Demolishing of illegal constructions



Demolishing of illegal constructions The new government led by Edi Rama will start this autumn the demolishing of illegal buildings. The operation considered as the start of the Albanian Revival, will start with the buildings that have been reported by citizens on the website that Rama has offered on the internet. The reports have reached to 350 so far.

Sources from the Socialist Party headquarters say for Top Channel that Edi Rama has established a working group that is preparing the plan. Seeing the support of the citizens through the reports, it has been decided that the operation will start with these buildings, in order to increase trust and cooperation. The creation of the Alliance with the Citizens against ruin is considered as the key to success in this battle.

Since most of the reports come from Vlore, followed by critics against Mayor Gjika, it remains to be seen if the operation will start in this coastal town.

The commitment to end the abuses with the illegal constructions has been considered by Rama as the first battle in fulfilling the promise to revive Albania.
Angazhimi per t'i dhene fund fenomenit te abuzimit me ndertimet pa leje ne vijen bregdetare te Jonit, eshte konsideruar prej Rames si beteja e pare ne permbushjen e zotimit per te rilindur Shqiperine.

BBC

Cougar 13 Royal Marines commando training in Albania
Continue reading the main story


Royal Marines Commandos training in Albania, August 2013
To acclimatise to the heat and conditions, the commandos have been crossing rivers, abseiling and carrying out mock attacks
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Hundreds of Plymouth-based Royal Marines have landed in Albania for a series of major exercises.

The commandos are part of the Royal Navy's Response Force Task Group operation, Cougar 13.

The marines have carried out river crossings, abseils and mock assaults while they wait for the task force to arrive in the Adriatic.

HMS Bulwark, HMS Illustrious and RFAs Mounts Bay and Lyme Bay will take part in the first exercise, Albanian Lion.

The marines will work with Albania's armed forces to put a group of commandos ashore in what the Royal Navy described as a "high-tempo scenario".

Sgt Chris Davies, 30, from 30 Commando Royal Marines, Plymouth, said: "This is the second time I have trained in Albania and the mixture of heat, altitude and mountainous terrain make it the ideal training environment for the Royal Marines.

"We are all raring to go."

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RS: 11 injured in explosion in restaurant

Source: Beta

BANJA LUKA -- 11 persons have been hurt when a device, most likely a hand grenade, exploded on the terrace of a restaurant in Donja Slabinja, RS.

None of the victims suffered life-threatening injuries. They received medical treatment in hospitals in the towns of Dubica, Gradiška and Prijedor.
The man who activated the device was identified as D.V., and has been placed under arrest by the police of the Serb entity (RS) in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The police said the suspect was "previously known for his violent behavior and disturbing of public order and peace."

How Turkey Went From 'Zero Problems' to Zero Friends

And lost its leverage everywhere.

