Both
Kosovo Albanians and Kosovo Serbs are reportedly concerned about
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama's planned visit to the upcoming economy
and security summit in Belgrade.
Some
of Albania's leaders are reportedly alarmed over Albanian Prime
Minister Edi Rama's decision to speak on behalf of Kosovo. Meanwhile,
some Kosovo Albanians and Kosovo
Serbs have reacted angrily to Rama's intention to attend the
forthcoming Belgrade summit on the economy and security, scheduled
for October.
The Albanian delegation of industrialists headed by Rama is due
to take part in the summit, which is slated to be held in Belgrade
between October 12 and October 14.
High on the agenda will be bolstering economic cooperation
between Tirana and Belgrade as well as discussing Albanian-Serbian
relations in the region. The gathering is expected to be attended by a
delegation from Kosovo, due to be headed by the Deputy Minister of the
Local Self-Government of Kosovo, Bajram Gecaj.
Serbian Progressive Party supporters hold Serbian flag during a pre-election rally in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, April 21, 2016
In an interview with Sputnik, Pristina-based
political analyst Berat Buzhala said that it is unclear how "the people
of Kosovo will react to such a move by Edi Rama," and that he is very
much concerned about the fact that Edi Rama moves to speak in Belgrade
on behalf of Kosovo."
He added that he wants the Kosovo authorities to continue
negotiations with Belgrade, and that the venue of the talks should not
be moved to Tirana.
"I think that Tirana must not represent Kosovo
anywhere in the world. Issues under discussion are not the problems
of relations between Albania and
Serbia. These are the problem of Kosovo and Serbia. And I would very
much like their early resolution, but without Edi Rama," Buzhala said.
He described Kosovo as a full-fledged state, saying that only
Kosovo's own leaders are authorized to negotiate with Belgrade and
resolve internal problems.
In the meantime, Kosovar Serbs see Rama's participation in the
upcoming economic summit in Belgrade as a sign that Serbia is signaling
its readiness to recognize Kosovoa as an independent state.
Momcilo Trajkovic, chairman of the Serbian Resistance Movement
from Kosovo and Metohija, told Sputnik that he is not surprised
about the latest events on the matter.
"The Kosovo authorities are gradually begin to open checkpoints in Central Serbia,
and they are looking for a way to justify it. All this may slowly
but surely lead to the recognition of Kosovo's independence
by Belgrade," he said.
Prime
Minister of Serbia and Albania Aleksandar Vucic and his Albanian
counterpart agreed during last month's Conference of the Western Balkans
with EU countries leaders to hold the congress, which will be attended
by Serbian and Kosovar politicians and businessmen.
According to them, the gathering should see the sides clinching a
deal strengthening bilateral cooperation and improving relations
between Serbia and Albania.
During the visit of the Albanian Prime Minister to Serbia, the sides
are also expected to negotiate direct flights of the air carrier Air
Serbia in the direction of Belgrade-Pristina. Rama, for his part,
recently touted the Serbian-Albanian ties as "good", but added that the
main problem between Belgrade and Tirana is related to their divisions
on Kosovo's status.
The leaders of "Vetevendosje" take Albanian citizenship, a list decreed by President Nishani
Senior officials of Vetevendosje Movement have received Albanian citizenship.
President of the Republic of Albania of Albania, Bujar Nishani has decided to grant citizenship president of this movement, Visar Ymer and former leader Albin Kurti.
In the list are also MP of Vetevendosje, Aida Dërguti, and leader of the Parliamentary group Glaus Konjufca. In the list are also Liburn Molliqaj and Dardan Aliu .
With this act, Albin Kurti, can create a political movement similar to "Vetevendosje" in Albania, launched by the Parliament of Albania, the unification of Albania with Kosovo.
According to the geo-strategic analysts, such a move sponsored by USA, can bring a plain B in the Balkans, change of borders and the creation of ethnic states.
Former CIA official Stephen Cohen, in an opinion some time ago, has analyzed changes of borders in the Balkans, could create new divisions in the Balkans, based on the creation of ethnic states.
Between Albania and Kosovo, Movement "Vetevendosje" led by Albin Kurti, has been described as a political mechanism which will convene a referendum on unification of Albania with Kosovo, while giving Albanian citizenship by Albanian President Nishani, marks the first officially step of this
process.
The leaders of "Vetevendosje" take Albanian citizenship, a list decreed by President Nishani
Senior officials of Vetevendosje Movement have received Albanian citizenship.
President of the Republic of Albania of Albania, Bujar Nishani has decided to grant citizenship president of this movement, Visar Ymer and former leader Albin Kurti.
In the list are also MP of Vetevendosje, Aida Dërguti, and leader of the Parliamentary group Glaus Konjufca. In the list are also Liburn Molliqaj and Dardan Aliu .
With this act, Albin Kurti, can create a political movement similar to "Vetevendosje" in Albania, launched by the Parliament of Albania, the unification of Albania with Kosovo.
According to the geo-strategic analysts, such a move sponsored by USA, can bring a plain B in the Balkans, change of borders and the creation of ethnic states.
Former CIA official Stephen Cohen, in an opinion some time ago, has analyzed changes of borders in the Balkans, could create new divisions in the Balkans, based on the creation of ethnic states.
Between Albania and Kosovo, Movement "Vetevendosje" led by Albin Kurti, has been described as a political mechanism which will convene a referendum on unification of Albania with Kosovo, while giving Albanian citizenship by Albanian President Nishani, marks the first officially step of this
process.
The
former New York City Mayor argues that the severity of Hillary’s
condition remains unknown to the public because the media has been
aiding her throughout the campaign.
Former
New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who served the city on the day that
9/11 struck and formerly was Hillary’s chief rival in her bid for the US
Senate, struck once again about Clinton’s rumored health issues which
have become a major talking point after video footage where it appears
the former Secretary of State suffered a footage in front of a cadre
of reporters – the incident went unmentioned by the media until it
appeared later on YouTube.
