MILS NEWS 96-09-17

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From: "Macedonian Information Liaison Service" <mils@mils.spic.org.mk>

CONTENTS

[01] DIVIDING OF RESERVES BY BASLE BANK CRITERIA

[02] VISIT OF THE SUPREME COMMANDER OF SWEDISH ARMED FORCES

[03] STILL NO SOLUTION FOR THE MACEDONIAN-BULGARIAN LANGUAGE PROBLEM

[04] 'TO VIMA' ON MACEDONIAN ASSOCIATING IN NATO

[05] 'EPENDITIS': VANCE WILL SUGGEST A COMPROMISE

[06] RATIFICATION OF TRADE AGREEMENT WITH FRY PROPOSED

[07] LOCAL ELECTIONS IN MACEDONIA ON 17 NOVEMBER'

[08] CONTENTS OF THE LAW ON LOCAL ELECTIONS

[09] THE NAME OF VELES WITHOUT PREFIX 'TITOV'

[10] SDSM - ASSOCIATE MEMBER OF THE SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL

MILS SUPPLEMENT

[11] 'Animating The Macedonian Stock Exchange - A National Interest'-Part 2 ('Dnevnik', 14 September, 1996)

MILS NEWS

[01] DIVIDING OF RESERVES BY BASLE BANK CRITERIA

A-1 Television reported a statement of Macedonian Bank Governor Borko Stanoevski that it was agreed the third meeting with his counterparts to take place in Washington, during the annual conferences of the IMF and the World Bank. Then, the Governors should agree on their appearance at the Bank in Basle. Stanoevski also said that Yugoslav blockade, i.e. passiveness, would not affect the decision of the Basle Bank, as it would follow its procedure according to the agreement with the other four republics.

According to the criteria of the International Deposits Bank, Macedonia should be given 5.4%, i.e. over $30 million of the total gold and foreign currencies deposits of former SFRY.

[02] VISIT OF THE SUPREME COMMANDER OF SWEDISH ARMED FORCES

Macedonian Television reported that Macedonian party emphasized the contribution of Swedish peace-keepers to the preventive Mission, as they come from a country with longest peace supporting tradition. Concrete forms of bilateral cooperation in the field of defense had also been discussed. General Wiktorin and the other high representatives of Swedish Defense Ministry yesterday met with the Macedonian Army Chief of Staff General Trajche Krstevski, and visited some of the monitoring locations and the headquarters of UNPREDEP.

[03] STILL NO SOLUTION FOR THE MACEDONIAN-BULGARIAN LANGUAGE PROBLEM

As informed already, about 15 Macedonian-Bulgarian Agreements had still not been signed due to the refusal of Bulgarian party to accept the term 'Macedonian language' stated in the so-called language clause.

[04] 'TO VIMA' ON MACEDONIAN ASSOCIATING IN NATO

'To Vima' also read that Greece had still not made a decision regarding Macedonian membership in NATO, mostly because it was worried of the possible influence it might have on the name issue. The article concluded, however, that Athens was aware that stability of Macedonia would be hard to maintain if the country is left out of European defense structure for a long time.

[05] 'EPENDITIS': VANCE WILL SUGGEST A COMPROMISE

[06] RATIFICATION OF TRADE AGREEMENT WITH FRY PROPOSED

The Government yesterday also obliged the Secretariat for Information to prepare draft-regulations, in cooperation with the Parliament, for equal presenting of political parties and candidates for the forthcoming local elections in the media. The rules will refer to the length and ways of advertising, as well as to the media buying.

It was also concluded that most of the work regarding the completion of the electoral lists had been done, and a coordinate organ had been established to permanently follow the activities regarding the updating of electoral lists.

[07] LOCAL ELECTIONS IN MACEDONIA ON 17 NOVEMBER'

Parliament President expressed his expectations for the elections to end till the end of the year and excluded the possibility for the date scheduled to be changed. 'Being a member of the Council of Europe, Macedonia is not obliged to call international monitors to the elections, but in case some of them express such a wish, they would be allowed to do it' Petkovski said.

[08] CONTENTS OF THE LAW ON LOCAL ELECTIONS

The Law reads that State Electoral Commission is obliged to constitute the electoral commissions in municipalities within 15 days from the scheduling of elections. Those commissions would be made of one president and four members and their deputies. Two of them are chosen following the suggestions of opposition parties which had won at least 5% of the votes on the last elections, and two are chosen by the ruling parties. The political parties should submit their suggestions to the State Electoral Commission within ten days, and in case they fail to do so, the commissions members and their deputies are suggested by the commission president, who must be a judge of the Court of Original Jurisdiction.

