MAK-NEWS 27/03/95 (M.I.L.S.) [**]

From: "Demetrios E. Paneras" <dep@bu.edu>

Ta nea ths hmeras, opws ta eide to MILS:

CONTENTS

  • [01] . GOVERNMENT SENDS ULTIMATUM TO PRISONERS

  • [02] ** PAPOULIAS SENDS MESSAGES TO GLIGOROV

  • [03] * CEI CONFERENCE RESULTS IN AGREEMENTS

  • [04] . PUBLIC DEBATE ON BROADCASTING

  • [05] . FIRST SECURITIES ON SALE TOMORROW

  • [06] * COOPERATION WITH GERMAN POLICE FORCE

  • [07] * GREEN CORRIDOR FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS

  • [08] . FLAKA E VELLAZERIMIT CELEBRATES 50TH ANNIVERSARY

  • [09] . PDP PROPERLY REGISTERED WITH COURT

  • [10] . PARLIAMENTARY BRIEFS

  • [11] . CULTURE

  • [12] ** MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: POLICY OF OPEN DOORS - PART II (Puls, 24 March 1995)

    [Synexeia ths synenteyjews Tserbenkofski.]

    •

    M I L S N E W S

    Skopje, 27 March 1995

    [01] GOVERNMENT SENDS ULTIMATUM TO PRISONERS

    The Macedonian Government sent an ultimatum to prisoners in the Skopje penitentiary Idrizovo to end their riot which started last weekend, cabinet spokesman Djuner Ismail said at yesterday's press-conference. Minister of Justice Vlado Popovski set noon today as a deadline for prisoners to cease the riot. So far, prisoners have caused significant material damage, demolishing the interior, putting up barricades and taking over parts of the prison. Spectators inform that prisoners are preparing for a police intervention by making knives and other blades. All those refusing to go along with the riot are being held as hostages by the organizers of the riot. Popovski stressed that this is by no means a strike but a typical riot and the Government will not negotiate with the prisoners. Unless the convicts cease the riot and enable the prison administration to re-establish peace and order, "authorized ministries will regain control over the situation in the Idrizovo penitentiary and secure conditions for re-establishing law and order." Demands presented by the prisoners are absurd, Popovski said, adding the Ministry of Justice will bring criminal charges against the organizers. According to the minister, 4 of the 5 main leaders are prisoners convicted of first-degree murders while the fifth one is serving time for robbery. Another group of 11 prisoners - all convicted for serious crimes - is also considered to be instrumental in the riot. There have been no indications, Popovski said, that the convicted in the "paramilitary" case are either initiators or leaders of the riot. Popovski appealed to diplomatic representatives in the country to persuade the 82 foreign citizens serving time at Idrizovo to stop taking part in the incident. Skopje paper Vecher says the Ministry of Justice has imposed a ban on contacts with either the prison administration or prisoners. The riot (as referred to by the Government) or strike (as prisoners like to call it) has been going on for 4 days already, with participation of some 400 prisoners mostly barricaded within the prison buildings but with some of them on the roofs. Officials of the Ministry of Justice and the prison administration made several contacts with the prisoners, who remain firm in their main demand - reduction of sentences by half. A ten-member group of prisoners has asked for direct contact with representatives of the media. Besides their basic demand, they stated a list of demands addressed directly to the president of the Supreme Court Council and to the Supreme Court of Macedonia. They insist on the following: that court decisions and procedures be re- examined (as they believe they are unjust); to have trials conducted using procedures implemented elsewhere in the world, i.e., trials based on facts and evidence; to have just and logical sentences; and to re-examine the general penal policy and goals of punishment measures. Prisoners also presented a list of demands regarding prison conditions. They demanded incentives for prisoners carrying out their working assignments responsibly, selection of prisoners based on length of sentences, and equality for all when it comes to pardoning and reducing sentences. The prisoners complained of hygiene conditions, bad food, lack of organized sports and culture entertainment, no protection at work, and the drastic spread of homosexual behavior within the prison. The prisoners began the strike last Thursday by demolishing part of the prison interior. According to prisoners themselves, a group of them firmly and immediately put a stop to this and created conditions to establish normal communications with authorities to present their demands. They refuted the statement of Popovski on the strike having been organized by convicted mercenaries, underlining that the protest is spontaneous and without leaders or organizers. Furthermore, the group delegated to contact the authorities, mentioned that some prisoners insisted on being enabled to contact representatives of opposition parties and a special parliamentary delegation. Unofficial sources say prisoners are still refusing to come down from the roofs.

