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

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

Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory

CONTENTS

MILS NEWS

Skopje, 12 December 1995

[01] MACEDONIA AND SLOVENIA ON THE CONFERENCE IN PARIS

The Dayton Agreement for peace in the former Yugoslavia region will be initialed on 14th this month in Paris. Macedonia and Slovenia have received official invitations to participate in it as neighbouring countries of the parties in conflict.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Macedonia, Mr. Stevo Crvenkovski will lead the Macedonian delegation on this Conference, A-1 television announced. The Conference should include the mutual recognition of the countries formed from the ex-Yugoslav republics.

[02] ACTIONS TO PREVENT THE CRISIS

The delegation of US Council for Foreign Affairs, led by Seymour Toplin, met with President of the Macedonian Parliament Stojan Andov and Macedonian Premier Branko Crvenkovski. They discussed the contemporary political and economical situation in Macedonia and the region and estimated that preventive acting is the most effective way of handling the crisis. The guests showed a particular interest in the relationships between the nationalities in Macedonia. They paid special attention to the functioning of the educational system.

The US delegation yesterday also met with the Macedonian Minister of Defense Blagoj Handziski and with the Minister of Development Bekhir Zhuta, as well as with the Head of the Macedonian Security and Intelligence Office, Dobri Velickovski.

[03] INTENSIVE RAILWAY TRANSPORT BETWEEN MACEDONIA AND GREECE

The railway transport between Macedonia and Greece is very intensive these days. Macedonian Television announced that instead of the anticipated 10 train compositions per day, more than 15 with oil derivatives, products for the steel factory in Skopje, zinc concentrate and phosphates for the factories in Titov Veles, pass the Idoemeni - Gevgelija border crossing. From Macedonia to Greece ferochrome from Jegunovce and nickel from Feni, as well as products from Serbia are transported. The Salonica harbour, due to this increased frequency, works in three shifts, as well as on Saturdays and Sundays.

[04] ARMS FOR THE ALBANIAN SEPARATIST ORGANIZATIONS?

The agency 'Makpress' informs that the Bulgarian border military units were alarmed on the whole border line with Macedonia and a part of the border line with Greece yesterday. The reason for this was a robbery in a secret military base of the Bulgarian army close to Sandanski. The robbery was made on Friday night and 11 automatic guns and some secret documents were stolen. The paper of the Bulgarian leading Socialist Party, 'Duma', informs that traces lead to the border with Macedonia, and that ' the stolen arms were intended for the Albanian separatist organizations in Tetovo, Gostivar, Kichevo and Debar'. There are many speculations in Sofia claiming that revealing the secret military documents could endanger the national security of Bulgaria and possibly worsen the relationships with the 'neighbouring country', as stated.

Macedonian Radio, referring to the Macedonian Embassy in Sofia, informs that there is no official confirmation, adding that possible speculations might be the case.

[05] THE RECOGNITION OF MACEDONIA - A HISTORICAL MISTAKE

The Albanian recognition of Macedonia is a mistake. This was stated in the Albanian paper 'Koha Jone' which referred to the attitude of the intellectuals from Kosovo presented on the recently held conference in Istanbul. A-1 Television quoted the paper and announced that one of the Albanian leaders from Kosovo, Redzep Kjosja, said that the act of recognition of Macedonia by the Albanian Government was a historical mistake. The deputy of the Albanian Parliament, Diter Goli, who said that his party was responsible for the unsuitable representing of the Albanian question on the Balkans in the Albanian parliament, was also quoted in the paper.

[06] DRAFT LAW FOR CUSTOMS TAXES ADOPTED

The Macedonian Government adopted the Draft Law on the Customs Taxes on its session yesterday. With it a complete revision of the present taxes, in terms of numbering and tax payments, was made. Coordination with the newest conditions of the Convention for a Harmonized System and with the Combined Taxes of the European Union was also made. In the Draft Law the special treatment of the ex-Yugoslav republics and all the positions which had no entrance and exit on the customs area of the Republic of Macedonia were abolished.

