Sidste Nyt fra Albanien, Kosóva og Makedonien

Indholdsfortegnelse Contents

Ugeoversigt Summary

Internationale organisationer   International organizations
FN   UN
Verdensbanken, IMF m.fl.   World Bank, IMF etc.
OSCE, Europarådet   OSCE, Council of Europe (CoE)
EU   European Union (EU)
NATO   NATO
ICTY - Tribunalet i Haag   ICTY

Balkan, generelt   The Balkans
Kosóva   Kosóva [Kosovo]
Øst Kosóva / Presevo-dalen / Syd-Serbien   Eastern Kosóva
Albanien   Albania
Serbien og Montenegro. Serbien (alene)   Serbia-Montenegro. Serbia
Montenegro (alene)   Montenegro
Makedonien   Macedonia [FYRoM]

Grækenland   Greece
Tyrkiet   Turkey
Italien   Italia

USA   United States (US)
England   England
Tyskland   Germany
Frankrig   France
Danmark (Norge, Sverige)   Denmark (Norway, Sweden)

Rusland Russia
Kina China

Fodbold (FIFA's rangorden) Football (FIFA)

»Albansk Almanak 2003« bd. 1-3

Almanak'en for 2003 er udkommet. Her finder du årets nyhedsbreve. Årets litteraturkommentarer vil udkomme hen over sommeren 2005 i »Albanske Studier« ## 3-4.

Bogen findes i trykt form og på CD (som pdf-fil). Papirudgave på 800 sider i 3 bind. Bogen sælges som papirudgave m/ CD og som CD alene. Se pris på: Bestillingsliste.

Udgaven for 2004 ventes at udkomme medio 2005.

»Albanske Studier« bd. 1-2

Kommentarer til Bjøl, Huntington, Machiavelli, Sørlander, DUPI (Humanitær Intervention), Clausewitz, Mao Zedong, Lars R. Møller, Malcolm og flere andre (kommentarerne er suppleret ift udgaver i Almanak'erne m.v.). Englændere på rejse i Albanien: Edward Lear, Edith Durham og Robert Carver. Bøger om slægtsfejder og blodhævn. Diskussion af Anne Knudsen's disputats om blodhævn på Korsika og af Ismail Kadare's roman »Ufuldendt april«. Baggrundsmateriale om den Sønderjyske general Christian von Holstein, der deltog i Habsburgernes felttog ind i Kosóva i 1689-90. Sidst i bogen et forsøg på en sammenfatning i form af nogle 'grundlæggende synspunkter'. Desuden en kommentar til Hans Hækkerup's »På skansen«. På CD'en supplerende materiale om traditionelle Albanske klædedragter og om Holstein.

Du kan downloade indholdsfortegnelsen og kommentaren til Hækkerup fra: http://bjoerna.dk/albansk-historie/studier-2002.htm

Bogen findes i trykt form og på CD (som pdf-fil). Papirudgave 368 A4-sider i 2 bind. Bogen sælges som papirudgave m/ CD og som CD alene. Se pris på: Bestillingsliste.

Til dig der kigger på et ældre nummer af »Sidste Nyt«.

Seneste udgave af denne »annonce« kan ses på:

»Sidste Nyt« (klik)

Seneste 4 udgaver af »Sidste Nyt fra Albanien, Kosóva og Makedonien«:

Sidste Nyt #266 - frem til 05.08.2005 (klik tv.)
Sidste Nyt #265 - Valget i Albanien (klik tv.)
Sidste Nyt #264 - Kosóva's fremtid (klik tv.)
Sidste Nyt #263 - frem til 17.06.2005 (klik tv.)

Alle årets udgaver: http://bjoerna.dk/nyt-oversigt.htm

UGEOVERSIGT (resumé)

Kosóva: Hjemtransport til Kosóva af dræbte Albanere. Der er i alt lokaliseret 836 dræbte Albanere i Batajnica, Perucac og Petrovo Selo. Makfax skriver: The remains of 81 Kosovo's Albanians unearthed at the mass grave site in Batajnica, Serbia, are due to be handed over to the representatives of UNMIK. The transfer will take place at the administrative border crossing Merdare.

Decentralisering? Regeringen i Kosóva har 'filet' på sit første oplæg, men der er ikke meget der tyder på at der vil ske et gennembrud med det reviderede oplæg. Årsagen er at hverken Serbien eller Kosovo Serberne har tillid til Kosóva Albanerne og deres Politiske Ledere.

Albanien: Festligholdelse af 30-året for indgåelsen af Helsinki-aftalen.

Albanien tager (fortsat) afstand fra politisk ekstremisme i Makedonien.

Problemer med elektricitetsnettet mellem Albanien og Kosóva som følge af en eksplosion i Tropoja. Muligvis sabotage?

Nye kørekort der lever op til 'Europæiske krav'. SET skriver at Albanien har indgået aftale med et Ungarsk firma om at producere nye kørekort der lever op til EU-krav.

Økonomien. Indlæg af IMFs hidtidige Repræsentant, Olters, er offentliggjort af BoA, Bank of Albania

Universiteterne / De Videregående Uddannelser. Den afgående Regering har tiltrådt etableringen af nye universitetsuddannelser i Fier, Berat, Durrës fra og med i år. Formentlig skal beslutningen tiltrædes af det nye Parlament for at få virkning.

4 bevæbnede Mænd har begået røveri i afd. af American Bank på Kong Zog-Boulevarden i Tirana, Albanien. 2 mio Lek stjålet. FBI-Specialister er ankommet for at deltage i efterforskningen.

Serbien: Milan Lukic pågrebet i Argentina.

Myndighederne har øjensynlig opgivet nogle sigtelser mod Slobodan Milosevic' søn, Marko Milosevic. Marko Milosevic skulle i sin tid have truet en studenteraktivist med at skære ham i stykker med en kædesav. Aktivisten har nu trukket sin anmeldelse tilbage. Hvad der i virkeligheden er sket i sin tid er uklart

Makedonien: Fængsling af den Ortodokse Biskop Jovan. Præsident Crvenkovski har udtalt at der er tale om et internt Makedonsk anliggende.

Bortførelse af tidl. UÇK'er. Makfax skriver: Ilir Fonici from Kosovo, former member of KLA, was abducted Monday in Macedonia. Abductors demanded from his family 600.000 Euros ransom for his release.

England: Tidl. UM Robin Cook er død. Cook spillede en betydelig rolle i forbindelse med NATO-interventionen i Kosovo i 1999, og han betragtede selv denne som én af sine største udenrigspolitiske successer. I 2001 blev han rykket et trin ned til hvervet som Leder af Underhuset. Han nedlagde dette hverv i 2003, fordi han fandt Interventionen i Irak i sted med International Ret. Ved dén lejlighed understregede han forskellene på interventionerne i Kosovo og i Irak. [Kommentar: Der er betydelige politiske og militære forskelle på de to interventioner, men begge var i strid med international ret].

INTERNATIONALE ORGANISATIONER m.v.

Opmærksomheden henledes på Economic Reconstruction and Development in South East Europe. Adressen er www.seerecon.org. Her kan man finde materiale om aktuelle møder og konferencer.

VERDENSBANKEN, IMF M.FL.

Se under de enkelte lande / områder.

OSCE, Europarådet

Se under de enkelte lande / områder.

NATO

ICTY - TRIBUNALET I HAAG

Verserende sager vedr. Kosovo: Anklageskrifter og udskrifter af retsmøderne kan findes på: http://www.un.org/icty/cases-e/index-e.htm

ICTY vs Slobodan Milosevic (IT-02-54)

ICTY vs Fatmir Limaj et al. (IT-03-66)

ICTY vs Ramush Haradinaj (IT-04-84)

BALKAN LANDE, LANDE VED ØSTLIGE MIDDELHAV

BALKAN GENERELT

Udsnit af EU's Europakort 2004. [Udsnittet kan forstørres ved at klikke på det]. Kortet indgår i en præsentationsborchure, der kan downloades som pdf fra: http://europa.eu.int/comm/publications/booklets/eu_glance/20/da.pdf.

