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Il Coordinamento Nazionale per la Jugoslavia - Onlus aderisce alla Manifestazione nazionale del 29 novembre 2008 ed invita tutti ad aderire.
Per l'occasione CNJ-onlus ha preparato il volantino, contenente le motivazioni della nostra adesione e partecipazione, che potete visionare e scaricare alla pagina: https://www.cnj.it/INIZIATIVE/roma291108.htm
Dalla stessa pagina si può scaricare il manifesto degli organizzatori della manifestazione. Le adesioni vanno inviate a: annodellapalestina @ libero.it
------
Nel disinteresse quasi totale dell'opinione pubblica, e con la complicità dei cosiddetti paesi democratici, in Palestina continua a consumarsi la tragedia di un popolo privato dei suoi diritti elementari, primo fra tutti il diritto ad una vita degna per sé e per i propri figli.
Le politiche di occupazione e chiusura dei governi israeliani oltre che impedire con la forza e con l'illegalità lo sviluppo e la crescita pacifica di una popolazione, il suo diritto a determinarsi come entità politica in uno Stato, così come previsto dal diritto internazionale, mettono una seria ipoteca sulla possibilità di un futuro di pace per tutti coloro che convivono nella Palestina storica.
Questa politica è il logico compimento di più di sessant'anni di strategie tese all'esclusione e al rifiuto del diverso che, sin dal 1948, hanno reso palese l’obiettivo dei governi israeliani: avere uno stato ebraico puro, una terra dove il numero degli arabi fosse ridotto al minimo.
La resistenza palestinese, in tutte le forme che essa ha sviluppato in questi anni, è stato l'unico argine all'annientamento di un popolo, alla sua definitiva scomparsa e dispersione.
A questa resistenza noi sentiamo di dover portare la nostra solidarietà sollevando e tenendo ancora viva la questione palestinese in occidente e nel nostro paese.In questo quadro vanno inserite le tante manifestazioni di solidarietà internazionale, da quelle più piccole, organizzate quotidianamente dal tessuto associativo che opera attraverso i tanti momenti di solidarietà diretta, alle operazioni di rottura dell'infame embargo anti-palestinese, come quella portata avanti di recente a Gaza.
Per tenere desta questa attenzione, specie in un contesto fortemente segnato dalla regressione politico-culturale dell'Italia verso uno strisciante razzismo di massa, è necessario anche giungere a manifestazioni pubbliche e di massa che, negli anni scorsi, hanno contribuito a mantenere, con le poche forze disponibili, la questione palestinese dentro l'agenda politica italiana, a dispetto di quanti avrebbero voluto marginalizzare il problema.
Le priorità sono quelle degli ultimi anni, anche se col passare del tempo la situazione è andata sempre più peggiorando:
La fine dell'occupazione e del furto delle risorse naturali, in primis l'acqua.Il diritto al ritorno, nella Palestina storica, per i rifugiati palestinesi.La fine del blocco economico contro la popolazione di Gaza.
La distruzione del muro.
Lo smantellamento degli insediamenti colonici israeliani.
La liberazione dei prigionieri, innanzitutto.
Per uno stato palestinese con Gerusalemme capitale.Campagna nazionale 2008 anno della PalestinaPer informazioni : www.forumpalestina.orgCiclinprop via Giolitti 311 Roma
SOLUZIONI BEN COLLAUDATE
Lettera aperta dell'ex presidente della Repubblica alle forze dell'ordine
"Sbagliate le cariche adesso, bisogna aspettare che sparino a qualcuno"
I consigli di Cossiga alla Polizia
"Prima una vittima, poi mano dura" (...)
ROMA - Aveva iniziato consigliando l'uso di infiltrati nei cortei ed evocando le maniere forti da parte delle forza dell'ordine. Oggi Francesco Cossiga torna a dispensare suggerimenti, non richiesti, al capo della polizia Antonio Manganelli. E sono di nuovo parole destinate ad alimentare polemiche. "Serve una vittima e poi si potranno usare le maniere forti", dice. Considerazioni tutt'altro che condivise dal presidente della Camera, Gianfranco Fini: "Ci sono minoranze rumorose che poi ricorrono alle cinghie. Sono molto rumorose ma rimangono molto minoranze". Intanto il suo collega di partito e sindaco di Roma, Gianni Alemanno, critica il ministro dell'Istruzione: "La Gelmini si è mossa male".
Cossiga: "Per il consenso serve la paura". Il ragionamento dell'ex presidente è affidato a una lettera aperta: "Un'efficace politica dell'ordine pubblico deve basarsi su un vasto consenso popolare, e il consenso si forma sulla paura, non verso le forze di polizia, ma verso i manifestanti". Per Cossiga, che pensa alle tensioni che hanno segnato le manifestazioni degli studenti di questi giorni, è stato "un grave errore strategico" reagire con "cariche d'alleggerimento, usando anche gli sfollagente e ferendo qualche manifestante".
La "tattica cossighiana". In pratica si tratta di disporre "che al minimo cenno di violenze di questo tipo, le forze di polizia si ritirino". A questo punto, continua Cossiga, "l'ideale sarebbe che di queste manifestazioni fosse vittima un passante, meglio un vecchio, una donna o un bambino, rimanendo ferito da qualche colpo di arma da fuoco sparato dai dimostranti: basterebbe una ferita lieve, ma meglio sarebbe se fosse grave, ma senza pericolo per la vita".
"La gente deve odiare i manifestanti". Una situazione che farebbe crescere fra la gente "la paura dei manifestanti e con la paura l'odio verso di essi e i loro mandanti o chi da qualche loft, o da qualche redazione, ad esempio quella de L'Unità, li sorregge". Tra i danneggiamenti invocati, Cossiga si augura che possano accadere alla sede dell'arcivecovo di Milano o a qualche sede della Caritas o di Pax Christi.
I tempi dell'intervento. "Io aspetterei ancora un po' - continua Cossiga - e solo dopo che la situazione si aggravasse e colonne di studenti con militanti dei centri sociali, al canto di Bella ciao, devastassero strade, negozi, infrastrutture pubbliche e aggredissero forze di polizia in tenuta ordinaria e non antisommossa e ferissero qualcuno di loro, anche uccidendolo, farei intervenire massicciamente e pesantemente le forze dell'ordine contro i manifestanti".
(...) (8 novembre 2008)
Sulla strategia della tensione utilizzata oggi in Italia si veda ad esempio:
Sul controllo dei media da parte della destra eversiva oggi in Italia si veda ad esempio:
http://ansa.it/opencms/export/site/notizie/rubriche/altrenotizie/visualizza_new.html_815814381.html
2008-11-07 10:24
GRECIA: CADE ELICOTTERO CARICO PROIETTILI URANIO
ATENE - Duecento chilogrammi di uranio impoverito sono stati diffusi
nell'aria dalla distruzione di 600 proiettili che portava l'elicottero
dell'esercito greco caduto mercoledì scorso vicino alla città di Kymi,
a nord di Atene. Lo riferisce oggi il quotidiano della capitale
Ethnos. Il giornale ha aggiunto che la zona dell'incidente è stata
immediatamente isolata per 15 ore, e che sul posto è intervenuta una
unita dell'esercito specializzata in guerra biologica e nucleare.
2008-11-07 10:24
GRECIA: CADE ELICOTTERO CARICO PROIETTILI URANIO
ATENE - Duecento chilogrammi di uranio impoverito sono stati diffusi
nell'aria dalla distruzione di 600 proiettili che portava l'elicottero
dell'esercito greco caduto mercoledì scorso vicino alla città di Kymi,
a nord di Atene. Lo riferisce oggi il quotidiano della capitale
Ethnos. Il giornale ha aggiunto che la zona dell'incidente è stata
immediatamente isolata per 15 ore, e che sul posto è intervenuta una
unita dell'esercito specializzata in guerra biologica e nucleare.
Mercoledì 12 novembre 2008
presso la Sala Lauree della Facoltà di Lingue e Letterature Straniere di Torino,
Brunella Anastasi discuterà la Tesi di Laurea specialistica dal titolo:
Novi Sad una città sotto le bombe
relatore Dott. Ljiljana Banjanin (correlatore prof. Marco Buttino)
si ringrazia il prof. Massimo Zucchetti per il materiale offerto e la consulenza
Il programma dettagliato e completo dell'iniziativa è scaricabile dal nostro sito internet
(in due files: https://www.cnj.it/INIZIATIVE/marghera08_I.pdf e https://www.cnj.it/INIZIATIVE/marghera08_II.pdf )
Inizio messaggio inoltrato:
Da: "Luigi Di Noia" <fokista @ interfree.it>Data: 09 novembre 2008 11:29:00 GMT+01:00Oggetto: Cineforum sul colonialismo italiano
siamo felici di invitarvi ad un ciclo di proiezioni sul colonialismo italiano (di ieri e di oggi) che si terrà all'Auditorium Monteverdi di Marghera (VE), tutti i venerdì dal 21 novembre al 12 dicembre. Si tratta di un cineforum organizzato dal "Comitato permanente contro le guerre ed il razzismo" di Marghera con l'intento non solo di testimoniare il brutale passato coloniale dell'Italia in Etiopia, in Jugoslavia, in Libia, ma anche il ruolo neocoloniale esercitato oggi nei Balcani, nell'Est Europa, in Medio Oriente. Ecco i titoli delle serate:
21/11/08, Il leone del deserto di M. Akkad (1980)
28/11/08, Fascist Legacy di K. Kirby (1989)
5/12/08, C'era una volta... Il caso Romania di S. Montanaro (2005)
12/12/08, Bombe sulle industrie chimiche di S. Adamek (1999)
http://www.unobserv er.com/layout5. php?id=5272& blz=1
UN Observer
October 23, 2008
Kosovo Roma Diaspora Statement
Statement of the Kosovo Roma Diaspora on the occasion
of the "International Roundtable on Roma, Ashakli and
Egyptians of Kosovo: Challenges and Prospects of
Sustainable Integration"
22 October 2008 - We, representatives of the Kosovo
Roma Diaspora, would like to express our disagreement
with the organisation of an international roundtable
on the integration of Roma from Kosovo by the Project
on Ethnic Relations in cooperation with the
OSCE/ODIHR.
We believe that this conference, which is taking place
today at the headquarters of the OSCE in Vienna, has
no other purpose than to set the basis for the
forthcoming forced return of several ten thousand Roma
refugees to Kosovo.
In June 1999, the international community, including
KFOR and the OSCE, did nothing to prevent the violent
expulsion of ten thousands of Roma from their homes in
Kosovo and the destruction of their properties.
In ten years, the international community did hardly
anything to allow the return of the internally
displaced Roma in Kosovo, leaving people knowingly in
situations which are harmful to their lives (see the
situation of the internally displaced in Kosovska
Mitrovica).
Asylum applications of Kosovo Roma were rejected on no
grounds. Asylum application procedures such as those
in Macedonia were denounced as flawed and unfair,
including by the EU Commission and the US government,
with no consequence for the treatment of those who had
become victims of these discriminatory practices.
Despite the ban of the UNHCR, Kosovo Roma have been
subjected to pressure to either leave their host
country voluntarily or to be forcibly returned to
Kosovo. There have been, throughout these years,
attempts to deport Roma to Kosovo, some of them
stopped, in the last minute, by UNMIK. In other cases,
Kosovo Roma were deported to Serbia.
With the imminent declaration of independence and as a
price to pay for it, the Kosovo government adopted, in
October last year, a strategy for the reintegration of
the returnees. It goes out from this document, which
was obviously drafted with heavy input of the
international community, if not entirely masterminded
by it, that the Roma as an ethnic group are the main
target of forced repatriations.
The UNHCR currently withholds a new position on the
continued need for protection of individuals from
Kosovo.
Countries such as Switzerland have recently announced
that they will start returning minorities including
Roma to Kosovo next year.
In other countries such as Sweden, there has been an
increase in negative decisions by tribunals, awakening
fears of forced deportations also from these
countries. The German "Bleiberechtsregelu ng" offers
only limited opportunities for the regularisation of
Kosovo Roma refugees, leaving more than 20,000 people
with the threat of a being forcibly deported.
The Kosovo government has recently issued a draft
strategy for the integration of Roma, Ashkali and
Kosovo Egyptians.
This strategy belies the fact that Roma in Kosovo were
well integrated before the war. It also belies the
fact that Roma were comparatively well-off, sometimes
even better off than their Albanian neighbours. We
fail to see in this document any recognition of the
crimes committed against Kosovo Roma for which no
compensation was ever offered. We fail to see any
recognition of the ongoing discrimination and violence
against Roma in Kosovo.
We noticed that we have not even been included in the
Kosovo constitution as a people of Kosovo. Our
language is not recognized on the same level as
Albanian and Serbian. We have no guaranteed political
representation at the local level in spite of the
enhanced powers of the local institutions. On central
level, we are guaranteed one representative while our
community was once the third largest in Kosovo.
The meeting in Vienna comes at a moment when all the
major decisions have already been taken. Some
hand-picked individuals are called in to give their
agreement – in the name of whom? – to a strategy
decided by others, a strategy which implies a
discretionary decision over the lives of several tens
of thousands of people, a strategy which implies
acknowledging injustice and creating new injustice, a
strategy which implies driving a whole people into
misery.
We ask, who decided about this meeting and who set up
the agenda?
We are not aware of any consultation with the
Diaspora.
Instead, the information was circulated almost
secretly and in a language which most of us do not
understand.
Only a few days before the conference, the
(provisional? ) list of invitees was made available. We
realise that the majority of the representatives in
this meeting are representatives of international
organisations or national governments. Have they been
consulted with, when the agenda was drafted, or how
will they be able to participate in the debate?
We want to have a discussion and we do have issues to
discuss. This concerns in first place the denial of
asylum to Kosovo Roma. This concerns our exclusion
from political processes including the status
negotiations and the drafting of a constitution. This
also concerns the issue of compensation. It finally
concerns the bringing to justice of war criminals.
We expect from the OSCE/ODIHR to facilitate the
creation of a permanent forum of Kosovo Roma
representatives which would have the means to start
consultations among its constituency on issues such as
refugee returns. It should also have the means to
compile and analyse information such as war crimes,
property returns, etc..
Only then can we start to talk about a real dialogue.
We are deeply ashamed and outraged by the fact of
being treated as a social under-class and outcasts
whose destiny is left at the hands of some NGOs who
act as the henchmen of Western governments and line
their pockets on our backs. We have lived in Kosovo
for more than 600 years. We request the same respect
as is given to other people from Kosovo.
We call on our brothers and sisters who are present at
this meeting to abstain from any decision which will
put them at odds with their own people. We ask them to
watch and listen carefully and to report back to their
constituency, because the final vote belongs only to
those who are actually concerned.
Signatories:
Murat Haliti, Romano Them
Brahim Music, Ternikano Berno
Muharem Gasnjani, Committee of the Kosovo Roma,
Egyptian and Askhali Refugees in Macedonia
Imer Kajtazi, Romano Dzuvdipe, URYD Belgium
Mifailj Osmani, Amalipe Rom Nevo Dive/ URYD Switzerland
Nedzo Nezirin, URYD France
UN Observer
October 23, 2008
Kosovo Roma Diaspora Statement
Statement of the Kosovo Roma Diaspora on the occasion
of the "International Roundtable on Roma, Ashakli and
Egyptians of Kosovo: Challenges and Prospects of
Sustainable Integration"
22 October 2008 - We, representatives of the Kosovo
Roma Diaspora, would like to express our disagreement
with the organisation of an international roundtable
on the integration of Roma from Kosovo by the Project
on Ethnic Relations in cooperation with the
OSCE/ODIHR.
We believe that this conference, which is taking place
today at the headquarters of the OSCE in Vienna, has
no other purpose than to set the basis for the
forthcoming forced return of several ten thousand Roma
refugees to Kosovo.
In June 1999, the international community, including
KFOR and the OSCE, did nothing to prevent the violent
expulsion of ten thousands of Roma from their homes in
Kosovo and the destruction of their properties.
In ten years, the international community did hardly
anything to allow the return of the internally
displaced Roma in Kosovo, leaving people knowingly in
situations which are harmful to their lives (see the
situation of the internally displaced in Kosovska
Mitrovica).
Asylum applications of Kosovo Roma were rejected on no
grounds. Asylum application procedures such as those
in Macedonia were denounced as flawed and unfair,
including by the EU Commission and the US government,
with no consequence for the treatment of those who had
become victims of these discriminatory practices.
Despite the ban of the UNHCR, Kosovo Roma have been
subjected to pressure to either leave their host
country voluntarily or to be forcibly returned to
Kosovo. There have been, throughout these years,
attempts to deport Roma to Kosovo, some of them
stopped, in the last minute, by UNMIK. In other cases,
Kosovo Roma were deported to Serbia.
With the imminent declaration of independence and as a
price to pay for it, the Kosovo government adopted, in
October last year, a strategy for the reintegration of
the returnees. It goes out from this document, which
was obviously drafted with heavy input of the
international community, if not entirely masterminded
by it, that the Roma as an ethnic group are the main
target of forced repatriations.
The UNHCR currently withholds a new position on the
continued need for protection of individuals from
Kosovo.
Countries such as Switzerland have recently announced
that they will start returning minorities including
Roma to Kosovo next year.
In other countries such as Sweden, there has been an
increase in negative decisions by tribunals, awakening
fears of forced deportations also from these
countries. The German "Bleiberechtsregelu ng" offers
only limited opportunities for the regularisation of
Kosovo Roma refugees, leaving more than 20,000 people
with the threat of a being forcibly deported.
The Kosovo government has recently issued a draft
strategy for the integration of Roma, Ashkali and
Kosovo Egyptians.
This strategy belies the fact that Roma in Kosovo were
well integrated before the war. It also belies the
fact that Roma were comparatively well-off, sometimes
even better off than their Albanian neighbours. We
fail to see in this document any recognition of the
crimes committed against Kosovo Roma for which no
compensation was ever offered. We fail to see any
recognition of the ongoing discrimination and violence
against Roma in Kosovo.
We noticed that we have not even been included in the
Kosovo constitution as a people of Kosovo. Our
language is not recognized on the same level as
Albanian and Serbian. We have no guaranteed political
representation at the local level in spite of the
enhanced powers of the local institutions. On central
level, we are guaranteed one representative while our
community was once the third largest in Kosovo.
The meeting in Vienna comes at a moment when all the
major decisions have already been taken. Some
hand-picked individuals are called in to give their
agreement – in the name of whom? – to a strategy
decided by others, a strategy which implies a
discretionary decision over the lives of several tens
of thousands of people, a strategy which implies
acknowledging injustice and creating new injustice, a
strategy which implies driving a whole people into
misery.
We ask, who decided about this meeting and who set up
the agenda?
