Subject: MAK-NEWS 21/03/95 (M.I.L.S.) [**] From: "Demetrios E. Paneras" Ta nea ths hmeras, opws ta eide to MILS: [01] ** TALKS YES, BUT NOT ON NAME AND NOT UNDER EMBARGO [02] ** GREECE-MACEDONIA NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN ON APRIL 10 [03] ** GREECE EXPECTS SIGNS OF GOOD FAITH FROM SKOPJE [04] * MACEDONIAN OBSERVERS AT PARIS CONFERENCE [05] ** MACEDONIAN TRADE UNION AT CONFERENCE IN GREECE [06] . AMBASSADOR IN VIETNAM PRESENTS CREDENTIALS [07] . SPASOV INTERVIEWED BY SOFIA STANDARD [08] * VISIT TO TURKEY SUCCESSFUL, GENERAL KRSTEVSKI SAYS [09] . TUDJMAN'S DECISION ON UN PRESENCE IS "REASSURING" [10] . PARLIAMENTARY BRIEFS [11] * DZAFERI INTERVIEWED BY MAKPRESS AND CHICAGO TRIBUNE [12] . SDSM SCHEDULES ITS SECOND CONGRESS [13] . ALL BIDS IN FOR MACEDONIA'S "YELLOW GOLD" SELL-OFF [14] * MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: USA FEARS MACEDONIA FLASH POINT (The Washington Post, 19 March 1995) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ M I L S N E W S Skopje, 21 March 1995 [01] TALKS YES, BUT NOT ON NAME AND NOT UNDER EMBARGO The Macedonian Foreign Ministry has said the agreement between Macedonia and Greece to resume talks under the mediation of Cyrus Vance is a positive step. The ministry also says, "Direct talks have always been Macedonia's view and suggestion, as there are simply no better ways for neighbors to negotiate. Our standpoint on the name is well known, while all other issues are negotiable. But we are convinced that no talks can be successful if held under embargo conditions. Lifting of the embargo would be the right step to create the necessary atmosphere to reach mutual trust and successfully end the talks. Therefore, if the statement is true that Greece intends to keep the embargo, it is our stand that this would be unacceptable for Macedonia." [02] GREECE-MACEDONIA NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN ON APRIL 10 A1 Television says direct talks between Macedonia and Greece will begin in New York on April 10 under the mediation of Cyrus Vance. The initial talks will be between the Macedonian UN ambassador, Denko Maleski, and Greece's UN ambassador, Christos Zaharakis. Both governments yesterday announced the talks will focus on a so-called "small package", meaning the name will not be included. Should talks between Maleski and Zaharakis show progress, they would be followed by a Papoulias-Crvenkovski meeting. [03] GREECE EXPECTS SIGNS OF GOOD FAITH FROM SKOPJE Evangelos Venizelos, spokesman for the Greek government, yesterday said he expected the government in Skopje to come up with certain guarantees regarding the changes in Macedonian national symbols and its constitution, as demanded by Athens. This, he said, will enable direct talks under UN mediation. Venizelos explained there are no changes in Greece's views on the name issue, adding the embargo will stay until Skopje promises to introduce the changes. Macedonian Television said yesterday the Greek Foreign Minister, Carolos Papoulias, has said all disputable issues are to be discussed in New York, including the name. Alternatively, however, issues will be discussed in separate and parallel talks. Meanwhile, the Greek media widely reported the statement by Papoulias on his plan to go to New York at the beginning of April for the start of direct negotiations with Macedonia. Macedonian Radio reports that observers in Athens link the new talks with the recent direct involvement of the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Richard Holbrooke. The first reactions in Athens on the news for resuming talks are positive. Andonis Samaras, leader of the Political Spring, however, bitterly criticized Prime Minister Papandreou for deviating from the agreement by all political parties in Greece. Several papers in Greece see a connection between the announcement of talks the U.S. intention to shortly open an embassy in Macedonia. [04] MACEDONIAN OBSERVERS AT PARIS CONFERENCE On an invitation by France, a Macedonian delegation, led by Foreign Minister Stevo Crvenkovski, is participating as an observer at the Conference on Stability in Europe, which began in Paris yesterday. The conference is attended by all members of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe. Yesterday, they promoted a Pact for Stability in Europe, which is a preventive diplomacy project initiated by France in April 1993. The goal of the Pact is to prevent conflicts in Eastern and Central European countries, and aid these countries to resolve current ethnic problems and avoid border incidents. Minister Crvenkovski is expected to address the conference today. [05] MACEDONIAN TRADE UNION AT CONFERENCE IN GREECE Zhivko Tolevski, President of the Macedonian Trade Union Association, led a Macedonian delegation during the 28th Congress of the Greek Conference of Labor, held