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Dielli | The Sun

Albanian American Newspaper Devoted to the Intellectual and Cultural Advancement of the Albanians in America | Since 1909

Albania votes in its first female dominated government

September 17, 2021 by s p


 REUTERS/Florion Goga


Albania’s parliament on Friday voted in the first cabinet to be dominated by women since the multi-party system was introduced 30 years ago.
After a parliamentary session which lasted more than 20 hours, Edi Rama was voted as prime minister for third time after a landslide election victory in April.
Of the 17-member cabinet, 12 will be women.
“The battle against gender discrimination and domestic violence remains very open and far from being won,” Rama said before the lawmakers voted for his cabinet with 77 votes out of 140.
“There are still discriminatory forces and negative energy that act today in our society in harm of women and girls.”
Olta Xhaka will continue to serve as foreign minister and newly arrived Delina Ibrahimaj, former head of the state tax authority, will run the finance and economy ministry.
Rama said fighting crime and corruption will be the priority in this third term.
The new government forecasts economic growth of around 4% annually following fall of 3.3% in 2020 as a result of the pandemic.
Albania is a NATO member and aims to join the European Union one day, but a lack of reforms and hesitation on the part of EU members for more enlargement have slowed down the accession process.

Filed Under: Analiza Tagged With: Florion Goga, Reuters

‘Kosovo’s Mandela’ dies at 82

July 27, 2018 by dgreca

The president has announced three days of mourning/

1 Demaci

PRISTINA (Reuters) – Adem Demaci, a former long-term political prisoner known to ethnic Albanians as the “Mandela of Kosovo” for his resistance to Serb rule, died on Thursday at the age of 82, officials said.

FILE PHOTO: Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) political representative Adem Demaci, addresses a news conference at Ljubljana’s airport. Feb. 19 1999. REUTERS/ Srdjan Zivulovic/File Photo

Demaci spent 28 years in Serb jails during Yugoslav times and was considered a symbol for Kosovo’s majority ethnic Albanians in their struggle with communist Yugoslavia and later Serbia for greater rights and independence for the province.

“It is difficult to accept that our symbol of resistance has passed away. He was always unbreakable and unbending in the face of every challenge,” Kosovo’s President Hashim Thaci wrote on Facebook.

The president has announced three days of mourning.

After he was released from jail in 1990 he served until 1995 as a human rights activist, reporting on abuses carried out under the regime of Slobodan Milosevic

He won the European Parliament’s Andrei Sakharov Prize for his human rights work in 1991.

In the late 1990s Demaci was the head of the political representative office of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) which launched a guerrilla war.

Kosovo seceded from Serbia in 2008, almost a decade after a NATO bombing campaign ousted Serbian forces and ended the crackdown on ethnic Albanians.

It has been recognized by 115 countries, including 23 out of 28 EU members, but its UN membership is being blocked by Serbia’s allies Russia and China.

Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Editing by Andrew Bolton

 

