SP: Scandal with Karaburun
Still no any reaction for Himara properties by Socialist Opposition Party

The Socialist MP, Taulant Balla, reported another scandal from the Ministry of Defence, as he considered it.

The Defence Minister has transferred to the Ministry of Economy a list of the army assets that were to be privatized in Karaburun and farther down in Southern Albania, mainly military barracks.

32.216 square meters of territory belonging to the army, only in Karaburun, will be sold without taking in account the profits that these could bring to the area and the Albanian citizens, who are the real owners, declared MP Balla, who asked for an immediate interruption of the sale process.

“We needed a full study plan for Karaburun, including tourist development of the area. Karburun has always been a closed area and only for the military. Now it is turning to a private area with people who have connections with this government”, Balla declared.

Balla says that the list of properties that the government is trying to sell in a hurry doesn’t end here.
According to the official list of the Ministry of Defence, the military areas of Llogara, Orikum and Dukat will also be sold.

“Imami wants to sell them immediately, and will take these properties not only from the army, but also from the Albanian citizens, and he will give them to private owners who have close ties with him”, Balla declared.

In this list is included the Maritime Mine Depot in Orikum and Kepi i Gjuhezes in Karaburun, with 2569 square meters. Then there is the Haxhi Alia Cave Artillery Battery, known as an attraction for all Albanians, where the Ministry will sell 1548 square meters.

1891 square meters will be sold in Shenjan belonging to a military base, and another Artillery Battery in the same area, with 20.934 square meters. The viewpoints 23 and 114, one in Bristan, Karaburun, and the other in Llogara, have 5814 and 8024 square meters of terrain that will be sold.

All these territories are in southern Albania, with a great tourist potential. The Socialist MP that the sale should have been discussed, in order to see the interest for the public.

  Picture: FOCUS News Agency

A trans-Albanian motorway will soon connect Prishtina to Tirana
 

14 October 2012 | 08:25 | FOCUS News Agency

Home / Southeast Europe and Balkans

Pristina. On November 27th Kosovo and Albania will jointly celebrate the 100-anniversary of the creation of the Albanian state. On the occasion Prishtina and Tirana will be connected by the newly built 61 km Kosovo section of the trans-Albanian motorway “Morine-Gjurgjice”, Preportr informs.
The trans-Albanian motorway, which will connect Albanian main Adriatic port Durres with Kosovo Merdare north-east cross-border check point with Serbia, is part of the trans-European Corridor no.8, now passing (modified) via Nish and connecting Bulgarian Black sea port of Bourgas with the Mediterranean.
The project is an extension of the Albanian motorway construction, which began in 2006, completing 171 kilometres on Albanian side and now adding another 90 kilometres on Kosovo territory for an estimated cost of 750 million euro from a total of 1 billion American infrastructure projects’ grant for Kosovo. When completed, the motorway will reduce travelling time from Prishtina to Durres to 3.5 hours from the current 5 hours. For Kosovo, construction of the motorway has additional importance as it will provide direct access to the Adriatic-Ionian highway.
American Bechtel and Turkish Enka have been selected as contractors on the project, work on which began in April 2010 with a completion date of September 2013.

Reintroduction of visas “not very likely”

Source: Tanjug

BRUSSELS -- Several EU member states have announced that they will launch a procedure in late October that will allow them to quickly suspend Serbia’s visa-free regime.

However, European Stability Initiative’s expert Alexandra Stiegelmeier believes that reintroduction of visas for Serbian citizens is not very likely.
Tanjug has learnt from diplomatic sources in Brussels that Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and the Netherlands will request that a procedure to reintroduce visas for Serbia and Macedonia at the EU interior ministers’ meeting on October 25.

German politicians, especially Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, have been demanding that visas be reintroduced for Serbians and Macedonians due to the high number of false asylum seekers.

“However, there is no mechanism in the EU so far that will enable such a request to be implemented fast and easy,” Stiegelmeier told Tanjug.

“Not a single EU member state, not even Germany, can unilaterally suspend the visa-free regime because it would represent a gross violation of the Schengen Treaty,” she explained.

Stiegelmeier pointed out that there was a possibility that the EU member states would adopt a mechanism, that was proposed by the European Commission (EC) in May 2011, which would allow a quick suspension of the visa-free regime.

“All Germany can do is exert pressure on the European Council to send the amendment on the suspension procedure to the Parliament for urgent adoption,” she explained.

“Even if this scenario came true, it would take at least six months to adopt the mentioned mechanism and even then it is not sure that it could be applied to Serbia,” Stiegelmeier said.

“The mechanism envisages that visas can be reintroduced if the number of asylum seekers from a country suddenly increases in a period of six months and the increase in the number of asylum seekers that Germans are complaining about has a short-term character,” she pointed out.

“In fact, if you look at the annual level, the number of asylum seekers from Serbia has dropped in the past two years,” Stiegelmeier noted.

“All this means that the Serbian citizens will be able to travel to the EU without collecting a bunch of papers and going through a long, humiliating procedure in consulates in the foreseeable future. On the other hand, if the Serbian authorities do not start seriously dealing the causes of collective trips to Europe for just several hundreds of euros a month, in the long run it is possible that visas will be reintroduced,” she concluded.

