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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 5, No. 139, 01-07-25

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>

RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 5, No. 139, 25 July 2001


CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

  • [01] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION POLITICIAN BRANDS PRESIDENT 'ILLEGITIMATE'
  • [02] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT ABANDONS OBJECTIONS TO CIVIL SERVICE LAW
  • [03] ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY AGAIN DENIES INVOLVEMENT IN CREATION OF CONCILIATION COMMISSION
  • [04] BP SUSPENDS SURVEY AT DISPUTED AZERBAIJANI CASPIAN DEPOSIT...
  • [05] ...AS IRAN BLAMES AZERBAIJAN FOR INCIDENT...
  • [06] ...WHICH FORMER ADVISER SAYS PROVES NEED FOR NATO PRESENCE
  • [07] GEORGIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY OFFICIAL DETAINED SMUGGLING URANIUM
  • [08] KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN SIGN AGREEMENT ON ECONOMIC COOPERATION...
  • [09] ...BUT FAIL TO AGREE OVER WATER RESOURCES
  • [10] ISLAMISTS LAUNCH NEW ATTACK ON KYRGYZSTAN
  • [11] TURKMEN BAPTIST SENT BACK TO PRISON

  • [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

  • [12] MACEDONIAN CAPITAL CALM AFTER ANTI-WESTERN RIOTS
  • [13] MACEDONIAN AUTHORITIES SLAM WEST...
  • [14] ...CLOSE ROADS TO KOSOVA...
  • [15] ...THREATEN TO IGNORE MEDIATORS...
  • [16] ...AND ISSUE ULTIMATUM
  • [17] SOLANA, FISCHER SAY MACEDONIAN AUTHORITIES MISTAKEN
  • [18] RUSSIA BLASTS ALBANIAN INSURGENTS...
  • [19] ...BACKS MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT
  • [20] OSCE CONDEMNS VIOLENCE AGAINST CIVILIANS
  • [21] KFOR ARRESTS 63 SUSPECTED GUERRILLAS
  • [22] BUSH LEAVES KOSOVA WITHOUT MEETING KOSOVARS, MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT
  • [23] CROATIAN GENERAL TURNS SELF IN TO THE HAGUE
  • [24] NGO SLAMS 'PRESS FREEDOM VIOLATIONS' IN SERBIA
  • [25] FRENCH PREMIER ENDS BUCHAREST VISIT
  • [26] INFIGHTING CONTINUES IN ROMANIAN PEASANTIST PARTY
  • [27] ROMANIAN SUPREME COURT RETURNS CONFISCATED PROPERTY
  • [28] MOLDOVAN COMMUNISTS ASK ROMANIAN PREMIER NOT TO INTERFERE WITH MOLDOVA
  • [29] NEW BULGARIAN PREMIER PRAISES PREDECESSOR AT HANDOVER CEREMONY
  • [30] MENINGITIS SPREADS TO MORE BULGARIAN CITIES

  • [C] END NOTE

  • [31] MACEDONIA: SPEAKING A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE

  • [A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

    [01] ARMENIAN OPPOSITION POLITICIAN BRANDS PRESIDENT 'ILLEGITIMATE'

    People's Party of Armenia (HZhK) Chairman Stepan Demirchian on 24 July accused Robert Kocharian of rigging the outcome of the March 1998 ballot in which Kocharian was elected president, defeating Demirchian's late father Karen, the HZhK's founder and previous leader, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Responding to Kocharian's remark earlier that day that "a political party is not property that can be bequeathed," Demirchian said that "I was unanimously elected to the party [leadership], unlike Robert Kocharian who...was just made president." Demirchian also implied that Kocharian was behind the series of recent defections from his party. He suggested that parliament deputies who quit the HZhK should surrender their mandates, saying that the HZhK's strong showing in the May 1999 parliamentary elections was "exclusively due to Karen Demirchian." LF

