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Doc. 9146
26 June 2001
Situation in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”
Report
Political Affairs Committee
Rapporteur: Mr Roman Jakič, Slovenia, Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group
Summary
The Political Affairs Committee expresses its deep concern about the current situation in Macedonia1. It strongly condemns the action taken by armed Albanian extremist groups, urges them to stop military action immediately and agree to disarm. At the same time, it condemns all acts of retaliation. Both sides must cease hostilities in order to allow a rapid deployment of a force led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
The committee welcomes the formation of the government of national unity last May and calls on the coalition parties to conclude an agreement on a political solution to the crisis without further delay. The attitude of Albania and other countries in the region which have condemned the use of violence, deserves full recognition.
It is felt that more progress must be made in addressing the concerns of the ethnic Albanian minority. Therefore, the government of Macedonia21 is asked to take a series of urgent measures, including constitutional ones, in this respect as well as other measures aimed at solving the conflict, such as a larger political dialogue and an amnesty.
The situation in Macedonia31 should continue to be followed by the Political Affairs Committee, which should report to the Assembly again before the end of this year following a visit of its Rapporteur to the region.
I. Draft resolution
1. The Parliamentary Assembly expresses its deep concern about the current situation in Macedonia4 where the escalation of extremist action, and violence from within both communities, has jeopardised democratic stability and security in the country and has caused the loss of human lives, suffering of the people and produced many thousands of refugees and displaced persons.
2. The Assembly condemns in the strongest terms the action by armed ethnic Albanian extremist groups, urges them to stop military action immediately and to agree to disarm. It calls for the strictest measures to be taken in the neighbouring regions as well as elsewhere in Europe against Albanian extremist circles which support and finance the armed rebels in Macedonia51.
3. The action of these Albanian extremists goes against the interests and well-being of all citizens of Macedonia61 regardless of their ethnic origin and is damaging the efforts to improve both the legal and “de facto” situation of the ethnic Albanians and other ethnic minorities’.
4. At the same time, the Assembly resolutely condemns acts of retaliation against the ethnic Albanian population which have taken the form of house-burning, violent intimidation and other harassment.
5. The Assembly calls on both parties to cease hostilities immediately in order to allow a rapid deployment of a force led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) as it was requested by the Macedonian government, to ensure the disarmament of the ethnic Albanian extremists.
6. The Assembly reiterates its full attachment to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Macedonia71 which must be respected in the interest of all its citizens and for the stability of the region.
7. The Assembly welcomes the efforts of Macedonian President, Mr Boris Trajkovski, to intensify the inter-ethnic dialogue and propose measures aimed at strengthening the civic character of the State.
8. The Assembly welcomes the establishment of the government of national unity and its efforts to work out measures aimed at solving the current crisis and improving inter-ethnic relations in the country. It calls on the parties in the governing coalition to conclude without further delay an agreement on the solution of the crisis.
9. The Assembly fully supports the efforts of the international community to help the Macedonian government to stabilise the situation and to combat extremist violence. It welcomes, in particular, the Stabilisation and Association Agreement concluded between Macedonia81 and the European Union and the stabilising role of NATO and hopes that the international efforts will be pursued with the full support of the United Nations.
10. The attitude of the government of Albania and other countries in the region, which have consistently condemned the use of violence to resolve the concerns of ethnic Albanian communities in the Balkans, deserves full recognition. However, the Assembly considers that it would not be appropriate for the neighbouring countries to send troops to Macedonia91 within the framework of international operations.
11. While recognising the existing difficulties, the Assembly regrets that little progress has been accomplished so far by the Macedonian authorities on the recommendations regarding relations with the ethnic Albanian minority formulated in Resolution 1213 (2000) on honouring of obligations and commitments by “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”. It regrets, in particular, the failure to adopt adequate measures regarding the use of the Albanian language in public life and education and to increase the proportion of ethnic Albanians in State institutions, the police and the army. At the same time, the Albanian minorities should not make excessive demands.