Army sells military buildings in Jala, along with 70 thousand square property

Building constructed during the military dictatorship in Albania of 3 thousand square meters, added 67 000 square meters "is not to have the owner"

During the years of the Albanian dictatorship, popular defense built a building, which was called the "House of the military in Jala". After not admomnistrimit by Albanian Army, Ministry of Defence, wants to sell to anonymous people who will buy the building already, and an terior of 67 thousand square meters.

 Defence Minister Arben Imami, said in a program in "TV Klan" the building of 3 thousand meters, will join for selling 67 thousand square property, which is not the owner, but is currently the host.

This is a flagrant case when direct Albanian politics is involved in selling property to people of Himara.

Meanwhile, expected to sell dozens of other military facilities across the coast of Himara, where targeted remains Porto Palermo, and old submarine base.

Related:

"Panorama" Newspaper

http://www.panorama.com.al/2012/07/24/shoqatat-e-bregdetit-ushtria-te-na-ktheje-pronat/#comment-101946

Himariotes NGO, "Albanian Army, must turn the properties of Himariotes family, sequestered by Dictator regime

"Coast Line Association" and "The Himara Community", call the Albanian Government to release the properties of people of Himara, which are target to privatize by Albanian Mafia.

Albania PM: World Bank Panel “Linked To Mafia”

Tirana | 09 February 2009 |Land Mafia in “Jale”: Hotels, closes the beach and Beton, Beton and all is privat!In response to the report produced by the Inspection Panel of the World Bank, the Government of Albania has issued a response (PDF, 163KB) 

Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha accused a World Bank investigative panel of being influenced by the Albanian mafia for their report on a controversial coastal management project that was used to demolish parts of a village and leave many families homeless.     The internal report shows that a World Bank project on coastal zones management in southern Albania aided the demolishment of informal settlements in the village of Jale, in disregard to the Bank’s policies of forced displacement. The report, obtained last week by Balkan Insight, also noted allegations of corruption and efforts at a cover up. The Bank has already announced the suspension of a loan for the project.“I express my contempt for the unscrupulous slander of the investigative panel in what they call an independent report, but which has been dictated by the Albanian land mafia,” said Berisha in a press conference on Sunday, adding that he had asked World Bank officials to probe the panel’s ties to organized crime.The investigation by an inspection panel found that World Bank management failed to comply with its policies with respect to the design, appraisal and implementation of the project, harming the local people affected by it. The probe also found that WB assisted the demolition by pressuring local construction police to take action and by supplying them with equipment and aerial photos.In addition to the project’s failure to comply with World Bank policies,  the investigators noted allegations of corruption and complaints that the demolition of the Jale settlements was part of a bigger scheme to develop the area as a tourist resort. While the panel does not evaluate these allegations, it concludes that the selective demolition carried out by construction police supports the intention to clear the area.The investigative panel also accused World Bank management of misrepresenting facts during the probe and hampering the investigation by withholding access to data, while it notes the unusual lack of recollection of facts and crucial events by staff. Investigators say that several WB staff members both in headquarters and on the field were “coached” to provide unusually consistent but factually incorrect or misleading information.In a statement for Balkan Insight the World Bank conceded “that mistakes were made in the project, and that ways to address the alleged grievances of those affected are under active consideration.”“The World Bank is concerned about the errors that were made by management and staff in the context of the project.  In accordance with our internal processes, the Bank is reviewing actions of its staff, and, if warranted, will take appropriate action,” the statement said.Read More: World Bank Project Demolished Albania Village

The greek weekly "TO PARON"

The bulldozers expelled the Greeks in Nivitsa

What the Greek government must know more about Jala and Nivitsa in Himara Region? ...

Do they know for the "son in law" of Sali Berisha called Jamarber Maltesi and is representative of the World Bank in Albania!

Do the greek parliament members know about the bulldozers-there, to build a tourist resort to cleansing of the Greek ethnic people?.

more in greek newspaper: http://www.paron.gr/v3/new.php?id=37971&colid=&catid=40&dt=2009-02-15%200:0:0

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

STATE DEPARTAMENT

Gordon Duguid
Acting Deputy Department SpokesmanDaily Press Briefing
February 18, 2009

.......

Yes, Mr. Lambros.

QUESTION: On Albania, the World Bank acknowledged yesterday serious errors by the Albanian Government against a Greek village in northern Epirus and presented an action plan for addressing this issue to a panel. I am wondering what is the U.S. position, since the European Union is involved, too.

MR. DUGUID: I would refer you to the World Bank for their action, and I believe that the – this matter is before the courts in Albania, so that would be – those would be the proper places to go for an opinion on this. It’s a court matter. The World Bank, I understand from press reports, has launched its own investigation. They would have many more details than I would be able to give you.

QUESTION: One more question. Any response by Mark Toner to my pending question of last week on the Sali Berisha supreme court in Albania regarding the sentence of five Greeks in Himara of northern Epirus for political reasons 25 years in prison who simply raised a Greek flag?

MR. DUGUID: I believe that the matter is a court matter for the Albanians, and they do have an independent judiciary that has worked through this.

QUESTION: Thank you.

see more: http://www.state.gov/video/?videoid=13463880001

"Kosovo's integrity" unacceptable for Serbia

Source: Večernje novosti

BELGRADE -- Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić told daily Večernje novosti that the EU had no alternative for Serbia.

