Doc. 9234

25 September 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 Report reaffirms the validity of the principles which are the foundation of Resolution 1255 (2001) on the situation in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” adopted by the Assembly on 28 June 2001 and recalls the conclusions of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Assembly, which visited Macedonia1 in July 2001, specifying that the measures and the recommendations which figure in this Resolution must be implemented without further delay.

Reaffirming that the solution to the conflict in Macedonia21 can only be a peaceful one, the Political Affairs Committee welcomes the framework Agreement which was concluded in August 2001 and considers that this agreement gives satisfaction to the Assembly’s previous demands. The Parliament is invited to approve the constitutional amendments and the legislative modifications which emanate from this Agreement within the agreed timeframe.

Similarly, the report underlines that the presence of international observers as well as an armed international force would facilitate the normalisation of the situation and the return of displaced people, and that neighbouring countries must co-operate with Macedonia1 to help it surmount the crisis.

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe is invited to participate actively in the international community’s efforts which are in favour of the implementation of the framework Agreement.

I.       Draft resolution

1.       The Assembly recalls its Resolution 1255 (2001) on the situation in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”' adopted on 28 June 2001. It reaffirms the validity of the principles on which this text was based, in particular the full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Macedonia3 respect for the rights of all citizens and ethnic groups, the condemnation of the armed action by ethnic Albanian extremist groups and the call for their complete disarmament as well as the condemnation of all extremist violence in general.

2.       In conformity with this Resolution, the Political Affairs Committee established an ad hoc Committee, which visited Macedonia1 from 16 to 19 July. The Assembly takes note of the statement made by this ad hoc Committee at the end of its visit, which concluded that the measures and recommendations contained in Resolution 1255 (2001) were justified and should be implemented without further delay.

3.       The Assembly reiterates its firm belief that there is no other solution to this conflict than a peaceful one. Consequently, it expresses its serious concern that violent activities are still ongoing and that the tension and feelings of insecurity among the population remain high, in particular in the north-western part of the country. In this connection, it condemns recent bomb attacks in Skopje as well as the destruction by extremists, on both sides, of churches, mosques and other buildings.

4.       The Assembly welcomes the signature, on 13 August 2001 in Skopje, of the Framework Agreement, which aims at "securing the future of Macedonia's1 democracy and permitting the development of closer and more integrated relations between the Republic of Macedonia1 and the Euro-Atlantic community".

5.       The Assembly considers that measures foreseen by this Agreement give satisfaction to the Assembly’s previous demands and correspond to the Council of Europe’s generally accepted standards. Accordingly, it calls on all political forces to declare their support for this Agreement and to work towards its implementation, in particular the approval of the resulting constitutional amendments and legislative modifications by the Parliament in accordance with the agreed schedule.

6.       The Assembly considers that the Macedonian executive power should co-operate actively with the Parliament and civil society during the implementation of this Agreement.

7.       The Assembly is also seriously preoccupied about the situation of internally displaced persons and calls for adequate security and confidence building measures to be set up in order to ensure their safe and sustainable return. It is also preoccupied by the humanitarian situation of the people affected by the conflict, both those who are displaced and those who remain in the villages which have been damaged by military activities, and calls for increased assistance to those people, in co-operation with international humanitarian organisations.

8.       The Assembly considers that, as soon the collection of weapons has been successfully concluded, a smooth transition from the end, foreseen on 26 September 2001, of the NATO operation “Essential Harvest” towards the presence of international monitors as well as of an armed international force at the invitation of the Government of Macedonia1 would be beneficial for the normalisation of the situation and for the return of internally displaced persons

9.       Neighbouring countries must provide Macedonia1 with all possible co-operation and assistance to help it to overcome the present crisis and, especially, to act resolutely to prevent all arm supplies from reaching the extremists.

10.       The Assembly calls on the government of Macedonia1 to fully co-operate with the Council of Europe as regards the adoption and the realisation of the programmes aimed at assisting the country in the implementation of the Framework Agreement.

11.       At the same time, the financial support of the international community for the reconstruction efforts as well as for the foreseen administrative reforms remain a key-element to the successful implementation of the Agreement.

