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MILS: News from the FYROM, 97-02-24Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: "Macedonian Information Liaison Service" <mils@mils.spic.org.mk>CONTENTS
MILS NEWSSkopje, 24 February, 1997[01] PROTESTS TO CONTINUE UNTIL SET DEMANDS ARE FULFILLEDThe fifth day of university and secondary school students' protests through the streets of Skopje, against the Pedagogical Faculty Bill, went by in the already familiar atmosphere and mode of expressing one's repugnance (identical to those of the previous days) - media report.The coverage on this issue is being headed by a few papers, which report that several elementary school pupils had been sighted among protesters, as well as a group of secondary school students from Kumanovo who had come to Skopje on foot, passing a distance of 40 kilometres. Media also report that fewer slogans of obscene, nationalist or xenophobic contents had been noticed than before. The protest march on Friday commenced - as usual - at noon in front of the Government / Parliament building, then headed off to the Ministry of Education, the Pedagogical Faculty, the `Goce Delchev' Halls of Residence and back again. This time the Ministry of Education building was not only shelled with eggs, but also with oranges, apples, tins and stones. A sound system was installed in front of the Government seat, and the President of the Students' Body at the PF - Mirjana Kitanovska - stressed that the university and secondary school students had not been manipulated by anybody, but that they were there due to their own awareness and conviction. It has furthermore been emphasised that as submitted requests had not been fulfilled, protests would continue on Monday. On Friday media reported the staging of peaceful secondary school student protests in Ohrid, Shtip, Kumanovo, Kochani, Bitola and Kichevo. On Saturday the `Makedonija' Square in Skopje was the venue of a `protest party', i.e. a rock concert embodying another act of demonstration by university and secondary school students against the PF Bill. The event on the square was attended by app. 1 000 secondary school pupils, university students and citizens of Skopje - whereas the `bash' itself had been delayed for over an hour due to lack of electricity, a defect corrected by the teams of `Elektro Skopje'. On this occasion the PF student body President Mirjana Kitanovska asked for the `bash' and all other protest activities to go by without unbecoming slogans and incidents. Media report that the event went by in an orderly manner, without offensive paroles or the organised participation of secondary school pupils. As it has already been announced, both the latter and their university counterparts are continue protests today, i.e. until their demands are met. [02] PRESIDENT GLIGOROV UNHEEDEDOn Friday the President of the Republic of Macedonia Kiro Gligorov has received the representatives of the Macedonian Students' Association of the Skopje PF upon the latter's initiative. Brief talks revolved around the ultimate repeating of demands aired during previous protests, and around the requesting of complete assistance, official records reveal. In this context it was also stressed that student representatives had not been willing to listen to the views of the President, or enter a discussion of exhibited opinions.[03] `OCM' HEAD THE REVEREND MIHAIL: `KEEP SECONDARY SCHOOL PUPILS OUT'`Your ultimate objective is the suspension of the Bill. Consider your options, be practical - as then you will also be worthy. Do not involve secondary school pupils, for you are placing them at risk and they hardly wait for a motive to cut classes'.This - according to `Vecher' - has been the advice of OCM leader the Reverend Mihail offered to representatives of the PF Student Body, at their meeting on Friday. The latter has been requested by students, who took the opportunity to explain that protests are being staged due to the prohibition imposed on the Macedonian official language, and the `will' left by Macedonian enlightenment movement leaders Ss. Cyril and Methodius. The Reverend Mihail has also told students that such motives were acceptable, whereas the involvement of secondary school pupils and the airing of slogans of the type `The gas chamber for all Albanians' and the likes, is unacceptable. `This is something unacceptable to me, both as a human being and a clerical official. We live with Albanians, we share the same home. Whoever wrote that slogan did not serve you well. You should not allow the carrying of such slogans, as this is your event. You should get rid of such slogans', stressed the OCM leader, the Reverend Mihail. [04] PROTEST ORGANISERS: `UNIVERSITY AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HAVE BEEN MANIPULATED'On Friday representatives of the PF Student Body have staged their own press conference, during which they revealed that OCM leader the Reverend Mihail had rendered its full support, except for his request to remove slogans spreading discord among Albanians