MAK-NEWS 22/02/95 (M.I.L.S.)

From: MILS - Skopje <mils@ITL.MK>

Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory

CONTENTS

MILS NEWS

Skopje, 22 August 1995

[01] SERECI STARTS OFFICIAL VISIT

Foreign Ministers of Macedonia and Albania, Stevo Crvenkovski and Alfred Sereci started official talks in Skopje yesterday, to explore several bilateral issues, agreeing on a satisfactory level of the development of mutual relations and a need for legal bases for the cooperation in many fields. Talks especially focused on the current situation in the region and it was concluded that it is unacceptable to have borders changed by force or through ethnic cleansing operations. Both sides expressed the two countries' concern with the position of their minorities abroad in accordance with international conventions and upon the principle of non-interference in other states' internal affairs.

Yet, A1 Television reports, only a few hours later, Sereci backed up PDP's representative Ismet Ramadani's demand on institutionalization of the Albanian-language university in Tetovo and its inclusion in the legal educational system in Macedonia, as a precondition for a complete equality of ethnic Albanians in the country.

Following the talks held behind closed doors, Sereci said they were constructive and positive.

Parliament vice-president Tito Petkovski told reporters they discussed the position of the Albanian minority in Macedonia, the Macedonian-Albanian relations and the region's perspectives. Special attention was given to issues regarding further inclusion of ethnic Albanians in Macedonian institutions, respect for their freedoms and rights; the Albanian side, he said, expressed satisfaction with the elementary and high-school situation, but was dissatisfied with higher education rights of Albanians in Macedonia. Sereci has suggested that the Macedonian government pay special attention to the Tetovo university issue. According to Petkovski himself, the issue will be resolved within the framework of the Higher Education Act to be passed shortly.

PDP coordinator Ramadani said Sereci was briefed on issues on which there is a consensus among all political parties (the state's integrity and borders, as well as the dispute with Greece and the embargo on Macedonia), as well as on issues on which parties of Albanians and Macedonian parties differ in opinion. He stressed the problem with the status of the Albanian language at parliament, local self- government issues, and pointed at the Tetovo university question as one that could escalate. There is a need for a way to institutionalize the university, he said. Even Sereci himself, Ramadani said, agrees that the problem may be resolved by a qualitative law on higher education. He also underlined a need for urgent adoption of the law on electoral units and the election law itself.

Sereci later met with Parliament President Andov and Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski.

[02] GOVERNMENT DISCUSSED LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT AND DENATIONALIZATION

The Macedonian Government held its 35th session yesterday to discuss several draft-laws, including the ones on local self-government and denationalization, as well as a social reform project and ways of distribution of the World bank credit.

Macedonian Radio says the draft-proposal on the Local Self- Government Act has been somewhat changed as a result of the latest visit to Strasbourg by Justice Minister Vlado Popovski. The number of members of the local self-government councils has been changed and a position of a municipal chairman with a two-year mandate has been introduced. Yet, there have been no changes in the set percentages (20 for considerable percentage and 50 for population minority) as preconditions for granting a minority language the right to be used on an equal level with the official Macedonian. The draft-law does include a right for minorities to a use of national coat-of-arms and flags, along with a possibility to form an association of local self-government units in the country. Regional self-government associations are not allowed.

The proposal for bringing a denationalization act, Macedonian Radio comments, is a sign of definitive manifestation of the political will in three directions: respect for the right to ownership as a directly personal and civil right; dealing away with past ideologies interfering with political and economic rights; and a denationalization process as a necessary regulator of the already begun processes of transformation of social capital.

Compensations set aside for former owners, however, will not provide absolute justice. Denationalization court proceedings must not be turned into never-ending procedures to slow down the privatization.

From a conceptual point of view, there are diametrically opposed solutions for several key issues, such as the ways of returning estates to former owners. According to one solutions, cultivation land and forests will be returned, while another provision of the same law says land and forests with an already built infrastructure will be compensated for instead of returned to owners. As for construction land, the basic solution determined by the draft-law is that, if a land has not been used to erect buildings on it, it will be returned to its rightful owner; if, on the other hand, it has been used, ownership will be granted to current owners. Furthermore, apartment buildings will be returned to former owners with an alternative solution of granting them new, state-built apartments. In cases when property cannot be returned to the rightful owners, the maximum compensation will be set to 20 per cent of the total value and the rest will be paid off in government bonds (issued either over 10 or 20 years).

The draft-law on denationalization, Macedonian Radio says, is to be submitted to parliament procedure next week and will consist of several alternative solutions on which MP's will make the final choice.

[03] GREAT COMPETITION TO ENROLL IN MILITARY ACADEMY

The Macedonian first Military Academy yesterday started enrolling students. The interest shown by high-school graduates was great and a single place at the Academy is expected to be competed over by as much as seven candidates.

Education at the Academy will last four years and graduates will be promoted to second lieutenants.

[04] NO MONEY FOR SURPLUS WORKERS

According to official data, there are 39,135 unemployed in Macedonia at the moment that are registered by the Employment Bureau as laid off either as surplus labor or by liquidated firms. The monthly sum needed to pay them out amounts to 189.5 million denars and is provided by the Bureau's budget that depends from an income on a basis of employment contribution paid by the employed (1.5 per cent of their monthly salaries). Yet, since the number of employed in the country is falling and companies are increasingly irregular in paying out wages to employees, the Bureau's budget is empty. The shortage is covered by funds from the state budget (which also provides compensation for another 12,280 workers registered by the Bureau as employed in the 25 largest loss-producing companies), but, due to a shortage in the state budget as well, the compensation for these workers has been delayed for two months already.