Tomislav Nikolić (Tanjug, file)

He stressed, however, that he expected Brussels to show true readiness to accept Serbia in the Union.
According to him, Belgrade also expects the European Commission (EC) to rephrase a sentence on “Kosovo’s territorial integrity” mentioned in a document dubbed Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2012-2013.

“Serbia has started dealing with the burning issues in its wish to get a date for the beginning of the (EU accession) negotiations, including combat against corruption and crime, judicial reforms and acceptance of everything that has been signed so far, with continuation of the technical talks, and showed that it has a strong will to solve the problem,” Nikolić told the daily.

He expects the EU to show a true readiness to accept Serbia in the EU as a full-fledged member.

“The EU is positive about Kosovo and Metohija’s independence through formulations in the Enlargement Strategy. Phrasing ‘Kosovo’s integrity’ is not acceptable for Serbia who expects the EU to be an unbiased mediator in the Belgrade-Priština dialogue. A change of the formulation represents a small step that would give Serbia an additional strength to solve all existing problems in good will and interest of all citizens and continue the dialogue on the highest possible political level,” the president was quoted as saying.

He noted that the EU should be committed to the international law and the UN Charter.

“A secession of a part of Serbia, a UN founder, should not be acceptable for the EU and it should also not be unacceptable for them that Serbia does not want a part of its territory to get attributes of a state in the Enlargement Strategy, which is contrary to international documents and customs,” Nikolić explained.

The daily has learnt that Serbia’s proposal is to erase the controversial formulation “respect of Kosovo’s territorial integrity” from the document and replace it with “respect of Kosovo’s territory”.

“In that case, Serbia could respect the wholeness of its southern province which would mean that it accepts that there is no partition,” Nikolić said.

Serbian Deputy PM for European Integration Suzana Grubješić told Večernje novosti that the controversial formulation had been added to the document “at the last moment”.

“This was done without previous consultations with any Serbian official,” she said and added that the government would soon discuss further steps.

Berisha: Strike is political. Opposition: Start dialogue

The Albanian Prime Minister, Sali Berisha, declared that the hunger strike of the former political prisoners is completely political and that among them are people who have always been against the Democratic Party.

Berisha declared that when in power, the DP has worked to improve the life of the former politically persecuted and prisoners, despite their political convictions.

Berisha accused the hunger strikers of being impostors, since they have received the compensation they needed in money and shares. He also accused the opposition MPs of giving them bottles with petrol inside the strike premises.

Berisha appealed the relatives of the protesters to remove their people from the strike, insinuating that the government will not accept any of their requests.

The Socialist Parliamentary Group leader, Gramoz Ruci, asked the Prime Minister Sali Berisha to give up from blaming the opposition for the hunger strike of the former political prisoners.

“Go and tell them what you have done for this category, if you have facts, rather than hiding yourself”, Ruci declared.

Strike of death is declared
12/10/2012

Despite the negotiations with the president in presence of the international community, tension rose at the hunger strike.

Strikers say that they have been mistreated by the police, even physically, and the latter have removed all their beverages, leaving only water.

They asked the Ombudsman to intervene and declared that if the police will continue with the violence and their measures, they will start the strike of death.

“The Ombudsman must come and see what the police are doing. They have removed everything from us. With this behaviour, we will declare the strike of death. We will remove even water and will die here”, one of the strikers declared.

The strikers say that they have not been allowed to meet their family members. After the incident, the striker organizers were not allowed to meet the strikers. They appealed the US Embassy for help, from which they say they have taken support for calming the situation.

“The US Embassy representatives, our last remaining friends, declared their support after the incidents that took place”, declared the strike coordinator, Skender Tufa.

After the meeting at the US Embassy, the organizers were not allowed to enter the hunger strike premises. The representative of the New Democratic Spirit, Aleksander Biberaj, was also not allowed to meet the strikers.

“It’s their decision to not allow us, but this is a hate and discrimination between classes that is being installed each day in Albania. We cannot let them die today, 22 years after the fall of the communist regime”, Biberaj declared.

Ndreca’s appeal for the strikers

After several hours of travel in an ambulance, the former political prisoner, Gjergj Ndreca, woke up at the Kakavija border checkpoint. Before entering Greece, where he will receive treatment from a specialized clinic, Ndreca gave a short declaration for his fellow strikers.

“I appeal them to stand until the end of this fight. Even if I don’t return, I would gladly give my life to them”, Ndreca declared.

After the treatment at the Tirana hospital, the 47 year old Gjergj Ndreca was sent for a specialized treatment in Greece.

The other patient, Lirak Bejko, was sent to a specialized clinic in Rome. The opposition used an ambulance helicopter for Bejko, since his health situation is worse.

Albania's Centennial Brings Joy to Jailbirds

A new bill presented on Wednesday to mark Albania’s 100 years of independence will grant an amnesty to prisoners serving sentences of less than two years. 

Besar Likmeta

BIRN

Tirana

Prison cell

The bill, which is expected to be voted on soon in parliament, will release all prisoners serving less than two years in jail.
Persons under investigation for non-grave crimes that have a maximum sentence of two years can also expect a pardon.
Under the amnesty law, fines issued by courts will be forgiven, on condition that the defendants were not convicted of serious crimes.
Offenders who at the time that they committed the crime were 18 years or younger will also benefit from the amnesty, apart from those serving a sentence for murder or rape.
This year Albania marks the 100th anniversary of its declaration of independence from the Ottoman Empire, on November 28, 1912, and as an important birthday the government has promised to celebrate it with gusto.