A proposal to adopt the Law on Energy was also set yesterday. The main purpose of this Law is based on establishing a unique treatment of all kinds of energies, unique conditions for all the subjects included in this area, economical and maximum usage of the energy resources and objects.

The Government also stated the tax for temporal stay of foreign citizens, as well as turist tax for Macedonian citizens who use the turist facilities in the Republic, which will be 20 denars per day.

[07] VOTING IN ELECTORAL UNIT 114 IN SKOPJE IS TO BE HELD ON 24 DECEMBER

State Electoral Committee constituted its variable members for the forthcoming elections in the electoral unit 114 in the commune Center in Skopje on its meeting yesterday. Regular authorizations of its members and their deputies from 5 political parties and two independent candidates were accepted. According to the election timing till 15th this month, 17 Electoral Boards should be formed and the voting will take place on 24 December.

[08] CEREMONIAL ACADEMY AT THE LAW FACULTY IN SKOPJE

On the occasion of the anniversary of the Law Faculty in Skopje and the International day of human rights, 10 December, the days of the Law Faculty ended yesterday with a Ceremonial Academy. The Rector of the University, St. Cyril and Methodius, Radmila Kiprijanova, the Dean of the Law Faculty, Savo Klimovski and the UN Ambassador in Skopje, Henryk Sokalski, addressed the guests. This year's anniversary was honored to Dr. Petar Mangovski whose biography was presented by Prof. Dr. Vasil Tupurkovski. On the occasion of the anniversary, the computer center for the students was opened, and Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Yugoslav Deans of the law Faculties signed an agreement for Balkan cooperation which is expected to expand on the next meeting in Sofia.

[09] THE DAY OF HUMAN RIGHTS MARKED

On the occasion of the day of human rights, and 155 years of the birth of Chaikovski, UNPREDEP, UN Center for Human Rights, MILS, and the Macedonian Red Cross organized a charity concert at the Cultural-Information Center in Skopje. The representative of the UN Center for Human Rights, Henrik Stenman addressed the present guests emphasizing the importance of the UN struggle for human rights as a global contribution of the modern civilized world.

[10] THE FIRST MACEDONIAN-ALBANIAN DICTIONARY PUBLISHED

A few days ago, the first Macedonian-Albanian dictionary was published by the Albanian Publishing House 'Albinform'. As 'Makfaks' reports, the dictionary has 5.000 words and 33 appendices, and according to the author, Ramazan Chadri, the dictionary has enough information for communication in areas where Macedonian language is spoken.

[11] GREETINGS FOR MACEDONIAN SWIMMERS

The Macedonian swimming representation who participated on the World Championship in Rio de Janeiro, was received by the President of the Macedonian Parliament, Stojan Andov. Later the President of the Macedonian Olympic Committee, Vasil Tupurkovski organized a celebration party. The Macedonian swimmers received valuable presents and greetings for the good results they achieved. Both hosts expressed their wish to continue the work in this way and to represent Macedonian sport successfully on the Olympic Games in Atlanta.

MILS SUPPLEMENT:

[12] 'Stabilized Borders and a Long Lasting Peace' Interview with Mr. Blagoj Handziski, Minister of Defence of Republic of Macedonia (Part two)

(Nova Makedonija, 09 December, 1995)

- Is the arms embargo on Macedonia officially lifted?

- Present situation is as following: in case the Agreement from Dayton is implemented to all the states formed from the ex-Yugoslavian republics, the embargo will be lifted on the ninetieth day from the Agreement and will be valid for all small arms. In case the parties involved fulfill the limits for reduction of military potentials, the embargo will be completely lifted on the one hundred and eightieth day from the Agreement. There is a big difference for us and Slovenia. Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia are obliged to reduce their armaments and the Security Forum of OSCE will be in charge of controlling it. Such control is not anticipated for Macedonia. We think that the Dayton document should be differently interpreted for Macedonia and Slovenia, i.e. that the embargo is already lifted. We have discussed this with the Secretary of Defense Perry and Mr. Comras on the request of the State Department. We have asked from the USA to comment on this part of the Dayton Agreement and we are expecting their reply soon.

