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MILS NEWS 21/03/96From: "M.I.L.S." <mils@MILS.SPIC.ORG.MK>Macedonian Information Liaison Service DirectoryCONTENTS[01] MILOSHEVIC'S VISIT TO SKOPJE POSTPONED AGAIN[02] ECONOMY COOPERATION MOST IMPORTANT[03] IMPRESSED BY THE PEACE POLICY OF MACEDONIA[04] TRAINING OF MACEDONIAN PILOTS IN TURKEY[05] CONFERENCE ON THE REGIONAL DEFENSE[06] KOSOVO MIGHT BRING TO A NEW CONFLICT IN THE REGION[07] WASHINGTON DETERMINED TO EXTEND NATO TO THE EAST[08] 105 TOWNSHIPS IN MACEDONIA?[09] DIALOGUE WITH THE MACEDONIAN TRADE UNION[10] ABOLISHING THE LAWS[11] INTENSIFYING THE FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS[12] HANDBALL TEAM OF 'PELISTER' DEFEATEDMILS SUPPLEMENT[13] The Situation of Minorities in The Balkans Worrying ('Dnevnik', 21 March 1996)MILS NEWSSkopje, 21 March 1996[01] MILOSHEVIC'S VISIT TO SKOPJE POSTPONED AGAINMacedonian media informed yesterday that, according to President Gligorov's Cabinet sources, the meeting Gligorov- Miloshevic has been postponed, on request of the Serbian President, for the next week. A-1 Television reported that the reason for the postponing was the succession issue. The problem is, allegedly, the formulation in the Agreement on unresolved issues. Namely, the Macedonian part suggested all such issues to be resolved by agreements, and not as the FRY party had proposed, bilaterally.Meanwhile, 'Makfax' agency informed on the confirmation of the FR Yugoslav Foreign Minister, given for the Greek National Television, that Belgrade will soon recognise Macedonia. He said FRY would respect the name which would be agreed on the Macedonian-Greek negotiations in New York. He added that FRY was irritated by the fact that Athens had still not reconised new Yugoslavia and that the visas had still not been abolished. [02] ECONOMY COOPERATION MOST IMPORTANTSpokesman of the Greek Government Dimitris Reppas said yesterday that, in case Athens and Skopje do not reach an agreement on the name issue, Greece will cooperate with Macedonia mostly in the filed of economy, reported 'Makfax'.He added that Greece was interested in the development of the good neighbourly relations, and that Athens and Skopje should end the negotiations on the name as soon as possible. Athens daily 'Elefterotipia' wrote the Greek embargo imposed on Macedonia had limited the possibilities for the bilateral cooperation, which was the reason for the Greek businessmen who visited Skopje recently to return home disappointed. The paper read that Macedonian entrepreneurs have turned to the partners in Bulgaria and Turkey while the embargo was still in force. The daily 'Elefteros Tipos' coments that the opening of the US Embassy in Skopje by the Ambassador Madleine Albright and the appointing of Christopher Robert Hill the first US Ambassador to Macedonia, is a provocation of USA against Greece. The paper also pointed out that this is taking place just before Simitis's visit to Washington and the new round of the negotiations on the name issue, scheduled for April. The paper adds that the newly appointed US Ambassador to Macedonia had provoked diplomatic incidents in the past, by raising the issue of the Albanian minority in Greece. Therefore, according to the paper, one might expect him to act accordingly on the 'claims of Skopje that there is a Macedonian minority in Greece' and that he would take the stand of Gligorov to keep the name Macedonia. Meanwhile, today's Skopje daily 'Dnevnik' informed that Reppas had greeted the refusal of Skopje to accept the former Turkish Premiere Tansu Chiller coming to Macedonia, adding that 'something was changing in Skopje'. [03] IMPRESSED BY THE PEACE POLICY OF MACEDONIAOn the press conference held in Skopje yesterday, the President of the Norvegian Parliament Kirsti Kolegrendl said she was impressed by the Macedonian peace policy. Regarding the contacts with the representatives of the Town Assembly of Tetovo, she said the majority that rules the country should respect the minority. The Albanian minority in Macedonia, according to Kolegrendl, can peacefully solve all the problems.Macedonian President of the Parliament Tito Petkovski, who was also at the press conference, expressed his hope for the economy cooperation between Macedonia and Norway to be intensified. At the moment, it was said, the cooperation is rather modest, as only one Norwegian company participates in the construction of a woter power station. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party of Macedonia informed that they had not been invited to the meeting with the Norwegian delegation in Tetovo, although they did have representative in the City Assembly. [04] TRAINING OF MACEDONIAN PILOTS IN TURKEYAfter the meeting with the Macedonian Minister of Defense, Blagoj Hanjiski, the Commander of the Turkish Air Force, General Ahmet Chorekchi, yesterday in Skopje said Turkey is paying great attention to the preservation of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Macedonia. He reminded that Macedonia and Turkey had already signed agreements on military cooperation. As a further step, he announced that Air Force Commanders of the two countries, next week will sign a Protocol on training of the Macedonian pilots in Turkey.[05] CONFERENCE ON THE REGIONAL DEFENSEDefense Ministers of Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Italy, Turkey and USA will meet in Tirana on 31 March 1996, informed the Albanian Defense Minister Safet Zuljali on a press conference in Tirana yesterday. He said the subject of the meeting will be the new architecture of the defense in the region, in accordance with the principles of OSCE and with the international agreements.[06] KOSOVO MIGHT BRING TO A NEW CONFLICT IN THE REGIONThat Kosovo should have a status of an independent and sovereign Republic, think around 73% of those pooled by the Kosovo weekly 'Koha'. 'Makfax' reported that 76% of the Albanians in Kosovo think the Kosovo issue can be solved with a dialogue and on a peace conference, while 6% said it could be solved with violence and terrorism. 21% of those questioned were for joining of Kosovo to Albania, and 2.8% were for an autonomy based on the Constitution of SFRY from 1974. 