MAK-NEWS 22/05/95 (M.I.L.S.)

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] NEW PAGE IN US-MACEDONIAN RELATIONS

  • [02] TRIPLE MILITARY TRAINING MANEUVERS

  • [03] US BATTALION COMMANDING OFFICER REPLACED

  • [04] SERBIA MOST LIKELY TO RECOGNIZE MACEDONIA FIRST

  • [05] KARADZIC ADVISES MACEDONIA TO JOIN YUGOSLAVIA

  • [06] FORUM OF LEFT AND PROGRESSIVE FORCES IN THE BALKANS

  • [07] BOUTROS-GHALI SPEAKS POSITIVELY OF MACEDONIA

  • [08] EVERT MEETS BOUTROS-GHALI ON SKOPJE

  • [09] ITALY HAS CONSTRUCTIVE RELATIONS WITH MACEDONIA

  • [10] ITALY APPROVES CREDITS FOR MACEDONIA

  • [11] WORLD BANK TO OPEN MISSION IN SKOPJE

  • [12] BRITISH PARLIAMENTARIANS TO VISIT SKOPJE

  • [13] MACEDONIAN DELEGATION VISITING MOSCOW

  • [14] "SLAV-MACEDONIA" TERM PROTESTED AGAINST IN AUSTRALIA

  • [15] TRI-LINGUAL UNIVERSITY IN MACEDONIA

  • [16] GOVERNMENT HAS NO RIGHT TO GIVE CONCESSIONS, DP SAYS

  • [17] PRIVATE RADIO AND TV STATIONS TO PROTEST WITH THE MINISTRY

  • [18] HALILI SENTENCED TO 1.5 HALF YEARS

  • [19] RED CROSS CELEBRATES 50TH ANNIVERSARY

  • [20] RACE FOR PEACE

  • [21] MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT : KOSOVO PROBLEM GOES BEYOND THE LIMITS OF HUMAN RIGHTS (PART I)

    •

    MILS NEWS

    Skopje, 22 May 1995

    [01] NEW PAGE IN US-MACEDONIAN RELATIONS

    Upon returning from a one-week official visit to the United States, Macedonian Defense Minister Blagoj Handziski said, "a new page has turned in the mutual relations between the Republic of Macedonia and the United States." He said this was a result of Macedonia's constructive internal and foreign policies and its efforts to preserve peace in the region. Handziski particularly emphasized his meeting with the US Secretary of Defense William Perry with whom he discussed new forms of cooperation in the field of defense.

    The US, Handziski told reporters, has set aside one million dollars for Macedonia from its budgeted funds set aside for aiding member countries of the Partnership for Peace program along with other finances within the framework of the program for training Macedonian army officers in the US.

    Meeting with UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali in New York, Handziski reported that the UN peace-keeping mission in Macedonia has been the most successful so far and that the Secretary general ought to appoint a special envoy for Macedonia as soon as possible.

    Asked by reporters whether Macedonia is ready to make concessions on the flag and constitutional issues, Handziski said his statement in New York was probably either misinterpreted or taken out of context.

    [02] TRIPLE MILITARY TRAINING MANEUVERS

    Macedonian and US defense ministers have agreed to hold a joint American-Albanian-Macedonian military training maneuver in the near future, radio Tirana reports. No details were given as to the place and exact date of the training.

    Meanwhile, troops from four Balkan states and the United States began a first ever joint military exercise today, Athens News Agency reported. Soldiers from Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania and the United States will participate in a five-day military maneuver code named Operation New Spirit. The exercise is being held near Kalamata, southern Greece. Defense Ministry sources said the operation will focus on a drill on distribution of humanitarian aid.

    The Agency also reported that scores of protesters rallied at the site of the operation to voice opposition to what they called plans by NATO to extend its boundaries of action. Peace movements extended a written protest letter to Greek Commander Anastasios Kanellopoulos, who will lead the exercise.

    [03] US BATTALION COMMANDING OFFICER REPLACED

    A ceremony took place in the UNPREDEP military camp in Petrovec near Skopje two days ago, to mark the replacement of Topper Rush, officer commanding the US contingent of UN forces in Macedonia. Jean Camena will be the new commanding officer over the next six months.

