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The weekly Koha (The Times) was published in Prishtina (Kosovo) between 1994 and 1997. Edited by VetonSurroi, a young Kosovar jou rnalist and one of the pioneers of democratisation in former Yugoslavia, Ko hasoon becam e a symbol of quality among the region's media. In 1997 it started to be pub lished daily under thename of Ko ha Ditor. With the kind perm ission of Mr. Surroi, Koha digests were originally posted onhttp://koha.estudiosbalcanicos.org.

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Koha Digest # 46 (1995)

EDUCATION

IGNORING THE ONLY STATEHOOD INSTITUTION

by BATON HAXHIU / Prishtina

Several days ago, in a gynecological clinic in Prishtina, the problem of the Albanianeducation and teachers was fully revealed. The teacher of the child of a gynaecologist, hadtaken his wife to give birth. By chance, it happened that he was the teacher of thegynaecologist's child. There were no complications at birth and the teacher was told to pay400 DEM for it. He was begging the doctor not to charge him, for he was in a difficult

material situation and he couldn't afford it; he hadn't received his salary several months now,and he couldn't pay him.

"Borrow the money", the gynaecologist told him, "she is your wife".

"I am also your child's teacher, I have been teaching him three years in a row and I neverasked him to pay me anything", replied the teacher.

Nevertheless, the teacher had to pay for the birth of his third child.

This is the present Kosovan reality. If we go back a bit, the first ones to be dismissed were theteachers, doctors, engineers and other qualified professionals. But all apart from the teachers,in a way, have become part of the Serbian system. Some did it because the projects couldn't

be accomplished fully and the others did it to become rich and function in the juridicalirregularities of this state. This case was a good motive to make a balance of conscience ofthe created statal institutions of Kosova and ask whether the institutions really take care of theteachers and the education in general. The teachers are deprived from salaries (even thoughevery now and then they receive something) social and medical insurance, as well as anyother allowances. Nevertheless, education, differing from others, is the only institution whichdenied everything that is Serb. Even though it functions in very difficult conditions, educationis the most criticized institution because of the low educational standards which dominate on

all levels. Taking into account the number of pupils and students, which according to somesources reach 327 thousand, and around 30 thousand University students, then the questionarises, what would have happened if education wouldn't be organized thus? Wouldemigration increase even more? Would the political problem be radicalized? And would this

part of the population totally be captivated by criminality? Taking into account these facts, itcomes out that this organization of the Albanian education in these extraordinary conditionsof Serbian occupation, has preserved its continuance and independence. Even though theremight be rumors that whatever is being done is only an improvisation of the educationalsystem, nevertheless it is building a small capital of its educational independence, and one

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could not claim that the improvisations are such that they could endanger the continuance ofthe Albanian education. In these conditions of occupation, where even the physicalextermination of Albanians is pretended, this is something that must be respected and highlyevaluated. Even being beaten and expelled from their premises, the teachers didn't give up,

and in essence education is the only institution which Serbia could not takeover.

It was mentioned several times, that no strata of the Albanian population of Kosova whichhas been dismissed, has not proven itself as education did. On the other hand, we oweeducation and the teachers the most. This is the present Kosovan reality. The teachers werethe ones to start and organize education in private houses in order to keep the educationalcontinuity, even though they were conscious that quality will decay. All are conscious that thesituation of occupation can't be compared to the normal situation. There are some unclearthings when it is said that Kosovan education must go through the transition process and thatit must become part of the dynamics of the other states. These would be normal if theMinistry of Education of Kosova would think of sending a part of the teaching staff to

specialize and overcome the problems. And, no one ever mentions that education facesessential problems in Eastern countries, and that it is going through educational and culturaltransition employing huge sacrifices.

Nevertheless, teachers were forgotten by many for a long time, until someone got the thoughtthat they must be paid for the work and sacrifice they were doing. From all what was

promised and realized by the referendum, education remained the only bearer of the will ofthe people, while the teachers were ones carrying this will. Teachers were the ones whosacrificed themselves morally and physically, therefore maybe it would be ironic to ask themto give more.

EDUCATION

DISMISSALS ALSO BECAUSE OF THE MONEY

by IBRAHIM REXHEPI / Prishtina

Riza Sapunxhiu, an experienced economist, when referring to the dismissal of Albaniansfrom their jobs, said that Serbia, regardless of how would the Albanians have acted, would

have found the way to conduct ethnic cleansing of the enterprises. This it would have doneespecially in activities financed from the budget, and later, with the application of theeconomic sanctions, it would, without any doubt, cleanse the other enterprises. Thisascertainment needs no other comment, because, by remembering the chronology of thedismissal of Albanians from their jobs, it is evident that the first ones to be sacked were theones financed by the budget: education, health-care, police and municipal administration, andafterwards the provincial administration. Thus, Serbia escaped the obligation to finance33.561 Albanian employees, employed in these activities, or in other words, freed its budgetfrom a considerable amount of money which would be needed to finance these activities.

"Serbia, ie. Yugoslavia, during the conversations about the normalization of the Albanianeducation in Kosova, held in Geneva, was ready to start talks about salaries. According to thecalculations, the Albanian teachers were supposed to be paid 450 millions DEM. This figureshould be taken with reserves, because it refers to the situation two years ago, while today's

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debt is much higher. By opening this issue they were aiming at forgetting a more importantmatter, the curricula, so we would be deceived with a small amount of money. However, werefused this topic, explaining that the forms and amounts of compensations would come onthe agenda after the other important matters are solved", says Hivzi Islami, one of the

participants of the conversations.

According to the data provided by the Union of Independent Trade Unions of Kosova(UITUK), Serbia has damaged Kosova for cca. 5 billions dollars, and this calculation includesthe salaries of the 123 thousand dismissed. But, let's suppose that these people would be stillworking, then the majority of them would have to create the financial means for their salaries,in all activities, but the ones financed from the budget. The economic situation is veryserious, especially in the state-owned enterprises, therefore it is very hard to provide thesalaries for all those who are not engaged in direct production. Based on a simple calculation,taking only the net salaries as grounds, for 33.561 employees of the non-production activities,if paid 200 DEM a month, the budget would have to set aside 6 millions and 712 thousand

DEM, meaning that in one year the amount needed would be of 80 millions and 546 thousandDEM. There are 21.670 Albanians working in the educational system, which means thatduring one year, the budget would have to provide 52 millions DEM. Therefore, the Serbianstrategists of the occupation of the productive and non-productive enterprises in Kosova,were very much aware of this element, therefore they have also calculated the material profit.

Even in these conditions, the Albanian education is sustained in a way. The financing, despitethe big difficulties, is still keeping the will of the Albanian teachers, despite the fact that thereare dissatisfactions in this area, and requests for raises. Dr. Mustaf Blakaj, Chairman of theCentral Financing Council says that within one month, 2 millions and 33 thousand DEM are

needed to cover the "salaries" of the elementary and high schools' teaching staff. TheUniversity needs cca. 80 thousand DEM, and the other activities need additional 20 thousandDEM. So far, the largest part of the contribution, or 64% were provided by the contributions

paid in Kosova, while the financial assistance coming from abroad, ie. the Fund of theRepublic of Kosova, compared to the past years, seem to have a rising tendency.

"Something more is being done this year to improve the standard of the teaching staff,because we have planned the increase of salaries, so the monthly amount would increase foran additional one million DEM. We will see later whether we will reach this level, but withthe present 110 DEM, which is the average salary, it is hard to cover the basic needs", saysMustaf Blakaj.

In the past months, some elementary and high schools reacted to the low salaries, and therewere even threats to stop the activity. However, there have been no cases so far, apart fromsome cases in which the teaching staffs have refused the salaries, not that much because ofthe amount, as much as because of the disagreements regarding the number of staff includedin the list. But, however, it should be added that the contradictions are not so big and thesituation is sustained in a way.

