GREEK TURKISH TENSIONS ON AEGEAN

Greece to lodge demarches over harassment of gunboat, helicopter during operation by Turkish patrol boat, jetfighters

A Greek gunboat and military helicopter were harassed by a Turkish patrol boat and a pair of Turkish F-16 jetfighters near the islands of Farmakonissi and Agathonissi in the Aegean on Wednesday morning, and foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis immediately gave instructions for the relevant demarches to be lodged with the neighboring country.

In a statement, Bakoyannis called the Turkish actions "unacceptable", stressing that they were in "blatant violation of International Law" while they also hampered the efforts being made for improvement of Greek-Turkish relations.

According to the Greek National Defence General Staff (GEETHA), during a search and rescue operation underway around Farmakonissi to locate illegal immigrants, in which the gunboat "Nikiforos" and a Super Puma helicopter were taking part, at 9:15 a.m. the gunboat was harassed by the Turkish patrol boat and the helicopter by the pair of F-16s, "despite the fact that the area had been engaged since Tuesday for the execution of this operation, with a NOTAM issued by the Merchant Marine Ministry via the Search and Rescue Coordination Center".

More see: http://www.ana-mpa.gr/anaweb/user/showplain?maindoc=7186401&service=142

ALBANIAN EMIGRANT ARRESTED UNDER ACCUSE OF TERRORISM IN GREECE

The Greek Newspaper "Ta Nea" investigates about the last attack against police team in Athens.

more in greek: http://www.tanea.gr/default.asp?pid=2&ct=1&artid=4495343

Bouthrotum (Butrint) (Northern Epirus - Albania)

Australian Macedonian Advisory Council
January 06, 2009

The sun had already began to hang low in the sky, like a tantalizingly overripe peach provocatively flaunting its immanent fall, by the time we finished our most excellent fish soup, at Agioi Saranda, the port city of Northern Epirus and took the winding road down the rocky Northern Epirot coast, to Bouthrotum, the ancient capital of the Epirot kings.

Northern Epirots seem to have inherited their southern cousins´ driving skills. After the relative order and overabundance of caution in Australia, seeing manic Northern Epirots racing around blind corners, switching to the lane of oncoming traffic and overtaking at over 100km per hour on steep mountain bends in a race to get to Bouthrotum by sunset tends to have the effect of appreciating the harshness of the terrain, as well as lodging one´s hand in the handrail of the car door and clinging, for life´s sake.

more see: http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/86949

Blast at Albania munitions disposal plant kills 1

The Associated Press

TIRANA, Albania: An explosion at an Albanian ammunition disposal plant killed one worker Tuesday after employees went outdoors to build a fire to keep themselves warm, the Defense Ministry said. The ministry said the blast occurred in Polican, 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of the capital, Tirana. The cause of the blast remained under investigation, but the ministry said the use of munitions packaging as fuel for the fire may have set off an ignition device that contained gunpowder.

Many workplaces in Albania are unheated, and the incident appeared to be unrelated to the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute. There have been subfreezing temperatures in Albania over the past several days. The victim was identified as worker Suzana Kapxhiu, 45, who died of head injuries. Five other workers at the plant were unharmed.
Today in Europe

The plant is one of the Albanian army's factories used to dispose of ammunition kept in storage across the Balkan country since the communist regime fell in 1990.
Last year, 26 people died and around 300 others were injured from a huge blast at a private disposal factory near Tirana.

Albanians protesting in Preševo

6 January 2009 PREŠEVO -- Preševo Valley Albanians are calling for the release of the members of the Gnjilane Group of the Kosovo Liberation Army arrested on suspicion of war crimes. The mayors of Bujanovac and Preševo meet with ministers in the wake of the arrest of the Gnjilane Group (FoNet, archive)The protests will last until every single Albanian arrested on the orders of the War Crimes Prosecution on December 26 is released from custody, says Memet Azizi, one of the protest organizers.

“We want the authorities in Belgrade to release all the suspects on bail because they did not commit the war crimes that the prosecution has accused them of,” says Azizi. The protest will serve to send a message to the public and condemn members of the police and Gendarmerie for their heavy-handed and “spectacular” arrest operation, during which Albanian property was destroyed, the protestors say. The atmosphere has been further charged by an appeal sent to civil rights organizations yesterday.

The appeal was signed by MP Riza Halimi and Preševo and Bujanovac Municipal Presidents Nader Sadiku and Šaip Kamberi. The signatories have called on the organizations to send their representatives to visit the imprisoned Albanians to hear from them how they were physically and mentally abused during the arrests, thus breaching international conventions on human rights and freedoms.

Security increased after Kosovo blasts

NEBI QENA /API
PRISTINA, Kosovo-Serbs set fire to two ethnic Albanian-owned shops in the tense town of Mitrovica on Saturday and six firefighters were injured by an explosion while fighting the blaze. NATO and the European Union responded by ordering more troops to the area of northern Kosovo. It was the second such deployment order this week regarding Mitrovica, and it highlighted the challenge that security forces face in preventing ethnic violence in the new country of Kosovo, where ethnic Albanians are a majority and Serbs a minority.