    [04] SERBIA MOST LIKELY TO RECOGNIZE MACEDONIA FIRST

    Belgrade Politika writes that the chances are that Federal Yugoslavia will recognize the Republic of Macedonia sooner than any other former Yugoslav republic. However, the paper comments, due to widely known conditions, the recognition is not likely to occur soon or easily. Politika quotes Zhivorad Jovanovic, Assistant Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia, as saying, "The key conditions for the recognition of Macedonia are that Skopje accepts the continuity of the international and legal subjectivity of today's Yugoslavia with the old one, and that a principled compromise be found for its dispute with Greece. We are not hiding that Macedonia is our first, and Greece is our somewhat further neighbor, but also an important one." He said Macedonia and Yugoslavia have a common interest to improve economic, cultural and other forms of cooperation, as the two nations have much in common from a cultural and mentality point of view.

    [05] KARADZIC ADVISES MACEDONIA TO JOIN YUGOSLAVIA

    In an interview with the Athens TV station STAR, Radovan Karadzic, leader of Bosnian Serbs, answered several questions regarding the Greek-Macedonian dispute. Expressing gratitude for the support and aid from the brotherly Greek nation, Karadzic underlined his full understanding for the sensitivity of Greece "concerning the name Macedonia." He said the only possible way out for Macedonia is to become annexed to Yugoslavia.

    [06] FORUM OF LEFT AND PROGRESSIVE FORCES IN THE BALKANS

    Nova Makedonija says the Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias is expected to address the Forum of Left and Progressive Forces in the Balkans, to be held in Athens, June 2-6. The forum will contribute to a further establishment of close relations between Balkan nations and the improvement of mutual relations, Athens spectators say. The forum will be attended by officials of the ruling parties in Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Macedonia, and some organizations from Turkey and all Greek parties.

    [07] BOUTROS-GHALI SPEAKS POSITIVELY OF MACEDONIA

    "Authorities in Macedonia are for peace and complete stability in the Balkan region," said UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali during his visit to Australia. Speaking of the positive and preventive role of the UN forces there, he referred to Macedonia by its constitutional name, which was welcomed by the Macedonian community in Australia.

    [08] EVERT MEETS BOUTROS-GHALI ON SKOPJE

    Miltiades Evert, the leader of Greece's main opposition party, met UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali last Friday for a half-hour meeting on Greek national issues. Replying to a question on whether he was still optimistic over a solution to the FYROM issue after meeting the UN chief, Mr. Evert said that as he had stated at the very beginning, "I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic. I simply see an effort being made on the part of the United Nations and the Americans for a just solution. The problem is difficult, but one should always be optimistic without backing down from Greek positions," he said.

    [09] ITALY HAS CONSTRUCTIVE RELATIONS WITH MACEDONIA

    Macedonia is a state with which we have constructive and friendly relations, said Italian Foreign Minister Suzana Anjeli, speaking before the Italian Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee during a debate on the situation in the former Yugoslavia. "Rome is quite pleased with the peaceful policy of independent Macedonia, and mutual relations are developing well," she said. Anjeli announced a coming visit to Italy by Macedonian Foreign Minister Stevo Crvenkovski who will accompany President Gligorov on his visit to Italy and the Vatican.

    [10] ITALY APPROVES CREDITS FOR MACEDONIA

    The Italian Government decided to guarantee the approved credits for Macedonia by banks in Italy, A1 Television reports. Macedonia will immediately be granted a 10 million German marks loan, with the possibility of obtaining an additional credit of 10 million German marks. The guarantee was necessary for Italian companies to become included in more important projects in Macedonia.

    [11] WORLD BANK TO OPEN MISSION IN SKOPJE

    The World Bank plans to open a representative office in Skopje to follow the implementation of programs of the Bank and the International Development Association. This will change the status of the temporary office in Skopje, already working for several months. Alberto Eguren will remain chief of the mission.

    [12] BRITISH PARLIAMENTARIANS TO VISIT SKOPJE

    On an invitation of Parliament President Andov, a delegation of the UK Parliament will arrive in Macedonia on May 29 for a four-day official visit. During their stay, British MP's will meet senior officials of the Macedonian Parliament.