We are not aware of any consultation with the
Diaspora.
Instead, the information was circulated almost
secretly and in a language which most of us do not
understand.
Only a few days before the conference, the
(provisional? ) list of invitees was made available. We
realise that the majority of the representatives in
this meeting are representatives of international
organisations or national governments. Have they been
consulted with, when the agenda was drafted, or how
will they be able to participate in the debate?
We want to have a discussion and we do have issues to
discuss. This concerns in first place the denial of
asylum to Kosovo Roma. This concerns our exclusion
from political processes including the status
negotiations and the drafting of a constitution. This
also concerns the issue of compensation. It finally
concerns the bringing to justice of war criminals.
We expect from the OSCE/ODIHR to facilitate the
creation of a permanent forum of Kosovo Roma
representatives which would have the means to start
consultations among its constituency on issues such as
refugee returns. It should also have the means to
compile and analyse information such as war crimes,
property returns, etc..
Only then can we start to talk about a real dialogue.
We are deeply ashamed and outraged by the fact of
being treated as a social under-class and outcasts
whose destiny is left at the hands of some NGOs who
act as the henchmen of Western governments and line
their pockets on our backs. We have lived in Kosovo
for more than 600 years. We request the same respect
as is given to other people from Kosovo.
We call on our brothers and sisters who are present at
this meeting to abstain from any decision which will
put them at odds with their own people. We ask them to
watch and listen carefully and to report back to their
constituency, because the final vote belongs only to
those who are actually concerned.
Signatories:
Murat Haliti, Romano Them
Brahim Music, Ternikano Berno
Muharem Gasnjani, Committee of the Kosovo Roma,
Egyptian and Askhali Refugees in Macedonia
Imer Kajtazi, Romano Dzuvdipe, URYD Belgium
Mifailj Osmani, Amalipe Rom Nevo Dive/ URYD Switzerland
Nedzo Nezirin, URYD France
(english / italiano)
Gomorra
L'opera di Roberto Saviano che tanto successo ha riscosso e sta giustamente riscuotendo in Italia e all'estero, grazie anche ad una trasposizione cinematografica che aiuta a raggiungere quegli strati della popolazione che non hanno letto e forse non leggeranno il libro, dovrebbe spingere ad approfondimenti ulteriori. Senza soffermarci sulle tante tematiche bene sviscerate dalla narrazione di Saviano, guardiamo infatti ad alcuni altri punti che meritano di essere sviluppati.
Essi riguardano il contesto generale e soprattutto internazionale in cui il fenomeno "Gomorra" (la camorra) sorge e si sviluppa. Quali sono i legami che consentono a quel "regime parallelo" di sostenersi? Su questo il libro non si addentra, lasciando aperti numerosi interrogativi. Dove il tema viene toccato, i dubbi aumentano, anzichè diminuire.
Alcuni esempi:
1) Nel capitolo intitolato "Kalashnikov" si parla delle armi omonime. Si dice che alla camorra queste sono arrivate anche dalla Macedonia e da altri paesi dell'Europa orientale: "i clan acquistarono informalmente dagli stati dell'est - Romania, Polonia, ex Jugoslavia - interi depositi di armi (...) Una parte della difesa di quei paesi venne mantenuta dai clan (...) I depositi degli eserciti dell'est [erano] a loro completa disposizione." Il periodo di cui si parla è quello della crisi e della fine di quei sistemi politici, perciò la camorra subentra agli eserciti dei paesi socialisti, da liquidatrice e nemica.
"I mitra quella volta li avevano stipati in camion che ostentavano sui fianchi il simbolo della NATO. Tir rubati dai garage americani" - rubati? - "e che grazie a quella scritta potevano girare tranquillamente" - tranquillamente? - "per mezza Italia. A Gricignano d'Aversa, la base NATO è un piccolo colosso inaccessibile, come una colonna di cemento armato piazzata in mezzo a una pianura. Una struttura costruita dai Coppola, come tutto del resto da queste parti. Non si vedono quasi mai gli americani. I controlli sono rari. I camion della NATO hanno massima libertà e così quando le armi sono giunte in paese, gli autisti si sono pure fermati in piazza, hanno fatto colazione, hanno inzuppato il cornetto nel cappuccino mentre chiedevano in giro per il bar di poter contattare 'un paio di neri per scaricare roba, velocemente'..."
Quindi la NATO non solo non avrebbe il controllo del territorio, ma neppure dei propri camion! E il controllo dei depositi di armi dei paesi ex-socialisti, lo aveva la camorra, oppure la NATO?
Oppure la NATO attraverso la camorra?
Una cosa è certa, e cioè che i beni immobiliari di proprietà della malavita napoletana dati in uso alle forze della NATO e agli statunitensi in particolare sono tanti: si veda anche l'articolo dal "Times", che riportiamo in calce.
2) A pagina 204 si parla della compravendita di panzer Leopard in cui la Camorra era coinvolta negli anni Settanta e Ottanta. Si allude a trattative effettuate "con l'allora Germania Est". Ma è noto che il Leopard è un frutto dell'industria degli armamenti tedesco-occidentali, anzi per la precisione esso nacque da un programma congiunto tra la Repubblica federale e gli Stati Uniti; tuttora il mezzo è normalmente utilizzato dagli eserciti della NATO.
3) Subito di seguito si riferisce che "Zeljko Raznnatovic, meglio conosciuto come 'la tigre Arkan', ebbe rapporti con Sandokan Schiavone, capo dei Casalesi", e ci si addentra in una ricostruzione dei fatti piuttosto oscura. Si dice infatti che Arkan grazie ai Casalesi avrebbe fatto entrare in Serbia "capitali e armi sotto forma di aiuti umanitari: ospedali da campo, medicinali e attrezzature mediche." Ma allora, in concreto, stiamo parlando di armi, di soldi, o di ospedali da campo, medicinali e attrezzature mediche?
Prosegue Saviano: "Secondo il SISMI però le forniture (...) erano in realtà pagate dalla Serbia mediante prelievi dai propri depositi presso una banca austriaca." Varrebbe a dire che la Serbia pagava (in dollari): allora i soldi uscivano dai Balcani, non entravano... In effetti pare uscissero, tanto che venivano poi girati a un non meglio specificato "ente alleato dei clan serbi e campani, che avrebbe dovuto provvedere a ordinare alle varie industrie interessate i beni da dare come aiuto umanitario" (sic), "pagando con soldi provenienti da attività illecite e attuando così il riciclaggio degli stessi capitali. E proprio in questo passaggio entrano in scena i clan Casalesi. Sono loro ad aver messo a disposizione le ditte, i trasporti, i beni per effettuare l'operazione di riciclaggio."
Qui non abbiamo capito molto, ed il seguito è altrettanto oscuro: "Servendosi dei suoi intermediari Arkan, secondo le informative, chiede l'intervento dei Casalesi per mettere a tacere i mafiosi albanesi che avrebbero potuto rovinare la sua guerra finanziaria, attaccando da sud o bloccando il commercio di armi" (di nuovo: materiale umanitario oppure armi? O entrambe?)
Solo alla fine si chiarisce almeno un aspetto: "I Casalesi calmarono i loro alleati albanesi, dando armi e concedendo ad Arkan una serena guerriglia. In cambio (...) l'impresa italiana si disseminò in mezza Serbia."
Dalla "difficile" ricostruzione si capiscono almeno due cose:
(a) che gli alleati in primis dei Casalesi erano i mafiosi albanesi, come d'altronde ebbe occasione di spiegare lo stesso Saviano in tempi "non sospetti" ("L'armata albanese nella nuova guerra di Napoli", su Il Manifesto, 21/11/2004 - http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/4042 ), e
(b) che l'operazione di riciclaggio non riguardava i soldi "di Arkan" o "della Serbia" bensì soldi sporchi acquisiti in Italia da italiani (camorristi?) che si inserivano in una compravendita di "ospedali da campo, medicinali e attrezzature mediche" al solo scopo di riciclare quei soldi.
4) Sempre rimanendo in tema di alleati internazionali della Camorra, sarebbe molto pertinente per un futuro approfondimento della indagine di Saviano andare a scavare nei rapporti con la leadership montenegrina. Saviano non può non aver sentito parlare delle pesanti accuse rivolte dalla magistratura italiana contro Milo Djukanovic: associazione mafiosa finalizzata al contrabbando internazionale di sigarette e riciclaggio di danaro. Accuse tanto imbarazzanti che Djukanovic si era tolto di mezzo per un po' dopo la proclamazione della "indipendenza" della sua repubblichetta, di cui era stato premier e presidente in diverse fasi. Accuse in base alle quali Djukanovic a metà del 2007 è stato rinviato a giudizio in Italia. I rapporti che Djukanovic e la sua lobby politico-affaristico-secessionista instaurò con la malavita italiana passarono non solo attraverso la Sacra Corona Unita pugliese, ma anche attraverso la camorra, specialmente nelle persone del boss del contrabbando Gerardo Cuomo, di Gragnano, e del noto camorrista (benchè pugliese) Francesco Prudentino, di Ostuni, già residente in Montenegro.
Su tutto questo, su cui la stampa italiana e internazionale ha calato un silenzio di tomba mentre in Montenegro e Croazia i giornalisti che se ne occupano vengono arrestati o uccisi, raccomandiamo di andarsi a rileggere in particolare, tra la molta documentazione presente nell'archivio di JUGOINFO, gli articoli alle pagine:
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/1802
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/1808
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/1808
e, per chi sa il tedesco: Besuch im Schurkenstaat (2005)
Italo Slavo
---
October 27, 2008
Nato officers rent villa owned by Naples Mafia boss Antonio Iovine
Paul Bompard in Rome
American Nato officers have been renting a villa near
Naples for years that belongs, indirectly, to Antonio
Iovine, a clan chieftain of the Camorra, the
Neapolitan Mafia.
Mr Iovine, 44, nicknamed “o’ninno” — the baby —
because of his small stature, is wanted for murder and
other crimes, and is listed among the 30 most
dangerous criminals in Italy. He has been on the run
for 12 years.
According to an investigation that was published in
Corriere della Sera yesterday the villa of Mr Iovine
may be only the tip of an iceberg. Italian police
sources suggested that there were scores of similar
cases in the Naples area of Nato service personnel
living in houses that were owned by the Camorra.
There are several Nato facilities in the area, notably
a US telecommunications centre in Bagnoli and the US
Air Force base at Capodichino.
“It’s ludicrous, isn’t it? The coffers of Nato, to
which Italy also contributes, are helping to fill the
coffers of the Camorra,” Franco Roberti, the
co-ordinator of the local anti-Mafia bureau, said.
The villa rented by the American officers, near the
town of San Cipriano d’Aversa, was bought in 1986 by
Mr Iovine’s mother, with what investigators believe
were the wages of his criminal activities. Because it
is registered in her name, prosecutors have so far
failed to present sufficient evidence of its criminal
origins.
The two-storey villa is surrounded by a high wall
topped by a fence with several video cameras along its
perimeter. It is only 18 miles from the US bases.
Colonel Carmelo Burgio, who heads the 1,360
Carabinieri in the Naples area, which is infested by
the many family-based clans that make up the Camorra,
said: “Last year we succeeded in sequestering Euro 100
million [79 million pounds] of assets belonging to the
Bianco-Corvino clan of the Camorra, including about 50
villas.
"We then discovered that 40 of these were rented out
to Nato personnel. Most of them are still living
there, with the difference that the rent, which ranges
between 1,500 euros and 3,000 pounds a month, is now
paid into a state fund.”
....
The military duty officer at the US Embassy in Rome
said that he had no knowledge of the situation and
declined to comment. Military personnel at the
American Joint Forces Headquarters in Naples and at
the Capodichino airbase also said that they knew
nothing of the matter, and that nobody was available
to comment.
American Nato officers have been renting a villa near
Naples for years that belongs, indirectly, to Antonio
Iovine, a clan chieftain of the Camorra, the
Neapolitan Mafia.
Mr Iovine, 44, nicknamed “o’ninno” — the baby —
because of his small stature, is wanted for murder and
other crimes, and is listed among the 30 most
dangerous criminals in Italy. He has been on the run
for 12 years.
According to an investigation that was published in
Corriere della Sera yesterday the villa of Mr Iovine
may be only the tip of an iceberg. Italian police
sources suggested that there were scores of similar
cases in the Naples area of Nato service personnel
living in houses that were owned by the Camorra.
There are several Nato facilities in the area, notably
a US telecommunications centre in Bagnoli and the US
Air Force base at Capodichino.
“It’s ludicrous, isn’t it? The coffers of Nato, to
which Italy also contributes, are helping to fill the
coffers of the Camorra,” Franco Roberti, the
co-ordinator of the local anti-Mafia bureau, said.
The villa rented by the American officers, near the
town of San Cipriano d’Aversa, was bought in 1986 by
Mr Iovine’s mother, with what investigators believe
were the wages of his criminal activities. Because it
is registered in her name, prosecutors have so far
failed to present sufficient evidence of its criminal
origins.
The two-storey villa is surrounded by a high wall
topped by a fence with several video cameras along its
perimeter. It is only 18 miles from the US bases.
Colonel Carmelo Burgio, who heads the 1,360
Carabinieri in the Naples area, which is infested by
the many family-based clans that make up the Camorra,
said: “Last year we succeeded in sequestering Euro 100
million [79 million pounds] of assets belonging to the
Bianco-Corvino clan of the Camorra, including about 50
villas.
"We then discovered that 40 of these were rented out
to Nato personnel. Most of them are still living
there, with the difference that the rent, which ranges
between 1,500 euros and 3,000 pounds a month, is now
paid into a state fund.”
....
The military duty officer at the US Embassy in Rome
said that he had no knowledge of the situation and
declined to comment. Military personnel at the
American Joint Forces Headquarters in Naples and at
the Capodichino airbase also said that they knew
nothing of the matter, and that nobody was available
to comment.
(deutsch / english
La creazione di una repubblichetta kosovara, su base razzista e criminale, con un suo esercito di ascari al servizio di NATO ed UE, è sostenuta finanziariamente e militarmente dai nemici di sempre della unità e fratellanza dei popoli balcanici: germanici ed ottomani. I primi ottengono così quanto non era riuscito ad Hitler (vedi: https://www.cnj.it/documentazione/KOSMET/foto.htm), i secondi ristabiliscono una salda sfera di influenza nel loro antico e fidato Vilayet coloniale. Gli Stati Uniti d'America sorridono e si fregano le mani dinanzi a questo autolesionista e ottuso morbo revanscista che affligge la vecchia Europa. A cura di IS )
Support to "Kosova" from Germany and Turkey
1) Turkish forces command grants Kosovo EUR 670,000 in aid
2) Nach NATO-Standards / In Accordance With NATO Standards
... German Government is paying millions in militarily equipment to transform the former UCK (Kosovo Liberation Army - KLA) terrorist group into a Kosovan army ...=== 1 ===
Kosovo: Turkish Army Grants $1 Million In 'Aid'
Posted by: "Rick Rozoff"
Sat Oct 25, 2008 6:49 am (PDT)
http://www.focus- fen.net/? id=n157227
[Perhaps Belgrade could reciprocate by bestowing a
comparable amount of assistance upon independent
Kurdistan.]
Focus News Agency (Bulgaria)
October 25, 2008
Turkish forces command grants Kosovo EUR 670,000 in aid
Pristina/Ankara - The command of the Turkish forces in
Kosovo has granted EUR 670,000 in assistance within
the framework of cooperation between the Armed Forces
and citizens, the Anatolian Agency reported.
The Turkish forces, which have been in Kosovo since
1999, are helping in various areas, such as
humanitarian aid, healthcare, education, construction
of defensive facilities and infrastructure.
[Perhaps Belgrade could reciprocate by bestowing a
comparable amount of assistance upon independent
Kurdistan.]
Focus News Agency (Bulgaria)
October 25, 2008
Turkish forces command grants Kosovo EUR 670,000 in aid
Pristina/Ankara - The command of the Turkish forces in
Kosovo has granted EUR 670,000 in assistance within
the framework of cooperation between the Armed Forces
and citizens, the Anatolian Agency reported.
The Turkish forces, which have been in Kosovo since
1999, are helping in various areas, such as
humanitarian aid, healthcare, education, construction
of defensive facilities and infrastructure.
=== 2 ===
Nach NATO-Standards
31.10.2008
Umfangreich
Für den Aufbau der "Kosovo Security Force" (KSF) stellt die Bundesregierung in einem ersten Schritt sieben Millionen Euro zur Verfügung. Das berichtet die kosovarische "Regierung" nach Verhandlungen mit dem deutschen Verteidigungsminister Jung in Pristina. Jung hatte zu Beginn der Woche die Bundeswehr im Kosovo besucht und dort auch mit dem "Premierminister" und dem "Verteidigungsminister" gesprochen. Wie das Bundesverteidigungsministerium mitteilt, leistet die Bundeswehr zudem "personelle Unterstützung" - zunächst mit 15 Soldaten. Schließlich wird sich Berlin auch an der Aufrüstung der KSF mit Militärgerät beteiligen. Die geplanten Lieferungen werden im Verteidigungsministerium als "umfangreich" eingestuft.[1]
Ins Ausland
Bei der KSF handelt es sich um eine Truppe, die sich nach offiziellen Angaben zunächst nur mit der "Krisenbewältigung", dem "Zivilschutz" und der Beseitigung von Munition befassen wird. Später jedoch soll sie weitergehende Aufgaben übernehmen, die nach verbreitetem Verständnis dem Profil einer Armee entsprechen.[2] Dies geht auch aus der "Verfassung" des kosovarischen Sezessionsregimes hervor; dort heißt es in Artikel 126, die KSF solle "die Bevölkerung und das Gemeinwesen" des Kosovo schützen.[3] Weiter heißt es dort, die KSF sei befugt, "ihre Mitglieder ins Ausland" zu entsenden - ein Hinweis auf künftige Auslandseinsätze der kosovarischen Armee. Vor diesem Hintergrund gewinnt es an Bedeutung, dass die KSF unter Federführung der NATO aufgebaut, trainiert und aufgerüstet wird, vorerst nur mit leichten Waffen, aber nach NATO-Standards.[4] Neben Deutschland sind weitere NATO-Mitglieder an den Maßnahmen beteiligt, darunter die Vereinigten Staaten, Frankreich und Großbritannien. Nicht involviert sind die Slowakei, Rumänien und Spanien, die die Sezession des Kosovo bis heute nicht anerkennen. Die KSF soll bereits im Juni 2009 einsatzfähig sein.
