MILS NEWS 27/06/96

Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: "Macedonian Information Liaison Service" <mils@mils.spic.org.mk>

CONTENTS

[01] DETERMINED TO DEVELOP GOOD NEIGHBOURLY RELATIONS

[02] EUROPEAN EXPERTS NOT PLEASED WITH CALCULATION OF CENSUS RESULTS

[03] OBJECTIONS TO THE LAW ON LOCAL ELECTIONS

[04] LIBERALS ARE ACCUSING 'NOVA MAKEDONIJA' AND 'VECER' OF CENSORSHIP

[05] HELSINKI WATCH: 'MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR BREAKING THE HUMAN RIGHTS'

MILS SUPPLEMENT

[06] Gligorov: 'No Leader Would Sign A Capitulation of His People'

MILS NEWS

Skopje, 27 June 1996

[01] DETERMINED TO DEVELOP GOOD NEIGHBOURLY RELATIONS

He said that with the Agreement on Normalization of Relations, signed in April this year, many essential issues between the two countries had been solved and that a solid basis for establishing a complete cooperation has been created. 'Full implementation of the Agreement and the other more precise Agreements on cooperation in certain areas will establish long-term legal frames for regulation of cooperation areas,' stressed Gligorov. He said that, besides the already made first contacts in the field of trade, transport, culture, etc., the closeness of these two countries would be even better confirmed in future.

'I expect that we will solve all the eventual different approaches to bilateral issues or issues of an international character by a mutual respect of each other's stands, friendly and with understanding,' said Macedonian President.

Janachkovic expressed his belief that with the help and support of his hosts he would be able to perform his duties successfully, in the interest of friendship and better future of the people of both countries. Janachkovic said FR Yugoslavia was determined to develop the relations with Macedonia on the basis of universal principles of equality, not interfering, territorial integrity and sovereignty.

'Full respect of all these principles is the best guarantee for our future relations, and would like to stress that peace policy, strengthening the mutual confidence and good relations with all neighbours are strategic determinations of FR Yugoslavia,' said the first Yugoslav Ambassador to Macedonia, Zoran Janachkovic.

[02] EUROPEAN EXPERTS NOT PLEASED WITH CALCULATION OF CENSUS RESULTS

'In case the Institute does not start working more seriously, it will definitely influence our further cooperation,' said Haug for 'Dnevnik'.

[03] OBJECTIONS TO THE LAW ON LOCAL ELECTIONS

According to 'Dnevnik', Socialist Party members found the local elections issue of greatest importance and stressed that they would try to enlarge the number of their local Assemblies members, which has been only 12% currently.

[04] LIBERALS ARE ACCUSING 'NOVA MAKEDONIJA' AND 'VECER' OF CENSORSHIP

It was also said that giving up the international code 'MK' was a step backwards.

[05] HELSINKI WATCH: 'MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR BREAKING THE HUMAN RIGHTS'

Although political and economic pressures from abroad are partly to be blamed for that, Helsinki Watch considers 'the Macedonian Government also responsible for breaking the human rights of its citizens'.

They find the status of minorities especially worrying, mostly of Albanians, and conclude that 'besides certain improvements, ethnic Albanians are still being discriminated in the public sector employment and in education in their language'. 'But, groups of minorities are not the only victims,' says Helsinki Watch, and continues: 'Limiting the freedom of press, violating the right to a effective court process, and the misuse of opposition political parties attack all the citizens, no matter which ethnic group they belong to.'

The report underlines the peace and stability keeping role of UN and OSCE Missions in the country, but criticizes them of neglecting the violation of human rights. According to Helsinki Watch, these Missions 'only mildly criticize the friendly Government, considering it a stabilizing power'.

Not denying the stability as an important goal, the report titled 'A Threat to The Stability' emphasizes that stability is possible only when the human rights are fully respected.

Helsinki Watch's list of recommendations to the Macedonian Government is rather long. The Government is called on to guarantee its citizens the right to a fair trial, to examine the accusations addressed to the police misuse and bad treatment of people in custody, to have a constant structure established through which citizens could complain against the police misuse, etc.

Regarding the minorities' rights, Helsinki Watch recommends to the Government to allow private educational institutions at all levels, to create a programme for positive discrimination in order to enlarge the presence of minorities in the Government, to continue and widen its programme for recruiting members of ethnic minorities in the police.

The Organisation also requires from the Government to guarantee free informing through governmental media - publications of 'Nova Makedonija' and Macedonian Radio and Television programmes.

MILS SUPPLEMENT

[06] Gligorov: 'No Leader Would Sign A Capitulation of His People'

(Macedonian Television, 26 June 1996)

During his stay in Strasbourg, Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov answered the questions of CoE Parliamentary Assembly and of the press about the eventual solutions for the name dispute with Greece. His answers were integrally presented by Macedonian Television.

'The name issue is a very painful one for Macedonia. The UN Security Council Resolution that required from a country to negotiate its own name with a neighbour was a precedent.

