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MILS NEWS 96-10-10Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: "Macedonian Information Liaison Service" <mils@mils.spic.org.mk>CONTENTS
MILS SUPPLEMENTMILS NEWSSkopje, 10 October, 1996[01] TOXICOLOGY ANALYSES IN VIENNA PROVED THAT THERE WAS NO POISONING'The results of toxicology analyses, which were made at the Institute for Forensic Medicine in Vienna, as well as the results of all the other laboratory, clinical and neuropsychiatric analyses made, showed that there were no symptoms of poisoning or of any other kind of contagious disease. Therefore, we call on the public not to use the term 'poisoning'.' This was announced yesterday by the Macedonian Ministry of Health, regarding the latest events in Tetovo and its area and the alleged poisoning of pupils of the Albanian nationality. The Ministry also appealed for the children and their families to be spared from activities by which a panic among them is deliberately provoked in one way or another. The announcement further said that such a massive going to health institutions was disturbing the daily process of establishing diagnoses and medical care for people who really needed them.Meanwhile, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that its teams were intensively working on establishing the reasons for the situation, about which it was regularly informing the Government. [02] TENSIONS IN TETOVO ARE ESCALATINGAccording to the number of pupils who had asked for a medical treatment at the Medical Centre in Tetovo, the poisoning had been of a much more massive nature yesterday than in the previous days. Macedonian Television reported that pupils of the Albanian nationality kept coming to the hospital in Tetovo yesterday, asking to be hospitalized because of medical problems. Doctors, on the other hand, claimed that they had not established a single diagnosis of a disturbed health condition among them.Also, a protest meeting had taken place in Tetovo yesterday, during which a bigger group Albanians had demanded for the Government to find the 'poisoners' and to clear up the situation. Local TV station in Tetovo 'Koha' broadcast a programme in which two Macedonian girls were shown, who had, allegedly, participated in the 'releasing of the poisons in the schools'. The participants in the protest had not allowed those two girls to be taken to the police station in Tetovo, but required for them to be questioned in public and to be judged in front of the inhabitants of the village of Mala Rechica. Those citizens of the Albanian nationality who had been gathered in front of the Medical Centre in Tetovo had physically attacked the reporters of Macedonian Television and destroyed the material they had recorded. Municipal Assembly of Tetovo held its session yesterday to discuss the situation. It was asked from the competent authorities to take all the necessary measures to solve the current problems, and meanwhile, to stop the work of the primary and secondary schools in the area of Tetovo. Tetovo Medical Centre had been visited yesterday by Macedonian Health Care Minister Ilija Filipche and by his deputy Ilir Ljuma. Representatives of the Albanian parties PDPA, NDP, Party for Democratic Action - True Way, and Associations of Albanian Women, Albanian Writers and Teachers of Albanian Language and Literature held a joint meeting yesterday. They appealed for the classes in all schools to be canceled, as a preventive measure for settling of the situation. [03] PDP: 'THE SITUATION IN THE COUNTRY IS DRAMATIC''The current situation in the country is dramatic and can quickly turn into a chaotic one with unpredictable consequences. Somebody is poisoning the Albanian pupils, but there are no 'poisoners', and the authorities are keeping quiet as if nothing has been going on.' This was how the media yesterday cited PDP leader Abdurahman Aliti, who had commented on the situation in Tetovo at a press conference yesterday. To the question whether the speculations that PDPA might be responsible for the poisoning, Aliti replied that neither his nor any other political party had a possibility or means to do that. 