MAK-NEWS 28/03/95 (M.I.L.S.) [**]

From: "Demetrios E. Paneras" <dep@bu.edu>

Ta nea ths hmeras, opws ta eide to MILS:

CONTENTS

  • [01] . POLICE ACTION AT IDRIZOVO PENITENTIARY

  • [02] * GLIGOROV RECEIVES BERTLAU

  • [03] ** EMBARGO TO BE LIFTED

  • [04] . MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENTARIAN DELEGATION IN MADRID

  • [05] ** MACEDONIANS DEMONSTRATE IN TORONTO

    [Sthn ellhnikh Presbeia. Den anaferei ariqmoys.]

  • [06] . TRADE UNION TO ORGANIZE GENERAL STRIKE

  • [07] . DAYS OF SLOVENIAN CULTURE

  • [08] . STATISTICAL FIGURES

  • [09] . "SKOMRAHI" BEGINS

  • [10] ** MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: LIFE OF POPULATION GROUPS IN MACEDONIA ORGANIZED ACCORDING TO MUSLIM RELIGIOUS LAWS (Nova Makedonija, 26 March 1995)

    [Blepw gia prwth fora anafora apo thn "Noba Makentonigia" sthn yparjh Ellhnwn sthn pGDM.]

    •

    M I L S N E W S

    Skopje, 28 March 1995

    [01] POLICE ACTION AT IDRIZOVO PENITENTIARY

    Following the refusal by rioting prisoners at the Idrizovo penitentiary to meet the ultimatum and surrender, police officers yesterday undertook action to re-establish peace and order. The entire action lasted 4 hours and 10 minutes. Before the action, the prison warden made a last attempt to persuade the prisoners to end the riot, but they refused to do so, stating they were not armed, and remaining on the roofs. After another warning by the police, special police forces broke into the prison. This was followed by several diplomatic representatives (Albania, Turkey and Bulgaria) in Macedonia and an OSCE official. At a press-conference on the same afternoon, Minister of Justice Vlado Popovski told reporters 354 prisoners have been arrested and 100 of them are to be sent to different penitentiaries throughout the country. The lives of prisoners were not endangered at any moment, Popovski said, and the action was completely successful. Popovski said the Public Prosecutor's Office will determine today whether there are grounds for bringing criminal charges.

    [02] GLIGOROV RECEIVES BERTLAU

    Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov yesterday received Iv Bertlau, Executive Secretary of the European Economic Commission at the UN. Bertlau informed Gligorov of the Commission's activities aimed at supporting countries in transition. They also discussed the current political and economic situation in Macedonia. Pointing to the specific difficulties resulting from the international sanctions on Yugoslavia and the one-sided Greek embargo on Macedonia, Gligorov asked for support from international institutions. Bertlau was also received by Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski, Foreign Minister Stevo Crvenkovski, Minister of Economy Risto Ivanov and the president of the Macedonian Academy of Arts and Science, Ksente Bogoev.

    [03] EMBARGO TO BE LIFTED

    Athens is ready to have its trade embargo on Macedonia lifted so that the Macedonian Foreign Minister Stevo Crvenkovski will agree to sit at the negotiating table with the Greek Foreign Minister Carolos Papoulias in New York. This, as quoted by Makpress, was published by the opposition Greek paper Elefteros Thipos. The paper says the Government in Athens has agreed to show a sign of good faith under American pressure. Another Greek paper, Elefterothipia published an article titled "Greek Turn With American Compass" to say that Skopje and Athens are to start direct talks, in two groups, at the beginning of April in New York, under mediation efforts of Cyrus Vance. According to the paper, one of the groups would discuss the embargo, constitution and flag, while the other would focus on the name issue.

    [04] MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENTARIAN DELEGATION IN MADRID

    Macedonian Parliament vice-president Tito Petkovski led a parliamentarian delegation to Madrid, Spain, yesterday, to attend the 93rd Inter parliamentary Union.

    [05] MACEDONIANS DEMONSTRATE IN TORONTO

    As reported by Nova Makedonija, the Macedonian community in Toronto, led by the Organization of United Macedonians, organized peaceful protest demonstrations in front of the Greek consulate there. The main goal was to inform the Canadian and international public of the situation of Macedonians living in the Aegean part of Macedonia. The demonstrators read a resolution on behalf of the Macedonian peoples, reminding officials in Athens that it is high time authorities in Greece granted basic human rights to Macedonians in the northern parts of Greece. The resolution was sent to the US. State Department, the UN and OSCE. The demonstrators said the Macedonian national question ought to be raised at the United Nations, in order to initiate a re- examination of the Bucharest Treaty which they described as the cruelest act upon the Macedonian people. They also insisted that Macedonia be recognized under its constitutional name and within its ethnographic and historic boundaries.

    [06] TRADE UNION TO ORGANIZE GENERAL STRIKE

    At its last session and by request of its membership, the Macedonian Trade Union Association decided to accept the initiative to organize a general strike in the country. Concluding that negotiations have so far failed to yield the expected results, the Union accused the Government of lacking political will to put an end to negative social processes in the country. The extremely bad material situation of workers has also been worsened by the absence of dialogue between socially oriented parties. With this in mind, the Union yesterday firmly stated demands for granting workers basic social and economic rights during the privatization process, as well as determining minimum wages in accordance with the collective agreements and also guaranteeing this amount to all employed people. If these are not met the Union will organize a general strike.

