Karamanlis, Obama reaffirm excellent relations

StrasbourgPrime minister Costas Karamanlis of Greece met on Saturday afternoon with new US President Barack Obama in Strasbourg shortly after the conclusion of NATO's 60th anniversary summit, and reaffirmed the excellent relations and bonds between the two countries.

Speaking to reporters before the discussion, the US President said he was happy to be meeting with the prime minister of Greece, adding that the meeting provided an opportunity to reaffirm the excellent relations between the US and Greece.

Obama stressed that it was not only the US that has been inspired by Ancient Greece, but Greece, too, has been inspired by the US, citing the American Revolution as an example. He said that the two countries share common democratic principles and will continue hand-in-hand in the 21st century as well, while also noting the significant role played by the Greek community in the US.

Obama futher noted that US-Greek cooperation was very crucial on matters concerning the confrontation of terrorism, the global financial crisis and energy security, adding that he was proud of his friendship with the Greek prime minister.

The prime minister added that Greece was in favor of further NATO enlargement, on condition, however, that the candidate countries fully meet the membership conditions set out by NATO, mainly with respect to establishing good neighbor relations

Obama expressed his desire to visit Athens, and listened with interest to the positions of Greek foreign policy regarding the wider region of the Balkans and Southeast Europe, while he also appeared positive towards backing Greece's efforts in the region.

ALBANIA, CROATIA IN NATO

Former Communist countries Albania and Croatia were formally welcomed on Saturday (4 April) as NATO's newest members. Macedonia's membership, however, is still pending due to a name dispute with Greece, while Georgia and Ukraine's accession perspectives look distant.

"You have very well earned your place at the table," outgoing NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told Albanian and Croatian delegations at the opening of the NATO council on Saturday morning in Strasbourg.

Mr Scheffer said that the move is testimony to the countries' long years of reforms and a proof of the "open-door policy" of NATO enlargement. US President Barack Obama, himself for the first time at a NATO summit, thanked the pair for sending 140 Albanian and 296 Croatian troops to Afghanistan - a considerable contribution for the two small Balkan states of 3 and 4.5 million people, respectively.

Albania’s independence now ‘secure’ with its membership in NATO, says FM

STRASBOURG – Albania’s new membership in NATO means the tiny Balkan country will never again have to worry about foreign invaders, the foreign minister said. The flags of both Albania and Croatia were raised in front of NATO headquarters after the two countries became the alliance’s 27th and 28th members this week.

The leaders of Albania and Croatia attended NATO’s 60th summit yesterday as full members. “It’s a historic day for my nation, which has fought very hard for its freedom through centuries, most often alone,” Albania’s Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha said in a brief interview.

“The next time our freedom is threatened we’ll have (NATO’s 27 nations) with us,” he said.

Anyway about declaration of the Albanian FM Basha, Albania attacked Greece together with Italian of Mussolini Fascist forces on 28 October 1940 sending to invade his armed battalions to another independent state, Greece. The Greek parliament approved the "State of War with Albania".

Between Albania and Greece there is the Friendly Agreement of 1996, but the law "The State of War with Albania" never has been removed by the Greek parliament, even Albania is became member of NATO alliance.

TIRANA WANTS TO CONSIDER ALBANIAN EMIGRANTS AS DIASPORA

According to the "Libertas" Newspaper the Foreign Albanian Ministry is going to plain a project where the emigrants will call as diaspora, which understand that "they have no the right to vote for the elections in Albania". About 1/3 of Albanians are emigrant in Greece and Italy, particularly in Greece there are 800 thousand emigrant.

The project wants to deviate the right of the Albanians in Greece to come back to voting for the politic elections next June 2009. The Albanian opposite has urges the Albanian government to be transparent for the emigrants who live out of the borders, mostly in Greece.

