Kosovo's Prime Minister has been named as the head of a 'mafia-like' Albanian group, responsible for smuggling human organs, drugs and weapons, according to an inquiry by the Council of Europe. The two-year probe, obtained by Britain's Guardian newspaper prior to its release, says Hashim Thaci has controlled the region’s heroin trade over the past decade. The report, made by the Council of Europe, will be presented to European diplomats on Thursday. According to the report, Thaci and his accomplices have carried out "assassinations, detentions, beatings and interrogations" during crimes dating back more than a decade. Some members of his group are also accused of smuggling individuals into Albania after the 1999 Kosovo war, where Serb prisoners were killed and their organs harvested. The revelations come as Thaci declared victory in the first parliamentary election since the self-proclaimed nation split from Serbia. Marko Gasic from the British-Serbian Alliance for Peace says the information only springs up now because The Hague Tribunal was “scared of raising this issue too strongly.” Also, they did not have any cooperation from the Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIC). “The Kosovo Albanian authorities were, themselves, so completely implicated in the systematic cold-blooded murder of living human beings that they couldn’t cooperate – they would be opening themselves up to the very exposure which has now happened,” Gasic told RT. “UNMIK, which was put there in essence to keep the Kosovo part of Serbia and to develop organs of self-government for it, turned into a vehicle for NATO to control the complete succession process,” he added. Ivana Miloradovic from World News says she is hoping the allegations could be picked up by the International Criminal Court after The Hague Tribunal wraps up its work in the next couple of years. “[The Hague Tribunal’s] term is about to expire. But luckily, there is the International Criminal Court now, and these allegations might be interesting to the prosecutors there,” Milaradovic said.
II. RIANOVOSTI - Fifteen Years Since Dayton
The Dayton deal between the warring sides in Bosnia and Herzegovina was sealed fifteen years ago, on December 14, 1995. It marked a novel approach to negotiations which is generally credited to US veteran diplomat Richard C. Holbrooke who died this Monday – the opponents stayed locked up until an agreement was reached. NATO launched air raids against the Bosnian Serbs on the eve of the talks, evidently to show them what alternative to embracing Washington's settlement formula they faced. The type of diplomacy bred the 1998 Rambouillet talks which became a prologue to the NATO aggression against Yugoslavia. On the one hand, the Dayton deal created a basis for conflict resolution in Bosnia and thus belongs to history. On the other, the unique international accord came with an array of side-effects which the trial of former Yugoslavian (ICTY) leader S. Milosevic by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia later highlighted. The ICTY attempted to prove based on the testimony reflecting the contraction of population in a number of Bosnian municipalities that genocide had been perpetrated in Bosnia. Milosevic's point was that the contraction was in fact equally attributable to the Dayton deal and to the armed hostilities. He cited the situations in Grahovo where Serbs accounted for 99% of the population prior to the conflict and no Serbs remained afterwards and in Brčko where the Muslim population increased by 83% while the Serbian – shrank by 97%. The Tribunal was playing with statistic data to present Milosevic as a warmonger and a butcher, but Russia's foreign minister E. Primakov, a witness in the Hague, quoted Madeleine Albright as saying that the Dayton deal would have never materialized without Milosevic's contribution to the process. The statement reads as an admission that Milosevic was instrumental in bringing peace to Bosnia. The Dayton deal also had a significant Albanian dimension. The Kosovo Albanians sought recognition as a party to the talks in Dayton but their bid was turned down on the grounds that they were not involved in the armed conflict. Milosevic's defense witness Bozidar Delic expressed the view that the above was a clear signal to the Albanian separatists. Oddly enough, Bosnia and Herzegovina became a UN Security Council member in 2010. The very fact that a document titled The Situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been on the table in the UN Security Council since 1992 exposes the formation as a totally dependent player in international politics. The November, 2010 UN Security Council resolution stresses that the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina should continue to play an important role in the region. In practice, the foreign envoy is authorized to make far-reaching decisions at his own discretion, for example, to scrap the head of the state's decrees and pieces of local legislation, and does not shy away from doing so. The same resolution emphasizes “the UN appreciation to the Commander and personnel of the multinational stabilization force (EUFOR), the Senior Military Representative and personnel of the NATO Headquarters Sarajevo, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the European Union (EU) and the personnel of other international organizations and agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina”. Moreover, the UN document calls unnamed but easily identifiable member countries to take whatever measures for the protection of Bosnia and Herzegovina and suggests unrestricted freedom of maneuver for the NATO forces. In this light, the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina looks laughable. The Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Yugoslavia case which the UN International Court was hearing in 1993-2006 similarly demonstrated that the Bosnian statehood is absolutely artificial and lacks viability. Formally, the party supposed to face justice was Yugoslavia, but actually the case revolved around a complaint against the Bosnian Serb Republic, that is, a complaint from one part of Bosnia and Herzegovina against the other. On the whole, what are the results generated by the Dayton accord and what does the future hold? High Representative Valentin Inzko said a few days ago that while the first 11 years after the Dayton deal had been productive, the last 4 years had been marked with stagnation. Inzko is upset that the Bosnian Serb Republic passed several laws which, as he sees it, do not agree with the priorities of the European partnership or undermine the reform in Bosnia. At the moment Inzko's list of grievances is topped by the new law on state property passed by the Bosnian Serb Republic's parliament which, upon entry into force, would allocate to the Republic all the state assets sited on its territory. The “problem” was used as a pretext for renewing the mandate of the High Representative's administration which was supposed to expire back in 2006. The Dayton accords have not been fulfilled over the 15 years since their signing, nor do the “international community” and the High Representative seem eager to comply. The explanation behind the position is that a country under full – and fully official - external control serves as an excellent proving ground for testing the functionality of the neo-colonial international law.