KOSÓVA

Bynavne: Angives der to navne på samme lokalitet, er den Albanske nævnt først. Se oversigten på: http://bjoerna.dk/kosova/byer.htm ... Bynavne: Angives der to navne på samme lokalitet, er den Albanske nævnt først. Se oversigten på: http://bjoerna.dk/kosova/byer.htm ... Rapporter fra FNs Generalsekretær ... 040616 SG Kofi Annan udtaler at han agter at udpege Søren Jessen-Petersen som 5' SRSG. Søren Jessen-Petersen blev senere udpeget og tiltrådte i Kosóva 040816. ... 0308 Harri Holkeri tiltrådte som 4' SRSG. Fratrådt 0406 af helbredsmæssige grunde. ... 020214 Michael Steiner tiltrådte i Kosova som 3' SRSG og fratrådte i begyndelsen af 0307. ... En biografi over 2' SRSG Hans Hækkerup kan læses på Danske Politikere. En anmeldelse af hans bog »Kosovos mange ansigter« kan downloades fra: http://neva.hjem.wanadoo.dk/Haekkerup2.pdf (0,4 MB) ... Constitutional Framework for Provisional Self-Government. ... Kosova's Regering. ... Webside vedr. 2004-valgene ... UNMIK Politiets oversigt over 2001 (artikler, billeder og statistik i pdf-format (fil'en er forholdsvis stor: 2,6 MB)) ... Kriminaliteten i 2002 - Oversigt kan downloades [klik på titlen]

Parlamentsvalget 2004 [Præsidenten - Ibrahim Rugóva - er valgt af Parlamentet, the Assembly], se: http://kosovoelections.org/eng/

Hjemtransport til Kosóva af dræbte Albanere. Der er i alt lokaliseret 836 dræbte Albanere i Batajnica, Perucac og Petrovo Selo. Makfax skriver:

The remains of 81 Kosovo's Albanians unearthed at the mass grave site in Batajnica, Serbia, are due to be handed over to the representatives of UNMIK. The transfer will take place at the administrative border crossing Merdare.

Since the end of the Kosovo conflict, 836 bodies of Kosovo's Albanians had been uncovered in the mass gravesites in Batajnica, Perucac and Petrovo Selo, 566 of which were delivered to UNMIK.

A Serbian official said that until 2006, all bodies found in the mass graves in Serbia would be delivered to UNMIK, provided that the current dynamics went on.

Representative of the Special War Crimes Court of Serbia said he had no information as to when indictments related to this cases will be raised, adding that proceedings fall within the competence of the Prosecution.

Decentralisering? Regeringen i Kosóva har 'filet' på sit første oplæg, men der er ikke meget der tyder på at der vil ske et gennembrud med det reviderede oplæg. Årsagen er at hverken Serbien eller Kosovo Serberne har tillid til Kosóva Albanerne og deres Politiske Ledere. Den Serbiske Regering skriver:

More serious approach to Kosovo-Metohija decentralisation is indispensable

Belgrade, Aug 10, 2005 – In line with the conclusions of the Serbian government’s Council for Kosovo-Metohija, the Serbian government finds the pilot project, proposed by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Kosovo-Metohija unacceptable, as well as the so-called plan “B” of Kosovo interim self-government institutions, since both offer not even minimal assurances that the status of Serbs and non-Albanians in the province will improve.

The issue of decentralisation in Kosovo-Metohija has to be approached much more seriously and in a manner other than the above-mentioned initiatives.

The Serbian government is making an effort toward an overall decentralisation in Kosovo-Metohija so as to improve the status of Serbs and non-Albanians in the province.

The Special Envoy and the Kosovo interim institutions’ proposed projects do not offer even the minimal guarantees that their status will be improved at least on the local level, the Council for Kosovo-Metohija unanimously concluded.

B92 skriver om Oliver Ivanovic' synspunkt:

After days of conflicting reports from ministers and representatives of the Kosovo Government about the content of the new decentralisation plan for Kosovo it appears that what will emerge is a rehash of Plan A.

Kosovo Serb representative Oliver Ivanovic says that there has been some kind of Serb participation in discussions on details of the new plan.

“We simply made know our position that we will not take part in any decentralisation if we don’t know what the situation will be by November, 2006, when new local government elections are to be held. That means that we need to know exactly how many districts there are to be and what jurisdiction the districts will have within their borders,” said Ivanovic.

RFE skriver tilsvarende:

Oliver Ivanovic, who is a leader of the Serbian Lists for Kosovo and Metohija, said in Prishtina on 8 August that any decentralization plan for Kosova must divide the province "into at least 70 districts," RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported. He added that the Serbs want the plan to be completed by 2006, when local elections are slated to be held. The decentralization plan put forward by Kosova's government recently ran into opposition from Serbs living in the pilot project community of Gracanica, who called for some neighboring Serbian communities to be included in the Gracanica district's boundaries. Some ethnic Albanian opposition political leaders also objected to the plan, saying that it amounts to an ethnically based partition of Kosova.

Pressemeddelelser fra UNMIK:

Samarbejde om økonomien med Verdensbanken

DSRSG Ruecker and World Bank Representative Shankar Sign Grant Agreements on $12.5 million for Kosovo’s economy

DSRSG Joachim Ruecker and the World Bank Representative in Kosovo, Kanthan Shankar today signed two “Development Grant Agreements”. The World Bank will provide $12.5 million for two projects dedicated to improve Kosovo’s business environment and the public expenditure management.

Both grants are part of the transitional support strategy for Kosovo that has been endorsed by the World Bank in April 2004 for a period of 18 months with a total amount of $15 million. A “Development Grant Agreement” providing $2.5 million for the Kosovo energy and mining sector was signed in April this year.

DSRSG Joachim Ruecker said at today’s signing ceremony: “The World Bank has supported the economic reconstruction in Kosovo for almost six years now. The new grants of altogether $12.5 million for the economy will take Kosovo forward.”

Kanthan Shankar said: “"The two World Bank financed projects aim to create a conducive environment for private sector participation and strengthen Kosovo's ability to use public resources more effectively, efficiently and transparently."

The first grant agreement will inter alia establish and rehabilitate municipal based business service centers. It will provide support to the Investment Promotion Agency, the Kosovo Cadastral Agency and up to 30 municipal cadastral offices. It will guide the further development of the legal framework for property rights and their enforcement. Main project implementing authorities are the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Kosovo Cadastre Agency. The value of the “Business Environment Technical Assistance (BETA)” project is $7 million.

The second grant agreement provides $5.5 million for the “Public Expenditure Management Technical Assistance” (PEMTAG). Its main focus lies on the public expenditure management, such as support to the budgetary process, procurement and support to the development of public employment policies.

It will furthermore support reforms in the health sector, especially in the area of family medicine, and reforms in the transport sector, including road safety and traffic management in Pristina. This project will mainly be implemented by the Ministry of Finance and Economy.

Ugerapport fra Dansk KFOR. Hærens Operative Kommando skriver (på http://www.hok.dk/):

Uforglemmelige dage i Kosovo

Uge 31 i Kosovo. Det er svært at få armene ned i disse dage i Camp Olaf Rye.

09-08-2005 kl. 11:37

Af Major Morten G. Salomonsen

For efter det lange seje træk i de forløbne 6 måneder, nåede vi i denne uge omsider vores mål og kulminationspunktet for vores bestræbelser og det blev fejret med et brag af en Rock ’n roll fest for alle, der har været med til at tage deres del af slæbet – danske soldater sammen med litauere, franskmænd, serbiske tolke, albanske vaskepiger, frisøren, damerne fra pølsevognen og alle de andre.

Det var ”Inga og Katinka, Smukke Charlie”, ”Kvinde min” og hele ”Rabalderstræde” der satte det musikalske punktum for en helt fantastisk uge, da ”Peter og de andre kopier” lagde vejen forbi Camp Olaf Rye og fyrede den af med Gasolin hits i 2½ time, så hele lejren hoppede. Men inden der kunne holdes afslutningsfest, havde soldaterne i den danske bataljon også ved fælles og målrettet indsats nået det sidste af de helt store mål. Mere om dette sidst i artiklen.

Om lidt bli’r der stille …

Nu kan det ikke skjules længere. Den danske bataljon/KFOR hold 12 synger på sidste vers efter i et halvt år ukonventionelt og målrettet at have arbejdet for at føre ”vores” lille hjørne af verden videre imod fred og sameksistens. Om blot et par uger vil hold 13 tage over.

Det bedste til mig og mine venner ….

Spejderne fik chancen for at give den gas i ugen der gik. Imellem de mange opgaver med overvågning, patruljer, anti sniper sikring mm., der udgør en spejders hverdag i Kosovo, fik de i denne uge mulighed for at øve sig sammen med en amerikansk apache helikopter.

Som så ofte før i internationale missioner kom aftalen i stand på baggrund af et tilfældigt møde mellem to nationers soldater, hvor ”sød musik” opstod. For et par måneder siden stødte spejderne (der jo er et nysgerrigt og kontaktsøgende folkefærd) på et par apache piloter på landingspladsen ved Morina og fik en aftale i stand om at øve påkaldelse af ildstøtte. I denne uge oprandt så dagen.

