MACEDONIA
Assembly
Session On Law On Local Self-Government (1)
At Thursday's continuation of the 95th Assembly session, where the
Draft-law on local self-government is on the agenda, Minister of local
self-government Faik Arslani informed the Parliament on the work of the
ministerial group that reviewed once again the paragraphs from the Draft-law,
which could obstruct the normal functioning of certain services. The ministerial
group held additional consultations in order to overcome the misunderstandings
on the financing of the education, educational institutions, the option given to
the municipalities to open elementary and secondary schools as well as the
transfer of the primary health care on local level. Minister Arslani said that
they agreed on Wednesday about two open issues regarding the education and one
issue on improving the text referring to the authorizations of the Ministry of
Labor and Social Policy. "We agreed on the issue with the Ministry of
Health, so it would remain with the same formulation as in the Draft-law,"
Minister Arslani said. Ministers of local self-government, health and education,
Faik Arslani, Gjorgji Orovcanec and Nenad Novkovski will submit their amendments
during the day. SDSM deputy Aleksandar Gestakovski discussing the Draft-law said
that it increased the authorizations of the municipalities, which could be
abused because of political or party's interest. According to him, the Law
should be passed in the interest of the citizens, with certain amendments and
supplements. According to the new constitutional amendments the Law will be
passed if at least half of the deputies, who are not of Macedonian belonging,
vote.
Teixeira
In A Visit To Kumanovo
Chief of delegation of the European Commission in Macedonia, Jose
Manuel Pinto Teixeira, Thursday visited Kumanovo crisis region, whereat in the
villages of Matejce and Opae has been introduced with the realisation of the
programme for urgent assistance, financed by the EU. Teixeira has visited the
facilities and houses included in the reconstruction programme, implemented by
the British Non Governmental Organisation Children Aid Direct. The programme
includes 136 houses damaged from the second and third category and
reconstruction of eight houses in the village of Opae from the first category,
19 from the second and 32 houses from the third category. Teixeira on September
25, 2001 visited the village of Lesok whereat he had been introduced with the
undertaken activities for the reconstruction of the houses.
Coordinative
Body For Crisis Management To Hold Session
Coordinative Body for Crisis Management is to hold first session in
its new composition. The session, which will be headed by the Vice-President of
the Government Dosta Dimovska, will be focused on several issues in regard to
solving of the current security situation in the country.
President
Trajkovski In Paris
Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski is paying two-day visit to
Paris upon an invitation of the President of the Western European Union Assembly
Klaus Bьhler. President Trajkovski Thursday will meet with Bьhler
and will address the members of the Western European Union Assembly within the
frames of the debate on security situation on the Balkans. Macedonian President
will also meet with President French Senate Christian Poncelet.
The talks between NATO, EU, OSCE and the Macedonian officials are already finished. According to government sources, tomorrow the list of villages in which the police will move in the second phase of the General Plan for returning of the police in the crisis regions will be known. The number of villages will be 15 instead of 22 as the Macedonian officials have planed. All these villages will be in the surrounding of Tetovo, Kumanovo and Skopje. The only problem for delay of the Plan could be the key issue of removing of some of the Police Check Points from the roads in Tetovo region. The villagers in few Tetovo villages alike Shemshevo, Zhilche, ect. still claim that they do not trust the police and want the Check Points to be moved away. Arachinovo and Nikushtak, two villages around Skopje, where some of the biggest fights occurred during the conflict, will not be on the list of the villages for the second phase of the General Plan for returning of the Police. Saturday is the D-Day when the Police early in the morning together with the Task Force Fox liaison teams and the OSCE observers will move in these villages. The Police says that they don't expect any problems during the operations and that the villagers are already informed about it.
Macedonia
Pardons 11 Guerrillas To Launch Amnesty
Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski pardoned 11 jailed ethnic Albanian guerrillas on Wednesday, launching an amnesty regarded as crucial to sustaining an August peace settlement. Justice ministry sources told Reuters the 11 were freed from Skopje's grim Sutka detention centre later in the day and another 77 on the pardon list would probably be released in daily batches of 11 over the coming week. The amnesty is aimed at defusing ethnic mistrust, enabling a return of Macedonian police and refugees to the northern rebel heartland in coming weeks at minimum risk of violence, and helping reintegrate disaffected fighters in society. It is to cover all former National Liberation Army (NLA) insurgents who voluntarily disarmed under NATO supervision by September 26 and those captured before then, but excludes those who are indictable by the U.N. war crimes tribunal. The broad amnesty was decreed under strong Western diplomatic pressure last month after weeks of nationalist obstruction within the coalition cabinet and security services. Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski's cabinet issued an amnesty declaration in October but it was shot through with loopholes and rejected by the rebels and international peace sponsors as a sham. "President Trajkovski decided today to pardon 11 members of the so-called (disbanded) NLA who were arrested before September 26," said a statement by his office issued by the state news agency MIA.
"The pardoning commission will continue to process others on the list of 88 pardoning proposals. The president will bring further pardoning decisions in the next few days." Macedonian television stations also said the first detainees on the list were out of jail but had no footage. Skopje was not saying when and where detainees were being freed to minimise publicity for an unpopular move with elections due next year and to avoid exposing ex-prisoners to possible violence by Macedonians who suffered in the war.
Prisoner releases would provide the first evidence that the government was honouring the amnesty, easing fears of arrest among thousands of NLA veterans and their supporters that have deterred them from returning to jobs and studies in main towns. But international peace officials told the government on Tuesday that for reconciliation efforts to work it would also have to dismantle intimidating army and police checkpoints maintained along former ceasefire lines. A senior government official told Reuters the aim of the amnesty was "to relax tensions" and remove the last obstacle to reinstating police in the 10 percent of Macedonia taken by the rebels during a seven-month uprising. It resulted in a Western-engineered peace accord that promised the large Albanian minority better civil rights and a devolution of power to municipalities in exchange for the dissolution of the NLA. Rebels handed in almost 4,000 weapons to NATO collectors and disbanded in September. Parliament ratified constitutional amendments required by the peace accord on November 16. Eight of the 88 jailed guerrillas were convicted of plotting or carrying out "terrorist" attacks on security forces while the rest were in pre-trial detention on similar charges. U.N. war crimes tribunal chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte said in a visit to Skopje on November 20 that she had begun investigations against both Macedonian security forces and NLA fighters, but refused to give details.
