Ancient Greek Jar Found on Albania Coast
Photo. Albanian archaeologist Adrian Anastasi right, U.S. archaeologist George Robb, centre, and dive master Howard.K.Phoenix hold an alleged 2,400-year-old Greek jar, part of a sunken shipment of up to 60 ceramic vessels, which was the top find from what organizers say is the first archaeological survey of Albania's seabed, conducted by U.S. and Albanian experts. The image was taken in the harbor of the Albanian southernmost town of Saranda, 300 kilometers (186 miles) from capital Tirana, on Aug. 14, 2007. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)
By LLAZAR SEMINI
SARANDA, Albania (AP) — Encrusted with tiny shells and smelling strongly of the sea, a 2,400-year-old Greek jar lies in a saltwater bath in Durres Museum, on Albania's Adriatic coast.

Part of a sunken shipment of up to 60 ceramic vessels, the 26-inch storage jar, or amphora, was the top find from what organizers say is the first archaeological survey of this small Balkan nation's seabed, conducted by U.S. and Albanian experts.

"Touch it, touch it. It's luck," said mission leader George Robb of the Key West, Florida-based RPM Nautical Foundation. "You're touching something that was made before Plato was born."

Launched in July, the month-long survey was the first step in compiling an underwater cultural heritage map that could eventually plot the position of sunken fleets from ancient and mediaeval times believed to lie along Albania's 220-mile coastline.

Auron Tare, the project's local coordinator, said Albanian authorities were hoping to sign a deal with RPM, a non-profit foundation, late this year for a five-year survey.

"That would give a boost to a still nonexistent field of archaeological research in the country," Tare said. "It would be a great promotion for local tourism, especially diving tourism, and could possibly lead to the creation of an underwater archaeology museum."

Archaeologist Adrian Anastasi said the survey would help protect the country's marine cultural heritage from looters — an increasing problem since the collapse of the country's hardline Communist regime in 1990.

"(The survey) will help create the necessary legal and structural infrastructure to protect shipwrecks from looting," said Anastasi, Albania's only archaeologist specialized in underwater research.

Anastasi said the project — using state-of-the-art scanning technology — would likely have cost the Albanian government up to $5.4 million if they did it by themselves. "RPM has all the necessary modern technology, and is doing it with its own funding," he said.

Linking the western Balkans and the East with western Europe, Albanian waters were busy with shipping during ancient and mediaeval times.

"In those times ships usually stayed near the shore, to maintain visual contact with land, and all our coastline was a very intensive route for commercial and other traffic," Anastasi said.

The light-brown clay amphora, probably used to store wine or oil, was found on the last day of the survey off the ancient town of Butrinti near Saranda, some 186 miles from Tirana and opposite the Greek island of Corfu. It dates to the 4th century B.C.

The find will stay immersed in water at the museum in Durres, 20 miles west of Tirana. Museum workers will gradually reduce the water's salinity over the next year, to remove salt from the amphora ahead of its conservation.

"Based on what we can see on the surface, there is a high probability that (the amphora) is a sign of a shipwreck located deep there from that period," said Jeffrey G. Royal, archaeological director of RPM, whose Mediterranean operations are based in Valletta, Malta.

If so, it would be the first 4th century B.C. wreck to be located in Albanian waters, say survey organizers, who are keeping the find's precise location and depth secret for fear of looting. Only a handful of wrecks from that period have been excavated in the Mediterranean.

Anastasi said 50-60 amphorae were located on the seabed. Once the finds are assessed, an effort will be made to uncover the wreck, which would give information on the ship's destination and ancient naval architecture of the period.

Albanian officials also plan to ask permission from neighboring Montenegro for the RPM's Hercules research vessel to continue its exploration north of Albania.

The ship also located 14 other shipwrecks from the 19th and early 20th centuries, in the survey that ended Aug. 13.

ALBANIA; STRONG MEASSURES TO ANNY DESTABILISATION OF BALKAN REGION Photo left: A Greek Class Frigate patrolling the greek albanian waters border on the Ionian Sea
Photo down: During the meeting between Berisha and Rama on press conference.

By Stavros Markos*

The Albanian President Bamir Topi said: "The endless suspension of a final status decision was doing serious damage to regional stability. Albania should be prepared for any unexpected situation." That is a quote from Albania National Security Council President and Army Chief Bamir Topi as he describes the deteriorating situation in the Balkans. This should not be surprising since Albanians were given the impression by the European Union (EU) and some NATO countries most of this year they were willing to recognize Kosovo independence until the Serbian government in Belgrade and Serbian para-military nationalist groups openly prepared for war to retain control over the province.
In response, the United Nations and the EU advised all parties to wait in the desperate hope some negotiated solution could break the entrenched impasse. In the meantime Albanian nationalists in Kosovo, with the full support of Tirana, made unofficial claims of independence with the assumption they had Washington's support.
According to the Pristina daily Koha Ditore, for the last few weeks word began to circulate Serbia Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, without the knowledge of Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, dispatched his private envoy, businessman Vojin Lazrevic to a number of European capitals to test their response to Kostunica's proposal on Kosovo being partitioned.
According to AKI, Lazrevic was in Rome last week. Kostunica's Belgrade office has responded with no comment to the reports and there has been no indication, officially, as to the responses so far from the European governments, but I suspect since they are desperate to avoid another wave of fighting in Southeast Europe they would be willing to support partition. However Lazervic may have informed them Tirana and the Kosovo Albanians would never support it even to the point of going to war to prevent it.
Lazervic may then mention since another war is inevitable the European Union and most of NATO should assist Serbia against any Albanian military unit, in Kosovo or from Albania itself and the reason being Albanian nationalists have support from Islamic militant groups. He should know of Tirana's increased relations with Tehran. Iran is eager to see any war that can be used to distract the West from attacking Iran. Tehran can also use the next war in Southeast Europe to silence Vienna and end the investigation into Iran's nuclear weapons program by the UN agency based there.
For the past three days Tirana has placed its military on "the second level of readiness" and all armed units set to active "pre-mobilization." In an attempt to defuse the situation Serbian Parliament member Dragan Todorovic is trying to portray reports of Albania's mobilization as "propaganda." Todorovic commented, "Still, I have to ask against whom Albania wants to go into war - Serbia, Montenegro or Greece."
Washington has expressed its serious concerns over these latest developments by sending CIA Deputy Director Stephen Kappes to visit Tirana Sunday evening where he held two hours of secret discussions with Albania Secret Service (SHISH) Director Bahri Shakiri.
The escalation of tensions in the Balkan area is making in alert also FYROM, Bullgaria, Montenegro and sure Greece which is going to politic elections. According to Macedonian Press Agency, the President Branko Cervenkovski, has rised in first level the Security Council of FYROM, after attack of Albanian paramilitary group against police patrol near Kumanovo.
Sofie continues to make propaganda about the rights of Bulgarian minority in Albania, "shutting down Skopie to silence his national rhetoric propaganda in Albania". Bulgarian government last year, has distributed about 50 thousand passports to Bulgarian in Albania, while the historians speak for about 100 to 300 thousands Bulgarian in Albania. But the Bulgarian offensive is making in difficulty Skopje after the decision of Former Macedonian Prime Minister Georgierwski to declare his nationality as Bulgarian. Georgiewski during an interview on TV Bulgarian station declares that, “The Macedonia state, must partition and Albanians can take Struga and Diber region, because after 5 years the Albanians could take more territories of this country”. Bulgaria is the second state after Greece which damages the rights of minorities in Albania, knowing also citizenship for Bulgarian who lives in Albania, after Athens, which gave citizenship for Greeks of Albania last year. Greece last year, now Bulgaria is riseing the diplomatic pressing to Tirana for counting proces popullation of Albania. Not only bulgarian academics are making the campaing, but also a decision of Association Municipalitis of Bulgaria to finance next year bulgarian schools in Albania has opened a large discution in Albanian opinion.
Anyway Albania is going to a large United Government after a meeting proposed from Albanian President Bamir Topi between the Prime Minister Sali Berisha and leader of Opposition Edi Rama. Last week NATO and Albanian Government put an agreement to friendly collaboration indicted for the rise of tension in Kosovo. Last month, Albania declared for the end of demilitarization Chemical Weapons process, financed from Washington with about 20 million $.

The rise not only of tenssion in the area but simmilar the organized crime and islamic groups in Albania had obligated FBI to estabilish in Tirana strong operators and aggents in accordance with albanian authority.