70% of Albanians considered the issue of Kosovo might be solved with a dialogue between Albanians and Serbs, but under pressure of the international community.The President of Kosovo Committee for Human Rights and Freedom Adem Demaci stated yesterday in Brussels that he had come to warn the international community that its attitude on solving the problem of Kosovo was unacceptable for the Albanians. As Kosovo daily 'Bujku' reported, Demaci said for BBC that the idea of an autonomy of Kosovo meant leaving the Albanians to the mercy of Serbia, which might bring to another conflict in the region. He added that without an independent Kosovo and without destroying the Serbian military-police complex, there could be no peace in the Balkans. [07] WASHINGTON DETERMINED TO EXTEND NATO TO THE EAST'Washington is determined to spread the Alliance to the East, so that a new European safety structure is created'.This was said by the US Secretary of State Warren Christopher yesterday in Prague, on the Conference of the 12 East European member countries of the 'Partnership for Peace' Programme. Christopher said the USA can not leave the new democracies waiting forever to join NATO, as all of them should participate in the establishing of the security in Europe as equal partners. He said the new members of NATO will be its full members, with all the benefits, but will bare the responsibility, the expenses and the risks of the membership. The Macedonian delegation at the Conference, led by the Foreign Minister Ljubomir Frchkovski, had bilateral meetings with the delegations of Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, and is expected to meet with the Chezh delegation today. [08] 105 TOWNSHIPS IN MACEDONIA?The expert Commission decided yesterday to pass 70 out of 123 requests submitted by local communities for obtaining the status of townships. These 70 added to the current 35 will make the total number of 105 townships in Macedonia.[09] DIALOGUE WITH THE MACEDONIAN TRADE UNIONMacedonian Government and the Macedonian Trade Union started the negotiations on: fixing the lowest salary in the Republic' the initiative on forming an Economy-Welfare Council; intensifying the privatisation process and extending the validity of two collective bargaining contracts signed in 1994.The Trade Union emphasised the problems of unemployment, the worsening of the social situation, that the law regulations are not respected, and that very important laws have still not been passed. [10] ABOLISHING THE LAWSThe Constitutional Court of Macedonia yesterday abolished the Amendments on the Law on Enterprises, which read that for the registration of an enterprise at least one employee (including the General Manager) has to be on the pay role.The Court also abolished two pargraphs of the Laws on Primary and Secondary Education, regarding records to be taken only in the language of the nationality. The Court reminded that records must be taken in Macedonian as well, as stated in the Constitution. [11] INTENSIFYING THE FIGHT AGAINST DRUGSMacedonian police in Kichevo yesterday broke off an international drug dealing chain for narcotics distributed in Kichevo and in other Macedonian towns. 2kg of narcotics (worthy hundreds thousand DM) were found at a person from Kichevo, who obtained it from a Turkish citizen.[12] HANDBALL TEAM OF 'PELISTER' DEFEATEDThe first semifinal game of the National Winners Cup in handball between the Macedonian team 'Pelister Evrokar' and the German team 'Lengo' ended with a score 23:25. The rematch will be played after ten days in Bitola.The semifinalists of the Macedonian Football Cup are Vardar, Sloga-Jugomagnat, Pelister and Shkendija from Arachinovo. The semifinal games will be played on 17 April and 1 May. MILS SUPPLEMENT[13] The Situation of Minorities in The Balkans Worrying('Dnevnik', 21 March 1996)The President of the Greek Helsinki Committee Panaiotis Dimitras thinks that 'during the lifetime of this generation, Macedonians will not be recognised as a nation, nor the Macedonian minority in Greece as its part'. According to the data he had presented, around 200 000 people who live in Greece speak Macedonian as their mother tongue, while 20 - 40 000 had declared themselves Macedonians. 'This number is probably bigger, but the consequences from declaring oneself a Macedonian is either court or prison,' said Dimitras.'Bulgaria has recognised Macedonia as an independent country, but not the nation. We are the only Organisation that recognises Macedonian nation,' stated the President of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, Krasimir Kanev. He believes, however, that this problem will be solved soon, as the public opinion has changed in many ways. In the census made in Bulgaria in 1992, 10 300 individuals declared themselves as Macedonians. 'The situation of Albanians in Kosovo is worrying. They live in an apartheid - they are completely isolated from the outside world. They have been deprived from their right for self-determination. This is not a problem only of Albanians, but of all international community,' said Arben Puto, Albanian vice President of the Helsinki Committee. He said the situation in Macedonia is better because there is an open dialogue. 'One of the problems that must be solved is legalization of the university in Tetovo,' said Puto. President of the Macedonian Helsinki Committee Meto Jovanovski said they could only notice the breaking of the human rights, and could change little. 'One member of the Macedonian delegation, Kole Mangov, was not issued a Greek visa because the place of his birth written in his passport was Lerin, and not Florina. And that is a usual thing. But, not that he was only returned from the border crossing, but was taken to the border police station and searched. This is an illegal act and a direct violation of the human rights,' Jovanovski informed. The President of the Helsinki Federation Aaron Roads pointed out that the aim of this project was to clarify the connection between the security and the respecting of the human and minorities' rights. 'Governments frequently abuse the human and the minorities' rights in the name of security. The concept of defining the security has to be changed,' said Roads. (end)mils news 21 March 1996 |
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