Albania's DP-led coalition starts talks on new government

Oposite leader main Edi Rama: We do not know last albanian elections, we want anticipate elections

21/08/2009

TIRANA, Albania -- Prime Minister Sali Berisha, whose Democratic Party (DP) won the June 28th general elections, has started negotiations on cabinet personnel for the next four-year term. Local media reported on Friday (August 21st) that Berisha met with Fatmir Mediu, leader of the DP's traditional ally, the Republican Party, and found common ground. A final agreement on the number of Republican representatives in the government will be reached by the end of the month, according to media reports. The DP must also consult with the third member of the coalition, Ilir Meta's Socialist Movement for Integration.

Anny way, the oposite leader main Edi Rama declared imediately after the meeting of the represents of OSCE for new anticipate elections, sading: "We do not know anny new government of new albanian parliament. We continue to call for new anticipated elections in albania" said Rama.

World Council of Epirotes abroad In Ioannina

Friday, 21 August, 2009 5:27 AM

Αυτόνομη Πολιτική παρουσία λέει το συνέδριο του Παγκοσμίου Συμβουλίου Ηπειρωτών του Εξωτερικού.

Τη δημιουργία αυτόνομου ελληνικού κόμματος και κοινή πολιτική όλων των βορειοηπειρωτικών δυνάμεων στην γειτονική Αλβανία προκρίνουν ως μόνιμη λύση για την αλλαγή της κατάστασης προς όφελος της ελληνικής μειονότητας οι απόδημοι Ηπειρώτες του εξωτερικού, αλλά και τα στελέχη της Ομόνοιας που συμμετείχαν στο συνέδριο του Παγκοσμίου Συμβουλίου Ηπειρωτών του Εξωτερικού που πραγματοποιήθηκε στα Γιάννινα.

Το Βορειοηπειρωτικό ζήτημα απασχόλησε τα μέλη του συνεδρίου κατά την τελευταία συνεδρία, όπου συζητήθηκαν οι εξελίξεις μετά τις εκλογές στην Αλβανία και δόθηκε μια πλήρης εικόνα για το status quo της ελληνικής μειονότητας.

Το Παγκόσμιο Συμβούλιο Ηπειρωτών του...

εξωτερικού και εκπρόσωποι των Ομοσπονδιών, όπως αυτών της Αμερικής και της Αυστραλίας, εκφράζουν την απόλυτη στήριξή τους στην ελληνική μειονότητα όπως τόνισε ο πρόεδρος του συμβουλίου Χρήστος Δήμου, που αναφέρθηκε στα βασικά συμπεράσματα της συζήτησης, τα οποία θα αναλυθούν περαιτέρω.

Εκτός από την δημιουργία αυτόνομου ελληνικού κόμματος, σύμφωνα με τα πορίσματα του συνεδρίου, απαιτείται αναδιοργάνωση της Ομόνοιας, αυτόνομη πολιτική από την ελληνική μειονότητα και ενεργοποίηση των Βορειοηπειρωτών που ζουν στην Ελλάδα.
Από την πλευρά του ο πρόεδρος της Ομόνοιας Βασίλης Μπολάνος υπογράμμισε πως το μεγαλύτερο ποσοστό των Βορειοηπειρωτών βρίσκεται σε κοινή γραμμή για τα εθνικά θέματα σημειώνοντας πως υπάρχουν δυνατότητες ενίσχυσης, ενώ δεν έκρυψε τη δυσαρέσκειά του για την ανακοίνωση του Πρωθυπουργού της Αλβανίας ως προς την αλλαγή ονομασίας των ελληνικών χωριών στη Βόρειο Ήπειρο.

«Αυτό μας γυρίζει πολλά χρόνια πίσω και σίγουρα δεν μπορεί να γίνει αποδεκτό», σημείωσε ο κ. Μπολάνος προσθέτοντας πως ήδη έχει ξεκινήσει η αναδιοργάνωση της Ομόνοιας με στόχο την ενίσχυσή της και πως τα αλβανικά κόμματα δεν μπορούν στο πρόγραμμά τους να καλύπτουν τα θέματα των εθνικών μειονοτήτων.
Κατά τη διάρκεια του συνεδρίου έγινε παράλληλα ο απολογισμός του πρώτου έτους που σημαδεύτηκε από την συνεργασία με το Πανεπιστήμιο Ιωαννίνων για την υλοποίηση των προγραμμάτων ελληνικής γλώσσας για νέους Ηπειρώτες του εξωτερικού και την παραχώρηση από την πλευρά της Περιφέρειας Ηπείρου ενός γραφείου για την «στέγαση» του παγκόσμιου συμβουλίου.

Αποφασίστηκε παράλληλα το καλοκαίρι του 2010 να πραγματοποιηθεί το Παγκόσμιο Συνέδριο Ηπειρώτικης Νεολαίας αλλά και πως το επόμενο συνέδριο του Παγκοσμίου Συμβουλίου Ηπειρωτών του Εξωτερικού θα πραγματοποιηθεί στην Βόρειο Ήπειρο

Albania and Serbia in Kosovo ‘territorial integrity’ spat

Thu, Aug 20 2009

Albania's prime minister Sali Berisha, left, and his Kosovo counterpart Hashim Thaci inspect an honour guard during a welcoming ceremony in Tirana, June 19 2008.

Albania and Serbia are in a diplomatic row after Albanian prime minister was quoted as saying that "the national unity of Albanians should be a key idea in the policies of Albania and Kosovo".

Kosovo, which has a largely ethnic Albanian population, unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February 2008. Belgrade rejects Kosovo independence as illegitimate and is vigorously pursuing diplomatic and international court initiatives against Pristina’s UDI.

Serbian news agency Tanjug said on August 18 2009 that Serbia’s foreign ministry had sent a note of protest to the Albanian embassy in Belgrade.

"The ministry explained in a statement that it condemned in the strongest terms Berisha's provocative statement which crudely violated Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

The protest note said that statements such as Berisha's harmed good neighbourly relations and regional co-operation, the ministry said, according to Tanjug.

Kosovo media reported on August 19 that the Albanian foreign ministry had rejected Serbia’s allegations.

Albanian authorities said Berisha and the Albanian government were determined to move ahead in liberalisation of free movement of people and goods and in eliminating barriers.

