Saturday, April 8, 2017

Lavrov to Tillerson: US Attack in Syria Plays Into Terrorists' Hands

 Image result for lavrov tillerson

© Sputnik/ Evgeny Biyatov


Russian Foreign Minister told his US counterpart Rex Tillerson in a phone conversation that the US attack on Syrian army's airfield plays into the hands of terrorists, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The Russian and US top diplomats discussed the US missile attack in Syria.

Only terrorists will benefit from the US strikes on the Syrian airbase, Lavrov told Tillerson.

"Sergei Lavrov emphasized that an attack on a country whose government is fighting against terrorism is only playing into extremists' hands and creating additional threats for regional and global security," the statement by the Russian ministry read.


Lavrov stressed that reports of use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government in Idlib are false. Lavrov added that it is necessary to conduct a throrough, impartial investigation into the Idlib chemical attack.

"It was noted that it is necessary to conduct a thorough and professional investigation into facts concerning all this situation [the Idlib chemical attack]."

Lavrov and Tillerson agreed to continue the discussion of the Syrian settlement during a personal meeting next week during US Secretary's of State visit to Moscow.

On Thursday night, the United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha’irat, located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the city of Homs. US President Donald Trump said the attack was a response to the alleged chemical weapon use in Syria's Idlib on Tuesday, which Washington blames on the Syrian government.

A number of states, including Australia, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Kingdom have already expressed their support for the attack, while Russia called the US actions in Syria an aggression against a sovereign state based on an unjustified reason.
On April 4, Syrian opposition claimed Tuesday forces loyal to President Bashar Assad had used a chemical gas on people in the northwestern province, killing nearly 80 and injuring 200. Assad argued his government has no chemical weapons after agreeing to have them destroyed in 2013. He also ruled out having used chemicals against own people.

Earlier on Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the Pentagon and the US State Department have failed to prove the existence of chemical weapons at the Syrian airfield struck by US cruise missiles.

Κοσσυφοπέδιο: Ο αδελφός του Χαραντινάι απειλεί τους Σέρβους εάν εκδοθεί ο Ραμούς στη Σερβία



Echedoros

Ο βουλευτής του Κοσσυφοπεδίου, ο Νταούτ Χαραντινάι, ο οποίος είναι αδελφός του αρχηγού του κόμματος της «Συμμαχίας για το Μέλλον του Κοσσυφοπεδίου» και πρώην πρωθυπουργού, Ραμούς Χαραντινάι, δήλωσε ότι στο Κοσσυφοπέδιο δεν θα μείνει Σέρβος, εάν ο Ραμούς εκδοθεί από τις γαλλικές αρχές- από τις οποίες συνελήφθη - στη Σερβία.


«Ο αδελφός του δήμιου απείλησε ανοιχτά: Αν ο Ραμούς εκδοθεί στη Σερβία στο Κοσσυφοπέδιο δεν θα μείνει Σέρβος», γράφει το σερβικό δημοσίευμα.

Ο Νταούτ Χαραντινάι, ο οποίος ήταν ηγέτης του UCK στον πόλεμο του Κοσσυφοπεδίου, συμμετείχε  στην εκπομπή «Infobox» της «TV Dukadjini» και απείλεησε με πόλεμο, εάν το δικαστήριο στο Κολμάρ της Γαλλίας λάβει απόφαση για την έκδοση του Ραμούς Χαραντινάι στη Σερβία, η οποία τον κατηγορεί για εγκλήματα πολέμου.

«Μπορεί να μας βάλει σε πόλεμο, τίποτε άλλο.  Εγώ δεν ξέρω για τους άλλους, αλλά μπορώ να τους θυμήσω: εάν κάνετε το λάθος (να εκδώσετε τον Χαραντινάι) θα πρέπει να είστε έτοιμοι για πιο σοβαρά θέματα. Αν θέλετε, το Κοσσυφοπέδιο θα μείνει χωρίς Σέρβους, να αφήστε τα αστεία», είπε ο Νταούτ Χαραντινάι σε σχετικές ερωτήσεις.

Το Εφετείο της πόλης Κολμάρ (Colmar), αποφάσισε ότι ο Χαραντινάι παραμένει στη Γαλλία και περιμένει την επόμενη συνεδρίαση στις 27 Απριλίου, στην οποία το Δικαστήριο θα λάβει απόφαση μετά από αίτηση της Σερβίας για την έκδοσή του.

Ο Χαραντινάι χθες, μετά το τέλος της ακροαματικής διαδικασίας, δήλωσε ότι αναμένει στις 27 Απριλίου να αφεθεί ελεύθερος.

Greece arrests seven for trafficking drugs from Albania to Italy


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ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's coastguard said on Saturday that it had uncovered an international ring that transported large quantities of drugs from Albania to Italy using high-speed boats.

The coastguard's drug-fighting unit said it had arrested five Albanians and two Greeks and seized 1.5 tonnes of unprocessed cannabis and two speedboats, estimating that the ring had made "many millions of euros".

The months-long investigation, in cooperation with Italy's Guardia di Finanza, found that the ring purchased large volumes of drugs in Albania and transported then on customised high-speed vessels to the shores of Italy, the Greek coastguard said.

Αλβανοί δημοσιογράφοι ψάχνουν για …ίχνη Αλβανών στην Πρέβεζα…


Echedoros

Η αλβανική τηλεόραση «top-channel.tv»  αφιερώνει ένα ντοκιμαντέρ από την Πρέβεζα (Ελλάδα) παρουσιάζοντας την παλιά ιστορία της πόλης αυτής, συνδυάζοντας την ιστορία της με τα αλβανικά πρότυπα, αναζητώντας, δηλαδή, κατοίκους που μιλούν τη δική τους γλώσσα.

Προχωρούν και παραπέρα αναζητώντας μέσα από τις ελληνικές παραδόσεις αλβανικές ρίζες… παρουσιάζοντας τρυκ και παρεμβάσεις φωτό για να καταδείξει ότι ο αλβανικός πληθυσμός εκδιώχθηκε από την ελληνική επικράτεια...

Το βίντεο –ντοκιμαντέρ είναι του δημοσιογράφου Μαρίν Μέμα, που έχει απαγορευθεί η είσοδος του στην Ελλάδα, λόγω των προπαγανδιστικών και ιστορικών στρεβλώσεων που παρουσιάζει.

Το βίντεο έχει τον τίτλο «Αλβανικά ίχνη: Πρέβεζα στην Ελλάδα, όπου η αλβανική γλώσσα εξακολουθεί να ομιλείται».

The big read: Rambling the Riviera in Albania







Saturday, April 08, 2017Ellie O’Byrne

Albania’s coastline has grown in popularity as a budget sun destination for Italian families. We should follow their lead for a unique, culturally distinctive travel experience, says Ellie O’Byrne.


"ARE you from Cork? I recognised your accent. I used to live in Wilton. My wife is Irish.”

Living up to the ultimate cliché of the Irish abroad in the vertiginous UNESCO world heritage city of Gjirokastër, 70km inland from the Albanian Riviera, as dusk falls on the cobbled streets, is a satisfying feeling.

Stopping for a chat, chairs are gathered around and our near-neighbour joins us for a coffee.

Albania is a majority Muslim country, and although there are bars and clubs of dubious appeal in the resort towns, it’s the betting shops, or “sports bars,” as they are known, that are the haunt of locals in the cool of the evening.

The men may have a tiny shot of eye-watering Rakia with their coffee, and smoke many cigarettes, but from Shroder in the North to Ksamil, close to the Greek border, not a single display of public drunkenness can be seen.

“Why?” we ask our new-found friend and cultural guide.

“It would not be done,” he shakes his head.

“The Albanians are very family-spirited. It would be too much shame, even for a young man. His father would not permit it.”


Gjipe beach is idyllic and remote; accessible via a long drive down a narrow, winding mountain road through fragrant olive groves after the town of Dhermi on the main road.
Albania’s coastline, stretching along the Adriatic and Ionian seas, has grown in popularity as a budget sun holiday destination for Italian families in the last decade.

With rugged mountains and ancient olive groves stretching down to the sea, it’s every bit as beautiful as the Greek landscape.

The sun is hot, the sea is warm and welcoming and the prices are low.

Dogged by decades of isolationism under dictator Enver Hoxha’s paranoiac communist regime that saw 700,000 concrete bunkers, which still dot the landscape today, built at enormous cost, Albania’s poverty gives it a bad reputation.

The drawbacks — poor infrastructure and terrible litter problems — are still evident today, but the advantage is a unique, culturally distinctive travel experience.

If you have exacting standards when it comes to service and accommodation, Albania isn’t for you.

But if sun, incredible fresh produce, friendly down-to-earth people, abundant and carelessly curated historic landmarks and a slightly haphazard approach to things are right up your street, then the Balkan state whose government was toppled by a pyramid scheme in the 1990s should be on your to-do list.

In rural areas, tourists are welcomed as a curiosity, while on the beaches and in the resort towns of the Albanian Riviera, which stretches from a dizzying serpentine on Mount Çika at the edge of Llogara National Park to Ksamil in the far south, tourists are welcome for the business they bring.

It’s not quite the unspoilt backpacker’s paradise it was a decade ago.

Seafront developments are popping up at an alarming rate and finding a spot without the obligatory beach umbrella charge and pounding disco music can be tough, so the answer to finding some of the remaining idyllic spots is to have your own transport.


“We were isolated for so long that now we really want to welcome people,” Romeo the real estate agent sits on the railing outside his office in the bustle of downtown Sarandë, the biggest resort town on the Riviera and the arrival point for ferries from Corfu.

He’s selling apartments to English, Scandinavians and Italians, he says, and at €35,000 for a seafront holiday apartment it’s not hard to see why.

If days lazing under a sun umbrella at a beach bar and nights clubbing to dodgy dance anthems are for you, then Sarandë is one of your best ports of call.

It caters well to tourists, with a wealth of options for eating out, a crowded seafront, ice-cream shops and tourist information points.

A visit to the covered market close to the port, where looped strings of dried figs vie with bunches of lavender and fat, sun-warmed grapes, is definitely in order.

Albania’s chequered history of occupation is nowhere more evident than in the cuisine; Ottoman influences are in the ubiquitous Byrek shops, serving savoury and sweet pies stuffed with a variety of different fillings, and Greek salads join Italian pasta and pizza dishes on the menus of most restaurants in tourist-friendly towns.

With Sarandë, or possibly smaller but no less tourist-friendly Himara as a base, the beaches and innumerable sites of interest in the region are all within reach.



Gjipe beach is idyllic and remote; accessible via a long drive down a narrow, winding mountain road through fragrant olive groves after the town of Dhermi on the main road, a steep trek of 2km brings you down the side of a steep mountain gorge and into a picture-postcard bay, complete with a shack bar populated with a friendly bunch made up of young locals and tourists persistent enough to make the trek.

How to get there

Fly Dublin to Corfu, via Athens, and get the ferry to Sarandë, where you can rent a car from one of the many portside rental companies.

Alternatively, fly to Tirana, the capital city, rent a car and drive 280km south: the advantage is that car rental is cheaper in Tirana and you enter the Vlorë region through Llogara National Park, with stunning views of the Ionian Sea.

However, the road infrastructure is poor and you can expect to meet horn-honking traffic jams in the larger towns along the way. Public transport is not recommended.

Accommodation

B&B accommodation is plentiful and ranges between 4,200 and 6,700 Lek, the equivalent of €30-€50 per night, for a double room. Hotel accommodation is more expensive but doesn’t deliver an accompanying rise in standards.

AirBnB is cheaper, and comes with the added advantage of meeting local hosts, who are exceptionally friendly, proud, and are mines of local information.