"All you’ve got to do is go online," Giuliani commented on Fox News. "Go online and put down 'Hillary Clinton illness' and take a look at the videos for yourself."
Giuliani said that despite the former Secretary of State’s
purportedly waning physical condition, which her rival Donald Trump
frequently alludes to by questioning her "stamina" to fulfill the duties
of the office of US President, he believes that she has a built
in political advantage that has masked the severity of her condition.
"She doesn’t need to campaign," the former New York City mayor
opined. "She has the New York Times, she has the [New York] Daily News,
she has ABC, she has CBS, she has NBC. She has an entire media empire
that constantly demonizes Donald Trump and fails to point out that she
hasn’t had a press conference in 300 days – 200 days, 100 days, I don’t
know how long – and fails to point out several signs of illness by her."
Giuliani’s thoughts about Hillary’s physical health has been derided
by the media as a "conspiracy theory" or a "hoax" despite growing
concern emanating from visuals of the former Secretary of State falling,
the infamous seizure video and other visual signs that she may be
suffering from a condition.
Clinton did resign from her post as Secretary of State somewhat
spontaneously after suffering complications following a concussion. It
has been widely rumored that Hillary Clinton may have suffered mild
brain damage, either as a result of the immediate injury, or due to a
mild secondary stroke.
Trump’s national spokeswoman, Katrina Pierson claims that the
Democratic nominee exhibits symptoms of dysphasia, a neurological
condition caused by a brain injury resulting in partial or complete
impairment of the ability to communicate using speech. The basis
for this out of the blue diagnosis by an individual with questionable,
if any, knowledge of medical conditions remains uncertain as Secretary
Clinton has shown herself capable of speaking before large rallies and,
albeit not often, before reporters.
If Hillary does have a chronic physical condition, it may not
disqualify her from office nor may it ultimately be viewed as any more
than a fleeting fascination for the public. Two of America’s most
revered Presidents, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy (JFK)
both had debilitating health conditions. FDR, in fact, was unable
to stand unaided under normal conditions – something that it seems
Donald Trump currently suggests would disqualify the hallowed leader.
Unlike Greece and Serbia, Montenegro could allow controversial historian Tahir Veliu to enter the country to promote his book about his project to create a 'Greater Albania'.
Podgorica Tahir Veliu. Photo: Movement for a United Albania.
The Police Administration in Montenegro told BIRN that if Albanian politician and historian Tahir Veliu were to approach a border post to enter the country, he would be allowed to come in “if he meets the legal requirements”.
The police did not explain exactly what that means, but under Montenegrin law, border officers can deny enter to foreigners if they pose a “threat to the constitutional order and security of Montenegro”.
Tahir Veliu has announced that he will hold a promotional event for his book about a pan-Albanian state in Montenegro on August 20.
The event is reportedly scheduled to take place in the majority Albanian town of Tuzi, near the capital Podgorica.
A spokesperson for the Police Administration, Tamara Popovic, told BIRN that a public meeting in Tuzi related to Veliu’s visit had not been announced to or approved by the police.
“The obligation to seek police permission applies only to gatherings in public areas and when they include more than 20 people,” Popovic said.
Veliu is the leader of the recently-founded Movement for a United Albania, LSHB, an organisation which “intends to unite Albanians into a single state”.
“A united Albania, besides being the most valuable ideal of every Albanian, proposes a true Albania with its legal and historical borders, and guarantees permanent stability in the region,” Veliu wrote on his website earlier in August.
On Sunday, the Greek authorities refused Veliu entry into the country for a planned promotional event for his book, according to Serbian TV station N1, which quoted Greek media reports.
Veliu tried to enter Greece at the Kakavija crossing on the Greek-Albanian border. He had previously been declared ‘persona non grata’ because of his claim that parts of Greece, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia “belong to Albania”.
Veliu reportedly intended to present his book in Yannian, an area predominantly inhabited by Albanians in the 19th Century.
On August 7, Serbian police banned Veliu from entering the country and declared him ‘persona non grata’ after the Movement for a United Albania announced a promotion in the majority-Albanian town of Presevo.
But two weeks ago, Veliu visited the Macedonian capital Skopje, and gave a speech promoting his United Albania idea.
In the speech, Veliu said that the only rightful solution for Albanians who were living “under the occupation of an artificial Macedonia” was self-determination.
Veliu’s view match those of Albanian opposition politician Koco Danaj, another promoter of a campaign to create a pan-Albanian state in the Balkan region.
Danaj, leader of an opposition party called the List for a Natural Albania, has served as an adviser to several Albanian prime ministers, and launched an initiative in 2013 to collect a million signatures from Albanian expatriates living in Europe to convince Western governments of the need to unite all Albanians into one state.
According to Danaj’s plan, ‘Natural Albania’ should include all areas inhabited by Albanian-speaking people, both where they currently form the ethnic majority in Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Greece, and areas where they were in the majority in the past but were expelled over the past century. - See more at: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/montenegro-could-allow-entry-to-pan-albania-state-promoter-08-18-2016#sthash.GwQCcDan.dpuf
The Muslim populations of the two Balkan ethnic-majority
Albanian states have historically practised a moderate form of Sunni
Islam. In Albania and Kosovo, some fear that this may be changing.
Despite a centuries-old tradition
of religious tolerance among Albania’s 2.8 million people, the Islamic
State (ISIS) has found a small but devoted following.
More than 100 Albanians have traveled to the Middle East to join the terrorist group, and a few have gained prominence.
Their call to Islamist militancy has been echoed by a handful of
ultra-conservative mosques that have sprung up in Albania in recent
years, some of them built with help from Islamic charities and
missionaries from Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf region.
Ironically, for nearly 50 years until the collapse of communism in
1990, the country’s Marxist leaders proclaimed Albania to be the world’s
first atheist state, officially banning religious observances and
persecuting imams and priests.