According to NR 2 of Socialist Party Gramos Ruci, the police authorities are doing a inquiring process in Albanian territory for the emigrants that live relay in Greece to evident a process linked with the strategy of Berisha`s government to manipulate the politic elections in Albania.
According to estimates by Athens, in Greece live more 800 thousand Albanian emigrants mostly about 600 thousand are member of the Greek Minority known as northern epirotes.

www.gazetalibertas.com

ALBANIAN MEDIA, "VERY SENSIBILITY FOR THE STABILITY IN GREECE"

If something is happening in Greece in relation to public order does not appear clear from the Greek media, this will be distributed soon in Albania. This has happened and continues to happen in Albania, where national media broadcast and print media are very attentive to public security order in Greece. The case coincides with the latest development when two police officers were shot in Athens last night, while the Albanian media continues to portray stability in Greece as a phenomenon of Albania in 1997!!!

According to observers thought that not only Skopje but also Tirana are doing same thing sensitive to report against Greece, but Athens continues silence to explain what is really happening in Albania and FYROM. According to sources from Hellenic national security in Greece, 80% of crimes committed in Greece from immigrants, but politics continues to conceal the truth of the facts. Up to date according to police sources, from 100 to arrest for violent protests in Greece, about 80 of them have origin immigrants from Albania.

NATO chief soon to send letters of invitation to Croatia and Albania to join alliance

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has been notified by the US State Department that all NATO member states have deposited their ratification instruments in Washington, and he will soon send a letter of invitation to Croatia and Albania to join the alliance, NATO's public relations office told Hina in Brussels on Monday.

Earlier in the day, de Hoop Scheffer told Croatian Television (HRT) that it would be a privilege for him to write a formal letter of invitation and that he would do so as soon as he received an official notification from the US State Department as the depository of the North Atlantic Treaty.
After the NATO Secretary General officially invites Albania and Croatia to join, the two countries are to deposit their ratification instruments in the US State Department, as of which moment they will become full members of the alliance.

The Croatian Parliament ratified the North Atlantic Treaty on 25 March and is now awaiting a formal invitation from the NATO Secretary General.

A US State Department spokeswoman said on Monday that the ambassadors of Croatia and Albania would be invited to the State Department most likely on Tuesday or Wednesday to deposit the accession instruments ratified by their parliaments.

Albania in NATO a between propaganda and national aspirates

Albanian Press: "The Maritime space agreement between Albania and Greece is going to block the Northern Epirus rivendication by Greece!!!

Faximile of ONU convention

According to the Newspaper "SHQIP" in Tirana the Greek FM Bakogianis will be next days to agree with Albanian authorities, the Maritime Space and Continental Shelf Initialed both tow countries. But albania writes the newspaper "SHQIP" refereeing foreign Albanian ministry sources is seeing the agreement in favor of national interest, regarding the "dead of the riventication of The Northern Epirus" by Greece, particularly after the join of Albania to NATO alliance.

http://lajme.shqiperia.com/html/media/artikull/iden/218660/titulli/Greqia-merr-ujrat-shqiptare

What is the agreement? The agreement is a part of " United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982" based on international conventions of ONU.

Albania: Agreement Between the Hellenic Republic and the Republic of Albania on the Delimitation of Their Maritime Space and Continental Shelf Initialed
On 19 March 2009 the “Agreement between the Republic of Albania and the Hellenic Republic on the Delimitation of their Maritime Space and Continental Shelf” was initialed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This Agreement of special national significance for both our countries, which is based on the international law principles and on the UN Maritime Convention, is due to be signed soon.

ALBANIA IN DELIRE

BETWEEN SOVEREIGNTY AND ASPIRATION TO UNIFY THE TERRITORIES INHABITED BY ALBANIANS

THE ALBANIAN SLOGANS FOR THE JOIN THE COUNTRY TO NATO ALLIANCE

"ALBANIA IN NATO, SAVE SOVEREIGNTY"
"ALBANIA IN NATO, THIS IS THE MIRACLE OF FREEDOM”

"ALBANIA IN NATO, A DREAM WHICH
WANTED 96% OF POPULATION`S VOTE!!!"
"ALBANIAN IN NATO AN ASPIRATION OF ALBANIANS"

ALBANIAN PARLIAMENT APPROVED: ALBANIA IN NATO

Photo: During the visit of the US President Bush in Tirana June 2007, the promise of the Joint of Albania to NATO

A historical Session of Albanian Parliament . The Assembly approve the unanimity, the package of laws of Albania's NATO membership. According to the declaration of the Albanian PM Sali Berisha, the decision passed after the aspiration of Albanian people to joint to the NATO alliance. Berisha stated that 96% of Albanian people wants the Albania to Joint NATO.

