TOP Analysis, Prognoses and News about Greek - Albanian Relations and the Region.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Orban renews autonomy call for ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine
BUDAPEST
(Reuters) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has renewed a plea for
ethnic Hungarians in neighboring Ukraine to be granted autonomy even
after a similar call last week drew a diplomatic backlash.
"Ukraine can be neither stable, nor democratic if it does not
give its minorities, including Hungarians, their due," Orban said on
public television late on Friday. "That is, dual (Hungarian)
citizenship, collective rights and autonomy."
Orban, re-elected in a landslide
win last month, was reaffirming a call for autonomy for about 200,000
ethnic Hungarians in western Ukraine that he made a week ago as he was
sworn in as prime minister.
His comments prompted
Kiev to summon the Hungarian ambassador for an explanation on Tuesday
and drew criticism from regional heavyweight Poland, an ally of Hungary
within the Visegrad Four grouping of central European nations.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi sought to ease
diplomatic tensions by saying that Hungary, a member of the European
Union and NATO, was not demanding territorial autonomy for Ukraine's
ethnic Hungarian minority.
Many Hungarians today
view the 1920 Treaty of Trianon as a national tragedy because it took
away two-thirds of the country's territory and left millions of ethnic
Hungarians living in what are now Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine and Serbia.
Orban's government granted ethnic Hungarians in
neighboring countries citizenship shortly after it took office in 2010,
as part of efforts to restore a battered sense of national pride.
The prime minister has won popularity at home by reaching
out to Hungarians beyond the country's borders who were allowed to vote
in the national election for the first time in April.
He has never suggested reuniting the lost territories with Hungary,
but his stance has irked governments in some neighboring countries.
Orban, a former dissident against Communist rule, said
that Hungary stood by Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, which annexed
Crimea in March saying it needed to protect ethnic Russians there.
"Ukraine's territorial integrity was infringed. In
violation of international law, Russia has launched an action against
Ukraine. We need to support Ukraine in this matter," he said.
Orban said a new Ukraine was taking shape and important
decisions would be made after a presidential election set for May 25,
meaning the time was ripe for Hungary to "voice its expectations."
He said autonomy could take many forms, but declined to go
into more detail, adding it was up to ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine to
decide what form of autonomy would be best for them.
"But whichever they stand up for, they need to know, as well as the
Ukrainians, that the Hungarian state will throw its full weight behind
ethnic Hungarians' push for autonomy in Ukraine," he said.
A controversial move in Greece to ban second-generation migrants from voting will help the far-right in European elections, it’s been claimed.
Roman Gerodimos, an expert on Greek politics at Bournemouth University, says the ‘disenfranchising’ of demographic groups will help Golden Dawn.
Greece’s parliament this year amended a law preventing non-EU citizens from voting or taking part in European elections.
This, says Alda Shashati, of the European Network Against Racism, is on top of the children of immigrants not being able to vote.
Polls suggest Golden Dawn, which accrued 7 per cent of the vote in 2012 elections, is expected to do well in European elections later in May.
Gerodimos told euronews: “It’s true that migrants make up a large
part of the population in urban communities such as central Athens,
where the Golden Dawn’s social and electoral penetration has been
particularly acute.
“Therefore, the fact that these demographic groups will not be
voting certainly disenfranchises them and, indirectly, favours the
Golden Dawn.” Latest figures for Greece show 26.7 per cent of the labour market is unemployed.
Shashati said the far-right are offering ‘easy solutions to the crisis’ such as ‘leaving the EU and kicking out migrants’.
A report by the Racist Violence Recording Network said there were 166 incidents of racist violence in Greece, with at least 320 victims.
Shashati added: “In this tense and violent situation, the
government, instead of protecting the rights of its citizens and
residents, has refused to grant the right to vote to so-called third
country nationals (non-EU citizens) who reside in Greece, even if they
were born and raised in Greece.
“This policy could have a major impact on Golden Dawn’s success in the European elections.
“Thousands of people living in Greece since birth, and who are the
direct targets of Golden Dawn’s racist narrative, are being denied the
opportunity to make their voice heard and to use their vote and their
right to political participation to fight xenophobia and racism in
Europe.
“Their vote could have contributed to reducing the representation of the hard right in the next European Parliament.”
Gerodimos said Golden Dawn is facing a crisis with the organisation
branded a criminal organisation and many of its MPs and key officers in
jail. He added if their share at the European elections drops below 4
per cent, it could spark internal conflicts.
“We should bear in mind that other far right ethno-nationalist
organisations are starting to mobilise, recruiting some of GD’s old
supporters.
“That means that even if support for the GD itself collapses, the
fundamental problem of far-right extremism will not have necessarily
disappeared.
“However, for many people, voting for GD is a form of protest, not
an act of positive identification with them, but a negative act of
rejecting the established political players.
“That explains why, even though senior GD politicians have been
involved in questionable activities, support for the party has not
collapsed entirely.”
Russia’s May 9 Victory Day
parade was a special occasion this year intended to mark not just the
defeat of Germany in World War II, but also Vladimir Putin’s victory in
Crimea. Units from the newly annexed Republic of Crimea were near the
forefront of the parade. The message was clear: Russia will ultimately
prove victorious as it did in WWII, though it may have to go through
great hardship in the interim. Of course, this parade may prove to be
the high-water mark in the recent surge of Russian patriotism and
Vladimir Putin’s approval ratings. Some analysts have already concluded
that Russia’s confrontation with the West could lead to a rapid decline
in Russian power and the revival of NATO’s sense of purpose. Still, all
of these long-term scenarios must be of little comfort to Ukraine, which
is steadily descending into organized, and disorganized, chaos.
