PM reiterates: Kosovo partition is only solution

Source: Beta

LJUBLJANA -- Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dačić has once again repeated that the partition of Kosovo is the only true solution.

Ivica Dačić (Tanjug, file)

He told Ljubljana-based daily Delo that this was his personal position and that he could not insist on it.
“I cannot impose my positions as those that would be accepted by the whole of Serbia or the international community,” he was quoted as saying.

“I still think it would be the fastest, best and most just solution, acceptable both to Albanians and Serbs because it respects their legitimate interests,” the prime minister explained.

“The government of course advocates a peaceful solution and the continuation of the Belgrade-Priština dialogue,” Dačić added.

“The dialogue would in our opinion have to include political and not only technical issues,” he told the daily.

He said that Kosovo’s independence “cannot be full unless there is consent and agreement with Serbia”.

The PM stated that Belgrade wanted to continue the dialogue with Priština on the highest political level, that the government and the president would form a national policy for Kosovo and that the EU needed to define the topics of the talks.

He pointed out that the EU did not expect Serbia to recognize Kosovo.

“Nobody has spoken to me in Brussels about such a request,” he said and added that it was “necessary to find a solution that would protect Serbian national and state interests and EU perspective”.

According to him, it is harmful to ask Serbia to recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo if it wants to joint the EU because of the “growing anti-EU sentiment among the Serbian citizens”.

Italian Students Protest At Greek Consulate in Bologna

By Danai Kanella 

 

The Greek consulate in Bologna, Italy, was in the center of the protest on Oct. 5 against government cuts in education.
According to the Italian newspaper, Corriere de la Serra, demonstrators threw eggs and paint against the consulate and one of them even climbed on the post and pulled down the Greek flag.
The strangest thing is that according to their slogan, at least, students were protesting to show their ‘’solidarity’’ to Greeks and to ‘’all the people who fight fascism,” and it was unclear why Italian students picked the Greek consulate as a protest site, although Greece is also making big cuts to education during its economic crisis. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Greek embassy in Rome asked the Italian police to investigate the event and to find both the flag and the people responsible for taking it.

Albanian diplomatic escalation to Greece

Panariti: We do not know the borders with Greece Agreement

 We seek new negotiations to deal with Greece on maritime border

In his first appearance on media after returning from Athens, Foreign Minister Edmond Panariti stated that he had received assurances from the Greek counterpart Dimitris Avramopoulos maritime agreement will be resolved in the spirit of the Constitution and according to what I define international conventions. This Minister has linked optimism and the fact that the Greek State has not advanced marine old agreement, paving thus need to open negotiations on a new reformulation of it.

"For us there is no agreement on the sea, we must work together to launch negotiations for a new agreement. Albania's position, this problem should be addressed only in the spirit of the Constitution of the country and international laws. Should be a solid deal, "said Panariti.

While avoiding comments about the flag incident, Panariti said during a visit to Athens with Greek counterpart discussed all the problems that Greek-Albanian file bears over the years, as is the question of Cham and their restitution.

Meanwhile, there have been discussions and current affairs issues, which the Minister recounted some positive developments with regard to the recognition of certificates, signed the agreement for ease of transportation.

During this visit Panariti expressed concern Avramopoulos dheper declaring "non grata" by the Greek state journalist Marin Mema, as well as frequent stops judges in border issue which has received assurances from the Greek diplomat that will be carefully reviewed.

Law of war, Panariti considered absurd in the present, to which he said that Greece is aware of and will be willing to abrogate.

Greece, decision for minority expected soon
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The Greek government is expected to take an important decision that facilitates the procedures of the Greek minority in Albania for receiving the Greek nationality.

After a meeting of the Interior Minister, Nikos Dhendias, with the Deputy Interior Minister, Haralambos Athanasiou, was concluded that the 10-year-term permits that most of the Greek minority members have might turn into a permanent permit.

This development, according to the two ministries, is realized in order to face the bureaucratic obstacles that are related with the residence of Albanian Greek minority members in Greece, and to facilitate the procedures for receiving the Greek nationality after the application, if they want.

The legal decision that will enter in effect immediately is expected to pass soon by both Ministries.

According to the vice chairman of the Omonia organization for Greece, Jorgos Tzoumakas, there are at least 200.000 people who hold the 10-year residence permit in Greece. 75.000 of them have received Greek nationality while others have their applications still undergoing.

