came under fire from the guerrilla National Liberation Army (NLA) on Sunday on a road outside Skopje, although no one was injured. "The aim of the so-called NLA is to unite all territories populated by Albanians by organising armed rebellion, committing acts of terrorism...forceful eviction of the population followed by military crimes against civilians," said a document from the prosecutors carried by state news agency MIA. The talks, begun in May, have frequently been interrupted by bouts of fighting between security troops and the rebels, who now hold swathes of northern and western Macedonia along the border with ethnic Albanian dominated Kosovo. There are widespread fears that if they fail, Macedonia -- the only republic to break away from the old Yugoslavia in 1991 without a shot fired -- will collapse into civil war. ALBANIAN OPTIMISM ON TALKS There was no immediate reaction from Albanian officials or the guerrillas to the call for arrest warrants. After two days of negotiations, which one source said had come close to breakdown, sources on the Albanian side expressed optimism that the main issue as they see it -- the use of the Albanian language -- was close to resolution. The use of Albanian and ethnic make-up of police are the main remaining sticking points in a draft peace plan prepared by European Union envoy Francois Leotard and his U.S. counterpart, James Pardew. A Western source said the Albanian side had made "significant concessions" on Sunday over their two objections to the draft -- which he did not specify. But the Macedonian majority has balked at endorsing reforms it fears could lead to the division of the country and the source said Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski, in particular, was being "extremely inflexible". Georgievski's ally Boskovski called on Sunday for "determined action" to prevent the guerrillas seizing more territory, implying he felt force was a better tactic. A source close to the Macedonian negotiators said Pardew was pressuring them to accept the latest version by warning that Western financial support could be at stake. But the source expressed fear that if they did sign up, the agreement would not get the required parliamentary approval. "An agreement might be signed but that still leaves open the question of parliament," the source said. A source on the Albanian side said later that the Macedonians had come up with a counter-proposal that was "totally unacceptable." Leotard, speaking to France Inter radio, was cautious. "We're trying to push things forward but I acknowledge it is very difficult. I'm not certain of success and it has to be said frankly. But we do not have the right to abandon this and leave things in a logic of war," he said. Tens of thousands of people have fled the fighting, mostly ethnic Albanians but also some Macedonians. The European Commission said it would send emergency humanitarian aid to the more than 60,000 refugees who have fled from Macedonia to Kosovo and support for some 10,000 Kosovo families who are hosting them. A government spokesman said a government session scheduled for Tuesday had been postponed, indicating that the negotiations might go into a fourth day at least. (Additional reporting by Shaban Buza in Kosovo) ### /// (3) \\\ http://sg.news.yahoo.com/010729/1/19urf.html Sunday July 29, 11:30 PM Macedonian rebels say they want peace but are ready to fight. NIKUSTAK, Macedonia, July 29 (AFP) - Ethnic Albanian guerrillas in Macedonia say they want peace talks between the Skopje government and Albanian politicians to succeed so they can end their five-month insurgency which has brought the Balkan country to the brink of civil war. But they say they are ready to resume fighting if their demands are not met at the negotiating table. "I really hope that the political process will succeed and in this case we will be ready to lay down our arms immediately. But if they (the Macedonians) want war, they will have it," a rebel, Commander Hoxha, told AFP on Sunday. "Nobody wants war here," said another, Commander Sokoli, from the "113 Ismet Jashari-Kumanova" brigade's base in Lipkovo. "We have our political representatives and if there is a political solution, we will obey orders," said Sokoli, who has been involved in the insurgency since the first shots were fired in February. All six brigades the self-styled National Liberation Army (NLA) claims it has operating in Macedonia, say they want to leave space for the peace process to work. Internationally-brokered peace talks between Skopje and ethnic Albanian political leaders in the former Yugoslav republic resumed on Saturday, after the rebels withdrew from key positions in the northwest of the country under an accord with the NATO transatlantic military alliance on Thursday. The rebels say they are fighting for greater rights for Macedonia's Albanian minority. The talks, in the southern Macedonian town of Ohrid, far from the fighting, are focusing on demands that Albanian be made into an official language, alongside Macedonian, and also the establishment of an independent ethnic Albanian police force in certain areas. Sokoli said that rebels would be vigilant to ensure that any deal would be respected, saying a previous agreement, which had prompted rebels to pull out of Aracinovo near Skopje, had not been respected by the Macedonian side. On Friday another commander, Gjini, told AFP the ethnic Albanian rebels had so far used only 50 to 60 percent of their military potential. The ongoing peace talks had been postponed for a day to relocate them to the south of the country because of security fears and concerns that the rebel withdrawal from key positions had not been completed. However, the rebels also claim that they are ready to attack the capital Skopje and are present in the southwest towns of Ohrid, where the peace talks are being held, Bitola, Struga and Debar. ________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from this list visit: http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/amcc-news