PRESS BRIEFING BY SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
Press Briefing
PRESS BRIEFING BY SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
19960909
FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY
The situation in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia could get complicated in the longer term unless "some decisive steps were taken towards greater rapprochement and better understanding" between the ethnic communities, the Chief of Mission of the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP), Henryk J. Sokalski, told a Headquarters press briefing held on Friday afternoon, 6 September.
Mr. Sokalski, who is the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, referred to lack of trust, intolerance and very little dialogue between those communities. The region's political culture, which was different from the rest of Europe, also contributed to the problems.
He told a correspondent that there had to be a dialogue between the communities and that was what UNPREDEP had been facilitating in the political aspects of the mission.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Sokalski said UNPREDEP was the first United Nations preventive diplomacy operation in terms of the Secretary-General's Agenda for Peace. It had been functioning in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia since December 1992. The name was a temporary one pending the settlement of differences with Greece. The UNPREDEP's primary task was monitoring and reporting on developments along the northern and western borders with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Albania, respectively.
The operation was challenging and novel, he said. "We are a laboratory of a new kind of preventive peace-keeping because the United Nations had been invited there to prevent an outbreak of a conflict." It had been successful, so far, he added. "We are doing, we believe, a very good job which has been appreciated by the international community, the host country, and as well as by its neighbours."
The UNPREDEP's mandate and functions included monitoring the border areas and reporting to the Secretary-General any developments which could pose a threat to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. It was also to deter, by its presence, such threats from any source, as well as help prevent clashes which could otherwise occur between external elements and forces of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, thus helping to strengthen security and confidence in the country. The UNPREDEP was also to use good offices as
appropriate, in cooperation with the country's authorities, to contribute to the maintenance of peace and stability in the country, under the provisions of Security Council resolution 908 (1994).
A total of 1,050 very select troops specialized in peace-keeping, made up of 500 Nordic troops, 500 United States army task force and 50 Indonesian engineering platoon had been deployed, he said. They operated along the two borders with 21 permanent and some 33 observation posts, 35 military observers and 26 civilian police monitors.
Another UNPREDEP function, a relatively new one, was the human dimension in which it tried to concentrate on promoting the proper conduct of social integration, Mr. Sokalski said. The concept was based also on the Agenda for Peace, some recommendations of the Security Council as well as some from the 1995 World Summit for Social Development. The Force was operating in a multi- ethnic society with problems and tensions among different ethnic groups, not only between ethnic Macedonians and ethnic Albanians. It was generally agreed that its presence had contributed considerably to easing those tensions and maintaining stability in the country.
He said the answer to questions about the mission's future was that being the first operation of its kind nobody probably knew when it should be ended. "The simplest way to define such a departure would be that when the reasons or the causes for the introduction of a United Nations force ceased to exist, the operation should be finished." In the case of UNPREDEP, he said the host country did not believe that the causes for its presence had ceased to exist. There were a number of tensions, both external and internal. Externally were mainly the situation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro); along the borders; the uncertain situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially before the election; and the unknown situation in Kosovo. The internal situation concerned the inter-ethnic tensions he had already mentioned. That was why he believed that there should be progress in resolving the issues that led to the introduction of UNPREDEP.
Replying to questions, Mr. Sokalski said that at the moment some ethnic Macedonians were afraid that the ethnic Albanians might have a secret plan of one day joining a greater Albania. The ethnic Albanians on the other hand, believed that the Macedonians would want to outmanoeuvre them from public life and relegate them to second-class status. "None of these is true to the full extent but such suspicions exist and they very heavily weigh on the political situation in the country", he added.
He also said that the lack of trust could be blamed on some people trying to "live in the past". There had been some positive developments. The movement towards Europe was growing much more faster than the elimination of old prejudices and feelings. The UNPREDEP's exhortation to the people not to believe in historical fatalism had often been met with such remarks as "but we
Sokalski Briefing - 3 - 9 September 1996
live in the Balkans. Things are different here". He said they could not achieve their aim of joining Europe under such slogans of the old Balkans. "So either there will be Balkans in Europe or Europeans in the Balkans." Most leaders of the country were fully aware of the needs of modern times. The country had joined several European intergovernmental bodies, such as the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The issue of the country's name stood in the way of stronger integration in the region. Some organizations were prepared to accept it under the name of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, while the leaders were determined to respect their constitutional name.
Responding to another question, he said the issue of intolerance could not be based on lack of education. On the contrary, the country's intelligentsia was very well trained and good professionals. They could not show all their capabilities sometimes because of lack of money or facilities. The intolerance was sometimes based on very different cultural traditions. Women's issues were extremely important in the country and called for special education. There were only 4 women in the 120-member parliament. The UNPREDEP's presence had been welcomed by all political forces which saw it as helpful to the country.
Replying to a question about the border areas, Brigadier General Bo Wranker, Force Commander of UNPREDEP, said the situation there was calm and stable. There had been problems with illegal crossings, particularly by smugglers.
Mr. Sokalski and General Wranker had met Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali in the morning and later briefed the Security Council and members of the UNPREDEP troop-contributing countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, United States and Indonesia).
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