The Albanian Governament has also strong cooperation with EU and Europol under program "Intereg" financing albanian frontier authorities to be atented with communities who live in area with Greek borders.

Athens is going to anticipate politic elections but is seeing the tension in the area as protagonist of NATO and EU member. According to Greek media, is possibility to create a large government after elections including the Opposition of PASOK, seeing also for the strong measures of Greece for any escalation of conflict in Balkan Region(!).. The Greek National Army is in alert after catastrophic situation of fires in all the Greek territory and is including to the electoral process, but is observing his borders with Albania and FYROM for any extremely escalation from Kosovo in accordance with NATO and EU. ….In Southern Albania, (known as Northern Epirus separated province), lives a large Greek Community which obligates the Albanian government to be in attention for any provocation from Albanian national paramilitary groups. Athens always has been supporter of reforms of Albania to enjoy to NATO and EU but something is obligated from politically results particularly for the Human Rights values. During the visit of Under Secretary of State Department on 11 June 2007 in Athens Nicholas Burns, foreign Minister Dora Bakogianis declared that: "Albanian and FYROM to be clear, are not ready to enjoy to NATO next Summit of 2008 after no any progress in politically reforms”, while the Prime Minister Karamanlis during the electorate Campaign said “We will make veto "against any name of Macedonia" state to the NATO next year”.

Stavros Markos*
(Journalist, Member of the World Security Network Foundation -Southeast Europe Office)

References:
www.adnkronos.com
www.kathimerini.gr
http://www.focus-fen.net
www.balkanweb.com
www.gazeta-shqip.com
http://www.ana.gr/

www.worldpress.org

Kosovo Albanians shun Serbia, but not its passport.

Photo (AFP): An ethnic Albanian poses with his former Yugoslav republic passport (R) and his UNMIK (United Nations mission in Kosovo) travel document, 04 September 2007. Kosovo Albanians who normally shun anything do with Serbia are applying in their tens of thousands for the former Yugoslav republic's passports.

BERNICE, Serbia (AFP) — Kosovo Albanians who normally shun anything do with Serbia are applying in their tens of thousands for the former Yugoslav republic's passports. The scramble for the travel documents is continuing unabated even as the international community frets about deadlocked Kosovo status talks, and ethnic Albanians' thinning patience for independence from Serbia.
Thousands of such applications are awaiting processing, as the independence-seeking Albanian majority in the tiny Balkan territory seeks less restricted travel abroad.
Although she admits feeling "bad" about it, 23-year-old Majlinda says she has no option but to apply for a Serbian passport at the same time as wanting Kosovo to become the world's newest state.
"We want independence but we also want their passports. But I have no choice," said the Pristina resident.
Majlinda, who refused to provide her surname, brushed off the possibility of being branded a traitor by ethnic Albanian hardliners.
"If they want us to be patriots, let them provide us with Kosovo passports that make life easier for travelling abroad. If they did so, I wouldn't even think of asking for a Serbian passport," she said defiantly.
Ethnic Albanians have been fraught with travel problems since Kosovo's 1998-1999 war, when Serbian forces expelled hundreds of thousands of them from their homes and destroyed their identity documents.
The province has since been managed by the United Nations mission in Kosovo, which has been given the authority to issue locals passports bearing the mission's "UNMIK" acronym.
More than 40 countries recognise the UNMIK passports, but of neighbouring countries only Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro accept them without restrictions.
For Kosovo Albanians travelling under UNMIK's name, a simple journey abroad can turn into a wrangle of red-tape left over from the communist era.
Those carrying Serbian passports say they find it easier to obtain visas with the dark-blue travel booklets of the country from which they wish to separate.
Ramadan Shala, a 53-year-old maintenance worker from Pristina, travelled to Gracanica, a Serb-populated enclave near the Kosovan capital, to hand over the necessary documents for his son Rifat's passport.
"Rifat got asylum in London where he works now, but he has to submit a passport to the British authorities" in order to claim residency, said Shala.
Rifat left Kosovo for Britain two years ago, travelling with an UNMIK passport. But it expired and he has asked his father to get him a Serbian one, believing it would make it easier for him to settle in Britain.
"Rifat will be fired and expelled if he doesn't get a Serbian passport by the end of this year," a worried-looking Shala said.
Milos Tabakovic, a notary and registrar in the small village of Bernice, near Pristina, said he noticed an increasing number of Kosovo Albanians seeking Serbian passports.
Tabakovic, in charge of collecting applications for documents such as birth certificates and citizenship papers necessary for obtaining passports, said that "people want to solve the problem of unrestrained travel abroad."
"They do it by obtaining a Serbian passport which is valid from five to 10 years and is recognised by more countries than UNMIK travel documents," he said.
After filing documents to the administrative centre in charge of the southern part of Serbia proper in Nis, Tabakovic later receives passports to hand out to the applicants.
"Our administration has received more than 10,000 applications only in July, while we receive around 500 applications a day," said Goran Djurdjevic, an official at Serbia's Interior Ministry office in Nis.
Tabakovic is a small but crucial link in the chain of Serbian administration that has remained in Kosovo, mainly in Serb enclaves. Belgrade still considers Kosovo as a part of its territory and is happy to issue its papers to anyone in Kosovo who wants them.
Despite being the sole official provider of passports to the citizens of Kosovo, the UN administration has so far never tried to put an end to this booming activity.
According to its data, UNMIK has issued some 600,000 passports since 2001, while Serbian authorities say they have issued some 200,000 passports to Kosovo residents in the past eight years.
Kosovo is awaiting a decision on its future status due by the end of this year.
Ethnic Albanians want nothing short of independence, while Belgrade has staunchly been opposing these calls, instead offering the province wide autonomy.

Balkans 2007: The beginning?

