The new Riviera: Albania tackles 'badlands' image with parasols

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In today's Magazine

• Tweets of the week: Royal baby, Carlos Danger and Dominique Strauss-Kahn
• 10 things we didn't know last week
• My six months as a hostage
• Do we still need the telephone?

Albania is the latest Balkan country to want to join the European Union. To do so, it will have to convince Brussels it has tackled corruption and organised crime. After decades of holidaying on neighbouring Corfu, Julia Langdon took the hydrofoil to see how formerly Communist Albania was shaping up.

For 30 years I have been visiting the north-east coast of Corfu. And for all that time I have been looking at Albania, often with a shiver at what little we knew about it.
Its bare coastline and forbidding mountains seemed to represent the isolation of the country, cut off by communism for half a century, home to the mafia - the badlands of the Balkans.
In the old days, the Straits of Corfu were raked by Albanian searchlights trying to catch those desperate enough to risk a night-time swim, or a paddle in the inner tube of a car tyre to escape its hunger and brutality.
When communism collapsed, I had heard the putt-putt of outboard engines at night on piratical missions. "The children usually sleep through the early-morning gunfire," I used to joke, but it was true.

Thousands of Albanians tried to flee the unrest in their country in the late 1990s

I had watched the tracer bullets light up the night-time sky over Saranda, the small city in the south of Albania where the last violent rebellions occurred as the country struggled to secure some sort of democracy 20 years ago.

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Now I am approaching Saranda for the first time. I am on the hydrofoil, the Flying Dolphin, prepared for heat and poverty and boys begging for biros.

And what was the last thing I expected to see? Sun umbrellas on the beach. Welcome to the Albanian Riviera.
There is a promenade with cafes, bars, fairy lights, restaurants and tourist shops selling universal tourist tat.
There are oleanders and palm trees and hibiscus and solanum. There are sunbeds. A water playpark. Carefree children diving from a platform on a jetty. And holidaymakers, although few of them apparently foreign visitors.
There are also cars. Expensive ones. And in the middle of this very small city: nice-looking apartment buildings. Smart hotels.

The new Albanian Riviera

Era, a pretty, dark-haired Albanian in her 40s, is a tourist guide who wants to boast as much about the new Albania as describe the archaeological site of Butrint that I plan to visit.
Where once the second language in schools was Russian, now it is English and Era speaks it enthusiastically. She also relishes the freedom to say what she wants without fear.
They have just had an election here and Era - whose name means "echo" - is very pleased with the result.
"Albania is making a big progress on the road of democracy now," she tells me. "Before if we would complain, we very soon would find ourselves in police station. A lot of things are changing here."

Celebrations after last month's elections

She is old enough to know about the bad old days. When she was a girl, the youth of Albania were forced to work in the fields on Sundays. In this area they planted olives and oranges.
Agriculture and fishing are still hugely important to the economy but the average monthly wage is only just over £200 (it sounds better in Albanian lek, where it converts to 32,800) and the old age pension is less than half of that.
People are helped by their children, says Era, and also by the informal - ie black - economy and by money sent home by the four million Albanians who live elsewhere.
There are problems in this transition economy. There is building work everywhere. The infrastructure is far from adequate.
There are cars. But no car parks. There are limited consumer goods but no rubbish collection. There is fly-tipping at every turn.
There is only one airport - named after the country's most famous native, Mother Teresa - but that is in the capital Tirana, six hours' drive away - if you are lucky. Most of the roads are frightful.
None of this dents Era's optimism. "We hope new politicians will do better things for us in future."

In transition in 2003 when illegal coastal developments were demolished

She believes the government can secure membership of the European Union and will assert the rule of law over the traditional culture of revenge, which still holds sway in what she calls the "backward" north.

Can Tony Blair help Albanians again?

"This problem is a priority of the government," she tells me.
Along with nepotism, corruption and organised crime, it is also one reason why Albania has so far failed to join the European Union.
But things are moving. And what's more, the new leader, Edi Rama, has a secret weapon.
There are 13-year-olds running round this country called "Toniblir" in tribute to the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's support in 1999 for the beleaguered Albanian population in neighbouring Kosovo.
He is very popular here and he has offered to help the country towards EU membership.
Somehow, however, I still suspect it will be a long time yet before Era's optimism echoes through the corridors of Brussels.

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Serbian Patriarch Irinej thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for Russia’s support for Serbs in Kosovo

http://www.tanjug.rs
 BELGRADE – Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Irinej met Russian President Vladimir Putin at Kremlin, and thanked him for Russia’s support for interests of the Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija, and urged him to continue backing the unity of Serbia, Tanjug reported.

