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Croats Mythologize Ustasha Cutthroats

Sunday, June 29th, 2008

June 27, 2008

Croats Mythologize Ustasha Cutthroats

Croat graduates
Croat students opt for fascist insignia for their high school graduation album

Ustashe Über Alles

All the protestations against allowing world tours and concerts of Croat neo-Nazi singer Marko Perkovic Thompson, notorious for glorifying the most macabre cutthroats world has had a misfortune to know — Croat WWII fascists (Ustashas), have fell on deaf ears in Croatia.

Croat officials even complained that certain Serbian and Jewish organizations are infringing on their “freedoms” by seeking a ban on the morbid Ustasha-glorifying spectacles by the famously untalented “musician”, gathering crowds of young Croats dressed for the occasion — wearing swastikas, Ustasha symbols and other fascist insignia, and thunderously chanting Nazi salutes, Sieg Heil and the Croat fascist version, Za Dom Spremni.

A handful of those who kept pressing, pointing to the poisonous influence Perkovic has on the Croat youth, were met with feeble claims that all the fascist fervor Thompson inspires is merely a good old fun where, in fact, everyone dresses and behaves impeccably, and the fascist salutes and insignia are, at worst, only “isolated incidents”.

Glorifying Fascism Just Another “Kids Game”

Serbian media reported yesterday that Croat high school graduates in the town of Makarska decided to have their annual graduation album pictures taken next to swastikas. They had ordered the black t-shirts for the whole class printed with Über Alles over the chests, and wore them in Makarska downtown few days before. They also thought of adopting Thompson’s song “Jasenovac and Gradiska Stara” [names of two among the most horrific WWII concentration camps, run by Ustashas in Croatia, where 750,000 Serbs, 60,000 Jews and 30,000 Gypsies were tortured and hacked to pieces] as an anthem of their generation of graduates.

The city mayor Marko Ozic Bebek, who helped fund the graduation schoolbook project, blamed those “who are attacking singer Thompson” and “who see such symbols everywhere” for the scandal. Perhaps those swastikas on the photos of the high school graduates from his town are also a figment of our imagination.

School director Slavko Gudelj said he was not aware of the kind of album graduates have made until it was printed and that the annual schoolbook was created by the best students from the school’s graduation board.

“The kids do not deserve to be nailed to a pillar of shame now! This is a new generation, unburdened by the old ideologies — someone draws this, someone draws that,” the principal was adamant.

Thompson’s Biggest Fans: Croat Roman Catholic Clergy

Croat clergy glorifies Ustasha ideology
Croat Roman Catholic clergy glorifies Ustasha ideology… again

But it is not just the “kids” in Croatia who are idolizing the bone-chilling Ustasha pathology, which was in fact a clero-fascism of the most lurid sort. Sadly, these kinds of “incidents” are also far from being either isolated or as innocent as some would want to portray them.

The newspaper clip on the right shows Croat Roman Catholic army priest Juraj Jezerinac, who used the opportunity to advertise Thompson’s bloodcurdling “poetry” to his flock on the occasion of Croatia’s state holiday.

Titled “Ustasha poem in church”, the article in a Serbian daily said:

“On the occasion of Croatia’s State holiday, a ‘Gratitude Mass’ led by the state army priest Juraj Jezerinac was held in Vukovar. Speaking about the Croat victims of the civil war, Jezerinac quoted the poem ‘White doves’, written and performed by Marko Perkovic Thompson, a musician known for advocating the Ustasha ideology and by the songs which glorify Ustasha World War Two crimes.

“In the song ‘White doves’, Thompson uses over and over, as a leitmotiv, Ustasha salute ‘Za dom spremni’ [For the fatherland ready] and, among else, says:

“‘Say a prayer not a step further/ on this very spot the white doves fell/ with the hell’s fire here they met/ the broken wings were left/ and they were for the fatherland ready.’

“The Roman Catholic church in Croatia almost in entirety supports Thompson and only few days ago a group of Croat intellectuals, including several Roman Catholic bishops, addressed the public in a letter, seeking protection for Thompson and his work.”

In WWII, Vatican and the Roman Catholic church in Croatia openly supported fascists, and especially the specific Croat brand of clero-fascism. Ustashas were swearing a loyalty oath in front of a Roman Catholic crucifix, butcher’s knife and the hand grenade. Croat concentration camps were always equipped with the Roman Catholic chapel, where a clergyman would absolve the Ustasha sins each day after the mass slaughters. Some of the most horrific crimes in fascist Croatia were committed by the clergymen, like notorious friar Tomislav Filipovic, who was referred to by his Ustasha comrades as Father Satan. Alojzije Stepinac, Croat archbishop during the Second World War, blessed and praised both the German and Croat fuhrers, Adolf Hitler and Ante Pavelic, for “fulfilling the long-dreamed of and desired ideal” of Croat people. Vatican has been actively helping the Ustasha war criminals escape justice after the WWII, by shuffling them to South and North America through the infamous Vatican ratlines.

Despite the monstrous history, neither the Croat Roman Catholic church, nor Vatican have ever distanced themselves from, or expressed regret for the atrocious WWII genocide Croat state and church have committed. To the contrary, Vatican continued its tacit approval of Ustasha horrors, by beatifying Alojzije Stepinac — “a patron saint of genocide,” in 1998.

So, it is no wonder that Croat clergy and Roman Catholic church approves, supports and promotes the exact same ideology and the same unholy zeal today, as it did decades earlier. Nevertheless, it is absolutely terrifying

Posted in Geschichte - History | Comments Closed

Wohin der Weg des Teams Zbigniew Brzezinski – Georg Soros – Barack Obama geht?

