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MILS NEWS 96-08-14Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: "Macedonian Information Liaison Service" <mils@mils.spic.org.mk>CONTENTS
MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT ON ECOLOGY IN MACEDONIAMILS NEWSSkopje, 14 August, 1996[01] VISIT OF YUGOSLAV PRIME MINISTER TO MACEDONIA POSTPONEDThe visit of FR Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje Kontic to Macedonia, planned for the beginning of this month, was postponed with an explanation that documents for marking of the border between the two countries were still not prepared. As 'Makfax' agency reported yesterday the information of Belgrade daily 'Nasa Borba', the document will not be ready till the beginning of September, but Yugoslav Prime Minister will, nevertheless, visit Macedonia then. There is a possibility for the Border Fixing Commission to meet at the same time. Sources close to the Yugoslav Government, according to 'Makfax', consider that, on this first meeting, the Commission would most probably only exchange information and record the disputable issues, which the Yugoslav party finds to be the following: 2,184 hectares of wood on Koviljacha mountain, a part of the border between Vitina and Kumanovo municipalities, Chupino hill, and 7,000 hectares of meadows on Shara mountain.A-1 Television reported certain sources of Macedonian Foreign Ministry saying that Kontic's visit, scheduled for 3 and 4 September, would have nothing to do with the activities regarding the border line. During his visit, as alleged, a number of bilateral agreements would be signed, such as: on investments protection, on avoiding the double taxation, on economic cooperation, as well as several agreements in the field of transport. [02] SPREADING THE ECONOMIC COOPERATION WITH USAMacedonian Vice Prime Minister d-r Jane Miljoski and US Ambassador to Macedonia Christopher Hill had a meeting yesterday and concluded that the Ambassador's coming to Macedonia would encourage the improvement of already good relations between the two countries. Miljoski informed the Ambassador about the aid, especially technical one, which Macedonia had received from the USA. He underlined that it was much significant for Macedonia, which was going through a period of great political and economic changes.Miljoski underlined the efforts and readiness of Macedonian government to spread the current cooperation with the US, especially in the field of economy by establishing joint funds for financing projects important for the Republic of Macedonia. As Macedonian Radio reported, American Ambassador said that he had got positive impressions about the global situation in Macedonia during his short engagement in the country so far. [03] GREEK MEDIA REACT TO FRCHKOVSKI'S STATEMENTSA statement of Macedonian Foreign Minister Ljubomir Frchkovski for Austrian paper 'Der Standard' that the attitude of Athens regarding the name of Macedonia was not only legally groundless, but funny, yesterday provoked many reactions in Greece. 'Makfax' reported that the paper 'Ta Nea' read that Frchkovski had made an attempt to present the name issue as a bilateral one, and not as international.Greek Foreign Ministry reacted to Frchkovski's interview for 'To Vima' weekly by announcing that it had created a negative atmosphere in the bilateral relations, which made unnecessary the possibility for any kind of meeting between Macedonian and Greek Foreign Ministers to be held during the session of UN General Assembly in New York. 'Elefteros Tipos' daily severely criticized the Greek Government, accusing it of a stepping back tactics and of a national shame. 'Modernists in the Government,' read the paper, 'despite the bloody incidents in Cyprus, Turkish provocations in Istanbul and clear statements of Skopje Foreign Minister that there are no chances for the name of Macedonia to be changed, are still enjoying their summer vacations.' [04] PRESIDENT GLIGOROV NOMINATED FOR THE NOBEL PRIZE'President of the Republic of Macedonia Kiro Gligorov is nominated for the Nobel Prize for Peace for 1996,' reads today's issue of 'Dnevnik' daily. As alleged, the nomination has been sent to the Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee by Macedonian Academy of Science and Arts, Universities of St. Cyril and Methodius from Skopje and of St. Clement of Ohrid from Bitola, as well as by Professor William Dann from the University in Pittsburgh. The recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace for 1996 will be announced on October 11.[05] TRADING WITH SHARES OF SKOPJE CITY SHOPPING CENTRE SUSPENDEDMacedonian Stock Market for long-term securities in Skopje temporarily suspended trading with shares of Skopje City Shopping Centre, reported A-1 Television yesterday. The reason was said to be the decision of Macedonian Government to reduce the price of the shares and the necessity to properly inform the public about new selling conditions. Trading will continue after the public enterprise for operating with housing, which is selling the shares, issues an announcement.