Keimzelle
Die KSF wird zunächst über 2.500 Mann und 800 Reservisten verfügen. Ihr Personal gewinnt sie vor allem aus dem 5.000 Mann starken "Kosovo Protection Corps" (KPC), das bis zum 10. Dezember offiziell aufgelöst werden soll. Damit steht sie in unmittelbarer Nachfolge zu der ehemaligen Terrortruppe UCK. Die UCK war, nachdem sie der NATO bei ihrem Überfall auf Jugoslawien als ortskundige Bodentruppe gedient hatte, nach Kriegsende nur formal aufgelöst worden; de facto transformierte sich die Miliz in das KPC. Dieses wurde zwar offiziell als "zivile Katastrophenschutz-Organisation" eingestuft, verstand sich jedoch selbst als Keimzelle einer entstehenden kosovarischen Armee. Entsprechend war von KFOR-Soldaten gelegentlich zu hören, KPC-Angehörige träten entgegen ihrem offiziellen Auftrag schwer bewaffnet in der Öffentlichkeit auf. Man dürfe sie jedoch, hieß es, nicht daran hindern; die NATO ließ sie gewähren. Tatsächlich führten KPC-Mitglieder und KFOR-Truppen - auch deutsche - gemeinsame Trainings durch, die Bundeswehr rüstete das KPC aus - so etwa mit Sanitätsfahrzeugen aus deutschem Militärbestand. Bereits im Frühjahr 2007 erklärte ein KPC-Sprecher öffentlich, die Transformation seiner Truppe in reguläre Streitkräfte habe bereits begonnen. Offiziell wurde damals noch über den Status des Kosovo "verhandelt".
Haftbefehl
Die Qualitäten des Personals, das von der UCK in das KPC weitergereicht wurde und jetzt teilweise von der Kosovo Security Force (KSF) übernommen wird, lassen sich exemplarisch an einzelnen prominenten Milizionären erkennen. Hohe Bedeutung für das KPC besaß etwa Agim Çeku. Çeku kämpfte schon in der ersten Hälfte der 1990er Jahre gegen Belgrad - in der neu entstehenden kroatischen Armee - und wechselte Anfang 1999 zur UCK. Dort brachte er es während des Krieges zum obersten militärischen Befehlshaber. Aus dieser Zeit datieren erhebliche Vorwürfe gegen ihn, die ihm in Serbien einen Haftbefehl wegen Kriegsverbrechen eingetragen haben. Der Westen hat ein Gerichtsverfahren mehrfach durch direkte Intervention verhindert. Dafür wurde Çeku noch 1999 zum ersten und maßgeblichen Chef des KPC, der stets eng mit der KFOR kooperierte. Im März 2006 stieg er schließlich sogar zum "Premierminister" in Pristina auf.
Profikiller
Sein Nachfolger Hashim Thaçi gehörte Mitte der 1990er Jahre zu den Hauptorganisatoren der UCK und galt als ihr politischer Anführer. Er war bereits 1997 wegen mehrerer Terroranschläge zu langjähriger Haft verurteilt worden und wurde 1999 wegen weiterer Attentate erneut zur Fahndung ausgeschrieben. "Thaçi herrscht nach einem Jahr an der Spitze der Rebellenbewegung über ein ausgedehntes Netz von Waffenschmugglern, ausgebildeten Killern, Soldaten und Ex-Kriminellen", schrieb damals ein prominenter Jugoslawien-Kenner.[5] Thaçi wechselte allerdings im Gegensatz zu anderen UCK-Mitgliedern nicht zum KPC, sondern startete eine politische Karriere - abgesehen davon, dass er vom Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) enger Verbindungen zur Organisierten Kriminalität verdächtigt wurde.[6] Dass der jährliche Bericht der Europäischen Kommission über das Kosovo, dessen jüngste, im November zur Veröffentlichung angekündigte Version die Organisierte Kriminalität im Kosovo anprangert, seinen Namen nennen wird, gilt allerdings als unwahrscheinlich.[7]
Hohe Posten
Der neue "Verteidigungsminister" des Sezessionsregimes in Pristina, der die Transformation vom KPC zur KSF realisieren soll, entstammt nicht nur der Partei des "Premierministers", sondern - wie dieser - auch der UCK. Seine Vergangenheit ist gleichermaßen mit Vorwürfen belastet. Ähnliches gilt für den ehemaligen UCK-Kommandeur und heutigen "Transportminister" Fatmir Limaj, Thaçis "rechte Hand", der auf wundersame Weise in Den Haag einen Freispruch erzielte. Auch Parlamentspräsident Jakup Krasniqi kämpfte während des Krieges mit der UCK - als Sprecher. Heute firmiert der Mann, dessen damalige Mitkämpfer heute den harten Kern der neuen kosovarischen Armee bilden, in Pristina als "Parlamentspräsident".
Standesgemäß
Geradezu standesgemäß fällt eine rechtliche Beurteilung der deutschen Unterstützung für die KSF aus. Die KFOR übernehme "die Verantwortung" für "die Aufstellung und Ausbildung der zukünftigen 'Kosovo Security Forces' (KSF)", kündigte Verteidigungsminister Jung im Mai anlässlich der Zentralkonferenz der deutschen Militärattachés an.[8] Nicht nur der Vorgang als solcher bricht zum wiederholten Male das internationale Recht: Schließlich erhält das illegale Sezessionsregime in Pristina mit der KSF nun einen nicht weniger illegalen militärischen Arm. Dass dies alles über KFOR organisiert wird, ist ein zusätzlicher Affront - denn die KFOR-Präsenz im Kosovo wurde vom UN-Sicherheitsrat legitimiert, der die Abspaltung der Provinz dezidiert nicht anerkennt. Das Training und die Aufrüstung der KSF mit Hilfe von KFOR-Personal fügen den zahllosen westlichen Rechtsbrüchen im Kosovo einen weiteren hinzu - und sicherlich nicht den letzten.[9]
Weitere Informationen zur deutschen Kosovo-Politik finden Sie hier: Die Herren des Rechts, Paketlösung, Abmontiert, Sieger im Kalten Krieg, Selbstbestimmung, Die zweite Welle, Dayton II, Mit kreativen Tricks, Angelpunkt, Countdown,Kooperationsraum, Aufs engste verflochten, Politische Freundschaften, Heldenfigur, "Danke, Deutschland!",Wankendes Gefüge, Unter deutscher Aufsicht, Organhandel, Blankes Chaos und Willkür an der Macht.
---
In Accordance With NATO Standards
2008/10/31
Voluminous
As a first step, the German government has earmarked seven million Euros for the creation of the "Kosovo Security Force" (KSF). This was reported by the Kosovan "government" following negotiations in Pristina with the German Defense Minister Franz-Josef Jung. Jung had visited the Bundeswehr troops stationed in Kosovo at the beginning of the week and also held talks with the "Prime Minister" and the "Minister of Defense". As announced by the German Defense Ministry, the Bundeswehr is also providing "manned support" - with 15 soldiers, for the time being. Ultimately Berlin will also be participating in equipping the KSF with military hardware. The planned delivery is rated as voluminous by the Defense Ministry.[1]
Abroad
Officially the KSF is at first supposed to be only engaged in "crisis management," "civil defense" and disposal of ordinance. Later it is supposed to take on more extensive tasks, that generally fall within the realm of army duties.[2] This is also written into the "constitution" of the Kosovan secessionist regime, which states in Article 126 that the KSF "shall protect the people and Communities of the Republic of Kosovo."[3] It further states that the KSF "may send its members abroad" - an indication of future foreign interventions of the Kosovan army. Against this background, it is significant that it is under the auspices of the NATO that the KSF is being built up, trained and armed - with light weapons, for the time being - but in accordance with NATO standards.[4] Other NATO states, participating with Germany in these measures include the United States, France and Great Britain. Countries not taking part are Slovakia, Rumania and Spain, who have refused to recognize Kosovo's secession. The KSF is supposed to be operational by June 2009.
Nucleus
The KSF will initially be a force of over 2,500 with 800 reservists. The personnel is mainly taken from the 5,000 man strong "Kosovo Protection Corps" (KPC), which is to be officially disbanded by December 10. It is a direct successor of the former KLA terror troops. Having served NATO as terrain cognizant ground forces during its aggression against Yugoslavia, the KLA, was only formally disbanded after the war, but transformed in fact into the KPC militia. Though officially classified as a "civilian emergency management organization," it perceives itself to be the nucleus of a Kosovan army in the making. Accordingly KFOR soldiers complained that the members of the KPC, in violation of their official assignment, were going around heavily armed in public. One was not supposed to interfere, it was said; the NATO lets them do it. In fact KPC members and KFOR troops - including Germans - were carrying out common training maneuvers. The Bundeswehr was equipping the KPC, for example with German military ambulances. Already in the spring of 2007, while officially, the status of Kosovo was still being "negotiated", the KPC spokesman announced that the transformation of his forces into a regular army had already begun.
Warrant
The types of personnel that went from the KLA to the KPC, with some now being taken on as members of the KSF, can be judged from examples of some prominent individual militiamen. Agim Çeku was very significant for the KPC. He had fought against Belgrade already in the first half of the 1990s - in the newly created Croatian army - to then join the KLA at the beginning of 1999. During the war, he rose to the rank of the highest military commander. The war crimes charges leading to an arrest warrant against him in Serbia date from this period. Through several direct interventions, the West has thwarted court proceedings against him. Instead, already in 1999, Çeku became the first leader of the KPC, and always maintained close cooperation with KFOR. In March 2006, he rose to the office of "Prime Minister" in Pristina.
Hit Man
In the mid 90s, Çeku's successor Hashim Thaçi was one of the KLA's main organizers and was considered its political leader. First sentenced to several years of imprisonment in 1997 for various acts of terrorism, he was again placed on the wanted list in 1999 because of several other terrorist attacks. "After one year of KLA-leadership, Thaçi was in control of an extensive network of gunrunners, trained hit men, soldiers and former criminals," wrote a prominent expert on Yugoslavia at the time.[5] Unlike other KLA members, Thaçi did not join the KPC, but launched a political carrier - in spite of the fact that the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) suspected him of close ties to organized crime.[6] But most likely his name will not be mentioned in the next edition of the European Commission's annual Kosovo Report, due in November. It will be focused on organized crime in Kosovo.[7]
High Positions
The Pristina secessionist regime's new „Defense Minister", charged with the transformation of the KPC into the KSF, came not only from the same party as the "Prime Minster", but also like Thaçi from the KLA. He is also had charges raised against him. The same goes for Thaçi's "right hand" man, Fatmir Limaj, former KLA commander and current "Transportation Minister", who was miraculously acquitted in The Hague. Jakup Krasniqi also fought on the side of the KLA during the war - as its spokesman. Today he serves as Pristina's "Parliamentary President", while his former comrades make up the hard core of the new Kosovan army.
Noble
Quite noble terms are being applied to describe the legal status of Germany's support for the KSF. KFOR is assuming the "responsibility" for "the establishment and the training of the future 'Kosovo Security Forces' (KSF)," announced Defense Minister Jung at the Central Conference of the German Military Attachés last Mai.[8] This is more than merely another violation of international law. After all, the KSF will be an illegal military arm of the illegal secessionist regime in Pristina. That this is being organized through the KFOR is also an affront, because even though the UN Security Council legitimized KFOR's presence in Kosovo, it explicitly did not recognize its secession. The aid furnished by KFOR personnel to train and arm the KFS is one of the West's innumerable violations of international law in Kosovo - and it will surely not be the last.[9]
Further information on German Kosovo policy can be found here: Imperial Consummation, A Sort of Resurrection for Yugoslavia, Self Determination, Out of Control, Political Friendships, "Thank you Germany!", Pure Chaos andArbitrariness in Power.
(english
con alcuni ritagli in italiano / srpskohrvatski / francais)
A "bipartizan" policy
Both US presidential candidates, with their staffs, share a "bipartizan"anti-yugoslav, serbophobic policy
Entrambi i candidati alla presidenza negli USA, con i loro staff, condividono le stesse posizioni antijugoslave e serbofobiche
1) ELECTION IRREGULARITIES:
1.1: Election irregularities hint at possible 2000 repeat (By David Hoskins)
1.2: URGENT: Stop Racist Voter Suppression - Take Action NOW! (International Action Center)
2) Joe Biden, Obama's VP, is a great sponsor of Kosovo killers
2.1: "Obama's VP candidate great friend of Kosovo"
2.2: "Serbian nationalists bash Joe Biden"
2.3: Obama, Clinton welcome Kosovo declaration
3) John McCain is supported by the Albanian American Civic League!
3.1: POLITIKA: il senatore John McCain ha armato l’UCK / John McCain armed the KLA / Džon Mekejn naoružavao OVK
...Americans of Albanian heritage collected a million dollars in one evening for the presidential campaign of Republican Senator John McCain, said the Albanian American Civic League yesterday, the lobby group headed by former Congressman Joe DioGuardi...
3.2: McCain's 'disturbing elements'
...Mr. McCain claims he is the best candidate to handle Muslim terrorists, yet he supports the Kosovo Liberation Army, many of whose members were trained in Osama bin Laden's terrorists camps...
4) FLASHBACKS:
4.1: April 9, 2007 - Kosovo debate reaches U.S. Senate
The draft resolution, submitted by senators Joseph Lieberman, Joseph Biden, John McCain and Gordon Smith, backs UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s proposal, stating that a supervised independence would be the only possible solution to the province’s status...
4.2: April 10, 2007 - Only 4 countries vote for Kosovo independence at the United Nations
... Biden, the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, is known for favoring realistic diplomacy and the democratic right to self-determination over what is seen as "the tired
mantra of territorial integrity." He has proposed a separation of Iraq into three parts; one for Sunnis, one for Shiites and one - Kurdistan - for the Kurds...
4.3: April 10, 2007 - KOSOVO: ALBANIAN LOBBY URGES INDEPENDENCE
4.4: December 10, 2007 - Kosovo independence rally in New York
5) Full texts of Senate Resolutions 384 (2004) and 135 (2007) and House Resolution 36 (2007)
SEE ALSO / VEDI ANCHE:
# USA - IL PAESE DEI BROGLI ELETTORALI
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/4842
# Tutti pazzi per Bush
http://www.osservatoriobalcani.org/article/articleview/7732
# [JUGOINFO] L'AMICO AMERICANO / 6
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/2644
# Biden and Palin (WW Editorial Note)
http://www.workers.org/2008/editorials/biden_palin_0911/
# Obama's Change Must Start With His Advisers
http://www.moscowtimes.ru/article/1016/42/371888.htm
or: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato/message/34431
# Was Joe Biden Talking About Russia in Seattle?
http://www.russiablog.org/2008/10/joe_biden_talking_about_russia_seattle.php
or: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato/message/34430
# One Thing US Presidential Candidates Agree On: Baiting Russia
http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/31048
or: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato/message/33699
# Kosovo and America: an alliance unlike any other
http://www.newkosovareport.com/200808021093/Views-and-Analysis/Kosovo-and-America-an-alliance-unlike-any-other.html
# Standing With Kosovo Again
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/22/AR2007072200883.html
# It's No Longer 1999. 2007 in Review, by Nebojsa Malic
http://www.antiwar.com/malic/?articleid=12118
or: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/yugoslaviainfo/message/8001
# U.S. praises indicted former Kosovo P.M.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-070430kosovo,1,5804130.story?coll=chi-news-hed
or: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/yugoslaviainfo/message/6897
The day after Ramush Haradinaj resigned as Kosovo's prime minister, Sen. Joseph Biden, the ranking Democrat on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, praised him as a patriot and a statesman...
# [JUGOINFO] L'AMICO AMERICANO / 6
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/2644
# What a Kerry Regime Would Mean for the Balkans (Christopher Deliso 2004)
http://www.antiwar.com/deliso/?articleid=2771
# http://www.bannerofliberty.com/
# Barack Obama : « je soutiens l’indépendance du Kosovo »
Les voix des 500.000 citoyens américains d’origine albanaise sont l’objet de toutes les attentions de la part des deux candidats à la Maison Blanche, Barack Obama et John McCain. Alors que le candidat républicain a, depuis longtemps, assuré de son amitié le gouvernement de Pristina, Barack Obama avait inquiété les électeurs d’origine albanaise en déclarant par exemple soutenir la candidature serbe à l’intégration européenne. Une position tempérée par une lettre adressée au National Albanian American Council (NAAC) qui réaffirme le soutien du démocrate à l’indépendance du Kosovo... (POLITIKA / Courrier del Balkans - 24 septembre 2008)
http://balkans.courriers.info/article11247.html
# COMMENT TRUQUER LES PRIMAIRES US
Comme tous les quatre ans, les États-Unis mettent en scène leur élection présidentielle... Cette année, l’innovation en matière de trucage est l’usage de machines à voter au cours des primaires. Elles permettent un trucage extensif dans la pré-sélection des deux candidats qui s’affronteront...
http://www.voltairenet.org/article154928.html
=== 1 ===
---(1.1)---
http://www.workers.org/2008/us/election_irregularities_1106/
Election irregularities hint at possible 2000 repeat
By David Hoskins
Published Oct 29, 2008 2:41 PM
The extreme right wing is working overtime to suppress the vote and deny the first major-party African-American candidate the opportunity to become president. Election specialists and news reports have identified more than a dozen states where accusations of voter suppression and election rigging may determine the outcome of the presidential race. The battleground states of Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Florida and West Virginia are among those states where Republican Party operatives have attempted to override the choices of voters and secure a McCain victory on Election Day.
The activity in many states is restricted to technically legal, although constitutionally questionable, voter suppression tactics. In some states, however, it appears that the right wing is attempting outright vote theft.
Six voters in two West Virginia counties have reported that electronic voting machines visibly changed their vote to John McCain when they tried to cast their vote for Barack Obama. Retired factory worker Calvin Thomas claims that “When I went in, I pushed Obama and Biden. It immediately went up to McCain on the Republican ticket.” According to Thomas, his daughter had the same problem and it required complaining to an election worker in order to get the vote to register for Obama. (cnn.com)
Shelba Ketchum, a 69-year-old retired nurse, reported similar problems when she attempted to vote. According to Ketchum, “I pushed buttons and they all came up Republican. I hit Obama and it switched to McCain. I am really concerned about that. If McCain wins, there was something wrong with the machines.” Ketchum says that she requested a printout verification of her votes and that the election workers said it was not possible to obtain one. (Charleston Gazette, Oct. 18)
Thousands of voters in Georgia and Florida have been declared ineligible to vote. In Georgia more than 50,000 voters were improperly purged from the voting rolls. Approximately 4,500 of them have been wrongly identified as noncitizens.
