MILS NEWS 03/07/96

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

CONTENTS

[01] PLEASED WITH DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES IN MACEDONIA

[02] MILJOSKI: 'REGIONAL COOPERATION WITHOUT INSTITUTIONAL CHAINS'

[03] MACEDONIAN ECONOMY PRESENTED IN RUSSIA

[04] AMBASSADOR HILL SOON IN MACEDONIA

[05] AMERICAN MILITARY AID OF $100 MILLION FOR ALBANIA

[06] MORE INFECTED LIVESTOCK

[07] LIBERALS: DEFINING THE STATUS OF OPPOSITION IN THE PARLIAMENT

[08] REFERENDUM IN TETOVO FOR NEW LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT UNITS

[09] PDP: 'POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT IS PUT ASIDE'

[10] 0.4% DEFLATION

MILS SUPPLEMENT

[11] 'Cartographers Are on The Road Again!' (Part 2)

MILS NEWS

Skopje, 03 July 1996

[01] PLEASED WITH DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES IN MACEDONIA

Van der Stoel expressed greatest interest in relations with nationalities in Macedonia, in their participation in the institutions and in the situation of their education.

Crvenkovski informed him about the way the educational system in the country functioned and said the rights in this sphere had reached the level of most European countries.

Max van der Stoel also met with Macedonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ljubomir Frchkovski, and of Education Sofia Todorova.

[02] MILJOSKI: 'REGIONAL COOPERATION WITHOUT INSTITUTIONAL CHAINS'

Miljoski also said the problem with the name had been expected to appear due to the membership of Greece in the EU, and that it had been solved in the same way in which Macedonia had established diplomatic relations with EU member countries. Deputy premier replied to the criticism of Liberal Party leader Stojan Andov about the Agreement saying that the one signed was much better than the previously offered one. He said the 'thesis that Macedonia was badly treated by the Union after breaking the Coalition of SDSM and the Liberals was untrue', because the Union decided to include the regional approach in the Agreement and to change the evolution clause last October. 'It would be ridiculous to think that a very small and almost insignificant political party could change the EU stands,' stressed Miljoski. He also informed that Macedonian code 'MK' had not been changed, and that the Agreement contains a financial protocol, a transport one, a protocol for iron and steel and one for goods exchange, while a protocol for textile and wine should follow. According to Miljoski, the document will be discussed several times more till the end of this year, after which it will be offered to the Parliament to ratify it.

[03] MACEDONIAN ECONOMY PRESENTED IN RUSSIA

Macedonian information booth of the Economic Chamber offers presentation of over 2,000 enterprises.

Representatives of Macedonian and Russian Economic Chambers yesterday signed an Agreement on Exchanging Relevant Economic Data.

[04] AMBASSADOR HILL SOON IN MACEDONIA

[05] AMERICAN MILITARY AID OF $100 MILLION FOR ALBANIA

A-1 Television also informed that National Parliament was constituted yesterday in Albania, which was attended by 131 deputies of the total 140. Only one of ten Socialist Party deputies attended the event, while the rest of them were still boycotting the Parliament , refusing to recognize its legitimacy.

[06] MORE INFECTED LIVESTOCK

Macedonian Television reported that EU would most probably today ban the import of beef and lamb meat from Macedonian and Albania, which would last for a year, according to EU regulations. EU veterinary experts, continued the information, pointed out Albania as an epicenter of the infection, and underlined the bad sanitary situation in Macedonian and Albanian cattle and sheep raising.

The situation at Macedonian-FR Yugoslav border was the same yesterday as the previous several days, i.e. there were major holdups at Tabanovce -Preshevo border crossing.

Macedonian Radio reported that Macedonian-Albanian border was being more strictly controlled, all the vehicles were being disinfected, cattle in villages near the border was being examined, and import or transit of Albanian cattle was banned. Albanian-Macedonian border line is more strictly controlled by the police and the army.

[07] LIBERALS: DEFINING THE STATUS OF OPPOSITION IN THE PARLIAMENT

Liberal Party representatives emphasized that Parliament rejected their proposals in advance, that their becoming an opposition party resulted in different constitution of Parliamentarian Commissions, that the government was always late with its answers to their questions, and accused Petkovski of not respecting the protocol of Parliament's work.