12. The Assembly asks the government of Macedonia10:
i. to adopt urgent measures, including constitutional ones, aimed at improving the legal and practical position of the ethnic Albanian population and other minorities, in particular:
a. adopting legal measures which would enable representatives of the Albanian minority to use their language when dealing with the State administration and the Courts;
b. improve education, in particular secondary and third level, in the Albanian language;
c. ensure the opening of the South East Europe University in Tetovo this year;
d. increase substantially the proportion of ethnic Albanians in public institutions and enterprises, the police and the army;
ii. to limit the use of force to the extent strictly necessary to protect the country and its population against armed extremists;
iii. to engage in a political dialogue with those leaders whose movements are not represented in the parliament and who renounce violent action;
iv. to declare an amnesty for those rebels who lay down arms and who have not committed war crimes;
v. to ensure efficient protection of all citizens irrespective of their ethnic origins against possible acts of retaliation and harassment and to bring to justice the perpetrators of those acts;
vi. to take measures aimed at improving inter-ethnic relations in the country and facilitating reconciliation;
vii. to ratify the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages.
13. The Assembly resolves to observe closely the situation in Macedonia1. The Assembly therefore calls upon the Political Affairs Committee to report to it before the end of this year following a visit of its Rapporteur to the region.
II. Draft recommendation
1. The Assembly refers to its Resolution …..(2001) on the situation in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”.
2. The Assembly recommends the Committee of Ministers to intensify its co-operation programmes with Macedonia11 with a view to assist it in the implementation of the necessary reforms, in particular as regards improving inter-ethnic dialogue, education, media, local government and the development of civic education.
3. The Assembly also recommends the Committee of Ministers to help the Macedonian authorities in organising a reliable population census.
4. The Assembly asks the Committee of Ministers to inform it at its next part-session about the follow-up given to this recommendation.
III. Explanatory memorandum by the rapporteur
1. Introduction
1. In the light of the current developments in Macedonia, the Political Affairs Committee decided, at its meeting on 11 June 2001 in Liechtenstein, to ask for an emergency debate on this question during the June part-session of the Parliamentary Assembly and appointed me as rapporteur.
2. I had very little time to prepare my report and, therefore, I did not have the possibility to visit the country for a fact-finding mission. Nevertheless, an enlarged delegation of the Macedonian Parliament was invited to the meeting of the Political Affairs Committee on Saturday 23 June, when this draft report is to be discussed. Mr Mark Dickinson, Ambassador, Representative in Skopje of Mr Javier Solana, Secretary General of the Council of the EU and High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), was also invited to that meeting.
2. Summary of recent developments
3. At the beginning of 2001, an extremist Albanian organisation, called the “National Liberation Army of Macedonia” (NLA), began carrying out terrorist and armed activities in Macedonia, claiming to defend the rights of the ethnic Albanian minority in Macedonia. Initially by placing bombs, over the course of the following months they occupied several villages in the North East of Macedonia and later intensified armed activities in the regions surrounding Tetovo, Macedonia’s second largest city. By attacking Aracinovo, near Skopje, on 8 June, the NLA became a threat to the capital and to the international airport. The fighting has already claimed many victims, not only among the extremists and the Macedonian army, but also amongst the civilian population. The situation is so serious that a declaration of a state of war has been envisaged. A fragile cease-fire was established on 11 June, but there have already been several violations.
4. Since February 2001, the Macedonian Red Cross has registered over 21 000 displaced persons from the conflict area. Moreover, there are an estimated 24 000 refugees from Macedonia in Kosovo.
5. On 13 May, in the midst of the crisis and under pressure from the international community, a national unity government was established from VMRO-DPMNE (Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation / Democratic Party of Macedonian National Unity), SDMS (Social Democratic Alliance of Macedonia, LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) and two ethnic Albanian parties: DPA (Democratic Party of Albanians) and PDP (Party for Democratic Prosperity).
6. This Government and the President of the country have started to work towards a concerted and co-ordinated solution to the crisis. A “National Co-ordination Body for Crisis Management” has been put in place and created five working groups to implement conflict resolution plans.
