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Title: Former Yugoslav Rep. of Macedonia Human Rights Practices, 1995
Author: U.S. Department of State
Date: March 1996
THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), which became
independent in 1991 following the breakup of Yugoslavia, is a
parliamentary democracy. The first postindependence multiparty
elections were held in October 1994. International monitors judged them
to be generally free and fair despite numerous procedural irregularities
and complaints by the opposition parties. In October President Kiro
Gligorov was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt by car bomb.
Constitutional mechanisms for appointment of an acting President
functioned smoothly after the attack.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs oversees a security apparatus that
includes uniformed police, border police, and the state intelligence
service. A civilian minister controls the ministry, and a parliamentary
commission oversees operations.
FYROM was the poorest of the Yugoslav republics, and its economy was
closely tied to the other republics, especially Serbia. Conflict in the
region and sanctions imposed on Serbia-Montenegro, along with the
problems of transition to a market economy, have led to severe economic
difficulties. In February 1994, Greece imposed a trade embargo in a
dispute over the country's name, flag, and constitution, which
contributed to a sharp drop in the gross domestic product. The two
Governments agreed in September to resolve some of their differences,
leading to a lifting of the trade embargo.
The Constitution provides for fundamental human rights and the
Government generally respects them in practice. There are occasional
reports of police abuse of prisoners.
The Government closed a number of independent media outlets in the
second half of 1995, saying that it was simply introducing order in a
chaotic broadcast milieu. However, it has not yet set up a proper
regulatory framework.
Minorities, including Albanians, Turks, and Serbs, raised various
allegations of human rights infringements and discrimination. Ethnic
Macedonians fill a disproportionate number of positions in state
institutions, including formerly state-owned companies. Government
promises to boost the number of minorities in these institutions have
not been implemented, except for the conscript ranks of the armed
forces. An attempt by the ethnic Albanian community to open an
Albanian-language university was declared illegal by the Government.
The Government's use of police in February to close one university
building resulted in a violent clash that left one demonstrator dead and
nearly 30 demonstrators and policemen injured. Several people,
including the rector of the university and the head of the Helsinki
Committee in Gostivar, were arrested after the incident, charged, and
convicted with inciting to riot, despite a lack of evidence linking them
directly to the disturbance. The Government has agreed in principle to
most minority demands, but has done little to implement them, citing
resource constraints as the reason.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were no reports of political killings by government officials.
On February 17, a demonstrator was killed in a violent clash between
ethnic Albanians and police who were sent in to close a private,
"unauthorized" Albanian-language university (see Sections 1.e. and
2.b.). The Ministry of Internal Affairs claimed after an investigation
that the demonstrator was hit by a bullet from a handgun fired by
someone in the crowd, not from a police AK-47 assault rifle. However, a
credible report from a nongovernmental organization (NGO) concluded that
the wounds on the body were probably from an AK-47.
On October 3, a remote-controlled car bomb seriously injured President
Kiro Gligorov. Two persons died in the attack, and a number were
injured. By year's end, President Gligorov was reovering from his
injuries and had resumed a limited official schedule. The investigation
continued at year's end.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
The Constitution prohibits such treatment and punishment. Informed
sources report that mistreatment in prisons is rare. However, police
occasionally use excessive force during and following the arrest of
criminal suspects.
Prison conditions are generally acceptable. Prisoners complain about
unpalatable food and lack of exercise, but there are few if any reports
of abuse by prison authorities (who are separate from the police).
In March following a prison takeover, television footage--including that
broadcast by state television--showed prisoners being led by police
officers from the prison roof. Out of sight of the cameras, the sounds
of beatings were audible; thereafter, bloodied prisoners were led out by
the police, once again in full view of the cameras.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs apologized after a September incident
in which police used excessive force to break up a late-night party in
Skopje.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
There were no confirmed reports of arbitrary arrest. Opposition
political parties alleged police harassment of their members, but there
have not been any clear, confirmed cases. There is no systematic use of
detention as a form of nonjudicial punishment. Incommunicado detention
is not practiced, although the 24-hour deadline for filing of charges
and notification to courts after arrests is not always met.
The Constitution states that a person must be arraigned in court within
24 hours of arrest and sets the maximum duration of detention pending
trial at 90 days. The authorities must inform detainees of their legal
rights and the reason for the arrest or detention. The accused is
entitled to contact a lawyer at the time of arrest and to have a lawyer
present during police and court proceedings. Indigents are provided
with legal counsel.