In Dhermi, a bumpy drive down a dirt track past the busiest beach bars and numerous hotels is rewarded with a little patch of paradise; the basic but adequate Vila Vasil Strakosha B&B is the last accommodation on the beach road.

Beyond, the din of beachgoers fades and a secluded beach of polished white marble pebbles is accessible only by a rocky scramble or a short swim. It’s even more difficult to leave: you’ll want to stay forever.

What to see

The spring known as The Blue Eye, the source of the Bistricë river, is located 20km from Sarandë.

A steady 10 degrees all year round, if you arrive early in the morning before the tour buses, the brave may be tempted to a chilly dip in the pristine azure waters, which are unfathomably deep; divers have delved as deep as 50m into the karst cavern beneath the blue eye, but its true depth remains a mystery.

Gjirokastër’s stone roofs and breath-taking castle, a relic of the rule of Ali Pasha of Tepelenë, the Muslim Albanian ruler of the region in the late 18th century, are an absolute must-see.

For a charge of 200 Lek, around €1.50, you can tour the eerie subterranean maze under the city, dug for the upper echelons of the communist party bureaucratic class to retreat to in the advent of nuclear war.

Gjirokastër warrants more than one day’s stay, and Hotel Kalemi, centrally located in two of the ancient UNESCO protected houses of the old town, is a charming and highly recommended stopover.

Porto Palermo is another destination with strong ties to Ali Pasha, where a scenic fortified castle lords it over a tiny island within sight of communist-era sea tunnels that used to house Enver Hoxha’s twin submarines; Lord of the Rings meets James Bond.

Finikas Lines run day tours by sea to Porto Palermo and nearby Krorez beach, as well as tours to the Roman ruins of Butrint, another must-see destination.



The food

Mare Nostrum, next to Sarandë’s promenade, has developed quite a reputation for its Mediterranean-inspired fusion cuisine.

Avoid the ubiquitous Spaghetti Frutti di Mare, which in lesser restaurants is at least a safe and cheap bet, and splash out on dishes like whole baked sea bass or lamb-stuffed baked melon.

Mare Nostrum is one of Sarandë’s more expensive options, but a meal for two, with wine, still comes in at an average of around 4,200 Lek, or €30.

On the main road between the towns of Borsh and Lukovë, the Ujvara Veranda café is famed for its setting; it’s built over a huge natural spring.

The main building sits on piles over the rushing water and behind, tables are dotted between rivulets, mini waterfalls and tiny footbridges on the hillside where the water rises. On a hot day, it is bliss to sit and enjoy a drink amidst the cool bubbling waters, but make it a coffee pit-stop: the food is dull at best.

Link

Thursday, April 6, 2017

US Launches Tomahawk Cruise Missiles at Airbase in Syria


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© REUTERS/ Robert S. Price/Courtesy U.S. Navy
Sputnik

The United States has launched dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles at an airbase in Syria, the Pentagon confirmed late Thursday.

The image seen round the world of Secretary of State Colin Powell and his mock vial of anthrax,which he held up during a presentation before the UN on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction program, February 5, 2003.

Around 60 Tomahawk cruise missiles were launched on Thursday night at the military airfield in Ash Sha’irat 38 kilometers southeast of the city of Homs, NBC reported, citing US military officials.
US military ships in the Mediterranean launched the strike between 8 and 9 pm ET.

No immediate information on possible casualties was available. The strikes targeted aircraft and infrastructure, including the runway, but not people, US officials told NBC.

Pentagon released a footage of the attack, also eyewitnesses are posting on Twitter videos with view from the ground.

​​On Tuesday, an alleged chemical weapon attack in Syria’s militant-held Idlib province claimed the lives of some 80 people and inflicted harm on an additional 200 civilians. The Syrian National Coalition of Revolutionary and Opposition Forces blamed the Syrian government troops for the attack, while Damascus has refuted these allegations.

According to officials, Washington thinks Tuesday’s alleged chemical weapon attack was launched from the airfield targeted in the US strike.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said "We feel the strike itself was proportionate."

Speaking on Thursday night, US President Donald Trump confirmed he ordered the strike, reiterating claims that the Syrian government was behind the chemical attack.

Syria's government repeatedly stated that it never used chemical weapons, claiming that terrorist groups were releasing deadly nerve agents in their fight with the Syrian Arab Army. Russia's Ministry of Defense alleged that deadly gas was released in Idlib on Tuesday after Syrian military aircraft bombed a facility that rebels used to produce chemical weapons.

Following a chemical weapon attack in Syria’s East Ghouta in 2013, when hundreds of people were killed, Syria joined the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. This was the result of an agreement between Russia and the United States on the destruction of chemical weapons in the country under the control of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and stopped the US military intervention in Syria.
In January 2016, the OPCW announced that Syria’s entire chemical weapons arsenal had been destroyed.

However, in June 2016, the US State Department released a report stating that Syria continued to use chemical substances against citizens, and could have retained a chemical weapons stockpile.

How do Germans rate Greek hotels?

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Proto Thema

According to the evaluation of TUI Germany, there was an improvement in the quality of the hotels and the services provided by the Greek hotels.

Greece expects an increase of German tourists of up to 30% while arrivals from Germany last year increased 11,7%, which equals to 3,14 million tourists, with TUI being the agency of choice for their majority.

These results were presented in Rhodes by the Head of the TUI Hotel Consulting & Quality Management, during the “4th Meeting for Quality in Tourism”.
More specifically, on a scale from 0 to 10, the total rating of the Greek hotels is 8,70. The islands of Kos, Rhodes, Crete stand out with 8,84, 8,73 and 8,70 respectively.

The main conclusions are that:

– Quality is a major factor for the potential customers.
– The strongest categories for the Greek hotels are “customer service”, hotel facilities” and quality in the food services. The “room quality” is a bit low, but still increased compared with 2015.
– The Greek destinations are among the best on the “hospitality” category.
– On the other hand there is room for improvement in the field of environmental care as well as cultural infrastructure.

The TUI Germany customers to Greece have the following characteristics:

– 50% are couples, and 40% families with children, which are the two biggest categories.
– 43% are people with university education
– 49% are people of higher incomes
– 1/3rd of the customers visiting Greece are 40 to 49 years old and then it is the 50-59 category (27%) and the 30-39 category (20%).
– September is the month with the highest number of arrivals, followed by August and June.

Τουρκικό ελικόπτερο έκανε βόλτες μισή ώρα γύρω από τη Λέσβο



Pro News

Eλικόπτερο του τουρκικού Ναυτικού  Sikorsky S-70 πετούσε σχεδόν επί μισή ώρα γύρω από τη Λέσβο και δεν σταμάτησε την περίεργη πτήση του γύρω από το τρίτο μεγαλύτερο ελληνικό νησί ακόμη κι όταν δύο ελληνικά μαχητικά αεροσκάφη επιφυλακής το προσέγγισαν, το αναγνώρισαν και το αναχαίτισαν εικονικά!

Ακόμα μια επιθετική ενέργεια «στο κόκκινο» από την Άγκυρα το μεσημέρι της Πέμπτης.

Συγκεκριμένα το επεισόδιο ξεκίνησε στις 14:16 το μεσημέρι της Πέμπτης, όταν το τουρκικό Sikorsky μπήκε στο FIR Αθηνών από την περιοχή βόρεια της Λέσβου και στη συνέχεια παραβίασε τον Εθνικό Εανέριο Χώρο (ΕΕΧ).

Η πτήση του τουρκικού ελικοπτέρου που κινήθηκε πολύ κοντά στις ακτές της Λέσβου διήρκεσε μέχρι τις 14:44, όταν το S-70 βγήκε από τον ΕΕΧ από την περιοχή νότια του νησιού.

Τι σχεδιάζουν οι Τούρκοι; Γιατί σχεδίασαν αποστολή χαμηλής πτήσης με ένα πολεμικό ελικόπτερο που περικύκλωσε το τρίτο μεγαλύτερο νησί της Ελλάδας; Τα ερωτήματα αυτά απασχολούν τους αξιωματικούς του ΓΕΕΘΑ.

Ταυτόχρονα στην ίδια περίπου περιοχή σημειώθηκαν και δύο εμπλοκές με τουρκικά F-16.

Η πρώτη εμπλοκή σημειώθηκε στις 14:55 δτυτικά της Λέσβου και η δεύτερη στις 15:00 νότια της Λέσβου μεταξύ δύο τουρκικών F-16 που συνόδευαν το ελικόπτερο και δύο F-16 της ΠΑ που είχαν απογειωθεί απο την Λήμνο.

Να σημειωθεί ότι οι χειριστές του τουρκικού Sikorsky δεν απομακρύνθηκαν από τον ΕΕΧ ακόμη κι όταν το ελικόπτερό τους αναγνωρίστηκε και αναχαιτίστηκε εικονικά από δύο ελληνικά μαχητικά αεροσκάφη επιφυλακής.

Το τουρκικό ελικόπτερο παραβίασε τρεις φορές τον ελληνικό εναέριο χώρο, αφού έμπαινε και έβγαινε από την περιοχή του εθνικού εναέριου χώρου...

Σκόπια: «Δημιουργούνται παραστρατιωτικές ομάδες που υποστηρίζουν τον Γκρούεφσκι»



Σκόπια. Echedoros

Τα μέσα ενημέρωσης που υποστηρίζουν ανοιχτά το κόμμα του Νίκολα Γκρούεφσκι, VMRO-DPMNE, άρχισαν να δημοσιεύουν άρθρα που είναι διαποτισμένα με στρατιωτική ρητορική, γράφει το ιδιωτικό πρακτορείο  ειδήσεων ‘meta.mk’.

Συγκεκριμένα η εφημερίδα 'Ρεπούμπλικα' σημειώνει ότι «οι πολίτες οργανώνονται εθελοντικά και δημιουργούν καταλόγους για άμεση κινητοποίηση».

Το άρθρο υποστηρίζει ότι «οι πολίτες που δημιουργούν τέτοιες εθελοντικές ομάδες σε σύντομο χρονικό διάστημα θα αυξηθούν και θα αντιδράσουν με κάθε τρόπο ‘όταν δοθεί εντολή’».

Το άρθρο αποκαλεί τα μέλη αυτών των ομάδων «φύλακες του κράτους και των θεσμών» και σε περίπτωση που το κόμμα της Σοσιαλδημοκρατικής Ένωσης – SDSM,  «προσπαθήσει να σφετεριστεί τα θεσμικά όργανα θα υπάρξει συνολική αντίδραση».

Την ίδια στιγμή η πρωτοβουλία  για την ενιαία μορφή της χώρας,  στο προφίλ της  στο Facebook δημοσίευσε «διακήρυξη έκτακτης ανάγκης» και ζητά  από τους οπαδούς της «να είστε σε ετοιμότητα, ο χρόνος έρχεται για την τελική νίκη».

Αυτό συμβαίνει σε μια εποχή που το SDSM σε σημερινή του συνεδρίαση ζήτησε την υποστήριξη των δέκα βουλευτών για να περάσει στο σημείο της εκλογής του προέδρου του Κοινοβουλίου, σημειώνει το δημοσίευμα.




Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Δυρράχιο: Φοιτητής στη Μεσίλα Ντόντα: Ζητάτε εξέγερση των Αλβανών στα Σκόπια, εάν το κάνουν αυτό οι Έλληνες στην Αλβανία τι θα γίνει;

Image result for mesila doda maqedonia

Εάν οι Σέρβοι του Κοσσυφοπεδίου και οι Έλληνες της Αλβανίας θα κηρύξουνε την ανεξαρτησία, δεν είναι το ίδιο που ζητατε για τους Αλβανούς στην ΠΓΔΜ?