BY PIOTR ZALEWSKI | AUGUST 22, 2013

Not so long ago, Turkey seemed to have found the elusive formula for foreign policy success. Its newly-adopted philosophy, "zero problems with neighbors," won praise both at home and abroad as Ankara reengaged with the Middle East following a half century of estrangement. It expanded business and trade links with Arab states, as well as Iran, lifted visa restrictions with neighboring countries, and even helped mediate some of the region's toughest disputes, brokering talks between Syria and Israel, Fatah and Hamas, and Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Just a few years later, in the wake of the Arab Spring and its aftermath, that once-reliable formula is starting to look like alchemy. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has now burned his bridges with the military regime in Egypt, squabbled with Gulf monarchies for refusing to stand by deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy, and started a war of words with Israel for having a hand in the coup that removed Morsy from power.
For a fleeting moment, Egypt was the centerpiece of Turkey's foreign policy in the Arab world. When Erdogan visited Cairo in September 2011, after the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak, he arrived to a hero's welcome, feted not only as the first major world leader to call on him to step down but as a regional power broker. That has now all changed: Turkey and Egypt pulled their ambassadors from each country amidst the dispute, and Erdogan publicly slammed the new government in Cairo. "Either Bashar [al-Assad] or [Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi], there is no difference between them," he said last week. "I am saying that state terrorism is currently underway in Egypt." 
This week, Erdogan dragged Israel into the dispute, saying that Israel was "behind" the coup in Cairo. The evidence for this perfidy, his office would later confirm, was a 2011 video of former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy discussing the Arab Spring.
Former Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman shot back at Erdogan on Wednesday, saying that "everyone who hears [Erdogan's] hateful words and incitement understands beyond a doubt that he follows in the footsteps of Goebbels." Not to be outdone, an Egyptian government spokesman slammed Erdogan as a "Western agent."
Such disputes have left Turkey watchers wondering if Erdogan's bombastic approach is undermining his effectiveness. "Turkey did the right thing" by deploring the Egyptian coup, a former high-ranking Turkish diplomat told me, but found itself "on the wrong side of the international community."
Ankara should have thrown its weight around well before the Muslim Brotherhood was ousted from power, the diplomat added. "Turkey put too much emphasis on the success story of democracy in Egypt and did not see properly the wrong things that were being done by the Morsy regime."
The truth of the matter is that it was always only a matter of time before Turkey's heralded "zero problems" policy foundered. Having zero problems meant keeping your nose out of other countries' domestic affairs, and even cozying up to regional strongmen. That was possible so long as the regional status quo held: Turkey kept mum on post-election violence in Iran in 2009, for instance, and nurtured an alliance with Syria's Assad before the bloody revolt in that country. And in Libya, Erdogan had been only too happy to ignore Muammar al-Qaddafi's dismal human rights record, if that was the price to pay for Turkish businessmen to ink construction deals with his regime.
By blowing the regional status quo into oblivion, the Arab Spring forced Turkey out of this policy of non-interference. Ankara has struggled with the notion that it could not bend the region to its will: In Libya, before it ended up helping unseat Qaddafi, Turkey argued that the West had no business intervening against him. In Syria, it has broken completely with Assad, embroiling itself in a conflict that shows no sign of ending. And in Egypt, of course, it is setting itself on a collision course with the most populous state in the Arab world.
The extent to which Turkey has since ditched its softly-softly approach to the region has been surprising. One of the commandments of "zero problems" was what Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu referred to as "equidistance" -- that is, the refusal to take sides in regional disputes. This was always something of a myth, particularly when it came to the Israeli-Palestine dispute, where the government seldom missed a chance to bolster its regional and Islamic credentials by slighting the Israelis. But in the wake of the Arab Spring, equidistance appears to have gone into the gutter.
It's not only in Egypt where Turkey is now seen as a partisan actor, rather than a neutral problem-solver. In Iraq, it has openly defied Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government, accusing it of fomenting sectarian strife and going behind its back to negotiate oil deals with the Kurdish Regional Government, which administers the country's north. In Syria, it has lent unqualified support to the anti-regime rebels, letting them operate freely on its soil, turning a blind eye to their atrocities, and reportedly criticizing the United States for branding the al Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra a terrorist group.
The former Turkish diplomat said that Ankara was right to support the demise of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, but deplored the ham-fisted way that it went about it. "Turkey was right to side with the people against the dictator, but it could have stopped there," he said. "By burning all bridges with the regime, Turkey lost its leverage with Assad." And when the international community, wary as the rebels' ranks swelled with jihadists, shied away from lending further support, "Turkey, to use a football term, found itself offside."
Erdogan is struggling with a new array of foreign policy challenges in other parts of the world, too. Turkey's image in the West took a beating this summer with the protests in Gezi Park. Erdogan's decision to put down the demonstrations with riot police, tear gas and water cannons undermined his relationship with the European Union: In late June, in the midst of the post-Gezi crackdown, Brussels decided to postpone a new round of accession talks with Ankara until October. Erdogan himself, meanwhile, has come under scathing criticism in the American press.
Turkey has done virtually nothing to undo the damage. Instead, officials have accused Western countries of orchestrating the protests and various "dark forces" -- including what Erdogan cryptically calls the international "interest rate lobby" -- of bankrolling them. The prime minister's new top advisor, Yigit Bulut, has no qualms about calling the European Union "a loser headed for a wholesale collapse" while Egemen Bagis, the very minister responsible for the accession talks, quipped, "If we have to, we could tell them, 'Get lost'."
While Turkey's foreign policy struggles in the Middle East may have been inevitable, its isolation elsewhere seems self-inflicted. Today, the country risks returning to the mindset of the 1990s, when tensions abounded with Arab and European countries, conspiracy theories poisoned the political debate, and Turks  -- convinced they were a country under siege -- repeated faithfully, "The Turk has no friend but the Turk." Erdogan, it seems, has taken his country from "zero problems" to international headaches as far as the eye can see.

Tensions over petition for "Natural Albania" in Balkans

Source: Tanjug, Večernje novosti

PODGORICA -- A petition for the establishment of a “Natural Albania," has created tensions in the political public sphere in Montenegro.

(Tanjug, file)

The petition was launched by the Director of the Tirana-based Institute for Regional Forecast, historian Koco Danaj.
Tensions have mounted after Vaselj Sinistaj, leader of the Citizens Initiative, a party to the Montenegrin government, said he would sign the petition.

According to Podgorica-based daily Dan, Sinistaj may face 15 years in prison for making the statement. Sinistaj said that he would be happy to answer a summons by the prosecution, if it deems there is a reason for that.

Sinistaj explained that his statement that he would sign Danaj’s petition does not mean he supports any redrawing of borders.

Sinistaj believes that two ethnic Albanian MPs, Fatmir Djeka and Genci Nimanbegu, who said that they would not sign the controversial petition, “think differently in their hearts.”

The ‘Natural Albania’ project, launched by Danaj in 2010, calls for establishing the borders as prescribed in a declaration of a century ago, adopted at the Assembly of Vlora on November 28, 1912.

The declaration projected an Albania which was to include four Ottoman vilayets with an all-Albanian population and substantial ethnic Albanian population within the borders spanning from Preševo in Serbia to Preveza in Greece and from Durres in Albania to Skopje, Macedonia.

