Albania Opposition to Deploy ‘Army of Supporters’ for Poll

A lawmaker from the Socialist Party has told Balkan Insight that an organised group of activists, backed by former ministry of interior officers, will be deployed during the May 8 poll to prevent fraud by rival political gangs.

Aristir Lumezi

Tirana

Socialist activists in yellow armbands carry out crowd control during a rally on January 28 in Tirana | Photo by : Besar Likmeta

“A number of election observers, young people that can handle any physical or verbal threat, will be deployed to guarantee the electoral process in every polling station,” a Socialist MP told Balkan Insight on condition of anonymity.

Another official from the Socialist Party said that, similar to the 2007 local elections, the party has created “a structure made of former officers of the ministry of interior, now relieved of duty, to support and protect the Socialist commissioners during the polls.”

“In the past elections this structure intervened on two or three occasions when Socialist poll commissioners were threatened,” the source specified.

Election commissioners in Albania are stationed at all of the country's polling stations on voting day, and are tasked with checking identity cards, receiving ballots, and observing the voting process. Commissioners are chosen by the country's main political parties.

The May elections are seen as a key test of Albania’s democratic credentials following a violent anti-government rally on January 21 that left four protestors dead and has since been the source of a heated dispute between the opposition and the ruling party.

Apart from the groups of observers, the Socialists so far have indentified Albanian migrants living abroad for every polling station, in order to prevent their vote from appearing fraudulently on ballots.

“Through a network of supporters that have gone door-to-door, we have prepared a database of the migrants that live abroad and will be present in Albania on election day,” the Socialist MP said.

The Socialists believe that the database will act as a “barricade to block the fictional voting,” of migrants during the May 8 elections.

Socialist leaders have often accused the ruling majority of Prime Minister Sali Berisha of using fraudulent votes of Albanian migrants living abroad to tip the electoral balance in the contested June 2009 parliamentary elections.

According to Socialist officials, they have also been more careful in selecting their election commissioners for the polling stations, after some of them were allegedly compromised through bribes in 2009.

“In every polling station in Tirana, the Socialists will have a trusted commissioner appointed by opposition leader Edi Rama, one commissioner appointed by the local borough head and another by Socialist structures,” the MP confirmed.

Tirana is considered a key battleground on May 8. The Socialist leader Rama will face off against former minister of interior Lulzim Basha for the mayor's seat.

“The moral integrity, faithfulness to the Socialist leader and a complete knowledge of election procedures, will be the guarantees that the Socialists will have in their election commissioners,” the MP added.

Strong Greek Presence at Royal Wedding

The Greek presence at the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton was quite strong. Former King Constantine and his wife Anna Maria arrived early at the Westminster Abbey escorted by Paul, his wife Marie-Chantal and their son Constantine.

The fairy-tail wedding was also attended by Marianna Latsis and her two older children, Paris Kasidokostas and Erietta Kourkoulou. Also in attendance were ship-owner Spyros Niarchos and his children Eugenie and Stavros and by the president of the Athens organizing committee for the Olympic Games Gianna Aggelopoulou and her husband Theodoros.

It was also attended by Greek businessman Peter Georgiopoulous. Two Greek TV channels are in London to cover the royal wedding live.

Papoulias to Inaugurate Nebojsa Tower in Belgrade

Greece’s President Karolos Papoulias and Serbian President Boris Tadic will jointly inaugurate the landmark Nebojsa Tower in Belgrade on Friday. The recently renovated tower was the prison in which Greek independence struggle hero Rigas Velestinlis (also known as Ferraios) was put to death by Ottoman Turkish authorities in 1798.
Following the inauguration ceremony, Papoulias will be shown around all four levels of the new museum and then have a private meeting with his Serb counterpart, after which there will be a dinner in honour of the Greek delegation.
Papoulias will be accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister Spyros Kouvelis. His itinerary during his stay in Belgrade will include a visit to the Serbian Patriarch.
The renovation of Nebojsa Tower was funded by Greece and the municipality of Belgrade and carried out over two years, at a cost of 1.8 million euros. The Greek state, via the Greek Foreign Ministry international developmental aid service ‘Hellenic Aid’ has paid 1.38 million euros toward the project.
The tower will serve as a museum exhibit site featuring exhibits related to the life and work of Rigas Feraios and also to the Serbs’ own struggle for independence from Ottoman rule. The second story of the four-story tower will be devoted to Feraios and the Greek revolution.
Other exhibits will focus the tower’s use as a prison at the end of the 18th and the start of the 19th centuries.
Nejbosa Tower is a medieval structure built by Hungarians on the ruins of an older Roman tower dating from the 1st century A.D. It was destroyed and rebuilt several times in its history. Rigas Feraios was imprisoned there for roughly seven months before he was put to death by Turks, becoming one of the first martyrs of Greece’s struggle for independence.