By Ioannis Michaletos*

As the world moves fast towards the closing annual season of Autumn, an upturn in world politics is starting to emerge, and might signify for a third time in less than 100 years that the Balkans will be the locale “Where all silly things started”.
March 2007 was the decisive annum where the emergence of an “Orthodox Energy Axis” seemed to take place, signified by the agreement for the Burgas-Alexandroupoli pipeline. For the first time in history Russia effectively by-passed the Bosporus with the assistance of Bulgaria & Greece, two NATO countries. Both countries were rewarded with the construction of two mega-warehouses of some 1,5 million tons of oil in their ports and Greece has already bought high-tech Russian weaponry that would constitute a real change in the balance of powers in the wider region. Three months later Russia, Bulgaria, Greece and Italy sign a large deal for natural gas transfer that further accelerates the projection of the Balkans right in the middle of the world. Moscow eyes Montenegro where it has invested heavily in the real estate sector and continuously projects its geopolitical role in all states with the exception of Albania for the time being.
In parallel the Western capitals were shocked by the adamant stance of Moscow to recognize a potential Kosovo independence, whilst it offered all means possible help to Belgrade to withstand pressure. Eventually Germany and France started cautiously to become neutral between USA and Russia and by assessing the drain of American forces in the multiple fronts across the world due to the war against terror; are trying to establish their own zones of influence in the Western Balkans and in contrast with all the “Deals signed” post 1999 war. The summer of 2007 revealed that the globalization process is a mimicry of the 1870-1914 period where all powers were competing each other and forming alliances for their own profit, as well as, colonizing the planet and subduing weaker cultures and societies.
Kosovo already hosts the Bondsteel camp with as much as 500 hectares of surface and over 300 buildings with thousands of personnel, military, civic and security forces. Virtually a castle in the midst of a poor underdeveloped area inflicted by organized crime, corruption and high birth rate that suffocates this Balkan hinterland. The main role of the “Castle” apart from constructing the security of the 1999 agreement; is to play a decisive role in safeguarding the proposed construction of the AMBO pipeline stressing from the Bulgarian –Burgas port, passing through FYROM and ending up to Vlore in Albania. Its construction was always in peril due to the fragile societal and ethnic composition of Western FYROM, an issue that cannot be examined without taking into consideration the developments in Kosovo. Actually any move towards independence would ultimately leave the government in Skopje in the unpleasant situation of neighboring with two Albanian states, with expanding population and with its own Albanian minority becoming a majority by 2020, if demographic trends continue. Already Bulgaria from its own part is securing its influence by issuing tens of thousands of passports for citizens of its Eastern neighbor.
Moreover the Greek-American consortium SENCAP lost the competition of acquiring the thermo-electrical power station Negotino; to a Canadian-Bulgarian coalition. Despite the fact that the former offered more, the governing party BMPO sided with the Bulgarian corporation and information from FYR Macedonia describe fierce American opposition to the whole development. It is interesting to note that widespread rumors for an eventual “Federal Union” between FYROM and Bulgaria are beginning to circulate, an event that will have ramifications probably more important and intense than Kosovo independence.
Serbia during the summer period achieved more or less to withhold its diplomatic points it gained during Spring, that are most importantly the ability to draw a red line under which it cannot retreat and also rejected an offer to become a member of the EU if it has to abandon K&M. Needless to say that this is more of a symbolic statement with long-term effects for other states wishing to enter the Union such as Turkey or even Ukraine. In reality Europe is not the attractive lady that it was five decades or even five years ago, and the ageing process is starting to affect its ability to negotiate actively in important and sensitive issues like the Kosovo one. Thus every nation state is filling the gap of the EU, as it was also the case in 1991, in most respects.
Albania, has the potential of becoming a hotbed of political developments over the coming months due to the rising opposition between the Berisha’s government and the opposition and the other grass roots movements across the country that demand alignment with Europe in terms of citizen’s rights, less corruption and decentralization of the incumbent heavy-handed political patronage. All these movements should be made visible by October if all conditions remain stable and there are not any sudden events that will draw the country into a political deadlock.
Greece is experiencing a fire-wave that according to governmental statements is conducted by a well-organized arson plan. Moreover the EU Commissioner Mr. Fratinni, commenting on this, stated that Europe is experiencing a new form of terrorism, “Territorial terrorism” that uses the environment as a “Weapon against the population, economy and the state”. In a few word Greece is the first country where this form of terrorism is being implemented, albeit with no concrete knowledge of the culprits.
Over the past few years the Athens government made some spectacular deals with Russia (See above), opened its market to the Chinese and Arab capital and cultivated strong ties with the USA multinationals, especially the East Coast ones, centered in New York. In a few words it has expanded its geoeconomic role and made itself a regional financial hub, a process that increases its role in the world commerce, both the official one and the “Parallel one” (Narcotics, trafficking, money laundering, etc”. Greece and consequently the Balkans are the gateway of Europe to the Middle East, N. Africa and the Black Sea, and any sudden change on the established balance of powers relates to wider shifts of the interests of the global economy, despite the miniscule GDP the regional states produce in comparison to the rest of the world.
The Balkans are experiencing a multitude of events that eventually will culminate in great events sooner rather later. The coming autumn period will be a revealing one, judging by the concentration of a plethora of unresolved issues in such a constrained geographical terrain and needless to say, a restive and rebellious part of Europe. The European, American and Russian leaders have the historical opportunity to compromise in a wide range of issues in Southeastern Europe and look further into the future in order to withstand the global challenges of environmental destruction, Islamic fundamentalism and the fierce economic competition from Asia. Otherwise the Balkans will once more play the role of the tinderbox for Eurasia with unknown consequences for the global security for decades to come.

Ioannis Michaletos Editor South East EuropeWorld Security Network Foundation Ioannis Michaletos was born in Athens in 1978. He pursued studies in the UK where he obtained a BA in Politics from Essex University and an MSc in Human Resources Management from Luton University. He is occupied as an HRM Consultant and a contributor to the News Agency –Balkanalysis-. He is also an Associate Analyst for the political forecasting service –ISRIA-. He has served as a Petty Officer of the Hellenic Navy. He speaks Greek, English, and French and has a passive knowledge of Italian. He is a member of the Governing Board of the RIEAS Institute and a Network Manager for an NGO –YUASEC Hellas-.

www.worldsecuritynetwork.com/.../dsp_author3.cfm

ΠΡΩΤΗ ΣΥΝΕΔΡΙΑΣΗ ΜΕΛΩΝ ΠΑΓΚΟΣΜΙΟΥ ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟΥΗΠΕΙΡΩΤΩΝ ΕΞΩΤΕΡΙΚΟΥ (Π.Σ.Η.Ε.) ΣΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΙΝΑ

Ανταπόκριση-φωτογραφία: Νίκος Σουτόπουλος

Photo: Το Δ.Σ. του Π.Σ.Η.Ε. κατά την πρώτη συνεδρίασή του στα Ιωάννινα
ΙΩΑΝΝΙΝΑ-Με καλούς οιωνούς αλλά και μεομόφωνες αποφάσεις πραγματοποιήθηκε σταΙωάννινα και στο Ξενοδοχείο «Du Lac» τοΣάββατο 4 Αυγούστου 2007η πρώτη συνεδρίαση των μελών του Παγκόσμιου Συμβουλίου Ηπειρωτών Εξωτερικού (Π.Σ.Η.Ε.),προκειμένου να καθοριστεί η παραπέρα πορεία και δραστηριότητα του πρωτοβάθμιου αυτού οργάνουγια τους Απόδημους Ηπειρώτες σε όλο τον κόσμο.
Μετά το εθιμοτυπικό καλωσόρισμα από τον Πρόεδρο του Π.Σ.Η.Ε. και διάσημο συγγραφέα Ν.Γκατζογιάννη προς τα μέλη ομογενείς Ηπειρώτες από όλες τις ηπείρους, συζητήθηκανδιεξοδικά όλα τα θέματα της ημερήσιας διάταξης ανάμεσα στα οποία ήταν
ο οικονομικός απολογισμός καθώς και η στρατηγική με τους μελλοντικούςσχεδιασμούς και στόχους για την πορεία του Π.Σ.Η.Ε. Η οργάνωση του πρώτουΣυνεδρίου του Π.Σ.Η.Ε. στην Ήπειρο το 2008 ανατέθηκε σε ειδική επιτροπήπροετοιμασίας Συνεδρίου, καθώς συστάθηκαν πέντε επιτροπές για την κάλυψηόλων των αναγκών και δραστηριοτήτων του (καταστατικού, δημοσίων σχέσεωνκαι πληρο-φόρησης, δημιουργίας ιστοσελίδας, συνεργασίας με το ΠανεπιστήμιοΙωαννίνων κ.ά) Τέλος συζητήθηκαν άλλες προτάσεις και οργανωτικά θέματα,ενώ λήφθηκαν ομόφωνες αποφάσεις για ένα δημιουργικό ξεκίνημα προς όφελοςτων απόδημων Ηπειρωτών σε όλο τον κόσμο

Macedonian media about Bulgaria: OMO Ilinden-Pirin, collaborators, 100,000 Bulgarians in Albania
5 September 2007 13:15 FOCUS News Agency
Skopje. One of the main topics in the Macedonian media on Wednesday is the court decision in Sofia not to register OMO Ilinden-Pirin as a political party.The Bulgarian authorities violated the agreement contracted in June between the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and government officials in Sofia about the registration of OMO Ilinden-Pirin, A1 television channel informs.With the explanation that the party did not have 600 members at its founding assembly, the Sofia City Court again turned down the registration demand of OMO Ilinden-Pirin, throwing it out of the October local elections race.“I can describe the court decision as the greatest legal absurd that has ever happened in the 17 years. The court has not set out any legal arguments; practically it did not have a single piece of evidence,” party leader Stoyko Stoykov said.According to Strasbourg sources the Bulgarian officials have already complained to the European Court of Human Rights about the court decisions. They expressed hope the Supreme Court would reply positively to the complaint by OMO Ilinden-Pirin.According to diplomatic sources Bulgaria will have to register the party, but the intention was winning time and not allowing OMO Ilinden-Pirin to run in the local vote on October 28th.The deadline for parties to declare their participation in the local elections expires on September 12th, until then Bulgaria’s Supreme Court will most probably not sit into the OMO Ilinden-Pirin case, A1 concludes.Makfax agency announces about a total of 139 former and current lawmakers in Bulgaria had reportedly collaborated with communist-era security service.A special panel investigating Bulgaria's communist-era police files found that the political leaders Ahmed Dogan, Georgi Parvanov, Georgi Markov, Zhan Videnov and Krasimir Karkachanov were collaborators of the former security service.As many as 19 current members of Bulgarian Parliament are said to have collaborated with the former security service.Incumbent President Georgi Parvanov was also named by the panel as a collaborator. He was recruited in 1989 and his codename was Gotse.DPS leader Ahmed Dogan was agent of the former security service.VMRO leader Krasimir Karakachanov, who is widely known with his anti-Macedonian campaign, was also an agent of the former security service.The committee on declassification of the secret services' file said the ex-prime minister Zhan Videnov was also informer for the communist-era security service. He was removed from the list of active collaborators in 1990.The Macedonian press pay attention to the report broadcast on the Bulgarian National Television that 100,000 Bulgarians are living in Albania.Over 100,000 ethnic Bulgarians are living in Albania, and they are a priority for the Bulgarian government, the Macedonian Vreme newspaper writes.According to the Albanian Balkanweb agency the Bulgarian center for studying minorities mentions in a 2004 report that there are 50,000 Bulgarians in Albania, Mala Prespa and Golo Bardo. In the report the Bulgarian National Television claims the number is 100,000 and criticizes the Albanian government for not paying attention to this minority and for the lack of schools teaching in Bulgarian. The report mentions the Albanian government does not recognize the minority, the newspaper adds.