During the meeting on Thursday, Patriarch Irinej told Putin that the SPC highly appreciates his openness and fairness in resolving the issues related to the protection of Serb holy sites in Kosovo-Metohija.
Patriarch Irinej said that the Russian president has done and will do much to back Serbia, Novosti wrote.
Patriarch Irinej especially thanked Putin because Serbia was chosen for the realization of the gas pipeline project, South Stream, as that will lead to the country’s economic revival and job creation.
He also called on Putin to back the SPC’s free activities in Macedonia and Montenegro, and assist in completing final works inside St. Sava’s Cathedral in Belgrade.
“Besides God, we pin our hopes only on Russia. We do not have anything to reciprocate, but with our sincere thanks, love and prayers for our brothers, the great Russian people,” Irinej said.
The Russian president received representatives of Orthodox churches in view of celebrations of 1025 years since the Baptism of Rus’.

Fugitives have not been in Albania
26/07/2013 19:55

After the recent events in Greece, where three Albanians who escaped from prison were killed during a firefight with the police, the Spokesperson of the Greek Police, Christos Parthenis, tells in an interview for Top Channel about the cooperation between the Albanian police during this operation, and denies the voices that the people who escaped have been in Albania.

When asked about the safety in the border between our countries, he declared: “There’s a good cooperation between the police authorities of both countries in all levels. This allows us to believe that the safety level is satisfying. This cooperation is a product of the ood political will of both countries. Naturally, this does not mean that we don’t have crimes, but we are able to try and handle them effectively thanks to our cooperation”, Parthenis declared.

When asked about the claims of the relatives of the three people that were killed, saying that they have been in Albania on the time when the crime was committed, the Spokesperson of the Greek Police rejected these claims.

“Our investigations show that there is no evidence to prove these claims”, Parthenis declared.

Parthenis considers the cooperation between the police of oth countries as very useful, mainly on the level of information, which is based on a mutual trust.

When asked about the operation for the arrest of Ilir Kupa, one of the fugitives, Christos Parthenis explained the details of the killing of the three Albanians. He said that they were invited to surrender, but they replied with firearms.

“In this moment there is a police operation undergoing close to the Albanian borders, to identify and arrest one of the Trikalla fugitives. Allow me to underline that the Greek police works based on the rule of law, as the Greek Constitution and laws have stated. I am emphasizing this to deny the voices that are encouraged by some people, which aim only to undermine the cooperation between our two countries. I declare that even in the last two occasions when the Albanian fugitives were fatally shot, they had been warned to undergo a search and they reacted by shooting and wounding one officer. On both cases they were armed with heavy weapons, such as AK-47 and bombs. This shows the level of danger that they bring to the police officer and the citizens. Two people have lost their lives for this, a 26-year-old woman and a police officer, father of three”, Parthenis specified.

The operation for the arrest of Ilir Kupa has spread in theborder with Albania, where police suspects that he is hiding since March 23rd.

Turkish-Israeli military cooperation would open up a can of worms in the Arab world

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Published time: July 16, 2013 03:00

An Israeli F-15 I fighter jet (AFP Photo / Jack Guez)

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The re-creation of a historical alliance between Israel and Turkey against a “common enemy” would be seen as “bad news” across the Arab world, political analyst Chris Bambery told RT, adding that the move could also terribly damage Erdogan’s government.
RT: If Ankara is involved in this and it is confirmed to be the case, what do you make of this certainly unlikely alliance between Turkey and Israel?

Chris Bambery: Prior to Erdogan taking office a decade ago, Turkey and Israel were very close allies in the Middle East. Remember too that Turkey is a key NATO-frontline state with massive military aid given to it by the United States. So there’s a historical alliance between Israel and Turkey, fuelled by the dislike of many of the Arab states who both perceive as enemies. Under Erdogan, the military has been brought under some control in Turkey. I think the question must be twofold.

Firstly, if Erdogan agreed to the use of a Turkish military base for the attack on Syria, this is going to fuel the discontent which it is already facing, with the demonstrations in Taksim Square and elsewhere. Given that Erdogan has gone out of his way to pose as being someone who supported Hamas in the Gaza Strip, has been a friend of the Palestinians, and has gone a long way back on a historic alliance with Israel, if Erdogan agreed to such an attack, it would do terrible damage for [those relationships].

RT: You are talking about tensions domestically, but what about the wider implications - with the Arab world, for example? How would they view Erdogan’s foreign policy on this?
CB: Some countries in the Arab world - Saudi Arabia, Qatar and elsewhere - could not care who’s carrying out the attacks on the Assad regime. They would not care if Israel was doing it or anyone else because their agenda is so far up the ladder. But across the Arab world they would be seen as bad news...this is after all the fourth military attack on the Syrian territory that we know of and it is clear that the Israelis have carried out these attacks and if Turkish military have supported this attack in any way, it’s really going to open up a can of warms inside the region. 