Ukraine’s future is being determined by an unpredictable battle for
leverage on the ground, which has been ongoing ever since Russia annexed
Crimea, and will continue until the May 25 election in Ukraine.
Ultimately, whoever is elected in Kyiv will have to agree to a
compromise with Moscow on the degree of structural influence it will be
given in Ukraine. After the independence referendums held in Luhansk and
Donetsk on May 11, that is as inevitable an outcome as it is
unpalatable in Western capitals. The notion that all of Ukraine can be
pulled into a Western orientation now appears unrealistic and naïve.
The remaining question is whether Russia’s efforts to improve its
bargaining position in Ukraine and the interim government’s efforts to
contain this sponsored separatism will lead to an escalation of the
conflict. The violence in Odessa demonstrated that it could certainly
spread further, but also that in other Ukrainian cities, large segments
of the population are not in favor of Russia’s agenda, and if Moscow
presses the matter, it could result in uncontrollable violence. This is a
moderating factor, because Russia is not interested in general,
disorganized chaos and instability in Ukraine. It does not want the
interim government in Kyiv to have control and legitimacy in
Russian-speaking areas, but it also does not want the country descending
into civil war. That serves nobody’s purpose in Ukraine.
Upon annexing Crimea, Vladimir Putin outlined the terms of a
prospective deal on Ukraine: Russian-speaking regions are to be given
autonomy so that Russia can retain its influence, and—by proxy—a vote
over Ukraine’s strategic orientation. All of this is to be codified in a
constitution or written framework that devolves authority to those
regions. Moscow has spent the past month orchestrating events in Ukraine
to leverage such a deal into existence; a work that appears largely
complete. Russia has gained enough leverage on the ground to force
negotiations on autonomy, but it lacks influence over Kharkiv or Odessa,
important cities and industrial centers. Its control over the two
separatist regions is tentative at best. May 25 is rapidly approaching,
marking a period when the dynamic in Ukraine changes and the battle for
influence with it. This date cannot come sooner, since the continued
crisis has spawned a veritable menagerie of paramilitary groups in
support of and against the current government in Kiev.
At the moment, Russia holds most of the cards it needs to secure the
original terms of its proposal for a compromise on Ukraine. Moscow has
been using the threat of invasion to establish a ceiling for what Kyiv
can hope to accomplish in its military operations, lest Ukraine and the
West wish to risk a Russian invasion, and they do not. More importantly,
many in the West are convinced that Vladimir Putin’s true intentions
are to disrupt the upcoming elections. American and European leaders
have set them as the next goal post for a new phase of sanctions against
Russia. Putin has little interest in either of those outcomes. He
simply wants the West to reserve the truly damaging sanctions for a
potential phase of this conflict that he does not plan on entering. Most
in Ukraine want a legitimate government in Kyiv to close this chapter
and begin restoring order in the country. Moscow is also eager for a
government that it can recognize, and one that could conclude the
arrangements it desires. Russian-sponsored insurgents have probably
seized all the geography they can obtain without sparking a broader
conflict.
After May 11, Vladimir Putin added the possibility of recognizing the
independence referendums held by separatists as yet another chip of
leverage to trade away at the negotiating table. Russia’s only interest
in recognizing them would be if it wanted to invade Ukraine by staging a
request for intervention from the newly minted “Donetsk People’s
Republic”. To recognize them now could both preclude a deal with Kyiv
after the election and inherently make Russia responsible for their
fate. Such a step is difficult to reverse, but the threat to recognize
them has a long shelf life. Moscow does not want to support these
regions. Absorbing Crimea is already a significant burden on the Russian
state, likely to cost billions. Russia’s natural preference is that
Ukraine, and by implication, the West, continue to be responsible
financially for whatever happens in the country. No matter what Russia
breaks, it wants the West to keep it.
The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR)
won’t participate in the election of the Ukrainian president on May 25,
says the new prime minister of the breakaway region in the East of the
country.
“There won’t be any presidential elections on the territory
of the republic,” announced Aleksandr Borodai, who was
elected leader of the self-proclaimed republic on Friday.
Donetsk, along with the neighboring Lugansk region proclaimed
self-rule on Monday, after May-11 referendums, which were called
illegal by Kiev and the West.
The Ukrainian coup-imposed government listed the self-proclaimed republics as
‘terrorist’ organizations and launched criminal cases to
investigate their formation.
Donetsk republic, for its part, considers the Kiev regime
“occupiers” of its territory.
“Here is a sovereign state – Donetsk People’s Republic. We
are entitled to decide ourselves what will be done on our
territory,” the republic’s press-service told Itar-Tass on
Saturday. “We consider Ukraine’s attempt to have elections
here as an activity of another state on an occupied
territory.”
As long as there are Kiev forces on the region’s soil, the
Donetsk Republic government is not going to have a dialogue with
Kiev, Borodai told journalists.
“We are not holding any talks with Kiev authorities, as the
republic is practically in a war. Part of it is occupied by
forces of a real rival,” he said.
Kiev launched a military operation in eastern Ukraine to suppress
a wave of anti-government protests that have been raging
following the February armed coup that ousted president Viktor
Yanukovich. Dozens of people have been killed as a result of
ongoing violence.