Security briefing on the wildfires in Greece (Open Source material for the wildfires in Greece)August 31st, 2007

Ioannis Michaletos
Greece over the past three months and in the midst of the summer period was inflicted by a series of wildfires that have destroyed so far probably more than 1 million hectares of forests and arable land, along with thousands of buildings leaving some 77 people dead and as much as 30,000 homeless. In most respects this was the worst catastrophe that the state has witnessed over the past decades.The current available information points out towards a coordinated arson plan that aimed to destabilize the country’s social and political climate, as well as, a sort of wide range punitive measures against the incumbent Greek Administration.The first official to name arson as an instrument against Greece’s ecological system, was the deputy head of the firearm service in late June, just a few days after the destructive fire in the Parnitha natural reserve in the outskirts of Athens. Currently the statements by the Minister of Public Order -Asymmetrical warfare-, the Minister of Foreign Affairs-Likewise- and the Prime Minister’s admittance of an “Organized plan” leave no much space for a spontaneous cycle of wildfire eruption in tune of as much as 300 per day in remote regions in Greece and at night hours.Moreover the Greek TV Station ANT1, revealed late last week that EUROPOL had informed the Greek government of a plan against the country using fires as an instrument, since early last June. The weekly newspaper “To Paron” had already revealed the effort by the National Intelligence Service throughout the summer to apprehend the culprits, whilst the latest news from across the spectrum of the Greek press, note for the Interpol’s warnings over the past few months, again for the same reason.It is interesting to note the statements made by ” Sergey Makarin” a Russian pilot that assisted in the effort against the extinguish of the fires. He said to an interview in the newspaper “Eleftheros Typos”: “I feel like I participated in a war zone! I have experience with fires in Russia, Portugal, South Korea, Italy and France, but the case of Greece is totally different. These fires are man-made for certain. There is no doubt about that!”

Another element that further attests to the scenario of a well-coordinated destabilization plan, is the continuous arsons near power factories, such as the case of Aliveri, Megalopoli, Domokos, Lamia transmission network and Parnitha peripheral power center, amongst other. Mrs. Bakoyanni the Minister of FA, stated on the 30th of August in a TV appearance in the Greek station “Extra Channel” that the above could not be a coincidence and she feels there are strong probabilities for a plan against the state.

Even though it might be early to tell, the plan could only have been executed with the assistance of international criminal networks that have the ability to muster personnel, logistic support and manage their escape routes effectively. Further, it would also need the collaboration of Greek individuals in order to ensure maximum destruction and knowledge of the particularities of every locale. Thus, only an internationally networked factor could have organized the whole scheme, preferably associated with illegal industries such as narcotics, trafficking and weapons smuggling. According to off the record statements by a Greek SOF Officer with practical knowledge of the organized crime networks, “There has been a merge between crime & terrorism in Greece at least over the past decade. Long are the days where the security forces could distinguish between them, and certainly they have aid if not association with foreign mafias in Europe and beyond”.


The latest information that is being circulated within the journalist world, along with revealing data from the newspaper Aegean Times, point out to a sophisticated method of operation for the arsons. Specifically the Greek Police has already found a device used nearby the Papagos area on the 22nd of August that was ignited with a mobile phone. By calling the number on the phone the device explodes and creates the necessary conditions for a fire. This can be done from a safe distance even from abroad. It is similar to the method used in the Madrid bombing in March 2003, albeit for another purpose. Also it is vital to note that the first time globally this method was used was in the Greek city of Larissa, outside a provisional court by an obscure terrorist group of ultra-left wing direction. That evidence alone, reveals the interconnection between local “Anti-systemic” groups in Greece with international terrorism and consequently with the organized crime in and outside the Greek borders. It is safe to assume that this could well be the case in this summer’s arsons.Another device that allegedly has been used and it is already under examination by the Greek Anti-terrorist team, is one similar with darts that via remote control “fire” small quantities of material that can ignite fire. These devices could be used months after installation in any forest and could be easily be monitored by the culprits via GPS. It provides a tremendous advantage to the arsonists of controlling the space and time they want to ignite fire and confuse the fire brigades and the police. Also as far as the prefecture of Ileia is concerned that was hit most of the others in last week’s fires; it was also the target in a bombing attack against a water-bank of the river Alfeios, last spring. Up to date there are no tangible evident on who participated in this terrorist action, that failed to most extent because the dam was not destroyed saving thus the lives of many citizens and the agricultural production of the area, at least until the fires started in the same locale.In addition to the continuous attacks against Athenian police stations since late 2006 with machine guns and hand grenades and the tens of suspicious homicide attempts against police officers patrolling the city of Athens; the wildfires brought the destabilization scenario all across the country and just a few days before the general elections. If the hypothesis that it is a transnational well-organized plan is valid, then the Greek state should be prepared for more asymmetrical-nature challenges at least for the near future. As for the causes of such a hostile behavior against the Greek state, one has to take into consideration the important economic-political and geoeconomic events that took place over the past few years in Greece and in the wider Balkans-Eastern Mediterranean region. New pipeline networks, importation of Chinese, Arab, Russian, and new American capital & corporations along with the political instability that hinders an area from Bosnia to Iran and from Sudan to Caucasus. Furthermore, the all-pervading criminal networks have gained a lot of strength over the past decade due to the opportunities the globalization process provides for their communication, transfer of funds and recruitment. A combination of political aims, business ill-aimed strategies, and abundance of “executionary personnel”, is a first clue of what might have caused the current situation and what lies ahead, not just for Greece but for the whole world.The statements by the EU Commissioner Fratinni on “Territorial terrorism”, are a crystal-clear evidence that the EU has been to an extent prepared to face tough challenges for the future relating to a new form of terror aimed into subduing governments and the whole society under the realm of transnational criminal entities that have to be dealt with sooner or later.

Notes:Fires by arson inflicted also the wider Mediterranean region. In Italy the Mafia reportedly paid locals to destroy land for development and as a retaliation method against competitors. In the Balkans most of the fires are centered on the Kosovo issue (Southern Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, South-West Serbia and West-FYROM). Lastly in Turkey the Kurdish group “The hawks of Kurdistan” stated that it participated in 17 cases of arson in order to destroy the tourism industry in the country.