'Those who have such possibilities and means are not members of Albanian political parties,' Aliti said. He also asked 'whether it was possible such a substance to have been found that would attack only the children of the Albanian nationality, and not the others'.He said the events in Tetovo had political implications, since the parties were prevented from carrying out a normal pre-electoral campaign, which is why their participation in the local elections has been brought in question. Democratic Alliance of Albanians - Liberal Party yesterday had repeated the demand of their MP Hisein Ramadani to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to inform the public immediately about the 'poisoning' of pupils and to reveal those responsible for that, as well as their aims. [04] DPM: 'INSTRUCTIONS OF THE KOSOVO KITCHEN'Democratic Party of Macedonia (DPM) announced yesterday that the latest 'political cases of poisoning' in Tetovo area were disturbing the public, no matter the national or political belonging, because it was getting a massive character, threatening to block the work of all primary and secondary schools. Further on, it said that the recently increased presence of Kosovo politicians and intensive contacts with Pristine and Tirana should have made people aware that they should expect 'those already seen instructions of the Kosovo kitchen'.[05] ANNOUNCEMENT OF HELSINKI COMMITTEE FOR HUMAN RIGHTSHelsinki Committee for Human Rights in the Republic of Macedonia issued the following announcement today:'Hundreds of children were and still are being abused in the Republic of Macedonia these days. About 40 children were poisoned last summer in Struga; than 15 in the village of Pirok, 120 in Bogovinje, 10 in the school 'Lirija', 220 in the village of Trebosh and another 100 in different places; 180 children in Dolna Zhupa near Debar and about 30 others in Romanovce near Kumanovo had still not began to attend classes this semester. We do not know what numbers to expect further or where from. On one hand, all of that is happening at the doorstep of the pre- electoral 'battles' between political parties, and on the other hand, Macedonia is becoming a country where abusing the children is becoming more than easy to do. The public is more and more disturbed because of that, but nobody is taking the responsibility for those events. Internal Affairs Ministry is mysteriously keeping quiet, either because it knows too much (which is less possible) or because it is completely powerless. Political parties, greedy for power, have no enough dignity to face the situation. On the contrary, while the reasons are left covered or are even kept in secret, one can expect a great and probably very dangerous political game with bad consequences. Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in the Republic of Macedonia does not intend to deny the right of any individual or group to intercede for their rights. What Helsinki Committee finds completely unacceptable and what it strongly raises its voice against is the introducing of a practice to abuse the children, to deprive them from their right to be educated and to be used as cuckoo's eggs, even and especially when they are somebody's own children. That would be a monstrous and a unique Balkan phenomenon, particularly if it is done in the name of any of the Balkan nationalistic ghosts. Skopje, 10 October, 1996.' [06] MACEDONIAN DETERMINATION FOR MEMBERSHIP IN NATO ONCE AGAIN STRESSEDThe President of the Republic of Macedonia Kiro Gligorov talked with NATO Executive Secretary Leo Verburgen last night in Ohrid. They made a short review of the previous activities connected with the future membership of Macedonia in the new security structure of Europe.According to the official announcement, President Gligorov had stressed the firm decision of Macedonia to become a NATO member, concluding that the previous experiences of Macedonia in the cooperation with the 'Partnership for Peace' initiative had justified this aspiration. NATO Executive Secretary, Verburgen, also met with the Macedonian Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski yesterday in Skopje. [07] ROBERT BADENTEUR MET WITH PRESIDENT GLIGOROVAt the meeting of Robert Badenteur, a French lawyer and Senator with Macedonian President Gligorov yesterday in Ohrid, Gligorov had underlined the historical importance of the EU Arbitrage Commission decision to verify the independence of Macedonia. Robert Badenteur was at that time the President of the above mentioned Commission, and currently he is a President of the Group for French- Macedonian Friendship at the French Senate. It was concluded that there were great opportunities for improvement of relations between the two countries.