KOHA SUMMARY # 110

FRONT PAGE: TOWARDS THE REPUBLIC OF COMPUTERS

DATE: 3 July 1996

EDITORIAL

THE MOUSTACHES OF THE SPANISH WOMEN

by VETON SURROI

Why do the Spanish women shave their moustaches, an English tabloid inquired?

To distinguish themselves from their brothers, was the answer, several days before the
football match between England and Spain in the European Championship celebrated in
England. In a series of articles, English tabloids, well known for their lack of seriousness and
scruples as well as an exaggerated invention for sensationalism, dealt with everything
Spanish, but football, and thus discovered that it was the Spaniards that brought in syphilis to
Europe from America (Colombo's expedition).

What do the supposed moustaches of the Spanish women and venereal diseases have to do
with the ability of the Spaniards to play football, this was not mentioned by the editors of the
tabloids. The important thing was to create animosity towards the Spaniards, as was the case
also with the Germans, several days later. The front pages of the tabloids made clear allusions
about the role of the German in WWII, and the victory of the English.

Naturally, all of this ended in Trafalgar Square, in a two hours long fight between the fans,
disappointed with the defeat from the Germans, and London policemen, who were probably
as disappointed as the fans. The ordinary path from the creation of stereotypes with inevitable
prejudice and up to the confrontation, in the English case was brief: one or two weeks of
inflating psychological pressures and you'll have thousands of people on Trafalgar Square
willing to fight because they think they are right. Moreover, I believe that in the exchange of
blows the most irrelevant thing for both parties is whether the Spanish women shave their
moustaches or not.

Since football is often taken as illustration of live itself, one can't escape the parallels. Those
who read newspapers in the '80s and the beginning of the '90s remember the articles of the
"new Serbian journalism" where Slovenes and Croats were Austrian cowboys, the Bosnians
are Serbianized Turks or Turkicized Serbs (altogether: anti-Serbs) while sexual relations
among Albanians were planned strategic anti-Serb acts. With extremely tragic consequences,
these stereotypes were confronted and fell apart broadly both in the case of Slovenia and
Croatia, as well as B&H, and time will come, not so faraway, when they will change also in
regard to Albanians. In fact, the process of changes has started widely, and those Serbs who

The weekly Koha (The Times) was published in Prishtina (Kosovo) between 1994 and 1997. Edited by Veton
Surroi, a young Kosovar journalist and one of the pioneers of democratisation in former Yugoslavia, Koha
soon became a symbol of quality among the region's media. In 1997 it started to be published daily under the
name of Koha Ditorë. W ith the kind permission of Mr. Surroi, Koha digests were originally posted on
http://koha.estudiosbalcanicos.org.
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exchanged bullets and grenades with the others didn't even dream of, for example, imagining
a Croat as an Austrian's cowboy.

What stereotypes do Albanians have? Not very many, moreover the harshest that came into
my mind is a six years' old term, "Serbian-Slavic-Communist", which could still be read here
and there, and which was supposed to qualify, naturally with stereotypy and prejudice, the
Serbian genetics towards Slavicism and Communism. And, as any other stereotype, it will be
confronted to the reality that inside the Serbian people there are many other more relevant
interests rather than defending Slavicism or Communism.

Is it possible that there are so few stereotypes among us? I believe that they do exist and are
maybe not being expressed in public. Maybe we are more careful. And, maybe this is an
illustration that in the Kosovan society there are no similar interpretations to the one made by
the Bulgarian player Stoichkov, when accused of making racist comments on a black French
player, replied: "Yes, this is normal. All do it".

KOSOVA

THE SERBIAN RESISTANCE OF THE MOVEMENT

by YLBER HYSA / Prishtina

"We have been expecting Serbia on these lands (Kosova) since long ago, and we haven't
experienced it yet, but as you see, neither did we see him" - said one of the 350 participants of
the long-announced of the Kosova Serbs on 22 June. The meeting had been preceded by an
increased activity of the Serbian Movement of Resistance, including he collection of 40
thousand signatures of Kosovan Serbs, that was actually an invitation to President Milosevic
to come and participate in their June meeting and explain to them what was going to happen
with Kosova.

"We didn't even think that he wouldn't come" - said some time ago in a press conference the
chairman of the SMR, Moma Trajkovic, meanwhile his colleague Mirko Cupic, an activist if
the Fushë-Kosovë lobby in the eighties, when Milosevic was being promoted in Kosova, said
that "no intelligent President could refuse the invitation of 40 thousand members of his
people"!