The petition for the forming of a “Natural Albania” has reportedly been signed by about forty government and opposition officials in the region.

Mirko Stanić, spokesperson for the Social Democratic Party (SDP), a minor members in the Montenegrin ruling coalition, said on Wednesday that projects of “large” and “natural” states in the Balkans have never brought anything good to anybody.

Stanic said that Danaj is a marginal politician “desiring of media attention," and also claims that Danaj’s idea has the support of only 0.6 percent of the people in Albania.

The daily Večernje Novosti writes that the movement was political in the past, and had the goal of bringing all the territories where Albanians live - or have supposedly lived in the past - into a single entity.

The self-proclaimed independence of Kosovo is one phase of this, according to the authors of the project. The project flourished during the Secon

The unknown "X" of Albania in the Balkans and the Mediterranean!


Alexander Turks
Episodes against the Greek national minority and the Orthodox Church of Albania, although limited compared to other seasons, recall the unpredictability of relationships Athens - Tirana and-always-existent risk of destabilization in the Balkans.

Fluctuations of bilateral contacts in the last 25 to 26 years are rarely discovered between European countries: In August 1987 the then Minister of Foreign Affairs and current President of the Republic Kar. Papoulias lifted the embattled regime as incentive (no response) to improve the living conditions of the Northern, while in December 1989 the then head of Greek diplomacy and current Prime Minister Ant. Samaras predicted (causing political storms) the fall of the Stalinist regime and the abolition of the live wire on the border. 's rich help of 1991-1993 the government Mitsotaki to the then president (and now outgoing Prime Minister) Sali Berisha "rewarded" with violence and litigation against executives of Concord in September 1994. The Greece stood financial and military supporter of Albania at the discretion of "investment pyramid" of March 1997 and March 1999 adopted a pragmatic attitude on the eve and in the aftermath of the war in Kosovo. And the support of the Greek Presidency of the EU in 2003 benefited Tirana for several years, and facilitating the negotiations, as in April 2009, the agreement delimiting the maritime areas of the Ionian Sea. As we know, the deal ultimately was not ratified because of 'technical problems' which discovered the Constitutional Court of Albania. The 2009 agreement is important because (among other things) based on the principles of "midline" engraved and full influences of the islands during the delimitation of maritime zones, as that would be very useful to repeat the Aegean and throughout the SE Mediterranean. Moreover, the importance of the agreement is self-evident, given that the crises in Libya and Egypt postpone similar Greek consulted, while Lebanon against the EEZ Israel - Cyprus. 's unfinished Athens - Tirana enough (owned and minority education , support the Church, etc.), but the more pressing issue is the validity of the 2009 agreement. Although the Balkans conspiracy theories are common, this volume is reasonable to arouse suspicion and concern, because, first, the episodes occur in the transition period from the delivery Berisha the winner of the elections of 23 June Edi Rama, who will take the prime minister's office in about 15 days. And because, secondly, Greek and foreign diplomatic sources confirm the suggestive statements by Mr Rama for the review of the agreement, we will certainly become more difficult tension. The government has a national obligation to support minority and the Church, but requires maximum attention. Careless movements would be the occasion for new obstacles to agreement of maritime zones and cause concern among potential investors, as exemplified by the pipeline TAP. Source: " Democracy "

Albanian Church burned in USA



Albanian Church burned in America Boston firefighters fought against the flames that broke up in the Albanian Orthodox Church in the Southern area of the city. The smoke could be seen miles away.

Firefighters were obliged to leave the building since the ceiling risked to crumble, which happened a few minutes later, together with some internal walls.

Firefighter officials said that the source of the fire might be the altar and the candles. The authorities are working for finding the source.

Some of the firefighters have received light wounds, but there are no reports of injured civillians. The alarm rang five times and the last one was for reinforcement, but the heat helped the fire continue.

Church representatives exclude the chances that fire might have started from the candles. They say that the candles were far from the altar after the Sunday mass, when 150 people were present.

The building had been used for congregations since 1930, but the structure exists before that date.

Question by MEP Koumoutsakos to the European Commission for Premeti case





Written priority question to the European Commission for the violence, vandalism and acts of sacrilege in the holy church of the Virgin Mary in the town Premeti in Albania, filed late yesterday afternoon to the European Commission, MEP  Mr. G. Koumoutsakos.

Specifically, the Greek MEP since it refers to the unfortunate and unacceptable these episodes, asks the European Commission to answer the following:
If you have requested to be informed not only by the Albanian Government, but also by the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania for these events.
If condemns such actions.

What he thinks about the situation regarding the respect for human and religious rights in Albania, which wants to join the EU
if the Commission will include these events in this configuration an annual report on the progress of Albania perspective is integrated into the EU




The full text of the question.