Europe's final frontier

The Guardian
Saturday August 11 2007
A holiday on the Albanian Riviera might sound like a Borat-style joke, but Benji Lanyado finds beautiful empty coves, €30 a night beach huts and locals who welcome him into their homesIt's the middle of summer, I'm on a beautiful beach in the Ionian, and I can't see a single person. In the distance I can just about trace the path of the occasional car swinging down the mountain road like a slow-motion marble run, but that's it. I can't help giggling. I don't know what's more surprising - that there is 50 miles of "undiscovered" coast in southern Europe, or that it's in Albania.
Europe's Mediterranean coast has been done. Spain, France, Italy, Croatia. Even Montenegro, the world's newest country, was heaving when I visited this summer; the Rolling Stones played there a few days after I left. Much of Turkey's coast has been packaged, and don't get me started on Greece. Sure, you can get away from the hordes, but how far?
To reach the Albanian Riviera, one of the most spectacular strips of land in Europe, the small price to pay is a bit of a sore bum. The bus that plies the single road down the coast leaves at 6am from a car park in Tirana littered with imported German coaches, some of which still bear the name of their original destination - one claims to be headed for Wilhelmstrasse. I board mine and fall into a semi-sleep that is regularly interrupted by heavy lurches and bumps. Barely touched since the Italian army built it in the 40s, the coastal road is pockmarked and cracked.
The state of the road is the main reason the Albanian Riviera - from Vlora to Saranda - has escaped large-scale tourist development. Even the Albanians tend not to bother with it, preferring resorts such as Durresi, easily reached from Tirana via a relatively bump-free motorway.
The Riviera begins at the peak of the 1,000 metre-high Llogara Pass, the road careering wildly down the slope. I jump off the bus in the tiny village of Dhermi, made up of about 100 terracotta-roofed houses scattered either side of the road, suspended halfway up the mountain range that continues south over the Greek border and beyond.
There is one hotel here, fronted by a boring-looking, low-rise mini-complex. The owner can tell I'm disappointed. He loads my backpack on to his truck, and drives me through dense olive groves and pine trees to the seafront, where I can see a collection of double-decker huts clad in pine. Much more like it. For €30 a night, each hut has a double bed, a toilet and shower, and wardrobes. It isn't luxury, but it certainly isn't slumming it.
Read the full content……
I count 14 people on the beach. Few foreign tourists come here, so it only fills up when the locals arrive at weekends. The coast stretches for a mile or so before curving out towards a shrubby headland. I feel blissfully alone.
In the hotel's open-air restaurant, the waiter just about speaks Italian, which I just about understand, and I end up with a huge sea bass, Greek salad, and chips. I ask him where the fish came from, and he points to a man drinking by the bar. I retire to bed stuffed, where I can hear the waves brushing the shore, and a lone cricket up past its bedtime.
The next day I'm back on the bus for a 20-minute journey to the pebbly cove at Jaal, which again is virtually empty. I count 11 people. There are a few crumbling villas behind the beach, but accommodation options for visitors consist of a collection of beach huts at the base of the mountain. I meet a couple of German backpackers - the only non-Albanians I encounter - who plan to pitch their tent on the beach.
The Germans and I board the bus the next day, and the road brushes the sea for a few miles before arriving in Qeparo, where we sit outside a cafe as old men argue over a game of cards next to us. We have a lunch of fresh bread, creamy white cheese, sweet tomatoes, and oddly sized cucumbers; they are shaped so because everything in Albania is organic - fertilisers and pesticides are too expensive. And because of the unreliable roads, anything you eat on the Riviera is sure to be local.
The cafe's owner wanders over and we explain that we are looking for a hotel, but Alex says we can stay in his villa half way up the hill. He and his wife sleep in the back of the shop, a habit they acquired when riots swept the country in 1997 after the collapse of the pyramid investment schemes in which most of the country lost money.
By the close of the year the troubles had subsided, marking the end of seven years of political chaos triggered by the collapse of Albania's communist regime in 1990. Ten peaceful years later, Alex is renovating the upper storey of his villa for his family to move back into, keeping the rooms on the ground floor for visitors.
He insists on driving us a few miles back up the coast to visit the deserted Ali Pasha fortress which juts out into in the Bay of Palermo. Back at the beach in Qeparo we sit under shelters made from branches and thatch looking out over the sea towards the peaks of Corfu, just visible in the distance.
The beach is dotted with Albania's ubiquitous bunkers, some of the estimated 700,000 concrete epitaphs to Enver Hoxha's paranoid rule that are scattered across the country. The bunkers, here playfully painted with pink and blue polka dots, were intended to protect the country against attack from the west, but these days they are more commonly used by naughty Albanians looking for a secluded spot to make love not war.
In the early evening we climb up to Qeparo's old town at the top of the mountain overlooking the sea. We can hear the murmurs of families tucked into the dozen or so white stone houses, and the clanging bells of a goat herd somewhere in the surrounding trees, but don't see a soul.
Night-time in the Riviera is a DIY affair. There are no snazzy restaurants or clubs, so you have to busk it with the locals. At Jaal we were invited to join a couple of youngsters on the beach for a bonfire. In Qeparo people congregated at Alex's cafe for cards, and lots of home-made rakia.
In many eastern European countries people are understandably wary of tourists - especially us Brits, who have a have a habit of arriving on big orange party planes, getting drunk, and generally making nuisances of ourselves. But here they love anyone from abroad, simply because it's such a novelty. When we leave Qeparo the next day, with slightly heavy heads, Alex refuses to take any money from us.
It is the same ethic of hospitality that prompts goodbye hugs from two taxi drivers during my time in Albania, and that has fellow passengers helping me to order espressos and deliciously spicy offal broth during breaks on bus journeys. At Saranda, where the Riviera ends, an old man approaches me. Thamaj has the kind of magnanimous, round face that makes me instantly want him to be my grandad. Over coffee he tells of hiding Jews and fleeing Italians in his house during the second world war, and giving shelter to a family of Kosovans after the horrors of the 90s. The Albanians, I realise, have been good hosts for years.
From the cafe I watch the locals partake in that most Balkan of pastimes - wandering up and down in the early evening in your best outfit. Across the water Corfu's coastline is ablaze. It's a chain of lights that runs, with occasional interruptions, until Europe merges with Asia. A hundred miles north of where I'm sitting the chain picks up, and runs from the Adriatic all the way to the Algarve. In between is one of the most beautiful blips you'll ever come across, as long as a particular road remains particularly bumpy.

National Greek issues in Balkan, goes greek politic parties to anticipate elections

Photo: Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis (L) with President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias at the presidential mansion in Athens on Friday, Aug. 17, 2007. ANA-MPA Karamanlis explains reasons for snap Sept. 16 elections
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis on Friday called on President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias and formally asked him to declare general elections on Sept. 16. Karamanlis made nationally televised statements just after 2 p.m. (12 GMT) to explain the reasons for the snap election, where he cited a bevy of announced draft bills and constitutional revision as the main reasons for seeking a new mandate. Karamanlis, who called on Papoulias immediately after an extroardinary Cabinet meeting at noon, explained that the specific date had also been chosen so that "the new government will have ample time to draft the (2008) budget". "I adamantly believe that the citizens desire the continuation of the changtes and reforms, with a new momentum and new speed," Karamanlis told the last Cabinet meeting of his New Democracy (ND) government, adding that it was a national necessity, and his obligation, to seek the renewal of the people's mandate.

Kosovo may be split in two:

diplomatsDEADLINE: The troika has been given until December to try to reach a compromise, but Serbian leaders have insisted that their territorial integrity must be respected.

Photo: A MAP separation territory of Kosovo from Western Inteligencies.

AFP, PRISTINA Tuesday, Aug 14, 2007, Page 6
International mediators seeking a deal over Kosovo's status stressed on Sunday that they were open to any possibility, including dividing the Serbian province between Serbs and Kosovo Albanians.
"It is the principle of the troika to be prepared to endorse any agreement both parties manage to achieve," German diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger told reporters in Pristina when asked about a possible split.
"That includes all options. If they [the negotiating parties] want to pursue any options, that is fine with us."
Ischinger and his two fellow international envoys -- the "troika" -- on Sunday ended their first round of talks in Belgrade and Pristina on reaching a deal on Kosovo's future status, with little apparent progress.
They have been given until December to try to reach a compromise between Kosovo's ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of some two million residents and who want independence, and Serbia, which strongly opposes it.
They were given their mission by the International Contact Group, set up to deal with problems arising from the break-up of Yugoslavia, after Russian opposition to independence blocked the issue in the UN Security Council.
The contact group had previously ruled out dividing Kosovo and after talks in Pristina on Saturday Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku said that ethnic Albanians wanted independence with the UN-administered province's "current borders."
The Serbian leadership, which met with the troika in Belgrade on Friday, has insisted on respecting the territorial integrity of Serbia.
The envoys are Ischinger, representing the EU, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko for Russia and Frank Wisner for the US.
On Saturday, Botsan-Kharchenko said he was under "no illusions" about the difficulty of their mission.
Kosovo has been administered by the UN since 1999, when NATO bombing ended a bloody Serbian crackdown on the Kosovo Albanian separatist movement.
Some 16,000 NATO-led troops are currently stationed in Kosovo tasked with ensuring security in the region.
Kosovo leaders have warned of renewed violence in the region if independence is further delayed and in an interview broadcast on Sunday the commander of NATO forces there called for a quick solution.
German General Roland Kather told Deutschlandfunk radio in an interview that ethnic Albanians and Kosovo's Serbian minority were in limbo.
"The people need this decision to have clarity about their future," he said.
The province's status was only a secondary priority for most Kosovo Albanians, he said.
"People are busy taking care of their daily lives, seeking work, feeding their families," he said.
According to Kosovo's Daily Express newspaper, Serb and Kosovo Albanian delegations will hold new talks with the troika at the end of August in Vienna, although the two camps are unlikely to meet face-to-face.
Discussions over Kosovo's future status at the Security Council focused on a plan by UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari for internationally supervised independence.
This was backed by the US and most Western countries but opposed by Serbia and its traditional ally Russia. This story has been viewed 290 times.

