Strategy - Geopolitics

THE YUGOSLAV WARS – 10 YEARS AFTER

November 06, 2009

by Ioannis Michelis
(Security Analyst)Copyright: www.rieas.gr

The opening session of the former Bosnian-Serb leader Radovan Karadzic's trial at the international Tribune of Hague in late October 2009, gave the international community the occasion to unearth the painful memories of the Yugoslav wars and their repercussions throughout the Balkans. Due to the geopolitical importance of the region and it having only seemingly receded into the background of international politics, the events of that period (1991-2001) have accorded tacitly the status of a landmark to geopolitical developments ranging from the Balkan region to the Middle East.

The ten years war, as coined by the Italian scholar Alessandro Marzo Magno, has served as a token of paradigm shift in the international relations, which reintroduced forcefully the verboten -since WWII- issue of delineating anew the national borders. The original mandate of NATO was transformed from the simple, post-WWII doctrine of “Russia out, Germany down and USA in” to humanitarian interventions around the world, a practice of armed interference possibly dating back to the Greek War of Independence.

It was in the naval battle of Navarino Bay, Greece on 20th October 1827 that the combined British, French and Russian armada laid waste to the combined Ottoman and Egyptian naval forces. The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was performed 10 years ago on humanitarian grounds and precipitated the emergence of seven states (Bosnia, Croatia, FYROM, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia and Kosovo), which added to the twelve -formerly veiled behind the Iron Curtain- states of Central Europe and Caucasus, augmented further the number of the signatory parties of the UN Charter.

After the elimination of the imminent threat to NATO's raison d'etre caused by its lack of purpose after the dissolution of the USSR, the Balkan wars urged the EU to form a new security strategy, according to which ethnoreligious conflicts could be alleviated via the prospect of EU membership to the countries involved. A selfsame stance has been adopted by Greece, and more recently by Cyprus vis-à-vis Turkey with regard to the estimated rewards to be harvested in case regional peace prevails. As a result, historical revisionism emerged in the Balkan countries as a possible tool to mitigate the ethnic and religious divisions among different, frequently inimical, numerous groups, which were encapsulated in the near, historical past by the Ottoman Empire. ...............................

more see: www.rieas.gr

"No Cypriot govt. will recognize Kosovo

The Northern Epirus is one of the national issues both Greece and Cyprus that they don`t recognize the Kosovo Independence

NICOSIA -- Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić is on a one-day visit to Cyprus this Friday, reports said.

In Nicosia today, the minister said that EU membership is the Serbian government's "central goal".

"We are moving toward EU membership, but we do not allow for our territorial integrity to be brought into question," Jeremić said after this meeting with Kyprianou.

"We will never accept attempted secession of a part of our territory," he stated.

Jeremić also described Cyprus as Serbia's closest and best associate in the EU, and that Nicosia can count on Belgrade's support "on all issues".

Kyprianou stated that his country will not recognize Kosovo and that Nicosia support's Belgrade's EU integration and liberalization of the visa regime for the Serbian citizens.

After meeting with Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias, the Serbian minister stated that "there is no possibility that any Cypriot government would recognize Kosovo".

Nicosia's position is that the declaration of Kosovo's independence is a violation of international law, which must not be allowed, Jeremić continued.

"We have held final consultations with the Cypriot side ahead of the start of the public debate at the International Court of Justice on December 1, on the legality of the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo," he also said.

Jeremić noted that the position of Cyprus on Kosovo is "firm and constant", and that it comes with "full unity of all institutions and parties".

All that, the minister concluded, "removes any danger that Serbia might be conditioned on the European path, in the context of our policy toward Kosovo".

Cyprus is a close friend and partner to Serbia and we are exceptionally grateful for the support we enjoy here, said Jeremić

STARTS THE "NEW COMPROMISE" GREECE - TURKEY

Alternate Greek FM in Vienna

Vienna (ANA-MPA/D. Dimitrakoudis) -- The Greek government's intention to make use of the Greek initiative for a direct channel of communication between the leaders of Greece and Turkey was stressed by alternate foreign minister Dimitris Droutsas on Friday in Vienna, ahead of his meeting with Austrian federal president Dr. Heinz Fischer.

Droutsas also said that the government will reply to a letter addressed by Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to his Greek counterpart George Papandreou in the next few days, in statements to ANA-MPA.

The alternate minister said that a responsible attitude was required by all sides and by everyone "because haste makes waste". Good preparation was necessary so that "the opportunity opening up before us will not be wasted".

Droutsas further noted the meeting n Athens on Thursday between visiting Turkish minister of state and chief negotiator for the EU Egemen Bagis and prime minister Papandreou, during which Bagis briefed Papandreou on "Mr. Erdogan's desire to accept prime minister George Papandreou's call".

He said that Thursday's meeting had been "useful" in view of the "crucial decisions on Turkey's accession course" in December when the EU will review Anara's progress in meeting EU requirements. "Greece clearly supports Turkey's European prospect. It equally clearly stressed that there will be no 'discounts' in the evaluation of Turkey," he added.

On foreign policy, Droutsas noted that the government has, from the beginning, declared that it wants to change page in the way foreign policy is exercised. "We want aggressive diplomacy, active political initiatives, but this does not alter the fundamental targets we week, the fundamental principles and values we serve," he explained.

