Brussels, 28/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - At his own request, Javier Solana, the EU's High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, on Wednesday briefed the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, chaired by Elmar Brok, on the results secured in the missions he and the EU Troika undertook over the past few days in Skopje, in an attempt to restore calm following attacks by Albanian extremists on the Macedonian border. Mr. Solana, who was in Skopje on Tuesday, stressed in particular that the operations led on Sunday by the Fyrom forces on the hills overlooking Tetovo had been a "proportionate response", with practically no civilian casualties (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.4 for the visit by Javier Solana and Lord Robertson). In Skopje Monday evening, "I found the President and Prime Minister in a much more confident mood, whereas the Albanian parties were in a very nervous state,", said Solana, who met Albanian leaders in Skopje on Monday and in Tetovo on Tuesday. "I stressed, in particular, that they must stay within the state institutions and work within that framework for their aspirations", and "this message had some impact", added Mr. Solana, noting that the DPA had finally opted to stay within the Governmental coalition in Skopje, and that the PDP had said that its boycott of the work of the Macedonian Parliament was only temporary. To the Macedonian leaders, "I emphasised the need to intensify the dialogue with the Albanian parties. The Albanian population must be shown that there is a real opportunity for promoting the interests of their community through political means," Solana declared, while recognising that the reaction of President Trajkovski, Prime Minister Georgievski and Foreign Minister Kerim had shown that "this was not an easy course for them to follow". "In the end, I believe, I could convince them that a clear political gesture towards the Albanian community would be required, if the Albanian parties were to be kept on board", said "Mr. Cfsp", suggesting that the Stabilisation and Association Agreement that the EU is to sign with Skopje on 9 July be used as "a framework for a new dialogue", and that the main leaders of the two communities create a "Europe Commission", so as to develop a "broad based dialogue on reform steps designed to bring Fyrom closer to Europe". Such a Commission would not be perceived as "a concession to the extremists", Mr. Solana emphasised, for whom, "it would be a good idea to bring all the relevant parties to the signing ceremony on 9 April, thus sympolising the unity of Fyrom on its way to Europe". Solana, moreover recalled that he had asked for 6 additional EU monitors to be sent to Fyrom, so as to "assist in confidence building between the Albanian population and the security forces", referred to the increased effort of KFOR in controlling the border with Kosovo, and spoke of the "urgent" need to rapidly fill the funding gap for the future Tetovo university (or University of South-Eastern Europe: Ed.).
Macedonian ambassador states that Government did not wait for extremists attacks
to promote rights of Albanians
The Macedonian ambassador to the EU, made a point of reminding MEPs of what Governments in Skopje had already done, without waiting for the violent pressure of the extremists, to encourage participation be Albanians in the country's institutions. These attacks have hit us just at a time when Europe's fundamental values were beginning to take shape at home, and have results in inter-ethnic relations too, he said. Since 1991, we have had Albanian ministers in our governments, and the current government has five ministers of the Albanian Democratic Party (including in two important ministries, like those of Justice and Local Government), whereas the other Albanian parties are represented in our parliament, the ambassador pointed out. He then exclaimed: "Dialogue is not something we conduct under pressure, it is a process". These recent attacks are not only due to demands regarding human rights, and their "grass roots are much more serious", the ambassador continued, noting that the recent agreement between Skopje and Serbia on the delimitation of the borders "was not so well perceived" in Kosovo and that the (limited) entry of Serb forces in the ground safety zone at the south of the Administrative limit between Kosovo and Serbia obviously "limits the margin for manoeuvre", not only of the extremists, but also for the "criminal acts" of those who have so far been able to pursue "illegal activities in the region with impunity".
As for positive concrete measures in favour of the ethnic Albanians, the ambassador stressed: - the importance of getting the University of South-Eastern Europe up and running for the next academic year (September-October).
Recalling that there is already an illegal "University of Tetevo", the ambassador stressed the role played by the OSCE envoy for minorities, Max van der Stoel, in favour of the setting in place of this new university (for Albanian-speakers); - the draft law on local government that will ensure greater decentralisation, and which was already programmed by the government before recent violence; - the opening of a television channel that is only in the Albanian language (technically and financially difficult to achieve, he remarked).
