----- Original Message ----- From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, June 17, 2000 6:10 AM Subject: [STOPNATO] NATO War Games In Albania: 16 Countries, 16 Days STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.COM http://www.albaniannews.com Albanian Daily News June 17, 2000 [Skip Javier Solana's comments, below, if you don't have a strong stomach.] War Game Starts Saturday Amid NATO Fever TIRANA - As many as 16 countries will take part in war games that will start in the Albanian territory on Friday with the supervision of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO), the defence ministry said on Thursday. The military exercise codenamed Cooperative Dragon 2000, that will take place from June 17 to July 2, will test the cooperation between joint chief of staffs of the countries in south-eastern Europe. The war-game in the framework of the Partnership for Peace programme will be directed by the Albanian Ministry of Defence and the Staff of the Land Forces for Southeastern Europe in Ismir, Turkey, the ministry said in a press release. The exercise will be staged with the support of Non-Governmental Organisations such as the International Red Cross and UNHCR, it said. At the helm of the operation will be a NATO general and a high ranking Albanian officer, the ministry said. It did not elaborate. Minister Luan Hajdaraga quoted in a press conference NATOs chief Lord George Robertson as saying that NATO considers the war game one of the alliances most important military events. Great Britain, Greece, Turkey, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, will be some of the participating countries of the manoeuvres. Hajdaraga said that the aim of the war game will the step up of operativity and cooperation between NATO and the participating countries. We will operate in the level of joint chiefs of staff, Hajdaraga said. The Albanian army will provide for half of the troops that will participate in the manoeuvres. Details on the war game were sketchy, and ministry officials were reluctant to report on the number of troops, and the operation area. The government badly wants to narrow the gap between NATO and its armed forces. The army is still recovering from the 1997 turmoil, when its barracks were looted and soldiers returning to army bases had no weapons. However, Albania has been awarded a bonus for its cooperative stance during the Kosovo crisis. Prime Minister Ilir Meta said Thursday in parliament hearing session that the government is resolute to participate in the process of transformation of southeastern Europe into a peaceful region and completely integrated into the Euro-Atlantic structures. The government has supported the efforts of the defence ministry to implement the security and defence policy, said Meta. The Premier also said that the ministry should accelerate the modernisation of the army and the preparation of draft laws that will serve as background for a smaller and more effective force. Meta added that the government has intensively cooperated with NATO, presenting the alliance with a plan of action for membership. He said that Albania has been praised for its performance in drafting the security and defence documents, and the steps undertaken in the military reform. Meta pointed to the good cooperation with several NATO member countries in restructuring the armed forces, in education and training of the personnel and logistics. Successful NATO Policy in Balkans Balkan countries, with the exception of, Serbia have been developing in the right direction a year after the NATO airstrikes, EU High Representative for Defence Javier Solana has told CTK. Compare the situation in the Balkans now to the past. Two countries, Bulgaria and Romania, have been discussing their membership in the EU since last December. Three other countries - Albania, Macedonia and Bosnia have started to discuss the possibility to sign agreements on stabilisation and association with the EU. Croatia underwent important democratic changes, Solana said. He called Serbia a black hole, which is developing only slowly and influences the situation in Kosovo and Montenegro. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is surrounded by countries which want to undergo the process of democratisation and they want to look at history from a different perspective, Solana said. Sooner or later the moment comes when this black hole will be filled with light, democracy and hope. Therefore it is necessary that its neighbours move in the right direction, Solana said. He added that the international administration handled the situation in Kosovo well. If the administration manages the general elections in Kosovo in fall, the situation will be even more positive. We need persistence. Nobody expected everything to be normal a year after the air operation, Solana said. The Balkans and Russia are sources of ongoing disputes between the European Commission (EC) and Solana. Solana said that it would be difficult to divide competitions between his office and the commission. It cannot be solved once and forever. We are dealing with dynamic issues and therefore we must be flexible. The triangle formed by the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the EC will always cause tension, which is beautiful about this construction, Solana said. Officers Complete NATO Training As many as 21 officers of the joint chiefs of staff received on Friday diplomas after the completion of a two-year training course here in Albania. Defence officials said this is the first contingent of army officers that was trained in compliance with NATO standards under the supervision of German military. President Rexhep Meidani handed the diplomas to the officers in a ceremony attended by military envoys of foreign countries in Tirana. The return of professionalism and democracy in the Albanian army is not only our desire, but the duty of every military, Meidani said, in an emotional address. As the supreme commander of the army and as a citizen, I pledge my commitment for the fulfillment of this objective. Meidani said the army should keep up with the new tasks such as the fight against terrorism. These challenges necessitate an increase of civilian presence in the army, to bring closer to the people, and the step up of professionalism among the ranks of the military, he added. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages with Yahoo! 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