The delegation later met coordinators of parliamentary groups of political parties and members of the Interparliamentary Union. They were interested in basic principles of operation of the governmental agencies, asking (as A1 Television put it) provocative questions as if sensing weaknesses in the current democratic processes in Macedonia, and showing considerable knowledge of Macedonian- Albanian relations. They suggested that a university in the Albanian language should be open.
In a statement for the Macedonian press, Mrs. David, Head of the delegation, said the goal of the visit was to obtain first-hand information on the situation and problems in Macedonia. She said the situation was quite difficult, expressing hope that Britain would find ways to help Macedonia.
Today, the delegation is to meet members of the committees for labor and social policy, ecology and for foreign policy, as well as officials of the Macedonian Church.
Ismet Ramadani, Head of the PDP parliamentary group, stated their well-known stance on the problem with the so-called Tetovo university, stressing that dissatisfaction is mainly brought about by the excessive use of police force and the trend to turn the issue of a higher education for Albanians into a political one. In this context, MP's from Britain raised several interesting questions, such as: 'Is there really a law to be followed in order to open a university?', or 'If 20 per cent of the population speaks the same language and is of an old culture, is it not normal for them to have such an institution?' They reminded that such problems occur all over the world, explaining this - in a way understandable probably only to themselves - with the fact that foreign flags and symbols have also been hoisted in Northern Ireland, but the British have been governing there for over 2 centuries. A similar and also hard to grasp argument was their pointing to a similar experience of Canadian authorities with the local French population.
Today's Macedonian-British talks should also have included social and economic issues and the problem of the position of women in the society. Unfortunately, there did not seem to be time for this in the almost two-hour long discussion which resembled a debate," Macedonian Radio concludes its comment on the visit of the British parliamentary delegation.
A1 Television says Papoulias claims that raw materials are provided by the chemical company "Alkaloid" and that heroin is also produced by the company "Replek". The Skopje Grand Hotel is a center of the drug trade, he said, with ethnic Albanians as main buyers, who use the profits to provide arms for Albanians in Kosovo.
A senior official of the Macedonian Government said such accusations had already been refuted two years ago by former defense minister Vlado Popovski, who publicly invited Greek reporters to come to Macedonia and check for themselves.
The Government adopted a draft-agreement with Germany for a DM 10 million loan, to be returned in 30 years, after a grace period of 10 years and with a 2 per cent interest. The loan is to be used for the re-entry of Macedonians into the Macedonian economy who have worked or are working in Germany.
The only condition for obtaining the credit is that Macedonia provides the same amount, and the German Government will approve an additional DM 5 million upon the conclusion of the agreement, for expert training of workers. Priority will be given to Macedonian returnees who will offer programs for joint investment with domestic companies. The government has no estimate of the number of workers to be included in the project.
Government members also adopted a draft-agreement to obtain an 8 million Swiss francs aid from the Swiss Confederation, 5 million of which is to go for revitalization of water power plants, and the remaining 3 million will be used for protection of the Ohrid Lake and other ecology projects.
The government made a decision to leave the monasteries St. Naum and St. Jovan Bigorski in their original state, i.e., to cease all illegal construction work on the locations. The last decision made by the cabinet was to increase the rental fee of business offices by 100 per cent.
The Law on Courts in Macedonia was not discussed due to the absence of several ministers.
The package of electoral laws is expected to be submitted to Parliament by the end of June, Ismail said.
The capital of a large portion of them has already been appraised. Following a legal dead line of 60 days for submitting claims by former owners, which starts today, the Agency will complete programs and start gradually making decisions for privatization of these companies.
For a long time, religion was the basic identifiable feature of this part of the Macedonian nation. Giving priority to religious affiliation, these people wandered in nationality from Albanian to Turkish, frequently being given characterizations of "people of suspicious character" or "undetermined and nameless souls". Yet, fostering their mother Macedonian tongue, their culture, customs and tradition, these Macedonians converted to Islam remained what they are, Macedonians. But now, the struggle is beginning all over. New political parties have brought new influence and pressure, imposing a need for a new process of identity verification. This time the difference is the fact that the small national flicker of the Macedonian Muslims of the past has been turned into a burning flame.
The State Association of Cultural and Scientific Manifestations of Macedonian Muslims have acted as the sole representative of these people for over 20 years. Fostering cultural tradition and customs, it has no doubt played a large role in the process of a national awakening of the Macedonian Muslims. Nowadays, being well aware of the situation, the Association finds itself in a position to warn against all events or processes that potentially or practically have a negative influence on the national identity of converted Macedonians. The warnings may create the impression that the Association itself has become engaged in politics, but its president Ismail Boyda categorically says, "The Association is not a political party, but an independent organization with its own cultural and national features, aimed at preserving the national identity of the Macedonian Muslims."
Having in mind dangers of the influence of the Albanian and Turkish factors, apparent primarily through religion, the Association determined at a recent session new directions of acting and reorganized its work. It formed separate groups to work on separate problems in areas populated by Macedonian Muslims. The Association will undertake special efforts to overcome problems in education, science and culture, to improve the economic and social position of the people, and to ensure their inclusion in government agencies and, perhaps most importantly, in the work and influence of the Islamic religious community.
The process of national awakening is a long one and the past cannot be simply wiped out, once said by Same Zharnovski, a teacher and a poet. Time does its work. During the latest census of population, according to officials of the Association, the largest portion of Macedonian Muslims declared themselves clearly as Macedonians, without the Muslim suffix. Their religious affiliation was registered only in the parts of the census forms asking for religion.
The suffix Muslim is already felt as unnecessary and it is left in the official name of the Association only for those for whom the process goes more slowly. Slogans of the type "Macedonia cannot give birth to Muslims", or "A Macedonian cannot go to mosques", have left a deep mark among the ordinary population. So, talks and reassurance is the only means left to alleviate the influence of other factors.
According to data gathered by the Association from village birth registers, there are between 100 - 120,000 Macedonians of Islamic religion in the country, a number which certainly cannot be underestimated. Bearing in mind problems in the education of a few years ago when demands appeared that children of such families be educated either in Turkish or Albanian, it seems that the group in charge of these issues will have full its hands full. To follow the situation and report to competent ministries is only the first of the obligations. The second part is to work with the population.
For this purpose, the Association suggested forming a forum from Macedonian-Muslim intellectuals which will contribute to the national awakening of these Macedonians.
The economic and social position, however, cannot be improved without aid from the state. The current economic crisis is felt in all spheres of life of these people. Yet, the closing down of shops in villages populated by them seems to be affecting them mostly. Young people are faced with no perspective at all; there seems to be no reason to continue with education after elementary school, and the only attractive future is to seek happiness abroad. This is where the Macedonian Muslims expect the government to aid them. They say the state has to find ways to revitalize closed plant shops. Latest trends also include efforts of these small communities to secure greater self-governing. At present, there is no communication whatsoever between the population in Dolna Reka and in Gostivar. All problems have to go through the administration machinery. And the problems, especially communal ones, are far from being small.
And, finally, there is the issue of the work of the Islamic religious community in Macedonia. Ismail Boyda points out two possible ways to alleviate the influence of the Albanian and Turkish factions. One is to rename the Islamic religious community in Macedonia into a Macedonian Islamic community, which would equally protect the interests of all Muslim citizens in Macedonia. Unless this is done, the second possibility left for Macedonian Muslims is to demand secession from the Islamic community. People have already been engaged to seek support on this option among the population, Boyda concludes.