OSCE/ODIHR publishes the second election report

OSCE/ODIHR published the second report on the pre-election process in Albania, expressing its critics towards the tensioned electoral climate.
“Despite the appeals for calm, the political environment remains tense. The campaign tensions reflected in some violent incidents”, the report says.

According to the official report, another significant problem that remains is the pressure made towards the public administration, teachers and students.

The report recognizes that the Central Election Commission has progressed and has made some regulation approvals, and that most of the Zonal Election Commissions are working with efficacy.

Berisha government starts new mammoth road project

Foreign debt destined to expand due to the 400 mln USD project

Tirana, 29 April 2011 (AENEWS) – The Prime Minister of Albania Sali Berisha attended the ground breaking ceremony today for another mammoth project that intends to build a four lane highway between Tirana with Elbasan, some 40 km south.

The project is expected to cost 400 million USD, approximately 3.5 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product and the government started works after securing 220 million USD loan from the Islamic Bank for Development. Other loans are being negotiated currently with Abu Dhabi fund with the aim of providing 100 million USD financing facility, Saudi Arabia Fund and Opec Fund for 15-25 million USD each.

The Islamic Development Bank approved the financing in March and the final agreement was signed in April. The Ministry of Finance of Albania announced that the financial facility provided by IDB will include approximately 5 per cent interest rate per year. Currently the sovereign bonds of Albania are priced at about 7.5 per cent.

The new road is 31 km long and the project includes two tunnels with total length of 4.4 km. Greek company Actor had won the tender to build the tunnels.

The Ministry of Finance canceled its plans to reduce the country’s public debt from 59 to 53 per cent till 2013 as result of this project. The current target is to keep the public debt lower than 60 per cent in the next few years.

Albania completed its major ever construction project in 2010, a 60 km highway to connect the country with Kosovo. The whole project cost exceeded 1 billion euro.

Deadly explosion at ammunitions depot in Albania

29/04/2011

TIRANA, Albania -- One person died and three were injured after an explosion at the Pigas ammunition dismantling depot in Skrapar, southern Albania on Thursday (April 28th). The injured are being treated at the military hospital in Tirana. The defence ministry has ordered dismantling efforts all over the country halted following the incident, as investigators determine the circumstances. Only a day earlier, there was a similar incident at a depot in Polican, where a 34-year-old worker was injured. Dismantling old ammunition proved tragic three years ago at the Gerdec depot outside Tirana. An explosion killed 26, injured scores more and caused massive property damage.

Do the Balkans want a War?

Tags: Balkans, Hague Tribunal , World, Commentary, Politics

Igor Siletsky

Apr 26, 2011 16:02 Moscow Time

Ante Gotovina. Photo: EPA

The Balkans are on the verge of a new war, Western political observers and analysts have been saying. They believe that a precedent for the worsening of the situation was given to the countries of the Former Yugoslavia by the international community, when it sentenced Croatian General Ante Gotovina. For their part, Russian political analysts who see no prerequisites for a new conflict, say that a new outbreak of tensions is beneficial for the West.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY or The Hague Tribunal) delivered a verdict for three Croatian generals on April 15th. All of them were accused of committing crimes against the Serbs during Operation Storm 1995. According to the court ruling, Ante Gotovina was sentenced to 24 years in prison, Mladen Markac – to 18 years, and the third defendant Ivan Cermac – was acquitted.

So why has the verdict triggered such stormy emotions not only among the Croats but also in the Western countries. The point is that throughout the history of the existence of The Hague Tribunal the key defendant for the UN court, who was often referred to as “Doctor Evil” was Yugoslavia’s last president Milosevic and of course, his supporters and Serbia itself. There even appeared people in some countries in Europe and in the USA who started saying that the justice of The Hague was one-sided. This postulate needed no proofs for either Russia or the other countries, which were not involved in the “anti-Yugoslav coalition”. However, judging by the facts, those in The Hague have decided to improve their image and to put into life the principle that was declared by the tribunal itself, that is, that “all sides are to blame for the atrocities and that no nation was more responsible than the other”. As a result, the Croatian generals, who were accused of ousting 100,000 peaceful civilians and of murdering hundreds of Serbs, were jailed. As it might seem, justice was obtained. And the fact that the Croats have got angry is simply an expected “side effect”.

