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MILS NEWS 18/06/96Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: "Macedonian Information Liaison Service" <mils@mils.spic.org.mk>CONTENTS
MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT ON ECOLOGY IN MACEDONIAMILS NEWSSkopje, 18 June 1996[01] UNCERTAIN SIGNING OF MACEDONIA - EU AGREEMENTMacedonian delegation, led by Vice prime Minister Jane Miljoski, yesterday started the new negotiating round about the Agreement on Cooperation with the EU at Union headquarters in Brussels. Macedonian media reported that, however, the outcome had been uncertain for the moment.Namely, as 'Makfax' agency reported, the Agreement was planned to be signed today, but it might not be done so, thus interapting the negotiations. According to Brussels diplomatic sources of 'Makpress', in case the signing does not take place today, the negotiations would be continued after the regional approach is defined, as the one prepared for Croatia, FR Yugoslavia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Macedonian Radio reported from Brussels that EU Committee of Permanent Member Countries Representatives had accepted the results of the last negotiating round between Macedonia and EU, but with certain changes applied following the suggestions of Council of Ministers, made after the visit of Jacques Santeur and Lamberto Dini to the region. The regional approach would not condition development of Macedonia's relations with the Union by its cooperation with the other countries in the region, although it is required from all countries to make efforts to normalize their bilateral relations. According to Macedonian Radio, the dispute has appeared about defining of the region. Regarding the evolution clause, Permanent Representatives Committee had accepted the result of negotiations to have the joint membership of Macedonia in the Union mentioned as an aspiration, and the clause had been defined more mildly. Macedonian Radio also reported that the Agreement signing and the results from the Brussels negotiations were uncertain for the time being. [02] MACEDONIA AND CROATIA HAVE CLOSE STANDSForeign Affairs Minister of Croatia Mate Granic, during his one-day visit to Macedonia yesterday, opened the new Croatian Embassy in Skopje and met with several Macedonian officials: President Kiro Gligorov, Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski, Foreign Affairs Minister Ljubomir Frchkovski and Parliament Vice President Blagoja Filipovski.In the talks with President Gligorov, it was concluded that both countries have either identical or close stands regarding the foreign policy and the current situation in the region. They paid special attention to the experiences of Macedonia and Croatia in integration processes with EU and NATO. Minister Granic and Macedonian Prime Minister Crvenkovski expressed their satisfaction with the development of Macedonian-Croatian relations and possibilities for their improvement, especially in the economic field. The identical stands about the succession issue of former SFRY were especially emphasized. The high Croatian official also talked to Macedonian Parliament Vice President Blagoja Filipovski about intensifying the bilateral parliamentarian cooperation. Minister Granic and his Macedonian counterpart Frchkovski, made statements for the press and pointed out that bilateral relations would improve after several agreements would be signed, such as those on payment overturn, property-legal relations and social insurance, which is planned to take place this autumn, when Frchkovski is expected to visit Croatia. Minister Frchkovski said the identical stands of the two countries about the regional cooperation (no matter how would the region be defined - South-Eastern Europe or Balkans) had been emphasized during the talks, as well as about the succession of former Yugoslavia and integration in the Euro-Atlantic institutions. Minister Granic referring to the regional cooperation said Croatia was ready to cooperate with all countries in the region, but without being previously conditioned, an attitude close to the Macedonian one. Emphasizing that there were no open issues between Croatia and Macedonia, Granic said his country was ready to normalize the relations with FR Yugoslavia by mutual recognition, but with an unconditional clause about protection of minorities. Yesterday, during the opening of Croatian Embassy in Skopje, about 40 Macedonian journalists peacefully protested against the charges raised against Croatian paper 'Feral Tribune' journalists Viktor Ivancic and Marinko Chulic, and handed their written protest to Minister Granic. [03] GERMAN HELP FOR THE STABILITY OF MACEDONIAMacedonian Parliamentarian delegation, led by President Tito Petkovski, yesterday began their five-days visit to Germany having talks with the President of German Parliament Heinrich Haze. Macedonian Television reported that the mutual relations of the two countries were developing well, especially in the sphere of economy, trade and tourism. Haze stressed the readiness of Germany to help Macedonia to maintain the stability of the country and whole region.