12.       The Assembly asks its Political Affairs Committee to follow the political developments in the country and to report back to it when necessary. At the same time, it calls on its Monitoring Committee to intensify the “post-monitoring” dialogue with Macedonia1 and urges the Macedonian authorities to fully co-operate in this process.

II.       Draft recommendation

1.       The Assembly refers to its Resolution ….(2001) on the situation in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”.

2.       The Assembly takes note of the reply of the Committee of Ministers to its Recommendation 1528 (2001) on situation in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” adopted on 28 June 2001.

3.       The Assembly takes note of the proposals for the “Council of Europe’s contribution to the implementation of the Framework Agreement” and urges member States to provide sufficient financial resources for these and other programmes for Macedonia4.

4.       In this connection, the Assembly recommends to the Committee of Ministers to consider the following areas as a priority as regards the assistance programmes:

5.       The Assembly calls on the Committee of Ministers to take an active part in the efforts of the international community in favour of the implementation of the Agreement in the framework of the recently established civilian implementation co-ordination mechanism and, in particular, take the lead in overseeing the most urgent legislative reforms.

III.        Explanatory memorandum by the Rapporteur

1.       Introduction

1.       In Resolution 1255 (2001) on the situation in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly on 28 June 2001, the Assembly strongly condemned the action of the armed ethnic Albanian extremist groups and asked them to disarm immediately. While welcoming the creation of the government of the national unity and the efforts of the President of Macedonia5 to solve the crisis, the Assembly asked the Macedonian government to take a series of urgent measures, including constitutional ones, concerning, in particular, the use of the Albanian language, the improvement of education in Albanian, mainly at university level, and adequate representation of ethnic Albanians in public institutions. The Assembly also asked for, among other matters, a declaration of amnesty for those rebels who lay down their arms and have not committed war crimes.

2.       The Resolution called upon the Political Affairs Committee to establish immediately a small ad hoc Committee to travel to the region and to report back to the Assembly’s part-session in September. In conformity with this decision, an Ad Hoc Committee composed of Mr Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC), Mr Latchezar Toshev (Bulgaria, PPE/CD), Mr Stef Goris (Belgium, LDR), Mr Dimitri Rogozin (Russia, EDG), Mr Andrei Neguta (Moldova, EUL) and myself, as Chairman of this Ad Hoc Committee, visited Macedonia from 16 to 19 July 2001.

3.        We met with the President of Macedonia, the Speaker of the Parliament, members of the parliamentary groups and of the Macedonian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly, the Minister for Local Self-Government, the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, the Ombudsman and his Deputy, representatives of ethnic minorities and of the civil society, as well as with Mr François Léotard, Special Representative of the European Union in Skopje, Council of Europe ambassadors and a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). We visited Tetovo and the villages of Aracinovo, Lesok and Neprosteno and met representatives of the local authorities there, as well as those of the municipality of Skopje.

4.        When meeting President Trajkovski, the delegation expressed the hope that he would be able to come to speak before the Parliamentary Assembly, if possible during the September debate on this report.

5.        I should like to thank, on behalf of the Ad Hoc Committee, the Macedonian authorities and, in particular, the Parliament and the Macedonian parliamentary delegation to the Council of Europe, for their assistance in organising this visit in the spirit of openness and co-operation and at a very short notice. I should also like to thank the Ambassador of Slovenia in Skopje for having organised the meeting with Mr Léotard and the Council of Europe ambassadors.

6.        As the background of the conflict was already described in my June report to the Assembly (Doc.9146), I will concentrate in this explanatory memorandum on the July visit and the events, which followed.

2.       Political background of the visit

7.        The delegation visited Macedonia at a point when the conclusion of an agreement between the Macedonian and ethnic Albanian party leaders was expected. Nevertheless, as I will explain below, this did not happen and at the moment when we were leaving the country, the cease-fire, in force since the beginning of July, was being frequently violated.

8.        It was surprising and, frankly, very disappointing to hear some political representatives declare that, if the negotiations failed, there would not be another possibility but to solve the current crisis by force. In the light of the parliamentary elections to be held at the beginning of the next year, political parties tend to adopt a more nationalistic language, hoping to position themselves as the best “defenders” of the rights of their community. As a matter of fact, we were told that there were no “mixed” political parties which will include both Macedonian and ethnic Albanians.

