Kalina Bunevska Isakovska on Tue, 20 Mar 2001 11:41:33 +0100 |
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Syndicate: breafing 19-03-2001 "EURO-BALKAN" INSTITUTE ON MACEDONIAN CRISIS |
"EURO-BALKAN" INSTITUTE ON MACEDONIAN CRISIS CONTENTS Daily briefing from Macedonian press about Macedonian crisis Daily briefing from international press about Macedonian crisis c) Supplement: Position of ethnic minorities in Macedonian Constitution DAILY BRIEFING FROM MACEDONIAN PRESS ABOUT MACEDONIAN CRISIS 19.03.2001 The police resisted the terrorists?attempts to enter Tetovo Two days earlier, in the evening, after midnight, the terrorists attempted with a 3 hour massive attack to enter Tetovo through the municipality Koltuk, but they were stopped and withdrew with 40 dead. During the last 24 hours the Macedonian police managed to stop 4 major attacks of the terrorists in the Tetovo region. There are no casualties from the Macedonian side, and highly security sources unofficially inform that the extremists in the furious fights had more than 40 casualties. According to eyewitnesses, the police suceeded to bring serious damage to the terrorists that attempted to penetrate the city in three attempts. In the difficult battles the police didn? have any losses or injuries. The security service operatives detained several foreign citizens for who there is a founded assumption that they have been involved in destructive activities in the country. - "Dnevnik? The parliament members support the Government in its battle against the extremists The security situation in the country is getting worse as a result of the activities of the armed extremist groups, this brings under question the countries territorial integrity and sovereignty, concluded the Macedonian Parliament. The conclusions were voted for by 97 members of parliament while the following used their right not to vote: Nazmi Kadriu, Muhamed Tairi, Hisni Shaciri from the political party DPA and Nenad Ristovski, Vangel Simev, Zlatko Stojmenov from the Real Macedonian Reform Option (VMRO). An appeal was made to the political parties to avoid destructive scenarios and to direct their activity for the country? interest, in the name of peace, stability and democracy in opposition to violence and ethnic hatred. ? ?nevnik? Ljubco Georgievski?, Macedonia? Prime Minister, address Macedonia is under aggression from Kosovo, if necessary we will involve the Army. Macedonia is faced with aggression from Kosovo which is logistically supported by its political structures. Georgievski stated that the response of our security authorities to the terrorist attacks will increase in intensity because Macedonia daily receives about 30 trucks carrying weapons and ammunition. ?o one will negotiate with the terrorists, nor will the Constitution be changed. After the victory, we will continue to develop the inter-ethnic life in Macedonia. ? We cannot agree with the evaluations of the international diplomats and media that this is not an aggression coming from Kosovo and that this is the doing of the ethnic Albanians in Macedonia. KFOR has hundreds of evidence that this a well planned action from Kosovo. The international community refuses to confess the failure of the politics in Kosovo ? said the Prime Minister of the Macedonian Government. ?o one in Maced! onia can be convinced to believe that the American or German government don? know the names of the leaders of the gangs fighting in Macedonia and that if they enforce a much firmer politics, those leaders will not be stopped? alerted Georgievski. In all frontal battles so far, he added, the terrorists are defeated and overcome, and he added that more and more Albanian families are fleeing form Tetovo because they don? want to submit to the death threats to give their sons to join the terrorist groups. ?he media and political vultures have to leave their petty political and profit interests and let the Macedonian police do its work? he stressed. ? It should not be forgotten that in the moment Macedonia achieves victory, we will have to live together again and the interrelation between Macedonians and Albanians will continue. ? ?nevnik? The macedonian president?, Boris Trajkovski, address to the citizens of Tetovo gathered before the Macedonian parliament building in Skopje The Macedonian president said that the real reason for this unreasonable violence lays not in Macedonia. ?he real reason for this violence comes from Kosovo, SR Yugoslavia. This is a battle between those that still live from hatred and violence and all of us who want to live in peace and democracy. President Trajkovski said ?The truth is that Tetovo is a Macedonian town and it is going to say that way. We should all return and live together with out friends, no matter whether they?e Albanian, Turk, Vlah, Serb or a