The Struggle of Being Gay in Albania | 2015

Dec 8, 2015 | Up until the mid-90s if you were openly gay in Albania, you would be sent to prison. Many homosexuals stil face bigotry and violence, even in their own homes. …

There is so much anger in this world. It is so sad. Tragic, in fact. The world is full of people who think, believe – nay! are convinced – that they know exactly how people should be and live. In fact, so arrogant are they that they behave as though they had a hotline to the ‘Papa in the Sky’, the Creator, the Power behind all things. The Power that is said to be omnipotent yet appears more and more impotent with each passing day, as so many natural catastrophes this year attest to.

Naturally, the answer to this is clear and simple: Live and let live! As long as people don’t trouble you, refrain from troubling them! Let them seek their pleasures in a way that suits them. Therefore, let them live in a way that suits them. Let them seek their own happiness; and then you seek yours. Life is far, far too short for all this hatred and strife.

Death comes to us all. Often far more quickly than one could ever imagine. One minute you are here; the next, you are not. I have personally witnessed someone dying right in front of me. Believe you me, a person’s last breath is drawn in the twinkling of an eye. That could be yours or mine. Then, to state the obvious, it's over.

It therefore behoves us all to be as tolerant as we can be. And if someone behaves in a way that displeases you, look the other way! If you happen to be a religious person and believe that the person in question is behaving in a way that is displeasing to your God, then God will have a way of dealing with that person in the next life. That is what the Day of Judgement is all about.

So, cultivate tolerance for the sake of social harmony. For as Jesus told us: He who is without sin, cast the first stone!

Homophobia is a sickness. – © Mark Alexander

Albania Hit by Most Severe Earthquake in Decades | DW News

At least 13 people have been killed in Albania and hundreds more injured in the most powerful earthquake to hit the country in decades. The 6.4 magnitude quake struck 30 kilometers northwest of the capital Tirana, causing buildings to collapse and sending panicked residents out into the streets. It's the second earthquaketo have hit the country in the past two months.

Isis: Threat on Balkans to 'Avenge Muslims'

ANSAMED: 'In Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania we will arrive with explosives'

TIRANA - The Balkans are being threatened by Isis, which has announced it wants ''revenge for the humiliation suffered by Muslims in Kosovo, Albania and Macedonia''. ''We will arrive with explosives'', said the Albanian national Abu Muqatil (Al Kosovi), a Kosovan Islamic militant[s] who claims to represent the jihadist group in the region.

In a long video released by Al Hayat media center, the main 'production house' of the terror organization born in Syria and Iraq, the announcement of future attacks in the Balkan region is entrusted to Albanian-language militants. » | Friday, June 05, 2015

Albanians Could Be On Their Way to Britain as David Cameron to Agree EU Move

Government would back Albania's plans to enter EU

SUNDAY EXPRESS: MORE than three million Albanians could be free to move over to Britain after David Cameron backed plans for the country to join the European Union.

Despite Cameron previously saying he didn't want poorer nations to join the EU, Government sources have confirmed Britain would back Albania's campaign to gain "candidate" status in a vote next week.

It comes after fresh unrest over Mr Cameron's pledge to get a grip on Europe.

Mr Cameron has previously said he wants EU rules in place to block movement from new EU countries until their average income is in line with western European nations.

During the last census, Albania had a population of 2,931,977, currently 17 per cent of whom are unemployed. The average monthly wage is £305. » | Helen Barratt | Sunday, June 15, 2014

Tony Blair Signed Up to Help Albania to Join EU

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Albania has signed up Tony Blair as an adviser and lobbyist in its uphill struggle to join the 28-nation European Union.

Edi Rama, the Prime Minister of the formerly Communist country, said Mr Blair would be “personally, totally and voluntarily” helping his government.

Mr Blair, who was Labour Prime Minister between 1997 and 2007, is considered to be a hero in Albania, a formerly Communist state of just three million people.