As confrontation continues, Kiev may give eastern regions more
economic freedoms, acting premier Arseny Yatsenyuk suggested.
“Maybe we should give it a thought and launch an experiment
in certain Ukrainian regions before making amendments to the
Constitution and the Budget Code. For example, in Donetsk and
Lugansk,” he said on Saturday at a national unity
round-table discussion in Kharkov.“If you are ready for a
higher level of economic independence, we are ready for that as
well,” Yatsenyuk added, addressing eastern regions and
hinting that in this case budget financing would be slashed.
Meanwhile, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics are
considering possible forms of merging into a union state, the DNR
press-service said.
Record Balkan floods: At least 20 killed, tens of thousands forced to flee (PHOTOS)
Published time: May 17, 2014 10:28
Edited time: May 17, 2014 12:41
At least 20 people were killed, tens of thousands
evacuated, over 250,000 households left without power in what has been
branded the 'worst flooding' on record across the Balkans.
Officials in Bosnia say 12 people have died and more bodies could
emerge as the water recedes from dozens of cities flooded in the
past three days. Serbia has seen eight deaths, AP reported.
"This is the greatest flooding disaster ever. Not just in the
past 100 years; this has never happened in Serbia's
history," Serbia's Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic told a
news conference on Thursday.
"More rain fell in one day than in four months," he
added.
On Friday, about 135,000 households were left without power
across Serbia, and the government approved emergency electricity
imports. Another 65,000 were without electricity in Bosnia,
Reuters reported.
"This is a catastrophe. Nature has never been so cruel to
us," Serbian Energy Minister Aleksandar Antic said.
Friday, May 16, 2014
Smoking, not spying: Russia intercepts Lithuanian cigarette-smuggling drone
A Lithuanian drone that Russia detained over its soil
two weeks ago was not on a spy mission after all, Russia's Federal
Security Service said on Friday. Instead, it was smuggling cigarettes.
The homemade drone aircraft was carrying boxes with up to 10
kilograms of tobacco stuck to it with sticky tape. The FSB
estimated that the body of the drone cost about 300 rubles (less
than US$10).
The amateur drone with a four-meter wingspan rose to an altitude
of up to 2,000 meters and dropped the smuggled cigarettes in a
designated area.
A Russian-Lithuanian criminal group investigating the incident
determined that the “aircraft” had GPS installed, allowing the
drone operator to control the flight via a 3D card from the
ground.
“It was the first time that a drone controlled by a foreign
operator had been detained in the territory of Kaliningrad
region,” FSB spokesman Oleg Dzhurayev said.
A Lithuanian man was responsible for controlling the aircraft
from Kaliningrad and has since been detained, according to RBK
news agency.
He is said to have crossed the border into Kaliningrad legally.
Upon arrival, he reportedly met a 51-year-old resident of
Kaliningrad region who helped him buy the cigarettes to smuggle
into Lithuania.
The supply that the Lithuanian tried to smuggle home contained
some 500 packs of cigarettes worth about 25,000 rubles (nearly
$700). The reason behind the illegal activity is simple – the
same cigarettes in Lithuania are almost twice as expensive, so
tobacco smuggling is quite popular on the black market.
The Kaliningrad border service is now checking whether the drone
could have been used for purposes other than just cigarette
smuggling, as it has a camera that can take pictures and
broadcast videos online.
Investigators earlier suggested the drone was built and launched
by a criminal organization operating in Russia and Lithuania, and
may have been used for other unlawful purposes.
Kiev proclaims post-referendum Donetsk, Lugansk regions ‘terrorist organizations’
New authorities in post-coup Kiev have listed the
self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as terrorist
organizations. The two regions proclaimed themselves sovereign states
after the controversial May 11 referendums. “The two so-called 'people’s republics' in Donetsk and
Lugansk regions are terrorist organizations, which have a clear
hierarchy, financing, and channels of weapons supplies,”
Ukraine’s deputy prosecutor general, Nikolay Golomsha, said.
The statement confirmed a similar statement made by Ukraine's
minister of justice, Pavel Petrenko. The minister said the two
“were created for assaulting people, intimidation, sabotage,
terrorist attacks, beatings, and murder of our citizens.”
Criminal cases have been launched to investigate the
“formation of the terrorist organizations.”
On Friday, Golomsha stressed that the General Prosecutor's Office
has managed to reveal channels through which weapons are being
supplied to Donetsk and Lugansk.
On May 11, the Ukrainian regions held referendums and voted for
self-rule. Kiev and Western countries condemned the ballots,
calling them illegal.
Kiev has intensified its military crackdown in the region,
deploying tanks, APCs and helicopters. It formed paramilitary
forces which are now on the ground in Donetsk and Lugansk regions
as part of an “anti-military operation.”
The self-proclaimed republics are demanding the withdrawal of
Kiev fighters which continue to clash with local self-defense
units.
The deadline for an ultimatum issued by the Donetsk People's
Republic, which demanded that Kiev pull out its troops, passed on
Friday.
A deputy commander of the pro-autonomy militia of Donbass, Sergey
Zdrilyuk, said on May 15 that all Ukrainian armed forces had 24
hours to withdraw their armored vehicles and checkpoints from
around “Donetsk, Mariupol, and other cities.”
He threatened to “destroy and burn down all of this” if
the demand was not met. However, Kiev's forces still remain in
the region. According to the Donetsk People's Republic, the
troops were enlarged following the ultimatum.