However, analysts say the number of atrocities in Macedonia's conflict was very small compared with ethnic wars elsewhere in former Yugoslavia and only a few people on either side might have reason to fear indictment.
"If the power plant 'Oslomej' is cut off from the
regional waterworks Studencica the problem with water supply in Prilep would not
be resolved," General Manager of the Macedonian Power Company Lambe
Arnaudov said at Thursday's press conference. Arnaudov explained that "Oslomej"
power plant provides 12,5% of the overall electricity and if it is cut off from
Studencica waterworks 220,000 citizens will face lack of electricity. He said
that DM 18 million was necessary to improve the waterworks in Prilep, in order
to avoid the unnecessary lost of water. According to him the 110 liters of water
used by "Oslomej" could be made up by using the water more rationally.
Arnaudov said that the Macedonian Power Company was ready to engage its expert
teams in resolving the problem with the water supply in Prilep. "Oslomej"
power plant also maintains the currency density, necessary for the work of many
devices and appliances. The problem with electricity supply cannot be solved by
turning on "Negotino" power plant as additional $ 8 million will be
necessary. According to Arnaudov, the foreign investor in FENI is also
interested in the hydroelectric power plant Jegunovce, but requests only 500
employees to keep their jobs. But in order to sell "Jegunovce," its
capacities should be reviewed and its price should be determined, as "Jugohrom"
owes $ 276 million to the foreign investor. "Macedonian has the lowest
price of electricity in Europe," Arnaudov said, adding that the World Bank
made remarks on the price. He announced that the Macedonian Power Company would
start to apply the prices determined in the other countries, and the period of
"expensive" electricity will increase. According to Arnaudov the
citizens will be forced to spend more electricity in the "cheap"
tariff, and the revenues of the Power Company will increase.
Macedonia-IMF Negotiations On Staff-Monitoring Program
Macedonia and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) successfully completed the negotiations on the IMF Staff-Monitoring Program for the country, and after an approval by the IMF Board, the six-month program should start on January 1, Macedonian Minister of Finance Nikola Gruevski said Thursday at a press conference. Chief of the IMF Mission to Macedonia Ian Mickelsen and Governor of the Macedonian National Bank Ljube Trpeski were also present at the press conference. This arrangement meets one of the conditions for convening of a Donors' Conference for Macedonia. The other condition is passing of a law on local self-government, which is being discussed at the parliament. "If the Parliament adopts it today, than the Donors' Conference will most probably be convened for December 21-22," Gruevski said.
According to him, financial means, granted at the conference, will be used for covering of a US$173 million gap in the payment balance, for the country's renewal and for implementing of the Framework Agreement. As projected by the IMF program, Macedonia will mark a GDP growth of 4% in 2002 and an inflation rate of 2,5%, which is within the inflation rate of the European Monetary Union. The budget deficit for 2002 is to be 3,3% of the GDP, while revenues will mark 33,4% of the GDP. The crisis expenditures for 2002 are projected to amount 2,5% of the GDP. Gruevski said that this year GDP would mark a fall of 4,5%, with an inflation rate of 5,3% of the GDP. Expenditures for the crisis present 5,4% of the GDP. Macedonia will end this year with US$744 million of foreign exchange reserves. Mickelsen expressed hope that the Macedonian Government would carry out the IMF program successfully, which would maintain the macroeconomic stability of the country.
Session Of Coordinate Crisis Management Body
The new composition of the Coordinate Crisis Management Body, led by Vice Premier Dosta Dimovska held Thursday the first constitutive and official session, where the current security situation in Macedonia as well as the activities for overcoming the crisis and for restoring the peace and confidence were analyzed.
Minister of Labor and Social Policy Bedredin Ibraimi is the deputy manager of the Coordinate Body. Also Defense Minister Vlado Popovski, Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski, Justice Minister Ixhet Memeti, Minister of Transport and Communications Ljupco Balkovski as well as the manager of the Crisis Management Center Aleksandar Doncev are members of the Coordinate Body. Analyzing the current situation in the crisis regions, the Coordinate Body supported the General Plan for returning of the security forces in these areas, which should be realized in all phases. The Coordinate Body also discussed the implementation of the amnesty of former members of NLA. The Coordinate Body stressed that the criminal activities and the violation of the public peace and order were increased in Tetovo and obliged all law enforcement institutions to engage in preventing the crime efficiently. In order to implement these activities efficiently the Coordinate Body will enhance the cooperation with the local authorities in Tetovo region. Therefore the Coordinate Body will have meeting with the representatives of the local government in Tetovo as well as to enhance the mutual trust. Reviewing the information on the undertaken activities of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy regarding the sheltering of the refugees, displaced persons and the returnees - persons that left the country during the crisis, the Coordinate Body concluded that the representatives of the Ministry in charge should control the life standard in the temporary shelter centers. The Body believes that with the normalization of the situation the displaced persons will start to return to their houses. The Media Activity Center of the Coordinate Body will develop several media programs that will introduce the displaced persons and all other citizens who have suffered in the crisis, with their rights. Special attention will be paid on the advertising materials regarding the danger from the inactivated bombs, mines and other weaponry. Analyzing the information from the Ministry of Transport and Communications referring to the reconstruction of the houses and the infrastructure in the crisis regions, the Coordinate Body obliged the competent services to investigate the actual situation on the terrain and to develop complete information for the next session of the Coordinate Body. At Thursday's session of the Coordinate Crisis Management Body new Crisis Management Center was established led by Aleksandar Doncev. According to the Decision from the Government, many eminent experts from several ministries and institutions will be included in the work of the Center in order to avoid the omissions. The Coordinate Body also established new Centre for media activity, which will be engaged in information and advertising activities. The Centre will develop several media programs in order to assist to the displaced persons and the residents in the conflict area to establish conditions for normal life.