    [13] MACEDONIAN DELEGATION VISITING MOSCOW

    A delegation from Macedonia went to Moscow two days ago, to attend a ceremony dedicated to the Slav educators St. Cyrill and Methodius. The delegation, led by Assistant Minister of Culture Olgica Trajkova, will meet with Russian and foreign diplomats.

    [14] "SLAV-MACEDONIA" TERM PROTESTED AGAINST IN AUSTRALIA

    The Association of High-schools of the Australian state Victoria recently protested against the Federal Government's decision to rename Macedonians on the continent as "Slav- Macedonians". Explaining the decision brings about additional practical difficulties in education, the Association initiated a procedure for the abolishment of the decision with the Australian Federal Trade Union.

    [15] TRI-LINGUAL UNIVERSITY IN MACEDONIA

    The idea for opening an Albanian-English university, now expanded to an Albanian-Macedonian-English university on an initiative by George Soros, is likely to be realized in the near future, the daily Vecher cites Radio Tirana as reporting. Both the Albanian and Macedonian sides have accepted the idea as a solution to current problems in higher education, the radio says. Macedonian Minister of the Interior Ljubomir Frckovski reportedly said that, if a private university is to be open in the country, courses are to be given in a foreign and, of course, in the Macedonian language.

    [16] GOVERNMENT HAS NO RIGHT TO GIVE CONCESSIONS, DP SAYS

    With regard to official announcements of possible retreats to be made by Macedonia toward Greece, the Democratic Party of Macedonia said this government has no right to make any concessions, especially none which endanger the vital national interests. "We all heard Defense Minister Handziski say in Washington what the current government is ready to give Greece. This statement is obviously not a personal view of the minister, but of the highest leadership; it clearly indicates that the government is ready to give up the flag and the 49th constitutional article. Moreover, the government is trying to convince the Macedonian public that even some opposition parties are backing the concessions. The opposition, however, has never participated in any collaboration on these issues," party leader Petar Goshev said. The Democratic Party has never stated any readiness for bargaining agreements with Greece, he firmly stressed. "Meaning, we have not stated so even to Mr. Soros, like he said, if he said, as Nova Makedonija wrote. We are fully aware that the current government is negotiating such bargains with Greece and is at the same time looking for a way to blame this on someone else, or at least win over collaborators for what it is doing."

    [17] PRIVATE RADIO AND TV STATIONS TO PROTEST WITH THE MINISTRY

    The Initiative Committee of the private commercial radio and television stations in Macedonia has started a campaign to gather signatures of support by citizens in order to complete a petition to be submitted to the Ministry of Traffic and Communication. The campaign started two days ago and will last 7 days. The Committee also requested a meeting with Minister Buzlevski to discuss ways for obtaining a solution acceptable to both sides. The private radio and television stations will ask for a period of six months to adopt to the legal requirements on technical equipment.

    [18] HALILI SENTENCED TO 1.5 HALF YEARS

    The District Court in Tetovo sentenced Nevzat Halili, leader of PDP -Party for National Unity and professor at the "Kiril Pejcinovic" school in Tetovo, to 1.5 years in prison, prolonging his custody until the decision comes into effect. Halili is sentenced for participation in crowds and preventing police officers from executing their duty.

    [19] RED CROSS CELEBRATES 50TH ANNIVERSARY

    The Red Cross of Macedonia organized a number of ceremonies last weekend, to celebrate its 50th anniversary and three years of acting as an independent organization. The primary celebration took place in the Army Center in Skopje two days ago, and the participants were addressed by President Gligorov. The president of the country, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent and the International Committee of the red Cross were awarded a Gold Token tribute.

    [20] RACE FOR PEACE

    A so-called "Race for Peace" began in Gevgelija yesterday, which will cross 830 kilometers throughout Macedonia. In the end, the peace torch will be handed over to racers from Yugoslavia, at the border-crossing of Tabanovce.