Parliament President expressed his surprise with the fact that they were contacting him through the media, and with the request to solve the status of the opposition in the Parliament, as he was not charge of the latter. He also said the government was not classifying the questions by Parliamentarians groups, and that nothing much had been changed in the work of Commissions, as the previous agreement was respected. Petkovski rejected the accusations that he was violating the Parliament protocol and that Liberals' initiatives were being rejected, as all the 25 proposals they had submitted were included in the Agenda.

According to Macedonian media, Stojan Andov suggested the Parliament Agendas to be fixed by a separate group, in which the opposition would participate, and to pass a protocol for fair behaviour. Parliament President suggested the text of such a protocol to be completed and submitted to the Parliamentarian groups.

[08] REFERENDUM IN TETOVO FOR NEW LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT UNITS

[09] PDP: 'POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT IS PUT ASIDE'

[10] 0.4% DEFLATION

Costs of living were also 0.7% lower in June than in May, due to the 1.5% reduced food expenses and 0.7% expenses for heating and electricity. Compared with last year's average figures, market prices had raised for 3.2% in the last six months.

MILS SUPPLEMENT

[11] 'Cartographers Are on The Road Again!' (Part 2)

('Dnevnik', 29 June 1996)

The next solution step of Serbian-Albanian issue will contain all negotiating aces. It means that, since nobody had officially denied Despic's statements, and if we know the importance of the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts, we can easily see that something serious is being cooked 'in the kitchen'! Taking into account the importance of both Serbia and Albania for the Balkans, as well as for Europe and the USA, plus all the mixed up and not harmonized interests of them all, one can see at least two directions for further analysis:

First, what will be the geo-strategic result of the Serbian- Albanian dividing? Weakening or strengthening of Serbia and of those connected with it (Russia, France, etc.), as well as weakening or strengthening of Albania and of those connected with it (USA, Germany, Italy, etc.)?

Second, can this ethnic divorce take place without exploding and spilling over to the South? Because Serbia could recover from such a mythologically-spiritual stroke on the Great Serbian intentions only by winning some other territories.

And what else would that territory be if not Macedonia, for which Pasic gave up Serbia in the First World War! On the other hand, in case Albania strengthens by winning Kosovo for itself, wouldn't it be natural for it follow the hegemony nature and ask for (and win) Western Macedonia?

And finally, what about Greece and Bulgaria? Without any doubts about the skills of the creators of this mixture (long time ago notified by the father of the nation Dobrica Cosic), one can foresee that Serbia will not give up anything. The creators of Great Serbian Destiny could not recognize that they have been defeated only because they had lost one war or battle.

Serbia will most probably take advantage of the American- German resistance to dividing, which it has already characterized as malicious, and will offer a regionalization: spreading the Federation to Macedonia and Kosovo, as an already established federal and constitutive unit. That would be very cunning, as Europe and USA do not have any other solution at the moment for the Russian Imperialistic position in the World and in the Balkans. They also have not other solution for their mixed interests, which are always a priority, and would probably not mind having a new buffer state, although they know that both previous attempts for a Yugoslavia had ended with a bloodshed.

A smaller federation, permanently without Slovenia and temporarily without Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, would calm down Greeks and Americans, Bulgarians and Russians.

Macedonia would not be independent, but, on the other hand, Albania would not spread. It would no longer be a country susceptible to influences and local hegemonies, but would also not be part of Serbia, which would be additionally amortized with Kosovo and its status. The only strategic advantage Macedonia would maintain would be making possible to control Serbia, amortizing its position, calming Albanian appetites and its pressures on Washington and Europe, without having to create a Great Albania and without any additional dividing. All of that joined with a barrier for Russia to come closer to warmer seas.

And finally, even Albanians would be satisfied, as their first demand - to have all Albanians outside Albania in one country - would be fulfilled. In it, they would be the second most numerous nation and a constitutional factor, and would participate in the ruling and political events, following the already practiced way of dominimum in Macedonia. After that, according to Despic, they would only have to wait some time to become the first nation in the Federation. Why not? Even Albania fulfills the conditions for such a future completion of the regional approach to the Balkans.

The Oasis of Peace might even keep its name, and some of its leaders would definitely have a significant role in the federal ruling circles, if not the most significant. But, yet, not more than the one Lilic has.

There are all possible solutions, especially dangerous when European cartographers are on the road. Because, they do not care very much about the small nations, especially if those nations have been capitulated by some of their members in order to live peacefully in the Balkans, but also in New Zealand or elsewhere.

(end)

mils news 03 July, 1996

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