Droutsas said that he was in Vienna "to take the next step in the Greek government's policy", taking the opportunity of the event being organised by Greece's Chairmanship-in-Office (CiO) of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) marking the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall..................

More see: www.ana.gr

Albania police arrest refinery owner for assault

TIRANA, Nov 5 (Reuters) - An Albanian court has ordererd the arrest of the owner of the country's only oil refinery on assault charges in connection with an attack on a journalist in a bar, police said on Thursday.

Rezart Taci, 38, who owns the refinery ARMO, gave himself up to police after a court ruled he should await trial in jail over the attack on the journalist Mero Baze.

"Police carried out the decision of the Tirana District Court that citizen Rezart Mustafa Taci should be 'arrested and sent to jail' on assault charges," police said in a statement.

Taci denied the charges. If proven guilty, he could be fined or sentenced to up to three years in jail.

The oil tycoon made headlines in the international media when he offered to buy Italy's Seria A soccer club Bologna, but backed out at the last moment.

Geo-politic & Annalise

Η Βόρειος Ήπειρος και το χρέος μας

Ήταν Χριστούγεννα του 1989. Ο λαός της Ρουμανίας έκπληκτος μάθαινε για την ανατροπή του μισητού δικτάτορα Τσαουσέσκου. Δύο μήνες νωρίτερα το τείχος του Βερολίνου έπεφτε σηματοδοτώντας την κατάρρευση των ολοκληρωτικών καθεστώτων κομμουνιστικού τύπου.

Υπουργός Εξωτερικών της Οικουμενικής Κυβερνήσεως που είχαν σχηματίσει τα τρία κόμματα του Ελληνικού Κοινοβουλίου ήταν ο Αντώνης Σαμαράς, με Πρωθυπουργό τον Ξενοφώντα Ζολώτα. Με την ευκαιρία της μεγάλης γιορτής των Χριστιανών ο Σαμαράς ευχήθηκε του χρόνου οι Έλληνες της Βορείου Ηπείρου να κάνουν Χριστούγεννα ελεύθεροι, χωρίς την καταπίεση του καθεστώτος Αλία και χωρίς τα ηλεκτροφόρα συρματοπλέγματα που τους απέκοπταν από την Ελλάδα. Η ευχή του εκπληρώθηκε. Αρκετά πράγματα άλλαξαν από τότε για την ελληνική εθνική κοινότητα στην Αλβανία. Όμως οι Βορειοηπειρώτες περιμένουν ακόμη πολλά. Και τα δικαιούνται.

Παρά την εναλλαγή των δεξιών και των σοσιαλιστικών κυβερνήσεων στα Τίρανα, υπάρχει μία καχυποψία της κεντρικής εξουσίας προς τους Βορειοηπειρώτες και γενικότερα προς τους Έλληνες. Η Αλβανία θέλει να ενταχθεί στην Ευρ. Ένωση και ζητεί να ανοίξουν οι κρουνοί των ΕΥΡΩ, όμως αρνείται να φερθεί ως ευρωπαϊκή χώρα απέναντι στους πολίτες της που δηλώνουν Έλληνες. Θυμίζω τα κυριότερα προβλήματα......................

Του Κωσταντίνου Χολέβα Πολιτικού Επιστήμωνα

see: www.nenanews.eu

Lefteris Ikonomou, the new Police Chief of Greece

The Director of Southern Region of Greece inspector, Lieutenant Eleftherios Ikonomou, as expected, placed a new leader of the Greek police ΕΛ.ΑΣ, by decision of KYSEA.

Previously he was a close associate of Minister Michael Chrisochoïdis during the period after the dismantling of the "17 November Terrorist Group". Mr Economou was spokesman for the Police Officials from the relevant ministry.

Ikonomnou has his origin from Epirus, Ioannina. He has also good relations with Northern Epirus Association and Himara Community in Greece.

GREEK AMERICAN NEWS AGENCY

Terrorism financing

By Ioannis Michaletos

more see: http://www.greekamericannewsagency.com/gana/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6334&Itemid=83

Albanian president "wants good relations"

5 November 2009, Source: Beta

TIRANA -- Albanian President Bamir Topi denied claims that Albania was striving to unite with Kosovo, referring to them as "malicious and wrong interpretations".“Albania respects the young state of Kosovo as the fully-fledged state, but neither Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia nor Montenegro can spread its territory outside their respective borders,” Topi said.He then added that he did not believe Belgrade and Tirana "could bring closer their positions on Kosovo" but that this "does not mean they could not cooperate".

“Everything else is wrong and malicious interpretation from certain circles which look to recreate tension in the region. The situation in the Balkans has changed, there is a political dialogue without precedent and all the countries are concentrating on European integrations,” the Albanian president said. He stated that Albania was "ready to support Kosovo in the process of consolidating of democracy, institutions and rule of the law". “I believe that new recognitions will come soon, but Kosovo needs the support of the countries of the region in order to consolidate democracy and institutions,” said he.

Topi added that Serbia and Albania "already cooperate within regional meetings dedicated to politics, economy, ecology and culture", and said it was there that he had meetings with Serbian President Boris Tadić. “Just because we disagree about one question, doesn’t mean we can’t work together in other areas. We would like to have friendly relations with Serbia and we support it on the road of European integrations, and for Serbia to contribute the peace and stability in the region,” the Albanian president concluded.

