Pay Cuts a Possibility for National Guard Troops in Kosovo

WASHINGTON — As ethnic tensions continue and all sides await a critical U.N. decision on sovereignty, the Pentagon is considering reducing the pay of an estimated 1,900 U.S. troops stationed in Kosovo as part of a NATO peacekeeping force.
Far from the battles in Afghanistan and Iraq, these troops — comprised of more than 1,500 Army National Guard and the rest reservists or active duty soldiers now in the middle of a one-year deployment — could stand to lose upwards of $2,000 in pay each month, plus tax-exempt status and a free plane ticket home for R&R, say National Guard advocates and families of those currently deployed.
“This is kind of like the forgotten front — there are still bullets flying,” said Sgt. Maj. Frank Yoakum (Ret.), legislative director for the Enlisted Association of the National Guard. “They are trying to be peacekeepers in the middle of a civil war and that’s a tough job. They need to be compensated.”
Pentagon officials confirmed that the Combat Zone Tax Exclusion and Imminent Danger Pay status of the soldiers is undergoing a review as part of an annual ritual, but would not comment further.

James Carafano, a military expert for the Heritage Foundation, said the review is meant to apply a level of fairness to the situation. For all of the political uncertainty in Kosovo, U.S. troops have been serving in a relatively calm peacekeeping mission there, much like U.S. servicemen and women in South Korea, where Carafano once served.
“Just because people have always gotten those (combat/imminent danger pay) benefits in Kosovo, doesn’t mean they should continue to get them forever,” he said, pointing out that Pentagon reviews of pay grades are routine and necessary.
“We have major operations going on,” Carafano said. “It’s really an equity issue.”
Yoakum said that in conversations with the Pentagon, he was told any decision to downgrade would not affect those U.S. troops currently deployed in the Multinational Task Force-East, part of the NATO-led international peacekeeping mission known as the Kosovo Force (KFOR). Yoakum said he was also told that a final decision not yet been made. But he's not convinced.
“I don’t believe any of it,” Yoakum told FOXNews.com, relaying the story of a spouse of a Virginia Guardsman currently serving in KFOR who received an e-mail from her husband warning that the pay cut and decrease in benefits could occur as early as April 1. The tenor of the e-mail was that the pay cut is more imminent than the Pentagon is letting on, he said.
“You don’t send an e-mail back to the states and tell them what is happening and put numbers and dates on it unless you are pretty darn sure it’s happening,” Yoakum said. “You don’t want to stir problems up at home.”
The Pentagon review comes at a critical juncture, say observers. The U.S. military, particularly the Army National Guard, is stretched thin with expensive missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. In contrast, Kosovo is generally calm despite NATO soldiers continuing to engage in dicey patrols where they often encounter unexploded land mines, ethnic Albanian extremists and the presence of Islamic radicals who have moved into the region in recent years.
But the mostly peaceful situation could disintegrate, warn foreign policy analysts. The Kosovars are currently awaiting a U.N. decision on whether Kosovo will become formally independent from Serbia. If the world body, which has administered Kosovo since the 1999 war against Serbia, denies Kosovo independence, it could set off a powder keg of tensions.
“It’s also true that security has improved considerably, but there’s no reason to guarantee that situation will continue,” said Carina O’Reilly, a London-based editor for Jane’s Information Group, a private international security and intelligence firm.
On March 3, several thousand ethnic Albanians protested in the Kosovo capital of Pristina, warning against any U.N. plan that falls short of independence. A month earlier, two protesters were killed in a clash with U.N. police.
O'Reilly said if the United Nations delays its decision, the restless Albanian independence movement would be emboldened. If the U.N. decides to deny independence, the region could return to the violent days following the NATO-led aerial bombing in March-June 1999, when Albanian Kosovars began conducting ethnic cleansing of Serbians in the province.
U.S. troops have been stationed in Kosovo since the NATO campaign originally moved in to assist Albanians against attacks led by late Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic. NATO announced last week that it intends to send 600 more soldiers to Kosovo. Meanwhile, National Guard units in Minnesota and Iowa were recently alerted they will deployed to Kosovo within the year to replace the soldiers there now.
Even if the U.N. grants independence to Kosovo — 80 percent of which consists of ethnic Albanians, the majority of whom are Muslim, O'Reilly warned that some low-level ethnic cleansing could occur against the small population of mainly Eastern Orthodox Serbians living there still.
“In short, conditions are relatively calm,” she said. “But I wouldn’t take any bets on the situation remaining as it is. It is only calm because all sides are waiting to see what comes next.”
Dangling Families
Families of the deployed National Guard troops have been writing their congressmen and senators, as well as brass at the Pentagon and the White House to urge them to stop any plans to reduce pay. They say it would affect families, many of whom are already struggling with child and health care costs back home.
"For the families who were struggling before the deployment, it could make the biggest difference in the world," said one soldier’s wife, who did not want to be identified. She is one of the 500 families from the Virginia Guard, many of whom live in rural areas of a region that has recently been affected by a local squeeze on the job market.
"You have families out there who are living paycheck to paycheck," the full-time employee and mother of two said, adding that any downgrade in pay is going to affect mostly the lower-ranking members of the contingent.
"It’s not about the pay, the reason (the soldiers) are out there, but of pride and serving one’s country," she said. On the other hand, "Yes, the National Guard is a volunteer force, but it’s a job, and just like any other, our soldiers should be compensated. I wish the people making these decisions would come here and see where we live, see what it’s like."
According to Yoakum, depending on their ranks, the U.S. troops could lose an average of $50 a month in hazardous duty pay, $225 in imminent danger pay and $400 to $600 in savings through tax-exempt status. In addition to losing the plane ticket home, they could also lose their tax-free savings accounts, which are like IRAs for soldiers.
Soldiers from Virginia and Massachusetts make up two-thirds of the Kosovo Guard contingent. Soldiers from 24 other states round out the group, according to the official KFOR Web site. Those deployed have varied backgrounds in the military and many served in the first Gulf War, Afghanistan, Iraq and homeland security duty post-Sept. 11, 2001.
Some members of Congress have tried to help the troops over the pay issue. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., wrote a letter on March 2 to Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
“It is my belief that soldiers in Kosovo are performing dangerous missions on a daily basis. These missions include patrolling, disarming unexploded ordnance, anti-smuggling operations and other hazardous tasks,” he wrote.
“Due to these factors, I respectfully request that you carefully consider the ramifications of any proposals that would adjust the combat zone designation for KFOR,” Warner added.
Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, both of Minnesota, also drafted a letter to Gates, and Reps. Rick Boucher, R-Va., and Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., have pledged their help, Yoakum said.
“I would assume there is an opportunity to turn this thing around,” he said.
The timing of the Pentagon review, corresponding with an expensive troop surge in Iraq, has not been lost on military families and National Guard advocates.
Jack Harrison, spokesman for the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C., would not comment on the timing, but said the reviews are routine and the Guard must abide by any decision that the Pentagon makes on the matter.
“I can tell you this happened back in the '90s after the Persian Gulf War,” when Guardsmen were tasked to patrol the no-fly zone over Iraq, said Harrison. “(Combat pay) was constantly a matter of review and recertification.”
He added that 50,000 National Guard are now deployed in parts of the world outside of Afghanistan and Iraq.
“This is clearly a DoD issue,” he said of the Defense Department review. “As any service, we have to salute smartly and drive on.”

Russia rebuffs West over Kosovo

As the crunch time for resolving Kosovo's long-term status approaches, the war of words between Russia and the Western powers on the future of Serbia's independence-seeking province shows no sign of abating.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday "our positions are diametrically opposed and I don't see any chances of the positions moving any closer together".
Russia has been opposing a draft resolution presented to the UN Security Council by the US and its EU allies, which would endorse a plan drawn up by UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari for internationally-supervised independence for Kosovo.
Attempts to bridge the gap on the draft resolution failed to make headway during talks that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held in Moscow in mid-May.
Russia's publicly stated position is that a solution needs the approval of both parties.
Diplomatic manoeuvres
Mr Lavrov reiterated that point during a recent visit to Belgrade, after he met Serbia's President Boris Tadic.

