MAK-NEWS 30/03/95 (M.I.L.S.)

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] PARLIAMENT PASSES NEW LAWS

  • [02] MACEDONIAN - GREEK BORDER TO BE CLOSED?

  • [03] EUROPEAN COURT POSTPONES DECISION

  • [04] WILL THE TALKS START ON APRIL 6?

  • [05] "THE ECONOMIST" RANKS MACEDONIA 11TH

  • [06] $70 MILLION FOR MACEDONIA

  • [07] HALITI ARRIVES IN BRITAIN

  • [08] MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: GOVERNMENT'S RIGID POLICY GENERATES CRISIS (Koha, 22-28 March 1995)

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    M I L S N E W S

    Skopje, 30 March 1995

    [01] PARLIAMENT PASSES NEW LAWS

    At yesterday's continuation of the tenth parliament session, MPs in the Macedonian Parliament approved draft-laws on essential changes in the organization and activities of the Macedonian police and established an intelligence agency. Minister of the Interior, Ljubomir Frchkovski, explained the basic presumptions which led the government to suggest the changes: the legal shaping of a standard parliamentary model for this state agency in accordance with those of most Western countries; the requirement for a serious legal procedure to successfully implement the chosen model; and the development of institutions which are primarily in the service of citizens to protect their rights and liberties, their life and property, and the protection of democratic institutions and the prevention of attempts to overthrow the legal establishment. 70 per cent of employees in the Ministry of the Interior, he said, are trained, young people, and the managers are appointed from employees of the ministry itself. In other words, Frchkovski said, employees are not chosen on a party basis. The law establishes a standard system of interior control which is conducted through several levels, such as the internal hierarchy in the ministry itself, government committees enabled to initiate court appeals, parliamentary control through authorized committees, and control by the public. The law divides the ministry into 3 parts: Ministry of the Interior, Autonomous Agency for Security and Counterintelligence and an independent Intelligence Agency. Deputies of PDP, NDP and other independent MPs were not present when the package of police laws was passed. However, they took part in the eleventh session, during which MPs quickly adopted the Law on Sanitary and Health Inspection and supported several approvals of agreements on cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Macedonia and governments of Slovenia, Croatia, Turkey and Albania.

    [02] MACEDONIAN - GREEK BORDER TO BE CLOSED?

    Macedonian Television says that the Skopje oil refinery has been informed by the Greek company "Mamidakis" that the company is not able to fulfill their obligations to deliver oil products to Macedonia, due to "reasons beyond their power". The company was to transport 7 tons of diesel fuel and 14,000 tons of crude oil, currently stored at the port of Thessalonika, Greece, as part of the PHARE program of humanitarian aid for Macedonia, . Macedonian Television cites sources as saying that the 70 freight-cars of the Macedonian railroad, waiting to take over the cargo in Gevgelija, will be returned empty today. The television also cites unofficial sources as claiming the Greek administration is considering a possibility of further tightening restrictions and perhaps even sealing the border with Macedonia. The government is also reported as intending to cease all telecommunications between Macedonia and Greece. All this is connected to the latest development of events concerning the Greek-Macedonian dispute and the negotiation process underway in New York.

    [03] EUROPEAN COURT POSTPONES DECISION

    The date for presentation of facts and arguments by general lawyers at the European Court of Justice has not yet been set, despite the fact that the hearing was on the court's agenda for this week, A1 Television reports. An anonymous court official said that the reason behind this was not of the usual administrative nature. The British lawyer Jackobson has been assigned to work out the conclusion, but has not set the date because of the exceptional complexity of the case. In consequence, the final phase of the proceedings will most probably be postponed for an indefinite period. Spectators say it is hard to predict how long this will be for.

    [04] WILL THE TALKS START ON APRIL 6?