7. A “political and security” plan was unveiled by the President of Macedonia, Mr Trajkovski, in his address to the Macedonian Parliament on 8 June 2001, in which he outlined a strategy consisting of the three following elements:
i. an increase in the efficiency and potential of the security forces;
ii. an intensification of political dialogue with leaders of political parties with a view to strengthening the trust in political dialogue and enhancing inter-ethnic tolerance;
iii. “a plan for disarmament”, which was not, however, further elaborated. 8.
8. On this occasion, the President also declared that the terrorist leaders “will be either eliminated or will return to where they came from” as “there is no place for them in the political process”, but hinted at an amnesty when he said that a chance had to be given to “the Macedonian citizens that have been forced or misled”. The President also called for a continuous and more obvious support from NATO.
9. Even though the President did not provide further details in his address regarding concrete measures for implementing this plan, some days earlier, on 30 May, the Macedonian Prime Minister, Mr Georgievski, was reported to have declared on State television that his government could accept to re-write the Constitution with a view to upgrading the position of the ethnic Albanians and, in particular, to declaring the ethnic Albanians a constituent nation and their language official. He was also reported to have said that the provision in the Constitution concerning the role of the Orthodox Church could be revised (the present constitution of Macedonia gives the Orthodox Church a predominant position).
10. With regard to the position of the extremists, their demands for ending the conflict were formulated on 14 June in a plan signed by Mr Ali Ahmeti, political representative of the “National Liberation Army”. According to the information available in the press, this plan mainly calls for :
i. an immediate cease-fire;
ii. constitutional reforms to bolster the rights of the ethnic Albanians, including an equal status for the ethnic Albanians and making Albanian an official language;
iii. a general amnesty;
iv. an agreement on demilitarisation;
v. an intervention by NATO in Macedonia as a guarantee to reaching lasting peace.
11. Since 15 June 2001, a summit of the leaders of Macedonian political parties has been taking place in order to agree on the measures needed for a political solution. Up to now, there have been no signs of significant progress. The EU has asked that these negotiations produce results by 25 June and has invited the leaders of political parties to the EU General Affairs Council in Luxembourg which will take place on that day.
12. According to some accounts, an agreement has been found on a proportional representation of ethnic Albanians in the State institutions, the State funded Albanian University and the change of the status of the Orthodox Church.
13. However, serious problems would seem to persist concerning constitutional changes. On 20 June 2001, President Trajkovski declared that the talks between political parties in were deadlock because of “the radical change of the position of PDP and DPA”. He said that they were “practically asking for federalisation”. For their part, ethnic Albanian parties demanded an international mediation, because, according to a PDP representative, “the Macedonians had dismissed Albanian proposals for constitutional changes”.
3. International efforts
14. The position of the international community can be summarised as follows:
- the full support of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Macedonia;
- an immediate halt to all violence;
- the condemnation of the action by armed Albanian extremist groups;
- the support for the national unity government’s efforts to improve inter-ethnic relations;
- the condemnation of all acts of reprisal and revenge.
15. This position has been expressed by the OSCE, the EU as well as by the Council of Europe (Declaration by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers of 21 March 2001, the Statement by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe of 7 June 2001 and the Statement by Ernst Walch, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein and Chairman-in Office of the Committee of Ministers of 15 June 2001 ).
16. Macedonia is the only former Yugoslav republic to have signed an EU Stabilisation and Association Agreement. This agreement, however, has not been ratified by all EU member States as yet.
17. About 4 000 foreign troops are at present serving in Macedonia as part of the logistic support for the KFOR force in Kosovo. The Macedonian government has suggested that the KFOR mandate could be modified to allow for more action in Macedonia.
18. The EU General Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 11-12 June “condemned the continued terrorist actions by ethnic Albanian extremist” and called on them to lay down their arms. It welcomed President Trajkovski’s strategy for disarmament presented to the Macedonian Parliament, but underlined that “a comprehensive, concrete and substantive reform package ensuring rights of all people in the country, regardless of their ethnic origin is urgently required”.
19. During an informal meeting of top NATO leaders in Brussels on 13 June, bolder action by NATO was urged to “halt a slide towards civil war in Macedonia”, but the possibility of a peace-keeping mission was not discussed.