President Trajkovski's Address At WEU Assembly Session
The Republic of Macedonia has been undertaking structural reforms in order to meet the political, economic and security criteria for a membership into the European Union and NATO, and now a political decision should be made for its acceptance in these organizations, considering the fact that the country has managed to take brave steps in the most difficult period of its existence, Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski said Thursday. Addressing at a session of the Western European Union Assembly on a security situation in the Balkans, Trajkovski said that Macedonia reached an important point in the process that would lead the country to peace and stability, to firmly anchored democracy and rule of law. "Macedonia and the values it prizes have been put on probation by the attack of terrorist forces hostile to democracy and to the fruits of civilization: forces that were prepared to use violence in order to achieve criminal goals. However, thanks to the wise decisions of all legitimate representatives of the citizens of Macedonia, as well as the commitment of the international community, the crisis is becoming a part of the unfortunate past," Trajkovski said. "Macedonia exceptionally values the timely and adequate response of the Alliance in helping our efforts to overcome the crisis. The Alliance's contribution has an exceptional political importance because for the first time NATO is building truth partnership cooperation for peacekeeping with a partner country and a candidate for membership, based on shared democratic values," he added.
Trajkovski considers that this cooperation is of essential importance in achieving interoperability of Macedonia security forces and through contact on everyday basis we are building an environment for joint efforts in facing security challenges. He underlined that NATO mission Amber Fox, based on principles of solidarity, partnership and cooperation, actually meant a promotion of security and stability in the region and a framework for Macedonia's preparation to become NATO member. For the Macedonian President, signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) between Macedonia and EU eight months ago and adopting of the constitutional changes by the Macedonian Parliament, are crucial in strengthening of Macedonia's position as a trustworthy partner in regard to the security in SEE region and in global security forums. Macedonia was the first country in the region to sign the SAA, which is an achievement that lines with the policy of merits of individual states in the region. "Respecting both, the political consensus in the country and the above mentioned Agreement, Macedonia actively promotes regional cooperation that is in conformity with its commitment to peace and stability and developing of good neighborly relations, as a basis for political dialogue, which promotes the common views of the EU and Macedonia on security and stability in Europe, including the areas covered by the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy," Trajkovski said. The constitutional amendments, adopted by the Parliament, including the Preamble, the civil concept of Macedonia has been strengthened, firmly defining it not as a state of constituent people, but as a state of the citizens of Macedonia, including the Macedonian people and the individuals belonging to the parts of peoples living in the country. He stressed that first pardons were granted within the broad amnesty for those, who have committed serious violations of the international humanitarian law, including the pardoning of individuals for whom criminal charges have been brought. "By expected passing of a new law on local self-government, which is a realization of the long planned decentralization of the country, and creation of multiethnic police force as another pillar for further confidence re-building and internal stability of the country that will continue to respect the equal application of the law to all individuals regardless their background or possible plausible justification, Macedonia has reaffirmed, yet once again, its commitment to democracy, human rights and rule of law, which it has been practicing since its independence in 1991," Trajkovski said. But, by the same acts, Macedonia sent a strong signal, that according to the natural obligation of a state, it would protect the security of all citizens, treating all future violent actions as terrorism and addressing them with its utmost capacity, Trajkovski said. "I would like to stress that we expect full support of the whole democratic world that all future terror and violence in Macedonia will be considered as terrorism. Macedonia builds a multiethnic society and cannot, and will not, allow a formation or continuos presence of terrorist groups on its territory, with their primary goal for pressure for ethnic cleansing, as the country believes that ethnic cleansing is wrong and because it has to respect the international law that demands harsh actions against this paramount international crime," he added. Macedonia praised the efforts of the international community representatives, particularly of NATO, EU and OSCE, which are aimed to strengthen the unity, stability and democracy of the country, Trajkovski said. "These efforts are not only in the interest of Macedonia. The "gray-zones" - namely, regions with no rule of law but rule of guns - are perfect environment for drug trafficking and terrorist training. To have such grey zones in the heart of the Balkans cannot but produce long-term negative effects on the security of the whole European continent, " Trajkovski said. "The process of Macedonia's re-affirmation as a sovereign state and multiethnic society takes place at the very time when the whole region is able to provide proofs of positive achievements. SEE is part of Europe and has a strong will to become part of the European Union. The Stabilization and Association Process is a welcomed political tool to incorporate these countries in the EU system. It is a common knowledge that the security and stability of the peninsula, in the context of the globalization of threats, with the attacks of September 11, as the most sober and tragic proof of this claim, are of fundamental importance for the security and stability of the whole continent," Trajkovski said. He pointed out that the region needed a comprehensive strategy for stability and peace, not least, a cooperation in the areas covered by Common Foreign and Security Policy. This strategy should be based on the following principles: strengthening of democratic processes; non-use of force for political goals; respecting territorial integrity and sovereignty and inviolability of borders; rule of law; and economic prosperity, he added. "The Republic of Macedonia respects the same values shared by the Western European Union and is willing to contribute to their more global dissemination. Macedonia is sure that the Donors' Conference will be additional impulse for the projects that will contribute to the national and regional stability. The state strategy is aiming more than ever before towards internal and external peace and cooperation, towards membership in the Euro-Atlantic initiatives and towards interethnic harmony within Macedonia," Trajkovski said. Half a century since its establishment, the Western European Union has become a bridge between NATO and the European Union; between the Atlanticism and Europeanism, Trajkovski said.
"Bearing in mind that the creation of a European security and defense policy is aimed at strengthening, not weakening transatlantic ties, the WEU Assembly today is destined to play a larger role in the development of a European defense identity, as the defense component of the EU and as the means to strengthen the European pillar of the Atlantic alliance, " Trajkovski said.
SERBIA
Splits in the coalition which ousted Slobodan Milosevic from the Serbian leadership have deepened with the resignation of the parliamentary speaker. Dragan Marsicanin, an official in the party of the Yugoslav federal president, Vojislav Kostunica, quit after a stormy parliamentary session in which deputies traded insults and accusations over everything from corruption to reform. Mr Marsicanin, the speaker of Serbia's increasingly torn parliament, walked before he was pushed ahead of a vote on his dismissal. He had accused the party of the Prime Minister, Zoran Djindjic, of vote-rigging in its efforts to push through a bill on labour reform. Mr Marsicanin's resignation has exposed how deep the rift has grown between the two biggest parties in the coalition which last year toppled Slobodan Milosevic from power. It has also signalled a new phase of political instability for which the Serbian people have no appetite. Before his resignation, Mr Marsicanin hinted he could call for a vote of no-confidence in Mr Djindjic's reformist government.