The Albanian foreign ministry said that co-operation between Albania and Kosovo was based on mutual respect that came naturally and aimed at European integration.

"Albania supports and deeply believes that regional cooperation is a condition for European integration of the region," the foreign ministry in Tirana said.

It is not the only occasion in recent days in which Berisha has become embroiled in a controversy involving Kosovo.

Kosovo daily Express said on August 14 that Berisha had amended a media statement that initially had endorsed a political party in forthcoming local elections, changing the wording to say that Berisha was ready to co-operate with all political parties in Kosovo.

Albania PM Berisha Calls for Unity with Kosovo

August 17, 2009,


Berisha also thanked to all the tourists from Kosovo who visited Albanian resorts. Photo by BGNES
The Albanian Prime Minister, Sali Berisha, has called for unity with Kosovo, and between Albanians.

"The national unity idea is based on the European principles and ideals and needs a lot of efforts. Because of that the Kosovo PM, Hashim Taci, and I will work towards removing all bariers that keep Albanians from feeling like a unity no matter where they live", Berisha said in an interview.

In his words, between both countries there must not be customs administration, and Albania and Kosovo should not look at each other as foreign countries, which has nothing to do with their sovereignty.

According to Berisha the relations with the Kosovo politicians are excellent, regardless of whether they are from the opposition or from the majority.

"We are opened for talks. We appreciate the role of every party. They all have significant part in the resistance and winning of Kosovo's independence", he added.

Berisha also thanked to all the tourists from Kosovo who visited Albanian resorts.

Local elections are being held today for the Kosovo municipalities of Peć and Priština. The polling stations are in Gračanica and Goraždevac, however.

Official says Serb minority in Albania, Montenegro and Slovenia faces many problems


ZAGREB/BELGRADE, Aug 17. (Hina). A state secretary in the Serbian ministry for expatriates' affairs has said ethnic Serbs were faced with many problems in southeastern European countries, notably in Albania, Montenegro and Slovenia.


State Secretary Miodrag Jaksic said in a statement published by Tanjug news agency on Sunday that the Serb community in Albania was the most endangered minority in Europe.
"Serbs in Albania cannot use their mother tongue and exercise their religious rites and ceremonies. A majority of local Serbs were forced to change their names during the rule of Enver Hoxha ," the Serbian official said in the statement.


According to Jaksic, currently the most painful situation is in Montenegro where 35 percent of the total population have declared themselves Serbs but Montenegro denies them "minimum constitutional and statutory rights in the fields of culture, education, religion and information".
"Serbs in Hungary are one of the 13 recognised national minorities, but they have been waiting 17 years for the adoption of legislation and their right to have their representative in the Hungarian parliament," Jaksic said.


He described the situation in Slovenia as more complex, given that Serbs were not yet given a status of national minority although there were 50,000 Serbs in that country.


According to Jaksic, Serbs in Croatia encounter problems such as denial of their tenancy rights which is why they cannot get back their property, overdue pensions and problems arising from the non-enforcement of laws on the ethnic minorities' rights.Jaksic pointed out Romania and Macedonia as positive examples for treatment of the Serb minority.

Macedonian Party May Ask Albania to Block NATO Bid

Skopje, 14 August 2009

Photo: The Leader of DAP Menduh Thaci

DPA leader Menduh ThaciAlbania should block Macedonia’s NATO accession if Skopje continues to neglect its large Albanian community, the head of an ethnic Albanian party in Macedonia says.
Menduh Thaci, the head of the opposition Democratic Party of Albanians, DPA, told a Monday press conference that he considered asking Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha to block Macedonia's NATO membership bid during their meeting in Tirana last week.“I changed my mind, scared that he could misunderstand me”, Thaci told the media, “but I made up my mind to mention this to him the next time we meet”.

Thaci, whose party was previously part of the ruling coalition, now accuses his former coalition partner, the ruling centre-right VMRO-DPMNE, of promoting ethnocentric policies that favour the ethnic Macedonian majority.Albania and Macedonia were initially slated to receive an invitation to enter NATO in 2008, but Macedonia was left out due to Greece's unwillingess to allow its neighbour to enter the alliance while the countries' naming dispute remains unresolved.With the eighth anniversary of the Ohrid peace accord approaching, Thaci reiterated that he believes that stipulations therein concerning the promotion of the ethnic Albanian community's rights remain unfulfilled.

The accord ended the 2001 ethnic Albanian insurgency and ostensibly paved the way for biculturalism.“This agreement doesn’t function”, Thaci said, adding that a superseding deal should be created that would supplement the accord.Despite recent calls from the EU ambassador to the country, Erwan Fouere, that the DPA not boycott parliament, Thaci said that his party has already taken this decision and would not be participating in the legislature from next week “until this government falls”.

The DPA boycott will not harm the government's work since the party has only three deputies in the 120-seat parliament. However, observers are concerned that the move could harm the country’s EU accession process by ruining the impression that positive inter-party dialogues exist. This is one of the benchmarks that the EU requires of Macedonia.Thaci's critique comes only a couple of months before the European Commission publishes its annual report on the country’s reform progress this autumn. Skopje hopes the report will include a recommended date for the start of EU accession talks.Since Macedonia became an EU candidate in 2005, the EC has refused to recommend the start of the talks three years in a row, citing insufficient reforms.

Ethnos, Greece: Skopje attacked over issue with Bulgaria

Photo: Spaska Mitrova, a bulgarian woman homogen, continues to be in arrest from Skopie authorities, some days ago. Sofie has declared that Skopie never will be joint in NATO Alliance and EU, if the bulgarian homogen will continue to persecuite in prison."
In Albania there are 5 himariotes with greek homogen nationality denied from albanian Tribunals under accuse of "Using greek nationalist symbols during a denostration in Himara Region", and 15 others are in process undwr accuses: "We need the greek policies to protect us and our families from albanian dictature".

While Sofie, makes veto for Skopie, Athens "very indiferent" for the human rights of the situation of the greeks in Northern Epirus.

12 August 2009 FOCUS News Agency

Athens. After the Bulgarians, Menduh Thaci too will demand that FYROM’s accession to NATO be halted but this time by Albania, the Greek newspaper Ethnos reports. The leader of the Democratic Part of Albanians (DPA) announced that over the next several days he would visit Sofia and meet with the new Bulgarian government headed by Boyko Borisov.

