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MILS: News from the FYROM, 97-03-17Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: "Macedonian Information Liaison Service" <mils@mils.spic.org.mk>CONTENTS
MILS NEWSSkopje, 17 March, 1997[01] FOR NOW NO INDICATIONS THAT CRISIS IN ALBANIA CAN SPREAD INTO NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIESThe security situation along the Macedonian-Albanian border last weekend has been more stable in comparison to events occurring throughout the previous days. Media report that gunfire may still be heard on the Albanian side, at certain settlements, with a lessened intensity however. The Macedonian-Albanian border remains sealed off and secured by military and police forces. For now there have been no instances of attempted illegal entering of Macedonia from the Albanian side.According to UNPREDEP data the number of observation posts of this mission has been increased, i.e. three more temporary points have been set up. These observation points are being secured by troops redeployed from the Macedonian-Yugoslav border. Macedonian media inform that Macedonian nationals in Albania, at least those who have contacted the Embassy, have left the country. The number of vehicles bound for Macedonia is therefore significantly decreased - regardless whether they are Macedonian or foreign ones. These rare travellers who have crossed the Albanian- Macedonian border during the weekend reveal that there is a large number of `outlaw bands' (in lack of a better, less derogatory term - note transl.) who hold up possible travellers - robbing them literally of their shirt on their backs. The more tranquil situation along the Macedonian-Albanian border - as well as in the interior of Albania - are to be attributed to the fact that Albanian rebels have already taken everything of value, and looted storage houses with food, weapons and ammunition, state buildings, watch-towers... Meantime current conditions in Albania and its impact on Macedonia and other neighbouring countries have generated a feedback by several organisations and political representatives: `...So far the US have no information that the conflict in Albania is to spread on to Macedonia or any other neighbouring countries, such as Greece or Italy', stated US Dept. of State spokesperson Nicholas Barnes. Should the opposite however occur - Macedonian media report - Barnes claimed that this would raise particular concern throughout the US and all European allies. `The OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) will do everything in its power to prevent the spill-over of the Albanian conflict into Macedonia, as this would worsen the situation in the South of Europe even more and drag a number of other countries in the region into this quagmire. So far Macedonia has proven to be a peaceful and prudent country, resolving all issues through a dialogue of state institutions (instances within the system)', stated the current OSCE Chairman and Danish Foreign Secretary Nil Petersson for the Australian TV network. Petersson further added that neither the OSCE nor NATO were prepared to dispatch troops to Albania to preserve the peace in this country. The High-Representative for Bosnia Karl Bilt, as well as OSCE Envoy for Albania Franz Wranitzky have assessed a military intervention as inevitable in Albania, should Europe intend to demonstrate determination to resolve the crisis in this country plunged into the state of anarchy. Based on the most recent information broadcast by MTV the EU member-states Heads of Diplomacy have not succeeded in reaching a consensus on a possible military intervention in Albania at yesterday's meeting in the Netherlands - due to the prevailing opinion that ongoing clashes were an internal issue. It has only been agreed to send a team of counsellours which would aid the solving of problems in this country. [02] TO VIMA: MINISTER HANDZHISKI REQUESTED GREEK-MACEDONIAN DIALOGUE AS REGARDS CRISIS IN ALBANIAWith respect to the crisis in Albania the Macedonian Secretary of Defence Blagoj Handzhiski has met the US Ambassador to Macedonia H.E.Amb. Christopher Hill and the Chief-of-Mission of the Greek Liaison Office Alexandros Mallias - the Greek paper `To Vima' informs. As `Makfax' reveals the Athenian paper states that Minister Handzhiski advocated the stabilisation of opinion exchange on the situation in Albania between Greece and Macedonia as neighbouring countries. The paper assessed this initiative by Minister Handzhiski as avant-garde and an extremely relevant move bearing evidence of the fact that bilateral relations between Greece and Macedonia have improved considerably, reflecting the renaissance of mutual trust.