However, what followed was that the angry “progressive public”- meaning the leading Western media - has undertaken to conduct an investigation of its own. “The Washington Times”, “The Wall Street Journal”, Newsweek, and “The Jerusalem Post”, after studying Storm Operation 1995, came to the conclusion that Ante Gotovina had committed no crimes at all. Moreover, the general is a real Croatian patriot and hero, and that his campaign had not only restored Croatia’s territorial integrity but had also destroyed the dream of the deceased Serb ruler Slobodan Milosevic about “Greater Serbia”. Besides, the Western editions said that by its irresponsible verdicts The Hague Tribunal is stirring up a new war.

The first thought that comes to mind after reading all these “journalist investigations” is that the West wants to preserve the status quo in the Balkans, which suits it. In this system Belgrade acts as a “guilty child”, who is still under punishment. And all the other parts of the Former Yugoslavia act as sufferers, whose sufferings are linked on the violent “senior” and who receive small presents and bonuses in consolation. Thus, Kosovo has obtained independence, and Croatia is only one step away from the accession into the European Union (EU). By the way, the Croats themselves are not looking forward to this.

However, there’re other reasons as well. Should The Hague Tribunal start conducting an unbiased investigation, many influential persons will be surely hurt. And not only in the Balkans. Suffice it to mention here the information concerning the current Kosovo authorities that was made public by the former ICTY chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte - that Pristina was involved in the trafficking of human organs. And that not only the Croats also killed the Serbs and not only vice versa. That is why it is necessary to continue studying the latest Balkan crisis, the Head of the Centre For the Study of the Modern Balkan Crisis under the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Yelena Guskova says:

"The new data about the human organ trafficking and about the atrocities, committed by the Croats , offer proof that it is necessary to study the Balkan crisis and that it is necessary to be objective while doing this. Of course, there’re many conflicts in the world. But if we start analyzing how all the other countries developed in the 90s and what occurred to the Balkans and to the post-Balkan space, we’ll undoubtedly arrive at the conclusion that the Serbs, the Croats and the Muslims have already suffered too much. They have no potential to take up arms again. Thus, to say that a new war will break out in the Balkans soon is no good."

Thus, instead of intimidating the Balkan nations by saying that a new war will break out, it is necessary to afford the UN court an opportunity to go on with its investigations. And the Croats, the Serbs, the Albanians, and the Bosnians will decide themselves how they should coexist together. One thing is certain though: they not start fighting because they had enough of it.

April 14, 2011

The Himarra Community of America” throw our support to Vasilios Bollanos for Mayor of Himarra

“THE HIMARA COMMUNITY OF AMERICA”


Dear friends,

As you all know, the elections for mayor of Himarra will take place on May 8, 2011. This year, as in the past is a very important election for the people of Himarra. Our community continues to face extraordinary difficulties and challenges, from infringement of our citizens’ rights to self determination, to economic underdevelopment, to property rights issues, to pressure from outside forces on our area. We need a candidate for mayor who will put the interests of our people first and will work towards finding solutions for our issues, with the goal of shaping a brighter future for our people and our area.

We ‘The Himarra Community of America” throw our support to Vasilios Bollanos for Mayor of Himarra. He has demonstrated his commitment to our values and our issues through his ceaseless efforts on our peoples’ behalf. We believe he is the right candidate at this important juncture who defends our rights, our beliefs and is the right candidate who can truly carry us into the future.
We ask our brothers and sisters, our relatives and friends and our “PATRIOTES” to vote for Vasilios Bollanos on May 8 for Mayor of Himara.

Sincerely
“The Himara Community of America”

Albanian government allows sllavo Macedonian tables

Two weeks before local elections of 8th May, the municipality of Pustec is filed with signs with names of streets and squares in Macedonian language. Municipalities that once had the name Liqenas has included also the municipal officials of Gazi Baba of Macedonia, while campaigning for the official candidate of the governing coalition led by the DP, Edmond Temelko, who holds the post of president of the Alliance Party of Macedonians for European Integration.

In Skopje, the Macedonian media have promoted such a project, adding that it was a donation to the municipality of Gazi Baba, Skopje.

The daily Gazeta Shqiptare discovers that road signs are in two languages​​, Albanian and Macedonian Slavic, two are in Latin and one in Cyrillic alphabet. Institutions and road signs in the Slav-Macedonian language in 9 villages of the commune, named Pustec, in the Prefecture of Korca was settled on April 14th where present was also the Mayor of Gazi Baba, Toni Trajkovski, Teodor Petrov, President of the World Macedonian Congress and Tashko Ivanov, chairman of the Association of Aegean Macedonians.