9.        In this connection, the delegation stated clearly that war could not be a policy option and that if the current round of the negotiations failed, that political dialogue must continue. Without the slightest irony, the saying “better bad talks than a good war” fully applies here.

10.        This is even more true because after several days spent in Macedonia we are convinced that the absolute majority of the citizens of Macedonia wish to live together in a peaceful and stable country. That is why, in our final statement (see Appendix), the delegation underlined the responsibility of the politicians in Macedonia to maintain the peace in their country and called on them to show political courage to make the compromises necessary to reach an agreement, and to explain such an agreement to the citizens. Calling for war is an irresponsible act which cannot find support in the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly.

11.        It is also worth mentioning that several of our interlocutors referred to the negative role of some public opinion-makers who were inciting to hatred and extremist attitudes. It is certainly an issue which should be followed further by the Council of Europe.

3.       Negotiations on a political solution to the crisis

      a) at the time of the visit

12.        According to the President and the Prime Minister of Macedonia, at the time of the visit the negotiations substantially advanced and an agreement was reached on a lot of contentious points, including the preamble to the Constitution, the role of the Orthodox Church, the local self-government, a special parliamentary voting procedure (within the majority necessary to approve a law, a majority of the minority is necessary for the approval of constitutional amendments and some specific laws) etc.

13.        On the question of the language, it was proposed that the Albanian language should become a second official language to be used in the regions where at least 20% of the population is of Albanian origin (according to the agreed text, in any region where a minority language is spoken by at least 20% of the population, this language becomes an official language together with the Macedonian language). An agreement was also found on the use of documents in other official languages and in court proceedings.

14.        The implementation of the agreement will require numerous changes to the Constitution. It is seen as a compromise between the conception of a state based on individual rights (position of principle of the Macedonian parties) and the conception of a state based on ethnic communities’ rights (position of principle of the ethnic Albanians). As a compromise, the ethnic Albanians have accepted the unitary character of the state and consider that it is a major concession on their part not to push for federal or cantonal state arrangements. At the same time, the Macedonian parties have accepted to grant significant specific rights to minorities.

15.        Nevertheless, at the time of the visit, the negotiations were in deadlock because of the disagreements on the status of the Albanian language and the local police force. The delegation understood that the demands, which the Macedonian parties considered as unacceptable, were the following:

-       to give the Albanian language the status of an official language on the whole territory of Macedonia and not only in regions with at least a 20% minority presence;

-       to give a large autonomy to the local police forces, which should reflect the ethnic composition of a given municipality (which could lead, in some cases, to a 100% ethnically “clean” local police force), and whose chiefs would be locally appointed and thus largely independent from the central authorities.

16.        The delegation was surprised that the Parliament was not better informed about the on-going negotiations. It should be recalled that the deal concluded between the political party’s leaders must obtain a two-thirds majority in the Parliament. I certainly understand that, for the sake of efficiency, the number of those involved in the negotiations must remain limited, but an open parliamentary debate on a political solution to the crisis could have given useful indications to the negotiators with regard to the sentiments of the elected representatives of the people.

17.        I consider that the involvement of international representatives, in particular Mr François Léotard, Special Representative of the European Community, and Mr John Pardew, Special Representative of the US President, has been beneficial to the dialogue. I therefore welcome the re-assurances given by President Trajkovski in his statement on 25 July that “only relations of partnership with the international community could lead towards re-establishment of peace and stability in the Republic of Macedonia”. He appreciated the efforts of MM. Léotard and Pardew and welcomed the involvement of NATO.

18.        In this connection, the delegation found very useful the presence in Skopje of an expert of the Venice Commission, who was providing legal advise during the negotiation process. I believe that this kind of assistance is very helpful and must continue.

      b) recent developments

19.        After the visit, at the beginning of August, an agreement was finally reached on these two remaining issues. The Albanian language was given official status alongside the Macedonian language in the areas where at least 20% of the population are Albanian speakers. The local police will stay under the government control, but the number of ethnic Albanians in the police force will substantially increase within two years.