A series of events are under discussion, ranging from the construction of monuments to Albania’s founding fathers to concerts by local pop idols.

Opposition Political Party SYRIZA is in the Lead:Poll

According to a new poll of Greek voters, opposition political party SYRIZA is in the lead.
Bloomberg reports that 80 percent of those polled say the country is going in the wrong direction.
72 percent of those polled say they are against the bailout of Greece by troika (IMF, ECB, EU) creditors.

And 48 percent say they think SYRIZA – the anti-bailout party that lost a close race to the current ruling party, New Democracy, in June – will win the next election.

Meanwhile, the extremist right-wing Golden Dawn party – on the opposite side of the political spectrum as SYRIZA – is quickly gaining in popularity among Greek voters as well (Golden Dawn has often been described as neo-Nazi).

These developments show how fragile the political situation in Greece has become and suggest that things could get dicy going forward.

Turkey endangered lives of Russians on Syria-bound plane – Foreign Ministry

 

Published: 11 October, 2012, 12:38

Building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Moscow (RIA Novosti / Ruslan Krivobok)

Ankara endangered Russians by diverting a flight from Moscow to Damascus, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said. Moscow expressed anger at not being informed that Russians were involved in the incident, and that their diplomats were denied access to them.
“We are troubled that the lives of the passengers aboard the plane, including 17 Russian citizens were put at risk by this inappropriate act. Turkey did not inform Russia that Russian citizens were among those detained on the plane. We found this out through the press,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aleksandr Lukashevich said.
The Russian embassy in Turkey demanded access to the Russian citizens and dispatched consular officers and doctors to the Ankara airport. Turkish authorities, however, denied the Russian diplomats access to the passengers, in violation of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. The Russian nationals were detained in the airport for eight hours.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has demanded an explanation from Turkish authorities, and that Ankara take steps to prevent future such incidents.
Turkey defended the move by claiming that the plane could have carried “non-civilian cargo.”
“There were no arms and military equipment aboard the civilian aircraft – and could not be,” a source in Russia’s military industry told Interfax news agency.
Russia has maintained its military-technical cooperation with Syria, and that any arms or military equipment sales to Damascus are conducted according to established practice. The current law expressly forbids arms sales facilitated by civilian aircraft.
­

'Air piracy’

­Syrian transport minister Mahoumd Said said that Turkey’s detention of the passenger aircraft is tantamount to “air piracy,” and violates civil aviation treaties, Lebanon’s al-Manar TV channel reported.
Tensions between Turkey and Syria rose after a Syrian shell killed five civilians in the border town of Akcakale last week. Turkey returned fire and said it would retaliate against any future provocation originating in Syria. NATO supported Turkey’s move and pledged to defend the country should the Syrian conflict spill across the border.

“Serbia ready to continue talks, won’t recognize Kosovo”

Source: Beta, Tanjug

BELGRADE -- EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule has confirmed that there are no new conditions for Serbia’s EU accession.

Stefan Fule and Ivica Dačić (Tanjug)

Serbia’s Prime Minister Ivica Dačić has said that Belgrade is ready to continue the dialogue with Priština but that it will not recognize Kosovo’s independence.
Fule and Dačić met in Belgrade on Thursday.

“Commissioner Fule informed me that there are no new conditions for the continuation of the dialogue and that the dialogue, if Serbia participates in it, will be status neutral,” the Serbian official said after the meeting.

Commenting on the mentioning of Kosovo’s territorial integrity in a document dubbed Enlargement Strategy and Main Challenges 2012-2013, Dačić said that it was important for Serbia to see whether there were any new conditions in the EU integration process and whether it was necessary for Serbia to recognize Kosovo’s independence in some way.

“The answer is that there are no new conditions, that those are conditions of the European Council that clearly say that a visible and sustainable improvement of relations between Belgrade and Priština is necessary and that is not disputable for us. The sentence about Kosovo’s territorial integrity was disputable for us, bearing in mind that it could lead to a conclusion that there are new conditions. And that is unacceptable for us,” the prime minister stressed.

He explained that Serbia was ready to continue the dialogue with Priština if there were no new conditions, which was confirmed by Fule today.

Dačić stressed that Serbia believed that it was better to solve problems at the negotiating table than to make unilateral moves.

He added that Serbia wanted to peacefully resolve all conflicts, continue the technical talks, implement agreements and to hold the political dialogue at the highest possible level.

The PM said that Serbia would not accept new conditions.

“Our goal is to get a date for the talks as soon as possible and we are aware that this will not happen in December,” Dačić said and added that the government’s goal is to get the date next year.

“We are ready for a dialogue with the EU but I expect the European Commission (EC) to have enough understanding for Serbia’s specific problems, more specific than other countries do, such as Kosovo. Serbia cannot accept conditions that would mean recognition of Kosovo,” he noted.

The PM said that he expected the dialogue to continue but that it was a team effort and that Serbia was ready to accept the challenges.

Fule said that the controversial formulation “Kosovo’s territorial integrity” referred to the fact that the EU did not want the partition of Kosovo and that it did not have anything to do with Kosovo’s status.