    Nova Makedonija cites UN sources saying that there has been no official confirmation that direct Greek-Macedonian meetings will take place on April 6. Sources say that Cyrus Vance and others in Washington are reluctant , as are the Greeks, to accept a further postponement of the meeting. The Macedonian Government, the sources say, has been officially notified but has not yet replied. The media in Greece, however, still seems optimistic in believing the Macedonian Government will agree to a dialogue even at the level of permanent UN representatives. Greek papers quote a statement from Anthony Lake, White House advisor on national security, which suggests that President Gligorov will eventually "retreat" and accept the set date. On the other hand, the media also cite State Department under-secretary Richard Holbrooke as saying diplomatic initiatives regarding the Macedonian question are "at a critical and delicate stage".

    [05] "THE ECONOMIST" RANKS MACEDONIA 11TH

    Macedonia is at 11th position, with Slovenia in the lead, on the list of 26 countries from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union in terms of economic perspectives, according to the renowned London weekly The Economist. The list of the magazine's Economic Research Service is based on ten different indicators believed to affect the economic growth of a country. Some of them are: political stability, initial level of economic development, infrastructure, educational level, openness of markets and debt burden. Countries in Central Europe rank higher than those of the former Soviet Union.

    [06] $70 MILLION FOR MACEDONIA

    The Republic of Macedonia is to be granted $70 million of international aid in the form of technical aid or separate donations. The largest part of the aid - already approved - is coming from the PHARE program, providing equipment, raw materials and spare machinery parts for Macedonian companies. Certain countries have announced their intention to send donations for improving Macedonia's infrastructure.

    [07] HALITI ARRIVES IN BRITAIN

    Abhdurahman Haliti, president of the Party for Democratic Prosperity, is on a 7-day visit to Great Britain. Today he is to meet Deputy Foreign Minister Douglas Hogg. So far, he has met with Tom Richardson, under-secretary in the Foreign Office, and several government and non-governmental representatives. Haliti has also inquired about local self- government in Britain.

    [08] MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT:

    GOVERNMENT'S RIGID POLICY GENERATES CRISIS

    (Koha, 22-28 March 1995)