[08] PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION BETWEEN MACEDONIA AND POLANDAccording to the Macedonian Television, during the visit of the Macedonian Parliamentary delegation to Poland, Parliament President Tito Petkovski had a meeting with his Polish counterpart Jozhef Zih the day before yesterday. They had concluded the cooperation between the two Parliaments might improve the cooperation between Macedonia and Poland in other areas.President Petkovski had a meeting in Warsaw with the Foreign Affairs Minister of Poland Dariush Rosati the day before yesterday and they both concluded that the cooperation between the two countries was very successful. Minister Dariush Rosati notified that he intended to visit Macedonia until the end of this year, because several contracts should be signed and the planned opening of Embassy of Poland in Skopje should be made concrete. Yesterday, Macedonian representatives, led by President Petkovski attended the beginning of three days long session of the Polish Parliament. They were also received by the Senate of Poland Marshal Adam Sluzhik and both parties expressed hopes that Macedonia and Poland would become members of EU and NATO soon. [09] RESTRICTIONS FOR ENTERING BULGARIAThe Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Skopje yesterday informed Macedonian Foreign Ministry that, because of the complicated epidemiological situation in the country, Bulgarian Health Care Minister had decided to introduce temporal conditions for citizens of 18 countries (including Macedonia) who want to enter Bulgaria. Namely, persons younger than 18, who would want to enter this country, would have to show a document which would prove that they had been vaccinated against infantile paralyses.[10] MACEDONIAN SHIPPERS - MEMBERS OF THE WORLD TRANSPORT ORGANIZATIONSShippers Group with Macedonian Economic Chamber was accepted a full member of the international shippers organization 'FIATA' at the annual meeting in Caracas, Venezuela. According to A-1 Television, this should alleviate the transport of goods produced in Macedonia and intended for foreign markets.[11] BELGRADE 'JUGOEKSPORT' AND 'TETEKS' SIGNED A CONTRACTFR Yugoslav trade company 'Jugoeksport' and Macedonian textile factory 'Teteks' from Tetovo signed a contract on foreign-technical cooperation yesterday in Belgrade. According to the media, the contract obliges Yugoslav enterprise to export the products of 'Teteks' to the Yugoslav and other markets worldwide and to import raw materials for its Macedonian partner. The deal was estimated to be about $1 million worth annually.[12] CONFERENCE ON COLLATERAL LAWA mini Conference on Collateral Law, organized by the non- governmental organization IRIS, and supported by the American Development Agency, began yesterday in Skopje. Local media reported that conference subjects will be experiences of the USA in the field of providing transactions and their registration, Norwegian experience of a central register for providing transactions and the possibilities for a similar one to be established in Macedonia. The conference is attended by representatives of Macedonian Ministries of Justice and Finances, of the Faculty of Law, of the Payments Institute and of several banks.[13] SESSION OF THE CEI WORKING GROUP FOR MIGRATIONSCentral European Initiative (CEI) Working Group for Migrations began its session in Ohrid yesterday, on which the situation regarding migrations and refugees in CEI member countries will be discussed, as well as the activities of the international organizations regarding those issues. The situation of the joint programmes for training and cooperation will also be talked about, as well as the issues of xenophobia and racism.[14] SOCIALIST PARTY: INFORMATION OF CONFLICTS IN THE PARTY ORDERED'The information of some newspapers about conflicts in Socialist Party is unfounded. The wishes of those who ordered this information which appeared outside of the party represent the already tested measures for each pre- electoral activity, with a basic aim to provoke lack of confidence among the electors,' was stated in the announcement of the Socialist Party issued yesterday.[15] LIBERALS-SDSM STARTED THE PRE-ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN EARLIERIn yesterday's announcement of the Liberal Party Executive Board is said that certain irregularities might be expected at the forthcoming local elections. A certain sign for that, according to the Liberal Party, is the appearance of the Macedonian Prime Minister, Branko Crvenkovski in Strumica, broadcast during the news of the Macedonian Television the day before yesterday. 'Although both the Prime Minister and the Macedonian Television know when the pre-electoral campaign begins (in ten days), they had started it yesterday at the pre-electoral meeting of SDSM in Strumica', said the announcement.[16] DPT WILL MAKE SEPARATE COALITIONS IN EAST AND WEST MACEDONIA'Democratic Party of Turks is offering, as it has always done, its cooperation to all political parties in the country and is for an independent and sovereign Macedonia as a community of all its citizens. In context of that, the Executive Board of the party is in the middle of negotiations with several political parties, with which it would appear jointly in east (with SDSM) and west Macedonia.' According to A-1 Television, this was said by DPT President Erdogan Sarach at a press conference yesterday. He reported that DPT would nominate its candidates for mayors in Central Zhupa, Vrapchishte, Plasnica, Resen, Strumica, Radovish, Rostushe, Studenichani, Dolna Banica and several other municipalities. The party will nominate candidates for municipal councils in 50 communities, and is expecting to be successful in at least 20 of them.