[03] TURKISH-MACEDONIAN NEGOTIATIONS ON CURRENT CONDITIONS IN THE REGIONA high-ranking military delegation from Turkey - headed by the Deputy CINC of the Turkish Armed Forces HQ Gen. Chelyk Vir - has been visiting Macedonia over the past few days.Yesterday they have been received by Macedonian Defence Secretary Blagoj Handzhiski and exchanged views on bilateral cooperation in the Defence Sector and on the current situation in the region. In this context - MTV reveals - it has been pointed out that there is a necessity for the involving of all international organisations to remedy the situation in Albania. Another thing emphasised was the complete Turkish support of Macedonia's endeavour to obtain membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The Turkish side also donated several transport vehicles, two patrol boats and a communications system. [04] INCIDENTS DURING PROTEST IN FRONT OF MACEDONIAN PARLIAMENTThe appeal made by the organisers of the protests directed against the PF- Bill to stage mass protests, has been headed by app. 10 000 university students, secondary school pupils and citizens who gathered in front of the Macedonian Parliament on Friday. Demonstrations were characterised by incidents occurring between protesters and the police. The latter has been stoned, which resulted in the wounding of one police officer who was hit on the head. The police - as well as the protest organisers managed to calm down the masses eventually, and prevent them from entering the Parliament, by staging a `walk- about' to the Ministry of Education, the Congregational Church and the Government. Headed by around ten participants in the hunger strike, the procession spent several hours in marching along this itinerary - while in front of the Congregational Church demonstrators were greeted by the knelling of church bells and a prayer for health. Throughout protests the demonstrators were also receiving the support and welcome of MAAK-CP leader Strasho Angelovski and several IMRO- DPMNE activists.Meantime the hunger strike of students at the `Zhena- borec' park in Skopje continued - and once again medical teams and journalists were denied access. One of the protest leaders Dimitar Dimitrovski - upon commenting the incidents in front of the Macedonian Parliament on Friday for Macedonian media `people had been provoked and irritated by those inside, as we are starving but nobody bothered to contact us', stated Dimitrovski adding that it was a question of `either them or us.' Protests continued in front of the Government / Parliament seat on Saturday, without the media recording any sort of incidents. [05] PREMEDITATED STRIKE UPON INTER-ETHNIC RELATIONSStudents and everybody else supporting their requests to suspend the PF- Bill, intend to continue demonstrations until the fulfillment of their demands - stated student representative Filip Petrovski on Friday, during the continuation of the extraordinary parliamentary session.Upon repeating the well-known requests submitted by students, Petrovski demanded the resignation of the Government in front of the Parliament, as well as the involvement of students in the parliamentary debate on the PF-Bill. This second part of the session held upon Government request in order to discuss forms of furthering inter- ethnic relations, was characterised by the request put forward by several Albanian and Macedonian MPs to establish dialogue - as this is the only acceptable solution of this problem. Vladimir Sokolovski and Ace Kocevski of the LP stressed that the PF-Bill was merely an excuse for student university and secondary school protests, while the true reasons were to be found in the discontent with the political, economic and social position the country has found itself in. According to Kocevski problems have been generated by the fact that Albanians do not respect the Constitution. While underlining the need of establishing a dialogue on inter-ethnic relations, Abduraham Aliti of the PDP has requested political parties to reach a consensus on national issues. Upon appealing to students for a suspension of the hunger strike, he asked them not to resort to unacceptable and unpopular excuses as are inter-ethnic relations in order to raise political issues as - for example - the resignation of the Government. Dragan Mitevski of the SDSM has also emphasised that inter-ethnic relations were not being abused incidentally, for they embody the foundation to stability in this country and only now has it become clear that this is not a defence of the Constitution and the language - but merely a battle of interests. Mersim Biljali of the PDP evaluates that the session is being held due to the pressure of a politically delinquent group advocating extreme nationalist views. He further expressed his concern in connection to the attitude exhibited by university readers which `embodies the regression against the rights of others resembling the US Ku Klux Klan.' The session of Friday has been adjourned to Tuesday, 18th March. [06] `TAT' CLIENTS DIVIDED, INVESTIGATION OUTCOMES EXPECTED TODAYThese days events connected to the `TAT' banking scandal in Bitola have been boiling down to protest meetings of deceived clients on the city square. This does no longer apply to the `TAT' offices at this city, as no gatherings have occurred there recently. Another protest meeting has been held by a newly-established Clients' Board, which