From mentor at alb-net.com Thu May 6 15:01:25 2004 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Kosova Crisis Center News and Information) Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 15:01:25 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Prishtina-l] [Kcc-News] Kosovo UN troops 'fuel sex trade' Message-ID: --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kosova Crisis Center (KCC) News: http://www.alb-net.com/index.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- Kosovo UN troops 'fuel sex trade' Thursday, 6 May, 2004, 15:56 GMT 16:56 UK http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3686173.stm The presence of peacekeepers in Kosovo is fuelling the sexual exploitation of women and encouraging trafficking, according to Amnesty International. It claims UN and Nato troops in the region are using the trafficked women and girls for sex and some have been involved in trafficking itself. Amnesty says girls as young as 11 from eastern European countries are being sold into the sex slavery. A Nato spokesman said some details of the report seemed out of date. Lieutenant Colonel Jim Moran said some policies had changed. Peacekeepers were "not allowed" off base in civilian clothing or to go to bars and nightclubs, he said. "Each nation is responsible for the conduct of their soldiers, and if they find a soldier that is breaking the law, it is up to them to bring them to justice," he added. There has been no comment from the UN. Trading houses Amnesty's report, entitled "So does that mean I have rights? Protecting the human rights of women and girls trafficked for forced prostitution in Kosovo," was published on Thursday. "I was forced by the boss to serve international soldiers and police officers" -- Trafficked woman who spoke to Amnesty It is based on interviews with women and girls who have been trafficked from countries such as Moldova, Bulgaria and the Ukraine to service Kosovo's sex industry. They are said to have been moved illegally across borders and sold in "trading houses," where they are sometimes drugged and "broken in" before being sold from one trafficker to another for prices ranging from 50 to 3,500 euros ($60 - 4,200). The report includes harrowing testimonies of abduction, deprivation of liberty and denial of freedom of movement, torture and ill-treatment, including psychological threats, beatings and rape. Instead of getting a proper job the women and girls find themselves trapped, enslaved, forced into prostitution. The report condemns the role of the international peacekeepers. Slavery It says that after 40,000 K-For troops and hundreds of Unmik personnel were sent to Kosovo in 1999, a "small-scale local market for prostitution was transformed into a large-scale industry based on trafficking run by organised criminal networks". "Peacekeepers must be held accountable for their role in this trade in human misery" -- Kate Allen, Amnesty International The number of places in Kosovo where trafficked women and girls may be exploited, such as nightclubs, bars, restaurants, hotels and cafes, has increased from 18 in 1999 to more than 200 in 2003. The report claims international personnel make up about 20% of the people using trafficked women and girls even though its members comprise only 2% of Kosovo's population. Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said: "Women and girls as young as 11 are being sold into sexual slavery in Kosovo and international peacekeepers are not only failing to stop it they are actively fuelling this despicable trade by themselves paying for sex from trafficked women. "It is time for countries to stop treating trafficking as a form of 'illegal migration' and see it as a particularly vicious form of human rights abuse." One woman told Amnesty International: "I was forced by the boss to serve international soldiers and police officers... I never had a chance of running away and leaving that miserable life, because I was observed every moment by a woman." Criminals Another told how German soldiers were instructed by their superiors not to go with prostitutes, but went anyway. "They told the pimp, that if someone would be coming, he should alert them," she said. "After a while the pimp employed a guardian." Amnesty says that despite some positive measures by the authorities to combat trafficking, the women and girls are often still treated as criminals - prosecuted for being unlawfully in Kosovo, or charged with prostitution. Amnesty International is calling on the Kosovo authorities, including Unmik, to: implement measures to end the trafficking of women and girls to, from and within Kosovo for forced prostitution ensure that measures are taken to protect the victims of trafficking ensure that those trafficked have a right to redress and reparation for the human rights abuses they have suffered Amnesty says Unmik's own figures show that by the end of 2003, 10 of their police officers had been dismissed or repatriated in connection with allegations related to trafficking. In the year and half to July 2003 some 22-27 K-For troops were suspected of offences relating to trafficking, the report says. However, Kfor troops and UN personnel are immune from prosecution in Kosovo and those who have been dismissed relating to such offences have escaped any criminal proceedings in their home countries. Ms Allen added: "The international community in Kosovo is now adding insult to injury by securing immunity from prosecution for its personnel and apparently hushing up their shameful part in the abuse of trafficked women and girls." The organisation called on the UN and Nato to implement measures to ensure that any personnel suspected of criminal offences