Sunday, June 29th, 2008

28.06.2008 / Thema / Seite 10Inhalt

Die Welt als Schachbrett

Der neue Kalte Krieg des Obama-Beraters Zbigniew Brzezinski (Teil I)

Von Hauke Ritz

Stratege der globalen US-Vorherrschaft: Zbigniew Brzezinski (hie

Stratege der globalen US-Vorherrschaft: Zbigniew Brzezinski (hier während einer Konferenz in der kroatischen Stadt Dubrovnik, 7.7.2007)

Foto: AP
Der 1928 in Warschau geborene Zbig­niew Brzezinski gilt neben Henry M. Kissinger und Samuel P. Huntington als graue Eminenz unter den US-Geostrategen. Er trägt durch seine Beratertätigkeit für US-Präsident James Carter von 1977 bis 1981 u. a. eine Mitverantwortung an der Talibanisierung Afghanistans, unterstützten die Vereinigten Staaten doch die Mudschaheddin massiv im Kampf gegen die UdSSR. Nach Brzezinskis Bekunden wollten die USA die Sowjetunion in die »afghanische Falle« locken und ihnen so »ihr Vietnam« bereiten. Heute ist er Professor für Amerikanische Außenpolitik an der Johns-Hopkins-Universität in Baltimore, Berater am Zentrum für Strategische und Internationale Studien (CSIS) in Washington D.C. und Verfasser von politischen Sachbüchern. Daneben betätigt sich Brzezinski als Berater für mehrere große US-amerikanische und internationale Unternehmen. Unlängst geriet er wieder in die Schlagzeilen, als über die Medien verbreitet wurde, daß er in das außenpolitische Team des US-Präsidentschaftskandidaten Barack Obama eingetreten ist.In dem folgenden Artikel untersucht Hauke Ritz die geopolitischen Konzepte Brzezinskis. Der jW-Beitrag ist die stark gekürzte Fassung eines Textes aus »Quo vadis, Amerika? Die Welt nach Bush«. Das 288 Seiten umfassende Buch mit 24 Beiträgen von u. a. Norman Birnbaum, Saskia Sassen und Immanuel Wallerstein ist soeben im Verlag der Blätter für deutsche und internationale Politik erschienen und kostet 12 Euro (blaetter.de). (jW)

Die politischen Zyklen der westlichen Welt sind eng verknüpft mit den Amtszeiten amerikanischer Präsidenten. Mit jedem neuen US-Präsidenten verändert die Welt ein wenig ihren Charakter. So war die Präsidentschaft William Clintons mit einer optimistisch nach außen vertretenen Globalisierung verbunden. Was im Heimatland des Imperiums eine riesige Finanzblase erzeugte, führte allerdings von Südostasien über Rußland bis Argentinien zu einer ganzen Reihe von tragischen Wirtschaftskrisen. Die Amtszeit George W. Bushs war eng verknüpft mit dem »Krieg gegen den Terror«. Der selbsternannte Kriegspräsident gewöhnte die Welt an die Wiedereinführung von Folter und geheimen Gefängnissen. Nach acht Jahren Amtszeit ist das internationale Ansehen der Vereinigten Staaten stark beschädigt und beschränkt zunehmend auch den Bewegungsspielraum US-amerikanischer Außenpolitik.

Nun bereiten sich die Vereinigten Staaten erneut auf einen Regierungswechsel vor. Man fragt sich, welcher Flügel der Elite nun an die Macht kommen wird und womit die Welt als nächstes zu rechnen hat. Vieles deutet darauf hin, daß Barack Obama die besten Aussichten hat. Umso mehr stellt sich die Frage, wie der von ihm propagierte »Wandel« aussehen wird.

Obama wird von dem Multimilliardär Georg Soros und dem ehemaligen Sicherheitsberater unter Präsident James Carter, Zbigniew Brzezinski, unterstützt. Brzezinski ist zugleich als außenpolitischer Berater Obamas tätig. Als graue Eminenz unter den US-Geostrategen verkörpert er die Sichtweisen und Interessen eines ganzen Flügels der amerikanischen Elite. Aufgrund seines intellektuellen Ranges muß sein Einfluß sehr hoch veranschlagt werden. ….

http://www.jungewelt.de/2008/06-28/026.php 

“Es liegt allein an uns”
Zbigniew Brzezinski über den Aufstieg der anderen, die moderierende Rolle, die Amerika künftig in der Welt wahrnehmen soll, sowie die Folgen, die ein Krieg mit dem Iran haben könnte

In Rente gehen und sich zur Ruhe setzen, mit 67 oder 70, kennt Zbigniew Brzezinski nicht. Auch mit über 84 Jahren ist der einstige Direktor der “Trilateralen Kommission”, Sicherheitsberater Jimmy Carters, Architekt des afghanischen Widerstands gegen die Sowjets und Autor von “The Grand Chessboard” so emsig und umtriebig wie eh und je.

Erst im Frühjahr hat er, nachdem er eine Zeitlang den Präsidenten Obama zu beraten verrsucht hat, wieder einen neuen “Matchplan” für die USA ausgeheckt, eine “Strategic Vision” für die erste Hälfte dieses Jahrhunderts.

Mancher Beobachter hat die Wandlung, die die graue Eminenz der US-amerikanischen Politberatung darin vornimmt, sehr erstaunt. Zumal er ihnen meist nur als heftiger Befürworter einer Eindämmung des kommunistischen Machtbereichs bei gleichzeitiger Sicherung und Ausweitung des amerikanisch-westlichen Einflusses auf dem “eurasischen Balkan” aufgefallen ist.