Spejderne gennemførte uddannelse med US Apache helikopter

Uddannelsen omfattede orientering om helikopternes data og våbensystemer, teoretisk uddannelse i NATO procedurer for ildledelse. Og så var det ellers ud og prøve det i praksis. Udbyttet blev masser af erfaringer og smil så brede at mundvigene næsten mødtes i nakken.

Også andre operative aktiviteter blev gennemført i ugen der gik. Brigaden testede bataljonens planer, beredskab og omstillingsevne ved at øve indsættelse af kompagnier til beskyttelse af minoriteter inden for og uden for bataljonens ansvarsområde. Panserinfanterikompagniet blev således alarmeret og indsat i Svinjare, der ligger i den franske bataljons område.

Og så gennemførte bataljonen flere operationer imod bl.a. smugling og illegal skovhugst.

Der ud af ….

”Felt underholdning” hedder det, når Forsvaret transporterer musikalske kunstnere til missionsområdet for at give os et velkomment afbræk fra de daglige rutiner. Og underholdningen var også denne gang i top, da bataljonen holdt afslutningsfest i COR.

Efter hele bataljonen havde indtaget et overdådigt grillmåltid, blev der spillet op til fest.

Aftenens første band var ventet med en særlig spænding, idet det var bataljonens helt eget husorkester, der for første gang skulle møde et større publikum efter i månedsvis at have øvet i et par afsides liggende containere bag gymnastiksalen. Hvad var det de havde haft sammen, når de stak hovederne sammen og smuttede over i ”musikhuset” for at øve og kunne de stå distancen?!?

Bataljonens husorkester debuterede med succes

Bandet hedder ”Off CORs” og består af sergent Tønder fra PNINF-kompagniet i den vokale forgrund, stabschefen (the artist also known as ”Lille Tambour Kim”) på trommer, Henning fra S4 på leadguitar, B.T. fra S1 på bas samt franske Caroline og litauiske Bonnie som kor og sammen fejede de al hjertelig bekymring til side, da spændingen blev udløst og de høstede taktfast og begejstret bifald for bl.a. Big Fat Snake hittet ”Bonsoir madame” og TV2’s ”Bag duggede ruder”.

Efterfølgende gik aftenens hovednavn ”Peter og de andre kopier” på scenen. Bandet har specialiseret sig i at spille gode gamle Gasolin numre og førte i aftenens løb med gavflabet drengerøvscharme det opstemte publikum ”Derudaf” over ”Langebro” via ”Rabalderstræde” til ”Kvinde min” og videre til ”Masser af succes”.

En helt igennem storslået aften, hvor danskere, baltere, franskmænd og lokalansatte hoppede og dansede og hyggede sig sammen efter vel udført dåd.

Masser af succes ….

Men hvad var det, de fejrede alle sammen?!?

I seks måneder har bataljonen med dels konventionelle fredsbevarende virkemidler og dels med mere kontroversielle tiltag arbejdet målrettet imod at nedbryde pigtråd, kampstillinger og observationsposter og at ”unfixe” faste checkpoints, lejre og andre fysiske og mentale skel mellem befolkningsgrupperne i ansvarsområdet og har med held samarbejdet med lokale myndigheder for at overdrage sikkerhedsmæssige opgaver til bl.a. politi og toldmyndigheder.

Senest gennemførte bataljonen en multietnisk sommerlejr ved Gazivode søen sammen med Kosovo Police Service (KPS) for børn fra Mitrovica området.

I denne uge sluttede den interetniske sommerlejr ved Gazivodesøen. De 30 børn, fra seks forskellige etniciteter gik søndag, hver til sit efter fem dage sammen.

Bataljonen gennemførte multietnisk sommerlejr sammen med KPS

På trods af den relativt korte varighed opnåede vi store resultater. Da børnene ankom den 27. juli var de etniske forskelligheder meget tydelige og hver etnicitet holdt sig for sig selv, men efterhånden som tiden gik og børnene lærte hinanden bedre at kende, udviskedes forskellene.

Efter de tre første dage begyndte børnene i det omfang det var muligt at kommunikere på engelsk således, at alle kunne forstå hinanden og da vi skiltes søndag var det da også med kys og kram samt løftet om snarligt gensyn. At dette løfte holdt vand så vi allerede ved bataljonens store satsning - Children’s day - hvor adskillige af deltagerne fra børnelejren (serbere som albanere) ligeledes deltog.

I denne uge var tiden så kommet til den store eksamen, hvor det skulle vise sig om bestræbelserne havde båret frugt. Og hvordan kan man bedre vise at fredelig sameksistens er mulig end ved at bringe folk fra Kosovos mest problematiske område sammen til et multietnisk arrangement på stedet, hvor det hele gik galt ved sidste års martsuroligheder!?!

Sådan tænkte bataljonschefen, oberst Klaus Petersen og hans nærmeste. Og løsningen blev etableringen af en park med idrætsfaciliteter og legeredskaber i området mellem de tre tårne og Austerlitz broen i Mitrovica til gavn for alle etniciteter i området og gennemførelse af et overdragelsesarrangement, hvor alle etniciteter kunne deltage og have en god dag sammen med soldaterne fra den danske bataljon.

Ideen vakte udbredt bekymring såvel inden for som udenfor den danske lejr, da planen blev lanceret, men chefen var overbevist i sin tro på projektet og holdt fast på, at man må satse for at vinde. Det tilfaldt kaptajn Henrik Thomsen at arrangere projektet med støtte fra alle dele af bataljonen.

Et par måneder gik med at rydde, planere, så græs, lægge fliser, bygge legeredskaber, vente bekymret på at græsset skulle gro, lave sikkerhedsplan, tale med talsmænd og beboere i området, tale til græsset, overbevise UNMIK folk og brigadens officerer om, at vi ikke var (helt) vanvittige, søge samarbejdspartnere o.s.v. og den 2. august kl. 13-17 skulle arrangementet løbe af stablen.

Under navnet ”Children’s Day” gennemførte bataljonen dagen med lege, sport og andre aktiviteter for børn fra området og deres forældre. Tidligt om morgenen begyndte arbejdet med at sætte scene op. Panserinfanterikompagniet stod diskret for sikkerheden på dagen sammen med spejderne, ingeniører og MP’ere og i tæt samarbejde med politiet.

Sikkerheden blev koordineret fra 71-victor ved de tre tårne

I en glad og fri atmosfære fornøjede soldater fra hele bataljonen de deltagende børn, unge og voksne med aktiviteter som fodbold, æggeløb, snobrødsbagning, volleyball, ”det muntre køkken”, fremvisning af udrustning, sækkevæddeløb osv. imens ”Peter og de andre kopier” gav deres første koncert på scenen ved Austerlitzbroen.

Trængsel i køen ved det muntre køkken

Omkring 250 serbere, albanere og romaer deltog i arrangementet i fred og fordragelighed og sendte ved deres tilstedeværelse et klart budskab til omverdenen om, at de ønsker og snart er klar til at leve sammen uden splid. Et budskab som lokale albanske og serbiske medier samt danske og internationale registrerede og viderebragte.

Dagens ypperste resultat var gennemførelsen af en fodboldkamp med etnisk blandede hold, hvor serbiske børn, albanske børn og en enkelt roma spillede sammen.

Arrangøren, KN Henrik Thomsen er lettet over at arrangementet kører på skinner

Alle havde en god dag og der var ingen optræk til sammenstød. Efter arrangementet drog vi vist alle et lettelsens suk inden vi umiddelbart efter med slet skjult stolthed konstaterede: Vi gjorde det sgu!! Og det var det vi fejrede dagen derpå med grillmad, Off CORs’ debutkoncert og ”Peter og de andre kopiers” anden Gasolinkoncert.

Hva’ gør vi nu lille du ….

I de sidste par uger knokler vi videre med operationer i bataljons- og brigaderamme, med at afslutte de sidste projekter og med at lægge tingene til rette, så hold 13 kan få den bedst mulige start, når de om lidt overtager styringen og ansvaret for områdets videre positive udvikling.

ØST KOSÓVA / PRESEVO-DALEN / SYD-SERBIEN

For nemheds skyld bruges betegnelsen Øst Kosóva / Presevo-dalen om det omstridte område med byerne: Presheva, Medvegja og Bujanoci (Albansk stavemåde). Ca. 75 % af befolkningen skønnes at være etniske Albanere - måske omkring 70.000. En modstandsgruppe har været i funktion, men synes nu at være »lukket ned«. Gruppen kaldtes i forkortet form UCPMB (som står for noget i retning af: Ushtria Clirimtare e Presheva, Medvegja dhe Bujanoci; på Engelsk: Liberation Army of Presheva, Medvegja and Bujanoci). Gruppen sagde at den intet havde at gøre med Kosova's UCK, og at den var en lokal gruppe.