[17] BIG OIL STAIN IN THE RIVER VARDARMany citizens of Skopje had noticed a big oil stain in the River Vardar yesterday and the day before yesterday, from which a strong smell was felt. According to the witnesses, the oil was released from the drainpipe which flows into the Vardar. 'Vecer' daily reported that City Information Centre had informed the public about this, while the Waters Inspection authorities had known nothing of it.[18] FOOTBALL: IRELAND-MACEDONIA 3:0In the third qualification match of the eighth group for the International Football Championship in France in 1998, the Macedonian National Team lost from the Irish National Team with 3:0 yesterday in Dublin, while the Junior National Team lost the match with their counterparts from Ireland with 4:0.MILS SUPPLEMENT[19] 'Indiana Jones in Macedonia'('Nova Makedonija', 9 October, 1996)New digging will take place on the archeological location of Isar near Marvinci these days. But, it will be a different one this time, because the teams of Macedonian National Museum will be digging. Finally, the archeologists will start to work. No one can really understands why they had not started it earlier, even the archeologists themselves. Isar location will be remembered for the six years long illegal digging which stopped recently. Was it necessary for the illegal 'diggers' to destroy this and the other interesting locations and to take away what was valuable before the authorities decided to do what should have been done much earlier? Why was Macedonia allowed to be turned into the 'Eldorado' for hidden treasuries prospectors? There were intensive and mass diggings, so that we had more than one Indiana Jones and a perfectly organized 'Wild West'. On the other hand, those who tolerated it mostly (although they were most familiar with it) were the same ones who are paid by the state to take care of the archeological and other cultural heritage. No one seemed to have realized the range of the chaos in the archeology before a 'wasteland' took place. The most recent confiscation of about 2,000 archeological objects and the suit of armor found, dating from the time of the ancient Macedonian emperors, proved that there was an enormous illegal digging and trading with archeological values, as well as that what is not forbidden with the law is allowed. Thus, the law, which does not exist at all, allowed to everybody who wanted to reach those values, to sell them wherever they wanted, allowed the existence of private collections worth more than those possessed by state owned museums. That is why the antiquity shops are working neither legally, nor illegally, as well as the private collectors. The illegal archeologists know them much better than they know the museums. First, because the antiquity shops and the private collectors have the money, second, because the buy-out procedure of museums is inflexible and bureaucratic. Also, in a situation when museums and institutions for protection of archeological values have no money for digging and buying-out, the destiny of the cultural heritage is in the hands of the collectors and private goldsmiths. During the latest raid only a part of the illegal 'archeologists' were arrested. Two thousand objects of a great value were confiscated at that occasion, but it will probably remain unknown how many other objects had been taken out of the country and sold on the black markets. Not to mention the objects possessed by those who were not caught in the raid or by the untouchable collectors. It was well known for a long time what had been happening at the Macedonian archeological locations, but no one tried to stop it because obviously somebody had been gaining a great profit from it. Probably those who had been digging for a daily payment will suffer most of the consequences, as was the case with Gypsies who were accused of digging at the location of Isar several years ago. They were put on trial, while their 'employers' continued their work. If that was not the case, there would have not been such an intensive archeological 'golden fever' during the last several years. There are people to make orders, to pay and supply the European market with archeological displays, and consequently, there are others who are 'researching' the locations. And they will exist for as long as the state does not begin to take a much better care of the cultural heritage and until the absurd situation in the archeology is not regulated by laws. (end)mils news 10 October, 1996Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |