SKOPJE, AUGUST 28, 1995 (MIC)
The Criminal Council of the District court in Kriva Palanka, under the presiding judge Ivan Stojcevski, has sentenced 22 Albanians from various places from Kosovo, FRY, to six months in prison, with a two year suspended sentence, over the attempt to cross the Macedonian-Bulgarian border with false passports, thereby committing the criminal act - falsifying passports, punishable according to article 222, item 3 of the Criminal Law of the Republic of Macedonia.
According to the indictment, on August 21, the perpetrators tried to cross the border crossing Deve Bair near Kriva Palanka with false Macedonian passports, from a number of municipalities in Macedonia, which they purchased from an unknown person in Kosovo for 3,000 to 4,500 DEM. Namely, the photographs of the true owners were replaced with photographs of the perpetrators, which were stamped with a false seal.
The minor S.B. (17) from the village Rechica Uroshevac, also used a false Macedonian passport, which was written out to the name Igor Georgiev from Kumanovo, with the registration no. 0548617, whose photo was replaced with the photo of this older minor, who was only reprimanded.
Beside suspended sentence, all the perpetrators have been banished from the country, and are not allowed to enter the country for five years from the passing of the sentence.
PDP, PDPA and NDP have sent a joint letter to the President of the U.S.A. Bill Clinton, in relation to the initiative for a global resolution of the crisis in former Yugoslavia. The letter, signed by Abdurahman Aliti - president of the Party for Democratic Prosperity, Arben Dzaferi - president of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of the Albanians in Macedonia and Iljaz Halimi - president of the People's Democratic Party (NDP), urges the U.S. president to include the Albanian question in Kosovo, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia in his initiative for the global resolution of the crisis in former Yugoslavia, for otherwise, the signatories of the letter doubt there could ever be peace and long-lasting stability in the region.
Among the rest, the letter underlines: the Albanian people in former Yugoslavia, enveloped by the Serbian occupation of Kosovo, and also in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, encompassed with the renewal of the unitary one-national Slav Macedonian state, hopes that, in the end, the international community will stop its policy of awarding the nations that instigate wars and sanctioning the newly created situation with the war, and will make efforts for the global resolution of the crisis in former Yugoslavia, according to the principles and single criteria.
The leaders of the parties of the Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia stress in the letter: the Albanian people in FYROM comprise at least one third of the overall population (according to the official statistics - 22.9%) and are discriminated against in the political, economic, cultural, educational and other spheres. All these discriminations could act as catalysts in the event of an expansion of the conflict to the south of the Balkans, so FYROM could also be enveloped in the flame of the war, which will go to the disadvantage of all its peoples, creating new problems for the international community. The presidents of the political parties of the Albanian nationality in Macedonia point out in the letter that the Albanian political factor played a special role in the keeping of the peace and stability in this state, which is still in a phase of formation, and which, in the absence of readiness of the Slav Macedonian side to create a positive climate for the principled resolution of the Albanian question, could easily lose control and other forms with heavy consequences for the peace and stability on the Balkans, and broader, could appear on the scene.
The Presidency of the Association of Ethnologists of Macedonia is expressing its condemnation and bitterness over yesterday's letter sent to the President of the U.S.A. Bill Clinton by the political parties of the Albanian nationality represented in the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia, which was published in the newspaper "Flaka e vellazerimit" on Friday.
This letter, filled with false statistical data about the number of Albanian population in Macedonia (that it totals 750,000) and that "they live at their ethnical hearths," actually, these parties want to cause disorder and war in Macedonia. The Macedonian ethnologists stress on this occasion that there is no Albanian question in the Republic of Macedonia, but that the Albanian leaders in Albania and the leaders of the political parties of the Albanians in Macedonia, as well as the Albanian lobby in the U.S., are forcing the issue in order to form their vision about a "Great Albania" from the period of the Prizren league of 1878.
In analyzing the letter of the political parties of the Albanian nationality - PDP, PDPA, and NDP, signed by their presidents Abdurahman Aliti, Arben Dzaferi and Iljaz Halimi, sent to the President of the U.S.A. Bill Clinton, and published in the newspaper "Flaka e vellazerimit" from August 25, 1995, the Presidency of the Republic Community of Cultural-Scientific Events of the Macedonian Muslims assesses that it does not present anything else except an open call to the U.S.A. and the international community to create the imagined fascist concoction "Great Albania," by engrossing foreign ethnical territories, namely in Montenegro, Serbia and Macedonia, which, in effect, means opening up a new crisis region on the Balkans, for re- shaping the state borders.
With this letter, the leaders of these political parties demonstrated, once again, their hypocrisy toward the Republic of Macedonia, their vileness toward the Macedonian people, since our country is represented as FYROM in the letter, as a Slav Macedonian country, and the Macedonian people - as instigators of war.
The Government of the Republic of Macedonia will hold its 36th session today, which will focus on a number of acts from the field of social activities, economy and finance. The Draft- laws on elementary and secondary education will also be viewed. An information about the situation in relation to the adaptation of the energetic plants with the future users of natural gas will also be presented, and the Government is also expected to take a stand in relation to the participation of state delegations in the Assembly of the international organization of civil air traffic and the General Conference of the International Agency for Atomic Energy.
The 47th regular annual assembly of the Sub-committee for the prevention of discrimination and protection of minorities finished in Geneva, these days.