ALBANIEN

Klik på kortet, hvis du vil have det forstørret / click http://bjoerna.dk/kort/Albanien.gif to enlarge it

Info fra Albaniens Statistik: Befolkningstal: 3,1 Mio (1.1.2004). GDP (Gross Domestic Product): 630 Mia Lek (2002, current prices); GDP-structure: Agriculture: 26 %, Industry 10-11 %, Construction: 7-8 %, Services: 55-56 %. Export: 54 mia lek (2003) [heraf til Danmark: 23 mio lek; størrelsesorden 1,2 mio kr], Import: 226 mia lek (2003) [Heraf fra Danmark: 855 mio lek; størrelsesorden: 45-50 mio kr], Tradedeficit: 171 mia lek (2003). Største import fra Italien (75 mia lek) og Grækenland (45 mia lek), største eksport til Italien (40 mia lek). Unemployment: 14-15 % (2004-III)

Det Engelske Udenrigsministeriums 'Country Advice' til rejsende kan findes på adressen: http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket%2FXcelerate%2FShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029390590&a=KCountryAdvice&aid=1013618385522. Det Danske UM har pt ingen rejsevejledning, men henviser til det Engelske UM. Den Norske Ambassade kan findes på: http://www.norvegji.org/. Det Amerikanske UM har Juni 2004 offentliggjort en 'Background Note' om Albanien: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3235.htm

Mother Teresa: http://bjoerna.dk/albanien/Teresa.htm.

Præsident Moisiu's aktiviteter [Billederne i denne sektion kan som regel forstørres ved at klikke på dem (mens man er på nettet)]:

0508085 Præs. Moisiu har ringet til Direktøren for UNESCO i anledning af at Gjirokastra er kommet på World Heritage-listen. Præsidentkontoret har udsendt flg.:

The President of the Republic, Alfred Moisiu held today a phone conversation with UNESCO Director-General, Koichiro Matsuura.

President Moisiu thanked Mr. Matsuura for his contribution to register the museum city of Gjirokastra in the World Heritage list by the World Heritage Committee and invited him to participate in the ceremony of placing the official inscription and declaring the city as “Cultural Heritage in September.

On this occasion, the Head of the Albanian State praised the Director of UNESCO as friend of our country.

Mr. Matsuura expressed his gratitude about the appreciation from Mr. Moisiu part and his conviction that this city with a rare cultural heritage already passed quickly from the list of endangered sites into normality.

Festligholdelse af 30-året for indgåelsen af Helsinki-aftalen

Præsident Moisiu, OSCE-Ambassadør Vacek, US-Ambassør Ries.

Se evt. nærmere på OSCEs side: http://www.osce.org/albania/item_1_15908.html

Præsidentkontoret har udsendt flg.:

The President of the Republic, Alfred Moisiu, participated today in the commemoration organized on the occasion of the Helsinki Final Act’s 30th anniversary, the document that set the foundations of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the OSCE.

In his address, President Moisiu stated that during the path of democratic transformations and the efforts of our country for integration in the Euro-Atlantic structures, we have enjoyed and are convinced that we will have the advice and assistance of the international democratic institutions, where OSCE also takes an important place.

“I am sure that through the accordance of our actual democratic development interests with its work priorities, our collaboration will be even more effective. During your mission in Albania, you have enjoyed and will have the full support of the Albanian society and state,” President Moisiu said.

Talking about the recent parliamentary elections, the Head of State said that although some problems did appear during the phase of administering the results, they did not touch the core of the process, marking this way a noticeable progress toward the Helsinki standards.

“Pushed by the desire to move quicker ahead in order to conclude the process and to begin the work in the new post-electoral institutions, I would like on this occasion to appeal to all the politicians, who have been voted in office or not, to demonstrate full self-restrain, citizenship, responsibility and respect toward the will of the electorate and democratic principals through their behavior,” President Moisiu said.

In his address, the Head of OSCE Presence in Albania, Ambassador Pavel Vacek praised the role of President Moisiu during the electoral process in Albania. Mr. Vacek said that the delicate elections period continues and the President has an important constitutional role in it.

“The Presidency is a safe anchor and the voice of reason for the whole political scene,” Ambassador Vacek said.

In this event organized by the OSCE Presence in Albania and the Albanian Institute for International Studies, participated members of the diplomatic corps accredited in Tirana, representatives of the state institutions, politicians, scholars and intellectuals.

-

Tirana, August 5, 2005

Distinguished Ambassador Vaçek, Mr. Rakipi [Albert Rakipi]
Distinguished diplomats and guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a special occasion to commemorate one of the most important political events of the Cold War: the signing of the Helsinki Act. Thirty-five leaders of the divided world solemnly committed to dialogue and collaboration in the field of security, economy, science and environment and humanitarian activities. The transformations process of Europe began with the Helsinki Act; its universal values and principals became the spiritual source and catalyst for the dissident and anticommunist movements all over Eastern Europe. The Helsinki principals were at the foundation of the West historical decision for the military intervention and liberation of Kosova in 1999.

The Helsinki Act has entered in modern history as a unique phenomenon that changed the flow of history to the benefit of peace and security in Europe and beyond. Our need and capability is the diving into the depth of the meaning of the process and Helsinki Final Act in order to view better the ways of facing the new challenges and threats and also to build a better future for humanity through the freedom and democracy paths.

Distinguished participants,

After the fall of the Iron Curtain and freeing of Europe from the totalitarian political systems, Albania too joined the democratic principals of the Helsinki Act. Our country profited a great deal from the CSCE/OSCE assistance and experience and we have already a long and positive collaboration experience. During the last fifteen years Albania has accomplished a lot in achieving the democratic standards that come from the Helsinki Act. The recent parliamentary elections too marked a noticeable progress. Some problems did appear during the phase of administering the results, but they did not touch the core of the process.

Pushed by the desire to move quicker ahead in order to conclude the process and to begin the work in the new post-electoral institutions, I would like on this occasion to appeal to all the politicians, who have been voted or not, to demonstrate full self-restrain, citizenship, responsibility and respect towards the will of the electorate and democratic principals through their behavior.

In the future, we must continue the reforms to eliminate the problems that we have come across, but above all we must work to eliminate the consequences of the long ideological isolation through building the Rule of Law, founding of a citizenship and democratic mentality, strengthening of the law and dialogue culture and enhancing the trust on the institutions and moral values.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The messages of the Helsinki Act have resisted to time and they remain actual in many directions to the present day. They are always actual and inspiring to work more towards prosperity, security and the common European family. From a more local point of view, these messages are actual also in Albania and in the region, where the need to transform the democratic energies and aspirations into stable economic development, fight against poverty, unemployment, organized crime, trafficking and other possible sources of extremism and intolerance is still felt.

Albania, on its way of democratic transformations, is a vivid proof also of the Helsinki values and principals. Actually this is more concretely materialized in the efforts of our country for integration in the Euro-Atlantic structures. During this path, we have enjoyed and are convinced that we will have the advice and assistance of the international democratic institutions where OSCE also takes an important place. I am sure that through the accordance of our actual democratic development interests with its work priorities, our collaboration will be even more effective.

During your mission in Albania, you have enjoyed and will have the full support of the Albanian society and state. I wish you further successes and a Happy Thirtieth Anniversary of the historical Helsinki Act!

Parlamentsvalget i 2005 [Præsidenten vælges af Parlamentet for 5 år, næste gang i 2007]: Der holdes omvalg i 3 kredse, se nærmere i: http://bjoerna.net/sidste-nyt/265.htm

Albanien tager (fortsat) afstand fra politisk ekstremisme i Makedonien.

Outgoing Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano met with leaders of Macedonia's main ethnic Albanian parties at the weekend and denounced activities by extremist elements in Macedonia. According to media reports, Nano held separate talks with Democratic Union for Integration leader Ali Ahmeti and the Democratic Party of Albanians' Arben Xhaferi in settlements on the Albanian-Macedonian border. Nano reportedly condemned extremist elements in the Kondovo region in particular and repeated that regardless of who assumes power in Tirana, Albania stands for stability in Macedonia and the region. (A1 TV, Dnevnik - 08/08/05)

Problemer med elektricitetsnettet mellem Albanien og Kosóva som følge af en eksplosion i Tropoja. Muligvis sabotage?. ADN skriver:

The high-voltage pylon no: 21 of the 220 kW interconnection line linking Albania with Kosovo has been exploded some days before but it fell down only Wednesday evening, sources from Ministry of Public Order said. The attack against the main energy importation line is actually being investigated by a group of experts from the anti-terror office at the Ministry of Public Order who said that there is still no a clear motive behind this criminal act and about its authors.

