MAK-NEWS 20/11/95 (M.I.C.)

From: "M.I.C." <mic@ITL.MK>

Macedonian Information Centre Directory

CONTENTS

SKOPJE, NOVEMBER 20, 1995 (MIC)

[01] AGREEMENT BETWEEN MACEDONIA AND EU IN FINAL PHASE

The draft-text of the future agreement on cooperation and trade, that is to be signed between Macedonia and the EU, is entering its final phase, "Nova Makedonija" reports from Brussels. The agreement will regulate the trade exchange and technical-financial cooperation on the line EU-Macedonia, foreseeing a loan of 150 million ECU from the European Investment Bank, with interest rates of up to 20 million ECU.

This agreement should strengthen relations between Macedonia and the Union, in all spheres of life.

[02] WILLIAM PERRY IN MACEDONIA ON NOVEMBER 23

The U.S. Defence Secretary William Perry will discuss Bosnia and security in Europe during his seven-day European tour, which will also include paying a visit to the U.S. peacekeepers in Macedonia on Thanksgiving day, a high-ranking U.S. military official said.

Perry will visit the Baltic states, Denmark, Austria and Macedonia.

AFP reports that Perry will be arriving in Skopje on November 23, to discuss the future of the UN peacekeeping forces in Macedonia with the Macedonian leaders, provided a peace agreement on Bosnia is reached. Further on, AFP comments that the Macedonians want the UN peacekeeping forces to remain in their country.

A high U.S. representative stated that although that decision is up to the UN, the conditions that lead to the deployment of the peacekeepers in the first place, have still not changed.

[03] FRANCE SUPPORTS INTEGRATION OF MACEDONIA INTO EU

At the reception held in the Elyssey Palace on the occasion of the 50-year anniversary of the foundation of UNESCO, in the talks with the Macedonian ambassador to France, the President of the Republic of France Jacques Chirak emphasized the peaceful and constructive contribution of the Republic of Macedonia for stabilization in the region and wider.

President Chirak assured the Macedonian ambassador that France will continue to support the further inclusion of the Republic of Macedonia in the European integration processes. At the end of the discussion, the French President stressed his enormous respect for President Gligorov, expressing hopes for his speedy recovery and meeting with him.

[04] FRCKOVSKI REMAINS INTERIOR MINISTER

The Macedonian Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski reviewed on Friday the resignation submitted by Interior Minister Ljubomir Frckovski, the President's cabinet announced.

Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski assessed the resignation, primarily, as a democratic and highly moral act, as an expression of the feeling of responsibility of the Interior Minister, who is in charge of the overall security of the Republic of Macedonia, as well as the personal security of the President of the Republic, as the highest institution in the state.

Considering the complex circumstances surrounding the terrorist attack on the Macedonian President, as well as the importance and priorities of the tasks that are to follow precisely on this plan, the Prime Minister decided not to accept the resignation and asked Ljubomir Frchkovski to continue to carry out his duties as Interior Minister in the Macedonian Government, to his maximum efforts.

[05] GLIGOROV MEETS WITH ANDOV AND CRVENKOVSKI

The President of the Republic of Macedonia Kiro Gligorov received Parliamentary Speaker Stojan Andov in his residence on Friday, who briefed him on the current situation in the country and its international position.

President Gligorov also met with the president of the Macedonian Government Branko Crvenkovski, who informed him about the activities of the Government, is said in the announcement of the cabinet of the President of the Republic of Macedonia.

Otherwise, President Gligorov, who is still on house treatment, is continuing to receive a large number of telegrams and letters of support from citizens, organizations, associations organizations of the Macedonian immigration and numerous statesmen.

On this occasion, President Gligorov is expressing gratitude to all of them for their concern and support.

[06] MACEDONIAN RESOLUTION ADOPTED IN UN

The UN Political Committee adopted the draft-resolution of the Republic of Macedonia on good-neighborly relations between the Balkan countries on Thursday, ambassador Naste Chalovski stated for Radio Skopje from New York.

Co-authors of this Resolution are the Balkan countries, the member-states of the EU and other European countries. Ambassador Chalovski emphasized that the Resolution encourages the normalization of relations between all Balkan states, which underlines the general UN policy on good-neighborly relations. The Resolution, as ambassador Chalovski told Radio Skopje, verifies the policy of the Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov and the Macedonian Government for successful integration of the Balkans into Europe.

[07] BORDER INSURANCE WITH GREECE ABOLISHED

Starting from this Friday, the green "security" insurance cards for vehicles entering either Macedonia or Greece, are recognized on the border between the two countries.

From midnight, the Greek border officials abolished the border insurance for Macedonian vehicles, in line with the recognition of the Macedonian insurance card by all EU member- states, and the protocol on car insurace, signed between the two countries.