Doch der Amerikaner mit polnischen Wurzeln war schon immer mehr als ein “Kommunistenfresser” und bloßer “Kalter Krieger”. Gewiss war er vor mehr als dreißig Jahren hauptverantwortlich für die Unterstützung der afghanischen Mujaheddin und dafür, dass die damalige Sowjetunion ihr “Vietnam” am Hindukusch erlebte hat und damit ihr Untergang auf rasante Weise beschleunigt wurde.

Gleichwohl war Zbigniew Brzezinski immer auch mehr als das. Er war nicht nur Schreibtischstratege und kühler Analytiker US-amerikanischer Machtpolitik, sondern auch und vor allem aufmerksam und aufgeschlossen gegenüber globalen Transformationen, besonders den technischen oder “technotronischen” (http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/4/4492/1.html), wie er sie nannte.

Revolutionäre Gesellschaft

So handelte sein erstes Großwerk “Between Two Ages”, bereits 1969 veröffentlicht und hierzulande wenig beachtet, vom Übergang von der industriellen zur postindustriellen Gesellschaft, als die meisten politischen Beobachter und Kommentatoren noch die nationale Brille auf der Nase trugen.
………..
http://www.heise.de/tp/blogs/6/152991

Posted in Welt News Spezial | Comments Closed

Croats Systematically Destroyed Serbian Population

Thursday, June 26th, 2008

June 25, 2008

Croats Systematically Destroyed Serbian Population

Franjo Tudjman in his office
Franjo Tudjman, notorious Holocaust denier who famously declared he is “lucky his wife is neither Jewish, nor Serbian”, had flared the new wave of rabid Ustasa fervor at the start of 1990s and, together with Croatia’s current Premier Stipe Mesic, reintroduced the murderous policies from 1940s, when Croatia was allied with Hitler’s Germany.

He was never indicted by the Hague for the second genocide against Serbian population in Croatia, the one he planned and executed at the helm of the Croat state.

Galbraith: Ethnic Cleansing of Serbs was Croatia’s State Policy

Former US Ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith who testified before the Hague tribunal on Monday, confirmed that ethnic cleansing of Serbs from Serbian Krajina region was a deliberate systematic operation and the state policy of Croat leadership, headed by Franjo Tudjman, which led to the mass scale ethnic cleansing in two blitzkrieg operations in 1995, codenamed Storm and Flash.

As a prosecution witness in the case against Tudjman’s generals Ante Gotovina, Mladen Markaca and Ivan Cermak — accused of conducting military operations aimed at forced and permanent removal of Serbian population from the Krajina region, including killing Serbian civilians and prisoners, expulsion, deportation, plunder of Serbian property, merciless destruction of Serbian-populated towns and villages and inhumane and cruel treatment — Galbraith stressed that this was Croatia’s state policy that continued to be enforced afterwards, preventing the expelled Serbs from returning to their homes and land in Croatia.

According to Galbraith, the systematic destruction and plunder of the Serbian property during the Storm, as well as prevention of their return, through the legal and other means undertaken after the operation, took place “because Croat state leadership — Tudjman and the gang around him — wanted it to happen, and they were happy when it did happen”.

Systematic Pogrom

“Once the Serbs were gone, Tudjman didn’t want them to return”, American diplomat said, adding that Croat state enacted legal measures to prevent the return of the expelled and refugees.

“The systematic destruction of Krajina was either ordered or permitted, but in any case, this was intended by the Croat leadership. I believe this was a deliberate policy of Zagreb government,” Galbraith stressed.

He said that Croat war-time president Tudjman, during their numerous meetings before the Operation Storm, was not hiding the fact he considers Serbian population in Krajina region “a strategic threat” to Croatia. His adviser Hrvoje Sarinic called Serbian population in Croatia a “cancer on Croatia’s belly”, US diplomat noted.

Galbraith confirmed that Tudjman was saying that only “up to 10 percent of Serbs can remain in Croatia”, and that Serbian Krajina region ought to be cleansed of Serbs and populated by the diaspora Croats. Emphasizing that his goal was a nationally “homogeneous”, i.e. an ethnically clean state, Tudjman was also openly advocating “moving the population” and dividing Bosnia and Herzegovina, Galbraith revealed.

He testified that right after the military offensive on Serbian Krajina began, on August 4, 1995, the mass “torching and pillaging” of the Serbian towns and villages also started. He had personally witnessed these crimes and knows these were not merely “isolated incidents”, as Croats refer to them, but organized, massive action, planned at the very top of Croat political and military leadership.

Galbraith Regrets Lying During Milosevic’s Trial

Mass ethnic cleansing of Serbian population from Krajina in Croatia — Operation Storm — remains the biggest single act of ethnic cleansing committed on the territory of former Yugoslavia, with over 300,000 Serbs being forced to flee, while more than 14,000 Serbian civilians were killed. It was, therefore, quite convenient that US State Department’s Madeleine Albright had miraculously discovered, at the very moment Croats were “purifying” their state, that Serbs have committed a “genocide” in Srebrenica a whole month earlier, so that the focus of the world public could be successfully and instantly taken off the genocidal Croat state.

During his Hague testimony on June 23, Galbraith expressed regret he had lied in the trial against former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, claiming that there was no ethnic cleansing during Operation Storm. He said that this was a “technical explanation”, because many Serbs left the town of Knin before the savage Croat troops entered (compared to hyenas by a senior British officer who, after his peacekeeping service in Bosnia, said he “would rather find Serbs under his command, as they could be counted on to fight to the last man [while] Croats were no more dependable or courageous than hyenas”).

