Page 37 - AACL 25th anniversary

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vic League
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1995
1995
1996
February The Civic League
July DioGuardi and Cloyes
July Cloyes Testifies Before
1995
August DioGuardi and Cloyes Join
January 1997
Cultivates the Jewish Lobby for Kosova
Attend Opening in Vlore of the U.S-Albanian Marine Archaeological Project
Congress on Behalf of Democracy in Albania
The Civic League makes the addition of Albania to the “Righteous among Nations” section of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum a reality. Three Jewish congressmen, Gilman, Lantos, and Nadler, co-chair and speak at a League- sponsored ceremony and reception commemorating the installation. The connection is made for the first time between the ethnic cleansing in Kosova and the genocide of the Jewish people in the minds of Jewish American leaders.
DioGuardi and Cloyes participate in a ceremony in Vlore to mark the signing of the U.S.-Albanian cooperation agreement for underwater archaeological exploration of the Albanian Coast—a project that they facilitated between the Institute of Archaeology in Tirana and the University of Miami.
Cloyes testifies at a Congressional hearing on human rights and democracy in Albania and exposes the role of Nicholas Gage of the Panepirotic Federation and the Albanian Communists in attempting to overthrow the Berisha government.
1995
February DioGuardi and Cloyes Help
Congressman Gilman on an Official Visit to Albania
Gilman Reintroduces Resolution Calling for Albanian Equality in Macedonia
A Civic League Delegation Monitors Second Round of Presidential Elections in Albania
Open the University of Tetova
DioGuardi and Cloyes join Congressman Ben Gilman for an official visit in Tirana with Albanian President Sali Berisha and his cabinet to discuss national security issues for the United States and Albania in the Balkans.
The Civic League gets Congressman Gilman to immediately reintroduce the Resolution for the University of Tetova and Albanian rights in Macedonia (H.Con. Res. 36).
DioGuardi, Cloyes, and Yugoslav dissident Mihaljo Mihaljov travel to Macedonia at the invitation of Albanian leaders there to monitor the opening of the University of Tetova on February 15.
1995
On the morning of their departure, the Macedonian government attacks the university, killing a student, wounding hundreds, and jailing professors.
the Case in Turkey Against Milosevic and for the Independence of Kosova
September DioGuardi and Cloyes Make
June 1997
March 1995
Gilman Introduces a Resolution Making the Lifting of Sanctions Against Serbia Conditional on Improvements in Kosova
DioGuardi and Cloyes travel to Istanbul, Turkey, to speak about the Balkan conflict and to make the case for the independence of Kosova at the National Press Center and at a seminar with key members of the faculty of international affairs at the University of Marmara.
DioGuardi and Cloyes lead a Civic League delegation to Albania to monitor the second round of presidential elections and to attend rallies and press conferences with the democratic leaders. Under questionable circumstances, the Berisha government loses the election and the Socialist Party under Fatos Nano comes to power.
Congressman Gilman introduces a resolution (H.Con.Res. 1360), conditioning the lifting of sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro on improvements in Kosova. The resolution details the horrors of the occupation and states that “the rights of the people of Kosova to govern themselves and to establish a separate identity for Kosova must not be denied.”
January 1996
Congress Demands Official Recognition of the University of Tetova and the Release of Jailed Founders
1997
The Civic League brings Arben Xhaferi, Fadil Sulejmani, and Milaim Fejziu to meet with Congressmen Gilman and Traficant and the State Department, following the Macedonian government’s military attack on the cities of Gostivar and Tetova, which left three dead, a hundred wounded, and four hundred jailed.
The Civic League holds a rally outside the UN to demand the release of Gostivar Mayor Rufi Osmani and Tetova Mayor Alajdin Demiri from prison. Afterwards, the delegation meets with the representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in New York about the Macedonian attack on Albanian municipalities and the Serbian occupation of Kosova. In response to an almost universal press blackout in the West, the Civic League produces a videotape entitled “Crisis in Macedonia.”
The Civic League Calls a UN Rally to Protest Crackdown on the University of Tetova by the Macedonian Military
Ben Gilman introduces a resolution calling for the Macedonian government to guarantee the national rights of the Albanian population, to officially recognize the University of Tetova, and to free the university’s imprisoned founders (H. Con. Res. 103).
Responds to the Macedonian Military Attack on Gostivar and Tetova
July The Civic League
Two thousand Albanian Americans flock to the UN for a Civic League-sponsored rally to protest the crackdown on the University of Tetova on February 21. Congressman Gilman addresses the crowd.
June 1996
Congressmen Lantos, Nadler, Gilman, and Traficant speak out on the House floor and on C-SPAN in support of H. Con. Res 103.
1995
1996
May DioGuardi and Cloyes
July A delegation from Macedonia led by Arben Xhaferi comes to Washington
attend Masses at the Vatican and in Albania for “Our Lady of Shkodra”
to discuss increasing threats to the University of Tetova and to meet with the Albanian community in New York. The Civic League sponsors a UN rally in support of the University of Tetova and its jailed founders.
DioGuardi and Cloyes travel to Rome, Genazzano, and Shkodra to commemorate the miracle of “Our Lady of Shkodra” with a large delegation of Albanians from the United States and Europe
88 Saluting Albanian Religious Tolerance in an Age of Intolerance 37