From mentor at alb-net.com Mon Apr 5 14:54:49 2004 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2004 14:54:49 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [NYC-L] [Kcc-News] [Kosova] Land in limbo Message-ID: --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kosova Crisis Center (KCC) News: http://www.alb-net.com/index.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1186133,00.html Land in limbo Until Kosovo achieves independence, upsurges of violence such as the recent attacks against Serbs will only continue, says Anna Di Lellio * Monday April 5, 2004 To describe the violence that erupted in Kosovo last month as ethnic cleansing is wrong and misleading. Yes, Albanian mobs targeted Serb civilians and property, including Orthodox churches. But the label is too easily employed when talking about the Balkans, although it can be said that the violence was all too predictable. What happened was very similar to a race riot, in which a suppressed rage suddenly exploded. The violent mobs were the extreme and cowardly manifestation of a diffuse sense of helplessness among Kosovo Albanians. While there is no justification for the violence, understanding the broader picture is crucial. In 1999 Nato rescued Kosovo from Slobodan Milosevic and delivered it to the UN as a protectorate. Security council resolution 1244 provided the framework for the transition to self-government. At the time, it seemed premature to make any commitment on deadlines and ultimate goals, although Kosovo Albanians thought they had won the war for independence from Serbia. Now they fear a UN-led open-ended transition has taken on a life of its own. This fear is well founded. Residents of a protectorate, Kosovo Albanians have no citizenship or representation abroad. They feel politically homeless despite having a president, a prime minister and a parliament. These self-governing institutions often overlap with the UN, which retains major powers (the police, the judiciary, the security sector and foreign policy among them), lack accountability and produce layers of bureaucracy and resentment, not good governance. Kosovo Albanians have been assigned the impossible task of nation-building even while they are told they have no nation. This contradictory system of rules is now the main obstacle to progress. There is a cautionary tale here for those who would pass a troubled occupation of Iraq into the hands of the UN. Let's take cohabitation with Serbs (multi-ethnicity is a misnomer), the yardstick of the UN's standards for Kosovo. There are Serb members of parliament, Serb ministers and Serb employees of the provisional institutions of self-government. However, Kosovo Serbs have been allowed by the UN to maintain parallel schools, hospitals, and courts - a de facto partition of Kosovo. The Kosovo Serbs are intimidated into separatism by Serb paramilitary groups and police and given financial incentives by Belgrade, which they consider their only legitimate government. For the same reason, those who fled the province after the end of the war are not returning home, no matter how improved living conditions might be. The market economy, or the lack of it, is another problem. Unemployment is measured at over 60%, and growth is barely self-sustaining, though the black economy does well. This is hardly a surprise in the absence of privatisation, stopped months ago in the midst of legal wrangling over Kosovo's sovereignty. Uncertainty about the status of Kosovo is a constant source of anxiety for Albanians. This is especially true when Serbia, still the sovereign state in Kosovo, continues to slide down the path of an unrepentant nationalism. With the eyes of the US, and the world, now turned towards the Gulf, Kosovo Albanians understand that they have become once again hostage to their own powerlessness and feel desperate. Labelling the recent violence "reversed ethnic cleansing" obscures all the above issues and more. It neglects to see that when the streets exploded the Albanian leadership called for an end to it. The former military chief of the KLA, Lieutenant-General, Agim ?eku, went on TV to ask that protest be expressed only through institutional channels. Political leaders, from the prime minister to small-town mayors, persuaded angry youths