MAK-NEWS 04/10/95 (M.I.C.)

From: "M.I.C." <mic@ITL.MK>

Macedonian Information Centre Directory

CONTENTS

SKOPJE, OCTOBER 4, 1995 (MIC)

[01] PRESIDENT IN A DELICATE SITUATION

A delicate five-hour operation was performed on President Kiro Gligorov yesterday, in the Surgical clinics in Skopje, at around 13.30 hours. According to this morning's report of the Macedonian Radio, a couple of delicate and difficult operations connected with his meninx and cerebral haemorrhage.

The combined team of doctors from Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece and professor Antonijevich from Belgrade diagnosed serious damages to the sight and bodily injuries. It is unofficially announced that the President's health condition will be in a delicate phase in the next couple of days, and new operations on the President's right eye are quite likely, perhaps even during today.

According to the Macedonian Radio, the doctors have announced that the consequences from the suffered injuries have been eliminated with surgery. The intervention passed with stable vital functions, and the intensive care is continuing.

The health conditions of the other three victims is unchanged, Jordan Atanasovski and Klime Korobar are stable, while Hristo Hristomanov is in a more serious condition.

The team of doctors has issued a bulletin on the health condition of the President of the Republic Kiro Gligorov, who was the target of yesterday's assassination attempt. The bulletin says: due to injuries to the area oef the head and the locomotoric system, the President has had to undergo a difficult operation.

The President endured the operation and anesthesia stably, maintaining normal lung and cardiocirculatory functions. Considering the area of the injuries and the length of the operation, all the necessary and standard measures of intensive care have been taken, which maintained the vital functions in stable physiological values during the night and the morning hours. The intensive care is on-going, is emphasized in the bulletin on the health condition of the President of the Republic of Macedonia Kiro Gligorov.

[02] STOJAN ANDOV TO REPLACE GLIGOROV TEMPORARILY

In view of the fact that the President of the Republic of Macedonia Kiro Gligorov, following the appalling attempted assassination on him on October 3, this year, is temporarily prevented from carrying out his duties, on the basis of article 82, item 3 from the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia, he will be replaced in carrying out the function President of the Republic of Macedonia by the Speaker of Parliament Stojan Andov.

In accordance with item 4 of the same article of the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia, Stojan Andov will simultaneously continue to carry out the function Speaker of Parliament, however, without the right to decision-making, the Cabinet of the President of the Republic announced.

[03] IRREGULAR GOVERNMENT SESSION

The Macedonian Government held an irregular session yesterday afternoon, to discuss developments imposed by the attempted assassination on President Gligorov.

The Government was informed about the course of events and certain ministries were instructed to take appropriate measures and establish full control and supervision of the situation. Furthermore, the Government has approved and is organizing the inclusion of foreign medical teams of which some have already arrived, and has accepted the help offered by experts from a couple of friendly countries for battling terrorism, is said in the announcement of the Information Secretariat.

[04] THE EXPLOSIVE WAS MANUFACTURED ABROAD

"According to the investigation conducted at the scene of the attempted assassination on President Kiro Gligorov, I can say that the assassins probably used an explosive with cumulative action, directed in one direction," says Ivan Jovanovich, engineer working in "Suvenir" from Samokov on mine-explosives.

"In cases such as this, it is not at all necessary to use larger quantities of explosive, since even smaller quantities of directed explosives are sufficient to kill a person or to create an explosion in which the surrounding buildings, within a radius of 30 meters will all have broken windows.

Otherwise, according to my opinion, the assassins used hexogene octagon or plastic explosives, which are highly explosive materials. The bomb was obviously activated by remote control, but it would not have been necessary for the assassins to have been directly near the spot, since the remote control can activate a bomb even from quite distant objects, such as, for instance, the object of the Old Railway Station. I'd like to say that the mentioned types of explosives are not manufactured in Macedonia, however, they can be found in all neighboring countries and are easy to come by on the European black market," Jovanovich says.

[05] U.S. CONDEMNS ATTACK ON MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT

The spokesman of the U.S. State Department Nicholas Burns gave a statement at the briefing in Washington about yesterday's attempted assassination on the President of the Republic of Macedonia Kiro Gligorov.

Burns stressed the U.S. concern over this terrorist act and emphasized that Washington would not allow this to have a bearing on the U.S. help to the nations in the Balkans to create peace and stability. "We certainly will not allow this crime to deter us from our determination to help the people of the Balkans achieve peace and stability and to help the United States achieve a fully cooperative and strong relationship with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia."

[06] PAMPHLETS WITH OFFENSIVE CONTENTS

On the occasion of the Convention for Macedonia, scheduled for October 4, at 19.00 hours in front of the Cathedral church "St. Clement of Ohrid" in Skopje, pamphlets were scattered around the houses and apartments in Kichevo early yesterday morning, calling on the citizens to take part in, as it is stated "the peaceful protest against the betrayal of the symbol on the Macedonian flag, the Macedonian minority in the other countries, and the name, which is definitely lost with the accord, signed by the current authorities, which are preparing even bigger betrayals," "Nova Makedonija" writes today.

Following the news about the terrorist act on President Kiro Gligorov, a number of pamphlets with the aforementioned contents were pinned up on posts in the town by unknown persons, with the following words added in handwriting: "Kiro died, may he not rest in peace."

[07] MACEDONIAN-GREEK NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUING

The delegation of the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Macedonia, led by Assistant Minister Ljupcho Arsovski started preliminary talks in Athens yesterday with an appropriate delegation of the Greek Foreign Ministry, led by ambassador Dimitros Kipreos.

The talks are focusing on the practical application of the interim accord between the two countries, reached on September 13 in New York. The daily agenda also includes issues on urgent practical measures for the free movement of people and goods between the two countries, as well as questions on the opening of liaisons offices in Skopje and Athens.

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