20. On 20 June 2001, NATO announced that it was ordering military planners to prepare a mission to Macedonia in response to a request from the Macedonian authorities for help with disarming the ethnic Albanian extremists. According to Mr Georges Robertson, NATO Secretary General, “it will happen when, and only when, there is a durable ceasefire and an agreement between all the parties in the coalition and indeed an agreement by the armed extremists that they will proceed towards disarmament”. He said that the force could consist of between 3 000 - 3 500 troops.
4. Rapporteur’s evaluation of the causes for the current crisis
21. Some 1.95 million people live in Macedonia. According to the 1994 census, 66,6 % of the population are Macedonian Slavs, mostly Orthodox, and 22,7% ethnic Albanians, mostly Muslims. It should be noted that the results of this census are claimed by ethnic Albanians to be incorrect. There are also Turkish, Serb, Roma and Vlach minorities in Macedonia.
22 . Until this year’s events, Macedonia was sometimes considered as “an island of stability in the otherwise restless region”, as quoted from the Parliamentary Assembly’s report on the honouring of obligations and commitments by the “former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” from April 2000. In Resolution 1213 (2000) adopted at the end of the debate on this report, by which the Assembly closed the monitoring procedure of Macedonia, the Assembly commented on Macedonia “on having preserved the fragile equilibrium between the Macedonian majority and the ethnic Albanian minority”. However, in this Resolution the Assembly also asked the Macedonian authorities to take a series of measures, including those regarding inter-ethnic relations, and the Assembly Monitoring Committee has subsequently decided to open post-monitoring dialogue.
23. In the light of these statements made one year ago, it may be difficult to understand what has happened since to bring Macedonia to the brink of a civil war. All the more so because, in global terms, the region can now be seen as a bit more stable following the end of the conflict in Kosovo and the departure from power of Mr Milosevic.
24. It should be first recalled that even though the relationship between the Slav and ethnic Albanian populations have never reached the stage of hatred as in the neighbouring Kosovo, their cohabitation has been based on fragile ground. The ethnic Albanians have complained about their legal status, their low representation in State institutions, the army and the police force (it seems that only 3% of the police force are ethnic Albanians) as well as about the lack of the official use of the Albanian language in public life and in the education field. In the above-mentioned report on the honouring of obligations and commitments, the rapporteurs stated that “notwithstanding the efforts of the government to encourage employment of ethnic Albanians in the public sector, their numbers are still below the level of equal representation”.
25. Nevertheless, it cannot be said that ethnic Albanians have been excluded from public and political life. The two main Albanian parties – the Party for Democratic Prosperity (PDP) and the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) – are represented in the Parliament, disposing respectively of 14 and 10 seats in the 120-seat Parliament. Both are now members of the ruling coalition (the DPA was already represented in the previous government).
26. Taking this into account, and although the government should have taken more appropriate measures (and more quickly) to address the legitimate concerns of its citizens of Albanian origin, I consider that it is not because of this lack of action that the armed conflict started at the beginning of this year.
27. There are extremist forces in the Balkans, which take the defence of minority rights as an excuse for advancing their personal interests. In Macedonia, Albanian extremists which were unwilling or unable to take part in the democratic process either in Macedonia or in the neighbouring countries, have decided to take advantage of the destabilisation of this country and have begun carrying out acts of violence. I firmly believe that they do not have the support of the overwhelming majority of the ethnic Albanians.
5. Conclusions
28. I should like to finish my report with the three following conclusions. First, the authorities of Macedonia must receive our full support in their fight against armed violence and terrorism. As they are responsible for the security and the well being of all citizens of Macedonia, they are entitled to take all legitimate measures aimed at restoring the rule of law in the country. However, they can only use force to the extent which is strictly necessary to achieve this objective. Furthermore, they are equally required to ensure the rights and the rule of law with regard to their ethnic Albanian citizens and, in particular, their protection against any acts of revenge and harassment and the prosecution of the authors of such acts.