It seems that Milosevic has decided to not be "intelligent" thus so much expected 22 June
happened without him. But this time the "happening of the people" was far away from the old
one. Only some 350 Kosovan Serbs gathered in the garden of the Graçanica Monastery, since
the "Socialist directors of tens of halls, including that of the Parliament of Kosova, didn't
allow us to use them" - said one of the leaders of the "Movement...", the veteran Kosta
Bulatovic. Thus, Graçanica remained as the only alternative, which after Bishop Artemije's
consent, opened its gates to the representatives of the dissatisfied Kosova Serbs, who had
reserved a chair for the missing Serbian President in the improvised "hall".

"We are no destructive quarrellers" - said Trajkovic in his speech. "We represent our people,
who has chosen us to represent it in the talks with President Milosevic, so we would explain
to him our concern, our fear and consideration for our future and so he would explain his

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national platform for the solution of the Kosova issue"- said Trajkovic further on. "We will
demand to get into a situation of active peace from a situation between war and peace. We
want to decide about our future" - concluded the Chairman of the SMR.

The others had also expressed their concern about the solution of Kosova's issue, they had
complained and had expressed their fears.

And, despite the fact that everything was going in circles without the presence of the Serbian
president, there were also those who were openly against his presence. Nebojsa Jovic, from
Mitrovica said that it was good that Milosevic hadn't come. He should remember what he
promised the Serbs on the other side of the Drina and what have they gained. "I fear that he is
the man that has handed over Kosova in Dayton", he said. Meanwhile, the federal MP,
Serbian radical Milorad Jevric said that even if Milosevic would have come, he wouldn't be
able to answer many of our questions!

Anyhow, despite the anti-Milosevic tones, the impression the Kosovan Serbs gave, without
the presence and support of their former leader and hero, was that of chickens in fog. This fog
seems to have grown thicker after the interview Mira Markovic gave to Prishtina TV in
Serbian, when in "the internationalist manner", she had talked against the "divisions and
separations". The message was clear: coexistence - a word that didn't sound as a melody in
the ears of Kosovan Serbs. Moreover, as commented by some experts on the Kosova Serbs
community, some of them who have had quite some benefits and all sorts of profits, find it
tragic to go back to the normal situation - for this means an end to their gains. The majority of
theleaders of the SMR have dealt with business in public enterprises in the past years, and are
also owners if private enterprises. But, of course, this is not the only problem. After all the
mess created in the past years where the Kosova Serbs have invested everything, even some
of them were fully in the service of the government, including here services which can clearly
be qualified as repressive against the Albanians, the return to normal would mean either
defeat of compromise. In fact, SMR is also composed by some people of the ruling SPS,
some members of the Ministry of Interior and the Army (in the press conference, Cupic said
that 700 of them have signed the petition sent to Milosevic!), and then, there are also some
radicals and members of the Serbian opposition that are against the regime. This could
represent a core of a future political organization of Kosovan Serbs. Even, at the end, the
participants of the meeting in Graçanica decided that the council of the SMR should be
registered as an organization and should continue "the political and democratic struggle for
preserving Kosova within Serbia!"

If it happens so, then the SMR will represent something more than an association of former
"meeting-demonstrators". If it manages to gather the most relevant part of the Kosovan Serbs,
in a extra-party concept, it could soon become the number one political party of the Serbs in
Kosova before the elections that will take place within several months. According to some
unconfirmed information, the leaders of the SMR travelled to Belgrade recently, and besides
making some consultations, are expected to try and register the organization.

These hastened movements of the "SMR" come precisely in times when the activity of the
ruling party as well as of its sister organization JUL is increasing, in the direction of making
some changes in the political life in Kosova, and which is a direct result of the pressure of the
international community, or rather, trying to evade a larger international pressures. And, apart
from Markovic's statement on Serbian TVP, recently we could hear another statement that has
cooled off the Serbs in Kosova. This time it was Slavica Djukic Dejanovic, vice-chairman of

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the SPS declared that dialogue between the Serbs and Albanians is expected, but there is no
specific date. She also said that there is no reason for the concern of the Kosova Serbs and
Montenegrins. Because, according to the juridical acts that regulate the issues of the rights of
citizens, they are in no worse position that the other citizens throughout the country, she said.
Translated into more understandable words for the Kosova Serbs, this maybe could mean that
they (the Kosova Serbs) should be prepared to become equal to the Albanians! "Serbs and
Albanians should accept the fact that they must continue to live together, and that they must
make efforts to create a stable and friendly atmosphere", said Djukic-Dejanovic, in a
presentation quoted also by international agencies.