III. REUTERS - Turkey's entry bid scores mixed points in EU debate
European Union governments sent a mixed message of praise and criticism towards Turkey and its EU accession effort on Tuesday, underlining persistent divisions in the bloc over Ankara's membership prospects. During an annual debate on enlargement held by EU states in Brussels, the bloc expressed "deep regret" about Turkey's failure to patch up relations with EU member Cyprus and pressed Ankara to show improvement "without further delay". EU ministers welcomed, at the same time, Turkey's recent constitutional reforms as an "important" step towards improving human rights and Ankara's support to EU bodies tackling migration. "Negotiations (with Turkey) have reached a more demanding stage," ministers of foreign and European affairs said in a statement after the meeting. Britain, Finland, Sweden and Italy had pushed the EU last week to give stronger backing to Turkey's entry efforts and accelerate growth of the bloc, troubled by concerns among many EU states over the cost at a time of Europe's economic woes. But the push ran into long-standing opposition from Cyprus, with Nicosia pressing on Tuesday for a more critical stance to reflect a dispute over the northern part of the divided Mediterranean island which only Ankara recognises as a state. France and Germany are also hesitant about Turkish entry... Talks between the European Commission and Turkey in the past two months produced no progress in resolving the Cyprus row. Turkey has also failed to start talks in a single new policy area for six months, although Belgium's foreign minister Steven Vanackere said on Tuesday a new "chapter", one of 35 needed to complete entry talks, could be opened in early 2011. Cyprus wants Turkey to open up its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot traffic. Turkey refuses to do so until the EU ends the isolation of the north, which broke away in 1974 after a Turkish invasion.
Israel’s ambassador to Greece, Arye Mekel, was on the phone with a journalist earlier this month when the call came in that Israel’s Carmel region was up in flames. The Israeli prime minister needed to speak urgently with his Greek counterpart. Mekel quickly located Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou in Poland, where he was meeting with the Polish president. But a Papandreou aide told Mekel the meeting could not be interrupted. “Tell him Bibi Netanyahu wants to speak with him urgently,” Mekel pressed, using the Israeli prime minister’s nickname. A few moments later Papandreou was on the phone. In just hours, five Greek firefighting planes were in the skies along with a cargo plane loaded with spare parts, mechanics and pilots. Benjamin Netanyahu greeted them at the airport. The quick response by Greece was a sign of the increasingly close relations between two Mediterranean countries that until 18 years ago did not even have diplomatic ties... The subtext behind the sudden flurry of activity between Greece and Israel is the crisis in relations between Israel and Turkey, Greece’s chief rival. Those ties, already on the skids, took a nosedive after the flotilla incident of May 31, when nine Turkish nationals were killed in a clash with Israeli commandos aboard a ship trying to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. After the incident, Turkey canceled joint military exercises with the Israelis and withdrew its ambassador to Israel. With Israeli Air Force pilots no longer able to train in Turkish airspace, and the Turkish market for Israeli military hardware and other exports at risk, Israel turned to Greece. Conditions appear ripe for a boost to Greek-Israeli relations. For Israel, nearby Greece would seem to be a natural ally in a Mediterranean region dominated by Islamic countries... Aside from the Presidents Conference mission, Jewish organizations lined up behind a U.S. congressional resolution on Oct. 1 asking Turkey to respect the cultural heritage and the religious sites of the Greek Cypriots in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus. Turkey invaded the Greek-speaking island in 1974 and retains control of its north. Israeli tourism to the Greek-speaking southern part of Cyprus, a Mediterranean island nation, is robust... One area where Israel doesn’t have too many friends here is in the media. Influenced by 40 years of cultivation by pro-Arab and anti-Israel politicians, the Greek media have a mostly unfavorable view of Israel. But that also has started to change. Mekel, a former journalist who appears frequently on Greek media, says there has been more positive coverage recently of Israel. The improvement in Greece-Israel ties obviously has been welcomed by this country’s small Jewish community of about 5,000.
V. EURONEWS - Libya’s Gaddafi proposes 1 million-strong African army
African nations should join forces to create a one-million-strong army to protect the continent and confront outsiders like NATO and China, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Tuesday. Gaddafi, well known for his forthright rhetoric, has acquired growing influence in Africa but his ambition to build a united states of Africa is not shared by the continent’s biggest powers. “National militaries alone cannot save countries. Africa should have one army with one million soldiers,” Gaddafi said in a speech in the Senegalese capital. He said the joint force would “guard the borders and seas, protect Africa’s independence and confront NATO, China, France, Britain and other countries..." Gaddafi has been pushing for an African unity government for years, saying it is the only way Africa can develop without Western interference. His ideas have had a sympathetic response in some states, helped by his reputation in parts of the continent as champion of the developing world and also by the millions of dollars in aid his oil-exporting country gives to Africa. But many African leaders, especially in the bigger economies, are sceptical. They say they cannot be expected to cede sovereignty to an African bloc only a few decades after wresting it from their colonial rulers.