An Israeli pilot salutes from the cockpit of his F-15 Eagle fighter jet (AFP Photo / Jack Guez)

We know as well that Israel would like to use Turkey as a staging post for an attack on Iran. And if they are allowing the use of bases for an attack in Syria, will they use the same bases for an attack on Iran? And therefore there’s going to be a growing consternation across the region about possible coming back together again of some sort of alliance de facto between Turkey and Israel.

RT: Apart from the threat from Iran, surely the immediate threat for Israel is weapons getting into the hands of Hezbollah? So if they did carry out those attacks, they are justified in self defense?

CB: They might justify it as the supposed threat of Hezbollah but remember it is the Israeli aggression against Lebanon. Hezbollah was only defending Lebanon against the repeated incursions and invasions. So let’s get that one right. Also we should recall who the West is arming in Syria? They are arming al-Qaeda and other supporters. Maybe the Israelis might be a bit worried about some of those weapons going into the [wrong] hands. It is rather a strange topsy-turvy world where we have what seems to be a de facto alliance of Saudi Arabia on one hand and Israel in opposition to the Assad regime on the other. It shows how far things have come in the determination of various states to unseat the Assad regime, and how prepared they are to go in pursuit of that goal. '

Nikolić: We will cooperate, but not recognize

Source: Tanjug

BRDO PRI KRANJU -- Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić on Thursday attended a meeting of regional leaders in Brdo pri Kranju in Slovenia.

R-L: Ivo Josipović, Tomislav Nikolić, Borut Pahor (Tanjug)

He met with his French counterpart Francois Hollande on the sidelines of the informal gathering.
The meeting is being held as part of the Brdo Process, which is aimed at encouraging the states to act in concert to resolve open issues in the region and speed up the EU integration process, in the presence of the French president.

After the plenary session, Hollande said that France strongly advocates for the Western Balkans' European perspective, and stands ready to act as an intermediary in tackling open issues, and announced France's more active role in the region in the years to come.

The French president said that the Belgrade-Priština agreement that was reached in Brussels on April 19 is of "historic importance."

Nikolić also met with Croatian President Ivo Josipović, on the sidelines of the gathering.

Nikolić said on Thursday that Serbia will continue to look at Kosovo as a province with essential autonomy and will never recognize its independence.

“We will hold talks, reaching agreements - they will argue that it (Kosovo) is a country, we will argue that we see them as an essential autonomy,” Nikolić said at a press conference in Brdo pri Kranju.

He added that Serbia is ready to hand over certain executive powers to Priština, but will not sign any agreement that could make Kosovo entitled to becoming a UN member.

He said that in all the talks with EU officials, Belgrade has been seeking from Brussels not to require it to recognize of Kosovo independence or sign an agreement which would give Kosovo the right to be a member of the UN.

“Serbia simply cannot do such a thing, and I know not of any country in the world that could,” said Nikolić.

Asked whether he had a problem with the fact that Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga attended the meeting, he said that he has no right to have such a problem because Belgrade and Priština agreed about Priština's participation in regional meetings.

He recalled that the decision about the way in which Kosovo is to be represented was passed by the Serbian parliament.

"Mine was to participate here in this event so that it would not pass without Serbia present,” Nikolić explained.

 Heads of Western Balkan States Plus Hollande Meeting at Brdo

 

President Borut Pahor and Croatian counterpart Ivo Josipović will host on Thursday at Brdo pri Kranju a meeting of heads of state from the Western Balkans who will be joined by French President Francois Hollande. Hollande will also be on an official two-day visit to Slovenia.

After the initiative appeared to have run out of steam, Pahor and Josipović decided to give it a fresh start, this time at the level of presidents, who would meet annually in different countries in the region and be joined by some of the leaders from majo

Nine heads of state, mostly from the area of the former Yugoslavia, will meet under the same roof, including Serbian president Tomislav Nikolić, Atifete Jahjaga of Kosovo, Montenegro's Filip Vujanović, Macedonia's Gjorge Ivanov, President of Bosnia-Herzegovina Željko Komšič and Aujar Nishani from Albania.
Also scheduled to take part in a meeting at the Brdo conference centre are foreign ministers from the region. Hosted by Slovenian Foreign Minister Karl Ejravec, the meeting will also be attended by the head of French diplomacy Laurent Fabius.
The conference is meant to revive the Brdo Process, which was launched in January 2010 at an informal meeting of the then Slovenian and Croatian prime ministers, Pahor and Jadranka Kosor.
The main motive was to forge stronger ties among countries in the region and among other things encourage communication between Belgrade and Prishtina.
After the initiative appeared to have run out of steam, Pahor and Josipović decided to give it a fresh start, this time at the level of presidents, who would meet annually in different countries in the region and be joined by some of the leaders from major European countries.
Pahor has praised the initiative as not being outdated like some similar regional projects and as having extraordinary potential.
A key issue to be addressed at Thursday's summit is EU enlargement fatigue, which Pahor fears could undermine further European integration of countries in the region, reduce their readiness for reforms and to resolve open issues, and potentially lead to a dangerous rise of nationalism.
The EU's awareness of its important role in contributing to stability in the region is underlined by Holland's attendance.
The Brdo Process is also an opportunity for Slovenia to enhance its value and build a reputation in the EU, where there is a feeling that Slovenia can serve as a mediator in building relations with the Western Balkans, Pahor believes.
The countries that are part of the Brdo Process are at different stages of EU and NATO integration and many of them are struggling with poor policy making, corruption, poverty and ethnic tensions.
Along with relations between Serbia and Kosovo, the Macedonian-Greek dispute over Macedonia's name could prove an important topic of Thursday's meeting.
Pahor has repeatedly called on Skopje in recent days and weeks to put forward a concrete initiative to solve the name dispute, given that the status quo is increasingly undermining Macedonia's progress.
Also, Bosnia-Herzegovina should finally reach agreement on constitutional changes, which have been demanded by the EU for years and without which the country cannot apply for EU membership.