The enlargement commissioner presented the annual EC report on Serbia’s progress in Brussels on Wednesday. As expected the EC did not recommend that Serbia be given a date for the beginning of the accession talks.

Dačić said on Wednesday that a request that Serbia should respect Kosovo’s territorial integritycould jeopardize the Belgrade-Priština dialogue.

Turkish F16s force Syrian flight from Moscow to land. Ankara: Syrian air space no longer safe

DEBKAfile Special Report October 10, 2012, 
 week.

Turkish Air Force

Turkish air force jets forced a Syrian 35-passenger Airbus A320 bound from Moscow to Damascus  to land in Ankara Wednesday night, Oct. 10, on suspicion it was carrying arms. Its cargo compartment was subjected to checks by Turkish officials. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu spoke of information that it may be carrying "certain equipment in breach of civil aviation rules."
At the same time, the Turkish foreign ministry released this statement: "All civilian flights in Syrian airspace have been stopped since it is not safe.”  TRT television said a Turkish plane that had already taken off for Saudi Arabia made a detour and landed at a Turkish airport.
debkafile’s military sources: By forcing down the Syrian airbus, Ankara has signaled Damascus that it will henceforth stop civilian air traffic flying through Syrian air space. There is still a question about whether Turkey will extend this aerial blockade to Syrian military air traffic. Furthermore, Iranian civilian aircraft have been running an almost daily airlift of military and logistical equipment from Tehran to Damascus. The new Turkish step, to which Damascus has not yet responded, may portend a clash between Turkey and Iran in the skies over Syria.
Our sources add: The Erdogan government, in defiance of the Obama administration’s wishes, looks like moving towards imposing its own unilateral protected no-fly zone over Syria to break out of the stalemate of the 18-month civil war.
They do not rule out the possibility that more anti-Assad governments, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Persian Gulf emirates may send air strength to back up Turkey’s opening move.
To discuss this, Saudi Intelligence Chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan paid an unannounced visit to Doha and went straight into a meeting with the Qatari ruler, Emir al-Thani.
Stopping a Syrian plane from Moscow was also a Turkish message to the Russians to stay out of the conflict now in full spate between Ankara and Damascus and not interfere in any no-fly zone. The Russians have not so far commented on the incident.
For the past two days, Turkish Chief of Staff Gen. Ozel Necdet, has been touring his forces along the Syrian border to inspect their readiness for a full-scale clash with Syria. Military sources in Ankara also disclosed that at least 25 F16 fighter jets had been transferred to the Diyarbakir air base near the Syrian border.
It now transpires that this transfer was planned as part of the operation to close Syrian air space.
Earlier, Wednesday, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that American troops are helping build a headquarters in Jordan to bolster its military capabilities in case violence spills over from Syria.

 

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Albanians indifferent to the European Union

Membership in NATO and the visa liberalization, higher enthusiasm

According to surveys, the Albanians think that "it falls the Greater enthusiasm," to join the EU, while reforms have not advanced but rather, are aggravated in the 12 points of the conditions that Europe had asked to Albania.

Membership in NATO, as well as visa liberalization score victories century Albanians, while membership in the EU think otherwise.

According to experts, there are two arguments that the Albanians, not shown enthusiasm for the European Union:

1. Non-Christian consciousness in the majority of the population.
2. They think that the aspiration of Greater Albania, is more valuable than the aspiration for in European Union, which binds simultaneously with membership in NATO.

While geopolitical plan, USA is the biggest support to the Atlantic organizations, including both NATO and European Union for Albanians.

"Albania, conditioned status"

The European Commission is expected to recommend a conditioned status for Albania, as confirmed by the high rank Commission officials one day before the publishing of the progress-report, although the final decision will be taken by the College of Commissioners this Wednesday morning.

As for the candidate status, the Commission refers only to the political agreements of November, the presidential election and the minimal critical mass of results regarding the 12 key priorities. In these three elements are considered as unfulfilled: the Parliamentary Regulation Reform, the Civil Service and Supreme Court laws.

After the division of the status from the membership negotiation, the Commission aims to include the 2013 elections in the rule of law problematic area, and not only for the status.

According to the high rank Commission officials, the report for Albania is expected to be analytic, with evaluations about the priorities that have been completely fulfilled, the ones that have been essentially fulfilled and others that are not sufficiently fulfilled.

The conditions that will follow the recommendation part for the status must be fulfilled before December, when the member countries will review the Commission’s recommendation for deciding if the country deserves the EU candidate status or not.

For proposing the status, the Commission focuses on the fulfilment f the easy priorities, the laws voted in parliament and the constitutional Presidential election. The member countries are very sensible about the 2013 elections and the rule of law sector, including the fight against corruption and the crime; the judiciary independence; the independence of institutions and the respect of human rights.

Fule: The significance of this progress-report

Before official publishing of the annual enlargement strategy and the individual progress-report, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Stefan Fule, gave a general message for the importance of this Autumn evaluation.