to return home. Civil society groups condemned the violence. The Kosovo Women's Network, an umbrella organisation for women's groups in the country, immediately mobilised to help and collected funds for Serb women. The government has authorised &#euros;5m (?3.3m) to compensate the victims of looting. It is very important that the responsibility of the riots be investigated, from the role played by instigators to the inexplicably inadequate response of more than 6,000 police under the UN leadership and 18,000 Nato troops. However, it is the underlying reasons that need an intelligent political response. To keep a tired UN protectorate on life support for as long as it takes for Kosovo to achieve democratic standards on a par with leading European countries has proved inadequate. A de facto split of the province in two, leaving the north and a few cantons in Albanian territory to Serbia is a clear recipe for more violence and contentious demands for partition elsewhere in the region. Two years ago an independent commission led by the South African judge Richard Goldstone launched the idea of conditional independence as the best option. An independent Kosovo under international monitoring of democratic standards and Nato protection will make citizens out of members of different ethnic groups. It should go some way towards dispelling the fears of both communities, allow development, and solve the question of Albanian irredentism. Without this solution, the Balkans will not know stability and peace. * Anna Di Lellio was media commissioner in Kosovo from September 2001 to March 2003 and political adviser to the UN Kosovo protection corps coordinator from September 2003 to February 2004. ______________________________________________________________ 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 eb246 at columbia.edu Wed Apr 21 15:17:05 2004 From: eb246 at columbia.edu (Erkanda Bujari) Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2004 12:17:05 -0700 Subject: [NYC-L] [Fwd: FW: Milosevic Talk thursday at Harriman] Message-ID: <4086C8B1.4030205@columbia.edu> Some might be interested to attend... "Inside the Mind of Slobodan Milosevic" Room 1219 of the International Affairs Building, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs 118th Street Between Amseterdam Avenue and Morningside Drive, at Noon, Thursday, April 22. Adam LeBor, the author of the critically acclaimed biography of former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic, and Central European Correspondent for The Times of London, will speak on his new book, "Milosevic a Biography," published this month by Yale University Press. Columbia University Harriman Institute Thursday April 22, Room 1219, at 12; -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From eb246 at columbia.edu Tue Apr 27 03:47:59 2004 From: eb246 at columbia.edu (Erkanda Bujari) Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 00:47:59 -0700 Subject: [NYC-L] Scholarship for Eastern Europe Message-ID: <408E102F.4010006@columbia.edu> FYI. Canadian Scholarships for Central Asia and Eastern Europe applicants Deadline for the May group 2004) The Management Institute of Canada (MIC) awards scholarships to candidates for Distance Learning Executive MBA and MPA degrees, on the basis of academic and professional merit. Duration: 16 months Standard tuition fee: 5000.00 US$ (in three payments) Language: English The MIC Distance Learning Executive MBA is taught by experts and MBA professors from Canadian and European universities. It is based on North American standard EMBA Programs. The MIC-Canadian Private Overseas Online Program offers scholarships to qualified candidates from Central Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, to cover a part of students' regular tuition fees. The MIC scholarship for Central Asia and Eastern Europe will cover up to 25% of the standard tuition fee. (This is not a full scholarship) To obtain more information about the conditions of admission, please contact the MIC administration at: E-mail: info at micanada.org or visit our web site at: www.micanada.org Sincerely yours, Carole Davidson, Head of the MIC-Canadian Private Overseas Online Program Management Institute of Canada (MIC) 3663 Hotel de Ville Ave. Montreal, Quebec, H2X 3B9 Canada