[05] GOVERNMENT SALE OF BUSINESS SPACE CONTINUES

The sale of social business space continued yesterday, in accordance with the government program for the third quarter of the year. 20,000 square meters and 244 shops were offered for sale, half of which in Skopje alone.

[06] DEMO-CHRISTIANS SUPPORT SETTLEMENT OF SERBS IN KOSOVO

The Demo-Christian Party of Macedonia support the idea to settle Kraina refugees in Kosovo. Its viewpoint is precise and definite - just like any other state, Serbia has the right to completely decide upon its own population and territory. Kosovo is merely a part of the Serbian territory, the party's public announcement says. Furthermore, the party believes that the settling of Serbs in Kosovo will contribute to security in the region, as a preventive measure against designs for a Greater Albania.

[07] WORKERS PROTEST AGAINST CHOSEN PRIVATIZATION MODEL

The 826 employees in the company 'Vinka' of Vinica yesterday held a strike against the management's decision to choose managerial buy-out as a model for privatization of the company. They demanded a model that will enable all employees to participate in the privatization equally. Otherwise, they request that the managerial team resigns.

The general director of 'Vinka' rejected the request as groundless.

[08] MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: REVEALING THE PASSIONS - PART I

('Puls', 18 August 1995) Two media projects of the national television bring back passion for political clashes in the current monotony on the Macedonian political scene. Along with the announced face- to-face debate between the out-of-parliament opposition with the ruling apparatus on strategic issues, this may be a sign of a good-faith sign to return to democratic dialogue in politics.

The Macedonian public was able to witness the promotion of stands and viewpoints of Dr. Tupurkovski, following his final return to Macedonia after a three-year long creative self-banishment to the United States. Only four days later, this was followed by a quick government reaction through its powerful trio of Frckovski, Handziski and Stevo Crvenkovski.

Under some other circumstances, this ministerial TV appearance could be interpreted as a sign of radical changes in the interior or foreign relations or in Macedonia's position. The coherent appearance of the Liberals and Social Democrats was a manifestation of two global evaluations.

First of all, it was a valorization of certain positive points of the Macedonian diplomacy and its successful foreign policy in the light of the Croatian political and territorial re-integration and all the possible consequences to the rest of the Balkans. These top Macedonian officials evidently hesitated longer than necessary to come out with a clear position on the latest steps by Croatia in Kraina.

Last Monday, the Government held a session behind closed doors as part of its regular meeting. Even this was a delayed meeting on an issue of such an importance and with such potential consequences. While world leaders and even neighboring diplomats rushed to evaluate the events in Kraina, the Macedonian foreign ministry kept silent, Stevo Crvenkovski was nowhere to be seen, and the president said nothing. The change in the mandate of UNPREDEP and the final relocation of the headquarters from Zagreb to Skopje (although with no real direct participation of Macedonia), which followed the withdrawal of blue helmets from Zagreb, is still a sign of the will to preserve Macedonia's territorial and international integrity, as a new European state. At the same time, the ideas for a new international conference to deal with the Bosnian crisis, is a sign of definite dismissal of the Conference on Former Yugoslavia and Macedonia's abandonment of international tutors.

The second dimension of the TV appearance of the cabinet trio was indeed a (in)direct debate with the political viewpoints held by Dr. Tupurkovski and the two largest out- of-parliament opposition parties; this, on the other hand, hides in itself several dimensions to be analyzed.

Firstly, political forces are starting to measure their power before the coming local elections next spring. Should the concept of a proportional electoral model be passed, this might give birth to several situations. The first one would be connected to the current situation in the coalition system. As the proportional model requires participation with lists of party candidates, calculations could be expected to preserve the Alliance for Macedonia, or maybe even separate evaluations of the chances of each coalition party individually. In such a case, the parties currently supporting the ruling apparatus might be expected to leave the coalition. Those speculating with or even desiring premature parliamentary elections to occur at the same time are counting on the card of government crisis, forgetting however that the Social Democrats (SDSM) has the majority of votes sufficient to support the Crvenkovski administration by itself if all others should refuse to do so. The local elections and the time left until they take place, are also a chance to feel the pressure of the international factor.

If the latter continues to support the economic, ethnic and foreign policies of the ruling coalition, it is hardly likely to reactivate the question of election regularity this time. Should the situation in the Balkans get out of control and forces strategically change their position without endangering Macedonia's international identity, but if the international community sees a need to press for changes in the country's internal structure, policy toward Greece or possible cold relations with Serbia, new elections are easily possible, conducted under new election regulations and upon a particularly regular evidence. So far, there are no signs that such a scenario is developed in the practice. Yet, the come-back of Tupurkovski, as a person perfectly capable of animate the masses (and this enjoys credibility among international factors), is indicative because of the time and length of his media promotion - a time of newest development of the Balkan situation and certain ideas for new forms of alliances.

(to be continued)

(end)

mils-news 22 August '95