Photo of the Day: 100th of the Corfu Protocol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protocol_of_Corfu
Merkel in favor of "continued partnership with Russia"
Source: Tanjug
FRANKFURT -- Angela Merkel is in favor of continued
partnership with Russia, criticizes the annexation of Crimea, and
dismisses criticism of EU's Ukraine policy.
(Beta/AP, file)
The
German chancellor rejected the possibility of increasing her country's
military budget or introducing "compulsory military service," stating
that the Ukrainian problem can only be resolved through diplomatic
means.
"We and Russia, without a doubt, have deep differences
of opinion. Despite this I am convinced that in the mid and long term,
we should continue a close partnership with Russia," Merkel told the
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
She criticized "the annexation
of Crimea" as being "contrary to international law," and described the
Russian policy as a return to the thinking of spheres of influence from
the 19th century.
Despite all that, Merkel said she saw no
reason or need for "a brand new start of a new German eastern policy"
adding she believed that the problem must be solved by diplomatic rather
than military means.
"The crisis cannot be solved by military
means," said Merkel, adding that people in Germany this year, as they
mark the beginning the First World War and events from the Second World
War, "rightly expect that we today, for example, remain willing to talk
with Russia."
Merkel did not discuss the details of possible
sanctions against Russia, but said she was working to make sure
Ukraine's presidential elections are held as scheduled on May 25,
"despite the difficulties."
PM in dramatic appeal to "defend town at any cost"
Source: B92, Beta, Tanjug
BELGRADE -- Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić late on
Friday described the situation in Serbia, struck by severe flooding, as
"catastrophic."
(Tanjug)
He said the number of victims in Obrenovac was "not small," and warned that the town of Šabac - upstream from Belgrade on the Sava River - "must be defended at any cost."
The
prime minister warned that "if water rises another 30 centimeters in
Obrenovac, much of Serbia could be left without electricity," and told
the citizens that their country was facing "three months of hell."
The rivers Kolubara, Tamnava and Sava are all rising and threatening Šabac.
"The situation in Serbia is much harder than can be imagined, it is
cataclysmic in Obrenovac and many towns in western and central Serbia,
and it will get more difficult. What lies ahead is worse than what we
had so far," Vučić warned.
He once again appealed on the
citizens not to refuse to be evacuated, adding that "the people must
help us if we are to save the country."
According to him,
rescuers, police officers and soldiers have spent the past three days
and nights in exhausting work to help the citizens, who often refused to
cooperate in the worst-hit areas.
"We pulled out 2,640 people
today, we rescued 97 children, contrary to the will of their parents to
be evacuated. There are between 1,800 and 2,000 people left awaiting
help and any moment could be their last," Vučić said.
He made
an appeal to the EU to offer "serious assistance to Serbia," and said
the country was "not in need of EUR 30,000 or 50,000" but instead
required helicopters and boats.
Vučić at the same time thanked
those countries who have already helped, sending their own people to
risk their lives helping the flood victims, and expressed his gratitude
to the governments of Russia, Slovenia, Montenegro - which sent its
divers - Austria, and Germany.
Vučić announced that the Russian Federation would be sending two additional planes to Serbia, after the one that landed in Niš early on Friday.
He also expressed his gratitude to those companies that helped with the humanitarian supplies.
Speaking about the situation in Šabac, he said that evacuation of residents should start now, "just in case".
"We must defend Šabac by all means and using all our forces," Vučić
said, adding that tens of thousands of homes are at stake, while damage
could be "of Biblical proportions, not to mention the loss of life."
He warned that anyone caught robbing abandoned homes would be put on
trial "under an urgent procedure," and that stores looking to use the
emergency situation and raise prices without justification will also
face sanctions.
According to reports, "preventive evacuation" has been ordered for Šabac on Friday afternoon.
Volunteers have been urged to leave from Belgrade for Šabac tonight and tomorrow. More soldiers will also be sent to the town.
Reports on Friday night said that thousands of Belgraders were headed
towards Šabac where they will help reinforce levees along the Sava
River, and that more will join them tomorrow.
Forecasters
expect the Sava River to rise in the coming days due to the rainfall
upstream in Bosnia and Croatia. More rain is expected on Saturday, but
only for a short portion of the day, with a decreasing tendency in the
coming days.
World Bank lends Albania $100 mln for finance sector
May16(Reuters) - The World Bank said on Friday it had approved a loan of $100 million to Albania to improve the supervision of local banks and their safety nets and help reduce bad loans.
The loan follows Albania's 3-year 330.9 million euro ($453.88 million) deal with the International Monetary Fund in February to support the country's reform and financing needs.
"The loan aims to strengthen the financial sector regulatory and supervisory regime and mitigate vulnerabilities of the bank and non-bank sectors," the World Bank said in a statement.
The 16 lenders in Albania, mostly owned by parent banks from the euro zone, have been well-capitalized but have been reluctant to approve fresh credits because of bad loans that amount to about a quarter of total lending.
"High financial euroization, strong financial links between banks and government debt holdings, and the dominant presence of subsidiaries of foreign banks increase the banking sector's vulnerabilities to potential shocks."
It said the loan backed reforms aimed at improving the banks' crisis-preparedness and speeding up the resolution of the non-performing loans (NPL) issue.
