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MILS NEWS 02/04/96From: "M.I.L.S." <mils@MILS.SPIC.ORG.MK>Macedonian Information Liaison Service DirectoryCONTENTS[01] HANJISKI - REACHING A MILITARY BALANCE ON BALKAN[02] ROMANIAN AMBASSADOR AT PRESIDENT GLIGOROV'S[03] MACEDONIAN - GREEK PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION[04] EXPERIENCES EXCHANGED ON PARLIAMENTARY SOLUTIONS[05] CIVIL SOCIETY PROGRAMME PROMOTED[06] HALF MACEDONIAN ARMY - PROFESSIONAL TILL THE 2 000[07] CONSUMER GOODS PRICES UNCHANGED[08] ANOTHER 40 000 SIGNATURES SUBMITTED[09] ACCUSATIONS BETWEEN VMRO - DPMNE AND SDSMMILS SUPPLEMENT[10] Competition for Mentors ('Nasa Borba', Belgrade)MILS NEWSSkopje, 2 April 1996[01] HANJISKI - REACHING A MILITARY BALANCE ON BALKANYesterday, the US Defense Minister William Perry in addressing the Defense Ministers of the countries who attended the Conference on Peace and Stability in the Balkans in Tirana, said NATO was the main guarantee for European security, adding that Albania, Bulgaria and Macedonia had chosen to reform their defense systems through democratic control and by creating constructive relations with their neighbours. Perry said the mutual aim is to provide the conditions for this region to be included in the Marshal Plan for creating a united Europe from the Atlantic Ocean to Ural Mountains. Perry added NATO, the Partnership for Peace Programme and the cooperation with Russia were necessary to achieve this goal.Macedonian Minister of Defense Blagoj Hanjiski expressed his satisfaction with the meeting, suggesting it could be a new stimulus in the building of mutual trust and security among the Balkan states. He expressed hope that the participants of the Conference would become members of NATO as soon as possible. Hanjiski also stressed the results achieved by the preventive diplomacy of Macedonia, and proposed reaching a balance of the military forces in the Balkans, without concentrating troops at the borders. The Macedonian Defense Minister underscored the need for sharing information on international terrorism. Hanjiski had several bilateral meetings during the Conference. He spoke with William Perry, as well as with Albanian and Turkish Defense Ministers Safet Zuljali and Oltan Zungul. Macedonian Radio reported yesterday on a suggestion made by some of the participants, for another meeting to be held in Bulgaria in September, which would be attended by representatives of all Balkan countries as well as the USA and Russia. [02] ROMANIAN AMBASSADOR AT PRESIDENT GLIGOROV'SPresident Kiro Gligorov of Macedonia yesterday received Romania's Ambassador to Macedonia Nikolae Nicu. Nicu handed President Gligorov his accreditive letters. The two statesmen stressed the need for improved relations and cooperation between the two countries and in the region.Attention was also paid to the efforts for the development of the democracy, and for the affirmation of peace in the Balkans. President Gligorov and Ambassador Nicu said both countries should work for integration with the European and Euro-Atlantic political, economic and security structures. [03] MACEDONIAN - GREEK PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATIONTito Petkovski, President of the Macedonian Parliament, yesterday received a message from his Greek counterpart Apostolos Katlamanis, who had expressed his wishes for a successful cooperation between the two Parliaments. The message was handed to Petkovski by the Head of the Hellenic Liaison Office to Macedonia, Alexandros Mallias. The official announcement said they had expressed their satisfaction with the current level of cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, which would certainly positively influence the political relations.Meanwhile, the Director and the Editor in Chief of the leading Greek daily 'Elefterotipia', Serafim Findanidis, is paying a visit to Macedonia. He was invited by the editorial staff of the daily 'Nova Makedonija', and it is expected that the cooperation between these two papers will accelerate. [04] EXPERIENCES EXCHANGED ON PARLIAMENTARY SOLUTIONSAn expert group for parliamentary issues of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, led by the vice Secretary General Jan Paolo Castanietti, arrived yesterday in Macedonia. They met with the representatives of Macedonian parliamentary groups and talked about the solutions regarding the usage of the minorities' languages and about the status of the small groups in the work of the Parliament.[05] CIVIL SOCIETY PROGRAMME PROMOTEDA Civil Society Programme, financed by the government of Holland, was promoted yesterday at the Macedonian Army Centre in Skopje. The promotion was organized by the humanitarian association 'Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation'. The Programme is an effort of the Dutch government to help the countries in transition to develop the civil society, through a cooperation with non- governmental organizations. The value of this financial aid is of DM 530 000 and will be used during the next three years.It was said that the Programme would be more effectively carried out if it included a cooperation with the government, the media, the non-governmental organisations and with the business sector. Special addressers, i.e. four books about the activities of non-governmental organisations from and outside Macedonia were also promoted. [06] HALF MACEDONIAN ARMY - PROFESSIONAL TILL THE 2 000Today's daily 'Dnevnik' reports that 50% of the current number of the Macedonian soldiers will be professionals employed by the Macedonian Army, till the end of this century. The information continues that, according to the Macedonian Defense Ministry, there are 14 000 soldiers actively serving at the moment, which makes 0.7% of the total number of Macedonian inhabitants.