Οι Εξτρεμιστικη Καθολική βουλευτι PDIU Κόμμα (Τσαμουριά Κοινότητας) Μεσίλα Ντόντα, προέβη σε ανοικτή διάλεξη στο "Αλεξάντερ Μοϊσίου" Πανεπιστήμιο στο Δυρράχιο.

Αλλά μετά από ομιλία της, ο φοιτητής έχει κανυ μια ερώτηση, ΣΤΗΝ Μεσίλα Δοδα, «η κ. Μεσίλα Ντόντα είπατε ότι οι Αλβανοί στην ΠΓΔΜ θα πρέπει να δηλώσουν την ανεξαρτησία και την αυτονομία τους, αλλά το Σύνταγμα της Δημοκρατίας της Αλβανίας καταδικάζει προσκλήσεις για αναταραχή στην ένα άλλο κράτος, και αν αυτό σημαίνει ότι οι Σέρβοι του Κοσσυφοπεδίου και οι Έλληνες της Αλβανίας θα πρέπει να κηρύξοθνε την ανεξαρτησία τους? «Ήταν η ερώτηση που ο μαθητής έχει πει για την Μεσίλα Ντόντα.

Αλλά, όπως πάντα Ρωμαιοκαθολική Μεσίλα Ντόντα έδωσε μια αλαζονική και αντιφατικές απαντήσεις που λέει ότι, "ρώτησα, ότι οι Αλβανοί" Ilirida "για να υπερασπιστούν τα δικαιώματά τους που στερούνται στη Μακεδονία"

Η εφημερίδα «Impact»

Albania Defense Ministry opens military island for tourism


Image result for sazan island albania

Published April 05, 2017  Associated Press

SAZAN, Albania –  Albania's Defense ministry has agreed to open Sazan Island, a military base still under its management, to tourists during the summer.

Defense Minister Mimi Kodheli on Wednesday signed an agreement with her colleague, Economy Minister Milva Ekonomi, to allow visits from May until October.

Ekonomi described the deal "an important event for the Albanian economy" since many tour operators have insisted that visiting the island would be a popular attraction.
She did not explain how the tourists would be taken there or provide other details of how potential tours would be managed.

The island, once a fortified, isolated spot, has bunkers and tunnels designed to withstand nuclear attacks. It remains a mystery to most Albanians although more than 3,000 military personnel once lived there, and officially remains a military base housing only a couple of soldiers.

Sazan, Albania's most western point, first was used by Italy's Fascist regime during the 1930s. Albania's post-World War II communist regime considered it the country's "airplane carrier, the port of defense, the key to controlling the Otranto Strait," according to officers from that era.

"No doubt Sazan Island is a tourist attraction due to its position," Kodheli said, adding the site t also boasts a diverse range of flora and fauna that could attract researchers, too.

The island's trenches and tunnels were built by the communist government to stave off a Western invasion. Although communism fell in 1992, ruined buildings still contain old beds, kitchen utensils, school benches and chairs.

The defense minister said the government is considering letting tourists visit two other naval military bases close to the island — Pashe Alimani and Orikum — with archaeological sites found there.

Some 4.7 million tourists visited Albania in 2016. Tourism is a main source of income for the cash-strapped Balkan country.

Belgrade Slams Kosovo's Plans to File 'Genocide' Lawsuit Against Serbia

 Kosovo President Hashim Thaci during a press conference in capital Pristina, Kosovo

© AP Photo/ Visar Kryeziu
POLITICS

President of the self-proclaimed republic of Kosovo Hashim Thaci carried out yet another provocation by stating that Pristina was planning to file lawsuit against Serbia for committing "genocide" in Kosovo, Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic said Wednesday.

BELGRADE (Sputnik) — According to media reports that emerged earlier in the day, Thaci said Pristina was preparing to file a lawsuit against Serbia "for genocide in Kosovo."

"Hashim Thaci continues to carry out provocations. Since the idea of forming the so-called Kosovo army and the legislation were withdrawn under the pressure of the international community, Thaci decided to switch the public attention to the other topic — the lawsuit against Serbia for genocide," Dacic said, as quoted in the Foreign Ministry's statement.

He noted that Kosovo was not a member of the United Nations and therefore had "no right for a lawsuit against Serbia in the Hague."

"It is well-known that it was not Serbia, which committed genocide in Kosovo but rather the Kosovo Liberation Army [KLA] committed genocide against the Serbian people. It is evidenced by the data on the decreased number of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija today than it was until 1999," the minister said.

Dacic added that the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia had never accused Serbia of genocide and a special court for the KLA war crimes had been formed instead.
In 1999, the Kosovo War between the KLA and Yugoslavia, by then consisting of Serbia and Montenegro, started. NATO, led by the United States, engaged in a 78-day military campaign against what was then Yugoslavia over alleged repressions of Albanians in Kosovo. The conflict resulted in the death of over 2,000 civilians and 1,000 security personnel.

Kosovo unilaterally proclaimed independence in 2008 and is recognized by over 100 UN member states. Serbia, as well as Russia, China, Israel, Iran, Spain, Greece and some other countries do not recognize Kosovo’s independence.

The issue of the Northern Epirus was presented in the European Parliament

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Apr, 05 2017 Proto Thema

The “National Association North Epirus 1914” presented the problems of the Greek minority in Albania

An event under the title “103 years since the Autonomy of Northern Epirus” took place on Monday March 27th in the European Parliament in Brussels. The event was organized by the Greek European MP Notis Marias and the “European Conservatives and Reformists” (Anti-federalists) and it was co-hosted by the “National Association North Epirus 1914”.

Mr. Marias mentioned the importance of the Northern Epirus issue for Greece and he stated the actions he has taken to promote the problems of the Greek minority and inform his colleagues about them.

In her speech Violeta Niki, Secretary General of the “National Association North Epirus 1914”, presented the historical facts that proof the continuous presence of the Greeks in the area that is now known as Northern Epirus (Southern Albania) from the antiquity all the way to the Byzantine era until today.

Mrs. Niki underscored the fact that the issue of the autonomy of Northern Epirus is still open according to the decision of the four winning Powers of World War II.

Spyros Gagalis analyzed the current problems of the Greek minority in Albania and the violations of the Human Rights. The fact that the Albanian state refuses to recognize as “Minority Zones” areas that are clearly inhabited by Greek like Himara, the illegal confiscation or demolition of property of Greeks etc. all of which demonstrate the silent and slow ethnic cleansing operation that the Albanian state has being conducting.

Mr. Gagalis finished by mentioning one by one the arguments that make the request for the application of the autonomy of Norther Epirus (that the Protocol of Corfu was granting) still relevant and imperative.

The president of the “National Association North Epirus 1914” Lefteris Priftis, spoke about the stance of the Greek political world towards the problems of the Greek minority and compared them with the way other neighboring countries, including Albania, are claiming things from Greece they have no right over.

The journalist Theodore Asvestopoulos, commented on the irony of the fate, since his grandparents’ village is just 10 km away from the villages of Mrs. Niki’s and Mr. Gagalis’ grandparents, but they are on the opposite side of the borders, as these were drawn in a so unfair and irrational way, something that is the cause of all the problems of the minority and the area.

Mr. Marias, finally, mentioned that his family is also scared by a similar story in the area, which is one of the reason why he is so sensitive about this issue.

After that there were a number of questions by journalists that had come for this event.

The members of the “National Association North Epirus 1914” also distributed press kits with all relevant information about the Greek minority of Northern Epirus.


Tusk visits Greece: The momentum is there but we are not close to a “success story”

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Proto Thema

He met with President Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Tsipras

Cautiously optimistic fro the outcome of the negotiations is the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, according to what he said in front of the cameras before his meeting with Alexis Tsipras and just a few hours after the negotiations that took place in Brussels between the three Greek ministers and the representatives of the creditors.

As he said, the momentum is there but we are not close to a “success story” yet.

“We are close to the completion of this demanding process thanks to the determinations and realism you demonstrate”, he stated and added that “I come as a friend”.

Mr. Tusk commented on the refugee issue as well saying that “Greece under your leadership during these hard years is an exceptional example of solidarity. I know how hard it was for you and for your citizens and I thank you for your efforts”.

Mr. Tsipras spoke of the big challenges for Europe avoiding to comment on the negotiations.

Regarding the refugee issue he stated “I am convinced that you and all the member-states will assume their responsibilities to keep Europe united”.

In his meeting with President Pavlopoulos, Mr. Tusk repeated his cautious optimism, while Mr. Pavlopoulos stated that “the EU should remember that it wouldn’t be the same without Greece” and he added that the Greek people have made huge sacrifices and they are paying for mistakes that are not only their own, but nonetheless they are committed to the European path.

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Ομολογία Σαλί Μπερίσα: Όπλισα τους Κοσοβάρους να πολεμήσουν εναντίον της Σερβίας


Δημοσιεύθηκε: 03/04/2017 Echedoros

Ο Σαλί Μπερίσα, πρώην πρόεδρος της Αλβανίας και πρωθυπουργός της χώρας, προέβη σε μια εξομολόγηση που έδωσε βάση στις φήμες που υπήρχαν μέχρι τώρα.

Παραδέχθηκε, επίσημα, ότι άνοιξε τις στρατιωτικές αποθήκες πυρομαχικών και όπλων για να εξοπλίσει το λεγόμενο «Απελευθερωτικό Στρατό του Κοσσυφοπεδίου (UCK).

Δηλαδή, με όπλα της Αλβανίας ξεκίνησε ο πόλεμος από τους Αλβανούς του Κοσσυφοπεδίου κατά της Σερβίας με αποτέλεσμα να διαχωριστεί το Κοσσυφοπέδιο και να ανακηρυχθεί, αργότερα, ως ανεξάρτητο κράτος.

«Μετά την ανατροπή του κομμουνιστικού καθεστώτος στην Αλβανία, αποφάσισα να ανοίξω τις πόρτες των στρατιωτικών αποθηκών. Το έκανα για δύο λόγους- για την επίτευξη ισορροπίας μεταξύ των υποστηρικτών και των αντιπάλων μου από την μία πλευρά και από την άλλη για να οπλίσω τους Αλβανούς του Κοσσυφοπεδίου», δήλωσε ο Μπερίσα.

Πρόσθεσε ότι το κόμμα του, το Δημοκρατικό Κόμμα, είχε δημιουργήσει μια οργάνωση για την ελεύθερη διανομή των όπλων.

«Προφανώς κάποια όπλα πουλήθηκαν, αλλά προσωπικά άνοιξα τις στρατιωτικές αποθήκες για να οπλίσω τον UCK», πρόσθεσε ο πρώην επικεφαλής του κράτους σε συνέντευξή του στη τηλεόραση στην εκπομπή «zonë express», όπως σημειώνει το πρακτορείο Bgnes.

Κατά την εξέγερση της άνοιξης του 1997 στην Αλβανία, χάθηκαν από τις αποθήκες πάνω από 700 χιλιάδες όπλα διαφορετικών τύπων και πάνω από 1,5 εκατομμύρια φυσίγγια.

Η συντριπτική πλειοψηφία αυτών των όπλων κατευθύνθηκε στο Κοσσυφοπέδιο. Το βουλγαρικό πρακτορείο υπενθυμίζει ότι ορισμένα από τα όπλα αυτά πέρασαν και στους Αλβανούς των Σκοπίων.

