MAK-NEWS 27/11/95 (M.I.C.)

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

Macedonian Information Centre Directory

SKOPJE, NOVEMBER 27, 1995 (MIC)

CONTENTS

[01] MACEDONIAN AND SERBIAN BUSINESSMEN MEET

Following the lifting of the sanctions against FR Yugoslavia, the Sanctions Committee has left the Macedonian- Yugoslav border, and the traffic between the two states is flowing normally, without any special taxes and dues.

A delegation of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, led by the president Vlajko Stoiljkovich, stayed in Macedonia this weekend.

The host, Dushan Petreski stated that with the lifting of the sanctions, both Macedonia and Serbia can realize their plans in the economy. The future cooperation should be carried out according to the principles of liberal trade, without the introduction of administrative obstacles. In this sense, president Petreski pointed out that the procedure of introduction of contingents, permits and compensation work, must be speeded up, especially in Serbia where there are two levels of decision- making. As priorities in the strengthening of the mutual economic cooperation, Dushan Petreski stated the question surrounding the prices of the transport services and the upholding of the former agreements and standards in the Electrodistribution, i.e. the abolishment of the decision of the Serbian Electrodistribution to place a ban on the delivery of electric energy for a period of three months. Furthermore, he pointed out the need to introduce a payment operations between the two countries, and to establish a cooperation between Macedonian and Serbian firms from the car industry, black metallurgy, the production of furniture and the electric industry, for joint appearances on third markets.

For the Serbian side, the lifting of the sanctions, according to Vlajko Stoiljkovich, president of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, presents a condition for cooperation with all countries, on equal terms. Macedonia, as he said, is an important partner for the Serbian economy. The size of the Serbian delegation, which was made up of representatives of the largest firms in Serbia who showed an interest in the import of intermediate goods and raw materials from Macedonia, goes to prove that.

President Stoiljkovich promoted the idea for the exchange between the two countries to be carried out according to the principles of free trade, with contingents for products of strategic importance for either country.

As most important, Vlajko Stoiljkovich underlined the issues of reduction of transport costs and the prices for the services rendered in the Thessaloniki port, as well as the signing of an interstate agreement on the protection of the properties of the companies, by the end of the year.

[02] A COMPOUND NAME CAN NOT BE A COMPROMISE

"Our adversary was unyielding, in the negotiations, he used methods and conditions, for instance, he used the Sun of Vergina, in order to pull out on time without any losses," the Thessaloniki newspaper from "Makedonija" writes in one of its last numbers, in an attempt to explain to the Greek people "what it is that Greece wants." The newspaper concludes that a paradox has appeared: "Greece is gaining and backing down, while the adversary is losing and advancing."

The basic point of the text is the name of the northern neighbor, whereby the newspaper claims that "it is not a serious assertion that the name is alpha and omega of the problem. The key lies in another place."

The author states that the compound name can not be a compromise, because of a number of reasons, and if some circles from the Government think that a "compound name" is not dangerous, it will be a big mistake.

"In case Skopje keeps its name, then it will also keep everything else that comes from the leading ideology. They will wake up and sleep with aspirations towards Greece and Bulgaria, and will present a destabilizing factor," the Thessaloniki newspaper "Makedonija" writes.

[03] PEOPLE BORN IN AEGEAN MACEDONIA - BANNED FROM ENTERING GREECE

The Associations of Macedonians from the Aegean part of Macedonia issued an announcement yesterday which says that Macedonian citizens originating from the Aegean part of Macedonia are being sent back by Greek border officials, in their attempts to enter the Republic of Greece. The Greek border officials are conditioning their entrance with the signing of a Greek name in the place of birth, for instance Florin, Castoria, etc. A substantial number of Macedonian citizens are also required to have their Greek name and surname written in their passports.

"We feel that these actions are not in the spirit of the agreements on free communication between the Macedonian and Greek citizens, and we want the Macedonian Foreign Ministry to take appropriate measures to protect the rights of our citizens," the announcement says.