Coalition cracks
The prime minister said he believed he could ride the storm, but some political commentators are saying the only way out of the crisis is for his and Mr Kostunica's parties - the two biggest - to make a clean break and hold early elections. That though would lead to delays in the process of reform and would put off the foreign investors Serbia is desperately trying to attract. No-one ever expected the coalition to last forever, particularly given the very public feud between Mr Djindjic and Mr Kostunica. But the process of disintegration began slowly some months ago and now appears to be gathering speed. The coalition leadership may meet in the coming days to discuss its future.
Serbia's government teetered on the edge of collapse today as a political split widened within the coalition that ousted former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic. The resignation of Speaker Dragan Marsicanin, Serbia's No. 2 official, was the latest threat to the republic's shaky government and mirrors conflicts between Yugoslavia's top two leaders. Serbia is Yugoslavia's dominant republic. Natasa Micic, 36, of the Civic Alliance, was named to replace Marsicanin. She is the first woman speaker since the multiparty system was introduced to Serbia in 1990. The rift involves the two largest parties in the 18-party coalition - the Democratic Party of Serbia, led by Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica and the Democratic party of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic. The parties are foremost in the Democratic Opposition of Serbia coalition, which drove Milosevic from power in October 2000. Milosevic is now facing a UN war-crimes tribunal in the Hague, Netherlands, for alleged atrocities committed during the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
The coalition conflict culminated this week when Kostunica's party voted together with the Socialists, who are still loyal to Milosevic, and the nationalist Radicals against a labour-reform law drafted by Serbia. The law passed by a close majority but Marsicanin, who belongs to Kostunica's party, said the vote was rigged by ballot tampering. Rejecting the accusations, the Djindjic's party and most of the other coalition parties demanded Marsicanin be fired. After a heated debate, Marsicanin stepped down Thursday. Before quitting, Marsicanin warned if he were removed, his allies would demand a no-confidence vote for the government. If the government falls, a new election would likely follow. Marsicanin also reiterated earlier accusations that Djindjic's government is "corrupt and criminal." Cedomir Jovanovic, Djindjic's top aide, countered Kostunica's party could soon be expelled from the coalition and its deputies replaced. Kostunica and Djindjic, who masterminded Milosevic's ouster, squabble almost daily. Kostunica is the most popular politician in Serbia. Djindjic's ratings are lower. Kostunica has also accused Djindjic's government of maintaining links with organized crime.
Feuding
Yugoslav Reformists Sag Deeper Into Crisis
Yugoslavia's ruling coalition sagged deeper into crisis on Wednesday when allies of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic moved to oust the parliament speaker in a scandal over alleged vote rigging. Analysts said yawning cracks in the 18-party DOS bloc that ousted Slobodan Milosevic last year raised the prospect of early elections that many citizens hope would yield a stable government better able to focus on badly needed reforms. Djindjic allies called for the dismissal of speaker Dragan Marsicanin, who had alleged that a vote for a labour bill that was narrowly passed on Monday had been cast on behalf of an MP who was abroad at the time. The Labour Ministry denied any wrongdoing and said it would sue Marsicanin and another politician over the accusations. "This will open up the crisis in Serbian politics," analyst Bratislav Grubacic said. "Today I got the impression that they crossed the line of tolerance." An escalating row between the two main DOS factions -- one loyal to Djindjic and the other to Yugoslav federal President Vojislav Kostunica -- has hampered post-Milosevic reforms and deterred foreign investment, observers say. Marsicanin is a member of Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), which is part of DOS but withdrew its ministers from the Serbian government in August in a corruption row. The DSS opposed Monday's labour bill in what analysts said was a show of defiance that could hasten a full split with DOS.
That would leave Djindjic's faction on shaky ground with only a slim majority and heavily reliant on the loyalty of other small coalition partners. "If now the government falls or is toppled, then they will have no other choice but early elections," Grubacic said. Media and analysts said the DOS presidency might convene later this week to resolve one way or another a rift that had worsened sooner than expected but was ultimately inevitable. "Animosities between these two parties are so profound and their mentality and agendas so opposed that basically I don't see how they can stay together in the long run," Grubacic said. "I thought it would happen later, but it is happening now." Djindjic is a deal-making pragmatist with better ties to the West than Kostunica, a moderate nationalist. Another analyst said he believed DOS might be able to weather this crisis as it has done before, suggesting Djindjic was not yet strong enough to risk elections against Kostunica. Yugoslavia has made steady progress rejoining the international community in the past year, notably when its main republic Serbia sent former nationalist autocrat Milosevic to face a U.N. war crimes trial in The Hague. But many people are frustrated with the pace of reforms, complaining that living standards remain poor after a decade of wars, state-sponsored repression and international isolation. Federal Yugoslavia also includes the small coastal republic of Montenegro.
KOSOVO
Retired
British Bobbies On Their Way To Kosovo
Foreign Office Minister Denis MacShane was pleased to meet a group of five retired British policemen at the Foreign Office before their departure this morning to join the UN civilian policing effort in Kosovo, handing out mince pies in an early Christmas celebration. Two of their local MPs, Rosie Winterton (Doncaster Central) and Humfrey Malins (Woking), also joined the party. Dr MacShane said: 'Kosovo is evolving into a democratic society – the successful and peaceful conduct of Assembly elections there on 17 November was a landmark for all of Kosovo’s people. For a stable democratic society to prosper, it must rely on the enforcement of the rule of law. That it why the UK is sending police officers to help with the international civilian policing effort, working in close cooperation with the Kosovo law enforcement agencies and KFOR. I am proud that the current UK contingent in Kosovo is being strengthened still further in this way. I am sorry that they will be so far from their homes and families over Christmas, and salute their commitment to the job at hand.' The police officers were representatives of a larger group of 18 recently retired police officers, who are being deployed to Kosovo on 6 December.