Thaci also stated he intended at his next meeting with Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha to request that the procedure for Skopje’s accession to the Alliance be blocked. In Thaci’s words his decision had been prompted by the policy adopted by FYROM’s government, which has caused the country’s isolation from its neighbours as well as permanent discrimination of Albanians in all spheres of life, Ethnos reports. Last week Thaci met with Berisha.

Even back then Thaci was considering whether to table the issue of blocking Macedonia’s accession but eventually changed his mind. DPA leader’s visit to Bulgaria has assumed special significance while the crisis between Skopje and Sofia has not yet been overcome, Ethnos reports.

The US Ambassador to Skopje too meddled in the case. Asked about Bulgaria’s threat to veto FORYM’s accession to NATO and the EU, he said that problems must be resolved in diplomatic manner. “The US continues to support the country in the procedure for full-fledged accession to NATO and the US” the Ambassador stated adding that Skopje must not create over nothing.

Security News on the Region, The Greek-Turkish escalation on Aegean

THERE'S ALWAYS THE WRONG TIME FOR EVERYTHING

http://www.rieas.gr/

Not too long ago we highlighted

the importance of abandoning the peculiar idiom of “Greek-Turkish rapprochement,” a linguistic contraption that is wholly of Greek manufacture, as part of purposefully re-defining symbolism in the battle against the Turkish threat. In this present phase of "no war, no peace" so deftly manipulated by our neighbors, words and gestures are almost as important as bullets. And effective symbolism remains a key weapon in parrying Turkish thrusts calculated to sow fear and anxiety among Greek "policy makers," who have delivered, over time, ample examples of hesitation, miscalculation, division, and confusion.

To remember Liddel Hart's apt words: "The profoundest truth of war is that the issue of battle is usually decided in the minds of the opposing commanders, not in the bodies of their men."
On August 6, the Greek Government took a fateful step in the field of symbolism. In a surprise move (which was not all that of a surprise to those who follow the affairs of the Ministry of Defense) it retired the chief of the Armed Forces, Gen. Dimitrios Grapsas, and replaced him with Gen. Ioannis Yaghos, the chief of the Air Force General Staff.

The midsummer announcement of General Grapsas's (not so) abrupt departure immediately stirred intense political speculation. Some in the press claimed that the general was unceremoniously retired because he had become "too much of an irritation" to the Government with his allegedly "uncompromising" stance toward Turkey, a fact that was corroborated, journalists said, by a report, conveniently leaked to a weekly newspaper, that General Grapsas had approved the dispatch of commandos to bolster the defense of Greek island territories in the Aegean. In plain English, these reports claimed that General Grapsas was too much of a fighter for the tastes of a political leadership committed to not "provoking" Turkey by strengthening Greek defenses in light of the recent steep escalation of Turkish belligerence in the Aegean!

This interpretation has been of course strenuously denied by the Government. Let us though accept it, for a moment, as a working hypothesis; there is indeed enough undeniable precedent to suggest that this and previous governments are hardly proactive in shaping a national strategy based on true "deterrent punch" rather than furtive, almost phobic, diplomacy, not to mention the hollow and toothless recycling of "arguments" praising international law as Greece's greatest guarantee of not having to fight a shooting war with Turkey.

In any conflict, perceptions of strength and weakness of the opponent play a critical role in shaping one's strategy. The aim of manipulating threats of force in the pre-shooting stage of any confrontation is to encourage an adversary to adopt a concessions posture. Turkey, by constantly reminding Greece that coercive action is indeed likely if Turkish demands are not met satisfactorily, executes a classic maneuver based on exploiting the expressed aversion of the Greek adversary, re-confirmed almost daily, to even the notion of a resort to arms. This asymmetry defining the "no war, no peace" state of affairs between the two countries, even junior students of strategy will tell you, offers Turkey a robust advantage over what looks increasingly like a fearful and indecisive Greece.

If indeed we accept that this is the "operational environment" of the Turkish challenge to Greece, any Greek gesture that might appear the result of a conscious effort not to get the Turks "angry" is a disastrous step in the direction of a total concessions posture -- an alternative future Greek politicians swear they are working hard to avoid.

The implications of letting a man of General Grapsas's reported reputation go, in the middle of a major Turkish surge in the Aegean, shouldn't be too difficult to understand. To use an analogy from competitive team sports, this is an elementary point no professional coach dares ignore: you don't pull your fighters from the field when "aggressive defense" may be the only play called for under the developing circumstances of the game. Any such action would communicate to your opponent the unmistakable message that you have made your peace with the expectation of defeat.

"Stuff happens" as Donald Rumsfeld once memorably said. The Greek Government should keep these two words well in mind, along with the implicit warning they carry, when it apparently heeds the righteous indignation of Turkish mass media at the news that Greek commandos allegedly are sailing to protect Greek sovereign territories in the Aegean and, coincidentally, dismisses its chief of the joint chiefs of staff at the same time! Last we checked, such a reaction could be construed by even well meaning parties as the Greek Government's tacit acceptance of Turkey's license to dictate how Greek defenses are manned and when.

Greek politicians need to urgently return to the books to study Clausewitz's "grammar of war" in addition of course to the works of Thucydides. Since this is not a credible scenario, however, they should at least begin to absorb some of the more recent lessons of history. They should, for example, leaf through the chronicle of our own military campaign into Asia Minor in 1919-1922 and re-read the chapters on how cashiering able field commanders because of political motives accelerated the road to the gravest disaster of modern Hellenism.

There is always a wrong time for everything. The past is replete with the bleached bones of those who took the wrong turn, gave the wrong impressions, or persisted in ignoring very clear signals that their "measured" behavior had the exact opposite influence on potential foe bent on bringing harm to them. Gestures like what has just transpired at the top echelon of the Greek armed forces can profoundly undermine one's security narrative, with no credible hope of recovery. This is no time for dangerous experiments or dilettante performances for the benefit of one's own personal political aggrandizement or cultivating one's foreign "friends." Hopefully those at the helm realize this, although, sometimes, we seriously doubt it.

