MAK-NEWS 29/02/96 (M.I.C.)

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

Macedonian Information Centre Directory

CONTENTS

SKOPJE, FEBRUARY 29, 1996 (MIC)

[01] DECISION - QUESTION OF DAYS

British and French diplomats in Belgrade believe the mutual recognition between FR Yugoslavia and the Republic of Macedonia is only a question of days.

The charge d'affaires of the British embassy Ivor Roberts told the TANJUG news agency yesterday that he hoped it would come in the "next couple of days," following which his country will start the process of normalization of relations with FR Yugoslavia, raising them at ambassadorial level.

Roberts adds that the European Union "will welcome the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Skopje" and that afterwards, every member of the Union will take individual measures for normalization of relations with FR Yugoslavia and the appointment of ambassadors to Belgrade.

The newly-appointed French ambassador to Belgrade, Gabriel Keller stated a similar opinion. In the interview for the independent Belgrade newspaper NASHA BORBA, he said that France agreed entirely with the European requests, saying that his country was the first to elevate the relations with Belgrade at ambassadorial level, because it wanted to be the first to do that, which does not mean it disagrees with the Union.

"We feel that the normalization of relations between Skopje and Belgrade is imminent. I don't want to make any predictions, but I think it's only a question of days," the French ambassador said.

Following the meeting of the Ministerial Council of the European Union in Brussels, last Monday, the Italian Foreign Minister Susana Anielli reiterated that if FR Yugoslavia wants to be recognized by the "fifteen," it will have to recognize Macedonia first.

[02] TALKS WITH GREECE TO RESUME IN APRIL

The negotiator in the UN-backed Greek-Macedonian talks, ambassador Ivan Toshevski told us from New York yesterday, following the talks on Tuesday with his Greek counterpart Hristos Zaharakis, that they discussed all the aspects of the question on the daily agenda.

In our telephone conversation with ambassador Toshevski yesterday, he said that the continuation of the talks over the name differences passed in a "good and working atmosphere." "We agreed with mediator Cyrus Vance and the permanent Greek representative to the UN, ambassador Hristos Zaharakis, to continue the talks in the second half of April, also in New York," ambassador Toshevski said.

The talks on Tuesday in Cyrus Vance's office lasted some 2.5 hours, only to continue during their luncheon. Mr. Toshevski's reluctancy to reveal more information in regard to what was being discussed is a result of the common agreement between Mr. Vance and Mr. Zaharakis not to release any details in this phase of discussions.

[03] WASHINGTON PRESSING FOR A RESOLUTION

Official Athens is still not commenting the Tuesday meeting Zaharakis-Toshevski in New York. Initial reactions say that the new meeting in New York will be held at the start of April, prior to Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis' trip to Washington, scheduled for the 9th of that month.

Most Greek newspapers assess that Tuesday's talks in New York didn't give out any sign of a speedy resolution of the name dispute. The conservative newspaper KATIMERINI, calling upon diplomatic sources in Washington, claimed yesterday that the United States insists that Skopje and Athens find a solution to the name problem this spring, despite their internal problems.

KATIMERINI adds that the open question in the relations between Athens and Skopje will be one of the topics discussed by U.S. President Bill Clinton and Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, in Washington on April 9.

The Athens press continues to comment the interview with Macedonian Foreign Minister Ljubomir Frckovski, for Radio Skopje.

Minister Frckovski's firm stand that the differences will be overcome without changing the constitutional name, is interpreted in Athens as a regression of the talks to the option about a double name for Macedonia.

"Tuesday talks over name - futile" - the newspaper of the moderate left-wing ELEFTEROTIPIA says. As MAKFAKS reports, the newspaper says that despite the intensive U.S. recommendations to "close the question," in the shortest period possible and to find a compromise solution, there are no signs of progress. The newspaper concludes that this is a result of the internal problems in Macedonia and Greece.

[04] AGREEMENT ON MILITARY EXERCISES

Macedonia's Defence Minister Blagoy Handziski received the U.S. Force Commander for Europe, General William Crouch yesterday. The meeting was also attended by the Chief of the General Staff of the Macedonian Army General Colonel Trajche Krstevski, as well as the chief of mission of the U.S. embassy in Macedonia, Victor Comras.

The meeting focused on the upcoming, third official bilateral meeting at highest level, of the defence ministers of Macedonia and the United States, Blagoy Handziski and William Perry, which is expected to take place in Macedonia in April, the second joint activity between the two armies, scheduled for March, this year, as well as the first participation of the Macedonian Army in exercises conducted as part of the "Partnership for Peace" initiative, which are planned to take place in the Republic of Albania, in July, this year.

The two sides exchanged opinions on the UNPREDEP mission in Macedonia, following the latest report by UN Secretary-General Boutros Ghali, and in particular, the participation of the U.S. battalion in it.

[05] PRESENTATION OF "VACATION '96"

A larger group of businessmen from the field of catering and tourism left for Sofia today, to take part in the International Tourism Fair "Vacation '96," which will last the next three days.