Elsewhere, it was noted that the US State Department representative was present the entire time during Galbraith’s testimony, sitting behind the prosecutor, with the task to oversee American diplomat’s testimony and prevent him from touching upon the subjects which involve the US role in purging Croatia of Serbs.

Recommended: Tudjman & the Croatian Ustashe Nazi genocide of Krajina Serbs in 1991 (Part 1, Part 2), by Nathan Pearlstein, Joshua Rosenberg, Max Rosenthal and Shlomo Baum (4International)

Posted in Balkan (Englisch), Geschichte - History | 1 Comment »

Kosovo the most worst country in balcan

Thursday, June 26th, 2008

World Bank: fight against corruption slackens in majority of SEE countries

26/06/2008

The fight against corruption has weakened in most of the Southeast European countries, according to a new World Bank report on governance published on Tuesday.

(Dnevnik, Europe.bg, Hotnews.ro – 25/06/08; DPA, IPS, World Bank – 24/06/0cool

According to the report, Bulgaria ranks as the most corrupt of the EU member states. [File]

Only five of the Southeast European (SEE) countries made progress in fighting corruption in 2007, the World Bank said in a new study released on Tuesday (June 24th). Kosovo and Bulgaria are among the other seven nations that deteriorated on this front, according to the Bank’s annual World Governance Indicators (WGI) report.

The study covers 212 countries and territories, drawing on 35 different data sources. The Bank measures governance in the surveyed countries on the basis of six criteria: voice and accountability, political stability, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law and control of corruption. For each of these indicators, countries earn scores of 0 to 100 or percentile ranks.

With a rank of 25.6 for 2007, Kosovo appears to be the worst performer among the SEE nations in fighting corruption and the country with the most significant deterioration since 2006, when it received a score of 34. Bulgaria’s performance in this category also worsened. Its 53.1 rank for last year was 3.7 points lower than the one it got in 2006, making it the worst performer in the fight against corruption among EU members.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Greece’s scores of 44.9 and 65.7, respectively, were both 3.2 points lower than those the previous year. Cyprus got 74.9 for 2007, down from 77.7 in 2006. Croatia (58.9) and Serbia (46.4) slipped 0.8 and 0.2 points, respectively.

Meanwhile, Albania (36.7) improved by 7.6 points. Romania (55.6) also made significant progress, gaining 7.1 points in a year. Macedonia (50.7), Montenegro (44.4) and Turkey (59.4) earned higher scores for 2007.

On the voice and accountability indicator, all SEE countries, except for BiH, Kosovo, Romania and Turkey, improved their scores.

Political stability deteriorated most in Turkey, Serbia and BiH. Cyprus (64.4), Greece (63.0) and Bulgaria (61.1) fared best on this indicator. ….

Setimes

Posted in Balkan (Englisch), Economy - Wirtschaft | Comments Closed

Gerdec blast and the US – Albanian bribery system

Wednesday, June 25th, 2008

Consequences still resonate three months after Gerdec blast

23/06/2008

Although the people in Gerdec, Albania, have begun to rebuild their homes and move on, the March 15th blast in the town is still fresh in everyone’s minds. The explosion is still causing turmoil in Albanian politics.

By Manjola Hala for Southeast European Times in Tirana — 23/06/08

 

photoThe blast killed 26 people, and caused 16.6m euros worth of damage. [Getty Images]

Efforts to dismantle Albania’s stockpiles of obsolete munitions took a catastrophic turn on March 15th, when a series of explosions occurred as crews were clearing out a storage depot in Gerdec, near Tirana. The explosions lasted nearly 14 hours, resulted in 26 deaths, over 300 injuries, thousands of homeless and 16.6m euros worth of damage.

Investigations into the tragedy have focused on what caused the explosion and who is responsible.

The final report of US experts, who assisted the Albanian team to investigate the causes of the accident, says that the demolition process was carried out in unsafe working conditions — the factory was very small and inappropriate for demilitarization of ammunition.

“According to estimates, the explosion was so strong that it could be compared to a nuclear explosion,” said President Bamir Topi.

Gerdec looks now like a construction site with houses being re-built and a number of tents for shelter. The exploded hill has started to show its first signs of life with sparse grass and plant regrowth.

Alongside the few newly reconstructed houses there are many others being rebuilt with funds from the government or by Gerdec inhabitants themselves.

 

photoFormer Defence Minister Fatmir Mediu resigned days after the blast. [Getty Images]

“Some of the families managed to rebuild their houses very soon after the tragedy,” said Gerdec resident Agim, who is working on his house with his family and friends. “Relatives or children working abroad helped them financially. I personally borrowed the money needed for the reconstruction; I could not live anymore in a tent. As soon as I receive the financial compensation, I will repay it.”

However, officials in the Vora municipality, the entity responsible for distributing compensation and other economic assistance to the damaged families, say that the funds for reconstruction have all be distributed.

As of June 10th, the finance ministry had delivered 90% of the 13m euros allocated by the government, according to the ministry’s press office. On June 12th, the Council of Ministers issued a final decision on compensation funds, adding an additional 7.5m euros for rebuilding the business sector and for the inhabitants of Manze and Marikaj, which were also damaged in the blasts.

However, despite the compensation, most of those affected by the tragedy are upset with the government’s dealing with the situation. At the beginning of June, people sheltered at the interior ministry employees’ resort in Durres started protesting against the ministry’s decision to relocate them to rental homes.

Many families in the area have refused to relocate, despite the contamination. The UN group that visited Gerdec in late March estimated that the level of contamination near the exploded hill is high due to two missile radioactive elements. Still, many residents have set up tents near the hill, and refuse relocation.

Accommodation is not the only problem that caused dissatisfaction among people damaged by Gerdec blast. In mid May, claims regarding unfair assessment of damaged buildings caused an investigation for possible bribery cases. After questioning the 15 working groups established for assessing public and private buildings, the state prosecution decided to start investigations of four individuals and their methods of assessing the damages.

The former workers at the Gerdec army depot have gone on hunger strike. They accuse the government of not properly handling the situation, and are asking for financial compensation for the wounded and the families that suffered as a result of the blast.

 

photoResidents leave their destroyed houses in Memlisht after the weapons depot exploded. [Getty Images]

Five people have been arrested in connection with the blasts, and on Monday (June 16th), parliament lifted the immunity of former Defence Minister Fatmir Mediu based on the general prosecutor’s allegation of abuse of power. Mediu resigned days after the explosion.

The prosecution says that an investigation into the matter shows that Mediu’s “actions and inactions” broke a series of laws and procedures on security standards. They say there were illegal orders appointing Gerdec as the place for the site of the munitions demolition, and other orders to the army to transport the munitions to Gerdec that could have been the result of bribery.

Mediu denies any wrongdoing and did not comment on the parliament’s decision. “As a defense minister I respected the law [and] considered disposing of excess ammunition a national priority,” he told the parliamentary session.

Topi has also relieved Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Luan Hoxha from duty. Presidential spokeswoman Mimoza Kociu said that the decision followed a recommendation from Prime Minister Sali Berisha.

Seven other defense ministry officials and managers of the private company disposing of the ammunition have been arrested on charges of negligence. About 100,000 tons of excess ammunition, mostly Russian and Chinese artillery shells made in the 1960s or earlier, are stored in former army depots across Albania. The country has pledged to dispose of the ammunition by 2010, and is receiving assistance from the US, Canada and other NATO countries.

Southeast European Times correspondent Jonilda Koci contributed to this report.

This content was commissioned for SETimes.com

 

 

June 24, 2008

American Envoy Is Linked to Arms Deal Cover-Up

By ERIC SCHMITT

WASHINGTON — An American ambassador helped cover up the illegal Chinese origins of ammunition that a Pentagon contractor bought to supply Afghan security forces, according to testimony gathered by Congressional investigators.

Before testifying, from left: Mitchell Howell of the Defense Contract Management Agency; Brig. Gen. William N. Phillips; and Jeffrey P. Parsons of the Army Contracting Command.

A military attaché has told the investigators that the United States ambassador to Albania endorsed a plan by the Albanian defense minister to hide several boxes of Chinese ammunition from a visiting reporter. The ammunition was being repackaged to disguise its origins and shipped from Albania to Afghanistan by a Miami Beach arms-dealing company.

The ambassador, John L. Withers II, met with the defense minister, Fatmir Mediu, hours before a reporter for The New York Times was to visit the American contractor’s operations in Tirana, the Albanian capital, according to the testimony. The company, under an Army contract, bought the ammunition to supply Afghan security forces although American law prohibits trading in Chinese arms.

The attaché, Maj. Larry D. Harrison II of the Army, was one of the aides attending the late-night meeting, on Nov. 19, 2007. He told House investigators that Mr. Mediu asked Ambassador Withers for help, saying he was concerned that the reporter would reveal that he had been accused of profiting from selling arms. The minister said that because he had gone out of his way to help the United States, a close ally, “the U.S. owed him something,” according to Major Harrison.

Mr. Mediu ordered the commanding general of Albania’s armed forces to remove all boxes of Chinese ammunition from a site the reporter was to visit, and “the ambassador agreed that this would alleviate the suspicion of wrongdoing,” Major Harrison said, according to his testimony.

Investigators interviewed Major Harrison by telephone on June 9, and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee made excerpts of the transcript public on Monday.

At the time of the meeting, the company, AEY Inc., was under investigation for illegal arms trafficking involving Chinese ammunition.

On Friday, the president of the company, Efraim E. Diveroli, 22, and three others were charged with selling prohibited Chinese ammunition to the Pentagon that they said was made in Albania.

On March 27, The New York Times published an article that said Albanian documents showed that the Miami company had bought more than 100 million Chinese cartridges that were stored for decades in former cold war stockpiles.

Mr. Diveroli arranged to have them repacked in cardboard boxes, many of which split or decomposed after shipment to the war zones, according to the article. Different lots or types of ammunition were mixed. In some cases the ammunition was dirty, corroded or covered with a film.

The repackaging operation, carried out by an AEY subcontractor at the Rinas Airport in Tirana, has become the focus of the Congressional investigation.

According to the transcript excerpts released by the committee, Major Harrison told investigators that he did not agree with the decision to hide the boxes from the reporter, and said that he felt “very uncomfortable” during the meeting.

Major Harrison, who as the chief of the embassy’s office of defense cooperation was responsible for helping American efforts to train, equip and modernize Albania’s military, said that his suggestion to bar the reporter from visiting the Albania base was rejected.

In a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the committee’s chairman, Representative Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California, said Monday that there were signs that embassy officials in Tirana tried to cover up the November meeting once Mr. Waxman’s staff began an investigation into the arms company. The letter said the committee would seek to interview Mr. Withers and other embassy personnel.