Albanians refuse meeting in organ removal probe

Mon Aug 10, 2009
By Benet Koleka

TIRANA, Aug 10 (Reuters) -

An Albanian family refused on Monday to meet a European human rights team investigating a Serbian allegation that Serb civilians had been kidnapped in Kosovo in 1999, taken to Albania and had organs removed.The Council of Europe team, accompanied by Albanian justice ministry officials, wanted to talk to the Katuci family about allegations that their house had been used as a makeshift clinic to harvest organs from Serbs abducted during the 1999 conflict between Serb forces and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

Witnesses and television pictures from the village of Rripe in the north-central Mat region showed angry villagers blocking the visitors in a two-hour standoff.Dick Marty, the Swiss senator who is leading the inquiry by the Strasbourg-based Council, met Serbian and Albanian officials last week and was not present."We want the general prosecutor to come here, to allow them in. They have no documents," said Abdulla Katuci, 78. Women of his family shouted at the Albanian officials, saying they had no right to investigate for a second time.

Family members had previously said they had "never harmed anyone" and were eager to clear their name.U.N. investigators searched the Katuci house thoroughly in 2004 for evidence of organ harvesting. They found blood stains, gauze in the garbage area and, dug out from an area near the river flowing below the meadow, syringes.Villagers would not let them dig up graves in the local cemetery to exhume bodies, saying relatives were buried there, and the case was dropped for lack of evidence.

The allegations resurfaced last year in a book by Carla Del Ponte, the former chief United Nations prosecutor for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, who said there had been reports that some 300 Serbians held in Albania had had organs removed.Serbia then asked the Council of Europe to persuade Albania to allow a new investigation into the allegations -- which both Albania and Kosovo deny.Albanian prosecutors say the issue has already been investigated by local authorities amd U.N. war crimes tribunal investigators and proved untrue. (Editing by Tim Pearce)

The Albanisation of the names of Greek villages of Northern Epirus

«Αλβανοποιούνται» τα ονόματα των ελληνικών χωριών της Βορείου Ηπείρου

ΤΟΥ ΑΝΔΡΕΑ ΜΠΕΛΕΓΡΗ

Ο Κώστας Καραμανλής βοήθησε τον Σαλί Μπερίσα να επανεκλεγεί πρωθυπουργόςκι αυτός τον «άδειασε»Στο ύπνο πιάστηκε, ως συνήθως, το υπουργείο ΕξωτερικώνΤΗΝ ΑΠOΦΑΣH ΤΟΥ ΝΑ ΠΡΟΒΕI ΣΤΗΝ ΑΛΛΑΓH των ελληνικών τοπωνυμίων στη Βόρεια Ηπειρο ανακοίνωσε στον αλβανικό Τύπο ο πρωθυπουργός της χώρας κ. Σαλί Μπερίσα, τρεις μήνες μετά την επίσκεψη του Ελληνα πρωθυπουργού κ Κώστα Καραμανλή στη γειτονική χώρα.

Συγκεκριμένα, ο κ. Σαλί Μπερίσα έκανε γνωστό ότι προτίθεται στο αμέσως επόμενο χρονικόδιάστημα να αλλάξει όλα τα ελληνικά τοπωνύμια πόλεων, κωμοπόλεων, χωριών και συνοικιών, αντικαθιστώντας τα με νέας «κοπής» αλβανικά! Σε αλβανικές εφημερίδες γράφτηκε ότι πρόκειται για μία από καιρό ειλημμένη απόφαση, η οποία ήρθε η ώρα να υλοποιηθεί, τώρα που ήδη έχει εξασφαλιστεί η υποστήριξη της Ελλάδας στην ευρωπαϊκή πορεία της Αλβανίας.Ηδη, η προαναγγελθείσα απόφασή του έχει προκαλέσει μεγάλη συζήτηση στην Αλβανία.

Από τα μέλη της κυβέρνησης, πάντως, ο μόνος που αντέδρασε είναι ο υπουργός Εξωτερικών τηςχώρας κ. Πασκάλ Μίλο.Στις δηλώσεις που έκανε για το θέμα είπε ότι η απόφαση του πρωθυπουργού είναι «γελοία» και επισήμανε ότι ο κ. Μπερίσα «γυρίζει το ρολόι της Ιστορίας πίσω». Συγκεκριμένα, δήλωσε: «Η απόφαση αυτή θυμίζει το δικτατορικό καθεστώς Χότζα, όταν εκατοντάδες χωριά είχαν αποκτήσει σοσιαλιστικές ονομασίες εν μια νυκτί».Σα να μην έφτανε αυτή η προκλητική και ανιστόρητη ενέργεια Μπερίσα, λίγες ημέρες νωρίτερα το υπουργικό συμβούλιο της Αλβανίας είχε απορρίψει και την αίτηση του Αρχιεπισκόπου Αναστάσιου και ελληνικών φορέων για την ίδρυση ιδιωτικού εκπαιδευτηρίου.

Το πρόσχημα που χρησιμοποίησε το συμβούλιο προκειμένου να ματαιώσει την πρωτοβουλία ήταν ότι το εκπαιδευτήριο θα είχε ως επωνυμία την ελληνική λέξη Logo (Λόγο).Οπως ήταν φυσικό, η απόρριψη του ονόματος «Logo» και της προς έγκριση άδειας για ελληνικό εκπαιδευτήριο έχει προκαλέσει έντονη ενόχληση στους ελληνικούς φορείς τηςΑλβανίας. Είναι μάλιστα χαρακτηριστική η απορία που εκφράζουν ομογενείς, πώς είναι δυνατόν να απορρίπτεται ένα εκπαιδευτικό ίδρυμα μόνο και μόνο επειδή έχει ελληνική λέξη στην επωνυμία του και την ίδια ώρα η ελληνικότατη λέξη «democracy» να χρησιμοποιείται στο όνομα της χώρας - Δημοκρατία της Αλβανίας (Democracy of Albania). Ι

σως θα έπρεπε, συμπληρώνουν δηκτικά οι ίδιοι, να εξαλειφθεί και από εκεί η ελληνική λέξη και μαζί με αυτή, πιθανώς, και η έννοιά της…Πρόσφατα, μάλιστα, είχε δημιουργηθεί παρόμοιο θέμα με τα τοπωνύμια, όταν το αλβανικό υπουργείο ΠΕΧΩΔΕ τοποθέτησε κατά παράβαση του νόμου όπως καταγγέλλουν οι κάτοικοι δίγλωσσες πινακίδες στις ελληνόφωνες περιοχές: στα αλβανικά και στα αγγλικά και όχι τρίγλωσσες, δηλαδή οι δύο προαναφερθείσες γλώσσες συν τα ελληνικά. Ο δήμαρχος Χιμάρας κ. Βασίλης Μπολάνος επενέβη και αφαίρεσε τις πινακίδες από την περιοχή του,καταγγέλλοντας το αλβανικό κράτος.

