Macedonia: Minority Rights Violations
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From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 14:12:33 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: Macedonia: Minority Rights Violations
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Panayote Elias Dimitras <[email protected]>
Minority Rights Violations in Macedonia
1. MILS NEWS (English)
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MACEDONIAN INFORMATION AND LIAISON SERVICE
(M. I. L. S.)
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The MILS - NEWS is a digest of the latest developments in the Republic
of Macedonia and relevant current events in the Balkans and beyond. It
is published daily in English and Macedonian by the M.I.L.S.
(Macedonian Information and Liaison Service). M.I.L.S. is a
non-profit, non-governmental service, and is a registered
international bureau of the Australian Macedonian Society Inc. It is
supported by the Ilinden Foundation, and the Supporting Committee for
European Integration of Macedonia(SCEIM).
Copyright (c) 1999 MILS.
MILS SUPPLEMENT
HELSINKI COMMITTEE CLAIMS THERE IS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST MINORITIES
IN MACEDONIA
"Dnevnik", January 19 1999
The Helsinki Human Rights Committee has observed a low level of
tolerance between members of the majority and minority ethnic groups,
especially Albanians and Roma. The committee thinks that the Albanians
are continuously subject to so-called "quiet discrimination", with
constant violations of their human rights, dignity and perception of
equality. Teaching staff is in short supply for Albanian-language
elementary and secondary school instruction, and the issue of higher
education in the languages of the minorities is still unresolved, the
annual report adopted the Committee this Friday reports.
The Roma are subject to the most open discrimination, and it is also
the case where discrimination is hardest to measure. Their rights are
being violated by excessive police force, inequitable treatment in
employment, discriminatory attitude of teachers in the education
system. The Committee thinks that the Roma are not capable of fighting
to protect their human rights on their own, because of the low level
of education and their poor economic and social situation.
According to the Helsinki Committee, there are significant legal and
practical shortcomings in the exercise of rights of arrested or
detained persons. The procedure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
fails to satisfy the requirements of the "state governed by law", and
the police fails to secure a series of rights of the citizens during
their stay in a police station. The Constitutional and legal procedure
of obtaining court-issued arrest warrants is not respected either. The
police makes arrests on its own initiative, and the demands for
informative talks, searches and detention are just a formality, the
Committee thinks. According to the report, the means for protection of
rights and freedoms are inefficient, and the public ombudsman does not
contribute significantly to citizens' exercise of their rights.
The Committee thinks that the Religious Communities and Groups Act
confers privilege on some religious communities and is restrictive
with respect to freedom of worship. Thus, according to the Committee,
there is intolerance and limits to the right to worship. The committee
is preparing an initiative for a Constitutional review of that Act.
The Committee thinks that the Parliamentary elections in 1998 were
fair and democratic and represent "a great step ahead compared to the
1994 elections". According to the Committee, the biggest problem was
the distribution of voter cards, and there was also sluggishness on
the part of the State Electoral Commission, indolence towards
reporters and lack of official information on election results.
The Helsinki Committee observed a great deal of progress in the media
and thinks that they have played a significant role in the election
campaigns. the electronic media started functioning in the framework
of the new Broadcasting Act, and for the printed media there was a
continuation of the trend of new editions, reductions of prices and
rise in circulation. Thus the monopoly held by "Nova Makedonija" was
destroyed slowly but surely. The Committee thinks that "Nova
Makedonija" is threatened by liquidation because of the harsh
financial and staffing crisis.
In the framework of the "Attorneys for Human Rights" projects for
providing legal advice, the Helsinki Committee has registered 145
cases from February to November of last year, mostly for
discrimination in the right to citizenship and cases of overstepping
police authority.
_______________________________________
Greek Helsinki Monitor &
Minority Rights Group - Greece
P.O. Box 51393
GR-14510 Kifisia
Greece
Tel. +30-1-620.01.20
Fax +30-1-807.57.67
e-mail: [email protected]
http://www.greekhelsinki.gr
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