Hajrullah Gorani, Chairman of the UITUK, mentioned on the fifth convention of thetrade-union, that there are 32 thousand Albanian working in state-owned enterprises. This

number doesn't represent a burden to Serbia, because after the compulsory transformationsthat took place in the majority of the enterprises, the current accounts were transferred todifferent industrial centers in Serbia, meaning that the workers are only paid wages, while allthe turnover of money takes place outside the Kosovan enterprises. They are also forced to

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pay contributions to the budget of Serbia. However, the largest social burden is centered onthe unemployed, whose number is increasing on a daily basis. They are deprived from allrights, and only few of them, who were declared "technological overplus", and have the rightto welfare and social and health-care insurance. At the same time, 247 thousand children were

deprived of their allowances, meaning that they also lost free of charge medical attention.This is another burden less for the budget of Serbia, which, according to some sources,allocated 3 millions DEM for the needs of the employees of the societal activities (publicsector) in Kosova, the majority of them being Serbs. However, knowing that the majority ofthem are "transit workers", ie. that many of them live outside Kosova, it can be said that this

budgetary financing goes back to Serbia, and does not remain in Kosova. On the other hand, aharsh tax policy applied by Serbia in Kosova, brought it a total of 414,7 million DEM,without mentioning the amount collected from customs taxes and the plundering perpetrated

by the different polices. In one word, Serbia takes much more than it invests in Kosova, thelatter being mainly for Serbs and Montenegrins. In order to understand the volume of theseamounts, a comparison would be enough: in 1990, Kosova's budget was 71,1 millions DEM.

This means that in times when all the activities were financed, and when the level ofindustrial production was higher and when the material situation of the enterprises was betterthan now, there were less funds allocated for the budget, than Serbia is taking awaynowadays. Last year, the largest number of state-owned enterprises registered losses insubstance, meaning that the Serbian state could not realize the taxes and contributions, whichmeans that the main financing source were the private enterprises and shops, as well as theindividuals and familial economies, in brief, mainly Albanians.

Convinced that nothing should be taken from Serbia, a large number of Kosovans does nottake any allowances, as is the case with poor families, or the birth of a child, or any other

compensations. It is calculated that right now, 50 thousand families with cca. 300 thousandmembers are poor, or depend on humanitarian assistance, while 35 thousand of them wereexempted from paying contributions to the solidarity fund. This is why, according to theSerbian laws, a number of citizens is entitled to an allowance, which would burden theSerbian budget. But, with the stubborness shown so far, Albanians are only helping Serbia inthe material aspect, because they are financing its budget, and are not taking advantage of it atall.

EDUCATION

SAME BOOKS OF THE TWO REPUBLICS

by ASTRIT SALIHU / Prishtina

The Albanian pupils and students of the Kosovan educational system find it harder to get holdof the small amount of books dedicated to them. So far, the Institution of School Text-Booksand Auxiliary Means of Kosova (of the Republic of Kosova) has published several bookswhich should have at least covered the needs of the educational process, as were the ABC

book, lectures, etc. Nevertheless, the requests are much bigger and the possibilities to fulfil

the needs are restricted, starting from the funding and up to the police surveillance.

A misinformed person would be surprised by the fact that "Rilindja's" book-stores still sellbooks in Albanian, published in times of the autonomy of Kosova. Are these books dedicated

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to Albanian students studying in the parallel system, republished, or are those only theleft-overs of the previous publications, and which were taken out from "Rilindja's"warehouses? And if they are coming from the warehouses, how does it happen that former"Rilindja", present "Panorama" under Serbian management, has offered Albanian books to

the market? In order to find an answer to this question, we approached both Institutions inPrishtina, the Serb and the Albanian. The Serbian director, Misa Doslic, received uscharmingly and with a preparedness to speak openly about all the problems which exist inrespect to the publications of the books in Albanian, but with a previous remark, that "he willnot speak about politics" and that he will not respond to any question that might aim to the

politicization of the conversation. When asked about the Albanian books offered for sale inofficial book-stores, Doslic said that when he came to this position, he had found thewarehouses full of books and that he had approached the Ministry of Education of Serbia,asking for permission to sell them, a consent granted. Even though these books are being used

by Albanian pupils who attend the parallel or alternative schools, Doslic says that "this issueshould be solved by the government and the politics, while we should think about the

wellbeing of the students". The books presently on sale, mainly belong to natural sciences andthe purpose is to "procure the schools in Kosova with text-books and offer new books, whichneither is contrary to the line of the government nor harmonized due to the political

problems", says Doslic. Even though the official plan contains the publication of 32 books inAlbanian, to be published in a near future, Doslic said that the old books will be republishedif needed.

The issue of the publication of text-books seems not to be so complicated, only will ismissing and everything could be going on fine and keep on functioning as best as possible.However, entering deeply in these problem, things seem more and more complicated. Even

though Doslic claims that Albanian experts were invited to cooperate and start the elaborationof text-books, the problem is of another nature. In the Albanian Institution, its Director SabitJakupi says that this "is not a matter of a caprice but principle: the former Institute used toemploy 66 Albanians, now it employs only 5 and none of them are engaged directly in the

professional issues of this institution".

Commenting Doslic's claims that "cooperation in this area favours the Albanian students",Jakupi says that "he doesn't doubt that Doslic is an expert, and maybe the only one in thatInstitution, whose postures are softer than the ones former Director Paunovic had, but Doslicshould have invited us to a talk, and even maybe have a cup of coffee". Xhevat Syla, Editorin Chief of the publications (Albanian institution) adds that "it us hard to establish a

cooperation, because the Albanian education functions within the educational system ofKosova and its own laws, and cooperation to publish books jointly with the Serbianinstitutions, would mean the intrusion of another system in our system".

According to Doslic, it seems as if there were a real possibility to have both Institutionscomplementing, having in mind that Serbs have the money and means, while the Albanianshave the experts. All of this is hypothetical.

Serbs are not willing to get involved in the projects to publish books regarding the Albanianculture, and these can be realized by the Institution of the Republic of Kosova, but the first,

are willing to publish books related to natural sciences, therefore using this canal would easethe problems of our educational system. But, the biggest obstacle is the title of the books,containing the name of Republic of Serbia.

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This only speaks of the negative impressions that a title could cause, which based on plainlogic, could be removed easily by tearing the first page of the book.

Doslic's postures, if nothing else, speak of the fact that now Serbs are capable of offering

books, and the reason standing being this, is the material profit. This offer is done also for theAlbanian parallel schools, which would mean outside the educational system of Serbia which,if includes Albanians, would mean a burden of 18 thousand more salaries to pay and takingcare of the premises; and this could endanger the Serbian establishment in Kosova and it can'tlead to the solution of the Albanian education problem, which, it seems, is not of Serbia'sinterest until the final political solution is reached; that Albanians are offered a test to bend a

bit the postures towards the education and the cooperation with the Serbs to, at least, solvethe problem of providing children with school text-books.

EDUCATION

THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE TEXT-BOOK INSTITUTION

by Sh. RIZA/ Prishtina

Since 1946 and on, education has been an independent area of the Albanians in Kosova, andthis matter was regulated by them independently.

-In 1945, after the nazi-fascist war, the first Albanian book in Kosova was published

("Kndimi im i par"/ My first singing), an ABC book for adults prepared by the EducationalDirectorate for Kosmet - the Pedagogical Commission in Prizren, and published in 20thousand copies.

- After World War II, Albanian school-books were published by Albanians themselves, eventhough the translations dominated, having even the Serbian syntax translated, which is totallyillogical, because anything can be translated but not syntax of one language. And this was thesyntax for the elementary school.