According to human rights observers and criminal defense attorneys,
police often violate the 24-hour requirement and deny immediate access
to an attorney. Although the law requires warrants for arrests, this
provision is also sometimes ignored, and the warrant issued only some
time after the arrest.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
Constitutionally, the courts are autonomous and independent. Municipal
courts, district courts and a supreme court form a three-tiered system.
A Constitutional Court deals with matters of constitutional
interpretation. Almost all trials appear to be uninfluenced by
political considerations, although there is a credible perception that
bribery is not uncommon in the courts. The Constitutional Court has a
mandate to protect human rights, but has not taken action in any case in
this area. Parliament has yet to pass implementing legislation to
establish a people's ombudsman to defend citizens' constitutional and
legal rights.
Ten ethnic Albanians who were convicted in the politically charged
Albanian Paramilitary case in mid-1994 were all released in August. Two
of them were pardoned and the other eight released after having served
at least one-third of their sentence with good behavior.
After the Mala Rechica (Albanian university) incident in which a
demonstrator was killed in February, six people were tried
administratively and sentenced to 30 days for disturbing the public
order. Three others were charged with "calling on the people to resist"
or "interfering with the police in the performance of their official
duties." Albanian university "rector" Fadil Sulejmani was convicted on
the first charge and sentenced to 30 months in jail on the basis of a
statement he made 2 days before the incident. He had called on ethnic
Albanians to demonstrate in favor of the university 2 days before the
disturbance occurred. He had not called for any violent action and was
not on the scene. His codefendant, a human rights activist, received a
6-month sentence on the same charge. Ethnic Albanian political leader
Nevzat Halili was convicted and sentenced to 18 months for interference
with the police despite a lack of strong evidence that he had done
anything more than observe the events in Mala Rechica. All those
convicted were eventually released on bail pending appeal.
There were no reports of political prisoners.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
The right to privacy of person, home, and correspondence is provided for
in the Constitution. Although no instances of abuses were
substantiated, officials of an ethnic Serbian political party charged
that their telephones were tapped and their privacy violated by the
state security service. They also complained about an incident in which
police entered the party offices and demanded that a portrait of Serbian
leader Slobodan Milosevic be taken down.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution forbids censorship and provides for freedom of speech,
public access, public information, and freedom to establish private
media outlets. However, a number of private broadcast stations were
shut down by the authorities, including local affiliates of the Voice of
America and the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Government
maintains that it is merely closing unlicensed stations to bring order
to a chaotic broadcasting scene. However, it has not set up a proper
regulatory mechanism for the broadcast media. Members of the media,
and the political opposition believe that the Government is shutting
private outlets to restrict the flow of information and opinion.
Members of national minorities charge that minority-language stations
are targeted disproportionately. While there is no clear pattern of
government suppression of the private media, it is difficult for the
Government to refute such charges in the absence of a transparent
regulatory regime.
In July the Government said that it would not renew the accreditation of
the local correspondent for the VOA's Albanian service, alleging that
she had engaged in political and even criminal activities incompatible
with her status as a journalist. The Government did not detail its
charges beyond stating that the journalist was involved in promoting the
Albanian-language university in Tetovo, which the Government considers
illegal. There were other cases in which journalists working for
Albanian-language media were taken into custody by police, harassed, and
in one case deported. A correspondent for an opposition weekly and a
correspondent for an independent Turkish-language paper also had their
credentials rescinded.
There are several daily newspapers in Skopje, and numerous weekly
political and other publications, including weeklies published by
opposition groups. An Albanian and a Turkish newspaper are distributed
nationally and subsidized by the Government. The bulk of newspapers and
magazines published in the country are government owned and government
oriented. Opposition parties have made alleged government control and
manipulation of the media a major theme of their complaints about the
present Government. The state-owned media report such charges, and in
general do give some coverage to the statements and press conferences of
opposition parties. The overall balance of coverage, however, is in
favor of the Government.
The leading newspaper publisher is a government company that owns the
only modern, high-speed printing plant in the country, as well as most
newspaper kiosks. Opposition groups complain that they are charged high
prices for the services of the printing plant. Newspapers can be
imported from Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, and Greece only with the
permission of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The former Ministry of Information has been downgraded from a ministry
to a secretariat, but it continues to decide on accreditation of
journalists and to be involved in closing independent media outlets.
Academic freedom is respected in theory and practice. However, an
attempt by the ethnic Albanian community to open an Albanian-language
university was declared illegal by the Government (see Sections 1.a.,
1.e., and 2.b.).
