PRESS CONFERENCE BY FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

The confrontation in Macedonia was not between Macedonians and Albanians, but between the ballot box and taking up arms, the permanent representative of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon. 

Naste Calovski said that Macedonia was witnessing a situation of aggression by Kosovo.  Europe, the international community and the United Nations could not tolerate the current situation.  Efforts by Kosovo extremists were continuing and must be stopped.  Terrorism should be condemned.  A few hours prior to the press conference a large group of well-armed extremists from Kosovo had tried to enter Macedonia, but had failed. 

He hoped that efforts by the international community to promote peace would soon bear fruit.  No State, international organization or legitimate political leader in Macedonia or Albania supported the effort of terrorist extremists to promote their agenda.  That agenda had nothing to do with the human rights situation of Albanians in Macedonia, as Albanians in Macedonia were in all respects equal with Macedonians.  They were not considered a minority, but a nationality.

"There is no national minority in Europe more recognized, more involved in the system than the Albanian population in Macedonia", he said.  They had many legitimate political parties and were present in the media and culture.  The integration of the Albanian community was an ongoing, successful process.  At the moment, one of the leading Albanian parties was a part of Macedonia's coalition government.  Five cabinet members were Albanian, as were two army generals and the Deputy Minister of the Interior. 

Quoting several recent media reports, Mr. Calovski said that the Albanian leader in Macedonia had criticized the Albanian rebels and did not support their use of force.  A democratic Macedonia was crucial to the stability of the region.  The Security Council, the Secretary-General and Member States all agreed that what had started should be stopped, and that further measures should be taken to prevent an escalation of events.

The terrorist group's agenda, he said, was to see that a part of Macedonia's territory was added to Kosovo.  The aim was to destabilize Macedonia by "liberating" part of Macedonia's territory in the North, adding it to Kosovo and creating a larger, independent Kosovo State.  "Of course, this is utopia, but this is what they are in fact fighting for", he said.  It was not a legitimate reason for fighting, as Albanians throughout the Balkan region, particularly in Macedonia and in Albania, did not approve of such an Albanian "cause".

Macedonia was determined to bring the situation to a quick end, Mr. Calovski added.  In that regard, Macedonia's army and police had given the terrorists an ultimatum to leave Macedonian territory as soon as possible.  Macedonia had hesitated using military force, because of its long-established tradition of avoiding the loss of life.  The rebels could easily be "eliminated", because they were encircled.  However, the terrain in that area also meant that many civilians

would also suffer.  "The dilemma is how to finish this affair -- this adventure -- without having human loss", he said.

Asked to comment on his Government’s refusal to accept the offer by the President of Croatia to moderate between the Albanians and Macedonians, Mr. Calovski said that the Albanians in Macedonia were a part of the Government, the Parliament and all of Macedonia's Government institutions.  The system was completely open to them.  Although Macedonia had welcomed the suggestion of the President, it had found it unnecessary.

A correspondent said that Mr. Calovski had told the Security Council last week that he wanted to see "stronger action".  What in particular was he referring to?  Mr. Calovski said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)and the stabilization force -– KFOR -- were responsible for security in Kosovo.  The terrorists or extremists came from Kosovo.  He wanted to see NATO and KFOR better control the border between Kosovo and Macedonia, so that there could be no spillover of tension from Kosovo to Macedonia.  He welcomed NATO's promise to do that, and expected that it would.  Although Macedonia did not like to close the border to normal civilian traffic, it did not want to see such spillover.

Was his Government disappointed that the United States was not willing to send troops and become more involved in stopping the conflict? a correspondent asked.  At the present, the issue was still a subject of discussion, Mr. Calovski said.  His understanding was that the United States, like the other members of NATO, were discussing the question.  It was not fair to say that one country or another was distancing itself.  All of the members were involved in consultations and their decisions remained to be seen.

Did that mean that his country had requested that the United States provide greater support, beyond sealing the border? a correspondent asked.  All NATO member States had been asked to review the crisis properly and then take appropriate action, Mr. Calovski responded.  Macedonia's Foreign Minister had been present at the NATO meeting on Monday in Brussels.

A correspondent asked what he meant by "appropriate action".  Mr. Calovski responded that that was what NATO was trying to figure out.  For him, appropriate action would be totally closing the border between Kosovo and Macedonia -- on the Kosovo side -- to terrorists from Kosovo.  Macedonia could deal with the situation if the border were fully closed.  If, in the future, Macedonia could not handle the situation, it might consider asking NATO for assistance. 

How successful was Macedonia's cooperation with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in solving the conflict? a correspondent asked.  He said politically there was close cooperation between the two governments.  There was also open communication.  The situation between the two countries had changed completely with the new administration in Belgrade.  But, Macedonia was mainly trying to solve the problem in cooperation with NATO, and not with other States in the region.  Of course, Macedonia was in close contact with other countries, including Albania, Greece, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia.  The problem was that the terrorists would not heed their appeals and requests.

Was the language of the pending draft resolution in the Security Council strong enough, a correspondent asked.  Mr. Calovski said that he had been involved

in all the stages of the draft resolution's preparations.  The message was that the violence should stop immediately.  From that point of view, the language of the draft was very good.  From the point of view of territorial integrity, the language was also very correct and in accordance with the United Nations Charter.  The resolution was a positive effort on the part of the Security Council.  Macedonia would like to see it adopted as soon as possible.

Would the resolution be enough to stop the terrorists from fighting? a correspondent asked.  That was difficult to answer, since so far they had not been mindful of international law or calls by the Secretary-General, the Security Council and NATO, he said.  The main aim was to convince them, by political means, to stop.  It would be easy to handle the situation with force, but Macedonia did not want to do that.

Asked to comment on the rebel's desire to build a greater Kosovo, Mr. Calovski said that they were fighting for a lost cause.  There was no chance that the borders in the Balkans would be changed, or that another ethnic Albanian State would be created.

Why had the fighting started at the current time? a correspondent asked.   Mr. Calovski said that the rebels thought the troubles in the Balkans were drawing to an end and that it was their last chance to take action.  While such reasoning was counterproductive for all the Albanians in the region, it was particularly counterproductive for the Albanians in Kosovo, who were engaged in a political struggle.  That was why legitimate politicians in Kosovo did not support the terrorists. 

In response to a question, Mr. Calovski said that Macedonia was not concerned that it could not deal with the terrorists, but that the situation would affect the country's efforts to integrate into the European Union as soon as possible.  Economic achievements in Macedonia last year would undoubtedly be affected by the fighting.

Was the fighting related to Albanian criminal gangs that required part of Macedonia for trafficking routes? a correspondent asked.  Many of the criminal businesses were coming to a close with new developments in the region, he said.  Many illegal things did go on in the area, including drug trafficking and prostitution.  The continuation of instability was in the favour of criminal organizations.

Asked to respond to the comment that many Albanians in Macedonia felt like second-class citizens, Mr. Calovski said that while education had been a problem, new legislation had been passed to make it easier for Albanians to enroll in universities.  The legislation allowed for "positive discrimination" in favour of Albanians.  Also, there were no restrictions on Albanians that would keep them from entering the military or the police force.  Albanians held several ambassadorships in countries, including Italy, Denmark and, up until recently, France.  "You could not make the case that Albanians were discriminated against", he said.

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