    [02] ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT ABANDONS OBJECTIONS TO CIVIL SERVICE LAW

    The controversial law on the civil service was finally adopted in the first reading on 24 July, having failed to pass on two previous occasions, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 4, No. 25, 9 July 2001). Of the 131 parliament deputies, 82 endorsed the bill. Deputies had earlier objected to the provision that empowers President Kocharian to nominate all members of a council that is to oversee key civil service appointments. The bill has since been amended to require that council to report every year to the legislature. LF

    [03] ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY AGAIN DENIES INVOLVEMENT IN CREATION OF CONCILIATION COMMISSION

    Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian told Armenian historians in Yerevan on 24 July that the Armenian government did not play a role in the creation, announced earlier this month, of an Armenian-Turkish conciliation commission, although it was informed of the negotiations that preceded it, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported (see "RFE/RL Caucasus Report," Vol. 4, No. 27, 24 July 2001). Oskanian's predecessor Alexander Arzoumanian, who is a member of the 10-man commission, has claimed that it was the Armenian government that invited him to join the commission. Oskanian also sought to quell fears that the commission's activities could lead foreign parliaments, including the U.S. Congress, to refrain from adopting statements condemning the genocide of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey in 1915. LF

    [04] BP SUSPENDS SURVEY AT DISPUTED AZERBAIJANI CASPIAN DEPOSIT...

    BP on 24 July announced that it has suspended further survey activities at the Araz-Alov-Sharg hydrocarbon deposit southeast of Baku following the threats made to two of its survey vessels the previous day by an Iranian naval vessel and aircraft, Russian agencies and the "Financial Times" reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline" and "RFE/RL Azerbaijan Report," 24 July 2001). A BP official said the two survey vessels will remain in Baku port for the foreseeable future. He added that BP expects the Azerbaijani and Iranian governments to resolve their dispute over the dividing line between their respective sectors of the Caspian. LF

    [05] ...AS IRAN BLAMES AZERBAIJAN FOR INCIDENT...

    Also on 24 July, Iran's ambassador to Baku, Ahad Gazai, told journalists that the Azerbaijani leadership is to blame for the previous day's incident, Turan reported. Gazai said Tehran has repeatedly warned Baku not to conduct exploratory work at offshore oil fields whose ownership is disputed. He said he cannot predict how the Iranian government will respond to the diplomatic protest note he received from Prime Minister Artur Rasizade. No explanation has been offered as to why it was Rasizade who summoned Gazai to hand over that note, rather than Foreign Minister Vilayat Quliev as would have been normal diplomatic procedure. Nor has President Heidar Aliev yet publicly commented on the incident. Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister Halaf Halafov on 24 July condemned the Iranian moves as violating law and order and creating a dangerous precedent, according to ITAR-TASS. Reuters quoted a senior Iranian diplomat as saying that other Caspian states face similar "consequences" if they begin exploration of deposits that lie within what he termed "our 20 percent of the Caspian." LF

    [06] ...WHICH FORMER ADVISER SAYS PROVES NEED FOR NATO PRESENCE

    Commenting on 24 July on the Caspian incident, Vafa Guluzade, a former foreign policy adviser to President Aliev, suggested that Iran resorted to military action because it was aware that Azerbaijan was unable to retaliate and has no ally in the region, Turan reported. Guluzade argued that the incident demonstrates the need for a NATO base in Azerbaijan. Prior to his resignation in October 1999, Guluzade had repeatedly called for a permanent NATO or U.S. military presence in Azerbaijan (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19 and 22 March 1999). LF

    [07] GEORGIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY OFFICIAL DETAINED SMUGGLING URANIUM

    Police in Georgia's Adjar Autonomous Republic on 18 July detained Shota Geladze, the head of the Georgian Defense Ministry Logistics Department, and at least one other person in the region's capital, Batumi, on suspicion of planning to export to Turkey 1.7 kilograms of weapons-grade uranium, Caucasus Press and Interfax reported on 24 July. It was the third time within two years that Georgian police have intercepted such a consignment of smuggled uranium (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 22 September 1999 and 18 September 2000). LF

    [08] KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN SIGN AGREEMENT ON ECONOMIC COOPERATION...