in Athens from March 16 to 18. Yesterday, Tolevski told reporters there were 35 foreign delegations at the conference. The Macedonian delegation made numerous contacts and meetings. Our relations with the Greek Conference of Labor are on an upward line, Tolevski said. We agreed with our Greek colleagues to meet again in Macedonia sometime in April. [06] AMBASSADOR IN VIETNAM PRESENTS CREDENTIALS The newly appointed Macedonian ambassador to Vietnam, Vladimir Petkovski yesterday handed his credentials to Mrs. N'guen Tibin, vice-president of Vietnam. They agreed that diplomatic ties will open doors for the development of relations and cooperation between Vietnam and Macedonia. [07] SPASOV INTERVIEWED BY SOFIA STANDARD In an interview with the Sofia Standard, the Macedonian ambassador to Bulgaria, Gjorgi Spasov, said despite the current problems, relations between Macedonia and Bulgaria are considered as quite positive. "It is very important to acknowledge the situation in Macedonian society today," he said. "It was the Macedonian language which saved us from being assimilated by Serbia in 1912... The Macedonian Orthodox Church is one of the pillars of Macedonian independence and it is of extreme importance for the Bulgarian Church to recognize the Macedonian Church. Thus, it will prove that the Bulgarian Church has no views equal with those held by the Serbian Orthodox church," Spasov pointed out. [08] VISIT TO TURKEY SUCCESSFUL, GENERAL KRSTEVSKI SAYS General Trajce Krstevski, Deputy Chief-of-staff of the Macedonian army, yesterday said the recent visit of a Macedonian military delegation to Turkey was successful. The Turkish side suggested mutual presence at military maneuvers, training of military officers, and cooperation between the two countries' military industries. The aim of the visit, he said, was to get first-hand information on Turkish training methods, to prepare draft-plans for this and next year's cooperation, and report on previous military cooperation with Turkey. Talks did not include any concrete military aid by Turkey, due to the UN Resolution banning the export of arms to former republics of Yugoslavia. Krstevski announced an official visit toward the end of the month by the Chief-of-staff of the Turkish Army. [09] TUDJMAN'S DECISION ON UN PRESENCE IS "REASSURING" In an interview with Vecher, Macedonian Defense Minister Blagoj Handziski said the Croatian president Tudjman's decision to allow UNPROFOR troops to remain in his country is reassuring. Nevertheless, he said, the removal of UNPROFOR to the so-called UNPA zones is not a positive step the same problems remain, if not even newer and bigger ones. The Serb command in Pale refuses to accept the changes and Kraina Serbs are dissatisfied. Besides, all problems between the sides involved in the war remain unresolved, and the chances for new clashes in the so-called "spring offensive" have even increased. Therefore, Tudjman's decision, made primarily under great pressure of the international community, particularly by the U.S. and Germany, is meant only to buy some additional time. Risks for new conflicts remain. Asked about the current transformation of the Macedonian army in accordance with NATO models and standards, Handziski said, "The starting point of the transformation are organizational and structure changes in the army. These projects are intensively coordinated with the U.S. contact team deployed in Macedonia and in cooperation with British experts. Although not officially recognized as a member of the Partnership for Peace project, Macedonia enjoys all the advantages of the project and the introduction of NATO standards in the army is going on with the same dynamics as in all other countries. [10] PARLIAMENTARY BRIEFS Tomorrow, the Macedonian Parliament will continue its 15th session to discuss the remaining four issues: proposed laws on profit tax, protection and improvement of the environment, urban planning, and the Space Plan for Macedonia. [11] DZAFERI INTERVIEWED BY MAKPRESS AND CHICAGO TRIBUNE In an interview with Makpress and The Chicago Tribune newspaper, the leader of the PDP faction, Arben Dzaferi, discussed several issues regarding Albanians in Macedonia. Speaking about the university in Tetovo, he said, "Our political decision is to act within the system, and not outside it... Nevertheless, the problem with the government is that it has this wrong political interpretation of the law. They are not sure whether things not regulated by law are allowed or forbidden... Our analysis of the situation in the country showed that the Albanian population in Macedonia is exposed to a process of acculturation with dangerous consequences for our cultural identification... Therefore, the initiative [for the Albanian-language university in Tetovo] is by no means aimed against the Macedonian state; it was