Russia's foreign minister wants more negotiations on Kosovo"Ultimate legitimacy can be reached through decisions that will be acceptable to both sides," Mr Lavrov said, "in this case, both for Kosovar Albanians and Belgrade".
Since Serbia has rejected the Ahtisaari recommendations out of hand, that would imply that Russia might use its veto, as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, to scupper the proposed supervised independence for Kosovo.
The United States and - more reluctantly - the EU have endorsed the Ahtisaari plan as the best one possible, in the absence of an agreement between Belgrade and Kosovo's overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian community. No such deal emerged from a year-long series of talks Mr Ahtisaari chaired in Vienna until March.
Meanwhile, Western governments are hoping that Moscow's disapproval does not necessarily mean it will veto a UN resolution.
Russia's most senior officials - including Mr Lavrov - have tended to avoid using the term "veto", while hinting at its possible use.
That has been viewed as an attempt on the Kremlin's part to keep its options open.
However, in recent months - particularly since the emergence of the Ahtisaari proposals - Russia has adopted a firmer position in arguing for a settlement reached by consensus.
It has made fewer attempts to establish an analogy between Kosovo and the pro-Russian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia. Last year President Vladimir Putin sought to highlight such a link, implying that if Kosovo gained independence, then so should these territories.
Russian withdrawal
Russia's opposition to the West over Kosovo does not appear to be motivated by a history of friendship with Serbia on grounds of a shared Slavic cultural background and Orthodox Christian heritage.
After all, Russia pulled its peacekeepers out of Kosovo in 2003, despite the fact that the Serb minority there were complaining, as they still are, of being the victims of harassment and discrimination at the hands of the ethnic Albanian majority.
Russia's early departure from Kosovo, justified on grounds of cost-cutting, was viewed by many Kosovar Serbs as leaving them in the lurch.
The withdrawal from Kosovo four years ago was also in stark contrast with the unannounced arrival of Russian peacekeepers there back in 1999.
The Russian dash to Pristina airport nearly produced a confrontation with the main body of the peacekeeping contingent under Nato's command which the Russian troops eventually joined, as originally agreed.
Russia's conduct both in 1999 and today appears to be motivated by a determination to show the West, and the US in particular, that it should be taken seriously - as one of the key players on the international stage.
The circumstances now are very different, though.
Kremlin confidence
Thanks to its oil wealth in an era of high energy prices, Russia believes it has regained its former status as a great power, which it lost during the economic collapse in the immediate post-communist era.

Mr Ahtisaari failed to get a deal between Serbs and ethnic AlbaniansWhen it comes to the dipomatic battle of wills over Kosovo, that factor probably accounts for much more than Russia's sympathy for the Serbs - although support for fellow-Orthodox Serbs has a populist appeal to some sections of Russian society.
The Kremlin might still decide to abstain in a vote - an option made easier by the fact that the text of the UN resolution, like the main section of Mr Ahtisaari's blueprint, does not include an explicit reference to "independence".
Western diplomats also note that, until very recently, Russia played what they describe as a generally "constructive" role as a member - along with the US, Britain, France, Germany and Italy - of the six-nation Contact Group that has been spearheading the UN's drive to settle Kosovo's status.
However, before the Kremlin reconsiders its stance it may be looking for some concessions, both on Kosovo and other issues.
In the case of Kosovo, these could include a moratorium on the territory's membership of the UN and other international bodies once it becomes independent.
Elsewhere, Moscow may be angling for an undertaking from Nato not to continue its enlargement into former Soviet republics by inviting Georgia, and possibly Ukraine, to join the alliance.
Meanwhile, Washington has also signalled its readiness to bypass Russia, if necessary, by stating that it will recognise Kosovo's independence, even if there is no UN Security Council resolution in place to endorse it.
Russia may want to avoid a confrontation of that kind, and it has repeatedly tried to put off the moment of decision by calling for more talks.
But the US and key Western countries believe the time for further delays has passed.
They are concerned about a build-up of frustration among Kosovo's Albanian majority - and unlike Russia, they have peacekeepers on the ground who may become the targets of possible violence.
The last chance for a deal may now be just a few days away - at the G8 summit of leading industrial nations in Germany on 6-8 June.
If Russia stands by Serbia, Kosovo's assembly will almost certainly vote for a unilateral declaration of independence.
That would be a scenario for diplomatic upheaval and chaotic developments on the ground, which would present further challenges not only to the West but Russia as well.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6707803.stm

Në Këshillin e Sigurimi të OKB-së fillon diskutimi i rezolutës për Kosovën

New York, 31 maj. - Sot do të diskutohet për rezolutën e re mbi Kosovën në KS të Kombeve të Bashkuara në New York. Këtë edhe e tha dje ambasadori i SHBA-ve në organizatën botërore, Zlmay Khalilzad. "Sponsorët duan që nesër të kemi një diskutim mbi rezolutën për Kosovën.

Flas në emër të Shteteve të Bashkuara dhe ne duam që rezoluta për Kosovën të diskutohet nesër", ka thënë dje Khalilzad.
Ambasadori amerikan tha se ka një plan të mirë duke nënvizuar se plani Ahtisaarit përbënë një kornizë të mirë për të ecur përpara, që ishte edhe si një paralajmërim i përfundimit të fazës konsultative lidhur me tekstin përfundimtar të rezolutës.Khalilzad dhe njëherë ritheksoi se situata e tanishme nuk është e qëndrueshme dhe evropianët duan të marrin përgjegjësinë mbi Kosovën nga Kombet e Bashkuara."Sepse Kosova është e rëndësishme për të ardhmen e Evropës, sepse ajo potencialisht mund të rrezikojë stabilitetin dhe sigurinë e Evropës", tha ambasadori amerikan.SHBA-ja së bashku me Francën, Britaninë e Madhe, Italinë, Belgjikën dhe anëtarët e tjerë perëndimorë në KS, e kanë qarkulluar që nga mesi i majit një projekt-rezolutë. Gjatë kësaj kohë kanë vazhduar diskutimet dhe synimi amerikan ka qenë që rezoluta të jetë sa më e qartë dhe që thelbi i parimeve të saj të jetë i tillë që të mundësojë ecjen e procesit përpara duke ofruar atë përfundim që parasheh edhe plani i Ahtisaarit, e ajo është pavarësia e Kosovës. /s.gashi/

Draft Kosovo resolution in UN today

BELGRADE, NEW YORK, POTSDAM -- Washington will today circulate its draft Kosovo resolution to the UN Security Council ambassadors.

BBC reports that the United States mission with the UN has confirmed a new draft resolution on Kosovo’s future status will be submitted Thursday. The resolution text will in all likelihood not be significantly different compared to the previous draft based on UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s plan for the province’s supervised independence. “This does not mean voting will follow straight away, what we wish to do is acquaint the ambassadors with the somewhat modified draft, which now includes some of the objections made by other sides,”

Tanjug was told earlier by an anonymous diplomatic source at the UN. Kosovo negotiating team member Veton Surroi said Wednesday the previous consultations phase was over, as well as that there was a document that will be considered by the UN Security Council today. Washington-based analyst Obrad Kesić said he was unaware that a new resolution would be presented to the council, adding the Albanian politicians were likely talking about the U.S.-EU resolution, with the text “perhaps changed in several sentences to be more acceptable to Russia”. “I think this is about changing the phrasing of several sentences [in the draft resolution], since the State Department lawyers have spent some weeks now trying to come up with a resolution that would cancel 1244 and open up possibilities for Kosovo’s independence.

In other words, a resolution that would give the Russians an honorable way out,” Kesić said. However, he said chances of Russia backing down from its position on the province’s status were slim, adding that there was also little room for compromise between Washington and Moscow. “What needs to be seen now is, which side finds this to be an important issue? Do U.S. interests tied to Kosovo matter so much that cooperation with Russia will be jeopardized? Moscow has spent much of its credibility.

This has now become a serious issue for the Russians, perhaps not so much so in the beginning, but any Russian decision to back down now would be interpreted as a sign of weakness by the U.S. and Europe,” Kesić explained. According to him, the easiest answer the United States could come up with to Russian threats of veto would be continued negotiations.

E Verteta 4_U

something is odd here cause on the SC site they have nothing on Kosova today.

Child trafficking victims

BELGRADE -- Child victims of human trafficking in Serbia are sexually exploited, forced into marriages or begging.

According to the domestic and foreign services providing assistance to the victims of trafficking, 100 children have been identified from 2001 to 2006, most aged between 16 and 17.

Until recently, Serbia was a transit point, with victims coming mostly from Romania and Moldavia, however, the number of Serbian nationals in the grim statistic has grown since 2004.

State secretary with the ministry of labor Ljiljana Lučić told a news conference organized by Save the Children that contrary to popular belief, the victims are not only the Roma children.

The organization presented a study aimed at pointing to risks of human trafficking and protection factors.

The study shows that risk groups include children from marginalized ethnic communities, those living in extreme poverty, children in care of the social protection institutions, illegal immigrants, internally displaced from Kosovo and homeless children.

The recommendations urge the state to protect the children through health and social systems, and an improved network of identification and assistance, as well as research and monitoring of human trafficking.

 

Ban Ki-moon: UN will soon decide on Kosovo

NEW YORK, HELSINKI -- UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says the UN Security Council will decide on Kosovo’s status as soon as possible.

Ki-moon reiterated support for UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s plan, Priština television RTV 21 reported.

The UN Secretary-General stressed that the Security Council members were holding consultations in regards to Kosovo.

“I have talked with many presidents and prime ministers, asking them to back the issue,” he said.

According to him, delays in finalizing Kosovo’s status settlement process would not change the current situation, since the positions of two contending sides were unlikely to change.

“Ahtisaari’s plan contains all necessary elements to build Kosovo’s future,” Ban Ki-moon concluded.