    Visiting Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev held talks in Bishkek on 23- 24 July with his Kyrgyz counterpart Askar Akaev, during which the two presidents signed a communique on delimitation of their shared 1,000- kilometer border and an agreement on economic cooperation for the period 2001-2005, which is the first of its kind between the two countries, Interfax and RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. Akaev said he and Nazarbaev could sign a formal agreement on delimitating the border this fall if the Kyrgyz parliament approves that agreement. He also said trade turnover between the two countries should be increased; bilateral trade fell last year to $90 million from $160 million in 1998. LF

    [09] ...BUT FAIL TO AGREE OVER WATER RESOURCES

    During his talks with Akaev and speaking at a subsequent press conference, Nazarbaev rejected as "unacceptable" and a violation of international norms the Kyrgyz parliament's proposal that Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan should pay for water resources from Kyrgyzstan, RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported. He warned that insistence on that issue could negatively affect Kyrgyzstan's relations with both countries. Nazarbaev said that Kazakhstan will offer Bishkek military assistance in the event of an incursion this summer by Islamist militants from Tajikistan. LF

    [10] ISLAMISTS LAUNCH NEW ATTACK ON KYRGYZSTAN

    A single group of Islamic militants attacked a Kyrgyz border post with Tajikistan in south Kyrgyzstan's Batken Oblast late on 24 July, wounding two Kyrgyz servicemen, AP and Reuters reported on 25 July, quoting a Kyrgyz Defense Ministry spokesman. The attack came hours after President Akaev left for a brief vacation at Lake Issyk-Kul in northeastern Kyrgyzstan, and after Interior Minister Tashtemir Aitbaev said there will be no new invasion this year. The previous day, a Kyrgyz Defense Ministry official had similarly denied Russian media predictions that a new invasion similar to those of 1999 and 2000 was imminent (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 July 2001). LF

    [11] TURKMEN BAPTIST SENT BACK TO PRISON

    Shageldy Atakov was sent back in late May to the prison in Turkmenbashi from which he was taken to Ashgabat earlier that month in an attempt by the Turkmen authorities to persuade him and his family to agree to emigrate, Keston News Service reported on 23 July (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 June 2001). Atakov was informed in May that if he refused to emigrate he would be constrained to serve the entire four-year prison term to which he was sentenced in 1998 on fabricated charges of swindling (see "RFE/RL Newsline, " 8 and 28 February and 22 March 2001). LF

    [B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

    [12] MACEDONIAN CAPITAL CALM AFTER ANTI-WESTERN RIOTS

    Dpa reported that Skopje was quiet in the morning of 25 July following a night of rioting by what AP called "mobs" of several hundred Macedonians, who claimed to have been recently forced from their homes around Tetovo by insurgents of the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (UCK). The crowds attacked the U.S., U.K., and German embassies, along with OSCE offices and the premises of McDonald's and British Airways. Some of the demonstrators blamed the Macedonian security forces for not protecting their homes and property, the BBC reported. PM

    [13] MACEDONIAN AUTHORITIES SLAM WEST...

    Macedonian government spokesman Antonio Milosovski told Reuters in Skopje on 24 July that "NATO is not our enemy, but it is a great friend of our enemies who are attacking the future of our country." He charged that EU envoy Francois Leotard and his U.S. counterpart James Pardew blamed the Macedonian side for breaking the cease-fire (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23 July 2001). Milosovski added: "that is a big lie, the biggest we have heard. It removes all doubt that they are not objective." In recent days, several top Macedonian Defense Ministry officials have charged that KFOR has helped supply the UCK by helicopter. NATO Secretary-General Lord George Robertson called the charges "entirely and totally false," the "Financial Times" reported on 25 July. PM

    [14] ...CLOSE ROADS TO KOSOVA...