He was involved in Nato intervention in Kosovo in 1999, where ethnic Albanians were being attacked by Serb forces.

At the time, many children in the country were named “Tonibler” in his honour.

At a joint briefing in Tirana, Mr Blair – who is not being paid in his new role - said joining the EU is the “right and proper” prospect for the former Communist country.

He said: “The orientation toward Europe is immensely important, and personally I'd love to see this country join the family of European nations.”

Albania first applied for EU candidate status in 2009, when it joined NATO. Read on and comment » | Christopher Hope, Senior Political Correspondent | Thursday, October 03, 2013

My comment:

Tony Blair is committed to the Islamisation of Europe, obviously. Albania is a Muslim majority nation.

Is this a suitable nation to bring into the EU? If I remember correctly, Tone also wants Turkey in the Union. What is this meddlesome man trying to do to us?

The sooner this man retires from politics, the better it will be for all of us. – © Mark

This comment also appears here

Albania's Last Communist Leader Ramiz Alia Dies
HOUSTON CHRONICLE: TIRANA, Albania — Albania's last communist president Ramiz Alia — credited with opening one of the world's most isolationist political systems to democracy — has died. He was 85.

Mimoza Kociu, a spokeswoman for president Bamir Topi, said Alia died at about 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) of lung complications.

Alia assumed leadership of the communist party in 1985 following the death of his longtime friend, dictator Enver Hoxha. Following a series of massive student protests, he introduced political and economic reforms that paved the way for the country's first free elections in 1991. » | AP | Friday, October 07, 2011

NZZ ONLINE: Früherer albanischer Präsident Alia gestorben: Erster frei gewählter Präsident des Landes » | ddp | Freitag 07. Oktober 2011

WIKI: Ramiz Tafë Alia »

Albania Braces for Fresh Protests
THE AUSTRALIAN: THE mood of revolt has spread beyond the Arab world to the Balkans.

The Albanian opposition gearing up for another anti-government protest today and the police warning of a high risk of violence.

The opposition Socialist Party said the rally was aimed at honouring the three victims of violent clashes in last week's anti-government demonstration. Protesters have been calling on the government to resign, claiming corruption and electoral fraud.

"I want to assure you it will be peaceful and quiet, there will be flowers and candles," Socialist leader Edi Rama said yesterday.
"Everything will be normal, not provoking anyone and not being provoked by anyone."

Police said the demonstration was a danger to national security, and warned that they could not guarantee the rally's safety. >>> AFP | Saturday, January 29, 2011

Related in English, auf deutsch

Schuldzuweisungen nach blutiger Demo in Albanien
BERLINER ZEITUNG: Tirana - Rund 20 000 Menschen waren gekommen. Die Opposition in Albanien hatte zur Demonstration gegen Korruption in der Regierung von Ministerpräsident Sali Berisha aufgerufen. Die aufgeheizte Stimmung schlug am Freitagabend schnell in Gewalt um.

Zuerst feuerte die Polizei noch mit Gummigeschossen, dann schoss sie scharf. Die Demonstranten warfen mit Steinen und Molotow-Cocktails. Die albanische Führung und die Polizei gaben der Opposition die Schuld an der Gewalt.

Die Einsatzkräfte hätten zurückhaltend agiert und alles nötige getan, um die öffentliche Sicherheit zu gewährleisten, hieß es. Eine Untersuchungskommission sei eingesetzt worden, um die Todesfälle bei der Demonstration aufzuklären. Drei Menschen waren aus nächster Nähe erschossen worden. Albaniens Ministerpräsident Sali Berisha warf der Opposition einen Putschversuch vor. Diese habe versucht, gewaltsam die Macht an sich zu reißen. «Jetzt müssen sie alle die Konsequenzen tragen», sagte Berisha am Samstag. >>> © dpa | Samstag, 22. Januar 2011

Verbunden >>>

Tirana: Tote bei Protesten gegen albanische Regierung
WELT ONLINE: Blutige Proteste in Albanien: Bei gewaltsamen Zusammenstößen zwischen Polizei und Demonstranten in Tirana sind mindestens drei Menschen ums Leben gekommen.

