From mentor at alb-net.com Fri Sep 6 11:17:32 2002 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2002 11:17:32 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [AMCC-News] IWPR: MACEDONIAN EDITORS FACE ARREST Message-ID: WELCOME TO IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, SPECIAL ALERT, 6-09-2002 ****************** VISIT IWPR ON-LINE: www.iwpr.net **************** MACEDONIAN EDITORS FACE ARREST http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?archive/bcr2/bcr2_20020906_1_eng.txt A leading Macedonian magazine editor today, September 6, revealed that he is likely to be arrested in a government round-up of independent journalists. By IWPR staff in London The interior minister, Ljube Boskovski, announced yesterday, September 5, that his ministry is considering the detention of some newspaper and magazine editors for "spreading western scenarios in order to destroy the government of [prime minister] Ljupco Georgievski". Saso Ordanoski, editor-in-chief of the fortnightly magazine Forum and project editor for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, believes he is one of Boskovski's targets for arrest. "Today, I was informed by a very reliable source that Boskovski is finalising the list of those who will be arrested, and apparently I am at the top of it," he told IWPR. Ordanoski said he was currently under "the highest form of surveillance". Boskovski's announcement comes just days before the September 15 general elections in Macedonia and amid increasing pressure on local journalists, opposition politicians and representatives of international organisations in Macedonia, all of whom have been accused in pro-government media of conspiring to bring down the government. Local journalists, foreign NGO workers and western diplomats have faced increasing pressure in the weeks leading up to the general elections. In the public statement yesterday in which he announced the possible arrests, Boskovski also said the police have information some foreign diplomats are involved in a plot to undermine the reputation of the government domestically and internationally. It is believed that some of the former may be expelled as a result of Boskovski's offensive. Ordanoski believes the interior ministry is about to announce a list of foreigners considered persona non grata - and that it will include American citizen Agim Fetahaj, IWPR's project director in Skopje. The Macedonian daily Dnevnik wrote, quoting unnamed police sources, that Boskovski's intention is "to prevent some foreign organisations in Macedonia which are using well-exercised scenarios to destroy the international reputation of Macedonia and the reputation of the current government in Skopje". The state-owned dailies Nova Makedonija and Vecer this week serialised a long article accusing international organisations - including IWPR and the International Crisis Group, ICG, NATO, the OSCE and others - of interfering in the internal affairs of Macedonia and conspiring to bring about electoral defeat for Boskovski and Georgievski's party, VMRO-DPMNE, the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation - Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity. Foreign Minister Slobodan Casule also accused journalists and opposition leaders of being involved in a conspiracy against the government in Nova Makedonija on September 6, repeating allegations he made in Vecer earlier in the week. According to current polls, VMRO-DPMNE has little prospect of re-election, and some see this new wave of intimidation as a desperate attempt to cling to power, in the knowledge that defeat will mean more than just loss of office. As exhaustively detailed in a recent ICG report, corruption allegations implicate political figures at the highest level of the Macedonian government. Huge sums have been siphoned off into political coffers and officials' pockets, not only from local trade but also directly from international assistance. Loss of office could mean loss of control of such channels, and possible investigation on corruption charges. The run-up to the election has seen increasing violence generally: two Macedonian policemen were shot dead on August 26; an ethnic Albanian gunmen took five Macedonian civilians hostage for one day at the end of August; and two ethnic Albanians were killed on September 4. Small explosions and shootings are commonplace. Local analysts suggest the intention is either to create tension that would reduce the election-day turnout (which could benefit the incumbents) or even to provoke such instability that the ballot itself would be undermined. A statement released Wednesday by the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights of the Republic of Macedonia said that in the current situation, it is difficult to distinguish whether some police activity falls under their legal remit or is politically-motivated. ** IWPR's network of leading correspondents in the region provides in-depth analysis on events and issues affected the Balkans. The reports are published on the Web in English, Serbian and Albanian. They are also available via e-mail. For syndication information, contact Anthony Borden tony at iwpr.net Balkan Crisis Report is supported by the Department for International Development, the European Commission, the Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency, The