“This year’s progress report is important for three things: first because it is about the legitimate aspirations of all Europeans to be part in this European endeavour. It is about enlarging the zones of security, stability and prosperity. Secondly, this year’s report is about the momentum, in a large amount. It’s about Croatia to join soon, it’s about Serbia taking the Candidate Status and start the accession negotiations with Montenegro. It’s going to be about credibility and transformative power of enlargement. And the third point, and very strong in this year’s progress report, it is going to be about the European Union strength, and going in parallel deeper with the integration, and also extending its membership. There’s no contradiction between these two”, Fule declared.
 

On Point

Is the First Balkan War Really Over?

by Austin Bay
October 9, 2012Montenegro's Oct. 8, 1912, declaration of war on the Ottoman Turkish Empire and its Oct. 9 attack on neighboring Albania, an Ottoman protectorate, stunned Europe. Montenegro, a military midget, attacking Albania, another poor and backwater Balkan nowhere? Can a tiny statelet like Montenegro spark great havoc?
When the spark strikes a powder keg of ethnic, sectarian and nationalist conflict, the tragic answer is yes. This week marks the 100th anniversary of the start of the First Balkan War (October 1912 to May 1913). It was the second in a series of three wars that led to the great and not quite settled tragedy of World War I, the first being the Italo-Turkish War of 1911-1912. In that limited but dirty conflict, Italy, an aspiring imperialist, had sought to strip the decaying Turk imperialists of Libya. Italy succeeded. The Libyan civil war of 2011 played out on many of the same battlefields where a century earlier Italians fought Turks and their Libyan allies.
Italy had launched limited naval forays on Turkish European and Aegean possessions, but the First Balkan War brought heavy modern combat onto European soil. The First Balkan begat the Second Balkan War (1913), and in the summer of 1914 the Balkan assassination of an Austrian archduke ignited a war that went global -- World War I.
World War II and the Cold War reprised geopolitical issues World War I created or left unresolved. Twenty-first century conflicts roil the Central Asian and Caucasus territories once controlled by the Orthodox Christian Romanov Russian Empire and its heir, the Soviet Union. The Muslim Ottomans once controlled the Arab Spring states of Libya, Tunisia, Syria and Egypt. Yemen was also Ottoman land. The Ottoman Sultan served as caliph, nominal spiritual leader of a global Muslim caliphate. In 2001, Osama bin Laden said reviving the caliphate required global jihad.
The declining yet still powerful Romanovs and Ottomans collided in the Balkans' turbulent backwater with a third creaky imperial creature, the Austro-Hungarian Empire run by the Catholic Christian Habsburgs. These empires had their favored Balkan ethnic and sectarian constituencies.
Russia promoted the cause of Orthodox believers. The Turks championed Muslims, but they also had immediate territorial interests. Strong Ottoman armies protected Albania and Kosovo, but Ottoman Thrace and Macedonia, with its key seaport, Salonika, were Turkish Europe. Constantinople (Istanbul), the Ottoman capital, was a European city. The Turks had taken the city from the Greek Byzantines in 1453. They knew many Russians, Bulgarians and Greeks thought it was high time to right that historical wrong.
The Serbs, Greeks, Bulgarians and the Montenegrins saw the Turks' war with Italy as an opportunity to right many territorial and sectarian wrongs. Despite the Balkanites history of internecine territorial and historical disputes, the four nations formed an alliance, the Balkan League. The league's objective: evict the Turks from Europe.
Montenegro triggered its Albanian attack while its allies and the Turks were still mobilizing their forces. Montenegro had a modest war aim: seize the Albanian city of Shkoder (Scutari). The other Balkanites had larger goals. Landlocked Serbia wanted Kosovo and an Adriatic seaport. Greece and Bulgaria coveted Salonika and various slices of Thrace. Salonika gave Bulgaria access to the Aegean. Greece wanted southern Albania (Epirus). Bulgaria, with its large and well-equipped army, eyed Adrianople (Edirne) and the biggest prize, Constantinople.
On Oct. 17, Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria declared war on the Ottomans and launched multiple attacks on Turkish positions in Kosovo, Macedonia and Thrace. Pressed in all sectors, Turkish forces were defeated, virtually everywhere, losing Edirne to the Bulgarians and Salonika to the Greeks. Fortifications outside Constantinople finally halted Bulgaria's offensive.
Attempts to mediate the war resulted in a ceasefire, which collapsed in February 1913, after a military coup jolted Turkey. The First Balkan War ended officially in May 1913. Bulgaria, however, was dissatisfied with the division of the spoils. The Second Balkan War erupted June 16, 1913. The fuse leading to World War I continued to burn.

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Menduh Thaci, "persona non grata in Greece"?

Thaçi is not allowed to enter Greece, wrote to the Greek PM Samaras
Tetovo, October 9 - The chairman of the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA), Menduh Thaci, has written a public letter to the Greek Prime Minister Andonis Samaras, on not allowing him to enter the territory of Greece .
Thaci was returning from Ankara, where he participated in the Congress of the KPA of the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but the former returned to the border crossing with Greece by the Greek Police officers on the ground that his driver does not have an international driver's license.
"You remind Mr. Prime Minister that I am president of the Albanian Democratic Party, the largest opposition party of Albanians in Macedonia and at the same time a member of parliament. Perhaps I may have sympathy for the frustrations and difficulties that runs your state government in the crisis that has befallen you, but such incidents do not contribute to the image of your country, "he wrote Thaçi Greek prime minister.
Albanian opposition leader brought to the attention of the Greek Prime Minister and the case of freezing Albanian journalist Television Top-Channel, considering this approach Athenian official policy as contrary to the fundamental principles of humanity and democracy.