"Violence, vandalism and acts of sacrilege occurred the Friday, August 16, at the Church of the Virgin Mary in the city Premeti Albania, just one day after extremely important for Xristianosyni Orthodox feast of the Virgin Mary. Specifically, male private security company acting on behalf of the Albanian state forcibly removed the clergy and faithful of the Orthodox parish Premetis and prevent entry of pilgrims to the temple to be the "seal." Besides, committed vandalism and acts of sacrilege, and removed holy icons, sacred vessels seized from the church and the shattered bell.
Emphasized that today Monday, August 19, there was a new intensity in the same area between Albanian police, clergy and faithful Christians, followed by violent stoning against the Greek Consular Authority of the city of Gjirokastra.

The above actions have been denounced and condemned by the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania, grossly violate the fundamental European principle and acquis of respect for religious freedom and unhindered exercise of religion, and the principle of respect for sacred places. Noted that the Conference of European Churches has repeatedly stressed the need for absolute respect for all holy places. Also, special mention must be made to the recent agreement between the government and religious communities in Albania for a return to those of all religious institutions.

That said, can the Commission:
Condemns these actions?
What is your opinion regarding the respect for human rights in Albania, who wants to join the EU?
Will the Commission include the above events in the present configuration annual report on Albania's progress in perspective is integrated in the EU? "
Is aware of these facts? Request information from both the Albanian government and the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania?

Koco Danaj launched petition for “Natural Albania”, warns of Third Balkans War

Novosti

The founder of the “Natural Albania” movement, director of the Institute of the regional prognosis from Tirana, Koço Danaj, in the new swing of promoting an old project, has launched a petition to achieve his goal for “the prevention of the Third Balkans War”, in which, he claims, members of the parliaments of Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia have already put their signatures, writes M. Stancic for Serbian daily Novosti.

Photo from: www.abcnews.al

The leadership of the ruling Albanian Democratic Union of Integration (DUI) of Ali Ahmeti and the opposition Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) of Menduh Thaçi, in Macedonia, were not willing to comment on his claims.
However, denials have not been issued either, and according to estimations by some Albanian analysts in Skopje, it is certain that the project “Natural Albania” has “natural support” from the neighborhood, so surely from Macedonia.
The petition has been signed by Albanians in Western Europe, and in his media appearances, Danaj explains that with this “they want to put pressure on the international community in order to achieve for all Albanians to live in the same state”.
Danaj said for Skopje daily “Dnevnik” that many people will be surprised by the results of support, which will be published on November 28th, the day of the Albanian flag. At the press conference in Munich, he said that by that time more than million signatures by Albanians in diaspora will be collected. The petition will, as he announced, among other things, be given to governments of Germany, United Kingdom and Austria.
He specified that about 40 MPs have put their signatures on the petition, MPs of Montenegrin, Kosovo, Albanian and Macedonian parliament. In the project he started in 2010 Danaj affirms borders predicted by a century old act, at the Assembly of Vlora, on November 28 1912. He opposes the expression “Greater Albania”, saying that “our opponents used it to intimidate Europe, USA, neighbors,” because this Greater Albania would “set the Balkans on fire”.

Eight phases to his goal

The achievement of the goal “Natural Albania”, according to Koço Danaj, should be implemented through eight phases. The beginning is set with merging Albania and Kosovo and “taking over” territories of western Macedonia, part of Greek territory along the border with Albania, the “Presevo Valley” in southern Serbia and part of Montenegro.
In the case of “interferences” in the project, Danaj estimated on several occasions that “if the Third Balkan War start”, the focus would be on the northern part of Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Albania officials blame Greeks for Permet row

One day after the Greek government lodged a demarche over the expulsion of Orthodox clergy and removal of religious items from the Church of the Virgin Mary in Permet, a town in southern Albania, the government in Tirana on Tuesday held the Greek Orthodox community responsible for the tension.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday Albania’s outgoing Prime Minister Sali Berisha condemned Greece’s official complaint as “unacceptable and unreasonable interference in Albania’s internal affairs.”
It was the clergymen and churchgoers that “broke the police cordon, removed the protective barriers and entered the building,” Albania’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday which also called for “restraint.”
Responding to allegations that unknown assailants threw stones at the Greek Consulate in Gjirokaster, the ministry said that police investigators only found one stone, “which could have been kicked up by the wheel of a passing vehicle.”
Meanwhile, reports Tuesday said that Permet municipal officials and private security staff retook control of the church, which local authorities claim has been legally declared a cultural center. Officials reportedly cleared the building of religious items and blocked the entrance.

Exclusive: Turkish NGO Recruiting Muslim Albanians for War in Syria




TEHRAN (FNA)- Turkish charity organization, IHH, has recruited hundreds of Muslim Albanians and sent them to Syria after military trainings in Turkey to take part in the armed struggle against the Damascus government, informed sources said.
"The IHH, which operates under the cover of relief and charity activities and acts in full coordination with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and extremist Saudi Wahhabi groups, has so far recruited and transferred a number of 769 Albanians to Syria to join the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA)," an informed source who asked to remain anonymous for fear of his life, told FNA on Wednesday.

The source, who has defected the program after two weeks of war in Syria, added that those recruited by the IHH "have been transfered to Turkey via Tirana and undergone military trainings by retired US officers stationed in Reyhanli military base in the Southern Turkish province of Hatay".

