MAK-NEWS 19/04/95 (M.I.L.S.)

From: "Demetrios E. Paneras" <[email protected]>

CONTENTS

  • [01] TRADE UNION ANNOUNCES GENERAL STRIKE IN MACEDONIA

  • [02] GERMAN AID FOR MACEDONIA TO BE FINALIZED

  • [03] GREEK EMBARGO TO BE WITHDRAWN?

  • [04] GOVERNMENT BRIEFS

  • [05] YUGOSLAV TRADE UNION VISITING MACEDONIA

  • [06] HEARINGS AGAINST SULEIMANI AND FEIZI SCHEDULED

  • [07] MOSQUE TORN DOWN IN KUMANOVO

  • [08] UNIVERSITY COOPERATION

  • [09] MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: RECOGNIZE THIS NAME? (The Chicago Tribune, 14 April 1995)

    •

    M I L S N E W S

    Skopje, 19 April 1995

    [01] TRADE UNION ANNOUNCES GENERAL STRIKE IN MACEDONIA

    The Union of Independent and Autonomous Trade Unions in Macedonia announced at a press-conference yesterday a general strike of dissatisfied workers and citizens in Macedonia, to start on April 27 under the motto "Meeting of the Hungry". The strike demonstration will take place at the Skopje square "Macedonia" at noon, as well as in several other cities the names of which are not being released because, as Union officials said, of expected pressures by Government agencies. The Union expects to see about 100,000 people take part in the demonstrations. The Union decision was the result of the suspension of talks with the Government. Two days ago, the Union said, it made another attempt to renew contacts with government officials, by sending a letter to the president, prime minister and parliament president, requiring an urgent meeting to avoid the need for a strike. Otherwise, the strike will last until the 16 demands, presented to the Macedonian leadership a year ago, are fully met.

    [02] GERMAN AID FOR MACEDONIA TO BE FINALIZED

    Carl Diter Spranger, German Minister of Economic Cooperation, will arrive today in a two day official visit to Macedonia. The visit is part of the effort to intensify the overall relations between the two countries. His opinion will be decisive on whether Germany will finalize its plans to provide financial support for Macedonia. The Federal Minister will hold talks with President Gligorov and will have a joint meeting with Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski and the Ministers for Economic cooperation, Finance, Transport and Trafic, Economy, and Agriculture.

    [03] GREEK EMBARGO TO BE WITHDRAWN?

    The media in Greece report that the Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Mangakis said in an interview that there is a possibility of having the Greek embargo on Macedonia lifted without requiring "any retreats from President Gligorov whatsoever." He reportedly added that the embargo will be lifted the very moment Macedonia sits at the negotiating table.

    [04] GOVERNMENT BRIEFS

    At yesterday's press-conference, Government spokesman Djuner Ismail informed reporters the cabinet had determined the draft-law on guarantees. It is expected to open doors for a credit by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to be used for modernizing the transportation system in the country. The loan is to be in the amount of $24 million, with a grace period of 5 years and to be repaid in 15 years. $19 million of the credit is to be used for completion of the Tetovo-Gostivar highway and the unfinished portion of the Miladinovci-Hipodrom road. Some $800,000 will be used for complete computerization of border-crossings. The Government, Ismail said, was informed by Prime Minister Crvenkovski of the progress of talks with the Trade Union, adding several ministers are to meet with branches of the Union. Asked about the confiscated trucks with oil exploitation equipment for Yugoslavia, Ismail said the investigation conducted by joint efforts of Macedonian and foreign inspectors showed that the cargo had been loaded and unloaded in Bulgaria and Greece. The goods were transported to Macedonia with the help of four Macedonian companies, "Marketing Partner", "Interhandel", "Inaventa" and "Liberta", as well as with the help of the freight- forwarding company "Karajan-Shped" of Gevgelija. The Government still does not posses any details on the delayed trucks. UnofficiaIly, Ismail said, there are 30 trucks, but this has not been confirmed. He added more details will be announced in a few days.

    [05] YUGOSLAV TRADE UNION VISITING MACEDONIA

    The Independent Trade Union of Yugoslavia is currently in the first official several-day visit to Macedonia. At yesterday's press-conference, Macedonian and Yugoslav Trade Union presidents Zhivko Tolevski and Dragan Radulovic respectively said they had exchanged useful information and experiences. They discussed issues relevant to the unions without mixing politics into the talks, Tolevski told reporters. Problems currently faced by workers in Macedonia and Yugoslavia are identical, Radulovic said, adding that the meeting will open doors for improved union cooperation in the future.