[06] INFORMATION ABOUT POSTPONED RECONSTRUCTION DENIEDMacedonian Civil and Military Air Transport Administration denied the information of A-1 Television about an allegedly postponed beginning of the reconstruction of Skopje Airport. The Administration informed that all project documents had been harmonized and company 'Granit' from Skopje had already started the reconstruction.[07] RUGOVA: 'TALKS ONLY ABOUT NEUTRAL AND INDEPENDENT KOSOVO''Nova Makedonija' daily read that Democratic Alliance of Kosovo leader Ibrahim Rugova recently criticized Serbian terrorism in Kosovo and sent a word to the government in Belgrade that Albanians would oppose any kind of terrorism. He underlined that he could talk with Miloshevic only about a neutral and independent Kosovo. He interceded for the talks to be held under American protection, in cooperation with EU, stressing that USA were showing greatest interest in solving the issue of Kosovo. According to 'Nova Makedonija', USA had required from Serbia to recognize the right of self-determination to the Albanians, and that a round table meeting has been prepared for the beginning of December, within the framework of the non-governmental organisation PER (Project for Ethnic Relations). The interest of USA to solve Kosovo issue as soon as possible is also proved, according to 'Nova Makedonija', by the fact that a mediator in the talks would be Cyrus Vance, currently mediating the Macedonian-Greek dialogue in New York. As alleged, Special Envoy of US President Bill Clinton for the Balkans, Mr. Richard Holbrooke, informed Serbian President Miloshevic about that during his last visit to Belgrade, and Miloshevic quietly agreed.[08] AGNI DIKA: 'HYPOCRITES ARE HIDING IN PDP''Only Macedonian Government is trying to destroy Tetovo university, and inside that Government some Albanians participate only as figures. They are hiding behind the Party for Democratic Prosperity, trying to tragically deceive their voters.' As 'Dnevnik' daily reported, this was an answer of 'Tetovo university' pro-rector d-r Agni Dika to PDP. PDP required an explanation of the 'university' announcement in which PDP was referred to as a party of hirelings and traitors, who work against the interests of Albanians. In his letter, d-r Agni Dika wrote: 'Tetovo university has not received a single reaction from PDP. That party seems to got used to communicate with the public through announcements, slanders, intrigues and denials, which, however, can not hide the facts about their political responsibility.' Dika also addressed Macedonian government: 'Political, religious and national dividing is being created by the Government of Macedonia, which favors a small number of people that agree with the idea to make Albanians citizens of a lower order, with the nonexistent faculties, with measured bilinguality, corruption, forged signatures, fixed elections, with the enormous number of unemployed Albanians, and with the Constitution which allows no defensive mechanism for Albanians. Tetovo university and Albanian people are aware from which direction do 'the bullets' come from, and any attempt to infantile the public with ghosts from the time of UDBA will not end successfully,' read Agni Dika's letter.[09] HALILI'S REQUEST FOR POSTPONING OF SENTENCE REJECTEDA request of Nevzat Halili for his serving the sentence of one year imprisonment to be again postponed was yesterday rejected by Tetovo Municipality Court, reads today's issue of 'Vecer' daily. Halili was convicted of preventing an officer from performing his duties during the riots in Poroj and Mala Rechica near Tetovo last February.[10] DZAFERI: 'GOAL OF PDPA IS TO PROVOKE A POLITICAL CRISIS IN MACEDONIA''Nova Makedonija' daily read that Arben Dzaferi from PDPA, last Saturday in Tetovo, had a meeting with some Albanians who live in foreign countries. He informed them about all the events before and after the forming of 'Tetovo university', as well as about all the efforts of PDPA to have the 'institution' recognized. According to the paper, Dzaferi stressed that his party's goal was to provoke a political crisis in Macedonia.[11] SMUGGLERS OF WEAPONS ARRESTEDMacedonian Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that one Albanian and two Macedonian citizens smuggled 10,000 guns in Macedonia on August 6. They intended to sell them illegally on the territory of Tetovo and Gostivar. Charges were brought against these criminals, and they have been put in prison.[12] MACEDONIAN HANDBALL TEAMS IN EUROPEAN CUPSHandball teams that will compete in European Cups on 12 and 13 October were drawn out yesterday at the European Handball Federation in Vienna. Macedonian team 'Pelister TAM' from Bitola will play against Danish team 'Gudme'.'Mladost' from Bogdanci will first play against FR Yugoslav 'Mornar'. 