The Albanian Energy Corporation (KESH) declared on Monday that the Fierza-Prizren 220 kW interconnection line linking Kosovo with Albania, which was damaged due to an explosion a few days ago, will be repaired in ten days. KESH specialists, who are trying to repair the serious defect that caused anomalies in providing parts of the country with energy, confirmed that the line in question can be turned into normal function within 10 days.

Nye kørekort der lever op til 'Europæiske krav'. SET skriver at Albanien har indgået aftale med et Ungarsk firma om at producere nye kørekort der lever op til EU-krav. »The new documents will have 20 safety elements, including description of eye colour and blood type as well as fingerprint information.«

»A Hungarian company, Bull Hungary Ltd, was contracted by the Albanian government to implement the new licenses. Hungarian Ambassador Sandor Szabo, who assisted in the signing of the contract earlier this year, said the initiative is a positive step for Albania and also for Hungarians seeking a greater investment role in the country.«

Økonomien. Indlæg af IMFs hidtidige Repræsentant, Olters, er offentliggjort af BoA, Bank of Albania:

Olters på afskedsbesøg hos Præsident Moisiu. Han blev ledsaget af sin efterfølger, Ann-Margaret Westin.

Over the last three and a quarter years, you have carefully followed the negotiations on, and the implementation of, the IMF-supported program “PRGF”. On my last day of my assignment as IMF ResRep, I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for having contributed in a very important and a very professional manner towards increasing the level of the economic debate in Albania. You have asked good, focused, and often difficult questions, and you have provided your readers and viewers with good economic analyses. You have made economic debates relevant to Albanians and, as a result, economic programs the center piece of the last election. I did not want to leave Albania without sharing my appreciation for your work with you. Thank you very much.

The program. Over the last 3 years, the IMF has been supporting this country’s economic program with the 3-year “Poverty-Reduction and Growth Facility” (PRGF). Together with our counterparts in, particularly, the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Albania, on whose close cooperation and commitment we could always count, a firm foundation has been built in terms of macroeconomic stability. The gradual, but consistent fiscal consolidation has reduced the government’s demand for domestically available financial resources. Prudent monetary policies have kept inflation within the 2 - 4 percent target range. At the same time, the rapid deepening of financial intermediation, especially in the wake of the Savings Bank privatization, has permitted the private sector, including small and medium-sized companies, to borrow at significantly lower costs. As more credits are available to invest in productivity-enhancing technology, products “made in Albania” are starting to become more competitive in the local market as well as abroad. This, I am convinced, will be an important legacy of the current program which I hope will be concluded very shortly for years to come.

Macroeconomic stability. I understand that poverty in Albania, and particularly in the rural areas, remains widespread and that discussions on “macroeconomic stability” sometimes appear a little theoretic and academic. But I would like to take this opportunity to stress that macroeconomic stability is a necessary pre-condition for any successful socio-economic development strategy. Without private-sector driven growth, there cannot be poverty reduction. For private enterprises small or large, domestic or foreign to chose Albania over other countries as preferred investment site, and to chose investing here over simply buying T-Bills, there has to be a sufficient degree of confidence into future developments and the proper functioning of public institutions. Any healthy economy has as a backbone a vibrant private sector, typically driven by small and medium-sized enterprises that provide most of the employment and income as well as the government’s tax revenues, from which sources social expenditures and investments in the priority sectors health and education are financed. During the negotiations with our counterparts in the ministries and at the central bank and through our technical assistance missions, we have tried to help the authorities to create these necessary pre-conditions for poverty reduction and social development.

Challenges. You will appreciate the fact that, in order to ensure dynamic and sustainable rates of growth in the future as well, key obstacles to productivity-enhancing investments by the private sector need to be overcome. Albania needs to break through this “vicious circle” of high tax evasion, difficult tax collection, low tax revenues (as a share of output), low quality public goods and improperly functioning public institutions. These, in turn, represent a key factor in explaining the high degree of fiscal evasion. A great deal of effort therefore needs to be placed on modernizing the tax system with a view to collecting taxes fairly and uniformly on the basis of a simple tax code with transparent regulations and penalties from all enterprises, and only as a function of their profits. Consistent with the advise given in previous years, we believe that any tax reform proposals need to be both consistent with the overall fiscal framework and protective of the inherent integrity of the tax system. The simpler the taxes, the easier it is to broaden the tax base and reduce fiscal evasion and the sooner can rates come down.

Following an election, any new government has the privilege of devising policies over a medium-term horizon. There seems to be a broad consensus that the improvement of the business and investment climate will represent a major building block of the next government’s program. And, in order to lengthen a company’s planning horizon and to give its managers the confidence into the future, it will remain crucial to maintain the good record of macroeconomic management and to strengthen the integrity and proper functioning of public institutions. At least in those areas, in which I believe I understand a little, Albania has basically good laws. Albania has a large number of qualified and highly committed people on all levels. Competence, commitment, and integrity, if these are the core criteria applied to civil servants and the appointment to public positions, the country will have every potential to develop rapidly. Albania has nationally shared objectives, not least those of joining the family of European countries. Albania has everything at its hand to make its ambitions come true.

Farewell. I leave Albania being relatively optimistic. I know the challenges are large, and there are many. I understand the temptations of tactics over strategy. I understand the limited revenue base. But spending available resources on projects that promise high benefits, postponing those that do not, will visible improve the overall environment, in which people and enterprises feel comfortable to invest their own money as well. Why should Albania not be able to do what the Baltic countries have done? There is no reason at all! It has been a pleasure working with all of you. I do want to thank my counterparts, and I want to thank you. I wish you all well, I wish the new government well, I wish the country well. And, as a very last word, allow me please to use a German one: Auf Wiedersehen, to see you again! All the best!

Økonomien. IMF har udsendt rapport om den Albanske Økonomi - særligt om den finansielle del: Albania: Financial System Stability Assessment, including Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes on the following topics: Banking Supervision and Payment Systems. Nedenfor følger 'executive summary'. Hele rapporten kan downloades som PDF fra: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.cfm?sk=18468.0:

The Albanian financial system does not appear to be highly vulnerable to immediate macro-economic or financial sector shocks. Moreover, the financial system’s effect on the real economy is likely to be small as it is still in the early stages of development. Cash transactions dominate exchanges, although increasingly Albanians are gaining confidence and trust in both the government and the formal financial system after it was shaken during the 1997 pyramid scheme crisis. Prudent monetary and fiscal policies have contributed to a stable macroeconomic environment and much of the core financial sector legislative and regulatory framework is in place. However, the importance of a sustained implementation track record cannot be underestimated, especially given recent elections and a new set of policymakers. Policy continuity by both financial institutions and the regulatory authorities is needed to build public confidence in the formal financial sector and to keep systemic risks at bay.

Despite the dominance of informal cash-based transactions, the banking system is growing and intermediation is flourishing—in fact, credit growth is bordering on boom conditions. Accelerating credit growth and prospect for increased competition arising from the recent privatization of the largest bank may put pressure on the banking system, representing 90 percent of formal financial system assets. To date, the credit expansion has been funded by broader deposit-taking as more remittance income has been intermediated. Nonetheless, credit growth reached 50 percent (y-o-y) in April 2005 and, while still amounting to only some 10¼ percent of GDP, the stage is set for a credit boom. Banks and supervisors have not yet witnessed a full credit cycle and thus may not be fully prepared. If problems arise in the banking sector and they are not adequately addressed, trust in other nascent financial institutions, such as insurance companies, may be impaired. The situation bears close attention not least because any financial sector problems could have implications for the conduct of monetary policy.

So far, however, the Bank of Albania’s conduct of monetary policy has been sound and its liquidity management framework has been shown to function well. Nonetheless, the absence of a liquid secondary government securities market, highly concentrated holdings of government debt, and a weak interbank market remain potentially vulnerable elements in the evolving financial sector and could hinder the effectiveness of monetary policy. The central bank increasingly has the know-how and the tools, but credit extension is still not very responsive to interest rate changes from the central bank as the transmission to the real sector appears to be more via the exchange rate than directly via interest rates. Policy rates influence the dollar and euro interest rate spreads and thus the relative attractiveness of domestic currency (lek) deposits. In part, this is the result of a segmented and overly liquid banking sector—a situation that will rectify itself as the financial system matures. The central bank should continue to ensure its pricing of liquidity management operations are not advantageous vis-à-vis other banks and educate banks about the functioning of interbank markets.