and Macedonians. With regards to the meeting with President Gligorov it was stressed that `talks with him revealed his understanding for this situation'. Student representatives did not wish to discuss the concrete contents of talks with both officials. `Nova Makedonija' reports that during the press conference there had been unfounded attempts to discard media denotations of the protests as manipulations with secondary school pupils, of their political background and of their furthering national chauvinism. It has further been stated that so far demonstrations had been attended by over 20 000 participants, that there had been no incidents up to this point and that protests encountered the wide-spread support among other faculties and cities throughout the country.[05] PM CRVENKOVSKI: `GOVERNMENT DOES NOT ABANDON PRESENT POLICY'The Government of Macedonia is to implement all means and competencies in order to prevent the radicalisation of international relations and the destabilisation of the state, PM Crvenkovski stated during yesterday's urgent session of the Macedonian Government held due to the protests of university and secondary school students.After the session, upon addressing the public PM Crvenkovski stated: `Through the Bill on the Use of Minority Languages at the Pedagogical Faculty our young fellow citizens were confronted with an artificially concocted false dilemma on whether one is to uphold the Constitution or whether one is to nurture and preserve the Macedonian language. I said false dilemma since this Bill neither threatens the language, nor does it violate the Constitution.' `This Bill enables the implementation of the constitutionally guaranteed right to education in one's mother tongue at the elementary level. It is quite understandable that the future Albanian teachers should have the opportunity to receive an education in the language they will have to instruct in tomorrow. This is no novelty in Macedonia, as the former Pedagogical Academy has adhered to this tradition over centuries - and the Pedagogical Faculty embodies the natural follow-up to this institution', stressed the PM in his statement to the public. According to Crvenkovski the obstructing of the implementation of this act of law represents the only impediment to the integral educational system in Macedonia, as it is conducive to disintegration and the introduction of parallel educational systems. The PM considers the entire issue a false conjectured dilemma placed in front of secondary school students, which is we `we cannot and may not attribute the responsibility for all things occurring on the streets throughout the past few days, for the unbecoming nationalist slogans, to this young generation. The ones indeed responsible are the HQ of those keeping in the background, in the dark - those who have created the entire situation. Responsibility has to be assumed by those who call this the first stage of a scenario which is lead inevitably to the political, social destabilisation in order to bring about early elections - Crvenkovski said. Upon addressing university and secondary school students directly, PM Crvenkovski emphasised that the true challenge of this youth lies in the position of this young state within the European family - which required courage and knowledge. In the end Crvenkovski stated: `Conquer this realm independently, not by smashing in windows and marching through the streets - but with your youth, your knowledge and your enthusiasm. Do not settle for being the future of this country, be part of its present.' [06] MINISTER FRCHKOVSKI: `GOVERNMENT TO ENACT PEDAGOGICAL FACULTY BILL'`Via the Pedagogical Faculty Bill the Government has generated a field within constitutional provisions, and defined the conditions for the implementation of minority rights guaranteed within the Constitution. Therefore there cannot be any mention of the violation of the Constitution. The Government firmly adheres to the designed project for a unified educational system within the country, regardless of the discontent of certain political parties', stated Macedonian Foreign Secretary Ljubomir Frchkovski on Friday for the Macedonian Radio - upon announcing the concrete enactment of the PF Bill.[07] LP & DP: `SDSM STANDING BEHIND PROTESTS'`We have never entertained the opinion that difficulties affecting the country should be resolved in the streets.We will never endorse the instigating of religious and inter-ethnic intolerance and xenophobia', states the joint LP and DP release issued yesterday. `We advocate the resolving of issues via dialogue with state institutions. If however the latter do not function, if they are irresponsible, operating as party instruments of the incumbent SDSM it is quite clear that problems will emerge on the streets. We hold the incumbent SDSM as the key factor responsible for this development of events. There are numerous information as well as explicit statements given by head teachers of secondary schools that these protests have been inspired by the incumbent SDSM, and that