Τα πρώτα «προπύργια του UCK» ήταν κοντά στα αλβανικά σύνορα και συγκεκριμένα στο χωριό Γιούνικ. Το 1998 και το 1999 η κρίση κλιμακώθηκε και οδήγησε σε αεροπορικές επιχειρήσεις του ΝΑΤΟ το Μάρτιο του 1999, που διήρκεσε σχεδόν τρεις μήνες και έληξε με την ειρηνευτική συμφωνία του Κουμάνοβο, αρχές Ιουνίου.( inews.bg)

Skopje Foreign Ministry summons Albanian ambassador

Skopje Foreign Ministry summons Albanian ambassador

The Ambassador of Albania to Macedonia, Fatos Reka, was summoned this Monday at the Foreign Ministry of Macedonia.

The reason of this, according to the press release, is for what they consider “frequent offending declarations released by Albanian officials, addressed to the Republic of Macedonia and its citizens”.

The MFA communicated to the Albanian Ambassador that the declarations of the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs for two nationalities and for changing the constitutional order in Macedonia, aare clear violations of the interior matters.

“Addressing Macedonians as Slavic-Macedonians is an offense and discrimination towards every citizen of Macedonia”, said the leaders of this Ministry.

Albanian Drugs And Corruption Threaten U.S. Interests In The Balkans





BY DR. THEODORE KARASIK

SERBIA-ALBANIA-VUCIC-RAMA
SERBIA-ALBANIA-VUCIC-RAMAGetty - Andrej Isakovic

 IJR Opinion is an opinion platform and any opinions or information put forth by contributors are exclusive to them and do not represent the views of IJR.

NATO member and EU aspirant Albania is preparing for upcoming parliamentary elections slated for June 18, 2017. The Balkans and their importance to the United States, NATO, and most of all, Europe, cannot be denied, as the region is Europe's soft underbelly.

Albania’s neighbors - Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Greece - are all under pressure from declining economies to migrants to terrorism.

VIDEO:Albania out of Euro 2016 but etched in a nation's p…
Albania is the key to the West Balkan security. Russia is threatening the Balkans, as seen by an attempted plot to thwart the Montenegrin elections, in order to halt the swing of this southeast European state towards NATO and the EU.

Under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s influence in the Balkans is growing, as Ankara sees the Balkans as “the gateway to Europe." Erdogan himself used the Srebrenica massacre as proof of Europe's hatred of Muslims and the need for Ankara’s guidance towards these communities. The Turkish President's duel with Germany is escalating.

Finally, there is the tsunami of drug money overtaking Albania, as the Socialist Party-linked oligarchs (close to the Prime Minister Edi Rama - pictured above - and his cabinet) are buying up the country’s assets (banks, hydroelectric, telecoms, etc.) and hampering vital judicial reform.

Albania’s oligarchs will not be able to conduct business as usual if the broken legal system is fixed. Thus, Albania remains one the weakest links of Southeastern Europe.

Currently, Albania is negotiating European Union accession, passing most of the EU's tests for membership, including political, institutional and economic reforms, but judicial reform is the stumbling block.

It seeks to vet hundreds of judges and prosecutors, to create new legal norms to stop political interference in investigations and court cases, and to eradicate corruption.

Unfortunately, Prime Minister Rama is using judiciary reform to accomplish state capture by appointing loyalists. Judicial corruption is hampering Albania's democratic evolution, creating rifts in a frail country. Major mobsters are still being overlooked for prosecution, and the political culture tolerates graft, while Albania’s judges are living well beyond their publicly disclosed means.

EU and U.S. experts who are involved in drafting the judicial reform note that Rama’s cabinet is at war with the Supreme Court, Constitutional Court, the Supreme Justice Council, and the General Prosecutor. Judicial officials are jockeying for lucrative payoffs from Albania’s crime bosses.

The opposition in turn has blamed former Interior Minister, Saimir Tahiri, for covering up massive marijuana drug trade.

In turn, Fatmir Xhafa, a proposed Socialist Prime Minister and head of the Election Reform Commission, is now under attack by opposition members for his relative’s drug smuggling conviction in Italy.

The Democratic Party argues that Rama’s government is corruption-infested and they may boycott the upcoming election. An election collapse could send Albania into chaos, turning it into a combination of drug-producing Colombia and socialist Venezuela.

Albania is not only Europe’s largest marijuana producer, but also a hub for narcotics, such as heroin and cocaine, that arrive from the Middle East and North Africa because of weak border controls and customs enforcement.

These hard drugs find their way via Italy to Europe. Italian prosecutors, working with the National Anti-Mafia Directorate (DNA), are attempting to break the Albanian Mafia and its alliance with the Italian ‘Ndrangheta mafia. Europe and the U.S. can ill afford to allow Albania to become the Colombia of the Balkans.

U.S. attempts to nudge Albania towards judicial reform are unsuccessful, as U.S. Ambassador Donald Lu is taking the Socialists’ side. In a round table in Tirana, Lu directly attacked the General Prosecutor of Albania, saying, “[Prosecutor General] Adriatik Llalla is against Justice!”

The U.S. Ambassador comments caused a frenzy in the Albanian press, with both the government and commentators attacking Lu for “backing George Soros,“ “interfering in Albania’s accession to EU and electoral process,” and backing the Socialist Party against the opposition Democratic Party.

Prime Minister Rama is indeed a close friend to George Soros, who attended the meddlesome Hungarian-born billionaire's wedding in 2013. Soros is running his own agenda in the Balkans, clearly colliding with the Trump Administration's priorities.

Prime Minister Rama's policies appear to undermine the stability of the Balkans and Albania itself. Despite U.S. confusion and lack of direction, America and the EU have to push for free and fair elections in Albania, dispatching election observers through the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and U.S. NGOs.

Second, the U.S. law enforcement and the Interpol must investigate the ties of Prime Minister Rama with recently dismissed Minister of Interior Tahiri and organized crime in Italy regarding marijuana distribution.

Finally, the U.S. should not play favorites with political parties in a democratic country. This usually backfires.

This week, American and EU envoys will come for the launch the international monitoring operation for the June elections. The eyes of the United States will be on Albania, as will be the eyes of the European Union and its member countries. OSCE, and the Council of Europe’s will be watching as well. Most importantly, the Albanian people and the civil society need to remain vigilant to prevent corruption socialist elite from stealing their democracy. The international partners of Albania will support their efforts.

Link

Jet Fighters over the Acropolis!


The low flyby marks the end of the INIOHOS 2017 exercise

Five jets flew over Athens at around 12:30′ local time. The jets were taking part in the Greek exercise INIOHOS 2017 which end today and they were one Greek F-16 Block 50, one Israeli F-16 Block 30, one Italian AMX and one Greek F-4E.

They made two low flybys over the Acropolis and then they flew over the Euripus Strait and the Rio-Antirio bridge before returning to their base.

The United Arab Emirates pilots didn’t participate in this flight, probably because they didn’t want have a photo of them flying next to the Israelis.

Last year the USAF F-15s had made a similar low flyby. Link

EU nations, Israel eye longest undersea gas pipeline

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“This is a pipe that unites and will have the full support of all the members of the European Union”


If carried out as planned, the long-discussed $6.2 billion pipeline would take gas from Israel and Cyprus’s recently discovered offshore gas reserves to Europe and could help reduce the continent’s dependence on Russian energy at a time of ongoing tensions.

In a joint news conference in the Israeli commercial capital Tel Aviv, energy ministers from the four nations, as well as the EU’s Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Canete, pledged their commitment to the project.

Feasibility studies had been completed, the ministers said, but work on developing it would not begin for several years — with current expectations for it to go online in 2025.

“This is going to be the longest and deepest sub-sea gas pipeline in the world,” said Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz.

Gas prices have fallen, however, and the project’s financial feasibility is based on expectations they will rise again, Elio Ruggeri, chief executive of IGI Poseidon -one of the companies developing the plan- told AFP.

Both Israel and Cyprus have started to extract gas from their offshore fields in recent years, with far larger fields expected to come online in the future.

Officials from the countries have sought to market the gas to Europe as an alternative to dependence on Russian imports, and Canete admitted it would help limit reliance on the Nord Stream pipeline via Russia.

“The north stream is a pipeline (which) adds nothing to the security of supply,” he said.

“Cyprus and Israel are very reliable suppliers.”

“We highly value gas supply from the region as a vital source of our gas supply that can make a valuable contribution to our strategy to diversify sources, routes and suppliers,” said Canete.

“This is a pipe that unites and will have the full support of all the members of the European Union.”

The four ministers agreed to meet every six months for the coming years.

Source

Σκόπια: Ο Ιβάνοφ έκρυψε επιστολή του Γενικού Γραμματέα του ΝΑΤΟ



Η 'utrinski' αναφέρει ότι ο Ιβάνοφ απέκρυψε επιστολή του Στόλτενμπεργκ

Απρίλιος 4, 2017 Echedoros 

…και ο Γενικός Γραμματέας του ΝΑΤΟ, έστειλε επιστολή προς τον πρόεδρο Γκιόργκε Ιβάνοφ, ο οποίος την απέκρυψε από το κοινό, γράφει σήμερα η σλαβική εφημερίδα  ‘Ούτρινσκι Βέσνικ’.

«Το ΝΑΤΟ έστειλε ένα μήνυμα ότι είναι καλύτερα μέχρι το Μάιο να έχουμε θετικά νέα με την πολιτική κρίση, προκειμένου η σύνοδος κορυφής να επανεξετάσει την κατάσταση στη χώρας μας», γράφει το δημοσίευμα.

Σήμερα, έγινε γνωστό αυτό, ότι ο Γενικός Γραμματέας της Βορειοατλαντικής Συμμαχίας, Γενς Στόλτενμπεργ είχε αποστείλει επιστολή, της οποίας το περιεχόμενο απέκρυψε  ο πρόεδρος της Δημοκρατίας.

Έτσι έχουμε ένα μπαράζ εκκλήσεων για το σχηματισμό κυβέρνησης γιατί όσα γίνονται τώρα είναι ασυμβίβαστα με το Σύνταγμα και τη νομιμότητα και με κάποιες  υποδείξεις η κατάσταση στη χώρα μας μπορεί να αξιολογηθεί ως αναρχία.

Kriza politike ne FYROM, eksportohet per ne Shqiperi



Stavri Marko
SManalysis

FYROM, Shqiperi, Bosnje, Kosove,, krizat shtrihen ne menyre te rrufeshme si fillimi i nje Efekti Domino ne Ballkanin Jug Perendimor.

Mos qeverrisja institucionalisht ne Shkup, si  shkak i mos kompozimit te Qeverise se re, ka sjelle te njejtin shqetesim perendimor edhe ne Tirane, por,,,,,, tashme ky zhvillim I ri ne Shqiperi, pritet te infektoje edhe Rajonin.

Qeveria e Teknike e “Besimit”.

Ilir Meta, i cili mesaduket, po luan nje rol jashte kontureve institucionale shqiptare, ka paralajmeruar disa here, se mos patja e nje qeverie te shendoshe dhe koncensuale, do te rrezikoje stabilitetin politik te Shqiperise. Dhe per te mos shkuar me tej, as me “Cadren” dhe as me Ramen bashke qeverises, ai propozoi Qeveri te re me gjitheperfshirje dhe e Pagezoi “Qeveri Besimi”. Pra, pak retrospective,,
Kriza Politike shqiptare rrezikonte destabilitetin e pare te vendit post Komunist, dhe ne vitin 1991 u krijua “Qeveria e Stabilitetit”. Vendi u perfshi papritur nga helmetat e NATO, pa qene anetar i saj, nen pretekstin e shperndarjes se ndihmave humanitare. Operacioni Pelikan, solli kryesisht ushtaret Italiane, per ti ardhur ne “ndihme popullit shqiptar, ne dite te veshtira.”

