MAK-NEWS 29/03/95 (M.I.L.S.) [**]
From: "Demetrios E. Paneras" <dep@bu.edu>
Ta nea ths hmeras, opws ta eide to MILS:
CONTENTS
[01] * GLIGOROV MEETS WITH VAN DER STOEL
[02] . STOCK MARKET IN MACEDONIA OPEN
[03] ** MACEDONIA, DANGEROUS FLASHPOINT
[04] ** OPTIMISM FOR A DIRECT GREEK-MACEDONIAN DIALOGUE
[05] ** GHALI SUBMITS REPORT TO SECURITY COUNCIL
[Mporeite na breite thn ekqesh ayth sto gopher://gopher.undp.org/11/uncurr/sgrep/95_03/222]
[06] * GOVERNMENT PRESS-CONFERENCE
[07] * TRUSHIN VISITS TETOVO
[08] . PETKOVSKI ADDRESSES CONFERENCE IN MADRID
[09] * MACEDONIAN COUNCIL APPEALS AGAINST GOVERNMENT DECISION
[10] * RADIO "FREE EUROPE" TO BROADCAST PROGRAMS ON MACEDONIA
[11] * DEMONSTRATIONS FOR INDEPENDENT KOSOVO
[12] . STATE OF INFLUENZA EPIDEMICS DECLARED IN SKOPJE
[13] * MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: LIFE OF POPULATION GROUPS IN MACEDONIA ORGANIZED BY MUSLIM RELIGIOUS LAWS - PART II (Nova Makedonija, 26 March 1995)
M I L S N E W S
Skopje, 29 March 1995
[01] GLIGOROV MEETS WITH VAN DER STOEL
Macedonian President Gligorov yesterday met with Max Van der
Stoel, High OSCE Commissioner for National Minorities. They
concluded talks directed at providing for education in the
Albanian language at the Skopje Pedagogical Academy . They
both repeated that educational rights are to be sought
within the framework of legal institutions. Van der Stoel
also met with Foreign Minister Stevo Crvenkovski, Minister
of Education Emilija Simoska and Interior Minister Ljubomir
Frchkovski.
[02] STOCK MARKET IN MACEDONIA OPEN
The first stock market of the Macedonian Privatization
Agency began operations yesterday. At the first public sale
of "Oteks"-Ohrid, shares transferred to the Agency were
offered at an initial price of 75 German marks per share.
Authorized agents bought only 17 shares, paying 60 German
marks per share.
[03] MACEDONIA, DANGEROUS FLASHPOINT
Diplomatic and political circles in Washington fear a new
conflict in the Balkans, wider and more dangerous that the
ongoing one in the former Yugoslavia. Richard Holbrooke,
Head of the U.S. State Department's Committee on European
Affairs, warns against a possible war in the near future
involving Greece and Turkey. Balkan experts in the Clinton
administration seem to be especially concerned with the fact
that Macedonia could play a role as catalyst in the
potential escalation of a conflict in the region. In a
publication entitled "Foreign Affairs", Holbrooke described
the war in Bosnia as the largest collective security concern
of the West since 1930.
[04] OPTIMISM FOR A DIRECT GREEK-MACEDONIAN DIALOGUE
The Athens news agency reported yesterday that the White
House is optimistic about a direct dialogue between Greece
and Macedonia to take place in New York in the near future.
Makfaks cites the agency as reporting that the meeting is to
take place on April 6. Ex-Prime Minister of Greece
Constantin Mitsotakis said the initiative is a positive step
forward, adding the name dispute ought to be resolved with a
triple name, as suggested by the UN mediator Cyrus Vance.
[05] GHALI SUBMITS REPORT TO SECURITY COUNCIL
UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali submitted on
March 22 a report to the Security Council on the nature and
mandate of UN peacekeeping troops in the former Yugoslavia.