    The following is an interview of Arben Dzaferi, president of the PDP fraction, with the Albanian weekly Koha. Question: Mr. Dzaferi, let us please start this conversation with your abstinence from the Macedonian Parliament. Ethnic Albanians, parliamentary deputies of PDP, returned to their seats in parliament, but you still refuse to take part in its work. Answer: No comment is really needed on the newly developed situation. It is very clear - we have entered a new cycle of repression. As you probably know, the Government manifested an unprecedented arrogance by arresting the entire elite of a nation; they arrested a rector of a university, a president of a political party, a president of a human rights forum, a law professor, etc. This event most certainly has a negative impact on the process of international recognition of Macedonia as an independent state. What I am trying to say is that, unless we react in an appropriate political way, we would also be showing a considerable political weakness. After all, we established our party with one goal in mind - to protect the interest of the people. We have neither political nor moral right to close an eye to the arrogance of the Macedonian government. There are no dilemmas with this. Those having dilemmas, or believing that there is a way out, are bound to be held accountable by their electorate and other intellectual factors engaged in analyzing these latest phenomena in Macedonia. As for us, we have no dilemmas, since we believe that dilemmas are signs of weakness. We disagree with the policy of the government. We have created all legal obstacles available to prevent the implementation of this unjust policy. We will react loudly to it and, of course, will act against it in an organized manner. Question: Regarding your absence from parliament, you recently submitted a motion to the parliament president. What did the motion say? Answer: It is probably the first time in the Macedonian parliament that a motion has been used as a political means, . We presented it to expose the factors causing unrest in Macedonia. We explicitly underlined that it is not we who bring about the unrest; but that the unrest is already there. And, we demanded that these factors be eliminated if we are to take part in the future work of an essential state institution such as the parliament. The first factor is that the Albanian language be allowed free use from the stand in parliament. The second one is that those responsible for the murder of Abdylselam Emini and the arrest of the university rector and all the others be revealed and punished. The third factor is that normal conditions for operation of the university in Tetovo be provided and that this institution be included in the system. It is by no means our intention to destabilize the country; we only ask that these factors be eliminated. Question: And if your demands are met, will you integrate back into the life of parliament and when? Answer: We will certainly not play blackmailing games. If these factors are not eliminated within the framework of this arrogant concept of the state, however, we do not see how we could be productive, and we regard ourselves as very productive. I would also like to point out that we are in permanent contact with the international factor, exchanging ideas and reports on the current situation in Macedonia. Question: Please tell us your opinion on the talks between the Macedonian Government, Albanians in Macedonia and ambassador Gert Arens. What do you think he can do to help? Answer: The least he could do is to draw the right conclusions. We need to conclude what the results are of the talks which have thus far been held in a closed circle. We insist that the talks be turned into negotiations and to have each side openly state its position; we need to see what it is that each side suggests, what it is that they disagree with, and who stands in the middle. Also, it is important to see whether this middle stand offers a compromise between the two sides which I consider to be relevant. We are now facing extremism on part of the Macedonian government, which is trying to establish a one- nationality state completely neglecting the interest of the Albanians in the country. The negotiations would clearly present our political position, the global position of the Albanians, the overall position of the Macedonians and the position of the international factor. Question: I would say that the situations of the Albanians is well known. The question is how to join together the forces of the Albanian political factors in order to overcome the situation. Answer: This is at the same time very easy and very difficult to do. The Albanian policy needs to be globalized and verified somewhere. We need to start establishing mechanisms to verify the policy of any party, any group or any individual for that matter. What we have now is really a non-verified policy. Question: Where and how could the policy be verified? Answer: This is rather easy to achieve in states where decisions are based upon legal regulations and where global trends are known. You cannot possibly realize what is a global trend or a geo-strategic trend by sitting in offices, behind closed doors. You have to be where the information comes from. Question: Let us go back to the main topic. You have often pointed out that one cannot talk of ethnic relations in Macedonia, but of relations between the Macedonian authorities and representatives of the Albanians in Macedonia. Nevertheless, recent incidents, including the destruction of Albanian and then Macedonian tombs in Kumanovo, seem to show that the nations have been involved in this. Answer: Yes, but the guilty party is yet to be revealed. It must be found out whether this was done by ordinary people or whether it was organized by certain political forces, instruments of some closed circles which have turned state institutions into their own servants. Our analysis shows that the relations between the two nations are not bad. Neither the Albanian nor the Macedonian people want a war. The ruling apparatus is intentionally creating an extreme so that it can explain the existence of another extreme. This policy of balancing is then used as a basis for continuation with the government policy, as being presented in the eyes of the international factor. We do not believe in the existence of extremes; we believe the rigid policy of the government is generating the crisis. In legal terms, the people are innocent, but they are being used. For instance, what could Macedonian students possibly have against the university in Tetovo? They were made instruments of in order to show that there are two extremes in the country. Whereas in fact, there is only one extreme - the one embodied in the current Macedonian official policy. Question: Your parliament deputy, Sali Ramadani, began his famous speech which was interrupted by the parliament president with the words "Where are you headed, Macedonia?" Where is Macedonia really headed? Answer: Macedonia is headed for nowhere. More and more the country falls into a state of lethargy, wasting all the energy of both Albanians and Macedonians. The state is investing in a project which has no chance of being realized. There are a lot of dreams and illusions about creating a state in which Macedonians and only Macedonians would dominate. But they will face major problems and reactions from the Greeks and from the Albanians. Question: Finally, let me ask you just one more question: have you submitted an official request to be registered as a political party and under what name? Answer: We are living in a system which is constantly trying to present the demands of the Albanian nation and the political subject in a specific way. We, as a political factor, refuse to register another political party, since we possess facts and evidence proving that it is we who are the real successors of PDP. Some more pragmatic activists have suggested a prefix or a suffix to the name and have submitted a registration application with the court, but we as a presidency will continue to insist on the court procedure of determining who is the rightful successor of PDP.

    (end)

    mils-news 30 March '95

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