Angela Merkel will visit in Athens

The Greek-American Candidates for 2012 Congress Election

In the United States it is estimated there are as many as 3,000,000 people of Greek descent and the community has always avidly supported political candidates, including Philhellenes. This year, nine are running for Congress and are asking for your vote in the upcoming election which will take place on Nov. 6. Eight candidates are competing for the House of Representatives and one for the U.S. Senate.
Every two years, all 435 members of the House of Representatives must run for election or re-election, while 33 of the 100 U.S. Senate seats are being contested. While most of the attention is on the Presidential battle, the Greek-American community is also focused on the Congressional races, where members can make an impact on foreign policy issues. Philhellene candidates who have supported issues critical to Greece and Cyprus are also important to the community.
There had only been one person of Greek descent in the Senate, Olympia Snowe, a Republican from Maine, who is not seeking re-election, pinning the Diaspora’s hopes on Shelley Berkley, a Democratic Nevada Congresswoman, who is running for a Senate seat.
Three Greek-Americans are up for re-election to the Congress and there are three others whose ambition is to win for the first time. Incumbents Gus Bilirakis, a Florida Republican, and the Co-Chairman of the Parliamentary group for Greek Issues, John Sarbanes, a Maryland Democrat and son of former U.S. Sen. Paul Sarbanes, and Niki Tsongas, widow of former U.S. Presidential candidate and former Senator Paul Tsongas, hope to stay in office. Tsongas is not of Greek origin but is in the Greek issue group as well.

The Read and Black alliance, blocking the arrival of Edmont Panariti in Tirana airport 

Panariti, Declared person 'non grata

'In the early morning hours of Friday, Red and Black Alliance activists blocked the exit of foreign minister, Edmond Panariti, from the airport "Mother Teresa" after his arrival from official visits to Athens. By calling and whistling against the humiliation of national symbols and not timid response Panariti Minister, Red and Black Alliance activists blocked the emergence of the sector minister "VIP" Airport "Mother Teresa" and opened the banner "Edmond Panariti - person 'non grata '"in Albania.Connected side by side with each other Red and Black Alliance activists tried to not let him down in the Albanian territory minister Panariti, in protest against the Albanian government negotiations with the Greek government for the deal of water, but also for the scandal with the Albanian flag in conference joint press conference with his counterpart, Avramopoulos. 

Red and Black Alliance Organizing Secretary, Redi Ramaj, during the joint press statement issued harsh messages against maritime agreement renegotiation between Albania and Greece, and demanded to be made public by any means the minutes of secret talks Panariti Avramopoulos."Minister Panariti subdued Albanian national flag and historical symbols. The emergence of diplomacy in violation of our national symbols with their counterparts in Athens, Skopje and Podgorica is not a technical or human error, but a diplomatic message kneeling and capitulation anti government last 100 years, "said Redi Ramaj. 

"We demand that the Albanian government to stop any kind of negotiations and communication with the government Greek Ionian sharing. Red and Black Alliance warns citizen Berisha and Cyprinus that the signing of this agreement is a criminal offense and the filing of the Albanian territory in favor of the Greek state is punishable by life imprisonment, "said Ramaj."Red and Black Alliance and all the Albanians with integrity have a clear message to the Minister of Foreign Affairs knees Albania Edmond Panariti, he is an unwanted person on Albanian soil," said Redi Ramaj.Red and Black Alliance Constitutional Court's decision on water agreement with Greece is the hallmark of the law on an affair anti-national and anti-Albanian initiated by citizen Sali Berisha.After protesters blocked the road, the minister moved from the old road Rinas.

Demonstration at front of the The Greek Defense Ministry, by militaries, get out in way, by Troika reform

Right-Wing Extremists’ Popularity Rising Rapidly in Greece

Yorgos Karahalis/Reuters

People received cartons of milk and other groceries from the Golden Dawn party in Syntagma Square in Athens in August.Members of the party have also attacked immigrants. More Photos »

By LIZ ALDERMAN

ATHENS — The video, which went viral in Greece last month, shows about 40 burly men, led by Giorgos Germenis, a lawmaker with the right-wing Golden Dawn party, marching through a night market in the town of Rafina demanding that dark-skinned merchants show permits.

Multimedia

Some do, and they are left alone. But the action quickly picks up, as the men, wearing black T-shirts with the party’s name, destroy a stall with clubs and scatter the merchandise. “We saw a few illegal immigrants selling their wares,” Mr. Germenis says in the video. “We did what Golden Dawn has to do. And now we’re going to church to pay our respects to the Madonna.”

Just a few months ago, the name Golden Dawn was something to be whispered in Greece.

But three months after the extremist right-wing group won an electoral foothold in Parliament, talk of Golden Dawn seems to be on everybody’s lips.

In cafes, taxis and bars, Greeks across the political spectrum are discussing the palpable surge in Golden Dawn’s popularity, which has risen in recent political polls even as the group steps up a campaign of vigilantism and attacks against immigrants.

The poll gains come amid growing disenchantment over rising illegal immigration, and with the government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, which is being forced by its international lenders to push through $15 billion in additional, highly unpopular, austerity measures. If Greece were to hold new elections soon, Golden Dawn could emerge as the third-largest party in Parliament, behind Mr. Samaras’s New Democracy and the left-wing Syriza. Currently, Golden Dawn is the fifth largest, with 18 out of 300 seats.

“We have a major socioeconomic crisis in which several hundred thousand Greeks are losing ground,” said Nikos Demertzis, a professor of political sociology at the University of Athens. “And you have a rising number of immigrants in Greece, many illegal. This is creating a volcanic situation where all the classic parameters for the flourishing of a far-right force like Golden Dawn are present.”