Tags: Slovenia, Brdo process, President Borut Pahor, Croata, Ivo Josipović, France, President Francois Hollande, EU, Western Balkans, NATO, Serbia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Accession, European Commission

Business shrinks investments
24/07/2013

Recent official data show that the private businesses are investing less in economy. The Institution of Statistics reported that the import of machineries and appliances in June fell with 20% compared to last June.

The numbers show that this is one of the biggest drops. In total for the first six months, the Albanian busiensses have imported 11% less machineries and appliances than one year ago.

This is the fifth year when private investments have shrank. According to the International Monetary Fund, the domestic and foreign businesses invested 20.2% of the Gross Domestic Product in the Albanian economy.

This figure fell to 19.1% in 2012, while preliminary data for loan and import of machineries show that it could fall in another historic minimum. On March 2013, three months after the elections, the government approved a package of fiscal facilities.

Through a series of laws approved in series, the Parliament excluded from taxes every machinery and equipment in order to push businesses to invest more. Although its cost to the budget was 200 million EUR, but deepening the public finances crisis, numbers show that this has not stopped the fast shrinking of investments.

Rama introduces new government structure
24/07/2013

Albania’s Prime Minister designate, Edi Rama, introduced the structure of the new government for the period 2013-2017, underlining that there will be a reforming and restructure of the working focus, in order to be more efficient and to cut spending.

“The new structure is built on a detailed analysis of the existing structure and all of its branches, which from our view are a troop of parasites. The structure of the new government is based on priorities and needs, consulting many government structures in the new European Union countries, and by taking in consideration the necessity to have a government that can focus more on the clear responsibilities between each sector, and for creating more opportunities to have better results with fewer taxpayers’ money”, Rama declared.

The structure of the new government:

The Ministry of Interior Affairs, will not change with its competencies, but it will have a deep structural reform.
The Ministry of Defense, will not change with its competencies, but it will have a deep structural reform.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will not change with its competencies, but it will have a deep structural reform.
The Ministry of Integration
The Ministry of e Economic Development, Trade and Enterprise
The Ministry of Energy and Industry
The Ministry of Transports and Infrastructure
The Ministry of Urban Development and Tourism
The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Water Administration
The Ministry of Health
The Ministry pf Education and Sport
The Ministry of Social Matters and Youth
The Ministry of Culture
The Ministry of Environment

One Minister for Innovation and Public Administration
One Minister for Local Matters

Rama promised a complete reform of the Prime Ministry’s structure with fewer staff.

“The committees that will be led by the Prime Minister will be fewer, and they will be decent committees for priorities and coordination of all the government’s energies”, Rama declared.

The Prime Minister designate explained that other details about the new government will be revealed by the end of this month or in the first days of the next month.

After this public appearance, Rama announced on Twitter that the new government will have the largest number of women in our history.

Ethnic Divisions Set in Stone

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/ethnic-divisions-set-in-stone

‘Hero’ fighters, massacre victims and alleged war criminals are being commemorated with new monuments across the former Yugoslavia, many of them reinforcing the disputes that originally led to the conflicts.

Elvira M. Jukic, Sinisa Jakov Marusic, Milena Milosevic, Boris Pavelic, Edona Peci, Marija Ristic