"The last one of these recruited groups comprised 90 Albanian nationals who were flown to Istanbul from Tirana on Turkish Air flight no. 1078 on June 30, 2013," he continued.

Asked about the cause of his defection, the source said, "Despite IHH’s efforts to recruit the said people for the FSA, around 450 of these Muslim Albanians have defected the FSA after a few weeks of war and joined al-Qaeda-linked groups, specially the al-Nusra Front" as al-Qaeda groups enjoy better supplies, backup and organization and lead the war of insurgency in Syria.

The source said he returned to Albania after he had seen the war crimes committed by the terrorist groups against civilians in Syria.

He said he did not meet his family after returning to Albania as he was deeply fearful of the reaction of the Turkish intelligence officers and their mercenaries in Albania, adding that his family joined him only after escaping Tirana.

In June, tens of retired US Army officers accompanied by a military cargo infiltrated into Syria through Turkey's Hatay province.

“An American C-130 plane carrying a cargo of hi-tech telecommunications equipment and devices and 57 retired US officers landed in Turkey’s Hatay province this morning,” an informed source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told FNA on June 23.

“The US officers crossed the border with Syria via Reyhanli (in Hatay province) and their goal is to take charge of the central command of all military activities of armed rebels in Syria,” added the source.

He mentioned that the military cargo, containing the telecommunications equipment, left Reyhanli for the border crossing after the US officers arrived at their destination in Northern Syria.

Also in June, a report said that the US spy agency was gearing up to send weapons to insurgent groups in Syria through secret bases in Turkey and Jordan.

“The bases are expected to begin conveying shipments of weapons and ammunition within weeks,” the US daily, The Washington Post, reported in June, quoting unnamed American officials as saying.

The IHH was established in Istanbul in 1991 by advocates of Turkey's Welfare Party founded by former Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan. It played a positive role in supporting Bosnian Muslims during the Bosnia War (1992-1995).

Throughout the coming years, IHH distanced itself from Turkey's Welfare and Felicity Parties. After the outbreak of unrests in Syria in March 2011 it actively took part in helping the Syrian opposition groups.

IHH was supposed to provide humanitarian relief in case of outbreak of war, earthquake, hunger or conflict. Current president of the IHH is Fehmi Bulent Yildirim, but his deputy Osman Atalay is practically in charge of IHH's affairs.

Atalay acts in full coordination with Davutoglu, Salafis and Wahhabis, and is engaged in humanitarian relief operations on the surface.

According to the Foundation of Islamic Brotherhood, there is corroborative evidence that IHH (under the cover of humanitarian aid) is providing the terrorists in Syria with heavy weaponry, including anti-aircraft missiles and Turkish newspapers and western officials in Syria have mentioned this help to the Syrian rebels.

In October, IHH sent heavy weaponry to Syrian rebels under the guise of humanitarian relief aid.

“We have relationships today in Syria that we didn’t have six months ago,” US President Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser Benjamin J. Rhodes said during a White House briefing.

US officials announced in June that Obama had authorized sending weapons to the militants in Syria 'for the first time.'

In mid-June 2012, American newspaper USA Today quoted Christopher Harmer, an analyst with the Institute for the Study of War, as saying that the US is vetting to use Turkey's Incirlik Air Base, which is technically a NATO air base, as a hub for supplying militants in Syria with weapons.

Reports had also earlier revealed that Turkish Air has been transiting Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants from North Waziristan in Pakistan to the Turkish borders with Syria.
"The Turkish intelligence agency sent 93 Al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorists from Waziristan to Hatay province near the border with Syria on a Turkish Air Airbus flight No. 709 on September 10, 2012 and via the Karachi-Istanbul flight route," the source told FNA in September, adding that the flight had a short stop in Istanbul.

The 93 terrorists transited to the Turkish border with Syria included Al-Qaeda militants from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan and a group of Arabs residing in Waziristan, he added.

FNA dispatches from Pakistan said new al-Qaeda members were trained in North Waziristan until a few days ago and then sent to Syria, but now they are transferring their command center to the borders between Turkey and Syria as a first step to be followed by a last move directly into the restive parts of Syria on the other side of the border.

The al-Qaeda, backed by Turkey, the US and its regional Arab allies, had set up a new camp in Northern Waziristan in Pakistan to train Salafi and Jihadi terrorists and dispatched them to Syria via Turkish borders.

"A new Al-Qaeda has been created in the region through the financial and logistical backup of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and a number of western states, specially the US," a source told FNA in September.

Ali Mahdian told FNA that the US and the British governments have been playing with the al-Qaeda through their Arab proxy regimes in the region in a bid to materialize their goals, specially in Syria.

He said the Saudi and Qatari regimes serve as interlocutors to facilitate the CIA and MI6 plans in Syria through instigating terrorist operations by Salafi and Arab Jihadi groups, adding that the terrorists do not know that they actually exercise the US plans.