Këshilli i Sigurimit shumë shpejtë do ta nxjerrë vendimin për Kosovën, thotë Ban Ki Moon

 Sekretari i përgjithshëm i OKB-së, Ban Ki Moon ka deklaruar sot se Këshilli i Sigurimit sa më parë që të jetë e mundur do ta nxjerrë vendimin mbi Kosovën dhe sërish ka mbështetur propozimin e të dërguarit të tij për Kosovën, Martti Ahtisaari.
Sekretari i përgjithshëm i OKB-së, Ban Ki Moon ka thënë se anëtarët e Këshillit të Sigurimit janë duke u konsultuar rreth çështjes së Kosovës dhe se ai personalisht “ka biseduar me shumë burrështetas dhe kryeministra dhe se nga ata ka kërkuar mbështetjen për këtë çështje”.

Ban Ki Moon ka shtuar se çfarëdo vonese në këtë drejtim nuk do t’i kontribuojë përmirësimit të situatës, pikërisht për faktin e pozicioneve diametralisht të kundërta mes shqiptarëve dhe serbëve.

“Propozimi i të dërguarit tim, Martti Ahtisaari, përmbanë të gjitha elementet e duhura për ndërtimin e ardhmërisë së Kosovës”, ka thënë Ban Ki Moon

Propozimi i Martti Ahtisaarit nënkupton pavarësinë e mbikëqyrur për Kosovën, mirëpo Beogradi e ka kundërshtuar këtë zgjidhje, duke propozuar autonomi të mbikëqyrur dhe bisedime të reja për Kosovën. Sekretari i përgjithshëm i OKB-së, Ban Ki Moon i ka deklaruar për RTV 21 se pret që “Bashkimi Evropian do të bisedojë me Serbinë lidhur me këtë çështje”.

 
E Verteta 4_U

 they keep telling soon the settlement will be done with, but everytime its just another LIE  to the people of Kosova ! 

Fort Dix tipster goes public

Speaking on CNN's "American Morning," Brian Morgenstern -- a 23-year-old Camden County resident, according to his MySpace page -- described how two men brought him a videotape to transfer to DVD in late January 2006.

He said he went home that night and told his family what he had seen: Ten men at a firing range with handguns, rifles and what he thought were fully automatic rifles. Authorities later said they were chanting in Arabic, "Allah Akbar," or "God is Great."

E Verteta 4_u
 
 Can you say, "Obvious set-up?" Of COURSE you can!

Ryker: Statusi i Kosovës do të zgjidhet për disa javë

I pyetur per disa përshtatje të mundshme të planit të Ahtisarit, kryeadministratori i Kosoves konsideron se substanca e statusit është në duart e Këshillit të Sigurimit

Pragë/Prishtinë - Kryeadministratori Joakim Ryker shfaqi mendimin se UNMIK-u nuk duhet të merret me datat për zgjidhjen e statusit të Kosovës. “Administrata e Kombeve të Bashkuara është duke e ndihmuar procesin e statusit, por vendimin për statusin e merr Këshilli i Sigurimit në Nju Jork” tha Ryker ne nje interviste për Radion Evropa e Lirë, duke shtuar se bëhet fjalë për disa javë dhe jo me muaj.
I pyetur per disa përshtatje të mundshme të planit të Ahtisarit, Ryker konsideron se substanca e statusit është në duart e Këshillit të Sigurimit, duke vleresuar si të rëndësishme deklaratën e marsit të Sekretarit të Përgjithshëm të Kombeve të Bashkuara që ka mbështetur tërësisht planin e Ahtisarit. Shefi i UNMIK-ut tha se shpreson që KS do të adoptojë rezolutën në bazë të planit të Ahtisarit dhe nuk beson se do të dështojë procesi.
Duke folur për sfidat që gjenden përpara për ta bërë Kosovën një shtet funksional, Ryker tha se tani ekzistojnë "bazat për funksionimin e demokracisë, për funksionimin e sundimit të ligjit dhe të ekonomisë së tregut", ndonëse sipas tij, "përmirësimet e mëtejshme janë të nevojshme". Ne vijim Ryker tha se qe nga rezoluta e Këshillit të Sigurimit e deri tek dorëzimi konkret i pushtetit nga UNMIK, në institucionet e përkohshme dhe komuniteti ndërkombëtar, duhet të sigurohet miratimi i ligjeve që janë paraparë me pakon e Ahtisarit. "Me këto ligje, Kosova jo vetëm që do të bëhet një entitet funksional, por njëkohësisht do të mundësohet edhe zbatimi i vetë pakos. Kjo është baza e statusit", nënvizoi Ryker.
Duke folur per kundërshtimet ndaj pakos së Ahtisarit nga përfaqësuesit e komunitetit serb, Ryker vlereson se ka shenja se të paktën një pjesë e madhe e këtij komuniteti është duke e pare nga afër pakon e kryenegociatorit. "Ata e dijnë se propozimi gjithëpërfshirës u jep atyre jo vetëm një të ardhme të sigurtë, por gjithashtu një të ardhme në të cilën serbët dhe pakicat tjera në Kosovë, do të kenë perspektiva politike dhe ekonomike", tha Ryker. Kryeadministratori tha se shpreson që udhëheqësit serbë në veri të Kosovë do ta rishikojnë me kujdes edhe një herë planin e Ahtisarit dhe përmbajtjen e tij. Kosova

E Verteta4_U

 Ryker Po rrenë shume !!!!!!!!!!!

Ministrat e BE-se biseduan me homologet nga Azia edhe per Kosoven

BE ka shfaqur shpresen qe Kina dhe Indonezia te shfaqin bashkepunim me te mire, duke e mbeshtetur rezoluten e KS per pavaresine e mbikqyrur te Kosoves


Hamburg- Ministrat e Jashtem te Bashkimit Evropian jane takuar ne Hamburg me homologet e tyre nga Azia. Bashkimi Evropian ka shfaqur shpresen qe Kina dhe Indonezia te shfaqin bashkepunim me te mire, duke e mbeshtetur rezoluten e Keshillit te Sigurimit per pavaresine e mbikqyrur te Kosoves.
Por, sipas BBC-se, shefi i politikes se jashtme dhe te sigurise se BE-se, Havier Solana, nuk ka arritur te binde ministrin e jashtem kinez qe te mbeshtese planin per pavaresine e mbikqyrur te Kosoves. Shefi i diplomacise kineze Jang Eçi ka deklaruar qe Pekini deshiron nje zgjidhje per statusin e ardhshem te Kosoves e cila do te ishte e pranueshme edhe per serbet edhe per shqiptaret e Kosoves. (Kosova)

“Kosovo solution will be postponed”

LONDON -- Tim Judah says it is only a matter of time before Western diplomats admit Kosovo’s status solution should be postponed.

“According to usually well informed sources, Russia did tentatively float the idea of cooperation over Kosovo with the U.S. in exchange for its backing down over its planned missile shield, to which it objects,” Judah, a leading Balkan commentator, writes in BIRN’s online edition.

“This is believed to have happened in talks with Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. Secretary of State, in Moscow ten days ago. The idea made no headway. Since then the possibility of a compromise being struck over Kosovo has narrowed significantly.”

Judah adds that while some still hope a deal might be struck at the G8 summit in June, similar hopes rose before Condoleezza Rice's trip to Moscow and then again before the ill-fated EU-Russian summit in Samara a week ago.

“Russia now appears to have put itself in a position whereby anything that opened the door to Kosovo's independence would be a humiliation; therefore its interests seem to dictate that it has no choice but to continue to block this,” Judah concludes.

Russian official: EU and U.S. may agree to Kosovo delay

BRUSSELS -- Russia says the West may agree to put off a decision on the final status of Kosovo, EUobserver reports.

"We should find a text that would allow all the parties [including Serbia and Kosovo] to continue to work on the acceptable terms of a solution," the head of the Europe desk at the Russian foreign ministry, Sergei Ryabkov, told press in Brussels on Tuesday.

The comment comes despite earlier promises to Kosovo Albanians they would have independence by June.

"If this is accepted, we would be more than happy to continue working on the language [of a UN resolution]. There are some signs that this is the case," he added, following UN talks in New York last week and a telephone call between Bush and Putin on Monday.

At the time, senior U.S. diplomat Nicholas Burns said Washington expected the deal to be adopted in late May or early June. Kosovo Albanian prime minister Agim Ceku also predicted that the region would gain independence in a matter of "weeks."

But a Russian official told EUobserver Moscow would only agree to a UN resolution that calls for further talks under international supervision between Belgrade and Priština on Kosovo's status.

It would also agree to a new resolution that calls for the full implementation of resolution 1244 on the rights of the ethnic Serb minority, with a new EU police mission and the old NATO force to stay and keep the peace until 1244 has been fulfilled.

"There is no political force in Russia, on the left or right, that would accept Kosovo independence, at least not right now," the head of the Russian parliament's foreign affairs committee, Konstantin Kosachev, said on Tuesday.

"This is not an urgent decision that we need to have at any price by a certain date."

Meanwhile, another element of uncertainty was added this week by reports in leading Croatian daily Jutarnji List on Monday that the U.S. and Russia were close to a deal that would involve Russian peacekeeping troops in Kosovo and U.S. side-promises not to expand NATO to Ukraine and Georgia.

The report cited Russian officials "close to" president Putin.