But the fall of Communism provided an opening for extremists. Islamic
charities, some with the backing of oil-rich Gulf kingdoms, began
building mosques and madrassas. Young students were offered scholarships
to study theology under the tutelage of fundamentalist clerics in Saudi
Arabia.
In the past decade, Albania has witnessed a proliferation of
independent mosques, unaffiliated with the Muslim Community of Albania,
the organization that presides over the country’s moderate worship
centers.
Extremist messages find fertile ground in poorer neighborhoods and
villages, where official corruption is high and unemployment among young
adults often exceeds 40 per cent.
“Religion has never been the problem here; it’s education. It’s the
lack of a developed civil society. And it’s poverty, especially in the
remote areas,” Ylli Manjani, the country’s justice minister, remarked in
an interview with the Washington Post.
Albania’s government has now passed laws forbidding participation in
the Islamic State, and the security services have cracked down on
recruits making the trek to Iraq and Syria. Some mosques were closed or
forced to change leadership.
Three clerics and six others were sentenced in May to prison terms of
up to 18 years for encouraging young Albanians to embrace violent
jihad.
In Kosovo, whose 1.8 million mostly ethnic Albanians were liberated
by NATO from Serbian domination in 1999, extremist clerics and secretive
associations funded by Saudis and others have also transformed a
once-tolerant Muslim society into a font of extremism.
Newly-arrived clerics sought to overtake the Islamic Community of
Kosovo, an organization that for generations has been the custodian of
the tolerant form of Islam that was practiced in the region.
Saudi-sponsored charities often paid salaries and overhead costs, and
financed courses in religion, as well as English and computer classes.
Many were funded by Al Waqf al Islami, a Saudi organization that was one
of 19 eventually closed by investigators.
Families were given monthly stipends on the condition that they
attended sermons in the mosque and that women and girls wore the veil.
“They promoted political Islam,” according to Fatos Makolli, the
director of Kosovo’s counterterrorism police, who spoke to the New York
Times. “They spent a lot of money to promote it through different
programs mainly with young, vulnerable people, and they brought in a lot
of Wahhabi and Salafi literature.”
Some 200 Kosovars took advantage of scholarships after the war to
study Islam in Saudi Arabia. Many returned with missionary zeal.
Kosovo now has 240 mosques built since the 1999 war and blamed for helping indoctrinate a new generation in Wahhabism.
The influence of the radical clerics reached its apex with the war in
Syria, as they extolled the virtues of jihad and urged young people to
go there.
Over the last two years, the police have identified 314 Kosovars,
including two suicide bombers, 44 women and 28 children, who have gone
abroad to join the Islamic State, the highest number per capita in
Europe.
Kosovo’s interior minister, Skender Hyseni, recently reprimanded some of the senior religious officials.
“I told them they were doing a great disservice to their country,” he
stated. “Kosovo is by definition, by Constitution, a secular society.
There has always been historically an unspoken interreligious tolerance
among Albanians here, and we want to make sure that we keep it that
way.”
It won’t be easy.
Henry Srebrnik is a professor of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island.
US Vice President Joe Biden and Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic. Photo Source: Serbian Government Website
Summer
is usually the time when political activities tend to subside, but that
has not been the case in the Balkans this year, particularly in Serbia.
With a new government sworn in, economy still struggling, tense
relations with its neighbors, and amid a visit by the US vice president
Joseph Biden, Serbia was a hot name in Balkan geopolitics this summer.
New Serbian government : Reforms vs. Controversies
It took Aleksandar Vucic, the recently
re-affirmed Serbian Prime Minister about three months to form a new
government. Mr. Vucic’s new cabinet won the popular mandate on a
platform that promised increased reforms and completing talks for
Serbia’s entry into the EU by 2019, while at the same time maintaining
close ties with Russia.
Mr. Vucic comes from an
ultra-nationalist background. He lately started to nurture more of a
centrist image after his party started to hold state power since 2014.
The fresh elections of 2016 reasserted Mr. Vucic’s popularity, and
provided an opportunity to broaden his coalition to share the
responsibilities of his proposed reforms.
Although there were signs that the Mr.
Vucic was considering coalition partners outside of the SPS, the party
formed during the early nineties by Slobodan Milosevic, the final
changes in the Vucic cabinet were limited. Some local analysts have even
started asking the question what was the utility of the fresh
elections, given that cabinet changes were so few and far between?
Prime Minister Vucic’s reform minded
policy plans appear as follows: to establish his personal status as the
great leader who resolved Serbia’s economic blights, bring the country
on the brink of the EU membership, resolve the status of Kosovo
permanently, mend relations with the neighboring states, particularly
Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and at the same time, remain in good
relations with Russia besides developing strong ties with China and
Arab states.
The centrist Serbian weekly magazine
“Vreme” characterize Mr. Vucic’s rule as that of holding the country in a
“state of perpetual election campaign”.
Mr. Vucic wants to assert himself as the
policy lead and chief negotiator in negotiations with the EU. As part
of that plan, he took positive steps in improving relations with
Serbia’s neighbors, for example, signing adeclaration of understanding with the Croatian President Ms. Grabar-Kitarovic in June 2016, and agreeing to hold a trilateral meeting
between Serbia, Albania and Kosovo later in the year. There were also
noticeable attempts at developing stronger relations with the West.
Prime Minister Vucic’s ministerial
appointments reflect his agenda for improved international ties as well.
He retained the finance minister Dusan Vujovic, a former World Bank
economist, whose confirmation is seen as a signal of continuation of economic policies
undertaken since 2014 when Mr. Vucic first came to power. This is a
welcome news given that the Serbian economy is still sluggish and
lagging other countries in the region, and Mr. Vucic’s centrist policies
have shown some serious promise fixing the economy.
Mr. Vucic replaced Ms. Kori Udovicki,
the previous minister for state administration, a sensitive post in a
country that needs deep reduction in state administration costs. Ms.
