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MILS NEWS 19/04/96

From: "M.I.L.S." <mils@MILS.SPIC.ORG.MK>

Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory

CONTENTS

  • [01] NEW YORK TALKS AS EXPECTED

  • [02] CIA - GREEK-MACEDONIAN DISPUTE BECAUSE OF MACEDONIAN LAND

  • [03] FRCHKOVSKI - 'GREECE MAY CALL MACEDONIA HOWEVER IT LIKES'

  • [04] ISSUING AUSTRIAN VISAS IN MACEDONIA?

  • [05] TECHNICAL NEGOTIATIONS ON THE AGREEMENT WITH EU STARTED

  • [06] MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER IN MACEDONIA TOMORROW

  • [07] MINISTER PORTILLO IN MACEDONIA IN JULY

  • [08] THE LATE PENSION WILL BE PAID FROM JUNE ON

  • [09] INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INCREASE OF 5.3%

  • [10] BULGARIAN POLICE INVESTIGATES THE CASE OF JANCHEV

    MILS SUPPLEMENT

  • [11] Next Stage for Macedonia (Part 2) ('Financial Times', February 16 1996)


  • MILS NEWS

    Skopje, 19 April 1996

    [01] NEW YORK TALKS AS EXPECTED

    UN officially announced that Macedonian and Greek Ambassadors, Ivan Toshevski and Hristos Zaharakis, had ended the New York talks with an agreement to continue them at the beginning of June, in accordance with the Article 5 of the Interim Accord.

    As Macedonian media reports, no significant progress was made during this fourth round of talks, but the mediator Cyrus Vance had denied the speculations that he would return his mandate to the Security Council.

    A-1 Television reported the information of the Greek agency 'ANA', according to which Cyrus Vance stated yesterday that he was satisfied by both parties' stands and that he found it unnecessary to inform the Security Council in this negotiating phase.

    [02] CIA - GREEK-MACEDONIAN DISPUTE BECAUSE OF MACEDONIAN LAND

    The secret study of the CIA reads that Alexander the Great was not Greek, and that the current problems between Macedonia and Greece are not only because of the origin of this emperor. This information, presented by the Greek TV station 'Antena', and reported by 'Makfax' agency, continues that the content of the document explains the attitude of Washington in the Greek-Macedonian dispute.

    The report also reads that Alexander the Great and Macedonians at that time were Illyrians and enemies to Greece, and that Macedonia was not Greek. The authors claim that Greece refuses to recognise Macedonia not only because of the ancient emperor, but also because of its fear that Macedonia might require a returning of its predecessors' land and a compensation for the violence in the past. Greece is also afraid, reads the report, that Macedonians might ask for their homes to be returned to them, which might become one of the most serious issues in this part of Europe. The report ends with the statement that, after the Second Balkans War, 'a policy of Hellenisation was applied in the Aegean Macedonia, and hundreds of thousands Greeks were settled in the area.'

    [03] FRCHKOVSKI - 'GREECE MAY CALL MACEDONIA HOWEVER IT LIKES'

    On a press conference in the OSCE headquarters in Vienna yesterday, Macedonian Foreign Minister Ljubomir Frchkovski repeated the already announced stand that Macedonia would not accept any compromise on its name in the talks with Greece, and that the only thing about which it might yield would be to allow Greece to call it however it likes.

    Regarding the Macedonian-Greek relations, he stated that the Accord on regulation of the bilateral economic and political relations signed last year, had been functioning excellently, and that it was a matter treated separately.

    In his interview for the Austrian paper 'Courier', Frchkovski stressed the efforts of Macedonia to be included in NATO as soon as possible, explaining that the NATO troops in Macedonia and Albania would guarantee the Balkans peace.

    He added that having these troops in the region would be an advantage for the Alliance itself, as it would calm down the tensions between Greece and Turkey.