When Bernd Hartung arrived in Prizrea, Kosovo in October of 2000, his first impressions were "not the best." After 78 days, NATO's war with Serbia had come to end, leaving the infrastructure of Kosovo's water supply system in shambles. Hartung, an engineer with Gelsenwasser, a water and energy supply company based out of Gelsenkirchen, Germany, entered Prizrea with the challenge of leading its water supply reconstruction effort, feeling overwhelmed. "When I heard about the project I didn't feel well with it," Hartung said. "So before I left I decided not to set aims. I wanted to see what was going on, then set aims." Hartung and his team realized the enormity of the task after thoroughly surveying the area upon their arrival. Throughout the course of the war over 50,000 homes had been destroyed. Hartung recognized that Kosovars who wanted to return to their homes would be unable to do so without a major restoration of vital infrastructure. "(Water supply) Plants were in such a bad state," Hartung said. "Under a Serb-led company no major reinvestment had taken place, there was no funding and no power. Waterworks were completely destroyed. The entire company was grossly neglecting its obligation to water supply." Hartung said leakages of 40 to 60 percent were revealed. This meant that 50 percent of the water supply meant for customers never in fact reached customers, but seeped into the ground. In addition, distribution and supply of drinking water was inconsistent due to the lack of power. With a grant from KFW, a German bank, Gelsenwasser began the process of rebuilding the water supply infrastructure in Prizrea. This process involved restructuring the entire enterprise, from temporarily fulfilling managerial positions to restoring lost confidence in the people of Kosovo. Hartung was given only four months in which to tackle this project. The many challenges set before him included rehabilitating treatment facilities, expanding distribution networks, ensuring delivery of new equipment, and training new employees. "At the end of the war Serbian waterworks employees fled- taking with them important documents about the plants," Hartung said when asked about obstacles. Because of this, Hartung and his team had to rebuild from scratch. In four months Hartung and his team were able to establish a strong base and create a transition team to lead the future of the water infrastructure industry in Prizrea. He talked about the confidence that the people of Prizrea had in his leadership as a main factor that made the project possible. "Kosovars are friendly to Germans," said Hartung. "Many of them have worked in Germany or have family in Germany and they trust Germans. In the end, it is necessary to have the confidence of the people." Among many accomplishments, Hartung and his team repaired 200 leaks in three months, replaced 26 pumps, installed 13,000 domestic water meters, drafted a budget plan, and set up a work force. "We achieved a great deal in the four months of work, even though we are hungry for further success," Hartung said. Hartung continues to "coach" managerial staff in the area through phone and email on a regular basis. Gelsenwasser is one of exhibitors at the International Freshwater Conference. While the company primarily serves a German market, it is rapidly expanding throughout Southeast and Eastern Europe, with the hope of bringing such areas to the "standards needed."
CROATIA
The Croatian walled city of Dubrovnik is marking the 10th anniversary of the shelling which destroyed parts of its historic centre. Dubrovnik came under siege from the Yugoslav army and navy in October 1991, but the worst shelling took place on 6 December. Two retired Yugoslav military officers have now surrendered themselves to the UN war crimes tribunal in the Hague on charges relating to the siege. The commemorative events include ceremonies to honour the defenders of Dubrovnik, particularly the firefighters who were killed as they tried to put out blazes caused by the shelling.
The siege
For the people of Dubrovnik 6 December is also the day they honour St. Nicholas, the patron saint of Christmas and also of sailors. On that day 10 years ago, Marko Breskovic was delivering St. Nicholas Day oranges to the children of the area when he saw the fires from the shelling start in the old city. Dubrovnik had been without running water for weeks, so he and a friend appropriated an old pump to douse some of the flames with sea water. The city's clock tower was among the building's damaged. It stopped chiming, but only for a day. Members of the Krasovac family - who had maintained the clock for four generations - continued to risk their lives to keep it ringing during the siege, creeping out every two days to wind it up by hand. Today most of the external damage done to the city has been repaired. Dubrovnik's status as a Unesco World Heritage Site ensured it attracted international funds. But many of the buildings remain gutted inside and the bright red of the new roof tiles bears mute testimony to the destruction of 10 years ago. Tourism is once again the mainstay of the city's economy, but now the souvenir shops sell videos of the war alongside postcards and tee-shirts.
Croatia
Ratifies EU Deal On Associate Membership
Croatia's parliament, the Sabor, ratified a deal with the European Union on Wednesday after nationalist members walked out in protest at what they said amounted to a threat to the country's sovereignty. Croatia was the second former Yugoslav republic after Macedonia to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) in October, paving the way for eventual membership. It was passed with 87 votes in favour, none against in the 151-seat parliament. The nationalist opposition argued the SAA included no guarantees that Croatia would be granted access to the Union, while saying some of its provisions might force the country back into a political union with its Balkan neighbors. The agreement provides for a free trade area in goods and services within six years, regional cooperation and a political dialogue. It also commits Croatia to bring its laws gradually into harmony with EU legislation and standards.
OTHER
Taliban
Lose Kandahar; Looting Breaks Out
The Taliban lost their last major stronghold Friday as Kandahar fell under the control of armed men, sources told CNN.
The same sources said there are reports of looting throughout the Afghan city and they had witnessed looting in the Kandahar neighborhood of Shar-e Nau. The same sources said there are reports of looting throughout the Afghan city and they had witnessed looting in the Kandahar neighborhood of Shar-e Nau. On Thursday, Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar appeared ready to surrender of Kandahar as word came that the airport east of the city had fallen to anti-Taliban forces. The surrender agreement was struck Thursday, after talks between Taliban officials and interim Afghan government leader Hamid Karzai. The former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, had Omar would begin the surrender Friday by turning over the city to one of his commanders, who will then direct the handing over of weapons and ammunition to tribal elders. Zaeef said Omar will not surrender directly to Karzai. Zaeef told CNN that the Taliban leadership, including Omar, would be guaranteed safety and allowed to go home under the agreement. In Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld reiterated Thursday that the United States would oppose any agreement that gives amnesty to Omar. Karzai didn't specifically address Omar's status but told CNN: "Mullah Omar must distance himself from terrorism, recognize that Taliban has brutalized Afghanistan. That is our demand." Karzai said amnesty would be offered to the "regular Taliban," but he said that approximately 650 al Qaeda fighters -- whom he referred to as Arabs -- in the Kandahar area are criminals who must be brought to justice. A representative of a local tribal commander in Kandahar said Taliban forces had handed over control of the airport, located about 10 miles southeast of the city. In eastern Afghanistan, meanwhile, intense fighting continued in the mountainous Tora Bora region, where al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is believed to be holed up. Intense small arms fire was heard Thursday night outside the U.S. Marine base south of Kandahar. A Marine spokesman said the firing was in response to a credible threat of a possible enemy attempt to probe the camp's outer defenses.