Attempts to reach Mr. Withers through the United States Embassy in Tirana were met with a request to refer all questions to Washington.

But a senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing criminal inquiry into AEY, said he had spoken Monday to Mr. Withers, who adamantly denied Major Harrison’s statement.

The senior official said the committee had never interviewed Mr. Withers or other top embassy personnel, and released the information on Monday to fan interest in a committee hearing on the company’s business dealings scheduled for Tuesday.

A State Department spokesman, Tom Casey, told reporters on Monday that the department was reviewing Mr. Waxman’s letter, which included Major Harrison’s statements.

“We have no information that would support the idea that U.S. officials were involved in some kind of illicit activity,” Mr. Casey said. “But obviously, again, any allegations made, certainly any questions raised, by the chairman of a major committee in Congress, is something that we will be happy to look into.”

Mr. Withers, a Foreign Service officer for 24 years, has been ambassador to Albania since July 2007. He has also served in Latvia, Nigeria, Russia and The Hague. His father, John L. Withers Sr., is a former director of the Agency for International Development.

…………………………..

nytimes

Army Awarded Contract, Unaware of Dealer’s Past

 

 

 

By ERIC SCHMITT

Published: June 25, 2008

WASHINGTON — When the Army last year awarded a contract worth up to nearly $300 million to a tiny Miami Beach munitions dealer to supply ammunition to Afghanistan’s security forces, it overlooked a very checkered past.

nytimes


Ish-ministri Mediu e Delijorgji, vila fqinje në Malin e Robit

 

18:44 Shtetrrethim në Malin e Robit pas publikimt në media të lajmit të dy vilave te Delijorgjit dhe Mediut. Kamera e “News24” arrin të filmojë dy vilat luksoze në vlerë qindra milionë lekë të dy të akuzuarve kryesorë të tragjedisë së Gërdecit në një prej zonave më të bukura të Adriatikut. Ndërkohë vila e ish-ministrit të Mbrojtjes është e pa rregjistruar në hipotekë.

Posted in Balkan, Balkan (Englisch) | 5 Comments »

NATO says: Kosovo will not have a army

Wednesday, June 25th, 2008

Kosovo will not have army, says de Hoop Scheffer

24/06/2008

“KFOR is here; it’s here to stay,” said NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer during a visit to Pristina on Monday.

By Blerta Foniqi-Kabashi for Southeast European Times in Pristina — 24/06/08

photoNATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (centre) and KFOR Commander General Xavier Bout de Marnhac (right) in Pristina on Monday (June 23rd). [Laura Hasani]

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer announced on Monday (June 23rd) in Pristina that the new Kosovo Security Force, rather than being an army, will have “specific duties”.

“NATO will lead the transformation of the current Kosovo Protection Corps and the creation of the Kosovo Security Force, which will have 2,500 members and some 800 reserve members with specific duties,” said de Hoop Scheffer at a press conference in Pristina after meeting with President Fatmir Sejdiu, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and Parliament Speaker Jakup Krasniqi.

De Hoop Scheffer explained that the personnel decision came from NATO. “I believe that we will have a multiethnic force under the mandate of KFOR,” he predicted.

He noted that if the situation became fragile, NATO would reinforce its mission in Kosovo. He described the task of the 16,000-strong KFOR as ensuring peace and security for both the majority and minority communities……

 http://setimes.com/

Der Kosovo wird keine Armee haben, sagt der NATO General Sekretaer

Posted in Balkan, Balkan (Englisch) | Comments Closed

Es gibt immer noch keinen Detail Bebauungs Plan in Durres und der Weltbank Master Plan

Sunday, June 22nd, 2008

Es gibt aber immer noch keinen Detail Plan der Stadt Durres

Periferia e qytetit, pa plan rregullues

22/06/2008 – 12:33
• Artur Korriku

DURRES -Për pjesën më të madhe të zonave periferike të Durrësit ende nuk ka një plan rregullues, ndërsa ndërtimet pa leje e mbeturinat kanë mbuluar qindra hektarë tokë. Më problematike janë territori tek stacioni i trenit Plazh, hyrja e qytetit, zona e Plepave tek mbikalimi, një pjesë e Shkozetit, sheshi para terminalit të trageteve, pjesa përgjatë bregdetit të Currilave si dhe përgjatë rrethimit të portit detar. Në bashki thonë se e ardhmja e këtyre territoreve do të zgjidhet pasi të përfundojë studimi urbanistik i qytetit të Durrësit, përkatësisht në vitin 2009.
HYRJA E QYTETIT
Dy janë problemet kryesore të saj, subjektet të cilat prej vitesh tregtojnë materiale ndërtimi ngjitur me mbikalimin si dhe dhjetëra ndërtime pa leje bri rrugës. Deri tani askush nuk ka vënë dorë, si për bllokimin e tregtimit të paligjshëm në këto territore në këtë pjesë të qytetit, ashtu dhe për prishjen e ndërtimeve pa leje
PLAZHI I SHKOZETIT
Zona e Shkozetit i ngjan një zone rurale të lënë pas dore. Ajo është e mbushur me dhjetëra vagonë treni të dalë jashtë përdorimit si dhe shumë baraka e ndërtime kaotike të të ardhurve prej zonave të ndryshme të vendit. Në Shkozet problem është gropa e madhe rrëzë kodrës së Rrashbullit, me një sipërfaqe 5 hektarë, e cila është transformuar në një vend ku depozitohen mbetjet urbane. Zyrtarisht nuk jepet asnjë zgjidhje për urbanizimin e saj.
TERMINALI
I TRAGETEVE
Ai është mbushur me objekte rrethanore të ngritura nga tregtarët ambulantë. Më tej, pa kurrfarë plani janë ndërtuar 2 pallate, të cilat kanë bllokuar një sipërfaqe të madhe toke që dikur ishte menduar të transformohej në rrugë. Mendohet se terminali i ri i trageteve, i cili është në proces ndërtimi, do të ndërhyjë në këtë territor për të mundësuar lidhjen e stacionit hekurudhor me sheshin e trageteve, sikurse e parashikon projekti, duke eliminuar një pjesë të barakave. Pjesa përgjatë rrethimit të Portit në vartësi të Ministrisë së Ekonomisë, është kthyer në një geto banimi.
PLEPAT
Janë disa dhjetëra ndërtime pa leje të cilat shërbejnë si lokale tregtimi që janë ndërtuar përgjatë murit të ish-kampit të fëmijëve, pranë mbikalimit dhe përgjatë rrugës që të shpie në Shkallnuer. Ndërkohë, edhe aksi që lidh Plepat me rrugën e Kavajës paraqitet mjaft i dëmtuar. Policia ndërtimore ende nuk ka ndonjë urdhër për fatin e këtyre ndërtimeve pa leje.
CURRILAT
Përpara disa ditëve, policia bashkiake dërgoi njoftime për prishjen e objekteve tregtare të ndërtuara pa leje përgjatë bregdetit të Currilave. Por afatet kanë kaluar dhe nuk është ndërhyrë. Në këtë mënyrë, zonat periferike të Durrësit janë “harruar”, duke sjellë probleme të mprehta për infrastrukturën e komunitetin

