MAK-NEWS 05/09/95 (M.I.L.S.)

From: "M.I.L.S." <mils@ITL.MK>

Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory

CONTENTS

MILS NEWS

Skopje, 5 September 1995

[01] CRVENKOVSKI AND PAPOULIAS TO MEET NEXT WEEK IN NEW YORK

US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke arrived in Skopje yesterday to talk with the Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov. At the meeting they discussed latest American initiative for speeding the process of the Greek-Macedonian negotiations. They agreed that the normalization and creation of the base for friendly relations between Macedonia and Greece is a significant factor for the stability in the Balkans. After the meeting Holbrooke stated: "The US announces simultaneously in Athens, Skopje and Washington that the Hellenic Republic and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have decided to send their Foreign Ministers to New York to conclude an agreement which takes the first important steps toward establishing the basis for friendly relations between these two neighbors. We welcome this development at this crucial and delicate stage in the search for peace in the Balkans. This is the culmination of months of extraordinary effort by the UN negotiator, Cyrus Vance, and the US Presidential Envoy, Matthew Nimetz" said Holbrook. As Macedonian TV informs, both sides are expected with good will to end the conflict and sign the agreement proposed by the UN mediators. It is expected the Greece will lift the embargo to Macedonia before the forthcoming meeting between Papoulias and Crvenkovski in New York. This agreement will speed up development of Macedonian - American relations, both on diplomatic and economic level in the framework of the global solution for the YU-crises. Also, It is possible soon to expect an official establishment of relations between Skopje and Belgrade.

A1 TV unofficially informs, that after signing the agreement the Foreign Ministers should complete the negotiations discussing all the technical issues. Greece will not at this moment officially recognize Macedonia, but this will be done de facto with opening diplomatic offices, which will not function as embassies. A1 TV also informs that it is possible today on the scheduled session of the Macedonian Parliament Foreign Minister Stevo Crvenkovski to address the PM's.

[02] REACTIONS IN GREECE

As A1 TV informs, the first reactions in the Greek media after Holbrook's statement are that it is about an uneven score on relations between Greece-Macedonia. Greek TV in urgent news reported a dramatic end in the Greek-Macedonian dispute after the Holbrook's visit to Skopje and Athens.

The Director of the Prime Minister's Diplomatic Office , Dimitris Karaitides, stated that Greece has accepted the American initiative for continuation of the negotiations.

The leader of the Greeks Ultra nationalist Party, Andonis Samaras, before yesterday's meeting of Papandreu and Holbrooke , asked the Prime Minister not to agree to such a policy until an urgent session of Greek Parliament can be held, because it is unacceptable in his opinion.

[03] TALKS ABOUT MACEDONIAN INDEPENDENCE

According to Makpress yesterday part of the discussions with the representatives of the American negotiating team was the relationship of Macedonia to the rest of former Yugoslavia.

Sources close to the president of Macedonia inform that at these talks there was no word about any kind of linking but only about how to reinforce the position of independent and sovereign Macedonia in the Balkans. Any other claims, such as the idea for attaching Macedonia in the global solution of the problems existing in Yugoslavia are pure speculations.

Meantime, Athens News Agency cites the Holbrook's statement in Athens that the Skopje's question is a part of the Yugoslav issue.

Nova Makedonija cites writing of Elefterotipia which says that in Athens there is some disagreement concerning these statements "forthcoming mutual recognition in former Yugoslavia'', while Ta Nea writes about the possibility that "in the loose federation of Serbia, Monte Negro and Bosnia" Macedonia should also be included.

[04] COUNCIL OF EUROPE COMMISSION RECOMMEND ADMITTANCE OF MACEDONIA

The European Council Commission for political Issues at a yesterday meeting in Paris reached a decision to recommend to the Ministry Committee to admit the Republic Macedonia in the oldest European institution - the European Council. The discussion after the report for admittance of Macedonia lasted three hours and 20 members took part. What is left is the evaluation of these two commissions- the Commission for legal Issues and Commission for Political Issues. The final decision should be reached by the Parliamentarian Assembly of the Council of Europe.

[05] INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM IN OHRID

In Ohrid yesterday started an International Symposium for Protection of Industrial Property in the countries of Central and Southeastern Europe. Macedonian Minister for Development Bekir Zuta, introduced those present , about 100 of them, about the legal regulation of this area in Macedonia as well as the admittance of Macedonia in the World Organization for Intellectual Property.