Electoral boards, that will carry out the elections on the spot, should consist of one president and two members with their deputies, and should be formed at least 15 days before the elections date. They are appointed by the Electoral Commission, and one member should be suggested by opposition parties, while the other by ruling ones. Political parties, or a group of 200 voters, who intend to submit candidate lists for town assemblies or a mayor, should do that at least 30 days before the elections. The lists are submitted to electoral commissions, and one or more parties together, i.e. one group of voters, can submit one list of candidates for a town assembly and one for a mayor. One citizen with the right to vote can appear as a nominator of a candidate list for assembly members or for a mayor. The signatures are collected on a form established by the State Electoral Commission and in presence of a competent state organ. The one who submits candidate lists should have a certificate of a giro-account opened for the electoral campaign, and the funds are limited to 10 denars per voter, 60,000 denars per list for assembly candidates, and 100,000 denars per mayor candidate. The Electoral Commission is obliged to hang up the candidate lists in all settlements and at the polling places at least 20 days before the elections.

The Law on Local Elections also regulates the pre-electoral campaigns. They can begin 30 days before the elections date, and must end 48 hours before it. Researches regarding the public opinion for candidates and political parties must not be published 15 days before the elections, and posters must not be put anywhere, but only at locations set by the municipalities, i.e. by the City of Skopje, at least 50 days before the elections date.

According to Macedonian Television, these regulations should improve the behaviour of all parties involved in elections.

[09] THE NAME OF VELES WITHOUT PREFIX 'TITOV'

This had been proposed twice so far (once by Todor Petrov, and the second time by the Liberal Party), but the MPs passed the proposal of the Government recently.

[10] SDSM - ASSOCIATE MEMBER OF THE SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL

This associate membership was fulfilling of the first condition for the next goal of this party - to become a member of the Party of European Social Democrats, for which the country from where the party comes must have an agreement on association with the EU.

MILS SUPPLEMENT

[11] 'Animating The Macedonian Stock Exchange - A National Interest'-Part 2

('Dnevnik', 14 September, 1996)

The story begins with a privatization model named 'management buy-out', by which enterprises are sold to their management teams in several years installments. That would not be a problem if the Article 290 of the Law on Trade Companies did not allow to share holding companies to limit the sale of their stocks out of the enterprises, i.e. on the Macedonian Stock Exchange. The management lobby in the Parliament is very influential and made a great pressure both there and in the Government for this Article to included in the Law. Now, the managers are making various pressures to the shareholders employed in their companies to buy out the shares by prices which are far from the reality. The employees sell their shares for symbolic amounts just to keep their jobs, as they are squeezed between the Law and the managers. It results in the following paradox: the Law protects the managers from the shareholders (who are the real owners) of companies, instead of opposite, in order for the first to be able to take the role of the latter soon. And all of this is taking place out of the Stock Exchange, where offers and demands are most distinct.

Simultaneously, there is no turnover at the Stock Exchange, which, certainly, reflects on its liquidity. It does not mean that we should intercede for a status-quo situation in the privatization, but it would be honest for the share holding companies to transfer their stocks to the central register and to reduce legal possibilities for limiting the free transfer of shares at the stock exchange. Then, the managers would be welcomed to buy the shares (about which they had agreed with the Privatization Agency) at the Stock Exchange and buy out the package of stocks within the term determined. That would annul the malversations, and the Macedonian Stock Exchange would win its role and importance.

The current situation damages and underestimates the true shareholders, gives the possibility for a small number of people to profit dishonestly, and meanwhile the Stock Exchange and its brokers are constantly criticized and devaluated. The media very often, in attempts to criticize the situation as it is, attack the Exchange, but that is a wrong target to choose. The Stock Exchange is a room with eight people employed, where bank brokers gather and offer shares for buying and selling. However, can someone blame them if they have nothing to offer? One share at the first market, two at the second and about ten at the third (the unofficial one) do not make a real stock exchange.

Searching for the real ones to blame, one comes to the legislators. The impression is that Macedonian Stock Exchange works without any support from the state. The state had offered only one bond with such a low interest rate that made it one of the least attractive securities at the Stock Exchange. Take the Slovenian Stock Exchange for example; it was greatly supported by the state at the very beginning of its work, and during the first year 16 of the 17 rated securities were governmental bonds, and only one was a share. It means that the state was not only interested in establishing the stock exchange, but also to animate it. It was also a chance for the government to collect most important funds by issuing bonds, instead of taking loans from abroad. In Macedonia, the situation is the other way round: the state had not offered a single attractive bond, and had even legalized the enclosing of share holding companies from the Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, the public attacks the Exchange, unable to see its problems. Thus, it makes its work even more difficult, as it is an institution which has to have a good reputation, no matter what political party is the ruling one and what its goals are. The governments and parties change and will change, but confidence in something which is of a national interest must be developed.

The economic prosperity of a nation does not depend on its natural resources, but on its cultural (civilization) level. People must not keep quiet when the authority, trust, survival and development of such an institution of a national interest are in question. If one keeps quite, it means that he approves. Those who do not keep quite create enemies for themselves. 'We have still not arrived in the future, we have still not left the past, so we are forced to play the present,' Macedonian play writer Goran Stefanovski said.

(end)

mils news 17 September, 1996

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