"Turkey has also been misusing extremist Salafis and Al-Qaeda terrorists to intensify the crisis in Syria and it has recently augmented its efforts in this regard by helping the new Al-Qaeda branch set up a camp in Northern Waziristan in Pakistan to train Al-Qaeda and Taliban members as well as Turkish Salafis and Arab Jihadis who are later sent to Syria for terrorist operations," said the source.

He said the camp in Waziristan is not just a training center, but a command center for terrorist operations against Syria.

Yet, the source said the US and Britain are looking at the new Al-Qaeda force as an instrument to attain their goals and do not intend to support them to ascend to power, "because if Salafi elements in Syria ascend to power, they will create many problems for the US, the Western states and Turkey in future".

"Thus, the US, Britain and Turkey are looking at the Al-Qaeda as a tactical instrument," he said, and warned of the regional and global repercussions of the US and Turkish aid to the Al-Qaeda and Salafi groups.

"Unfortunately, these group of countries have just focused on the short-term benefits that the Salafis and the Al-Qaeda can provide for them and ignore the perils of this support in the long run," he said.

Permeti issue: Athens protest note to Albanian Ambassador 

You are threatening bilateral relations



 The Greek government reacts to conflict in Përmet again, between the Municipality and the Orthodox Church.

This time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sparked of the neighboring country even more the situation, calling emergency Albanian ambassador in Athens, Dashnor Dervishi, presented to the latter a protest note, TCH reports.

In a press statement, the ministry condemned the act of violence against a Greek citizen and a minority group, in Përmet occurred, as well as the stoning the Greek consulates in town.

According to the headquarters of the Greek diplomacy, these two acts of unprecedented violence threaten bilateral relations.

Hence, the statement said, Athens seeks immediate arrest of the authors and the Albanian government calls take immediate measures to normalize the situation in Permeti area.

The Golden Dawn strong declaration to Tirana

 Away hands from Greeks of Northern Epirus

Golden Dawn: Athens must deportation all illegal Albanians immigrants from Greece!



Away hands the Greeks of Northern Epirus" is the bew the statement in which it said of the People's Association-Golden Dawn in the wake of attacks on the Greek Orthodox Premetis and the desecration of the church of Albanian paramilitaries by " a private security company".

"The state of mafia terrify the Greeks and desecrating churches in occupied Premeti of Northern Epirus. The greek government must monitors crimes of all Albanians, the murderous attacks and the violation of international treaties. The Golden Dawn needs to take immediate measures against the Albanian provocations. To guard dynamically Hellas rights of our brothers in Northern Epirus. Be expelled from our country all Albanian illegal immigrants. " and the declaration of Golden Dawn in Greece.

Luxury prostitutes in Tirana



Luxury prostitutes in Tirana “Educated women who can also have a profession and use this as a second profession. Luxury prostitutes come from a category of educated women who have a given experience in her activity and instructions from the pimps for how to behave, taking the details of the social position of the client”, declared Elton Shima, anti-traffic specialist.

This phrase of the Tirana Police describes the women that in French are called “Pute de Luxe” and in English “High-Priced Call Girls”. Albania did not escape from this phenomenon neither, for some women who although have a given social position, continue with this profession for extra money, expensive gifts and other material profits.

Luxury prostitutes are there for a closed circle of clients, such as with businessmen or foreign visitors of different ranks and professions.

“The most spread case is that of bar and hotel managers, who help the contact with these prostitutes to secure more revenues in their legal activity”, Shima declared.

Referring to the cases in Tirana, this is how a prostitute can be offered.

“The tutor initially acts as the middle man and makes the offer to the client. The prices according to the investigations vary from 50 to 250 EUR, and even 400. We are talking for women that can be considered luxury prostitutes but that offer the same service as others”, Shima declared.

Is Albania Europe’s new marijuana capital?

Lazarat is a city notorious for cannabis crops worth billions. It's seemingly off limits to the police
BY BESAR LIKMETA



Lush strip of green: Nine-tenths of villagers are believed to take part in marijuana cultivation. (Credit: Besar Likmeta/GlobalPost)
This article originally appeared on GlobalPost.
Global Post GJIROKASTRA, Albania — The last time police tried to enter the mountainside village of Lazarat near this historic southern city last summer, they prompted a ferocious firefight a local police commissioner describes as “very much like a real war.”

Speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of being ostracized, he said he was part of a special forces operation during which sniper units occupied high ground as SWAT teams moved in to arrest a handful of people working in fields surrounding the village.

They were no ordinary fields: Lazarat is known as Albania’s drug capital, notorious for its cannabis and lawlessness.

The annual crop earns almost $6 billion, according to the Italian financial police.

Although local police dispute that figure, they admit that marijuana production is booming.

Last year’s raid didn’t last long. When officers began cutting down cannabis plants, 15 SUVs mounted with heavy machine guns materialized and started firing.

“We were drawing indiscriminate fire from 20 positions, including heavy machine guns and anti-tank missiles,” the commissioner said. “I saw a 70-year-old grandmother shooting at us with a heavy machine gun. I thought I was going to die.”

Worried about civilian casualties, the police withdrew as snipers disabled the SUVs with explosive bullets.