    On 24 July, the Macedonian authorities closed the roads leading into Kosova, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. They did not give any explanation or make any exception for KFOR or other international personnel, as they had in previous border closures. The BBC suggested that the border closing was a rebuff directed against President George W. Bush, who visited U.S. troops in Kosova that day (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 July 2001, and item below). PM

    [15] ...THREATEN TO IGNORE MEDIATORS...

    Defense Minister Vlado Buckovski and Interior Minister Ljuben Boskovski said in a joint statement in Skopje on 25 July that "unless the rebels pull out to their previous positions by 12:00 noon, we will no longer listen to suggestions from any Western mediator, and an offensive is not excluded as an option," AP reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 July 2001). Reuters reported that, as of 11:00, NATO envoys had not secured an agreement with the UCK. An unnamed Western diplomat in Skopje told "The Washington Post" that "there is an atmosphere of paranoia and nationalistic hysteria in some circles of the [Macedonian] leadership. Negotiating a settlement in this type of extreme and intense political and security environment is not feasible. The environment is too hostile... The government spokesman is screaming about NATO and OSCE aiding their enemies. It's very ominous." PM

    [16] ...AND ISSUE ULTIMATUM

    Milosovski told Reuters on 25 July that "the government urgently appeals to representatives of NATO, the European Union, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to give a short, clear answer to the only important question: Who is guilty of breaking the cease-fire? If they do not respond, then it will be clear that they are protecting those who attacked democratic Macedonia." PM

    [17] SOLANA, FISCHER SAY MACEDONIAN AUTHORITIES MISTAKEN

    Javier Solana, who is the EU's security policy chief, told the BBC in a telephone interview on 25 July that the Macedonian authorities are wrong in claiming that the international community is partisan. He noted that the EU and NATO are trying to help find a solution and are not a part of the dispute. In Berlin, Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said that the Macedonian charges "have no grounding," AP reported. He noted that such accusations "contribute to the creation of a violent domestic climate that made possible the attacks." Fischer added that "the displacement of Macedonians from their homes through the most recent attacks by the [UCK] is absolutely unacceptable." He also criticized the rioting in Skopje and called on the government to protect foreigners. PM

    [18] RUSSIA BLASTS ALBANIAN INSURGENTS...

    Continuing Moscow's policy of giving unqualified support to Belgrade and Skopje in their dealings with the ethnic Albanians of the region, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in statement on 24 July that "the rebels of the National Liberation Army are using only one language, the language of force, weapons, and terror. Terrorist actions by the armed extremists are causing a deep rift between the Macedonian population and the ethnic Albanian minority. The world community must understand that real terrorists, not 'insurgents struggling for human rights and the rights of the ethnic minority,' are operating in Macedonia. No task is more important now than...stopping military operations and forcing the rebels to surrender... The situation cannot be allowed to escalate into a civil war, which would have extremely destructive regional consequences," Interfax reported (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 23 March 2001). PM

    [19] ...BACKS MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT

    The Russian Foreign Ministry statement of 24 July added that "actions by the Macedonian authorities to preserve the territorial integrity of the state and protect the security of its citizens, and [the authorities'] firm intention to achieve a political solution to the problem deserve all forms of support from the international community," Interfax reported. PM

    [20] OSCE CONDEMNS VIOLENCE AGAINST CIVILIANS

    The head of the OSCE mission to Skopje, Ambassador Carlo Ungaro, expressed his concern about the rising pressure on civilians in the Tetovo area in an interview with the Skopje daily "Utrinski vesnik" on 25 July. "I don't think that there have been cases of ethnic cleansing as seen in other parts of former Yugoslavia...but it is sure that the [incidence of] threats and violence against civilians has risen. We prepared a detailed report on that. We believe on the basis of that report that the international community can do something to stop or minimize this tendency, which [emerged] only during the last two weeks, whereas before there weren't any cases [of measures against civilians]. We noticed a lot of these alarming and intimidating cases, and we are very concerned about them," Ungaro said. UB

