MAK-NEWS 10/04/95 (M.I.L.S.)

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

CONTENTS

  • [01] SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF MACEDONIA'S ADMISSION TO UN

  • [02] ONAZIS FOUNDATION AWARDS BOUTROS-GHALI

  • [03] KINKEL OFFERS TO MEDIATE BETWEEN GREECE AND MACEDONIA

  • [04] GREEK-AMERICAN TALKS ON MACEDONIA

  • [05] IRAN ILLEGALLY EXPORTS TO YUGOSLAVIA?

  • [06] STATEMENT BY JACOBS TO HAVE SERIOUS IMPACT

  • [07] $99 MILLION WORLD BANK CREDIT

  • [08] SIMOSKA AND GABER TO VISIT AUSTRALIA

  • [09] MACEDONIAN DELEGATION VISITED TURKEY

  • [10] PARLIAMENTARIAN COOPERATION WITH ITALY

  • [11] GLIGOROV SENDS BEST WISHES TO ROMAS

  • [12] TRAINING SEMINAR FOR TEACHERS IN VLACH

  • [13] VMRO-DPMNE CONDEMNS ANNIVERSARY

  • [14] MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: THE US IS DESTABILIZING GREECE (Zora, 9 April, 1995)

    •

    M I L S N E W S

    Skopje, 10 April 1995

    [01] SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF MACEDONIA'S ADMISSION TO UN

    On the occasion of the second anniversary of the Republic of Macedonia's admission to the United Nations, Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov gave an interview with Macedonian Radio. He underlined the UN membership is a great historic victory for the Macedonian people. "I had no illusions that, once Macedonia was admitted to the UN, it would be very easy to be included in all international institutions. The obstacles to our integration into the international community are of a Balkan origin. The main fact is that the EU, along with all great powers, the Security Council and so on, accepted Macedonia as a reality and this shows that this integration process is de facto in a final stage. All that remains to be solved are questions raised as a result of past views of Macedonia and someone's desire to see a nation with a long historic tradition vanish. We ought not to turn to some new associations based on ideological, religious or ethnic background; we must insist that democracy and European orientation win over in all Balkan states. Only when this happens will it be necessary for Macedonia to establish deeper relations with its neighbors, but this will be an association of separate, independent states which all put their interests above all." Asked about Yugoslav politicians' statements of being ready to recognize Macedonia only when the latter recognizes Serbia and Montenagro as the sole successor to the former Yugoslavia, Gligorov said, "It is a groundless and irrational request, as it is widely known that the republics in the former Yugoslavia were treated as autonomous states under all former constitutions. Therefore, it was a community which, once it disintegrated, is to be inherited by all its former members. We do not question today's Yugoslavia the right to succession. It is Yugoslavia which is denying the other former members this right. In my view, this is the only proper legal approach from which to look at the issue ; what is more, this was confirmed by the Badinter Commission, which was a part of the Conference on the Former Yugoslavia." Gligorov said he was quite startled by the part in Boutros- Ghali's report on Macedonia regarding the boundaries with Yugoslavia, adding all other points in it are only a matter of precision. "Referring to our borders with Yugoslavia as to administrative ones is absurd, since, fortunately, all parts of the international community, including all resolutions of UN, EU, OSCE and NATO, regard the borders between the former Yugoslav republics as internationally recognized. This is even more absurd because Macedonia has no territorial disputes with Yugoslavia whatsoever." In the end, Gligorov said he would like to believe that this is "only a mistake, as things stated in the report are not only contrary to Macedonia's views, but also contrary to the resolutions adopted by the very UN, at the top of which sits Mr. Boutros-Ghali himself."

    [02] ONAZIS FOUNDATION AWARDS BOUTROS-GHALI

    Macedonian Television yesterday reported that the Onazis Foundation awarded the UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros- Ghali with $250,000. It is uncertain, however, whether Boutros-Ghali will accept the award, since he is the leader of the world organization which is currently undertaking a procedure to resolve a dispute between two country members, one of which is the donor.

    [03] KINKEL OFFERS TO MEDIATE BETWEEN GREECE AND MACEDONIA

    German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel has offered his mediating efforts to help find a solution for differences between Skopje and Athens by suggesting the so-called small package (without negotiations on the name issue), Makpress cites Greek media as saying. The German ambassador to Athens has reportedly informed Yorgos Mangakis, Greek Deputy Foreign Minister, of the initiative. Greek sources do not state the offer in its entirety, but point out that the package now includes the question of the embargo. This insistence on lifting the embargo prior to any talks is interpreted in Athens as a change in the German policy, ascribed to the recent report of the European Court's General Attorney. Meantime, in an interview with Radio Skopje, the German ambassador to Macedonia Hans Lotar Stepan said, "The young Macedonian state is extremely well looked upon by the entire world and Minister Kinkel, appreciating this, will give his contribution to maintaining stability in Macedonia and to its economic progress." He said Macedonian-German relations are outstanding, underlining the importance of economic cooperation for both countries. It is very encouraging that Macedonia, despite all blockades on the north and south, still has a positive trade balance with Germany, Stepan said. He concluded that Macedonia is a European state and its future is in the integration into Europe.