[06] PROTEST GATHERING HELD IN DEBARSKA ZUPA

In a village Kodzadzik, Center Zupa yesterday held a protest gathering on behalf of some parents and students who wish to educate themselves on Turkish language, Macedonian Radio reported. Not satisfied with the attitude of the Ministry for Education and Culture, more than hundred students led by activists of a Parental Board and Democratic Party of Turks living in Macedonia insist to continue the education in the regional school in the village Kodzadzik where the education was always carried out in Turkish language. The peaceful protest was held in front of the school "Nedzat and Zakirija" but the new coming students were not allowed to enter and attend the classes.

MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT:

[07] MEET THE AUSTRALIAN - MACEDONIAN INTELLECTUALS: MICHAEL RADIN (PART II)

(Previously featured in "Today-Denes" Melbourne, Australia)

Question : How in your opinion, can the information disseminated in the Diaspora by the RM. become more democratic? The very fact that the media there is financed by the ruling parties would suggest that it is also controlled by them. The Macedonians in the Diaspora appreciate independent information, yet how is that to be achieved?

Answer : There is no doubt that the mass media must be democratized in the Republic. Again, this is one of the key determinants of a truly pluralistic society. Without freedom and independence, no system of information delivery and exchange can expect to satisfy the core characteristics demanded by modern democrats - fairness and objectivity, reliability, integrity and truth, impartiality and even - handiness etc. As an information - based society, the Republic like al other modern states will need to carefully balance competing interests in this arena; for example, state resources to ensure good, quality broadcasting will always be non - negotiable, but where must the limits of control over the process and the product be drawn? State - owned media is not anathema per se to democracy - indeed it continues to that a feature of western democracies, particularly in Europe and Australia, alongside commercial interests. It is important to implement certain standards however which will ensure that the government of the day, committed to funding the public media on behalf of its constituency, the tax payers, nonetheless remains "at arms length" in terms of control of both the process and the product. The example provided by both the ABC and SBS in Australia seems to be both a comfortable and workable one.

The experience with the print media in the west however seems to be one of exclusive private or commercial control, and one would imagine that the same will eventually apply also in Macedonia. In an information age however, it is vitally important to ensure that limits on media ownership are applied, so that the Republic, with an essentially centralized system of media delivery, can avoid falling prey to its own Rupert Murdoch/Bill Gates megapoly, which of course is equally the nemesis of democrat pluralism as is total state control. I should state that small niche media, such as local or non-profit community broadcasters, or indeed those that are essentially Internet based like MILS, also have an important role to play, and indeed, are deserving of some state subsidy (as occurs in Australia) simply to reinforce government commitment to quality and diversity in information.

Question : It is said that the intelligentsia of the RM. is under the control of the government, and is therefore too silent or too directed in its behavior. To what extent can the intelligentsia of the Diaspora influence this situation, or at least change this impression? In point of fact, does the intelligentsia in the Diaspora make enough effort towards self-realization in the new lands?

Answer : I believe that this statement is simply too broad. Experience has shown that those with a more highly developed intellect are indeed less vulnerable to ''control". There is little doubt however that certain members of the intelligentsia have developed pro-government affinities, but the same is true for those who are "pro-opposition", as can be seen in certain members of the VMRO-DPMNE, DPand MAAK leadership. This phenomenon must be understood in its correct context - intellectuals may also declare an ideological disposition, and join political parties - this is clearly their right in a democracy, as it is for all citizens. Whilst most are genuine in this activism, it is the cask that others may do so for more opportunistic reasons, believing that such affiliation may in the long term improve their career prospects and life chances in general. Again, this is not an unusual situation, it most certainly applies equally to every country in the world.

I'm not sure that the intelligentsia in the Diaspora could or should influence this situation. My view is that links should be entirely cultural, professional or educational, rather than political. In the former spheres, I have always advocated the establishment of a body or forum that would enable meaningful intercourse between the intelligentsia in respectively the Republic, other parts of Macedonia and the Diaspora. Such contact would I'm sure facilitate a further acceleration in the skills and insights of the professionals in the Republic, who while eminently qualified on paper due to the high priority accorded tertiary education under the communist system (relative to the west), still nonetheless lack the critical experiences and values of their western counterparts, who in turn were not restricted in their intellectual and practical development by the type of quasi - isolation that prevailed under the old Yugoslav monolith.

