SKOPJE, SEPTEMBER 7, 1995 (MIC)
"All the elements from the agreements ending the long dispute between Greece and Macedonia have been settled, except for the name former Yugoslav Republic," UN mediator Cyrus Vance told Reuters yesterday. The agency reminds that he has been working on resolving the Greek opposition to the Macedonian choice of name, flag and some of its constitutional changes, which, as stated in this report, contain pretensions toward the Greek province that carries the same name, under the auspices of the UN, for two and a half years already.
He informed that Greek Foreign Minister and his Macedonian colleague Stevo Crvenkovski are set to meet at the UN next Monday or Tuesday, to sign an agreement.
To the question whether the economic embargo which was imposed by Greece in February 1994 would be lifted immediately after the signing of the agreement, he quickly sounded a decisive "yes."
"The agreement covers a lot of issues," Vance said, adding that "the name will be the subject of discussion which will also continue after the signing of the agreement."
However, he said he was "convinced" that this question, which remains unsolved, will not throw the agreement off line, for which he hopes "will create a basis for future friendly relations between the two sides."
The agreement "covers a lot of issues such as the constitution, borders, flag....a lot of other issues which were the subject of discussion in the last 29 months," Vance stated.
As a result of the dispute with Greece, Macedonia was accepted to the UN in April, 1993 under the provisional name "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia," or in short - FYROM. To the question whether he expects the question of the name to be agreed by the opening of the session of the UN General Assembly on September 19, Vance responded: "No, I don't expect that."
In explaining why it took so much time to reach an agreement, he said: "There are roots that go back many years."
He also noted that elections were held in both countries, but the conflict in the other parts of Yugoslavia went on. "This situation created conditions in which it was very, very difficult to do anything or reaching this point. Let's thank God we managed to bring matters at least to this point," Vance said.
To the question whether the agreement will have any bearing at all on the situation in Yugoslavia, Vance stated: "God knows that we had to strengthen some things in former Yugoslavia. I can't prove that it will happen, but I hope it will have a positive effect."
"The agreement for overcoming the heavy two-year dispute between Greece and Macedonia is confirmation that the American approach in ending the war in former Yugoslavia is good and that a good future of the diplomacy for Bosnia can be sensed," the high-ranking U.S. envoy Richard Holbruk told Reuters.
Richard Holbruk, who is leading the U.S. peace initiative on the Balkans, stated yesterday in an interview for the same agency that "Greece and Macedonia have agreed on a compromise for the sake of peace on the Balkans."
"We reached an agreement because we connected Macedonia with our diplomacy for Bosnia," Holbruk stated. "The agreement also presents a motivation for peace on the Balkans. This approach could also expand."
On behalf of the European Commission, Mr. Hans van den Broek gave the following statement yesterday regarding the agreement set to be signed at UN headquarters in New York by the ministers of Macedonia and Greece: "I welcome the announcement for the imminent signing of an agreement between Greece and Macedonia, reached under the auspices of the UN, which will contribute a great deal to the stability and security in the region. During the whole process, the Commission has been in close contact with all interested parties and I commend the readiness of the sides in the dispute to overcome the conflict and resolve the differences. As a result of this agreement, I expect closer cooperation and the strengthening of the ties between the EU and Macedonia, which will strengthen the stability in this sensitive part of the Balkans."
AFP reports the general director of the Union of Greek industrialists in northern Greece Jordanis Adamidis as saying that "businessmen from the Greek port of Salonika, which worked with Macedonian imported goods before Greece imposed the economic embargo against the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have welcomed the news about the lifting of the embargo with great relief and satisfaction."
Adamis estimated that their annual losses from the blockade reach up to US$ 90 million. He stated the fact that the local economy was "sacrificed for two years" for the sake of political interests.
The business community in northern Greece is impatient to return back to business, now that the lifting of the embargo is in sight.
"Before the embargo, AFP reports, Macedonia was an important market for northern Greece, with which the trade in 1993, according to the Union, reached a level of US$ 193 million. The lifting of the embargo against the most undeveloped Yugoslav Republic, AFP writes, will open the door to future trade," the general director of the Chamber of Commerce Haralambos Gudilakis says. "The Greeks will be able to compensate for the losses in the trade with Turkey and Italy without any trouble," he emphasized.
Bulgaria assesses that the future agreement between Macedonia and Greece presents a great success for American diplomacy, which, according to the Sofia newspaper "Kontinent" forced the adamant Greeks to negotiate with the Macedonians, and not to keep on making ultimatums.
The Bulgarian sources quote the Athens newspaper "Vima," which writes that "finally, it should be understood that in the present unstable situation on the Balkans, the existence of the 'Macedonian' state is in Greece's interest, due to the simple reason that it avoids the possibility of creating a Great Albania or Great Bulgaria."
In a special show on the Bulgarian television yesterday, it was emphasized that this agreement will make Bulgaria's role in the resolution of the Macedonian economic problems more relative. Before all, that goes for the port of Burgas and many companies in Blagoevgrad and other towns in Pirin Macedonia which transited the imports for Macedonia, making a lot of money.
There is also criticism that Bulgaria did not make enough use of the period of the Greek embargo, when it presented the only open door for Macedonia.
"Nova Makedonija" writes that the latest political climate between the two countries has brought some ease on the border, as well as in the attitude of the Greek border officials, "who are not showing anymore anger when coming into contact with Macedonian passports, but only explain the conditions under which they can be used for travelling to Greece."
The number of Greeks coming into Macedonia has also increased, predominantly businessmen and transporters.
Judging by the announced elements from the text of the pending agreement between Macedonia and Greece, whose signing is expected during next week, the Macedonian side will take on the obligation to start the procedure for changing its national flag within 30 days from the signing of this document. According to speculation in the corridors, the work on the "drawing" of the new flag has already started and it is possible that it might be adopted in a packet together with the national coat of arms.
Contrary to speculation, the only thing clear for now is the constitutional procedure for changing the flag. So, article 5, item 2 of the Constitution says that the law on the flag, like the laws on the coat of arms and the national anthem can be adopted only with a two-thirds majority of the overall number of MPs. With other words, at least 80 votes "for" will be necessary to legalize the new proposal for the state symbol.
As a reminder, the Sun with the 16 rays has been accepted as a symbol on the state flag with a law adopted on August 11, 1992. According to the interpretation from the expert service of the Macedonian Parliament, there are two standard ways of changing its contents - "either by passing a new law or making amendments to the present one. In essence, everything comes down to the same - to the changing of the symbol."
As to the lasting period of the procedure, there are three different cases. In the first case, the new law can be placed in regular parliamentary procedure whereby there are no precise deadlines as to how long it should last. The second alternative is the so-called "shortened" procedure - the proposal for the adoption of a law would be proposed and adopted together with the draft-law at the same session. There is also a third possibility, namely, after the "acceptance" of the proposal for the adoption of a new law, that Parliament might decide to shorten the deadline in which the proposer should submit the text for the legal proposal.
In any event, there are procedural possibilities for the flag to be changed quickly, in a day, and it is also possible for the procedure to be prolonged. As to the proposer, it can be the Government, an MP or 10,000 voters. Otherwise, the procedure does not require the selection of a best solution, like during the selection of the present Macedonian flag. In view of the present circumstances it is said that this time, the Government will avoid such a massive "fair" of ideas, like three years ago.