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MILS: News from the FYROM, 97-08-01Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: "Macedonian Information Liaison Service" <mils@mils.spic.org.mk>CONTENTS
MILS SUPPLEMENTMILS NEWSSkopje, 01 August, 1997[01] AT MACEDONIAN-ALBANIAN BORDER - 2 KILLED IN AN INCIDENT OF SHOOTINGTwo Albanian citizens were killed and one was wounded in the incident that yesterday occurred at the Macedonian- Albanian border near Sopishte, reported yesterday the Macedonian Defense Ministry. The brief report coming from the IM says that a patrol of the Macedonian Army encountered a larger group of Albanian citizens illegally crossing the border. The shoot-out began after a warning and 2 shots in the air. (An apology to all readers! In yesterday's issue of the bulletin a translating error has been done. In the news under the title of `A Shoot-out between a Macedonian patrol and a 3 member gang of Albanian citizens' instead of 3 the number should be 30. Please accept our apologies.)[02] THE NAME DID NOT HINDER SOLIDARITY OF `MAT' PLANE TRAVELERSAll Greek media paid great attention to the forced landing of the `Macedonian Airlines' plane of two days ago that had to land on the airport in Thessaloniki. `Makfaks' reports that the plane of the type `Boing 737' was flying on the line Dieseldorf-Skopje, and was not granted landing on the airports in Skopje and Ohrid due to bad weather. The plane had fuel for only 35 minutes flight and entered the Greek air apace and asked permission to land on the Thessaloniki airport `Macedonia'.According to ``Makpres'' the Greek media reported that after the Administration for Civil Air Transport had consulted the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Athens, a permission was granted for landing of the plane although it carried the inscribed name `Macedonian Airlines'. Yesterday's `Elefterotypia' under the title `The name did not hinder solidarity' writes that the duel between Greece and Skopje regarding the name of the neighbour yesterday was `frozen' for a short time and the spirit of solidarity sprung from the Greek side. Officials of the airport, the paper adds, reprimanded the pilot on the plane's not having the designation `FYROM' on which he answered that this was a political question and he is just a pilot. [03] 6TH MEETING OF THE MACEDONIAN-YUGOSLAV COMMISSION REGARDING THE BORDERIn Skopje yesterday ended the 6-th session of the joint diplomatic- experts commission on fortifying the spread and description of the state border between The republic of Macedonia and SR Yugoslavia., reported the Macedonian Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The session continued with negotiations regarding the border line spread between the two states on the basis of the suggestions that were given by both sides in February this year. Talks covered issues springing out from the differences between those suggestions. Both sides agreed to make additional preparations regarding these issues, and the time term for a next meeting of the Commission will be determined in a diplomatic manner.[04] IM ACTION AGAINST VISA FORGERSThe Macedonian Ministry for the Interior there days has filed criminal charges against 3 people from Gevgelija due to suspected criminal acts - fraud, i.e. document forging. The accused had used a false identity by presenting themselves as agents of a foreign travel agency and thus sold to 8 people from Kochani and Vinica forged Spanish identity cards with a false stamp in the passport as a proof that they had stayed in the state. `Vecher' reports, these documents were planned to be used for traveling through the state of the European Union. For the services done the accused who are at the moment taken into pre-trial imprisonment, gained 23.000 DM.[05] BEFORE DEVALUATION SALARIES COVERED CONSUMER'S BASKETAccording to statistic data reported by `Nova Makedonija' till June this year, i.e. before the denar devaluation conducted by the Government Macedonian citizens were able to cover all expenses of the consumer's basket with an average salary. Thus, in March the food and drink expenses amounted up to 8.890 denars while the average salary was 9.041 denars. In April the average personal income was 9.106 denars, while the consumer's basket could afford to supply 8.878 denars. In May the average salary amounted to 9.351, the basket covered 9.128 denars. The consumer's basket in June amounted to 9.200 denars, in July up to 10.000 denars but the average salary is still unknown for these 2 months.According to the statistics in April this year with one average salary the citizens in Macedonia could afford to buy 357 liters milk or 239 kilos bread or 46 kilos honey or 61 kilos lamb or 20 kilos coffee. One kilo bred