ALBANIA IN COLAPSE ECONOMIC CRISIS

IMF Fears Energy Crisis in Albania Will Damage Growth

Photo: Young Albanian boys run to catch a tank departing from a road in front of the Democratic Party headquarters in central Tirana Tuesday Sept. 15, 1998. Former President Sali Berisha's supporters rioted on the Albanian capitol's streets yesterday seizing tanks from the National Guard. Two tanks were returned to the government after it threatened to use all necessary force to remove armed men from around the building. (Photo by David Brauchli)
07 08 2007 Tirana _ The IMF expressed worries on Monday that the energy crisis that has swept Albania will have adverse effects on economic growth.
“The energy crisis presents a great danger for Albania. It affects all medium-term economical indexes and could create a hole in this years budget,” it said in a press release.The drought that has engulfed the Balkans this summer has lowered Albanian reservoirs, reducing the ability of hydropower plants to generate electricity. The greater demand for water has also made it impossible for the Albanian Power Corporation, KESH, to import large quantities of electricity.
Added to that has been heavier than usual use of air conditioners, due to record temperatures.Albanians have had to deal with massive power cuts lately, sometimes lasting up to 16 hours a day.

The Albanian Central bank has expressed similar worries to the IMF, warning that continued power failures “will curb economic growth by raising the cost of production for goods and services”.

Albania’s GDP growth is projected to reach 6 per cent this year. During the last fiscal year the economy grew by 5 per cent. However, experts worry that while the first two quarters seemed to match projection in terms of growth, in the second part of the year the economy will feel the burden of the energy crises.

Albania’s power generation system hasn’t seen major investment since the early 1980s, when the cash-strapped former communist regime stopped investing in new hydropower dams.

After the fall of communism, the demand for energy grew rapidly. The power grid is estimated to need $1.6 billion in investments to eliminate power failures.

Construction of a new World Bank-funded thermal power plant is expected to start in Vlora in southern Albania at the end of this year.

KESH, which has a monopoly in the provision of electricity, is preparing a request to the national regulator for a price rise, citing the heavy cost of imports.

ALBANIA; A DANGEROUS INISIATIVE TO COME BACK TO THE CIVIL WAR OF 1997 PERIOD.

Ex Premier Sali Berisha, now Prime Minister urges a new provocation to clash again North and South obliging the General Attorney and Tribunals to open the crimes during the civil war in Albania in 1997, as only solution to deviate a collapse energetic caos of the country.
Tirana.
The Albanian Government is preparing a great offensive against Opposition, using as politically rhetoric a process against some crimes made during civil war period in Albania in 1997. According to Albanian Press, tow processes has been opened in Cerik (Elbasani Region) and Vlora, when some of securities official’s forces has been died crashed with protests during the collapse of pyramids schemes in Albania 1997.

But, in reality Albania is passing a catastrophic period, missing electricity and the country is going to a very critic economic situation. Under influence of the Prime Minister Sali Berisha, the Tribunals and Persecutors of Albania, are opening some crimes made in 1997 when Albania is including to Civil War between Northern and South after pyramids schemes collapse made (According to CNN, Civil War explodes in Albania in 1997 Between Geghues (really Albanian from Northern Provinces including Kosovo and Western FYROM) and Toskes (Must of population old Epiriotean Greek origin).

Even the Albanian opinion has deviate the year 1997 catching the terminology as “Brutal History of Albanian modern state” from “Civil War” to “Collapse Situation from pyramids schemes”, these times is come to back again. Annalist in Albania think that the initiative to open Tribunals of 1997, is a new crises to deviate the really critic economic situation of the country, but supports another politic offensive of Leader Berisha against Albanian opposite.

Anyway if Berisha is to reopen 1997, using “Independent Tribunals” and the critic situation for General Persecutor of Albania, the only problematic country in Balkan Region should come back again to anarchy of 1997 favorising many protests in Southern Albania against the Government, a very risk for stability of the region .

In March 1997 Albania was going out of self control to Civil War, when about 8 000 victims. According to statistics only Vlora Region had about 1600 victims.

Albanian Civil War (1997)
In late 1996 and early 1997, several failed get-rich-quick schemes robbed hundreds of thousands of Albanians of their life savings. When protestors demonstrated in the streets demanding restitution, riot police attacked them. The lack of an acceptable government solution to this problem exacerbated the situation, and the riots spread across the country. These riots, and the state of anarchy which they caused, are known as the Albanian civil war of 1997. At the end of the conflict, more than 360 people had been killed and power had transferred from the Democratic Party to the Socialist Party.
Although the Albanian civil war was a dramatic event which garnered international attention, it was but one piece of that country's long and difficult transition from an isolationist Communist state to a parliamentary democracy, which began in 1992.
The Albanian financial crisis had began earlier in December of 1996, when protestors in the capital city of Tirana demonstrated against the government, which they held responsible for the collapse of several investment funds. The problem was worsened when $1.2 billion of Albanians' savings were wiped out by pyramid schemes on January 24, and thousands of Albanians took to the streets in the southern city of Lushnje. During the ensuing riots, protestors stole over 500,000 rifles and other arms from government depots. On January 25, Foreign Minister Shehu is attacked by demonstrators. The next day, thousands of protestors convene at in Tirana and clash with riot police. The civil war had now expanded throughout the country, as governments buildings are set on fire across Albania.
The riots had now expanded from protests over lost money to a general protest against the government. On March 1, the Prime Minister, Aleksander Meksi, resigns, and the next day the government declares a national state of emergency. As the government and military establishments scatter to the wind and anarchy sweeps across the country, the southern half of Albania falls under the control of rebels and criminal gangs. In addition, over 10,000 Albanians flee to Italy, which creates resentment and a refugee crisis there. At this point, the insurgents have solidified their control of the country by seizing the last government stronghold of Gjirokaster.
On March 11, the members of the Socialist Party win a major victory when their Bashkim Fino is appointed prime minister. However, the transfer of power did not stop the unrest, as protests spread to northern Albania. By March 13, all major population centers were engulfed in demonstrations, and foreign countries began to evacuate their citizens from Albania. In the three months of protests, the Albanian economy suffered a heavy blow as unemployment and inflation sharply rose, while the gross domestic product and the value of the currency fell. In late March, the UN Security Council approved dispatching a multinational military force to Albania to oversee the distribution of international humanitarian aid and maintain order, and on April 15, the 7,000 troops participate in "Operation Alba," which helps restore rule of law to the country.

Cources;

http://www.cnn.com/

http://www.globalsecurity.com/

http://www.kohajone.com/

http://www.balkanweb.com/

Begins the separation process of Kosovo

The Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku apels the Albanians: do not abandone Mitrovitsa

Prime Minister of Kosovo Agim Ceku has urged to Albanian people who live in Northern Kosovo to come back in their proprieties and to stand there. He urges for patience of Albanians until the Independence of Kosovo which must to be “reality from ONU” said Ceku. According to information, thousand of Albanians are selling houses and proprieties from Mitrovitsa Region of Northern Kosovo, buying from Serbian State.

Great Powers have decided to resolve the Kosovo Issue inside 120 days but Albanian press said: “This project is separate Kosovo between serbs and Albanians not for Independence of Kosovo”. Some days ago, the Parliament of Kosovo had debated about Kosovo future plain, but the United Group of Kosovo declared that any solution with out independence is unacceptable.
However, the project for 120 day previsted from Contact Group about future of Kosovo underlines a separation in peace of Kosovo between serbs and Albanians a similar project realized in FYROM between Macedonians and Albanians.