Netherlands Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and other funders. IWPR also acknowledges general support from the Ford Foundation. From mentor at alb-net.com Wed Sep 18 19:30:01 2002 From: mentor at alb-net.com (Mentor Cana) Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2002 19:30:01 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [AMCC-News] ELECTIONS "HUGE VICTORY" FOR MACEDONIA (Balkan Crisis Report No 368) Message-ID: WELCOME TO IWPR'S BALKAN CRISIS REPORT, No. 368, September 18, 2002 ****************** VISIT IWPR ON-LINE: www.iwpr.net **************** ELECTIONS "HUGE VICTORY" FOR MACEDONIA Voters win international approval for replacing hard line prime minister with leading moderate. By Ana Petruseva in Skopje The defeat of right wing nationalists in Macedonia`s general election has been hailed in the West as an important boost to stability in a republic long troubled by ethnic strife. "There will be more hard work ahead and many more challenges, but these elections are a decisive step in the right direction and a clear rejection of the violence which tarnished the last months," said NATO secretary general George Robertson. Voters kicked out the hard line government of Prime Minister Ljupco Georgievski, whose nationalist policies led to confrontations with the country's Albanian minority, opting instead for the moderate Social Democrats, the SDSM, led by Branko Crvenkovski. Former guerrilla leader Ali Ahmeti's Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, won strong support from Albanian voters. Preliminary results from the state electoral commission showed the winning coalition, led by SDSM, had gained 40.4 per cent of the vote, with Georgievski`s party and its allies accruing just over half that's figure. More than 70 per cent of the 1.6 million electorate participated in the ballot. Georgievski conceded defeat just minutes before midnight on Sunday, congratulating the winner and praising the elections as peaceful and fair. Speaking at a news conference, an unexpectedly gracious Georgievski said, "These were the most just and democratic elections in this country's parliamentary past, which can only improve Macedonia's image in the Balkans and in the international community." There was celebratory gunfire as flag-waving supporters celebrated Crvenkovski's victory on the streets of the capital. On Monday, tens of thousands attended a post-election rally where the SDSM leader told a cheering crowd, "We showed and we proved that we are a mature nation which knows what needs to be done. This is a huge victory for Macedonia." Macedonian president Boris Trajkovski commended political parties for showing a high level of political maturity and said, "The elections were, in the true meaning of the word, European elections." The new government faces a number of serious challenges, namely an impoverished economy and simmering ethnic tensions. Unlike previous contests since Macedonia's independence in 1991, this ballot was surprisingly free of fraud, with only few minor incidents reported. The Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE, had deployed 850 observers to monitor the vote. "Macedonian society passed the test," said its head Kimmo Kiljunen. One major twist in the elections was strong support for the ex-guerrilla leader Ali Ahmeti, whose DUI party gained 11.8 per cent of the vote. Ahmeti, who led the Albanian insurgents during last year's violence, is seen as a hero among his people, while most ethnic Macedonians still regard him as a terrorist who provoked the conflict in order to grab territory. After the violence ended 13 months ago, Ahmeti became a leading moderate in Albanian politics. Western diplomats described him as "trustworthy and reliable" because of his efforts to prevent further conflict and fully implement the western-sponsored Ohrid peace accord of August 2001. Ethnic Albanian voters decided to ditch Ahmeti`s rival party, the discredited Democratic Party of Albanians, DPA, led by Arben Xhaferi. Preliminary results showed only 5.2 per cent support for the party, which had shared power with Georgievski and was tainted by allegations of corruption that dogged the ruling coalition. Party sources said SDSM's coalition with the Liberal-Democrats has won 60 seats out of 120 in the new parliament. The coalition of VMRO-DPMNE and the Liberal Party took 33 seats, Ahmeti's DUI 16, the DPA seven, with two other Albanian parties, the National Democratic Party, NDP, and the Party for Democratic Prosperity, PDP, gaining one and two seats respectively. "If we want peace and stability in Macedonia, the next government should be built between the parties which won the majority of votes in the Albanian and Macedonian communities," Ahmeti told Reuters. So far, the triumphant SDSM has said that there is no room for Ahmeti in its government but has not ruled out the possibility DUI members being given ministerial positions. The constitution requires parliament to be formed not later than 20 days after the elections and the government to be chosen 10 days after that. Ahmeti, whose name is on American president George Bush's blacklist of extremists, has repeatedly said he would not enter parliament or become a government minister. Ana Petruseva is a regular IWPR contributor in Skopje.