Me rjenen e Piramidave dhe krijimin e nje kaosi rezultat i te ciles ne vitin 1997, Shqiperia u perfshi ne Lufte Civile, u krijua po nga Organizmat Boterore (OKB dhe BE) Operacioni Alba, me pjesemarjen e 8 mije ushtareve te NATO nga rajoni dhe me tej. Lufta e ashper Jug – Veri, e sinkronizuar tek PS me aleatet dhe PD me aleatet, solli rreth 4 mije viktima, per te cilen, me formimin e Qeverise Teknike te “Shpetimit Kombetar” (me ndermjetesimin e OSBE), u krijuan Gjykata dhe Prokuroria special e Krimeve te Renda, per te cilen nuk u gjykua asnje kriminel (i Luftes Civile) por perfunduan pas hekurave vetem trrafikantet e droges, kriminelet ordinere dhe te prostitutave!.

Ne vitin 1998, Shqiperia perjetoi nje Gusht Shteti, me pasoja te  renda per vendin, duke rrezuar qeverine e Fatos Nanos dhe krijuar qeverine e re te Pandeli Majkos, duke e cuar vendin ne vitin 1999, me krizen ne Serbi dhe Kosove.

Ne vitin 2004, Opozita e udhehequr nga Sali Berisha, organizoi protesten anti korrupsion ne gjthe shqiperine me moton “Nano Ik”. Vendi u rrezikua seriozisht per nje ndarje te re Veri – Jug.
Ne vitet ne vazhdim, pati nje krize te thelle politike e quajtur “Kriza Krokodil” ne vitin 2008, e cila u mbyll me ndermjetesine e dhe presionin e BE, per ndryshimet ne Kodin Zgjedhor, ndersa me e frikshmja ka qene Kriza e vitit 2011, kur opozita e atehershme PS, kishte zhvilluar rreth 300 protesta ne vit, me Moton, “Vota e Vjedhur”, shteti u trondit ne prag te kaosit Veri – Jug.
Viti 2017, ne prag “Qeveria Teknike e Besimit”, vendi eshte kanabizuar dhe opozita nuk mund te futet ne zgjedhje pasi votat mund te blihen lehtaz nga qeveria Rama.

Pse Shkup – Tirane, linje e re destabilizimi?

Thame qe kriza ne FYROM u eksportua ne Tirane. Shkaku eshte bllokimi I zgjedhjeve si rezultat I mos pjesemarjes se opozites, duke alokuar nje seri kushtesh per qeverine si, Qeveria Teknike, shtyrja e zgjedhjeve, apo pershkallezim protestash. Opozita akuzon kryeqeveritarin Rama se vazhdon te influencohet nga mediat e Soros ne gjithe Boten. Por vendi po rreshqet drejt nje krize te re, jo sin je rrezik zjarvenje, por per me teper, si nje krize shteterore institucionale, duke reshqitur ne nje situate pa president, pa prokuror, pa qeveri legjitime, pa zgjedhje,,, por me “Qeveri Besimi”.

Te njejtat sindroma edhe sot kriza ne FYROM, filloi para nje viti por po perfundon gati drejt nje perplasje etnike mes shqiptareve myslymane dhe sllaveve orthodokse, filo bullgare, filo serb dhe filo grek. Nderkaq, ky rezultat vine pasi Tirana aplikoi nje Platforme Kombetare Rajonale, e quajtur si strategji e “Shqiperise se Madhe”, si shkak I te drejtave me zyrtare te shqiptareve myslymane ne FYROM, e cila solli kalimin e FYROM nga nje shtet qe kerkonte anetaresine ne NATO dhe BE, ne nje deshtim total dhe me pasoja infektuese per Rajonin, krizen nder Rajonale Ballkanike etno fetare.

Por, a do te arrije Tirana krizen e sotme Rajonale ne Shkup?

Tirana po ecen ne gjurmet e Shkupit, si rezultat I papergjegjshmerise se politikaneve shqiptare, kryesisht arroganca e qeverrise, perkeqesoi fondet publike dhe rritjen e kanabisit, duke anashkaluar Vetting, procesin e drejtesise, per te cilen pritet mbledhja e Parlamentit per ta votuar. Por situate po rreshket akoma me tej drejt nje destabilizimi rajonal, ku Shqiperia mund te infektoje edhe Kosoven edhe Malin e Zi. Arsyeja qe shkojme ne kete perfundim eshte se te dhenat tregojne se nuk ka gjasa, qe zgjedhjet te behen ne qershor, po ashtu nuk ka asnje shank qe te zgjidhet Presidenti, apo edhe Prokurori, dhe si rezultat Kryeministri I “Qeverise se Besimit”, do te kete gjithe pushtet jo zyrtare ne dore, ashtu sikunder po ndodh edhe sot ne FYROM.

Dy vende Shkup – Tirane,  ne te njejten kohe qe kane te njejten krize, a kane te njejtat probleme?

Te dy vendet sei FYROM edhe Shqiperia, mund te infektojne gjithe vendet e tjera te rajonit, duke perfshire Kosove, Bosnje, Mal I Zi, por edhe Greqi, Bullgari, Kroaci edhe Serbi, pra ne nje fare menyre iplikohet direct NATO dhe BE. Kerkesat e Shqiptareve per Federalizim ne FYROM (Platforma Shqiptare) mund te shoqerohet automatikisht ne gjithe Rrajonin si shkak I dy vendeve ne prag te destabilizimit. Shkupi akuzon Tiranen sepse po obligon shqiptaret myslymane te federalizohen dhe te grupohen ne Shqiperine e Madhe, per aq kohe sa Tirana vazhdon ti quaje shqiptaret myslymane, si shtet formues te FYROM, po me te njejten akuze artikulohet edhe ne Shqiperi “Harmonia Fetare”, akuza vjen jo vetem nga Shkupi por thuajse te gjitha vendet qe rrethojne Shqiperine se Orthodokset qe jetojne ne Shqiperi, jane po aq shtet formues duke perforcuar rolin gjeopolitik te Kishes Orthodokse ne Shqiperi por edhe si factor paqeje.  

Si mund te shfaqen krizat nder rajonale ne Ballkan?


Krizat qe shkaktuan tri lufta ne Ballkan, kane qene te pritshme dhe te menjehershme. Lufta e Pare dhe Lufta e Dyte Boterore, shkak u bene dy atentate, ndersa lufta e trete Ballkanike pas vitit 1991, ose shembja e Jugosllavise, (nje process ende i paperfunduar por I koklavitur) solli qindra mijera viktima. Ndoshta Perndimi dhe venanerisht Washingtoni, ndihmoi myslymanet shqiptare dhe boshnjake, te kishin edhe me shume te drejta qe si skishin me pare, por ky disekueliber, ka sjelle edhe pasojat e veta: vendet e krishtera orthodokse, duket se jane me te konsoliduara per te rindertuar interest e tyre ne Ballkan, jo vetem me ndihmen e Rusise (Kines, Frances, por edhe Britanise). Por edhe vete administrate e re amerikane e Trump, duket e interesuar per te ndryshuar ekuelibrat dhe kufijte ne Ballkan. 

Nderkaq, nga Perendimi, NATO ka planin e nderyrjes se shpejte ne veprime te paparalajmeruar per vendet qe preken nga destabilizimi, perfshi edhe Shqiperine.

Κλιμακώνεται η σκληρή κόντρα Σκοπίων – Τιράνων: Σε απολογία ο Αλβανός πρέσβης

FILE PHOTO. Different Albanian youth organisations protest with a banner reading 'I am proud to be Albanian!' in front of FYROM Embassy in Tirana, Albania, March 2017.. EPA, MALTON DIBRA
Different Albanian youth organisations protest with a banner reading 'I am proud to be Albanian!' in front of FYROM Embassy in Tirana, Albania, March 2017..

EPA, MALTON DIBRA APRIL 4, 2017

Κλιμακώνεται η αντιπαράθεση Σκοπίων και Τιράνων με αφορμή τη συμμετοχή των αλβανικών κομμάτων, με δική τους ατζέντα, στην κυβέρνηση που προέκυψε από τις πρόσφατες εκλογές στην ΠΓΔΜ, απειλώντας να βυθίσει σε “θερμοκρασίες Σιβηρίας” τις σχέσεις των δύο χωρών. Σ’ ένα νέο γύρο ρητορικής και διπλωματικής αντιπαράθεσης, το ΥΠΕΞ της ΠΓΔΜ κάλεσε σήμερα τον πρέσβη της Αλβανίας στα Σκόπια και τού επέδωσε διάβημα διαμαρτυρίας για “τις συχνές προσβλητικές δηλώσεις” και τα σχόλια Αλβανών αξιωματούχων για την ΠΓΔΜ και τους πολίτες της.

Αφορμή υπήρξαν τόσο οι δηλώσεις του πρωθυπουργού της Αλβανίας Έντι Ράμα σε ελβετική εφημερίδα, στις οποίες υποστήριζε ότι η κατάσταση στην ΠΓΔΜ εγκυμονεί κίνδυνους για την ευρύτερη περιοχή λόγω της άρνησης του προέδρου της Δημοκρατίας να δώσει εντολή σχηματισμού κυβέρνησης στον συνασπισμό της Σοσιαλδημοκρατικής Ένωσης και των αλβανικών κομμάτων, όσο και του ΥΠΕΞ Ντμίτρι Μπουσάτι σε ιστοσελίδες, με τις οποίες ζήτησε την ενσωμάτωση της κοινής διακήρυξης των αλβανικών κομμάτων της ΠΓΔΜ στο Σύνταγμα της χώρας.

Σύμφωνα με την ανακοίνωση του ΥΠΕΞ στα Σκόπια, στη συνάντηση τονίστηκε ότι οι δηλώσεις περί διεθνοτικότητας και αλλαγής του Συντάγματος της ΠΓΔΜ συνιστούν ευθεία ανάμειξη στις εσωτερικές υποθέσεις της χώρας.

Παράλληλα, υπογραμμίστηκε ότι παρόμοια μηνύματα αποτελούν σοβαρή προβοκάτσια εις βάρος των σχέσεων καλής γειτονίας, δημιουργούν μακροπρόθεσμη ζημιά στις σχέσεις στην περιοχή και δίνουν ώθηση στην ακραία ρητορική. Εν τω μεταξύ, σύμφωνα με τα ΜΜΕ των Σκοπίων, από τη χθεσινή συνάντηση του προέδρου του Ευρωπαϊκού Συμβουλίου στα Σκόπια Ντόναλντ Τουσκ με τον πρόεδρο της χώρας Γκιόρκι Ιβάνοφ δεν προέκυψαν νέα δεδομένα, που θα μπορούσαν να δρομολογήσουν άμεσες εξελίξεις για την άρση του πολιτικού αδιεξόδου στη χώρα.

ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ


Monday, April 3, 2017

ΑΝ ΣΚΟΤΩΣΕΤΕ ΕΝΑ ΣΕΡΒΟ, ΘΑ… ΣΚΟΤΩΣΟΥΜΕ ΕΚΑΤΟ ΜΟΥΣΟΥΛΜΑΝΟΥΣ!!!


Απανδαι η τουρκικι εφημεριδα


Έντονη δυσαρέσκεια επικρατεί στην Άγκυρα από την θριαμβευτική εκλογή στην προεδρία της Σερβικής Δημοκρατίας του Aleksandar Vuçiç, με 55%, όπως αναφέρουν οι πληροφορίες, καθώς για τους Τούρκους είναι δεδηλωμένος άσπονδος εχθρός των μουσουλμάνων

Στην Άγκυρα δημοσιεύεται μια παλαιότερη πολύ χαρακτηριστική ρήση του νέου Σέρβου προέδρου, 47 ετών, που είχε πει σε ανύποπτο χρόνιο πως, «Αν σκοτώσετε ένα Σέρβο θα σκοτώσουμε εκατό μουσουλμάνους»!