He suggested that the current UNPROFOR mission be divided
into 3 separate operations: UNPF-1 troops in Croatia, UNPF-2
in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and UNPF-3 in Macedonia. They would
all have a separate commanding officer, but would be
coordinated and controlled by the regional headquarters in
Zagreb. Peace keepers in Macedonia would keep the same
structure as until now, with an extended mandate until 30
November 1995. Still, Boutros-Ghali does not exclude a
possible reinforcement of troops in Macedonia, in case of an
increased threat to stability from either internal or
external sources.
[06] GOVERNMENT PRESS-CONFERENCE
At yesterday's press-conference, the Macedonian Government
informed reporters of its decisions made at its 16th
session, held two days ago. The cabinet adopted the Report
of the State Census Commission. Minister of Economy Risto
Ivanov, president of the Commission, said the Census '94 had
been successful and in accordance with international
criteria. This, he said, was confirmed by reports of the
international experts, monitoring groups and by the
Commission itself. The final results are objective and
valid, and the census operation included a high percentage
of the population in Macedonia, except in Debar, where
figures were worked out on a basis of statistics
calculations. On the financial side, 51.46 per cent of the
$4 million-cost of the census has so far been provided, and
the remaining funds are to be provided successively by the
EU and the Council of Europe. Nearly 70 per cent of the
costs are additional expenses, due to the enlarged number of
individuals engaged and the 5-day delay.
The Government also adopted several other decisions; they
prolonged the deadline for purchasing social apartments for
another 3 months, increased railway services prices by 15
per cent, and formed a committee to work out the concept of
public broadcasting, with a special program for transforming
the Macedonian Radio and Television and its commercial
status.
[07] TRUSHIN VISITS TETOVO
Yuri Trushin, ambassador of the Russian federation to
Macedonia, yesterday paid a visit to Tetovo. He met with
Tomislav Stojanovski, president of the Democratic Party of
Macedonia, to discuss the situation in this and other
municipalities in western Macedonia, as well as problems
faced by Macedonians in these parts. Stojanovski presented
evidence on expansion of Albanian immigrants, who are
increasingly building houses illegally, thus changing the
ethnic structure of the region. Trushin said the goal of his
visit was to strengthen the traditionally friendly relations
between the Macedonian and Russian nation. He also visited
the companies "Teteks" and "Jugohrom", discussing possible
ways to establish and expand cooperation between these and
companies in the Russian Federation.
[08] PETKOVSKI ADDRESSES CONFERENCE IN MADRID
A delegation of the Macedonian Parliament is attending the
93th Conference of the Inter Parliamentary Union, currently
held in Madrid. Head of the delegation and Parliament vice-
president, Tito Petkovski, addressed the conference
yesterday, speaking on disasters caused by armed conflicts
and the need for concrete and timely reactions by
international humanitarian organizations. Underlining the
fact that UN humanitarian aid has proved inefficient in
Bosnia, Petkovski said current mechanisms for prevention of
conflicts ought to be strengthened and new ones should be
introduced. He pointed to the successful preventive role of
UN troops in Macedonia. The Macedonian delegation submitted
a draft-resolution on the issue to the conference.
Macedonian delegates made several contacts with colleagues
from France, India, Egypt, Albania and Croatia.
[09] MACEDONIAN COUNCIL APPEALS AGAINST GOVERNMENT DECISION
The Macedonian Federal Council for Australia (formed in
October 1994) decided to submit an official appeal with the
Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Institute,
against the latest decision of the Government of the state
of Victoria to refer to the Macedonian language as "Slav-
Macedonian". The Australian-Macedonian Human Rights
Committee also joined the appeal. At a meeting, the Council
supported the initiative for demonstrations scheduled for
April 26 and organized by the Council of the Macedonian
Community in Sidney, as a sign of protest against the above
mentioned decision. The protest demonstration is to take
part during the World Conference on Multiculture Variety, to
be attended by UN Secretary General Boutros-Ghali.