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Constitution provides for these rights. Advance notification to the
police is required, but the authorities do not appear to abuse the
requirement. Opposition rallies occur on a regular basis.
Political parties and NGO's are required to register with the Interior
Ministry in compliance with a comprehensive political party registration
law. Some 44 political parties are registered, including ethnically
based parties of Albanians, Turks, Serbs, and Roma.
An attempt by the ethnic Albanian community to open an Albanian-language
University was declared illegal by the Government. On February 17,
police action to close a university building resulted in a violent clash
that left 1 demonstrator dead and nearly 30 demonstrators and policemen
injured, after police opened fire in response to rocks and lumber thrown
by members of the crowd.
Several people, including the rector of the university and the head of
the Helsinki Committee in Gostivar, were arrested after the incident and
charged and convicted with inciting to riot (see Section 1.e.). In
October the Government publicly reaffirmed its position that the
university is illegal by refusing to grant its students conscription
deferments (available to state university students).
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution specifically provides for freedom of religion for "the
Macedonian Orthodox Church and other religious communities and groups."
The Government does not generally interfere with the practice of
religion. However, the refusal of the Serbian Orthodox Church to
recognize the independence of the Macedonian Orthodox Church has led to
difficulties for Serbs who wish to worship in their own church. On a
number of occasions the Government has refused Serbian Orthodox priests
permission to enter the country.
While only the Macedonian Orthodox Church is mentioned by name in the
Constitution referring to freedom of religion, it does not enjoy
established status. However, members of other religious communities
credibly charge that the Government favors it based on the ease with
which it can obtain property and building permits for new construction.
During 1995 at least two or three houses that did not have such permits
and were being used as mosques were destroyed by the authorities.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel,
Emigration, and Repatriation
Citizens are permitted free movement within the country as well as the
right to leave and return. These rights may be restricted for security,
public health, and safety reasons, but are fully respected in practice.
The law on citizenship is highly restrictive, requiring, for example, 15
years of residence for naturalization. This has left some people who
were living legally in the country at the time of independence without
citizenship. This particularly affects ethnic Albanians who had moved
from other parts of Yugoslavia before independence. As citizens of the
predecessor state living in the territory of the FYROM at the time of
independence, they believe that they have a right to citizenship.
Ethnic Albanian political leaders also charge that Ministry of Internal
Affairs officials responsible for making citizenship determinations
discriminate against ethnic Albanian applicants. The officials are said
to make more demanding documentary requirements and to fail to act on
applications expeditiously. There are also credible charges that
officials demanded bribes in return for a favorable decision. However,
the same kinds of citizenship problems also affected many ethnic
Macedonians.
While the country accepted a number of refugees from Croatia and Bosnia
at the start of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, it restricted
entry of additional refugees in 1992, and now accepts only citizens and
other former residents for repatriation. There was one report that the
Government had deported refugees approved by the U.N. High Commissioner
for Refugees during 1995, but the Government says that they were sent on
to asylum states in Western Europe.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Citizens elected a president by popular vote for the first time in
October 1994. At the same time they chose a new Parliament in the
second multiparty elections in the country's postwar history, the first
since independence. Opposition groups charged the Government with
massive fraud and boycotted the second round. International monitors,
under the auspices of the Council of Europe and the Conference on
Security and Cooperation in Europe, found the elections to be generally
free and fair despite widespread irregularities attributed largely to
careless organization.
Ethnic minorities, including Albanians, Turks, Serbs, and Roma, have
political parties to represent their interests. Minorities complained
that the political structures were biased against them. Albanian-
majority districts had far more voters than Macedonian ones, thus
calling into question the "one-person, one-vote" principle. The ethnic
Turkish and Serbian communities were disappointed because the failure of
the previous Parliament to pass a new election law providing for 20
seats to be elected by proportional representation meant that their
dispersed members could not elect a candidate on an ethnic basis.
Despite such shortcomings, access to the political process was available
to all citizens. However, ethnic Albanians complained that
discrimination against them in citizenship decisions effectively
disenfranchised a large portion of their community (see Section 2.d.).
The 120-member unicameral Parliament governs the country. The Prime
Minister, as head of government, is selected by the party or coalition
with a majority in the assembly. He and the other ministers may not be
members of Parliament. The Prime Minister is formally appointed by the
President, who is Head of State, chairman of the Security Council, and
commander in chief of the armed forces.