But EU, UN and Russian officials poured cold water on the information on Tuesday. "I would take it with a big pinch of salt," an EU official said. "It looks like provocation or wishful thinking," a Russian diplomat said.


 

International presence generates sex trade

In the second half of 1999, 40,000 KFOR troops were deployed and hundreds of UNMIK personnel arrived along with staff from more than 250 international NGOs. Within months of KFOR’s arrival, brothels were reported around the military bases occupied by international peace-keepers. Kosovo soon became a major destination country for women trafficked into forced prostitution. A small-scale local market for prostitution was transformed into a large-scale industry based on trafficking predominantly run by organized criminal networks.

Some sectors of the economy grew rapidly, through increased prices paid by international personnel for rented property and services, resulting in an increase in disposable income in certain sections of the population.

By late 1999 the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) had reported on significant organized prostitution in four locations close to major concentrations of KFOR troops. Most of the clients were reported to be members of the international military presence, while some KFOR soldiers were allegedly also involved in the trafficking process itself. Eighteen premises were identified, including in the Gnjilane/Gjilan area, where clients included US military personnel; in Prizren, where users reportedly included German KFOR soldiers and other internationals; in Pejë/Peæ, where residents reported Italian KFOR soldiers as clients; and in Mitrovicë/a, where French KFOR reportedly patronized make-shift brothels.(33)

Since then, there has been an unprecedented escalation in trafficking in Kosovo. From the 18 establishments identified in late 1999, by January 2001, some 75 such premises were listed in the first "off-limits list" issued to UNMIK staff. This listed bars, clubs and restaurants where trafficked women were thought to work, and which had been declared "off-limits" to UNMIK and KFOR personnel (see Chapter 6). By 1 January 2004, there were 200 bars, restaurants and cafes on the "off-limits list".(34)

KFOR and UNMIK were publicly identified in early 2000 as a factor in the increase in trafficking for prostitution by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).(35) In May 2000, Pasquale Lupoli, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Kosovo, alleged that KFOR troops and UN staff in Kosovo had fed a "mushrooming of night clubs" in which young girls were being forced into prostitution by criminal gangs. "The large international presence in Kosovo itself makes this trafficking possible."(36)

Nevertheless, in February 2001 the IOM had cautioned, "[t]he fact that you have 45,000 foreigners in Kosovo could be one element in the equation, but it is definitely not the whole equation."(37) The trafficking industry was also assisted by Kosovo’s proximity to source countries and well-established trafficking routes via Albania to the European Union (EU), as well as cooperation between Serbian, Albanian, Kosovo Albanian and Macedonian organized criminal networks. A lack of sufficient and experienced police officers and a weak criminal justice system also enabled the development of trafficking.

Although the development of trafficking can be attributed to the presence of the international community, the sex industry has subsequently developed to serve a wider client-base. Over the past three years it has increasingly served the local community, which both the IOM and the CPWC estimate now make up around 80 per cent of the clientele.

Given low levels of prostitution and trafficking of women prior to July 1999, all the available evidence suggests that without the presence of the international community and an influx of ready-made western consumers, Kosovo would have remained a relative backwater in the Balkan trafficking industry.

 http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGEUR700102004

E Veteta4_u
 Not only does Kosova let the international community play around with their future but their women to !                                     How SICK

Don't ignore Putin's warning

In a startlingly blunt speech at a Munich security conference, Russia's president accused Washington of seeking world domination, undermining the UN and other international institutions, monopolizing world energy resources, destabilizing the Mideast by its bungled occupation of Iraq, and unleashing a new nuclear arms race by planning to deploy anti-missile systems in Eastern Europe.

This column has long maintained that while one sympathizes with the desire of Eastern European states to take shelter from old foe Russia by joining NATO, pushing the alliance to Russia's doorstep was dangerously provocative and militarily ill-advised.

full story here :   http://www.edmontonsun.com/Comment/2007/02/25/3664389-sun.html

US-Russian relations face ‘potential crisis’

Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the international affairs committee of the Russian Duma, says that President Vladimir Putin’s strongly-worded speech in Munich last month criticising US unilateralism was not a declaration of a new cold war.

Instead, it was a call for the White House to return to a multilateral framework for resolving issues such as the nuclear programmes of Iran and North Korea, or the future of the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo.

Our failed foreign policy strikes yet again. - M. R.

 FULL story here :
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/8fd3ff60-d895-11db-a759-000b5df10621.html

  

Kremlin: Russia to revise military doctrine to respond to growing role of force in world

Russia's presidential Security Council said Monday it was developing a new national military doctrine that will take into account the growing role of military force in global politics.

The statement appeared to reflect increasing tensions in Russia's relations with the United States, strained over Moscow's harsh criticism of U.S. missile defense plans, disagreements over global crises and U.S. concerns about the Kremlin's democracy record.

Full Story here : http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/05/europe/EU-GEN-Russia-Military-Doctrine.php  
 
The consistent, ham-fisted stupidity as expressed through what passes these days as US "foreign policy" triumphs again.  M.R.   

  E verteta 4_U        : Absoluty !

Policia arreston në Prishtinë 4 persona për posedim ilegal të substancave narkotike dhe municionit

Përmes një komunikate për media policia ka njoftuar sot për arrestimin e 4 personave, të moshës 21 dhe 23 vjeç, për shkak të posedimit të substancave narkotike – marihuanë. Gjatë bastisje së shtëpisë së njërit nga të dyshuarit policia ka gjetur edhe një sasi municioni, kalibrash të ndryshëm. Të arrestuarit, me autorizimin e prokurorit janë dërguar në Qendrën Rajonale të Paraburgimit Prishtinë për hetime të mëtutjeshme.

Ngjarja ka ndodhur pasditen e djeshme, në lagjen Bregu i Diellit në Prishtinë, kur njësitë policore ndaluan veturën “Renault ngjyrë e bardhë“ pa targa, në të cilën gjendeshin katër persona, të cilët pasi që kishin vërejtur reagimin e policisë kishin filluar t’i hedhin përreth disa qese plastike me një përmbajtje ngjyrë të gjelbër, e dyshuar të jetë substancë narkotike.

Gjatë kontrollit të mëtejmë policia ka gjetur rreth 15 qese plastike me substancë, që dyshohet të jetë marihuanë.

Veprimet kanë vazhduar edhe me bastisjen e shtëpisë së njërit nga të dyshuarit me ç’ rast policia ka gjetur dhe ka konfiskuar dy karikatorë me 50 fishek të kalibrit EC-43 , 43 fishekë të armës automatike AK 47, 8 fishekë të pushkës automatike M 48, 9 fishek të pushkës së gjuetisë, 3 gëzhoja të fishekëve, një sprej , një dëgjuese, një bateri dhe një mbajtëse të radiolidhjes, si dhe disa gjëra të tjera, të cilat janë konfiskuar nga policia.

Të dyshuarit, dy nga 21 vjeç dhe dy nga 23 vjeç, pas arrestimit dhe pas marrjes së autorizimit nga ana e Prokurorit janë dërguar në Qendrën Rajonale të Paraburgimit Prishtinë për hetime të mëtutjeshme, njofton Zyra për marrëdhënie me publikun, pranë Komanda Regjionale e SHPK-së, në Prishtinë.

Sejdiju: March 2004 will not repeat

PRIŠTINA -- Kosovo president Fatmir Sejdiu told Spain’s El Pais daily that “Albanians know Kosovo status agreement will come very soon”.

Full Story here - http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2007&mm=05&dd=26&nav_category=92&nav_id=41418

E Verteta 4_U

How soon Mr. President ? Albanians were told that an agreement will be reached by the end of 06 but that was a LIE. Albanians were told Right after Serbia's election the status will be over with, but it was another Lie. Mr Ceku which you picked to be your PM told LIES to the Albanians " Kosova will be free by end of May " Ceku said. Well Mr. President maybe a March 04 should take place because the Albanians had enough of these LIES being told to them!

Never forget this Mr. President " Liria nuk jepet por duhet me marre vet !" Freedom does not come itself you must take it yourslef !

Sekretari i Përgjithshëm i OKB, Ban Ki Moon, mbështet planin Ahtisaari

"Çështja e statusit të Kosovës tanimë është para Këshillit të Sigurimit", tha dje zëdhënësja e Sekretarit të Përgjithshëm të Kombeve të Bashkuara Michele Montas, duke bërë të qartë përgjigjen ndaj kërkesës së Beogradit për bisedime të reja për Kosovën.

http://www.rtklive.com/?newsId=7420&PHPSESSID=2c2cac24b51f2f0fbb303d77be95a3a0&PHPSESSID=7398ca71881d6a3a37d1cc020f569beb

E Verteta 4_U

How many times are they going to tell us they support the Ahtisarri Plan ??????

Everyday its russia saying they dont support the plan , than the next day its the US saying they support the plan. But in the end nothing is being done to end the Kosova status problem.

Serbian government demands fresh Kosovo talks

BELGRADE -- The Serbian government will officially ask UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to launch fresh round of Kosovo talks.