Italy Honors Haris Alexiou with “Golden Lily” Award

The name of Haris Alexiou will now join those of Lech Walesa, Jack Lang, Claudia Cardinale and Roberto Benini, as she is going to be honored with the “Golden Lily” award on the 9^th of May. Italy will honor the Greek singer for her music, her contribution to European culture and for her special relationship with Italian music, honoring both her and Greece. Italians call Haris Alexiou “the greatest Greek singer” and the invitation for the award was given to her by the President of the Institute, Alfonso de Virgiliis. Haris Alexiou will be awarded in a special event in Florence, at the historic theatre Teatro della Pergola, which has been there for four centuries. The title of the award is “Una vita per la musica ̶ Giglio d’oro”. It is should be mentioned that Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, is also going to be awarded, making the award even more important.

Pacolli of Kosovo, does not like the post of deputy Prime Minister

Behgjet Pacolli

Behgjet Pacolli has repented why he admitted two weeks ago the post of deputy prime minister. According to Kosovo media, which quoted sources close to Pacolli, the statement to abandon this post, Pacolli will submit to Prime Minister Thaci, on Tuesday.

According to media, "Pacolli wants to start preparations to run for president of Kosovo in the upcoming elections. He sees himself not for the post of deputy prime minister, " said the source close to Pacolli.

Behgjet Pacolli was appointed deputy prime minister a few days after being dropped from the ruling coalition′s candidate for president.

Countryman calls for fair elections

Thomas Countryman, Deputy Secretary of State has called on the Albanian political forces to commit to fair elections. He says that all parties must respect the constitution in order to realize fair elections, also Countryman has urged the Albanian citizens to request this from their representatives.

He also noted that on both sides are expected to develop a non-violent campaign, to hold peaceful elections on May 8th and resolve any disputes over the elections through a constitutional process.

SMANALYSIS

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Happy Easter

Kalo Pasxa & Kali Anastasi !!

Albania names new interior minister amid campaign incidents

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Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha has named Bujar Nishani as the new Interior Minister to replace Lulzim Basha, who is running for mayor of the national capital Tirana, the government said on Wednesday.

Nishani, who served as Justice Minister after Berisha's ruling Democratic Party won a second mandate in the 2009 elections contested by the opposition, comes to the Interior Ministry after having run it during the Democrats' previous four-year term. Nishani's appointment came after the police commander of a special riot police unit did not obey the orders of a deputy interior minister performing the duties of the minister.

Deputy Interior Minister Avenir Peka accused special forces commander Shemsi Prenci of slander after Prenci accused Peka of breaking the law by ordering him to intervene against opposition Socialist supporters in a suburb of Tirana. Both have lodged complaints with prosecutors, who are looking into the case.

By law, state police is independent and only the general police director can order the actions of police. Similar incidents across the Balkan nation ahead of the local government elections on May 8, which the European Union expects to be free and fair, could have obliged Berisha to name Nishani to oversee the work of security forces.

Along with Tourism Minister Ferdinand Xhaferraj, Basha resigned his government job two weeks ago to challenge the opposition Socialist Party leader Edi Rama, the current mayor of Tirana who is running for a fourth term. Xhaferraj is running for mayor of his native port town of Durres, one of Albania's biggest cities which has been run by the opposition Socialist Party over the last decade.

Campaign Pressure on Albania Police Under Scrutiny

As prosecutors probe a row between the ministry of interior and police over an alleged order to subdue opposition protesters, an expert warns that political pressure on the force during campaigns undermines their work.

Aristir Lumezi

Tirana

Riot police units during an opposition protest on Jan. 21, 2011 |Photo by : Besar Likmeta

Tirana prosecutors will question Albania’s Special Forces Commander Shemsi Prenci and Deputy Minister of Interior Avenir Peka, after accusations of political pressure surfaced following a campaign incident.

Prenci filed charges in Tirana prosecutor’s office against Peka last week, accusing him of trying to send his units against opposition protestors, after clashes with a rival political gang on April 10.

The general director of police is the only authority that can order the deployment of special police units.

Premci told reporters that Peka had “threatened and insulted him” after he refused the order that he believed was illegal.

“I won’t obey the illegal orders of deputy minister Peka,” Prenci said.

Peka has declined to comment on the accusations and filed a counter-suit against the police commander, accusing him of slander.

The row is one of the most serious incidents of the campaign for the May 8 local elections, which has been characterised by a tense political climate and several violent clashes between government and opposition supporters.

Although Albania’s police forces were widely used in past electoral campaigns to advance political interests, they have received flying marks for professionalism in the last three polls in the country.

Adriatik Ago, a security expert and former head of police in the region of Shkodra, says that political interference damages police work on many levels, and if Peka’s alleged order proves true, it would certainly be considered a serious incident.

