From mentor at alb-net.com Mon Apr 2 02:39:31 2001 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2001 02:39:31 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [AMCC-News] Press-Releas: EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL CITIZENS OF FYR OF MACEDONIA: ALL CITIZENS EQUAL BEFORE THE LAW Message-ID: PRESS-RELEASE EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL CITIZENS OF FYR OF MACEDONIA ALL CITIZENS EQUAL BEFORE THE LAW "NATIONAL FREEDOM" Humanitarian Foundation 456 River St., Paterson, NJ 07524 Tel: (973) 523-9203 April 02, 2001 The "National Freedom" Humanitarian Foundation, as well as the Albanian-American community and their societies throughout the US and Canada, are deeply concerned with the situation in FYR of Macedonia and the discriminatory treatment of the Albanian population by the Macedonian Government. The current situation seems to be a natural consequence to the unresponsive nature of the Macedonian Government towards the legitimate demands of the Albanian population for equal rights in all aspects of life. For many years, the Macedonian Government has systematically denied equal cultural, civil and human rights to its Albanian population, comprising at least 1/3 of Macedonia's total population. The discrimination stems from the Macedonian Constitution itself and spans across every aspect in the daily life of Macedonia Albanians, treating them as second-class citizens. The Albanian population, respects the territorial integrity of the Macedonian state, with the following demands for equal rights for all of its citizens: - Citizenship based Constitution, not an ethnic one: Changes in FYROM's Constitution to elevate Albanians and other ethnic groups to statehood forming citizens in peaceful coexistence. The current preamble of the Constitution privileges the Macedonian ethnicity above the others. - Equal Employment Opportunities for every citizen. Macedonia Albanians are being systematically discriminated when applying for jobs in the public as well as the private sector. As a result, Macedonians fill most jobs in the police, army and the public sector, despite the availability of adequately trained Albanian professionals. - Education in mother tongue at every level. As taxpayers and citizens of FYROM, Albanians are currently not entitled to state funded projects. Albanians shall be entitled to a state funded University whose language of instruction ought to be Albanian. - Institutionalization of the Albanian language. Reforming the state and local laws to allow for equal use of the Albanian language alongside the Macedonian in every institution. - Cultural and religious heritage: FYROM Government ought to nurture the cultural and religious heritage of all of its ethnic groups, not only the Macedonian one. We call on the international community to mediate immediate negotiations between the Macedonian Slav-led Government and the political representatives of the National Liberation Army (NLA), to address and peacefully resolve Macedonia Albanians' legitimate grievances and demands for equal rights. From mentor at alb-net.com Wed Apr 4 14:01:07 2001 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 14:01:07 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [AMCC-News] Council of Europe Denounces Police Violence in Macedonia (fwd) Message-ID: http://www.europeaninternet.com/macedonia/news.php3?id=328504 Council of Europe Denounces Police Violence in Macedonia STRASBOURG, Apr 3, 2001 -- (Agence France Presse) The Council of Europe on Tuesday expressed concern about police abuse and violence in Macedonia, particularly against the former Yugoslav republic's ethnic Albanian and Roma minorities. "Although the situation is improving due to efforts of the ministry of the interior, unlawful arrest and detention, excessive use of force and physical ill-treatment of detainees remains a problem," a report by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) said. The ECRI report, which was adopted in June last year after a fact-finding mission to Macedonia in March, also called on the government to intensify its efforts to improve integration for ethnic minorities, in particular Albanians. While the report admitted the government was aware of the need to encourage further integration, it said: "The organizations and associations of civil society ... are in large part divided along ethnic lines, as are the political parties." It also noted that Albanians and other minority groups were greatly under-represented in state-institutions at the national and local level, police and judiciary. From mentor at alb-net.com Tue Apr 10 13:13:30 2001 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2001 13:13:30 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [AMCC-News] Macedonian army brutality condemned Message-ID: Macedonian army brutality condemned Jonathan Steele in Skopje and Ian Black in Luxembourg Tuesday April 10, 2001 The Guardian International monitors in Macedonia have complained to the government about the arrest and beating of scores of ethnic Albanian civilians, and the vandalising of dozens of houses, by security forces "cleaning up" after the offensive against Albanian guerrillas. Evidence of the damage was presented by representatives of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe as Macedonia was formally welcomed into the "extended European family" in Luxembourg. ..... The OSCE representatives visited most of the mountain villages suspected of being Albanian guerrilla bases and returned with sheafs of photographs of homes ransacked and marked with crosses as a token of Macedonian triumph. The Slavic Macedonians are Orthodox Christian. Most Albanians are Muslim. ..... In the worst incident reported by the monitors, the army killed a boy of 16 who had returned by taxi with two companions from the city of Tetovo to Selce, once the stronghold of the self-styled National Liberation Army, to look after their sheep. He was shot four times. One of the other boys, a deaf-mute, is said to be seriously traumatised by the incident, which occurred on Friday. ..... Cupboard drawers and clothes were strewn over the floor, suggesting that there had been a search for jewellery and valuables. ..... Full article at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,471023,00.html From mentor at alb-net.com Fri Apr 13 11:09:03 2001 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2001 11:09:03 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [AMCC-News] HRW: Police Violence in Macedonia Message-ID: http://www.hrw.org/reports98/macedonia/ "The most serious case of police violence took place on July 9, 1997, when special forces of the Macedonian police, some of them trained in the United States, confronted violent ethnic Albanian demonstrators in the western town of Gostivar. Direct clashes left three protesters dead and at least two hundred people injured, including nine policemen. Once the police had established control, they beat demonstrators who were offering no resistance, including some people whom the police had tied to traffic signs. The police entered private homes without a warrant and detained and beat individuals who had not taken part in the demonstration. At the local police station, detainees were forced to pass through a gauntlet of baton-wielding policemen." "The pro-government media in Macedonia portrayed the incident in a biased way that further exacerbated the tense situation in the area. Coverage praised the professionalism of the police in their struggle against "Albanian extremism," without mentioning the police's use of excessive force, arbitrary detentions, or abuse in custody." "Public statements after the incident from the U.S., E.U., and OSCE failed to criticize the police. Instead, they reiterated their support for Macedonia's "territorial integrity" and called on ethnic Albanians to respect their legal obligations to the state. UNPREDEP made no public statement on the incident. Internal OSCE reports obtained by Human Rights Watch were overtly biased in favor of the government (see Appendices)." "The police's behavior in Gostivar on July 9 and 10, as well as the subsequent lack of accountability, are clear violations of Macedonia's obligations under international law, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the U.N. Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, and the European Convention for the Protections of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms." "Mr. Gafur Demiri and his nineteen-year-old son were forcibly taken from their apartment in the center of town and beaten. Human Rights Watch saw photographs of Mr. Demiri taken eleven days after the attack that showed deep cuts, lacerations and bruises on his arms and backs. He told Human Rights Watch what happened at around 4:30 p.m.: They broke my front door and seven or eight policemen entered the apartment. They ordered us to put our hands up and, cursing our nationality, led us downstairs. On the street, ten or fifteen of them grabbed my son and beat him in front of me. I tried to intervene to help my son and to turn their attention to me. One of them asked if I wanted to be an Albanian hero and hit me twice in the face, breaking two teeth. They beat us there for half an hour.(15) After being beaten in the park, most of the detainees were taken to the police station in Gostivar, where they were forced to proceed through a gauntlet of policemen with truncheons before entering the police garage. Gafur Demiri told Human Rights Watch: We were taken to the police station and put in the garage. Two columns of police were waiting for us to go through... 300 to 400 people were there. We asked for water and they said we couldn't have any because only dead Albanians are good.(16)" Full report at: http://www.hrw.org/reports98/macedonia/ From mentor at alb-net.com Wed Apr 18 11:15:03 2001 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2001 11:15:03 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [AMCC-News] ECRI: Discriminatory Effect of the 1992 Law on Citizenship of Macedonia Message-ID: European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) Full report at: http://www.ecri.coe.int/en/08/01/37/CBC2%20Macedonia.pdf Citizenship law 6. In its first report, ECRI noted the indirect discriminatory effect of the 1992 Law on Citizenship of "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" on some segments of the population, particularly some ethnic Albanians and Roma/Gypsies. Some ethnic Albanians and Roma/Gypsies who have been long-term residents of what is today "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" have not obtained citizenship of this country due to the conditions for citizenship imposed by this law.1 Following a one-year period of facilitated access to citizenship prior to the entry into force of the 1992 Law, long-term residents were given the possibility of acquiring citizenship of "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", within one year of entry into force of the Law, if they met the requirements of 15 years of cumulative residency and a permanent source of income. Those individuals who did not acquire citizenship within the one year period of facilitated access prior to the entry into force of the law or the one-year deadline after its entry into force, either because they did not apply in time or because they were not found eligible, have to apply for citizenship through the ordinary naturalization procedure. In addition to the above requirements, applicants for naturalization must pay an administrative fee of US $250, possess living facilities and be physically and mentally healthy. 7. ECRI reiterates the concern expressed in its first report that these requirements could render acquisition of citizenship more difficult for ethnic Albanians and Roma/Gypsies, who suffer from especially high levels of unemployment ( see Employment) and poverty. ECRI notes with interest the fact that the Government of "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" has been preparing revisions to the Citizenship Law. This work is closely linked with preparations for the future ratification of the European Convention on Nationality. The latest draft reportedly includes a reduction in the period of permanent residency necessary to gain citizenship, a change ECRI would welcome and one in line with the European Convention on Nationality, which "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" has signed. Another proposal, which ECRI strongly supports, would involve a reduction in the administrative fee. ECRI understands a restrictive definition or elimination of the requirement of physical or mental health is also under discussion, and would favor such a proposal since, as noted in ECRI' s first report, such criterion might potentially lend themselves to arbitrary and discriminatory application. ECRI is pleased to learn that the authorities are almost ready to place their work in the public arena for debate, and hopes that this process of consultation will include members of the Albanian and Roma/Gypsy communities.