    [06] HEARINGS AGAINST SULEIMANI AND FEIZI SCHEDULED

    The District Court in Tetovo scheduled hearings against Fadil Suleimani, rector of the Tetovo university, and Miljaim Feizi, professor and president of the Democratic Forum for Human Rights in Gostivar. Suleimani is charged with inciting to resistance and Feizi with participation in crowds and preventing police officers from exercising their duty.

    [07] MOSQUE TORN DOWN IN KUMANOVO

    The Macedonian construction inspection yesterday ordered the police in Kumanovo to tear down a building illegally being used as a mosque in a part of the city mostly populated by ethnic Albanians. The building had been used during the Ramazan holidays despite failing to meet legal requirements and conditions. Citizens did not try to prevent the police from tearing the building down, but the action caused bitterness among the Albanian population. In regard to this, the Islamic Community of Macedonia issued a public statement claiming the object was owned by the Community and describing the police act as irrational, especially "today, when all subjects in the society ought to make maximal efforts to overcome unwanted consequences in ethnic relations in Kumanovo and in the entire country." The statement also demands that the damage be corrected and that no similar acts be allowed in the future.

    [08] UNIVERSITY COOPERATION

    A delegation of the Macedonian University "St. Cyrill and Methodius", led by rector Radmila Kiprijanova, met yesterday in Ljubjana with Miha Tiser, rector of the Ljubljana University. The talks focused on cooperation between the two universities through an exchange of professors and students and joint appearance at university seminars in third countries. Kiprijanova suggested that all rectors of the Central European Initiative country members meet in Skopje and the Slovenian delegation welcomed the idea. During the second part of May, the rector of the Slovenian University will visit Skopje. The Macedonian delegation was also received by Slavko Gaber, Macedonian ambassador to Slovenia. Kiprijanova will visit the University in Zagreb, Croatia, today.

    [09] MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: RECOGNIZE THIS NAME?

    (The Chicago Tribune, 14 April 1995)

    Would Mexico threaten a trade embargo against the United States to force New Mexico to change its name? Would the British huff and puff in the high courts of world opinion because a section of our Atlantic seaboard chose to call itself New England? Ridiculous, you say. Yes, that's the hard-line stance of Greece toward its northern neighbor, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which has been trying vainly since 1991 to declare independence from the nationalist government in Belgrade, guard dog for Serbian interests among the remnants of Yugoslavia. Bowing to intense Greek lobbying, the US, Western Europe and the United nations al decline full diplomatic relations with Macedonia. The struggling government in Skopje is thus denied a fully respected claim to national sovereignty and territorial integrity that could help prevent the Balkan war from spreading further south. There is little logic to Greece's argument other than overblown national pride and some vague claim, hardly backed up by international law, to monopoly control of national symbols. The Greeks warn that allowing the new state to be called Macedonia might prompt claims to a Greek region that carries the same name, and that Macedonia's flag, emblazoned with a 16-pointed star, wrongly appropriates patronage for Alexander the Great's exploits. Go figure. Arguments by Athens that full recognition of Macedonia would further destabilize the Balkans might carry greater weight if Greece - a member of NATO, a member of the European Union, a member of the UN - was not a leading violator of international sanctions against Croatia and Bosnia- Herzegovina. American officials report that during a single nine-month period in 1994, for example, Greece shipped nearly 22 million gallons of gasoline and diesel to Albania. At most, according to these officials, half was for domestic Albanian consumption while the rest was shipped with a wink and a nod on to Serbia. To be fair, it must be noted that Macedonia, suffering the Greek-imposed economic blockade, also trades with Serbia. Denied normal relations with the outside world, Macedonia has been rendered a figment of international diplomatic imagination, anyway and must scramble for its very survival. Greece's historic alliance with Serbia is well-known, its strong sympathies stemming from a shared faith, Orthodox Christianity, and a shared animosity toward Turkey. Greece and Serbia share one more thing. Both are urging the world not to recognize the independence of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Why in the world is the world listening?

    (end)

    mils-news 19 April '95

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