MAK-NEWS 12/10/95 (M.I.L.S.)

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

Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory

CONTENTS

MILS NEWS

Skopje, 12 October 1995

[01] SHALIKASHVILI TO VISIT SKOPJE

The Skopje daily "Vecer" , citing unofficial sources, reports that the Chief-of-Staff of the US Army, General John Shalikashvili, will arrive in Macedonia tomorrow.

The aim of the visit, according to the same source, is to facilitate preparations for the impending visit of the US Secretary of State William Perry to Macedonia, which was arranged prior to the assassination attempt on President Gligorov.

[02] MACEDONIA GAINS ADMITTANCE TO OSCE

The Ambassador of the OSCE mission in Macedonia Tore Bogh , announced in a media release today that the Republic of Macedonia has officially been accepted into full membership of the OSCE. Bogh stated that the Macedonian government has demonstrated great patience in this regard, and expressed the opinion that the international community will reward such patience through increased assistance in its future development.

[03] FOREIGN OFFICE REPRESENTATIVE IN MACEDONIA

Sir Nicholas Bonsor, Minister in the British Foreign Office, yesterday arrived in Skopje for an official visit. During the course of his stay in Macedonia, Bonsor will meet with Parliamentary President Stojan Andov, Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski, and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stevo Crvenkovski.

[04] EYE OPERATION FOR GLIGOROV

The previously announced operation on the right eye of President Gligorov took place some two days ago at the Medical Clinic in Skopje, and according to the report of the responsible medical team which is supervising the President's condition, Gligorov has recovered well from the surgery. His vital functions, as well as his test results in general, are well within the normal range expected, and he is progressing satisfactorily with his recovery. However, he remains in intensive care, according to the latest medical reports.

[05] EXPLOSIVES OF BULGARIAN ORIGIN

At the press conference held the day before yesterday at the offices of the American Information Service regarding the assassination attempt, during which were present representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in conjunction with representatives of the Embassies of Germany, Great Britain and the United States, the Under- Secretary of MIA, Mr.Dime Gjurev, informed journalists that he remains optimistic about uncovering the perpetrators of the attempt on the President's life.

Gjurev stated that on the basis of the methodology used in the attack, the act is reminiscent of similar methods used by a well-known international terrorist organization. However, given the delicacy of the current investigation, he refused to provide more specific details on this issue. A number of persons have already been questioned on the basis of their similar physical appearance to the suspect who purchased the vehicle used as a car-bomb, the "Ami 8", although none have been formally arrested to this point in time. Today's issue of the daily "Nova Makedonija" writes that the explosives used in the attack are most probably of Bulgarian origin, given that some stocks of the materials used in several firms dealing with this type of explosive in Macedonia are reportedly missing. New information to hand suggests that the person who purcashed the relevant vehicle from a car-yard spoke in rudimentary Serbo-Croatian, with a strong 'Kajkavski" accent (a region of southern Serbia).

[06] SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING

Two days ago, Parliamentary President Stojan Andov convened a meeting of the Security Council of the Republic of Macedonia. During the meeting, attention was paid to the current climate in the Republi following the attempt of the life of President Gligorov. According to the Council, the general situation in Macedonia remains stable, although measures have been taken in order to tighten security. All necessary constitutional and other legal measures have been taken without problems, and all state institutions continue to function normally, including those concerned with international relations.

The Security Council was addressed by responsible officers in respect of the current investigation to apprehend the perpetrators of the assassination attempt.

It was agreed that the Council will continue to monitor this situation, and will take further measures if necessary in accordance with its constitutional obligations.

[07] MACEDONIAN-GREEK TALKS CONTINUE

Over the last two days, Skopje has witnessed the continuation of talks that commenced last week in Athens between senior officials of the respective Macedonian and Greek Foreign Ministries, in respect of the implementation of the Interim Accord signed between the two states in New York. Both delegations, led respectively by Macedonian Assistant Foreign Minister Ljupco Arsovski and the Director of the Balkan Department in the Greek Ministry, Dimitros Kiprios, are aiming to achieve in the talks agreement on the processes necessary for the opening of liaison offices, and the enablement of the free flow of persons and goods across the joint border.