BIRN

Sarajevo, Skopje, Podgorica, Zagreb, Pristina, Belgrade

Memorial to Muslim soldiers on Dobrovoljacka Street, Sarajevo

Dobrovoljacka Street in Sarajevo, May 3: on one side of the road, the Bosnian Army’s Muslim Green Berets units are holding a ceremony in front of a plaque that commemorates the deaths of eight of their soldiers on this day in 1992; on the other side, Bosnian Serb officials and families of Yugoslav Army troops are holding a rival commemoration for their men who died in the same clash.
The Serbs, protected by cordons of Sarajevo police, have brought their own temporary memorial, a piece of wood decked with white roses, while the Bosniaks’ plaque is permanently fixed to a wall.
Both groups also have their own version of the truth.
According to the president of Sarajevo’s Stari Grad chapter of the Green Berets, Vahid Alic, the clash between Bosnian and Serb-led Yugoslav forces 21 years ago was crucial in “resisting the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina”.
According to Bosnian Serb veterans minister Petar Djokic, it was “a war crime against Serbs”.
No court case has established the facts and the rival memorials are an indication of the bitterness of the dispute between the two ethnic groups about how many were killed and who started the violence.
Fights have sometimes broken out during the rival commemorations, but not this year, although emotions still ran high; a BIRN reporter was mistaken for a Serb mourner and spat upon.
New monuments have proliferated across the Balkans since the conflicts and, as the Dobrovoljacka Street conflict illustrates, have sometimes become the subject of bitter disputes themselves.
Since the start of this year, ethnic Albanians have taken to the streets of Presevo in Serbia after Belgrade sent in riot police to take down a memorial to their guerrilla heroes, a monument to fallen Bosnian Army troops has been blown up in a night-time attack in Mostar, Serbian gravestones and a Yugoslav World War II monument have been destroyed in Kosovo, while a row has broken out over the building of a Serbian Orthodox church near the Srebrenica genocide memorial.

KM district chief speaks against "double standards"

Source: Tanjug

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA -- Kosovska Mitrovica District chief Radenko Nedeljković says the international community "cannot employ" double standards in Kosovo.

There should not be "one set for the Serbs and another for the (ethnic) Albanians," he noted.
"In the 1990s the international community accepted the fact that Albanians did not want to live in Serbia, so they will also have to accept the fact that Serbs do not want to live in an independent Kosovo," Nedeljković said at a groundbreaking ceremony for a business and residential building for Serbs in Kosovska Mitrovica.

"The Serb people want to remain in the area. We are not asking for anything that is not ours, we are asking to remain in our own state - the state of Serbia," he noted.

Nedeljković said no one can convince the Serbs in northern Kosovo that they are not living in Serbia.

He also noted that the international community needs to acknowledge that the violation of basic human rights is worse in Kosovo than anywhere else in the world - the right to free movement, property, use of one's own language and alphabet.

Another round of Kosovo dialogue in Brussels

Source: B92, Beta, Tanjug

BRUSSELS -- Ivica Dačić and Hashim Thaci are meeting in Brussels this Wednesday to discuss the judiciary, police, telecommunications and energy.

(EU, file)

The trilateral meeting between the heads of the governments in Belgrade and Priština is mediated by EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton.
In this latest round of the Kosovo dialogue, Dačić is accompanied by his First Deputy Aleksandar Vučić and Director of the Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija Aleksandar Vulin.

B92's Ljubica Gojgić is in Brussels today and says that "all the open issues are current in this round as well - participation of Serbs in local elections, the manner in which those elections will be organized, the issues of police in northern Kosovo, telecommunications and energy, on which serious progress is expected."

B92 also learned that the meeting is taking place in a tense atmosphere because expectations are great to achieve some concrete results - as the "three honeymoon months" since the initialing of the Brussels agreement have passed.

Tanjug is reporting that ahead of the meeting, Thaci "welcomed Belgrade's call to the Serbs to go to the polls" and added that Priština "will meet all of its legal and constitutional obligations in this regard."

He added that Priština has prepared an amnesty bill "which is also of crucial importance for the implementation of the Brussels agreement."
No one from Belgrade's delegation wished to address reporters.

In this round of talks, as part of implementation of the normalizing of relations between Belgrade and Priština, a solution should be sought for Kosovo Serbs to take part in municipal elections in November.

A community of Serb municipalities should be formed in these elections.

On Tuesday, Serbian Justice Minister Nikola Selaković was in Brussels where he led a team in the technical negotiations on the judiciary, the establishment of courts and prosecutors' offices in the Serb municipalities in Kosovo.

Last week at the headquarters of the European Commission technical talks were held on the formation of police forces and institutions in the future community of Serb municipalities.

Agreement expected

The 14th round of the dialogue on Wednesday should begin by a trilateral meeting unlike with the previous meetings when Catherine Ashton first had separate meetings with the two prime ministers, Tanjug found out from the European Commission sources.

The source noted that the two sides are expected to reach an agreement on telecommunications and energy.

The agenda of the talks includes the implementation of the Brussels agreement, as well as the telecommunications, energy and local elections in Kosovo, Ashton's spokeswoman Maja Kocijančič told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday.

Kocijančič said that the meeting will also cover the progress made in the implementation of the agreement and the next steps on the path.

She underscored that the implementation is of key importance but there is not much time left.

The plans which have been adopted are rather ambitious and they have to be implemented, she said and added that the meeting has already been held earlier on Wednesday between working groups in charge of telecommunications and energy, which will also be the topics of the dialogue.