Filed Under: Kronike Tagged With: 'Kosovo's Mandela' dies at 82, Reuters

Reuters: Shqipëria, vendi tërheqës i Mesdheut

August 3, 2014 by dgreca

Në vitin 1984, kur Shqipëria ishte një shtet i izoluar komunist dhe në të njëjtën gjendje të mykur si Koreja e sotme e Veriut, një “Mercedes” ku ndodhej një zyrtar gjerman vizitoi Shqipërinë dhe u nis drejt majës së Llogarasë, me pamje nga gjiri i bregdetit të thyer Jonian të Shqipërisë.
Duke dalë nga makina e tij, Franz Josef Strauss, atëherë drejtues i Bavarisë dhe një prej zyrtarëve perëndimorë të rrallë që shkelte brenda Shqipërisë së Enver Hoxhës, ishte i goditur befas nga ajo që pa. “Kalifornia e Virgjër,” – vërejti ai.
Tri dekada më vonë, Gjiri i Porto Palermos, kështjella dhe ujërat e saj të thellë blu janë një nga tërheqjet kryesore turistike të vendit, të botuar në gazeta dhe në listat e para të faqeve të internetit në Europë, për ta vizituar atë, pa hezitim. Pasi u vendosën anije ushtarake dhe nëndetëse, Porto Palermo ishte e mbyllur për publikun nën regjimin e Hoxhës. Ajo u hap nja dy vjet pas rënies së komunizmit në vitin 1991 dhe Shqipëria filloi udhëtimin e saj të kapitalizmit.
Në ditët e sotme, gjiri merr sharm edhe prej izolimit, i vendosur vetëm nën një rrugë me dy korsi gjatë bregdetit dhe i fton të huajt të mësojnë sesi ai ishte i ndaluar dikur. Gjermanë, çekë dhe turistë hungarezë dalin dhe bëjnë banjë edhe lakuriq.
“Askush nuk i shqetëson ata, për asgjë,”- tha një kujdestar i gjirit, Klearko Koçi. Zona është e pasur me histori, mite dhe legjenda, dhe shtrohet në pjesën e një vijë bregdetare që zhduket në lartësitë që rriten, por ende e paprekur nga ato të tjerat. Vetëm poshtë rrugës, një shkëmb i vogël arrin tek një ishull shkëmbor i rrumbullakët, në mes të dy kepeve të përqafuar nga ujërat blu në të dyja anët. Në ishull ulet në kështjellë dhe besohet nga disa të jetë ndërtuar nga sunduesi osmano-shqiptar Ali Pasha në fillim të shekullit të 19-të, rrethuar me pemë dhe shkurre të ngjyrave të gjalla, të kundërta me blunë e thellë. – “Pamje më e mirë është ballkoni ku nusja e re e Aliut e përdorte për të kreh flokët e saj,” – thotë Koçi.
“Detarë! Lundroni anijet brenda gjirit ku nuk ka erë. U ndërtua nga gratë e Himarës të jetë e butë me miqtë dhe e ashpër me armiqtë. Unë i përkas Zotit të detit dhe tokës, Ali Pasha,”- deklaronte në një pllakë, që dikur qëndronte në portën e saj.
Informuar nga legjenda lokale dhe këngët, Koçi thotë se Pasha ndërtoi kështjellën mbi rrënojat e manastirit të Shën Nikollës. Studiuesit e huaj, megjithatë, thonë se struktura ishte fillimisht një fortesë veneciane përdorur për të mbrojtur rrugët tregtare.
Luani i Shën Markut të vërtetë, paraqitur në një pllakë nuk gjendet më, sepse është vjedhur në vitin 1997, kur Shqipëria u zhyt në anarki me rënien e skemave piramidale dhe vendi u bë i njohur si një “Perëndim i Egër” i Ballkanit. Por tani është anëtar i NATO-s dhe një kandidat për anëtarësim në Bashkimin Evropian.
Në anën e ishullit, shtrati i detit mbart shenjat e peshkimit me eksploziv ku mblidhen midhje. E ndërtuar prej guri, kalaja lejon dritë përmes dritareve të vogla. Pasi kalojnë derën kryesore, vizitorët gjejnë rrugën e tyre në krye të saj, ose në ballkon nëpërmjet arkadës nga një sallë kryesore. Drejtimi nga Italia janë një shenjë e okupimit të saj gjatë Luftës së Dytë Botërore.
Turisti anglez Danny Foster, duke e vizituar me familjen e tij, kërkoi të shihte se kush luftoi dhe pse, në një vend të tillë të qetë. – “Është udhëtim mbrapa në kohë,” – tha ai. – “Kurrë nuk kam prekur pikëpamje të tilla të bukura. Shumë tërheqëse.”
Në 1803, Ali Pasha ia ofroi kështjellën dhe portin British Royal Navy. Një dijetar britanik ka shkruar se ajo kishte deri në pesë topa atë kohë. Në një rrip të ngushtë toke që lidh kështjellën, dallohen kazermat e ushtrisë ende mbajnë parulla me bojë të kuqe të periudhës komuniste – “Rroftë miqësia shqiptaro-kineze” dhe “Rroftë Partia Komuniste e Kinës dhe shokut Mao Ce Dun”,- lexohen ende në muret e këtyre ndërtesave.
Pemë lisi në majën e një mali duken prapa gjirit. Pemë agave janë importuar nga Kina dhe janë mbjellë me sa duket për të shkurajuar erën me fundet e tyre të trasha. Hoxha ishte tejet i shqetësuar për mundësinë e një pushtimi të huaj.
Për fat të keq, Porto Palermo ka ende për të fituar kujdesin që meriton që të nxjerrë në pah thesaret e saj përtej tregimeve të pasionuara të një kujdestari të magjepsur nga gurët e tij, pemët dhe lulet. Zamir Dedej, kreu i një Organizate jo Qeveritare shqiptare, punon me World Wildlife për të mbrojtur zonën, kështu që ofron një të ardhme të qëndrueshme në turizëm. Ata vërejnë se nevojitet një operacion i dytë i rritjes së peshkut në gji, si një gjë të neveritshme sepse sekrecionet e tyre të ndotin atë. Auron Tare, kreu i një agjencie të sapo krijuar bregdetare, tha se Kalaja dhe një tunel nëntokësor kilometra i gjatë, ndërtuar në kohën e komunizmit, do të sigurojë tërheqjet kryesore të turistëve. “Qeveria shqiptare ka plane për të tërhequr turistë të shumtë deri gjirin e Porto Palermos, veçanërisht ata që vijnë me anije, jahte, apo për kënaqësi, të cilët vinin më parë deri këtu rrotull, por nuk ndalet,” tha Tare për Reuters. Qeveria ka mobilizuar ushtrinë dhe vullnetarë për të pastruar mbeturinat nga rrugët dhe plazhet. Në një plazh jugor këtë javë, një grup turistësh britanikë pastruar plazhin, ashtu si vendasit, për të kthyer bregdetit edhe më tërheqës se herë të tjera. Në Porto Palermo, pushuesi holandez, Agnes Kuijl, tha se familja e saj kishte ardhur duke udhëtuar në shtëpinë e tyre përmes Greqisë dhe kishte gjetur në dy vendet një eksperiencë të madhe. Të huaj të shumtë kanë me automjete që përdoren edhe si shtëpi dhe kanë ngritur kampe në Porto Palermo. Pushuesit përshtaten mirë me moton e re që Shqipëria ka përdorur për të promovuar veten në botë: “Shqipëria është e lirë”,- thotë Kuijl, teksa kjo moto lexohet në rrugët e bregdetit shqiptar.