Λίγους μήνες μετά καταδικάστηκε για την πράξη του αυτή από τα αλβανικά δικαστήρια!
ΤΟΥΣ ΕΙΔΕ ΓΙΑ ΛΙΓΟ ΚΑΙ ΑΝΕΠΙΣΗΜΑΗ επίσκεψη Καραμανλή απογοήτευσε τη μειονότηταΤο σκληρό του πρόσωπο προς την ομογένεια δείχνει το αλβανικό κράτος τέσσερις μήνες μετά τα σφιχταγκαλιάσματα Καραμανλή - Μπερίσα στα Τίρανα. Ο κ. Κώστας Καραμανλής είχε επισκεφτεί τη γειτονική χώρα στα τέλη Απριλίου και είχε ανταλλάξει ευχές καλής γειτονίας με τον ομόλογό του κ. Σαλί Μπερίσα. Ο Καραμανλής είχε δηλώσει τότε ότι η ελληνική εθνική μειονότητα στην Αλβανία αποτελεί έναν ισχυρό δεσμό, ζωτικής σημασίας,μεταξύ των δύο χωρών.

Στοίδιο μήκος είχε κινηθεί και ο κ. Μπερίσα, ο οποίος είχε υποστηρίξει σε δηλώσεις μετά τη συνάντηση ότι η κυβέρνησή του εργάζεται για τη βελτίωση των συνθηκών διαβίωσής της μειονότητας, κάτι που όπως τόνισε χαρακτηριστικά θα συμβάλλει σημαντικά στην περαιτέρω σύσφιγξη των σχέσεων μεταξύ των δύο χωρών. Παρά τα μεγάλα λόγια, όμως, τέσσερις μήνες μετά η κυβέρνηση Μπερίσα κάνει στροφή 180 μοιρών και ανακοινώνει τις δύο αποφάσεις της αλλαγή ελληνικών τοπωνυμίων με αλβανικά και απαγόρευση της ίδρυσης ελληνικού εκπαιδευτηρίου από την Αρχιεπισκοπή που απαξιώνουν την ελληνική μειονότητα στην περιοχή.

Κατά την επίσκεψή του στην Αλβανία ο κ. Καραμανλής δέχτηκε μόνο ανεπίσημα εκπροσώπους της μειονότητας, και αυτό μόλις την τελευταία στιγμή στο ξενοδοχείο του.Σύμφωνα με πληροφορίες, η κίνησή του αυτή απογοήτευσε την πλειονότητα των ομογενών, οι οποίοι περίμεναν μια πιο θερμή επίσημη στήριξη. Πέραν τούτου, ο πρωθυπουργός δεν έκανε καμία αναφορά στα πραγματικά προβλήματα που αντιμετωπίζουν οι Ελληνες της Βορείου Ηπείρου, δεν έθεσε τα ζητήματα που απασχολούν τη μειονότητα στην κυβέρνηση Μπερίσα, ούτε άσκησε κανενός είδους πίεση έστω και προσχηματική για επίλυσή τους ως αντάλλαγμαστη στήριξη που αφειδώς παρέχει η Ελλάδα στην ενταξιακή πορεία της Αλβανίας. Αντίθετα, η κατάσταση που βιώνουν οι ομογενείς έχει παγιωθεί εδώ και χρόνια με... αρνητικό πρόσημο.

Kosovo-Serbia Territorial Exchange "Wrong Approach"

Pristina 08 August 2009
Northern Mitrovica. The idea of an exchange of territories between Kosovo and Serbia, circulating in the media, is wrong-headed, former envoy Albert Rohan believes.
Rohan, who served as the deputy special envoy for talks on Kosovo’s status, was unequivocal in his rejection of territorial exchanges in an interview with Kosovo's Daily Express on Thursday: “My answer is very clear - no [...] the exchange of territories is not a solution.”Rohan and then-chief negotiator Martti Ahtisaari led talks between Pristina and Belgrade on Kosovo’s political status, under the supervision of the six member states of the Contact Group.

The idea of exchanging north Mitrovica and the Presevo valley was put forward earlier this week by US Congressman Dana Rochrabacher. Justifiying his proposal, Rochrabacher argued that the exchange would allow the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. Northern Mitrovica in Kosovo has a large population of Kosovo Serbs, many of whom live in areas administrated by Serbian institutions. Ethnic Albanians predominate in the southern Serbian town of Presevo and some nearby villages. Ethnic tensions are often high in both areas.Referring to the territorial exchange proposal, Rohan said: “Neither privately nor officially was this idea present [in the status talks]. To me, this is completely new.

No one has ever thought about this. It’s a wrong idea,” he said. Rohan added that similar ideas were expounded after the Second World War and are dangerous. “I don’t know how the exchange of territories would begin, because immediately [...] you would have others asking for the same thing." Rohan said. Even though neither Brussels nor Washington have conditioned Serbia’s membership in the EU on a resolution of the dispute over Kosovo's status, according to Rohan, “no one in the EU wants to bring this conflict into the EU”. “I don't think it is possible for Serbia to join the EU without [Serbia reaching] some sort of accomodation on the existence of Kosovo as a country,” he said.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is expected to rule on a Serbian challenge to Kosovo's independence declaration next year. While purely advisory, it is believed that the ICJ opinion will have an impact on relations between Serbia and Kosovo.“One thing is for sure, Kosovo’s independence is irreversible and nothing can change this,” said Rohan.

ALBANIAN SECURITY NEWS

Wanted Albanian Criminal Kills Five in Shootout

Tirana 08 August 2009

Dritan Dajti, police mug shotOne of Albania’s most wanted criminals, Dritan Dajti, killed five people in a shootout on Friday, including four police officers.

At least two others were wounded in the exchange of fire in the Albanian resort town of Durres. The shooting started as police moved in to arrest Dajti. Dajti was shot three times before being taken into custody. He had escaped from a Tirana court room in 2003 while standing trial for the murder of a businessman.

He has been named as a suspect in a series of murders and kidnappings. Local media reported that, after police called on Dajti to surrender, having identified him at around 2 pm on Durres beach, he opened fire killing the four officers and at least one passerby.