Solana defends the role played by KFOR - Pack and Cohn-Bendit say
something must happen in Kosovo
"Concentrate on Macedonia, it is part of Europe", the president of the EPP/ED group, Hans-Gert Pöttering, told Mr Solana. He mainly stressed the importance, in such a fragile context, of the "language" used (the CDU member especially regretted that no-one had contradicted President Putin last Friday in Stockholm when he compared the situation in Macedonia to that in Chechnya, when speaking to the press). Austrian Social Democrat Hannes Swoboda, EP rapporteur on the question, hoped that the Parliament would give its approval to the EU/FYROM agreement next week. He said that a little less than 30% of the population is not "any old minority", and wondered whether it might not be better to consider the Albanian-speaking population not as a minority but rather as a "constituent component" of the Macedonian state. While taking the difference of weight and influence into account, it is necessary to reach "basic equality" between the two populations, so that the Albanians can identify themselves with Macedonia and consider it "their own country", said Mr Swoboda. Doris Pack (CDU elected member, president of the EP Delegation for relations with South East Europe) agreed with him and stated that the true causes of the crisis in Macedonia must be sought in the absence of a solution in Kosovo. Nothing has happened there, and something must be done, she cried. German Green member Daniel Cohn-Bendit added that, for as long as there is no long-term solution to the Kosovo issue, there will always be the "dream of a great Albania". He urged Europe to work towards such a solution, without waiting for the Americans, "who couldn't care less about what is happening in Kosovo". Mr Solana said he was certain the new UNMIK official, Mr Haekkerup, would manage to organise an electoral process in Kosovo before the end of the year. Regarding those who call for equality between Slav and Albanian Macedonians, Javier Solana said that the preamble to the FYROM Constitution should be changed ("I believe the Skopje Government recognises this although it does not want to admit it", he remarked).
It is true, said Javier Solana, that the problem of Kosovo has not yet been resolved, but "we are bound by Security Council Resolution 2244", which has used the same argument towards those who criticised the KFOR and felt that it could have acted more quickly in the Macedonian crisis. The Macedonian government and parliament have, for the time being, said that they do not want foreign troops on their territory, although they are in fact currently being assisted by foreign advisers on military and police matters, stressed Mr Solana (mainly in response to Arie Oostlander, Dutch Christian Democrat). He recalled, moreover, that it is impossible to "totally seal" a difficult frontier like that between Macedonia and Kosovo (General Cabigiosu, KFOR Commander, told me this only yesterday, he said). British Conservative Geoffrey van Orden said for his part that the "predictable cycle of violence" should be broken by using the "stick and the carrot". German PSD member Andre Brie (United Left) noted, on the other hand, that while KFOR Commander of the time General Jackson had announced the complete demilitarisation of UCK, one year later it was learnt that twice as many weapons had been found among the Albanians. There is no contradiction between these two pieces of information, as there is indeed demilitarisation, but the total disarming of the population is very difficult to achieve, replied Mr Solana, recalling that there are weapons in practically every household.
Other MEPs who took the floor included Baroness Nicholson (British Liberal Democrat), who welcomed this exercise of transparency on the part of Mr Solana. She reproached the EU Council for its lack of transparency. Baroness Sarah Ludford (another British Liberal Democrat) welcomed the fact that we "all say Macedonia and not this FYROM rubbish". Dutch Green member Joost Lagendijk expressed concern about the financing of the University of South East Europe (and Mr Solana told him that financing from the Commission would come in time, but that contributions from Member States will also be needed). Olivier Dupuis, from the Lista Bonino, expressed the hope that Macedonia would be on the list of candidate countries for joining the EU. "We shall get there, so let's look ahead", he said. Mr Solana, however, answered that the solution of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement recommended at the summit of Zagreb was a "wise decision". Finally, Mr Solana felt that the situation had generally evolved in a positive light, seeking to reassure Demetrio Volcic (Democratici di sinistra, Italian national born in Lubiana), who feared a new wave of "irredentism" in the region.