Udovicki was an Yale graduate and former UN assistant secretary. Mr.
Vucic gave Ms. Udovicki’s portfolio to Ms. Ana Brnabic,
a graduate of the University of Hull, England, former USAID official in
Serbia, who also happens to be the Balkan region’s first openly gay
minister.
To nurture stronger ties with Russia,
Mr. Vucic is going to rely on his main coalition partner SPS and its
leader Mr. Ivica Dacic. Along with the current Serbian President Mr.
Tomislav Nikolic, a key member of Vucic’s ruling SNS party, Mr. Dacic is
widely seen as the key “Russia guy” within the Serbian government.
The dualism inherent within the
reformist agenda of Prime Minister Vucic, where he wants warm relations
with both the West and Russia is expected to not go without
controversies. The SPS leader and Foreign Minister Mr. Ivica Dacic and
Labor Minister Mr. Aleksandar Vulin, known to be an “old fashioned”
anti-West politician, recently proposed erection of a statue of former
Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic as part of a new national
monument in Belgrade. President Slobodan Milosevic was controversially claimed by Serbian Foreign Minister Mr. Dacic as being “exonerated” by the International Crimes Tribunal for Yugoslavia.
While the Serbian President Mr. Tomislav Nikolic remained ambiguous in his support for the Milosevic monument by stating that “he is being torn between being in favor and against”
such a monument, Prime Minister Mr. Vucic remained more measured and
calculative, even though he allowed Mr. Dacic and Mr. Vulin go out to
the public with their controversial monument building proposal. For his
part, Prime Minister Vucic publicly stated that “he did not want to
remain in the Nineties”, and that he was “angered by the glorification
of Milosevic’s policy and of what he did.” Media reports suggested that
Mr. Vucic thinks it is “neither the right place nor the right time” to
engage on the Milosevic monument.
Mr. Vucic’s statements are helpful in
de-escalation of nationalistic sentiments in the Balkans, particularly
in response to latest radical moves in neighboring Croatia, where there
was a similar issue around building amonument commemorating Mr. Miro Baresic, the man who infamously murdered the Yugoslav ambassador to Sweden in 1971.
US Vice President Joe Biden’s visit : Serbia showcases US support
The Milosovic monument controversy crept
into the affairs surrounding the visit of the US vice president Joe
Biden to Belgrade. While it was first planned that Mr. Dacic as the
foreign minister of Serbia would greet Mr. Biden at the airport, at the
last minute it was the Prime Minister Mr. Vucic who greeted Mr. Biden
first.
Mr. Vucic had to cancel his Washington
D.C. visit in June 2016 for undisclosed reasons. He reportedly have
worked hard to mend ties with the US during the Vice President Biden’s
visit.
After the talks, Mr. Biden publicly stated
that “The United States and Serbia do not agree on every issue”, and
the Vice President also extended his condolences “to the families of
those whose lives were lost during the wars of the 1990s, including as a
result of the NATO air campaign [of 1999].” The NATO air strikes
referred here by Mr. Biden lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999,
under the operational code name “Operation Allied Force”. The NATO
bombardment continued until the withdrawal of Yugoslav armed forces from
Kosovo and till the commencement of the UN peacekeeping mission there.
The NATO intervention was to protect the Albanian population in Kosovo
who were being persecuted by ultra nationalist Serbs, Serbian police,
and Serbian paramilitary forces. The NATO bombing was not authorized by
the United Nations due to veto threats from Russia and China. NATO
went ahead with the bombings, which killed about 600 people in today’s
Serbia under the operation which was described as a humanitarian
intervention at that time by NATO.
During the talks between Mr. Vucic and
Mr. Biden, the former got the much needed promise of economic support
from the United States, as well as the promise that the latter will put
pressure on Kosovo to continue the stalled Brussels negotiations.
The US Vice President kept his words
during his visit to Kosovo as part of the same tour, when he urged
Kosovo to seek reconciliation and work towards normalization of
relations with Serbia in order to make progress towards joining the European Union.
From the standpoint of US interests, Mr. Biden went to the Balkans to
initiate engagement and peace making among former enemies namely Serbia,
Kosovo, and Albania.
Serbian Prime Minister Mr. Vucic made
few concessions of his own during the talks with Mr. Biden. Serbia
agreed to play an active role in the trilateral talks between Serbia,
Albania and Kosovo. Mr. Vucic also promised to put pressure on Bosnian
Serb president Mr. Milorad Dodik to cancel a referendum that is
increasingly likely to take place in the Bosnian Serb entity Republika
Srpska on their “Republika Srpska day”. The referendum is drawing
condemnations and warnings from Bosnians and Western officials. A
constitutional court declared the day unconstitutional, and this
referendum may eventually work as a precursor to the entity’s secession
from Bosnia in the future.
During the talks between Mr. Biden and
Mr. Vucic, the Serbian Prime Minister also accepted to receive more
former Guantanamo Bay detainees along with the two that were already
sent to Serbia.
Vucic’s balancing acts to continue
Serbia is expected to continue its
attempts to balance as much possible between the West and Russia,
improve ties with its neighbors and former enemies. The Russian Prime
Minister Dmitry Medvedev is expected to visit Serbia later this year.
After receiving
19 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles or “HMMWVs” from the
United States for participating in UN peace keeping operations, Serbia
announced a set of joint military exercises with Russian armed forces to
be held soon.
Since non-alignment is not an option any
more, Serbian Prime Minister Mr. Vucic’s balancing acts between the
West and Russia are quite intriguing, however, their eventual outcome
will remain murky for quite sometime. This will for sure keep the Balkan
observers engaged for years to come.
Against the background of the failed coup in
Turkey and the ongoing crackdown on sympathisers of Fethullah Gülen,
Ankara might take aim at the Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople, or
try to win him, writes the US Ambassador (retired) Arthur H. Hughes.