    [21] MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT : KOSOVO PROBLEM GOES BEYOND THE LIMITS OF HUMAN RIGHTS

    (PART I)

    Dr. Thomas Veremis, professor of political sciences and an authority in international affairs, was conspicuous in the last years because of the criticisms he has made toward the foreign Greek policy, which caused reaction with its neighbors and isolated Greece in the European Union. At the same time, he was and is engaged to obtain close Balkan relations. These days, in a fact-finding visit, he was in Prishtina to continue afterwards in Skopje and Tirana. At the very beginning, we addressed Mr. Veremis with the question: what does the institution, which he leads, do.

    Veremis: Our Foundation (Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy) with its center in Athens, is a non governmental organization and is led by the Council of directors, which is composed of professors, intellectuals, retired diplomats etc. Our work has to do with the analyses of the present priorities of the foreign policies of the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Middle East and, in a few cases, with that of Northern Africa.

    Our visit in Kosovo had as its aim the finding of the best ways to prevent a possible conflict there, and the discussion and the gathering of the necessary materials, out of which, our team will compile and publish the respective study. Our team is composed of personalities of different nationalities: Albanians from Kosovo and Albania, Serbs from Belgrade, Hungarians, Turkish and French.

    Koha: How are you going to comment on the impressions that you got from the present situation in Kosovo ?

    Veremis: Terrible, no doubt. Being for the first time in Kosovo, everybody can create an image that everything is going smoothly, if he is oriented from what he sees in the streets, which, most of the time presents (relatively) a normal situation. But, it is very difficult to illustrate the situation which prevails here. We came with views and ideas which used to go approximately with the situation and with notes from books and newspapers that almost give a different impression. After the contacts and discussions we had with important political and social personalities in Kosovo, we arrived in a nonpublic conclusion that this region is in a deep and escalating crisis, which can explode at any time. I think that the psychosis of explosion is an approximate characteristic of the situation in Kosovo today. Naturally, we are going to publish and distribute the studies and researches on Kosovo, as much as we can, to the non governmental sister organizations, to the personalities, in conferences etc.

    Koha: Did you talk with both sides involved in the conflict? What might be your impression?

    Veremis: The Serbian attitude was very irritated, especially that one that insists on having Kosovo as their cultural center and identity, which approves that the ethnic structure in Kosovo has been changed because of the Albanian pressure during the autonomy, etc. The Serbs are trying to treat the situation in Kosovo as wholly Serb, which has nothing to do with Kosovo meaning, that it is an integral part of the Serbian territory. Based on what we were informed in Belgrade, among other things, was their refusal to the international engagement in the Kosovo question and the obvious dissatisfaction for the aim of our mission.

    I am of the opinion, at the same time, that the Albanian side has an abnormal social life there. I came to this conclusion, especially, after the violent closer of the important Albanian institutions. I think that here the Serbs can not say that the Albanians applied a voluntary isolation, which is their frequent explanation. The arguments on the Albanian side that the acceptance of the Serbiam state is going to be a legitimacy of dictatorship and the violation of human rights, is a non deniable reality. Naturally, the biggest question is how much time the Serbs need and how far they will go to make Albanians participants of their state. Considering the present situation, it's difficult to find any kind of interest from both sides. That's why, I think, that both parallel states that are functioning in Kosovo, that of the official Serbian and the Albanian parallel, are going to exist up to the time that this crisis is not going to exceed its limits.

    Koha: Did you talk with President Rugova?

    Veremis: Mr. Rugova is of the opinion that the Kosovo independence is not a utopia; it is possible and it might be beneficial to the Serbs, as well, if such a thing is going to be accepted. Surely, as I can consider the actual situation within the framework of Belgrade-Prishtina relations, I do not see any possibility that such a thing will be realized. But, it might be that Mr. Rugova can have a clearer vision than I and can see more deeply in the political future. It might be possible. But I doubt that such a situation that is prevailing today, of a full polarization, can exist for a long time. The evident crisis in Kosovo can be turned easily into an explosive crisis, if not today, in the coming years, if nothing is going to be done. On the other side, I do have the impression that the international opinion seems to be discouraged in this aspect.

    (to be continued)

    (end)

    mils news 22 May '95

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