The Albanian school-books in Kosova chronologically were published by the followingpublishing houses since 1945 and on:

-The Education Directorate for Kosmet - Pedagogical Commission in Prizren;

-"Mustafa Bakija" Publishing House in Prishtina;

- "Rilindja's" Edition from 1958 to 1961;

- The Institute for the Publication of School Books of the SR of Serbia - Belgrade;

- It's ward in Prishtina from 1961-1970;

-The Institution of School-Books and Auxiliary Means of SAP of Kosova, from 1970-1991,until July 14, 1991, when the ghost of the compulsory measures was implemented against theAlbanian education, when the compulsory management, headed by Branko Paunovic and

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appointed by the Serbian parliament, dismissed all editors and managers of the Institution,closed down the warehouse (after one month, it reopened for the stored value was 6 millionsDEM worth) and from that day and on, this Institution has not published one book or evendocument in Albanian. In fact, the regime was not interested in having Albanian books

published, but on the contrary, having it stopped.

-The dismissed employees by the compulsory management, undertook concrete steps in 1992to keep the activity of the publication of books alive, and in very difficult conditions achievedto publish 50 books so far, even though these books can not be sold easily in any book-shops,especially after the publication of the emergency measures in the Official Herald of Serbia.

******

We could also chronologically present the Provincial Law on the adoption of the educationalcurricula and school-books (elementary and high schools):

- In 1969 is when the Provincial Council of Education of Kosova and Metohija wasestablished in 1969, for the first time as a state organ in charge of regulating the issue ofeducation. It was established, by a special decree, by the Assembly (parliament) of Kosovaand this was published in the "Official Gazette of APKM # 3/70.

- After the adoption of the Constitution of Kosova of 1974, the issue of the EducationalCouncil of Kosova was advanced even more with the Constitution and its activities aredetermined directly in a law published in the "Official Gazette of the SAP of Kosova", # 7/78.This law was in force until 1990 when after adopting its own Constitution, Serbia practically

put under its control both provinces - Kosova and Vojvodina.

- The Educational Council of the SR of Serbia suppressed the provincial laws and startedapplying its supervision over the educational network on all levels, the adoption of curriculaand school-books, etc. This was published in the "Official Herald of the SRS" # 5/90. Fromthis moment and on, Serbia takes over everything, therefore no books are allowed to be

published without the consent of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Serbia. Thus,the issue of the adoption of curricula and the publication and circulation of books iscompletely centralized in Belgrade. This means that there had been more freedom in thisaspect in 1945 than in 1990, when the new education laws, grounded on the Constitution ofSerbia, were adopted.

*****

The establishment of the specialized institution for the publication of text books and auxiliarymeans was a great event for the Albanians in Kosova. This institution was established by theAssembly of Kosova pursuant to article 116 of the Constitution of Kosova, by a specialDecree signed by the then Speaker of the Parliament, Ilijaz Kurteshi, on March 18, 1970.From this year and on, this Institution has published books for elementary and high schools,while since 1977 started publishing also University text-books. It published basic school

books, manuals for students and teachers, auxiliary means, pedagogical literature, books for

vocational professions, books for children whose parents are employed abroad, etc. Theactivities of this publishing institution were broad and it even published other publicationstoo, although in restricted numbers of issues. Since its foundation, as a totally independentand specialized publishing house (1970-1991) and until the dismissal of its employees by the

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compulsory management appointed by Serbia, this Institution published and republished 2989books in three languages: Albanian, Serbian and Turkish, although the Albanian publicationsdominated. The total amount of copies printed between 1970-1991 was over 37 billion issues.

BRIEF INTERVIEW

NATASA KANDIC, Director of the Humanitarian Law Fund in Belgrade

"THE PRESSURE OF THE STATE SECURITY IN KOSOVA IS TERRIBLE"

Interviewed by GORDANA IGRIC / AIM / Prishtina

* You just came back from Bern, where you participated in the meeting "The Former

Yugoslavia tribunal". Tell us your about your impressions?

KANDIC: The topic of the meeting was the moral and political responsibility for the war andwar crimes on the territory of the Former Yugoslavia, apart from Slovenia. The meeting hadgreat pretensions. The jury was formed by great experts, but the "trial" was grounded on thereports of the international organizations, therefore it remained only on the abstract level.

Nevertheless, a step forward was achieved - after the first day full of mutual accusations, itbecame clear that the ones in the room didn't start the war nor had committed the crimes.Therefore a mutual tone was found. There was most talk about Bosnia. The conclusion cameout that the international community is wrong to try and take to the end the ethnic definition.

Two million people fled Bosnia and thus proved that they escaped any ethnic divisions. Therewill be no place for them in Bosnia.

* One of the themes was also Kosova?

KANDIC: Professor Fehmi Agani, as well as other participants, incited enormous respect,because you could never notice in them the tone of aggressive hostility. They taught a"lesson" to others, about how should one talk in a democratic atmosphere. The YugoslavCharg, Ignjatovic, was also present. When I told him about the encouraging tone of theconversations, he commented: "This is all a camouflaged hostility". Now I see that there is ahuge defect in the heads of some people who present the state.

* Humanitarian Law Fund's researchers remained six months in Kosova. What are theconclusions they reached?

KANDIC: We have reached similar results to the ones the local and international humanrights organizations have. We are referring to the increased repression, the application of wildmeasures that the government is applying against the Albanian ethnic community. Newmethods are applied, even more brutal that before, against a large number of people. A"sample" would be the "informative talk", which even though against the law, is often applied

by the police in case of suspicion of a crime. In Kosova, we are referring to the manipulation

of this instrument, which is now used for the intimidation, maltreatment and serious abuse ofthe people. Over 15 thousand people have gone through these "treatment", an average being acouple of times per individual, while some have been summoned or were taken to the policeeven thirty times in a row, even though the law states that none are obliged to report to the

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police once summoned. The largest number of intellectuals from Kosova leave preciselybecause of this reason. In the Bern meeting, I had the chance to meet very educatedAlbanians, who stated that fleeing Kosova was inevitable, because the pressure of the statesecurity is terrible.

* How do the remaining Serbs feel in that atmosphere?

KANDIC: The Serbs in Kosova have another problem. The Serbian regime has appointed itspeople as managers in each enterprise in Kosova, it has taken over the economy, which hascreated unbearable living conditions for Serbs. The largest number of Albanians who two orthree years ago were dismissed, in the meantime got reoriented in small private jobs, smallworkshops and have proven to be good merchants and traders. The Serbs were told by theregime to stay in enterprises, in which plundering and takeover of societal property has

become legalized. The best example is "Trepa". Among the temporary directors, there arealso some economically oriented people, who would like to really do something. They claim

that they never seen such plundering as those going on in the past couple of years. Everythingworth something, was taken over by the ones appointed by the regime as managers.

* Is nationalism present among Serbs in Kosova?

KANDIC: There are not so many extremist Serbs as many we are presented in Belgrade. This,first of all, refers to the petitioners. The majority of the Serbs are in a state of depression,while Kosova is one of the rare regions excluded from incidents. Whatever is done there, is

being done by the statal organs: colonization, the control over the property deeds, etc. This isdone by the regime and not by the Serbs. Serbs do not say: "this is my property, give it back

to me". Belgrade is not following the reaction of the Serbs in Kosova. They are angry at thegovernment, because of the general poverty. People do not work, but they spent their timeadministratively, and they can't survive on their salaries. When the Albanians and Serbs wishto bound each other economically, the state tries to stop it, because it wishes to have fullcontrol. There is no full attention for the interests of the people, but only of the interest of theones holding power and wanting to put their hand on the capital.

* The new plan of the Serbian government for the comeback of serbs to Kosova is beingexperienced by Albanians as colonization while the Serbian public considers it as a farce tocalm down the "petitioners". What do you think about it?

KANDIC: Politically, there are elements of colonization. In essence, however, it is only apolitical manifestation which has never, so far, increased the Serbian population. Even therefugees from Bosnia, go to Kosova against their will, because there is the conviction that thisis a very unstable region. Therefore, we should not expect a real colonization. This is aconcession to the petitioners and regulating the public opinion,- creating an impression thatsomething is being done. We must not forget that the opposition and the government, when itcomes to Kosova, have reached an agreement, and this is well used by the government.

*There were rumors about the meeting between Milosevic and Rugova, about the secretmeeting. According to you, will there be a dialogue soon?