demanded a 37 minutes work, and a kilo young beef 3 hours and 40 minutes. [06] IN HEATH CARE PRACTICE A NEW INSTITUTION STARTING FROM TODAY - A HOME DOCTORStarting from today in the health care practice in Macedonia the citizens, and the people insured by the Health Care Fund will have to choose their own home doctors. Every citizen will be able to choose their personal doctor either from the state or private health care regardless whether the private doctor has an agreement with the Fund. The insured will declare their choice of a doctor filling up a statement, and the parents of custodians will decide in the name of their children. The medical card of the insured will include personal data of the chosen doctor. Although the institution - home doctor starts functioning from today the citizens are allowed one year to choose their doctor.[07] MAAK-CP - BILL ON RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES AFFIRMS ANTI-MACEDONIAN POLITICSMAAK-Conservative Party assesses that the passing of the Bill on religious communities and groups is another proof that the politics of the governing SDSM and the PDP is pro-Albanian-Muslim, anti-Macedonian and anti-Christian. At the party claims in yesterday's announcement, that the inseparability of the Macedonian Orthodox Church as a national Macedonian church from other religious communities is another proof in favour of that assertion. `The law does not articulate the separateness of the different Muslim religious groups (bektash, shiits...) and thus allows the Albanian religious-political factor a monopolistic-hegemonistic role of the Muslim believers in Macedonia. Thus it legalizes the penetration of the Great-Albanian cause through the Muslim community', it is cited in the MAAK-CP report.[08] DPM - POSTPONEMENT OF PARLIAMENTARY DISCUSSION REGARDING GOSTIVAR EVENTS DIRECTEDThe postponement of the parliamentary session and the item regarding the IM information regarding the Gostivar events, according to the Democratic Party of Macedonia, was directed by the SDSM-PDP coalition. The leader of the party, Tomislav Stojanovski -Bombaj yesterday indicated that the postponement of this important discussion opens space to damaging speculations in front of international missions. In relation to the trials of the Tetovo and Gostivar mayor, DPM assesses that they are intentionally making this delay so as to gain political dimensions which would become similar to the process against the actors of the para-university. `Vecher' reports, Stojanovski yesterday underlined that in Tetovo there is ethnic discrimination of the Macedonians among the working staffs, and added that in Tetovo there is an evident new pact between the SDSM and the DPA.[09] `10 DAYS OF THE KRUSHEVO REPUBLIC' COMMENCESIn Krushevo today commences the traditional manifestation `10 Days of the Krushevo Republic'. Tomorrow on Mechkin Kamen a central celebration of the 94-th anniversary of the Ilinden uprising and the foundation of the Krushevo Republic will be held. At the celebration on Mechkin Kamen a massive rally will take place where the Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov will hold a speech and other high state officials and representatives from the political parties of Macedonia will take part. The VMRO-DPMNE will join the state festivity in Krushevo, i.e. as the leader of the party, Ljupcho Georgievski informs, the parallel celebration is canceled. MAAK-CP announced celebration of this jubilee in the monastery `Prohor Pchinski' in SR Yugoslavia. According to the latest information form the Macedonian TV the Yugoslav authorities have granted permission the celebration to take place in the monastery.[10] DELEGATES FROM THE HOME OF EMIGRANTS AT GLIGOROV'SThe President of the Macedonian Republic, Kiro Gligorov, yesterday received delegates from the Macedonian Council by the Home of Emigrants of Macedonia, comprised of representatives from Macedonian organizations and associations from Australia, the USA, Canada, Europe and the neighbouring states - the Albanian Republic and Greece. The official report states that at the meeting the President acquainted the Macedonian emigrants with the current political and economic occurrences in the republic, placing particular accent on the importance of continual furthering the relations with the fatherland. In the talks participated the president of the Home of Emigrants from Macedonia , MD Gjorgji Tonevski, who informed President Gligorov on the activities that are to be conducted by the Macedonian Council during the Ilinden holidays.