    [21] KFOR ARRESTS 63 SUSPECTED GUERRILLAS

    A KFOR spokesman said in Prishtina on 25 July that peacekeepers arrested 55 men near Prizren the previous day, Reuters reported. The detained men are believed to be UCK fighters from Macedonia. They had with them 50 mules and some small arms and ammunition. In two separate, additional incidents, KFOR arrested a total of seven men, who had with them six mules, AP reported. PM

    [22] BUSH LEAVES KOSOVA WITHOUT MEETING KOSOVARS, MACEDONIAN PRESIDENT

    Reuters reported from Camp Bondsteel on 24 July that President Bush left Kosova without meeting any of the local population or Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski, although some media reports had suggested that he might have a brief meeting with the Macedonian leader (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 July 2001). The news agency added that "Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority holds the United States in high esteem for spearheading the [1999] bombing campaign, which ended Serb repression in their province. All major Kosovo Albanian newspapers carried headlines welcoming Bush and featuring his picture on their front page. One commentator noted that the president was not meeting anyone from Kosovo during his brief trip. But Condoleezza Rice, the president's national security adviser, said she is sure Bush will find time for such a visit at a later date. 'It's just an opportunity to stop by and see the troops,' she said of the current visit." PM

    [23] CROATIAN GENERAL TURNS SELF IN TO THE HAGUE

    General Rahim Ademi, an ethnic Albanian, arrived to The Hague on a commercial flight on 25 July, Reuters reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 24 July 2001). He said: "I am going to The Hague voluntarily and with a clear conscience, because I did not order any atrocities during the [1991-1995 war]. I took care of civilians and prisoners of war." PM

    [24] NGO SLAMS 'PRESS FREEDOM VIOLATIONS' IN SERBIA

    The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organization (SEEMO) said in an open letter to Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica on 24 July that Serbian police have recently "invited" two journalists for "informative discussions," meaning interrogation sessions. The letter also noted death threats and other threats made recently against several other Serbian journalists. SEEMO pointed out that some of the best-known murders of journalists under the former regime remain unsolved. PM

    [25] FRENCH PREMIER ENDS BUCHAREST VISIT

    French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin on 24 July ended a two-day visit to Bucharest aimed at boosting bilateral relations, Mediafax reported. After meeting with Romanian President Ion Iliescu, Jospin said France wants Romanian citizens to be treated without discrimination regarding entry visas. The European Commission recently recommended that EU member states lift compulsory visa requirements for Romanian citizens beginning in 2002. Jospin added, however, that Romania should continue to strengthen border controls and fight illegal immigration. He also said that Bucharest should solicit U.S. and British support for joining NATO. In related news, Iliescu said on 23 July on private ProTV that a "substantial" NATO enlargement should include Romania and Bulgaria. ZsM

    [26] INFIGHTING CONTINUES IN ROMANIAN PEASANTIST PARTY

    The leadership of the National Peasant Party Christian Democratic (PNTCD) on 23 July accused former Deputy Chairman Vasile Lupu of having initiated "all the crises" within the party, Mediafax reported. Current Chairman Victor Ciorbea and leading party member Nicolae Noica met a day earlier with Lupu, trying to reconcile the two groups in conflict, but the meeting ended without results. In return, Lupu on 24 July accused several PNTCD leaders of destroying the party and stealing party property. ZsM

