ALBANIA, MORE EFFORTS TO JOINT NATO ALLIANCE

US AMERICAN EMBASSY TIRANA Press Release (February 8, 2008)

"As NATO Contact Point Embassy, we note media reports of February 5-6 which suggest that a decision has already been made by NATO Allies to issue an invitation for membership to Albania or other Adriatic Charter countries. We wish to clarify that no formal decision has yet been taken on possible NATO membership for Albania or for any of the A3 countries. For an invitation to be extended, all 26 Allies must agree.

Recently, we have noted significant progress in Albania’s efforts to meet NATO’s performance-based standards as outlined in the Membership Action Plan. More, however, remains to be done.

We are encouraged by the improved bipartisan attitude toward cooperation evidenced, inter alia, by unanimous passage of an opposition-introduced resolution in support of reforms to meet NATO criteria. Nonetheless, a significant number of reforms, specifically in the areas of electoral and judicial reform, remain incomplete. We continue to look for further progress on these reforms to ensure that Albania is the strongest possible candidate at the time final NATO decisions are reached".

http://tirana.usembassy.gov/index.html

NOTE: THIS IS A REACTION OF US REPRESENT IN ALBANIA SEEING THE MASOVIC ALBANIAN MEDIA ROLE SUPORTED BY NATIONAL POLITIC RETHOTIC AS "ALBANIA IS ALWAS READY TO JOINT NATO AND UE ALLIANCE", WHEN THE REALITY REPRESENTS CLEAR AN INSTABILLE COUNTRY.

Poll: Majority of Albanians demand "NATYRAL ALBANIA"

February 6, 2008

An unscientific telephone poll conducted by the Albanian TV Station Vision Plus indicates that vast majority of Albanians favor acquiring territories from their neighbors - Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia and Greece - and constituting them into a one Albanian state known as "Natyral Albania".

Over 90% of the viewers voted for territorial acquisition of what they believe are the Albanian lands into a state they refer to as "one, natural Albanian state."

Former Foreign Minister Paskal Milo and analysts Koco Danaj and Sokol Dervisaj also supported the position. Vast majority of Albanian leaders across Balkans are conditioning their ethnic kin that acquisition of territory from their neighbors is a just policy. In Kosovo, Albanian separatists demand that the Serbian province becomes a second Albanian state in Europe.

Albanian separatists in Kosovo have warned that if the international community does to acquiesce to their demands for independence that they will turn to violence in order to achieve their aims. Albania will recognize independent Kosovo Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha said after meeting with Kosovo's officials because that will promote peace.

HIMARA WARNS TIRANA FOR TERITORIAL AUTHONOMY

Tow project law about lands and proprieties proposed by Albanian government and waiting to approve by parliament next days, have provoked an mobilization of himara`s NGO including OMONIA the Greek Minority represent in Albania, to menace the Albanian government for an eminent autonomy of Himara Region says the albanian newspaper "Shekulli" today.

"If the Albanian authorities do not stop the assimilisation process against the people of himara, refusing to register our lands of Himara`s community, we will claim the authonomy of Himara Region" said the neswpaper.

The protest has been addressed to the President Bamir Topi by many NGOs of Himara Region. On the letter was warned clear the ultimatum “We the people of Himara region together with Diaspora would to be known for the escalation of the protests until total autonomy of our region which historically has protected the lands and proprieties by invasions including the Albanian government.”

The ultimatum for proclamation for autonomy has been a precedent after some protests of Himara Community addressing to Albanian authorities for under ground corruption of cadastres and other offices of land registration process against himara`s people.

Joint to ultimatum of Himara Community has been also the member of albanian parliament from Himara, Nikolas Nerantzis who adressed to Prime Minister Sali Berisha accusing the governament for 'black scenaries" against Himara people to conquest land and proprieteis of the Ionian Coast.

Photo: Nikolas Nerantzis speaking in Albanian Parliament

In 2004 Father Kosmas Karavelas an American citizen by Maryland, send a letter to US Secretar Collin Powel to be known the transparence about the rights of lands and proprieties of American citizen with proprietes in Albania which must have in observer by the US Embassy in Tirana to protect the American community of Himara Region.

Many of protests of himara community has made since 1991 the last end was in Athens a front of Albanian embassy in November 2007. The rebellion until the decision for autonomy of himara`s people is clear; the Albanian parliament is waiting to approve tow laws to conquest the most part of lands of Himara Region. But actually the himariotes are decised to protect their lands bu albanian mafia instaled both in politics and organized crime.

Independence for Kosovo: the domino effect

What borders for Albania?

By Jean-Arnault Dérens

In 1878 at the Congress of Berlin the German chancellor Bismarck declared that Albania was no more than “a geographical expression”. In the same year, however, influential delegates from the Albanian regions of the Ottoman empire gathered to found the League of Prizren, establishing the first modern claims to national status. Austria-Hungary defended the Albanian claims in the years that followed, in a standoff with Serbia and Greece who had entered alliances with Great Britain, France and Russia.