KANDIC: Right now, nothing is being done secretly. The OSCE, former CSCE, is preparingdocumented solutions. It is still engaged in deploying observers' missions, which would alsohave a representative of the Yugoslav government in their compositions. In this way, he/she

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would personally see what is going on in the field. No one has confirmed the alleged meetingbetween Milosevic and Rugova. Right now, dialogue is difficult to achieve, because thegovernment is not giving one sign to show that it is conscious that the things taking place inKosova are illegal. The only solution I see is the pressure of the international community. It is

necessary to, at one stage, have the presence of international mediators.

* Going back to Serbia. Are the citizens here less endangered?

KANDIC: The restriction of human rights here is done through the media. The governmentstops any information of independent media, which automatically takes towards homogeneity.Only the official opinion is heard. It is clear that the freedom of expression is the foundationof all other rights.

* The impression is that the Western countries, apart from giving public support to Studio Band Nasa Borba, are doing nothing to help them survive. As if they gave credit to Milosevic

to do whatever he wants, just to have him recognize Bosnia and Croatia?

KANDIC: It is true that the media will survive if there is a substantial financial assistancefrom abroad. The impression is that there is a block of organizations in Europe which isextremely willing to help the media, but they have no influence on the process ofconversations. It is not clear at all whether the ones who have the real influence will dosomething. For the time being, Nasa Borba is surviving, nevertheless, but it is published insmall number of copies and can hardly be found in the interior of Serbia. I believe that thingshave quite changed, there are many people who would not accept extreme tyranny andtotalitarianism. The government has no chance to establish a dictatorship. People have

become used to speak out freely. This can be stopped only by the dark police torture.

MACEDONIA

THE SYNDROME OF THE SHORT MEMORY

by ISO RUSI / Shkup

Ten days after the bloodshed in Tetova, it is hard to speak about the essential changes in the

political atmosphere of Macedonia. The negative conclusion of the inter-ethnic confrontationsis still on the air, even though all hopes that the pessimistic prognosis will not be realizedaccording to the "this can't happen to us" or "something will happen and it will save us fromthe worst" logic.

Today, after the fist knock-down in Reic e Vogl, the two conflicting parties - Albanian andMacedonian, are trying to ease the political tension. The Macedonians withdrew their specialunits from Tetova and its outskirts, and immediately afterwards published the names of thefirst three elected professors of the Pedagogical Academy of Shkupi, which should interruptthe several months long boycott of the Albanian students, who got the right to study, but not

in their mother tongue, as they were promised in the beginning. The Albanians, on the otherhand, asked the people to stay home and not fall to any provocations, at the same timeannouncing meetings at the highest level with the Macedonian officials.

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And, really, the streets were calmer than ever. The Macedonian government, personified inthe figure and work of President Gligorov, communicated its comment on the shockingevents in an arrogant press conference held by the Government's port-parole- briefly, througha lesson on the civil society and a telegram of condolences to the family of the victim. The

truth is that the telegram was supposed to replace Gligorov's communique which wasexpected by all the citizens of Macedonia. Addressing the family, Gligorov only repeatedwhat his Government is verbally engaged in. During the special press conference, theMinistry of Internal Affairs revealed the way how the victim was killed. Along the way, in theconference, it was stated that after the police intervention, Fadil Sulejmani and four otherswere arrested and taken to "informative talks", which according to Dime Djurev, deputyMinister of Interior, lasted one hour more than the permitted 24 hours. The result:misdemeanors charges against five for "call to resistance" and "preventing the official personsto accomplish their duty". The second qualification might lead directly to the archaic verbaldelict, because the whole of Tetova could have been charged accordingly, for having opposedthe police. The irony is even bigger knowing that one of the arrested wasn't even in Reic

that day. His only sin was to have driven the Rector and the Chairman of the Human RightsForum on his car.

The ones who have already gotten 30 days for misdemeanors, meaning that they practicallycan't appeal immediately - might see themselves freed, once their sentence is completed!Premier Crvenkovski appeared in a press conference on Tuesday, repeating that the events inTetova prove what can happen when initiatives outside the system are undertaken. The sameday, politically dead, the former Chairman of the PPD, Nevzat Halili, was arrested and now isfacing criminal charges for the famous "participation in demonstrations...".

By announcing quiet demonstrations against the University of Tetova, the students of theShkupi University surprised their own management, which caused a debate in the meetingforecasted to be "boring" and routine-like. Even though surprised, the members of themanagement started politicizing seriously about the famous Tetova University. As a curiosity,we could mention the discussion of the dean of the Faculty of Law of the University ofShkupi - Savo Klimovski who raised his voice "against the flagrant invasion of the autonomyof the University" and that "and if the professors remain quiet this would mean an `extended

political hand'". And all of this was undisputable in times when he was minister of educationof the last Socialist government, which under the influence of Milosevic's policy in Kosova,was preventing the education (in Albanian) in high schools, and inaugurated the "mixedclasses" because of the "lack" of qualitative teaching staff. At that time, the ones who had

graduated from the University of Prishtina were not trustworthy, because Belgrade kept onsaying that the University of Prishtina was "the nest of the Albanian nationalism andirredentism". And at that time in Macedonia, Klimovski, personally, closed down thePedagogical Academy in Albanian - the only institution which could train and prepareAlbanian teaching staff. At that time, this was not interfering in the autonomy of theUniversity, because all moves were in harmony with the decisions of the Central Committeeof the Communist League of Macedonia about "the Albanian nationalism and separatism".Even more, then Klimovski used to declare that the Constitution is tying his hands - that it is

preventing him to close down all the Albanian education levels!

Naturally, students gathered in front of the parliament protesting for the second time againstthe education and the University of the other nationalities, which in fact represents a strangeoccurrence.

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Coincidentally or not, on the day the demonstrations were announced, the ConstitutionalCourt of Macedonia gave up on evaluating the constitutionality of the quotas, whichguaranteed the nationalities, as well as the Macedonian diaspora, a considerable percentage ofinscription posts. This time, the number of demonstrators was two or three times larger than

the last time, which is self-explanatory.

Despite the announcing statements on "quiet demonstrations", there were again mentions ofthe "damned Albanians", but both the participants and government declined the claims.

It seems as if the Albanophobia illustrated by the media in stories that the Albanians are bornenemies of the Macedonian people and state - were slowly withdrawing from the front.Articles, such as was the comment about the destruction of Albanian cemetery in Kumanov,or the fact that a cameraman of the Macedonian TV was saved by an Albanian in Tetova, andsimilar started being published. Even, the port-parole of the Government appeared with aexplicit condemnation of the demonstrations of the Macedonian students.

The syndrome of the short memory - was proven to be the present state of mind. The HelsinkiCommittee was forced to pay in order to publish a statement which was not in accordance tothe official posture in "Nova Makedonija" - and it was published as an ad! Or, take forexample the "Puls" weekly and its last week's topic "The low flight of the eagle", which wasdedicated to the University of Tetova. These are only some interesting excerpts: "As weunderstood, Fadil Sulejmani, immediately after he got arrested started crying that I neverthought that things would end thus' or `I didn't think that my words would have this effect'",etc. Later, in the next article titled "Schools for rectors", offers a wide dossier on Sulejmani,claiming that he gained his academic titles in a very suspicious way, that he has not a dossier

in the Serbia police that also, "despite his involvement in the political events in Kosova, henever underwent the treatment his colleagues did". Further on, "Puls" claims that theAlbanian politicians in Macedonia don't know Sulejmani at all, and that he is deceiving themwith the idea about the University will have international support.

According to "Puls", Herman Hunter (who has a special article dedicated to him) from theOSCE mission in Macedonia, "is not unknown to the Macedonian police" and that judgedupon proof in possession of the weekly, he is taking the side of the Albanians. The magazineaccuses him of changing the courses of the police intervention in Reic e Vogl; that he hasintentionally misinformed his boss Tore Bogh; and "to tell the truth, he is a permanent sourceof information for the Helsinki Committee which has been informed by him that Fadil

Sulejmani is not allowed to be contacted by the attorney during the investigating procedure!"Thus, the exclusiveness of the facts, despite the mistakes on data (Sulejmani's biography orthe exact name of the Helsinki Committee), could be publicly be explained with the goodconnections between the mentioned weekly and the Ministry of Internal Affairs ofMacedonia.