Golden Dawn’s tactics are similar to ones it used before parliamentary elections in June. Preying on fears that immigrants are worsening crime rates and economic hardship, the group has been stepping up attacks against immigrants, many of whom are legal citizens, with the police frequently standing by. It is also trying to expand its reach with the Greek diaspora.

The group recently opened an office in New York, announcing its presence with a sleek Web site depicting a stylized Swastika against a darkened Manhattan skyline. The Web site was disabled by hackers less than a day later and remains down, and the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association condemned the group’s outreach, saying that “fascism has no place in the United States.”

Golden Dawn has also established an outpost in Australia, where Greeks have been emigrating by the thousands to escape the crisis in their homeland.

The group is still far from being a major threat to Mr. Samaras’s party, or to his fragile three-party coalition government. Most Greeks express alarm at the group’s rise, and anti-fascist organizations in Athens are continuing efforts neighborhood by neighborhood to counter its increased vigilantism.

Yet, rising political and social discontent is rich fodder for Golden Dawn as it tries to cultivate a larger base. These days, it is not uncommon for conversations to evolve into laments about the ineffectiveness of Mr. Samaras’s government, before a mention of Golden Dawn’s rise in the polls slips in.

“People have no faith in the political system,” said Dimitris Kaklamanos, 41, a worker at a Shell gas station in the town of Piraeus, on the outskirts of Athens.

Mr. Kaklamanos said he had long voted for Pasok, the Socialist party, but grew disillusioned with corruption and the ineptitude of its politicians. Now, he feels attracted to Golden Dawn, he said, whose popularity he expects to continue to rise, especially as the group replaces police and government services in poor areas where the state has almost ceased to function.

Other political parties “know that Golden Dawn is gaining power and they see that as a threat,” Mr. Kaklamanos said. “But Golden Dawn are the only ones out there demonstrating they care about the Greek people.”

He cited food and clothing drives conducted by the group across a widening area of Athens, as well as protections it extends to vulnerable Greeks in neighborhoods where crime has surged in tandem with illegal immigration.

Turkish MPs back military action in Syria

By Daniel Dombey in Istanbul and Peter Spiegel in Brussels

©Reuters

Turkey’s parliament has authorised military cross-border operations following a deadly mortar attack from Syria on a Turkish town.
After a morning in which Turkey continued shelling Syrian targets in response to the strike, which killed five people, the parliament backed the government’s call for the authorisation of incursions into the neighbouring state.

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“Turkey’s national security will be protected by this motion,” Omer Celik, a deputy chairman of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development party, said of the motion to authorise armed incursions into Syria before the agreement was reached. “Sometimes there are situations where rules of engagement are not enough.”
Although officials in Ankara emphasise that they are not interested in a bilateral military confrontation with Syria – a course opposed by most of the Turkish public – they say it is important to send Damascus a strong message to avoid repetition of this week’s shelling.
But, amid continued fierce fighting between Syrian regime forces and rebels for control of areas bordering Turkey, it remains unclear whether Damascus will rein in mortar attacks that risk crossing the border.
Turkish officials maintain that the latest incidents show how dangerous the crisis in Syria has become – an issue Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, is likely to address in a news conference on Thursday. Despite his aversion to unilateral military intervention, Mr Erdogan has been campaigning for a UN-backed buffer zone in Syria – so far, without success.
There has been widespread condemnation of the mortar attack, with Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, saying she was “outraged”, describing the increasing violence across Syria’s borders as a “very, very dangerous situation”.
Russia, which is the Syrian regime’s chief international ally, on Thursday urged Damascus to state officially that the cross-border firing was an accident and would not happen again, reports quoted foreign minister Sergei Lavrov as saying.
Reports from the Turkish border town of Akcakale said a woman and three children were among the dead and that at least nine people were wounded. Several Syrian soldiers were killed in Turkey’s overnight retaliation, Reuters reported, citing the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, a pro-Syrian opposition monitoring group.
“In accordance with international law and the rules of engagement, Turkey will never permit this kind of provocation against our national security by the Syrian regime,” said Mr Erdogan’s office, lambasting on Wednesday what it described as an “abominable attack”. Syrian media said sites in the Idlib area had been hit.
Nato ambassadors held a 50-minute night session at Turkey’s request to discuss the alliance’s response under article four of its charter, which allows for consultations on perceived threats, as opposed to article five, a formal declaration that an attack on one member constitutes an attack on all. Nato said it strongly condemned the Syrian strike and described the continual shelling of border areas in Turkey as “flagrant violations of international law”.

“Everybody spoke, everybody expressed condolences, everyone expressed support for Turkey’s measured response,” said a senior Nato diplomat, noting that 26 of the alliance’s 28 ambassadors were able to attend at short notice.
As Turkey called for “necessary action” from the UN Security Council, Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkish foreign minister, discussed the crisis with Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, as well as other officials across the world.

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The failure of the Hellenic diplomacy in Athens, by the request of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Albania, Edmont Panariti, for Chamuria properties, has raised the national extremists in Albania opinion