Όπως αναφέρουν τα τουρκικά ΜΜΕ, η εκλογή του Aleksandar Vuçiç που κρατά καλά ισορροπίες μεταξύ Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης και Ρωσίας, αλλά δέχεται στρατιώτη βοήθεια και συνεργάζεται με την Μόσχα, δεν προοιωνίζει τίποτα το καλό για τους μουσουλμάνους των Βαλκανίων. Ένας εχθρός για το Ισλάμ και την Τουρκία όπως αναφέρεται. Μάλιστα τον παρομοιάζουν με τον Μιλόσεβιτς, στον οποίο οι Τούρκοι αποδίδουν ευθύνη για γενοκτονία μουσουλμάνων της Βοσνίας.

Γεγονός πάντως είναι πως ο Aleksandar Vuçiç δεν αστειεύεται όταν αναφέρεται στα εθνικά θέματα της Σερβίας και αυτό το γνωρίζουν πολύ κατά στην Άγκυρα, αλλά και στα Τίρανα, και στο Κοσσυφοπέδιο.

Link

President-elect Vucic to remain PM for another two months

(Tanjug)
Serbian PM Aleksandar Vucic, who was on Sunday elected as the country's new president, will continue at the helm of the government for about two more months.

SOURCE: B92 MONDAY, APRIL 3, 2017

The mandate of the current president, Tomislav Nikolic, expires on May 31, when he will hand over the reigns to his long-time party comrade. After this, Vucic will take the oath of office, have his inauguration - and hold consultations with representatives of parliamentary parties on Serbia's next prime minister and new government.

Vucic will officially become president when he takes the following oath in front of the National Assembly in Belgrade:

"I swear to invest all my powers in the preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia, including Kosovo and Metohija, its integral part, as well as in the realization of human and minority rights and freedoms, respect and defense of the Constitution and laws, preservation of peace and prosperity of all citizens of the Republic of Serbia, and that I will carry out all my duties in a conscientious and responsible manner."

This will mark the beginning of his 5-year term in office, and will be followed by the presidential inauguration, which in the case of Nikolic took place about ten days after the oath-taking ceremony.

Until Vucic's inauguration, the Serbian public will likely be focused on who the new prime minister will be. According to unofficial reports, Finance Minister Dusan Vujovic is a favorite.

It also remains to be seen what will happen to Nikolic: where his political career will go from here, and what his status within the ruling SNS, a party he co-founded with Vucic, will be. When Nikolic became president in 2012, he stepped down as party leader; Vucic could now remain at the party's helm, "give it back" to Nikolic - or to another associate.

Vucic will be only the fourth president of Serbia, considering that this office was introduced with the 1990 Constitution. A monarchy while an independent state, and while a part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia after 1918, Serbia has had "the president of the Presidency" prior to 1990, as part of the post-WW2 communist Yugoslavia.

The country's first president was Slobodan Milosevic, who stayed in office until July 1997, when Milan Milutinovic took over, serving in the role until 2002. A failed election followed, and the start of the "acting" period - when Assembly heads Natasa Micic, Dragan Marsicanin, Vojislav Mihailovic and Predrag Markovic all served as acting presidents.

Vojislav Mihailovic's presidency is noteworthy for lasting only one day.

The third elected president of Serbia was Boris Tadic, who came to power in 2004 and stayed there until 2012, when he "shortened his own mandate," called early elections, and lost them to Tomislav Nikolic in the run-off.

According to the Constitution, the president of Serbia represents the country at home and abroad; promulgates laws upon his decree, in accordance with the Constitution; proposes to the National Assembly a candidate for the prime minister, after considering views of representatives of elected lists of candidates; proposes to the National Assembly holders of positions, in accordance with the Constitution and Law; appoints and dismisses, upon his/her decree, ambassadors of the Republic of Serbia, upon the proposal of the government; receives letters of credit and revocable letters of credit of foreign diplomatic representatives; grants amnesties and award honors; administers other affairs stipulated by the Constitution.

In accordance with the Law, the president "shall command the Army and appoint, promote and relieve officers of the Army of Serbia."

ΚΤΑΚΤΟ: Εθνικό Συμβούλιο Εξωτερικής Πολιτικής συγκαλεί ο Κοτζιάς παραμονές του Πάσχα



«Πολεμικός Συναγερμός» στον Ναύσταθμο της Σαλαμίνας – Σαλπάρουν φρεγάτες και πάνω από οχτώ Πυραυλάκατοι -33 παραβιάσεις και 1 εμπλοκή στο Αιγαίο

Δημοσίευση: 3 Απριλίου 2017


Δύσκολες ημέρες έρχονται στα ελληνοτουρκικά με τον Υπουργό Εξωτερικών Νίκο Κοτζιά να συγκαλεί παραμονές του Πάσχα το Εθνικό Συμβούλιο Εξωτερικής Πολιτικής. Προφανώς η εξέλιξη αυτή συνδέεται με τις τουρκικές κινήσεις παραμονής του δημοψηφίσματος.

Έτσι την Μ. Τετάρτη 12 Απριλίου και ώρα 12:00 θα συγκληθεί, στο Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών το Εθνικό Συμβούλιο Εξωτερικής Πολιτικής (ΕΣΕΠ).

Δεν είναι τυχαίες οι αποκαλύψεις που διέρρευσαν σήμερα στον τύπο.



Όπως αναφέραμε στο άρθρο μας Οι Τούρκοι μετρούν το χρόνο αντίδρασης και την ετοιμότητα των ελληνικών Ένοπλων Δυνάμεων στέλνοντας μέσα στη νύχτα σκάφη με μετανάστες στα νησιά του ανατολικού Αιγαίου 0ι Τούρκοι μετρούν τους χρόνους αντίδρασης του ελληνικού στρατιωτικού φυλακίου στη νήσο Παναγιά και της βοήθειας που μπορεί να προστρέξει στο νησί από τη Χίο στέλνοντας σκάφη με μετανάστες να προσεγγίζουν και να δένουν στο ακριτικό νησί. Ένα φαινόμενο που σύμφωνα με πληροφορίες παρατηρείται ημέρα, αλλά και νύχτα.

Τα ξημερώματα σήμερα λοιπόν σήμανε συναγερμός στο λιμεναρχείο της Χίου όταν ενημερώθηκε από τα στελέχη που στελεχώνουν το στρατιωτικό παρατηρητήριο στη νήσο Παναγιά στις Οινούσσες ότι σε δύσβατη περιοχή είχε προσαράξει ταχύπλοο με μετανάστες.

Στο σημείο έσπευσαν δύο περιπολικά σκάφη του Λιμενικού Σώματος με τη συνδρομή των οποίων, το ταχύπλοο αποκολλήθηκε και στη συνέχεια οδηγήθηκε στο λιμάνι της Χίου όπου και κατασχέθηκε.

Σύμφωνα με την καταμέτρηση στο ταχύπλοο επέβαιναν 16 αλλοδαποί που μεταφέρθηκαν, επίσης, στη Χίο. Προανάκριση για την υπόθεση διενεργείται από το Κεντρικό Λιμεναρχείο Χίου.


Το γεγονός ότι οι μετανάστες ξεκίνησαν από τα τουρκικά παράλια με ταχύπλοο σκάφος και όχι με μία απλή λέμβο να περάσουν στο ελληνικό νησί, το γεγονός ότι προσάραξε σε δύσβατη περιοχή και όχι εκεί που έχουν άμεση οπτική εικόνα οι στρατιώτες προκαλεί πολλά ερωτήματα.

Η νήσος Παναγιά, όπως και το Καστελόριζο είναι δύο περιοχές που οι Τούρκοι έχουν αναπτύξει ύποπτη δραστηριότητα τους τελευταίους μήνες και η Άγκυρα έχει εντάξει τα δύο νησιά στις «γκρίζες ζώνες». Να σημειωθεί επίσης πώς και πέρυσι το Πάσχα οι Τούρκοι επιχείρησαν απόβαση στην Παναγιά χρησιμοποιώντας ως προπέτασμα καπνού μετανάστες.

Για το λόγο αυτό όπως σημειώνει ο veteranos.gr , από το πρωί επικρατεί «Πολεμικός Συναγερμός» στον Ναύσταθμο της Σαλαμίνας και όχι μόνο …με τον Στόλο να είναι σε Επιφυλακή

Σύμφωνα με επιβεβαιωμένες πληροφορίες …έχουν ήδη βγει από το πρωί πάνω από οχτώ Πυραυλάκατοι …

Τα ταχύτατα πολεμικά σκάφη που οι το πολεμικό μας Ναυτικό διαθέτει ,πλέουν με στόχο να σηκώσουν ασπίδα προστασίας από το Βορρά μέχρι και το Νότο του Αιγαίου!

Την ίδια ώρα ετοιμάζονται να σαλπάρουν κάποια ώρα απόψε μετά τα μεσάνυχτα οι Φρεγάτες του Πολεμικού Ναυτικού που από το πρωί θα εκτελούν Τακτικές Ασκήσεις με την Συνεργασία Μαχητικών Αεροσκαφών λειτουργώντας και στο Πλαίσιο της Διακλαδικής Άσκησης «ΗΝΙΟΧΟΣ 2017»

Μαχητικά από πέντε χώρες θα επιχειρήσουν και στο Νησιωτικό Σύμπλεγμα του Καστελόριζου όπου θα χωριστούν σε επιτιθέμενους και αμυνόμενους …αλλά και προσβολή των Ελληνικών Μαχητικών Σκαφών που θα βρίσκονται εν πλω το πρωί της Τρίτης και της Τετάρτης!

Στο Αιγαίο η Τουρκία ανεβάζει κατακόρυφα την ένταση με νέες παραβιάσεις του εθνικού εναέριου χώρου.

Μετά την προκλητική στάση του τουρκικού ναρκαλιευτικού, που δεν σήκωσε την ελληνική σημαία, την Παρασκευή, τα μαχητικά της Πολεμικής Αεροπορίας της Τουρκίας, παραβίασαν 33 φορές τον Εθνικό Εναέριο Χώρο, ενώ πραγματοποίησαν και πέντε παραβάσεις του FIR Αθηνών.

Τα τουρκικά μαχητικά που αποτελούνταν από τέσσερα F-16, δύο F-4 και δύο CN-235, πέταξαν πάνω από το βορειοανατολικό, νοτιοανατολικό και κεντρικό Αιγαίο και μάλιστα σε μία περίπτωση ανάγκασαν τις ελληνικές δυνάμεις να εμπλακούν σε εικονική αερομαχία.

ΥΠΕΞ Αλβανίας: Η ‘αλβανική πλατφόρμα’ να ενταχθεί στο Σύνταγμα των Σκοπίων



Νέες προκλήσεις των Τιράνων. Ο υπουργός Εξωτερικών της Αλβανίας, Ντιτμίρ Μπουσάτι, σε συνέντευξή του στη διαδικτυακή πύλη που εδρεύει στις Βρυξέλλες «Euractiv» δήλωσε, ότι αναμένει η αλβανική πλατφόρμα να ενταχθεί στο σύνταγμα του νοτιοσλαβικού κράτους των Σκοπίων, προκειμένου να αποδώσει θετικά αποτελέσματα και για τους «Σλάβους και τους Αλβανούς, αναφέρει το σλαβικό κανάλι «5» των Σκοπίων.