They haven’t been back. The commissioner said that drugs traffickers have taken advantage of a political power vacuum during the formation of a government following national elections in June to invest large funds in the fields this year.

Law enforcement agencies have taken few preventive measures, enabling Lazarat’s illegal trade to flourish. Any moves against the village now could prompt a “bloody war,” he added.

Instead, the police spend the better part of the summer stopping water trucks from entering the village and arresting migrant laborers headed there. They seize any cannabis shipments they notice coming out.

Last year, the haul amounted to nearly 15 tons of marijuana, while another ten tons were seized at various borders.

Cannabis is usually planted in May and harvested in September. Up to 90 percent of village residents — 7,000 in all — are believed to take part in the business.

Albanian Riviera on the brink of collapse



Top Channel TV

Riviera on the brink of collapse The Albanian Riviera, considered as the pearl of our country, has turned into a real construction site recently.

Legal and illegal buildings have spurred around by damaging the coastline image.

Top Channel has monitored the Vlore coastline up to Qeparo, to the border between Vloren and Saranda, and what we saw was unfinished buildings of several stories high, mountains eaten out for the construction materials, and workers coming from every side of Albania.

The Mayor of Himara, Gjergj Goro, says that his municipality has been identifying several illegal buildings during the years.

“We have been identifying illegal buildings, but Himara, different from every other municipality, has its own development plan and every construction that does not fulfill the criteria will be demolished. I warn everyone to not try and invest in constructions that will be razed down, as the Prime Minister designate has declared”, Goro added.

When asked if some legal buildings are in inappropriate places, Goro confirmed that they need to be demolished and create a plan for revitalizing these areas.

“The long political transition and the lack of a development plan has made everyone build according to their own view. There have been inappropriate permits and I think that by developing a plan, we may replace these inappropriate buildings and develop the area properly, so that citizens can see what was ugly and what is beautiful and functional. The law must change and make it a closed cycle, where no one dares to build without a permit”, Goro declared.

The situation in Vlore is different, and the constructions have continued on the hills. The Municipality of this city has stared an action to demolish some of them, and the Mayor says that this operation will continue in the upcoming days. According to Gjika, the electoral promises for legalizing the buildings have created a chaos.

“We have a legal handicap, because the electoral campaigns make people believe that they can build everything they want and it will be legalized. Every constriction is against the development plan and are based on abusive and strange legalization procedures. The idea, desire and determination of Mr.Rama, Prime Minister designate, to have a coastline free of illegal constructions, in order to start a perspective for developing the city of Vlore, should be followed by legal mechanisms that will make room for our interventions and for having a better idea of the development perspective”, Gjika declared.

As for the legal constructions that fall against a future plan, Gjika says that these permits have been given according to the laws in power, but he stated that he was ready to demolish them if the new government creates a plan for the coastline.

Vlora, Dhermi, Jala, livadhi, Himara and Qeparo are considered as magical beaches in Albania that attract each year thousands of local and foreign tourists, who are also obliged to hear the noise of construction machineries that go on relentlessly.

Although the local administrations have been aware for the situation, if not responsible, they feel powerless to intervene, something that the new government has decided to do. The autumn in which Edi Rama has prmised to start this operation comes very soon, and so soon will the next summer come, to see if this new Prime Minister will keep his promise.

TOP CHANNEL TV

Culture center used as church demolished



Culture center used as church demolished The execution of the court decision for passing a premise that was being used as church to the Municipality administration, and turn it into a cultural center for the city, has involved the Permet priests in a conflict with the bailiffs who had been tasked to execute the decision.

The Permet citizens share different thoughts, since some of them are in favor of the church, while others say that it used to be a cultural center.



The clerks of the Gjirokaster Saint Metropolity protested through a declaration, saying that the devotees were violated and not allowed to enter the church.

The clerks say that they will continue the efforts to win the property rights for using the church and punishing the ones who have given an unfair decision.

Police operation continues in Gjirokaster
 

The Gjirokaster Police continued this Wednesday morning with their operation to block the water and the employees that are used for the marijuana parcels in Lazarat, one of the most problematic areas in our country.

After 5:00 am, the police blocked the entrances to the village and did not allow the water trucks to enter. One day ago, five trucks full of fertilizers were stopped, together with 58 people who were traveling to Lazarat, and who were taken to the Gjirokaster Police for verifications.

The operation came after the report made by the Italian Guardia di Finanza, which supplied aerial images of the parcels scattered around the place. Meanwhile, shots are heard from inside the village, and one unaddressed bullet has hit one passerby in Gjirokaster.

British Navy first operation in Drymades beach, Himara Region


"Albanian Lion 2013", major operation begins, by the British Navy, 6000 Troops in Southern Albania, Porto Palermo, Orikum, Kucovo and Rinas air base .

The early hours of the morning, the British frigate HSM, has started in Drymades beach, Himara Municipality the military operation with the name of the operation code named "Albanian Lion 2013".

The operation will continue throughout the length of the Ionian coast, in which involved 6,000 British troops of Task Force Navy, which will be installed in, Porto Palermo of Himara, in Oricum basis of Vlora Bay and Rina, Kucovo air base.