MACEDONIAN PRESS REVIEW:

[04] "NOVA MAKEDONIJA": MACEDONIAN HAS CAUGHT THE EUROPEAN TRAIN EXCERPTS FROM INTERVIEW WITH PRIME MINISTER BRANKO CRVENKOVSKI

In relation to the assassination attempt on President Gligorov, Crvenkovski says: "First, the assassination attempt on the president of the state is definitely a plot against the state. It cannot be anything else. The institution president of a state is the biggest synonym for the sovereignty and integrity of a state. So, there are no dilemmas about the intention of the assassination attempt and about the desired consequences. It is clear that the intention was to eliminate the president of the state physically, to cause political destabilization, and consequently to deviate from a certain planned course. There is no logic if such an operation is done believing that the state will remain on the same course. From this aspect the act of the assassination attempt is something that will remain not only as a historic memory, but it will enter and remain in the collective memory of the people, in the mental code of the people, for generations, and there have been such moments in our distant history. I absolutely agree that this is a colossal event of a great significance.

Here comes the question whether the investigation was adequate to the event itself. Let me tell you frankly that I am not an expert on investigations of this type, and I do not believe that there is anybody in the state with such any greater experience in such matters. We may make comparisons with similar events in other states, not as experts but as people that are thinking politically and on the basis of other people's experiences. Usually, investigations as this are long-lasting, except in cases when assassins take the responsibility for the assassination attempt, or when such acts are done by some fanatics or psychically unbalanced persons. In our case it was neither the one nor the other, but it had obviously been planned for a long time and professionally performed.

So, it was a well-planned, well-organized, and professionally performed operation, which has normally made the whole investigation even more complex and difficult," Crvenkovski said.

He underlined that it is especially important for Macedonia to discover the inspirers and the organizers of this act in order to figure out the strategy in this relation. Second, since it is difficult to decide whether this act is an act that will not be repeated and whether the inspirers of the assassination attempt will not try to reach the same goal in other times and with other means, it is important that we have a successful investigation."

In continuation, Prime Minister Crvenkovski explains his reasons for not accepting Interior Minister Frchkovski's resignation: "As Prime Minister, it is my duty to have see the things in a broader way and to evaluate what is more useful for the functioning of the institutions, for protecting the state interests. Most frequently, the situations are not white and black. Usually, you cannot simply select the best variance and all pros and cons must be put on the balance and then chose the one that is the least detrimental. I decided not to accept the offered resignation and to ask Mr. Frckovski to continue performing his duties with the utmost responsibility."

"Nova Makedonija" asks about the situation in relation to the fight against organized crime and the grey economy. Crvenkovski replies: "According to some parameters, we have a certain improvement in this sphere in the last couple of months, however, without doubt, the percentage of trade and financial transactions outside the regular courses is still very high. In order to have a realistic picture as to Macedonia's position in this plan, we have to agree what we will take as an example, i.e. with whom we will compare ourselves. if we take the situation in Macedonia from a couple of years ago, then we will undoubtedly conclude that we have a growth of grey economy and the crime rates, in general. If, on the other hand, we make a comparison with the states passing through the same processes as us, then we can conclude that the situation in Macedonia is far better than in most of these states."

In relation to the Interim Accord with Greece, and the speculations that negotiations over the name of the Republic of Macedonia have yet to come, Crvenkovski says: "Here, I am taking this opportunity, since I often hear that there is a need for a firm stance. On this occasion, I would like to emphasize the stand that from our side, there will be no negotiations over the changing of our constitutional name. We accept the fact that Greece has a different stand on this issue. We can discuss that this different stand does not hinder us in the realization of the relations in the multilateral and bilateral sphere, and so forth, however, we do not accept at any moment, and we will not accept any negotiations over the name, or the initiation of some name variances, etc. " Crvenkovski says.

(end)