"As a result of these measures, the ratio of NPLs is expected to fall considerably by early-2015. Reducing NPLs will safeguard financial stability and better enable banks to respond to credit demand," the World Bank said.
Albania has already passed laws allowing banks to write off overdue bad loans and to restructure loans based on good practice and bad loan recovery for large borrowers. ($1 = 0.7291 Euros) (Reporting By Benet Koleka, Editing by Zoran Radosavljevic and Gareth Jones)
Greek far right Golden Dawn approved for EU election
The ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn is hostile to immigrants
The Greek Supreme Court has given the go-ahead for the ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn party to run in elections to the European Parliament this month.
Golden Dawn is currently under criminal investigation. Six of its MPs, including its leader, are in prison awaiting trial on charges involving murder, arson and extortion.
The party entered parliament for the first time in 2012, amid public alarm over immigration and the jobs crisis.
Many describe the party as "neo-Nazi".
Golden Dawn has an emblem resembling the Nazi swastika and members have been seen giving Nazi-style salutes.
The party insists that it does not embrace Nazi ideology.
The Greek government has resisted calls to ban Golden Dawn, arguing the case for democracy in a country previously plagued by authoritarian rulers, including a seven-year military dictatorship.
Opinion polls currently put Golden Dawn below the ruling conservative New Democracy and the left-wing Syriza alliance, which appear to be neck-and-neck ahead of the 25 May election.
Golden Dawn leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos is one of six party MPs in jail pending trial. Their arrests followed the killing of an anti-fascist musician.
And two men suspected of links with Golden Dawn have been jailed for life in Greece over the fatal stabbing of a Pakistani immigrant last year.
None of the party's 18 MPs is on the election list. Its candidates include two retired senior army officers, AFP news agency reports.
Himara and Lukova in New Administrative Region
After 1921, Himara officially disconnected, by Region of Vlora.
Officially, the State Commission of Territorial Division, was announced today that Himara and Lukova, will join in a Municipality.
Today in Tirana, in the presence of representatives of all organizations and Western diplomacy, project moved the State Commission for Territorial Division, which, Himara and Lukova, for reason of special specifications, to join in a municipality.
Alongside this decision, the Parliamentary Commission Territorial Division, will develop, debates in all of Albania, to legally completed, the new territorial division being voted in Parliament in July 31.
This is a historic moment for Himara, which since 1921 has been hanged from the region of Vlora, not having the right institutional, denying freedoms and property rights.
From November 1912, when the Legendary Commander Spyros Spyros Milos, liberated the Himara Region by ottomans, Himara has been interdependent. The Corfu Protocol of 17 May 1914, by Great Powers decided to give to Himara Region an large Autonomy inside Autonomus Republic of Northern Epirus.
Since 1921, Himara Region is arbitrary part of Albanian State, when the decision of the Peace Conference of Paris 1919, decided to joint the Region of Himara, inside the Albanian State.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
2 tons of cannabis seized in Albania
Source: Beta
VLORE -- The Albanian police on Thursday confiscated two tons of cannabis and arrested two suspects.
(Beta, file)
The drugs were seized in the port town of Vlore, and were meant to be sold in Italy.
According to the police, the shipment was hidden inside a vehicle that was to be transported to Italy in a dinghy.
The Albanian Ministry of Internal Affairs has said in its reports that a
total of 19 tons of cannabis had been seized since January, and 100
people arrested. The drugs were meant for the European market.
According to the data of police forces in several countries, Albania is the main supplier of marijuana to Europe.
International experts have said that the village of Lazarat, some 240
kilometers south of Tirana, produces 900 tons of cannabis a year worth
some EUR 4.5 billion.
Italians looking for work in Albania - 19,000, says minister
Veliaj, things have changed. Many in call centers, restaurants
15 May, 14:15
Italians working in call centers in Albania
(ANSAmed) - ROME - More Italians are migrating to Albania to
find work, according to the Albanian government. And Italian small and
medium-sized companies aren't alone in looking for a fresh start across
the Adriatic - graduates and youths without a degree are also migrating.
Albanian Welfare and Youth Minister Erion Veliaj, who travelled to Rome
on Thursday, said 19,000 Italians are regularly employed in the country
in a number of sectors.
Italians own restaurants and work in
call centers, fashion, service and telecommunications as well as in
energy and infrastructures.
People are now migrating ''in the
opposite direction, which shows that the wind is changing and represents
a positive sign for European integration'', the minister, who travelled
to Italy for a round of meetings including talks with Labour Minister
Giuliano Poletti and Cardinal Angelo Sodano, told ANSA.
Albania
now represents a ''small America'' across the Adriatic, the welfare
minister noted, where many Albanians who left choose to return and where
EU citizens choose to move to find work.
Twenty three years
after the end of the regime, stressed Veliaj, the long transition
experienced by Albania is proving fruitful. The economic and social
context were also boosted by the government led by Socialist Edi Rama,
which was sworn in last September. ''We want to bring Europe to Albania
and not Albania to Europe'', said the minister. ''Our appetite for
reforms will not stop with Brussels' decision to grant us the status of
candidate''.
The final verdict could come in June, but the
Albanian government has decided to move forward, approving a number of
thorny measures.
As of June, the minister said, ''women will be
paid subsidies and welfare rather than men''. The move is meant to
enforce the role of women, who are financially more responsible than men
''who often gamble the money away before returning home'', he said. The
decision ''was highly controversial but we succeeded in approving it'',
added the minister.