She noted that one of the topics of the elections would also cover local elections in Kosovo scheduled for November 3 because this is one of the main topics of the Brussels agreement and the plan for implementation.

Kocijančič said that both sides expressed the expectation that the dialogue would continue.

Ashton is willing to continue with meetings in the context of the work on the implementation and solving open issues, and work will go on, she said.

The Wednesday meeting will probably be the last one until the fall.

GEOPOLITICS - Global Affairs in Challenging Times

GEOPOLITICS - Global Affairs in Challenging Times

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By Hellas Frappe on 23.7.13

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Momentous events shaped the beginning of the 21st century. September 11, 2001, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and Operation Iraqi Freedom created a new image for the United States as the sole superpower ready to punish totalitarian nation-states and nonstate actors like al Qaeda. Also, these cataclysmic events placed the U.S.A. as one of the main decision-makers regarding the socio-political destiny of the Middle East. Currently, the Arab Spring has created a new era of political uncertainty for the Middle East countries. Last but not least Iran threatens with nuclear holocaust the region.

by Vassilios Damiras, Ph.D. (ABD)
President of Geostrategic
& Geopolitical Studies Institute

In Europe the financial crisis of 2009, has challenged the existence of the welfare state and even shook the economic foundations of the European Union and its member states such as, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Ireland. Also, the economic crisis allowed Germany to become the dominant economic power to influence the decision making of the EU and smaller nation-states such as Greece. It is unclear if the EU will survive under the umbrella of the Euro. One is clear that modern Europe resembles Europe of 1870.

The Balkan Peninsula is in relative peace under the auspices of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU). However, American and European leaders have a long way to complete for a permanent and stable peace in the region. Still Serbian, Albanian, and Bulgarian national aspirations can create serious problems in the region. The Macedonian dispute between Greece and Skopje creates new national renaissance for both nation-states. Greek-Macedonians and Slavic-Macedonians are determined to dominate regional politics and try to shape the destiny of the region.

In the Middle East the Arab Spring has created serious changes in the region. The socio-political turmoil in Egypt and Syria has seriously undermined the regional stability and the American national interests in the region. It is difficult to identify who is the foe or friend in these convoluted disputes. The United States, NATO, and the EU try to find viable solutions for both countries. Still a stable and permanent political solution is elusive. Middle East has been turned to a political volcano ready to destroy the Middle East and south eastern Mediterranean region.

In Asia proper China wants to be the main economic player. China has divided the ocean to Near Seas, Middle Seas, Far Seas, and Far Oceans. Also, China claims a 200 nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Under these divisions China builds blue water navy. Obviously, U.S.A., India, China, and Russia will play the great powers game regarding the destiny of Asia. The American government has moved military assets in the region to strongly indicate the America is there to stay.

South America and Latin America also have serious challenges emanating from countries like Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia which have left wing governments. In addition, the drug war in Mexico can potential draws American Special Forces operating in the Mexican proper. These regions are vital to American national interest since the Monroe Doctrine which was promulgated on December 2, 1823. Specifically, the Marxist-Leninist foundations of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have created the fourth generation of warfare, based on political attrition and misinformation. Thus, a new era of political turmoil dominates the region.

Africa has serious problems and challenges regarding economic and political development. U.S.A. and China compete for access to economic projects in the African continent. The rise on piracy in the Somali region creates a new era of asymmetrical warfare. Without a doubt the globe is full of political, economic, social, military challenges. Thus, international relations consultancy is imperative for a secure and stable global system. The United States needs to show strong leadership and determination.

Golden Dawn Moves Greeks-only Food Handout To Head Offices After Ban

Golden Dawn Moves Greeks-only Food Handout To Head Offices After Ban

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By Hellas Frappe on 24.7.13

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The Golden Dawn announced that it would proceed with a free food handout to another location after police announced a ban on any kind of public gathering in central Athens, between noon to midnight on Wednesday. Golden Dawn had initially intended to organize the handout on Attikis Square.

On Tuesday, Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis, who is supported by SYRIZA and PASOK, and who was hand-picked by George Papandreou to head the socialist ballot, issued a statement stating that the party had not received permission to hold the event while Golden Dawn insisted that it had notified authorities in time and had a right to go ahead with its plans.

Reports later on in the evening claimed that over 10,000 citizens were present at the handout.

EU must move swiftly to prevent resurgent nationalism in Albania

To prevent a change of power resulting from economic misery, Albania's lame-duck Prime Minister Sali Berisha placed his bet on nationalist tactics for parliamentary elections. However, the new Socialist majority could not afford to reject unification ambitions for tactical reasons either, writes Dušan Reljić.