Macedonian?? ?est? The ministry of defense and the government spokesmans press-conference In some of the houses in Tanushevci, Macedonian army found large quantity of dried food with UNCHR and KFOR insignia on. In Mijak, KFOR soldiers assisted the natives in digging the food out of the terrorist? hiding nests, said ARM spokesmen, Gjorgji Trendafilov. Trendafilov stated that some international organization stationed in Kosovo, instead of doing their job, are acting like compass, allaying the terrorists to unnoticed, and yet without hiding, enter Macedonian territory and to undisrupted move within the SRJ border zone, in the Kosovo area. If this indication shows correct, the Government, as the spokesmen Antonio Milososki underlined, will address demarche to the international organizations uncharged. Trendafilov confirms that there? been a reserve infantry mobilisation, according to the needs and the Macedonian Army Headquarters plan. ??akedonija Denes? The Internal affair minister Dosta Dimovska in Tetovo Macedonian police will undertake more decisive measures to enclose the problem and to provide conditions for the citizens of Tetovo to return to their homes ? said the internal affair minister, Dosta Dimovska, who yesterday with Lube Boskovski, high MVR officer, visited Tetovo. She declared information about the arrival of new groups from Kosovo and said KFOR will be informed. ? ?trinski Vesnik? Fatos Nano, former Albanian prime minister and SP leader, statement for the Spanish ?epublica? Fatos Nano qualified the events in Macedonia and in the Presevo valley as a ?ormal reaction to the primitive traditional factor, connected to the interests of individuals and groups not chosen through the democratic process, which are turning towards the already outlived violence.? ?veryone reaching towards violence suffice information, or a vision of a constitute process which will guaranty state crating equality among the Albanians and the Macedonians in the Former Yugoslav Republic. Concerning the accusations toward Albanians he stated:?here is no Great Albania doctrine, no nationalist panalbaninan program is coming true through violence.?? ?akedonija Denes? Actions in Tetovo led by terrorist trained by the CIA and SAS London ?unday Times?claims that the armed Albanian extremists rebellion is led by people trained by the CIA and SAS as the part of the NATO aggression on SRJ preparations. The extremist called Bilal, according to ?unday Times? organized the Albanian extremists weaponry and their shifting from Kosovo to Macedonia. The other person is Adem Bajrami, who led the rebellion actions around Tetovo and coordinated the extremists attacks. Both of them, according to the paper, were trained under the British SAS instructions, in the Bajram Curi secret center, Albania, in 1998-99. Obviously, the Albanians are applying the tactics learnt from the SAS. Albanian extremists believe that NATO has betrayed them and because of that there is a chance they redirect their armed actions towards the NATO and KFOR soldiers, warns the former peace mediator for the Balkans, Lord David Owen. He predicts that the Albanian extremists will shortly attack the NATO soldiers and that the Allian! ce is not prepared for that kind of situation. Owen fears that Kosovo might become ?uropian North Ireland?? ?nevnik? b) DAILY BRIEFING FROM INTERNATIONAL PRESS ABOUT MACEDONIAN CRISIS 19.03.2001 COMKFOR Statement Following the Incident in Tetovo Following the recent incident in Tetovo Lt. Gen Carlo Cabigiosu has made the following statement: "I warn the Albanian extremist groups that KFOR will not tolerate or allow any attacks against KFOR soldiers in the FYROM. We have responded vigorously to the concerns of the FYROM government, KFOR continues robust and successful military operations inside the Kosovo border and co-operates with the FYROM authorities to ensure that the border is as secure as is possible. The Albanian extremist groups need to understand that their actions may harm the stabilization of the whole area and that this is not in the interests of the ethnic Albanian communities. The extremists' violent actions are damaging to all the people of the region and may undermine the KFOR mission to ensure the normalization of life in Kosovo." Albanian rebels in Macedonia appoint their "political leader" Albanian rebels in Macedonia have made a step towards becoming an organized opposition force by appointing a political leader, according to press reports in Kosovo. The National Liberation Army (UCK) have named Ali Ahmeti as their chief, the newspaper Koha Ditore reported on Sunday. The UCK handed Ahmeti a mandate "to try to find a way to advance the negotiation process with the Macedonian government", the paper reported. Ahmeti, from Kicevo in Macedonia, is believed to have been active for many years