However, even aspiring to the type of positive influence described above can be fraught with difficulty. Since independence, many intellectuals in the Diaspora have attempted to take on more visible (and most often voluntary) role in assisting the Republic in its transition. All attempts to deploy useful skills and knowledge have been disappointingly frustrated without exemption by the quiet hostility, incompetence, inefficiency and obfuscation of certain vested interest in the political institutions, bureaucracy, other state organs and wider management.

Evidently, such altruistic skills pose some sort of threat to those clinging to small "empires" in the Republic. Those who have made well-intentioned efforts have been quietly but effectively "moved aside" by the current leadership, who seem to prefer a situation that they can control to one based on merit and improvement. In the Diaspora, attempts at self-realization have struck two major obstacles ; firstly, the incentive to place proprietary interests above those of the community and indeed the wider society means that very few Macedonian professionals commit any time or effort to Macedonian affairs, which are strictly non-remunerative; secondly, those that do commit time face the time-honored hostility directed at the intelligentsia by many ignorant persons suffering under huge inferiority complexes, a legacy of the continued experience of oppression being woven into the cultural fabric of a people. For example, one well-known newspaper proprietor in Melbourne, who fits this bill perfectly, perpetuates his reputation by repeatedly bashing the active intelligentsia in the Australian-Macedonian community, and doing very little else. The complex there is indeed huge, and the verbal manifestations most often amusing, but not all activists see it that way unfortunately.

Question : What should be done to guarantee continuity of the generation in the Diaspora? Many ethnic communities have known the problem of establishing churches, social and cultural centers, and not having anyone to take them over in the new generations. Such for example has been the fate of the "Bulgarian Macedonians" centered on the MPO and the "Yugoslav" Macedonians and so forth. In the present situation in Australia, USA, Canada and Europe, have the Macedonians a better chance of self-affirmation and preservation of their perennial traditions?

Answer : This is an extremely delicate and difficult problem. Subsequent generations across the board appear to be rejecting participation in traditional community structures. I have offered some insights into why this may be happening above. In general, the broader culture stemming from large urban-based, post-industrial socio-economic systems differs little from place to place, particularly the Eurocentric, Judeo-Christian world, where familiar life patterns are reproduced in a very recognizable challenge this prevailing scheme of things, and reduces the necessary conformity to the type of social contract that I spoke of earlier - support the existing order and its general ethos, and you may freely practice your culture and speak your languages, within "carefully defined limits" (and with some state support). So we have the situation where multiculturalism, ironically, in nonetheless still geared to producing a type of conformity in peoples' daily rituals and life patterns. Against this backdrop, most of the "traditional" values and practices "disappear" over time.

The key to the cultural retention at his level therefore is "relevance" to the dominant ethos in Australian society, and the development of cultural practices which are more dynamically linked to the core culture of the modern, mainstream Australian nation.

These concepts are rarely appreciated by the first generation, and even if they are not understood by the subsequent generations either, the latter are nonetheless better able to intuitively respond to such impulses and inculcate them into their daily experiences. And thus we have a "tension" typically manifesting itself between the generations in an Australian-Macedonian home, a tension which will only be reconciled with the passing of the "patriarchal" generation. In the interim, we face difficult problems during the transitional period. We certainly lag behind our contemporaries in other communities in this respect. For example, our mainstream Macedonian organizations have been established upon near-obsolete and irrelevant first-generation values and practices. These structures have been fortified by their political leadership against the more modern and inclusive values of the subsequent generations, who have had to look elsewhere to small, resource-starved and under-equipped societies and bodies. In time, these persons will no doubt "graduate" to the larger, mainstream structures, and we will then see a leadership more capable of developing and promulgating a more relevant and meaningful Australian-Macedonian culture in the wider society, a task which is clearly beyond the obvious limitations of the current leadership. I trust that the day when we see, just like our counterparts in communities that traditionally oppose us, lawyers, doctors, successful business people, judges, politicians and academics etc. (of both sexes) fronting our organizations, will not be too far off. Of course, that will immeasurably assist our continuing struggle here for respect, equality and justice, both for ourselves as individuals and for our culture. There should be no limit to what such a potent group of activists, with genuine popular support, can achieve in the mainstream Australian society. Nor should this impact negatively upon those who wish to continue their cultural observance in more modest fashion.

(to be continued)

(end)

mils news 5 September '95

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