Mit heftigen Protesten forderten in der albanischen Hauptstadt Tirana mehr als 20.000 Anhänger der Opposition die Ausrufung von Neuwahlen. Die Demonstrationen forderten unter anderem drei Tote. Foto: Welt Online
Bei heftigen Protesten in der albanischen Hauptstadt Tirana sind mindestens drei Menschen erschossen und Dutzende weitere verletzt worden. Mehr als 20.000 Anhänger der Opposition versammelten sich in der Innenstadt und forderten die Regierung zur Ausrufung von Neuwahlen auf. Nach Angaben der Polizei warfen einige Demonstranten mit Steinen und setzten Autos in Brand. Die Sicherheitskräfte reagierten mit Tränengas, Plastikgeschossen und Wasserwerfern. Etwa 30 Zivilpersonen und 25 Polizisten wurden verletzt, wie die Gesundheitsbehörden mitteilten. >>> Autor: Llazar Semini | Freitag, 21. Januar 2011

Islam is such a peaceful religion, don’t you think? Jesus = Prince of Peace; Muhammad = Prince of Strife. – © Mark

Verbunden >>>

Albania's Islamic Rebirth

Islam in Albania

Muslim Albania

Welcome 2 Albania

WIKI: Albania >>>

WIKI: Tirana >>>

Zwecks EU-Annäherung: Albanien will Ehe für Homosexuelle einführen
WELT ONLINE: Das albanische Parlament soll nach der Sommerpause die gleichgeschlechtliche Ehe legalisieren. Premierminister Sali Berisha will mit dem Gesetz Europa imponieren. Doch der Vorschlag ist umstritten. In dem muslimischen Land war Homosexualität bis 1995 verboten und ist bis heute nicht gesellschaftlich akzeptiert.

Als Meister der Kehrtwende hat sich Albaniens Premier Sali Berisha in seiner Karriere vom Leibarzt des kommunistischen Autokraten Enver Hodscha bis zum konservativen Regierungschef oft erwiesen. Doch mit seinem jüngsten Husarenstück überrumpelte der 74-Jährige selbst seine Anhänger. Ausgerechnet der Mann, der sonst für traditionelle Familienwerte streitet, kündigte ein Gesetz zur Legalisierung der Homo-Ehe an, das das Parlament nach der Sommerpause absegnen soll.

Bis 1995 waren homosexuelle Beziehungen in Albanien strafrechtlich verboten. Die Aussicht, dass nun ausgerechnet Tirana sich zum Vorkämpfer der Gleichberechtigung von Homosexuellen auf dem Balkan aufschwingen könnte, stößt bei den 3,1 Millionen Einwohnern auf eher skeptischen Widerhall. „Dies ist eine Schande, kein Gesetz“, schäumt Shkelqim Muca, der Vorsitzende von Albaniens muslimischer Gemeinschaft. Die Ehe vereine zwei Menschen unterschiedlicher Geschlechter – und sei für gleichgeschlechtliche Verbindungen „nicht zu akzeptieren“, ärgert sich Monsignor George Frendo von der katholischen Kirche.

In den Staaten der Region haben Homosexuelle einen eher schweren Stand. Selbst beim EU-Anwärter Kroatien bekannte kürzlich rund die Hälfte befragter Homosexueller, dass sie schon einmal zum Opfer von verbaler und physischer Gewalt geworden seien. 80 Prozent verheimlichen ihre sexuelle Orientierung. Bürgerrechtsgruppen in Albaniens Hauptstadt Tirana bezeichnen die von Berisha angekündigte Vorlage denn auch als „wichtigen Schritt zur Emanzipation der albanischen Gesellschaft“. >>> Von Thomas Roser | Donnerstag, 20. August 2009

An Australian’s Path to Jihad
CBS NEWS - Adelaide: (AP) When young Australian David Hicks got an offer from a Saudi friend to go to Osama bin Laden's camps in Afghanistan in December 2000, he did not think twice.