The Council will also send a note to Boutros-Ghali,
demanding that the UN deal with the imposed prefix on the
name of Macedonians living in Australia.
[10] RADIO "FREE EUROPE" TO BROADCAST PROGRAMS ON MACEDONIA
Radio Free Europe is considering a possibility of
introducing Macedonian language programs about Macedonia,
stated Ian Oberman, in charge of the radio's contact
department. The radio is to start broadcasting in 21
languages, including Macedonian.
[11] DEMONSTRATIONS FOR INDEPENDENT KOSOVO
A1 Television reports massive demonstrations in a large
number of European cities, as well as in Canada and
Australia, attended by nearly half a million Albanians of
Kosovo. The demonstrations had been organized by the
Democratic Alliance of Kosovo and the Albanian diaspora,
with the main demand being for an independent and neutral
Kosovo. The media in Bonn, where the demonstrations gathered
nearly 100,000 Albanians, supported their right to peaceful
declaration to achieve independence. German Foreign Minister
Klaus Kinkel stated his support of the idea of the
demonstration in his address to demonstrators. German
politicians asked the international community not to
normalize relations with Serbia prior to a solution for the
Kosovo question.
[12] STATE OF INFLUENZA EPIDEMICS DECLARED IN SKOPJE
A state of epidemics of flu was officially declared in
Skopje two days ago. A total of 14,019 cases of influenza
have been registered in the city since the beginning of
March. The disease is manifested through high temperatures,
dry coughing and pains all over the body. All infected are
advised to seek medical treatment.
[13] MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: LIFE OF POPULATION GROUPS IN MACEDONIA
ORGANIZED BY MUSLIM RELIGIOUS LAWS - PART II
(Nova Makedonija, 26 March 1995)
Idris Seljam, a mufti (jurist) from Skopje, says Islamic
fundamentalist movements from abroad started to infiltrate
into Macedonia in the guise of humanitarian organizations
once the country established pluralism. He goes on to say,
"They claim to be working in the name of Islam, but are in
fact inciting separations and divisions between people only
because of their own material interests. The Teblig
organization is probably one of the most dangerous among
them. Along with activists from other countries, suspicious
individuals from Turkey are increasingly being involved in
similar destructive activities. They act as though on a
fashion show, walking around in turbans and typical Turkish
pantaloons."
Pointing out they have started openly spreading radical
Islam, Selam warns this could prove dangerous for Macedonia,
as well as for the rest of the European countries. The
Meshihat, he says, is determined to fight against the spread
of this form of fundamentalism at all costs. The movement
raises funds in illegal ways, but the Islamic community in
Macedonia will soon put an end to this, Selam assures.
Meshihat member Engulu is also concerned with other
fundamentalist movements active in Macedonia. He says,
"Movements of this kind are not frequently to be seen in
Skopje, but influence of Shiitism from Iran and Vahabism
from Saudi Arabia is increasingly apparent lately." Of
course, Engulu is disturbed by the rivalry and aspirations
to dominate in Macedonia. As for foreign financial support
for the Meshihat, Engulu emphasizes, "Due to the fact that
such a support could easily be abused and lead to internal
schism in the Islamic community in Macedonia, we refuse to
accept any such aid."
Stressing the Macedonian Meshihat does all in its power to
eliminate any such outside influence, Meshihat officials
proudly point out that teachers and professors at the Skopje
Islamic educational centers have received degrees at
renowned educational institutions such as Al Azhar in Egypt,
Dzemiet -ulislamie in Saudi Arabia, El Beit in Jordan and
the University in Kuwait. One positive aspect for them
seems to be the fact that no professor in Islamic
educational centers in Macedonia has been trained at Turkish
secular educational institutions, despite the Turkish
language being one of the teaching languages.