[04] EXTENDING OF 'DEVE BAIR' POSTPONEDDifferent opinions about the number of lanes did not allow the project on extending 'Deve Bair' border crossing between Macedonia and Bulgaria to be agreed on yesterday. Macedonian party had based the project on a Protocol signed in May 1994, which read that the crossing should have four enter - exit lanes, which is in accordance with the 'East-West' corridor project. Bulgarian party insisted on having only per two lanes in both directions, claiming that it was enough for the current traffic.The delegates, led by Vice Minister of Transport, Macedonian Branko Petkovski and Bulgarian Locezar Lalov, decided to meet again in about fifteen days. As A-1 Television reported, this border crossing is one where cars wait the longest in whole Europe for crossing. [05] FRY - GREATEST EXCHANGE WITH MACEDONIARepublic of Macedonia is one of the greatest foreign trade partner of FR Yugoslavia of all former Yugoslav republics, reported Yugoslav Statistics Institute recently. Macedonian Television reported the information of this Institute that the total bilateral exchange in May had been about $33 million (FRY - $19 million exported to Macedonia, and imported about $11 million).Macedonian Economy Minister Bekjir Zutta, in his interview for daily 'Dnevnik', said experts from both countries had met on 6 and 7 June in Belgrade and decided not to realize the free trade agreement by phases, but to cut the term short and to bring the regime in effect in January 1997. According to Zutta, that would eliminate the customs and additional taxes, i.e. the recently changed 1% customs duty would be re-established. [06] DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF ALBANIA - ABSOLUTE WINNERDemocratic Party of Albania had won 105 seats in the Parliament of total 140, reported Macedonian media yesterday. This Party's candidates won at 12 units of 17 in which the voting was repeated. The opposition boycotted this voting also, but everything passed peacefully and with any irregularities this time, which was confirmed by foreign observers.[07] LAW ON PUBLIC ENTERPRISES AND SOCIAL CARE PROGRAMMEMacedonian Government yesterday passed the draft-Law on Public Enterprises, which determines the establishing, organizing, managing and conditions for work at public enterprises in the field of economy, energy production, transport, connections, transport of oil and gas, wood and water economy, public services, and others that should protect public interests.The Government also agreed on Social Care Programme for socially jeopardized Macedonian citizens in 1996. They made several decisions about the criteria and procedure for establishing and realizing the social aid. [08] EXHUMATION OF VELES PRISONERS STARTEDOn the location of Lechishte, near the village of Letevci (Titov Veles municipality), the exhumation of bodies of 50 citizens of Veles, executed by the macedonian authorities in the night of 23 January 1945, started yesterday. It is being done by experts of Forensic Medicine Institute, led by Prof. Aleksej Duma, and supervised by investigative judge Zdravko Vasilev. The expenses will be covered by the government, and after the analyses are made, the bones of these people will be buried in a cemetery. This so-called 'Veles case' has been rather popular in Macedonian public lately, and a disputable subject for many historians and political opponents.[09] MESSAGE WRITTEN ON A CAR'Makpress' agency reported that unknown people in Thessaloniki had written 'Pseudo-Macedonians' on both sides of the car which belonged to the family Mandevski from Bitola. Mandevski claimed that they had not provoked anybody during their stay in Greece, and that Greek customs officers had explained them the message. The personnel of the hotel, which Mandevski had been staying in, had tried to erase the written, but without any success.MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT ON ECOLOGY IN MACEDONIA[10] Main Story (Part II)There is not a lot of information about heavy metals. The Republic's Hydrometeorological Institute in Skopje measures sulfur dioxide in several parts of the town, but it does not measure heavy metals on a regular basis. There have been two studies of heavy metals in the air. The first was in the years 1976-1977; the second was in 1982-1985. The studies show a decrease in the amount of heavy metals in the air in Veles, but the lead in the air was still above the maximum allowed. For example, a study of lead in the air in the years 1982-1985 showed an average level of twice the permitted maximum of 0.7 mg_m3. The national environmental action plan also notes that the levels of lead would have been much higher if other methods of testing had been used.The heavy metals don't just stay in the air. They fall to the ground and contaminate the soil and whatever grows on it. Two studies, one undertaken between 1976 and 1985 and the other between 1991 and 1994 , found a higher than normal amount of lead in the soil. The 1976-1985 study found contamination in some fruits and vegetables was higher than the maximum allowed by law. The amount of lead in spinach was a much as 3 1_2 times higher than allowed. Peppers, cabbage, apples and grapes also exceeded the limits. The highest concentrations were found in animal fodder. A later study, from 1991 to 1994, came to slightly different conclusions about lead in agricultural products. It found that the levels of contamination in most products fell within the legal limits. However, the researchers looked at only a few products, and all but one were different than the