[11] `EMIGRANT'S OFFICIAL DOCUMENT WITH A GOLD SEAL' TO BRANKO NAUMOVSKIThe traditional prize `Emigrant's Official Document with a Gold Seal' awarded within the frames of the Struga Poetry festival by the Home of Emigrants from Macedonia was granted to Branko Naumovski from Sidney, Australia for his poetry written in the Macedonian language within the Diaspora in 1997. Branko Naumovski is a member of the Literary Association `Grigor Prlichev' from Sidney and the Macedonian Writers Association.MILS SUPPLEMENT[12] `Foreign Investors Avoid `Corrected' Stock Marketing'(`Dnevnik', 28 July, 1997)With an internal provision the Commercial Bank commanded its stock holders to sell their shares for a price no lower than 5.058 denars, and the selling will be performed only by the bank's brokers. If the share holders do not keep to the instruction, they risk their property not to be transferred and their deal will fall through. This, according to finance experts, is not normal and stifles the development of the valuable paper market and the stock market. Finance experts condemn the instruction of this most solvent bank of ours and claim that it is against the law as well as against the market logic, yet there is no reply from the Commercial Bank. The infamous order is against the Bill on trading with valuable papers. The manner of trading with the Commercial Bank is against the `most holy' in the stock marketing and that is the `investor's freedom', say the consulting brokers of the stock market. According to them, that means that the Managing Board of the bank is the one that determines by what price the share holders, capital owners, may or may not sell their property. This means that the price is being determined in a administrative manner, not according to the market. Experts say that with this undertaken step the bank excludes the Macedonian stock market as a place where the share prices can be formed depending on the offer and demand of capital. Even more tragic is the fact that the Commercial Bank is one of the stock market founders. Above all, if you are selling shares of the Commercial Bank you have to perform it through their brokers, otherwise there is no deal. How can you explain this to the foreign investors so that they can understand you and not avoid Macedonia, explains Nikola Gruevski, a stock market broker. `Dnevnik' made attempts to provide an official explanation from the Commercial Bank, but we received the reply that upon this decide members of the Managing Board who at the moment are not in a position to speak. Illustrative enough would be the example of one firm whose manager ails to make it private. This firm's statute does not allow the shares to leave the circle of the employed, and what's more, if the share holder wants to sell them and finds no internal buyer the Managing Board is the authorised one to determine who will buy the share and by what price. The stock market brokers and the people well directed into the valuable papers business say that the stock marketing in Macedonia is established in function of the Macedonian privatisation which is of the `secret' type. They claim that until the privatisation is totally accomplished the Macedonian Government, pressed by the powerful managing lobby, will not allow interventions in the part that regulates the manner of stock selling. Large is the number of instances where the managing boards in firms and managing teams, instead of developing the production and seeking new markets, develop all sorts of pressures on the employed to `purchase' shares for the lowest possible prices and thus keep the participation in the firm divided among a smaller number of people. With such conditions, we wait in vain for foreign investors. They can not have here a clear account. If today they buy 100 shares from any company of ours they don't know whether they will be able to sell them tomorrow. The Government's sluggishness places us in a position when foreign investors avoid us and do not wish to invest in Macedonia. It turns out as if they are not welcome. This means that first and fore most important prerequisite for the functioning of the Macedonian market economy - the stock market and stock marketing in general - is the one that the Government should settle the defects in the market, to pass some bills or we should all `eat humble pie' and calmly wait for the privatisation to be completed, says Grujovski. [13] `The Pointed out deny, Facts affirm'(`Vecher', 28 July, 1997)The news that contaminated tobacco seeds have been illegally brought into the Republic went off like a bomb and the news soon spread among the people and generated fears and worries in relation to decimation of the purity of the `golden leaves', our export trump which brings into the state a great foreign exchange income. The owner of the private firm `Strumica tabak' from Greece, Aleksandar Mihalidis, denies having brought contaminated seed in his state. The rumours are an attack on