[07] CONSUMER GOODS PRICES UNCHANGEDThe consumer goods prices in Macedonia have not changed in March, compared to February, informed Macedonian Statistics Institute yesterday. The prices of agricultural products have dropped for 3.4% in March, the industrial food products prices for 0.6% , while the prices of services have increased for 1.1%. The total level of consumer goods prices in March 1996 was 3.8% higher than in March 1995, and 5.5% than the average in 1995.[08] ANOTHER 40 000 SIGNATURES SUBMITTEDThe initiators for collecting signatures for a referendum on early elections yesterday submitted another 40 000 signatures in the Macedonian Parliament, which makes the total number of signatures to 202 000. Macedonian Radio reported that VMRO - DPMNE and the Democratic Party were to decide yesterday whether the action will be continued or not.Yesterday, the legal aspects of the procedure on the initiative were discussed in the Macedonian Parliament, which will be presented at today's 42nd parliamentary session. [09] ACCUSATIONS BETWEEN VMRO - DPMNE AND SDSMVMRO - DPMNE expressed their suspicion in SDSM, regarding the breaking in at the VMRO - DPMNE office in Kumanovo, saying it had been an attempt to provoke fear amongst the members of the party and the citizens who supported the initiative for collecting signatures.President of the Kumanovo township SDSM Organisation Jordan Micevski, rejecting the accusations replied there were no extremists amongst their members, and that the relations with VMRO - DPMNE were neither good nor bad. The daily 'Dnevnik' reads there were two guesses in SDSM about the breaking in. The first one was that the members of VMRO - DPMNE had done it themselves, in order to attract the attention of the media and to accuse SDSM for imposing pressure on them, and the second guess was that pro-Serbian extremists had caused the incident. No new details from the investigation had been announced by the police yet. MILS SUPPLEMENT[10] Competition for Mentors('Nasa Borba', Belgrade)The official stand of Macedonia has been accepted as the best one by the government, by most of the parties and by the people. At the meeting with the Romanian Foreign Minister Maleshkanu, the Macedonian Foreign Minister Frchkovski said the integration process in Europe should be opened to all and the only condition set should be the level of the necessary standards reached. Premier Branko Crvenkovski of Macedonia also said, after his meeting with the German Minister of Economy Cooperation and Development, Schpranger, that they have agreed that the relations should be based on a bilateral cooperation, 'without forcing or favoring any kind of a regional approach'. Macedonia expects the negotiations on the bilateral relations to start very soon and that the Agreement which is to be signed will bring it closer to the EU. The 'umbrella' of NATO is also spreading above the Balkans, which gives strategic importance to Macedonia, but is risky, as well.According to the reactions from Athens, the great American interest in Macedonia came as a result of the policy of Kiro Gligorov. The opening of the US Embassy, the appointing of Christopher Hill for an Ambassador, and especially the coming of the US Ambassador to UN, Madleine Albright, to Skopje, was felt as a provocation in Athens. It might also be understood as a disease of Athens and of all other Macedonian neighbours, with a constant allergy to everything else except to the loses of Skopje. There is a great possibility that Serbian President Miloshevic suffers from the same disease. He had announced and than postponed his going to Skopje several times so far. In case the visit takes place, it would be useful for his peace action in the region, but it would, on the other hand, be bad for the Serbian relations with the traditional partner - Athens. Despite the fact that Athens was not too generous - neither regarding the visas, nor regarding the recognition of new Yugoslavia and the Thessaloniki port. According to Macedonian reporters, Miloshevic himself canceled the meeting planned for last Thursday, and said it might take place the following week. It is possible that Miloshevic does not arrive in Skopje at all, since 'neither Serbia burns for Macedonia, nor the other way round', i.e., as diplomats say, 'there are no problems in the bilateral relations'. The formal normalisation is put behind due to the more difficult tasks that both parties have with others, but it definitely provokes tensions and comments both in Athens and in Skopje. To all the above said one might add the so-called First Congress of the Democratic Party of Serbs in Macedonia and their letter to Miloshevic not to recognize Macedonia, which is not connected with the postponing. The Congress itself was a kind of a 'rigged happening', as it was attended only by delegates who were invited in written by the leader of the party (those who were not invited were not allowed to enter the Congress), and its aim was to support Miloshevic, as 'the Serbs in Macedonia are in a greater danger than those in Knin', it was said at the Congress. It did provoke, however, a great publicity in part of the Belgrade media, so it was a contribution to the postponing of the normalisation of the relations between Skopje and Belgrade. And, just to remind, the leaders of this party had attended the 'military strategy' training with Mladic in Pale. (end)mils news 2 April, 1996 |
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