The participation of the Macedonian businessmen is organized by the Macedonian Chamber of Commerce, as part of the Program for general tourist propaganda of the Ministry of Economy. The Macedonian tourist potential will be presented on a 24 m2 stand, which will display materials from the general tourist propaganda, commercial catalogues and price-lists for the upcoming tourist season.

[06] SPECIAL BANK RESERVES WILL NOT BE TAXED

The special reserves that the banks and savings banks put aside to cover risky investments, will not be included in the tax base for the payment of profit tax. This was concluded at yesterday's meeting between bank representatives and the Finance Ministry, which made a decision a couple of days ago, to subject the special reserves to taxation.

At the meeting, it was concluded that the ministry's decision will have a negative effect on the liquidity and stability of the banking sector. The bankers' explication was accepted that the long-term reserves are expenditure and for those reasons, they should not be subjected to taxation. The bankers feel that there are no possibilities of avoiding the payment of profit tax, since the eventual payment of the risky investments in the coming years will be entered as profit, which will present a tax base.

[07] LOSSES FROM GREY ECONOMY FROM USD 300 TO 500 MILLION

Lacking official information, today's NOVA MAKEDONIJA speculates that in the last couple of years, the grey economy has cost the state between USD 300 and 500 million. The newspaper concludes that except for some ten officials who "fell" as a sign of proof of the serious government intentions to deal with this problem, not nearly enough has been done in this respect.

A phenomenon has appeared in Macedonia as a result of customs and tax evasion, the retail prices are lower than the purchase prices, which has a detrimental effect on literally all economic branches.

In March, last year, on account of excise duties on tobacco products, the budget received an injection of only circa 30 million denars, unlike 1994, when 70 million were collected. At the same time, in front of the eyes of the public, the smuggled cigarettes, coffee and alcohol filled the pockets of certain individuals, emptying those of the state, NOVA MAKEDONIJA comments.

The newspaper says that "if petty smuggling were in question, maybe it would be possible to close one's eyes, but when whole trucks of cigarettes get lost without a trace, when oil cisterns disappear, when the tax collection measures go astray, still, 95 percent of those who pay are large companies." It is concluded that if this same slack attitude continues this year, it is quite probable that the money from the sales tax and excise duty will be difficult to collect.

MACEDONIAN PRESS REVIEW:

[08] "VECER": RESIGNATION WITHOUT DEBATE

"With the election of the new Government, my party goes into opposition. As I wish to remain with my party and my parliamentary group, I will quit the function of Assembly Chairman. I will explain the reason for my resignation in writing, and I'd like you to accept it at the first next session."

This is how Assembly Chairman Stojan Andov announced his resignation at last week's parliamentary session, immediately after the election of the new Government, which no longer has members of the Liberal Party. The MPs will state their opinion in relation to the resignation at the session scheduled for the sixth of next month, as agreed at yesterday's meeting of the assembly presidency. We have learned that the resignation is irrevocable, which means that it will only be explicated, and then, accepted without debate.

Sources close to the assembly presidency say that in the discussions on the resignation, the PDP representative expressed his parliamentary party's view that Andov's departure from the function is not necessary, that is, he should continue carrying out this function. The PDP feels that, in the long run, it will be in the function of the development of democracy, "as we should gradually learn to accept that a leader of an oppositional party can be Assembly Chairman." The representatives of the Socialist Party and the SDAM disagree on this point.

As we could not reach the Assembly secretary and deputy secretary yesterday or on Tuesday, (one was constantly busy, while the other could not give out any information without permission from his superior) to ask them about the official interpretation of the Rules of Procedure pertaining to the election of Assembly Chairman, below, we present the informal explanations and interpretations of the Procedure. According to them, a candidate for Assembly Chairman can be nominated by a parliamentary body - the Commission for elections and appointments or a group of at least 20 MPs. A majority vote of the total number of MPs, i.e. 61 votes, is necessary for an appointment. The same number of votes are necessary for a dismissal, i.e. for acceptance of the resignation of the Assembly Chairman.

It is explained that at the session when Andov's resignation is "accepted," it will not be necessary to vote for a new chairman. That will be left for one of the next session, and until then, the sessions will be chaired by one of the vice- presidents. Andov will carry out his function until the moment his resignation is accepted.

Theoretically, it is possible to have one or more candidates for the position of Assembly Chairman. This question has still not been discussed by the partners with parliamentary majority, as it has also not been agreed which coalition participant will be given that function. It is claimed that the biggest parliamentary group shouldn't necessarily have the right to "cover" this empty position, that, in fact, it is a question of agreeing to whom it will "belong." According to unofficial sources, the PDP parliamentary group intends to nominate its leader for this position.

The old and new coalition partner PDP is using this newly-developed situation as an opportunity to fill in its presidential position in the Assembly, which was left empty in February, last year, following the developments in Mala Rechica. The presidential position, according to PDP, will be carried out by Dzeladin Murati, who, as a reminder, occupied this position in the previous mandate.

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