The government in its session held Friday adopted “The Initiative of the Republic of Serbia for launching a new phase of negotiations on the future status of Kosovo-Metohija,” and forwarded it to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.The text of the initiative reads that negotiations on the future status of Kosovo-Metohija, conducted from February 21, 2006 to March 10, 2007, did not lead to a solution based on agreement, the government reported on its web site.

Full story here - http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2007&mm=05&dd=25&nav_category=90&nav_id=41405 -

E Verteta 4_U

It has taken 6 months for serbia to form a government ( Lets not forget that) . Which means they can never be able to show the world that they can run Kosova the way they say they can.
But they asked for a delay before i dont see why not Ban ki boon would not listen to them now.

I smell more delay in the status of Kosova !!!

U.S. Kosovo talks representative Frank Wisner says United Nations discussions of the issue are proceeding rapidly.

Ambassador Frank Wisner told VOA News that technical discussions on the UN resolution presented by France earlier this month were underway and private ones were expected soon. He said the discussions involved a review of the language of the draft in search of phraseology that could lead to acceptance of proposals by UN Kosovo envoy Martti Ahtisaari, adding that the essence of the resolution would remain the same.

U.S. Kosovo talks representative Frank Wisner says United Nations discussions of the issue are proceeding rapidly. -

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2007&mm=05&dd=25&nav_category=92&nav_id=41392

Shpërthim zjarri në Prishtinë

Sot në orët e hershme të mëngjesit në depot e “Viva Marketit ” në afërsi të tregut me shumicë në Prishtinë, ka shpërthyer zjarr. Sipas zëdhënëses së Shërbimit Policor të Kosovës, Sabrije Kamberi, shkaqet e zjarrit ende nuk dihen, ndërsa dëmet materiale janë të mëdha, pasi zjarri ka përfshirë edhe disa depo të tregut që gjenden në afërsi të këtij marketi.
Ekipet e zjarrfikësve dhe të njësitet policore të Kosovës menjëherë kanë dalur në vendin e ngjarjes dhe kanë arritur ta lokalizojnë zjarrin si dhe po bëjnë përpjekje për identifikimin e shkaktarëve të tij , ka thënë zëdhënësja Kamberi.

Iranian leader warns Israel it may be ‘uprooted’

Ahmadinejad warns Jewish state against attacking Lebanon this summer

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran’s hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday warned Israel it would be “uprooted” if the Jewish state made any move against and attacked Lebanon in the coming summer.
“If you think that by bombing and assassinating Palestinian leaders you are preparing ground for new attacks on Lebanon in the summer, I am telling you that you are seriously wrong,” Ahmadinejad told a rally in the city of Isfahan.
“If this year you repeat the same mistake of the last year, the ocean of nations of the region will get angry and will uproot the Zionist regime.”

Iranian leader warns Israel it may be ‘uprooted’-

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11497240/

Man with 700 snakes arrested at airport

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Customs officers at Cairo's airport have detained a man bound for Saudi Arabia who was trying to smuggle 700 live snakes on a plane, airport authorities said.
The officers were stunned when a passenger, identified as Yahia Rahim Tulba, told them his carryon bag contained live snakes after he was asked to open it.

Man with 700 snakes arrested at airport -

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/24/egypt.snakes.ap/index.html

Everteta 4_u

What was mr. Tulba thinking ?????????

LIDHJA DEMOKRATIKE E DARDANISË ME WEB-FAQE

Prishtinë, 23 maj – Prej sot Lidhja Demokratike e Dardanisë ka lëshuar në funksion web-faqen e saj e cila është www.ldd-kosova.org Rreth aktiviteteve më të reja të LDD-së mund të informoheni në këtë web-faqe.


WWW.LDD-KOSOVA.ORG

Prishtine, Surroi: Kosova shume shpejt do te behet e pavarur

Kosova do të bëhet e pavarur brenda disa javëve, pohon lideri i partisë “Ora” dhe anëtar i ekipit negociator të Kosovës, Veton Surroi. “Brenda disa javëve ose më saktësisht deri në fund të pranverës Kosova do të bëhet e pavarur.

Prishtine, Surroi: Kosova shume shpejt do te behet e pavarur-

http://www.balkanweb.com/sitev4/index.php?id=2519

Derguar me: 11/04/2007 - 19:21

Surroi : "Kosovo will get its independence soon"

E Verteta 4_u

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH Right !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Surroi this is what you said a year ago and kosovo still has not gotten it.

To the people of Kosovo - No one can give you your freedom, you must take it yourslef.
And UNMIK is not going to give you your freedom !

Britain hopes for U.N. resolution on Kosovo's future in "the next few weeks"

A senior British diplomat said Wednesday there were no deadlines for a U.N. resolution on Kosovo's future, but expressed hope a decision will be taken within weeks at the U.N. Security Council, which remains divided over the issue.

Britain hopes for U.N. resolution on Kosovo's future in "the next few weeks"-

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/23/europe/EU-GEN-Kosovo-Britain.php

The Associated Press
Published: May 23, 2007


E Verteta 4_u
" I doubt a decision will be made within weeks "

Russia promises 'sword' to thwart U.S. missile shield

The official considered to be a leading contender to succeed President Vladimir Putin criticized a landmark Soviet-U.S. arms treaty as being a "relic of the Cold War," and promised that Russia would have a "sword" capable of piercing a U.S. missile shield.

Russia promises 'sword' to thwart U.S. missile shield -

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/24/news/russia.php

The Associated Press
Published: May 24, 2007

Afghanistan, Kosovo, missile defense on agenda as Bush meets with NATO chief

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) -- A relaxed President Bush welcomed NATO's top diplomat to his ranch Sunday for talks to be dominated by the surging violence in Afghanistan.Bush and first lady Laura Bush greeted Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and his wife, Jeannine, in late afternoon sunshine after the guests arrived by helicopter.

"A little slice of heaven," Bush said of his 1,600-acre getaway from Washington.
The president, in blue jeans and cowboy boats, then climbed in his extended-cab pickup truck and drove drove the couples to the Bushes' house down the road -- men in the front seat, women in the back seat.The invitation for an overnight stay at the ranch is considered a coup, a way for the White House to underscore its commitment to NATO and its leader, de Hoop Scheffer.

Afghanistan's struggles, NATO's role in Kosovo and U.S. plans for a missile defense system in Europe all were likely to be discussed Monday morning.First, though, the leaders and their spouses were to dine Sunday over pecan smoked beef tenderloin, green chili cheese grits souffle and roasted asparagus.Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were among the dignitaries joining them.

In Afghanistan, more than 1,600 people have been killed in insurgency-related violence this year, according to U.S., NATO and Afghan figures. The mounting civilian death toll has fueled distrust of international forces and U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai."It's a very high priority for us, just on a humanitarian level," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Sunday about the civilian casualties. "It's a high priority for us on a hearts-and-minds level: We don't want to see any erosion of support from the civilian population."Fratto said the blame lies with Taliban militants who use civilians as shields. "This is a clear, express tactic of the enemy to put civilians in harm's way," he said.The role of the 26-nation alliance in the war in Afghanistan remains a sensitive matter.

The Bush administration is urging some European allies to provide more troops to fight Taliban forces in southern Afghanistan and to lift restrictions on how and where soldiers can fight.Politicians in the United States, Canada, Britain and other nations with troops in the south have been annoyed by the reluctance of some European allies to commit extra soldiers to the roughly 37,000-strong NATO force -- in particular to be deployed to the Taliban's heartland.A suicide bomber detonated himself in a crowded market on Sunday in the eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 14 people and wounding 31. That blast in Gardez came a day after a suicide bomber in northern Afghanistan killed three German soldiers and seven civilians.The discussions also were to address the status of Kosovo, a poor region under U.N. administration since 1999.

The U.S backs a U.N. resolution to ratify the province's independence from Serbia, but that plan is opposed by Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council with veto power.Moscow has opposed successive enlargements of NATO into Eastern Europe. NATO's likely expansion into the Balkans does not please Russia, but the Kremlin has shown even more concern about the prospect that neighbors Ukraine and Georgia may be brought into the alliance.Russia is also critical of U.S. plans to install radar and interceptors in Eastern Europe as part of a missile defense program, another source of growing tension between the countries.

Gazeta "Zëri": Kryeministri Çeku mund te formoje nje parti të re

Nëse Çeku vendos të formojë parti të re, ai këtë do të duhej ta bënte shumë shpejt pas miratimit të vendimit për Kosovë të pavarur dhe sovrane
Prishtinë- Kryeministri kosovar Agim Çeku do të mund të formoje nje parti të re, shkruan sot e përditshmja "Zëri" e Prishtinës. Çeku për kryetar të Qeverisë së Kosovës u zgjodh si kandidat i Aleancës për Ardhmërinë e Kosovës (AAK), kryetar i së cilës është Ramush Haradinaj. Ai u bë kryeministër i Kosovës në bazë të marrëveshjes së koalicionit të Lidhjes Demokratike të Kosovës (LDK) dhe AAK-së.