Dušan Reljić is a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. This article was originally published by the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik in Berlin and is republished with permission. 
“As a united nation, let us continue our effort toward the place that Albanians in Albania and in Kosovo deserve within a united Europe.”
These are the words of the head of Albania’s Socialists - the man who is likely going to be the new prime minister of the country - Edi Rama, in his first speech after his election victory became publicly known. His party alliance won 84 out of 140 seats in parliament on June 23. The right-wing conservatives under departing Prime Minister Sali Berisha received only 54 seats. Berisha stepped back as the head of the Democratic Party, but announced that he would keep his seat in the parliament.
Before the parliamentary elections, Berisha was at the helm of a nationalistic wave. According to the Albanian Institute for International Studies (AIIS), the “unprecedented increase” of nationalism started in the last months of 2012 on the occasion of many festivities celebrating Albania’s 100 years of independence. In early February, Berisha spoke out against “the unjustified separation of the [Albanian] nation amongst five states in front of a distinguished audience at the Munich Security Conference” and against “Albanophobia” in the region.
At the celebrations marking 100 years of the establishment of Albania in Pristina (Kosovo), Skopje (Macedonia), and Albania itself, Berisha called for every single member of the “nation” to contribute “every minute, every hour and every day” to the realisation of national unification for Albanians. He always emphasised that this unification would take place “in the bosom of Europe”. This phrasing was seen as deliberately ambiguous by his critics, because it did not reveal if Berisha was aiming at changing existing borders.
In Albania’s media, there was an intense discussion about the future prospects for an Albania defined by its “natural” (read: ethnic) borders. That would mean a unification of Albania with Kosovo (almost 90% Albanians), western Macedonia (25% Albanians), and possibly territories in southern Serbia and Montenegro that are mainly inhabited by Albanians.
According to discussions in the media, there are many of benefits of unifying Albanian territories in the region from economic and social perspectives. A bigger domestic market could be created, which would lead to a more efficient division of labour and an increase in trade, investment, and employment. Politically, the “extended” Albanian state would be more willing to accept political requirements coming from the European Union and to speed up the construction of stable state institutions. As a NATO member, the “natural” Albania would then be subject to the organisation’s discipline, which would strengthen regional security.
Alarmed by this “nationalistic delirium,” as it was called by a sceptic in Tirana, Albania’s closest foreign political ally - the United States - but also the European Commission and key EU states such as Germany, rushed to spread some sobriety. The overall tone was that the borders of Europe are not to be changed. Although Berisha refrained from using extreme rhetoric after these remarks, the horse of nationalism had already bolted.
In a representative survey conducted in the spring of 2012, AIIS came to the conclusion that 55% of respondents in Albania would vote “yes” in a referendum on unification with Kosovo - 14% would vote “no” and 16% would abstain from voting. Surveys conducted over the last couple of years by Gallup Europe found that there is a lot of support amongst Albanians in the region for unifying the nation as one state. This is especially true in Kosovo (over 70%).
The change in government in Tirana has now shown that economic and social questions are their main concern for the majority of the population at the moment. According to Transparency International, nowhere in Europe is the perception of corruption as high as in Albania. Economic growth has only reached 1.5% in 2012, which is the lowest figure since 1997 - the year when the country’s economy collapsed. Southeastern Europe is suffering from the consequences of the global financial crisis, and particularly Albania has been affected by the decline in remittances from its citizens who reside in Greece and Italy.
To prevent a change of power resulting from economic misery, the dramatic social upheaval, and increasing political polarity, Berisha placed his bet on nationalist tactics for parliamentary elections. However, the socialist opposition could not afford to reject unification ambitions for tactical reasons either. Apart from election tactics, it does not see any reason to totally abandon the popular goal of completing national unity.
Because of the historical backwardness of this part of southeastern Europe, but also because of growing accession scepticism in the EU, Albania, Kosovo, and Macedonia have little hope of entering the EU anytime soon. Additionally, the EU and its key states have a lot less influence on Albanian politics than the US. The most recent AIIS survey shows that 80% of people living in Albania consider the US as influential, whereas only seven percent believed the same thing to be true for the EU.
Nevertheless, the EU should initiate accession negotiations with all countries in the region willing to join the union. Without a realistic prospect of EU membership soon to come, Albanian nationalism could gain the upper hand. The result would be chaos in southeastern Europe.

Serbia "does not recognize" privatizations in Kosovo

SOURCE: TANJUG
BELGRADE -- Aleksandar Vulin stated on Monday that Serbia does not recognize the privatizations carried out in Kosovo and Metohija.

 

The reason for this is that they are "mono-ethnic," the director of the Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija was quoted as saying by Tanjug.

The next agreement with Priština would cover "either property or the cultural heritage" of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, he also said.

During a meeting at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS), discussing the draft measures to protect Serb property in Kosovo and Metohija, Vulin said that the need for talks on property was one of the reasons for the gathering of data on property and siezed property in Kosovo, as well as the information on the manner and date of sale.