Compared to the presentations of the two ladies of the leftist parties that reflect the power in
Serbia, the statements coming from the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts about the
"redefinition" (division) in Kosova, are the other part of the cool-hot tactics that the Serbs are
facing. Wherever they go between these two extremes - coexistence or division - in both
variants, Kosova Serbs will be the biggest losers! For the first time after so much time, thanks
to the irony of fate, it puts them on the same position as the Albanians have had since many
years (although they have totally opposite interests and goals)! If we coexist, therefore also
with "majorization" (as the Kosova Serbs call this whole matter), this will mean that they will
have the same conditions and the same start for employment, education, social assistance,
etc., it will meas the loss of the existing position. If Kosova is divided (and which is hard to
imagine without war!) they still lose. They will lose the property and become refugees! If
what they say is not done, the Kosova Serbs threat with massive emigration! This threat
seems not to upset anyone, including the ruling party and the wide public opinion, both Serb
and Albanian.

Therefore, whatever happens, the fate of the Kosova Serbs will be similar to that of the
Kosova Albanians. The quicker they understand this, the better the outcome....

INTERVIEW

KASTRIOT MUÇO, Chairman of the Confederation of the Trade Unions of Albania

TIMES OF FREE TRADE-UNIONS

Interviewed by AFRIM GJONBALAJ / Brussels

KOHA: You have been invited as an observer to the 16th Congress of the World's Free
Trade-Unions. Your impressions?

MUÇO: This is the most important event in the world of the trade-unions. Our presence in
this Congress, for the first time, as observers helps the integration process of Albania in
Europe, because this integration can't take place without the integration of the trade-unions.

KOHA: What were your requests addressed to the world's trade-unions?

MUÇO: As observers, we were excluded from the Congress discussions. Otherwise, our
requests regard the improvement of the working conditions and the workers' rights,

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employment, trade-union freedoms and rights, problems of privatization, as well as other
issues that are part of the legislation, application of provisions and working standards, etc.

KOHA: What is the role of the trade-unions in Albania?

MUÇO: Trade-Unions in Albania are not at the level of the western trade-unions that have
great authority in the area of the protection of workers' rights. Our trade-unions are in a
transitional phase, in a process of their formation and consolidation. The Albanian economy,
being in a transition phase, created a large number of unemployed. The private sector is the
one where a considerable number of workers is facing new difficulties that transition brought.
Thus, in this process, the contribution of trade-unions can't be denied, for they have attempted
to codify the rules of labor. The new Labor Law has been adopted, and it foresees more
advanced standards of the workers. This, of course, is not an ideal law, because the three
structures that must function in Albania proper are being developed and all of these must
comply with the new democracy - that of the market.

KOHA: How many trade-unions are there in Albania?

MUÇO: The Confederation of trade-unions of Albania has gained quite much from the
experience of the western trade-unions. Our structure has been built up vertically. Today we
have 12 federations made up of different professions, which function on national level under
the umbrella of the Confederation, and which function in the field in order to assist the
effectiveness of the trade-unions. Today in Albania we have two major trade-unions, not
including here the smaller trade-unions. The cooperation among all of us is good. We are
willing to sit and talk to other trade-unions. The reason is that we face still some difficulties
and we must overcome them. We must be in the same front, because the ethics of the trade-
unions is to defend the rights of the workers.

KOHA: Albania is en-route to opening its market, which besides many good things will also
cause a surplus of labor force.

MUÇO: The restructuring of free economy causes surplus. Nevertheless, the trade-unions in
Albania insist that their opinions should be listened to more carefully in this transition period.
Many products of the Albanian industry are competitive and under the conditions of free
economy. It is unallowable and unpardonable to, let's say, import water from Italy or salt from
Greece, although we can find these products even in our country. This means that it is logical
to have a surplus of workers in these conditions. A clearer statal policy, an better elaborated
economic strategy would allow an increased internal production, and thus will enable more
employment. Albania needs new jobs, but with a clear strategy. This, unfortunately, is
missing.

KOHA: World's trade-unions are experiencing the liberalization of economy very negatively.
Unemployment, poverty, inequality...

MUÇO: The main topic of this congress is also an object of discussion in our Confederation.
We do not accept the totally liberal policy, we can't agree to the state's refusal to fulfil all its
public obligations. Naturally, this Albanian state can't be the same as the old one, however the
present state must safeguard the law. It creates civil rights, but it can't give up on the qualified
public services. The state has strong obligations in education - educating the people, in health,
in creating conditions for a better life. We, actually have over half a million of retired people

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in Albania that have a miserable life. They have contributed all their life and they have not
been rewarded as it corresponds. Actually, present Albania must firstly pay attention to the
human being and his/her interests. The adopted laws on labor rights must be applied and not
remain just a piece of paper as it has happened in the past years. The reforms can't be such
just in name, but it must be something for the good of the people. We have phenomenons of
corruption, while the riches have become property of individuals, while the others who have
worked all their life are at the border of the existence.

KOHA: How much has the government supported these requests?

MUÇO: The Albanian government is facing too many problems and of course these can't be
solved within one month, a year or some years. The government must understand that the
development of democratic values can't be developed without considering the opinions of the
trade-unions. We as a laborers association have imposed on the government quite some
opinions. However, we have often found ourselves facing the fait accompli. We insist on a
wider cooperation between the government and us.

KOHA: The protection of labor rights in Albania today.

MUÇO: The main objective of the trade-unions is to defend these values of the workers.
Without assuring employment for the unemployed, there is no democracy, for without work
there is no life. This includes their health protection both for the employed and unemployed.
Our confederation has had an important role in this direction. We have often taken even
radical steps, such as hunger-strikes, in order to fulfil our demands. But, we wish dialogue to
have the main importance. We see our government today as a constructive opponent, not yet
an enemy.

KOHA: What kind of social policy does Albania support, and are the trade-unions active in
this direction?

MUÇO: Naturally, there is a lack of a clear determination in this direction, we are lacking a
long-term social policy. This policy would be respected if the rules would be respected by the
three partners. The trade-unions are interested in having the workers being paid justly for the
work they do. These values got lost in Albania with the arrival of the capitalist system. We
have quite some breaches of the labor rights, when workers are payed way below what they
are entitled to. The existing social policy in Albania is not sufficient.

MACEDONIA

THE SURVEY AND THE HOT SUMMER

by ISO RUSI / Shkup

Peace is very important to the citizens of Macedonia, and according to the majority of them,
the main threat to peace is the eventual social unrest because of social injustice and the
Albanian question, i.e the eventual conflict in Kosova or the internal collision between
Macedonians and Albanians. This is briefly the result of the survey done by the specialized
agency "Data press" (within "Nova Makedonija"). The survey was done with 2,800 phone

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subscribers who were chosen at random. The majority of the surveyed also considers that
UNPREDEP must remain here as guarantee of the stability, but if war starts, they also await
for the assistance of the NATO, the USA, and the least they expect is to defend themselves
from an eventual aggression with their own forces.

Over 70% of the surveyed declared that peace is the biggest value to Macedonia, therefore
44,56% of them think that the citizens themselves have preserved it, then 42,15% consider
that this is Gligorov's merit, and a very few of them considers that this was thanks to the
international community's engagement (UNPREDEP, USA, NATO). It is interesting that in
the former surveys of the same agency, the threat of the conflict in Macedonia usually was the
only "threat to peace". This time the surveyed mentioned social injustice (39,86%), and then
the conflict between Macedonians and Albanians (29,29%) and war in Kosova (12,43%).
Another way to safeguard peace in the best possible practice is economic development
(44,05%), then coexistence and democracy (22,12%). It is interesting that the "military factor"
was the less mentioned, for only around 9,5% really believe in proper military forces and the
NATO. The ratio is 3:1 in favor of the western alliance. Even neutrality of Macedonia gained
more votes (around 15%)..

More than half of the citizens considers that UNPREDEP's presence is necessary, but only
one fourth of it considers that they can safeguard the peace, 20% are optimistic consider that
this is feasible. This fact is explained analytically: the UNPREDEP forces have not sufficient
equipment that could be used to prevent the eventual war in the country and the largest
number of the surveyed believes that UNPREDEP defends the interests of the UN, EU or
even the USA (All of them together over 50%), meanwhile 37,50% consider that they
exclusively protect the interests of the Republic of Macedonia. The attitude of the citizens
towards UNPREDEP is very interesting. They don't socialize much, they have a very few
personal contacts, but they don't mind their helicopters flying, the movement of armoured
vehicles, etc. Over half of the surveyed are not willing to eventually become part of the
peacekeeping forces. The national structure of the are in favor or against participation is very
interesting. Members of the Serb nationality were absolutely against (66,66%) while
somewhere around 40% of Albanians would willingly become members of a mission similar
to UNPREDEP.

Two ascertainments that were drawn by the investigators are very interesting. Citizens of the
Serb, Vlah, Gypsy, Turkish and even Albanian appertaining trust in the preservation of peace
in Macedonia much more than the Macedonians proper. In the sense of the UNPROFOR
mission, Macedonians, Gypsies and Turks do believe that this mission is for the good of the
country, even though generally speaking, they stress the importance of USA, EU and the UN.
There are regional differences, therefore the surveyed from Manastir (Bitola) consider that
UNPREDEP's mission is first of all in the interest of the USA.

Macedonians further believe that peace in Macedonia is threatened by the conflict with
Albanians (32,30%), Albanians do not believe that in such big numbers (23,13%), while the
surveyed Serbian population is much more convinced about it the previous (45,45%). On the
other hand, Macedonians tend to believe that peace can be safeguarded with the development
of economy and then through coexistence and development of democracy, meanwhile one
third of Albanians thinks that coexistence and the development of democracy are key
elements. Both express big reserves towards the variant that peace in Macedonian could be
preserved with its own military forces. Social injustice is the biggest threat for the highly
educated people. Men like economic stability, women prefer peace.

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All of this is understandable, but how can the results of this survey be taken? That people are
paying more importance to their full stomachs, therefore the threat comes from those who
have no salaries? Or that the empty stomach can cause ethnic conflicts?

This survey has, for the first time, emphasized the importance that people are giving to the
quality of life, i.e. survival. But it seems that in real life, despite the defeating data on the
bankruptcy, on lack of salaries, on low pensions, on the fact that many enterprises never paid
pension contributions for their workers, etc., people seem to manage. Grey economy is
flourishing, all try to survive as they can. The state, which is the biggest loser, is declaratively
against it, while in practice it tolerates this valve which eases social tensions. This is why the
dissatisfaction is not that obvious that it could cause a wider social uprising. It is summer, and
maybe it is easier for the ones who barely manage to survive the month. On the other hand
stand luxurious vehicles, full pubs and restaurants and exclusive boutiques. The "main"
problem of the police in Shkup these days is how to enforce the decision of the authorities on
the working hours of the restaurants and cafeterias. Midnight is the limit, and the dissatisfied
youth either goes to the discotheques or a parking lot in Vodno, where they spent almost the
whole night listening to music from their car-radios.

In the political plan, everything is slow. At the parliament, even topics that cause the inter-
ethnic sparks - as was the case with the draft-law on territorial definition, or the election of
judges of the municipal courts - didn't cause much heat. The last session of the parliament
was characterized with the noise about the adoption of the final accounts of last year's budget
and the appointment of the new manager of the Macedonian RTV. The noisiest were the
liberals. The ruin of the coalition League for Macedonia, it was obvious that Melpomeni
Kornuti had to step down from her post as manager of the RTV, to which she had come as a
liberal herself. The Social-Democratic League of Macedonia has just made it public recently,
that he one that holds power should control the basic electronic media. First, the parliament
formally rejected the annual report of the RTV and this was a reason enough to discharge the
manager. Naturally, she was immediately replaced by SDLM's candidate, Slobodan
Trajkovski who had been director of the TV previously. This time, his quality as a journalist
stood behind his party appertaining.

The Macedonian political scene was not really upset with the publication of the recent
Helsinki Watch report on the violation of human rights in Macedonia, which can be used
quite much by the opposition, while should make the ruling party think about. This could give
the government negative points for some issues that the west considers to be very important.

Maybe all of this is because of the hot and long summer.

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN MACEDONIA

A THREAT TO "STABILITY"

by HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

According to Human Rights Watch/Helsinki, the government of Macedonia is responsible for

the serious violations of human rights since the moment it seceded from Yugoslavia in 1991.
In a report called "A threat to `stability': Violation of Human Rights in Macedonia", Helsinki

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Watch shows that Macedonia has achieved substantial progress in the past five years,
towards the establishment of a democratic system based on the rule of law. Anyhow, very
serious problems remain. In times when the southern Balkans is burdened with political and
economic tensions, the government of Macedonia is also responsible for the "violation of the
rights of its citizens". The status of national minorities is especially worrying, especially that
of the considerable Albanian population. Despite some improvements, ethnic Albanians still
are discriminated against in the area of employment, administration and education in their
mother tongue.

But, national minorities are not the only victims in this country. The restrictions of the
freedom of press, violations during trials and attacks against the political opposition, affect
all Macedonian citizens, regardless of their national appertaining. A positive achievement is
the fact that Macedonia has evaded war that the former Yugoslavia experienced. The report
highly evaluates the "calming effect" that the UN forces, including 500 Americans, and the
OSCE mission had in the area.

Regardless of this, the report criticizes the both of them for underestimating the violations of
human rights in Macedonia, pretending that a "friendly government which is looked upon as
a stabilizing force can be only gently criticized". Stability is a valuable achievement, it
becomes possible when human rights are fully respected.