Albania in NATO! A new consolidation to a totalitarian system, the civil liberties to the limitation "in extrema"

The Albanian Parliament without opposite presence, continues to approve laws which attack the human rights and the private property

In the current critical period of pluralism in recent months, not even with the participation of opposition in parliament, the government of Berisha, has voted for approval of unilateral laws which express open violations of human rights and infringe on private property in Albania.

As a result of clashes between local authorities and the state, but also investments and properties of citizens, the Albanian government has lost all the battles with private properties in the Court of Strasbourg, while has drafted laws that dictate the totalitarian state against the private property. In terms of human rights parliament proposal, the Berisha government has drafted laws which enable citizens and intercepting of their business, contrary to the Constitution of the Republic of Albania and international obligations.

Also recent draft Legislation Law, stipulates in its articles that a state can levy property and private investment based on its allegations of experts, which is direct violation of fundamental freedoms and human rights. Meanwhile Albanian opposition leader Edi Rama, has accused the government Berisha is taking place in a disaster, by the example of similar year catastrophe of 1997, when former-albanian president Berisha designed frames of a totalitarian state.

Rama accuses Berisha that is robbing from citizens, the private property that has limited the maximum the civil rights, while the parliament approves laws that are led by Berisha a violation of freedoms and human rights.

A similar statement for the violation of human rights particularly the media and private property in Albania confirmed from the Chairman of Union Human Rights Party Vangjelos Dules.

Doule has accused Berisha for his implication to the properties of Himara Region in which the government authorities, systematically have abused under tourist propaganda to robber lands and proprieties of inhabitants of Himara Region.

Security and Politics in Albania: A Limitation of Civil Liberties?

3/25/2007 (Balkanalysis.com)

By Ioannis Michaletos and Stavros Markos*

The government in Tirana has, over the past few months, imposed new domestic security policies in order to curb an increase in criminal networks and their activities. At the same time, international bodies, namely the EU and NATO — entities which Albania wishes to join in the future — are worried about the country’s widespread corruption, and are pressuring Albania to reconstruct its judicial system so as to combat crime of all sorts.
The Albanian Parliament has thus enacted a series of remedial bills, which some analysts predict will lead to an infringement of democratic processes in the country. However, international aid to the security sphere in Albania has as a main target the curtailing of organized crime and terrorism, and not the imposition of a totalitarian state structure that would seek to emulate the Hoxha regime that dominated Albania during the Cold War years.
Of specific concern is the law for surveillance and electronic correspondence. This law was passed in 2005, due to pressure that Albania encountered from foreign agencies such as the CIA, MI6 and EUROPOL, which were reportedly concerned by the continued interrelation between organized crime and Islamic extremist within the state.
The attorney general of Albania, Theodori Solakou, has voiced his opinion by stating that any conducting of electronic surveillance will adhere to standards of basic human rights protection. However, this has not reassured the public, which fears massive eavesdropping by the government, a phenomenon long experienced in many other countries in the region and the wider world.
Here it is interesting to note that one of the major telecom operators in the country is AMC, an affiliate of the Greek state-controlled mobile provider, Cosmote. A possible scenario involving the Greek company and Albanian surveillance would of course be accusations made by Albanian politicians against Greece, claiming that this ownership would mean Greece would be the one controlling and benefiting from electronic surveillance of Albanians. The bilateral relations between the two states might be greatly hurt if such an incident involving AMC were to occur and become public, regardless of the actual law that provides this opportunity to the state. A similar incident in Greece with the company Vodafone — albeit in a different context — revealed the crucial role of mobile providers in modern-day eavesdropping.

On a related front, in summer 2006 the Albanian Parliament voted for an extreme resolution that called for the banning of speedboats operating from all Albanian Adriatic ports, a bill known as “the Berisha moratorium” after its most eager supporter, Prime Minister Sali Berisha.
This sweeping law prohibits the use of speedboats by any Albanian citizen, as such vessels had been used for almost two decades very extensively in contraband activities between Albania and Southern Italy, particularly narcotics and human trafficking. However, along with the actual criminal culprits, quite a few law-abiding Albanians were forced into unemployment because they lost vital sources of income that depended on tourism or fishing interests.
The real reason for the ban, however, was the visa/illegal immigration into Europe issue and the relations between Albania and the EU. A small detail usually left out from media coverage of the ban is that foreign-owned vessels are exempted from it, and also, as the BIRN Network comments, a lull in speedboat trafficking has occurred anyway, because the smugglers have returned to traditional means of transport such as bus and trucks.

Another notable development relating to state security is the creation of a port security and anti-terrorist force for the port of Durres. It has been initiated after an American report revealed that this particular Albanian city has one of the least safe ports in the world. The Albanian government promptly created a strong 78-man force to remedy this deficiency. It is likely that since amongst their duties is the protection of oil deposits and installations, the whole move is related to the proposed AMBO pipeline stretching from Burgas to Vlore and the prospect of Albania becoming a country of energy importance to Western Europe. Hence there is a clear need foe enhanced anti-terrorism forces and a modern security apparatus in the country.
Perhaps the real reason that Albania is implementing such harsh measures, measures that clearly impact on the everyday life of its citizens, is because of the enormous power of the organized crime groups entrenched in social and political life. During the Yugoslav wars of the 1990’s, successive Albanian administrations profited from the oil smuggling that supported the embargo-afflicted republics of the then-Yugoslavia.
Another key factor was state and criminal involvement in the arming of Kosovo’s “liberation’ army, the UCK; the various –and often illegal- international interests that coalesced throughout the Balkans in the 1990’s ensured the dramatic expansion of organized crime.