Photo: The friendly Albanian - Chinese solidarity 1962-1978

Anyway the joint of Tirana to NATO alliance is became a

"FACT" even Albania is the poorest country of Europe, with organized crime and contraband including massive weapons corruption, violating the human rights of properties and minorities, is the only country which never has make free democratic elections.

Photo: Albania Joint to the "Varsavia Treaty" with USSR against NATO

But during the modern Albanian history the country headed by dictator regimes was jointed to the other alliances against the Atlantic forces. On the period of the Second World War 1939-1943, Albania jointed to the "Axis Fascist Forces". While after during the dictator regime of Enver Hoxha Albanian jointed to "Varsavia Treaty" until 1968.

Photo: Italian fascist FM Ciano with King Zogu, Albania joint to the "Fascist Axis" 1939-1943

The last years Albania linked with China to the strong economic and military

cooperation until 1978. A historically carachteristic of Albanian state is the love to cooperate with the "great powers" with long distance as possible.

According to the albanian press the decision of albania to joint NATO alliance shows the new dimension as "Regional Power" of albanians in Balkan Region.

Sotiris Ninis: the rising star

The Champions League, which he has entered to play during the match Panathinaikos - Inter, offered for the Italian public the opportunity to admire a player of great talent such as Sotiris Ninis.

It is no coincidence, but there are several large clubs of the old Continent who already follow with interest the imagination of talented of Panathinaikos, including Manchester United, Milan, Arsenal, Real Madrid. The Athenian Society, for its part, has taken steps to protect Ninis who wants to pay about 15 million.

In a country with strong nationalism, such as Greece, it is interesting to note that Sotiris Ninis was born in Himara, a city south of Albania. This should not mislead: Ninis is pure greek origin. His parents, as several sources report, are of Greek ethnicity. In addition, Sotiris Ninis has actually ever lived in Greece, where his parents have moved since 1991.

more see: http://www.mondogreco.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=503&Itemid=45

GREEK INDIPENDENCE DAY IN ARGIROKASTER

25 March 2009, Celebration on March 25 in Northern Epirus, Southern Albania.

Greek considerations & Obama’s Turkey trip

Greek American News Agency

By Ioannis Michaletos*
The developments that occurred over the past few weeks and after the end of the Gaza war, have showed to an extent that Turkey acquires a louder voice in the Middle Eastern affairs by promoting itself as the main Muslim power and in parallel trying to combine that with its ability of assisting the US withdraw its troops from Iraq.

The forthcoming Obama voyage to Turkey will mostly center on the Iraq issue and more specifically how Ankara could assist in securing an exodus for the American Army via its ports and airfields. In that sense it is quite natural for the Greek policy makers to fear that Turkey's role will be highly elevated and that may have deteriorating effects for the relations of the two states.

In reality all the aforementioned considerations are not valid in any sense since the Americans do not need Turkish assistance to secure their withdrawal from Iraq. They can perfectly use the Basra port or the highway connecting the country with Jordan. Turkey could just ease American retreat but just that. The real stake of Obama's trip could not be other than the all timely issue of Kurdish insurgence and the real possibility of the declaration of independence by the Kurds of Northern Iraq.

According to all current information, Washington will move a substantial part of its Iraqi forces into secure areas in Northern Iraq and in that sense it will not leave the country. As it can be understood that will elevate the role of the Kurds in the Middle East as the sole ethnic group that secures American presence in a period where Washington is under a serious negotiation process with powers such as Iran, Syria and in a wider extent with the whole Muslim world.