in the banned Popular Front for Kosovo (LPK), Koha Ditore said. Skopje has said the Macedonian UCK comprises many veteran fighters from Kosovo's own 1998-99 struggle for independence from Belgrade. (Excerpts from Agence France Presse) KFOR finds weapons cache near Kosovo boundary U.S. forces in Kosovo say they have discovered a large cache of weapons, including more than 40 mortar and grenade rounds, close to the boundary with Serbia proper. The peacekeepers found the weapons in a white Volkswagen Golf car near the town of Lovce on Friday morning, they said in a statement released late on Friday night. The cache included two rocket launchers, 43 mortar and grenade rounds, four rockets, three machine guns and a sniper rifle as well as other military accessories and a radio, the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force said in the statement. (Excerpts from Reuters) Mischief in Macedonia Balkan rebels open second front. In confronting this challenge, Western powers have two advantages. The first is the experience gained in the region over the past 10 years. The second is the relative military weakness of the ethnic Albanians compared with that of the Yugoslav army in the 1990s. What is lacking among Nato allies is a coherent plan and the will to execute it. On the military front, much greater effort should be made to block the passage of the guerrillas between Kosovo and and Macedonia. And the alliance presence in the latter should be reinforced; Skopje's feeble, largely conscript army is obviously incapable of defeating the guerrillas on its own. On the political side, Kosovo should be presented with a clear road map towards independence. More than a year after Nato began bombing Yugoslavia, it is absurd that the prospect for the province should be indefinite constitutional attachment to the federation which for so long oppressed it. (Excerpts from Daily Telegraph) NLA issues a general call to al Albanian men to take up arms The rebel National Liberation Army (NLA) has occupied several areas in north-west Macedonia, and over the weekend issued a general call to all Albanian men to take up arms and join its ranks. Mr Georgievski said Macedonia was rapidly arming itself. The country's military is small and poorly equipped, and Western diplomats say it is already at full stretch fighting the rebels. Belgium and Germany have sent troops to defend military bases in Macedonia used to support their peacekeeping operations in Kosovo. The NLA is reported to be gaining recruits, and the rebels claim their forces number 2,000. Two weeks ago, there were believed to be no more than 200. (Excerpts from Independent News) Statement of the editor of Albanian language magazine "I don't want somebody from the outside to come and liberate me. I really thought we had rid Macedonia from politics of ethnic extremism, but now I'm very worried," says Iso Rusi, editor of the Albanian language magazine Lobi. He warned against a heavy-handed response, saying such action would raise nationalist sentiment: "That would be like oil on fire." (Excerpts from Financial Times) Macedonian Foreign Minister Kerim visits the EU and NATO Macedonia's worried government will get maximum political support in its struggle against ethnic Albanian guerrillas Monday as Foreign Minister Srgan Kerim visits the European Union and NATO. Western diplomatic sources said a strong message to Kerim would stress determination to isolate the insurgents and engage moderate Albanian leaders in dialogue, with full support from the major powers. (Excerpts from Reuters) What are Macedonia's options for dealing with the crisis? The Macedonian government has allowed its army to join the police in fighting the rebels, and is considering a general mobilization and state of emergency. But what are Macedonia's options for dealing with this crisis? They face a major dilemma now, because the rebels appear to be holding a suburb of Tetovo, and they appear to have the support of a lot of local people. So the Macedonians will either have to use overwhelming force to restore control over the town, which would risk serious casualties on both sides in heavy street fighting ? and the West is urging them to show restraint ? or else they'll simply have to accept the situation that they've lost a piece of territory and concentrate on preventing similar things from happening elsewhere in Western Macedonia where there is a large Albanian population. (The Time, statement of Dejan Anastasijevic) Solana strongly condemns the attacks by ethnic Albanians Mr. Solana said in a BBC interview that he strongly condemned the attacks by ethnic Albanians. He described the Albanian guerrillas as men of violence who must accept the democratic process and he praised the Macedonian Government for the restraint it had shown so far. (From