Arthur H. Hugues has served as US Ambassador to Yemen in
1991-1994, after which he became the Deputy Assistant to the Secretary
of State for Near Eastern Affairs. He has also served as Deputy
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Near East and South Asia and has held
numerious other posts with the U.S. Foreign Service, including as
Deputy Chief of Mission in Tel Aviv.
At least since Mustafa Kemal’s time, Orthodox Christians in Turkey
have witnessed repressions from the state. Thousands of Turkish-tongue
Christians had to emigrate. In 1971, the Halki theological seminary was
closed down. The dissemination of orthodox literature and missionary
activities of any kind are banned. In an attempt to foster patriotism
and obtain a wider support of the conservative part of society, the
Turkish government tried to build relations with nationalists, most
radical of whom even made several attempts at Patriarch Bartholomew!
[Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople is the 270th and current Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch, since November 1991.]
It’s no wonder that such a situation induced the Patriarchate to
establish close ties with the American political elite. Congregations in
the US and the donations from American businesspersons of Greek origin
are the main sources of income for the Ecumenical Patriarchate. In its
turn, Washington considers the condition of religious minority in Turkey
an ace in the diplomatic game to put pressure upon Ankara. Moreover,
being primus inter pares among the heads of the other Autocephalous
Churches, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople can affect the
whole Orthodox world. And, obviously, the US intelligence couldn’t have
missed such a chance.
Thus, one of the members of the American-Israeli lobby in the
Constantinople Patriarchate is Father Alexander Karloutsos, Public
Affairs Officer close to Archbishop Demetrios. Thanks to his ties with
high-level officials and Greek-American billionaires, he is basically
the only person who controls the money flows from the US to the Phanar,
and that gives him wide possibilities of exerting pressure upon the
Ecumenical Patriarchate. On the other hand, Karloutsos is also in good
relations with former CIA Director George Tenet, and with the preacher
Fethullah Gülen cooperating with the American intelligence. That means
the amount of financing is directly bound to how successfully the
Patriarchate’s heads accomplish the tasks they receive from their US
supervisors.
Besides that, Patriarch Bartholomew personally has met with Gülen, or
Hoca Efendi, as he calls him, quite a number of times. For instance,
they met on 6 April 1996 to discuss the prospects of interfaith
dialogue. This was before Gülen fled to the US with the assistance of
the diplomat Morton Abramovitz, CIA agents Graham Fuller and George
Fidas, and the above-mentioned Fr. Alexander Karloutsos.
The Patriarch of Constantinople praised Gülen in 2012
when he took part in a meeting of Journalists and Writers’ Association
(GYV) founded by the Turkish preacher. About a month before the event,
the Chicago Tribune published an interview with Bartholomew
in which he highly appreciated Gülen’s efforts to develop interfaith
dialogue and foster intimacy among faiths “for the benefit of
humankind.” Then, a week past the Association’s meeting, on 13 May 2012
in an interview
dedicated to the award Bartholomew received from Roosevelt Institute,
the Patriarch publicly mentioned his friendship with “Hoca Efendi”
[Gülen]: “We really love him. We hope he comes back soon.” Should anyone
wonder than why the Patriarch of Constantinople touched upon the
inadmissibility of Muslim services in Hagia Sophia only on 11 July – a
month after they had begun – and just 4 days before the attempted coup?
Does the Turkish government realize its failure after the recent coup
attempt? Would they try to win the Orthodox patriarch over or crackdown
on him? Obviously, it would be much easier for Erdogan to cut off the
foreign financing of the tiny Turkish Orthodox community to get rid of
it for good. On the other hand, the cooperation with its own Orthodox
Patriarch could give Turkey new possibilities to improve its reputation
and expand its influence in the Orthodox world. Should the authorities
recognize the Ecumenical status of the Patriarchate of Constantinople at
last?
Unfortunately, it would be extremely hard to ground such a decision
at this moment. Instead of consolidating Orthodox Churches, the Council
held in June on Crete simply alienated them. We saw Patriarch
Bartholomew incapable of uniting the Orthodox world. Moreover, it turned
out that his influence doesn’t affect even a half of Orthodox
Christians! The reasons are his authoritarianism, pertinacity and
hostility towards the Russian Orthodox Church.
Such a fact diminishes the Patriarchate’s value for those in power in
Turkey. And Patriarch Bartholomew seems to have not that much time to
attempt to change the situation.
Although
polls show that Hillary Clinton is currently leading Donald Trump in a
number of key battle ground states, it does not mean that Trump's
campaign is doomed. His latest campaign shake-up indicates that the
Republican presidential nominee is determined to win.
Although
the US mainstream media is asserting its audience that Republican
presidential candidate Donald Trump has given up and is merely unable
to win, facts on the ground prove otherwise.
"Donald Trump is preparing to lose… his rhetoric betrays a shift in psychology," CNN's contributor Timothy Stanley suggests.
"Given his personality type, I think he is exhibiting signs
of intense frustration that comes from the diminishing amounts
of undeserved adulation he received during his primary run. And that may
very well lead him to simply take his ball and go home," CNBC's senior
analyst Ron Insana believes.
However, according to Peter Navarro, a professor at the University
of California-Irvine and a senior policy advisor to the Trump campaign,
the situation is not as dire as it seems to some media pundits.
Navarro draws attention to the fact that political analysts have
repeatedly underestimated and miscalculated Trump's moves in the course
of the presidential campaign. Likewise, today, they have rushed
to declare Hillary Clinton the likely winner of the 2016 presidential
race.
"The question, of course, is whether these
elites will finally get it right and turn Trump into an embarrassing
historical footnote-or once again be spectacularly wrong. The answer
will inevitably hinge on whether each of these 'Seven Pillars of Beltway
Wisdom' turn out to be on point-or wildly off the mark," the US
academic notes in his article for The National Interest.
First, national polls show that Hillary Clinton is currently leading Donald Trump in some "key battleground states."
