The renown Parisian newsweek "Paris Mach" in its latest issue on eight pages of the newspaper published special addition about Macedonia. In the addition it was stated that "Macedonia, independent and saved from the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia for four years already, is a country whose economy is stabilizing and is seeking to attract the attention of the investors" MAKPRESS reports.
In the eight pages devoted to Macedonia there is a say about the firmly determination of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia to endure in its reform, encouraged by the results too, which were noted in the World Bank and the other international institutions, which look upon the development of the Macedonian economy with big enthusiasm.
In addition, among the other, the big external pressure on the country, especially by Albania, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece, is emphasized, for which in a big way the decreasing of the trade exchange with these neighbors, i.e. the decreasing of 60% of the export, is contributing.
In the report of the Helsinki's Committee for Human Rights, issued after the holding of the round-table with the Minority rights Group in Greece, presented were the information from the survey of the public opinion in the country, on the topic "Racism and non-tolerance".
According to the researches of the Researching foundation Lambrakis, fonded by the EU, reports MAKPRESS, 90% of the Greeks believe that "the foreigners in our country take our jobs away from us", while 84% believe that "lots of the foreigners who live in our country represent public danger".
Almost 90% of the Greeks have aversion towards the Turks, 76% towards the Albanians, 62% have aversion towards the Turks from Western Trakia, and 52% "want them to go back to Turkey". More than 50% of the Greeks are not inclined to the Jews, 55% to the Gypsies, and 48% of the Greeks believe that "even if their living conditions improved, the Gypsies will still be filthy".
Towards the Slavs, 38% of the Greeks have negative attitude.
The comparative surveys conveyed in the countries of the European Union show that the Greeks are the most xenophobic and the most racist nation among the nations of the previous 12 countries, members of the EU, while similar surveys in the Balkans point out that regarding some issues, these phenomena is more expressive with the Greeks than with the other Balkan nations.
Of course, the Greek are not born more intolerant than the other nations, but simply Greece has never had an anti-racist education, it was said in the report of the Helsinki's committee. On the contrary, it was said further in the report, as it was convincingly shown by some pedagogues and academics - the Hellenistic education encouraged the feeling of racial and cultural superiority with the Greeks.
Macedonian church community in Australia is once again facing the vandal attacks on the churches. This time the victim was the small church of "Saint Sunday" in Golgost. The night, before last night, unknown people have written with black chock some anti-Macedonian church sentences on the church walls. Also, the cross-holders and the candle-sticks were broken, as well as the entrance door of the church. The damage is considerable, and the public is disgust by this vandalism on the Macedonian church "Saint Sunday".
Australian police conducted an inspection at the very place and are pursuing the doers of this criminal act.
Yesterday, the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey in Macedonia, mr. Unal Sharashli, handed the first part of the humanitarian aid, which was donated to the Macedonian Red Cross by the Turkish Half-Moon, to the Center "Dare Dzambaz" on Vodno, where presently stay 110 refugees. The aid consists of 200 kilos of pasta, 300 kilos each of cooking oil and sugar, half ton of detergents and a ton of flour.
Such and similar packages will be delivered to the other refugee centers in the country, as well as to the suffering population in the disastrous floods from the Tikves area.
Yesterday night, after Negotino and Kavadarci, a storm with pouring rains reached Prilep too. For two hours the water disaster was raging through the streets. The crumbling houses in the "Drizla" settlement, where the Gypsies lived were destroyed. The township committees are out on the field and are "recording" the material damages caused by the storm.
Day before yesterday, particular villages in the area of Kriva Palanka were reached by hail, which caused big damages to the agricultural products. Hail as big as a hazelnut reached the villages of Glimovci and Petralica, during which the most damaged were the agricultural and horticultural products. Small damages were caused in the neighboring villages of Ljubinci and Psacha.
On the 10th of July, the International Federation of Red Cross and Half Moon in Geneva authorized the office of its delegation in Skopje to deliver the Macedonian Red Cross aid of 17,425 Swiss franks (DEM 21,108) for helping the regions in central Macedonia which were recently struck by the terrible storm. These means will be aimed to provide aid to the most damaged people in the cities of Negotino, Kavadarci, Valandovo and Vinica.
With the help of this donation the provision of food and building material will start for the most damaged people in these cities. Additional donations are needed, which will help the Macedonian Red Cross to help the poorest families struck by the storm. Individuals and companies interested to join with their means into this donation can deposit means in the following bank account: Solidarity Fond of the Macedonian Red Cross: 40100- 678-3005743.
After the announcement that the Government prepares a big "purge" in all of the ministries, in which there should be fired 120 to 150 higher-up state officials, we find out that from today on there will be specific steps taken.
During this one and the next week a revealing, and logically laying off of all responsible people in the Ministry for Agriculture is expected, which people have badly elaborated the part with the signing of the permits about the importation of the pesticides and with the issuing of those permits.
