SKOPJE, AUGUST 23, 1995 (MIC)
Following the meeting with President Gligorov, the Albanian Foreign Minister Alfred Sereci and his colleague Stevo Crvenkovski gave statements for the press in hotel "Metropol" in Ohrid, in which they assessed the results of the two-day talks.
"We discussed the bilateral relations, and certainly, we also raised the issue of the status of the Albanians in Macedonia, which is also an obligation of the Albanian side. I would like to stress that that interest does not present interference in Macedonia's internal affairs," Sereci stated and added that "we exchanged opinions on the current situation in the region and the proposals for the resolution of the crisis in former Yugoslavia. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the Macedonian Government for its quick and clear reaction in relation to the provocative decision of Belgrade to move Serbs to Kosovo. We do not see this decision as a humanitarian act, but as a provocative attempt to increase the tension and to change the ethnic and demographical structure of the population in Kosovo. That is a decision with very heavy consequences," Sereci said.
The press was also addressed by the Macedonian Foreign Minister Stevo Crvenkovski, whereby he said: "We were satisfied to conclude that the basic foreign political orientations of both countries toward Europe, toward the international institutions, are very close, and we also discussed the possibilities of strengthening the cooperation. We talked a lot about the situation in the region, the war in Bosnia, the peace initiatives that are underway, and we concluded that we had similar stances in relation to our mutual belief that some of the basic principles of international law should not be violated. In this context, we expressed our concerns over the ethnic cleansing taking place in the war-infested regions," said Crvenkovski.
"We also talked about the interest of the two countries about the position of the Macedonians in Albania, the Albanians in Macedonia and concluded that they can be a bridge for cooperation between the two countries," Crvenkovski added.
At yesterday's session, the Macedonian Government determined the Proposal for the adoption of a Law on denationalization. According to the Finance Minister Jane Miljovski, the estate that will be returned will be that which was taken by force with regulations from the period from August 2, 1944 to February 15, 1968. The estate was taken away with a large number of forceful laws and therefore, the Government does not have at its disposal full data about the scope of the value of the estate that was taken away.
Otherwise, at the moment, the Ministry of Finance has registered that 37,000 hectares of cultivable land, 16,000 hectares of forests and forest land, 21,000 hectares of pasture areas, 285 apartment buildings, 169 business objects, cattle and sheep, were taken away in this period.
All of this registered estate, i.e. which the former owners argumented with appropriate documentation, will be returned if it had been taken away by the state without any legal grounds, if it has become state property, if the estate was given to the state with a statement given under duress or another type of pressure, and if the estate was confiscated due to some punishable ideas or a criminal act of ideological character.
Minister Miljovski stated that it is the Government's orientation to give back all that physically exists. Where that is not possible, the former owners should be offered compensation. According to Miljovski, it is the intention of the law to satisfy justice without massively entering the courts. He claims that most of the cases will be resolved from 1.5 to 2 years, and that the financial capability of the state to pay the compensations appears as a key problem here. These funds will have to be paid from the state budget and from the money that will be gathered in the privatization, and a part will also have to be bared by the present owners. If a shortage of funds appears, then there is also the possibility to issue state bonds.
Skopje and Tirana have accused Belgrade of trying to change the borders on the Balkans by bringing the Kraina Serbs to Kosovo. This assessment is conveyed by the Athens news agency, in reporting about the talks held in Skopje Monday between the foreign ministers of Albania and Macedonia, Alfred Sereci and Stevo Crvenkovski.
The Athens news agency also broadcast two days ago, the statement of the Minister for refugees of the FR Yugoslavia Bratislava Morina, that the migration of the Kraina Serbs will not jeopardize the stability in the region.
A new round of talks between government representatives and representatives of the political parties of the Albanians in Macedonia will be held on Thursday, with the mediation of the European diplomat Gerd Arens, the PDP headquarters in Tetovo claim.
The same source specifies that before the start of the talks, the mediator Arens is planned to meet with the leader of PDP Abdurahman Aliti.
The recent visit of the Albanian Foreign Minister Alfred Sereci to Macedonia prompted reporters to ask minister Gjuner Ismail a couple of questions. The press was interested whether Sereci's visit was motivated by the idea to formulate a joint stance between Macedonia and Albania in view of the migration of the Serb refugees from Kraina to Kosovo.
"Minister Sereci's visit was in the planning for quite some time and it can't be brought in connection with this question," Ismail replied, "however, this does not mean that this topic was not treated as part of this visit."
To the question why minister Sereci only met with MPs from the Albanian nationality in Parliament, which is a form of discrimination against the other minorities that don't have their representatives there, minister Ismail said: "The details of the visits of guests from abroad are agreed beforehand, but the colleagues from the Foreign Ministry will certainly be informed about this point, so that they can take more care in future."
Under the organization of the Ministry of Education and Physical Culture of the Republic of Macedonia, a seminar for teachers that hold classes in Macedonian language in the Republic of Albania is underway in Ohrid, the Foreign Ministry announced. The aim of the seminar, which is organized for the first time as part of the International Seminar of Macedonian language, literature and culture, is to inform the educational workers from neighboring Albania about the modern trends in the development of the Macedonian language.