20.        The final signature of the agreement was first postponed on 8 August, after the killing of 10 soldiers by ethnic Albanian extremists, but the so-called Framework Agreement was finally concluded in Skopje on 13 August 2001.

21.       The Framework Agreement aims to promote the peaceful and harmonious development of civil society while respecting the ethnic identity and the interests of all Macedonian citizens. It outlines a set of basic principles such as the complete and unconditional rejection of violence to pursue political aims, the territorial integrity of the State, the multi-ethnic character of Macedonia's society as well as the participation of all citizens in the democratic life and development of the country.

22.       The Agreement further aims to secure the democratic future of the country by emphasising specific measures, inter alia disarmament and the complete cessation of the hostilities, the development of local competencies, along with the reinforcement of locally elected representatives or provisions on education and use of languages in the country. The end of the implementation period of specific amendments to the Constitution have been set within 45 days, consequently ending on 26 September 2001.

23.       The NATO Operation "Essential Harvest" was officially launched on 22 August and successfully started up on 27 August. The 30-day mission which involves the sending of up to 3500 NATO troops, including logistical support, aims to disarm ethnic Albanian groups and destroy their weapons.

4.       Field visits

24.        The delegation visited the town of Tetovo (mostly inhabited by ethnic Albanians), where it met with the City Council. Out of 23 members of this Council, 16 were from ethnic Albanian political parties and 7 from Macedonian political parties. The Mayor, ethnic Albanian, was very critical of the current law on local self-government, which, he claimed, gives extremely limited powers to the local authorities (mostly in the field of the infrastructures, water supply and sewage). A new law, now in preparation, must change this situation in favour of local self-government. His municipality had sent suggestions on this draft law.

25.        As regards the conflict, he believes that the majority of the population does not want the crisis to continue and hopes that an agreement will be reached. He said, however, that the political demands of the Albanian political parties and the National Liberation Army (NLA) are identical.

26.        He also declared that the ethnic Albanians did not vote for the 1991 Macedonian Constitution, because they believed that they had even more rights under the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution. The current crisis is the result of the failure of the authorities to solve, during the last ten years, the problem of the rights of the ethnic Albanians. During the Kosovo crisis, the latter proved that they wanted a unified Macedonia and that they did not support military solutions.

27.        With regard to the language question, he underlined that, at present, the Albanian language can officially be used on the premises of the local self-government bodies. Nevertheless, most competences remain directly within the Ministries in Skopje and their local branches in the regions, which work exclusively in Macedonian. This situation, he said, was clearly inacceptable.

28.        He also explained that during 1991-94, several proposals had been submitted to the government with a view to opening a faculty within the framework of the Skopje University to train teachers in the Albanian language. The authorities did not react to these proposals. In 1994, the Tetovo University was established, but it has not been recognised by the authorities.

29.        On the proposal of Mr van der Stoel, High Commissioner on National Minorities of the OSCE, the South East University should open on 1st October. Professors should be of both Albanian and Macedonian origin and the government should contribute to financing this University. The Mayor considered that the Tetovo University could later join the South East University.

30.        A representative of a Macedonian party stressed that the conflict cannot be solved through the use of arms and that the dialogue on inter-ethnic relations must continue. He declared that the decisions to reform the law on local government and to open the South East University had already been taken long time ago, but it had not prevented the crisis from escalating in February 2001. He said that the non-Albanian population did feel safe in Tetovo and the surrounding area and that the ethnic Albanian armed extremists are ethnically cleansing some villages, and have set up checkpoints on the roads.

31.        Furthermore, the delegation visited the villages of Aracinovo, Lesok and Neprosteno. The last two villages are situated in the vicinity of Tetovo. Lesok is an ethnic Macedonian village. It is on the “front line” with the armed extremists – as a matter of fact, the delegation could clearly see armed men on the hillside behind the village. We were told that the extremists were all around the village, which had already been attacked twice. A few days after our visit, Lesok was occupied during a certain time by the ethnic Albanian extremists. Most of the inhabitants have left and the ancient Orthodox church in Lesok has been destroyed.