According to A1 TV, the Greek representative, Dimitrios Kiprios, while refraining from commenting in detail on the agreed steps taken by the two delegations during the talks, nonetheless stated unofficially that the discussions are continuing in an especially cordial atmosphere, as was the case in Athens. A1 TV also reported the still unconfirmed news that the Greek delegation's second most senior official, Mr.Maljas, will be appointed head of the liaison office to open shortly in Skopje, at the same time as the opening of the Macedonian office in Athens.

Today's issue of "Nova Makedonija" adds that notwithstanding the still as yet unresolved "technical" issues and indeed the possibility of a third meeting taking place in Athens, it is still anticipated that an agreement will be signed today.

Meanwhile in Athens, the ex-Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs, presented his new book titled "The Balkans in a United Europe - the contribution of Greece". In the book, Pangalos criticizes not only the current Greek government, but also all previous such governments, for the inadvertance to "Balkan and European policies". In respect of the "Macedonian issue", Pangalos holds that Greek foreign policy is nothing short of a complete fiasco, and expresses respect for the people, parliament and the President of "FYROM" concerning their acceptance of the recent Interim Accord. In respect of the name, Pangalos considers that this issue will never be resolved, nor will the parties ever come to an agreement.

[08] CALOVSKI ADDRESSES THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

At the fiftieth session of the United Nations General Assembly, it is expected that the debate commenced yesterday in a working group will continue today in New York concerning the implementation of the provisions of the UN Convention relating to third parties damaged by the UN sanctions. Priority was given to the discussions concerning the sanctions against Yugoslavia introduced by the UN Security Council. According to Macedonian radio, Ambassador Naste Calovski, the Macedonian representative, who participated in the discussion, sought specifically implementation of Article 50 of the Convention. Pursuant to the provisions of this Article, those countries most severely affected by the sanctions shall have the right to seek monetary compensation and other material assistance from the Security Council and the international community in general. Ambassador Calovski in particular sought the establishment of appropriate mechanisms to assess compensation for affected third parties in the future prior to the implementation of UN sanctions. According to Calovski, not only should such third parties be consulted beforehand, but indeed should be enabled direct participation in the decision-making given that they will be the ones that are required by the UN to implement the sanctions. Calovski also stated that in future, it is anticipated that sanctions will be more commonly used by the UN against all manner of aggressors who threaten peace and stability in the international community. Moreover, at the current fiftieth-birthday session of the General Assembly, it is expected that a resolution will be adopted which will regulate the implementation of sanctions and compensation to be provided to third parties that suffer damage as a result.

[09] VMRO-DPMNE PRESS CONFERENCE

VMRO-DPMNE yesterday held a press conference at which, apart from commenting on the ratification of the Accord with Greece, theories were advanced about the possible perpetrators of the assassination attempt against President Gligorov. According to party President Ljupco Georgievski, the day which saw the ratification of the Accord with Greece will be remembered as one of the most shameful in Macedonian history. The affects will be felt for many years, while the economic benefits are likely to be minimal. With this Accord, said Georgievski, a third name for the Republic has been ratified. Speaking about the climate within which this "shameful agreement" was brought about, and again denouncing the terrorist act against the President, Georgievski stated that the assassination attempt has been used as an alibi to cover changes which were not brought about by democratic debate involving the wider public. The cancellation of the planned protest meetings merely assisted the government in this regard because further activities of this nature by his party are now clearly inappropriate.

Emphasizing that 80% of persons so far detained for questioning are members of VMRO-DPMNE, Georgievski said that the Internal Affairs Ministry is not considering other possible options relating to who might have been involved in this terrorist act. He pointed out that Macedonian authorities have failed to include as possible suspects political opponents within the ruling coalition as well as considering the economic interests of particular groups. To avoid any further speculation he called on the authorities to make public the results of the investigation as soon as possible. 'If they don't do this, then it would suggest that elements surrounding Gligorov have committed the crime', said Georgievski.

In conclusion, Georgievski called for early elections in Macedonia.

[10] HELSINKI FEDERATION CRITICIZES GREECE

The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights has called on Greece to respect international human rights instruments in respect to its Macedonian minority, reported the Skopje daily 'Vecer'. The Federation welcomed the decision of a Greek court recently to withdraw charges against Macedonian human rights activist Hristos Sideropoulos, but strongly criticized the Greek authorities for not intervening with an appropriate investigation in the case of the arson attack on the premises of the Macedonian political party 'Rainbow'.

(end)

mils news 12 October '95