MACEDONIAN PRESS REVIEW:

[08] "VECER": READING BETWEEN PARTY LINES

The proposal for the adoption of a Law on high education, after two days of debate, received a visa for completion in the Macedonian Parlament - with a recommendation to take into account the suggestions of the parliamentarians and the possibilitiy of adopting it in short procedure. The discussion on the future regulation of the high education looked more like a debate on the present sorrowful state of political encounters, whereas the proposals of certain parliamentarians were formulated and intonated as threats that the survival of the state will be brought into question.

The Parliament is a political organ and its sessions can not be expected to look like seminars on educational problems. Nevertheless, it seemed as if the expectations were more on the line of talking about the educational policy, than inflicting a policy in the educational sphere. At the end of the parliamentary debate, the Minister of Education Emilija Simoska expressed the regret that "eighty percent of the discussions focused only on one article of the law," meaning that they were politically, and not educationally oriented.

The political dimension of the debate was imposed by the MPs of Albanian nationality. Their discussions, even those that started with a review of the need to pass such a law, ended, without exception, with an appeal, suggestion, and mostly, threats to change the text in articles 9 and 117, which deal with the language in which the classes will be held, i.e. they mention the existing universities in the Republic.

The first paragraph from article 9 says: "the high- educational activities are carried out in Macedonian language," and the second: "classes are also conduted in the languages of the members of the nationalities at high-educational institutions (teachers' colleges) at which teaching staff for the elementary and secondary education is trained, for certain groups subjects." The Albanian MPs described the first paragraph as "catastrophe and utter discrimination" (Sali Ramadani), as a "cause for destabilization of the country" (Hisni Shakiri), "intentional complication of the situation and reducing the possibility for education in the languages of the nationalities, which could have negative repercussions" (Naser Ziberi), as "a serious problem in the conduction of classes in the mother tongue of the students- members of the nationalities" (Dzeladin Murati) and so on, in the same tone.

The request for legalization of the Tetovo University , i.e supplementation of article 117 which mentions only the universities in Skopje and Bitola, came in packet with this language problem. The members of the parties from the Albanian nationality mentioned that the Tetovo University "exists in reality," and that eyes should not be shut to this fact, and that, if it is not legalized and included in the educational system - through the recognition of the language and incorporation in article 117 - it will be a factor of destabilization and it will increase the gap between the Macedonian and Albanian nationality.

The discussions of the members of the other parties ("Macedonian") were under the influence of these ultimatums, hence there were appeals for moderacy (Nano Ruzhin), for calming the passions (Atanas Vangelov), and, in general, to turn the attention to the new elements and solutions foreseen in the draft-law regarding the enrollment policy, the obtainment of teachers' titles, financing... Minister Simoska "ended" the political discussion on the controversial article 9 by claiming that "it is in accordance with all international conventions and offers much higher standards than in many signatory countries."

The proposed text of the Law on high education offers many other important solutions - although some remarks were made about some of them - which can have long-range consequences, not only on what goes on in the university benches: financing, autonomy, selection of teachers' titles, the manner of registration and the registration of the number of enrolled students, etc.

For the first time, for instance, the financing of the univerisity will be carried out through a special Fund which will be registered as a legal entity with a separate bank account, which will also have access to money from the state budget. During the preparation of the offered text of the law, the representatives of the universities managed to "work out a deal" for the Managing board of the Fund to have more (eight) members, who will be appointed at the proposal of the universities. This "accomplishment" is in the function of their requests for greater autonomy of the universities - a problem category, considering sources of financing. On this note, MP Ignatie Bogdanovski, who supported the Proposal, noted that now the university had much greater jurisdictions, i.e. that the faculties had much less autonomy in regard to financing and enrollment policy.

In relation to the enrollment policy, there are still some solutions that can undergo some changes (quotas, number of students, self-financing), while Persida Malinska suggested a moratorium on enrollment in some faculties, for a certain period of time, in order to prevent the hyper-production of personnel. The possibility for professors to teach up to the age of 70 (foreseen with this law) was also criticized, seeing this does not give way to younger personnel. In the selection of titles, i.e. the obtainment of titles, is was proposed for top European experts from a certain field to review the situation (Atanas Vangelov), something which will make the university more compatible with the leading educational systems in the world, which is what, presumably not only on paper, the university administration aspires to. This means that there are still many formulations and solutions (which) will be subject to re- examination in the coming period of completion of the draft-text.

The current situation does not promise a peaceful review and resolution of the problems. The legal text, it seems, will have to "in-between lines" in order to stand out in the daily-political pragma, which constantly brings the survival of the state into question, as well as the long-term educational concept, which seeks an answer to the survival of our tertiary education, in the world exchange of knowledge.

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