29. Second, I consider that it is the Council of Europe’s duty to help the Macedonian authorities take measures with a view to responding to the preoccupations of the ethnic Albanian population regarding their position in Macedonia. We must work together to eliminate all possible doubts regarding the commitment of the authorities to ensure full equality of rights and opportunities for Macedonian citizens of Albanian origin. Failure to do so would be misused by the extremists to mislead the population and to gain support.
30. Third, the current events in Macedonia must be seen in the regional context. We must not hide the fact that radical Albanian movements, whose aim is a “Greater Albania” or a “Greater Kosovo”, operate in the region. In this connection, we must express our full appreciation to the authorities of Albania as well as to the political leaders in Kosovo, who have condemned the use of violence as a means of defending the rights of ethnic Albanians in the region. These statements must be followed by firmer action aimed at effectively depriving the armed extremist forces in Macedonia of their logistical and financial support. Therefore, we must also bear it in mind that extremist movements are also used by common-law criminals to cover their activities under the umbrella of a “noble cause”.
31. I have formulated specified proposals corresponding to the above-mentioned conclusions in the draft resolution and recommendation contained in this report, and I hope that both the Political Affairs Committee and then the Parliamentary Assembly will endorse these proposals.
Reporting committee : Political Affairs Committee
Reference to committee : Request for an urgent procedure debate, Ref. No. 2622, 25.06.2001
Draft resolution and draft recommendation adopted by the committee on 26 June 2001 with one abstention.
Members of the committee : Mr Davis (Chairman), Mr Jakic (Vice-Chairman) Mr Baumel (Vice-Chairman), Mr Toshev (Vice-Chairman), MM Adamia, Aliyev (alternate : Mr Seyidov), Arzilli, Atkinson (alternate : Sir Sidney Chapman), Mrs Bakoyianni (alternate : Mr Liapis), MM Bársony (alternate : Mr Eörsi), Behrendt, Berceanu, Bergqvist, Bianchi, Björck, Blaauw (alternate : Mr van der Linden), Bühler, Cekuolis, Clerfayt (alternate : Mr Goris), Daly, Demetriou, Derycke, Diaz de Mera, Dokle, Dreyfus-Schmidt (alternate : Mr Lemoine), Mrs Durrieu, Mr Evangelisti, Mrs Feric-Vac, Mr Frey, Mrs Fyfe, MM Gjellerod, Glesener, Gligoroski, Gross, Gül, Hornhues, Hovhannisyan, Hrebenciuc (alternate : Mr Kelemen), Irtemçelik, Ivanenko, Iwinski, Karpov (alternate : Mr Zarubinsky), Mrs Kautto, MM Kirilov, Kotsonis (alternate : Mr Koulouris), Krzaklewski, Martinez-Casan (alternate : Mr Solé Tura), Medeiros Ferreira, Mota Amaral (alternate : Mr Roseta), Mutman, Naudi Mora, Neguta, Mrs Nemkova, Mr Neuwirth, Mrs Ojuland, MM Oliynyk, Prisacaru, Prusak, de Puig, Mrs Ragnarsdottir, MM Rogozin, Schieder, Schloten, Selva, Spindelegger, Mrs Squarcialupi, Mrs Stepová, MM Surjan, Taylor, Thoresen, Timmermans, Udovenko, Vakilov, Vella, Weiss (alternate : Mr Svec), Wielowieyski, Mrs Wohlwend, Mr Zuiganov.
N.B. The names of the members who took part in the meeting are printed in italics.
Secretaries of the committee : Mr Perin, Mrs Ruotanen, Mr Sich, Mr Adelsbach
1 1 The use in the text of the term “Macedonia” is for descriptive purposes and the convenience of the reader and does not prejudge the position of the Assembly on the question of the name of the state.
1 The use in the text of the term “Macedonia” is for descriptive purposes and the convenience of the reader and does not prejudge the position of the Assembly on the question of the name of the State
10 .
The use in the text of the term “Macedonia” is for descriptive purposes and the convenience of the reader and does not prejudge the position of the Assembly on the question of the name of the S
11 tate.
The use in the text of the term “Macedonia” is for descriptive purposes and the convenience of the reader and does not prejudge the position of the Assembly on the question of the name of the S