However, Navarro notes, that Trump still has strong positions
in traditional "red" states. Furthermore, he may redraw some "blue"
states into "red" due to his "independent-friendly and likely centrist"
agenda.
The second misconception is that Hispanics will prefer Clinton
to Trump, because she propagates "open borders" while her opponent wants
to build a "big beautiful wall" between the US and Mexico.
Citing Brian Joondeph from American Thinker, Navarro underscores that
Latino voters rank immigration the fifth in importance
behind education, jobs, healthcare and the deficit.
Since Trump's message for Hispanic voters is
that he wants not only to create new jobs for them but also to prevent
illegals from taking their jobs (thus driving down their wages), he
stands a good chance of winning their hearts and minds, he notes.
A
campaign volunteer for U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald
Trump wears a hat signed by Trump during a rally with supporters in
Gaffney, South Carolina February 18, 2016
"Trump will bluntly ask black (and brown)
Americans whether they are more interested in more welfare checks and
food stamps, which Hillary Clinton will happily supply, or whether they
want the kind of job opportunities and rising wages a Trump presidency
will offer," Navarro stresses.
Likewise,
it is not written on the wall that Big Labor and women will more
willingly vote for Hillary Clinton rather than for her opponent, he
adds.
The American academic stresses that Big Labor remembers that it was
the Clintons who championed the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) in 1993 as well as a 2012 South Korean trade pact which,
according to labor unionists, destroyed tens of thousands of American
jobs.
Moreover, there is little if any doubt Hillary Clinton will continue to push ahead with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which triggers Big Labor's deepest concerns.
Navarro debunks yet another myth, which says that Trump's opposition
in GOP will eventually "sink" him, referring to the fact that the
presidential nominee's Republican opponents constitute a small faction
within the party.
Finally, one of the biggest mistakes of both the political elites and
Trump's opponents, according to the US academic, is that they believe
that his tough rhetoric was costing him votes.
"After all, much of Trump's popularity stems
from his willingness to say what he thinks, even (or especially) if it
offends the politically correct," Navarro recalls, adding that "if Trump
simply stays focused on his four aces of the economy, trade,
immigration and national security, it is equally true that he will
surely play a winning hand."
For her part, Kelly Riddell of the Washington Times denounced
the mainstream media narrative that Donald Trump may surrender
before the November election as "absurd," stressing that there are clear
signs that Donald Trump is determined to win.
She calls attention to the fact that Trump has shaken up his campaign
by hiring Stephen Bannon, Breitbart News' executive chairman, as his
campaign executive chief and Kellyanne Conway, a Republican pollster,
as his campaign manager.
"Mr. Trump has surprised this entire election season, and there's no
reason to think he can't do it again, no matter what the polls say
today," Riddell emphasized.
"I believe we're adding some of the best talents in politics,
with the experience and expertise needed to defeat Hillary Clinton
in November and continue to share my message and vision to make America
great again," Trump said in his official announcement, as quoted by Politico.com.
An email leaked by WikiLeaks reveals that when Hillary Clinton
was US secretary of state in 2011, billionaire George Soros instructed
her on how to handle unrest in Albania, stressing it “needs urgent
attention at senior levels of the US government.”
“Dear Hillary,” begins the email dated January 24, 2011 from the founder of Open Society Foundations, Soros. “A
serious situation has arisen in Albania which needs urgent attention at
senior levels of the US government. You may know that an opposition
demonstration in Tirana on Friday resulted in the deaths of three people
and the destruction of property,” Soros says, according to the leaked email.
Three men were shot dead as anti-government demonstrators
clashed with police in the Albanian capital in late January of 2011.
Supporters of the opposition Socialist Party refused to accept the
results of a 2009 election, citing corruption and fraud, when then-Prime
Minister Sali Berisha’s Democratic Party won by a thin margin. Berisha
accused the opposition of attempting to provoke a Tunisia-style
uprising, saying “the bastard children of Albania’s own Ben Alis conceived Tunisian scenarios.” “There
are serious concerns about further unrest connected to a
counter-demonstration to be organized by the governing party... and a
follow-up event by the opposition two days later to memorialize the
victims,” Soros says. “The prospect of tens of thousands
of people entering the streets in an already inflamed political
environment bodes ill for the return of public order and the country’s
fragile democratic process,” he adds. “I believe two things need to be done urgently,” he adds. “1.
Bring the full weight of the international community to bear on Prime
Minister Berisha and opposition leader Edi Rama to forestall further
public demonstrations and to tone down public pronouncements. 2. Appoint a senior European official as a mediator.”
Soros suggested three candidates: Carl Bildt, Martti Ahtisaari, and Miroslav Lajcak, saying all “have strong connections to the Balkans.” “The US and the EU must work in complete harmony over this, but given Albania’s European aspirations the EU must take the lead,” he stressed, adding that his foundation in Tirana was “monitoring the situation closely and can provide independent analysis of the crisis.”
Several days after the email was sent to Clinton, the EU did
send one of Soros’ suggested nominees, Miroslav Lajcak, to meet Albanian
leaders in Tirana to try to mediate an end to the unrest, Reuters
reported.
In March, WikiLeaks launched a searchable archive
consisting of 30,322 emails from Hillary Clinton’s private email server
that she used while serving as US secretary of state. The 50,547 pages
of documents cover Clinton’s correspondence from June 30, 2010 to August
12, 2014, of which 7,570 were sent by Clinton herself.
Last
month, the whistleblowing website published an archive of over 1,200 of
Clinton’s private emails pertaining to the Iraq War. Ahead of the
release, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said the “upcoming leaks in
relation to Hillary Clinton” would be enough to indict her.
Soros made a name for himself as the “man who broke the Bank of England”
by engaging in questionable Forex hedging and betting against the
sterling pound – which made him more than $1 billion in one day in
September of 1992. Some have speculated that Soros has benefited from
insider trading information when making investments. In 2002, a Paris
court found Soros guilty of using inside information to profit from a
1988 takeover deal for bank Societe Generale.