Filed Under: Kulture Tagged With: i Mesdheut, Reuters, shqiperia, vendi tërheqë

Hundreds of cannabis workers fall ill in Albanian village

November 4, 2013 by dgreca

By Benet Koleka/Reuters/

TIRANA (Reuters) – Doctors in Albania say hundreds of people have fallen ill from harvesting cannabis in a lawless region that for years has been out of bounds to police, Albanian media reported on Friday.
The hospital in the southern city of Gjirokaster said a total of 700 have sought treatment since June for the effects of planting, harvesting, pressing and packing the cannabis in the village of Lazarat.
“In the last two months about seven to eight people arrive in the emergency ward each day and many more have come earlier with disorders from hashish,” Gjirokaster doctor Hysni Lluka told Top Channel television.
Some 2,000 people, including poor Roma who have set up a camp near Lazarat, have been working for months in the cannabis fields, where producers pay eight euros per 10 kilos of processed drug.
The illegal practice has flourished in Lazarat over two decades of turbulent transition in Albania since the end of hardline communist rule.
Lazarat has become a byword for lawlessness in Albania, with cannabis growers brazen enough to shoot at police officers who venture near their fields.
Aerial pictures suggest some 60 hectares have been cultivated in Lazarat with 300,000 cannabis plants, capable of yielding 500 metric tons (551.156 ton) or half the total cannabis production in Albania.
Lluka, the doctor, said women and teenagers, who account for some 40 percent of those working in Lazarat, had sought help for bouts of vomiting, stomach pain, irregular heart beats and high blood pressure. Last week one patient came in a critical state.
Lazarat is a stronghold of the Democratic Party, which was in power for eight years before losing a June election to the Socialist Party. The Democrats promised to tackle Albania’s cannabis problem but police shied away from striking Lazarat.
Artan Didi, the new director of police appointed by the Socialists, has said the police will no longer “back down to Lazarat”.
The U.S. State Department‘s international narcotics control report for 2013 listed Albania as a transit and destination country for cannabis, heroin and cocaine.
Authorities seized more than 21 tons of cannabis in 2012, double the amount of the previous year, it said, although that could reflect increased production.

Filed Under: Kronike Tagged With: Benet Koleka, cannabis, Lazarat, Reuters

Albanians protest after Serbia takes down memorial

January 23, 2013 by dgreca

(Reuters) – The monument in the town of Presevo was removed on Sunday by 200 masked Serbian police officers backed by armored personnel carriers. It bore the names of 27 ethnic Albanian guerrillas killed during a 2000 insurgency in the Presevo Valley, a spillover from the 1999 war in Kosovo, Serbia’s former province.

Thousands of ethnic Albanians protested in Serbia on Monday against the removal of a memorial to fallen guerrilla fighters and dozens of Serb graves in neighboring Kosovo were damaged in apparent retaliation.

Albania and Kosovo, which has an ethnic-Albanian majority, condemned the decision to remove the memorial, erected by the ethnic Albanian-dominated local council. Serbia, a candidate to join the European Union, said it would not be “humiliated”.