    [02] PAPOULIAS SENDS MESSAGES TO GLIGOROV

    A1 Television yesterday quoted Makpress as reporting of a news item from Athens titled "Messages by Papoulias to Gligorov". At a celebration on the occasion of the Greek national holiday last Saturday, Papoulias reportedly said "President Gligorov ought to understand the normalization of Greek-Macedonian relations is important not only to stability in the region, but also to its future." Anonymous politicians in Athens say the renewal of Greek- Macedonian talks is entirely uncertain at the moment, Makpress reports. Citing UN mediator Cyrus Vance and US. special envoy Matthew Nimitz, the same sources say Skopje is likely to turn down the latest initiative for renewed talks. The claims suggested that the talks have already been scheduled for April 6 and on Greece having accepted an official invitation.

    [03] CEI CONFERENCE RESULTS IN AGREEMENTS

    Foreign trade ministers of member countries and accompanying member countries of the Central European Initiative ended a conference in Skopje two days ago. The meeting adopted a resolution saying that processes of integration into Europe must be accelerated and raised at a level of national policy in all East and Central European countries. Ministers also agreed to a need for lifting all trade barriers between these countries and enhancing their economic relations with European institutions and organizations. The summit was organized by the Republic of Macedonia and attended by trade ministers or senior officials from Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovackia and Slovenia, along with representatives of accompanying member countries - Albania, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine. Participants also adopted a declaration on the basis of future development of economic cooperation among CEI member countries. At a press conference following the summit, it was said that, despite certain differences in views, the member countries share common goals in many fields such as the development of small and medium companies, the need for legal regulations to facilitate trade relations, and the aim of intensifying mutual trade. The participants described the conference as successful.

    [04] PUBLIC DEBATE ON BROADCASTING

    Macedonia Radio and Television, in association with the European Public Broadcasting Union, organized a public debate last Saturday on the topic of "The Future of Public Broadcasting". Participants discussed the ways and conditions for establishing public broadcasting companies, how to acquire frequencies, the quality and content of public broadcasting, and aspects of communication and marketing. The debate was attended by representatives of the Council of Europe, the European Public Broadcasting Union, several European radio and television stations, as well as officials of the Macedonian parliament and government.

    [05] FIRST SECURITIES ON SALE TOMORROW

    Starting tomorrow, the first securities market in Macedonia will start operating within the Agency for Transformation of Companies With Social Capital. The first securities to be offered at a public sale tomorrow will be 81,000 shares of the company "Oteks" of Ohrid at a price of 75 German marks per share, equaling a total amount of 6 million German marks. Eight Macedonian banks and two brokers' organizations will act as authorized agents. Citizens will be able to buy shares only through these authorized agents. Shares will be sold for Denars or frozen foreign currency held by banks. The next public sale is scheduled for next Tuesday, when shares of "Javor" of Bitola and "Evropa" of Skopje will be offered for sale.

    [06] COOPERATION WITH GERMAN POLICE FORCE

    Last Friday, the Macedonian Ministry of the Interior held a press conference to present the special program for cooperation between the Macedonian and German police for the period of 1995 to 1998. The program includes training of Macedonian police personnel in the German Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs and some financial support for Macedonia by Germany. The agreement for this cooperation is to be signed sometime next month.

    [07] GREEN CORRIDOR FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS

    Macedonian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Industry Ivan Angelov met with Marry Cathreen Andrews, representative of the Soros Foundation, Open Society Institute, and a Director of the project for the Southern Balkans. Mrs. Andrews described the Institute's efforts to form a road corridor for transportation of Macedonian agricultural products via Albanian, Croatian and Slovenian sea ports to their final destinations. It was concluded that actions must be undertaken as fast as possible, since the first green-house products are due in only 15 days time and this year's production is expected to be larger than in 1994.