    [07] DAYS OF SLOVENIAN CULTURE

    At yesterday's press-conference, the Ministry of Culture announced the Days of Slovenian Culture, to start in Bitola on March 30. The festivities will include signing of an agreement for cultural cooperation between Macedonia and Slovenia at the ministry level. There will also be an exhibition of paintings by the Slovenian painter Klavdi Tuta and the Lorens Trio will give a concert. The Slovenian delegation will be led by the Minister of Culture Sergei Pelhar.

    [08] STATISTICAL FIGURES

    The average January wage in the Republic of Macedonia, according to statistical figures, amounted to 8,444 Denars (throughout 1994, the average wage was 7,754 Denars). Employees in the economy received an average of 8,165 Denars, whereas those in non-economic companies were paid 9,285 Denars on average. 15.6 per cent of the total number of workers did not receive wages for January. 19.4 per cent of them work in economic and 1.8 per cent in non-economic firms.

    [09] "SKOMRAHI" BEGINS

    The Seventh International Meeting of Students of Drama titled "Skomrahi" was ceremonially opened yesterday on the stage of the Macedonian National Theater in Skopje. Those present were addressed by Dancho Chevrevski, dean of the Skopje Faculty of Drama, by reading a message from Umberto Orsini, director, author and professor from Venezuela and president of the International Theater Institute.

    [10] MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: LIFE OF POPULATION GROUPS IN MACEDONIA

    ORGANIZED ACCORDING TO MUSLIM RELIGIOUS LAWS

    (Nova Makedonija, 26 March 1995)

    Macedonia, a country populated by Turks, Albanians, Vlachs, Serbs, Bulgarians, Torbeshs, Boshnjaks, Greeks, Croatians, Romas (Gypsies) and Macedonians, is at the same time a mosaic of nations and religions consisting of 2.200,000 people living in one country. On 8 September 1991, Macedonia declared independence and parted from the former Yugoslavia. This smallest country in the Balkans, having lived under communism for 45 years, became a perfect place, to make a nest in, for various religious sects which started developing all kinds of religious and nationalistic trends. The freedom of religion is now safeguarded by the Macedonian Constitution. This right provides a legal basis for establishing and developing so-called tarricats (dervish orders) and tekhes. The country has become an attractive place in the eyes of some extreme religious foreign organizations. Despite the fact that the Muslim religious community in Macedonia belongs to the Hannefit order, an Iranian Shiit stream is expanding its strong influence in the country, especially in the western parts of Macedonia, which is populated mostly by ethnic Albanians. Some of the more active tarricats are bektashee, sadee, senanee, kadiretee, refaee, helvetee, melamee and nakshee. There are also foreign organizations active in these parts such as Young Muslims, Islamic Road and the Organization for Humanitarian Aid, linked to the party called Refah. It is the Religious Matters Presidency, known as "Meshihat" that maintains coordination between the tarricats and tekhes. The Fund for Humanitarian Aid "El Hilal" is certainly among the most active organizations of this kind. A large number of the craftsmen we spoke with at the Skopje old market claim "El Hilal" raised funds in an unfair way, under the excuse that the money will go to Bosnia, to help Muslims there, or will be used to restore old mosques in Macedonia. They seem to be most embittered by the fact that business offices owned by the Meshihat have been and are illegally rented for money and there are speculations that the leather of animals, sacrificed at a religious holiday, were gathered from believers. Besides donations from countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia, some say the El Hilal Fund has been donated large sums of money by the Refah party. Anvi Engulu, journalist, writer and member of the Meshihat (representative of the Turkish population), refuted all allegations, claiming that no funds have been received from the Refah party. The organization's documentation, however, shows something else. The report on activities of El Hilal in 1991-1993 (which, by the way, works within the framework of the Meshihat), mentions cases of cooperation between this humanitarian fund and the Refah party. It is also interesting to mention that the organization's treasurer Nihat Rahim says that he is a member of the Refah party's branch in Gaziosmanpasha, a neighborhood in Istanbul. Rahim is quite proud of this and boastfully shows his membership card. The card, however, has no registration number but does have a party seal. Redzep Gurel, president of the Executive Committee of the Refah branch in Gaziosmanpasha, says the name of Nihat Rahim is not to be found in the party's computer membership files. Gurel, suggesting that it would be quite easy to forge the seal, said that even the membership card itself could be forged, and that the party does not allow foreigners as members. Even the Turkish Law on Political Parties, passed on 22 April 1083, denies foreigners a right to join a political party in Turkey as members. Item 11 of this law says only that "every citizen of Turkey, having become of age - 21 - has all civil and political rights and is entitled to a right to join a political party." Membership cards like the one of Nihat Rahim, i.e., without registration numbers, are also possessed by some imams in Skopje. One of them states that one day soon, if God permits, a bureau of the Organization of National Youth will be opened in Skopje.

    (to be continued)

    (end)

    mils-news 28 March '95

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