Samaras Bans Rallies During Merkel’s Visit

Worried that planned protests during German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Athens on Oct. 9 could escalate into violence, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras had directed that all rallies and gatherings be banned while she’s in the city to meet him, and the government will put snipers on rooftops and have Army commandos on standby in helicopters.
The security will even higher than for then-U.S. President Bill Clinton’s visit in 1999 and the ban on gatherings hasn’t happened since the days of the military junta that was overthrown in 1974. Samaras earlier had vowed to stop violence at protests after unpaid ship workers earlier this month stormed the Defense Ministry and clashed with police.
Government officials said most of the area in downtown Athens would be sealed off although it was reported that there would be some access for protesters and it was unclear how the government would react if demonstrators try to break the barricades that will be in place for 13 hours to protect Merkel and keep her from seeing any protests.
Demonstrators marched through Athens the day before Merkel’s visit and labor unions called for a work stoppage and mass protests while was to be meeting with Samaras and other government officials as the Prime Minister tries to get a $17.45 billion spending cut and tax hike plan approved by international lenders to release more loans needed to keep the economy afloat.
Merkel’s visit was seen as a show of support for Samaras after he came to Berlin last month to meet her and also a sign that she is in favor Greece staying in the Eurozone of countries using the euro, although she has not relented on her demands for more pay cuts, tax hikes and slashed pensions that have made her an enemy to many Greeks and stoked up anti-German feelings unseen since the end of WWII and the Nazi occupation.
To fend off potential attacks, at least 7,000 plainclothes police and hundreds more undercover agents have been mobilized from across the country to lock down the capital and erect steel fences around Parliament, the favorite gathering place of protests, CNBC reported. Snipers were already visibly stationed on the roof tops of government buildings in Athens and helicopters were already patrolling the skies.
Samaras has his hands full. The New Democracy leader is trying to convince the partners in his coalition government to go along with more austerity measures and the Democratic Left, which opposed them before the June 17 elections, has relented and PASOK Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos has put only feeble protests against some of the toughest conditions.
That has left it to the major opposition party, the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) to fight against more pay cuts, tax hikes and slashed pensions and the party’s leader, Alexis Tsipras, joined labor union leaders in urging Greeks to defy the ban on gathering and confront police downtown to show Merkel the face of resistance. The Independent Greeks said they will try to form a human shield around the German Embassy but it was not clear if they would even be allowed near it.
“The stakes are enormous,” George Pagoulatos, professor of European Politics and Economy at Athens University, told CNBC. “That Merkel, however, has agreed to come to Athens and afford political backing to Samaras demonstrates in most demonstrable way possible, her decision to tackle Europe’s debt troubles with Greece within the euro equation.”
(Sources: AMNA, dv, Athens News, Kathimerini)

 

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Constitutional laws for properties, are applied only for the government decisions

Albanian Constitution unworthy of ownership

6 Months after the 7501 law, was approved by the Albanian Parliament, continues to be processed, by the Albanian Government Decisions (VKM).

Who has taken more than 10% of the surface, will pay

Who has been more than 10% will be confiscated and will be posted to the Albanian expropriated owners

The Albanian Mafia to the way of baying falls properties more as possible 

The process will be posted for 10 days, who will be able to come to measure the whole earth, if not agree, it has the right, within three days, to oppose government commission land.

The Himara Community and the Costal Association: Civil have called as disobedience for 7501 communist law.

more in albanian:
http://shekulli.com.al/web/p.php?id=5549&kat=100

Albania, vote for Azerbaijan

While the politically persecuted people are continuing their hunger strike in Tirana, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe passed with 100 votes in favour, 64 against and 12 abstains for the “politically prisoner” definition resolution.

Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Spain were lobbying against this resolution. The Albanian delegation, represented by MPs Kastriot Islami, Lajla Pernaska and Shpetim Idrizi voted against the resolution in general and in favour of Azerbaijan, who reject the basic position of the Assembly on this matter.

“The report for the definition of the political prisoners was very simple. It had only three paragraphs for the definition, explaining that those who are considered terrorists are excluded from this status, and appeals all member countries to follow this definition”, declared Mailir Reps, member of the Commission of Laws and human rights, PACE.

“The ‘magic’ amend, amend nr.2, undermined the entire institution of the Council of Europe, since it said that the member countries can establish the “political prisoner” definition on their own, and that for special occasions thy might refer to the European Court for Human Rights, about who can be considered “politically persecuted”. The amend also says that the Parliamentary Assembly must not define the basis of the human rights and freedom, while this is what we are doing here for every debate and resolution. It damaged the entire institution. Naturally, this is something for which Albania must feel ashamed, because they have the Presidency”, Reps declared.

The Albanian MP Shpetim Idrizi, explained for Top Channel outside the cameras that Azerbaijan had lobbied strongly, and this justified the vote of the Albanian delegation against the resolution and in favour of a problematic amend, simply by offering solidarity to the requests of Azerbaijan.

PM "ready to take responsibility in negotiations"

Source: Beta

BELGRADE -- Ivica Dačić says he is "not shying away from his responsibility" when it comes to continued Kosovo dialogue, but that it was important to determine its goal.