Related link cource: http://www.balkanweb.com/sitev4/index.php?id=6900

PM Karamanlis meets with French counterpart Fillon, President Sarkozy in Paris
Paris (ANA-MPA/N. Melissova) -- Greece's prime minister Costas Karamanlis met Monday in Paris with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, for talks slated to cover a wide range of international, regional and bilateral issues. Karamanlis, who arrived in the French capital on Sunday, was greeted at the entrance of the Elysee Palace by Sarkozy, while foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis and her French counterpart Bernard Kouchner also attended the meeting. The talks were scheduled to continue over a working lunch hosted by Sarkozy for Karamanlis, which would be followed by a joint press conference. Earlier in the day, Karamanlis had a 45-minute meeting with French prime minister Francois Fillon, with talks focusing on climate changes, prompted by the wildfires plaguing the two countries this summer, and prospects for their confrontation. The two sides agreed on coordinating their efforts and backing forms of cooperation for confronting the new conditions created by the climate changes. The two prime ministers also discussed the Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC) and endorsed the completion of the relevant procedures during the current Portuguese presidency of the EU, which expires at the end of the year. They further discussed the European prospect of the western Balkan countries, which they described as one of the most important factors for ensuring stability and prosperity in the region. Karamanlis also brought up the FYROM name issue with his French counterpart, stressing that Greece has taken the required steps and now was awaiting the other side to follow suit. The talks focused also on bilateral relations, with emphasis on economic relations, which the two sides described as very good and expressed the desire for their further improvement, to the benefit of both sides. The two prime ministers particularly highlighted the increase in Greek exports to France and the increase in French investments in Greece. In a reference to the developments in Turkey and its European prospect, Karamanlis reiterated the firm Greek position of "full compliance, full accession".
Caption: Greece's prime minister Costas Karamanlis (R) being greeted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (ANA-MPA/A. Guilelmos)

Armenia’s Defense Ministry denies reports on buying weapons from Albania

Breaking News

(published on 29/07/2007By Regnum.ru (http://www.regnum.ru/english/861844.html)
26 July 2007 - The Armenian Defense Ministry has denied reports on buying weapons from Albania. Spokesman for the ministry Seyran Shakhsuvaryan talking to a REGNUM correspondent said that “no agreements have been reached about delivery of weapons from Albania to Armenia” and he heard of it for the first time. Leaks in the media, Shakhsuvaryan said, were another lie.According to some media, including Gazetashqiptare (Albania), an Armenian Defense Ministry official got in touch with his colleague in Albania and ordered a large shipment of weapons including flak of various calibers varying from 75 mm to 122 mm. After MEIKO Company having experience in the field was instructed to establish ties with officials in Armenia in charge and strike a deal. The source also notes that the Armenian side was supposed to pay for the shipment. However, Turkish authorities allegedly denied transit to it, and the ship with 60 containers aboard turned back. They in Albania are sure that the Turkey’s motion was caused by its harsh relations with Yerevan. MEIKO leadership, in its turn, believes that Albania has nothing to do with the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, because all selling procedures were carried out properly and legalized, so, today, the Albanian side is searching for other routes to deliver the shipment to Armenia. © CAUCAZ.COM Breaking News published on 29/07/2007

Azerbaijan to send a note to Albania for illegally selling of weapons to Armenia, Elmar Mammadyarov says

[ 27 Jul 2007 16:26 ]

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry will send a note to Albania for illegally selling weapons to Armenia, APA reports quoting Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov as briefing journalists. According to the UN resolution, no country might sell weapons to the countries at war.

Turkish authorities have refused transit to a sizeable consignment of Albanian weapons and ammunition bound for Armenia. They forced the Albanian ship to sail back with its cargo.
Director of MEIKO Company engaged in trade of Pinari weapons, stated that Albania is not interfering in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Albanian Defense Ministry had appointed the MEIKO Company to fill the Armenian order, since it had some experience in this business selling Pinari armament. The Armenian side would pay for the consignment of armament./APA/

"The European Moviment Socialist Party of Albania"....Fatos Nano to compose the new politic Moviment.

Photo: Ex Mayer of Athens Dora Bakogianis, actualy Foreign Minister of Greece, to honore the ex Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano.

By Stavros Markos*

After faled to electe albanian president, Fatos Nano begins to change his politicaly profil inside Socialist Party of albania. A group of Socialist Party in Parliament, voted to elect a high represent of Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sali Berisha, Bamir Topi, under the influence of ex socialist leader Fatos Nano. Annyway if the efforts of Nano to take the head of SP would be faled until Octobber 2007, for the left political of albania will begin the separation proces.
According to annalysis of RIEAS in Athens some months ago, Fatos Nano shold be the future leader to compose a new party suported from albanians emigrant in Greece including Northern Epiriotes contigent with about 700 thousand people. The new Politic Party will nominate "The European Moviment Socialist Party of Albania" a similar of PASOK the Pan Socialist Moviment of Greece, of leader George Papandreu (The President of International Socialist of the World).
The leaders of Greek Minority (Northern Epirus) in Albanian Parliament (HURP) have been the only supporters of Fatos Nano to be cantidat elected for President, but anny efforts faled because Albania (with total influence from diaspora and Kosovo) needed for a President a moderator cantidat from musulman religion, indicted from new developments in Southern Balkan Region, particularly for albanian unification future proces.
So, the new start of Fatos Nano assegns a strategic plain about new politic electinos in albania in 2008, under the total influence of Athens and suporter from northern epiriotean electorate to win the elections.

Decision of Fatos Nano to compose a New Political Party in Albania (RIEAS, Editorials 2007 & Analysis)

The ex Socialist Premier Fatos Nano, declared recently an proposal to VOA Albanian Section, in order to compose a new Politic Party in Albania, after the last Socialist Party Congress held in Tirana and with a negative political result. Nano accuses Edi Rama, the SP President, as a dictator and a fundamentalist that by his actions will ultimately disintegrate the influential Party of SP that since its foundation in 1991 plays an integral role in the Albanian political scene.
According to the Albanian Press sources, Fatos Nano could win politically in the future and become again a Prime Minister of Albania with a more European orientation, if he will include in his Party, a large representation of Northern Eipiriotes electorate, which historically live in Southern Albania, known as Northern Epirus Region. The electorate is almost exclusively composed by Albanian emigrants and Northern Eipiriotes, most of them holding Greek identity cards and citizenship documents
According to information from sources in Athens, the leader of Socialist Party in Greece, has requested by Edi Rama before local elections of 20 February, to have a large percentage of candidates from Northern Eipiriotes, mustering thousand of votes from immigrants in Greece, but Edi Rama was against this proposal.
On a domestic party level, Fatos Nano could take from Parliamentary Socialist Group (45 in total) the majority members, so as to gain political supremacy. Also he could easily control party politics in most parts of Southern Albania (Northern Epirus) whilst Edi Rama is mostly supported by the business world, the clans and the media.
It seems that Fatos Nano political future lies more in aligning with the Greek minority members and with the Albanian populous having strong ties with Greece, because in most respects this is going to be his vital electorate basis for the future developments in his party.
Regarding Hellenic diplomacy during and after 1997 period (Civil War in Albania) Fatos Nano has been supported through aid and finance from Athens and assisted in the expansion of Greek investments in Albania. On the other hand he was not overtly confident so as create more space for the Greek Minority rights... Fatos Nano in order to rise into the politic stratum once again needs support from the Greek-oriented electorate and the media and foreign diplomacy support particularly from Athens.
It seems quite probable that over the coming months the political significance of Greek minority members in Albania will going to upgrade to the influential role they could play in relation to domestic Albanian politics, especially those of the Socialist Party and in particular of Fatos Nano political ascendancy.

Stavros Markos*
(Journalist and Member of the World Security Network Foundation at Athens & Southeastern Europe Office, RIEAS Athens).

Surces:


http://www.rieas.gr/


http://rieas.gr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=219&Itemid=41

Rice Warns Kosovo Against Independence Monday, July 23, 2007 11:27 AM

AP, Associated Press
WASHINGTON-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is warning Kosovo officials not to declare independence unilaterally and to continue with diplomatic efforts, the State Department said Monday.
The meeting between Rice and officials from the breakaway province comes days after the U.N. Security Council set aside a resolution that Russia called a hidden route to independence.
As the talks began, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that Rice planned to "underline the fact that nobody gains by trying to short-circuit the diplomatic process that is under way."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, seen here 19 July 2007, was urging patience on Kosovo leaders Monday, after the United States and European allies shelved a UN bid to secure independence for the Serbian province. Photo: AFP
The United States and the European Union said Friday they would move the forum for deciding Kosovo's status from the Security Council to the Contact Group on Kosovo, which includes representatives from the U.S., Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Russia.
The U.N. Security Council resolution on Kosovo's future was set aside Friday in the face of a possible Russian veto.
The Washington talks follow a comment by Kosovo's prime minister, Agim Ceku, suggesting that the province's parliament should adopt its own resolution setting Nov. 28 as a possible date for declaring independence.
Ceku will be among a group of officials and politicians from the province, including its president and the speaker of its assembly, who were to meet Monday with Rice and other U.S. officials, including national security adviser Stephen Hadley.
In April, the U.N.'s special envoy on Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari, recommended Kosovo be granted internationally supervised independence but his plan was defeated at the UN Security Council.
The latest version of the resolution calls for four months of intensive negotiations between Kosovo's ethnic Albanian independence-seeking majority and the province's Serb minority, which wants to remain as part of Serbia.
It drops an automatic route to independence if talks fail. But it would hand the administration of Kosovo from the United Nations to the European Union after 120 days, which means the EU would be the key decision-maker in the province.
Kosovo Albanians will likely tell Rice and Hadley that patience among Musli mAlbanians in Kosovo is running thin and that further delays could inflame public opinion. Moderate forces in Kosovo represented by the delegation are under pressure from more radical parties and the public to show that they will deliver independence.
U.S. officials have said that despite the delay, the Bush administration fully supports independence.
Serbia's foreign minister, Vuk Jeremic, is also scheduled to meet with Rice in Washington Thursday.