VI. LATIMES - Senate taking up debate on arms treaty with Russia
The Senate debates Wednesday a proposed nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia, despite continuing Republican objections that there is too little time this year to properly evaluate the controversial measure. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday ordered debate to begin as soon as the Senate acts on the proposed tax package, and predicted advocates now have the 67 votes for ratification. But Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) who has fought to delay consideration of the treaty until next year, contended that Reid "perhaps predicted something prematurely." Adoption of the measure would be arguably Obama's most tangible foreign policy accomplishment, and would strengthen the "reset" of relations with Russia. In recent weeks, amid an energetic promotional campaign from the White House, it has appeared that a handful of Senate Republicans have become more willing for a quick vote. But some Republican senators' views remain murky, and opponents might be able to turn to Senate rules to delay a vote. "This is still a jump ball," said John D. Isaacs, president of Council for a Livable World, an arms control advocacy group. Next year, there will be six more Republicans in the Senate and it will presumably be tougher to pass the treaty. Maine Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins have announced their support for a vote this year. Sens. Judd Gregg (R-NH) and George Voinovich (R-OH) have also appeared open to a vote this month. But Lamar Alexander (R-TN) joined Kyl on Tuesday saying he believes there is not adequate time, and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has expressed the same view. Reid intends to consider both New Start and a stop gap funding measure this week, a process called dual tracking that could complicate deliberations, some observers noted. In addition, proposed amendments could slow the process and change some senators' willingness to support the treaty, they pointed out. Stephen Rademaker, a nonproliferation official in the Bush administration and former Senate aide, said he believes the vote count is "probably close – it could depend on what happens with amendments." The treaty would reduce the ceiling on each nation's long range active warheads by up to 30%, and would provide procedures for each country to monitor the others' nuclear arsenals. It has had wide support from senior military officials and former secretaries of state and secretaries of defense of both parties. But critics such as Kyl have pushed to add more money for upkeep of the U.S nuclear arsenal, and have worried that it could limit the U.S. flexibility to expand its missile defense capabilities. The administration has argued that it places no restrictions on missile defense.
Our Orthodox and Catholic pilgrims arrived in Rome on Monday, Nov. 22, and checked into the Hotel Michelangelo, just a few minutes’ walk from St. Peter’s Basilica. The following morning, after an 8 a.m. Mass at St. Peter’s, we visited the Vatican office specially charged with ecumenical relations with other Christian churches, the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. We met with Cardinal Kurt Koch, the new president of this council, only three days after he had been created a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He had previously served as the Bishop of Basel, Switzerland. When Cardinal Koch entered the room he graciously greeted each of the 28 pilgrims individually before beginning the meeting. He expressed the pope’s strong dedication to the work of reunion between the Orthodox and Catholic churches, and his own deep commitment to that goal a well. Cardinal Koch described the work toward reunion as he understood it, noting the difficulty of some as well as the growing enthusiasm of many people in both churches. His Eminence invited questions and comments and many pilgrims spoke up, noting the “learning curve” that challenges ordinary Catholics and Orthodox alike. Everyone seemed to agree that could not mean that either church would change to become exactly like the other. Rather, members of each church need to know and to respect the other church, and to work together toward unity of faith and worship. On Tuesday afternoon pilgrims toured the Scavi, the excavations under St. Peter’s Basilica. From ancient times the Vatican hill had been a burial place for Romans. This moving and fascinating tour explores the 2,000-year history of pagan and later Christian burials and burial customs, opening a window on the customs and cultures of many generations. The climax of the tour is a visit to the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle. Later in the afternoon there was a motor coach tour of many points of interest in the city of Rome: the Colosseum, the ancient Forum, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and several churches and basilicas. In the evening we had dinner together at a popular Roman restaurant. On Wednesday morning we attended an audience with His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, in the Pope Paul VI Audience Hall (capacity 8,000). Our pilgrims were seated in the first rows of the hall. His Eminence Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (and formerly Archbishop of San Francisco), presented Metropolitan Gerasimos and myself to the Holy Father, along with the hierarchs and clergy of both churches among the pilgrims. His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos and I presented Pope Benedict with a lovely and highly symbolic gift from the pilgrims: a miniature of the Golden Gate Bridge with a silver medallion of the head of Christ at the center of the bridge. The inscription on the marble base memorialized our pilgrimage and our wish to build a bridge between two great ancient Christian traditions. On Wednesday afternoon the pilgrims toured the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. In the evening our guest at dinner together was Cardinal Levada. On Thursday morning (Thanksgiving Day back home in the United States) we departed Rome for Athens, the second destination on our “Journey of Faith: East and West.”