Lastly, the presence of extremist Islamic elements from the early 1990’s on alerted the West to other potential perils. Bin Laden himself reportedly had visited Albania during the mid-1990’s, and Islamic groups directed by state security chief Bashkim Gazidede, during the first Berisha regime, operated under the pretext of charity funds and international relief organizations. Foremost among these was the al Qaeda-linked Egyptian Islamic Jihad, reportedly rolled up in CIA-directed actions in 1998. However, the arrest of other extremists and asset freezes of entities in Tirana owned by Saudi mogul Yassin al-Qadi, whose assets in the US were also frozen, after 9/11 pointed to a persistence of Islamic activity. At present, the foreign-funded Islamists have become quieter and more clever, operating through think-tanks and choosing to proceed through “converting’ mainstream Albanian Muslims to Saudi Wahhabism, particularly in poor rural areas.
The larger Albanian public is more concerned, however, by the potential for state excess in terms of surveillance. The Albanian secret service has reportedly requested that the government enact a law by which all mobile phone subscribers would have a unique code, so as to be recognized instantly in case the state deems it necessary. Also, all telephone calls would be stored in a database for a period of three years, minimum.

Furthermore, Albania has recently received hi-tech electronic surveillance equipment from London, equipment that will assist in the enforcement of the nation-wide electronic monitor program.
Interestingly, there are some 1,000 people working under direction of the Albanian attorney general in this sensitive “Surveillance department,” an extraordinarily large number for one of the smallest and poorest countries in Europe. The real fear of the Albanian citizens is, therefore, the perceived ability of the state to conduct a mass program of surveillance under the pretext of the “war against crime,” so as to subdue its political opponents and in general curtail democratic rights.

Recent historical experience has proved that the aforementioned confirm a clear and present danger. In 1993, similar equipment — from the USA — was used to illegally survey leaders of the Greek minority in Albania. During that period the Albanian courts condemned 5 leading members of the Greek organization “Omonoia” for charges relating to actions against the state. The decision forced Greece to intervene by vetoing economic assistance from the EU towards Albania, and in general complicated the bilateral relations between Athens and Tirana. According to German sources, Albania received surveillance equipment due to its vital role in expediting the Kosovo war, with direct assistance from Western intelligence agencies.
Today, the small Greek community in Albania remains fearful that its prominent members (politicians, journalists, NGO members, lawyers etc) could yet again become subjects of state “attention.’ According to Albanian media sources, the Albanian secret service is currently monitoring members of the Greek community because of their statements on the “North Epirus issue.” The border provinces between the two countries are referred to separately as “Epiros” by Greeks and “Chameria” by Albanians; both states claim historic and cultural contiguity upon the cross-border terrain.
The demands of the Greek minority members in Albania which are today causing concern with the Albanian authorities include having more say in the communal affairs and seeking ties with their brethren in Greece. According to statistics and unofficial estimations, some 2-10 percent of the Albanian population has Greek ancestry and the overall controversy around “North Epirus” is interrelated with the overall democratic process in the post-communist Albania.

A relatively recent strain in relations between both states occurred on November 1, 2005, when Greek President Karolos Papoulias left in haste from an official visit to Albania, when an event staged by Cham Albanians took place in the area where the Greek and Albanian President were about to meet. The Cham protests for repatriation of their former properties in Greece has never been accepted by the Greek government, since the former left Greece in 1944-45 because of reprisals from Greeks, due to the Albanians’ collaboration with the Axis forces under Hitler. Nevertheless this is an issue that is simmering and a prediction is that as long as Albanian nationalism is energizing the country, there could be major setbacks in the relations between the two states specifically because of that issue. Maps of “Greater Albania” and similar aims, surely add up to a diplomatic climate that is uncertain and needs to get the exact opposite signals, so that both countries can fully cooperate and enjoy better relations.
Furthermore, Attorney General Theodhori Sollaku stated during an institutional meeting that he had been obliged to deny numerous requests by the secret service and the police for mass surveillance. He also added that the total number of surveillance demands can be compared to that of the USA, which has a population 100 times greater than Albania’s. That fact alone, according to the attorney general, reveals a situation not suitable for a democratic state, as well as a clear violation of human rights protection in the country.
This issue could be linked with the conflict between the government of Berisha and Mr. Sollaku, in which both parties have become locked in a series of accusations and counter-accusations of corruption over the past year. In fact, the government tried unsuccessfully to dismiss the attorney general on corruption charges, with no effect however, due to serious opposition from other political figures, including the president of the Albanian Republic.
Such developments indicate that Albania today is in danger of enacting a process that will drift its way toward Europe and not vice-versa. Instead of crime fighting, the new laws could become a perfect fit for those seeking to exert a totalitarian approach to the modern political environment. Political parties, minorities, NGO and labor syndicates could be all become subject to surveillance from the central government. Albania is a country that until 1991 had one of the most isolated and totalitarian regimes in the world. The way forward that includes EU membership would not be served by a mentality of the old days, wrapped in a hi-tech package of electronic and signal intelligence. This new episode in Albanian affairs will certainly prove to be another difficult passage from democratic-political adolescence to maturity, with all the pains and struggles that this passage entails.