Hillary Clinton’s Work
On The Iran Deal Led To A $400 Million Payment In Hard Currency Sent
Straight To The Top State Sponsor Of Terrorism
Clinton Takes Credit For Helping Push Through The Iran Nuclear Deal:
Clinton Has Touted Her Work In Being “Part Of The Coalition That Brought Us To The Point Of This Agreement.” CLINTON:
“Having been part of the coalition that brought us to the point of this
agreement, I think we will have to immediately upon completion of this
agreement and its rigorous enforcement, look to see how we build a
coalition to try to prevent and undermine Iran’s bad behaviors in other
arenas.” (Hillary Clinton, Remarks On U.S. Iran Nuclear Deal, Washington, D.C., 7/14/15) Clinton:
“I'm Very Proud Of The Iran Nuclear Agreement. I Was Very Pleased To Be
Part Of What The President Put Into Action When He Took Office.”
CLINTON: “Well, I'm very proud of the Iran Nuclear Agreement. I was
very pleased to be part of what the president put into action when he
took office. I was responsible for getting those sanctions imposed which
put the pressure on Iran. It brought them to the negotiating table
which resulted in this agreement.” (Hillary Clinton, Remarks At Democrat Primary Debate, Charleston, SC, 1/17/16) Clinton:
“I Was Responsible For Getting Those Sanctions Imposed Which Put The
Pressure On Iran. It Brought Them To The Negotiating Table Which
Resulted In This Agreement.” CLINTON: “Well, I'm very proud of
the Iran Nuclear Agreement. I was very pleased to be part of what the
president put into action when he took office. I was responsible for
getting those sanctions imposed which put the pressure on Iran. It
brought them to the negotiating table which resulted in this agreement.”
(Hillary Clinton, Remarks At Democrat Primary Debate, Charleston, SC, 1/17/16) Iran Is Recognized As “The Foremost State Sponsor Of Terrorism”: National
Director Of Intelligence James Clapper: “Iran—The Foremost State
Sponsor Of Terrorism—Continues To Exert Its Influence In Regional Crises
In The Middle East.” “Iran—the foremost state sponsor of
terrorism—continues to exert its influence in regional crises in the
Middle East through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—Qods Force
(IRGC-QF), its terrorist partner Lebanese Hizballah, and proxy groups.
It also provides military and economic aid to its allies in the region.
Iran and Hizballah remain a continuing terrorist threat to US interests
and partners worldwide. (James R. Clapper, Statement For The Record, U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, PP. 10, 2/9/16) The
State Department’s Annual Country Report On Terrorism Listed Iran As A
State Sponsor Of Terrorism And Said That They Had Increased Their
Activity In 2015. “Designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism
in 1984, Iran continued its terrorist-related activity in 2015,
including support for Hizballah, Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza,
and various groups in Iraq and throughout the Middle East. In 2015, Iran
increased its assistance to Iraqi Shia terrorist groups, including
Kata’ib Hizballah (KH), which is a U.S. designated Foreign Terrorist
Organization, as part of an effort to fight the Islamic State of Iraq
and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq and bolster the Asad regime in Syria. Iran
used the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) to
implement foreign policy goals, provide cover for intelligence
operations, and create instability in the Middle East. The IRGC-QF is
Iran’s primary mechanism for cultivating and supporting terrorists
abroad.” (State Department’s Annual Country Report On Terrorism, U.S. State Department, Chapter 3-State Sponsored Terrorism, 6/2/16) Iran Has Been Funding Terrorist Groups Working Against U.S Interests In Their Region: Iran
Has Been Assisting Hizballah Rearm Since 2006 And Has Given Their
Organization In Lebanon “Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars.”
“Since the end of the 2006 Israeli-Hizballah conflict in 2006, Iran has
also assisted in rearming Hizballah, in direct violation of UNSCR 1701.
Iran has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in support of
Hizballah in Lebanon and has trained thousands of its fighters at camps
in Iran. These trained fighters have used these skills in direct support
of the Asad regime in Syria and, to a lesser extent, in support of
operations against ISIL in Iraq. They have also carried out isolated
attacks along the Lebanese border with Israel.” (State Department’s Annual Country Report On Terrorism, U.S. State Department, Chapter 3-State Sponsored Terrorism, 6/2/16) Iran
Has Funded And Armed Shia Terrorist Groups In Iraq That Have
“Exacerbated Sectarian Tensions In Iraq And Have Committed Serious Human
Rights Abuses Against Primarily Sunni Civilians.” “In Iraq,
Iranian combat forces employed rockets, artillery, and drones against
ISIL. Iran also increased its arming and funding of Iraqi Shia terrorist
groups in an effort to reverse ISIL gains in Iraq. Many of these
groups, such as KH, have exacerbated sectarian tensions in Iraq and have
committed serious human rights abuses against primarily Sunni
civilians. The IRGC-QF, in concert with Hizballah, provided training
outside of Iraq, as well as advisors inside Iraq for Shia militants in
the construction and use of advanced weaponry. Similar to Hizballah
fighters, many of these trained Shia militants have used these skills to
fight for the Asad regime in Syria or against ISIL in Iraq.” (State Department’s Annual Country Report On Terrorism, U.S. State Department, Chapter 3-State Sponsored Terrorism, 6/2/16) Iran Has Been Funding Hamas And Other Terrorist Groups Carrying Out Attacks Against Israel.