BBC) SUPPLEMENT: POSITION OF ETHNIC MINORITIES IN MACEDONIAN CONSTITUTION The Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia, guarantees all citizens a full equality in their rights, regardless of ethnic background. The Constitution, which has a civic concept, by special provisions pertaining to minorities, provides an effective equality, based on the protection of their ethnic, cultural and religious identity. For the units of local government, with a considerable number of citizens who belong to ethnic minorities, the Constitution provides guarantees by which the language and the alphabet of the minorities are in official use in addition to the Macedonian language. Those rights are further regulated in the Law for Local Self-Government, which was prepared in accordance with the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The Constitution of Republic of Macedonia also guarantees free and public expression of religious beliefs. All religious communities are equal before the law. The ethic minorities have a right to foster and express their ethnic, religious, linguistic and cultural identity. The Constitution guarantees the ethnic minorities rights to establish their own cultural and art institutions. The ethnic minorities have a right to education in their language in the state primary and secondary schools as well as in the state faculties for teachers or artists for the needs of those minority institutions. This education is entirely free. The Law on Higher Education provides a possibility to establish a private university in any language. Besides that, there are numerous affirmative actions conducted in order to increase the participation of the Albanian students in all levels. The Law on Identity Cards provides that the names of the citizens belonging to ethnic minorities are written in their language and alphabet as well. The Criminal procedure Act and the Civil Procedure Act guarantee the participants in the proceedings the right to use their language, and provide free services for an interpreter. The Constitution obliges the Parliament to establish a Council for Inter-ethnic relations with obligatory multiethnic composition. The Council makes decisions with regards to initiatives and proposals in the sphere of inter ethnic relations. In the first multiparty parliamentary elections in 1990, the number of the Albanians among the elected members of Parliament was 19% ; in the Parliament elected in 1994 - 16% and in the present Parliament (elected in 1998) - it is 19,2%. In all 3 parliaments, there was a Vice president of the parliament - Albanian. In 2001, during elections for a President of the parliament, there was a candidate Albanian, who received the votes of the majority of the Macedonian MPs, but was not elected because the Albanians from the competing Albanian party did not vote for him. The last 3 Governments of the Republic of Macedonia (from 1992 to present) were coalitions with an Albanian political party. The number of the Albanian Ministers in the Government always exceeded the percentage of the Albanian participation in the Parliament. The establishment of the judiciary power was done with a consideration for the proper participation of ethnic minorities. Republic of Macedonia makes enormous financial efforts to enable the minorities to receive information through media in the minority languages. The National television has a program in Albanian since 1967. Today The National radio has an Albanian program since 1948. In the Republic of Macedonia there are 3 daily newspapers in Albanian. The country has a long tradition in functioning of Albanian arts and cultural institutions. In the capital Skopje, there is a Theatre for minorities including Albanian Drama as a unit. There are numerous Albanian arts and culture institutions which are financed by the state. The above facts undoubtedly show that the standard regarding the rights of the minorities in Republic of Macedonia are not only with accordance to all international conventions and documents, but are in many segments a step ahead. The presented legal framework confirms the inclusion and respect of all principles contained in: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, the OSCE Helsinki Final Act, the Document of Copenhagen and the Paris Charter. ______________________ Kalina Bunevska Isakovska Visual Arts Program Coordinator CAC - Skopje, Macedonia Address: Orce Nikolov 109, 1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia tel./fax: ++389.91/133-541; 214-495 e-mail: kalina@scca.org.mk http://www.scca.org.mk ------Syndicate mailinglist-------------------- Syndicate network for media culture and media art information and archive: http://www.v2.nl/syndicate to unsubscribe, write to <syndicate-request@aec.at> in the body of the msg: unsubscribe your@email.adress