*Prolific Balkanalysis.com contributor Ioannis Michaletos is an analyst covering economics, politics and security issues in Greece and the Balkan region with the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS) in Athens.

Markos Stavros, born in 1965 in Vlore, Albania, is an award-winning investigative journalist in Tirana. He has worked with BBC Radio, Albanian Television TVS, France Television TF1, TF2, TV5, Italian Television RAI and more, specializing in Balkan organized crime.

Albanian editor attacked following critical reports

Nga Committee to Protect Journalists

Assailants badly beat Mero Baze, chief editor of the independent Albanian daily Tema and host of the prime-time television show “Faktor Plus,” at a bar in the capital, Tirana, on Monday, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the attack and calls on authorities to bring the assailants to justice.

Baze lost consciousness after the attack and was hospitalized overnight, according to press reports. He was released Tuesday morning.

Balkan Insight, the online publication of Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), said the attack on Baze was witnessed by bar patrons, including two colleagues who were sitting with the editor. Citing local press reports, Balkan Insight reported that local businessman Rezart Taci and his four bodyguards beat the journalist and then left the bar. In a statement to local news outlets, Taci said he was present during the attack but was not involved.

Besar Likmeta, BIRN-Albania editor, told CPJ that Baze had produced a series of reports accusing the businessman of tax evasion and criticizing authorities for not acting against him. Baze also discussed the allegations on “Faktor Plus,” which airs on the independent broadcaster Vision Plus. An e-mail sent by CPJ on Wednesday to two of the businessman’s companies, Taci Oil International and ARMO Refining and Marketing, seeking comment on the tax accusations and further comment on the assault did not generate an immediate response.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sali Berisha condemned the attack and called on police to bring the assailants to justice. Police announced that they had detained two suspects, Likmeta told CPJ.

“We welcome Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s condemnation of this brazen attack on our colleague Mero Baze,” said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney. “We trust the police will heed his call to bring the attackers to justice. The authorities need to send a clear signal that violence against reporters will not be tolerated.”

This is not the first time Baze has been attacked for his journalism, CPJ research shows. In January, Tirana police barred Tema staffers from entering their newsroom following a December 2008 government decision to evict the daily from its offices in a state-owned building. Tema later relocated its offices.

Ο ανθελληνισμός "σαρώνει" την Αλβανική κοινωνία

Ένα έγκλημα του κοινού ποινικού δικαίου που διαπράχθηκε προσφάτως στη Χειμάρρα της Αλβανίας και το κύμα συμπαράστασης στον δολοφόνο, που ξέσπασε, δείχνει ότι στη γειτονική μας χώρα επωάζεται ο ακραίος ανθελληνισμός. Δράστης ένας εικοσιτετράχρονος Αλβανός και θύμα ο ελληνικής καταγωγής εργοδότης του.

Τα κίνητρα ήταν οικονομικά και η αστυνομία συνέλαβε τον νεαρό, αποκαλύπτοντας φρικιαστικές λεπτομέρειες γύρω από τη δολοφονία. Αν όμως η αποτρόπαια πράξη, αυτή καθαυτή, προκαλεί απέχθεια, τα όσα ακολούθησαν σοκάρουν. Μέσα από τα blogs στο Διαδίκτυο επιχειρείται η ηρωοποίηση του νεαρού διότι σκότωσε έναν Έλληνα! Τα ιστολόγια μεγάλων εφημερίδων, στα οποία παρεμβαίνουν για να καταθέσουν τις απόψεις τους καθημερινά εκατοντάδες αναγνώστες, αλλά και προσωπικά ηλεκτρονικά σημειωματάρια, πλημμυρίζουν μίσος.


«Όλοι μας πρέπει να σκοτώσουμε έναν Έλληνα», γράφει ένας εξ αυτών. Ένας άλλος, απευθυνόμενος στον δράστη, λέει ότι «αν σκότωνες τον Ελληνα δήμαρχο της Χειμάρρας θα ήσουν ο νέος Γκεόργκ Κάστριοτ» (σημ.: ο εθνικός ήρωας των Αλβανών) και κάποιος τρίτος δήλωνε πως «καλός Έλληνας είναι ο ψόφιος Έλληνας»!Το θύμα είχε «βεβαρημένο» βιογραφικό: Έτρεχε στις φλέβες του ελληνικό αίμα και άρα ήταν κάκιστος εργοδότης –άλλωστε οι περισσότεροι Αλβανοί θεωρούν συλλήβδην τους εργοδότες τους στην Ελλάδα δυνάστες και ρατσιστές– και ήταν συγγενής, με το ίδιο μάλιστα επώνυμο του ομογενούς δημάρχου της Χειμάρρας, τον οποίο κάποιες αμφιλεγόμενες δηλώσεις και ενέργειες τον έχουν φέρει στο στόχαστρο του αλβανικού εθνικισμού.