The state of Georgia is being sued for violating federal laws that prohibit massive purging within 90 days of an election. “People are being targeted, and people are being told they are noncitizens, including both naturalized citizens and U.S.-born citizens,” said Elise Shore, regional counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. “They’re being told they’re not eligible to vote, based on information in a database that hasn’t been checked and approved by the Department of Justice, and that we know has flaws in it.” (cnn.com)
The Ohio Republican Party attempted to force election officials in that state to engage in a similar purge of voting lists. In a lawsuit that made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, Ohio Republicans requested that the courts make the state’s secretary of state generate a list of mismatched names and purge those voters from the rolls. The Supreme Court sided with the secretary of state who claimed that such a list would possibly disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters.
In Indiana the fight has centered on access to early voting sites. Republican officials filed a lawsuit to close down early voting sites in three key Indiana cities—Hammond, Gary and East Chicago. Indiana’s population is only eight percent Black, but Black voters are heavily concentrated in the three cities targeted by the lawsuit.
Recent polls demonstrate that Obama has built up a considerable lead in enough states to secure the 270 electoral votes necessary to win the election. The voter suppression efforts in key states appear designed to install a McCain presidency despite the preferences of voters.
Articles copyright 1995-2008 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
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---(1.2)---
Da: actioncenter@...
Oggetto: URGENT: Stop Racist Voter Suppression - Take Action NOW!
Data: 03 novembre 2008 14:04:47 GMT+01:00
Urgent: Take Action Now to Stop Racist Voter Suppression
Sign the online petition at http://www.iacenter.org/stopvotersuppression
Online Petition Text:
To: President Bush, Senator McCain, Governor Palen, Attorney General Mukasey, Governors of Key States, Congressional and Republican Party leaders and members of the media
In the days leading up to a historic election, there has been a massive, illegal attempt to suppress votes, particularly among the poor, communities of color, and students.
These tactics include:
--In Ohio, the Republicans attempted to illegally challenge the registrations of 200,000 new voters.
--Voters, like in West Virginia counties, have reported that electronic voting machines visibly changed their vote to John McCain when they tried to cast their vote for Barack Obama.
--Students in Colorado, Virginia, and South Carolina were told that they would lose their scholarships and that their parents could no longer claim them as dependents on their tax returns if the students voted in their college towns.
--In Georgia more than 50,000 voters were improperly purged from the voting rolls, a clear violation of federal laws that prohibit massive purging within 90 days of an election. Approximately 4,500 of them have been wrongly identified as “non-citizens”.
--In Indiana, Republican officials filed a lawsuit to close down early voting sites in three key Indiana cities—Hammond, Gary and East Chicago. Indiana’s population is only eight percent Black, but Black voters are heavily concentrated in the three cities targeted by the lawsuit.
--In Florida, Ohio, Nevada, Virginia and Wisconsin, right wingers are using the Jim-Crow practice of 'caging,' where they send out mass mailings to low-income neighborhoods. If the letters come back unopened, then those voters are challenged at the polling place.
These are just a few of the tactics that have come to light in the recent period which are part of an ongoing pattern of racist disenfranchisement--an illegal campaign to deliberately deprive people of the hard-won right to vote.
I demand:
• Stop police intimidation of voters.
• Keep polls open until everyone has the opportunity to vote.
• Full emergency staffing of polling places to meet the widely-expected massive turnout.
• STOP all voter suppression – count all ballots.
Make your voice heard NOW! Sign the online petition and send a strong, clear message to the White House, Congress, Governors of Key States, and the media.You can sign online at http://www.iacenter.org/stopvotersuppression
Make an immediate donation to help stop racist voter suppression in an urgent national campaign. Donate at http://iacenter.org/donate.
=== 2 ===
Senator JOE BIDEN:
"THE U.S. must lead the West in a decisive response to Serbian aggression, beginning with air attacks on Serbian artillery."
(In: TIME, May 03,1993.)
---(2.1)---
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/yugoslaviainfo/message/9404
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=08&dd=24&nav_id=52\938
Beta News Agency - August 24, 2008
"Obama's VP candidate great friend of Kosovo"
PRISTINA - The Albanian language media in Pristina are
reporting with optimism about Barack Obama's choice of
running mate.
The U.S. Democratic Party presidential hopeful
yesterday announced that U.S. Senator Joseph Biden
will be his vice president if he wins the White House
race in November.
Today, Koha Ditore daily writes, "a great friend of
Kosovo will enter the White House along with Obama if
he wins".
The newspaper reminds that Biden said, "one day after
the declaration of independence of Kosovo", that "a
new phase of progress in the Balkans was opening".
The Delaware senator wrote when Belgrade rejected the
Ahtisaari plan that "Kosovo's unilateral independence
is not the best solution, but that it is necessary,
since it's time for action".
Biden, Koha Ditore also reminded its readers, was the
one who proposed a resolution to bomb Serbia in 1999.
---(2.2)---
http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/serbian-nationalists-bash-joe-biden/id_31476/catid_68
Sofia Echo (Bulgaria) - August 29, 2008
Serbian nationalists bash Joe Biden
Clive Leviev-Sawyer
Barack Obama, the Democratic Party’s candidate for US
president, indulged in a campaign swing through
Europe. His vice-presidential running partner, Joe
Biden, if tempted to do the same, may as well avoid
Belgrade.
Memories run deep in the Balkans, but among Serbian
nationalists, uppermost on their minds is that
long-term senator and foreign policy committee figure
Biden was strongly in favour of the 1990s bombing of
Belgrade.
Popular Serbian newspaper Blic reminded its readers on
August 28 that Biden was one of those who proposed
resolution on bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999.
“He also believes that all changes in Serbia are the
result of pressure from Washington.”
The newspaper quoted Obrad Kesic, an analyst in the US
of Serbian origin, as saying the choice of Biden was
especially bad for Serbia.
“I am expecting Biden to be even more engaged in
lobbying over Kosovo,” Kesic is quoted as saying.
Biden was a “severe opponent” of Russia, which could
affect Serbia indirectly in view of its traditionally
close relations with Russia.
In contrast to media in Kosovo, where in Pristina
daily newspaper Koha Ditore said ”a great friend of
Kosovo will enter the White House along with Obama if
he wins”, website Serbianna.com carried a report
alleging that former US ambassador to Romania Jim
Rosapepe had said that he witnessed Biden shout at
Romanian officials from whom he was trying to get
information on Serbia and its politics so that Biden
could “inflict political and diplomatic damage”.
Rosapepe says that the most extraordinary meeting
Biden and him had was with the president of the
Romanian senate, Petre Roman, whom Biden met before
but this time "Biden grilled him on Serbian politics"
and Roman "helped defeat Milosevic in the 2000
elections".
However, when Biden asked the Romanian delegation why
Romania was seeking Nato membership, Biden was
offended at the answer.
According to Serbianna.com, the Romanian said: “If we
are in Nato, we won’t have to worry about Nato
attacking Romania over our relations with our
Hungarian minority the way you attacked Yugoslavia.
Since Turkey has been in Nato for decades, you let
them do what they want with the Kurdish minority”.
The website said that “Biden got visibly angry that
former communist Romania had an existential reason for
joining Nato, so Biden ‘rose from his chair, leaned
across the table and said: “If that’s why you want to
get into Nato, I'll make sure you never do!'”.
The Serbianna.com item alleged: “Biden has long been
on the payroll of Kosovo Albanian extremists so that
he can lend support for their desire to annex Serbian
province”.
Another Serbianna.com item quoted Croatian priest
Iliya Zivkovic as telling Croatian daily Jutarnji List
that he was a friend of Biden and that he was a key
figure that shaped Biden’s view that Serbs were
exclusively to blame for events in former Yugoslavia.
“He [Biden] knew about Croatia... But I think that the
most influential was my speech that I gave in Little
Rock in front of the just elected Bill Clinton who
called American minorities for a conversation,”
Zivkovic was quoted as saying.
“In 45 minutes I explained why bridges must be bombed
in Serbia, Belgrade....I believe that that it was very
effective on Biden,” Zivkovic said.
As Democrats in the US observed the Republican attack
machine spewing out against its candidates Obama and
Biden, Serbianna had a hat-trick with an item online
on August 29 – in the process managing to hit out at
both Obama and Republican presidential nominee John
McCain.
“Whether Obama wins or McCain, Serbs should expect
that US will seek to destroy them, culturally,
ethnically, physically, politically and
diplomatically, tells us an analyst who fears to
disclose his name because he will be witch hunted.”
The article continues by quoting its source as saying
that for the past eight years, “Serbs in Kosovo have
been killed like deer in season and US has approved
every one of those murders because they've recognised
such a state”.
“More Serbs are to die and the US will delight in the
death of Serbs no matter who wins the presidency,”
Serbianna quotes the source, which it describes as
“close to government” as saying.
“No matter if it's Obama or McCain, many more Serbs in
Kosovo will die and all churches in Kosovo will be
leveled but any of the two will say that Serbs are
genociders,” the website said.
---(2.3)---
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/world-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=02&dd=18&nav_id=47793
Beta News Agency - February 18, 2008
Obama, Clinton welcome Kosovo declaration
WASHINGTON - Senators Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton
and Joseph Biden all welcomed Kosovo Albanians'
independence declaration.
One of the Democrats' presidential hopefuls, Clinton,
called for a speedy recognition of Kosovo's
independence.
Her rival, Obama, echoed the same sentiment, and added
that he hoped Kosovo's authorities and people will do
everything to make it a positive example of "democracy
and rule of law".
Another democrat, Biden, who is the Foreign Policy
Committee chair in the U.S. Senate, said he will soon
call on his colleagues to join him in "expressing the
Senate's support for Kosovo's independence".
Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo Sunday declared unilateral
secession from Serbia.
Serbia rejected this as illegal, and is seeking
respect of its internationally recognized borders.
=== 3 ===
---(3.1)---
POLITIKA: il senatore John McCain ha armato l’UCK
13. febbraio 2008. 15:48
Uno dei candidati del Partito Repubblicano a Presidente USA, John McCain, ha aiutato ad armare l'organizzazione terroristica UCK, riporta il quotidiano belgradese POLITIKA. Del sostegno di McCain all’indipendenza kosovara e all’armamento dell’UCK ha parlato l’ex congressman Joseph DioGuardi al ricevimento preparato in onore di McCain dalla Lega civica albano-americana (AACL) il 22 gennaio scorso. Basandosi sul comunicato di questa Lega, il quotidiano POLITIKA scrive che a questa manifestazione, gli americani di origine albanese hanno raccolto un milione di dollari durante la serata per la campagna presidenziale di McCain.
(Fonte: Radio Serbia)
--- english ---
The article below in Serbian is from the column "Svet" in Politika Online for Feb. 13, 2008. Here is a translation:
John McCain armed the KLA
"He did everything that we asked of him, including arming the KLA", said Albanian lobbyist Joe DioGuardi. The Albanians collected one million dollars for the presidential campaign of this senator
Americans of Albanian heritage collected a million dollars in one evening for the presidential campaign of Republican Senator John McCain, said the Albanian American Civic League yesterday, the lobby group headed by former Congressman Joe DioGuardi. A reception for McCain was held January 22 at the Saint Regis Hotel in Manhatten, and the senator, who is now leading in the runoff for the Republican party candidacy in the November elections, cut his campaign in Florida by one day to attend this gathering.
"Even in 1998 when we had problems with Milosevic, McCain did everything that we asked of him to the benefit of the Albanian people, including arming the KLA", announced DioGuardi. "We are American Albanians and we need a leader who will strengthen this country... We must support John McCain because he did everything we asked of him for Kosovo, from supporting the Kosovo Liberation Army to supporting the independence of Kosovo. Two years ago he spoke in Brussels and said that independence is the only solution", concluded this former congressman who has been fighting for the independence of Kosovo and Metohija for more than twenty years.
He explained that the first thing McCain said to him when he entered the hotel in Manhatten on January 22: "Joe, I saw your people in Michigan, and in South Carolina and in New Hampshire", from which this lobbyist deduced that all Americans of Albanian background will be voting for the senator from Arizona.
DioGuardi and his wife Shirley Cloys-DioGuardi have been friends with McCain for years, and he intervened several times in the Senate on behalf of the Albanians. Because of that, the Albanian American Civic League awarded him the "Balkan Award for Peace" a year and a half ago, and the initiative was the proposed Senate resolution - which McCain wrote - in which thanks is extended to the Albanians for "saving all the Jews who lived in Albania or who sought shelter there during the Nazi Holocaust".
However, even though he is leading in the presidential nomination, John McCain has not yet succeeded in convincing the primary wing of the Republican Party - the conservatives - that he is the right candidate. One of the reasons is that he often spoke and voted against the majority Republicans, as in 1999 when he asked for more intensive air bombing of Serbia.
In April of that year, three weeks after the bombing commenced, he announced that the US is in danger of losing the war to the Serbian Army which has "antiquated machinery" and "absolutely no military air power", if massive strategic air attacks are not initiated. "Attacks on any infrastructure target must not be prevented. We all regret civilian losses, as well as our own, but they cannot be avoided," he said.
During the pre-election campaign in February 2000 at a meeting in Manhatten, John McCain asked for the release of all Albanian prisoners in the prisons of Serbia proper, and a year later he used his inlfuence to ask the administration for an urgent investigation into the killing of the brothers Bitici who were taken from prison and killed in the police training center
in Petrovo Selo in eastern Serbia. This February 5 the senator held another meeting in Manhatten and in the public there was a visible Albanian flag.
V.R.
--- srpskohrvatski ---
Politika Online for Feb. 13, 2008
Džon Mekejn naoružavao OVK
Radio je sve što smo tražili od njega, ukljucujuci i naoružavanje OVK, izjavio albanski lobista Džo Diogvardi. – Albanci prikupili milion dolara za predsednicku kampanju ovog senatora
Amerikanci albanskog porekla prikupili su za jedno vece milion dolara za predsednicku kampanju republikanskog senatora Džona Mekejna, saopštila je juce Albansko-americka gradanska liga, lobisticka grupa koju vodi nekadašnji kongresmen Džozef Diogvardi. Prijem za Mekejna održan je 22. januara u hotelu Sent Ridžis na Menhetnu, a senator koji trenutno vodi u trci za kandidata Republikanske stranke na novembarskim izborima prekinuo je na jedan dan svoju kampanju na Floridi kako bi došao na ovaj skup.
„Još od 1998. kad smo imali probleme sa Miloševicem, Mekejn je radio sve što smo od njega tražili u korist albanskog naroda, ukljucujuci i naoružavanje OVK”, izjavio je tim povodom Diogvardi. „Mi smo americki Albanci i treba nam voda koji ce ojacati ovu zemlju... Mi moramo da podržimo Džona Mekejna, jer je on uradio sve što smo tražili za Kosovo, od podrške Oslobodilackoj vojsci Kosova do podrške nezavisnosti Kosova. On je pre dve godine u govoru u Briselu rekao da je nezavisnost jedino rešenje”, zakljucio je ovaj bivši clan Kongresa, koji se više od dvadeset godina bori za nezavisnost Kosova i Metohije.
On je objasnio i da je prvo što mu je Mekejn rekao kad je 22. januara ušao u hotel na Menhetnu bilo: „Džo, video sam tvoje ljude (Albance) u Micigenu, i u Južnoj Karolini i u Nju Hempširu”, iz cega ovaj lobista izvlaci zakljucak da ce svi Amerikanci albanskog porekla glasati za senatora iz Arizone.
Diogvardi i njegova supruga Širli Klojs-Diogvardi vec godinama su prijatelji sa Mekejnom, a on je nekoliko puta u Senatu intervenisao u korist Albanaca.
Zbog tih zasluga Albansko-americka gradanska liga dodelila mu je pre godinu i po dana svoju „Balkansku nagradu za mir”, a povod je bio predlog senatske rezolucije – koji je napisao Mekejn – u kojem se pohvaljuju Albanci za „spasavanje svih Jevreja koji su živeli u Albaniji ili su tamo potražili utocište tokom nacistickog holokausta”.
Medutim, iako vodi u trci za predsednicku nominaciju, Džon Mekejn još nije uspeo da ubedi glavno krilo Republikanske stranke – konzervativce – da je on pravi kandidat. Jedan od razloga je i to što je cesto govorio i glasao suprotno vecini republikanaca, kao 1999. kad je tražio još žešce vazdušne udare po Srbiji.
U aprilu te godine, tri nedelje posle pocetka bombardovanja, izjavio je da su SAD u opasnosti da izgube rat od srpske vojske, koja ima „zastarelu opremu” i „uopšte nema ratno vazduhoplovstvo”, ako se ne pokrenu „masovni, strateški i koncentrisani” vazdušni napadi. „Ne sme biti zabranjeno da se napadne bilo koja infrastrukturna meta... Svi mi žalimo za civilnim žrtvama, kao i za sopstvenim, ali one su neizbežne”, rekao je.
Tokom predizborne kampanje u februaru 2000. godine, Džon Mekejn je na mitingu na Menhetnu zatražio puštanje svih albanskih zatvorenika iz zatvora u užoj Srbiji, a godinu dana kasnije svoj uticaj iskoristio je da od administracije traži hitnu istragu o ubistvu brace Bitici koji su oteti iz zatvora i streljani u policijskom centru za obuku u Petrovom Selu, na istoku Srbije. Ovog 5. februara senator je ponovo održao miting na Menhetnu, a u publici je bila uocljiva albanska zastava.
---(3.2)---
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080205/EDITORIAL/911114342
The Washington Times
Letters to the Editor - 5 February 2008
McCain's 'disturbing elements'
If Debra J. Saunders thinks her Sunday Commentary column, "GOP stronger or
broader?" will sway true conservatives by making threatening comments, such
as that Florida "shows many Republicans have come to understand that when
you aren't willing to bend, when you view compromise as disgraceful not a
necessary part of democracy when you insist on all or nothing, then you get
nothing," she is wrong. She is wrong because unlike those who are willing to
"compromise" their conservative principles, we understand the difference
between compromise and surrender.
Besides the McCain-Lieberman, McCain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy betrayals of
conservative principles, other disturbing elements of Sen. John McCain's
character are emerging, including his ill temper, displayed too often in the
Senate.
This has led Republican Sen. Pete V. Domenici, who witnessed a particularly
nasty scene, to say that he had considered supporting Mr. McCain for
president but had changed his mind. "I decided," the senator told Newsweek,
"I didn't want this guy anywhere near a trigger" ("Senator Hothead," Feb.
22, 2000).
The endorsements of Mr. McCain by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and
former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani should have sent warning bells to
conservatives throughout the country, but didn't, which tells me that too
many conservatives are turning into RINOs "Republican in name only."
Mr. McCain claims he is the best candidate to handle Muslim terrorists, yet
he supports the Kosovo Liberation Army, many of whose members were trained
in Osama bin Laden's terrorists camps, as reported by The Washington Times'
Jerry Seper ("KLA rebels train in terrorist camps," May 4, 1999).
As for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the other candidates don't
like him because he is handsome, rich, articulate and a true conservative.