It is alleged that the suspected murder was notified at the last moment that the police were about to arrest him, precipitating the gunbattle. The shootout caused panic in the area which is popular with tourists from Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia.

Albania - Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Clean-Up Project : progress report on the implementation of the management action plan in response to the inspection panel investigation report

PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE FOR THE JALE REQUESTERS AND THOSE
AFFECTED BY THE APRIL 2007 DEMOLITIONS

Part of Report...
5. The Bank is providing assistance for an independently observed case-by-case
review before the Albanian Judiciary of the Requesters' claims that they were harmed as
a result of the April 2007 demolitions and that they should be compensated as a result of
those demolitions. In addition, a Social and Vulnerability Assessment has begun, which
includes the development of criteria and procedures for assisting people who may lose
their primary residence or main source of livelihood due to demolition. The resulting
assistance package will be applied retroactively to poor and/or vulnerable affected by the
April 2007 demolitions. The following provides details on the progress of specific
actions:

Agreement with Government concerning the case-by-case Judicial Review

6. An Agreement confirming the Government of Albania's assent to an
independently monitored case-by-case judicial review was signed by the Minister of
Finance on April 16, 2009. The Agreement affirms the Government's consent to World
Bank payment of the Requesters' legal fees and the hiring of an Independent Observer
who will report on a confidential basis to Management. The Government also commits to
making good faith efforts to ensure that the process is expeditious, while respecting the
independence of the judiciary, and to comply with any judgment resulting from the
review.

Funding Legal Representation for the Requesters

7. Basic approach. Management has worked to put in place an appropriate
mechanism to assist the Requesters through funding their legal expenses. A guiding
principle has been that the Bank should not be engaged in the process of selecting,
contracting or briefing the lawyers, to avoid any perception of Bank involvement in the
lawsuits or in the attorney-client relationship. Hence, Bank support is in the form of
financing contracts between the Requesters and lawyers that they have selected
themselves.

8. Ongoing communication with Requesters. The World Bank Office in Tirana has
been in regular communication with the Requesters since the February 17, 2009 Board
meeting. Meetings were held on February 26 in Tirana to brief the Requesters on the
outcome of the Board meeting, and on March 11 in Vlore and April 14 in Jale to discuss
arrangements for Bank support through financing costs of the case-by-case review. In
addition, there has been frequent communication between individual Requesters and the

2These guidance materials are posted on the World Bank Safeguards Website....

(www.worldbank.org/safeguards)

http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187511&cid=3001&entityID=000350881_20090806130615

Albania refuses "foreign investigations"

7 August 2009 10:20 -> 17:04 Source: FoNet, Beta, Tanjug

TIRANA, BELGRADE -- Officials in Albania have told Council of Europe's Dick Marty that "there can be no organ trade probe based on accusations of Carla Del Ponte or Belgrade".The CoE rapporteur has been appointed to investigate allegations that first appeared in the former chief Hague prosecutor's book, and were later probed by the Serbian War Crimes Prosecution.

The prosecution believes that in 1999, hundreds of Kosovo Serb civilians were kidnapped in the province by the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and taken to northern Albania where their organs were removed before they were killed. "Only the Albanian prosecution has a right to carry out an investigation in the territory of Albania," Albanian Minister of Justice Enkeled Alibeaj told Marty, according to an RTV 21 report.

According to the same television, the rapporteur replied, "I refuse to believe that it is true, but I would like that issue investigated". The same source says that the Albanian minister then said that he refuses to answer the request from the Serbian Ministry of Justice, "because it is about untrue pretensions for which there is no proof". Alibeaj also told the Swiss CoE official that "no foreign citizen can conduct procedural investigative actions in the Albanian territory."

"An investigation can be launched only by the Albanian prosecution based on requests coming from other countries. In that case the prosecution undertakes all actions to clear up the issue." According to the television, a similar conversation took place when Marty met with Interior Minister Bujar Nisani and representatives of Albania's state prosecution. Alibeaj also said that Albanian institutions' official position related to the investigation was expressed in the Albanian state prosecution's replay to the Serbian request in October 2008. Meanwhile in Priština, the Kosovo Council for Protection of Human Rights has asked the Kosovo Albanian government in that town to file a lawsuit against Del Ponte.

The council says that the former chief Hague Tribunal prosecutor "launched lies" in her book "The Hunt", published last year, "in which KLA was accused of kidnapping Serbs and trading in their organs in Kosovo and northern Albania". "No surprise"Labor Minister Rasim Ljajić, who heads Serbia's National Council for Cooperation with the Hague, said on Friday that he is not surprised at the fact that the Albanian authorities have declined to cooperate with Council of Europe (CoE) rapporteur Dick Marty.

"Unfortunately, that is nothing new, I can say that the reaction was expected, because other international officials also met with a similar response. There was no cooperation at all from the Albanian side, from the Albanian judiciary or the Albanian authorities," Ljajić told reporters. "I can only imagine how the international community would have reacted if such a reaction had come from the Serbian side," Ljajić said.

Serbia is suffering much damage because it has not completed its cooperation with the Hague Tribunal, he said, and yet this is a matter of an investigation by an international organization that speaks in very precise terms about 400 bodies transferred from Kosovo and Metohija to the territory of Albania. "The international community is not reacting, nor is anyone from the Albanian side expressing readiness to take part in the investigation on that issue," Ljajić concluded.

ALBANIAN SECURITY NEWS

Berisha`s administrate is preparing genocide against Hellenic People of Himara Community

During the last his visit in Himara Region, Berisha calls to destruct abusive houses selected by his administrate in Ionian Coast. He inaugurated public works financed by World Bank, even the World Bank has stooped financing of the project of Menagment of Ionian Coastal, after the Berisha Government demolished a Greek village in Jala, Himara Region.

Those days, the officials of State Urban Inspection have monitoring as abusive building dozen of houses of himariotes who come back from emigration in their properties, selecting only houses of the Greek Community.

According to the Law of the Urbanisation 8405, article 45, (ratified by Albanian parliament and the President of the Republic of Albania) on 16, March 2009, enter 45 days every private subject has the rights to approve in "silence" by Local Authorities the request of proprietor.

The situation makes more complided when the Governmanet of Berisha has aproved to legalis about 260 thousand of buildings of albanians who have built on abusive lands particularly form north of Albania.