made primarily to preserve our culture... As Albanians living in Macedonia, we recognize the state and the existence of the Macedonian people, along with the independence of the Macedonian Orthodox Church... But, we will not recognize or accept a state with only a Macedonian identity. The system must function in a multicultural manner, instead of through launching empty slogans for a coexistence... The fact that PDP remains in the government is a question of their own political hygiene. They have neither moral nor political hygiene... The Macedonian government is not to be blamed for the murder in Mala Rechica. But, the guilty party must be discovered..." [12] SDSM SCHEDULES ITS SECOND CONGRESS The Central Committee of the Social Democratic Alliance of Macedonia (SDSM) yesterday held a meeting, deciding to hold its second congress on April 21 and 22 in Skopje. The congress is expected to adopt a platform on future activities of the party and adequate changes in its current program declaration and statute. The municipal party branches will elect new party organizations and leadership at the congress. [13] ALL BIDS IN FOR MACEDONIA'S "YELLOW GOLD" SELL-OFF Bidding closed last Friday for the privatization sale of the three cigarette manufacturers in Macedonia and the firm "Makedonija Tabak". Despite great foreign interest in Macedonia's "yellow gold", the Agency announced that international codes oblige the Agency to a silence of two to three weeks during which a special commission will consider the offers. All four firms are selling 51 per cent of their value. The state's intention is to reach a fair price for Macedonian tobacco at the world market by allowing foreign investment in the industry. On the same day, the Agency also closed tendering on "Fershped", "Skopska Pivarnica", "Angroteks - Shtip" and "Makedonija Turist". Last month, the firms were offered to managers willing to take over the firms. The first public sale of shares of "Oteks" of Ohrid, worth a total of 6.1 million German Marks, scheduled for today, was postponed until next Tuesday. The Agency took the sudden decision after yesterday's talks with Macedonian banks, saying certain organizational problems still exist. [14] MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: USA FEARS MACEDONIA FLASH POINT (The Washington Post, 19 March 1995) In a nightmare scenario that sounds almost like a parody of Balkan history, senior U.S. officials are expressing concern that the new flash point for a wider conflict in the Balkans will be Macedonia, a Vermont-size dot on the map riven by seemingly intractable disputes. Croatia's agreement not to expel United Nations forces eased fears of an imminent escalation of hostilities in the northern zone of the former Yugoslavia, but did nothing to resolve tensions further south, where Macedonia, Albania and Greece are enmeshed in a complicated, but so far nonviolent, struggle. Clinton administration officials, saying they fear a collective failure of political will in Europe will produce another Bosnia and perhaps a Balkan-wide conflict unless Washington takes the lead in Macedonia, are groping for a formula that would defuse tensions. But U.S. options are limited by the desire to maintain good relations with Greece, which is locked in a dispute with Macedonia that involves historic claims and anxieties. Greece is a NATO ally whose history has left it with a chronic sense of insecurity, not just about Macedonia but about any regional development that might benefit Turkey, another NATO member but also Greece's historic rival. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke and presidential emissary Matthew Nimitz, a New York lawyer, are conducting talks with regional leaders this month in an effort to stave off ethnic violence and end hostility between Greece and Macedonia. At the same time, the administration is considering deployment of as many as 1,500 U.S. troops to join the 500 there, and possibly dispatching a full NATO division. The troops would be sent only if military conflicts elsewhere in the former Yugoslavia escalate this spring and threaten to spill over into Macedonia, officials said. It is not clear what their mission would be, but the fact the administration is contemplating their deployment anyway reflects the complexity of the situation and the shortage of options for dealing with it. The State Department refers to Macedonia as FYROM, an acronym for Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Much of the world uses the name FYROM to avoid provoking Greece, which lays claim to the name Macedonia, a region of northern Greece. Senior U.S. officials and diplomats from the region said they recognize that the name issue, like other aspects of the Macedonia problem, may seem trivial to those unfamiliar with the region's volatile history. A land-locked nation with 