the latter is the sole beneficiary of such demonstrations. Incapable of mastering the difficult economic conditions, confronted by the possibilities of more frequent and far-reaching strikes of the labour force, bank clients and other stakeholders the SDSM has started to play a dangerous game in terms of refocusing domestic and international attention - by drawing it away from these problems. We are therefore worried by the fact that the SDSM is leading the country into chaos disorientated by its failure - on purpose or incidentally... states the joint LP & DP press release upon the most recent events occurring in the country, i.e. the protests of university and secondary school students in the country, directed against the PF Bill. [08] IMRO-DPMNE: `WE HAVE NOT ORGANISED THE PROTESTS, BUT WE SUPPORT THEM'`The IMRO-DPMNE has not organised the demonstrations of university and secondary school students, or those of deceived bank clients and other citizens who have been out on the streets of Skopje and other cities of Macedonia.We, however, do support the protests staged by the PF students and any other organised action of this kind against the policy of the current Government in a decisive manner based on principles', stated party spokesman Dragi Ivanovski during a press conference held last Friday. `This manifestation of student revoltedness has been supported by the University Senate, by over 460 university readers and associates and the Union of the Secondary School Youth. We condemn all measures that could be conducive to the damaging of inter-ethnic relations. The student protests embody an undisguised measure by the SDSM to pressure the PDP into voting in favour of the PF Bill', stated IMRO-DPMNE spokesperson Ivanovski. He furthermore stressed that `those young people in the streets are not an amorphous mass of protesters which the political police of the SDSM endeavours to disperse by all means'. According to Ivanovski these are `the sons and daughters of laid-off workers, of deceived bank clients, young people who have been subjected to a series of unsuccessful experiments within the education system... In a more general context all this indicates that the SDSM is losing its footing, and adhering to the clearly conspicuous scenario of generating inter-ethnic intolerance and conflicts in order to blame the entire matter on the IMRO- DPMNE', continued Ivanovski last Friday. In the end he stressed that the leaflet by IMRO-UNIFIED (distributed among university and secondary school students), containing the seal of a non-existent party, has been boiled up at the kitchen of the Ministry of the Interior - concordant to the instance with the Bulgarian brochures. [09] HANS VAN DER BRUCK: `SITUATION OF ALBANIAN MINORITY SATISFACTORY'The condition of the Albanian minority and their human rights in Macedonia have improved in comparison to last year and are on a satisfactory level', replied EU Commissioner Hans Van Der Bruck to the question of Oliver Doupun addressed to the European Commission. `Dnevnik' reports that Van Der Bruck nevertheless stressed that the educational system in Macedonia has been confronted with serious difficulties, i.e. that there is a deficiency of Albanian-language instructors on the secondary education level. As regards the number of Albanian students at the University in Skopje, Van Der Bruck denoted it as unproportionally low - though improved compared to the past years. In this context Van Der Bruck also mentioned the decision passed by the Macedonian Government to use minority languages in instruction at the Pedagogical Faculty. `The European Commission welcomes the Macedonian endeavour to secure the equal treatment of national minorities as regards education and all other levels. The Commission will also support the soon enactment of the Law on Tertiary Education.'[10] MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT REQUESTS THE EXTENSION OF THE `UNPREDEP' MANDATE FOR ANOTHER SIX MONTHSThe Macedonian Foreign Office is preparing a letter addressed to the UN Security Council, requesting the extension of the `UNPREDEP' mandate for another six months (as the present mandate expires on 31st May), in their full configuration. Media report that the Foreign Office request lists new information in favour of the `UNPREDEP' mandate extension - stressing that new elements i.e. developments in the region surrounding Macedonia which confirm the inevitability of extending the mandate. In this context it has been mentioned that developments in the region which have served as a basis to achieve the most recent mandate extension, entailed the reduction of forces by 300. This issue had also already been discussed by the Macedonian Foreign Secretary during his New York visit with representatives of the countries which have troops within the `UNPREDEP' - as well as with the Russian Ambassador to Macedonia H.E.Amb. Sergey Lavrov in order to request that Russia would not veto this request to be submitted to the UN Security Council.