Gazeta shkruan se kryeministri është anëtar i kryesisë së AAK-së, por shumë rrallë shihet në selinë e partisë. "Nëse Çeku vendos të formojë parti të re, ai këtë do të duhej ta bënte shumë shpejtë pas miratimit të vendimit për Kosovë të pavarur dhe sovrane, nëse dëshiron të marrë pjesë në zgjedhjet e ardhshme lokale dhe parlamentare, të cilat, nëse në Këshillin e Sigurimit të Kombeve të Bashkuara miratohet rezolutë e re për Kosovën, do të mbaheshin nga fundi i vitit", konstaton "Zëri". Partia e re doemos do të duhej të shënohet në regjistrin e partive të OSBE-së, përderisa kandidatët për këshilltarë komunalë, gjegjësisht deputetë në Kuvendin e Kosovës, doemos do të duhej të kalojnë nëpër një procedurë të caktuar.

Kjo, sipas gazetës, do të thoshte se Çeku do të duhej publikisht të prononcohet se është kryeministër nuk përfaqëson partinë që e propozoi për kryeministër, gjegjësisht se nuk është kandidat i koalicionit në pushtet LDK-AAK. "Zëri" bën të ditur se kjo do ta parashtronte çështjen për kryeministrin e ri për votimin e të cilit koalicioni në pushtet vështirë se do të siguronte 61 vota, sa nevojiten, ndërsa Kosova disa javë pas rezolutës së KS në KB do të mund të hynte në krizë qeveritare. "Njëherit, do të ishte befasi e madhe nëse koalicioni në pushtet LDK-AAK do të lejonte që në krye të Qeverisë të mbetet përfaqësues i një partie të re", konstaton Zëri.

Kryeministri Çeku mohon të ketë deklaruar se pavarësia e Kosovës do të arrihet gjatë muajit maj

Kosovës do të arrihet gjatë muajit maj. Ai ka thënë se vetëm ka shfaqur besimin që kjo do të ndodhë gjatë këtij muaji, bazuar në premtimet e miqve ndërkombëtar.

Lidhur me këtë, një debat i nxehtë dhe me akuza të ashpra ndaj kryeministrit, është dëgjuar sot në ambientet e KK të Prishtinës Gjendja është tensionuar kur disa të rinj kanë kërkuar sqarim nga ai për deklaratat e tij se pavarësia do të realizohet brenda muajit maj. Ndonëse fillimisht ka mohuar të ketë dhënë një premtim të tillë, pak me vonë Çeku ka kërkuar falje.

I guess Mr Ceku is still under narcatic substance ??????


E verteta 4_u

" I am no fan of Albin Kurti but in his lastest article "Substanca Narkotike"
he pretty much defined the UN mission in Kosovo as one big failure. He says the UN is just wasting time and money. The UN keeps promising away that kosovo will be free but so far all of there promisings have been LIES said Kurti. He said the kosovars need to wake up and snap out of the "Substanca Narkotike" ! ( narcatic substance)


Full article of "Substanca Narkotike" Below

Substanca Narkotike

Për vite me radhë thanë se Kosova do të bëhet e pavarur vitin e ardhshëm. Vitin e kaluar thanë se Kosova do të bëhet e pavarur deri në fund të vitit. Në fund të vitit të kaluar thanë se Kosova do të bëhet e pavarur në fillim të këtij viti në të cilin ndodhemi tash. Thanë se duhej pritur vetëm edhe pak, vetëm edhe disa javë derisa Serbia të mbante zgjedhjet e saj. Thanë se duhet të jemi të durueshëm: Ahtisaari medoemos do ta sjell pavarësinë në paketën e tij. Më pas thanë se nuk duhet të paragjykojmë përmbajtjen e paketës, le të presim e të shohim se çfarë ka brenda thoshin.

Meqë paketa megjithatë komentohej, thanë se ajo përmban substancën e shtetit. Meqë simulimi i së panjohurës nuk u eci, nisi të simulohej e paqena. Në fakt, kjo substancë kinse e shtetit është substancë narkotike, është substanca më e re narkotike. Çdo herë kur premtimit të tyre i skadon afati, ata vijnë me një premtim tjetër dhe afat tjetër. Para se rrena e tyre të zbulohet, e zëvendësojnë atë me një tjetër rrenë. Tamam kur qytetarët e përgjumur të Kosovës nisin të zgjohen, janë aty politikanët e vendit ata që vijnë me një dozë të re të një substance të re narkotike, që përkujdesen për hibernimin e vazhdueshëm të qytetarëve. Vetëm populli i fjetur i mundëson e toleron këta politikanë të cilët luksin e tyre e kanë në llogari të djersës së popullit, të cilët pozitat e tyre i kanë në llogari të pazareve fatale me tokën dhe të ardhmen e popullit.

Këta politikanë u sugjerojnë qytetarëve që të shpresojnë, që të besojnë dhe që të shikojnë. Që të shpresojnë iluzionin, që të besojnë rrenat, që të shikojnë televizorin e të mos protestojnë. Demokracia e thotë të kundërtën: mos shpreso por vepro; mos beso por vepro; mos shiko por vepro. T’i luftosh negociatorët kosovar do të thotë të mbrosh veten. Ata pranojnë çkado për Kosovën për të pasur gjithçka për veten e tyre. Komuna e copëtuar e Gjilanit do ta ketë gjashtëfish më të lartë dendësinë e popullësisë sesa komuna e trefishuar territorialisht e Artanës me shumicë serbe. Fatura e shpenzimeve dhe dëmeve të këtyre politikanëve na mbetet neve. Ata s’çajnë kokën për qytetarët. Ata brengosen vetëm dhe vetëm për veten dhe rrethin e tyre.

Fëmijëve të tyre nuk u mungojnë librat, veshmbathja, ushqimi, kujdesi shëndetësor dhe pushimet verore në det. Të afërmëve të tyre nuk u mungojnë bursat, vendi i punës dhe pagat e majme. Ata janë pak njerëz që kanë shumë pasuri, mu për shkak se aq shumë njerëz kanë fare pak ose aspak të mira materiale. Prandaj, ata kanë nevojë për durimin dhe heshtjen tonë, për pritjen dhe mashtrimin tonë. Prandaj, atyre nuk u bëhet vonë dhe me komoditet flasin për çlirimin, lirinë e demokracinë që na i solli bashkësia ndërkombëtare, për vullnetin e popullit që së shpejti do ta vë në vend bashkësia ndërkombëtare! Çlirimi, liria dhe demokracia që vijnë nga jashtë asnjëherë nuk janë të vërteta. Vullnetin e popullit nuk e realizon bashkësia ndërkombëtare dhe askush tjetër përveç vetë popullit. Që të realizohet vullneti i popullit, populli duhet të shndërrohet në këtë vullnet të tij. Populli nuk është diku anash ose jashtë.

Populli jemi ti dhe unë, secili prej nesh, të gjithë ne. Kur ky vullnet i popullit nuk përfaqësohet dhe nuk mbrohet në institucionet e sistemit, atëherë ai duhet të artikulohet jashtë tyre, kundër tyre, për ndryshimin e tyre. Të kënaqurit janë pakicë. Të pakënaqurit janë shumicë. Të kënaqurit janë në sistem. Të pakënaqurit nuk janë të përfaqësuar. Ata duhet të dëgjohen. Andaj, ata duhet të bëhen të zëshëm. Nëpër rrugët e qyteteve dhe fshatrave të Kosovës, nëpër rrugët e lirisë. Sepse aty nis liria. Sepse ashtu nis liria. Për vite me radhë thanë se Kosova do të bëhet e pavarur vitin e ardhshëm.

Vitin e kaluar thanë se Kosova do të bëhet e pavarur deri në fund të vitit. Në fund të vitit të kaluar thanë se Kosova do të bëhet e pavarur në fillim të këtij viti në të cilin ndodhemi tash. Thanë se duhej pritur vetëm edhe pak, vetëm edhe disa javë derisa Serbia të mbante zgjedhjet e saj. Thanë se duhet të jemi të durueshëm: Ahtisaari medoemos do ta sjell pavarësinë në paketën e tij. Më pas thanë se nuk duhet të paragjykojmë përmbajtjen e paketës, le të presim e të shohim se çfarë ka brenda thoshin. Meqë paketa megjithatë komentohej, thanë se ajo përmban substancën e shtetit. Meqë simulimi i së panjohurës nuk u eci, nisi të simulohej e paqena. Në fakt, kjo substancë kinse e shtetit është substancë narkotike, është substanca më e re narkotike. Çdo herë kur premtimit të tyre i skadon afati, ata vijnë me një premtim tjetër dhe afat tjetër. Para se rrena e tyre të zbulohet, e zëvendësojnë atë me një tjetër rrenë.

Tamam kur qytetarët e përgjumur të Kosovës nisin të zgjohen, janë aty politikanët e vendit ata që vijnë me një dozë të re të një substance të re narkotike, që përkujdesen për hibernimin e vazhdueshëm të qytetarëve. Vetëm populli i fjetur i mundëson e toleron këta politikanë të cilët luksin e tyre e kanë në llogari të djersës së popullit, të cilët pozitat e tyre i kanë në llogari të pazareve fatale me tokën dhe të ardhmen e popullit. Këta politikanë u sugjerojnë qytetarëve që të shpresojnë, që të besojnë dhe që të shikojnë. Që të shpresojnë iluzionin, që të besojnë rrenat, që të shikojnë televizorin e të mos protestojnë. Demokracia e thotë të kundërtën: mos shpreso por vepro; mos beso por vepro; mos shiko por vepro.