associated with trafficking are brought to justice. ______________________________________________________________ If you wish to unsubscribe, send a blank message to: kcc-news-unsubscribe at alb-net.com , or visit KCC-NEWS's page at: http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/kcc-news From mentor at alb-net.com Thu May 13 13:31:37 2004 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 13:31:37 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Prishtina-l] AAWO recruitment event for work in Kosova Message-ID: NOTE: For more information about the event please contact Vjollca Jakupi at VIOLCAJ at aol.com . ------ Are you willing to work in Kosova but you do not know how?!! Recruitment Event to Work in Kosova Sponsored by Albanian American Women's Organization (AAWO) When: Friday, May 14, 2004 Time: 10:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. Where: 481 8th Avenue, Ste. 934 (Between 34th & 35th St) New York, NY Contact: Vjollca Jakupi at VIOLCAJ at aol.com REGISTER FOR THE UPCOMING RECRUITMENT: Call Albanian American Women.s Organization (AAWO) at 212-244-8440 If you can not come on Friday, fax your resume and one photocopy of your passport at: 212-244-8159 For more information call Northrop Grumman at 703-968-1211 From mentor at alb-net.com Thu May 27 18:36:52 2004 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Albanians-Today News and Information) Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 18:36:52 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [Prishtina-l] [Albanians-Today] Albania at risk of disaster from heightened pollution levels Message-ID: --------------------------------------------------------------------- Albanians-Today News and Information: http://www.alb-net.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040525/sc_afp/albania_environment_pollution_040525170937 Albania at risk of disaster from heightened pollution levels Tue May 25, 1:09 PM ET Add Science - AFP to My Yahoo! TIRANA (AFP) - Albania is facing a humanitarian catastrophe due to growing pollution caused by poisonous gases that are 10 times above the tolerance level set by the World Health Organizations (WHO), according to experts in the country. "We are concerned as we get new information every day about growing numbers of people suffering from cancer, cardiovascular and pneumonia diseases due to various poisonous gases and carbon dioxide," Environment Minister Ethem Ruka told AFP. Some 50,000 tons of air bubbles and carbon dioxide fall on the capital Tirana every year, or 48 kilogrammes (105 pounds) of damaging particles per inhabitant, data presented by the National Institute for Environment showed. That is why Tirana is estimated to be one of the most polluted cities in the world, behind New Delhi and Beijing, but way ahead of Athens, Budapest, Bucharest or Madrid. "Some 90 percent out of 100,000 vehicles in the Albanian capital are too old, 70 percent use diesel and 30 percent petrol, but mostly petrol with lead and a huge quantity of sulfur, banned in the European Union (news - web sites) countries," Ruka said. "Lead emissions could provoke celebral weakness, especially among children, but could also cause huge genetic problems in the future," an expert from the Public Health Institute, Agron Deliu, told AFP. Although no reliable data exists, experts said that deaths due to illnesses caused by pollution have increased by 20 percent in Tirana in the past two years in the former communist country of 3.5 million people. According to the Institute for Statistics, respiratory system diseases came third on the list of causes of death last year. Albanian experts have also registered an increased number of babies born with deformities, particularly in the region of Elbasan, some 60 kilometers (36 miles) west of Tirana, where the daily pollution level is 15 times above acceptable levels, particularly due to sulfur gas. The same phenomena were registered among the animals born in this region. There have been reported cases of four-legged roosters and two-headed calves or rabbits in the region of Elbasan, a centre of steel production with no regular pollution control. "In Elbasan, numerous cement- and metal-producing factories emit 40,000 tons of dust per year," said Ilir Quiriazi, an environment ministry expert. Quiriazi has threatened to close down all factories that fail to take anti-pollution measures. Experts also warned that throughout Albania, tens of thousands of tons of chemical and toxic waste could be found abandoned in the ruins of the communist-era factories. The danger is even higher nowadays as many families, fleeing poor mountain regions, camp or build their temporary huts near these former production centers. Ruka said a "cancerous substance" had been found in some ground water in the area, "due to left-over pesticides." The minister called on the international institutions to help Albania to "prevent a humanitarian catastrophe," estimating that "at least a billion dollars" were needed to reduce pollution in Albania. ______________________________________________________________ If you wish to unsubscribe, send a blank message to: albanians-today-unsubscribe at alb-net.com , or visit Albanians-Today's page at: http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/albanians-today From mentor at alb-net.com Fri May 28 11:12:23 2004 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Albanians in Macedonia Crisis Center News & Information) Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 15:12:23 -0000 Subject: [Prishtina-l] [AMCC-News] Macedonia: U.S. Embassy on a 'Sacrosanct' Hill? It's a Balkan Battle Message-ID: --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMCC http://www.alb-net.com/amcc/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/28/international/europe/28EMBA.html May 28, 2004 U.S. Embassy on a 'Sacrosanct' Hill? It's a Balkan Battle By NICHOLAS WOOD KOPJE, Macedonia . At first glance, the northern tip of Gradiste hill here appears less than impressive. Old plastic bags pepper its grassy slopes. Dogs sniff for traces of food among discarded litter. Its only apparent saving grace is a view of this capital and the surrounding mountains. Within a few weeks time, American diplomats here believe, good use will be made of the site, which they describe as "wasteland," when construction starts on a $50 million United States Embassy. Barren as it may appear to the Americans, the Gradiste hill is regarded by many Macedonians as one of the most important historical sites in the country, as well as home to a recently discovered 300-year-old Muslim cemetery that may hold as many as 2,000 graves. "It's a sacrosanct site for our people," said Kalina Bunevska Isakovska, who for the last three months has led a campaign opposed to the embassy development. "It has a cultural and spiritual value." The first human settlements on the hill, which is roughly a mile long and half as wide, can be traced back more than 4,000 years, and it is widely regarded as the heart of Skopje. Macedonia's most-used paper currency, the 100-denar note, features the walled medieval city of Skopje situated on the hill. But the hopes of Ms. Bunevska Isakovska that the Macedonian government, which is selling the land to the United States government, will cancel its deal and designate the area as a national heritage spot appear unlikely to be fulfilled. The United States is buying a nine-acre site on the hill for "a multimillion-dollar figure," diplomats here said, because it was decided that the current embassy was too small and insecure for American needs. Mobs twice breached the walls of the current embassy building, situated in a converted kindergarten, during anti-American protests in 1999 and 2001. The Gradiste hill site, according to Macedonian and American officials, offers the possibility of a 100-foot radius around the embassy to protect it from bomb attacks, as well as providing a prestigious location overlooking the city. "There are so many places in the world where the United States Embassy is situated in an exclusive position," Macedonia's deputy prime minister, Musa Xhaferi, said in a recent interview. "In my opinion, this shows respect for their state and their people." In some ways the dispute over whether a foreign government should be allowed to take possession of part of the hill . embassies are the sovereign possessions of the nations they represent . is nothing new. Romans, Byzantines, Slavs, Turks, Austrians, Serbs, Bulgarians, Italians and Germans have all at some stage controlled the hill, making it one of the most disputed pieces of territory in the Balkans, local historians say. American officials point out that most of the valuable traces of those conquests, including an Iron Age settlement, are found at the southern end of the Gradiste, where an Ottoman fortress still overlooks the city. The United States ambassador, Lawrence Butler, denied in a recent interview that the proposed building would damage historical remains or artifacts. "We are committed to building an embassy that respects Skopje and Macedonia's heritage and cultural tradition," he said. To allay concerns that the new mission might disturb archaeological remains, the embassy paid for part of the site to be excavated. It was that sample digging that discovered the Muslim cemetery. A total of 203 bodies dating as far back as the 18th century were uncovered. A six-and-a-half-yard-long stretch of aqueduct and part of an Iron Age jug were also discovered. Archaeologists overseeing the excavations estimated that the burial ground, which extends beyond the proposed American Embassy site, could contain more than 2,000 bodies. "It would be preferable if the graves remained untouched," Jakup Selimovski, Macedonia's senior Muslim cleric, said in a recent interview upon hearing of the discovery. He warned that "the message from the United States to the world would be negative," if the embassy did not take heed of the view of Muslims. They make up about 30 percent of the country's population. The Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments, in Skopje, has ruled that the findings were not significant enough to prevent the construction of the embassy, and American diplomats were formally notified recently that they could go ahead with construction. The approval has been greeted with criticism by some local commentators. "Governments don't always care about culture," said Danilo Kocevski, a columnist with the Macedonian daily newspaper Dnevnik who opposes the development. "People are very sentimental about this issue regardless of whose embassy it is." He noted that the same institute that approved the embassy plans had permitted concrete to be used in the renovation of a medieval stone bridge in the center of Skopje. American officials said discussions were under way with Muslim leaders here that could lead to the reburial of any remains found at the site. A senior American official also said the embassy would not be the first institution in Skopje to be built on the site of a graveyard. Macedonia's Interior Ministry was built, he said, on the site of a Jewish cemetery. ______________________________________________________________ If you wish to unsubscribe, send a blank message to: amcc-news-unsubscribe at alb-net.com , or visit AMCC-NEWS's page at: http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/amcc-news