The only reason former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is still in the running
is to take votes away from Mr. Romney.
It won't make much difference if it turns out to be Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton versus Mr. McCain. Either way, the country will go down the tubes,
and I would prefer to see this train wreck happen under the Democratic Mrs.
Clinton than under the Republican Mr. McCain. Perhaps it has to get worse
before it gets better.
I would not go so far as Ann Coulter to say that I would work for Mrs.
Clinton if Mr. McCain is the nominee, but I certainly do not plan to vote,
once again, for "the lesser of two evils." That's what got us into this mess
in the first place.
STELLA L. JATRAS
Camp Hill, Pa.
=== 4 === FLASHBACKS ===
---(4.1)---
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2007&mm=04&dd=09&nav_category=92&nav_id=40577
B92, Beta (Serbia) - April 9, 2007
Kosovo debate reaches U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate will this week start
discussions over a Kosovo status resolution.
The draft resolution, submitted by senators Joseph
Lieberman, Joseph Biden, John McCain and Gordon Smith,
backs UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s proposal,
stating that a supervised independence would be the
only possible solution to the province’s status.
The resolution also urges President George Bush to
increase U.S. pressure in the UN Security Council in
order to have Kosovo declared an independent state,
“without redrawing borders.” [Presumably no division
of Kosovo, but a definitive redrawing of borders by
taking Kosovo out of Serbia.]
The senators also advocate swift establishment of
diplomatic ties with Kosovo after its independence,
warning however that Priština must approach
fulfillment of democratic standards “seriously“, as
well as provide security for the Serbs in the
province.
Obrad Kesiæ, a political analyst based in Washington,
told B92 the Albanian lobby has already managed to
influence the Senate, and confirmed the resolution was
ready. Kesiæ also stressed the senators behind the
document, Lieberman in particular, were the leading
figures in the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
“I expect a difficult debate on the subject after the
holidays. It is hard to predict whether the resolution
will pass,” Kesiæ said, adding that Senate resolutions
were not legally binding and therefore had no direct
influence on U.S. foreign policy.
---(4.2)---
http://www.tiraspoltimes.com/node/724
Tiraspol Times (Transdniester) - April 10, 2007
Only 4 countries vote for Kosovo independence at the United Nations
New York - Only four of the 15 members on the UN
Security Council have voted in favor of independence
for Kosovo.
The vote took place during initial UN discussions
Tuesday. Pridnestrovie, or Transnistria as it is known
unofficially, has a stronger case for statehood than
Kosovo.
Despite energetic US State Department cheerleading,
Kosovo's independence drive is off to a slow start at
the United Nations. A plan by UN Special Envoy Marti
Ahtisaari - endorsed and lobbied for by the United
States - is attempting to grant Kosovo sovereignty
from Serbia, overriding Serbia's protestations.
Notwithstanding American enthusiasm, during the first
round of consultations on the issue Tuesday, only four
of the 15 members on the UN Security Council voted in
favor of Ahtisaari's plan.
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica believes
that the plan contradicts the UN Charter and that this
is the reason it has failed to secure any substantial
support at the UN.
The UN is not in a position to grant any country
sovereignty and has no influence in Pridnestrovie.
Kosovo, however, is a special situation since it is
currently a UN protectorate. As such, its independence
aspiration hinges on UN decisions, a factor which is
not required in other cases such as Pridnestrovie
(Transnistria) or Somaliland, for instance.
Meanwhile, in the US Senate, a bi-partisan draft
resolution submitted by Joseph Lieberman, Joseph Biden
and John McCain will urge president George W. Bush to
step up the heat in the United Nations, increasing US
pressure in the UN Security Council to have Kosovo
declared an independent state.
Biden, the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on
Foreign Relations, is known for favoring realistic
diplomacy and the democratic right to
self-determination over what is seen as "the tired
mantra of territorial integrity." He has proposed a
separation of Iraq into three parts; one for Sunnis,
one for Shiites and one - Kurdistan - for the Kurds.
Perma-tanned US Senator Joe Biden wants the right to
self-determination and democracy to come before
territorial integrity.
Lost in the debate is the fact that some parts of
Europe have a stronger historical and legal claim to
independence than Kosovo.
As Pridnestrovie's president Igor Smirnov has pointed
out, the territory east of the Dniester river has
never been part of Moldova at any time in history and
declared independence (not from Moldova, but from the
MSSR, then a part of the Soviet Union) one year before
the Republic of Moldova even existed.
Moldova has traditionally been a part of Romania.
Pridnestrovie - or Transnistria, by its Romanian name
- has never been part of Romania. It has a Slavic
majority and has at various times belonged to Kievan
Rus, Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia.
Unilateral independence declaration a possibility
The failure of the US State Department to achieve
traction in its push for imposed Kosovo independence
has led some US handlers to recommend that Kosovo "go
it alone", declaring independence on its own and
putting the principle of Kosovo's right to
self-determination above the conflicting principle of
Serbia's territorial integrity.
In Podgorica, Montenegro, an aide to Kosovo’s Prime
Minister Azem Vlasi expressed Monday his belief that
at least three countries - Montenegro, Macedonia and
Albania - would recognize Kosovo’s independence in
case the Serbian province decides to declare
independence unilaterally, reported the Tanjug news
agency.
Such a move would make Kosovo a member of a small club
of countries around the world which exists as de facto
independent countries but which have limited
international recognition and are not members of the
United Nations. Taiwan is the best-known example of
such countries, but the group also includes the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Somaliland,
Abkhazia, Transdniester (Pridnestrovie) and Western
Sahara, among others.
The countries meet the requirements for statehood
under international law and are sovereign in all
practical regards. The limited extent of their
diplomatic relations is caused by political reasons,
and not by any practical absence of sovereignty.
Attacks on Christians
In Kosovo, most of the Serb minority of 200,000 people
oppose Kosovo independence and wish to remain as a
formal part of Serbia. This is in stark contrast to
Transdniester, where most of the locally resident
Moldovan minority supports independence and oppose
unification with Moldova.
The Serb minority in Kosovo has been under persistent
attacks and is beleaguered members are afraid to move
around freely unless protected by UN soldiers. The
violence extends to the Serb's cultural and religious
symbols, including mortar attacks on Christian
churches by the Muslim majority in Kosovo.
A mortar attack launched last week on the Serb Decani
Monastery in Kosovo was condemned by the
Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, as the
Monastery is on the World Heritage in Danger List.
"I condemn the attack on the Monastery of Decani," the
Director-General declared. "UNESCO and the whole
international community recognized the universal value
of this property when they inscribed it on the World
Heritage List. I urge the leaders of all of Kosovo's
communities to exercise restraint."
The Monastery - the largest Medieval church in
South-Eastern Europe, featuring vivid and rich
Byzantine paintings and Romanesque statues - has come
under attack several times since the late 1990s. Other
Christian Serbs have also been targeted in recent
months. A Seventh Day Adventist church reported
vandalism and arson against their place of worship in
January 2007, and individual Serbs fear for their
lives if they speak Serb in public.
No such events have ever been reported in
Transdniester, where Moldovan is one of three official
languages and where the ethnic Moldovan minority takes
an active part in the public administration of the
unrecognized country.
---(4.3)---
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.403244316&par=0
ADN Kronos Internatiobal (Italy) - April 10, 2007
KOSOVO: ALBANIAN LOBBY URGES INDEPENDENCE
Pristina/Belgrade - The US Senate this week begins
discussions over a resolution on the final status of
the Serbian breakaway province of Kosovo.
The draft resolution, submitted by senators Joseph
Lieberman, Joseph Biden, John McCain and Gordon Smith,
backs the UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s
proposal, stating that supervised independence for the
ethnic Albanian majority province would be the only
possible solution.
The resolution also urges president George W. Bush to
increase US pressure in the UN Security Council to
have Kosovo declared an independent state.
The senators also advocate swift establishment of
diplomatic ties with Kosovo after its independence,
warning however that Pristina must approach
fulfillment of democratic standards "seriously," as
well as provide security for Serbs in the province.
Obrad Kesic, a Serbian political analyst based in
Washington, told the Serbian press agency FoNet he
believed the Albanian lobby had already managed to
influence the Senate, and confirmed the resolution was
ready.
Kesic also stressed the senators behind the document,
Lieberman in particular, were leading figures in the
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
"I expect a difficult debate on the subject. It is
hard to predict whether the resolution will pass,"
Kesic said, adding that Senate resolutions were not
legally binding and therefore had no direct influence
on American foreign policy.
Belgrade political analyst Dusan Janjic told Adnkronos
International (AKI) that this is just another Albanian
lobby effort in a line of many on the path towards
Kosovo independence.
"Belgrade is fully informed of what has been going on
and has missed a lot of opportunities to influence it.
The only novelty regarding the Albanian lobby is that
it has surely increased the budget of the
Albanian-American Fund, which in 2005 was about 10
million U.S. dollars", Janjic argued.
Serbian presidential advisor Vuk Jeremic told the Beta
agency that Belgrade would try to prevent the passing
of the resolution.
"Even if the resolution that backs Kosovo independence
passes in the Senate, it will not have obligatory
influence towards American foreign politics. It will
only determine the negative atmosphere in which status
discussions would continue," Jeremic explained.
Meanwhile, Kosovo’s deputy prime minister Lufti Haziri
says Russia and Serbia have “conspired” to prevent
Kosovo’s independence.
Leader of the Kosovo negotiating team Lufti Haziri
told Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper that the
Serbs and the Russians, in a bid to block Ahtisaari’s
Kosovo status plan, were "spreading discrimination and
division and destabilising Kosovo."
According to the Kosovo media, Kosovo's negotiating
team will be in the US this week to participate in the
conference 'Preparing the strategy of the first 120
days of Kosovo' on Thursday.
Kosovo’s Daily Express reports that the team will be
lead by president Fatmir Sejdiu and prime minister
Agim Cheku discussing the transition period "that will
occur after the decision on the final status has
made."
---(4.4)---
http://www.makfax.com.mk/look/novina/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=2&NrArticle=93730&NrIssue=526&NrSection=20
MakFax (Macedonia) - December 10, 2007
Kosovo independence rally in New York
New York - The National Albanian-American Council
(NAAC) will stage a peaceful rally in New York on
Monday, calling on the United Nations to recognize
Kosovo's independence.
Thousands of supporters of Kosovo's independence are
expected at the rally. The event will feature special
appearances by various dignitaries including US
diplomat Richard Holbrooke and several congressmen.
The organizers expect the presence of Albanian
supporters from various US regions - Connecticut,
Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and
Texas.
Senator Hillary Clinton said earlier if the government
in Pristina decides for independence she would
strongly support prompt U.S. recognition and also
would urge the European Union to do the same.
=== 5 ===
The full texts of S. Res. 384 (2004), 135 (2007) and H. Res. 36 (2007) follow:
===============================
UNITED STATES SENATE
SR 384 IS
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 384
Expressing the sense of the Senate on the development of self-government in Kosovo.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 18, 2004
Mr. LUGAR (for himself, Mr. VOINOVICH, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. SMITH, and Mr. BIDEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Senate on the development of self-government in Kosovo.
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of June 10, 1999, mandates an international civil presence and an international security presence in Kosovo, ending a brutal conflict in Kosovo;
Whereas during and immediately after the conflict, the people of Kosovo suffered from ethnic cleansing, war crimes, and crimes against humanity;
Whereas more than 4 years after the end of the Kosovo conflict, the incidence of ethnic strife in Kosovo remains unacceptably high, and the need for the fundamental work of ethnic reconciliation in Kosovo remains great;
Whereas the ethnic violence that erupted in Kosovo on March 17, 2004, claiming the lives of 19 people, displacing more than 4,000 Kosovo Serbs and other minorities, and resulting in the destruction of more than 500 homes and at least 30 churches belonging to Kosovo minorities, serves as a reminder of serious challenges that remain in Kosovo;
Whereas the United States and the international community strongly condemned the ethnic violence that erupted in Kosovo on March 17, 2004;
Whereas the Senate adopted a resolution on April 8, 2004, urging political leaders to fulfill their commitment to rebuild property that was destroyed in the violence of mid-March 2004 in Kosovo, and to take all possible action to allow the more than 4,000 people displaced during the violence to return quickly and safely to their homes and communities;
Whereas ethnic crimes and violent reprisals against Kosovo citizens of all ethnic groups harm the victims, their families, and their communities, and impair their common future;
Whereas the integration of Kosovo into Europe, and into the international community, depends on the ability of the people of Kosovo to overcome the divisions which have too often marked the past in Kosovo;
Whereas an important goal of the international civil presence in Kosovo established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 is to facilitate a political process to determine the future status of Kosovo, taking into account the Rambouillet accords of 1999;
Whereas `Standards' of democratic self governance and a multiethnic society in Kosovo are embodied in the goals enunciated by the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General in April 2002, to include the effective functioning of democratic institutions, the rule of law, the sustainable return of displaced persons, dialogue with Serbia and Montenegro, freedom of movement, a stable free-market economy, property rights, and the further development of the Kosovo Protection Corps;
Whereas the people of Kosovo have made some important progress toward the fulfillment of these goals while continuing to face challenges, particularly on issues of refugee return and freedom of movement of Kosovo minorities;
Whereas the United Nations Security Council, in its Presidential statement of December 12, 2003, endorsed the elaboration by UNMIK (the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo) of the `Standards' in the `Standards for Kosovo' document and welcomed the plan to periodically review the progress in Kosovo in implementing the standards;
Whereas UNMIK has drafted a comprehensive `Standards Implementation Plan' to give Kosovo precise guidance on the actions that must be taken to achieve the standards;
Whereas the United States and UNMIK are currently working together with the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo (PISG) to help Kosovo meet the standards with a view to carry out a comprehensive review of the progress in Kosovo `around mid-2005'; and
Whereas considerable further progress toward the realization of the standards remains to be accomplished before the process of determining the future status of Kosovo can begin: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the United States should--
(1) intensify its efforts to help Kosovo achieve the `Standards', as set out by the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General in Kosovo in October 2002, and as further elaborated in the UNMIK (the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo) `Standards For Kosovo' paper of December 10, 2003, to bring about a stable, multiethnic, and democratic society in Kosovo by carrying out the steps called for in the Kosovo Standards Implementation Plan drafted by UNMIK;
(2) further encourage Kosovo to become a factor for stability in the region by having good relations with its neighbors, and in particular, by engaging in dialogue with Belgrade in an effort to secure a peaceful, long-term solution for peace in the region;
(3) encourage Belgrade to support the standards implementation process in Kosovo, including by constructive participation in the direct technical talks launched October 14, 2003;
(4) enhance efforts to provide support to KFOR (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led international security force in Kosovo), and to call upon the PISG (Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo) to ensure the security and freedom of movement for all the people of Kosovo, and the return of refugees and internally displaced persons;
(5) urge all people in Kosovo to reject the ethnic violence that erupted in Kosovo on March 17, 2004, and work with UNMIK and KFOR to apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators of the violence, to rebuild property destroyed during the violence, and to work to ensure that displaced persons are able to return safely to their homes and communities;
(6) promote steps to foster the development of the Kosovo economy through strengthened cooperation with the South Central Europe region and Euro-Atlantic institutions, without prejudice to its future political status; and
(7) call upon the leaders of the PISG, and upon the leaders of all political parties and communities of Kosovo, to renew and enhance their efforts in cooperation with UNMIK, KFOR, and the international community to achieve the matters described in paragraphs (1) through (6).
END
===============================
S. Res. 135
Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should support independence for Kosovo. (Introduced in Senate)
SRES 135 IS
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 135
Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should support independence for Kosovo.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 29, 2007
Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. MCCAIN, and Mr. SMITH) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should support independence for Kosovo.
Whereas the United States has enduring national interests in the peace and security of southeastern Europe, and in the greater integration of the region into the Euro-Atlantic community of democratic, well-governed states;
Whereas, in March 1999, the United States, along with other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), commenced military action aimed at ending Slobodan Milosevic's brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing against the people of Kosovo;
Whereas that military action resulted in the defeat of Serb forces and the creation of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, an interim United Nations administration that governs Kosovo, and which ended, de facto, the sovereignty that was previously exercised by the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia over Kosovo;
Whereas the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States have served bravely in Kosovo since 1999, and their presence and participation in the NATO-led Kosovo Force has been indispensable in protecting the people of Kosovo and stabilizing the region;
Whereas United Nations administration was never intended nor understood as a permanent solution to the political status of Kosovo;
Whereas, in light of NATO's military intervention in Kosovo and the United Nations trusteeship established in Kosovo pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999), the international community has recognized the political circumstances in Kosovo as unique, and the settlement of Kosovo's status therefore does not establish a precedent for the resolution of other conflicts;
Whereas continuing uncertainty about the status of Kosovo is unacceptable to the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of Kosovo, inhibits economic and political development in Kosovo, and contributes to instability and radicalism in both Kosovo and Serbia;
Whereas, in 2005, the United Nations Secretary-General appointed the former President of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari, as United Nations Special Envoy for Kosovo to develop a comprehensive settlement proposal to resolve the political status of Kosovo;
Whereas, in March 2007, after 14 months of intensive diplomacy, Special Envoy Ahtisaari submitted to the Security Council a comprehensive settlement proposal that would result in supervised independence for Kosovo, with robust protections for the rights of minorities; and
Whereas Special Envoy Ahtisaari has explored every reasonable avenue for compromise in the course of his diplomacy and has stated that further negotiations would be counterproductive: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) the United States should support the independence of Kosovo in accordance with its currently constituted borders, a resolution that represents the only just, sustainable solution for an economically viable and politically stable Kosovo;
(2) the United States should, in consultation and cooperation with its allies, vigorously and promptly pursue a United Nations Security Council resolution that endorses the recommendations of United Nations Special Envoy for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari;
(3) in the absence of timely action by the United Nations Security Council, the United States should be prepared to act in conjunction with like-minded democracies to confer diplomatic recognition on, and establish full diplomatic relations with, Kosovo as an independent state, much as the United States worked in cooperation with like-minded democracies to protect the people of Kosovo in 1999;
(4) the United States should oppose any delay in the resolution of the political status of Kosovo as counterproductive, potentially dangerous, and likely to make the achievement of a lasting settlement more difficult;
(5) the United States should work together with the European Union as a full partner in supporting the political and economic development of an independent Kosovo;
(6) the United States should support the integration of Kosovo into international and Euro-Atlantic institutions, including its timely admission to the Partnership for Peace program of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), with the ultimate goal of full membership in NATO;
(7) the United States should reaffirm its commitment to southeastern Europe, including the continuation of the military mission in Kosovo to deter and disrupt any efforts by any party to destabilize the region through violence;
(8) the Government of Kosovo should exercise responsible leadership under supervised independence and thereby accelerate the transition to full independence, taking particular care to reassure, protect, and ensure the full political and economic rights of Serb and other minority communities in Kosovo;
(9) the Government of Kosovo should make every reasonable effort to develop a cooperative relationship with the Government of Serbia, in recognition of its legitimate interests in the safety of the Serb population in Kosovo and in the protection and preservation of the patrimonial sites of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo; and
(10) the Government of Serbia should exercise responsible leadership and seize the opportunity and the imperative presented by the independence of Kosovo to end the dark chapter of the 1990s and focus its energies toward achieving a prosperous and peaceful future through regional cooperation and integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions, including NATO and the European Union, and toward the establishment of open, constructive relations with the government of Kosovo.