The opposition party boycott of the second round of parliamentary
elections in October 1994 resulted in a dominant role in Parliament for
the government coalition parties. The composition of the Parliament
limits the ability of the opposition parties, and their constituencies,
to make their views known concerning matters before Parliament. There
is little or no use of public hearings or public commissions on pending
legislative matters.
No formal restrictions exist on the participation of women in politics
and government. There are 2 female ministers (out of 20) and 4 female
Members of Parliament (out of 120).
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
Human rights groups and ethnic community representatives meet freely
with foreign representatives without government interference. The Forum
for Human Rights, a nongovernmental group, operates freely. The
Government does not oppose visits or investigations by international
human rights groups. The mediator on ethnic issues of the International
Conference on the Former Yugoslavia has visited the country frequently
to discuss various issues with representatives of minority groups and
with the Government.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Disability,
Language, or Social Status
The Constitution provides for equal rights for all citizens regardless
of sex, race, national or social origin, political or religious beliefs,
property, or social status.
Women
Women's groups report that there is widespread violence against women.
Cultural norms work against the reporting of such violence: there has
not been a single case of criminal charges being brought on these
grounds for 15 years. A hot line established in 1994 received some 900
calls during 1995.
Women enjoy the same legal rights as men. Macedonian society, in both
the Muslim and Christian communities, remains traditionally patriarchal,
and advancement of women into nontraditional roles is limited. Some
prominent professional women are nevertheless now visible. Women's
advocacy groups include the Union of Macedonian Women and the League of
Albanian Women in Macedonia.
Children
The Government is committed to providing education and health care for
children. Its ability to provide social services is under resource
constraints, and the provision of schooling beyond eighth grade and
modern medical care is further hampered by poor transportation
infrastructure in mountainous rural areas. There is no pattern of
societal abuse against children.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The population of 2.2 million is composed of a variety of national and
ethnic groups, mainly Macedonians, Albanians, Turks, Roma, Serbs, and
Vlakhs. All citizens are equal under the law. The Constitution
provides for the protection of the ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and
religious identity of minorities, including state support for primary
and secondary (but not university level) education in minority
languages.
Ethnic tensions and prejudices are evident. The Government is committed
to a policy of peaceful integration of all ethnic groups into society
but faces political resistance and the persistence of popular prejudices
in the lower levels of administration. Moreover, the economic crisis
makes it difficult for the Government to find resources to fulfill
minority aspirations, such as more education in minority languages. The
main political opposition is more ethnocentric than the governing
coalition and has objected to some modest steps to meet the educational
needs of minorities.
Popular prejudices can affect the relationship that ethnic minorities
have with the Government. For example, in a village in the Skopje area,
Macedonian and Serbian parents protested the use of the local school
building for teaching children in Albanian as well as Macedonian despite
the fact that the Albanian-language classes were on a separate shift.
Representatives of the ethnic Albanian community, by far the largest
minority group with 22.9 percent of the population, are the most vocal
in charging discrimination. Expressing concern about government
manipulation of the data, the ethnic Albanian community boycotted a 1990
census. A census held during the summer of 1994 to correct the
situation was marred by the threat of a boycott. A group of experts
from the Council of Europe monitored the census and were satisfied that
it was carried out fairly and accurately, and that virtually all of the
ethnic Albanian community took part. According to the census, Turks are
4 percent of the population, Roma 2.3 percent, and Serbs 2 percent.
About 8,500 citizens declared themselves as Vlakhs.
Ethnic Albanians complain that there are not enough Albanian-language
media outlets. There are also complaints about the small amount of
broadcast time in the Albanian language on state television (1 1/2 hours
daily), although this represents an increase over the past year. The
Government is seeking international financing to open a third state-
owned television channel for minority-language broadcasts. In the
meantime, the growth of private media outlets has helped fill some of
the gap.
Underrepresentation of ethnic Albanians in the military and police is
another grievance of the community. Even in areas dominated by ethnic
Albanians, the police force remains overwhelmingly ethnic Macedonian,
with only 4 percent ethnic Albanians. The Ministry is making efforts to
recruit ethnic Albanian police cadets, but maintains that it is very
difficult to attract qualified candidates. Ethnic Albanian leaders
allege that there is continued discrimination against those who do
apply. There has been more improvement regarding the proportion of
ethnic Albanians recruited into the military. Military service is a
universal male obligation, and it appears that most young men, whatever
their ethnic origin, now fulfill it. The proportion of ethnic Albanians
in the ranks is now estimated at 25 percent, although in the officer
corps it is lower. A plan to take in minority members as 25 percent of
the first military academy class this year was not realized, according
to the Ministry of Defense, because there was an insufficient pool of
qualified applicants. The first ethnic Albanian was promoted to general
in mid-year.