Veliaj last month announced at the labour
fair in Tirana the creation of 6,000 new jobs ''thanks to transparency
and by creating modern employment centers (better than Italian ones)
which dialogue with each other and with various government offices and
invest in training''. Those looking for a job ''turn to these centres
and can receive a coupon which enables them to access free training
courses''.
Transparency in the labour market is also a way to
fight corruption and cronyism, he said, ''which brings us back to the
idea of meeting European standards''.
Though the immigration
trend has reversed over the past few years, the Albanian community in
Italy remains significant with some 100,000 Albanians in schools, 12,000
university students and 38,000 self-employed workers - overall 500,000
people.
And Veliaj means to address their future welfare and
pensions in talks with Minister Poletti. ''So far there is no agreement
between Rome and Tirana on welfare and pensions. For this reason, I
would like to suggest to Poletti in our coming meeting to work on
this''.
Such a measure would be an advantage for both
countries, concluded Veliaj though the cost of such an operation for
Italy's collapsing pension system still needs to be defined.
(ANSAmed).
France’s Sale of 2 Ships to Russians Is Ill-Advised, U.S. Warns
Photo
The Vladivostok warship, one of two ships ordered by the Russian Army, in France last week.Credit
Jean-Sebastien Evrard/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
WASHINGTON
— In a closed-door meeting in February 2010, Defense Secretary Robert
M. Gates urged his French counterpart not to proceed with the sale of
two amphibious assault ships to Russia because it “would send the wrong message to Russia and to our allies in Central and East Europe.”
The
French official, Hervé Morin, acknowledged that each of the ships —
so-called Mistral-class vessels built for the French Navy to carry
troops, landing craft, and helicopters — was “indeed a warship for power
projection,” according to a confidential diplomatic cable on the
meeting, which was made public by WikiLeaks. But Mr. Morin “asked rhetorically how we can tell Russia we desire partnership but then not trust them,” the cable added.
With Russia’s annexation of Crimea
and some 40,000 Russian troops deployed near Ukraine, Western officials
are no longer putting their trust in Russia’s intentions. But despite
American objections, the sale is still on track, and the first ship is
scheduled for delivery late this year.
During
a visit here on Tuesday, the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius,
said his government would decide in October whether to proceed with the
delivery of two of the ships, and asserted that France had struck the right balance between “dialogue and firmness” in its dealings with Moscow. Secretary of State John Kerry
reiterated in his meeting with Mr. Fabius that the sale was not
helpful, seeking a way to prevent it, according to a State Department
official. But Mr. Fabius later asserted to reporters that Mr. Kerry had
not demanded that France cancel the sale.
To
critics, the 1.2 billion euro, or more than $1.6 billion, deal that
France struck with Russia has emerged as a classic instance in which a
European nation has elevated its business dealings with Moscow over
exhortations by the United States to take a firm line on Russian
meddling in Ukraine.
But
the cables obtained by WikiLeaks show that the United States had
concerns about the way Russia was obtaining the ships since 2009. In an
appearance before Congress last week, Victoria Nuland, the senior State
Department official for European Affairs, said that the Obama
administration had “consistently expressed our concerns about this
sale.”
Yet
the security relationship between the United States and France in
recent years has generally been strong. As Mr. Fabius hastened to remind
reporters this week, France was poised to participate in an
American-led military strike on Syria last year in response to the Assad
government’s use of chemical weapons, until Mr. Obama halted the military option in return for an agreement that Syria destroy its chemical arsenal.
The
ships were on the back burner in discussions with the French
government. But with Russia’s annexation of Crimea, they re-emerged as a
major issue.
If
they are delivered, the ships would augment the Russian military’s
capabilities against the very nations that now appear to be most
vulnerable to the Kremlin’s pressure — namely the Black Sea states of
Ukraine and Georgia and the Baltic states that belong to NATO.
“The
technology and capability represented by the Mistral should not be
passed to a Russian Federation that continues to threaten its
neighbors,” said James G. Stavridis, the retired admiral who served as
NATO’s top commander from 2009 to 2013.
“Russia
has nothing like it, and without French help could not build it anytime
soon,” said Stephen J. Blank, an expert on the Russian military at the
American Foreign Policy Council.“Since
helicopters can also be armed with missiles, it can be a platform for a
heliborne missile attack as well as what we in the States call an air
assault or heliborne landings or amphibious landings,” Mr. Blank added.
The
French defense minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, has played down the
significance of the pending sale, saying that France would only be
delivering unarmed “civilian hulls.”
But
Senator Mark Warner, the Virginia Democrat who serves on the Senate
Intelligence Committee, and three other lawmakers said in a recent letter
to President Obama that each of the ships would be able to carry 16
helicopters, four landing craft, 60 armored vehicles, 13 tanks and up to
700 soldiers.
The
Kremlin has joined the debate as well. Dmitri O. Rogozin, a deputy
prime minister, recently suggested that a decision to derail the deal
would hurt France more than Russia. “France is starting to undermine
trust in itself as a reliable supplier,” he said on his Twitter account.
“Probably our colleague is not aware of the number of jobs created in
France thanks to our partnership.”
French
officials first informed their Western counterparts in 2009 that
Nicolas Sarkozy, who was president at the time, was interested in
selling the warships to Russia. That December, a cable from the American
Embassy in Paris outlined the economic logic behind the deal. The
Russians, an embassy economic officer wrote, had little confidence in
their own shipyards, and Mr. Sarkozy was interested in lining up new
clients for France’s ailing shipbuilding industry.