===============================
H.Res. 36
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should declare its support for the independence of Kosova. (Introduced in House)
HRES 36 IH
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 36
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should declare its support for the independence of Kosova.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 5, 2007
Mr. LANTOS (for himself and Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should declare its support for the independence of Kosova.
Whereas the United States and the international community recognize that a right to self-determination exists as a fundamental right of all people;
Whereas Kosova was constitutionally defined as a sovereign territory in the First National Liberation Conference for Kosova on January 2, 1944, and this status was confirmed in the Constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia adopted in 1946, and the amended Yugoslav constitution adopted in 1974 preserved the autonomous status of Kosova as a de facto republic;
Whereas prior to the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, Kosova was a separate political and legal entity with separate and distinct financial institutions, police force, municipal and national government, school system, judicial and legal system, hospitals and other independent organizations;
Whereas Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic rose to power in 1987 on a platform of ultra nationalism and anti-Albanian racism, advocating violence and hatred against all non-Slavs and specifically targeting the Albanians of Kosova;
Whereas Slobodan Milosevic subsequently stripped Kosova of its self-rule, without the consent of the people of Kosova;
Whereas the elected Assembly of Kosova, faced with these intolerable acts, adopted a Declaration of Independence on July 2, 1990, proclaimed the Republic of Kosova, and adopted a constitution on September 7, 1990, based on the international legal principles of self-determination, equality, and sovereignty;
Whereas in recognition of the de facto dissolution of the Yugoslav federation, the European community established principles for the recognition of the independence and sovereignty of the republics of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Kosova fully satisfied those principles as a de facto republic within the federation;
Whereas a popular referendum was held in Kosova from September 26-30, 1991, in which 87 percent of all eligible voters cast ballots and 99.87 percent voted in favor of declaring Kosova independent of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia;
Whereas, from the occupation of Kosova in 1989 until the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military action against the Milosevic regime in 1999, the Albanians of Kosova were subjected to the most brutal treatment in the heart of Europe since the Nazi era, forcing approximately 400,000 Albanians to flee to Western Europe and the United States;
Whereas in the spring of 1999 almost 1,000,000 Kosovar Albanians were driven out of Kosova and at least 10,000 were murdered by the Serbian paramilitary and military;
Whereas Slobodan Milosevic was indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal and extradited to The Hague in June 2001 to stand trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Kosova, Bosnia, and Croatia;
Whereas the United Nations established Kosova as a protectorate under Resolution 1244, ending the decade long Serbian occupation of Kosova and Milosevic's genocidal war in Kosova;
Whereas Kosovar Albanians, together with representatives of the Serb, Turkish, Roma, Bosniak, and Ashkali minorities in Kosova, have held free and fair municipal and general elections in 2000 and 2001 and successfully established a parliament in 2002, which in turn elected a president and prime minister;
Whereas 50 percent of the population in Kosova is under the age of 25 and the unemployment rate is currently between 60 and 70 percent, increasing the likelihood of young people entering criminal networks, the source of which lies outside of Kosova, or working abroad in order to survive unless massive job creation is facilitated by guaranteeing the security of foreign investments through an orderly transition to the independence of Kosova;
Whereas the Kosova parliament is committed to developing a western-style democracy in which all citizens, regardless of ethnicity, are granted full human and civil rights and are committed to the return of all non-criminal Serbs who fled Kosova during and after the war; and
Whereas there is every reason to believe that independence from Serbia is the only viable option for Kosova, after autonomy has failed time and time again: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should--
(1) recognize the danger that delay in the resolution of Kosova's final status poses for the political and economic viability of Kosova and its neighbors, and consequently for the future of Southeast Europe;
(2) publicly support the independence of Kosova within its existing borders as a sovereign and democratic state in which human rights, including the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, and the rule of law are respected as the only way to lasting peace and stability in the Balkans;
(3) establish a monitoring body in conjunction with the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and other multilateral organizations to ensure that the new state of Kosova achieves the standards set forth by the UN Security Council, including the protection of minority rights and security for all of Kosova's communities, and to facilitate an orderly transition from a UN protectorate to a fully functioning democratic government;
(4) work with the Council of Europe to develop and implement anti-racism programs that would be instituted at the level of federal and municipal governments throughout the Balkans;
(5) work with the United Nations and North Atlantic Treaty Organization to facilitate the return of Albanians to their pre-war homes in northern Mitrovica and its environs and Serbs to theirs in southern Mitrovica and other parts of Kosova; and
(6) provide its share of assistance, trade, and other programs to support the government of an independent Kosova and to encourage the further development of democracy, rule of law, and a free market economic system in Kosova and throughout the Balkans.--
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A "bipartizan" policy
Both US presidential candidates, with their staffs, share a "bipartizan"anti-yugoslav, serbophobic policy
Entrambi i candidati alla presidenza negli USA, con i loro staff, condividono le stesse posizioni antijugoslave e serbofobiche
1) ELECTION IRREGULARITIES:
1.1: Election irregularities hint at possible 2000 repeat (By David Hoskins)
1.2: URGENT: Stop Racist Voter Suppression - Take Action NOW! (International Action Center)
2) Joe Biden, Obama's VP, is a great sponsor of Kosovo killers
2.1: "Obama's VP candidate great friend of Kosovo"
2.2: "Serbian nationalists bash Joe Biden"
2.3: Obama, Clinton welcome Kosovo declaration
3) John McCain is supported by the Albanian American Civic League!
3.1: POLITIKA: il senatore John McCain ha armato l’UCK / John McCain armed the KLA / Džon Mekejn naoružavao OVK
...Americans of Albanian heritage collected a million dollars in one evening for the presidential campaign of Republican Senator John McCain, said the Albanian American Civic League yesterday, the lobby group headed by former Congressman Joe DioGuardi...
3.2: McCain's 'disturbing elements'
...Mr. McCain claims he is the best candidate to handle Muslim terrorists, yet he supports the Kosovo Liberation Army, many of whose members were trained in Osama bin Laden's terrorists camps...
4) FLASHBACKS:
4.1: April 9, 2007 - Kosovo debate reaches U.S. Senate
The draft resolution, submitted by senators Joseph Lieberman, Joseph Biden, John McCain and Gordon Smith, backs UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s proposal, stating that a supervised independence would be the only possible solution to the province’s status...
4.2: April 10, 2007 - Only 4 countries vote for Kosovo independence at the United Nations
... Biden, the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, is known for favoring realistic diplomacy and the democratic right to self-determination over what is seen as "the tired
mantra of territorial integrity." He has proposed a separation of Iraq into three parts; one for Sunnis, one for Shiites and one - Kurdistan - for the Kurds...
4.3: April 10, 2007 - KOSOVO: ALBANIAN LOBBY URGES INDEPENDENCE
4.4: December 10, 2007 - Kosovo independence rally in New York
5) Full texts of Senate Resolutions 384 (2004) and 135 (2007) and House Resolution 36 (2007)
SEE ALSO / VEDI ANCHE:
# USA - IL PAESE DEI BROGLI ELETTORALI
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/4842
# Tutti pazzi per Bush
http://www.osservatoriobalcani.org/article/articleview/7732
# [JUGOINFO] L'AMICO AMERICANO / 6
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/2644
# Biden and Palin (WW Editorial Note)
http://www.workers.org/2008/editorials/biden_palin_0911/
# Obama's Change Must Start With His Advisers
http://www.moscowtimes.ru/article/1016/42/371888.htm
or: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato/message/34431
# Was Joe Biden Talking About Russia in Seattle?
http://www.russiablog.org/2008/10/joe_biden_talking_about_russia_seattle.php
or: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato/message/34430
# One Thing US Presidential Candidates Agree On: Baiting Russia
http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/31048
or: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato/message/33699
# Kosovo and America: an alliance unlike any other
http://www.newkosovareport.com/200808021093/Views-and-Analysis/Kosovo-and-America-an-alliance-unlike-any-other.html
# Standing With Kosovo Again
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/22/AR2007072200883.html
# It's No Longer 1999. 2007 in Review, by Nebojsa Malic
http://www.antiwar.com/malic/?articleid=12118
or: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/yugoslaviainfo/message/8001
# U.S. praises indicted former Kosovo P.M.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-070430kosovo,1,5804130.story?coll=chi-news-hed
or: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/yugoslaviainfo/message/6897
The day after Ramush Haradinaj resigned as Kosovo's prime minister, Sen. Joseph Biden, the ranking Democrat on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, praised him as a patriot and a statesman...
# [JUGOINFO] L'AMICO AMERICANO / 6
http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/crj-mailinglist/message/2644
# What a Kerry Regime Would Mean for the Balkans (Christopher Deliso 2004)
http://www.antiwar.com/deliso/?articleid=2771
# http://www.bannerofliberty.com/
# Barack Obama : « je soutiens l’indépendance du Kosovo »
Les voix des 500.000 citoyens américains d’origine albanaise sont l’objet de toutes les attentions de la part des deux candidats à la Maison Blanche, Barack Obama et John McCain. Alors que le candidat républicain a, depuis longtemps, assuré de son amitié le gouvernement de Pristina, Barack Obama avait inquiété les électeurs d’origine albanaise en déclarant par exemple soutenir la candidature serbe à l’intégration européenne. Une position tempérée par une lettre adressée au National Albanian American Council (NAAC) qui réaffirme le soutien du démocrate à l’indépendance du Kosovo... (POLITIKA / Courrier del Balkans - 24 septembre 2008)
http://balkans.courriers.info/article11247.html
# COMMENT TRUQUER LES PRIMAIRES US
Comme tous les quatre ans, les États-Unis mettent en scène leur élection présidentielle... Cette année, l’innovation en matière de trucage est l’usage de machines à voter au cours des primaires. Elles permettent un trucage extensif dans la pré-sélection des deux candidats qui s’affronteront...
http://www.voltairenet.org/article154928.html
=== 1 ===
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http://www.workers.org/2008/us/election_irregularities_1106/
Election irregularities hint at possible 2000 repeat
By David Hoskins
Published Oct 29, 2008 2:41 PM
The extreme right wing is working overtime to suppress the vote and deny the first major-party African-American candidate the opportunity to become president. Election specialists and news reports have identified more than a dozen states where accusations of voter suppression and election rigging may determine the outcome of the presidential race. The battleground states of Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Florida and West Virginia are among those states where Republican Party operatives have attempted to override the choices of voters and secure a McCain victory on Election Day.
The activity in many states is restricted to technically legal, although constitutionally questionable, voter suppression tactics. In some states, however, it appears that the right wing is attempting outright vote theft.
Six voters in two West Virginia counties have reported that electronic voting machines visibly changed their vote to John McCain when they tried to cast their vote for Barack Obama. Retired factory worker Calvin Thomas claims that “When I went in, I pushed Obama and Biden. It immediately went up to McCain on the Republican ticket.” According to Thomas, his daughter had the same problem and it required complaining to an election worker in order to get the vote to register for Obama. (cnn.com)
Shelba Ketchum, a 69-year-old retired nurse, reported similar problems when she attempted to vote. According to Ketchum, “I pushed buttons and they all came up Republican. I hit Obama and it switched to McCain. I am really concerned about that. If McCain wins, there was something wrong with the machines.” Ketchum says that she requested a printout verification of her votes and that the election workers said it was not possible to obtain one. (Charleston Gazette, Oct. 18)
Thousands of voters in Georgia and Florida have been declared ineligible to vote. In Georgia more than 50,000 voters were improperly purged from the voting rolls. Approximately 4,500 of them have been wrongly identified as noncitizens.
The state of Georgia is being sued for violating federal laws that prohibit massive purging within 90 days of an election. “People are being targeted, and people are being told they are noncitizens, including both naturalized citizens and U.S.-born citizens,” said Elise Shore, regional counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. “They’re being told they’re not eligible to vote, based on information in a database that hasn’t been checked and approved by the Department of Justice, and that we know has flaws in it.” (cnn.com)
The Ohio Republican Party attempted to force election officials in that state to engage in a similar purge of voting lists. In a lawsuit that made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, Ohio Republicans requested that the courts make the state’s secretary of state generate a list of mismatched names and purge those voters from the rolls. The Supreme Court sided with the secretary of state who claimed that such a list would possibly disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters.
In Indiana the fight has centered on access to early voting sites. Republican officials filed a lawsuit to close down early voting sites in three key Indiana cities—Hammond, Gary and East Chicago. Indiana’s population is only eight percent Black, but Black voters are heavily concentrated in the three cities targeted by the lawsuit.
Recent polls demonstrate that Obama has built up a considerable lead in enough states to secure the 270 electoral votes necessary to win the election. The voter suppression efforts in key states appear designed to install a McCain presidency despite the preferences of voters.
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Da: actioncenter@...
Oggetto: URGENT: Stop Racist Voter Suppression - Take Action NOW!
Data: 03 novembre 2008 14:04:47 GMT+01:00
Urgent: Take Action Now to Stop Racist Voter Suppression
Sign the online petition at http://www.iacenter.org/stopvotersuppression
Online Petition Text:
To: President Bush, Senator McCain, Governor Palen, Attorney General Mukasey, Governors of Key States, Congressional and Republican Party leaders and members of the media
In the days leading up to a historic election, there has been a massive, illegal attempt to suppress votes, particularly among the poor, communities of color, and students.
These tactics include:
--In Ohio, the Republicans attempted to illegally challenge the registrations of 200,000 new voters.
--Voters, like in West Virginia counties, have reported that electronic voting machines visibly changed their vote to John McCain when they tried to cast their vote for Barack Obama.
--Students in Colorado, Virginia, and South Carolina were told that they would lose their scholarships and that their parents could no longer claim them as dependents on their tax returns if the students voted in their college towns.
--In Georgia more than 50,000 voters were improperly purged from the voting rolls, a clear violation of federal laws that prohibit massive purging within 90 days of an election. Approximately 4,500 of them have been wrongly identified as “non-citizens”.
--In Indiana, Republican officials filed a lawsuit to close down early voting sites in three key Indiana cities—Hammond, Gary and East Chicago. Indiana’s population is only eight percent Black, but Black voters are heavily concentrated in the three cities targeted by the lawsuit.
--In Florida, Ohio, Nevada, Virginia and Wisconsin, right wingers are using the Jim-Crow practice of 'caging,' where they send out mass mailings to low-income neighborhoods. If the letters come back unopened, then those voters are challenged at the polling place.
These are just a few of the tactics that have come to light in the recent period which are part of an ongoing pattern of racist disenfranchisement--an illegal campaign to deliberately deprive people of the hard-won right to vote.
I demand:
• Stop police intimidation of voters.
• Keep polls open until everyone has the opportunity to vote.
• Full emergency staffing of polling places to meet the widely-expected massive turnout.
• STOP all voter suppression – count all ballots.
Make your voice heard NOW! Sign the online petition and send a strong, clear message to the White House, Congress, Governors of Key States, and the media.You can sign online at http://www.iacenter.org/stopvotersuppression
Make an immediate donation to help stop racist voter suppression in an urgent national campaign. Donate at http://iacenter.org/donate.
=== 2 ===
Senator JOE BIDEN:
"THE U.S. must lead the West in a decisive response to Serbian aggression, beginning with air attacks on Serbian artillery."
(In: TIME, May 03,1993.)
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/yugoslaviainfo/message/9404
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=08&dd=24&nav_id=52\938
Beta News Agency - August 24, 2008
"Obama's VP candidate great friend of Kosovo"
PRISTINA - The Albanian language media in Pristina are
reporting with optimism about Barack Obama's choice of
running mate.
The U.S. Democratic Party presidential hopeful
yesterday announced that U.S. Senator Joseph Biden
will be his vice president if he wins the White House
race in November.
Today, Koha Ditore daily writes, "a great friend of
Kosovo will enter the White House along with Obama if
he wins".
The newspaper reminds that Biden said, "one day after
the declaration of independence of Kosovo", that "a
new phase of progress in the Balkans was opening".
The Delaware senator wrote when Belgrade rejected the
Ahtisaari plan that "Kosovo's unilateral independence
is not the best solution, but that it is necessary,
since it's time for action".
Biden, Koha Ditore also reminded its readers, was the
one who proposed a resolution to bomb Serbia in 1999.
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http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/serbian-nationalists-bash-joe-biden/id_31476/catid_68
Sofia Echo (Bulgaria) - August 29, 2008
Serbian nationalists bash Joe Biden
Clive Leviev-Sawyer
Barack Obama, the Democratic Party’s candidate for US
president, indulged in a campaign swing through
Europe. His vice-presidential running partner, Joe
Biden, if tempted to do the same, may as well avoid
Belgrade.
Memories run deep in the Balkans, but among Serbian
nationalists, uppermost on their minds is that
long-term senator and foreign policy committee figure
Biden was strongly in favour of the 1990s bombing of
Belgrade.
Popular Serbian newspaper Blic reminded its readers on
August 28 that Biden was one of those who proposed
resolution on bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999.
“He also believes that all changes in Serbia are the
result of pressure from Washington.”
The newspaper quoted Obrad Kesic, an analyst in the US
of Serbian origin, as saying the choice of Biden was
especially bad for Serbia.
“I am expecting Biden to be even more engaged in
lobbying over Kosovo,” Kesic is quoted as saying.
Biden was a “severe opponent” of Russia, which could
affect Serbia indirectly in view of its traditionally
close relations with Russia.
In contrast to media in Kosovo, where in Pristina
daily newspaper Koha Ditore said ”a great friend of
Kosovo will enter the White House along with Obama if
he wins”, website Serbianna.com carried a report
alleging that former US ambassador to Romania Jim
Rosapepe had said that he witnessed Biden shout at
Romanian officials from whom he was trying to get
information on Serbia and its politics so that Biden
could “inflict political and diplomatic damage”.
Rosapepe says that the most extraordinary meeting
Biden and him had was with the president of the
Romanian senate, Petre Roman, whom Biden met before
but this time "Biden grilled him on Serbian politics"
and Roman "helped defeat Milosevic in the 2000
elections".