“The time when politicians interfered [in police work] through a phone call disregarding of the chain of command has past,” said Ago.

“This is a sign that politicians are still trying to interfere more than they should in the police forces, undermining their work,” Ago added.

Muslim Community of Albania, commemorated the Prophet Muhammad

Muslim Community of Albania, today celebrated the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (sa) with an event at the Palace of Congresses. The meeting was also attended by Prime Minister Sali Berisha, who said that today we honor one of the biggest and brightest dates in the history of mankind, Birthday of Prophet Muhammad, Prophet of light, freedom and equality. "

In his speech, Berisha also mentioned the opening of the University Beder. Berisha guaranteed to all religious leaders of Albania, the government will do everything to support their mission to ​​rebuild great spiritual values in the Albanian nation.

Based on the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, Berisha urged everyone to work together with dedication to make an equitable society.

Albanian media, "concerned" about the militarization of Greece in Balkan

Greece, billions to be armed

Top Channel TV

Greece is one of the five largest customers in the world in terms of the purchase of military weapons in the period 2005 -2009. The International Research Institute for Peace in Stockholm, in a report published military budget of all countries in the World Day against Expenditure for the purchase of weapons.

According to the report, the amounts spent on armaments from Athens in the last 30 years make up 1 / 3 of Greek colossal debt, in other words about 100 billion euros, ranking it in fifth place, behind China, India, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.

Specifically mentioning the fact that Greece continues to spend on armaments a higher percentage of GDP from each EU member country, despite last year has reduced military spending due to economic crisis.

The report notes that the amounts on armaments have been a growing tendency in the past 15 years, when Greece has increased purchases mainly from Germany and France.

http://www.top-channel.tv/artikull.php?id=209120&ref=fp

Lajcak: political dialogue, democratic elections are conditions for Albania

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The EU is asking Albania to re-establish political dialogue and hold free and democratic local elections on May 8th as a condition for integration.

This position was reiterated on Thursday (April 14th) by Miroslav Lajcak, EU managing director for Europe and Central Asia, during his report to the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee. He called on the EP to continue supporting dialogue in Albania. "We have to continue with our pressure and they have to know that we are … observing the elections," Lajcak said.

During the session, there was a heated exchange between Romanian EP member Victor Bostinaru and Albanian Parliament Speaker Jozefina Topalli. Bostinaru delivered an open letter to the public, describing the offence he took at a comment Topalli made to the Albanian parliament in February. Media reported that Topalli accused the opposition of having bribed European officials, including Bostinaru, to work against the visa liberalisation process for Albanians.

On Thursday Bostinaru denied that and said he considers himself a friend of Albanians who wants to help countries that aspire to join the EU. He slammed Albanian politicians who try to discredit everyone who notes their mistakes.

BALKANS, DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY MISSILE SYSTEM

The first Greek cruise missile is a reality and ready for action!

For 3 years the Greek General Army stuff and a number of Greek Companies and Industries,design and construct the first Greek stand-off cruise missile!In the first tests,the High performance of this stand-off cruise missile impressed everyone!

The name of this,HSC-1 Macedon(Hellenic Stand-off Cruise-1)

It will use BSK's turbojet VRJ-1400A which produces 440lbs of thrust. The missile will have a range of 300km's and a speed of 1200km/hr. The guidance is GPS/INS with technology from Miltech.

HSC-1 Macedon(Hellenic Stand-off Cruise-1):

Albanian Commandos in Afghanistan, two months without pay

TIRANE-Albanian Special Forces peacekeeping contingent "Eagle-1", which ended military mission in Afghanistan still have not received salaries even though they have since returned from Kandahar on 8 February.

The news was officially confirmed yesterday for "Gazeta Shqiptare" by chief of General Staff of Armed Forces, Maksim Malaj. "It is true that effective that just came back from the mission in Afghanistan has not been paid yet. But do let me know that payment procedures are ready and everything has remained hostage to the Treasury Branch "- confirmed General Malaj.

Asked by "Gazeta Shqiptare" be completed when these payments, he explained that "it's a matter of weeks", without giving thus a concrete date. Peacekeeping contingent "Eagle-1", consisted of 44 officers, NCOs and professional soldiers, effective Special Battalion of Land Forces, who for the first engaged in ground combat operations alongside U.S. forces.

Each of them, according to DCM benefits specifically a monthly salary of 360 thousand lek. The contingent departed from Albania on 29 July 2010 and returned home on February 8. So, the mission of these effectives was 6-months. With a simple arithmetic government owes each of 44 special forces who have returned from Afghanistan, a total of 2,160,000 million leks.