[11] NEW ROUND OF GREEK-MACEDONIAN NAME NEGOTIATIONSMacedonian media report that Ambassador Ivan Toshevski is to depart for New York today, where Greek-Macedonian name negotiations are to continue. His Greek counterpart will again be H.E.Amb. Christos Zacharidis, under the auspices of Cyrus Vance - as the representative of UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan. Macedonian diplomatic circles - as `Vecher' reveals - state that so far talks have not resulted in anything concrete, i.e. both sides firmly remained on their positions and differences to overcome the gap remained insurmountable. Once again the Macedonian side is to emphasise that the Republic of Macedonia is bearing a complex name which is clearly indicating the territory on which this state exists. This automatically eliminates the reasons on which the discontent of the Greek state is based.[12] MACEDONIA AT `THESSALONICA `97'The past few days have been marked by the visit of a Greek delegation to Macedonia, headed by the Creative Director of `Culture Capital of Europe - Thessalonica `97' Panos Theodoridis. The objective was to discuss the participation of the Republic of Macedonia in the official programme with Macedonian Culture Minister Slobodan Unkovski. According to the latter what had been thought impossible until quite recently - an improved cultural cooperation - is being finalised. Panos Theodoridis underlined the huge amount of activities in Macedonia's cultural life, expressing his hopes that Macedonia will participate in this 8-month-event to be staged in Thessalonica this year - through a series of exhibitions, fairs, concerts, etc. Such a presentation of both countries would be a significant contribution to stabilise the situation in the Balkans through cultural cooperation - stressed Panos Theodoridis.[13] MINISTER HANDZHISKI: `MACEDONIA SOON TO GET ITS FIRST FIGHTERS / INTERCEPTORS'NATO has not yet reached an official decision on which countries are to be admitted as fully-fledged members - neither has the admission procedure been determined in detail. It is correct however, that so far the Republic of Macedonia has not been mentioned officially among these countries - apart from the support expressed by Turkey and certain statements made by our southern neighbour as regards the necessity to expand NATO's southern wing.Within NATO structures Macedonia enjoys a high rating due to its overall activities within the PFP Programme. This has been mentioned by Defence Secretary Blagoj Handzhiski for the Macedonian Radio, upon announcing the planned visit of NATO Secretary-General Xavier Solana to Macedonia in March, as well as the imminent visit by German Defence Secretary Volker Ruehe and a military delegation of the Russian Federation and the US. In connection to marking the fifth anniversary of Macedonian Independence, Minister Handzhiski announced the staging of a military parade on 18th April, exhibiting the equipment level, combat readiness and human resources of the Macedonian Armed Forces. Minister Handzhiski also mentioned that Macedonia will soon be in possession of interceptor aircrafts. [14] NORTH-SOUTH AND EAST-WEST CORRIDOR TO CROSS IN MACEDONIAThese days a Macedonian delegation of the Transport Ministry has been attending the `G-24' Transport Working Group Session in Brussels, which has been focussing on the drafting of transport corridors in Europe. According to the Transport Ministry's Under-Secretary Boris Chaushevski the Brussels meeting - like its predecessor in Skopje - had yielded the conclusion that the North-South corridor is to connect Salzburg and Thessalonica via Ljubljana - Zagreb - Belgrade - Nish - Skopje, whereas it will not link Bulgaria or Turkey as some proposals suggested. The final outlining of these corridors is yet to occur at the Pan-European Conference in Helsinki - Chaushevski informed. The only certain detail for now is that both corridors will pass through Macedonia, and actually intersect each other in our country. This will confirm its central position in the Balkans. Chaushevski also revealed for `Nova Makedonija' that the procurement of funding for separate projects in this domain is to be one thematic focus of the Helsinki Conference.[15] INTENSIFICATION OF RELATIONS BETWEEN BAVARIA AND MACEDONIAWithin his visit to the FRG Macedonian Vice-President Jane Miljoski has met Bavarian Government officials, incl. his Bavarian counterpart Hans Zettmaier and the Secretary of Economy, Transport and Technology of Bavaria Hans Spitzner. Foreign Office records reveal that it has been negotiated to establish cooperation on the level of education, culture, the judiciary and law enforcement - as well as that both sides expressed their hopes that this cooperation would grow into a partnership. As regards economic cooperation between Bavaria and Macedonia, the German side expressed its willingness to further contacts with small and medium size businesses in the Republic of Macedonia.(end)mils news 24 February 1997Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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