However, when Biden asked the Romanian delegation why
Romania was seeking Nato membership, Biden was
offended at the answer.
According to Serbianna.com, the Romanian said: “If we
are in Nato, we won’t have to worry about Nato
attacking Romania over our relations with our
Hungarian minority the way you attacked Yugoslavia.
Since Turkey has been in Nato for decades, you let
them do what they want with the Kurdish minority”.
The website said that “Biden got visibly angry that
former communist Romania had an existential reason for
joining Nato, so Biden ‘rose from his chair, leaned
across the table and said: “If that’s why you want to
get into Nato, I'll make sure you never do!'”.
The Serbianna.com item alleged: “Biden has long been
on the payroll of Kosovo Albanian extremists so that
he can lend support for their desire to annex Serbian
province”.
Another Serbianna.com item quoted Croatian priest
Iliya Zivkovic as telling Croatian daily Jutarnji List
that he was a friend of Biden and that he was a key
figure that shaped Biden’s view that Serbs were
exclusively to blame for events in former Yugoslavia.
“He [Biden] knew about Croatia... But I think that the
most influential was my speech that I gave in Little
Rock in front of the just elected Bill Clinton who
called American minorities for a conversation,”
Zivkovic was quoted as saying.
“In 45 minutes I explained why bridges must be bombed
in Serbia, Belgrade....I believe that that it was very
effective on Biden,” Zivkovic said.
As Democrats in the US observed the Republican attack
machine spewing out against its candidates Obama and
Biden, Serbianna had a hat-trick with an item online
on August 29 – in the process managing to hit out at
both Obama and Republican presidential nominee John
McCain.
“Whether Obama wins or McCain, Serbs should expect
that US will seek to destroy them, culturally,
ethnically, physically, politically and
diplomatically, tells us an analyst who fears to
disclose his name because he will be witch hunted.”
The article continues by quoting its source as saying
that for the past eight years, “Serbs in Kosovo have
been killed like deer in season and US has approved
every one of those murders because they've recognised
such a state”.
“More Serbs are to die and the US will delight in the
death of Serbs no matter who wins the presidency,”
Serbianna quotes the source, which it describes as
“close to government” as saying.
“No matter if it's Obama or McCain, many more Serbs in
Kosovo will die and all churches in Kosovo will be
leveled but any of the two will say that Serbs are
genociders,” the website said.
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http://www.b92.net/eng/news/world-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=02&dd=18&nav_id=47793
Beta News Agency - February 18, 2008
Obama, Clinton welcome Kosovo declaration
WASHINGTON - Senators Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton
and Joseph Biden all welcomed Kosovo Albanians'
independence declaration.
One of the Democrats' presidential hopefuls, Clinton,
called for a speedy recognition of Kosovo's
independence.
Her rival, Obama, echoed the same sentiment, and added
that he hoped Kosovo's authorities and people will do
everything to make it a positive example of "democracy
and rule of law".
Another democrat, Biden, who is the Foreign Policy
Committee chair in the U.S. Senate, said he will soon
call on his colleagues to join him in "expressing the
Senate's support for Kosovo's independence".
Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo Sunday declared unilateral
secession from Serbia.
Serbia rejected this as illegal, and is seeking
respect of its internationally recognized borders.
=== 3 ===
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POLITIKA: il senatore John McCain ha armato l’UCK
13. febbraio 2008. 15:48
Uno dei candidati del Partito Repubblicano a Presidente USA, John McCain, ha aiutato ad armare l'organizzazione terroristica UCK, riporta il quotidiano belgradese POLITIKA. Del sostegno di McCain all’indipendenza kosovara e all’armamento dell’UCK ha parlato l’ex congressman Joseph DioGuardi al ricevimento preparato in onore di McCain dalla Lega civica albano-americana (AACL) il 22 gennaio scorso. Basandosi sul comunicato di questa Lega, il quotidiano POLITIKA scrive che a questa manifestazione, gli americani di origine albanese hanno raccolto un milione di dollari durante la serata per la campagna presidenziale di McCain.
(Fonte: Radio Serbia)
--- english ---
The article below in Serbian is from the column "Svet" in Politika Online for Feb. 13, 2008. Here is a translation:
John McCain armed the KLA
"He did everything that we asked of him, including arming the KLA", said Albanian lobbyist Joe DioGuardi. The Albanians collected one million dollars for the presidential campaign of this senator
Americans of Albanian heritage collected a million dollars in one evening for the presidential campaign of Republican Senator John McCain, said the Albanian American Civic League yesterday, the lobby group headed by former Congressman Joe DioGuardi. A reception for McCain was held January 22 at the Saint Regis Hotel in Manhatten, and the senator, who is now leading in the runoff for the Republican party candidacy in the November elections, cut his campaign in Florida by one day to attend this gathering.
"Even in 1998 when we had problems with Milosevic, McCain did everything that we asked of him to the benefit of the Albanian people, including arming the KLA", announced DioGuardi. "We are American Albanians and we need a leader who will strengthen this country... We must support John McCain because he did everything we asked of him for Kosovo, from supporting the Kosovo Liberation Army to supporting the independence of Kosovo. Two years ago he spoke in Brussels and said that independence is the only solution", concluded this former congressman who has been fighting for the independence of Kosovo and Metohija for more than twenty years.
He explained that the first thing McCain said to him when he entered the hotel in Manhatten on January 22: "Joe, I saw your people in Michigan, and in South Carolina and in New Hampshire", from which this lobbyist deduced that all Americans of Albanian background will be voting for the senator from Arizona.
DioGuardi and his wife Shirley Cloys-DioGuardi have been friends with McCain for years, and he intervened several times in the Senate on behalf of the Albanians. Because of that, the Albanian American Civic League awarded him the "Balkan Award for Peace" a year and a half ago, and the initiative was the proposed Senate resolution - which McCain wrote - in which thanks is extended to the Albanians for "saving all the Jews who lived in Albania or who sought shelter there during the Nazi Holocaust".
However, even though he is leading in the presidential nomination, John McCain has not yet succeeded in convincing the primary wing of the Republican Party - the conservatives - that he is the right candidate. One of the reasons is that he often spoke and voted against the majority Republicans, as in 1999 when he asked for more intensive air bombing of Serbia.
In April of that year, three weeks after the bombing commenced, he announced that the US is in danger of losing the war to the Serbian Army which has "antiquated machinery" and "absolutely no military air power", if massive strategic air attacks are not initiated. "Attacks on any infrastructure target must not be prevented. We all regret civilian losses, as well as our own, but they cannot be avoided," he said.
During the pre-election campaign in February 2000 at a meeting in Manhatten, John McCain asked for the release of all Albanian prisoners in the prisons of Serbia proper, and a year later he used his inlfuence to ask the administration for an urgent investigation into the killing of the brothers Bitici who were taken from prison and killed in the police training center
in Petrovo Selo in eastern Serbia. This February 5 the senator held another meeting in Manhatten and in the public there was a visible Albanian flag.
V.R.
--- srpskohrvatski ---
Politika Online for Feb. 13, 2008
Džon Mekejn naoružavao OVK
Radio je sve što smo tražili od njega, ukljucujuci i naoružavanje OVK, izjavio albanski lobista Džo Diogvardi. – Albanci prikupili milion dolara za predsednicku kampanju ovog senatora
Amerikanci albanskog porekla prikupili su za jedno vece milion dolara za predsednicku kampanju republikanskog senatora Džona Mekejna, saopštila je juce Albansko-americka gradanska liga, lobisticka grupa koju vodi nekadašnji kongresmen Džozef Diogvardi. Prijem za Mekejna održan je 22. januara u hotelu Sent Ridžis na Menhetnu, a senator koji trenutno vodi u trci za kandidata Republikanske stranke na novembarskim izborima prekinuo je na jedan dan svoju kampanju na Floridi kako bi došao na ovaj skup.
„Još od 1998. kad smo imali probleme sa Miloševicem, Mekejn je radio sve što smo od njega tražili u korist albanskog naroda, ukljucujuci i naoružavanje OVK”, izjavio je tim povodom Diogvardi. „Mi smo americki Albanci i treba nam voda koji ce ojacati ovu zemlju... Mi moramo da podržimo Džona Mekejna, jer je on uradio sve što smo tražili za Kosovo, od podrške Oslobodilackoj vojsci Kosova do podrške nezavisnosti Kosova. On je pre dve godine u govoru u Briselu rekao da je nezavisnost jedino rešenje”, zakljucio je ovaj bivši clan Kongresa, koji se više od dvadeset godina bori za nezavisnost Kosova i Metohije.
On je objasnio i da je prvo što mu je Mekejn rekao kad je 22. januara ušao u hotel na Menhetnu bilo: „Džo, video sam tvoje ljude (Albance) u Micigenu, i u Južnoj Karolini i u Nju Hempširu”, iz cega ovaj lobista izvlaci zakljucak da ce svi Amerikanci albanskog porekla glasati za senatora iz Arizone.
Diogvardi i njegova supruga Širli Klojs-Diogvardi vec godinama su prijatelji sa Mekejnom, a on je nekoliko puta u Senatu intervenisao u korist Albanaca.
Zbog tih zasluga Albansko-americka gradanska liga dodelila mu je pre godinu i po dana svoju „Balkansku nagradu za mir”, a povod je bio predlog senatske rezolucije – koji je napisao Mekejn – u kojem se pohvaljuju Albanci za „spasavanje svih Jevreja koji su živeli u Albaniji ili su tamo potražili utocište tokom nacistickog holokausta”.
Medutim, iako vodi u trci za predsednicku nominaciju, Džon Mekejn još nije uspeo da ubedi glavno krilo Republikanske stranke – konzervativce – da je on pravi kandidat. Jedan od razloga je i to što je cesto govorio i glasao suprotno vecini republikanaca, kao 1999. kad je tražio još žešce vazdušne udare po Srbiji.
U aprilu te godine, tri nedelje posle pocetka bombardovanja, izjavio je da su SAD u opasnosti da izgube rat od srpske vojske, koja ima „zastarelu opremu” i „uopšte nema ratno vazduhoplovstvo”, ako se ne pokrenu „masovni, strateški i koncentrisani” vazdušni napadi. „Ne sme biti zabranjeno da se napadne bilo koja infrastrukturna meta... Svi mi žalimo za civilnim žrtvama, kao i za sopstvenim, ali one su neizbežne”, rekao je.
Tokom predizborne kampanje u februaru 2000. godine, Džon Mekejn je na mitingu na Menhetnu zatražio puštanje svih albanskih zatvorenika iz zatvora u užoj Srbiji, a godinu dana kasnije svoj uticaj iskoristio je da od administracije traži hitnu istragu o ubistvu brace Bitici koji su oteti iz zatvora i streljani u policijskom centru za obuku u Petrovom Selu, na istoku Srbije. Ovog 5. februara senator je ponovo održao miting na Menhetnu, a u publici je bila uocljiva albanska zastava.
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http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080205/EDITORIAL/911114342
The Washington Times
Letters to the Editor - 5 February 2008
McCain's 'disturbing elements'
If Debra J. Saunders thinks her Sunday Commentary column, "GOP stronger or
broader?" will sway true conservatives by making threatening comments, such
as that Florida "shows many Republicans have come to understand that when
you aren't willing to bend, when you view compromise as disgraceful not a
necessary part of democracy when you insist on all or nothing, then you get
nothing," she is wrong. She is wrong because unlike those who are willing to
"compromise" their conservative principles, we understand the difference
between compromise and surrender.
Besides the McCain-Lieberman, McCain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy betrayals of
conservative principles, other disturbing elements of Sen. John McCain's
character are emerging, including his ill temper, displayed too often in the
Senate.
This has led Republican Sen. Pete V. Domenici, who witnessed a particularly
nasty scene, to say that he had considered supporting Mr. McCain for
president but had changed his mind. "I decided," the senator told Newsweek,
"I didn't want this guy anywhere near a trigger" ("Senator Hothead," Feb.
22, 2000).
The endorsements of Mr. McCain by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and
former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani should have sent warning bells to
conservatives throughout the country, but didn't, which tells me that too
many conservatives are turning into RINOs "Republican in name only."
Mr. McCain claims he is the best candidate to handle Muslim terrorists, yet
he supports the Kosovo Liberation Army, many of whose members were trained
in Osama bin Laden's terrorists camps, as reported by The Washington Times'
Jerry Seper ("KLA rebels train in terrorist camps," May 4, 1999).
As for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the other candidates don't
like him because he is handsome, rich, articulate and a true conservative.
The only reason former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is still in the running
is to take votes away from Mr. Romney.
It won't make much difference if it turns out to be Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton versus Mr. McCain. Either way, the country will go down the tubes,
and I would prefer to see this train wreck happen under the Democratic Mrs.
Clinton than under the Republican Mr. McCain. Perhaps it has to get worse
before it gets better.
I would not go so far as Ann Coulter to say that I would work for Mrs.
Clinton if Mr. McCain is the nominee, but I certainly do not plan to vote,
once again, for "the lesser of two evils." That's what got us into this mess
in the first place.
STELLA L. JATRAS
Camp Hill, Pa.
=== 4 === FLASHBACKS ===
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http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2007&mm=04&dd=09&nav_category=92&nav_id=40577
B92, Beta (Serbia) - April 9, 2007
Kosovo debate reaches U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate will this week start
discussions over a Kosovo status resolution.
The draft resolution, submitted by senators Joseph
Lieberman, Joseph Biden, John McCain and Gordon Smith,
backs UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s proposal,
stating that a supervised independence would be the
only possible solution to the province’s status.
The resolution also urges President George Bush to
increase U.S. pressure in the UN Security Council in
order to have Kosovo declared an independent state,
“without redrawing borders.” [Presumably no division
of Kosovo, but a definitive redrawing of borders by
taking Kosovo out of Serbia.]
The senators also advocate swift establishment of
diplomatic ties with Kosovo after its independence,
warning however that Priština must approach
fulfillment of democratic standards “seriously“, as
well as provide security for the Serbs in the
province.
Obrad Kesiæ, a political analyst based in Washington,
told B92 the Albanian lobby has already managed to
influence the Senate, and confirmed the resolution was
ready. Kesiæ also stressed the senators behind the
document, Lieberman in particular, were the leading
figures in the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
“I expect a difficult debate on the subject after the
holidays. It is hard to predict whether the resolution
will pass,” Kesiæ said, adding that Senate resolutions
were not legally binding and therefore had no direct
influence on U.S. foreign policy.
---(4.2)---
http://www.tiraspoltimes.com/node/724
Tiraspol Times (Transdniester) - April 10, 2007
Only 4 countries vote for Kosovo independence at the United Nations
New York - Only four of the 15 members on the UN
Security Council have voted in favor of independence
for Kosovo.
The vote took place during initial UN discussions
Tuesday. Pridnestrovie, or Transnistria as it is known
unofficially, has a stronger case for statehood than
Kosovo.
Despite energetic US State Department cheerleading,
Kosovo's independence drive is off to a slow start at
the United Nations. A plan by UN Special Envoy Marti
Ahtisaari - endorsed and lobbied for by the United
States - is attempting to grant Kosovo sovereignty
from Serbia, overriding Serbia's protestations.
Notwithstanding American enthusiasm, during the first
round of consultations on the issue Tuesday, only four
of the 15 members on the UN Security Council voted in
favor of Ahtisaari's plan.
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica believes
that the plan contradicts the UN Charter and that this
is the reason it has failed to secure any substantial
support at the UN.
The UN is not in a position to grant any country
sovereignty and has no influence in Pridnestrovie.
Kosovo, however, is a special situation since it is
currently a UN protectorate. As such, its independence
aspiration hinges on UN decisions, a factor which is
not required in other cases such as Pridnestrovie
(Transnistria) or Somaliland, for instance.
Meanwhile, in the US Senate, a bi-partisan draft
resolution submitted by Joseph Lieberman, Joseph Biden
and John McCain will urge president George W. Bush to
step up the heat in the United Nations, increasing US
pressure in the UN Security Council to have Kosovo
declared an independent state.
Biden, the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on
Foreign Relations, is known for favoring realistic
diplomacy and the democratic right to
self-determination over what is seen as "the tired
mantra of territorial integrity." He has proposed a
separation of Iraq into three parts; one for Sunnis,
one for Shiites and one - Kurdistan - for the Kurds.
Perma-tanned US Senator Joe Biden wants the right to
self-determination and democracy to come before
territorial integrity.
Lost in the debate is the fact that some parts of
Europe have a stronger historical and legal claim to
independence than Kosovo.
As Pridnestrovie's president Igor Smirnov has pointed
out, the territory east of the Dniester river has
never been part of Moldova at any time in history and
declared independence (not from Moldova, but from the
MSSR, then a part of the Soviet Union) one year before
the Republic of Moldova even existed.
Moldova has traditionally been a part of Romania.
Pridnestrovie - or Transnistria, by its Romanian name
- has never been part of Romania. It has a Slavic
majority and has at various times belonged to Kievan
Rus, Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia.
Unilateral independence declaration a possibility
The failure of the US State Department to achieve
traction in its push for imposed Kosovo independence
has led some US handlers to recommend that Kosovo "go
it alone", declaring independence on its own and
putting the principle of Kosovo's right to
self-determination above the conflicting principle of
Serbia's territorial integrity.
In Podgorica, Montenegro, an aide to Kosovo’s Prime
Minister Azem Vlasi expressed Monday his belief that
at least three countries - Montenegro, Macedonia and
Albania - would recognize Kosovo’s independence in
case the Serbian province decides to declare
independence unilaterally, reported the Tanjug news
agency.
Such a move would make Kosovo a member of a small club
of countries around the world which exists as de facto
independent countries but which have limited
international recognition and are not members of the
United Nations. Taiwan is the best-known example of
such countries, but the group also includes the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Somaliland,
Abkhazia, Transdniester (Pridnestrovie) and Western
Sahara, among others.
The countries meet the requirements for statehood
under international law and are sovereign in all
practical regards. The limited extent of their
diplomatic relations is caused by political reasons,
and not by any practical absence of sovereignty.
Attacks on Christians
In Kosovo, most of the Serb minority of 200,000 people
oppose Kosovo independence and wish to remain as a
formal part of Serbia. This is in stark contrast to
Transdniester, where most of the locally resident
Moldovan minority supports independence and oppose
unification with Moldova.
The Serb minority in Kosovo has been under persistent
attacks and is beleaguered members are afraid to move
around freely unless protected by UN soldiers. The
violence extends to the Serb's cultural and religious
symbols, including mortar attacks on Christian
churches by the Muslim majority in Kosovo.
A mortar attack launched last week on the Serb Decani
Monastery in Kosovo was condemned by the
Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, as the
Monastery is on the World Heritage in Danger List.