http://www.balkanweb.com/gazetav4/index.php?id=38852

Neuer Master Plan der Weltbank mit absoluter Priorität umd die letzten natürlichen Strände in der Currila und bei Durres zu erhalten.

Es wird ein Tender ausgeschrieben u.a. für die Aufforstung, Abreissen von illegalen Bauten, Strasse und Öffentlichen Parkplätzen etc.. von der Weltbank wie es in dem heutigem Artikel steht. Das muß dann Alles fertig sein, bis 2009, wenn das Alb. Sport Boot Verbot wegfällt.

BB, masterplan për pjesën e virgjër të plazhit

11/11/2007 – 09:26
• Artur Korriku

DURRES -Banka Botërore do të hartojë masterplanin e zhvillimit urban të Durrësit, duke përfshirë edhe zonat jashtë vijës së verdhë. Vetëm pas këtij studimi do të mund të rehabilitohet edhe plazhi i Kallmit. Kjo zonë deri më tani mund të konsiderohet e virgjër, për shkak se rruga që të çon është e keqe dhe nuk ka investime. Por ky bregdet po shihet tashmë si një nga prioritetet e projekteve të BB-së për t’i dhënë një dorë më shumë turizmit durrsak. Megjithatë, nga përllogaritjet dhe mundësitë reale të këtij projekti, pritet që të nisë jo më shpejt se viti 2009, ku do të zhvillohet edhe një tender ndërkombëtar.
TURIZMI
Urbanistët e Durrësit që të gjithë janë në një mendje se zhvillimi i turizimit ditor në qytet është vënia në punë e plazhit të Kallimit. Kjo është një zonë e virgjër, e cila ndodhet fill pas plazhit të Currilave. Mungesa e infrastrukturës e ka lënë këtë pjesë të bregdetit ashtu sikurse e ka krijuar natyra. Në Durrës thuhet se mjafton që të ndërtohet rruga e Kallmit, e cila lidh Currilat me Spitallën dhe më pas plazhi është gati.
Edhe në planet e bashkisë së Durrësit ky bregdet shihet si prioritet zhvillimi turistik. Nënkryetari i Bashkisë, Ardi Çela sqaron se “përpara se të nisim kërkesat tona për hartimin e projektit të Kallmit dhe të sigurojmë fondet e mjaftueshme për realizimin e projektit, duhet të presim studimin e masterplanit i cili është marrë përsipër nga BB-ja”.
TENDERI

Weltbank Master Plan fuer Durres 

Posted in Kosovo-Albanien (Albanian) | Comments Closed

Mazedonien: Journalist ermordete Frauen

Saturday, June 21st, 2008

Mazedonien: Journalist ermordete Frauen

Dann berichtete er über die Mordfälle. Zwei Männer wurden zu lebenslanger Haft verurteilt. Eine DNA-Analyse überführte den wahren Täter.

Polizei Die mazedonische Polizei überführte den Mörder mit DNA-Analyse.
Die mazedonische Polizei hat einen Journalisten unter dem Verdacht des Doppelmordes festgenommen. Der Mann soll mindestens zwei ältere Frauen vergewaltigt und ermordet haben, berichteten die Medien in der Hauptstadt Skopje am Freitag. Der Journalist soll später über die Ermittlungen und Prozesse gegen die angeblichen Täter in der Tageszeitung “Utrinski vesnik” berichtet haben.

Im Prozess um einen der Mordfälle wurden vor drei Jahren zwei Männer zu lebenslanger Haft verurteilt. Unlängst hat aber eine DNA-Analyse ergeben, dass am Tatort Spuren des Journalisten gefunden wurden. Die Polizei vermutet, dass der Pressemann auch eine dritte Frau ermordet haben könnte.

http://kurier.at/nachrichten/169882.php

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Kosovo Serbs’ view of new constitution

Saturday, June 21st, 2008

“The founding of a Serb assembly is a sign that the Serb community has no intention of entering conflicts,” Serbian Minister for Kosovo and Metohija Slobodan Samardzic said.