    Frchkovski also said that the idea of the Serbian president Miloshevic to divide Macedonia between Serbia and Greece had been definitely buried with the Skopje-Belgrade recognition.

    Referring to the dividing of the former SFRY property between its former republics, Frchkovski emphasised this was a still unsolved issue, with only a global framework.

    [04] ISSUING AUSTRIAN VISAS IN MACEDONIA?

    Ljubomir Frchkovski, Macedonian Minister of Foreign Affairs, yesterday in Vienna addressed the OSCE Council and met with his Austrian counterpart Volfgang Schusel. Austrian Minister said he would make efforts to alleviate the visas regime for the Macedonian citizens, i.e. to become possible for them to be obtained in Macedonia, reported Macedonian Radio. Schusel also stated that Austria, as an EU member, supported Macedonia's efforts to become a joint member of the Union.

    [05] TECHNICAL NEGOTIATIONS ON THE AGREEMENT WITH EU STARTED

    The two-day technical negotiations on the Agreement on a Cooperation between Macedonia and the EU started yesterday in Skopje. Plenary sessions and expert meetings will be held for the trade with industry and agriculture production and for the transport. The main issue is to accord the stands on certain Agreement Articles and Annexes. The delegation of the European Commission is planned to have talks in the Macedonian Foreign Ministry and to visit some production capacities in the Republic.

    [06] MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER IN MACEDONIA TOMORROW

    Following the invitation of the Macedonian Premier Branko Crvenkovski, the President of the Malaysian government, Dato Serim Mohatir Mohamat, will pay an official two-day visit to Macedonia from tomorrow. The Malaysian delegation will meet Macedonian President Gligorov, a Macedonian government delegation, and the Parliament President Tito Petkovski. An economy delegation, which will accompany the governmental one, will have talks in the Macedonian Chamber of Commerce.

    [07] MINISTER PORTILLO IN MACEDONIA IN JULY

    British Ambassador to Macedonia Tony Millson and Macedonian Defense Minister Blagoj Hanjiski met yesterday and expressed their mutual satisfaction with the planned visit of the United Kingdom Defense Minister Michael Portillo to Macedonia in July. Ambassador Millson introduced the new GB Military Attach, to Macedonia, Mike Dour. The current bilateral cooperation in the field of defense was estimated as very successful at the meeting.

    [08] THE LATE PENSION WILL BE PAID FROM JUNE ON

    Macedonian pensioners will start receiving the late pensions starting from June. They will be paid in 12 equal installments, which means that 8.3% will be added to their usual monthly payments. Such was the result of the negotiations between the Macedonian government, the Pensions Fund and the Pensioners Union of Macedonia.

    Premier Branko Crvenkovski informed on yesterday's press conference that the government had obtained the money from other sources: from the privatisation capital, from the income paid by the Bank Rehabilitation Agency, from excess income of the public enterprises, etc.

    This would be considered, according to Crvenkovski, the second rehabilitation phase of the Pensions Fund, and the third phase was planned to take place in 1997, when the Fund would be transformed into a Capital Fund and would work by the example of the west European countries.

    President of the Pensioners Union Vite Isjanovski pointed out that the pensions fee had been raised a year ago, and the number of new pensioners had been restricted to 200 from the previous 1500.

    [09] INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INCREASE OF 5.3%

    Macedonian industrial production at the period January-March 1996 had increased for 5.3% compared to the same period in 1995. According to the report of the Macedonian Statistics Institute, the biggest raise was noted in the reproduction materials production - 13.9%. Significant figures were reached in the electricity production, the production of traffic means, of electrical appliances and machines, of construction materials and beverages.

    The industrial production in March has raised 12.9% since February, especially in the electrical, constructional, food and tobacco industry. The products prices have jumped 0.7% compared to February, and 0.8% compared to last year.

    Macedonian Television reported the information from the Statistics Institute that the consumers goods prices were at the same level as the previous month, but had increased for 5.4% from the average last year ones. The costs of living in March were 0.5% lower than in January, due to the lower expenses for food, culture, hygiene and health. They are, however, 6.2% higher than in the same period last year.