Stress tests suggest that the banking sector is fairly resilient to hypothetical shocks to foreign exchange risk, interest rate risk, and credit risks without causing systemic distress. The Albanian banking sector overall has performed well in recent years, with relatively high levels of earnings and capitalization and a low level of NPLs, but will face significant challenges ahead. Although the banking system exhibits a modest degree of sensitivity to interest rate risk, the high percentage of loans in foreign currency raises the concern that banks may be vulnerable to the impact of the indirect credit risk of a lek depreciation. However, with loans still a small proportion of assets and net overall long positions in foreign exchange, few Albanian banks suffer serious capital deterioration when foreign exchange rates move. Ongoing assessments of vulnerabilities are advised, however, given the rapidity with which the banking sector is changing.

Other sectors of the Albanian financial system are not large enough to be systemically important, but growth in the insurance sector is quite rapid and problems in the sector may undermine growing confidence in financial institutions more generally. A combination of poor internal governance, weak financial accounting and reporting practices, and a regulator that is still considered to be technically rather weak could lead to additional risk-taking by insurance companies. The limited set of investment opportunities for insurance companies—namely government securities and real estate—constrain diversification of assets and contribute to concerns.

Overall, development of the financial sector is hindered by a number of institutional weaknesses—ranging from inadequate land registration and titling systems to the absence of proper accounting standards. Money laundering and corruption, the latter perceived to be a particular problem in the judicial system, are two areas that will require strong political resolve. The authorities need to assure the basic structure for contract enforcement, which will in turn permit the trust and confidence needed for counterparties (be they banks, non-bank financial institutions, foreign exchange bureaus or average citizens) to trade with each other.

Banking supervision under the central bank, the Bank of Albania (BoA), has been strengthened considerably in recent years, as conformity with most of the Basel Core Principles demonstrates, but other supervisory structures are weak by comparison. For a very small financial system, Albania has too many financial sector regulatory entities, some of whom have no market participants to regulate. In view of the scarcity of qualified and skilled financial sector professionals, regulatory efficiency could be enhanced by merging the insurance, pension, and securities supervisors into one body as a first step and re-examining integration with banking supervision at a later stage.

ALBANIA: KEY FSAP RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Short-term

Pursue efforts to increase the awareness of consumers and other bank borrowers of the risks inherent in foreign currency borrowing, by encouraging or requiring banks to discuss exchange rate risks explicitly with borrowers before contracts are signed.

Discuss with banks means of assessing the risks arising from foreign currency denominated loans and adjust existing loan classification schemes or provisioning if warranted.

Facilitate the creation of a well-functioning credit bureau under the leadership of BoA.

Undertake review of bank exit/receivership provisions and contingency planning arrangements, using “emergency bank failure scenarios” to assure readiness for such eventualities.

Proceed with the plans to revise AML law in line with the FATF Recommendations 2003.

Offer the Albanian Securities Exchange (ASE) to the private financial sector for a nominal amount to own and operate; failing that, close down the idle ASE.

Improve institutional capacity for public debt management by clearly articulating the objectives, strategies, and decision-making processes for public debt management.

Include senior qualified and experienced finance professionals in the leadership of the Insurance Supervisory Authority (ISA) both at the supervisory board level and management with adequate remuneration.

2. Medium term

Begin integration of insurance, securities, and pension fund regulatory bodies into an integrated nonbanking regulator; consider feasibility of integrating banking supervision at a later stage.

Improve land registration, titling systems, and judicial procedures for collateral enforcement.

Ensure effective implementation of proper accounting standards.

Increase capacity of the financial intelligence unit (FIU) to deal with money laundering.

Issue and enforce insurance sector prudential regulations in line with international standards.

Encourage bottom up consolidation or pooling of resources of credit and savings unions.

Harmonize and enhance regulation governing various credit unions and consider introduction of a separate deposit insurance for these institutions.

Universiteterne / De Videregående Uddannelser. Den afgående Regering har tiltrådt etableringen af nye universitetsuddannelser i Fier, Berat, Durrës fra og med i år. Formentlig skal beslutningen tiltrædes af det nye Parlament for at få virkning. Tirana Universitet har kritiseret åbningen; man mener dér at man burde koncentrere sig om at få eksisterende universiteter op på et 'europæisk' niveau. ... Pt haves kun en Albansksproget pressemeddelelse:

• Këshilli i Ministrave miratoi sot hapjen e tre shkollave të larta, universitare, publike. Kështu, Këshilli i Ministrave miratoi vendimin “Për hapjen e shkollës së lartë, universitare, publike, “Universiteti i Fierit”.

Për të krijuar mundësi dhe hapësira të reja zhvillimi dinamik të arsimit të lartë në vendin tonë mbi bazën e standarteve europiane Këshilli I Ministrave vendosi hapjen, në vitin e ri akademik 2005-2006, të shkollës së lartë, universitare, publike, “Universiteti i Fierit”, me seli qendrore në qytetin e Fierit, me dy fakultete:

a. Fakultetin e Edukimit;
b. Fakultetin e Shkencave të Aplikuara.

Universiteti i Fierit do të japë diplomë universitare në:

a. Fakultetin e Edukimit, në degët:

- Cikli i Ulët, parashkollor (tre vite akademike);
- Cikli i Ulët (tre vite akademike)
- Punonjës Social (tre vite akamike).

b. Fakultetin e Shkencave të Aplikuara, në degët:

- Inxhinjeri agronomike (tre vite akademike);
- Prodhim blegtoral (tre vite akademike);
- Infermieri (tre vite akademike);
- Inxhinjeri nafte (pesë vite akademike).

• Këshilli i Ministrave miratoi vendimin “Për hapjen e shkollës së lartë, universitare, publike, “Universiteti i Beratit”.

Gjithashtu Këshilli i Ministrave miratoi hapjen, për vitin e ri akademik 2005-2006, të shkollës së lartë, universitare, publike, “Universiteti i Beratit”, me seli qendrore në qytetin e Beratit, me dy fakultete:

a. Fakultetin e Edukimit;
b. Fakultetin e Shkencave të Aplikuara.

Universiteti i Beratit do të japë diplomë universitare në:

a. Fakultetin e Edukimit, në degët:

- Cikël i Ulët, parashkollor (tre vite akademike);
- Cikël i Ulët (tre vite akademike).

b. Fakultetin e Shkencave të Aplikuara, në degët:

- Administrim Publik (tre vite akademike);
- Menaxhim-Turizëm (tre vite akademike);
- Infermieri (tre vite akademike).

• Këshilli i Ministrave miratoi edhe vendimin “Për hapjen e shkollës së lartë, universitare, publike, “Universiteti i Durrësit”.

Universiteti i Durrësit, me seli qendrore në qytetin e Durrësit, do të ketë dy fakultete:

a. Fakultetin e Edukimit;
b. Fakultetin e Shkencave të Aplikuara.

Ky Universitet do të japë diplomë universitare në:

a. Fakultetin e Edukimit, në degët:

- Cikël i Ulët, parashkollor (tre vite akademike);
- Cikël i Ulët (tre vite akademike)
- Gjuhë të Huaja (tre vite akademike)
- Shkenca Sociale (tre vite akademike).

b. Fakultetin e Shkencave të Aplikuara, në degët:

- Inxhinjeri navale (pesë vite akademike);
- Menaxhim-Turizëm (tre vite akademike).

0508 4 bevæbnede Mænd har begået røveri i afd. af American Bank på Kong Zog-Boulevarden i Tirana, Albanien. 2 mio Lek stjålet. FBI-Specialister er ankommet for at deltage i efterforskningen.

SERBIEN og MONTENEGRO. SERBIEN (alene)

Det Amerikanske UM har Juli 2004 offentliggjort en 'Background Note' om Serbien - Montenegro: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5388.htm ... Det Engelske Udenrigsministeriums 'Country Advice' til rejsende kan findes på adressen: http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket%2FXcelerate%2FShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029390590&a=KCountryAdvice&aid=1013618386622 ... En biografi over tidligere Forbundspræsident Kostunica kan læses på Serbiske Politikere ... Mht ICTYs sag mod tidligere Præsident Milosevic, se (evt.) under ICTY ovenfor.

Præsidentvalg i Serbien. Boris Tadic blev i Juni 2004 valgt som Præsident. Seneste Parlamentsvalg: 031228.

Kosovo / Kosóva: Se under: Kosóva.

Milan Lukic pågrebet i Argentina. »Blic« skriver:

Milan Lukic, a man indicted for war crimes by the Hague tribunal was arrested in the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires the evening before yesterday while leaving a taxi in an elite part of the city.