But, what is more embarrassing in this whole thing, would be the fact that the internal andexternal enemies phobia comes back to life in its pure communist form.

It is hard to conclude that this was done seeking for a time-out and try to calm down the

atmosphere. In fact, the Albanian MPs are presently outside the Parliament; the PPD MPsabandoned the last session which didn't finalize, and the PDP and the independent MPs,belonging to Arbn Xhaferi's and Menduh Thai's circle, froze their future participation in theParliament, which makes this institution one-national.

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Thus, 22,9% of the population in Macedonia are outside the legislative body, and if the thingsdon't change, the next step will probably be the government.

The most disputable issue would be that of "solving the problems inside the institutions of the

system through dialogue". On one hand, many segments of the institutions of the system,honestly, do not function at all. To think that only the police is the one which still functions -and only when it communicates with Albanians. On the other hand, everyone knows that

precisely the dialogue within the system, i.e. with the minister of education and theguarantees of President Gligorov, lead to the promise that the Pedagogical Academy wouldopen in 1994/95. A previous protocol elaborated with the mediation of Arens, foresaw thatthe Academy should have started functioning three years ago. Anyhow, it started functioninga couple of days ago and it doesn't involve all necessary professors. The decision on theAcademy was adopted only several days before the inauguration of the University of Tetova.It seems as if the University of Tetova present the last point of dispute of the national sideswho are testing their respective strength. The only logical question would be whether there is

still will on both sides to start an open debate and try to reach acceptable solutions for bothparties. It is clear that this option has "gone with the wind" and it seems that it is only a matterof time before it explodes. It is obvious that there is a lack of political will to solve the

problem. After meeting Van der Stohl, Gligorov declared that the "purposes of the Universityare political and not education" and the development of the events indicates the radicalizationof the Albanian issue in the region, and that only proves the thesis that this kind of policy willonly take to further tensions and radicalization, which are far away concepts from the wise

politics. And, that a great portion of responsibility relies on the Macedonian leadership.

Maybe the limit has been surpassed and after the decision and action of the Macedonian

authorities, only a miracle could save Macedonia from the deterioration of the situation,including even the worse. Isn't it bad enough for a state in which one fifth of the population ishostile by birth, and which is working in favor of the destruction of the state or is sodissatisfied with it that it seeks a way to realize its own aims independently...

Even if this were partially right, anyhow there is nothing to talk about. It is very clear thatafter what happened in regard to the University, the next issue on the agenda would be notonly a political confrontation. The intensified visits of the representatives of the internationalfactors should be understood as a verification of the catastrophic forecasts, rather than anattempt to save the ones drowning.

Further on, the lack of weapons in both sides could not be taken as a guarantee that there willbe no armed conflicts. One of the enigmas, which has not been questioned at all so far, inregard to the University of Tetova, is how did the "RM" graffiti appear behind the building ofthe University of Tetova, along with a cross with four cyrillic letters "s", a pure Serbiansymbol. The situation gets even more complicated if the claims are taken into consideration,as for example: that the building was taken care of by the Macedonian police and that thenon-Albanian population in Tetova's surrounding is pro-Serb and that the Former YugoslavPeoples' Army has left behind some weaponry while withdrawing, just in case. Whether it is aSerbian provocation through the Albanian university or the illustration of the Serbiansalvation of Macedonia from Albanians - it makes no difference. Good grief...

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INTERVIEW

JANUS BUGAJSKI, Center for Strategic and International Studies - Washington

MILOSEVIC IS USING KOSOVA AS THE FINAL CARD

Interviewed by VETON SURROI / Zagreb

KOHA: It is the end of March, UN leaves, springtime...Do we have war in Bosnia or Croatia?

BUGAJSKI: Could be both. If there is war in Croatia, one can imagine various scenarios.Croatian forces could stage offensives, limited or intensive actions, especially in WesternKrajina, or alternatively Serb forces take preventive actions against Croatian forces. The

problem also is that the Serbian forces have the capability to also bomb larger Croatian cities.In other words, Zadar, Split and even Zagreb would be potentially under threat. In terms of a

military scenario, the Croats would be smart if they try to quickly knock-out the Serbcompositions, but this might be difficult.

In regard to Bosnia, if the war starts in Croatia, there the Bosnian party could take advantageof that window of opportunity where Bosnian Serb forces may be assisting the Croatian Serbforces, to stage their own offensives or counter-offensives against Serb forces.

It is clear how can these two be closely linked, and this became evident in the battles stillraging around Bihac where, I believe, that without the assistance of the Croat Serb forces andthose of Fikret Abdic, the Bosnian Serb forces wouldn't have been able to stage the offensives

we have seen.

So the two are inter-connected and the question is which will start first, if indeed they do. Iam not completely pessimistic that everything is going to descend in war, but the chanceswithout the UN presence are all that greater.

KOHA: That leaves around a month and a half for UN. What can the UN do?

BUGAJSKI: The proposal offered to both sides has by one side been un-politely rejected andby the other side politely rejected. I don't see any plan out there that can be satisfactory toboth, because basically they have contrary, opposite positions: Serbs want their independent

state, and the Croats want this as a part of Croatia. I don't see any sufficient middle-groundfor there to be any compromise. There is still a possibility that the UN will offer more thanhas been delivered to the Croats, which as you know is very minimal, other than maintainingthe status quo, and maybe this is President Tudjman's purpose, who would then tell the

blue-helmets that they should fulfil their mandate, by disarming the Serb guerillas. I alsothink that it is important for Zagreb to control the border between Croatia and Bosnia, inwhich way there might be a reconsideration, a sort of an extension in a different format, withmaybe a smaller force that controls the border.

KOHA: There are people in both Zagreb and Belgrade who think that there is a secret deal

between Tudjman and Milosevic in this regard. Do you think there is?

BUGAJSKI: I think that there have been secret deals for many years now. The problem is thatthey cheat each other. From Milosevic's side, I think he has played it smartly, I think that he

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has pretty much manipulated President Tudjman, offering him things which in a way helpedto pacify any Croatian offensives. And, very important for Milosevic, to present Tudjman asequally co-responsible for the wars in this regions, which I don't think they are. The plan onthe division of Bosnia is very difficult, because as soon as there are talks about partition in

Bosnia between Croatia and Serbia, you raise the possibility, the precedent in a way, ofpartitioning one, Croatia itself, and secondly, partitioning Serbia. I believe it is a dangerousmanoeuvre on a long term for both.

KOHA: Could you see a slight change in Tudjman's attitude? People have the feeling that theAmerican role has brought Tudjman and the Muslims together. Could this be a decisivemoment to have Tudjman definitively shifting from these cheating attitudes with Milosevic?

BUGAJSKI: The Americans were the instrument that brought together the Bosnian Muslimsand Croats, through Tudjman, through the Washington agreement, which, I tend to think,gives the Croats various scenarios, various options: they bought this option because, one: they

thought it would give them greater international legitimacy, secondly, it would give themsupport to regain their own territories, Serb occupied territories, three - would take the

pressure from its forces in Bosnia, which were not doing that well against the Bosniangovernment forces... but the option of reverting back to the pro Herzeg-Bosnia option is stillthere, and I believe it is dangerous, for apart from the truce, none of the postulates of thefederal agreement have been implemented. And one hears these complaints not just inSarajevo, but also Mostar, Tuzla, central Bosnia, ii is the same... If the things would todisintegrate in Bosnia, there still is a possibility to renew conflicts and a renewed push foranother partition.

KOHA: This basically means that in the future we will have similar actions going on?

