MAK-MEWS 05/04/95 (M.I.L.S.)
CONTENTS
[01] MACEDONIAN PRIME MINISTER INTERVIEWED BY LE MOND
[02] THERE WILL BE NO TALKS ON APRIL 6
[03] OWEN AGAINST SECESSION ASPIRATIONS
[04] BALKANS SHOULD BE INTEGRATED INTO EUROPE, KUCAN SAYS
[05] NORWAY APPOINTS AMBASSADOR TO MACEDONIA
[06] GREAT BRITAIN INTERESTED IN STABLE MACEDONIA
[07] GOVERNMENT BRIEFS
[08] NO NIGHT FLIGHTS TO SKOPJE
[09] MEDICINE FAIR IN SKOPJE
[11] MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: MACEDONIAN ARMY TO BE REORGANIZED (Nova Makedonija, 5 April 1995)
M I L S N E W S
Skopje, 5 April 1995
[01] MACEDONIAN PRIME MINISTER INTERVIEWED BY LE MOND
"The Macedonian economy is greatly affected by the Greek
illegal embargo; losses have amounted to $500 million thus
far. Macedonia is trying to strengthen its international
status, but Greece intends to prevent this using its
position in the EU and good relations with the U.S.," said
Macedonian Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski in an interview
with Paris Le Mond. He pointed out that Macedonia is always
ready to sit at the negotiating table, despite the fact that
it is difficult to hold talks while the embargo is in
effect. "What is to become of Macedonia's sovereignty, if we
allow them to make us change our name and national symbols?
This would be contrary to all international principles,"
Crvenkovski said.
Speaking about the danger of a Serbian hegemony, the Prime
Minister said that the fact that Serbia refuses to recognize
Macedonia clearly speaks for itself. "The official
explanation of Belgrade is that they are doing this because
of their friendly relations with Greece, but no doubt there
are reasons more serious than this," he explained. He added
that Belgrade and Athens coordinate their policies and that
it is a dream of Miloshevic to see a confederation between
Greece and Serbia, thus wiping out the Macedonian state from
the world map.
Asked about problems with ethnic groups, Crvenkovski said it
is of key importance to resolve the differences, pointing
out that Macedonia is a rare example of coexistence, as it
has representatives of various ethnic groups in both the
parliament and government. Yet, he said, demands of certain
ethnic groups in Macedonia go beyond the framework of the
Macedonian Constitution. He underlined that the attempts to
establish an Albanian-language university in Tetovo, in his
opinion, are in fact attempts to increase the tension and
draw a division line between the two nations. This, he said,
was a political action and if Macedonia allows ethnic groups
to be educated in their native language outside of the
country's educational system, this would mean creating
ghetto's. Albania and Kosovo have undertaken actions which
are typical examples of interfering in the internal affairs
of another sovereign state, Crvenkovski concluded.
[02] THERE WILL BE NO TALKS ON APRIL 6
No direct Greek-Macedonian talks are to take place on April
6 in New York and the new date is uncertain at the present
moment, the U.S. special emissary Matthew Nimitz said in an
interview with Radio Skopje.
Meantime, several media in Greece interpret the interview of
Crvenkovski for Le Mond as a sign of Macedonia's readiness
to retreat and enter negotiations even with the embargo in
effect. Elefterothipia writes that Skopje has not yet
answered officially to Cyrus Vance's invitation, but it is
very indicative that the Prime Minister chose to accept the
invitation in a peaceful manner, as reported in an interview
with the French newspaper.
The ex-foreign minister of Greece Teodoros Pangalos,
however, stated the dispute with Macedonia ought to be
resolved by a compromise. He suggested the name "Republic of
Macedonia (Skopje)".
[03] OWEN AGAINST SECESSION ASPIRATIONS
In an interview with the Kosovo weekly Koha, Lord Owen, co-
president of the International Conference on the Former
Yugoslavia, stated the international community will not
recognize states established by secession of Kraina Serbs
from Croatia, Kosovo from Serbia or ethnic Albanians from
Macedonia. Asked about possibilities of using the model
"Knin-Zagreb" in Kosovo, he said it is difficult to make
such parallels. He said there is a problem with the use of
native languages by ethnic groups in the education in
Macedonia, but that this should be resolved within the
system.
[04] BALKANS SHOULD BE INTEGRATED INTO EUROPE, KUCAN SAYS
The conflict in the Balkans can only be resolved if the
states which emerged after the disintegration of Yugoslavia
are integrated into Europe, said Slovenian President Milan
Kucan in an interview with the weekly Mladina. "This means
that Europe ought to open opportunities and perspectives for
these states and their citizens, instead of trying to keep
the war at a local level or to create so-called sanitary
buffer-states as it is doing now. At the same time, all
these new states ought to meet all the requirements
regarding democratization, political pluralism, basic human
rights and market economy, practiced in Western Europe. No
state can be exempt in this respect. The second important
element is the question of legal succession of the former
Yugoslavia. The principle of equality has to be respected in
this matter as well, both in terms of obligations and rights
of the newly created states. Trends in the international
community tend to recognize only Serbia and Montenegro as
the sole successors of the former Yugoslavia. Should this
happen, this will be a big mistake of the international
community, just as certain ideas for reintegration of the
new states into a new Yugoslavia. As far as Slovenia is
concerned, neither the first nor the second trend are
acceptable," Kucan concluded.
