MAK-NEWS 22/12/95 (M.I.C.)

From: "M.I.C." <mic@ITL.MK>

Macedonian Information Centre Directory

CONTENTS

SKOPJE, DECEMBER 22, 1995 (MIC)

[01] DISPUTE OVER CONTINUITY

"We have started negotiations for the recognition of Macedonia. Of course, we worked according to the same formula as we discussed with Croatia , and that is the formula for full continuity of FR Yugoslavia, which Croatia accepted," stated Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovich

"Macedonia accepted the same, however, added a few remarks surrounding the recognition of the continuity of its state from 1941. We are in somewhat of a dispute over this and we will see how we will get out of it," Milutinovich stated at Wednesday's meeting with the press in the Yugoslav Parliament.

The Yugoslav Foreign Minister, as Makfaks reports, did not give any announcements as to a possible date for the mutual recognition of Skopje and Belgrade, which was announced for November, this year.

The question of Prevlaka has not been resolved entirely, since it has not been surrendered to Croatia, but to the UN, Milutinovich emphasized, adding that the international factors have recognized Croatia with the note to resolve the problem with Prevlaka. Milutinovich said that the problem with Prevlaka is open, but that it can not be resolved by force.

[02] FLIGHT CONTROLS DIRECTLY CONNECTED

After two-day talks in Skopje these days between the expert teams of the air traffic authorities of Macedonia and Greece, it has been agreed, that by the end of January next year, in cooperation with the competent ministries and telecommunication organizations, a telephone link be established between the flight controls in Skopje and those in Thessaloniki and Athens. That is the basic result of negotiations, which presents an operationalization of the agreement made in Athens to normalize the air traffic between Macedonia and Greece. Practically, one of the basic goals of these talks, as Goran Pavlovski, director of the Administration for civil air traffic of Macedonia emphasized, is the complete air connection with the southern neighbor, which is also one of the conditions necessary for the full functioning of our Regional flight control, i.e. for taking over the control over our own air space and in the higher layers, for which telecommunication link up with Greece was necessary.

Otherwise, the establishment of telecommunication links between the flight controls will create conditions for the signing of the "Letter of understanding" between the two countries, which will regulate the field of air traffic. The draft-texts were exchanged at this meeting, and another meeting has been set up with Athens for the beginning of February next year, at which this "letter" is expected to be signed by the representatives of Macedonia and Greece.

[03] ALBANIAN CITIZEN WOUNDED

An Albanian citizen was wounded yesterday by a Macedonian police officer, some two hundred meters within Macedonian territory, Radio Tirana reports, calling upon sources in the Albanian Ministry of Public Order. The incident took place at approximately 8.00 A.M. near the border point Tushemishta, near Ohrid.

The Albanian citizen Misto Mitri (36), according to Radio Tirana, received a gun shot wound, after passing the Albanian customs and entering Macedonian territory.

Radio Tirana does not state the reasons that led to this incident.

[04] HANDZISKI MEETS WITH MILITARY ATTACHES

For the first time since the formation of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia, Defence Minister Blagoy Handziski organized a reception for the military attaches accredited in the Republic of Macedonia, in the House of the Macedonian Army yesterday.

At the reception, among the rest, minister Handziski emphasized: "We have become an equal member of all the collective security systems, with which we established special forms of cooperation, such as the cooperation with the mission of the UN - UNPREDEP, the OSCE mission, etc - and in this name, I would especially like to thank and welcome their representatives, present at our meeting.

At NATO headquarters, in Brussels, in the Coordinative cell in Mons, the U.S.A., the Russian Federation, in the Republic of Turkey, in the Republic of Bulgaria, in the United Kingdom, in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and in some other countries from the region and the neighborhood, we have already taken care of all the preparations to send our first military attacees. The family of military attaches in our country is constantly growing and minister Handziski emphasized that very soon, we will also welcome the presence of the military attaches of the Russian Federation, of the Republic of Slovenia, the Czech Republic and the Republic of Slovakia.

[05] THE NAME TITOV VELES REMAINS

The rejection of the initiative to restore the former name of the municipality and the town of Veles, as well as the adoption of the amendments and supplements to the Law on customs duty have marked the end of the 32nd session of the Macedonian Parliament. Thus, Titov Veles will retain its present name, eventually until some new initiative, which will have to receive support from the MEPs. At yesterday's session, it seems the initiative of the MEP Ace Kocevski (LP) failed, not so much because the MEPs wanted to hold on to the prefix "Titov," although some did, but because the MEPs from the ranks of the SDAM and LP quarrelled over the way in which this ideological sign should be erased.

Hence, in effect, the MEPs from SDAM, especially those from Titov Veles, wanted the citizens from this town to state their opinion first, before making any decisions. The MEPs Pece Stojanovski and Milcho Trajkov asked the Titov Veles local assembly to state its opinion, which is also compulsory according to the Law on local self-management. The proposer, Ace Kocevski, said that Macedonia should overcome the mortgages from the past, since the present is completely different from what it used to be.

The independent MEP Lazar Dimov said that his initiative was realistic, however, with a political basis, whereby it is a question of "our cosmetic appliances which will not pass so good in Europe, and which have an entertaining and confusing role with us." Nano Ruzhin (SDAM) said that the name doesn't have any ideological signs, but that it is a mark of history, which should remain. Jovan Nikolov from SDAM also asked for a postponement, saying that the citizens of this town should speak their mind first, and that the economic and ecological problems in this town should be solved before this decision is made.

On the other hand, the "Liberal" Slobodan Danevski, in asking for a changing of the name, said that the "opinion of the local assembly is not primary," while Slobodan Najdoski asked "if a change is not made soon, will a new debate be opened, whereby the initiative will be made by someone else." At the end, upon the voting, the initiative gained the support of only 33 MEPs, which was not enough for an adoption, and it was taken off the daily agenda, at least for the time being. This left the impression that the differences between the SDAM and LP are growing more and more.

(end)