In Presevo, one of Serbia’s poorest regions bordering Kosovo and Macedonia, protesters waving Albanian flags and banners reading: “Stop discrimination” and “Europe, open your eyes”.

“The government says these men were terrorists, but people see them as heroes who defended their homes,” said Riza Halimi, a ethnic-Albanian parliamentary deputy.

The Presevo Valley conflict followed a Serbian counter-insurgency war in Kosovo, which ended in 78 days of NATO air strikes in 1999 to wrest control of the province from Belgrade.

Albanians in the Presevo Valley fought to unite with Kosovo, but laid down their arms under a NATO-brokered peace deal. Serbia pledged greater rights and economic opportunity for the impoverished south, but progress has been patchy.

Kosovo declared independence in 2008, but is not recognized by Serbia.

Kosovo warned removal of the memorial could undermine EU-mediated talks between it and Serbia aimed at normalizing relations. The talks are key to Serbia’s bid to join the EU.

On Monday, authorities in Kosovo said about 60 gravestones had been demolished at Serb cemeteries in the western town of Prizren and eastern village of Klokot.

Police said shots were fired at a memorial to Serbs killed during the 1998-99 war in the western enclave of Gorazdevac and that a monument to World War Two communist fighters had been destroyed in the eastern town of Vitina.

Police stepped up security around Serb Orthodox cemeteries.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which had been mediating to find a compromise on the memorial, said the decision to remove it had “undercut” the negotiations and appealed for calm.

Albania issued a statement saying the memorial was erected to honor “heroes of the Albanian nation” who had fought against late Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic, ousted in October 2000.

“The racist, anti-Albanian legacy of Slobodan Milosevic is alive and dominates the official policy of Belgrade,” it said.

Serbia’s Prime Minister Ivica Dacic told reporters: “We are determined not to violate anybody’s human, national and civic rights, but no one has the right to humiliate Serbia.”       ***

200 Serbian police remove Albanian rebel memorial UCPMB in south Serbia

 

(Reuters) – More than 200 heavily armed and masked Serbian police took down a memorial to ethnic Albanian guerrillas in Serbia’s south overnight, trying to end a row that has highlighted still-simmering tension in the region.

Security forces deployed armoured personnel carriers to cordon off the main square in the southern, mainly Albanian, town of Presevo, and hauled away the memorial bearing the names of 27 guerrillas who died during an insurgency in the region in 2001, a Reuters reporter at the scene said on Sunday.

The scale of the operation, which followed weeks of threats and counter-threats between Serbian government officials and local ethnic Albanians, highlighted how fragile the situation remains in the south, which borders Serbia’s former Kosovo province.

The government of Kosovo condemned the removal of the memorial, saying it “undermines the dialogue process to normalise relations between Kosovo and Serbia.”

Majority Albanian Kosovo declared independence in 2008 almost a decade after NATO air strikes wrested control of the territory from Belgrade to end a brutal Serbian counter-insurgency war.

The 2000-2001 insurgency in the southern Serbian regions of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac was widely seen as a spillover of the Kosovo conflict, as ethnic Albanians in Serbia’s south pressed to join newly free Kosovo.

NATO brokered a peace deal, and Serbia pledged greater rights and economic opportunity for the south. But progress has been patchy, and southern Serbia remains the poorest region of a country now aiming to join the European Union.

Ethnic Albanians regard the guerrillas as heroes. Serbia says they are terrorists.

“Serbia has shown enough patience, but it has also sent a clear and strong message that the law must be respected and that no one is stronger than the state,” Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said in comments carried by the state news agency Tanjug.

There were no incidents during the police operation.

There are other monuments to the guerrillas in the area, but the one removed overnight held pride of place on Presevo’s central square, in front of the local council building. Dacic had described it as a provocation.

Tensions in the region, known as the Presevo Valley, have the potential to complicate EU-mediated talks between Serbia and Kosovo aimed at normalising their relations five years after Kosovo declared independence.

In a statement, the government of Kosovo said it called on Albanians in the area to stay calm.

“This action by the government of Serbia is another proof that the hate against Albanians that live in the Presevo Valley is still alive,” the Kosovo government said in a statement.

Serbia does not recognise Kosovo as sovereign, but is under pressure to cooperate with the new country before the EU moves ahead with Belgrade’s bid to join the bloc.( REUTERS)

 

Filed Under: Kronike Tagged With: after serbia, albanian Protest, memorial, Reuters, takes down

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