*Ioannis Michaletos is an independent Strategic Analyst. He was born in 1978 in Athens- Greece and pursued studies in the UK in the fields of Political Science and Human Resource Management. He is occupied as a South Eastern European Analyst of the Research Institute on European & American Studies, RIEAS, and as a South Eastern European Editor in the World Security Network Foundation, WSNF. Moreover he regularly publishes articles in www.Balkanalysis.com

more see: http://www.greekamericannewsagency.com/gana/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4784&Itemid=83

THE GREEK INDEPENDENCE DAY IN TIRANA

For the first time the Greek Independence anniversary of 25 March, held without the presence of the President and the Albanian Prime Minister.

The Greek Independence day held in Tirana invited by the Greek Ambassador in Albania Nicolas Pazios. Where represent Albanian politic personalities and foreign representative embassies in Albania.

But for the first time that was missing the presence of the Albanian PM Sali Berisha on the event. Also The President Bamir Topi was not present during the anniversary ceremony.

PRESS RELEASE

HIMARA UNION

Athens, Grece

see more; http://www.himaraunion.com/

PRESS RELEASE

PANEPIROTIC FEDERATION CONDEMNS ACTIONS OF ALBANIAN COURTS AGAINST MAYOR VASILIOS BOLLANOS OF HIMARA

12 YEARS AGO

Photo archive: Vlore, Albania March 1997

The crisis that broke out in Albania, in early March of 1997, following the collapse of the banking system and the State of Civil War.

By the No. 1101/1997 UNSC Resolution, issued after the Report of the E.U. and the OSCE Working Groups, the establishment of a temporary, small scale OSCE-led Multinational Protection Force in Albania was authorized, in order to create a secure environment for the missions of the International Organizations in Albania, ensuring the conduct of free elections for the appointment of a new government.

Italy was the lead nation in the Multinational Protection Force, with participating nations France, Turkey, Spain, Romania, Denmark, Austria, Slovenia, Belgium and Greece. PARTICIPATION OF HELLENIC FORCES: The Hellenic Contingent in Albania consisting of 803 men and 224 vehicles arrived in Albania on the 5th of April 1997, in the context of operation “ALBA”.

THE GREEK NEWSPAPER ABOUT THE JAIL OF OMONIA`S PRESIDENT

In its edition of Sunday 22 March, the newspaper "Η ΑΠΟΨΗ" host full page tribute in the proceedings of Hellenism in Himara Region regarding the prosecution of the Mayor Vasilis Bolanou by the albanian authorities.

see more: http://www.himaraunion.com/documents/apopsi358_p52.pdf

A DANGEROUS GAME OF FOREIGN GREEK MINISTRY ABOUT THE WATER AGREEMENT WITH ALBANIA

According to "Firence Protocol" of 1915, the Saseno Island is part of Ionian Islands of the greek national waters.

see more on Greek weekly: http://www.paron.gr/v3/new.php?id=39378&colid=37&catid=42&dt=2009-03-22%200:0:0

PRESSE RELEASE

THE WORLD COUNCIL IPEIROTON

SUPORTS THE PRESIDENT OF OMONIA BOLLANO

The World Council of Foreign Ipeiroton denounced the new scandal by the Albanian authorities to condemned the political institution of the Greek minority «OMONIA» by political persecution of its President Basil Bolanos

The World Council of Foreign Ipeiroton condemns these methods of the Albanian authorities. It calls the Albanian Government to stop these methods of intimidation of the Greek minority and to respect human rights values.

VANGJELOS DOULES ACCUSES ALBANIAN POLITICS FOR BOLLANOS CASE

HRUP has targetd state structures and in particular the Albanian justice, for the the case of Bolanos. The leader of this party, Vangjelos Doules, has called the judicial process in charge of the mayor and also the head of Himara OMONIA s, Vasillis Bollanos, an absurdity that Albania wants to keep away from what is happening in other countries of Europe modern.

Doules has made this statement during a meeting with the management structures HRUP the evening of Friday in Gjirokastra. "He who speaks for the rights of minorities is often biased, often found even charged, often also required penalized them, as in the case of the chairman of the Democratic Union of the ethnic Greek minority, Vasillis Bollanos, the fact that only requires also be implemented in Albania framework convention on the rights of members of ethnic minorities, as has the Albanian Parliament, "stressed Doules.