IHF Press Release on Macedonia

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Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 08:27:07 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: IHF Press Release on Macedonia

From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>

Original sender: IHF <[email protected]>

IHF Press Release on Macedonia


Some Changes and Some Persistent Human Rights Problems in Macedonia
 
Ohrid, Macedonia, 28 February 1999: Representatives of Helsinki
Committees from Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Greece,
Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Serbia, Slovakia and
the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) met in
Ohrid, Macedonia to plan a regional project on "NGO Human Rights
Cooperation in the Framework of the Royaumont Process," co-financed by
the European Community.
 
The Helsinki Committee representatives noted that the character of
public debate about the main human rights problems in Macedonia
changed after the elections in 1998.
 
In some areas there are signs of progress toward some of the goals
advocated by the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Macedonia and
the IHF. For example, a dramatic reduction in police brutality has
been observed; the police and the Ministry of Interior must be praised
for this positive change. There is official rhetoric about the use of
the Albanian language in official contexts. There are other signs that
the Macedonian State is moving toward changes consistent with the
multi-ethnic reality of Macedonian society.
 
At the same time, the people wait, in a state of confusion, for more
progress in several areas: fair ethnic representation in governmental
institutions and a process of decentralization so that more decisions
can be made by local authorities and civil society.
 
We are discouraged by recent decisions of the Constitutional Court:
the rejection of the law on using flags of national minorities and the
rejection of a new law on penal procedure (Article 9), which would
have allowed national languages in communications between the courts
and the people. On the other hand, another decision, to remove
discriminatory articles from the law on religious groups, brings
Macedonia closer to compliance with international standards.
 
There are positive signs of more openness toward the use of national
languages in university education. The Helsinki Committees support the
passage of a law allowing the establishment of private universities.
We advocate for the creation of an inclusive process to settle the
issue of national higher education, which will help bring together
ethnic communities that still live in isolation from one another in
Macedonia.
 
___
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights
http://www.ihf-hr.org/

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