Macedonia faces difficulties on several fronts. As a former member of the Yugoslav

federation, the young republic is in transition from communism in which it must decentralize
its economy, construct democratic institutions and revitalize its civil society. These tasks,
demanding under any circumstances, have been made more difficult by Macedonia's
proximity to war in Bosnia. Bloody conflict in the former Yugoslavia has severely affected
the country by exacerbating inter-ethnic tensions, damaging the economy and threatening
stability in the region. United Nations forces have been deployed in Macedonia since 1992 to
prevent a spill-over of the war.

Despite these obstacles, Macedonia has taken some important steps toward democratization
since declaring its independence four and a half years ago. Substantive reform has opened the
door to the European institutions and laid the foundation for a multi-party system based on
the rule of law. Human rights are guaranteed in Macedonia's new constitution and most of the
relevant legislation.

Nevertheless, some serious problems remain. Although human rights principles are encoded
ibn Macedonian law, their application remains selective and incomplete. This is partially a
result of political and economic pressures in the southern Balkans, as well as of the country's
communist traditions. But at times, the current Macedonian government has been directly
responsible for violating the rights of its citizens.

The main human rights problem is the status of national minorities. Macedonia has a vast
number of minority groups, including Albanians, Turks, Roma, Serbs, Macedonian, Muslims
and Vlachs, all of whom complain of state discrimination. While some of their complaints are
politically motivated, the Macedonian government has not done all that it could to provide the
minority populations with their basic rights, especially regarding non-discriminatory
treatment in state employment and minority language education. The government has
addressed some of these problems during the past four years, but the lack of substantial
improvement has contributed to a deterioration in inter-ethnic relations. By far the largest and

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most vocal Macedonia's ethnic communities is the Albanians, who constitute almost one
quarter of the population, according to official statistics. Despite some improvements,
Albanians are still grossly under-represented in the police force and state administration, even
in areas where they constitute a majority. A highly restrictive citizenship law has left stateless
some ethnic Albanians with long-standing ties and family origins in the country.

A major complaint of the ethnic Albanians concerns higher education in the Albanian
language. An attempt in early 1995 to open a private Albanian-language university was
deemed illegal by the state and ordered shut down. The initiative continued nonetheless, and
an Albanian man was killed when police clashed with Albanians on the first day of classes.
The organizers of the university were imprisoned for a brief period after a trial that failed to
meet international standards - the second such trial against a group of prominent ethnic
Albanians in the past two years. But minority groups are not the only victims. All citizens of
Macedonia suffer from the country's weak democratic institutions, immature political parties
and economic hardships. Despite the adoption of democratic legal standards, for example,
there are still many violations of due process in Macedonian courts against all citizens
regardless of their ethnicity. Defendants are sometimes held in detention for longer than the
twenty-four hours allowed by the Macedonian law, submitted to physical abuse, denied
access to a lawyer of the right to a fair trial.

One fundamental problem is the slow pace of legislative reform. Despite constitutional
guarantees, which set time limits fort the revision of important legislation, many of
Macedonia's laws still date from the communist era. The delay has negatively affected the
development of Macedonia's judicial system.

The political opposition has also complained about mistreatment by the state, including
phone-tapping and police harassment. The main opposition party VMRO-DPMNE boycotted
the second round of parliamentary elections in 1994 to protest what it considered altered
voting lists and an outdated electoral law. International monitors from the Council of Europe
and the European Union reported on these irregularities but declared that they had not been
serious enough to invalidate the election.

Another problem in Macedonia involves freedom of the press. The state-run company Nova
Makedonija still has virtual monopoly on printing and distribution, which severely limits the
possibilities for an independent press. In May 1995, the government closed eighty-eight
private radio and television stations, especially some of the most influential minority stations,
allegedly for technical reasons. After protests, most were allowed to broadcast again.

These human rights problems in Macedonia are intensified by the country's tenuous economic
situation. The little industry that was based in Yugoslav Macedonia has mostly ground to a
halt. United Nations sanctions against Yugoslavia, in force from May 1993 until December
1995, and an eighteen-month embargo imposed by Greece cost the economy as estimated US
4 billion dollars in lost revenue. This difficult economic situation places further strains on
social relations within the country, especially between ethnic communities.

The international politics of the southern Balkans have also taken their toll on the young
country. Macedonia's neighbors, known in Macedonia as "the four wolves", have exhibited
behavior ranging from inhospitable to aggressive. Minority populations, irredentist
movements and hostile neighboring governments all threaten the very sovereignty of the

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country. An active nationalist opposition at home further limits the government's
maneuvering room.