«Πιστεύω ότι η ένταξη της λεγόμενης αλβανικής πλατφόρμας στο Σύνταγμα, μέσα σε ένα νομικό πλαίσιο στη χώρα, θα αποδώσει θετικά αποτελέσματα και για τις δύο κύριες εθνοτικές ομάδες, Σλάβους και Αλβανούς, που ζουν στην FYROM», είπε ο Μπουσάτι , ο οποίος απορρίπτει τους ισχυρισμούς ότι πρόκειται για μια πλατφόρμα που συντάχθηκε από τα Τίρανα.

«Υποστηρίζουμε την εφαρμογή του κειμένου αυτού, γιατί πιστεύουμε ότι το έγγραφο αναφέρεται με σαφήνεια στις προσπάθειες των Αλβανών να κρατήσουν τη χώρα ενωμένη», δήλωσε ο επικεφαλής της αλβανικής διπλωματίας , διαλύοντας τους φόβους ότι η εισαγωγή της αλβανικής γλώσσας ως επίσημης θα οδηγήσει τη χώρα σε ομοσπονδιοποίηση. Echedoros

Ομολογία Σαλί Μπερίσα: Όπλισα τους Κοσοβάρους να πολεμήσουν εναντίον της Σερβίας


Απρίλιος 3, 2017.Echedoros

Ο Σαλί Μπερίσα, πρώην πρόεδρος της Αλβανίας και πρωθυπουργός της χώρας, προέβη σε μια εξομολόγηση που έδωσε βάση στις φήμες που υπήρχαν μέχρι τώρα.

Παραδέχθηκε, επίσημα, ότι άνοιξε τις στρατιωτικές αποθήκες πυρομαχικών και όπλων για να εξοπλίσει το λεγόμενο «Απελευθερωτικό Στρατό του Κοσσυφοπεδίου (UCK).

Δηλαδή, με όπλα της Αλβανίας ξεκίνησε ο πόλεμος από τους Αλβανούς του Κοσσυφοπεδίου κατά της Σερβίας με αποτέλεσμα να διαχωριστεί το Κοσσυφοπέδιο και να ανακηρυχθεί, αργότερα, ως ανεξάρτητο κράτος.

«Μετά την ανατροπή του κομμουνιστικού καθεστώτος στην Αλβανία, αποφάσισα να ανοίξω τις πόρτες των στρατιωτικών αποθηκών. Το έκανα για δύο λόγους- για την επίτευξη ισορροπίας μεταξύ των υποστηρικτών και των αντιπάλων μου από την μία πλευρά και από την άλλη για να οπλίσω τους Αλβανούς του Κοσσυφοπεδίου», δήλωσε ο Μπερίσα.

 Πρόσθεσε ότι το κόμμα του, το Δημοκρατικό Κόμμα, είχε δημιουργήσει μια οργάνωση για την ελεύθερη διανομή των όπλων.

«Προφανώς  κάποια όπλα πουλήθηκαν, αλλά προσωπικά άνοιξα τις στρατιωτικές αποθήκες για να οπλίσω τον UCK», πρόσθεσε ο πρώην επικεφαλής του κράτους σε συνέντευξή του  στη τηλεόραση στην εκπομπή «zonë express», όπως σημειώνει το πρακτορείο Bgnes.

Κατά την εξέγερση της άνοιξης του 1997 στην Αλβανία, χάθηκαν από τις αποθήκες πάνω από 700 χιλιάδες όπλα διαφορετικών τύπων και πάνω από 1,5 εκατομμύρια φυσίγγια.

 Η συντριπτική πλειοψηφία αυτών των όπλων κατευθύνθηκε στο Κοσσυφοπέδιο. Το βουλγαρικό πρακτορείο υπενθυμίζει ότι ορισμένα από τα όπλα αυτά πέρασαν και στους Αλβανούς των Σκοπίων.

Τα πρώτα «προπύργια του UCK» ήταν κοντά στα αλβανικά σύνορα και συγκεκριμένα στο χωριό Γιούνικ. Το 1998 και το 1999 η κρίση κλιμακώθηκε και οδήγησε σε αεροπορικές επιχειρήσεις του ΝΑΤΟ το Μάρτιο του 1999, που διήρκεσε σχεδόν τρεις μήνες και έληξε με την ειρηνευτική συμφωνία του Κουμάνοβο, αρχές Ιουνίου.( inews.bg).

Rama in Montenegro, repeats Albanians as so called factor of the country

Edi Rama: Progres i komunitetit shqiptar në Mal të Zi

In Montenegro, Rama meets with Albanian political represents, calling them as a big factor of the state

 Prime Minister Edi Rama during his visit to Montenegro has met with Albanian political "factors" there.

PM of Albania said that Montenegro has taken concrete steps forward to the benefit of Albanian community as official recognizing Albanian language, self determination ecct..

“In Ulcinj with Albanian political factors of Montenegro, where concrete steps have been taken forward to the benefit of Albanian community,” PM Rama writes in a posting on Facebook account

Tirana Offloads Ancient Arms to Controversial Broker


Birn 

 
Albania sold part of its vast stockpiles of aging weapons and ammunition to a controversial Bulgarian firm linked to a deadly explosion which killed a Pentagon contractor.

Lindita Cela, Ivan Angelovski, Maria Cheresheva BIRN Tirana, Washington, Sofia
Albania’s state-owned arms broker sold 17.5million Chinese-made bullets, 350 mortars, and 40,000 mortar shells in 2015 to Alguns Ltd, a Bulgarian firm which worked on Washington’s programme to train and equip Syrian rebels.

The firm has been linked to a fatal explosion at a shooting range in Bulgaria in 2015 which left a Pentagon contractor working on the Syrian project dead.


Alguns Ltd is owned by  Alexander Dimitrov,  a former business partner of Bulgarian organised crime figure Boyan Petrakiev Borisov, nicknamed ‘the Baron’ [see "Organised crime links" box].

Details of the sales, worth in excess of 1 million euros, are revealed in confidential arms export documents obtained by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN.

Organised crime links

Alguns’ owner Alexander Dimitrov is also a former business partner of the notorious Bulgarian organised crime figure Boyan Petrakiev Borisov, known as ‘the Baron’.

Documents from Bulgaria’s business registry show that Dimitrov founded Alguns Ltd in 2008 in Sofia. The company’s main activity is arms trading.

In 2004, Dimitrov and Petrakiev were joint owner of a scrap metal firm named SIB Metal.

Dimitrov says that the registration of the firm was cancelled during the application process and that he has not seen Petrakiev since.

In a report by the Ministry of Interior’s Centre for Police Research, Petrakiev is given as an example of an “established figure in the criminal world”.

The document, published in 2010, goes on to note that Petrakiev had been sentenced ten times for unnamed offences and faced a further eight  cases for a wide range of crimes. Among these were stealing cars, hooliganism, rape, illegal possession of arms and drugs and participation in an organised criminal group.

In 2009, Petrakiev was found guilty of leading a criminal group involved with card skimming across eight countries, the report notes.

In 2012, he was arrested and jailed for running an illegal casino.
These show how the aging Chinese and Albanian made arms and ammunition were exported to Bulgaria as part of four export licences  signed between the state-owned Military Export Import Company of Albania, MEICO, and Alguns in 2015.

At the same time, Alguns was employed as a subcontractor for the Pentagon’s US Special Operations Command, SOCOM, as part of its attempts to supply and train Syrian rebels fighting Islamic State.

Arms experts believe that Bulgaria is unlikely to have been the final destination for the equipment given its age and the fact that Bulgaria has a relatively modern army which is part of NATO. Alguns has declined to comment on expert analysis that countries in the Middle East or Africa were likely recipients.

Alguns linked to deadly blast

Alguns’s role in the Syria programme first emerged in June 2015 when 41-year-old US Navy veteran Francis Norwillo died as a rocket-propelled grenade exploded at a firing range in the village of Anevo, central Bulgaria. The venue is owned by the state-owned arms producer VMZ Sopot.

Emails and contracts obtained by BIRN from a US lawsuit and sources in Bulgaria reveal fresh details about the incident.

Alguns’s involvement in the blast remains hotly contested, but it is not disputed that  the company was central in organising sessions at the range in the preceding days.

Norwillo and his injured colleague, Michael Dougherty, had been hired through a $28-million Pentagon contract to train Syrian rebels to fire various Soviet-style weapons. They had travelled to Belarus and then Bulgaria to test the equipment ahead of a training camp in Jordan, according to a lawsuit filed in Florida by Norwillo’s widow and Dougherty.

Court papers against the three US firms allegedly involved in the incident – Purple Shovel, Skybridge Tactical and Regulus Global – detail how the claimants believe the faulty grenade was more than 30 years old, of Bulgarian origin and had been rejected as unsafe by the Pentagon, which was also looking to source ammunition for the Syrian rebels.

Following the tragedy, the Bulgarian authorities identified Alguns as having rented the firing range and providing the faulty rocket.

The firm was fined its 62 500 euros in September 2015 for failing to obtain a permit from the Ministry of the Economy of Bulgaria for the fatal session, but Alguns, which denies the allegations, was later cleared on appeal.

The court ruled the ministry had made significant administrative errors and had failed to prove Alguns had rented the firing range on the day of the accident.

Purple Shovel, the Pentagon’s main contractor on the project, told BIRN in a written statement that Alguns had been brought in by Regulus Global, one of its sub-contractors, to book the sessions and provide the ammunition for the training. It said, however, that the accident took place during a “recreational shoot” at the weekend, after official training had finished.

A timetable of the training obtained by BIRN shows that Alguns had booked the firing range up until Friday, June 5, and also reveals that two Bulgarian state-owned companies, VMZ Sopot and Arcus, were in charge of training the US contractors in a variety of Soviet-style weapons and ammunition.

This included the type of rocket-propelled grenade, OG-7, which malfunctioned, causing the deadly blast.

Skybridge Tactical, which had hired Norwillo and Dougherty for the job, argues in court papers that the explosion occurred during official training, and that the injured parties should be in line for US government compensation as a result.

Regulus Global has dismissed the allegations as lacking in detail.

This incident is not Alguns only brush with the law. The firm was fined 1,000 euros in June 2016 for failing to provide proper documentation related to an ammunition store it maintains in Sliven, southern Bulgaria.

Arms’ final destination ‘Middle East or Africa’

War in the Middle East has sparked an unprecedented flow of arms and ammunition from the Balkans, with Bulgaria playing an important role as a source of weapons and hub for arms brokers.

Asked about the Alguns’ buy-up of Albania’s aging stockpiles, Pieter Wezeman of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a leading source of information on arms transfers, believes it is unlikely Bulgaria was the final destination for the munitions given its age.

He said this equipment would likely have ended up in Syria, Yemen or perhaps Africa.

“There are several possible scenarios,” Wezeman explained. “One is that this goes to Syria or Yemen. Another is that some corrupt officials in Africa buy it as part of a fraudulent scheme. Surplus weapons do quite well in Africa for legitimate exports, although corruption is often suspected.”

SOCOM did not respond directly to questions on whether it had purchased Chinese ammunition from Albania as part of its Syrian programme, saying only that reporters should “speak with Alguns about their activities”.

US firms are banned from buying Chinese ammunition, unless a special dispensation from the State Department is obtained.


Aging Albanian mortar shells
Photo: NATO

Alguns refused to explain what it had done with the equipment once it had arrived in Bulgaria.

Purple Shovel told BIRN in a written statement that it has “never knowingly purchased Chinese equipment or components” and “has never done business with Allguns [sic] directly”.