2.2 million people and no real army seems an unlikely venue for conflicts that could engulf much of southern Europe. But U.S. concern was heightened last month when tensions between Macedonia's Slavic majority and its large Albanian minority flared up after the government blocked ethnic Albanians from opening a university. Added to the hostility between Macedonia and Greece and a potential threat to Macedonia from Serbia, the ethnic strife created what Holbrooke called "an extremely tense situation... It is exactly the kind of problem that could erupt and the world, having paid no attention, suddenly says, 'How did this happen?' " Recent improvements in relations between Albania and Greece, officials said, have been counterbalanced by a deterioration in relations between Macedonia and Albania. Holbrooke met recently with Macedonia's 77-year-old president, Kiro Gligorov, in a so far unsuccessful effort to break the name-use impasse. Because of the dispute, Greece imposed an economic blockade on its tiny northern neighbor. In the U.S. view, the Greek embargo is an unjustified burden on a feeble country already threatened by economic distress, Slav-Albanian tension and the possibility Serbian rule will lead to violence in the province of Kosovo, sending refugees and perhaps Serbian troops into Macedonia. Deterring such Serbian troop movements would be one of the rationales for an expanded U.S. military presence, officials said. The story of Macedonia and of U.S. involvement there is one of the most tangled of the many seemingly incomprehensible stories to emerge from the breakup of Yugoslavia. The United States recognized the independence of Macedonia and U.S. officials proclaim their desire to see the country prosper, but Washington has withheld diplomatic relations from the government out of deference to Greece and its supporters in the United States. Former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, invited by House Republicans to brief them on world issues, said Macedonia "is a particularly dangerous flash point. I believe that NATO should send a clear message, backed up by a credible threat of force, that the alliance will not permit Macedonia to become the focal point for a wider Balkan conflict. This should include an unambiguous signal to Greece that its NATO partners will no longer tolerate its unwarranted and illegal embargo against Macedonia. And it means the (Clinton) administration should stop its toadying to domestic political concerns and promptly send a fully accredited ambassador to Skopje." Easy for him to say, administration officials respond. Not so easy for those responsible fro maintaining good relations with Greece. "We have said repeatedly that the embargo is wrong," a State Department official said. "But we have a 150-year history of friendship with Greece and we are not going to destroy that bilateral relationship over this." President Clinton recognized Macedonia in February 1993. But he pulled back from a promise to President Gligorov to open diplomatic relations after he and national security adviser Anthony Lake met with Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (D-Md.), Greek Orthodox Archbishop Iakovos and other Greek Americans who argued Macedonia has designs on parts of northern Greece. Ljubica Acevska, a Macedonian U.S. citizen who represents the Skopje government in Washington, said, "It is very important to us to have diplomatic relations with the United States, but we are being blackmailed over the name and the flag," to which Greece also objects, she said. Senior administration officials do not dispute her statement that the decision to withhold diplomatic relations was made in deference to Greek sensitivities. Greece argues the adoption of the name Macedonia, which the country used as a province of Yugoslavia, signals hostility to Greece and the Macedonian flag incorporates historically Greek symbols. Greece also objects to what it calls "irredentist language in the Skopje constitution." "Look, we outsiders may say it is frivolous. It is very hard for Americans to fully sympathize with the Greek view that the name is threat to their heritage. But it is a very powerful issue," a senior administration official said. "People here laugh, but if you take away the name from Macedonians, what do they have?" another U.S. official said. "You take away what unifies them, and given the pressures from Albania, Serbia and Bulgaria, they would look weak to those neighbors if they gave in to Greece." 'On the Greek side, suppose Mexico called itself the Republic of Mexico and Texas and put the Alamo on its flag and changed its constitution to say it had responsibility for protecting people in Texas. We wouldn't expect an invasion, but we wouldn't like it." (end) mils-news 21 March '95 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------