Kosovo's international observers hope to prevent such violence from escalating as the EU begins supervising police operations in Kosovo. French Brig. Gen. Michel Yakovleff, who supervises Mitrovica, said earlier this month that NATO's Kosovo force would not hesitate to act if the EU mission is challenged.

The EU police mission said in a statement Saturday that the latest deployment order was designed to "show its determination" to quell any violence in Kosovo. It began in Mitrovia early Saturday when a mob of angry Serbs gathered following an explosion that damaged eight cars there. The two shops were then set on fire, leading to another explosion. The causes of both blasts were being investigated, police said. President Fatmir Sejdiu condemned the violence and said Kosovo's institutions will "not allow such acts to endanger" the country's future.

Just days ago NATO sent troops to Mitrovica to end riots that followed the arrest of two ethnic Albanians suspected of stabbing a Serb man. Mitrovica has often been the scene of clashes between ethnic Albanians and Serbs. In a separate incident, Kosovo's police said Saturday they were searching for an unidentified gunmen who fired 11 rounds at a Serb's house in eastern Kosovo. Many Serbs bitterly reject Kosovo's declaration of independence, which was issued in February.

Some Albanians fear concessions made to Kosovo's Serbs, such as giving control over police, customs and justice matters, will lead to the country's split along ethnic lines. Serbs treat the EU mission with suspicion since most countries in the EU have recognized Kosovo as an independent state.

Top secret meeting of Bollanos with Greek FM in Athens

Contacts at the Foreign Ministry had these days the chairman of «Omonoias» and Mayor Himaras B. Bolanos, who "was found in the eye of the cyclone" in Albanian Opinion because of the defense the greek minority, which asked the Greek parliament to approve conditioned the Association Agreement between Albania and the EU, if there are no commitments to resolve the politic requests of the Greek minority.

Clearly and must be taken into consideration by the Greek Parliament the memorandum submitted by the «Omonia», but holds great debate what is happening in the internal affairs of minority and because «Omonia» continues through HRUP to participate in the Berisha government, which complains simultaneously in Athens that does not respect minority rights.

The secret probably lies in the forthcoming elections in Albania and balances that would keep the leadership of the minority, if it has a minimum satisfactory election results. Omonia called Tirana for the electoral law, which is disapproved by the the Greek minority as antidemocratic law against democracy and prosperity of Albania.

However Albania claimed as first diplomatic priority the joint NATO alliance leaving the efforts hopes by Greece for agreement with EU.

Just on January 1, 2009, Greece holds the Presidency of OSCE, one very difficult year for Albania which will hold the politic elections under unaccepted strategy for free elections process.

more see: http://www.ethnos.gr/

Adminral Kuznetsov. A Russian giant in the Aegean Sea

ATHENS, January 2.-Deck-based aviation of Russia's heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov will hold exercises in the Greek airspace in January, the Greek National Defense General Staff said on Friday. "The exercises will take place on January 3-4 and on January 8-10 southeast of Rhodes Island and on January 11 south of Crete," the General Staff said.

The exercises will be held in international waters but the aircraft will fly in the Athens airspace, the General Staff said. Russia announced in 2007 that its Navy had resumed and would build up a constant presence in different regions of the world's oceans.This move of Russia motivated the interest of many western embassies in Athens and especially the American.

The Russian presence in many places on the international theatre is rising. One of the exercise areas is adjacent to Attalla and east of Tarsus of Syria. An area that Turkey is disputing Cyprus rights of oil drilling. According to government circles, that wished to remain anonymous, the permission for the military exercises is a "Double Message" to Russian and the USA.The time frame of the exercises is on a peculiar coincidence of increased Turkish violations of Greece FIR.

According to Russian officials admiral Kuznetsov and the escort ships departed from the navy base at Severomorsk, and have been cruising outside the strip of Gaza, monitoring hostile Israeli Air Force operations. The Russian media include many reports about the exercises in the Aegean and they characterise them as of very "High importance and symbolism".It is very interesting the probable reactions of the Turkish Air Force in the reserved regions as the may complicate ever more the already tense situation in the Greek Archipelagos of the Aegean

Rights Group Seeks Impeachment for Albania Ethnic Greek Mayor

Tirana -The Albanian Human Rights Group, AHRG, asked on Sunday the government and parliament to impeach the ethnic Greek mayor of the town of Himara in Southern Albania, who asked Greece not to back a key deal seen as a vital step in Albania’s EU bid.

“The request by Bollano for Greece no to ratify Albania’s Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU, is in breach is breach of Albania’s constitutional order in which are sanctioned the notions of indivisibility, unity and sovereignty of the country,” reads the statement from the Tirana based NGO.

more see: http://www.albanianeconomy.com/news/2008/12/22/rights-group-seeks-impeachment-for-albania-ethnic-greek-mayor/