The international community has recognized these threats to Macedonia's stability. A United
Nations Preventive Deployment Forces (UNPREDEP) and an Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring mission are in Macedonia to observe and report
on the internal and external threats to the country. In addition to UN patrols along the borders,
both organizations attempt to assist the government with the process of democratization and
occasionally mediate between various political forces, and especially ethnic communities.

The work of these two organizations reflects the international community's main policy goal
in Macedonia: stability. Both the United States and Europe fear a spread of war to Macedonia
since the conflict could draw in Greece and possibly Turkey, both members of NATO, as well
as Albania, Serbia and Bulgaria. In the name of stability, however, both the UN and OSCE
tend to defend the status-quo in Macedonia and downplay human rights violations within the
country. Only gentle criticism is directed against a friendly government that is seen as s
stabilizing force.

Indeed, stability in Macedonia is critical for the Balkans. Already the starting point of two
Balkan wars in this century, a war in Macedonia would have devastating effects for the region
and beyond. But human rights are an integral part of establishing long-term stability. A
lasting peace will only be secured when a democratic system is in place that guarantees full
rights for all citizens.

Despite the difficult circumstances in which is finds itself, the Macedonian government is
ultimately responsible to respect the fundamental human rights of all its citizens. Clearly,
there are individuals within the government who are trying to achieve this, But there are still
many instances in which the Macedonian government has not respected individual human
rights, as required by both Macedonian and international law.

RECOMMENDATIONS

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH/HELSINKI CALLS ON THE GOVERNMENT OF

MACEDONIA TO:

* Guarantee all citizens the right to a fair trail. Macedonian law requires that defendants
be informed of the reason for their arrest within forty-eight hours of their detention
and have access to a lawyer.

* Expedite the process of legislative reform, as is required under the Macedonian

constitution. Of particular need are new versions of the penal code and laws on civil,
criminal and executive procedure.

* Investigate allegations of police abuse and improper treatment of those in detention.

The government should prosecute to the fullest extent of the law all officials found to
have used excessive force.

* Establish a permanent structure through which citizens may file complaints of police
misconduct.

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* Guarantee that prisoners' rights are respected in accordance with international law.
This includes the right to be free from torture, cruel or inhuman treatment.

* Assure that members of minority groups are granted equal rights without
discrimination, in accordance with Macedonian and international law.

* Respect the constitutional right of minority groups freely to express, foster and
develop their identity and national attributes.

* Allow the formation of private educational institutions on all levels. This includes
adopting necessary laws and regulations for the accreditation of private schools.

* Adopt an affirmative action plan to recruit more minorities into government

positions.

* Continue to expand programs to enlist police from among Macedonia's ethnic

minorities.

* Guarantee that the Council on Inter-Ethnic Relations address the problems of national
minorities in good faith. Parliament should consider all of the council's proposals, as
is required by law.

* Adopt liberal criteria for citizenship applicants who lived in Macedonia and
considered it their primary community while it was still part of the former
Yugoslavia. The norms set out in the current citizenship law might more reasonably
be applied to those citizenship applicants who have never resided in former
Yugoslavia or were never citizens of the state.

* Assure that the Law on Citizenship is applied in a non-discriminatory manner. Avoid

arbitrary deprivation or denial of citizenship and work actively to minimize
statelessness in Macedonia.

* Provide a right of appeal for those denied citizenship by establishing an impartial,

non-partisan and multi-ethnic review commission.

* Guarantee that diverse viewpoints are given appropriate access to the state-run media
(publications of the Nova Makedonija company and the state-run television and radio)

* Pass a broadcast law to regulate the use of radio and television frequencies by private
senders. Licences to private television and radio broadcasters should be distributed in
a non-discriminatory manner without regard to political content. Private broadcasters
should have access to the state's network transmitters.

* In the absence of a law on radio broadcasting, the government should allow all private
radio and TV stations currently holding licences from the Ministry of Information to
operate freely.

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DOSSIER: COMPUTERS

TOWARDS THE REPUBLIC OF COMPUTERS

by DRITON HAPÇIU / Prishtina

The introduction of computers in Kosova started in "Trepça" 25 years ago when the first
computers were installed for the needs of the economic giant. There is no data about the real
function of those computers, but the fact is that they were installed and were functioning.

Let's leave history aside. The first more serious applications of computers in Kosova were
found in the electro-energetic system of Kosova, the United Bank of Kosova and the "Gani
Çavdërbasha" Accounting Center which prepared the bills for the rents and payment of
pensions.

The privilege to deal with informatics belonged only to the lucky that were employed in statal
institutions or huge enterprises that had often very expensive computers at their disposal.

