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MILS NEWS 96-08-20Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: "Macedonian Information Liaison Service" <mils@mils.spic.org.mk>CONTENTS
MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT ON ECOLOGY IN MACEDONIAMILS NEWSSkopje, 20 August, 1996[01] COOPERATION WITH ITALIAN PROVINCE OF VENETTOMacedonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ljubomir Frchkovski, during his holiday in Venice, Italy, met with Floriano Pra, the Economy Minister of Venetto province and a a member of the Italian Parliament, reported Macedonian Radio. During the talks on improving the economic cooperation between Macedonia and this province, they agreed to organize a meeting of experts who would establish the fields and forms of cooperation, after which the document would be officially signed. Macedonian Radio reported that Venetto was one of the most developed Italian provinces with a characteristic small and medium enterprises production. Their export is above the level of many European countries. Macedonian Foreign Ministry announced that certain branches of Macedonian economy had a long-term cooperation with firms in Venetto, but it should be widened and better regulated.[02] $300,000 AMERICAN AID FOR MACEDONIAN CUSTOMSUS Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia Christopher Hill met yesterday with Macedonian Customs Administration General Manager Ilija Iljoski and informed him that USA would give $ 300,000 worthy technical aid to Macedonian Customs for more successful stamping out of smuggling. According to Macedonian Television, the aid had been agreed on at the meeting of managers of Customs Administrations of the two countries last February. Mr. Iljoski said the two countries should sign an agreement on bilateral cooperation in the field of customs at the end of this year.[03] STRICT MEASURES AGAINST CIGARETTES AND ALCOHOL SMUGGLINGMacedonian Customs Administration General Manager yesterday issued an order to the Customs Stations in Skopje, Bitola and Gevgelija for a strict control of goods taken in by the travelers, especially of cigarettes and alcohol drinks bought at duty free shops. The measures are in accordance with the activities of the Government for preventing smuggling of cigarettes, alcohol, coffee, etc., reported Macedonian media. Therefore, a traveler coming from abroad will be allowed to bring in one bottle of alcohol and ten packs of cigarettes without paying customs, as they would be considered personal luggage. This, however, will not apply to those who would cross the border only to shop in duty free stores.The order also said that all refrigerator trucks would be submitted to control, while other transport vehicles would be checked from time to time, especially if they are suspected of smuggling cigarettes, alcohol, coffee and other similar goods. Internal Control Department is obliged to check the quality of work of customs officers more often. In case they fail to carry out the measures properly, they will be severely sanctioned. [04] GEODETIC POINTS IN MACEDONIA SUCCESSFULLY POSITIONEDSatellite measuring of the basic trigonometric net of Macedonia, by which the borders of the state will be mathematically precisely defined, was completed yesterday.It was announced at yesterday's press conference in the Geodetic Administration that DZPS campaign of EUREF-MAK '96, i.e. the measuring, had been successfully accomplished. It will make possible for the services of 26 satellites for space defining to be used, as well as for fast and simple communication between citizens. Measuring of Skopje and Ohrid Airports positions will be of greatest importance, since the conditions for their functioning have been fulfilled. The project was supported by Macedonian Ministry of Transport, Institute of Applied Geodesy from Frankfurt, and by Slovenia and FR Yugoslavia. [05] SWISS AID FOR PRESERVING OF OHRID LAKEThe Government of Switzerland recently decided to give $ 400,000 as an aid for realisation of the project for preserving the Ohrid Lake, 'Makfax' cited the information of Radio Tirana. The project, which should cost over $ 1,6 million, will be realized in several phases, and most of the money should be provided by the World Bank. The first phase should start the next year, and the priority zone will be Podgradec in Albania. During the second phase, the sewerage systems that flow into the lake should be re-systematized, and the citizens will be given credits for developing the agriculture and tourism.[06] INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION GROWTHMacedonian Statistic Institute yesterday announced that industrial production in the country at the period January - July 1996 had increased for 3.8% in comparison with the same period last year. The growth is a result of increased production of reproduction materials for 6.9%, which makes 62% of the structure of total industrial production. The growth in electric industry was 11.7%, in non-ferrous metallurgy 49.5%, in ores production 15.8%, in ferrous metals production 24.4%, in minerals production 2.1%, in machinery production 5.9%, in transport means production 10.2%, and in production of leather and fur 30.7%. The high index noticed in the field of oil derivatives is a result of regular work of the Refinery in Skopje this year, while it worked only two months last year.[07] DRAFT LAW ON TERRITORIAL DIVIDING ADOPTEDMacedonian Government, at its session yesterday, discussed the Draft Law on Territorial Dividing of the Republic, which is based on principles of the Law for Local Self-Government.The official announcement said that these Laws would make the new units local communities in which the citizens would directly or through their representatives participate in decisions of a local significance. The Law determines the units as urban, geographically and economically connected areas, taking into account the number of citizens and their needs and interests. The Government also discussed the Draft Law on Local Elections, which is characterized with de-centralization and de-concentration of governing, and with direct democratic participation of citizens. The Law regulates the procedure and conditions for electing the Councils members (according to proportional system) and mayors (according to majority system). The Law suggests the first local elections to be scheduled by the President of Macedonian Parliament, and afterwards they to be scheduled each fourth year by the mayors. After the remarks presented in the discussion are included in the text, the Law will be submitted to the Parliament. Regarding the Proposal to pass a Law on Lotteries, the Government decided that the right to organize such activities would be of the Republic of Macedonia, and that it would be transferred to other subjects by licenses given through a public competition. [08] NON-PARLIAMENTARIAN OPPOSITION IS CONSIDERING JOINT APPEARANCEMacedonian non-Parliamentarian opposition is considering the possibility to appear joined on local elections this autumn, reported 'Makfax' agency, citing the opinions of sources close to those parties that it was, however, still early to talk about an agreement on a coalition. 