    [08] FLAKA E VELLAZERIMIT CELEBRATES 50TH ANNIVERSARY

    On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Albanian language daily paper Flaka e Vellazerimit (to be marketed on April 4), Macedonian Parliament President Stojan Andov received a delegation of editors from the paper. Editor-in- chief Abdulhari Zulfikhari presented the new concept for the paper and the qualifications of the staff, expressing gratitude for enabling the paper to be published on daily basis. Andov stressed the important role of the paper which consistently stresses the concept of coexistence and mutual respect between ethnic Albanians and Macedonians as well as between all ethnic groups in the country.

    [09] PDP PROPERLY REGISTERED WITH COURT

    The Skopje District Court confirmed that the political party, Party for Democratic Prosperity - PDP, with main offices in Tetovo and represented by its president Abdurahman Haliti, has been properly registered with the court register of political parties.

    [10] PARLIAMENTARY BRIEFS

    The Macedonian Parliament will continue its tenth session on Wednesday, March 29, to discuss laws, proposed by government, on internal affairs and the intelligence agency. Following this session, MP's will start discussing items on the agenda of the eleventh session, regarding draft-laws on sanitary inspection, ratification of agreements on cooperation with governments of Slovenia, Turkey, Albania and Croatia. Parliament President Andov scheduled the 16th session for April 5.

    [11] CULTURE

    The French Cultural Center in Skopje and the French- Macedonian Friendship Association has organized a lecture on "Celts on the Balkan Peninsula and Their Links With the European Ancient Fatherland". The lecture will be presented by Dr. Eleonora Petrova, a counselor at the Museum of Macedonia, at 6 p.m. on 28 March 1995, at the office of the French Cultural Center.

    [12] MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: POLICY OF OPEN DOORS - PART II