Making double standards undwr the national tourism strategy, selecting separated favoring Albanians than Greeks (who have their properties), the government has approved especially to use the Albanian national strategy against the Hellenic community who lives historicaly on Ionian Coast between Regions Lukovo and Himara the Law 9780 on 16/07/2007, creating The National Inspection Administrate, to use the last pressing against popullation.

The facts are facts, Kakomea, Jali, Dralea, Porto Palermo beaches and other resorts of Hellenic people must be property of "albanian state".

Organ Trafficking Claims Probed

One of Europe’s top human rights investigators is gathering evidence in Serbia and Albania on allegations of organ trafficking during the 1999 Kosovo conflict.

Dick Marty, rapporteur for the European Council, is leading an investigation into claims that members of the Kosovo Liberation Army were involved in organ trafficking. The allegations have been strenuously denied.

The Swiss senator is visiting Serbia from August 3 to 5 and will be in Albania from August 5 to 6, the European Council said in a statement. In both countries he will meet high government officials, prosecutors, and NGOs representing families of missing persons from the Kosovo conflict.

After the visits, Dick Marty will issue a report.
Claims of human organ trafficking in Kosovo were first revealed by former Hague tribunal prosecutor Carla Del Ponte in her book The Hunt: I and the war criminals.

In 2005, Marty led an investigation by the Council of Europe into the CIA’s alleged use of secret prisons in Europe, and use of “extraordinary renditions”, the illegal transfer of prisoners from one state to another.

www.balkansight.com

New proposal on "Greater Albania" space

Serbia: Ethnic Albanians Seek "Presevo Valley Region"

Belgrade 03 August 2009

Ethnic Albanian officials in southern Serbia have launched a new initiative for the formation of a separate region in the Presevo Valley with its own institutions and organs.
The proposal was raised in the assembly of the Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac municipalities and envisages the creation of an ethnic Albanian-led governance structure for the area.
The president of the local Presevo assembly, Skender Destani, told Balkan Insight that the assembly of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac municipalities passed the demand to the Serbian government and parliament and is awaiting an answer.

“I don’t think the initiative will be accepted in Belgrade, but it’s worth trying. We want to convince the other side [Serbian government] that the solution, which we opt for, is in both our interests,” Destani added.Riza Halimi, leader of the ethnic Albanian Party of Democratic Action, told Balkan Insight that the proposal confirms a 2006 declaration, which envisaged giving ethnic Albanians in the region the right to self-determination. He has described this weekend's initiative as the only solution for local Albanians to keep their national, cultural and religious identity.

“The newest document is a response to the irresponsible approach the Serbian government has taken to the demands and problems of the Albanians in the south,” Halimi said.
The declaration criticises the recent actions of Serbian special police, alleging these are a continuation of ongoing efforts to collectively criminalise Albanians. The document demands proportional representation in employment practices and representation in Serbian state structures and public institutions, especially within local and border police forces.

Additionally, the declaration insists that Kosovo university degrees, signed by the Republic of Kosovo, be recognised, where these were issued after Kosovo declared independence on February 17, 2008. According to the agency, the assembly also called for either the freeing of members of the Liberation Army of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac or their processing by an international legal mechanism, given that those arrested in December 2008 are accused of war crimes.In their declaration, the officials expressed support for speeding the existing process whereby ethnic Albanians are reintegrated politically into Serbia’s state institutions.

The proposal was adopted immediately after talks between local Albanian representatives and Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic, which focused on the means for maintaining political harmony and safety and stability in the region. “Talks have passed well and correctly and they will be continued. I want local citizens to have understanding and support for Serbian security forces in the south. Also, I want to bring our forces together against crime and corruption since it’s in everyone’s interest,” Dacic said.

The Law on Regional Development, which the Serbian parliament is expected to adopt by year's end, will divide Serbia into seven regions. According to the draft, the three southern municipalities (Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac), will combine to form the new "Southern" region.

The declaration com

es after two violent incidents in the area in early July: two people were injured in a bomb explosion in the town of Presevo and two members of the Serbian police were wounded in a grenade attack in the village of Lucani near Bujanovac. Considering these terrorist attacks, the Interior Ministry has launched a security operation targeting those suspected of involvement.

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/21448/

THE HELLENIC NEWS OF AMERICA

Identity crisis in Greek village in Albania

Albania is set to apply for EU membership, one Albanian mayor says his village should obtain special status as a Greek minority - and has been sentenced to six months in prison for further may be in Albania, it may look like Albania, but this village has something of an identity crisis.

The mayor in question, Vasil Bollano, was pushing for it to go Greek!

The village of Himara in Southern Albania was thrown into the spotlight two years ago, when the mayor ordered the removal of all non-Greek road signs. He said they should be in Greek and Albanian, not just in Albanian. The mayor himself has Greek origins, but like many others here, his family has lived in this area for generations.The removal of the signs caused chaos, because they were along a section of Albania?s coast that is popular with tourists.And soon afterwards, the mayor went one step further, and threatened secession from Albania.

The RT team tried to talk to him, but his offices were closed, and when they finally tracked him down, he refused to talk.Most people in this small sleepy village don?t feel either Greek or Albanian.Albanian vendor Lenin, unlike his namesake who has always been in the headlines, just sells them.

He was born in a nearby Albanian village, and can trace back his roots in the area for generations.“Greeks and Albanians are brothers. We go to each other?s houses, share our food, like one family. We have no problems here,” he says.Like Lenin, Alket Neraxi, a Greek hotel owner, also says his ancestors were among the first in town.The village of Himara in Southern Albania“My great-great grandmother spoke only Greek, my surname doesn?t exist in Albania. So, I think I?m from the Greek island of Corfu, but I don?t have any connection to Greece today,” said Neraxi.

But that is not what the mayor believed. He said enough Greeks live in the area for it to be given special status as a Greek minority – so much so, that's he threatened Albania's desire to be accepted by the West.“He sent a letter to the Greek parliament calling on it not to ratify the accession of Albania into NATO.

This is against our constitution, and carries a penalty of up to five years,” said Genci Terpo, an Albanian lawyer.Prosecutors have filed charges against Bollano for abuse of power, and his sentencing came as no surprise to anyone.Despite his threats, he is not being taken seriously on either side of the border. Local journalist Besar Likmeta says Tirana purposefully treated him with kid gloves.