    [27] ROMANIAN SUPREME COURT RETURNS CONFISCATED PROPERTY

    The Romanian Supreme Court on 24 July annulled the 1950 illegal confiscation of a house in Bucharest, Mediafax reported. The court thus returned the building to its rightful owner, Dan Brumarescu, who won the same case at the European Human Rights Court in Strasbourg last January. That decision ordered the Romanian state to return the building to Brumarescu within six months. Brumarescu appealed a 1995 Supreme Court decision that annulled a 1993 court ruling to return the house to him. ZsM

    [28] MOLDOVAN COMMUNISTS ASK ROMANIAN PREMIER NOT TO INTERFERE WITH MOLDOVA

    Party of Moldovan Communists parliamentary group leader Victor Stepaniuc on 23 July asked Romanian Premier Adrian Nastase not to meddle in internal problems, Flux reported, citing a BBC report. According to the report, the communists were "irritated" by Nastase's recent declaration that Romania and Moldova are two Romanian states. Stepaniuc added that a 1989 census showed that only 2,400 Moldovan citizens out of a total of 4.4 million consider themselves Romanian. An adviser to President Vladimir Voronin, Victor Doros, announced on 23 July that the Moldovan Foreign Affairs Ministry has addressed a "protest note" regarding Romanian President Ion Iliescu's recent declarations in which he criticized "Moldovanism." The next day, Doros withdrew that declaration, saying the note was never sent, as the two presidents had resolved the issue during a phone conversation. ZsM

    [29] NEW BULGARIAN PREMIER PRAISES PREDECESSOR AT HANDOVER CEREMONY

    Prime Minister Simeon Saxecoburggotski said at a handover ceremony at the Council of Ministers in Sofia that he will strive to attain the same standard as his predecessor, Ivan Kostov, BTA reported. Saxecoburggotski told Kostov that "you set a high standard and it will be difficult for us to get to your level, but we will try to reach it in the name of Bulgaria." Kostov gave the new premier a pen as a gift and asked that Saxecoburggotski use it when he signs Bulgaria's accession treaties to NATO and the EU. Kostov said he wishes the new government good luck in carrying out their "enormous responsibility." PB

    [30] MENINGITIS SPREADS TO MORE BULGARIAN CITIES

    Sofia dailies gave extensive coverage on 24 July to the spread of meningitis in Bulgaria, where cases have now been reported in 15 towns. The situation is worst in the southern town of Kurdjali, where over 50 people have been diagnosed with the disease. A headline in the daily "24 Chasa" reads "Meningitis Captures Three More Cities," a reference to the spread of the disease to Pazardjik, Kjustendil, and Vratsa. The daily "Novinar" reports that bread in the Danubian city of Rousse is being wrapped in paper to help reduce the risk of outbreaks. PB

    [C] END NOTE

    [31] MACEDONIA: SPEAKING A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE

    By Ulrich Buechsenschuetz

    During the past two weeks or so, a number of proposals for a new legal framework to end the crisis in Macedonia have been put forward by a variety of sources. Domestic ethnic Macedonian legal experts drafted a proposal with the help of an internationally well-known legal expert. This was countered by a rival document by the ethnic Albanian political parties. And, after separate talks between the leaders of the Albanian political parties and the international mediators from the EU and the U.S., a third proposal was presented by the foreign envoys -- to the ethnic Macedonian politicians, but not to the public.

    This latest proposal led to the temporary breakdown of the political dialog, mainly (but not exclusively) because the ethnic Macedonian political leaders could not accept the provisions concerning language. Some days later, after the talks resumed on an expert level, violence escalated again in a massive exchange of fire in the Tetovo area on 22 July.

    What does the latest proposal say about the use of languages in Macedonia? To understand what it entails, one should first take a look at the current Article 7 of the constitution, which regulates the status and therefore the use of languages in state institutions. The current wording of the constitution is: "The Macedonian language, written using its Cyrillic alphabet, is the official language in the Republic of Macedonia.