Επομένως, «ορθώς έπραξε ο εικοσιτετράχρονος, ο οποίος όχι μόνο δεν πρέπει να τιμωρηθεί για την αποτρόπαια πράξη του, αλλά το σωστό και εθνικά πρέπον θα ήταν να αναρτηθεί η φωτογραφία του πλάι σʼ εκείνη του Σκεντέρμπεη».Υπερβολές και μεμονωμένες ακραίες αντιδράσεις κάποιων φανατικών; Όχι, δυστυχώς. Παρόμοιες εκδηλώσεις είχαμε και άλλες στο παρελθόν με χαρακτηριστικότερη εκείνη της απαγωγής λεωφορείου στη Θεσσαλονίκη, στην οποία ο εκτελεσθείς, μαζί μʼ έναν Έλληνα όμηρό του, από την αλβανική αστυνομία, έξω από το Ελβασάν Φλαμούρ Πίσλι, έγινε και λαϊκό τραγούδι, ως ο Αλβανός που συγκρούστηκε με τους Έλληνες ρατσιστές και ας επρόκειτο για την ενέργεια ενός μισότρελου ανθρώπου.

Ο ανθελληνισμός σαρώνει την αλβανική κοινωνία παρά τις άριστες σχέσεις των δυο χωρών στο πολιτικό επίπεδο, την παρουσία στην Ελλάδα αρκετών εκατοντάδων χιλιάδων μεταναστών και της ελληνικής μειονότητας στην Αλβανία, και το κύμα συμπάθειας προς τον κοινό δολοφόνο δεν είναι τίποτε άλλο παρά μια έκφρασή του.
O ανθελληνισμός στη γειτονιά μας άρχισε να λαμβάνει –και με δικές μας ευθύνες– επικίνδυνες διαστάσεις. Το πλέον ανησυχητικό είναι ότι δεν φαίνεται στην Αλβανία να αντιδρά κανείς στη ραγδαία εξάπλωσή του. Όπως συνέβαινε έως και μέχρι πρότινος στην Ελλάδα, όπου μεγάλο μέρος της κοινής γνώμης αξίωνε την εκδίωξη των Αλβανών για να εξαλειφθεί η εγκληματικότητα!

Του ΣΤΑΥΡΟΥ ΤΖΙΜΑ
ΚΑΘΗΜΕΡΙΝΗ

President Obama Hosts Spiritual Father of 300 Million Orthodox Christians at the White House

President Obama met privately this morning with His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who has served in that role for 18 years as spiritual father of the roughly 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide.

His All Holiness is known as the "Green Patriarch" for being a leading environmentalist, and hosted a conference on the environment in New Orleans when he arrived in the United States almost two weeks ago.

While the Ecumenical Patriarch and the president discussed the environment, the more complicated issue is the ongoing struggle by Orthodox Christians for religious freedom in Turkey. The Turkish government has refused to recognize Bartholomew as being the worldwide leader of his Church, has insisted on being involved in the selection in future Patriarchs, and has confiscated thousands of properties belonging to the Orthodox Church.

This was their second meeting after Mr. Obama met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul on April 7th.

After the meeting, I asked His All Holiness about his priorities during his time here in Washington, and he said meeting with the highest representatives of the Obama administration is part of that - noting that he just met with Mr. Obama, he'll meet with Vice President Biden tomorrow, and will have dinner with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday. The Ecumenical Patriarch is also due to meet with Congressional leaders on Wednesday.

"This is an honor for us, for our Church, and it is a concrete sign of the respect the American administration has for institutions with long history and valuable service to the human kind such as the Ecumenical Patriarchate," Patriarch Bartholomew said. "The Ecumenical Patriarchate is not simply the religious center, the center creating civilization, it has contributed much to the European culture and civilization. It is there. We must not forget it. It is there in Istanbul, the former Constantinople for 17 entire centuries. This interest of the White House is well understood."

Albania, Security News

Himara sends message to the Premier Berisha: Stop any attack against people of Himara. "we live in the land of our fathers"

On Friday is called an urgent meeting of the Municipal Council of Himara, where invited to the National Inspectorate of Construction to provide explanations about an action of the selected homes to native of Himara.

While the Mayor of Municipality of Himara Vasillis Bollanos continues his visit in Washington, the Berisha's government wants to open a dispute with local residents, sending messages for residential demolition of buildings constructed in their own lands.

It is unknown exactly what the seriousness of this action is undertaken in Himare, when the municipality is the only authority that it has the right to give for building permits, identifying about 17 buildings, mostly constructed in the abusive form on the region.

Meanwhile, a group of inhabitants from Hiamara, has sent a message to Prime Minister Berisha to get into consideration that any attempt which may constitute a reason for an ethnic clash, as National Construction Inspectorate has identified as intentional demolition of buildings which are in process or are equipped with permission from the municipality of Himara on private territories.

Anyway the decision of Berisha's government has undertaken an mission against citizens of Himara region who have double citizenship, Albanian and Greek, to create tensions under the name of collective damage.

However there is no response from the government regarding the letter of himariotes, but according to last informations from the National Inspectorate Region of Vlora, it is dismissed from work in connection with an action which is considered politicaly on the region.

The inhabitants of Himara has regularly informed the Greek government for ulterior developments, while the Greek Ambassador in Tirana Nickolaos Patzios holds contacts with the Albanian authority.

Pieces of WWII-era UK warship apparently found

By LLAZAR SEMINI (AP)

TIRANA, Albania — Pieces of a British destroyer that was badly damaged by Albanian mines in 1946, straining relations between the two countries for decades, appear to have been discovered in a waterway near Greece, U.S. and Albanian researchers said Monday.