"So many of today's Muslims want to meet bin Laden but cannot, and after only being Muslim for 16 months Allah has given me the chance to," he gushed in a letter to his mother. "Please don't worry."

Within six months, Hicks - who took the name Mohammad Dawood - had met bin Laden at least 20 times and was full of praise for the al Qaeda leader.

"Lovely brother, everything only for the sake of Islam," Hicks wrote to his mother in May 2001. "Only reason non-Muslims call him the most wanted terrorist is because he has the money to take action, which was given to him by Allah."

The meetings with bin Laden are mentioned in Hicks' account of his journey from a working-class background in the central Australian city of Adelaide to Islamic jihad, made public for the first time last week.

Hicks was the first person convicted before a U.S. military tribunal at Guantanamo, and is now free in Australia after serving a seven-year sentence for supporting terrorism.

Hicks, who is said to no longer be a practicing Muslim, is barred under a plea deal from speaking publicly. But Federal Magistrate Warren Donald released his letters and a diary in court to back his ruling that Hicks is still a terror threat.

The ruling puts Hicks under restrictions until the end of the year, requiring him to report to police twice a week and live at an approved address.

While the documents are at least seven years old, they offer firsthand, detailed descriptions of the intensive training undergone by would-be terrorists, as well as insight into the mind of a convert to extremist Islam.

In the papers, the Australian comes across as both an eager foot soldier and a wide-eyed, naive adventurer, whose notes on his military training are as detailed and casual as if he were studying high school physics.

Hicks, now 32, converted to Islam in 1999 after watching television reports of the conflict in Albania. He went to Albania to join the Kosovo Liberation Army, a Muslim group fighting against Serbian forces, but when he got there the conflict was over.

He then trained in Pakistan with Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, an al Qaeda-affiliated group that is fighting for the independence of Muslim-dominated Kashmir from India.

He sent home a notebook filled with details and diagrams on how to use numerous weapons, including mortars, ballistic missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns. He also learned how to carry out attacks against heavily guarded targets and blow up a tank.

"The training was very intense," he wrote to his family in August 2000. "Extreme fitness, which I gave up smoking, military tactics and technics (sic), religious knowledge and weapons training."

But as time went on, Hicks became disillusioned with Pakistan as not Islamic enough, and impatient that he was not being included in big military operations. Letters Detail Australian's Path To Jihad: Young David Hicks Felt Honored To Meet Bin Laden After Just 16 Months As A Muslim >>> | Australia, Feb. 28, 2008

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Dear Albanians: Bush’s Cheap Watch Was in His Pocket All the Time!
Can you tell the class of your leader by the value of his watch?
TIMESONLINE: If there’s one thing worse than being branded a nation of thieves, it’s the suggestion that even your most powerful friend doesn’t trust you.

President Bush did not have his watch stolen when he greeted adoring crowds in Albania, it emerged yesterday. He simply slipped it off his wrist and into his pocket – a truth that has left many Albanians deeply offended.

Footage confirmed the White House’s version of events: that as Mr Bush glad-handed crowds during his ground-breaking visit on Sunday, he deftly slipped his Timex Indiglo off his left wrist and popped into his trouser pocket. In search of lost time: the President had it in his pocket (more) By Tim Reid

Mark Alexander

Bush in Albania: His Watch Is Stolen
With thanks to Jihad Watch for drawing this to my attention:


Rätselraten um Bushs verschwundene Uhr

Mark Alexander

Hero’s Welcome for Bush in Albania
BBC: President George W Bush has become the first US leader to visit Albania, where he enjoyed a hero's welcome. Bush greeted as hero in Albania (more)

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Bush met as a hero in Albania

Mark Alexander