BUGAJSKI: We will have much the same, probably at a greater intensity once spring comes.I am not an optimist as far as there will be a political settlement to this.

KOHA: Are you expecting a direct involvement of Serbia in the Baranja region?

BUGAJSKI: That is a possibility. I believe that if Croats would try to regain their territoriesby force, I don't think they would go for Baranja or Eastern Slavonija, because the pressure toinvolve the Serb forces, Yugo forces would be much greater. I think there would be muchmore opportunity for them in Knin Krajina, Banija and even Western Slavonija. But, even

there, if the things go very badly for the Croatian Serb forces, you would have a possibility ofan intervention of the Bosnian Serbs forces and Yugo-army. I don't think Milosevic wantsthat.

KOHA: That basically means that there are no new developments in Serbia, there will be ahard-core militaristic regime that has been...

BUGAJSKI: I don't see any potential or viable opposition to Milosevic or his policies...which are varied: on one hand they were very militaristic, very radical, very nationalistic, andon the other, he wants also to distance himself. He uses people for his purposes and then

distances himself, in order to stay in power. He will opt for the military option if there is noother choice, if he thinks this is the best way to protect the positions that he has. But, I don'tsee any opposition, democratic nor nationalistic, which would challenge his position.

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KOHA: What would any new development in Kosova do for the balance of forces?

BUGAJSKI: It depends on what the development is. I believe that the things in Kosova cannot continue in the way they have been in the past few years. Sooner or later something has to

give: either, one, Milosevic calculates some degree of autonomy, begins to offer somethingback to the Albanian community...I don't think it will be sufficient nor that it will besufficiently acceptable to the Albanian community. Another possibility is to try and provoke asort of conflict in Kosova. I personally believe that Milosevic is using Kosova as the finalcard, this is the final cause which could rally the Serbian nationalism, if all the rest is lost. So,he keeps this way, the international attention is in that way distracted, by Bosnia and Croatia

both, but the danger is that if wars in Bosnia and Croatia intensify, the Albanian publicopinion may become more militant, may become more radicalized and Milosevic might usethe cover of these conflicts to stage bigger crack-downs in Kosova.

KOHA: Has Milosevic understood seriously what previously Bush and now Clinton have

conveyed to him?

BUGAJSKI: I hope he does understand. The question is what would the Americans do in theevent of a crack-down, at which point, it is not clear to me absolutely, and I don't think that isnecessarily clear in the White House. At what stage and what kind of Serbian crack-down inKosova would provoke the American intervention.

KOHA: Several years ago, I was told by a high-ranking American diplomat that in the futurethe role of the Americans in Europe and the Balkans will not be a direct involvement, but bycreation of power-bases, such as Germany and Turkey. Has this functioned?

BUGAJSKI: Power bases in the sense of the involvement in this region, I would say not,because of historical reasons. For any larger German military intervention in the region wouldbe counter-productive. The same goes for Turkey, because of historical memories.Nevertheless, I do think that Germany and Turkey are very good allies of the United States,and there is no doubt that the sooner the US withdraws from Europe, these two countries, indifferent spheres, will have greater and greater interests. Not maybe military interests, but

political and economic interests, etc. I don't think that either country will be in a position tosomehow intervene sufficiently to resolve this conflict. In fact, Turkey has in a waydeliberately been left out, in order not to provoke some fundamentalist Christian-Orthodoxreply vis-a-vis Turkey.

KOHA: There are some opinions that Albania could play the role of some sort of a militarysubcontractor in the region?

BUGAJSKI: If Albania had a major military force, possibly yes, but I think Albania will takeseveral years to build up from a poor resourced and staffed military, to some sort of a capablefighting force. I am sure that moral is high in the Albanian army, but against superiorweapons they still have a long way to go. I think it is very important, the openness thatAlbania has shown towards NATO, probably the first country to apply for NATOmembership. The fact that they recently had joint exercises with the American forces, they

allowed the use of their territory to monitor the embargo against rump Yugoslavia - all thesefactors build up confidence towards Albania, but I still think it will take several years forAlbania to be sufficiently armed or even defended vis-a-vis a major Yugoslav force. TheYugoslav army is still the major military force in the Balkans, other than the NATO, Turkey

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and Greece.

KOHA: The CIA analysis that leaked into the press, spoke of the Greater Serbia, GreaterCroatia and Greater Albania by 1996. The first two are being developed... Would you

consider what is happening in Kosova and Macedonia is going in that direction?

BUGAJSKI: I could envisage this possibility if one had more radical players in Albania andthe amongst the Albanian communities in Kosova and Macedonia, as one does amongst theCroats and Serbs. I personally think that we have been lucky to witness a moderate andrational leadership both in Kosova and Albania, which has prevented this sort of spiral ofconflict that we have seen elsewhere in this region. However, there is a possibility as the

public opinion becomes more important, and as frustration mounts against this incipientrepression in Kosova and if there is some provocation and ethnic polarization in Macedonia,together with even the radicalization of the next Albanian government, for Albania will haveelections in the next couple of years, and one doesn't know what the next government will

look like, so this is why we must be absolutely on garde, we must have good relations withthese new countries, to prevent this spiral we have noticed in the Northern Balkans. I have tosay that the Albanian community is not militarily strong enough to challenge the Serbianinterests, or to project their own interests. The optimal solution, I personally think, would beself-determination within some sort of autonomous areas in Kosova, not too attached toAlbania, but a somehow independent enough of Belgrade and, at the same time notthreatening the Serbian interests.

KOHA: What are the Serbian interests?

BUGAJSKI: The Serbian interests basically are to keep Kosova. The Serbian nationalinterest, expressed by nationalists, is to keep Kosova within Yugoslavia, within Serbia, whichopposes diametrically the opinion of the Albanian community for an independent Kosova.The only thing that will not lead to war is a compromise: if the Albanian community would

be satisfied with this degree of self-determination and autonomy, as President Rugovasuggested, maybe within some UN protectorate, an international zone, something that doesn'tmean the creation of the Greater Albania.

KOHA: Who believes in international zones... what is an international zone?

BUGAJSKI: This is the problem. UN has been so discredited by its incapability to handle the

conflict in Bosnia, but then again it was not given a mission to control the conflict, but wasgiven a mission to provide humanitarian assistance.

KOHA: Don't you think it would be more functional to reinstall the old patronage system ofthe Great powers?

BUGAJSKI: The problem we have now, unlike the problem we had in 1918, is that the GreatPowers really are not interested. That is what is misinterpreted in the region, that "there is anenormous international conspiracy against these countries", which is most evident in Serbia.You can hear this in Zagreb and in Sarajevo. I think the problem is the reverse: the Great

Powers are not sufficiently interested to intervene here.

KOHA: Does this mean that the Balkan peoples can envisage their future without the GreatPowers?

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BUGAJSKI: The problem is can they envisage their future without the Great Powers withoutresorting to arms to gain their interests or to protect their interests. And, I see a great dangerof the failure of the UN, of the failure of diplomacy to handle this conflict, the failure to

prevent the aggression against civilians, is that each community will learn from this, that the

only way to defend its own interests is to resort to arms.

KOHA: That seems to be a direct invitation for Albanians, as well?

BUGAJSKI: Inevitably, if this continues, Albanians will be withdrawn into the whirlpool. Iam sorry to be so pessimistic.

MACEDONIA

WHO SHOOTS IN MACEDONIA?

by IBRAHIM MEHMETI / Shkup

What was, on behalf of the Macedonian government, announced by its port-parole GnerIsmail on February 15, was performed by the Macedonian police on February 17. His threats,on behalf of the Government, that "as it seems the Government of Macedonia will have toremind them (the pro University activists) again in regard with the posture of theGovernment", was achieved by the police with due efficiency. The balance of this

police-Albanians communication is already known.