THE CHALLENGES OF THE ENERGY RELATED DEVELOPMENTS IN SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
Michaletos Ioannis (RIEAS Junior Analyst, Coordinator for the World Security Network Foundation Southeast Office Europe)
Copyright: http://www.rieas.gr/
In the 90’s the term Balkans was characterized by the international press as the region inflicted by a series of civil wars, embargoes, and ethnic hatred. In the 00’s the energy factor started to dominate the peripheral political scene and nowadays it seems that the energy game is moving to its completion; finding Russia empowered and eager to exploit its newly found accesses in the Western markets via Greece, Bulgaria and Italy.
A few days ago another grand deal (1) was signed between Athens, Sofia, Rome and Moscow, relating to the creation of a massive pipeline transferring natural gas from the Burgas port to Northern Greece and up to Southern Italy, named “South Stream” (2). The pipeline will have a total length of some 3,200 km and it will be pumped with some 30 billion cubic meters of gas each year from the Russian reservoirs.
Moreover the total cost will exceed 10 billion USD and it is interesting to note that it will affect negatively Turkey and Iran. The first country will be affected because the proposed pipelines will by-pass its territory, thus degrading to an extent its role in the regional energy politics. Teheran will also suffer from a partial exclusion from the European market that will be taped for the time being by Russia.
The pipeline will traverse sub-water the Black Sea and end in Burgas port in Bulgaria. Afterwards it will split most probably in two parts; one heading towards Southern Austria or Northern Italy and the other one passing through Greece and terminating in the Otrando port in Southern Italy, just opposite the island of Corfu. This massive project will be commenced in late 2009 and will be financed by the Italian ENI Corporation (3) and the Russian energy giant, Gazprom (4).
The big winner from this new deal can be said to be Greece and the current Administration that under the Prime Minister Karamanlis, has emerged as a local ingenious player (5), especially after masterminding the other important oil pipeline, the Burgas-Alexandroupoli (6) and the natural gas pipeline from Turkey- ending in Italy that concludes Greece’s role as an important energy hub (7).
The announcement of this particular energy project was held in Istanbul in light of the intergovernmental conference of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (8) where the Greek Prime Minister met Turkey’s Erdogan and held talks of bilateral interest. Of course the development was viewed negatively by Ankara that views a considerable stall in its plans of acquiring a great share of the energy exports from East to West. The Turkish President Ahmet Sezer stated for the potential environmental challenge that the Burgas-Alexandroupoli pipeline is; in parallel with a decision by the Supreme Court of Turkey to question in legal terms the Ecumenical dimension of the Orthodox Patriarchy in Istanbul (9). Despite the fact that no one can correlate these two events, suspicion has been raised in Greece for an indirect way of exerting pressure to Athens due to its initiatives in the energy sector.
On the other hand the American Administration seems displeased by the whole development, especially since Athens hasn’t consulted State Department’s Nicholas Burns, on his recent visit to the Greek capital last month (10). Washington is eager to secure the interests and economic feasibility of the Turkey-Greece-Italy pipeline that will transfer Azeri gas and of course resents any further advancement of the Russian exporters that have steadily gathered financial and political clout in Southeastern Europe and Germany over the past few years.
The culminations that resulted in the latest deal concerned a multiparty diplomatic negotiation table with Athens in the center. According to the leading Greek newspaper “To Vima” (11), it took almost half a year of continuous talks between Greeks, Italians and Russians before an agreement was reached. The most important part was the secrecy that characterized the negotiations, and it seems that there was a surprise for the parties excluded from the project.
The changing strategic landscape of the Balkans is centered on the energy developments, which in their turn affect either positively or negatively the domestic politics. Already Greece is experiencing a circulation of rumors relating to the opposition of Turkey in the new geo-economic environment and a recent fire in a natural reserve near Athens (12) apparently due to arson (13); is being blamed in the conflicting regional interests that are adamant in the change of balance of powers that it is occurring nowadays. Further, “To Vima” newspaper revealed in a recent article the possibility of “Political reprisals” against Karamanli’s Administration as the country is heading towards general elections and the incumbent government is trying to muster domestic support amid a multitude of interests often influenced by factors originating from abroad. A recent clue of the sensitivity the initiatives of the Greek government can have was the attack (14) a few days ago against the Minister of Culture, Mr. Voulgarakis, in central Athens on his way to sign an important cultural agreement between representatives of Greece, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Russia (15). Under the terms of this accord, the four countries will take steps in securing the influence of the Christian Orthodox in the United Europe. In this case a group of unknown individuals attacked the entourage of the Minister in a classic “Hit & run” operation of the low-intensity urban warfare that is increasing alarmingly in the Greek capital (16).
In general the Balkan region promises yet a few world headlines, either in the political or economic field. The importance of the region is vast in comparison with its population, due to its use as a hub for the energy needs of the West and the Russian ambitions. Moreover the proximity to the Middle East and North Africa, reserve a truly unique placement for the Balkans in the strategic considerations of the global power-architecture cores in London, Washington, Moscow, Paris, Berlin and Beijing increasingly. The coming months will reveal more of the intrigues involved, and most importantly the winners and the losers of the “Energy game” of the 21st century.
Notes:
(1) http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/26/business/EU-FIN-Turkey-Greece-Pipeline.php An article of the International Herald Tribune on the signing of the natural gas pipeline between Italy, Greece, Bulgaria & Russia
(2) http://www.jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2372249 A report by the Eurasian Daily Monitor service of the Jamestown Foundation, around the South Stream energy project
(3) http://www.eni.it/home/home_en.html The official website of the ENI Corporation
(4) http://www.gazprom.com/ The official website of the Gasprom Corporation
(5)http://www.ana-mpa.gr/anaweb/user/selectlang?lang=el&currpageurl=/user/showplain?maindoc=5465480&maindocimg=5465367&service=6 News brief by the Athens News Agency on the Greek initiatives in the energy sector
(6) http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070315/62034346.html A report by the RIA Novosti news service on the signing of the Burgas-Alexandroupoli pipeline between Greece, Bulgaria & Russia
(7) http://www.eubusiness.com/news_live/1170255628.77/ An article by the EU Business news service on the Turkish-Greek-Italian natural gas pipeline
(8) http://www.bsec-organization.org/main.aspx?ID=About_BSEC The official website of the BSEC
(9) http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/26/europe/EU-REL-Turkey-Orthodox.php An article by the International Herald Tribune on the decision by the Turkish court on the Ecumenical Patriarchate
(10) http://athens.usembassy.gov/relations/BurnsMarshall.htm Press release of the USA Embassy in Athens of the speech by Nicholas Burns for the 60-year anniversary of the Marshall plan
(11) http://tovima.dolnet.gr/print_article.php?e=B&f=15100&m=A14&aa=1
An article by the Vima newspaper on the possibility of political reprisals against the Greek government due to its initiatives in the energy sector
(12)http://www.france24.com/france24Public/en/news/world/20070629-greece-fires-all-night-approach-athens-heat-wave.html Correspondence of the France Agency around the fire in the Parnitha natural reserve near Athens-Greece
(13) http://www.greeknewsonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7089 An article by the Greek News Online service assuming possibility of arson. It has to be noted that various sources indicate towards arson, especially through TV & radio broadcasts in Greece.
(14) http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100011_04/07/2007_85261 Article by the Kathimerini newspaper around the attack against the Minister of Culture in Athens
(15) http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100017_04/07/2007_85258 Article by the Kathimerini newspaper, relating to the agreement signed by the Ministers from Orthodox countries in Athens.
(16) http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/22/europe/EU-GEN-Greeces-Mean-Streets.php Article by the International Herald Tribune on the increase of urban –warfare style attacks in Athens. It has to be noted that this article was published in late January and since then the attacks have multiplied.