    "In the units of local self-government where the majority of the inhabitants belong to a nationality [ed.: a minority], in addition to the Macedonian language and Cyrillic alphabet, their language and alphabet are also in official use, in a manner determined by law. In the units of local self-government where there is a considerable number of inhabitants belonging to a nationality, their language and alphabet are also in official use, in addition to the Macedonian language and Cyrillic alphabet, under conditions and in a manner determined by law." (Translation as provided by http://www.ok.mk).

    The first draft proposal by the Macedonian legal experts, as published by the Skopje daily "Dnevnik" on 10 July, states under point 6.4, that "every citizen who belongs to a community that makes up at least 20 percent of the population of the municipality [opstina] where he lives, can turn to the central state authorities [as opposed to the local/municipal authorities] in his mother tongue; the central administration will answer him in either Macedonian or the respective language."

    Point 6.5 of the original draft proposal refers to the use of language on the local level: "In connection with local self-government, in municipalities [opstini] where a community provides at least 20 percent of the population, the community's language will be an official language. Regarding the languages that are spoken by less than 20 percent of the municipality, the local authorities will democratically decide about their use in public institutions." Point 6.6 states that "during the sessions of the Sobranie (the parliament), the Albanian language can be used."

    The Albanian rival document, published by "Vecer" on 12 July, was less concrete in its formulations: "In order to secure the adequate development of a civil society, fair and equal expression of political thought, full participation in social questions, and equal opportunities in public administration, the Albanian and the Macedonian language will be recognized as the two major languages of Macedonia. Both languages will be used in state and municipal-local institutions and offices [as needed] in order to secure the full integration of all citizens of Macedonia into the civil society."

    Francois Leotard of the EU and his U.S. counterpart James Pardew then worked out the details together with the leaders of the ethnic Albanian political parties. The fact that this took place in separate talks without the participation of the Macedonian side aroused Macedonian suspicions. When the mediators presented the results to the leaders of the Macedonian political parties and to President Boris Trajkovski, the latter reacted in a manner that was obviously totally unexpected for the international community.

    If the excerpts of the disputed document that were published in the Skopje daily "Dnevnik" on 19 July are correct, the document proposes a number of changes to the Macedonian Constitution:

    "(1) In the Republic of Macedonia, the official [sluzben] language is Macedonian written in its Cyrillic alphabet.

    (2) Any other language spoken by at least 20 percent of the population will be an administrative language as well, in its respective alphabet.

    (3) In the units of local self-government where at least 20 percent of the population speak this language, this language together with its respective alphabet will also be used together with the Macedonian language.

    (4) Any official document that refers to the speakers of the official language other than Macedonian will be published both in Macedonian and in this language. Every person can use this language to communicate with the institutions of the central administration, which in turn respond in this language as well as in Macedonian.

    (5) In the institutions of the Republic of Macedonia, any official language other than Macedonian will be used according to the law."

    The paper also formulated proposals for the use of languages in government and legislative business. "Any official language can be used in the parliament, and all official documents of the parliament will be printed in the official languages. Laws will be published in the official languages. Members of the government can use any of the official languages while fulfilling their official duties. All government officials can write their name in any of the official languages in any official document."

    To understand why many of the ethnic Macedonian political leaders reacted almost hysterically to these proposals, it is necessary to look beyond the borders of the Macedonian state. There are Macedonian minorities in Bulgaria, Greece, and Albania. In none of those three countries is the Macedonian language recognized as an official language. Any attempt by the Macedonian government to press for more minority rights in those countries would inevitably result in a breakdown in relations with them. Macedonian politicians would be accused of interference in their neighbors' internal affairs.

    Ethnic Macedonian politicians are now stuck in a bind. On the one hand, they will have to accept some form of improvement in the rights of the large Albanian minority in Macedonia. But on the other hand, they will not be able to press for more rights for the small Macedonian minorities in neighboring countries. And they will have to explain to their electorate why they must do the one thing while they cannot do the other.

    25-07-01


    Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
    URL: http://www.rferl.org


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