info at micanada.org www.micanada.org Tel: 1 - 514 933-1167 Fax: 1 - 514 935-2810 From eb246 at columbia.edu Tue Apr 27 13:48:05 2004 From: eb246 at columbia.edu (Erkanda Bujari) Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 10:48:05 -0700 Subject: [NYC-L] [Fwd: Fw: ANNUAL WORKSHOP CONFERENCE IN APPLIED DEVELOPMENT] Message-ID: <408E9CD5.4000400@columbia.edu> Interested might want to check this out. Check out the 2:00-2:35 session on Albanian Diaspora. - > > AN INVITATION > > to > > EPD's ANNUAL WORKSHOP CONFERENCE IN APPLIED DEVELOPMENT > > > > The Economic and Political Development (EPD) and Humanitarian > > Affairs program cordially invite you to the annual Workshop > > Conference in the afternoons of April 29-April 30. Attend the > > conference and hear Final Presentations of this years Workshop in > > Applied Development. Teams of SIPA students will be presenting the > > findings and recommendations from their work with a diverse set of > > international development organizations around the globe throughout > > this year. Client organizations like UNFPA, the World Bank, IOM, > > ACCION, UNICEF, TECHNOSERVE, and more will be there. Join us after > > for the reception on Friday April 30th. > > > > CONFERENCE PROGRAM > > Thursday, April 29, 2004 > > > > 12:30 -1:05 Empowering Small Rural Producers: The Case of La > > Coordinadora in El Salvador, Foundation for Self- > > sufficiency in Central America and Coordinadora > > > > 1:15 - 1:50 Process Evaluation of UNFPA's HIV/AIDS Prevention > > Initiative in Sierra Leone, UNFPA > > > > 2:00 - 2:35 Diaspora and Development: The Case of Albania, UNDP > > > > 2:45 - 3:20 Honduras Education For All Fast Track Initiative: > > Lessons Learned, World Bank > > > > 3:30 - 4:05 Learning to Learn: Helping Microfinance > > Institutions become Learning Organizations, ENLACE > > > > 4:15 - 4:50 The Impact of Nepal's WTO Accession on its Food > > Security, UNDP > > > > 5:00 - 5:35 Assessing Impact: ACCION New York's Microlending > > Activities, ACCION NY > > > > Friday, April 30 > > > > 12:00 - 12:35 Listening to the Voices of Jordanian Youth, UNICEF > > > > 12:45 - 1:20 New York's Mixteca: A Transnational Study, No > > Borders Inter-Community Corporation/North > > American Integration & Dev. Center > > > > 1:30 - 2:05 A Critical Look at Voluntary Resettlement in > > Tanzania, Technoserve > > > > 2:15 - 2:50 An Evaluation of IOMs Transitional Assistance > > Program to Former Soldiers in Bosnia > > Herzegovina, International Organization for > > Migration > > > > 3:00 - 3:35 Spilling the Beans: Microfinance Lessons from > > and for Ecuador's Rural Poor International > > Institute for Rural Reconstruction > > > > 3:45 - 4:20 Going Nuts in China: Market Potential for > > Mozambiquan Cashews, Technoserve Mozambique > > > > 4:30 - 5:05 Great Expectations: The EU and Social > > Development in Poland and Serbia, World Bank > > > > 5:05 - 5:15 CLOSING REMARKS > > > > 5:00 7:00 Please join us FOR A RECEPTION! > > > > For more information, please contact EPD Workshop Director, Fida > > Adely, fja7 at columbia.edu > > > > > > > --- You are currently subscribed to see as: eb246 at columbia.edu. To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-see-662446E at listserv.tc.columbia.edu -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed From agideba at aol.com Thu Apr 29 07:55:30 2004 From: agideba at aol.com (agideba at aol.com) Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004 07:55:30 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [NYC-L] Agideba's AOL Address Card Message-ID: <200404291155.HAA11321@imo-m23.mx.aol.com> HTML attachment scrubbed and removed -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: agideba.vcf Type: text/x-vcard Size: 123 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.alb-net.com/pipermail/nyc-l/attachments/20040429/0fdf1237/attachment.vcf From jdhimitri at isb.icc-al.org Tue Apr 27 11:23:52 2004 From: jdhimitri at isb.icc-al.org (Julia Dhimitri) Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 17:23:52 +0200 Subject: [NYC-L] ISB questionnaire on Immigration References: <408E9CD5.4000400@columbia.edu> Message-ID: <00cb01c42c6b$a5e66880$6acec7c7@Julia> Hope all the best for you! Thank you for your time to answer the following questions, which