'Jafa Promet' will host 'Partizan' from Belgrade, while 'Borec' will host 'Benfika' from Portugal. Women will be guests: 'Kometal Gjorche Petrov' will play against 'Egle' in Lithuania, 'Mlaz' against 'Austria Tabak' from Vienna, 'Pelister' against 'Borussia' from Dortmund, and 'Skopje GP Omega' against 'Radnichki' from Belgrade. MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT ON ECOLOGY IN MACEDONIA[13] 'Water That Brings Sickness' - Part 2.Many people in Macedonia lack clean drinking water, especially in villages. This is the second part of a four- part series devoted to the problem."Mothers Do Not Boil the Water, And the Wells Are Not Chlorinated" Arachinovo is one of the biggest villages in Macedonia. It has paved roads, a post office and a clinic. It has a new church and the mosque. Every house has electricity and a telephone. With 10,000 inhabitants Arachinovo has almost everything it needs--except clean drinking water. "I boil the water and that's why my children are healthy," said one grandmother. "I don't know about the other mothers. The water is very unclean and we need to be very careful, for the sake of our children." Arachinovo lies just 10 kilometers from Skopje. It has 700 houses but no water system or sewerage. Waste water runs into ditches--and seeps into the ground where it mixes with drinking water. This causes sickness: jaundice, diarrhea and, rarely, typhoid. These sicknesses usually affect villagers in the summer, when the water in the wells drops to its lowest point. "We paved the streets in the villages ourselves, with our own sweat and money, but now there isn't anything left for a water system," said Hevzi Feyziu, a 37-year-old villager. "It seems the state forgot the villagers' plight." Most villagers get their drinking water from wells they dug themselves. Wanting to reach cleaner water, they are digging the wells deeper and deeper, often at great risk to their lives. Sometimes accidents happen during the digging. Beadin Ibrahimi, 27 years old and unemployed, dug a well 10 meters deep near his house. "The water in my well is clean as a tear," he said. Even so, he sometimes chlorinates the water himself. Many people aren't sure of the water in their wells. "I could not claim that it's clean because the opposite was said by the sanitary hygiene inspection," said Miner Ramadani. "I don't have enough money to send water samples for analysis." In the Marshal Tito school, children are warned not to drink the water. Sanitary inspectors from Skopje have discovered bacteria in the well that supplies the school. The bacteria is E. coli, which comes from human waste and causes diarrhea, vomiting and fever. But many children drink the water anyway. "A good sewer system would for sure make the general situation better," said 53-year-old Imer Sinani, a teacher. The village gynecologist said, "Mothers do not boil the water, nor are the wells chlorinated. People in Arachinovo have different ideas about how to solve the water problem. One of them is to connect the town to the Skopje water system, which many villages around Skopje have already done. But the villagers have been told this impossible. The officials at the Gazi Baba community say the Skopje water system cannot deliver enough water for 10,000 people as high as Arachinovo, which lies at the foot of the Skopje Black Hills. Another idea is to find a big water source near the village. The Geological Institute is digging test wells near Arachinovo that are 30 meters deep. The success of the project depends partly on financing. It will cost 80,000 German marks, a small part of which is being paid by the Ministry of Agriculture. The Geological Institute has told the village that the wells could provide enough water not only for Arachinovo but also the surrounding settlements. A sewage system may be the best solution to the water problem. But at present there is no plan to build one. "This problem has to do with tradition because no one does anything to improve the general situation," said Hevzi Feyzin. In the past the people of Arachinovo have managed to solve many of their problems themselves. They helped pave the village roads, build the school and electrify the village. They are even willing now to help pay for a village water system. But they say they would need help from the state. "We spent 256,000 German marks to pave our streets," said Mersim Ferati, the president of the local community. "To build a water system would cost over a million German marks. That's too much for us." Meanwhile, the village is getting bigger. It grows by as much as 100 households a year. Many of the newcomers are Albanian families that have left the area around the border of Serbia. "They are coming here because they are feeling more secure," said Ferati. The people of Arachinovo don't expect any quick solution to their water problem. Some of them are afraid that the sicknesses they have already seen will grow worse. "If the problem is left to the spontaneous and individual solutions, then an epidemic is at our door," said a nurse in the Arachinovo clinic. (to be continued)mils news 14 August, 1996Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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