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Voice of America, 01-09-09
SLUG: 5-50099 Macedonia Aid DATE: NOTE NUMBER:
CONTENTS
[01] MACEDONIA AID BY BARRY WOOD (SKOPJE)
[02] MACEDONIA/WEAPONS (L-O) BY BARRY WOOD (SKOPJE)
[01] MACEDONIA AID BY BARRY WOOD (SKOPJE)
DATE=09/09/01
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-50099
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The Macedonian government is hoping that the recently signed
peace agreement with ethnic Albanians will lead to a big increase in
foreign assistance that will ease the country's growing budget
deficit. V-O-A's Barry Wood reports western aid is being conditioned
on implementation of the peace agreement.
TEXT: The European Union and World Bank plan to convene a donors'
conference for Macedonia on October 15th. That meeting, due to take
place in Brussels, will occur only if the Macedonian parliament has
acted to implement the agreement that gives substantial new powers to
the country's Albanian minority.
Aid officials suggest the donors' conference might produce pledges of
100-million dollars, a large amount for this small Balkan economy.
The money would be available to support a government budget that is
being severely strained by unexpected military expenditures. This year
Macedonia has spent 35-million dollars of the foreign exchange it
received from privatizing its phone company on arms purchases and
other security expenditures.
Biswajit Banerjee is the International Monetary Fund official
responsible for Macedonia.
/// BANERJEE ACT ///
The insurgency crisis has led to a widening and deterioration of the
fiscal situation. There has been loss of foreign exchange associated
with it, directly on the expenditure side. The economy has also been
weakened and therefore revenues have fallen.
/// END ACT ///
Armed ethnic Albanians began their insurgency in February. The peace
agreement with its fragile cease - fire was signed less than a month
ago.
Inside Macedonia people are skeptical that the peace agreement will
hold. Civil war, once NATO forces withdraw, is considered a continuing
threat.
A further uncertainty is the likelihood of early parliamentary
elections. I-M-F official Banerjee worries that preparations for
elections will delay needed restructuring of Macedonia's still largely
state directed economy.
/// BANERJEE 2ND ACT ///
It is true that probably between now and the elections, realistically,
nothing much can be expected. But if the economy is to recover on a
track of sustained high growth, enterprise restructuring is essential.
Ultimately it is a matter of political will.
/// END ACT ///
The I-M-F is considering new lending for Macedonia, but that will not
take place until December at the earliest. Previous I-M-F lending was
curtailed because the budget exceeded promised levels.
Macedonia has endured a series of economic jolts in recent years. In
1999 it had to absorb tens-of-thousands of refugees forced out of
Kosovo. It then became a staging ground for NATO's military
intervention in Kosovo.
This year's insurgency has reduced exports and the economy has been
severely disrupted. Its currency remains stable and the economy is
still growing but at a slower-than-expected pace. (SIGNED)
NEB/BW/ALW/RAE
SLUG: 2-280231 Macedonia Weapons (L-O) DATE: NOTE NUMBER:
[02] MACEDONIA/WEAPONS (L-O) BY BARRY WOOD (SKOPJE)
DATE=09/09/01
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
NUMBER=2-280231
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: NATO's collection of weapons from Albanian insurgents in
Macedonia is now in its second phase. V-O-A's Barry Wood reports from
Skopje.
TEXT: The latest collection point is near the village of Brodec, north
of Tetovo close to the Kosovo border. The NATO spokesman in Skopje is
American Major Barry Johnson.
/// JOHNSON ACT ///
We began establishing it yesterday and it opened at 08:00 this
morning. (Macedonian translation) And it is now actively collecting
weapons and ammunition. And that is the French-led battle group with
German and Spanish troops as well.
/// END ACT ///
Major Johnson says NATO's Macedonia force is on schedule toward its
goal of collecting 33-hundred insurgent weapons by September 26th.
/// JOHNSON 2ND ACT ///
I will tell you that our expectations are being met for this phase.
And we are very confident that we are moving forward at the pace we
had anticipated.
/// END ACT ///
With a late-August cease-fire generally holding, ethnic-Albanian
refugees are continuing to return to their homes. U-N officials say
seven-thousand refugees have returned to Macedonia from Kosovo in
recent days, but 44-thousand remain there.
The seven-month-old insurgency has displaced more than 100-thousand
people. A peace agreement working its way through the Macedonian
parliament grants increased powers to ethnic-Albanians, who comprise
nearly one-third of Macedonia's population.
With the cease-fire still fragile, Western European countries are
considering extending their military presence in Macedonia beyond its
late-September deadline.
With amnesty for the insurgents a critical component of the peace
agreement, ethnic Albanians favor the protection offered by a
continued NATO presence, something opposed by most Macedonian
politicians. (SIGNED)
NEB/BW/ALW/RAE
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