will greatly contribute to a study that the Institute for Contemporary Studies in Tirana, Albania is putting together on immigration of the Albanians to the U.S. We would greatly appreciate it if you would respond to this questionnaire by April 28, 2004 at the e-mail address jdhimitri at isb.icc-al.org, jdhimitri2000 at yahoo.com Thanks a lot for your time and understanding. Wish you all the best Julia ----- Original Message ----- From: Erkanda Bujari To: NYC Albanian List Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2004 7:48 PM Subject: [NYC-L] [Fwd: Fw: ANNUAL WORKSHOP CONFERENCE IN APPLIED DEVELOPMENT] === NYC-L: New York City Discussion Forum === ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Interested might want to check this out. Check out the 2:00-2:35 session on Albanian Diaspora. - > > AN INVITATION > > to > > EPD's ANNUAL WORKSHOP CONFERENCE IN APPLIED DEVELOPMENT > > > > The Economic and Political Development (EPD) and Humanitarian > > Affairs program cordially invite you to the annual Workshop > > Conference in the afternoons of April 29-April 30. Attend the > > conference and hear Final Presentations of this years Workshop in > > Applied Development. Teams of SIPA students will be presenting the > > findings and recommendations from their work with a diverse set of > > international development organizations around the globe throughout > > this year. Client organizations like UNFPA, the World Bank, IOM, > > ACCION, UNICEF, TECHNOSERVE, and more will be there. Join us after > > for the reception on Friday April 30th. > > > > CONFERENCE PROGRAM > > Thursday, April 29, 2004 > > > > 12:30 -1:05 Empowering Small Rural Producers: The Case of La > > Coordinadora in El Salvador, Foundation for Self- > > sufficiency in Central America and Coordinadora > > > > 1:15 - 1:50 Process Evaluation of UNFPA's HIV/AIDS Prevention > > Initiative in Sierra Leone, UNFPA > > > > 2:00 - 2:35 Diaspora and Development: The Case of Albania, UNDP > > > > 2:45 - 3:20 Honduras Education For All Fast Track Initiative: > > Lessons Learned, World Bank > > > > 3:30 - 4:05 Learning to Learn: Helping Microfinance > > Institutions become Learning Organizations, ENLACE > > > > 4:15 - 4:50 The Impact of Nepal's WTO Accession on its Food > > Security, UNDP > > > > 5:00 - 5:35 Assessing Impact: ACCION New York's Microlending > > Activities, ACCION NY > > > > Friday, April 30 > > > > 12:00 - 12:35 Listening to the Voices of Jordanian Youth, UNICEF > > > > 12:45 - 1:20 New York's Mixteca: A Transnational Study, No > > Borders Inter-Community Corporation/North > > American Integration & Dev. Center > > > > 1:30 - 2:05 A Critical Look at Voluntary Resettlement in > > Tanzania, Technoserve > > > > 2:15 - 2:50 An Evaluation of IOMs Transitional Assistance > > Program to Former Soldiers in Bosnia > > Herzegovina, International Organization for > > Migration > > > > 3:00 - 3:35 Spilling the Beans: Microfinance Lessons from > > and for Ecuador's Rural Poor International > > Institute for Rural Reconstruction > > > > 3:45 - 4:20 Going Nuts in China: Market Potential for > > Mozambiquan Cashews, Technoserve Mozambique > > > > 4:30 - 5:05 Great Expectations: The EU and Social > > Development in Poland and Serbia, World Bank > > > > 5:05 - 5:15 CLOSING REMARKS > > > > 5:00 7:00 Please join us FOR A RECEPTION! > > > > For more information, please contact EPD Workshop Director, Fida > > Adely, fja7 at columbia.edu > > > > > > > --- You are currently subscribed to see as: eb246 at columbia.edu. To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-see-662446E at listserv.tc.columbia.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ____________________________________________________ NYC-L: A discussion and information list of the Albanian community in the New York City Metro Area. To post to the list: NYC-L at alb-net.com For more information: http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/nyc-l -------------- next part -------------- HTML attachment scrubbed and removed -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ISB Questionnaire on Immigration (1).doc Type: application/msword Size: 40448 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://www.alb-net.com/pipermail/nyc-l/attachments/20040427/78d9be72/attachment.doc