Erol Murtezi, president of the Meshihat Committee in charge
of coordination between tarricats and tekhe's, explains that
dervish orders had also been allowed to act freely under the
past socialist rule, and today they are even legal and
recognized. He says, "In 1989, there emerged a need for a
high committee to secure coordination between tarricats and
tekhe's. The same year, such a committee was formed. Our
fundamental policy is based on this cooperation which serves
as a shield against possible infiltration of anti secular
movements. Almost all Muslims in Macedonia are devoted
followers of our secular system. Certain foreign countries
donate large sums to some organizations acting in Macedonia
disguised as humanitarian organizations, while instead aimed
at causing schism and destruction. I believe all these
attempts are bound to fail. I am assured that the Ataturk-
oriented generation in Macedonia, which I regard myself as
also belonging to, will not let this happen." Murtezi tells
of 8 active tarricats in Macedonia - Bektashee, Melamee,
Mevlevee, Havletee, Sadee, Garibee, Nakshee and Sinanee.
The humanitarian organization accused of transferring funds
raised for helping Muslims in Bosnia to the Refah party,
established a branch in Skopje in 1993, having done so in
Zagreb, Croatia, and Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Lokman
Tash is the representative of the organization, whose main
office is located at the Skopje Bitpazar (old market), a
neighborhood with a high concentration of Muslims. In his
statement for the Makedonija Zaman, a paper published twice
a month, he does not even try to hide the fact that the
organization is mostly aided by the Refah party and its
membership.
Hasan Dzilo, Director of the Islamic library Isa-beg, says
this humanitarian organization has sent several boys to
study at educational institutions in Turkey, based on Muslim
religious laws. Some of the boys, he said, unable to adopt
to the school regime, were quickly sent back home. A high-
ranking official of the Meshihat, who preferred to remain
anonymous, said, "The organization for humanitarian aid is
entirely based on Muslim religious laws. All of its
activities and goals are subjected to these laws. I
seriously doubt the education these young men receive in
Turkey."
The paper Makedonija Zaman, published in Macedonia for
already a year, accuses the Meshihat of racism. Dzemal
Dogan, president of the publishing committee, says the book
"The Albanians in Macedonia", published by the Meshihat,
expresses open animosity toward the Islam and the Otoman
Empire. In regard to current debates on the issue in the
media, the Skopje mufti says it is only normal that a
historical book would treat such topics. The debate,
however, is growing bitter. In an article titled "What the
Meshihat President Wants to Achieve", published in
Makedonija Zaman, Dogan writes, "In my view, when someone
acting from a position from which he is supposed to
represent the Muslims, at a time when they need togetherness
most of all, suddenly cries, 'I am an Albanian!', this is
nothing but pure racism. Pointing out that the Meshihat,
despite having a budget of several million German marks,
published a book on Albanians instead of printing out Namaz
Ilmihal (a book for religious bows), Dogan calls on the
Meshihat president to resign from the post.
Writing for Makedonija Zaman, Dogan comments on quotations
from the questioned book on Albanians in parenthesis: "The
Ottoman Empire slaughtered Albanian women, children and the
elderly" (wherever were the Catholic men then?); "The Turks
forbade Albanians to speak in their mother tongue" (If so,
how did they learn the Albanian language they speak
nowadays?); "The Turks are blood-thirsty occupiers" (Had it
been so, there would have been no living Albanian today);
"The Albanians have been held back in development because of
their being Muslims" (They can always convert into
Christians, if they want).
The Skopje mufti Selam answers, "The attacks by Dogan are
not a result of the book, but of a hatred the origin of
which we fail to see. The Meshihat has never had a negative
attitude toward the paper Makedonija Zaman. I believe this
guy [Dogan] is using the paper to promote his personal
ambitions."
And, there you have it - at the same time Macedonia is
experiencing a difficult economic crisis due to the Greek
embargo imposed because of "similarities of historical
values and the name", the country is turning into a training
field for various fundamentalist organizations. In a
situation like this, democratic forces are sure to be quite
busy.
(end)
misl-news 29 March '95
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