Some countries had changed their names in the past, but those were always sovereign acts of their people and of the country itself. The case of Macedonia is quite opposite to that and we have been put in a situation when Greece insists that we change the name of our country. I can convince that not only that we do not want that, but also we can not, neither those who are ruling the country, nor the opposition parties. There is no leader who would sign a capitulation of his_her people, of their name and identity. That is the reason why the negotiations can not bring results in a short time. We are very patient about the negotiating, we are trying to connect our arguments with the past and the presence, with the interests that connect us, with the fact that those are two nations close to each other, of the same religion and with similar traditions. We are proud to see that, despite the damages we had suffered from the embargo, our people do not hate the Greeks. On the contrary, after the signing of the Interim Accord, a great number of our citizens have been going to Greece each day, and a great number of Greek citizens have been coming to our country. We should let the time solve this problem. Each nation should forget about its nationalistic impulse and understand the other nation why it could not give up the name which gives it its identity. Losing the identity of a nation in the heart of the Balkans would mean renewing all Balkan disputes and wars that have been known since the beginning of this century.'

Macedonian Head of State also answered the question whether the New York negotiations between Macedonia and Greece on the name would continue.

'Nothing can be solved if it is not talked about. Talks led by reasonable people with adequate arguments, if we are not deaf to other party's arguments and accept those that are facts, could bring to an agreement. Whether it would take place now, or after three or six months, or longer, depends on the readiness and capability of the negotiators to adjust to the situation, to listen and think it over and to look for a solution. I am deeply convinced that, not only in the case with Greece, but in case of eventual disputes with any other country, we will always be for a dialogue, for an agreement, for mutual understanding and compromises, when they would not involve losing the national identity.'

Asked about any other problems Macedonia has with Greece, besides the name issue, Gligorov replied: 'Generally speaking, there are no other problems. There are, however, issues in which people who were born in Greece and had run away to many European countries after the Civil War are interested in. Many of them have come back to Macedonia and settled there. They had lost their homes and properties in Greece, which is a serious problem for each person. That was a situation similar to the one happening to Bosnians nowadays. They had lost all they had and went all over the world to look for a place for living. Everything that was created by them and by their ancestors is destroyed and they can not go back to their homes. I think that the rest of the issues between Macedonia and Greece should again be discussed with arguments and facts and maybe with a mediation of the CoE and other EU organs. The solutions should satisfy at least the minimum requirements of those people, who had left their homes half a century ago and who had been living in a country where they had to create a new home.'

President Gligorov also presented his opinion about the development of the situation in Kosovo, i.e. how could it influence the Albanian minority in Macedonia.

'Kosovo issue is one of those essential, maybe the initial capsule that provoked the bloody war in the Balkans with all its consequences. That is why it must not be underestimated.

We understand that a great majority of Albanians live in Kosovo and that they want their human rights protected. They used to have their institutions and autonomy, but now they do not have that, and are establishing institutions parallel to the governmental ones. The life of Serbs and Montenegrins on one side and of Albanians on another has been completely divided there. That is why I have recommended to the leader of Kosovo Albanians, Rugova, to make an official initiative for a start of negotiations with Belgrade in order to have this issue solved. Because, although years have been passing by, the situation has not improved, the repression has been going on, and Albanians have been making declarations either for uniting all the Albanians in one country or for an independent Kosovo, etc. I think that our experience in solving the problems with national minorities in Macedonia can be an example of solving such sensitive issues through a dialogue. In case a conflict in Kosovo takes place, a war for example, the situation in the whole region would become very complex. It would inevitably concern Macedonia, as hundreds of thousands refugees from Kosovo would easily enter Macedonia, which would change the ethnic structure of the country. A conflict between Macedonians and Albanians would be almost inevitable then, and it would initiate a Balkan conflict. I do not believe that any neighbour of Macedonia would stay calm if things develop in that way.'

About the quality of education of the Albanian minority in Macedonia and measures of the Government for its improvement, as well as about the stability of relations between the nationalities in the country, President Gligorov said:

'My speech was not by chance mostly about the relations with minorities in Macedonia and about respecting their rights as a condition for the stability of any country, especially of Macedonia.

The last census made on our request, and approved by this Council, OSCE and other institutions, controlled by international observers, showed that two thirds of the population are Macedonians, 22.9% are Albanians, and the rest of minorities - Turks, Vlachs, Romans, Serbs, etc. - are of a smaller percentage, i.e. mostly 5%. That is the current ethnic map of Macedonia.

There have been many disputes about the education. To solve these requests of Albanians, who consider them a part of the human rights, we have provided full primary and secondary education in Albanian, and the Albanology Centre at the University in Skopje now offers twice more places for students to study the Albanian literature, art, history, etc. Also, we opened two Faculties, one in Bitola and one in Skopje, where teachers who would teach in Albanian study.

That is the way we found the best to solve the most painful issue of education of Albanians in Macedonia - lower quality of the Albanian schools. A Macedonian and an Albanian could not equally compete for a place at the University if they are not equally prepared previously according to pedagogic norms.

I had several meetings with the Union of Albanian Intellectuals in Macedonia and they said their problem was not whether they did have or not a University in Albanian, but whether their complete education was at a satisfactory level. We want to solve that problem, and then we will see what really are and how will the aspirations for a 'university in Albanian' be realized,' concluded Macedonian President Gligorov.

(end)

mils news 27 June, 1996

Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next Article