Georgia, whose breakaway regions
were occupied by Russian troops in 2008, was worried by the potential
sale, especially after a Russian naval commander was quoted as saying
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet could have carried out its mission during that
conflict “in 40 minutes” if it had possessed a ship like the Mistral.
In
a November 2009 cable, John R. Bass, the American ambassador to
Georgia, described the deal as “the wrong ship from the wrong country at
the wrong time.”
“Not
only on the symbolic level is the sale problematic; this type of ship
will give Russia a new capability to enforce, or threaten to enforce,
its will in the Black Sea,” wrote Mr. Bass, who currently serves as a
top aide to Mr. Kerry.
In
a January 2010 meeting, William J. Burns, who was serving at the time
as the third ranking State Department official, and Michèle A. Flournoy,
then the senior Pentagon policy official, pressed the issue in a
meeting in Paris with their French counterparts.
Michel
Miraillet, a French defense official at the time, argued that the sale
would be a “gesture of good will to Russia” as its navy was “in dire
condition,” according to a cable describing the meeting. If France did
not make the sale, he argued, the Netherlands or Spain would sell a
similar ship.
But
Ms. Flournoy responded that the sale would “fly in the face” of Mr.
Sarkozy’s role in resolving the 2008 confrontation between Russia and
Georgia and would send a “confusing signal” to Russian and European
nations, the cable noted. If France wanted to engage Moscow it should
“find a different confidence-building measure than a Mistral sale,” she
added.
Nonetheless,
in 2011 France went ahead and signed a contract with Russia for two
ships. Russia is considering buying another two Mistral-class ships
after the first two are delivered.
With
more than 1,000 jobs at stake and President François Hollande of France
vowing not to run for re-election if unemployment does not improve,
there appears to be little interest within the French government in
canceling the sale. One option, some Western diplomats say, might be for
the French Navy to buy the ships, but that would add substantially to
the French military budget in a time of austerity.
After
the delivery to Russia of the first ship, which is named the
Vladivostok, the second ship is to be handed over by 2016. In a
paradoxical twist of history, that ship is named the Sevastopol, after
the city in Crimea.
Talks on Ukraine Crisis Open in Kiev Without Representation for Separatists
Photo
Villagers atop a destroyed Ukrainian Army armored personnel carrier on the outskirts of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine.Credit
Mauricio Lima for The New York Times
KIEV,
Ukraine — Senior Ukrainian officials and leading public figures opened
talks here on Wednesday that they portrayed as an effort to end the
country’s six-month-old political crisis, but the provisional Ukrainian
government offered little compromise and there was no one present
directly representing the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Officials said the negotiating effort would continue with a session on Saturday in the embattled eastern city of Donetsk.
Pro-Russian
leaders in the east reacted dismissively, saying they were not invited
to participate in the so-called round-table talks, while officials
connected to the region who did attend urged the government to develop
concrete proposals that could be presented at the next meeting.
Oleksandr
Yefremov, a member of Parliament from Luhansk, urged the provisional
government to put forward solid initiatives. “I really would like to see
all the officials who are now represented by the acting president and
prime minister come to the round table, come with some proposals and not
just slogans,” Mr. Yefremov said. “We have to give answers.”
While
some officials from the east, like Mr. Yefremov, attended the talks,
the provisional government in Kiev had vowed not to negotiate with the
leaders of the masked gunmen, whom they refer to as “terrorists” and
“killers.” As a result there were no representatives of the separatist
factions, who are crucial to reaching an accord that might resolve the
crisis.
Mr.
Yefremov, in his opening remarks, said he expected more of a presence
from his region, and he complained that the talks had opened with sharp
words by a leader of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Filaret,
blaming Russia for the crisis.
“I
am surprised that nobody is here from Luhansk,” he said, “and I also
don’t understand why we start our dialogue with morality.” He added, “We
have people who think differently, who have different culture, and we
have a responsibility to create a state that corresponds to the needs of
our people.”
Sergei
A. Taruta, the billionaire governor of Donetsk, another embattled
eastern region, also attended the talks, which were held in the
Parliament building and featured two former presidents of Ukraine as
well as religious leaders. While the negotiations were billed as
round-table talks, the table itself was oblong in shape.
Mr.
Taruta warned that there was genuine opposition in the east, known
collectively as Donbass. “The majority of Donbass population is for
Ukraine’s unity, but at the same time against the current authorities in
Kiev,” he said.
The
acting prime minister, Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, was among the first to
speak on Wednesday, and he reiterated a promise to fight graft and urged
unity. But he made no particular outreach to the besieged eastern
regions where separatist leaders on Sunday held referendums that they said showed broad public support for seceding from Ukraine.
“To fight corruption and provide people with jobs is our main task,” Mr. Yatsenyuk said. “And that will unite our country.”
The
overwhelming number of officials in attendance at Wednesday’s meeting
were strongly aligned with the central government in Kiev. They included
the former prime minister and now presidential candidate, Yulia V.
Tymoshenko, as well as the ambassadors to Ukraine of the United States
and the European Union.
The
Kiev government has been working to develop a decentralization plan
that would empower local officials by giving them additional budget
authority. It is an effort to answer demands in the east, supported by
Russia, for a new federalization program that would substantially weaken
the central government in favor of stronger regional governors.