Lecturers at the Seminar are renowned professors and scientists from our country.
The contest for the entrance of the first class of the Macedonian Army Military Academy cadets ended yesterday at 15.00 hours. As the dean of the Academy Colonel Stojche Deskovski informed us, over 800 application forms were submitted by the foreseen deadline, which indicates there is an enormous interest for the military profession, in view of the fact that there are only 100 open places at the Academy. The second phase of the contest will be held on the 28th, i.e. the 30th of August, which is also when the entrance exams in maths and physical education will be held. Those candidates that pass their exams will go camping together with the other cadets in the center Pepelishte, near Krivolak, on September 15. The educational part of the Academy will start on the 2nd of October.
An agreement for the "final separation of the Republic of Macedonia from the Serbian zone of influence and the liquidation of the artificial border, which separates the Bulgarian people into two states" was signed in Toronto by the leader of the Sofia IMRO-SMD and Georgi Mladenov and Aleksandar Karakacanov, leaders of the organizations "Ljuben Dimitrov" and "Pravda" in Canada.
The organizations will fight for the "resurrection of the Bulgarianism in Macedonia and the unity of the Bulgarian nation." They will also fight for the "rights of the Bulgarians in Aegean Macedonia," and the western provinces, i.e. in south- eastern Serbia, and coordinate their activities with organizations in Macedonia and in front of the international forums.
The three organizations feel that the situation on the Balkans is favorable for the settlement of the Macedonian question. This is first such agreement between IMRO-SMD and the Canadian organizations of the Bulgarian chauvinists. Karakacanov himself claims that the views of the two "Canadian" leaders are very radical. Otherwise, Mladenov was one of Vancho Mihajlov's associates in the last couple of years of his life.
In addition to this information, the news from Varna also arrived in Sofia that Vladimir Paunkovski, one of the leaders of the unregistered IMRO in the Republic of Macedonia complained at the new conference that "the totalitarian regime of the Serbo-Communists in Macedonia" does not allow those who self- determine themselves as Bulgarians to register their own organizations, while the Vlachs, Albanians, are allowed to do the same etc.
At the same time, the Sofia newspaper "Trud" published some information in yesterday's issue according to which there are Bulgarian citizens who are trying to remain in the U.S.A. and Canada by applying for membership in the United Macedonian Organization "Ilinden" and then presenting themselves in front of the U.S. and Canadian authorities as Macedonians, whose rights had been violated in Bulgaria, where they were under constant supervision and police pressure. Allegedly, some clever lawyers from the other side of the ocean managed to successfully use the membership cards of OMO "Ilinden" to extend the stay of the Bulgarian citizens, who would have had to return to Bulgaria immediately, otherwise.
This year, the 32,000 hectares of farm land under grapevine are expected to yield 180,000 to 200,000 tones of grapes. These prognoses were given before the beginning of the vintage, and are based on the survey of the gathered information from the larger grape producers and the wine basements. If the expectations are realized, this year's vintage should be at last year's level, and also at the average annual level, which is from 200,000 to 210,000 tones.
The overall quantities are expected to give 20,000 to 25,000 tones of table and 160,000 to 180,000 tones of wine grapes. The wine basements will process some 136,000 tones of wine grapes, of which 60,000 tones of their own production, and the rest from purchase. With this, this year, it is foreseen to process some 10% more grapes than last year.
These predictions were expressed yesterday at the session of the Group for vine-growing and wine-producing with the Macedonian Chamber of Commerce. It was noticed that the initial predictions for a bigger vintage, thanks to the favorable rainfall during the vegetation, will not be realized due to the damage caused by the hail that hit these regions. As to the quality of the grapes, it has been assessed that it is at a satisfactory level, but it has also been noticed that if the rain continues till the vintage, the grapes will be of a lesser quality.
Otherwise, the preparations in the wine basements for the coming vintage are nearly over, so as to take in and process all of the offered quantities of grapes. 860 million denars will have to be provided in order to purchase the wine grapes, which will have to be provided through bank credits. However, the problem with the high bank interest rates was also pointed out at yesterday's session, and it was concluded to make an attempt, through contacts with the banks, to bring down the interests rates to a reasonable level. As to some private companies, their representatives expressed readiness to purchase a part of this year's vintage, through the advancement of production.
An unknown factor in relation to the purchase of the vintage is the price at which the grapes will be bought. The winegrowers insist on last year's price, in the least, whereby the Group will insist that the companies announce the purchase and prices on time, before the vintage. In order to protect the domestic production, there are demands to limit the wine trade only to those who buy Macedonian grapes, and the competent state organs, foremost the Customs Administration, is asked to enable the grapes to cross the country borders quicker.
The wine stocks in the wine basements are reduced to minimum at present, i.e. the 26,800 tones left serve as a technological minimum for supplying the market with new wine.