"I condemn the attack on the Monastery of Decani," the
Director-General declared. "UNESCO and the whole
international community recognized the universal value
of this property when they inscribed it on the World
Heritage List. I urge the leaders of all of Kosovo's
communities to exercise restraint."
The Monastery - the largest Medieval church in
South-Eastern Europe, featuring vivid and rich
Byzantine paintings and Romanesque statues - has come
under attack several times since the late 1990s. Other
Christian Serbs have also been targeted in recent
months. A Seventh Day Adventist church reported
vandalism and arson against their place of worship in
January 2007, and individual Serbs fear for their
lives if they speak Serb in public.
No such events have ever been reported in
Transdniester, where Moldovan is one of three official
languages and where the ethnic Moldovan minority takes
an active part in the public administration of the
unrecognized country.
---(4.3)---
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.403244316&par=0
ADN Kronos Internatiobal (Italy) - April 10, 2007
KOSOVO: ALBANIAN LOBBY URGES INDEPENDENCE
Pristina/Belgrade - The US Senate this week begins
discussions over a resolution on the final status of
the Serbian breakaway province of Kosovo.
The draft resolution, submitted by senators Joseph
Lieberman, Joseph Biden, John McCain and Gordon Smith,
backs the UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s
proposal, stating that supervised independence for the
ethnic Albanian majority province would be the only
possible solution.
The resolution also urges president George W. Bush to
increase US pressure in the UN Security Council to
have Kosovo declared an independent state.
The senators also advocate swift establishment of
diplomatic ties with Kosovo after its independence,
warning however that Pristina must approach
fulfillment of democratic standards "seriously," as
well as provide security for Serbs in the province.
Obrad Kesic, a Serbian political analyst based in
Washington, told the Serbian press agency FoNet he
believed the Albanian lobby had already managed to
influence the Senate, and confirmed the resolution was
ready.
Kesic also stressed the senators behind the document,
Lieberman in particular, were leading figures in the
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
"I expect a difficult debate on the subject. It is
hard to predict whether the resolution will pass,"
Kesic said, adding that Senate resolutions were not
legally binding and therefore had no direct influence
on American foreign policy.
Belgrade political analyst Dusan Janjic told Adnkronos
International (AKI) that this is just another Albanian
lobby effort in a line of many on the path towards
Kosovo independence.
"Belgrade is fully informed of what has been going on
and has missed a lot of opportunities to influence it.
The only novelty regarding the Albanian lobby is that
it has surely increased the budget of the
Albanian-American Fund, which in 2005 was about 10
million U.S. dollars", Janjic argued.
Serbian presidential advisor Vuk Jeremic told the Beta
agency that Belgrade would try to prevent the passing
of the resolution.
"Even if the resolution that backs Kosovo independence
passes in the Senate, it will not have obligatory
influence towards American foreign politics. It will
only determine the negative atmosphere in which status
discussions would continue," Jeremic explained.
Meanwhile, Kosovo’s deputy prime minister Lufti Haziri
says Russia and Serbia have “conspired” to prevent
Kosovo’s independence.
Leader of the Kosovo negotiating team Lufti Haziri
told Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper that the
Serbs and the Russians, in a bid to block Ahtisaari’s
Kosovo status plan, were "spreading discrimination and
division and destabilising Kosovo."
According to the Kosovo media, Kosovo's negotiating
team will be in the US this week to participate in the
conference 'Preparing the strategy of the first 120
days of Kosovo' on Thursday.
Kosovo’s Daily Express reports that the team will be
lead by president Fatmir Sejdiu and prime minister
Agim Cheku discussing the transition period "that will
occur after the decision on the final status has
made."
---(4.4)---
http://www.makfax.com.mk/look/novina/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=2&NrArticle=93730&NrIssue=526&NrSection=20
MakFax (Macedonia) - December 10, 2007
Kosovo independence rally in New York
New York - The National Albanian-American Council
(NAAC) will stage a peaceful rally in New York on
Monday, calling on the United Nations to recognize
Kosovo's independence.
Thousands of supporters of Kosovo's independence are
expected at the rally. The event will feature special
appearances by various dignitaries including US
diplomat Richard Holbrooke and several congressmen.
The organizers expect the presence of Albanian
supporters from various US regions - Connecticut,
Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and
Texas.
Senator Hillary Clinton said earlier if the government
in Pristina decides for independence she would
strongly support prompt U.S. recognition and also
would urge the European Union to do the same.
=== 5 ===
The full texts of S. Res. 384 (2004), 135 (2007) and H. Res. 36 (2007) follow:
===============================
UNITED STATES SENATE
SR 384 IS
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 384
Expressing the sense of the Senate on the development of self-government in Kosovo.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 18, 2004
Mr. LUGAR (for himself, Mr. VOINOVICH, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. SMITH, and Mr. BIDEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Senate on the development of self-government in Kosovo.
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of June 10, 1999, mandates an international civil presence and an international security presence in Kosovo, ending a brutal conflict in Kosovo;
Whereas during and immediately after the conflict, the people of Kosovo suffered from ethnic cleansing, war crimes, and crimes against humanity;
Whereas more than 4 years after the end of the Kosovo conflict, the incidence of ethnic strife in Kosovo remains unacceptably high, and the need for the fundamental work of ethnic reconciliation in Kosovo remains great;
Whereas the ethnic violence that erupted in Kosovo on March 17, 2004, claiming the lives of 19 people, displacing more than 4,000 Kosovo Serbs and other minorities, and resulting in the destruction of more than 500 homes and at least 30 churches belonging to Kosovo minorities, serves as a reminder of serious challenges that remain in Kosovo;
Whereas the United States and the international community strongly condemned the ethnic violence that erupted in Kosovo on March 17, 2004;
Whereas the Senate adopted a resolution on April 8, 2004, urging political leaders to fulfill their commitment to rebuild property that was destroyed in the violence of mid-March 2004 in Kosovo, and to take all possible action to allow the more than 4,000 people displaced during the violence to return quickly and safely to their homes and communities;
Whereas ethnic crimes and violent reprisals against Kosovo citizens of all ethnic groups harm the victims, their families, and their communities, and impair their common future;
Whereas the integration of Kosovo into Europe, and into the international community, depends on the ability of the people of Kosovo to overcome the divisions which have too often marked the past in Kosovo;
Whereas an important goal of the international civil presence in Kosovo established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 is to facilitate a political process to determine the future status of Kosovo, taking into account the Rambouillet accords of 1999;
Whereas `Standards' of democratic self governance and a multiethnic society in Kosovo are embodied in the goals enunciated by the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General in April 2002, to include the effective functioning of democratic institutions, the rule of law, the sustainable return of displaced persons, dialogue with Serbia and Montenegro, freedom of movement, a stable free-market economy, property rights, and the further development of the Kosovo Protection Corps;
Whereas the people of Kosovo have made some important progress toward the fulfillment of these goals while continuing to face challenges, particularly on issues of refugee return and freedom of movement of Kosovo minorities;
Whereas the United Nations Security Council, in its Presidential statement of December 12, 2003, endorsed the elaboration by UNMIK (the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo) of the `Standards' in the `Standards for Kosovo' document and welcomed the plan to periodically review the progress in Kosovo in implementing the standards;
Whereas UNMIK has drafted a comprehensive `Standards Implementation Plan' to give Kosovo precise guidance on the actions that must be taken to achieve the standards;
Whereas the United States and UNMIK are currently working together with the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo (PISG) to help Kosovo meet the standards with a view to carry out a comprehensive review of the progress in Kosovo `around mid-2005'; and
Whereas considerable further progress toward the realization of the standards remains to be accomplished before the process of determining the future status of Kosovo can begin: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the United States should--
(1) intensify its efforts to help Kosovo achieve the `Standards', as set out by the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General in Kosovo in October 2002, and as further elaborated in the UNMIK (the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo) `Standards For Kosovo' paper of December 10, 2003, to bring about a stable, multiethnic, and democratic society in Kosovo by carrying out the steps called for in the Kosovo Standards Implementation Plan drafted by UNMIK;
(2) further encourage Kosovo to become a factor for stability in the region by having good relations with its neighbors, and in particular, by engaging in dialogue with Belgrade in an effort to secure a peaceful, long-term solution for peace in the region;
(3) encourage Belgrade to support the standards implementation process in Kosovo, including by constructive participation in the direct technical talks launched October 14, 2003;
(4) enhance efforts to provide support to KFOR (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led international security force in Kosovo), and to call upon the PISG (Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo) to ensure the security and freedom of movement for all the people of Kosovo, and the return of refugees and internally displaced persons;
(5) urge all people in Kosovo to reject the ethnic violence that erupted in Kosovo on March 17, 2004, and work with UNMIK and KFOR to apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators of the violence, to rebuild property destroyed during the violence, and to work to ensure that displaced persons are able to return safely to their homes and communities;
(6) promote steps to foster the development of the Kosovo economy through strengthened cooperation with the South Central Europe region and Euro-Atlantic institutions, without prejudice to its future political status; and
(7) call upon the leaders of the PISG, and upon the leaders of all political parties and communities of Kosovo, to renew and enhance their efforts in cooperation with UNMIK, KFOR, and the international community to achieve the matters described in paragraphs (1) through (6).
END
===============================
S. Res. 135
Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should support independence for Kosovo. (Introduced in Senate)
SRES 135 IS
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 135
Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should support independence for Kosovo.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 29, 2007
Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. MCCAIN, and Mr. SMITH) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should support independence for Kosovo.
Whereas the United States has enduring national interests in the peace and security of southeastern Europe, and in the greater integration of the region into the Euro-Atlantic community of democratic, well-governed states;
Whereas, in March 1999, the United States, along with other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), commenced military action aimed at ending Slobodan Milosevic's brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing against the people of Kosovo;
Whereas that military action resulted in the defeat of Serb forces and the creation of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, an interim United Nations administration that governs Kosovo, and which ended, de facto, the sovereignty that was previously exercised by the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia over Kosovo;
Whereas the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States have served bravely in Kosovo since 1999, and their presence and participation in the NATO-led Kosovo Force has been indispensable in protecting the people of Kosovo and stabilizing the region;
Whereas United Nations administration was never intended nor understood as a permanent solution to the political status of Kosovo;
Whereas, in light of NATO's military intervention in Kosovo and the United Nations trusteeship established in Kosovo pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999), the international community has recognized the political circumstances in Kosovo as unique, and the settlement of Kosovo's status therefore does not establish a precedent for the resolution of other conflicts;
Whereas continuing uncertainty about the status of Kosovo is unacceptable to the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of Kosovo, inhibits economic and political development in Kosovo, and contributes to instability and radicalism in both Kosovo and Serbia;
Whereas, in 2005, the United Nations Secretary-General appointed the former President of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari, as United Nations Special Envoy for Kosovo to develop a comprehensive settlement proposal to resolve the political status of Kosovo;
Whereas, in March 2007, after 14 months of intensive diplomacy, Special Envoy Ahtisaari submitted to the Security Council a comprehensive settlement proposal that would result in supervised independence for Kosovo, with robust protections for the rights of minorities; and
Whereas Special Envoy Ahtisaari has explored every reasonable avenue for compromise in the course of his diplomacy and has stated that further negotiations would be counterproductive: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) the United States should support the independence of Kosovo in accordance with its currently constituted borders, a resolution that represents the only just, sustainable solution for an economically viable and politically stable Kosovo;
(2) the United States should, in consultation and cooperation with its allies, vigorously and promptly pursue a United Nations Security Council resolution that endorses the recommendations of United Nations Special Envoy for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari;
(3) in the absence of timely action by the United Nations Security Council, the United States should be prepared to act in conjunction with like-minded democracies to confer diplomatic recognition on, and establish full diplomatic relations with, Kosovo as an independent state, much as the United States worked in cooperation with like-minded democracies to protect the people of Kosovo in 1999;
(4) the United States should oppose any delay in the resolution of the political status of Kosovo as counterproductive, potentially dangerous, and likely to make the achievement of a lasting settlement more difficult;
(5) the United States should work together with the European Union as a full partner in supporting the political and economic development of an independent Kosovo;
(6) the United States should support the integration of Kosovo into international and Euro-Atlantic institutions, including its timely admission to the Partnership for Peace program of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), with the ultimate goal of full membership in NATO;
(7) the United States should reaffirm its commitment to southeastern Europe, including the continuation of the military mission in Kosovo to deter and disrupt any efforts by any party to destabilize the region through violence;
(8) the Government of Kosovo should exercise responsible leadership under supervised independence and thereby accelerate the transition to full independence, taking particular care to reassure, protect, and ensure the full political and economic rights of Serb and other minority communities in Kosovo;
(9) the Government of Kosovo should make every reasonable effort to develop a cooperative relationship with the Government of Serbia, in recognition of its legitimate interests in the safety of the Serb population in Kosovo and in the protection and preservation of the patrimonial sites of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo; and
(10) the Government of Serbia should exercise responsible leadership and seize the opportunity and the imperative presented by the independence of Kosovo to end the dark chapter of the 1990s and focus its energies toward achieving a prosperous and peaceful future through regional cooperation and integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions, including NATO and the European Union, and toward the establishment of open, constructive relations with the government of Kosovo.
===============================
H.Res. 36
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should declare its support for the independence of Kosova. (Introduced in House)
HRES 36 IH
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 36
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should declare its support for the independence of Kosova.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 5, 2007
Mr. LANTOS (for himself and Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should declare its support for the independence of Kosova.
Whereas the United States and the international community recognize that a right to self-determination exists as a fundamental right of all people;
Whereas Kosova was constitutionally defined as a sovereign territory in the First National Liberation Conference for Kosova on January 2, 1944, and this status was confirmed in the Constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia adopted in 1946, and the amended Yugoslav constitution adopted in 1974 preserved the autonomous status of Kosova as a de facto republic;
Whereas prior to the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, Kosova was a separate political and legal entity with separate and distinct financial institutions, police force, municipal and national government, school system, judicial and legal system, hospitals and other independent organizations;
Whereas Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic rose to power in 1987 on a platform of ultra nationalism and anti-Albanian racism, advocating violence and hatred against all non-Slavs and specifically targeting the Albanians of Kosova;
Whereas Slobodan Milosevic subsequently stripped Kosova of its self-rule, without the consent of the people of Kosova;
Whereas the elected Assembly of Kosova, faced with these intolerable acts, adopted a Declaration of Independence on July 2, 1990, proclaimed the Republic of Kosova, and adopted a constitution on September 7, 1990, based on the international legal principles of self-determination, equality, and sovereignty;
Whereas in recognition of the de facto dissolution of the Yugoslav federation, the European community established principles for the recognition of the independence and sovereignty of the republics of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Kosova fully satisfied those principles as a de facto republic within the federation;
Whereas a popular referendum was held in Kosova from September 26-30, 1991, in which 87 percent of all eligible voters cast ballots and 99.87 percent voted in favor of declaring Kosova independent of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia;
Whereas, from the occupation of Kosova in 1989 until the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military action against the Milosevic regime in 1999, the Albanians of Kosova were subjected to the most brutal treatment in the heart of Europe since the Nazi era, forcing approximately 400,000 Albanians to flee to Western Europe and the United States;
Whereas in the spring of 1999 almost 1,000,000 Kosovar Albanians were driven out of Kosova and at least 10,000 were murdered by the Serbian paramilitary and military;
Whereas Slobodan Milosevic was indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal and extradited to The Hague in June 2001 to stand trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Kosova, Bosnia, and Croatia;
Whereas the United Nations established Kosova as a protectorate under Resolution 1244, ending the decade long Serbian occupation of Kosova and Milosevic's genocidal war in Kosova;
Whereas Kosovar Albanians, together with representatives of the Serb, Turkish, Roma, Bosniak, and Ashkali minorities in Kosova, have held free and fair municipal and general elections in 2000 and 2001 and successfully established a parliament in 2002, which in turn elected a president and prime minister;
Whereas 50 percent of the population in Kosova is under the age of 25 and the unemployment rate is currently between 60 and 70 percent, increasing the likelihood of young people entering criminal networks, the source of which lies outside of Kosova, or working abroad in order to survive unless massive job creation is facilitated by guaranteeing the security of foreign investments through an orderly transition to the independence of Kosova;
Whereas the Kosova parliament is committed to developing a western-style democracy in which all citizens, regardless of ethnicity, are granted full human and civil rights and are committed to the return of all non-criminal Serbs who fled Kosova during and after the war; and
Whereas there is every reason to believe that independence from Serbia is the only viable option for Kosova, after autonomy has failed time and time again: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should--
(1) recognize the danger that delay in the resolution of Kosova's final status poses for the political and economic viability of Kosova and its neighbors, and consequently for the future of Southeast Europe;
(2) publicly support the independence of Kosova within its existing borders as a sovereign and democratic state in which human rights, including the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, and the rule of law are respected as the only way to lasting peace and stability in the Balkans;
(3) establish a monitoring body in conjunction with the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and other multilateral organizations to ensure that the new state of Kosova achieves the standards set forth by the UN Security Council, including the protection of minority rights and security for all of Kosova's communities, and to facilitate an orderly transition from a UN protectorate to a fully functioning democratic government;
(4) work with the Council of Europe to develop and implement anti-racism programs that would be instituted at the level of federal and municipal governments throughout the Balkans;
(5) work with the United Nations and North Atlantic Treaty Organization to facilitate the return of Albanians to their pre-war homes in northern Mitrovica and its environs and Serbs to theirs in southern Mitrovica and other parts of Kosova; and
(6) provide its share of assistance, trade, and other programs to support the government of an independent Kosova and to encourage the further development of democracy, rule of law, and a free market economic system in Kosova and throughout the Balkans.--
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LA STAMPA ITALIANA AVEVA
«Il pubblico ha avuto appena una vaga e imperfettissima idea di ciò che è avvenuto nel 1921 e 1922. Le purghe di olio di ricino, le randellate, le spedizioni punitive, i bandi, le distruzioni e incendi di cooperative, camere del lavoro […] trovano appena cenni fuggevoli, attenuati, deformati nella cronaca dei nostri giornali.
La stampa italiana, fatte poche onorevoli eccezioni, aveva disertato il campo; aveva tradito la sua missione. […] Io ho sempre pensato che se la stampa italiana in quel periodo avesse dato prova di maggior coraggio e previdenza, il fascismo non avrebbe preso un così largo sviluppo o, almeno, non sarebbe caduto in tanti eccessi. Ma la stampa ha lasciato fare senza opporre alcuna seria resistenza. Il suo silenzio poteva benissimo interpretarsi come una approvazione, una giustificazione, una sanatoria. Nel fatto era una deplorevole complicità».
Mario Borsa, La libertà di stampa, Milano, Corbaccio, 1925.
Citato in: http://www.gennarocarotenuto.it/4200-il-nostro-dovere-repubblicano/
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