In the clash between the special police units of Macedonia, armed fully with automatics andother "adequate" equipment, and the citizens gathered in Reic e Vogl who weredetermined to defend the Albanian University, an Albanian was killed and tens of others werewounded. There are rumours that there were also injured policemen. Branko Geroski,"Vecer's" journalist, known as an advocate of inter-ethnic dialogue, was also among theinjured. The other result of the intervention of hundreds of policemen were also the arrests oftens of citizens. Fadil Sulejmani, Rector of the University of Tetova, Milaim Fejziu,Chairman of the Forum for Human Rights, Arben Rusi, Chairman of the "El-Hilal"humanitarian organization, and others were on the list of the arrested. The names of MusliHalimi and Nevzat Halili were later added to the list.

One day after the tragic events, in which Abdylselam Emini (33) was killed, the AdjointMinister of Interior Dime Djurev, organized a press conference, and tried to blame theAlbanians for the tragic events, and especially for Emini's death. According to hisclarification, the autopsy of the corpse showed that he was killed with a M-57 known as TTgun (7,62 mm calibre). According to him, the Macedonian police has almost given up onusing this kinds of weapons, which means that "the chances of a policeman having shotEmini are few". On the other hand, according to him, this kind of a weapon is easily found inthe local market, meaning that he could have been shot by a careless citizen. On this ocassion,the official did not explain how was it possible that there was shooting on both sides, and that

none of the policemen was shot!

In the same press conference, the public was informed that the arrested were charged pursuantto Art. 205, 206 and 218 of the Penal Code of the Republic of Macedonia, while in the

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meantime 10 citizens got 30 days' sentences.

Parallel to these events, the Albanian political subject conducted a dense political activity.After the talks with the state leadership, the Chairman of the PPD, Abdurrahman Aliti

declared that there were chances to find a solution to the problem. However, PDP andXhaferi's PPD fraction, consider the tragic events as an impulse to decide to suspend theparticipation of their MPs in the republican Parliament.

Anyhow, the unanimous posture of the Albanians is that the University should continue itslabors. Awaiting for a solution to resume the activities in the University, the management hasdecided to temporarily stop the activities, and has not yet determined the day labors shouldresume.

The decision of the Macedonian government not to allow the vitalization of the University inAlbanian, seems to have been converted into a paranoid presentation which is gradually

captivating all strata of the population in Macedonia. The "anti-University" virus has recentlycaptured the students of the University of Shkupi and Manastir (Bitola), who organizeddemonstrations against the University of Tetova on February 23. The main messagesdominating here, were chauvinistic. To have the irony be even bigger, and make thismanifestation even senseless, the main slogan was: "Europe, listen to the voice of theintelligence of the Republic of Macedonia" (!?). If such slogans are really the voice of theMacedonian intelligence, and that of the generation which should build the future of this stateon the principles of civilization grounded on tolerance, then it is not hard to ascertain that thefuture of Macedonia is gloomy. The truth is that the Students' Association of the Republic ofMacedonia distanced itself from this manifestation of 2 thousand "students". This

manifestation of extreme nationalism was also condemned by the Government, while itsport-parole, G. Ismail, used the opportunity to remind that one nationalism incites the other,alluding to the events in Tetova.

The Government of Macedonia also undertook concrete steps to overcome the createdsituation. The Pedagogical Academy decided to employ three Albanian professors, as

precised previously. It is worth mentioning that these professors were accepted withoutapplying officially (however, with the consent of the Ministry of Education) which provesthat the Government was eager to do something in this respect. All of this, in combinationwith the issue of the official use of the languages of the nationalities in state institutions(starting from the Parliament), marks the beginning of a new phase in the political scene of

Macedonia towards unknown directions, for the time being.

BOX

ABDURRAHMAN ALITI, Chairman of PPD:

"After the official pronunciation of Tirana and the protests supporting the University ofTetova, as well as the condemnation of the police intervention, the Albanian Ambassador to

Shkupi was invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and handed a note of protest in regardto some "unacceptable evaluations of the Albanian authorities in regard the events in Tetova".The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Macedonia has also expressed his concern for thedemonstrations in Tirana which "harm the initiated, positive, developments among two

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countries". It is true that the Government of Macedonia is accusing Tirana for intruding in itsinternal affairs, that it is allegedly using the Albanian political subject in order to destabilizeMacedonia. I want to say it clearly that this has nothing to do with the truth. Because theUniversity of Tetova and other aspirations of Albanians are their autochthonous ideas. They

are not imported, therefore the accusations against Tirana are groundless. It is natural to havethe Government of Albania and President Berisha support these activities of the Albanianpolitical parties in Macedonia and, in this direction, no one has the right, even according tointernational provisions, to seek a segment of intrusion in the internal affairs of the otherstate".

ARBN XHAFERI, Chairman of the PPD fraction:

"Objectively, the responsibility for all what has happened relies on President Gligorov andthe Government of Macedonia. The police never acts independently, but acts according tosomeone's orders. And, the one who gives the orders is always in consultations with theones who have the situation under control - Gligorov and the Government. According tothe informations I have, this Government does not control the police any longer: you knowthat there have been Serbian emblems on the building of the University. This means thatwithin the rows of the Macedonian police there are infiltrated people, or either people whowork for those forces, therefore someone is to be held responsible. In the civilized world,usually, after bloodshed, someone must resign. And it is obvious who should that be. I

believe that thus he would manifest a responsibility towards the killed and would begforgiveness from the Albanian people".

BEDREDIN IBRAHIMI, Secretary of the PPD

"It is sorrowful to see that this state, instead of solving the problem as it should have,through dialogue and the respective ministry, has put everything in the hands of the policewhich is trying to, by the use of weapons, prevent the normal education of Albanians, a

part of its own citizens. The Albanian political subject will continue supporting theUniversity, giving advantage to the solution of the problem by political means. Justice is onour side: Articles 44 and 45 of the Constitution of Macedonia foresee the right to education

for all citizens, as well as the right to establish private educational institutions. Finally, thisis also guaranteed by international documents. Max Van Der Stohl also admitted thatOSCE documents foresee the right to superior studies in one's mother tongue".

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BRANKO CRVENKOVSKI, Prime-minister of Macedonia

"The government published its postures on time and warned the bearers of the initiative,about the possible consequences. In fact, some people remained deaf and continued to play

the role of self-proclaimed messiahs, without taking care of the responsibility they weretaking over as well as the lives of the others.

The Government, within its constitutional authorizations and obligations remainsconsequent in the defense of the constitutional and juridical order in the Republic ofMacedonia. It is our task to sanction all actions which are violating the Constitution andthe laws and we will keep on conducting this task in the future".

INTERVIEW

PASKAL MILO, Member of the Parliament of Albania

BALANCE - A NEED OF THE ALBANIAN SOCIETY

Interviewed by YLBER HYSA & BATON HAXHIU / Shkup

KOHA: How do you see the relation of position-opposition forces after the Referendum onthe Constitution?

MILO: It is certain that the Referendum brought sensitive political relations in Albania. Itproved that the relations established after the elections in 1992 have changed, ie. that theruling party has lost massive support of the Albanian people, because of its political line andthe serious mistakes it made, especially in the sense of galloping corruption which involvedthe ruling Albanian class.

KOHA: How do you look upon the next elections, what are the chances and is there any partywho could on its own win, or would it be an alliance of parties who would do that?

MILO: I think that the ruling party has lost support and positions, therefore I believe that thenext elections will bring a new political configuration without an absolute dominator, but thatthere will rather be a more balanced relation in the Parliament. I believe there will be moresupport for the Socialist party and this is, in my opinion, not the merit of this party, but rathersomething that came as a consequence of the serious mistakes of the DP. I also believe thatthere will be more people voting for the Centrist parties, The Democratic Alliance, theSocial-Democrats... I believe thus for two reasons; one, because a large part of the Albanianelectorate conscious of the need to have a centrist policy will vote for these two parties, andsecondly, I believe that the Albanian people in general, is exhausted from political struggleand lack of responsibility present in Albania. The Albanian people seek a balance, peace,such a way of ruling that would give it a chance to look towards the future and assure itself a

balanced government represented by the most progressive and intellectual political forces.