included the publicising of client demands for complete disbursement, the conducting of a thorough investigation of NBM liability, the enactment of a law on bank sanation and a personal address to `TAT' owner Sonja Nikolovska.The list of invited (but not attending) officials included Bitola mayor Siljan Micevski, the national MPs of this city and the Chairman of the first Clients' Board (which has been proclaimed illegal) Mende Mladenovski. Both he and the Board he chaired - together with banking experts and lawyers - have (as MTV reveals) outlined a law on restitution of the `TAT' funds which should be submitted to the Macedonian Government today. In this context it has been demanded that this law be analysed and adopted during tomorrow's continuation of the parliamentary session. The NBM Investigation Team - as it has become known - has left Bitola and procedures are being continued in Skopje. A-1 TV reports that yesterday an NBM meeting was held which was to concentrate on investigation outcomes. In addition to this, data on the `ALFA-S' (Skopje) and `Lavci' (Ohrid) bank scandals are to be presented by NBM Governour Borko Stanoevski today, in front of the Parliamentary Commission on Financing and Budgeting. This will be completed by the information assembled so far by the Government and the Attorney General as regards already conducted and planned measures in connection to these affairs. [07] NBM VICE-GOVERNOUR NENOVSKI HAD 890 000 DM ON `TAT' ACCOUNTThroughout the weekend media followed up on the news of NBM Vice-Governour Nenovski's arrest, with the information that he has been client of the `TAT' bank. Examined documents have proven that this bank had granted a loan of 50 000 DM to Nenovski in 1993. These funds he deposited at the bank the very same day, for a monthly interest rate of app. 20%. Thus last year Nenovski had 890 000 DM on his account, and these funds were deposited once again this year. No funds had been withdrawn, though.[08] IMRO-DPMNE INSTIGATING GENERAL MEETING ON 27TH MARCHThe IMRO-DPMNE intends to organise a general meeting which is to be attended by the entire public of the country and all political parties and organisations on the `Makedonija' Square in Skopje, at 14 h. on 27th March. The event is to bear the title `Stop the Economic, Social and National Downfall of Macedonia'. This information has been released by IMRO- DPMNE leader Liubcho Georgievski, at a press conference held last Saturday, listing the shortcomings and failures of the policy conducted by the incumbent government as a motive for this initiative. In his opinion so far the latter has been conducive to the plundering of the economy, the over- debting of the state, the avoiding of denationalisation, the looting of factories, bank clients and pensioners, the non- functioning of the legal state, the rule of organised crime and the halting of democratic procedures. As regards to demands which are to be forwarded to the Government, Georgievski mentioned: first and foremost the resignation of the latter, then the signing of a joint declaration on national reconciliation and the establishing of an administrative government which is to prepare early elections within three months.With respect to the declaration on national reconciliation Georgievski stressed that it embodies an appeal to reach an agreement with the current political set-up on early elections, i.e. on procuring a better set of guarantees by the Government. In this context he expressed his belief that it was still not too late to discuss this issue with the PM. Should this occur, the General Meeting would be cancelled. [09] SDSM: IMRO-DPMNE & PDPA COORDINATE THEIR EFFORTS OF EXTREMISM AND ADVENTURISM`The Macedonian Government has not done one single thing to improve relations with Bulgaria, and compromises made with respect to Serbia and Greece are far beyond any level reached with Bulgaria', stated IMRO-DPMNE leader Ljupcho Georgievski for Bulgarian National TV in a broadcast dedicated to Macedonia. MTV reveals that Georgievski did not hold Bulgarian official policy or party policy responsible for this stagnation in bilateral relations - but rather certain institutions such as the Attorney General and the IMRO-SMD which resort to extremist statements to sell themselves of as `Greater-Bulgarian' patriots.The same TV broadcast was attended by PDPA leader Arben Dzhaferi who stated that Tetovo and other cities in West Macedonia are Albanian, as they are mainly populated by Albanians. In the opinion of Dzhaferi protests staged by university and secondary school students question the survival of the Macedonian state and democratic processes which - according to him - is a result of the long-term satanisation of the Albanian issue in the Republic of Macedonia by the Government. With respect to these statements, yesterday the SDSM has issued a release which states that both politicians have chosen to evade the Macedonian public only a couple of days ago - refusing to air their views in front of the Macedonian Parliament. `Both proclaim issues within the sphere