Latest developments
• The Pentagon said Thursday two Marines received "non-critical" injuries when a UH-1 "Huey" helicopter experienced a hard landing and caught fire about 12:20 a.m. local time (2:50 p.m. ET) at the Marine base southwest of Kandahar.
• The United Nations Security Council unanimously endorsed the plan approved in Germany this week for a post-Taliban government in Afghanistan. But the council put off a vote authorizing a multinational peacekeeping force to provide security in and around the Afghan capital, Kabul.
• U.S. officials investigated the deaths of three Army Special Forces soldiers and six members of opposition forces. They were killed Wednesday when an errant U.S. bomb exploded near them, north of Kandahar. The explosion also wounded 20 U.S. soldiers and 18 opposition fighters. The bodies of two of the U.S. soldiers killed were flown to Germany on Thursday, where they will be turned over to a military mortuary team.
• A U.S. airman Thursday became the first member of the Air Force to receive a Purple Heart for injuries received in Operation Enduring Freedom. The Special Operations Command airman -- identified only as "Staff Sgt. Michael" for security reasons -- suffered a perforated eardrum during a bombing incident involving a Taliban uprising at a fortress in Afghanistan.
• Attorney General John Ashcroft lashed out Thursday at critics of the administration's response to terrorism, saying questions about whether its actions undermine the Constitution only serve to help terrorists. Ashcroft said the administration's new initiatives --including the use of military tribunals to try non-U.S. citizens suspected of terrorism -- had been "carefully drawn" to balance constitutional rights against the threat of terrorism.
• Ethnic Uzbek warlord Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum has announced he will boycott Afghanistan's recently negotiated interim government because he said it was not fully representative.
• With the White House closed to tours for security reasons, Americans will still be able to see the elaborate holiday decorations there. White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer announced Thursday the 360-degree online tour of the "Home for the Holidays" presentation at the White House.
• U.S. officials in Washington said Wednesday they have received an unconfirmed intelligence report suggesting one of bin Laden's older sons may have been killed in a recent airstrike. Experts say bin Laden has at least 23 children, at least 14 of whom are sons.
• The sister of the Navy reservist who piloted the plane terrorists crashed into the Pentagon September 11 angrily demanded Wednesday that her brother get his own grave in Arlington National Cemetery because he was a victim of "what his own president is calling an act of war in a combat zone." The Army, which oversees the cemetery, had offered to allow him to be buried with his father, and share his tombstone.
• Scientists at Fort Detrick, a germ warfare research lab in Maryland, Wednesday opened the envelope containing an anthrax-contaminated letter addressed to Sen. Patrick Leahy and have begun the painstaking process of removing the anthrax inside, the FBI said. Experts have spent the past three weeks deciding what would be the best way to open the letter.
• U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told NATO ministers in Belgium Thursday that an international peacekeeping force will be sent into Afghanistan, although "the mix and the leadership" has yet to be determined.
• President Bush called on countries around the world to join the United States in paying tribute to the victims of the September 11 attacks on the three-month observance, December 11, by playing their respective country's national anthems at 8:46 a.m. ET, the exact time the first hijacked plane hit the World Trade Center.
Man With
Knife Taken Into Custody Outside White House
A man who was "acting suspiciously" outside the southwest gate to the White House was taken into custody Thursday morning by Secret Service uniformed officers, who found he was carrying a knife at least a foot long, a Secret Service source told CNN.
William Thomas Duncan, a 26-year-old man with no fixed address, had been pacing back and forth about 50 yards from the gate when Secret Service agents approached him, patted him down and discovered the knife, said spokesman Jim Mackin. The man then volunteered that he had additional weapons in his vehicle, parked two blocks away, Mackin said. Shortly after 7 a.m., officers closed 15th Street from E Street to Pennsylvania Avenue, nearly three blocks, while they searched the man's 1991 Dodge pickup, which carried Idaho plates. Officers found an SKS assault rifle on the front seat and another rifle with a scope, a bulletproof vest, a Kevlar helmet and a handgun, Mackin said. At least two of the weapons were loaded. A bomb detection team searched the vehicle, which was parked at 15th and E streets, and found no explosives. Streets reopened at 9 a.m. "Certainly, any time there is someone with that type of weaponry, that's a serious incident," the source said. The man was taken into custody and could face several charges, the source said.
Osama Bin Laden's No. 2 Man May Be Dead, British Official Says
The spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Blair said Thursday
the British government was receiving "persistent reports" that Osama
bin Laden's No. 2 man, Ayman al-Zawahri, died in U.S. air strikes. "We are
getting persistent reports that he has been killed," Blair's spokesman told
reporters on customary condition of anonymity. He added, however, that it was
not possible to be "100 percent sure." The spokesman would not reveal
the sources of the reports. U.S. intelligence has been unable to confirm that
al-Zawahri is dead. Anti-Taliban leaders claimed earlier this week that al-Zawahri
- an Egyptian physician who founded the Egyptian Islamic Jihad - had been
injured in U.S. bombing raids on the Tora Bora cave complex in the White
Mountains, south of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan. Separately Thursday, Blair
welcomed the Taliban agreement to surrender Kandahar and said the U.S.-led
military campaign in Afghanistan has made the world a safer place. "It
seems that the final collapse of the Taliban is now upon us. That is a total
vindication of the strategy that we have worked out from the beginning,"
Blair told reporters at his Downing Street office. Asked about reports that
Omar's safety would be guaranteed by tribal leaders as part of the deal to hand
over Kandahar, Blair refused to discuss the fate of specific Taliban leaders. He
suggested, however, that he agreed with U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H.