“Probably their thinking was that he?s just making a fuss, and the story?s going to go away. And also, they are treading very carefully with their bigger neighbour to the south, Greece,” explains Besar Likmeta, editor at the Balkan Insight edition.In April, Albania filed for EU membership, and will want to keep Athens happy.But the mayor of Himara, it seems, was determined to exploit that situation to his own Greek advantage

Μόνο έτσι μπορεί να επιβιώσει ο Ελληνισμός της Β. Ηπείρου…

Του ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΥ ΖΙΟΥΛΗ

Photo: Womens of Northern Epirus protesting in Vlora City in 1997

Η εγκληματική αδιαφορία των στελεχών της Ομόνοιας και του ΚΕΑΔ για τα προβλήματα των Βορειοηπειρωτών, είχε ως αποτέλεσμα οι Βορειοηπειρώτες να γυρίσουν την πλάτη στην ΟΜΟΝΟΙΑ-ΚΕΑΔ. Η διαφθορά, οι ίντριγκες ανάμεσα στα στελέχη, ο εγκλωβισμός της ΟΜΟΝΟΙΑΣ-ΚΕΑΔ στην παρέα των 5-6 ατόμων, είχε ως αποτέλεσμα τα τραγικά αποτελέσματα στις πρόσφατες εκλογές.

Μία σοβαρή πτυχή της κατάντιας και της αναξιοπιστίας των στελεχών της Ομόνοιας –ΚΕΑΔ είναι η μη δημόσια παρέμβαση αυτών των στελεχών για το θέμα της δημογραφικής αλλοίωσης, η αδιαφορία για την αρπαγή των λιβαδιών, η αδιαφορία για τα καθημερινά προβλήματα του απλού κόσμου, η αλαζονεία που εκπέμπουν έναντι των Βορειοηπειρωτών αλλά ταυτόχρονα και η ευκολία να… προσκυνούν το αλβανικό κράτος για μια διευθυντική θέση.Όταν ιδρύθηκε η Ομόνοια αγκαλιάστηκε από όλους τους Βορειοηπειρώτες και έγινε το σύμβολο του αγώνα για ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα στην γη που μας γέννησε.

Στην συνέχεια, η αδιαφορία της Αθήνας, τα οικονομικά συμφέροντα, η αλαζονική συμπεριφορά των στελεχών της και η απομάκρυνση τίμιων στελεχών από την Ομόνοια-ΚΕΑΔ, οδήγησαν σε αυτήν την σημερινή θλιβερή εικόναΗ Ομόνοια και το ΚΕΑΔ δεν έχασαν επειδή κάποια ʽʼστελέχηʼʼ της προτίμησαν να μπουν σε ψηφοδέλτια αλβανικών κομμάτων. Η Ομόνοια και το ΚΕΑΔ απέτυχαν και έχασαν επειδή απομακρύνθηκαν εδώ και χρόνια από την βάση. Και η βάση είναι οι Έλληνες Βορειοηπειρώτες, οι ελληνόβλαχοι και γενικά οι χριστιανοί που ζουν σε Αγίους Σαράντα, Αργυρόκαστρο, Χιμάρα, Δέλβινο, Αυλώνα, Μουρσή, Τζάρα, Λούκοβο, Λουντζουριά, Κορυτσά, Πρεμετή και αλλού.

Δεν μπορεί η Ομόνοια και το ΚΕΑΔ να συνεχίζουν να λειτουργούν με αυτόν το τρόπο. Χρειάζεται σοβαρότητα και διάθεση αυτοκριτικής! Χρειάζεται εδώ και τώρα αναδιοργάνωση της Ομόνοιας και του ΚΕΑΔ. Χρειάζεται να ανοίξει πάλι τις πόρτες για να επιστρέψουν όλοι όσοι μπορούν και θέλουν να προσφέρουν μακριά από προσωπικές ατζέντες, συμφέροντα και εγωπάθειες, να λειτουργήσουν τα παραρτήματα ως εστίες στήριξης της Ομόνοιας-ΚΕΑΔ από τα χωριά του Βούρκου μέχρι την Κορυτσά και τα Τίρανα.

Ο Βασίλης Μπολάνος και ο Βαγγέλης Ντούλες έχουν υποχρέωση απέναντι στην ιστορία, απέναντι στις γενιές που έφυγαν και στις γενιές που θα έρθουν να σταθούν στο ύψος τους και να δουλέψουν για το καλό της ιδιαίτερής μας πατρίδας. Η λύση είναι να απεγκλωβιστούν από την παρέα των 5-6 ατόμων και να δουλέψουν για την επιβίωση του Βορειοηπειρωτικού Ελληνισμού

Ο κ. Αλέξανδρος Ζιούλης είναι Πρόεδρος της Ένωσης Βορειοηπειρωτών Κύπρου “Ο ΠΥΡΡΟΣʼʼ και του Ιδρύματος Μελετών και Αρωγής Βορειοηπειρωτικού Ελληνισμού, από τα ιδρυτικά στελέχη της «Ομόνοιας».

THE WALL STREET JURNAL

EU Speeds Iceland's Application

BRUSSELS -- The European Union ordered its officials to begin examining Iceland's application to join the bloc just days after it was filed, in a clear sign the island nation will get swift treatment.

The speed of the move was in marked contrast to how some other applications to join the bloc have been handled. The EU still hasn't got back to Albania, which applied four months ago. It took 10 years for Turkey to be declared "eligible" after it applied.
But Iceland is a different matter. .............

EU foreign ministers promised Monday in their statement on Iceland that they remain committed eventually to admitting the countries of the Balkans and that they will return to Albania's application once the country's election cycle is complete. On Monday, Albanian election officials said the party of incumbent Prime Minister Sali Berisha and a coalition partner had won just enough seats in June's election to form a government, following a recount.

The EU often touts the lure of enlargement as its most powerful foreign-policy tool. But the EU -- now 27 members -- has begun to suffer from "enlargement fatigue." As unemployment mounts, few EU governments are eager to tout enlargement's virtues while their own populations fear competition from cheap labor to the east.

The speed of the move was in marked contrast to how some other applications to join the bloc have been handled. The EU still hasn't got back to Albania, which applied four months ago. It took 10 years for Turkey to be declared "eligible" after it applied.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124873414863784813.html