    [04] GREEK-AMERICAN TALKS ON MACEDONIA

    U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke, in charge of European affairs, and Greek Foreign Minister Carolos Papoulias included Macedonia in their talks last Saturday. Holbrooke delivered a written note to Prime Minister Papandreou by President Bill Clinton. Following the talks, Papoulias stated he had pointed to the unyielding attitude of President Gligorov and Macedonia's avoidance to sit at the negotiating table in New York. Still, he said, the U.S., President Clinton and special envoy Nimitz will continue with their efforts to help find solution to the problem. Meeting also Defense Minister Gerasimos Arsenis and Yoani Vavitsiotis, vice-president of the opposition party Nova Demokratia, Holbrooke emphasized the American interest in seeing an acceptable solution and normalized Greek- Macedonian relations. Macedonian Television says Nicos Costandopoulos, leader of left-wing coalition Spinazmos, requested that the embargo on Skopje be lifted, as it obstructs the talks. The Greek pro- government paper To Vima, however, claims that the Greek Foreign Ministry has firmly decided not to lift the embargo, despite rumors that the Ministry told UN mediator Cyrus Vance that Greece could lift the embargo 2 or 3 days following the start of the talks.

    [05] IRAN ILLEGALLY EXPORTS TO YUGOSLAVIA?

    Citing Athens sources relying on confidential CIA information, the New York Times writes that large quantities of Iranian equipment for oil exploitation in Eastern Slavonia, Yugoslavia, is currently being transported through Bulgaria, Greece and Macedonia. The news item says Macedonia is stated in the documents as the final destination, adding the transport is being carried out by nearly 100 trucks.

    [06] STATEMENT BY JACOBS TO HAVE SERIOUS IMPACT

    Unofficial sources in London say that the recent statement of Francis Jacobs, Attorney General of the European Court of Justice, regarding the case of European Commission versus Greece, will have a serious impact on the final decision of the court, Nova Makedonija writes. The British attorney is one of the most prominent names, and he enjoys unqualified respect by his peers.

    [07] $99 MILLION WORLD BANK CREDIT

    Macedonia and the World Bank reached an agreement in Washington last Friday on a $99 million credit for the Bank of Macedonia. There are in fact two credits, one of which ($85 million) aims at supporting Macedonia's current structural reforms, and the other ($14 million) to be used in the social sphere. The Macedonian delegation to Washington also met with IMF officials and talks are expected to result in a $55 million in the next few months.

    [08] SIMOSKA AND GABER TO VISIT AUSTRALIA

    Noel Campbell, Australian charge d' affairs in Belgrade, last Friday met with Macedonian Minister of Education Emilija Simoska and Victor Gaber, under-secretary in the Foreign Ministry. They discussed the coming visit of Simoska and Gaber to Australia and their participation in the World Conference on Cultural Variety, to take place in Sydney at the end of the month. They will also make contacts with officials of the Federal Government in Canberra and representatives of the Macedonian communities in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.

    [09] MACEDONIAN DELEGATION VISITED TURKEY

    A delegation of the Macedonian Ministry of Education, led by Deputy Minister Vladimir Mostrov, paid a visit to Turkey last week. The delegation met with Turkish colleagues to talk on educational systems in the two countries. They agreed on criteria for comparative analyses of schoolbooks and court recognition of diplomas issued by educational institutions in Turkey and Macedonia.

    [10] PARLIAMENTARIAN COOPERATION WITH ITALY

    Llinka Mitreva, chairman of the Macedonian Parliamentary Committee for International Relations, met in Rome last Saturday with her Italian counterpart Mirko Tremellia and Senator Rino Serra, head of the Italian Senate's International Politics Committee. The talks focused on further development of the two parliaments. The Macedonian delegation will attend the 37th congress of the Radical Party of Italy.

    [11] GLIGOROV SENDS BEST WISHES TO ROMAS

    Macedonian President Gligorov sent best wishes to Romas on the occasion of the International Day of Romas, desiring to see Romas in Macedonia continue their contribution to progress in the country.

    [12] TRAINING SEMINAR FOR TEACHERS IN VLACH

    As part of preparations for introducing optional courses in the Vlachs language in several schools in Macedonia, the League of Vlachs in Macedonia organized a training seminar for future teachers in the Vlach language. The course will take place in Krushevo during July, and will be attended by 40 teachers.

    [13] VMRO-DPMNE CONDEMNS ANNIVERSARY

    "It has been two years since the disgraceful and undignified admission of the Republic of Macedonia into the UN under an unconstitutional name of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and the humiliating act of refusing to hoist the Macedonian flag in front of the UN building in New York," said Ljupcho Georgievski, leader of VMRO-DPMNE at last Friday's press-conference. "The Macedonian government has failed to secure an equal status for Macedonia in these past two years. Claims by President Gligorov that the disgraceful name was only of a temporary nature and was to be used for only two months proved to be a pure lie," he said. Georgievski added that the Government keeps proving its inability and, according to information from VMRO-DPMNE, it is only a matter of days when Macedonia will have to give up its national flag, change parts of its constitution and accept the name of FYROM only to enter negotiations with Greece.