[05] NORWAY APPOINTS AMBASSADOR TO MACEDONIA
Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov yesterday received John
Garder, the newly appointed ambassador of Norway to
Macedonia, who presented his credentials. In his address,
Gligorov pointed out that this act is a confirmation of the
friendly relations between the two countries. He also
stressed Macedonia's interest in seeing wider and deeper
cooperation with Norway. Gligorov mentioned the importance
and successful mission of UNPREDEP forces in Macedonia,
which include a Norwegian contingent as well.
Garder was also received by Parliament President Stojan
Andov and Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski. The Norwegian
ambassador will be exercising his duties from the main
office in Oslo.
[06] GREAT BRITAIN INTERESTED IN STABLE MACEDONIA
Upon returning from an official visit to the British Foreign
Office, PDP President Abdurahman Haliti told reporters the
Government of Britain supports Macedonia's policy and is
interested in seeing Macedonia stable and independent.
Secretary of state Hogg explicitly stated that his country
would like to see stable ethnic relations in Macedonia,
Haliti said.
[07] GOVERNMENT BRIEFS
At a meeting last Monday, the Macedonian Government expanded
the list of agricultural products with protected prices. The
list now includes sunflower and sugar beet, which will be
sold with a premium of 15 per cent of the market price. The
cabinet also discussed the draft-law on public enterprises,
expected to regulate the establishment, organization and
procedures of these companies. They adopted a program for
changes and additions in the space and urban plans in the
country, for the purpose of which a 40 million Denars fund
has been set aside from the budget.
[08] NO NIGHT FLIGHTS TO SKOPJE
Due to an inoperative electrical system, the Skopje airport
has not been able to receive planes after dark for several
days. All flights are redirected to Ohrid. The installation
is to be repaired in the next couple of days.
[09] MEDICINE FAIR IN SKOPJE
Yesterday, the 16th Fair of Medicine and Dental and
Pharmaceutics Equipment was open in Skopje. Products are
displayed by over 100 companies from Macedonia, Germany,
U.S., Holland, Austria, Italy and Slovenia.
In organization of the French Cultural Center in Skopje and
the Skopje Museum of Modern Art, a video projection will be
given at the Museum on Thursday, April 6, at 8 p.m. The
video is titled Andre Kertesz, Budapest, Paris, New York.
[11] MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: MACEDONIAN ARMY TO BE REORGANIZED
(Nova Makedonija, 5 April 1995)
For some period now, experts have been discussing models and
ways of reorganizing and modernizing the army in Macedonia,
in accordance with trends in the world. The most important
issue seems to be whether to turn the army into an army of
professional soldiers. In this context, the Ministry of
Defense is currently considering the possibility of turning
certain branches into units consisting of professional
soldiers only, within the framework of Macedonia's
capability. The Defense Act itself contains such a
provision to engage soldiers on contracts. This initiative
to include professional soldiers in the Macedonian army must
not be confused with the already established practice of
employing army officers, as their profession is of a
different nature.
In fact, the very term professional army means armed troops
consisted of soldiers and officers working for wages and
under a professional contract. The service usually lasts up
to 25 years. There are quite a few advantages to a
professional army over an army consisting of soldiers
gathered by obligation. The first would be the motivation of
professional soldiers; they are naturally more interested in
fulfilling their obligations than the soldier - "amateur",
as their wages depend on how well they perform their duties.
The next significant factor is the training itself;
professionally engaged soldiers will be better trained than
the non-professional, for the simple reason that non-
professional soldiers serve only a limited period. The fact
that professional soldiers are employed on a basis of
previous tests and that only the best are chosen is also an
advantage over the mobilized soldier, since the main worry
of the latter is to see his army days pass as quickly as
possible. Military discipline is easily maintained with
professional soldiers, unlike with non-professional ones.
Experience show that professional soldiers more rarely
violate the rules, since they would be thus risking their
job.
The models of completely professional armies show that this
form also has some disadvantages. First of all, the costs
are high, since high motivation of soldiers can be reached
only by high wages. This automatically increases
maintainence expenses and presents a burden to the budget,
which for a small state like Macedonia is an almost
unsolvable problem. Besides, the professional model by
definition has a small number of reserves and it would be
difficult to replace casualties in a case of an armed
conflict.
It seems that a so-called "combined" model is most suitable
for Macedonia. This would mean engaging professional
soldiers to maintain and use the expensive military
equipment and to employ in certain army units. Although in
restricted numbers for the time being, professional soldiers
have already been included in some border units of the
Macedonian army. For a small and underdeveloped country like
Macedonia, mobilized soldiers are also a very important
segment. The ministry, however, would have to find the ideal
ratio between professional and non-professional troops, to
create a small, but organized, trained and efficient army.
(end)
mils-news 5 April '95
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