T’i luftosh negociatorët kosovar do të thotë të mbrosh veten. Ata pranojnë çkado për Kosovën për të pasur gjithçka për veten e tyre. Komuna e copëtuar e Gjilanit do ta ketë gjashtëfish më të lartë dendësinë e popullësisë sesa komuna e trefishuar territorialisht e Artanës me shumicë serbe. Fatura e shpenzimeve dhe dëmeve të këtyre politikanëve na mbetet neve. Ata s’çajnë kokën për qytetarët. Ata brengosen vetëm dhe vetëm për veten dhe rrethin e tyre. Fëmijëve të tyre nuk u mungojnë librat, veshmbathja, ushqimi, kujdesi shëndetësor dhe pushimet verore në det. Të afërmëve të tyre nuk u mungojnë bursat, vendi i punës dhe pagat e majme. Ata janë pak njerëz që kanë shumë pasuri, mu për shkak se aq shumë njerëz kanë fare pak ose aspak të mira materiale. Prandaj, ata kanë nevojë për durimin dhe heshtjen tonë, për pritjen dhe mashtrimin tonë.

Prandaj, atyre nuk u bëhet vonë dhe me komoditet flasin për çlirimin, lirinë e demokracinë që na i solli bashkësia ndërkombëtare, për vullnetin e popullit që së shpejti do ta vë në vend bashkësia ndërkombëtare! Çlirimi, liria dhe demokracia që vijnë nga jashtë asnjëherë nuk janë të vërteta. Vullnetin e popullit nuk e realizon bashkësia ndërkombëtare dhe askush tjetër përveç vetë popullit. Që të realizohet vullneti i popullit, populli duhet të shndërrohet në këtë vullnet të tij. Populli nuk është diku anash ose jashtë. Populli jemi ti dhe unë, secili prej nesh, të gjithë ne. Kur ky vullnet i popullit nuk përfaqësohet dhe nuk mbrohet në institucionet e sistemit, atëherë ai duhet të artikulohet jashtë tyre, kundër tyre, për ndryshimin e tyre.

Të kënaqurit janë pakicë. Të pakënaqurit janë shumicë. Të kënaqurit janë në sistem. Të pakënaqurit nuk janë të përfaqësuar. Ata duhet të dëgjohen.

Andaj, ata duhet të bëhen të zëshëm. Nëpër rrugët e qyteteve dhe fshatrave të Kosovës, nëpër rrugët e lirisë.

Sepse aty nis liria.

Sepse ashtu nis liria.

Nga Albin Kurti

( Translation in english coming soon)

Much Ado About the Fort Dix Pizza Plot

Hyping Another Terrorist Threat

Much Ado About the Fort Dix Pizza Plot

By NICOLE COLSON

To listen to government officials and the mainstream media, the six New Jersey men arrested for allegedly plotting an attack on the Fort Dix military base were well organized and nearly "ready to strike."

But like all of the government's claimed victories in "fighting terrorism," there are disturbing holes in the story that should raise questions about scapegoating and scaremongering.
The U.S. attorney's office in New Jersey announced May 8 that five men--Jordanian-born U.S. citizen Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer; Turkish-born legal U.S. resident Serdar Tatar; and brothers Dritan, Eljvir and Shain Duka, ethnic Albanians from the former Yugoslavia who were reportedly in the U.S. illegally--had been charged with "plotting to kill as many soldiers as possible in an armed assault at the Fort Dix Army base."

A sixth defendant, Agron Abdullahu, a legal resident also from the former Yugoslavia, is charged with illegally holding weapons for the others.
The FBI says it learned of the supposed plot when the men went to a Circuit City store and asked a clerk to transfer a jihad training video of themselves onto a DVD. They were arrested after allegedly attempting to purchase weapons from an undercover FBI agent.
According to the government, the men had conducted surveillance on Fort Dix, obtained computerized ballistic simulations and stolen a map of Fort Dix from a pizza shop located near the base in order to help plan their attack.

But the extent of their supposed military-style "training" appears to be trips to a firing range in the Poconos and playing paintball in the woods. According to the Washington Post, the indictment against the men "indicates that the group had no rigorous military training and did not appear close to being able to pull off an attack."

Nor do court papers indicate that the suspects themselves were convinced of their own supposed plan. At one point, for example, they express doubt at the thought of obtaining automatic weapons--noting that they are, after all, illegal.

The media's reports on the arrests immediately deemed the six as "Muslim fanatics" and "Jersey jihadists." But some of the men were known to be not particularly religious. In fact, according to the New York Times, investigators have quietly admitted that "there is little indication that they were devout--or even practicing--Muslims."

Perhaps most troubling, however, is the FBI's use of two paid "informants" in the case. One of the informants, according to the Times, "railed against the United States, helped scout out military installations for attack, offered to introduce his comrades to an arms dealer and gave them a list of weapons he could procure, including machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades."

That begs the question: how far would the supposed "plot" have gone had the FBI not been there to push it forward?
In fact, in November, Tatar himself contacted police in Philadelphia, telling a sergeant he had been approached by a man who "pressured him to acquire maps of Fort Dix." He even told the sergeant he was worried that that "the incident was terrorist-related."

The Feds claim that Tatar was simply trying to throw off suspicion and determine if the first informer was a plant. But the fact that one of the defendants in a supposed terrorist cell actually called police to report possible terrorist activity raises serious questions about the truth of the government's claims.
* * *


Over-hyped declarations about terrorism prosecutions are nothing new for Bush administration. It has announced one high-profile terrorism case after another, but few have ever been substantiated, and many more have been riddled with racism, entrapment and abuses.
Last fall, for example, several men of Middle Eastern descent were arrested in separate incidents in Ohio and Michigan on terrorism charges. They had aroused suspicion by buying too many cell phones--and, in one case, taking pictures of a bridge. Charges were later quietly dropped, but not until after the government smeared the men in the media as potential terrorists.

A similar pattern has played out in the case of seven men of Haitian descent arrested in Florida last year on charges that they were plotting to blow up Chicago's Sears Tower.
Though the charges are still pending, the case against the men rests on little more than the fact that they allegedly gave an FBI informant lists of shoe sizes in order to purchase military boots for them. Even the FBI was forced to admit that the plan was more "aspirational than operational."

As a recent editorial in the Palm Beach Post commented, "[A]nyone heard lately about the so-called 'Miami 7'? The Justice Department with much ballyhoo last year claimed the five U.S. citizens, one legal permanent resident and one Haitian national had conspired with al-Qaeda 'to levy war against the United States'...But Justice may face an uphill climb to show how the men were anything other than poor, unsophisticated street vendors and easy dupes when the government's agent came casting suggestion."

Then there is so-called "dirty-bomber" Jose Padilla, who spent more than three years in solitary confinement in a military brig as an officially designated enemy combatant for allegedly plotting to take part in an al-Qaeda plot to detonate a radioactive bomb inside the U.S.
When the Bush administration suddenly announced in November 2005 that federal criminal charges had been filed against Padilla, the indictment made no mention of the dirty bomb plot or most of the other original charges.

Today, Padilla's lawyers say he has been so psychologically damaged by the physical and psychological abuse he suffered at the hands of the government that he can no longer participate in his own defense.
Likewise, former University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian remains in prison today despite the fact that a jury acquitted him of the most serious terrorism charges against him and deadlocked on several lesser counts.

To end his imprisonment and be reunited with his family, Al-Arian agreed to plead guilty to a single count of supporting the nonviolent activities of a Palestinian charity. Yet his release date has come and gone, and he remains behind bars--because federal prosecutors now claim he is a "material witness" to other trumped-up terrorism prosecutions, and want to force him to testify.
Despite government assertions, the truth is that Al-Arian has been prosecuted for his political beliefs and defense of Palestinian rights--not for any "terrorism."


* * *


A closer look at the government's own records show that the "war on terror" has yielded few convictions.
Late last year, a study by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University found that in the first eight months of 2006, the Justice Department prosecuted 46 international terrorism cases--but declined to bring charges in 209 cases that the FBI or other agencies had referred, frequently because of a lack of real evidence.
"It is clear that the prosecutors are deciding that a lot of the investigations being recommended do not cut the mustard and do not meet their standards," David Burnham, the co-director of TRAC, told the New York Times.


In all, the study found that in nearly 6,500 cases treated as "terrorism" investigations by the Justice Department since September 11, only about one in five defendants have been convicted.
And the average sentence for those convicted in "international terrorism" cases was just 20 to 28 days, and many received no jail time at all, the study found. The reason: Many of these cases involve lesser charges like immigration violations or fraud.
In other words, the prosecutions that the government labels as being about "terrorism" are almost never actually about terrorism.