Rumsfeld, who said earlier Thursday the United States would not accept any
arrangement that allowed Omar to remain free. "I have nothing to add on
what the White House said on that," Blair said. Blair called the Taliban
regime "one of the most brutal and repressive" in the world and said
it had funded and trained thousands of terrorists. "Afghanistan was the
absolute hub, the center of those operations," he said. "They had the
facilities there, the finance there, the training and equipment there that
allowed these people then to be sent out into different parts of the world to
cause devastation and death to people. "That regime is effectively now
disintegrated, the terror camps can be shut down, and I think that is a
fantastic thing," Blair added.
Marines Respond To 'Credible Threat' Near Base In Afghanistan
U.S. Marines in southern Afghanistan went on alert late Thursday and fired mortars from their base to repel what a spokesman said was "almost certainly" an attempt by Taliban troops to probe their defenses. A UHN-1 Huey helicopter crashed near the airstrip here at Camp Rhino, and Marine spokesman Capt. Stewart Upton said two servicemen received minor injuries, one of them on the ground. He said the cause of the crash was under investigation, but "we are 99 percent sure that the helicopter did not crash because of enemy fire." Before the crash, small arms fire reverberated through the desert base along with the crisp blast of outgoing mortar rounds. Flares lit up the flat, dusty desert around Camp Rhino while journalists crouched in trenches. The base went on high alert Thursday night because of what a spokesman, Capt. David T. Romley, called a "credible threat." He said armed reconnaissance vehicles were sent into the desert to try to identify the intruders and call in mortar fire. "We're almost positive it is enemy probing," said Upton. He said it was clear that whoever was moving outside the perimeter had "hostile intent."
Journalists in the camp, who were issued military flak
jackets and helmets, could see no incoming fire. However, they heard shouting
outside the camp and the sound of gunfire. Helicopters made sweeps overhead in
the clear night sky. Defense Department rules governing the journalists'
presence in the camp forbid reporting on exact operational measures. Since the
Marines seized this desert airstrip on Nov. 25, their only combat operation came
on their second day, when Cobra helicopter gunships from the base helped
warplanes from elsewhere attack a suspected hostile convoy that passed nearby.
But the Marines said Wednesday that they were moving into position around the
Taliban's last stronghold, Kandahar, to make sure the Taliban don't escape or
bring in reinforcements. The Taliban agreed Thursday to surrender the city but
had yet to begin handing over their weapons. Marines from Base Rhino were called
into action on Wednesday after an errant U.S. bomb killed three U.S. servicemen
and five anti-Taliban Afghan fighters. Nineteen Americans and about 20 Afghans
were injured. Some of them were flown to the base, which has a Navy field
medical unit with 10 doctors. The Americans and some of the Afghans were
immediately flown out on C130 transports to hospitals elsewhere. Reporters at
the base were kept away from the medical unit as the casualties were brought in.
Maj. James Parrington, executive officer of the Marine Expeditionary Unit 15th's
Battalion Landing Team 1, said other troops at the base were aware of the
incident and that it has steeled them for the fight. "This is real. We're
not playing around. There are people out there who mean us ill will. It is
serious," Parrington said. The Marines, which U.S. officials have said
number about 1,300, include the 15th and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Units,
equipped with heavily armored vehicles and anti-tank weapons.
New Afghan Minister Says Government Must Create Climate Of Security For Women
One of two women chosen for Afghanistan's transitional leadership said the first task of the new government will be to rush food throughout the nation to keep people from starving this winter. Then, said Dr. Sima Samar, the new minister of women's affairs, the government must create a climate of security for women so they can join the workplace and re-enter classrooms from which they were banned under five years of oppression by the Taliban. "If they (the new government) are able to implement security in the country, then the women will feel confident to go out and go to school and work," she said. "You need stability and security first." Samar, in Canada to receive a human right's award, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press she was surprised when negotiators in Germany selected her as one of two women on the six-month transitional cabinet. From the minority Hazara tribe, she said being able to return to Kabul after living in exile in Pakistan was "a dream come true," while the challenges of overcoming the devastation in the country were daunting. "It's not easy. It's a short time," she said of the six-month leadership mandate. "The biggest obstacle is the economy of the country. We don't have anything. "For the six months, the big challenge will be to feed the people, to help them survive." The U.N.-brokered deal reached in Germany gave most posts in the interim Cabinet - including defense, foreign affairs and interior - to the northern alliance, which has captured most of the country backed by U.S. forces.
At the same time, the list reflected international pressure to include women after years of suppression by the Taliban and to strike a balance among Afghanistan's ethnic groups. Delegates said a ministry of women's affairs was only created in a late compromise to secure a deal at the insistence of Sima Wali, a U.S.-based activist for Afghan women's rights. Samar was named one of five deputy premiers as well as minister of women's affairs. The other women, Suhaila Seddiqi, was named health minister under Prime Minister Hamid Karzai, a Pashtun tribal leader. Married a second time with two children, Samar fled Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion of 1979. Her first husband was killed in that war. She worked as a physician in a refugee camp in Pakistan and opened a hospital there in 1987. She also ran schools in rural Afghanistan for more than 17,400 students as well as a school for refugee girls in Quetta, Pakistan. Literacy programs established by her organization were accompanied by distribution of food aid and information on hygiene and family planning. Still, the call from her son telling her she was chosen as minister of women's affairs "was completely unexpected." Now she faces a nation of impoverished women emotionally scarred by Taliban oppression, in which they were forced to wear full-body covering and were forbidden from working or going to school. The challenges are overwhelming. Before women can return to polling places, for example, they will need national identity papers which are virtually non-existent today, Samar said.
"I don't have papers. When I ran away from Kabul, I
left everything there and it was looted later on," she said. "The
majority of the population doesn't have identity papers. How can they vote if
they don't have identity papers?"