- Can Macedonia expect some benefits in weapons and other military equipment supply, especially from the USA?

- We already have a financial help of two and a half million dollars from the Warsaw Initiative. They are mostly intended for an international training and education of our senior officers, as well as for the Programme 'Bridge to America'. Another source for help or equipment, which we have discussed with Secretary Perry, is the part of the equipment from the USA that remains unused after the reduction of the American military forces in Europe. As you know, the number of the soldiers has been reduced from 330.000 to 130.000, the bottom limit being 90.000. This means that a great part of the equipment is sent back to the States, and a part of it, as a surplus, remains in Europe. We have discussed this subject on our bilateral meeting in Washington, when the embargo for arms import was still in force. It is mostly about sanitary vehicles, which we miss and which are of a great importance to us, as well as about engineer equipment we talked about.

- Three days ago it was announced in Brussels that Macedonia is planned to be one of the transit zones for the IFOR soldiers stated in Bosnia. Would you explain this?

- NATO offered an agreement for transit of the forces engaged in the implementation of the peace agreement in Bosnia to several countries: Austria, Hungary, Greece, Macedonia and Slovenia. Serbia has already signed such an agreement for its territory on the conference in Dayton. We requested to sign an agreement with all the countries members of the Alliance, no matter what troops will pass through our country. It is sure for the time being that only American troops will pass through Macedonia. This agreement was accepted by the Government on its last session.

- Does this Agreement mean that some 'on the way base' for the troops will be opened, as anticipated for Hungary?

- No, the situation with Hungary is different. They will not stop in our country.

- The most provocative news of the last week was Russian resistance to the prolongation of the mandate of the peace forces in Macedonia for 12 months. There were also some suggestions about this mandate after the press conference held in the headquarters of UNPREDEP.

Is it possible these six months to be the last for the peace forces in Macedonia and what is your opinion about the Russian resist ance to the prolongation of the mandate?

- We work in co-ordination with the mission of UNPREDEP, with the countries that participate in the mission and with the UN to make the command completely independent. This agreement was made and is stated in the UN General Secretary's report. I am not familiar with the discussions on the press conference with the representatives of UNPREDEP, and in case there was a discussion about some changes in the mandate, it is only about the fact that we will have a separate military command from January on and a separate logistic support.

In the discussions about Boutros Ghali's report and with the countries that participate in UNPREDEP, especially during Perry's and Nordic ministers' visit, the mutual conclusion was that the mission is successful and that the mandate should be prolonged for a year, because of two reasons. Firstly, during that period a complete implementation of the Dayton Agreement is expected and, in case it is achieved, it is clear that we will enter in a period of permanent peace, with the 80 thousand troops as one more stabilizing factor. We also expect at least a start in solving the crisis on Kosovo - peacefully - through a dialogue and in the frames of FRY. This will help us estimate whether the forces of UNPREDEP will still be needed. We would be glad if such conditions are made, as it will mean that the situations in the region and on our border with FRY are completely stabilized, in particular because we expect all the countries formed from the ex-Yugoslav republics to recognize each other after the Agreement in Paris is signed.

Everyone, of course, has the right to make one's own judgments. We, therefore, accept the Russian Federation's estimation that after Dayton Agreement was signed and its realization started, further destabilization and escalation of fights in any part of the region, including Macedonia, are unlikely to happen. Our estimations are, however, different and also the UN's one, which would have otherwise not make such efforts and bring thousands of troops here so that the Dayton Agreement is implemented. The Americans themselves are aware that they have the peace only on a paper for the time being and that it will be obtained after the complete implementation of the Agreement. This is the reason why we estimate that these troops should remain in the Republic of Macedonia.

It was also agreed that the mission mandate in Macedonia will be prolonged till 30 May, during which period we expect two reports from Boutros Ghali - the first on 24 January, in which a clear explanation about the situation on our northern border should be given, but also the UN's attitude considering the need for this mission in the next period -after 30 May), as we have asked and as the Secretary General suggested, i.e. till 30 November 1996. In case there are guarantees for permanent peace in the region till November, we will be the first to announce that there is no further need of the UN's mission.