Ivica Dačić (Beta, file)

Another important point, Dačić said, was to see whether there were "any new conditions".
He spoke a day after President Tomislav Nikolić told B92 that he would suggest the prime minister to head Belgrade's team in Kosovo negotiations.

"A decision on the continuation of the dialogue has not yet been defined," Dačić said, and added that it was also unknown who would take part in it, noting at the same time that it was "important to reach agreement on what we wish to achieve with this dialogue":

"Even in the election campaign I said that I would take the responsibility, well we won't be sending state clerks to talk to Catherine Ashton, will we. However, we must know what kind of talks we are conducting, with what goal and whether everybody (in the government) is in agreement on this."

The prime minister said that Serbia was in favor of peaceful resolution of problems, and that many of its politicians "took part in the dialogue with Priština since 1999".

"However - if we are talking about the dialogue here, while at the Dobrosin checkpoint shots are being fired at the police, those attacks are coming from the territory of Kosovo and Metohija where our investigative organs cannot cross, and nobody ever determined who committed them," he was quoted as saying.

Dačić, who also serves as interior minister, specified that the MUP outpost in Dobrosin came under fire early on Monday, and that there were no casualties in the attack that damaged two passenger cars.

Dobrosin is located in the municipality of Bujanovac, on the administrative line between Kosovo and Metohija and central Serbia.

Albania ex-political prisoner sets himself on fire

The Associated Press

Updated: 2012-10-08T14:14:16Z

A1 private TV station

In this video image taken from A1 private TV station, Gjergj Ndreca, 53, a former Albanian political prisoner sets fire to himself to demand quicker payment of compensation for victims of the former communist regime, in Tirana, Albania Monday, Oct. 8, 2012. Gjergj Ndreca is among a group of some 20 former political prisoners on hunger strike on a street in central Tirana. They are demanding that the government meets its pledges to pay victims of the former regime 2,000 leks ($18.32; Euros14.05) per day of imprisonment.

TIRANA, Albania -- A former Albanian political prisoner has been hospitalized after setting himself on fire to demand quicker payment of compensation for victims of the former communist regime.
Gjergj Ndreca, 53, is among a group of some 20 former political prisoners on hunger strike on a street in central Tirana. They are demanding that the government meets its pledges to pay victims of the former regime 2,000 leks ($18.32; (EURO)14.05) per day of imprisonment.
Police said Ndreca's injuries were not life-threatening. He had been jailed for six years for anti-Communist activities.
Protest coordinator Skender Tufa said a second striker who tried to put out the fire Monday also suffered burns.
About 100,000 Albanians were executed, imprisoned or sent to labor camps by the former communist regime that ruled Albania from 1944-1990.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/10/08/3857180/albania-ex-political-prisoner.html#storylink=cpy

Five himariotes send Albania to the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg

Beleri: "We do not ask "pardon" from the Albanian President"

"We have not asked "Pardon" by the President of Albania Nishani in our Trial, as long as they violate human rights and freedoms scandalous decisions you undertake, even if in the absence of our presence during proceedings as political tribunal. We expect judgment  to the Human Rights Court in Strasbourg to give us the right that belongs to us. "stressed Beleri

This is a joint statement in which Fred Beleri, one of 5 himariotes condamned by the Albanian Courts, sending to the Executive Director of the Himara Community , Stavri Marko

Meanwhile, The Himara Community, constantly demanded trial of 5 people of Himaras citizens to be a trasparent process, from the viewpoint of fundamental human rights and freedoms. The Himara Community has described as scandalous decision of the three levels of Albanian courts, synchronize its statements in Strasbourg, to the European Parliament and the U.S. Department in Washington. Also during Moisiu also Topi presidents mandates the Himariot community has made presidents appeal to review the decision to them.

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Thursday, February 12, 2009

Five himariotes send Albania to the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg

source: Elefterotipia, http://smarkos.blogspot.com/

Statement made by Freddy Beleri, President of the Himara Union

The decisions of Albanian tribunals which have condemned five himariotes during the local elections in Albania 2003. This is another approach to the Albanian authorities in the plan prepared long time ago for the recent expulsion of the Greeks that living historically in Northern Epirus.

The Greek government generously helping Albania to integrate in Euro-Atlantic structures, while the position of Albania continues systematically to violate the human rights of the Greeks of Himara Region.

We, the five defendants would appeal to European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg for justice here, because we believe that the charges are unfounded and unacceptable for a modern European state such is Albania which wants for it aspiration in Europe.

 

The Himara Comunity

 

 

Ilir Meta values Panariti's visit

After returning from Greece, the Foreign Minister, Edmond Panariti has received positive evaluations from the Socialist Movement for Integration leader, Ilir Meta.

Meta considered Panariti’s visit in Athens very important and fruitful, not only for the two countries but also for the region.

“I value the Foreign Minister’s visit Edmond Panariti in Greece as a very important one. With the matters that were discussed and the results, it will contribute for a news level of relations between the two countries, which are also important for the peace and integration in our region”, Meta declared.

 

 The Himara Community, calls the Albanian President Bujar Nishani, in which, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of independence of Albania, to "to release", 5 citizens from Himara with Greek Ethnicity, who have been convicted by the Albanian courts, for "insulting of Albanian symbols ", during the administrative elections of 2003 in Himara Municipality.