According to information that the Institute for war and peace reporting /IWPR/ has, in earlier years Lukic was supplying information about Radovan Karadzic to the Hague Tribunal. Because of such activities he was a target of the police officers of the republic of Srpska. In an action in April last year Lukic's brother Novica was killed. IWPR characterized that action as an attempt to make Milan Lukic silent. For long time Lukic was one of those who were financing hiding of Radovan Karadzic. The U-turn in Lukic's relation towards the Hague Tribunal occurred in January when he came in conflict with members of 'Preventiva' of Karadzic's armed security. Lukic was wounded in that conflict.

Milan Lukic has been already sentenced in Serbia to 20 years in prison for murder of 16 Bosnian Muslims in 1993 at their abduction in Sjeverin. In 1998 the Hague Tribunal indicted him for crimes against humanity and violation of the customs of war.

ICTY skriver:

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia welcomes the arrest of Milan Lukic yesterday, 8 August 2005, in Argentina.

The indictment against Milan Lukic alleges that in the spring of 1992, he formed a group of paramilitaries which worked with local police and military units in exacting a reign of terror upon the local Muslim population. This group of paramilitaries was often referred to as the "White Eagles" and the "Avengers". Milan Lukic is charged with extermination, persecutions, murder and inhumane acts, committed in Visegrad, south-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, between May 1992 and October 1994. The accusations include five separate incidents of murder, two of which are particularly gruesome.

The indictment alleges that on 14 June 1992, Milan Lukic and others forced approximately 65 Bosnian Muslim women, children and elderly men into a house on Pionirska Street in Višegrad. The house was barricaded and set on fire. Those who tried to save themselves by climbing out the windows were shot at. Almost everyone locked in the house was killed, including 17 children between the ages of two days and 14 years.

On 27 June, Milan Lukic is alleged to have committed a crime of a similar nature at another location in Višegrad, again barricading a group of people into a house which was then set on fire, causing the death of approximately 70 people.

It is alleged that the acts described in the indictment were part of a widespread and systematic attack against the Bosnian Muslim and other non-Serb civilians of the Višegrad area. The Prosecutor of the ICTY has qualified the charges against Milan Lukic as crimes against humanity and violations of laws or customs of war.

The Tribunal has indicted three persons for immediate responsibility for the crimes committed in Višegrad. The initial indictment against Milan Lukic, Sredoje Lukic and Mitar Vasiljevic was confirmed on 28 August 1998. Vasiljevic is to date the only one to come into the custody of the Tribunal. He was tried and convicted in The Hague of the killing of five men, which is one of the murder incidents Milan Lukic is also charged with. Vasiljevic was sentenced to 15 years and is currently serving his sentence.

Myndighederne har øjensynlig opgivet nogle sigtelser mod Slobodan Milosevic' søn, Marko Milosevic. Marko Milosevic skulle i sin tid have truet en studenteraktivist med at skære ham i stykker med en kædesav. Aktivisten har nu trukket sin anmeldelse tilbage. Hvad der i virkeligheden er sket i sin tid er uklart. Præsident Boris Tadic' parti er meget forundret. B92 skriver:

Boris Tadic’s Democratic Party has asked Public Prosecutor Slobodan Jankovic for an explanation of the withdrawal of charges against Marko Milosevic, son of war crimes defendant and former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic.

The Democratic Party’s Legal Committee today claimed that the executive branch, headed by Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, has obviously interfered in the work of judicial organs.

A spokesman for the prime minister’s Democratic Party of Serbia said yesterday that there had been no kind of deal to withdraw charges against Milosevic.

“There isn’t any kind of deal about that and nor can any kind of deal be made,” said Andreja Mladenovic.

- - -

Public prosecutors in the Milosevic home town of Pozurevac, where Marko Milosevic was convicted in absentia and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for threatening Otpor activist Zoran Milovanovic with a chainsaw have withdrawn all charges and revoked an Interpol warrant for his arrest. The move clears the way for Marko Milosevic, who fled Yugoslavia within hours of his father’s regime being overthrown, to return. A warrant for the arrest of his mother, Mirjana Markovic, was also withdrawn this month. Both are believed to be living in Russia.

In a statement released yesterday, prosecutors say that Milovanovic came to the prosecution offices two weeks ago and gave Deputy Prosecutor Dmitar Krstev a statement recanting his previous testimony and claiming that no member of his family had been subjected to any compulsion.

MONTENEGRO (alene)

Præsidentvalg 030511: Filip Vujanovic blev valgt. Seneste Parlamentsvalg 021020.

MAKEDONIEN

Det Engelske Udenrigsministeriums 'Country Advice' til rejsende kan findes på adressen: http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket%2FXcelerate%2FShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029390590&a=KCountryAdvice&aid=1013618386163 ... Det Amerikanske UM har Maj 2004 offentliggjort en 'Background Note' om Makedonien: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/26759.htm

Der er omkring 25 % etniske Albanere i Makedonien. Folketælling afholdtes 021101-021105.

Præsidentvalg i Maj 2004: Branko Crvenkovski - hidtidig PM - blev valgt (efter Boris Trajkovski som omkom ved en flyulykke). Seneste Parlamentsvalg fandt sted 020915. Der kan henvises til flg. OSCE/ODIHR-oversigtsside: http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/field_activities/skopje2002/.

Folkeafstemningen 041107 om decentralisering (= imødekommelse af Makedonien-Albanske interesser): Folkeafstemningen "faldt". Stemmedeltagelsen var kun omkring 26 %. Hvis afstemningen skulle have kunnet udvirke en ændring af decentraliseringslovgivningen, skulle deltagelsen have været mindst 50%, og desuden skulle der have været flertal mod lovgivningen. Det var ventet at stemmedeltagelsen ville have været noget større, selv om både Regeringspartierne og den Albanske minoritet anbefalede at man blev hjemme. Man kan nu gå videre i overensstemmelse med Ohrid-aftalerne.

Fængsling af den Ortodokse Biskop Jovan. Præsident Crvenkovski har udtalt at der er tale om et internt Makedonsk anliggende. KIM Info skriver:

The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Macedonia, Archbishop Jovan (Vranisskovski) of Ohrid and Skopje, has now been jailed for 18 months on charges of "inciting national, racial and religious hatred, schism and intolerance". Jovan's colleague, Bishop Marko of Dremvica and Bitola, told Forum 18 News Service that, as well as keeping Jovan under conastant surveillance, police forced him to change out of his cassock and refused to allow him to take anything with him into prison. "The archbishop was not permitted to take his prayer book, the Gospels, an icon or any of the insignia of his rank with him," Bishop Marko told Forum 18. During the first 30 days of his jail term, Jovan is not being allowed visits from anyone, apart from his lawyer and his immediate family, who are only being allowed to visit him once, for five minutes only. After the initial 30 days he will be either be sent to a maximum security prison unit, or to a unit with less strict discipline.

-

MACEDONIA: ORTHODOX ARCHBISHOP JAILED - WITHOUT THE GOSPELS

By Branko Bjelajac, Forum 18 News Service

The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Macedonia, Archbishop Jovan (Vranisskovski) of Ohrid and Skopje, was taken to Idrizovo prison in Macedonia's capital Skopje on 26 July, to begin an 18 month jail sentence, imposed in 2004, on charges of "inciting national, racial and religious hatred, schism and intolerance". Jovan's colleague Bishop Marko of Dremvica and Bitola complained of the way police took Jovan to jail, seizing him from his car in Skopje, forcing him to change out of his cassock and refusing to allow him to take anything with him into prison.

"The archbishop was not permitted to take his prayer book, the Gospels, an icon or any of the insignia of his rank with him," Bishop Marko told Forum 18 News Service from Bitola in southern Macedonia on 27 July. Archbishop Jovan was not permitted to speak to the press assembled in front of the prison.

During the next 30 days, Jovan is not being allowed visits from anyone, apart from his lawyer and his immediate family. His family are only being allowed to visit him once, for five minutes only. After the initial 30 days he will be relocated within the prison, either to a maximum security unit or to a unit with less strict discipline.

Metropolitan Jovan's sentence came into force after the Appeal Court, in his home town of Bitola, rejected his request for his 18 month prison sentence to be delayed until the Supreme Court rules on his appeal.

Jovan's appeal to the Supreme Court could last for up to a year (see F18News 24 June 2005 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=593).

Jovan will then be entitled to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, and told Forum 18 that "I may sit in jail and cannot make my case abroad until I completely finish with all the domestic courts. This is why my hearing before the Supreme Court is being delayed for so long."

An order was issued on 25 July for Jovan to report the following day not to the local Bitola prison, but to Idrizovo prison, for no apparent reason. Bishop Marko told Forum 18 that when he and Jovan drove from Bitola to Skopje on 26 July, they were escorted by a police car for the whole journey and that "several times we were stopped by police and our car searched, and our documents checked, and rechecked."