It was announced that this week there will be laying offs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs too, and in its economic department, but, the Government will face resistance, as they say there, from the "hierarchy in this Ministry". Otherwise, there is an indirect cause for the personnel interventions, connected with the last case with the importation of the tomatoes, which caused series of reactions and disapprovals. And if it was not for that, the previous "call for responsibility" of this economic department in the mentioned Ministry, should arouse the moral obligations of a state official, even if none of these speculations were true. The government is trying to make the planned personnel move in this ministry real and to suggest the minister certain changes. The names are still not being mentioned, but we managed to find out that it comes to a change of a bigger part of the present personnel of the economic department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Without a specific announcement, but also in connection with the tomatoes, the Ministry for Economy is mentioned, too, in which there could be laying offs, if not because of something else, but because there is no offered solution which would have stopped these kind of features.
Right there is the Ministry for city planning too, in which there is a space for sanctioning of some higher-up officials because of the big number of over-looks in the regional units (constructions without permits, issuing double-meaning papers, not fast enough reactions), for which working are responsible exactly those people.
There is a lots to do in the Ministry for Labour and Social politics, too. The thing that was estimated that it has to be reconstructed is the department for social prevention, the department for children's prevention, and especially the department for the so-called special detachments abroad.
For the Ministry for Culture, they say in the Government, there is no legal space, but there are deeds which are on the verge of criminal charges. Those are on the first place the wrongly made arrangements about the renting of business estates. It seems that the most harmful is the one for renting the space in MNT, as well as in the Drama's Theater.
The other ministries have not been mentioned so far, which still doesn't mean that they will be avoided. In the Government, they say that this kind of "purge" will happen in every one of them. We also found out that the whole initiative was undertaken by the president of the Government, who twice at the Government sessions seriously threatened the ministerial make-up that if they don't manage the ministries, he will manage them. The indirect cause for this kind of determination of the Prime-minister were the disastrous data which he gets, regarding the influx of the budget means from the additional taxes, which budget is lousy, in the same time when the consumption of gasoline, cigarets and alcohol is increased. The general spreading of the civil non-discipline and the dangerous tendency, as said in the Government, for the citizens to break the law, is adding to this.
Therefore, the general formulation for all of this kind of personnel interventions is improving of the material-financing work, as well as the unsatisfying results of the work of those officials in the ministries which will be found on the "black list". While, weather some minister will also loose his armchair or not, is not being discussed at the moment, but the Prime- minister's treat stays that if in some of the ministries an order is not made, he will use his authority. That would mean that firing of some of the ministers too is not excluded.
The public company "Electrodistribution of Macedonia" is carrying out intensive preparations for the realization of new long distance connections, to connect the Macedonian electro-energetic system with Albania and Bulgaria. Namely, two pipe lines of 22 KW from Vrutok to Bureli in Albania and a 400 KW connection with the pipe line between Shtip and Blagoevgrad, are in question.
There is an agreement with the Albanian side to draw up the main project, which will be followed by the construction. The Macedonian side has already chosen its project organization, and the filming of the terrain is expected to start soon. The long distance pipe line should be built by "EMO" from Ohrid, and it is presumed that the whole investment will cost US$ 16 million, of which half is on Macedonian territory 45 km and 55 km are on the Albanian side. The realization of this project is expected to be assisted by the EBRD. If everything goes as planned, the project should be finished in 30 months.
With the Republic of Bulgaria, Macedonia has built a 100 KW pipe line between Kriva Palanka and Kjustendil, but 400 KW connection is foreseen. For this purpose, firstly a 400 KW electric station has to be built in Shtip, from where the connection with Bulgaria will start. This link is the subject of one of the studies of PHARE. As for the funds, the Shtip electric station will require US$ 15 to 20 million to be built, and just as much money will be necessary to establish the link with Bulgaria. This electroenergetic corridor East-West will have great significance, especially if Italy and Albania become connected with a below-sea cable.
The mine "Oslomej" on the site "Oslomej-West" has reserves up to 20 million tones of coal, of which 12-13 million tones can be extracted. The average depth of the coal is 68 meters. These reserves, as the authorities assess, are sufficient to keep the thermal electric power plant "Oslomej" working some 12 years. The initial data says that the opening of the site "Oslomej - West" and its mining will require some tens of millions German marks, and help from the international funds and foreign investors is expected for this, who would take part in the operation with their own funds.
The southern part of the mine, on the other hand, is expected to contain 14 million tones of coal, but how much of these quantities will be able to be extracted, will have to be determined additionally.
In Gevgelija, activities are underway for the opening of a new production plant of the mixed Macedonian-Greek company "Vipro," for the production of soft drinks. A new factory for ready-made clothing "Geteks," which will employ 320 people, is expected to start working in the object of the private company "Polin."
The local assembly has allocated a location for the construction of a factory for cardboard packaging, whose investor will be the private company "Salajko," and the factory will cover an area of 720 m2. The municipality has also given a visa for opening a cowshed on the mountain Kozuf, where an object for 80 cows will be built, as well as plants for the primary processing of the milk.
The Gevgelija municipality is one of the richest in Macedonia. It is presumed that these investments in the production are a result of the fact that the border with Greece is closed and the trade activities disabled. Therefore, the municipality is turning to production.
The state-owned company for metal products "Souvenir" from Samokov is recording losses amounting to 10 million DM, and an account blocked for 140 days. Bankruptcy proceedings for the company have been filed in the District Commercial court.
According to the acting general director Jovanche Cvetanoski, measures are being taken with the "appropriate ministries," to rehabilitate the bad financial situation. Cvetanovski claims that measures are being taken to introduce new products in the part of the production intended for military needs for the state and the production for general consumption.