32.        Neprosteno is a village which is one-quarter ethnic Macedonian and three-quarters ethnic Albanian. According to the Mayor, co-operation between the two communities had been quite good before the crisis began (the Mayor is ethnic Macedonian, his deputy is ethnic Albanian). Nevertheless, there are no mixed marriages in the village, which seems to be a general pattern in Macedonia. At present, there are almost no contacts between the two parts of the village. The delegation also wanted to speak to the ethnic Albanians local representatives. Unfortunately, it turned out to be impossible to establish contacts with them. According to the Mayor, people happened to be taken hostage by the armed extremists. Insecurity is high.

33.        The village of Aracinovo is situated about 8 kilometres from Skopje. Mostly populated by ethnic Albanians (90%), it was occupied by the ethnic Albanians extremists in June 2001. The Macedonian army shelled the village and many houses were destroyed or damaged. The inhabitants had mostly left the village before the shelling had begun. The rebels finally withdrew under the terms of an agreement facilitated by the international community. Now the village is nearly empty, with mostly old people living there. Even though the authorities and the UNHCR told us that the preparations for the return of the population have started, the people in the village were clearly in need of more humanitarian help. I should like to draw attention to the humanitarian situation of the people affected by the conflict, both those who are displaced and those who have stayed in the villages which have been damaged by military activities. Assistance, both from government and international sources, to these people must be intensified as a matter of urgency.

5.       Position of other ethnic minorities with regard to the current conflict

34.       The delegation met with representatives of other ethnic minorities living in Macedonia, namely Turk, Roma, Vlach, Serb and Bosnian. Their main preoccupation, apart from the fear of being drawn into a civil war, was that the rights of their minority should not suffer as a result of the future arrangements based on the agreement between the two main communities.

35.        I consider it highly important to ensure that the rights of all minorities are guaranteed in all Macedonia. The improvement in the position of one minority must not be made at the expense of the others. By being granted more rights in the areas where they are in a majority, the ethnic Albanians must now feel more responsible for the protection of the rights of all other people living in these regions.

6.       Reform of local self-government

36.       The delegation met with the Minister for Local Self-Government, who informed it about the on-going reform of local self-government launched two years ago. The reform will be based on four basic laws:

-       the law amending the current law on self-government (a draft is now being discussed in government);

-       the law on local finance (now being drafted);

-       the law on the city of Skopje (now being drafted);

-       the law on the territorial division of Macedonia (now being drafted).

These laws should come into force in 2002 and give powers to the local authorities in about 20 new areas of action.

7.       Conclusions

37.        After the visit, I am more than ever convinced that the recommendations formulated in the June Resolution are justified and that the recommended measures must be taken and implemented without further delay. In this respect, the delegation noted with satisfaction that progress has been clearly accomplished on nearly all requirements contained in Resolution 1255 (2001). The agreement, which has been reached, seems to give satisfaction to the Assembly’s demands.

38.        The crucial question will now be the necessary endorsement of the agreement by the Parliament and its implementation. In this respect, our Assembly must clearly state that we, as an international human rights organisation, consider that the measures agreed between the political leaders correspond to Council of Europe standards and that we see this agreement as a unique chance to achieve a peaceful solution to the conflict. This opportunity must not be missed.

39.        On the other hand, we must do our best to contribute to the implementation of the agreement. I took note, with great interest, of the proposals for the co-operation programmes in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” discussed in the Rapporteur Group for Democratic Stability (GR-EDS) of the Committee of Ministers. Some activities (i.e. local government, international observation of the population census and Stability Pact projects) of the initial package of activities have already been agreed upon with the authorities concerned, and more are envisaged in other areas of expertise of the Council of Europe.

40.       The Council of Europe’s expertise may certainly be useful in many areas, but, as for myself, I should like to put emphasis on the following three concrete issues:

- develop and implement confidence building measures

- help to accelerate the reform of local self-government.

-       promote education, and in particular, help to the South East University;

41.        On these issues, action should be taken immediately as they have a direct impact on the political situation in Macedonia.

42.        Furthermore, we must encourage the creation of a favourable regional context for the implementation of the Framework Agreement. The neighbouring countries must intensify their action to prevent armed ethnic Albanian extremists from receiving support from abroad.