In fact, a February audit released by the Justice Department's inspector general found that the department usually "could not provide support for the numbers reported or could not identify the terrorism link used to classify statistics as terrorism-related."
Convictions for immigration violations, marriage fraud and drug trafficking were counted as "terrorism convictions" by the Justice Department. Such cases included: charges brought against a marriage-broker for being paid to arrange six fraudulent marriages between Tunisians and U.S. citizens; the prosecution of a Mexican citizen who falsely identified himself as another person in a passport application; and the case of a suspect charged with dealing firearms without a license.

As one anonymous former prosecutor recently told Truthout.org's William Fisher, "U.S. attorneys are well aware of their bosses' priorities. Since 9/11, all of them have been under pressure to bring terrorism prosecutions.
"In many cases, that has led them and their superiors, as well as prominent politicians, to call high-profile press conferences where they announce terrorism charges against people, but when they show up in court, there are no actual terrorism charges."

"Observer" shkruan per mundesine e vetos ruse dhe friken nga lufta ne Kosove

Në një artikull të sotëm të Observer-it shkruan se serbët dhe shqiptarët e dinë se Rusia është ajo që i mban çelësat e së ardhshmes së tyre. Në Kosovë sot shtrohet vetëm një pyetje- ”çfarë do të bëjnë rusët?, shkruan gazeta, duke rikujtuar se lufta në Kosovës është ndalur më 1999, por, sikur që konfirmojnë edhe diplomatët, konflikti në të vërtet nuk është ndërprerë asnjëherë.
Gazeta shkruan po ashtu se ajo që e bën pikëpamjen ruse kaq të rëndësishme është se plani i Ahtisarit tashmë është vendosur në tryezën e Këshillit të Sigurimit dhe se pika nga e cila nuk ka mbrapakthim është kaluar tashmë, ndërkohë Rusia ka shpallur kërcënimin se mund ta përdorë të drejtën e vetos.Rusia ka vënë në qarkullim kundërpropozimin e saj, përmes të cilit ajo e le “sovranitetin e përgjithshëm” në duar të Serbisë , duke rrezikuar kështu përsëritjen e dhunës. Gazeta sjell pritjet e shqiptarëve që pavarësia të ndodh brenda disa javësh, por edhe pritjet serbe për rikthimin e Serbisë në Kosovë. “Gjatë viteve të fundit, në e kemi ndërtuar Kosovën“, citohet të ketë thënë kryeministri Çeku i cili për gazetën deklaroi se skenari më i keq tash është paqartësia e perspektivës.

War fears in Kosovo as Moscow veto looms

War fears in Kosovo as Moscow veto looms

Serbs and Albanians know Russia holds the key to their future as the rift between them widens

Sunday May 20, 2007The Observer

In Kosovo now there is only one question. What will the Russians do? It is asked in smoky cafes, on the countless building sites, and in government offices. It is asked by the majority Albanians, hoping for independence for this divided former Serbian province, who fear the Russians will torpedo the dream for which they fought the Kosovo war of 1998-99.

And it is asked by the minority Serbs, who ruled Kosovo for so long and regard it as their cultural and spiritual heartland, trapped in their ever-shrinking enclaves in the south and in their last stronghold in the north around the city of Mitrovica. Their fear is that their Slav ally, which opposes the independence plan drawn up by UN mediator Martti Ahtisaari, might at the last moment abandon them through the pragmatism of international diplomacy.


It is an issue troubling the functionaries of the international community who oversee Kosovo and who are anxious to see an endgame in sight eight years after the war in Kosovo was ended by Nato's bombing of Serbia and Belgrade.


What makes Russian thinking so important is that the Ahtisaari plan has now been tabled by the United States before the Security Council. A point of no return has been reached. And, crucially, a Russia that is resurgent in its sense of its international importance and hostile to both the US and the European Union over issues as diverse as criticism of its democracy and a planned missile shield for eastern Europe, has not only rejected the resolution calling for UN endorsement of the Ahtisaari plan, but has warned it might exercise its veto if there is a vote.
Instead, Russia is now circulating its own counter-proposal for Kosovo that would keep it within the 'general sovereignty' claimed by Belgrade and put off the question of Kosovo's final status, risking, some say, renewed violence.

A crisis eight years in the making is unfolding with a giddy inevitability. For while the fighting in Kosovo stopped in 1999, the conflict itself, as diplomats here acknowledge, has never really ended. All that has been held in check has been forced to the surface again.

For Kosovo's Albanians, fired up by the repeated promises of their political leaders, there is the prospect that independence may be only weeks away. It is a prospect that has forced Serbs to confront the fact that it may now likely require some act of partition on their part, a gesture that risks retaliation and expulsion of the most vulnerable Serb pockets. Suddenly all is to play for.

'During these past years we have made Kosovo. It is done,' insists Kosovo's Prime Minister, Agim Ceku, former chief of staff of the ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army. 'We have built functioning institutions. We have built our vision for the future. The worst case scenario now is a lack of clarity, an ambiguity.'

'If you ask me what I think the risks of partition are at the moment,' says Naim Rashiti of the International Crisis Group, which issued a report last week warning of the risk of violence if the Ahtisaari plan was abandoned, 'I would say 50-50. And I am worried that, if there is partition, it has the potential to be very dirty, precisely because no one has any plan B.'

In an entity whose economy has survived for almost a decade on international handouts, remittances from family members working abroad, and a grey and black economy - the latter based in large part on smuggling - independence has become a kind of spell that for its Kosovo Albanian believers promises to transform a landscape of chronic underemployment and pitiful wages.

It is a fact that is underlined during a visit to the memorial to the Kosovo Liberation Army leader Adem Jashari - his bullet and rocket-wrecked compound in the village of Prekaz, where he perished with most of his family in the incident in the winter of 1998 that triggered the descent to all-out war.

The preserved ruins are being visited by Nurlje Sadiku from the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica. 'I have never worked,' says Nurlje. 'But we hope everything will be better when independence comes. Then jobs will be easier. The World Bank will help out with donations and everything will be good.'

It is an expectation that has been stoked in the years since the war by Kosovo's Albanian politicians, many of them former fighters. 'There is no alternative to independence,' says Hashim Taqi, the president of the biggest Albanian opposition party, the PDK.
'Any attempt to delay the process is high risk. The people are ready and want a decision. They are counting the days. We were ready yesterday. Today is too late. Tomorrow,' he adds, 'is dangerous.'

Crossing the bridge into the Serb stronghold of northern Mitrovica that borders Serbia is like entering another country. The cars that do have licence plates have Serbian ones. The mobile phones are on the Serbian network. The signs are written in Cyrillic. Even the beer is different - Kneva, not the ubiquitous Peya brand drunk to the south. It reflects a society in equally dire economic straits, but one sustained not by Kosovo's provisional institutions but by Belgrade. And by a different dream.

For if Kosovo's Albanian population is fixed on independence, the Serbs here, and in the scattered enclaves in central and southern Kosovo, are equally determined that they wish to remain a part of Serbia.

'The Serbs in the north around Mitrovica are not afraid,' says Petra Miletic, a journalist turned politician. 'But the Serbs in the enclaves are afraid. I am afraid for them and, yes, I do know of Serbs in the south who are selling up and leaving, as Albanians in their enclaves in the north are also selling up.' But even if population exchanges are continuing, he has no illusions about the conditions for partition, if only in Kosovo's north: 'For us to survive independently would require the support of Belgrade.'

It is one of Kosovo's two as yet unanswered questions: whether the Albanian population denied independence by a Russian veto would declare independence on its own, and whether, faced with any kind of independence for the Albanian majority, the Serb minority would secede.
What it is driven by - as Miletic and many others on both sides concede - is the utter failure of any reconciliation since the year's end.

Such failure was perceptible at the prom night for the graduating high-school class of 2007 in Pristina - a city that once had a Serb population of 40,000. As they turned out in their posh frocks and dinner jackets, it was clear that, whereas their Albanian parents could once speak Serbian, the new generation speaks it not at all. Albanians and Serbs can no longer communicate.

In his deputy director's office in the hospital in Mitrovica, the reality is laid out by Milan Ivanovic of the hardline Serbian National Council. 'I don't know if partition is possible,' he says, although on his wall hangs a large map showing his movement's claim to 38 per cent of Kosovo's land for the Serbs.

'What is true is that in the north we have a better possibility than in the Serb enclaves in the south and centre. We have our own system and no contact with the Albanian institutions. And we have freedom of movement over the border into Serbia.

'We believe that we are between two extremities: between Ahtisaari's plan and between that of [former President of Yugoslavia Slobodan] Milosevic's plan for Kosovo. There must be room for further negotiation.' What he means is room for further stalling.
It is what the Russians are calling for, but time is running out. For as much as Serbs are calling for more time, Albanians are desperate for results. And those who lost most in the war are most anxious for a final resolution.

In the village of Krushe e Vogel, in the Kosovo Liberation Army heartland to the south and the scene of one of the worst massacres of the war, in which more than 100 residents remain 'missing', the alternative is brutally outlined by Xhylferije Shehu, 48.
In her tomato frame among the fields, Shehu, who lost her husband among nine family members, says: 'We have waited eight years for independence. I'm not optimistic that there won't be trouble. If there is no independence, then we will have to fight again.'