Albanian-language education is a crucial issue for the ethnic Albanian
community: it is seen as vital to preserve Albanian heritage and
culture. Almost all ethnic Albanian children receive 8 years of
education in Albanian-language schools. Only about a third of them go
on to high school, partly because of the lack of available classes and
partly because the traditional nature of ethnic Albanian society means
that many families in rural areas see no need to educate their children,
especially girls, beyond the eighth grade.
Ethnic Turks also complain of governmental, societal, and cultural
discrimination. Their main complaints center on Turkish-language
education, and media. One long-running dispute has been over the desire
of parents who consider themselves Turkish to educate their children in
Turkish despite the fact that they do not speak Turkish at home. The
Education Ministry refuses to provide Turkish-language education for
children who do not speak Turkish. The parents have banded together to
hire teachers of their own, but this kind of private education is not
legally authorized.
Serbs also complain of discrimination, alleged censorship of the Serbian
press, and an inability to worship freely in the Serbian Orthodox Church
(see Section 2.c.).
Little tension is evident between Roma and other citizens of the
country. There has been some progress on providing supplementary Roma-
language education, but no call for a full curriculum is apparent.
There is some Roma-language broadcasting.
A number of Macedonian Muslims and Bosnian Muslims are also present in
the country.
The Government has established a 13-member Council on Ethnic Relations
with representatives of the country's main ethnic groups. The Council
has not, however, played an active role. Despite underlying ethnic
tensions, few incidents have occurred apart from the February 17
university confrontation.
People with Disabilities
Special programs to meet the needs of the disabled exist, to the extent
that government resources allow. Discrimination on the basis of
disability is forbidden by law. There are no laws or regulations
mandating accessibility for disabled persons.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The 1991 Constitution provides citizens with the right to form trade
unions. There are restrictions on this right for the military, police,
and civil service. The Council of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM) is
the successor organization to the old Communist labor confederation. It
maintains the assets of the old unions and is the Government's main
negotiating partner on labor issues. While its officers may tend to
oppose strikes because of the legacy of the past, they appear to be
independent of the Government and committed to the interests of the
workers they represent. An Association of Independent and Autonomous
Unions was formed in 1992, and independent unions have been allowed to
organize without harassment by the Government or official unions. The
disastrous economic situation in the country led to many brief strikes
in 1995. These were undertaken mainly by employees of state-owned
companies, many of whom were receiving their pay months late or were
being laid off as the companies were privatized. The companies, cut off
by the Greek embargo from the new markets they had begun developing
since the collapse of Yugoslavia, often simply did not have the money to
pay their workers. In most cases, the workers and unions understood
these difficulties and showed great restraint.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The Constitution implicitly recognizes employees' right to bargain
collectively. Collective bargaining is still in its infancy.
Legislation in this area has yet to be passed by parliament.
Official unemployment is about a third of the work force, and many
people who are ostensibly employed are in fact furloughed. Even
employed workers routinely receive their salaries several months late.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Legal prohibitions against forced labor are observed in practice.
d. Minimum Age of Employment for Children
The constitutional minimum age for employment of children is 15 years.
Younger children, however, are often seen peddling cigarettes or other
small items or working in family-owned shops or on family farms.
Children may not legally work nights but are permitted to work 42-hour
weeks. Education is compulsory through the eighth grade. The
Ministries of Interior and Labor are responsible for enforcing laws
regulating the employment of children.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The average monthly wage in July was about $225 (denars 8,546). The
minimum wage is, by law, two-thirds of the average wage. The economic
crisis meant that few workers could support a family on their wages
alone and had to do additional work in the informal economy or draw on
savings. Yugoslavia had extensive laws concerning acceptable conditions
of work, including an official 42-hour workweek with a minimum 24-hour
rest period and generous vacation and sick leave benefits. FYROM
adopted many of these provisions, including the workweek and rest
period.
The Constitution provides for safe working conditions, temporary
disability compensation, and leave benefits. Laws and regulations on
worker safety remain from the Yugoslav era. However, credible reports
suggest that the Ministry of Labor and Social Work which is responsible
for enforcing regulations pertaining to working conditions does not
enforce them strictly.
If workers have safety concerns, employers are supposed to address the
dangerous situations. Should they fail to do so, employees may leave
the dangerous condition without forfeiting their jobs.
(###)
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