The wreckage was found 50 yards (meters) under water in the Corfu Channel between the Albanian mainland and the Greek island of Corfu. It is believed to be a section of the bow of the British destroyer HMS Volage, the researchers said.

Forty-four sailors died in the mine explosions that damaged the Volage and another British Navy destroyer, the HMS Saumarez. Both ships suffered extensive damage but reached Corfu for repairs.

The incident halted talks between Communist Albania and Britain on restoring diplomatic ties that were broken earlier that year. The two countries only formally re-established ties in 1991.

"While largely obscured by mud, the remains show steel frames, electrical wiring, ammunition, stacks of ceramic plates, a British canteen and the remains of boots or shoes," said James Delgado, president of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, who was part of the international team of experts. The institute is nonprofit research body affiliated with Texas A&M University.

The discovery was part of an effort to create an underwater cultural heritage map of the Albanian coastline and is being coordinated by the Key West, Florida-based RPM Nautical Foundation and aided by Albanian authorities.

The artifacts are to be raised and analyzed for confirmation, "but the nature of the finds strongly suggest ... this was where HMS Volage hit the mine that tore off its bow," Delgado said. "The area of Volage blasted off by the mine was forward of the deck guns and included the forward mess, where some of the crew ate and slept, as well as storage compartments. The dishes, shoes and ammunition are evidence that fit."

The wreckage, which lies off the Albanian port of Saranda, 185 miles (300 kilometers) south of Tirana, the country's capital, was examined by a remote-controlled submarine carrying three cameras.

The British sailors' deaths started a dispute between Britain and Albania that lasted 45 years.

Albania refused to pay Britain damages awarded by the International Court of Justice at The Hague. Britain retaliated by blocking the release of Albanian gold seized by the Nazis during World War II. The claims were settled in 1992 and 1996 agreements, under which ownership of most of the gold was returned to Albania.

The researchers said a report on the ship's discovery and supporting footage had been sent to the Albanian and British governments.

The latest geopolitical developments on Balkans

Serbian Government to discuss Vojvodina bill

BELGRADE -- A working draft of the Law on Determining the Jurisdiction of Vojvodina has been published on the government website.

This legislation arranges issues important for the province’s position, and should be sent to parliament along with the draft statute.

According to the President of the Executive Council of Vojvodina Bojan Pajtić all dilemmas and disputes have been resolved, so the Vojvodina issue could be discussed at the government meeting this Thursday while, according to this, MPs will debate it next week.

According to the draft, Vojvodina will have the right to establish an office in Brussels but will be able to sign only regional, not international contracts.

The Vojvodina assembly will not be able to decisions with the power of law, but it will arrange and govern the courts in its own territory............................

more see; http://www.b92.net/eng

Albania Journalist Viciously Beaten by Businessman

Tirana | 03 November 2009 | Besar Likmeta

Mero Baze

A businessman with close ties with Prime Minister Sali Berisha viciously assaulted publisher and journalist Mero Baze on Monday evening in Tirana, following a series of reports accusing the businessman of tax evasion.

According to witnesses present in the Capriccio Bar in the center of Tirana's upscale Bllok neighborhood, Rezart Taci and his bodyguards attacked the journalist, kicking and beating him for roughly four minutes, leaving him unconscious.

Present during the assault were also two other journalist; political commentator Andi Bushati and the editor-in-chief of Vizion Plus TV Arban Hasani, who later testified on the assault on the journalist.

Baze recovered in Tirana's military hospital on Monday evening and was released on the early hours of Tuesday. He had ran a series of critical reports on his TV Show, Faktor Plus, on Vizion Plus TV accusing Rezart Taci and his company, the ARMO oil refinery of massive tax evasion.

Apart from the TV show, Baze also publishes the Tirana daily TEMA, a publication very critical of the

government.

Rezart Taci is known as one of the Tirana businessman in Prime Minister Berisha's inner circle. His other company, Taci Oil International has spent millions of euros organising charity football matches, with the proceeds donated to a children's charity ran by the wife of Prime Minister Sali Berisha.

In a statement on Tuesday Albanian police announced that they had arrested two of the businessman's bodyguards and Rezart Taci himself was wanted for questioning. Taci had earlier denied that he had participated in the attack.

Albania's Union of Journalist strongly condemned the assault against Baze and called on authorities to bring the culprits to justice.

“This acts proves that the Albanian journalist is threatened in every moment by brutality and criminal violence,” said the union in a statement. “The fact that similars attacks are repeated, especially toward this colleague, speaks of the growth in aggression by people with economic power,” the union added.

Monday's assault is not the first against the journalist. Just last February, a local daily close to Prime Minister Sali Berisha, called for his murder.

In graphic detail, the article called for the assassination of Baze, whose own newspaper is attacking or being attacked by Berisha on a daily basis.

“In order to open his head, Mero should be put with his shoulders against the wall. A thick knife should be snapped on his throat, without any anesthesia, so he does not fall asleep and can see everything for himself,” read the article published in Koha Jone.

“The crushing of the skull can be done in several ways, bashing against the wall, with a hammer, blowing it up or sawing through it.”