Volodymyr
Groysman, the deputy prime minister leading the decentralization
effort, said: “I suggest to form an agenda. Let’s take some questions
that need clear answers.”
“I
see smiles on some faces,” Mr. Groysman added. “And I really hope that
these smiles on your faces express readiness to meet the challenges we
have today. Because nobody will give us a second chance. We will either
win back the trust of the people in the east and west, or we will suffer
a bad fate.”
One
official who does hold credibility in the east, the mayor of Donetsk,
Aleksandr A. Lukyanchenko, urged officials at the talks to pay attention
to the results of Sunday’s referendum.
While
he acknowledged that the referendum might not be regarded as
legitimate, he said it nonetheless demonstrated a genuine lack of faith
in the Kiev government.
Sergey
Tigipko, another presidential candidate and a former economics
minister, urged that future talks be held in eastern Ukraine so that
officials could get a better understanding of demands in the region.
“Today, we don’t understand what the east wants,” Mr. Tigipko said. “In
order to understand them, we need to talk about it there.”
As
the talks unfolded in Kiev on Wednesday, the president of the European
Council, Herman Van Rompuy, said two other former Soviet republics,
Georgia and Moldova, would sign agreements with the European Union on
June 27, tightening political and economic ties.
The
refusal by Ukraine’s former president, Viktor F. Yanukovych, to sign
similar agreements last fall — after long promising that he would do so —
set off the protests in Kiev that cascaded into months of unrest and
ultimately led to Mr. Yanukovych’s ouster.
Although
the talks in Kiev were clearly not headed to a quick settlement,
Russian officials continued to lend support to the idea of a negotiated
compromise.
“I
am deeply convinced that even though the crisis in Ukraine has gone
very far and the escalation of the conflict continues, there are still
reserves and resources to stop the crisis in order to decrease the
escalation of the conflict,” Sergei Naryshkin, the speaker of the Duma,
the lower house of the Russian Parliament, said in an interview on
Rossiya 24 television. “The road to that lies through a dialogue only,
through a dialogue of all political powers inside Ukraine.”
Ukraine 'as close to a civil war as you can get', says Sergei Lavrov
Russia's foreign
minister, Sergei Lavrov, states that Ukraine 'is as close to a civil war
as you can get', and free and fair elections will not be held
14 May 2014
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that Ukraine is on
the brink of civil war, making it difficult to hold free and fair elections
later this month.
"When Ukrainians kill Ukrainians I believe this is as close to a civil
war as you can get," Lavrov said in an interview with Bloomberg
television.
Lavrov added that "in east and south of Ukraine there is a war, a real
war, with heavy weaponry used.
"And if this is conducive to free and fair elections then I don't
recognise what free and fair is."
A pro-Russian militant stands guard at a barricade outside a village near
Lugansk (AFP)
Ukraine is due to hold crunch presidential elections on May 25.
But the fragile transitional government in power since the ouster of Ukraine's
pro-Russian leader Viktor Yanukovych in February is leading an offensive
against separatists mainly in the east of the country.
Lavrov meanwhile added that the rebels should be included in Western-sponsored
round-table "national unity talks" that got under way on
Wednesday.
"We believe that for this national dialogue to succeed it is absolutely
necessary to ensure equal participation of all regions of Ukraine," he
said.
This included not only separatists in the east and south "but also the
regions of the west where we also have some issues related to
self-determination of minorities".
Washington requires Ilir Meta, to create new government with the Socialists, if Rama resigns by opposition protests
Oligarch authoritarian system installed by Premier Edi Rama, has caused the earthquake in circles of NATO and EU, since the risk of destabilization of the region, can come from Tirana
Himarioton Lobby, in USA, has asked the State Department Secretary John Kerry, to prevent arbitrary actions of robbery that property and building tourist villages by the government Rama, in the Himara Region
Washington: Member of the Security Committee in the Parliament of Albania, Luan Rama declared, during a visit in State Department, that the Albanian government is committed to develop territorial reform, changing the Constitution of Albania, as a key condition of acceptance of Albania to EU.
During the meeting with Jonathan Moore Deputy Secretary of State for the Balkans, Luan Rama , as a member of LSI party coalition government with the Socialist Party , gave promise that " SMI Party , will contribute to having a much better governance , implying that the Socialist Party , with the biggest scandal of trafficking and drug production , the agreement should be re-dimension the coalition , even having new prime minister .
Albanian opposition holds a protest today to force Prime Minister Edi Rama, to resign after Albania in EU integration process risks as a result of the production and trafficking of drugs, using even illegal transport aircraft, which has caused dangerous consequences for the politic stability of Albania and the Region.
Meanwhile, oligarch totalitarian government of PM Edi Rama, has proposed a series of laws in the Albania Parliament, against property rights, supporting powerful oligarchs, to build with the help of the Albanian government, tourist villages, particularly in Southern Albania.
Former Prime Minister Sali Berisha has accused directly, Prime Minister Edi Rama and MP of SP, Koco Kokedhima, in Parliament, that is favoring the groups oligarchs, to build tourist Oasis in the Himara Region, destroying houses and properties of the Himara Community, using explosives and numerous police forces, to intimidate the population . .
In addition, there is an escalation of the Himarioton Lobby in USA, for that they have asked the State Department Secretary John Kerry, to Prevent the arbitrary Actions of the Government of Edi Rama and its collaborators, for robbery of properties and building tourist Villages, in the Himara Region.