“Iran has historically provided weapons, training, and funding to Hamas
and other Palestinian terrorist groups, including Palestine Islamic
Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General
Command. These Palestinian terrorist groups have been behind a number of
deaths from attacks originating in Gaza and the West Bank. Although
Hamas’s ties to Tehran have been strained due to the Syrian civil war,
both sides took steps in 2015 to repair relations. Iran continued to
declare its vocal support for Palestinian terrorist groups and its
hostility to Israel in 2015. Supreme National Security Council Secretary
Admiral Ali Shamkhani sought to frame a series of individual
Palestinian attacks on Israeli security forces in the West Bank as a new
“Intifada” in a speech on November 25.” (State Department’s Annual Country Report On Terrorism, U.S. State Department, Chapter 3-State Sponsored Terrorism, 6/2/16) Iran Has Remained Unwilling To Bring Justice To Senior al-Qa’ida (AQ) Members.
“Iran remained unwilling to bring to justice senior al-Qa’ida (AQ)
members it continued to detain and refused to publicly identify the
members in its custody. Iran previously allowed AQ facilitators to
operate a core facilitation pipeline through Iran since at least 2009,
enabling AQ to move funds and fighters to South Asia and Syria.” (State Department’s Annual Country Report On Terrorism, U.S. State Department, Chapter 3-State Sponsored Terrorism, 6/2/16) It Was Reported That The Obama Administration Shipped $400 Million In Hard Currency To The Iranian Government: This
Year The Obama Administration “Secretly Organized An Airlift Of $400
Million Worth Of Cash To Iran” Via “Wooden Pallets Stacked With Euros,
Swiss Francs And Other Currencies” On “An Unmarked Cargo Plane.” “The
Obama administration secretly organized an airlift of $400 million
worth of cash to Iran that coincided with the January release of four
Americans detained in Tehran, according to U.S. and European officials
and congressional staff briefed on the operation afterward. Wooden
pallets stacked with euros, Swiss francs and other currencies were flown
into Iran on an unmarked cargo plane, according to these officials.”
(Jay Solomon And Carol E. Lee, “U.S. Sent Cash To Iran As Americans Were
Freed,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/2/16) The
$400 Million In Hard Currency Was The “First Installment Of A $1.7
Billion Settlement The Obama Administration Reached With Iran.” “The
Obama administration secretly organized an airlift of $400 million
worth of cash to Iran that coincided with the January release of four
Americans detained in Tehran, according to U.S. and European officials
and congressional staff briefed on the operation afterward. … The money
represented the first installment of a $1.7 billion settlement the Obama
administration reached with Iran to resolve a decades-old dispute over a
failed arms deal signed just before the 1979 fall of Iran’s last
monarch, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.” (Jay Solomon And Carol E. Lee,
“U.S. Sent Cash To Iran As Americans Were Freed,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/2/16) “The $400 Million Was Paid In Foreign Currency Because Any Transaction With Iran In U.S. Dollars Is Illegal Under U.S. Law.” (Jay Solomon And Carol E. Lee, “U.S. Sent Cash To Iran As Americans Were Freed,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/2/16)
Organised by the following political and civil association of Himare:
PBDNJ, OMONOIA, KOMUNITETI HIMARIOT AL, ENOSI HIMARIOTON GR, HIMARIOTON SOCIETY OF USA, SHOQATA BREGDETI,
This resolution is signed by the people of Himare, in free will, and directed to:
The Albanian Government and the Prime Minister Edi Rama
Diplomatic representatives in Albania of:
United States of America,
European Union / European Council
OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe,
RESOLUTION
The situation in the region of Himara the last 25 years, regarding property rights, is worsening because of of the actions and the arbitrariness of the Albanian government which is encouraging people with political and economical powers, members of organised crime groups and the mafia to systematically trespassing and stilling the properties of the people of Himara.
The parliament, the government, the justice system, the public administration and the media are been used to wipe out Himara and its history and implement assimilation policies which are favored by the new legal framework and decisions of the Albanian government which are resulting in violation of basic human rights and freedoms, violating the Albanian Constitution.
The people of Himara demand:
1. The immediate cancellation of all urban planning initiative, project or development plan, expropriation of private land, donation of community land to any domestic or foreign pseudo-investor that the Albanian government is planning and implementing in our region until a proper and guarantied fare property registration of private and community owned land and real estate properties is fully completed in the whole region of Himara.
2. Abolition of the destructive 7501 law "For the farming land" which has resulted in taking away the ownership of farming land from its real owners and in the destruction of thousands of olive trees and in the construction of abusive buildings based on fraud ownership titles, which is also helped by the lack of a general property registration process and the ban of registration of properties which were returned to its legal inheritors through court decisions and the process of returning confiscated properties.
3. We call on international and Euro-Atlantic partners to urge pressure on the Albanian legislative and administrative institutions to cancel all unconstitutional laws and government decisions which violate basic human rights starting from the new administrative reform, the new property compensation law and the new law "For tourism".
4. We demand the final return of all community properties and those belonging to the Christian Orthodox Church in Himara, which the government should return and respect. Also the return of properties which use to belong to the army and properties belonging to the municipality.
5. We request the immediate halt of the construction of resorts and so called "touristic villages", until after the Albanian government has transparently proved to the people of Himare the legality of the ownership titles based on which those permissions were given.
6. We call on your representatives in Albania, to push towards the implementation of the new "decriminalization process" and "justice reform" as soon as possible including in the region of Himara where massive fraud and property theft has taken place from members of the Albanian mafia, organized crime connected with politicians, oligarchs and people close to the administrative and justice institutions, under the umbrella of the so called "plans for development of tourism".
With trust in GOD and respect towards the Albanian Constitution, the people of Himara express through this RESOLUTION, their free will and expectations, hoping to get your support and understanding in the difficult process of protecting our basic human rights and the implementation of the rule of law and justice in the region of Himare and throughout Albania.
Sincerely,
Signed by all the free autochthon people of Himara
Prime
Minister of Serbia and Albania Aleksandar Vucic and his Albanian
counterpart agreed during last month's Conference of the Western Balkans
with EU countries leaders to hold the congress, which will be attended
by Serbian and Kosovar politicians and businessmen.
According to them, the gathering should see the sides clinching a
deal strengthening bilateral cooperation and improving relations
between Serbia and Albania.
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