Baze's Tema newspaper has focused on investigative reporting, many of its stories attacking officials for alleged graft and corruption. On 8 January, police evicted the newspaper from its offices in a government building, despite a court order blocking the eviction.

The publisher's luxury BMW went also up in flames on last New Year’s Eve in what Baze said was an attack, but which police described as self-combustion due to a short circuit.

U.S. NATO chief blames Turkey for 'ethnic cleansing' of Greeks, including own family

U.S. Navy Admiral James Stavridis, the senior American officer in both the U.S. European Command and NATO, blames Turkey for violence against its Greek minority, including his own family, almost 90 years ago.

In a first-person book he published last year, before he took over as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), Stavridis termed Turkey's moves "ethnic cleansing" and a "pogrom," whose victims included his grandparents, expelled from their hometown of Izmir, and his father's uncle, who was killed by violent anti-Greek Turks.

Advertisement Fighter planes from United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) and other elements under Stavridis' command were to have taken part in the Anatolian Eagle exercise, from which the U.S. withdrew earlier this week, after Turkey barred Israel from participating.

Stavridis is closely supervising the upcoming American-Israeli Juniper Cobra air and missile defense exercise, and is scheduled to visit Israel soon. After being nominated to his current position, a mere year after publishing these charges against Turkey, Stavridis dropped the negative reference to Turkish treatment of his family and other ethnic Greeks. His current, sanitized version depicts Turkey as a starting point for a one-stop journey west to America.

more newspaper haaretz: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1121249.html

Southern Europe and the Balkans

Where They Love George W. Bush and Bill Clinton

November 2, 2009 Nicole Itano

Albanians, in Albanian proper and in Kosovo, love America. Perhaps contradictorily, they also love George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Pristina, Kosovo’s capital, is probably the only city in the world with both George W. Bush and Bill Clinton boulevards.

Albanians love 42 for his support of the 11-week NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999, which led to the Serbian military withdrawal from Kosovo and the placement of the province under United Nations administration, and 43 for supporting Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in February last year.

But now Kosovo Albanians have shown their special gratitude to Clinton — who is seen as the architect of the NATO bombing campaign — by erecting a giant, 10-foot tall, golden statue of the former U.S. President. Clinton visited Pristina for the statue’s unveiling, but appeared slightly sheepish about the whole thing:

Bush got a similar hero’s welcome in Albania in June 2007, when he made an official visit there. The capital Tirana was festooned with American flags and huge posters of Bush’s face, in a style reminiscent of the city’s communist-era parades. It was strange to see the giant, concrete pyramid that had been built by Albanian’s former communist dictator Enver Hoxha as his tomb draped in red, white and blue.

Eight months later, Kosovo Albanians waved American flags and held aloft “We love America”signs during their independence celebrations.All this was at a time when America wasn’t exactly the most popular kid on the global playground.

Kosovo (the ethnically Albanian parts, at least) and Albania are still probably the two most pro-American places in the world — they may even be more pro-American than America. At the very least, they’ve shown greater enthusiasm for America’s recent foreign escapades than the American people as a whole.

Albania, which recently got into NATO with U.S. backing, has been loyal supporter of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has sent hundreds of troops to the two conflicts. America was even able to use its leverage there to coerce the poor Balkan country into taking some of the prisoners — most of them Chinese Uyghurs — who they wanted to release from Guantanamo Bay but for various reasons couldn’t send to their home countries.

For the Bush administration, support from Kosovo and Albania, both majority Muslim, was seen as an important counterargument to allegations that America was waging a war on Islam.
But the new Clinton statue may be bad news for Bush. Kosovo was probably the only state in the world that might have erected a statue to him and it’s unlikely even they will adorn their streets with two giant statues of American presidents.

Kosovo police increase security ahead of former President Bill Clinton’s visit

By AP

November 1st, 2009

Kosovo police up security ahead of Clinton visit

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Police in Kosovo say they have upped security measures ahead of former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s arrival in the capital Pristina where he is to unveil an 11-foot (3.5-meter) statue of himself.

Kosovo police spokesman Baki Kelani says more traffic police and special police units have been deployed to provide security during Clinton’s visit on Sunday. He did not give specific details.

Police placed steel barriers at the site where the statue is to be unveiled. Thousands of people are expected to flock into the capital to welcome Clinton, who is considered a hero for launching NATO’s bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999.

The alliance’s 78-day air war forced Serb troops out of Kosovo, paving the way for Kosovo’s secession.

Bollanos in Washington, meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

SManalysis

Washington, November 1, 2009

Chairman of Municipality of Himara and also President of the organization "Omonia" (the Greek Ethnic Community of Albania) is visiting this week the United States of America among invited on the historic visit of Patriarch Bartholomeu in Washington. During the celebrations and meetings organized with this case, the President Bollano will have meetings with the Greek American Senator Olympia Stone and Greek American Congressman Gus Billirakis.

But special meetings he will have in this case with Himariot Lobby in USA and especially with former CIA Director George Tenet, the Pan Epiriot Federation Lobby represent Nicholas Gage and with top clerics including Orthodox Church Archbishop of America Demetrios and Patriarch Bartholomeu.

Meanwhile sources from Washington, have confirmed for SManalysis that Vassilis Bollanos will have an important meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and senior officials of administration of State Department. The meeting is mediate under the intervention of George Tenet, a personal friend of the family of Former President of USA Bill Clinton.