KOHA: Then, what would the flow be...

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MILO: The Albanian political forces are preparing alliances based on their programorientations for the next elections. There were tendencies for the creation of democraticalliances. The problem is the Albanian right. The Socialist Party has started the idea of aleftist alliance of the left center spectre and this was recently elaborated by Servet Pllumbi. It

is sure that this initiative has not gotten any replies from other parties, because these partieswant to carefully come to the next elections, and they will participate individually, thereforethe alliance would be determined by votes. In regard to the fractions within the DP, it couldn't

be said that there were organized attempts for that, even though there are individuals who arecloser to the opposition than the party they belong to.

KOHA: Could we talk about the problems that occurred among the Social-Democrats. One ofits fractions supports the government, and the other does not. What did really happen?

MILO: It is true that during the Referendum campaign, a fraction lead by the formerVice-Chairman Teodor Lao and Deputy Foreign Minister Arian Starova, was created.

However, this fraction had no grounds to secede from the SDP, because these people werevery supportive of the leadership within the SDP until two weeks before the referendum. I

believe that their change of attitude came as a result of other pragmatic reasons, meaning itwas a struggle to either gain a post, or keep the ones they were already holding. The only waythey could fulfil their interests was if they cooperated with the DP and thus oppose their ownSDP.

KOHA: It is interesting to see that there are fractions also within the ruling party. Is this ageneral phenomenon and does this mean that there will be a new alinement of the politicalforces in Albania?

MILO: I believe that there are developments in the sense of the internal consolidations of theparties, however, a difference between parties must be done. I wouldn't, for example, considerthe split of SDP same to the struggle for power inside the DP. What is happening inside theDP is a split among clans about their future, because right now there are more than two clansin the DP, but have not still gotten a clear physiognomy, as Selami's faction or Meksi's on theother side. But, we must not forget Berisha's clan either, which is still working in the shadowand depending on the interests of the moment and the conjuncture. I am convinced that thesediscrepancies betwen the clans will be clarified soon, because we are living a season ofeconomic scandals that need to be illuminated.

KOHA: You mentioned that the intellectual structure has detached from the DP and dos notwant to be identified by them. Where is, in fact, this structure now?

MILO: In general, the intellectual circles are found in different parties, but are mainly in theparties of the Center. This is because by nature, the intellectual is more balanced and does notlike the extremists and wants a normal development. And the majority of intellectuals havefound possibilities to realize their aspirations in the parties of the Center. Coming back to thefirst part of your question, right now, the DP has no strong intellectuals who could impose onthe party and its electorate. This is the reason why, even if there were an opposition inside theDP, they find no solutions to come out openly. Many of them react for many things, but when

it comes to see a concrete platform from them, then they lack it. And this most probablybecause of the fear of revenge that might come afterwards.

KOHA: You are an expert of the Albanian-Yugoslav relations, you are a professor of history.

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How do you look upon the Albanian-Serb relations now, after the breakdown of Communismand the transition which brought new geo-strategic circumstances?

MILO: After the down-fall of Communism in Albania, it was expected that there would be a

new era of relations, but, unfortunately, they have deteriorated. This is most probably becauseof the extremely aggressive and nationalistic attitude of the Serbian political circles, which,instead of reacting with realism and fulfil the right of the national aspirations of theAlbanians, they, on the contrary, went towards deepening their extremist ex-Yugoslavnationalistic posture. Thus, the only consequence was the ruin of the autonomy won duringthe Communist regime and turn Kosova into a province occupied by Greater-Serbianchauvinists.

KOHA: What would be the relations in the future be? We are witnessing a war in the FormerYugoslavia, there are threats of having a Southern front...

MILO: The Albanian-Serb relations will depend on the way how will the issue of Kosova andthe Albanian issue in general be solved. I am not very optimistic in this sense and I would notlike to stress a pessimistic tone about the future of the Balkans, but grounded on what theaggressive Serbian government is doing in Bosnia and from which it will come out as victor,this could make it go towards new adventures. On the other hand, I don't see yet a seriousengagement of the international community which would solve the Kosova problemrealistically and thus contribute to ease the tensions in the Balkans.

The postures in regard to Bosnia are a bad example of how the small people are treated, astoys in the hands of the big political games of the Great Powers, as chess figures, for the

realization of their expansionist interests. Having in mind these reasons, I claim that theBalkans is experiencing one of its most delicate periods and there are no guarantees that afterthe end of the war in Bosnia, the conflict will not expand southwards. This needs not only ourattention, because we haven't any things in our hands. We are in the position of defending ournational interests, and the others are aggressive, who would want to come to the South, intheir campaign to put fire on the Balkans, in order to later make calculations based on the oldschemes of chauvinism of the times before WWI.

KOHA: Do you think that the syndrome of changing the borders, as well as that of thecreation of the national states is being imposed?

MILO: I believe that the Albanian national issue, i.e. the unification of Albanians is the mostimportant issue in the Balkans today. It is an important issue because a people divided in twoor three parts, will not be able to live in this way for a long time. As long as they are notsatisfied with the solution of their problem, the Balkans will not be at peace. I think that the

principle of non-alteration of the borders and the right of the people to self-determination, isan issue which is trying to be sophisticated in vane by many experts and politicians. As longas the people can decide themselves about there own fate, then there should not be anotherforce, external factors, which prevent the expression and realization of this will. As long aswe admit that this will is free, then why should we put artificial obstacles treating it on the

political tables and not gorunded on the historical, ethnographic, actual and factive reality.

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EDITORIAL

THE NEWSPAPER ON THE TRAIN TO GENEVA

by VETON SURROI

A man, with stressed Balkans' face contours reads "Vecernje Novine", edited in Sarajevo,published in Frankfurt. He sits in the last smokers' wagon of the train departing from theZurich airport and headed to Geneva. Three minutes later, another passenger enters the train,he sees the wagon full of people and as if he chooses where to sit. He chooses the Balkans'

person, wearing a red jacket and holding a Boshnyak newspaper in his hands.

- Hello! - he greets him in the former Serbo-Croat language with a Bosnian accent.

He gets the reply in the same language.

- Where are you from? - asks the man without a newspaper.

- From Sarajevo.

- Do you know Alijic? - asks the asker again, with the conviction of any ordinary Balkans'person who supposes that if you are from a town where he has friends or relatives, then youmust know all his relatives and friends.

- No.

The conversation stops for a while. Knowing or not knowing Alijic leaves the interlocutorswithout any further sign of mutual identification. Both of them look through the window,trying to find another item of conversation.

- I know why you ask me, - says the one who was, so far, obliged to reply, - you see mereading a Muslim newspaper. The one asking questions looks at the newspaper, turns his headtowards the window and, sighing deeply, asks:

- What is your name?

- Jovo.

The asker looks him in the eyes then looks at the titles of the newspaper, and again in theeyes.

Jovo interrupts the pause:

- Look. I know that this surprises you. I am Serb, I read a Boshnyak newspaper. I am aBosnian myself.

- No, I didn't mean to say anything. But, you know, today it is very important to know whomare you talking to. Before it wasn't, but now, there is war. The things are not as they used tobe. Our relatives, friends and others got killed... - continues the man without a name.

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- I escaped from war, immediately.

- I didn't. I was first in the Serbian army, and when I saw that they couldn't stand the Muslims,I passed over the Boshnyak army. Now I have escaped, and I am a refugee here, in

Switzerland.

They make a long pause, the train arrives to Zurich.

Both the interlocutors and the train take a long break in Zurich. They look through thewindow, trying to find something they don't what it is.

- I know a place here, at the station, where we could have a cold beer... - suggests the manwithout a name.

- Let's go! - says Jovo.

Jovo leaves the newspaper on the seat, and they step down hastily.

As they approach the bar, while the foam of the beer pours over the big mugs, the train startstowards the peace of Geneva. Jovo and the man without a name miss the train.

In a large title of the newspaper which Jovo left behind, it says that the fighting in Bihacgrows harsher.