Over the past four weeks, the Sub-committee observed a number of issues that delve directly into the civil, political, social and cultural rights of the citizens.
The Sub-committee paid special attention to issues that concern the rights of the national minorities, as well as the advancement of human rights.
According to the announcement of the Macedonian Foreign Ministry, this session of the Sub-committee was also attended by a Macedonian delegation, led by the ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia to the UN in Geneva Goce Petreski, and the member of the Macedonian delegation Elena Andreevska, took part in the discussion on the issues treating the problems of the national minorities, the implementation of women's rights, as well as the realization of rights and the treatment of arrested persons.
Because of air pollution above maximum allowed limits, the Titov Veles Smeltery is closed as of Saturday afternoon. The high sanitary and health inspector of Macedonia issued the decision to close the plant on August 25, late in the afternoon, even though the high air pollution levels have lasted for more than two months.
According to the general director of the Smeltery Boris Gicev, the reason for the high pollution levels is the bursting of the pipes in the plant for the production of sulfuric acid. In order to eliminate the defect, it is necessary to replace 1,200 specially designed pipes, weighing 27 tones. The pipes have already been ordered and sent from Germany, the director of the Smeltery told us, and are expected to arrive in ten days, at the latest.
The Union of the Electric Economy of Macedonia has joined in the efforts for providing humanitarian relief for the refugees from Kraina. Two trucks carrying new clothes, shoes and blankets left for FR Yugoslavia yesterday. The help will be distributed through the Union of the Electric Economy of Serbia.
Companies from Titov Veles are also making contributions for the humanitarian activities organized by the Red Cross. Today, the private shoe-making workshop "Moda," owned by Dimche Sojlev sent out 1,300 pairs of shoes, valued at 20,000 DEM, for the Kraina refugees. The insurance agency "Makedonija" from Titov Veles, on the other hand, provided food products for children, valued at 1,000 DEM.
The humanitarian action in Titov Veles is continuing.
A Macedonian parliamentary delegation, led by the Speaker of Parliament Stojan Andov, left for New York yesterday afternoon.
The delegation, which, beside Andov, consists also of the vice-president Tito Petkovski and the MPs Ilinka Mitreva, Jovan Lazarov and Abdurahman Aliti, will take part in the work of the special session of the Inter-parliamentary council of the Union, which is held on the occasion of the 50-year anniversary of the formation of the UN.
A delegation of the U.S. Congress, led by Senator Bob Kerry, representative of the Democrats from Nebraska, arrived on a visit to Macedonia yesterday. The delegation also includes Robert Dorman, Republican from California and Craig Lauphlin, Democrat from Texas. The members of the U.S. Congress are joined by their associates and military assistants.
Accompanied by the representatives of the U.S. Liaison's Office, Senator Kerry is scheduled to meet today with Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski, Defence Minister Blagoy Handziski and Foreign Minister Stevo Crvenkovski.
"The result from the talks between representatives of the Albanians in Macedonia and representatives of the Government, in the presence of mediator Gerd Arens, is the return of the draft-law on local self-management in the Macedonian Government, for revision" the PDP MP Mevljan Tairi told "Flaka e vellazerimit."
Tairi claims that after the Albanian representatives pointed out that the Government had adopted this draft-law before even finalizing the talks at the International Conference on former Yugoslavia, the mediator Gerd Arens accepted this argument and asked Justice Minister Vlado Popovski whether it was even worth discussing this law, if it had already been adopted by the Government.
Minister Popovski, according to Tairi, accepted the remark and agreed for this draft-law to be the topic of discussion at the next meeting in Geneva, in the first half of September, so that any eventual remarks would be included in the new version of the draft-law, which would enter parliamentary procedure after that.
The representative of NDP Bedredin Ibrahimi stated for "Flaka e vellazerimit" that he had asked that the mediator in the future talks as part of the Geneva Conference to be of a higher rank, and suggested Karl Bilt or Torwald Stoltenberg for the part.
"Still, insisting on this demand is not of any great importance, since the Conference does not have a binding character and it shouldn't be expected to make miracles. Which ever way, the parties of the Albanians feel that the talks should continue," Ibrahimi stated, Makpress reports.
"The Democratic party of Macedonia is not at all surprised by the letter and its contents which was sent by the parties of the Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia to the President of the U.S.A., since it is a political strategy which is continually implemented by the above-mentioned parties," is said in the reaction of the DPM in relation to the letter that was sent to President Bill Clinton on Friday, by the parties PDP, NDP and PDPA.
"Stating incorrect statistics and untruths about the deprivation of rights in the political, economic, cultural, educational and other spheres, has already become a common and every-day strategy of public communication with all competent factors from Europe and the world, using in that direction, in most cases also the official state contacts, which have become quite frequent recently," is said in the DPM reaction.
Stressing that the DPM has emphasized the dangers from such anti-state and anti-Macedonian policies before, the DPM says further in its announcement: "The truth is completely different, since the final goal of this and similar letters, petitions, memorandums, etc. is to create conditions for the creation of 'Great Albania' in these regions, through the actualization of the Albanian question in the regions of former Yugoslavia."
Therefore, the DPM is urging the "authorities to re- examine the artificial coalition with PDP, to stop with the semi- secret and secret negotiations and agreements with representatives of the Albanian parties in the Republic of Macedonia, and to open a general debate in the Republic Parliament about these dangerous intentions."
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