43.       Concerning humanitarian issues, however, the situation remains seriously preoccupying in some parts of the country. On 12 September, the Red Cross indicated that there are some 76.000 internally displaced persons. The UNHCR says that the total number of returnees stands at approximately 50.000 (without mountain crossings). Over 32.000 persons remain displaced in Kosovo. Concerning security, worrying clashes between government troops and ethnic Albanian extremist groups, using heavy weapons, have been reported and confirmed near Tetovo on 16 September 2001.

44.       I am convinced that there is no solution to the conflict other than a peaceful one and that these actions are counter-productive to the process, which has been agreed upon by all parties and which was started-up by the Framework Agreement on 13 August 2001. Moreover, the creation of a secure environment accompanied by appropriate confidence building measures is a precondition for a safe and sustainable return of all refugees.

45.        As I declared above, all the principles formulated in Resolution 1255 (2001) remain valid, mainly our support for the territorial sovereignty of Macedonia, the respect for the rights of all citizens and ethnic groups, the condemnation of the armed action by ethnic Albanian extremist groups and of all extremist violence in general. A lot has been achieved since June. We must now work together to transform the words of the agreement into a real life scenario.

Reporting committee  : Political Affairs Committee

Reference to committee : Reference No. 2622, 25/06/01, Resolution 1255 (2001)

Draft resolution adopted by the committee on 24 September 2001 with one abstention

Draft recommendation unanimously adopted by the committee on 24 September 2001

Members of the committee : Davis (Chairman), Jakic (Vice-Chairman) Baumel (Vice-Chairman), Toshev (Vice-Chairman), Adamia, Aliyev, Arzilli, Atkinson, Bakoyianni, Bársony, Behrendt, Berceanu, Bergqvist, Bianchi, Björck, Blaauw (alternate: van der Linden), Bühler, Cekuolis, Clerfayt, Daly, Demetriou, Derycke, Diaz de Mera alternate: Lopez Gonzalez), Dokle, Dreyfus-Schmidt, Durrieu, Evangelisti, Feric-Vac, Frey, Fyfe, Gjellerod, Glesener, Gligoroski, Gross, Gül, Hornhues, Hovhannisyan, Hrebenciuc, Irtemçelik, Ivanenko, Iwinski, Karpov, Kautto, Kilclooney of Armagh, Kirilov, Kotsonis, Krzaklewski, Martinez-Casan, Medeiros Ferreira, Mota Amaral, Mutman, Naudi Mora, Neguta, Nemkova, Neuwirth, Ojuland, Oliynyk, Prisacaru, Prusak, de Puig, Ragnarsdottir, Rogozin, Schieder, Schloten, Selva, Spindelegger, Squarcialupi, Stepová, Surjan, Thoresen, Timmermans (alternate: Zwerver), Udovenko, Vakilov (alternate: Seyidov), Vella, Weiss (alternate: Svec), Wielowieyski, Wohlwend, Zuiganov, N. ……….. (alternate : Paegle)

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

APPENDIX

Press Release

“Political courage” needed to avert escalation of the crisis in Macedonia

Strasbourg, 19.07.2001 - The political forces engaged in negotiations to avoid escalation of the crisis in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” should realise their historical responsibility towards the citizens of the country and show the political courage necessary to reach agreement, a visiting delegation of Council of Europe parliamentarians has said.

If they fail, there is a serious danger that “the point of no return” will be crossed, the parliamentarians warned.

The six members of the ad hoc committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe issued a statement at the end of a four-day visit to Macedonia (16-19 July), during which they met the President of Macedonia, the Speaker of Parliament, the Prime Minister, ministers, representatives of ethnic minorities and civil society and EU Special Representative François Léotard.

The delegation called for greater involvement of parliament and civil society in the search for a political solution, and said it was seriously preoccupied by the humanitarian situation of the people affected by the conflict. Neighbouring countries should do their best to prevent arms supplies to extremists.

Measures called for by the Parliamentary Assembly in June − including constitutional changes to improve the use of the Albanian language and ensure adequate representation of ethnic Albanians in public institutions − should be taken without further delay, they said.

The Parliamentary Assembly will debate the situation in the country during its September 2001 part-session.

1 The use in the text of the term “Macedonia” is for descriptive purposes and the convenience of the reader : it does not prejudge the position of the Assembly on the question of the name of the state.

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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.