Tirana has a troubled track record with arms exports from its large stockpiles of Chinese ammunitions, supplied in the 1960s and 70s when Beijing was Albania’s main military backer during communist rule.

In 2007, Florida-based arms broker AEY sold millions of aging, Chinese-made cartridges to the Pentagon for use in Afghanistan.  The bullets had been repackaged in cardboard boxes to look as if they had been produced in Albania in order to sidestep a ban on munitions from China. The firm’s owner, Efraim Diveroli, was given a four year jail sentence for the fraud in 2011.

And in 2011, 800,000 rounds of Chinese ammunition which were due to be delivered from Albania to the United Arab Emirates were illegally diverted to Libyan rebels.

Albania’s Ministry of Defence said that Alguns had provided the correct documents to export the weapons to Bulgaria and that it had verified the firm was “not involved in criminal activity”. It added that any re-export of the ammunition required their consent, although it is widely documented that this clause is often not fulfilled.

Alguns ties to Albania appear to go beyond buying up aging ammunition as it also sought to secure a lease to a communist-era weapons factory in the small Albanian town of Polican. But in a written statement given to BIRN, it said it had dropped the plan.

This investigation was produced by BIRN in cooperation with OCCRP as a part of Paper Trail to Better Governance project.

Read all the documents used in the investigation at BIRN's online library BIRN Source.

- See more at: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/tirana-offloads-ancient-arms-to-controversial-broker-03-30-2017#sthash.L233erTU.dpuf

Rama on a visit to Montenegro: Joint meeting of two governments in October in Shkodra

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By Pandi Skaka ΑΤΑ

Prime Minister Edi Rama met in Montenegro today his Montenegrin counterpart Duško Marković. After the meeting, the two prime ministers gave a joint news conference.

“I am happy at the good news of the U.S. Senate that soon even our neighbour, Montenegro, will become the 29-th NATO member. Albania has done its best so that Montenegro becomes a NATO member. Thus, all the coastal line of the Ionian and the Adriatic becomes NATO area,” said PM Rama at the news conference.

Further on, PM Rama said he was very encouraged by the all-embracing policy of Montenegro for the Albanians. “We have welcomed the agreement reached among the parties here and with the Albanian factor and we believe that the further boost of this agreement is a factor of stability.”

PM Rama also announced the decision, “on holding a joint meeting of the two governments in Shkoder in October, as a cycle of two agreements for putting into operation the economic and social life of our citizens, through exploiting the common opportunities of our citizens and increasing the quality of social life.”

“We remain close neighbours and our road defined in a crystal clear way of being side by side with the countries of the free and democratic world is in function of the future of our children here in Montenegro and further in Albania”, said PM Rama.

While, the Montenegrin Prime Minister Marković stated that, “we need to promote bilateral cooperation. The Albanian community supports Montenegro’s integration into the NATO and makes a significant economic contribution. We shall increase cooperation with the Albanian community in Montenegro. In Shkodra there will be a meeting of the two governments that will enable the ministers cooperate with one another. The foreign ministers will work about preparation of this meeting”

Σκόπια: Αδιάλλακτος ο Ιβάνοφ κατά τη συνάντηση με τον Ντόναλντ Τουσκ



«Ο Ιβάνοφ δεν αλλάζει τη θέση του στην επίλυση της κρίσης, ο Τουσκ αναμένει ηγετική και πολιτική ικανότητα», γράφει το σλαβικό δημοσίευμα των Σκοπίων


Απρίλιος 3, 2017

Σκόπια. Echedoros


Η θέση του προέδρου Γκιόργκε Ιβάνοφ, για την επίλυση της πολιτικής κρίσης, παρέμεινε αμετάβλητη, εμμένοντας στη λογική,  ότι η νέα κυβέρνηση δεν πρέπει να αμφισβητείται από κανένα κόμμα, όπως τόνισε ο αρχηγός του κράτους στον επικεφαλής του Ευρωπαϊκού Συμβουλίου Ντόναλντ Τουσκ, ο οποίος επισκέπτεται επίσημα τη χώρα.

‘Συναντήθηκα με τον κ. Τουσκ βάσει των συνταγματικών υποχρεώσεων και της πάγιας πρακτικής που ακολουθείται από το 1992 και τον ενημέρωσα για τον καθορισμό της εντολής σχηματισμού κυβέρνησης. Θέλω με έμφαση να τονίσω ότι η θέση μου παραμένει αμετάβλητη μέχρι να εξαλειφθεί κάθε νομικό και πολιτικό εμπόδιο. Ο σκοπός, με τις προϋποθέσεις, για μια νέα κυβέρνηση δεν μπορεί να  αμφισβητηθεί από καμία πλευρά και από οποιαδήποτε βάση. Η απόφασή μου είναι προληπτική για την αποφυγή βλαβερών συνεπειών που θα μπορούσαν να προκύψουν», δήλωσε ο πρόεδρος Ιβάνοφ, έπειτα από τη συνάντηση που είχε με τον Τουσκ.

Ο επικεφαλής του Ευρωπαϊκού Συμβουλίου δήλωσε ότι η δέσμευση της ΕΕ στην ευρωπαϊκή προοπτική των Σκοπίων παραμένει αδιαμφισβήτητη και οι φιλοδοξίες  της για ένταξη  στην ΕΕ και το ΝΑΤΟ παραμένουν ‘παράγοντας ενότητας’ για το βαλκανικό κρατίδιο.

«Η δέσμευση της ΕΕ στην ευρωπαϊκή προοπτική σας είναι σαφής. Η επίτευξη  του στόχου προς την ΕΕ και το ΝΑΤΟ έχει αποδειχθεί κατ’ επανάληψη παράγοντας ενότητας, κάτι που είναι απαραίτητο σήμερα στη χώρα σας.

Για αυτό ελπίζω ότι θα συνεχίσετε να ακολουθείται την εσωτερική πυξίδα προκειμένου να αποφευχθεί κάθε τι που θ μπορούσε να πυροδοτήσει εντάσεις, όπως  για εθνικούς λόγους.
Η παρατεταμένη κρίση κρατά, ωστόσο,  τη χώρα προσηλωμένη προς την ΕΕ μέχρι να βρεθεί μια λύση που θα βασίζεται στις αρχές της δημοκρατίας, της  ευπρέπειας και της  κοινής λογικής,  τότε θα διαπιστώσετε ότι μπορείτε να υπολογίζετε στην υποστήριξή μας», είπε ο Τουσκ.

Ο Ιβάνοφ επανέλαβε την επιτακτική ανάγκη των πολιτικών και κομματικών ηγετών στη χώρα να εφαρμόσουν τις ευρωπαϊκές μεταρρυθμίσεις, αλλά όχι, όπως είπε χαρακτηριστικά,  με την εφαρμογή της πλατφόρμας που δημιουργήθηκε, μετά τις εκλογές, από άλλη χώρα.

Ο Τούσκ επεσήμανε ότι η πολιτική σταθερότητα στη χώρα είναι τώρα απαραίτητη λόγω της μεταναστευτικής κρίσης που εδώ και δύο χρόνια  έχει  επιδεινωθεί στην περιοχή.
Εκθείασε, ωστόσο, τη στάση των Σκοπίων,  για το κλείσιμο της μεταναστευτικής ροής μέσα από τις χώρες των Δυτικών Βαλκανίων.

«Η ανάπτυξη μια συνολικής στρατηγικής για την αντιμετώπιση της μεταναστευτικής κρίσης και  σήμερα είναι απαραίτητη όπως χάρη των προσπαθειών σας  παραμένει  κλειστή η διέλευση μέσω των Δυτικών Βαλκανίων», είπε ο Τουσκ.

Ο Ιβάνοφ τόνισε ότι η χώρα του, όπως και παλαιότερα έτσι και τώρα. θα ενεργεί με γνώμονα την προστασία της εθνικής ασφάλειας και της ασφάλειας των πολιτών της, σημειώνει το σλαβικό Makfax.com. mk.

Terrorism Considered Among Possible Causes of St Pete Metro Blast - Putin

 Police officers guard the area at the entrance to Technological Institute metro station in Saint Petersburg on April 3, 2017
© AFP 2017/ Ruslan SHAMUKOV
RUSSIA

15:36 03.04.2017

All possible causes of the blast in the St Petersburg metro are being considered, including terrorism, Russian president Vkadimir Putin said.

An injured person is helped by emergency services outside Sennaya Ploshchad metro station, following explosions in two train carriages at metro stations in St. Petersburg, Russia April 3, 2017

Russian law enforcement agencies and security forces are working to determine the circumstances of the incident in St Petersburg underground, Russian President Vladimir Putin added.
"The law enforcement agencies and security forces are working and will do everything in their power to unearth the reasons of what happened, to assess what happened," Putin said.

The Russian authorities will take all necessary measures to provide assistance to those injured in blasts in the St. Petersburg subway, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"The city authorities, and, if required, the federal authorities, will take all necessary measures to support the families of those killed and those injured," Putin said.

Vladimir Putin has discussed the situation in the St.Petersburg metro station with the FSB director.

A twin occurred at the St Petersburg metro at 14-30 local time. The reported blasts occurred at the "Sennaya Ploschad [square]" and "Tekhnologichesky Institute" stations.

As a result at least 10 people were killed and dosens injured, RIA Novosti reports. Children are among the victims.

Albanian Mafia Thug Prime Minister Edi Rama Warns Of New Balkan War, Blames Russia And Serbia !

Albanian Mafia Thug Prime Minister Edi Rama Warns Of New Balkan War, Blames Russia And Serbia !

The “political temperature” in the Balkans has risen significantly, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama told a Swiss newspaper, citing tensions in Macedonia over the country’s ethnic Albanian minority.

Balkan states Albania, Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo and Montenegro all hope to join the European Union, but political feuds, ethnic strife and lingering misgivings over the wars of the 1990s complicate this process.

Rama, the Socialist Party leader whose role in helping organize ethnic Albanians in Macedonia has been criticized by some there as inappropriate foreign meddling, told the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper in the interview published on Thursday that things could get worse.

“In Macedonia, the situation could spiral completely out of control because the head of the country’s second-biggest political party has denied the Albanians’ mandate to help build the government,” he said. “We are demanding only that the government in Skopje respect the rights of the Albanian minority.”

Rama, a former Tirana mayor, accuses Skopje of blocking Albanian as an official language even though ethnic Albanians comprise a quarter of Macedonia’s 2 million population.

“It is inconceivable for us that Macedonians reject Albanian as an official language at national level,” Rama said.

He said other factors contributing to heightened emotions include what he called Serbia’s provocations against Kosovo, including sending a train emblazoned in Serbian colors and the phrase “Kosovo is Serbia” to its former province.

Ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo, in turn, is seeking to turn its security force into a national army, a plan opposed by the Serb minority and widely panned by NATO and the United States.

European Union leaders said earlier this month that Balkan states could still join the EU but must stick to a path of economic and democratic reform to reach that goal.

Likewise, the prospect of EU membership has for years been the main driver of reform in the Balkans following decades of communist role, economic hardship as well as ethnic bloodshed associated with Yugoslavia’s 1990s disintegration.

“When you consider this inheritance, the only way for Balkan countries to develop into mature democracies is to do so within the European Union,” Rama told the Swiss newspaper.

“As long as the people and political elite of the Balkans do not lose faith in EU membership, they’ll stay calm. The borders will be in danger when the European Union sits on its hands and, in doing so, abandons us to the Russians.”

Russia, a traditional ally of the Serbs, denies accusations of political manipulation in the Balkans to reassert its influence in the historically volatile region. Link