From jeton at hotmail.com Fri Apr 4 14:36:37 2008 From: jeton at hotmail.com (Jeton Ademaj) Date: Fri, 4 Apr 2008 14:36:37 -0400 Subject: [NYC-L] NATO welcomes Albania/Ramush aquitted. In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: NATO Welcomes Albania and Croatia to Alliance (Members vote to delay decisions on Macedonia, Georgia, Ukraine) (532) By David I. McKeeby Staff Writer Washington -- Leaders from NATO's 26 member states unanimously welcomed Albania and Croatia into the trans-Atlantic alliance, a move that President Bush says will further the cause of freedom and security in Europe. "Both these nations have demonstrated the ability and the willingness to provide strong and enduring contributions to NATO," Bush said. "Albania and Croatia are ready for the responsibility NATO brings, and they will make outstanding members of this alliance." Bush's remarks followed an April 3 meeting of the North Atlantic Council, NATO's principal decision-making body. The council also pledged to strengthen the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan and expressed support for a U.S. partnership with the Czech Republic and Poland to develop a Europe-based limited missile defense system. As new members, Croatia and Albania have graduated from the Membership Action Plan (MAP) -- a multiyear process of intensive engagement to help aspiring members complete the necessary political, economic and military reforms before applying for membership in the alliance's community of democracies. MACEDONIA MEMBERSHIP ON HOLD Membership for Macedonia, a third MAP candidate, was put on hold because of a long-running dispute with NATO member Greece, which objects to the Balkan state's sharing the name of one of its northern regions. Bush expressed disappointment with the decision, but called on member nations to intensify engagement with Macedonia to help it continue its preparations for future membership. "Macedonia has made difficult reforms at home. It is making major contributions to NATO missions abroad. The name issue needs to be resolved quickly, so that Macedonia can be welcomed into NATO as soon as possible," Bush said during the 2008 summit in Bucharest, Romania. U.N. envoy Matt Nimetz, a former U.S. diplomat, currently is working to find a compromise between Athens and Skopje on the issue. Agreement on membership by the North Atlantic Council is made by consensus, and Greece objected to the Republic of Macedonia joining at this time. GEORGIA, UKRAINE HAVE FUTURE WITH NATO The council also opted to defer a decision on a path toward future membership for Georgia and Ukraine until December, after further talks with both governments. "NATO welcomes Ukraine and Georgia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO. We agree these countries will become members of NATO," National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley told journalists, quoting the council's statement. "I think it's clear from this language that these two countries, in the view of NATO, are heading for membership." "I think this can never be a question of 'whether.' The 'whether' is not questionable," agreed NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer April 2. "If these nations fulfill the criteria, and if they want to enter through NATO's open door, I think that door should be open." The council also voted to upgrade its partnerships with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro, both of which are interested in becoming future MAP states, adding that the alliance is open to offering the same to Serbia, at its government's request. "As we invite new members today, we're also clear that the progress of enlargement will continue," Bush said. (USINFO is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)***********************************************************************************http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/04/world/europe/04kosovo.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=sloginApril 4, 2008Former Leader in Kosovo Acquitted of War Crimes By MARLISE SIMONS PARIS ? The United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague on Thursday acquitted a former commander of the rebel Kosovo Liberation Army of all charges of war crimes in a decision that could inflame anti-Kosovo sentiment in Serbia just weeks after Kosovo unilaterally declared independence. The commander, Ramush Haradinaj, who also briefly served as prime minister of Kosovo three years ago, was found not guilty of murder, persecution, rape and torture of Kosovo Serb civilians. The crimes were said to have been carried out by men under his command in 1998, when the rebels fought to free their largely ethnic Albanian region from Serbian rule. Another rebel commander, Idriz Balaj, was also acquitted, while a third defendant, Lahi Brahimaj, was sentenced to six years in prison for torture and cruel treatment of prisoners. The men who were acquitted may return home as early as Friday, and they are expected to be given a hero?s welcome. But in court, in summarizing their verdict, the judges said that the case presented had many flaws. They cited vague evidence and widespread fear among witnesses, suggesting that the full version of events had not been told. The complete text of the judgment was not available, but in their summary, the judges gave much weight to the fear and the evident intimidation of witnesses. Lawyers said that in no other case before the tribunal had witness intimidation been so widespread. The judges said that they had serious difficulties in getting many of almost 100 witnesses to testify freely. They said that they had to permit 34 witnesses to hide their identities from the public, that 18 were subpoenaed because they refused to testify and that others said they dared not talk once they were in court. The case against Mr. Haradinaj was fraught with difficulties from the start. Western diplomats tried to dissuade Carla Del Ponte, who was the chief prosecutor, from indicting Mr. Haradinaj, arguing that he was a respected political leader who played an important role in stabilizing Kosovo. Within the prosecutor?s office, some lawyers also had warned that the case against Mr. Haradinaj was weak because it would be hard to link him to the crimes. Prosecutors complained repeatedly about pressure on the witnesses, saying that those most afraid were former rebel fighters who had been expected to testify as insiders. At least three designated witnesses were killed before the trial, prosecutors said. In November, the trial ground to a halt when the defense lawyers for all three accused unexpectedly announced that they would not call any witnesses because they considered the prosecution case so weak. For Serbs, the acquittal of two of the former rebel commanders, whose forces were backed and supported by the West, was likely to be viewed as one more insult. Kosovo has long been portrayed as a victim of Serbia. Only one other case at the tribunal has focused on the abuses and killings by fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army. Human rights groups have documented numerous killings and instances of mistreatment of those not siding with the rebels. Oliver Ivanovic, who represents Kosovo Serbs, told the FoNet news agency in Belgrade that the acquittals would make it even more difficult to demand that the Serbian government arrest Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, wartime Bosnian Serb leaders who remain fugitives. Serbs will now see the tribunal as even more of a political, rather than a legal, institution, Mr. Ivanovic said. He added, ?It will be now very difficult to convince any Serb that this is not an anti-Serb tribunal.? In Thursday?s ruling, Mr. Brahimaj was sentenced to six years for the abuse of prisoners detained in a camp where he was in charge. It said that he had personally participated in beatings and torture. Mr. Brahimaj, who has already served three years, is likely to be freed in a year if he gets the usual reduction for good behavior that is common in European countries where he may serve his time. After Mr. Haradinaj surrendered to the court, in 2005, he was allowed to return to Kosovo to await his trial. Much to the frustration of Ms. Del Ponte, he was treated favorably when the court permitted him to play a limited political role at home, a privilege granted to no other detainee. It was not clear if prosecutors would appeal. 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