his person discrediting him in front his partners, especially in front of the members of the Euro Union. The representative of the firm in Thessaloniki, Kostas Psaparos, also claims that his employer would never think of bringing contaminates tobacco seed and spread a disease endangering the state and the Greek firm, now owner of `Strumica tabak'. The director of the firm in Strumica, Nikola Stipsarovski, attempts to prove that the `game with the contaminated seed and the spreading of a virus' is fabricated by the rivals, who stand against imported foreign capital in the state and widening collaboration with foreign firms. Risto Vuchkov, representative of the private Service for agricultural furthering in Strumica claims that the virus has previously also been present in these regions, not only contaminating the tobacco but the vegetables as well, which was brought in the state due to uncontrolled import of seeds. That's why the virus is present not only in areas planted with tobacco of the type `Virginia', but with vegetables as well, particularly the red pepper the harvest of which this year will be cut in half. The selector, Miroslav Dimitrievski, from the Tobacco Institute in Prilep says that `Strumica tabak' has supplied treated tobacco seed only for the oriental types. If no seed of the `Virginia' type has been imported then how come it appeared in Strumica and growing in the plains of Strumica? - he asks himself. The answer , of course, is expected to be given by authorised inspection organs. We claim: - `Strumica tabak' did not supply any tobacco seed from this Institute, and there is no other firm that treats this sort of seeds. The Agricultural Inspection by the Agricultural, Forestry and Applied Hydraulics Ministry immediately reacted. On the face of the place - in Strumica they affirmed that the seed has been illegally imported. It had been sown and now has sprouted ready to be transplanted. To hinder any possible disease destroying the whole tobacco cultivation in Macedonia which is renown for its quality throughout the world nursery plants of about 2.000 squares were destroyed because they were neither produced on our soil nor treated by a competent scientific institution - The Tobacco Institute from Prilep. In the Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry and Applied Hydraulics they say that `Strumica tabak' supplied the seed from the Tobacco Institute from Prilep, but at the same time illegally imported unexamined seed which frightens both tobacco producers and the gardeners. In one word, the denials coming from the `Strumica tabak' representatives were refuted and it is established that, after all, the seed was brought illegally from Greece. In the customs sections at the border crossings in Gevgelija and Novo Selo they claim that regardless of the efficiency of the customs control the import of this seed could have been difficult to discover because is so light and small that is can be placed in a pocket or a purse. `Strumica tabak' from Strumica is registered for purchasing and finishing production of tobacco leaves, but not for importing. In fact, this is not demanded by the new Bill on tobacco. And normally, nobody would mind it if is done legally without causing damages to the state. But, the import must be declared. The private firm from Strumica was doing that but in a different manner. It was purchasing and exporting not fermented sun dried tobacco for 1,8 dollars per kilo. The export documents were prepared by the transporters `Mlazshped', and were declared by the customs section in Strumica who are not tobacco experts and did not doubt the quality and the low price of 1.210 tons tobacco that were being purchased from the beginning of January till the end of April and exported in the neighbouring state. There, once again they went through a process of manufacturing and repackaging and were exported to the foreign markets for higher prices. Estimations show that if this tobacco had been fermented and well packed the Greek partner should have paid 3,6 dollars per kilo. Thus, our state has lost, according to incomplete accounts, about 1 to 2 million dollars! That is why this sort of import and export are not only financially damaging, but also dangerous. In the Ministry for Agriculture there are records that `Strumica tabak' received certificates for 114 tobacco shipments , but no one knows how did the rest 1.210 tons of tobacco appear for very low prices. Due to all these `malversations' against `Strumica tabak' authorised organs have filed proceedings on establishing criminal responsibility fro illegal import of tobacco seed. (end)mils news 01 August, 1997Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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