    [14] MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: THE US IS DESTABILIZING GREECE

    (Zora, 9 April, 1995)

    The entire political world in Greece, including all kinds of organizations, movements, politically oriented media and ordinary citizens in various ways manifested their protests against the recent act of violation of basic human rights in Greece, expressing their solidarity with the five convicted Greeks in Albania. And they did well. They all spoke of court paradoxes, farce and fabricated indictment, all aimed at imposing anxiety on the Greek minority in Albania. This paper not only did not oppose this, but even published an article of support, unfortunately unlike no other newspaper. On the other hand, the paper is very sensitive to issues like this, having in mind the thousands of Macedonians who had been executed or sent to deserted Greek islands in the past. Wherefore do the Greeks fail to respect the basic human rights in their own country in the same way they expect other countries to? To remind, the Greeks request wider inclusion of a Greek- language education at higher-education level in Albania, while at the same time denying all minorities (Macedonian, Vlach, Albanian) in Greece to learn their mother tongue not even as a second language. What is more, they harass those who even think of it. The Greeks also demand that the oppression on their fellow compatriots in Albania cease, while considering a statement by any Greek citizen on being anything other than Greek the most serious of crimes. Furthermore, they demand that Albanians stop settling in Albanian regions inhabited mostly by Greeks, while at the same time closing their eyes to the massive settlement of Rusopontians in places from which Macedonians had been forced out and are now not even allowed to visit. They condemn discrimination and injustice done to Greeks in Albania, remaining at the same time deaf to protest by local Macedonians. They attack the authorities in Albania for creating a climate of anxiety toward the Greek minority party Omonia, while purposefully creating an even worse climate at home toward the party Rainbow. Their request to support the convicted Greeks in Albania was met by international institutions such as OSCE, the Helsinki Committee, the Council of Europe and European Parliament, while nervously reacting any time any of these same institutions mentions that human rights in Greece have been violated. And they act in a similar manner in many similar situations. Why, then gentlemen, two different criteria and two different systems of values? Why do you refuse to recognize local Macedonians the same rights they insist on for the Greeks in Albania? This is not a way to gain respect of the international community. It is time you heard out and met the long ago presented demands by Rainbow. Stand firmly against the intimidation of us Macedonians in Greece. As a typical case of hypocrisy and lacking principles, we will mention the recent statement issued by the Lerin branch of the Communist Party of Greece (parts of which were also published in the paper Rizospastis), regarding the visit to Greece paid by David Sooler, vice consul of the US, with representatives of our movement. This case is the more painful because of the fact that this party is the same one which promised Macedonians their right to equality and even self-declaring. The fact that the Communist Party of Greece (CPG) promised so only to secure votes for itself during the civil war gives this movement the right to define it as a villainous party with dishonest intentions. This is a part of their statement: "It is not the first time that American factors and high- ranking Consulate officials have visited Lerin, completely ignoring the official authorities in Greece and meeting Makive representatives (in the manner of earlier meetings with Sidiropoulos, the secret meetings in Sobotsko, etc.). We do not know what Mr. Sooler talked about with Voskopoulos and Bulis (among other things, they most probably discussed the list of candidates of Makive for local elections). Be it as it may have been, Lerin is connected with the current political destabilisation of the Balkans followed by the US, with their imperialist policy expressed in the proverb "divide and rule". The visit of the US vice-consul is a flagrant case of interference with the internal affairs of our country, and especially with issues in the sensitive area of Lerin. This Government (just as all those before it) bears a huge responsibility for having turned this country into an unguarded home, allowing all kinds of imperialist agents come to Greece to destabilize it. It bears responsibility because, instead of condemning the role of the American and other imperialists in the country, it bows its head awaiting a solution to the problems by the same ones who created the problems in the first place. Nevertheless, the role of Makive (Rainbow) is also very obvious. Their aim is not only far from protection of human rights - as they like to claim - but they are serving only as initiators of the American policy, inciting nationalism and destabilizing the region. The CPG branch in Lerin publicly condemns the destabilizing role of the US and the suspicious games of the leadership of Makive (Rainbow). These last lines were underlined by us so that the reader be able to notice this party's similar editing policy with the editors of "Sohos", and so that they are not surprise if this party asks for the borders to be completely closed, just as in the case with the borders to Albania few years ago. At the end, here is one of the typical CPG documents, just to remind the gentlemen from the leadership of the branch in Lerin of the party's views during the times when it was really revolutionary: "On minorities: organizing massive demonstrations by all national minorities (Macedonians, Turks, Albanians, Jews, etc.) and organizing anti fascist forces among these minorities...", while the chapter on the Macedonian question said: "... they (the ruling apparatus) completed their tyranny by the most inhuman and terrorist-like acts of suffocating the rights of national minorities living in Greece, primarily of Macedonians. (Resolutions brought at the 6th CPG Congress in 1935)." If today's gentlemen in CPG lack the courage to stand up for the rights of Macedonians, at least let them avoid the subject of basic human rights and not get involved in "...the inhuman and terrorist-like suffocation of rights of national minorities in Greece, primarily of Macedonians."

    (end)

    mils-news 10 April '95

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