According to him, it is time for Serbia to gather all the data and establish what belongs to it and what its claims are, and be willing to voice the stand and tangible propositions and requests.

“We will not and we must not renounce a single dinar or a factory,” Vulin said.

He reiterated that Serbia did not participate in the privatizations in Kosovo and Metohija and that it does not recognize their results, "which UNMIK does not recognize either."

According to him, this will all be discussed in Brussels and it needs to be seen "just how much Serbia invested in Kosovo and Metohija until 1999." He added that hundreds of millions of dollars were invested after the period as well.

Vulin noted that the community of Serb municipalities would have its own property and that it has to be seen what of the Serb property would be transferred to the community. He called on business community to voice its propositions for the measures.

Vulin noted that Serbia "will insist" on its economic interests and the interests of its people, noting that "all that is status-neutral is acceptable, and can be a subject of the talks."

Berisha accuses Rama for fraud on last elections



Heavy charges against political rival, Edi Rama, who emerged as winner of the elections of 23 June, and left coalition unleashed the outgoing Prime Minister of Albania, Sali Berisha.

Speaking after the recount of ballots in the constituency of Leza (northern Albania) that generated irregularities and fraud in the election results at the expense of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, Edi Rama warned that unless there is full transparency in the outcome of the elections of 23 June, the Democratic Party will not recognize the new majority.

"We demand transparency now. We received the result in advance without certification by the Central Election Commission and the courts, but if someone tries to dictate the votes of citizens, we will defend it, "said Berisha.

It emerged after the recount in the district of Leza, the Democratic Party won more votes than the references in the summary tables of the Central Election Commission.

Note that in this district on election day killed for political reasons, an activist of the left opposition.

Outgoing Prime Minister Sali Berisha also accused left coalition to "grab and buying votes with dirty money derived from crime and drug trafficking cartels." He also accused the new Prime Minister Edi Rama that the new Socialist parliamentary group largely consists of people linked to organized crime Previously with justice in Albania and abroad.

Albanian Writer Raises Storm in Kosovo



Kosovo officials have rounded on Albanian writer Fatos Lubonja for saying that the political elites in both countries turned a blind eye to the crimes of the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA.
Besar Likmeta BIRN Tirana

Albanian writer Fatos Lubonja
In the article published in the May edition of the magazine Sudosteuropa, Lubonja focused on the reaction of Albania’s political class to the acquittal of the former KLA commander and Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj by the Hague Tribunal.

Lubonja wrote that following Haradinaj’s release, the elite in Pristina and Tirana celebrated him as a hero, despite having enough information that the charges brought by prosecutors in the Hague were correct.

According to Kosovo public broadcaster RTK, Hardinaj has called Lubonja’s comment slanderous and has hinted that he may sue the Albanian writer for defamation.

Haradinaj was acquitted in November 2012, of all charges of war crimes during the Kosovo conflict of the late 1990s, following a retrial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

Prosecutors had alleged that, together with two co-defendants, Haradinaj tortured and killed ethnic Serbs, and Albanians who were deemed to have collaborated with the Serbs in a KLA-run camp at Jablanica in 1998.

The Trial Chamber ruled that the prosecution did not prove any of the counts of the indictment, including that the defendants had been part of a joint criminal enterprise aimed at establishing KLA control in western Kosovo through detention camps.

According to Lubonja, the reaction to Haradinaj’s acquittal in Albania and Kosovo encapsulates the hypocrisy of its political and cultural elites who use nationalist ideology to brainwash people.

“As in Communist times, Albanians are fed with the idea that they are nothing as individuals in front of the interests of the nation, and should sacrifice everything for the fatherland, turning a blind eye to every crime committed in its name,” Lubonja wrote.

According to Lubonja, this brainwashing create a form of schizophrenia, as Albanians glorify the heroes that sacrifice themselves for the nation while deploring the scoundrels that steal from and even kill them – both being the same.

The writer's claims have angered members of Haradinaj’s Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, party.

The party spokesperson, Ernest Luma, lashed out Lubonja on social networks calling him "a son of bitch".

“Lubonja’s last name sounds like a Serbian name," Luma wrote, calling him “a Serb who speaks Albanian”.

Kosovo’s Minister of Integration, Vlora Citaku, said she was “shocked and speechless” about Lubonja’s writings.

Kosovo's Minister of Culture, Memli Kraniqi, accused him of making shameful and "sick comments about the liberators of Kosovo".

Marian Kola crash and killed by Greek special forces

 



Is made underway large police operation to locate and arrest of Albanian fugitive Ilir Kupa, who reportedly was with Marianne Kola and managed to escape.  

According to Greek Press, Kola was killed by police gunfire at dawn, after wild brawl in the mountains of Souli.  

The tussle with the Albanian thugs was just outside the village Vrosyna at the confluence of the well with Zalongopotamo.