"When we arrived in the suburbs of Skopje, we were finally stopped by another patrol, and told to wait until further notice. Then, after an hour, about 10 police squad cars appeared, surrounded us, and they pulled the Archbishop out of the car and put him in a police car," Bishop Marko complained. "They said that he would be driven to a police station nearby and that we will receive all other information there. Upon our arrival, we were told that he was in jail, after he was forced to change his clothes. The police then told us that Archbishop Jovan was late and that an arrest warrant was issued for him. This is ridiculous, since his passport was taken ten days ago, and our monastery was under non-stop police surveillance the whole time."

Jovan has previously been jailed in 2003, when he was given five days' solitary confinement for baptising his sister's grandchild (see F18News 24 July 2003 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=113). Subsequently, on 31 October 2003, he was given a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years, for performing the baptism in a church building belonging to the rival Macedonian Orthodox Church, which was deemed to be violent entry into Macedonian Church property (see F18News 13 January 2004 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=228).

Archbishop Jovan told Forum 18 that "I did not offend against the law in any way. But, the government can also activate the suspended sentence if facts not previously known to judges are found. They activated the sentence because they claim that they did not know that I was the Serbian Orthodox Exarch (protector) of the Ohrid Archbishopric! This is absurd, since the previous sentence is accusing me of exactly that on two pages. They are trying to sentence me twice for the same act."

The state is also pursuing two more criminal investigations against Archbishop Jovan, both for alleged fraud and mismanagement of funds while he was serving as a bishop of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. All the trials and charges were launched when Jovan left the Macedonian Orthodox Church and transferred to the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The roots of the dispute between the Serbian and Macedonian Churches lie in the creation of the Macedonian Church in 1958 under heavy pressure from the then-communist government of Marshal Tito. In 1968 the Macedonian Church proclaimed its autocephaly (complete independence) from the Serbian Orthodox Church, but no other canonical Orthodox Church in the world recognises this autocephaly.

During a long-running campaign against the Serbian Orthodox Church the governemnt has, among other things, repeatedly refused to give state registration to the Serbian Orthodox Church (see F18News 4 February 2005 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=505), staged police raids with priests of the rival Macedonian Orthodox Church to "persuade" members of the Serbian Church in Macedonia to join the Macedonian Church (see F18News 9 February 2005 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=506), and demolished a monastery (see Forum18 News 21 October 2004 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=437) after a paramilitary "state security unit" attacked it with machine guns (see F18News 24 February 2004 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=259).

A printer-friendly map of Macedonia is available from http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=europe&Rootmap=macedo

© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855 You may reproduce or quote this article provided that credit is given to F18News http://www.forum18.org/).

Albanien tager (fortsat) afstand fra politisk ekstremisme i Makedonien.

Outgoing Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano met with leaders of Macedonia's main ethnic Albanian parties at the weekend and denounced activities by extremist elements in Macedonia. According to media reports, Nano held separate talks with Democratic Union for Integration leader Ali Ahmeti and the Democratic Party of Albanians' Arben Xhaferi in settlements on the Albanian-Macedonian border. Nano reportedly condemned extremist elements in the Kondovo region in particular and repeated that regardless of who assumes power in Tirana, Albania stands for stability in Macedonia and the region. (A1 TV, Dnevnik - 08/08/05)

Bortførelse af tidl. UÇK'er. Makfax skriver:

Ilir Fonici from Kosovo, former member of KLA, was abducted Monday in Macedonia. Abductors demanded from his family 600.000 Euros ransom for his release.

According to the Tirana-based daily "Shequli", Fonici entered in Macedonia two days ago, and his family received the ransom requests over two telephone calls, one made from Skopje and another one from Tetovo.

An employee in the Macedonian Interior Ministry told Makfax that they have neither information, nor report for the eventual kidnapping.

The brother of the kidnapped person gave no further details to the paper, except that the kidnappers also notified UNMIK about the abduction.

"Shequli" says that Ilir Fonici came to Skopje from Pristina, but fails to disclose the reasons for his traveling to Macedonia.

The paper hints at mounting tensions in Macedonia, particularly in the village of Kondovo, quoting the International Crisis Group, as saying that the situation unfolding in this village is triggering increasing destabilization threats.

GRÆKENLAND

Seneste Parlamentsvalg 040307. Olympiade 13.-29. August (se Græsk side: http://www.athens2004.com/athens2004/ og Dansk side: http://www.dif.dk/index/ol-3/ol-ol2004.htm).

TYRKIET

UMs rejsevejledning: http://www.um.dk/da/menu/Borgerservice/FoerRejsen/Rejsevejledninger/RejsevejledningTyrkiet.htm.

Seneste Parlamentsvalg blev holdt 021103. Det blev i December 2004 aftalt (med EUs Regeringschefer)at der i Oktober 2005 skal indledes forhandlinger om optagelse af Tyrkiet i EU.

LANDE UDEN FOR BALKAN OG ØSTLIGE MIDDELHAV. NATO-LANDE

ITALIEN

Mother Teresa. I anledning af saligkåringen ('beatificeringen') 031019 har Vatikantet etableret en internetside: http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20031019_index_madre-teresa_en.html

USA

0508 4 bevæbnede Mænd har begået røveri i afd. af American Bank på Kong Zog-Boulevarden i Tirana, Albanien. 2 mio Lek stjålet. FBI-Specialister er ankommet for at deltage i efterforskningen.

ENGLAND

Tidl. UM Robin Cook er død. Cook spillede en betydelig rolle i forbindelse med NATO-interventionen i Kosovo i 1999, og han betragtede selv denne som én af sine største udenrigspolitiske successer. I 2001 blev han rykket et trin ned til hvervet som Leder af Underhuset. Han nedlagde dette hverv i 2003, fordi han fandt Interventionen i Irak i sted med International Ret. Ved dén lejlighed understregede han forskellene på interventionerne i Kosovo og i Irak. [Kommentar: Der er betydelige politiske og militære forskelle på de to interventioner, men begge var i strid med international ret]:

I have heard some parallels between military action in these circumstances [Iraq] and the military action that we took in Kosovo. There was no doubt about the multilateral support that we had for the action that we took in Kosovo.

It was supported by NATO; it was supported by the European Union; it was supported by every single one of the seven neighbours in the region. France and Germany were our active allies.

It is precisely because we have none of that support in this case [Iraq] that it was all the more important to get agreement in the Security Council as the last hope of demonstrating international agreement.

The legal basis for our action in Kosovo was the need to respond to an urgent and compelling humanitarian crisis.

Our difficulty in getting support this time is that neither the international community nor the British public is persuaded that there is an urgent and compelling reason for this military action in Iraq.

Se evt. reportage på BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4127676.stm. Talen fra 2003 kan læses på: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2859431.stm (pgl. side link'er til en videogengivelse).

Mht Kosovo kan henvises til: »Fra Kosovo til Kosóva« (1999). En diskussion af det dav. DUPI's rapport til Regeringen og Folketinget om humanitær intervention kan findes i »Albanske Studier« (2002).

TYSKLAND

FRANKRIG

DANMARK (NORGE, SVERIGE)

Ugerapport fra Dansk KFOR. Hærens Operative Kommando - se under: Kosova.

LANDE UDEN FOR BALKAN OG ØSTLIGE MIDDELHAV. IKKE NATO-LANDE

RUSLAND

UMs Rejsevejledning: http://www.um.dk/da/menu/Borgerservice/FoerRejsen/Rejsevejledninger/RejsevejledningRusland.htm

KINA

Fodbold: FIFA meddeler med. Juli at Albanien ligger som nr. 86 med 501 points [forrige nr.: 86]. Andre lande: Makedonien nr. 94 [94], Serbien Montenegro nr. 49 [49], Grækenland nr. 19 [13], Italien nr. 14 [11], Tyrkiet nr. 12 [14], USA nr. 6 [10], Frankrig nr. 7 [5], Spanien nr. 8 [9], Tyskland nr. 11 [10], England nr. 8 [7]. Danmark nr. 19 [16], Norge nr. 36 [35] og Sverige nr. 17 [12]. - Brasilien ligger som nr. 1 [1].

Kvalifikationskampe til VM-slutrunde 2006 i Tyskland. Danmark skal møde Albanien, Georgien, Grækenland, Kasakhstan, Tyrkiet og Ukraine.

Du må citere hvis du angiver hovedsidens adresse: bjoerna.dk ... Siderne om Albanerne: bjoerna.dk/albanerne.htm ... Søgning på internettet: bjoerna.dk/soegning.htm