'Makfax' confirmed the information of MAAK-CP President Strashko Angelovski, who said that his party, VMRO-DPMNE and the Democratic Party had a meeting recently, on which they had agreed in principle to appear in a coalition on local elections.[09] JOINT PLATFORM OF ALBANIAN PARTIES IN MACEDONIA DURING LOCAL ELECTIONSMacedonian Television yesterday reported the information of Radio Tirana, according to which political parties of Albanians in Macedonia had prepared a platform by which, during the local elections campaign, they would require Albanian language to be declared official and 'Tetovo university' to be legalized. Radio Tirana, in fact, reported the statement of PDPA Vice President Aljia Demiri, who said the intention of his party was to prevent the realisation of all Macedonian Laws that were anti-Albanian. The radio also reported a statement of PDP President Abdurahman Aliti, who also said maximum efforts were being made to obtain legal conditions for Albanians in Macedonia to have high education in Albanian and to make their language official. Radio Tirana concluded that despite all the disputes between the parties of Albanians in Macedonia, their aims were still the same. President of Albania Sali Berisha stated the situation regarding Albanians in Macedonia had improved and it would be improved further. In an interview for Austrian paper 'Press', Berisha underlined that Albania would never agree with a separation of Kosovo, and excluded the possibility for uniting this province to his country.MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT ON ECOLOGY IN MACEDONIA[10] 'Water That Brings Sickness' - Part 3Many people in Macedonia lack clean drinking water, especially in villages. This is the third part of a four- part series devoted to the problem.Fish Have Priority Over People? In the basins of the village association in Zelenikovo, the workers were raising fish. The villagers were happy that just before the religious holidays of St. George and St. Nicholas they could buy fish in their own village. Unfortunately, the fish didn't like chlorine, and so the water wasn't chlorinated at all. "That's how the villagers were left without clean drinking water," said Jordanchovo Dimovski, president of the community and a manager at the OHIS chemical factory in Skopje. The fish weren't the only problem. When the River Vardar overflows its banks, it floods the village wells. In January this year, many people fell ill from drinking the water, which was polluted by the Vardar and not chlorinated. Even now, when there aren't any floods, people are afraid to drink the water. Many people get their drinking water from the village fountain, which isn't connected to the local water works. A proclamation in the Marko Sepenkov grade school orders children not to drink the water. "Usually we are bringing boiled water from our homes or buying juice from a nearby shop," said Rumena Velkovska, a 15-year-old schoolgirl. Zelenikovo lies on the right bank of the River Vardar about 30 kilometers south of Skopje. It is a small village with about 700 people and about 250 houses on either side of the main road that runs through the village. There are some beautiful, new houses with large yards. But most of the house are hold and shaky and inhabited by old people. The village has been facing a water problem for a long time. In 1983, villagers built a local water system with their own money. "At first we thought that all our troubles were over," said Alexo Kuzmanovski, headmaster of the local elementary school. "It was so while the village association "Slovoda" worked well. But when it went bankrupt, no one cared for the village water system any more." Until this year's flooding, no one in the village remembers that there were any problems with the quality of the drinking water. But in January, the Vardar overflowed its banks as a consequence of snow melting in the mountains. The water, which carries the waste of 600,000 people in Skopje, flooded the wells. "My child fell ill from the polluted water," said the 42-year-old mother of one boy. The first symptoms occurred several days after the wells were flooded. The sickness manifested itself with fever and diarrhea. "Later we found out that there was an epidemic in the village," she said. Over the next month 74 cases of stomach infection were reported to the local clinic, with fever, vomiting and weakness. Many other fell ill but didn't go to the clinic. Most of the people got sick from the bacteria E. coli, which is found in human waste. A few people fell sick from viral hepatitis, or jaundice. The director of the village association, Josif Kuzmanovski, insisted that the water is safe. "The water is completely clean and both bacteriologically and chemically safe for drinking," he said. "We have never used the village ponds for keeping and raising fish. Those stories were made up by the villagers." The local population mistrusts the claims of the association officials. "We were all buying fish from the association," said Ljupcho Simonovski, 25. Dr. Todorka Golemviska Reshkova, who works at the village clinic, said, "The water isn't chlorinated at all, or it is done very rarely, and so the water is useless. We advise the villagers not to drink the water." The staff of the clinic brings its own water in plastic bottles from Skopje. The villagers have a better solution than boiling the water. They are organizing themselves and are starting to build a new water works that could provide the village with clean water from the Skopje water works. Three kilometers of it have already been built and five more remain to be done. Seventy-year-old Ljube Bozhinovski, who was born in the village, thinks that the plan to connect the village to the Skopje water works isn't bad at all. "The more water the better," he said. But he probably won't drink the water from the city water works anyway. "I am connected to the local water system, but I have never used it," he said He was drawing water from the well behind his house on recent afternoon, filling empty Coca Cola bottles. "I dug my well a long time ago, and I'm using drinking water only from this." (to be continued)mils news 20 August, 1996Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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