The epidemics of massive connection of the Kosovans in computers started with the
appearance of the first consoles, ZX Spectrum and Commodore. The mania started spreading
rapidly and it then resembled the actual situation when children show off with their
SegaMegas or Nintendos. At the end of the '80s, the transition into the PC platforms resulted
with first more serious applications dedicated to its more professional applications. The first
programs for the accounting of the enterprises, first architectonic projects on computers
appeared, design applications, layout of magazines and newspapers... What was missing from
the beginning was the organized form of making informatics popularized.

The brain of the computer is identified with the processing unit that commands all actions
within. The identification of the statal organs with processors would be adequate, but in our
case, this unit seems to either work inadequately (as an 286) or not work at all. The
engagement of the statal institutions in spreading informatics could be qualified not as
marginal, but rather as catastrophic.

The lack of any sense to engage people that professionally work in this area, is not only of
educative importance but also has propaganda importance. The hackers were the ones who in
times of the war in Croatia had "bombarded" Internet with news on the terror and violence
occurring in Croatia. And, it is known, that the President of the USA, the UN, the Security
Council, the European Parliament... are among others connected to Internet. The only activity
being developed for the time being from the Kosova Information Center is sending their daily
report through the net.

The Electrotechnical Faculty, as an institution, should represent the main column, the disk-
unit of the eventual development of informatics in Kosova. But, if we refer to the work it has
done so far, except individual cases, seems non-existent. The explanation that the situation in
which we are doesn't allow us much, can't stand. Even in times when this faculty was placed
in it's own building, things were going the same way. The Computers lab seemed to be under
compulsory measures. Every time there was rain, the Lab would convert into a pool, and the
only ones who could get in were the maintenance people. The politics of creating multi-
engineers who know everything, with a series of subjects that they will never use in practice,
continues despite the reforms claimed to be done by the management of this faculty.

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Just as an illustration, we would mention the fact that the departments of informatics in both
the University of Tirana and the University of Belgrade for example, were the ones to initiate
and developed projects linked to the Internet. We prefer chaos.

While everywhere in the world the faculties communicate among themselves through nets
and coordinate their activities in the best way possible, in our case, even though the majority
of the faculties have computers at their disposal, we are still lacking communication. Decrees
and hard copies are preferred, and so are the queues in front of the administration offices, the
archaic exam applications, the results filled our manually...

The keyboard as the inlet and the screen as the outlet are two elements that could identify
with an association that would deal with the initiation and follow up of the developments in
this area, also with magazines and other publications dealing with informatics.

The attempt to create an association that would deal exclusively with informatics was quite
sane, and after the first meeting in May 1994 which gathered all those that mean something in
Kosova's computers life, a presidency was created and all got determined tasks. And - that
was it. The capability of holding meetings and making decisions in them was much more
efficient than accomplishing the decisions in practice. It seems that the large enterprises that
sell and distribute computers were fearing that this association would put an end to their
monopoly.

The creation of the association implied: an office of its own, a series of computers, printers,
scanners, fax-machines, specialists of all profiles, 24 hours services, original programs that
would be bought from the membership fees, or sponsors, a specialized magazine, a BBS for
the whole of Kosova which would be later connected to Internet, a codex...

Today we have two specialized magazines on informatics (PCInfo and BIT) and they do come
out (with slight delays) month per month. The topics observed speak of broad professional
knowledge of the ones who make the magazines. But, the fact that the realization of such a
magazine implies the full engagement of human and material resources would have to mean
that it needs the assistance of the subjects that could help. For the time being, this assistance
is missing.

The intellectual capacity, luckily, is there. It could be said that right now, Kosova has quite a
considerable number of young people that know no limits or authority when it comes to
computers. In the few magazines dealing with computers, they prove that they are very well
acquainted with the flows in informatics.

Many of our youngsters in the diaspora have continued their studies and their capacitation,
but, unfortunately, we can't count on them in the future. being proud of the number of our
students abroad can be also our loss, having in mind that in normal conditions this is known
as "brain-drain". Waiting for better times to come, we will lose the ones we have here. On
the other hand, in WEB pages of the Internet, we can find Albanian Home Page, which
contains the main data on the Albanian lands. But the concept and formation of the page
remains in the hands of enthusiasts, which is again, reflected in the quality of the page.
Enthusiasts are the ones to moderate the conference called soc/culture/albanian which
includes discussions of all kinds, but where the majority of participants are in the diaspora.
Using the political vocabulary, in this case we are lacking feed-back from the basis.

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The Computers Republic has all its ingredients for professional work, but the question is
whether they function as they should and until when will they be able to function at all. A
capable processor once said a very wise thing: "Who controls the present, controls the past
and who controls the past controls the future". We hope this will not turn into "who loses the
present will lose the future".

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