products examined in the previous study. It also found that kinds of wine exceeded the legal limits-- white Smederevka and homemade red wine from grapes grown near the smelter. The study also found that the amount of lead in agricultural products decreased when the products were washed. People in Veles worry about the food grown in Veles. "The people avoid buying food produced in Veles," explained Trajche Lazarev, 74, one day when he was shopping at the Veles market. "In the market they are usually deciding to buy agricultural products produced far away from Veles. It's the psychology of Velesians that they think everything which is grown in Veles is contaminated." Lazarev said he was no different. "I'm always asking about where the vegetables are produced," he said. Another man who was selling vegetables admitted that he sometimes lied about where his leeks and cabbages came from because he lives near the smelter. Overall, the studies about the pollution in Veles can be interpreted in two ways. Liljana Todorova Taneveska, a technological engineer at the Hydrometeorological Institute, said they show that the problem in Veles isn't as bad as some people say. "Really, the air pollution in Veles and its area is present, but according to the analysis made in1985-1986, it is far from the alarming situation as is presented in some Veles circles," she said. The National Environmental Action Plan takes a more pessimistic view of the evidence. "The lead and zinc smelter and its absolute unfavorable location classifies T.Veles as one of the most hazardous communities in respect to the endangering of the health of the population and the environment," the report says. People in Veles tend to blame the smelter for almost every illness they suffer. "My health has become worse, my lips are getting fatter, my eyes burn and I also feel chest pains," says Marjana Stojanovska, who lives hear the smelter. "My daughter lost her appetite and often gets sick. But neither me nor the children are going to a doctor because there is always the same answer--everything is caused by the smelter." It's true that Veles has a higher than average amount of illness in several categories. For example, the rate of anemia is 90 percent higher than in other cities, according to Dr. Jovan Nikolov. The cancer rate in Veles, 0.8 percent in 1994, is twice the average in Macedonia. The frequency of respiratory illness is also high. But doctors are unwilling to say that the smelter is responsible for this high rate of sickness, much less that it is killing people. "We haven't been able to prove it comes from the smelter," said Dr. Vera Ristova. "We need special studies. But there is no money and no equipment for such analyses. We used to cooperate with the medical faculty in Belgrade, but now we can't. ... Sometimes I'm becoming very emotional about this, but how can I not be emotional when our children are breathing the gas and suffering from it?" Doctors worry especially about lead from the smelter, because it can cause many kinds of illnesses. Lead accumulates in the bones, where it can disrupt the production of hemoglobin, an important component of the blood, and cause anemia. Lead can also cause hypertension and gout; at higher levels it can cause kidney disorders. Cadmium, too, can cause anemia and spontaneous abortions. But again, doctors say there is no proof that heavy metals from the smelter are causing these illnesses in Veles. In the case of cancer, doctors point out that other parts of Macedonia, as well as some highly developed countries, have also seen increases in the rate of cancer. Rumors about the smelter abound in Veles. One of the rumors is that the smelter is causing genetic mutations among newborns. Doctors say they have no evidence that this is happening. They say Veles babies are not born with any more frequent genetic mutations than anywhere else in the country. There are two exceptions to the uncertainty about connecting illness to the smelter. In a study from 1981, Dr. Petar Spasov and some of his colleagues concluded that sulfur dioxide in the air was causing constrictions in the airways of some people. The study also said that chronic exposure to sulfur dioxide can damage the hair-like cilia that line the upper air passages, which normally remove infectious agents and other small foreign particles. According to the study, children are especially vulnerable because they are more active and breathe through their mouth, bypassing the filtering mechanisms of the nose. The study said adults also could experience coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and emphysema. It concluded that 14.6 percent of the people of Veles suffered from such obstructions. Another study, published in 1990, found that some workers at the smelter showed signs of kidney disorders that could be related to lead poisoning. A third study that looked at the general population in 1977-78 found that people in Veles, especially those living near the smelter, had a slightly higher than normal amount of heavy metals in their blood. But the study found no evidence of disease related to the heavy metals. It recommended more monitoring of people exposed to pollution from the smelter. This was never done. (to be continued)(end)mils news 18 June, 1996Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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