Belgrade Urges Kosovo Serbs to Vote, Serbs to Decide soon

Source: Tanjug

After a three-hour meeting with representatives of Kosovo Serbs, reporters were told that the government will stand by its people in Kosovo.

Tanjug

BELGRADE - Serbia's top officials on Wednesday tried to impress upon Kosovo Serbs that voting in the status-neutral local election is the best way to fight for Serbian citizens and national interests in the southern province, while Serb representatives said they would make the decision in the next few days.
After a three-hour meeting with representatives of Kosovo Serbs, advisor to the Serbian president Marko Djuric told reporters that the government will stand by its people in Kosovo whatever they decide concerning the coming election.

"We sent the message that the formation of status-neutral municipalities, that is municipalities established on the principles of status neutrality based on the agreement, should be the way we as a state and a nation will fight for our interests," said Djuric.

The steps taken in the coming days will determine whether this will be an opportunity seized and a victory, he said.

Djuric said the discussion covered all issued related to the life of Serbs in Kosovo and a variety of opinions were expressed.

"We are trying to preserve unity. Regardless of the decisions they make and the position on the election they assume, the Serbian government will stand by its people in Kosovo," said Djuric.

Chairman of the Serbian National Council Milan Ivanovic did not come out with a final position on Wednesday, but said the decision will be made in the coming days.

He did not want to say whether the Serbs are closer to boycotting or participating in the election set for November 3, but stressed that a united stance is the goal.

"We heard clear positions from the state leadership and decided to come out with our own definitive position shortly," said Ivanovic.

A meeting with Serbs from southern Kosovo is also necessary, as is a consensus of Serb representatives, the Serb people in Kosovo and the government, it was stressed in the meeting.

"We now have some time to inform our parties, institutions, organizations and municipalities, and then we will present a final position, which we will relay to the Belgrade government at our next meeting," said Ivanovic.

He stressed that international law must be respected, as well as the only valid international document backed by the UN Security Council - Resolution 1244, with which all potential solutions must comply.

Serbia's top officials on Wednesday tried to impress upon Kosovo Serbs that voting in the status-neutral local election is the best way to fight for Serbian citizens and national interests in the southern province, while Serb representatives said they would make the decision in the next few days.

After a three-hour meeting with representatives of Kosovo Serbs, advisor to the Serbian president Marko Djuric told reporters that the government will stand by its people in Kosovo whatever they decide concerning the coming election.

"We sent the message that the formation of status-neutral municipalities, that is municipalities established on the principles of status neutrality based on the agreement, should be the way we as a state and a nation will fight for our interests," said Djuric.

The steps taken in the coming days will determine whether this will be an opportunity seized and a victory, he said.

Djuric said the discussion covered all issued related to the life of Serbs in Kosovo and a variety of opinions were expressed.

"We are trying to preserve unity. Regardless of the decisions they make and the position on the election they assume, the Serbian government will stand by its people in Kosovo," said Djuric.

Chairman of the Serbian National Council Milan Ivanovic did not come out with a final position on Wednesday, but said the decision will be made in the coming days.

He did not want to say whether the Serbs are closer to boycotting or participating in the election set for November 3, but stressed that a united stance is the goal.

"We heard clear positions from the state leadership and decided to come out with our own definitive position shortly," said Ivanovic.

A meeting with Serbs from southern Kosovo is also necessary, as is a consensus of Serb representatives, the Serb people in Kosovo and the government, it was stressed in the meeting.

"We now have some time to inform our parties, institutions, organizations and municipalities, and then we will present a final position, which we will relay to the Belgrade government at our next meeting," said Ivanovic.

He stressed that international law must be respected, as well as the only valid international document backed by the UN Security Council - Resolution 1244, with which all potential solutions must comply.

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic called on Kosovo-Metohija Serbs to adopt the decision on voting in the November 3 elections as soon as possible and said that Belgrade will not back the boycott of the polls, Tanjug learnt.

Nikolic called on Kosovo Serbs to adopt the decision as soon as possible and noted that time is passing, and “everything we do not do today will only be something we can dream of tomorrow”.

During the talks with the delegation of Kosovo-Metohija Serbs, the president reiterated that Serbia will never leave their side and added that Serbs in the province are aware of the current situation, and it is important for them that there be no dilemmas whatsoever concerning status neutrality.

Serb representatives underscored that at this moment, the unity of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija needs to be preserved at any cost.

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Prime Minister Ivica Dacic launched the meeting with the delegation of Kosovo Serbs in the Presidency building some time around 11.300 and according to announcements, the talks will cover the current situation in the province, primarily the preparations for local elections.

The delegation of Serbs from northern Kosovo-Metohija includes Head of the Kosovska Mitrovica District Radenko Nedeljkovic, representatives of the four northern Kosovo municipalities and President of the Serbia National Council Milan Ivanovic.

The meeting is also attended by Director for the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija, Deputy Director Krstimir Pantic and Serbian president's advisor Marko Djuric.