At
Least 15 Injured In Israeli Air Strike
Israeli warplanes bombed a police post in Gaza early Friday, apparently keeping
pressure on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to arrest suspected terrorists. The
air strike came hours after 1,500 supporters of Hamas battled Palestinian riot
police to protest Arafat's crackdown. At least fifteen police were wounded in
the bombing, but medical workers said the injuries did not appear to be
life-threatening. Thursday's violent backlash to an intensified roundup of
Islamic militants came as a U.S. envoy and the Egyptian foreign minister
shuttled between Israel and the Palestinian territories, trying to stop more
than a year of Palestinian-Israeli clashes and bring about a truce. Arafat faces
pressure from the United States and the threat of renewed military strikes by
Israel if he fails to stop militants who have carried out a wave of deadly
attacks against Israelis. Israel apparently made good on that threat early
Friday as bombs struck two buildings in a complex that was the headquarters for
the Palestinian civil police in Gaza City. Dust and black smoke filled the sky
and ambulances rushed toward the building. Though Arafat said his forces have
arrested 180 militants, Israeli officials said earlier that the leaders of
violent groups remain at large. "Very few of the people arrested were
important," Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer told Army Radio.
The United States was also skeptical of Arafat's sweeps. "The president remains deeply concerned that Palestinian jails ... are still built with bars in front with revolving doors at the back," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. Palestinians insisted their efforts were sincere and for their own good. "The Americans did not impose anything on us," said West Bank security chief Jibril Rajoub. "We know exactly what our interests are and what our duty is." Arafat said Thursday that the United States had given him a list of 33 militants, and most of them had been arrested. He said his police were looking for the others. The United States has been trying to cool the Mideast conflict to keep it from interfering with its operation in Afghanistan. Since the Sept. 11 terror attacks on New York and Washington, Arafat has been trying to distance himself from Islamic militants. Arafat met Thursday with U.S. peace envoy Anthony Zinni and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher. Both diplomats also saw Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. Violence lent urgency to the talks. Two Palestinian suicide bombing attacks killed 25 in Israel last weekend, and Israeli retaliatory attacks on Monday and Tuesday targeted Arafat's headquarters and security offices, killing two people and injuring more than 100. "We know there is a warning of some more suicide bombers trying to enter Israel," Peres said after meeting with Maher. Peres said Israel was giving Arafat time to move against the militants, but stressed the urgency of the situation, saying: "Another bomb will really make the situation impossible." Maher's visit was a sign of the seriousness of the crisis. Egypt has shunned high-profile ties with Israel since Sharon became prime minister in March, and Egypt withdrew its ambassador from Israel last year because of the violence. "I cannot say we see eye-to-eye because there are still points of difference," Maher said after meeting with Peres. Egypt, like the Palestinians, has consistently blamed Israel for more than a year of violence. The weekend suicide bomb attacks and the retaliatory air strikes spurred Arafat into action against the militant Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups, moves he had avoided for fear of setting off a Palestinian civil war. In the West Bank town of Nablus, Palestinian police posted officers outside two mosques late Wednesday, checking the identity cards of worshippers against a list of wanted people. No arrests were made, but police said they found several pounds of explosives in the Nablus hide-out of a Hamas militant. Yassin was placed under house arrest Wednesday, sparking angry resistance from Hamas supporters. More than 1,500 protesters clashed Thursday with Palestinian police, who set up checkpoints around his Gaza City home.
Both sides occasionally fired automatic weapons in the air,
and there was a brief exchange of fire in which a Hamas supporter, Mohammed
Silmi, 21, was killed. In the West Bank towns of Qalqilya, Tulkarem, Nablus and
Jenin, Palestinian police entered dozens of suspected Hamas activists' homes
overnight, only to find they had fled. The night ended with just one arrest,
Nablus security officials said. Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a Hamas leader who has gone
underground, posted a message to wanted men on a Hamas Web site, saying they
should not turn themselves in. In another incident, Israeli soldiers killed a
Palestinian after mortar shells landed on Jewish settlements in Gaza. The
Israeli military said the Palestinian was involved in firing the mortars, but
Palestinians said the killing was unprovoked.
Today is
Friday, Dec. 7, the 341st day of 2001. There are 24 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
Sixty years ago, on Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese forces attacked American and British territories and possessions in the Pacific, including the home base of the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
On this date:
In 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
In 1796, electors chose John Adams to be the second president of the United States.
In 1836, Martin Van Buren was elected the eighth president of the United States.
In 1842, the New York Philharmonic gave its first concert.
In 1946, fire broke out at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta; the blaze killed 119 people, including hotel founder W. Frank Winecoff.
In 1972, America's last moon mission to date was launched as Apollo 17 blasted off from Cape Canaveral.
In 1972, Imelda Marcos, wife of Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos, was stabbed and seriously wounded by an assailant who was then shot dead by her bodyguards.
In 1985, retired Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart died in Hanover, N.H., at age 70.
In 1988, a major earthquake in the Soviet Union devastated northern Armenia; official estimates put the death toll at 25,000.
In 1995, a 746-pound probe from the Galileo spacecraft hurtled into Jupiter's atmosphere, sending back data to the mothership before it was presumably destroyed.
Ten years ago: Fifty years after Japan's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, a visibly moved President Bush led the nation in services commemorating the anniversary.
Five years ago: The space shuttle Columbia landed at the Kennedy Space Center, ending a nearly 18-day mission marred by a jammed hatch that prevented two planned spacewalks.
One year ago: Al Gore's lawyer, David Boies, pleaded with the Florida Supreme Court to order vote recounts and revive his presidential campaign. Republican attorneys called George W. Bush the certified, rightful victor.
Today's Birthdays: Actor Eli Wallach is 86. Bluegrass singer Bobby Osborne is 70. Actress Ellen Burstyn is 69. Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., is 64. ABC News anchorwoman Carole Simpson is 61. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Johnny Bench is 54. Country singer Gary Morris is 53. Singer-songwriter Tom Waits is 52. Actress Priscilla Barnes is 46. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Larry Bird is 45. "Tonight Show" announcer Edd Hall is 43. Rock musician Tim Butler is 43. Actor C. Thomas Howell is 35. Pop singer Nicole Appleton (All Saints) is 26. Rapper Kon Artis (D12) is 25. Actress Shiri Appleby ("Roswell") is 23. Singer Aaron Carter is 14.
Thought
for Today: "What man strives to preserve, in preserving himself,
is something which he has never been at any particular moment." - George
Santayana, Spanish-American philosopher (1863-1952).