Kosovo Serbs’ view of new constitution depends on their location

20/06/2008

The new Kosovo constitution’s coming into effect on June 15th has sparked different reactions among the Kosovo Serbs, and their opinion largely depends on the location of their settlements in Kosovo.

By Igor Jovanovic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade — 20/06/08

Serbs from northern Kosovo, who have close economic and geographic ties with Serbia, have announced they will not abide by the new constitution or the laws stemming from it. Nebojsa Jovic, one of the Serb leaders from northern Kosovo, which has the biggest Serb municipalities, said that recognising the Kosovo constitution would mean recognising the new state’s independence, which Belgrade adamantly opposes.

Jovic also announced that on June 28th, Kosovo Serbs will proclaim their assembly in Kosovo, which will be a response to the constitution adopted by Pristina.

However, Serbs living in central and southern Kosovo surrounded by Albanian municipalities say it will be impossible to ignore certain provisions of the Kosovo constitution and the laws derived from it. ………..

Setimes

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German Political and Military Experts: Padlock on Bondsteel!

Thursday, June 19th, 2008

June 17, 2008

Padlock on Bondsteel!

NATO humanitarian

German Political and Military Experts: Padlock on Bondsteel!

All the US military bases in Europe must be closed down as soon as possible, and installment of the anti-missile shields in Czech Republic and Poland is also unacceptable. It is necessary to prevent the further militarization of the EU — these are the warnings by Admiral Elmar Schmeling, former head of NATO Counter-Intelligence Service and by the Berlin-based Politics Professor Wolfgang Richter, President of the European Peace Forum (EPF).

“The US military presence in the Balkans, in a longer term, is a threat to the European Union’s peace, and Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo-Metohija province has to be closed down at once. The US apparatus is pressuring NATO members to invest huge amounts of money into the military equipment and weapons, militarizing the EU not in order for the EU to protect itself, being that the Western world cannot become a victim of anyone’s aggression, but in order to get their hands on natural resources and subsidize the US economy through the military interventions throughout the world,” EPF President Richter and the Forum’s Executive Director Schmeling told Glas Javnosti during their recent visit to Belgrade.

The EPF delegation was received by the Kosovo-Metohija Ministry officials, during the preparations by Belgrade Forum for the World of Equals for the next year’s commemoration of the decade since NATO aggression on Serbia. Admiral Elmar Schmeling who, up to 1999 was at the helm of NATO Counter-Intelligence Service, when he was discharged due to his opposition to the aggression against Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, noted that Serbia’s Kosovo-Metohija Ministry is “well informed about the background” of the events related to southern Kosovo province.

Four Actual Doctrines of American Imperialism

“An event that triggered forming of the European Peace Forum, gathering members from 17 countries, was NATO aggression against FR Yugoslavia. We have first formed the Tribunal based on the Russel’s Court model, for prosecuting NATO for the crimes it committed in Yugoslavia, but the final goal was to establish a permanent international platform for intellectuals which will serve to inform the public about the things USA and NATO are doing in the world, and to draw the public attention to the threats of war”, the EPF leaders said.

Peace experts assessed that the US apparatus is guided by the 4 key doctrines:

1. There can be no greater power than the USA;

2. United States can’t support themselves on their own, so they will depend on the resources of other states;

3. United States are the biggest anti-fascist power, so all of its opponents are — fascists;

4. United States have the monopoly over democracy and its establishing in other countries.

“This machinery is forcing other NATO member states to invest into the military industry”, Richter said.

“[In Belgrade] We talked with Kosovo-Metohija Minister Assistant Slobodan Kljakic and we can clearly see that Kosovo and Metohija province is a very important geopolitical spot, rich in energy resources and on the crossroads for the liquid energy fuel transportation. We conveyed that the Forum regards the secession of Kosovo province unacceptable, and agreed it represents a precedent in the international relations, a model which the US has established as a training experiment for the future. Various countries can now cite the Kosovo-Metohija example and request for the world to intervene wherever they think a ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ should be prevented. They will now move to embed this precedent into the UN Charter, which does not allow interfering in the internal affairs of the UN members states,” Admiral Schmeling said.

NATO Adopted Hitler’s Concept of “Humanitarian Intervention” Trampling the International Law

EPF representatives unanimously assessed NATO aggression against FR Yugoslavia as an illegal operation, partly due to the fact that in the parliaments of the alliance member states the Article 5 of the constitutive act has never been changed, and this article defines the purpose of NATO pact as defense of its members.

“With the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Alliance was left without the enemies, so they had to change their strategy. On a 50-year NATO anniversary, they have inaugurated the concept of a ‘humanitarian intervention’ — the very same one which Hitler in his Mein Kampf has placed above the international law — i.e. the concept of ‘preventing the crisis’. In this way, they have also invented a new concept of an enemy,” Professor Richter explained.

Asked why has Germany accepted to take part in an illegal operation and how has the German nation agreed to wage war once again on a foreign soil, Richter said that the Germany was “left without an enemy” too.

“After a number of debates, the [German] Government decided to cross over the psychological barrier and intervene outside its borders. The people were manipulated by the doctored images and by the slogans that Kosovo is a ‘new Auschwitz’, and that we have to help prevent the ethnic cleansing of Albanians. The actual objective was to liberate the German Army from the self-isolation, so we are now hearing that the German democracy is being defended in Afghanistan. And no-one says — Let’s change our Constitution which prohibits the military intervention on the foreign soil”, said Richter.

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