    [(Puls, 24 March 1995) The following is the second part of an interview by the Macedonian Foreign Minister Stevo Crvenkovski with a Puls reporter. Question: The attitude and actions of the Government regarding the university in Tetovo were described as a defeat of Macedonian policy and a weakening of its international position. Some say Macedonia has been dragged back into the company of the Balkan countries, at a time when it was at the doors of acquiring an European image. What is the view held by European and world factors on this issue? Answer: I think the entire development of the situation, following the events in Tetovo, resulted in a number of Macedonia's friends in the world and numerous international organizations making careful consideration of the essence of the problem. There have been numerous misunderstandings and quite false information on what really happened. After our recent contacts concerning the matter, however, I can assure you that it became clear to all that this was not an educational problem, but a political provocation, just like it is clear to all that the problems in the education are of a different nature and are dealt with in a different way. International circles were reassured that the attempts to establish a university in Tetovo had nothing in common with education. Question: If I understand you correctly, Macedonia has not lost anything of its image as a democratic European country and a state with not much in common with its Balkan neighbors? Answer: I believe the general picture of the events themselves and the situation in Macedonia is pretty much clear. Reports on the events by international organizations are crystal clear and I think that the events not only failed to create new dilemmas, but also helped clear up several old ones. Question: Has this recently cleared picture resulted in a change in the official standpoint of the Republic of Albania? Let me remind that the Albanian President Sali Berisha, immediately following the replacement of Seljami, stated that security in Macedonia is of great interest to his country, or do you think this was a result of something else? Answer: I can not analyze any country's motives and political events. What was said in this latest statement by President Berisha, just like in the latest statement of Minister Sereci, is nothing which had not been said before and is by no means a turn in the official policy. Certain statements made during the events in Tetovo raised some questions in our bilateral relations, but the public was able to follow the reactions all along. We refrained from reacting nervously to any such statements, just like we do in relations with any other state. There have also been situations with other countries, when we were careful not to react emotionally to every challenge, in a way unbecoming to the basic line of our policy. I believe this attitude proved to be useful this time as well; the most recent statements show that relations are again improving and all sides are aware they will have to accept the real situation. Question: This attitude was also shown during the latest public statement of the foreign ministry in regard to news coming from Greece saying a date has been set for a direct Greek-Macedonian dialogue in New York. The statement was extremely cautious and it seemed to be a retreat before the hard policy of Prime Minister Papandreou, who said the embargo is to remain during the talks. Does this mean you give Greece a chance to correct itself, provided that, as you said, "what Minister Papoulias said is true"? Answer: I think it is already obvious to all sides it is not Macedonia which is closing the doors for negotiations of any kind. Our approach to the issue is being widely supported throughout the world. It would not lead us anywhere to enter a race of who will make a "hotter" statement and prove to be a bigger patriot. Question: But you have a couple of firm stands yourself - no talks under the embargo and no talks on the name issue. Answer: Our standpoints on all issues are perfectly clear. Nevertheless, we believe that all disputes, regardless of the position of either side, may be resolved only through dialogue. The doors to negotiations ought never to be closed, as long as there are even slightest chances for success. What we cannot accept in relations with Greece is a dialogue on an unequal basis. This is more than clear and any discussion on this would be in vain. What we also refuse to accept is to meet for the sake of meeting, that is to go on meeting when the other side is not ready to achieve results. Should conditions be provided, however, and the dialogue is set on an equal basis and aimed at positive results, we would have no reason to close the doors. Question: Meetings of ministers in disputes like this usually mean a final phase of negotiations. If you and Papoulias do meet, will this will mean a beginning of talks? Answer: No such meeting has been scheduled so far. The idea is, of course, there. A date for meeting has not been set yet, as it is still not clear how well prepared such a meeting would be. Question: Why suspicion? Answer: Because a number of issues are not quite clear at the moment. Numerous questions have yet to be prepared calmly and reasonably. Question: Do you see any connection between Greece's readiness for a dialogue and the expected decision of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg? Answer: I would not look for a connection there. The court is dealing with legal and not with political issues and the court's decision will be based upon legal facts. The question of a dialogue between Greece and Macedonia does not come down to the question of the embargo, which is an issue dealt with by the Luxembourg Court. We have clearly stated the embargo cannot be an issue to be negotiated about. What can be negotiated and what Macedonia is interested in discussing is the wholeness of the mutual relations. The problem is not in some individual issues; the problems is not in one side trying to impose its views on certain issues to the other. What is important is the wholeness of relations, as this is a long-term and key issue for both us and them. Both countries are losing more and more as the talks are being delayed. Question: The media in the US. used quite dramatic tones prior to the Gore-Tudjman meeting. Following the climax in Copenhagen, what is now the US. evaluation of security in the region and Macedonia's position? Answer: What I met with, during contacts in Washington, after this temporary solution for the situation in Croatia, is - I would say - moderate optimism. All US. senior politicians I met with are still considerably concerned with the possible development of the situation in Bosnia- Herzegovina; all of them, however, are assured that Macedonia has definitely succeeded in avoiding the conflict. The entire region, of course, can always be endangered, but the direct danger for Macedonia is not like it had been one or two years ago. This can be seen in the international institutions' attitudes toward Macedonia, including the last conference on security in Paris Question: The latest spectacular improvement of Tirana- Athens relations, after they had been cold for a while, seems to be showing that southern Balkan countries are, despite all, ready to resolve problems peacefully. How much can Macedonia learn from this? Answer: First of all, I think it is a very positive thing that relations between Albania and Greece are improving. It is of a vital interest for Macedonia that relations between our neighbors be as good as they can be, since this affects Macedonia as well. In the case of the development of relations between Albania and Greece, I think both countries showed a high level of political maturity and readiness to start a dialogue. We have always insisted on this way to deal with problems. We hope some of the disputes interesting for Macedonia will also be resolved in this manner. Question: The situation in the Balkans is obviously interesting for the US. as well. It has stated its interest clearly on several occasions. Yet, are Washington-Skopje relations currently being intensified only due to this US. interest. Despite the fact that you met with Richard Holbrooke 5-6 times over the past 13 to 14 months, just like with the US. Secretary of State on 3 or 4 occasions, the general impression is that relations between Macedonia and the US. are still not satisfactory. Answer: Macedonia is interested in establishing as good relations with the US. as possible. What has been most encouraging is that the American side is also very interested and relations have indeed been developing with this extraordinary dynamics and quality which we would surely like to see in our relations with a number of other countries. Yet, I really must underline here that Macedonia started similar dynamic relations with other countries, particularly with European Union member countries, with China, Japan, Russia... And especially with member countries included in the Central European Initiative, not only because of the conference to be held in Skopje, but also because of the fact that Macedonia has developed a very wide cooperation with these countries. This organization's activities are becoming more and more important for the Republic of Macedonia, probably because the organization has been oriented toward economic issues and cooperation from the very beginning.

    (end)

    mils-news 27 March 1995

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