    The average Macedonian net salary in January was 8 296 denars, i.e. 0.1% less than the 1995 average one. Necessary expenses in March reached the level of 9 262 denars, which is 2.8% more than in February and 8% more than at the beginning of 1996.

    Macedonia had 349 954 employed in January 1995, 2% less than 1995 average. The number of officially unemployed has been increasing: 23.2% more people were unemployed in December 1995 than in 1994. According to Macedonian Television, 16.6% of the employed in Macedonia had not received one, two, three, or more salaries.

    [10] BULGARIAN POLICE INVESTIGATES THE CASE OF JANCHEV

    'Makpress' agency informed that Bulgarian authorities had started an investigation on the eventual murder of Ivo Janchev, the Director of the 'Multigroup' company subsidiary in Skopje. The police explained that it did not mean that the possibility for a suicide had been excluded.

    The information on the death of Janchev was kept a secret, as alleged, because a delegation of the EBRD Governors Council had been staying in the residence where he was found dead.

    The opposition paper 'Demokratija', on the other hand, wrote yesterday that Ivo Janchev might have been killed because of the secrets of 'Multigroup', as those close to him had strongly rejected the possibility for a suicide.

    MILS SUPPLEMENT

    [11] Next Stage for Macedonia (Part 2)

    ('Financial Times' - East European Market, February 16 1996)

    On the other side of the coin, 'Skopje Brewery' was one of the biggest in old Yugoslavia and is one of the industrial stars, posting a DM 11m net profit last year. It privatised in three stages: it leased trucks to their drivers, slashing transport costs by a third; then it turned its eight distribution centres into separate private companies.

    Finally, the brewery itself was privatised with initially 69.04 per cent of the shares in the company going to management and workers, but with management board finally securing a 52.6 per cent share.

    Ratko Cadikovski, the brewery's deputy general director, speaks confidently about the company's future. There is a 'foreign cooperation' as he coyly refers, to the Heineken overtures, the brewery's Coca Cola plant is to be modernised and expanded under a DM 34m plan, probably with EBRD input and the company is working to a regional market strategy to the year 2010, drawn up by western experts. Says Mr.

    Cadikovski: 'We are confident we have a bright future. So are our employees. They can see foreign investors on the horizon and they know the value of their stake in the company.'

    Stock exchange. One thing that is likely to spur the initial domestic investment is the opening of the Skopje Stock Exchange in March. Thanks to a UK Know-How Fund programme, a full complement of staff has been trained and the technology is there. The exchange only needs a building for its floor.

    Initially it will start with 20 members - banks and two insurance companies and will begin trading two or three days a week, gradually expanding.

    The exchange will trade at three levels: larger companies with capitalisation of DM20m, 200 shareholders, 20 per cent shares in public hands with three years of audited annual accounts; smaller firms (DM9m capitalisation, 100 shareholders and 10 per cent in public hands with two years audited accounts); and other securities. 'It will be an education process', says Andy Wilson, the British securities consultant who headed the project. 'Macedonian management does not want to lose control. We must educate companies that they need to grow and for this they need capital. The logical place to go is the stock exchange.'

    In March privatisation moves another step forward along the path set by the World Bank's $85m Financial and Enterprise Sector Adjustment Credit (FESAC) programme. Deliberately excluded from the first round of the sell-off it might prove a longer haul, possibly taking three years. Although 80 per cent of agriculture has traditionally remained in private hands, the sector is dominated by large agri-kombinats which are vertically integrated, with extraneous business interests.

    Adds the World Bank's Alberto Eguren: 'Privatisation has broken the incestuous relationship between enterprises and the banks. Now we move on to bigger and better things by unleasing agriculture. It is perhaps the country's greatest asset and modernisation would multiply Macedonia's export potential.'

    (end)

    mils news 19 April 1996

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