SKOPJE, SEPTEMBER 27, 1995 (MIC)
Today afternoon, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is scheduled to discuss the acceptance of Macedonia to this organization, with the status of full member.
According to reporters from the Macedonian media, there are no reservation as to Macedonia's acceptance, in particular after the signing of the accord with Greece. It is also believed that the Greek delegation will vote in favour of Macedonia's accession. However, it is still not clear under which name Macedonia will be received.
Macedonia sent its application for accession under the constitutional name of the state. And, the members of the Macedonian delegation are emphasizing that in all meetings.
On other hand, the rapporteurs of the Council of Europe are using the name under which Macedonia was accepted to the UN (FYROM).
As the Macedonian media emphasize, it is believed in the Council of Europe that if an amendment is to be proposed for Macedonia to be accepted under its constitutional name, a discussion could be opened at the session, following which the amendment would most probably be accepted. On the other hand, this act could slow down the process of normalization of the relations with Greece.
Unofficially, it is found out that eight amendments have been submitted in the report for the acceptance of Macedonia, in the Commission on legal questions and human rights. This commission has taken the stand for Macedonia to be accepted under the name FYROM.
The Commission of the non-member countries of the Council of Europe has reached a conclusion for Macedonia to be accepted under its constitutional name. This stance, however, is not in the form of an amendment. Otherwise, five MPs from Switzerland, Great Britain, Ireland, Belgium and Turkey have submitted joint amendments to erase "former Yugoslavia" from the name.
The Greek protest to the UN over the use of the name Republic of Macedonia "is not based on anything, especially not on the recently signed interim accord between the two countries." The agency MAKFAKS received this statement from the cabinet of President Gligorov.
The Republic of Macedonia, the statement says, is addressed with its constitutional name in the relations with other countries and in the international organizations.
In that sense, as until now and in future, the addresses of the President of the Republic in these organizations and institutions, and in communication with all the countries in the world will be, in line with the Constitution, with the name Republic of Macedonia - is stressed in the statement of the cabinet of President Gligorov.
The Greek government representative Nikos Atanasakis stated that Greece informed the UN with the memorandum that the name Skopje was using could not be accepted by Athens. Prime Minister Papandreou, as it was announced in Athens, sent out an appeal to the member-states of the UN not to be too hasty in recognizing Macedonia under its constitutional name, at least for as long as the negotiations between Skopje and Athens are underway.
The People's Democratic Party (NDP) sent a letter yesterday to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe asking for a postponement of the acceptance to Macedonia in this institution.
NDP, the parliamentary party of the Albanians in Macedonia wants the Council of Europe "to condition Macedonia to resolve its inter-ethnic relations, that is, the constitutional- legal status of the Albanians, before making a decision about accepting this Republic. Namely, to legalize the high education in Albanian language, to establish the equality of all citizens in all segments of life, regardless of ethnic, religious and other affiliations."
NDP concludes in the letter: "FYROM wants to build itself up as a unitary state, and the Albanians in it are institutionally discriminated, with limited rights compared to the Macedonians, in all spheres of social life."
The Republic of Macedonia and Great Britain signed a Memorandum on cooperation in the defence sphere in London yesterday, with enables this cooperation to be institutionalized, minister Blagoy Handziski stated for Radio Skopje yesterday.
As Handziski emphasized, the Memorandum is based on a couple of principles, which support the spirit of partnership between the two countries and contribute to the stabilization of the relations and security in Europe, in general.
It foresees the preparation of a two-year concrete program for mutual cooperation. The Macedonian army delegation has been invited to attend a seminar on military questions in England in November, while a high military expert is expected to come to Macedonia soon to agree on specific forms of cooperation.
Following the signing of the memorandum, minister Handziski had a meeting with his British colleague Michael Portilio at which they discussed the situation in the region, with an emphasis on Macedonia, minister Handziski explained in the statement for Radio Skopje.
The town of Ohrid is accepting the initiative of the Council of Europe to have an embassy for local democracy opened in it. This initiative will be verified at the next meeting of the local Assembly, as well as the community of towns and municipalities.
"I expect the trial of Hristos Sideropoulos, scheduled to take place in Lerin today, to be postponed," the lawyer of Sideropoulos Jana Kurtovich said, as Makpress reports.
According to her, this is owed to the fact that the court does not feel the "good will" to put an end to an unfounded court proceeding.
Hristos Sideropoulos has been on the prisoner's dock for a couple of years now, and has answered for his statements at the news conference of the former CSCE, present-day OSCE, 11 times already. Namely, a couple of years ago he stated he was a Macedonian and that he was not allowed to speak in his mother tongue or to practice the customs of his ancestors.
The Minister of Education Emilia Simoska stated at yesterday's news conference that the unenrolled 220 children from the center Zhupa can attend classes in the local school "Mosha Pijade" exclusively in their mother tongue - Macedonian. She explained that the request of their parents (Macedonian Muslims) to hold the classes in Turkish language was made under pressure from political parties, various groups and individuals from the area. According to her, their aim was for these children to lose their national identity. The ministry is prepared to protect these people from the pressure and to enable their children to study in their Macedonian language.
Otherwise, there is one more day left until the new law on elementary education comes into effect. This means that according to the new provisions, fines will have to be paid for disrespecting the obligation for compulsory education. And, the amount is not negligible any longer, while the law will affect each parent of these 220 children from the center Zhupa, who will fail to enrol their children in school.
The presidency of the Republic Association of Cultural Events of the Macedonian Muslims feels that the problem over the education of the pupils from the center Zhupa does not have an educational, but a political nature.
"Now, we have a political and not an educational problem. In the Debar Zhupa, the parents, influenced by the Democratic party of the Turks and PDP, are still refusing to have their children attend classes in their mother tongue - the Macedonian language," the president of the Association Namik Arslanovski says. He added that these children have been "struggling" to learn the Turkish language for the past three years.
This organization is asking the Government to take proper measures, within the law and Constitution, not to allow the Macedonian Muslims from the village Dolno Kolichani to attend classes in Turkish language in the school "Tefeuz," who don't even speak Turkish. Also, the organization is asking for the parents who will not send their children to school to be fined, which is also foreseen in the law and Constitution.
The spokesman of the Macedonian Government Gjuner Ismail stated at yesterday's news conference that the recent events in the village Ognjanci (in relation to the boycott of the classes in Macedonian language in the local school, because of the opening of classes in Albanian language) is the least appropriate thing for a country in which tolerance is one of the principles of existence.
"Over there, the citizen Paunovich (president of the self-proclaimed Committee for the protection of the Macedonian language and the Macedonian cultural space), who, otherwise, is not a citizen of the Republic of Macedonia, with the held of other self-proclaimed protectors of the Macedonian culture and substance, is forcing a case there where there isn't one, and there where the responsibilities of the citizens and the state are very clear," he stated yesterday.
Spokesman Ismail said it was extremely unseemly to use children for political purposes, at the expense of their elementary education.