- Macedonia decided on becoming a member of NATO, which involves an obligation to participate in international interventions, such as the one in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Do you think our people are ready to accept the fact that our, Macedonian soldiers will be engaged in various military operations such as the 'Desert Storm'?

- When we signed the 'Partnership for Peace' Programme we accepted - it is Macedonia's obligation - that we will have to have a squad, a legion or any other military unit ready to take a part in peaceful operations led by the World's organization or the OSCE at any time. The second obligation is the participation in the operations of the Alliance.

- Do you think that public opinion should be investigated for such issues, through a referendum ...

- I did not mean that such an agreement was already signed or that such a decision was already brought with what I have said before. We have obliged ourselves to prepare such forces, but whether they will participate in such a peaceful operation will be decided by the Parliament. This kind of participation is regulated by an agreement, and in our country any agreement must be verified by the Parliament.

- The usual thesis in the last three years was that, as long as the war in Bosnia goes on, Macedonia should not worry about its peace. How do you estimate the situation about Macedonia now, when the peace in Bosnia is, in a way, reached?

- The situation is stable, both inside and outside. We expect all the forces at the North of our country to be preoccupied with the implementation of the Dayton plan during the next period. This task asks for a great engagement of all the parties involved, including the neighbouring countries.

There are, however, both in the region and more widely, significant forces that are radically nationalistically oriented and in whose heads the idea of new ethnic cleansing, of creating big ethnic or similar countries, is still not dead. Tendencies for creating the so-called informal alliances by orthodox verticals, Muslim horizontals etc. are still present. This is opposite to Macedonia's determination of maintaining equal relationships with all neighbours, for an European option and for avoiding regional federations. One of those informal alliances covers the whole orthodox line and already reaches Greece, no matter that it is a member of NATO -as you know, Greece signed a defense co-operation agreement with the Russian Federation), and there are also similar links between Serbia an d Bulgaria and Serbia and Romania. Romania could not even wait for the embargo to be lifted to open its borders to Serbia. The situation is not, therefore, stable, and we firstly expect a permanent peace to be obtained in the region, when the economy and integrating processes should come first.

- Speaking about Russia, we are familiar with the threat that came from Moscow saying that they will point their nuclear rockets towards the Czech Republic and Poland, in case they join NATO. Are there any similar messages from Moscow to our address?

- No, there are no such messages to our address. I should say, however, that the main attitude of all the countries members of the Alliance is that there will be no permanent peace and stability in Europe, unless a co-operation is established and all the countries from the Euro - Atlantic area take over their obligations. The 'Partnership for Peace' is also based on this. NATO is now working on joining all the countries in the new European defense structure and for this reason the Russian Federation also joined the 'Partenership for Peace'. In time, as mutual trust and understanding are deepened, we should expect decreasing, not increasing, of new separations or forming new areas of influence.

- How do you, at the end, estimate the Dayton Agreement? Do you find it just and how much do you think it will contribute in solving the crisis in the region?

- Dayton Agreement, which Macedonia greeted among the first countries, once more showed that every war must end with a peace agreement, that internationally recognized countries cannot disappear from the geopolitical maps just like that today; that the international union is ready to prevent violent changing of the international borders; that enormous spending for armaments and engaging such big human potentials for realization of radical nationalistic ideas do not pay, because the Agreement for Regional Stabilization obliges the parties involved in the conflict not only to fulfill the obligations from the Vienna Agreement to limit the conventional military forces, but to reduce the military potentials to the level of achieving a mutual balance and a balance with the neighbouring countries, including Macedonia. The fact that 32 countries will participate in carrying out the Agreement, among which the Russian Federation will be included for the first time in an operation of NATO, will have a positive influence. All this will definitely play a crucial role in achieving peace and permanent stabilizing on the Balkans.

(end)

mils news 12 December 1995