of inter-ethnic relations as unsolvable - for the benefit of their very own political options, while they offer the international public an image of a carved up and federalised Macedonia', claims the SDSM in its release. At the same time the joint approach of the IMRO-DPMNE and PDPA with their extremism, adventurism and threats are being evaluated as an attempt to create chaos to follow suit to similar conditions in the region. [10] DISORDER / INCIDENTS IN SKOPJE AFTER `VARDAR - SILEKS' FOOTBALL MATCHFollowing the incident at the Skopje City Stadium, i.e. the fight between football players of the `Vardar' and the `Sileks' football teams and the entering of supporters onto the playing field, a larger group of `Vardar' supporters has caused substantial disorder outside the stadium and in the centre of the city as well. Thus `Sitel' TV premises have been stoned in front of the stadium, and several vehicles have been damaged - which is why the police was eventually forced to use tear-gas to disperse these supporters. The players and the management of `Sileks' were escorted out of the stadium by the police, after which the infuriated mob of supporters headed off towards the centre of the city where unrest continued. This again entailed the damaging of several vehicles and objects, and this time even passers-by were assaulted. Media report that most of the hooligans were juveniles, who were also the most aggressive ones. The Ministry of the Interior informed that police has been forced to intervene repeatedly, which resulted in the arrest of the majority of these supporters.[11] DEPT. OF HEALTH: `NO CHAOS ON PHARMACY MARKET'In its recent statement the Dept. of Health has assessed that there was no state of chaos prevailing on the Macedonian pharmacy market. This statement has been following numerous information publicised by Macedonian media as regards various manipulations in terms of medicine procurement and trade in the country. The Health Dept. stresses that together with the Health Insurance Fund, it has undertaken a series of acitvities to codify the registration, circulation, procurement and price policy of medicines. `We responsibly claim that the quality of imported medicines - approved by the Health Dept. for circulation and import - is precisely determined', states the release. With regards to media coverage it is being mentioned that it is `dominated by sensationalism, self-willedness and personal interest.Further data reveal that the procurement and placement of medicines has been codified by law two years ago, which entailed a decrease in their cost by 50%. `It may be that this action has may have diminished the profit of certain producers and importers, considering that implemented approaches include the advertising of bids / tenders i.e. litigations. The Dept. of Health has only become the target of sensationalist journalism as some parties are incapable of coping with norms prevailing within a market economy. Therefore the only remaining satisfaction can be obtained by embarking on a quest for a scapegoat', the release states. In the end the Health Dept. mentions that the Government has already decided to investigate the case via the Ministry of the Interior and the Dept. of Public Revenues, which is to definitely get speculations on this subject off the agenda. [12] US AID FOR ECOLOGICAL PROJECTS IN MACEDONIAThe US-based Institute for Sustainable Societies has granted financial support (worth over 4 million denars) to 18 NGOs in Macedonia for the implementation of ecological projects. This - as `Vecher' reports - is the third instance of project funding within the Programme for Democratic Cooperation, financed by the USAID. Another group of projects are also expected to receive funding by the end of this year. Besides financial aid, this Programme also procures training seminars (free of charge) on different issues connected to civic participation in the resolving of particular questions - particularly those of an ecological nature.[13] `AMERICAN EXPRESS' IN MACEDONIA`Makedonska Banka' and `Atlas American Express' have signed an agreement on introducing the `American Express' credit card in our country - yesterday's edition of `Dnevnik' reports.In concordance to this agreement the bills of Macedonian citizens will be handled by `Makedonska Banka' - which means that expenses will indirectly burdening the credit card holder's bank account. Holders of the golden credit card in Macedonia will be enabled to pay for goods and services in over 200 states, which have arrangements with the US company. The credit card limit has not been determined in advance, so that its holder will be able to spend as much as his financial possibilities permit it. The card enables its holder to settle the even slightest dues. Those generated in Macedonia will be paid in Macedonian denars, whereas expenses created abroad will be covered in DM. (end)mils news 17 March 1997Macedonian Information Liaison Service Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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