Ismail Qemal proclaimed a first, and ephemeral, Albanian republic at Vlora in 1912. But a year later the London Peace Conference created the Kingdom of Albania over only half of the regions with Albanian populations. The treaty also split Kosovo (predominantly Albanian) between Serbia and Montenegro. The Albanians have never accepted the prejudice to their people, and today its nationalists are intent on “rectifying” the “historical injustice”.

It is true that there was little guarantee of a future for the state of Albania at the time. It almost disappeared in the first world war, and there was no real settlement on its borders until the treaty of 1926, which was based on doubtful logic. The town of Gjakovë/Gjakova, for example, became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, despite the small size of its Serbian population. Similarly, territory that had always been part of the important municipality of Debar/Dibra was shared between the kingdom and Albania; today the city is part of the Republic of Macedonia, although its traditional hinterland lies in Albania (around the town of Peshkopi).

There are two issues intertwined here. The delicate balance between Albania’s neighbours (Montenegro, Serbia and Greece) and their powerful protectors had an influence on the definition of Albanian territoriality, as did Italy’s historical claims over the Albanian coastline. Also there are the problematic notions of an “Albanian region” or “Albanian cultural area”. Albanians have always lived in the midst of other national communities in these areas. Can we say that this or that town is part of the Albanian world because 50%, 60% or 80% of its inhabitants are Albanian? What percentage do we take and, more particularly, what scale of settlement do we include?

http://mondediplo.com/2008/02/11albania

related articles: "An end to Balkan national states"

Jean-Arnault Dérens in Le Monde diplomatique

http://tomorowwhat.wordpress.com/2008/02/04/an-end-to-balkan-national-states/

HILLARY CLINTON MAKES HISTORIC APPOINTMENT -- NAMES ELENI TSAKOPOULOS-KOUNALAKIS HEAD OF “GREEK-AMERICANS FOR CLINTON”

Photo: The Publisher of “Washington Monthly” Markos Kounalakis and his wife, Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis.

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 1, 2008 -- Leading Democratic Presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) recently named Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, President of the AKT Development Corporation, to head “Greek-Americans for Clinton.” This is the first time in history that a woman has been appointed by a leading Presidential candidate to that post.

Ms. Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis is at the top of the list of Democratic contributors in California, a state known for its major political contributors. Both fundraising events she hosted for Senator Clinton in California were extraordinarily successful.

The combination of her fundraising skills and Senator Clinton?s record with the Hellenic and Orthodox community suggests a successful chairmanship for Ms. Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis. She is known throughout the Greek-American community for many things including an issue close to the heart of Senator Clinton – the crisis facing the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the nearly 2,000-year-old spiritual head of the world?s second largest Christian Church, Orthodox Christianity.

Senator Clinton was instrumental in creating the first visit of a sitting American President (President Bill Clinton) to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. As well, Senator Clinton played a major role in beginning the practice of U.S. Presidents pressing the Ecumenical Patriarchate issue with every senior Turkish official visiting the White House Oval Office. That practice continued for over a decade and into the Bush Administration until it stopped during the last two such White House visits.This issue has also been a major focus of Ms. Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis.

She secured more signatures of United States Senators for a letter to President George W. Bush on this issue than any other Orthodox Christian. The letter urged the Ecumenical Patriarchal issue to be raised higher on America?s agenda. As well, she personally escorted California Senator Diane Feinstein, along with a consequential delegation, to visit Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in 2005. She is also well known for the creation of numerous Hellenic Chairs across the country at some of America?s top Universities, among other such comparable achievements for the Hellenic and Orthodox community. She and her father, Angelo Tsakopoulos, were reported last year to have made an over $10 million “independent expenditure” in support of the campaign of Greek-American Phil Angelides for Governor of California. Such an expenditure, which is sanctioned by California state election laws, was repudiated to have played a significant role in Angelides? primary election victory.

When questions were raised about what the Tsakopoulos family was expecting to get from such a contribution, Andrew Athens, then head of the World Council of Hellenes, responded. He said in a statement to the media “all they expect from Angelides is to do a great job as Governor and to make them proud.”Ms. Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis is undertaking this effort in addition to continuing in her role as President of AKT, the mother of two boys and wife of Markos Kounalakis, publisher of Washington Monthly and respected author and journalist.

Greek Language Proliferation Organisation helping minority schools in Albania

The Greek Language Proliferation Organisation has been taking action to help the 22 schools of the National Greek Minority in Albania since October 2007. According to an announcement by the Organisation, following a visit by 100 of its members to the regions of Gjirokaster and Sarande, educational and sports material was sent.

Last week, each school received a series of geographical atlasses to help the teaching of the lesson of Geography of Greece, a lesson that is being tought for the first time this year.

On February 3, the Organisation will be organising a conference at the Zappion Hall on the theme of "The finances of the proliferation of the Greek language," at which experts from the public and private sectors will be presenting financial and quantitative information regarding the teaching of the Greek language to overseas Greeks, as well as to foreigners all over the world.

The Organisation is a non-profit organisation that is financed by contributions from its members and by donations and sponsorships from its friends.

In Tirana the greek community represent in parliament Evangelos Tavos called the albanian governament for more rights to greeks in albania. Speaking in parliament, Tavo accused Interior and the Education Ministry for inferiority regarding minority zones.