Review: Mirage

The Film:

Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torments of men.

Friedrich Nietzsche
In the city of Veles, Macedonia twelve-year old Marko dreams of being a poet. At the local school however instead of learning poetry he learns how to survive-day after day the young boy is kicked in the stomach by the leader of the local punks; at home his drunken father would repeatedly spare a fist in his teeth. Determined to escape the "cesspool" Veles has become Marco befriends a mysterious stranger who will teach him that in real life you "Eat or be eaten"!

If there ever was a Balkan film that matched the intensity Mathieu Kassovitz's La Haine (1995) revealed then Svetozar Ristovski's Iluzija a.k.a Mirage (2004) must be it. A carefully observed production about maturation Mirage combines the poetic brutality of La Haine with the absurd humor of Emir Kusturica's Underground (1995). Anger, disappointment, and desperation are closely intertwined in this Macedonian film which does not shy away from showing the spiritual corrosion of a society where hope is nowhere to be found.

To say that I am overwhelmed by the sheer power of this film will most likely be a grandiose understatement. I was so moved by young Marko Kovacevic (playing the poor Marko) that for hours after the film ended I thought about a similar character, a performance that impressed me as much as this one. Needless to say I could not come up with anything. The range of emotions running through Marko's face-fear mixed with anger, desperation mixed with hope, pain mixed with joy-are something no acting school can teach. You either have it in you or you don't!!

Even though there is hardly much in this film that you have not seen before, certainly as far the story goes there is nothing surprising, the splendid acting by the Macedonian crew elevates Mirage into one of the best Balkan films to be released in North America in a long time (Ivo Trajkov's Golemata Voda a.k.a The Great Water considered). In recent years I felt that the kitsch which Kusturica would always emphasize on in his work somewhat clichéd most of the films Balkan directors produced. Everyone wanted to imitate what worked before, even Kusturica himself I felt reached its limit in Zivot ja Cudo a.k.a Life is a Miracle (2004). With Svetozar Ristovski's Mirage however it seems like a new formula has been found where the director has managed to balance perfectly Balkan absurdity with realism.

So, I find it quite distressing to see that some highly-esteemed critics saw Marko's story as being "drab and pointless" (The New York Post). What is so "drab" about seeing your dreams crash with a bang? What is so "pointless" about seeing a young boy struggling to make sense from a world where all that matters is the size of your fist? Or feel betrayed by the only person you thought capable of helping you realize your dreams?

Awards/ Nominations:

In 2004 the film was nominated for Grand Prix at the Tokyo International Film Festival, and was part of the official selection at the Sofia International Film Festival, Bulgaria.

Trailers:

Domestic:
http://www.comingofagemovies.com/titles/mirage/index.html#

International:
http://www.eastwest-distribution.com/trailer_mirage.htm

How Does the DVD Look?

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and enhanced for widescreen TV's Mirage looks quite good. The print herein reviewed does not offer any damage, edge enhancement is at a tolerable level, and the actual print appears to have been properly converted. Colors are lush and well-saturated. I must however point something which I noticed with other released by Picture This! DVDs. It appears that when blown through digital projector the image becomes slightly unfocused (in fact I think that it breaks down rather noticeably). I am unsure if this has anything to do with the master the Macedonian company has provided but it becomes evident that compression is indeed not at the highest possible quality. Aside from that I am quite pleased with the rest of the treatment Mirage has received.

How Does the DVD Sound?

Presented with a Macedonian 5.1 track and optional English subtitles (yellow) the audio treatment is spectacular. The dialog is easy to follow, the rears are used quite well, and I could not detect any sound distortions (hissing, pop-ups). Furthermore, the sound has a great density (what I mean is that is sounds full with great overtones where music is being used).

Extras:

Unfortunately aside from the original theatrical trailer (as well as a section of trailers for other upcoming Picture This! Releases) and a photo gallery there is nothing else to be found on this DVD.

Final Thoughts:

A triumph! A film of uncharacteristic beauty graced by the talent of a young boy with a bright future!! Macedonian director Svetozar Ristovski continues what Mathieu Kassovitz started. This certainly is one of the best films the tiny Republic of Macedonia has ever created! Highly Recommended!

Macedonia, EU to sign visa concession agreement

SKOPJE -- By the end of 2006, Macedonia will sign a visa concession agreement with the EU.

According to the head of the European Commission's Delegation in Macedonia Erwan Fouere this decision was made by the EU Council of Ministers in Brussels today, Macedonia’s TV station A1 reports. According to him Macedonia is the first Western Balkans state to sign such an agreement.

“We must negotiate with all the countries in the region starting with Macedonia. The Finnish EU Presidency insists the visa agreement to be signed by the end of the year. This is a very important step for the country in carrying out its long-term goals and namely – the visa regime liberalisation,” the European diplomat said.

The visa concession agreement will include conditions which Macedonia will have to fulfil and which are already known, new protected passports, readmission contracts and integrated security system along the borders, A1 notes.

Asefi felicitates Macedonia on parliamentary election

Iran-Macedonia-Asefi
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi here Tuesday congratulated the newly independent state of Macedonia for its successful holding of parliamentary elections.

"Iran felicitates the government of Macedonia, nation and winning parties for their parliamentary election held recently in a free and democratic atmosphere, and expresses its willingness to bolster ties with this country," Asefi said.

Macedonia held its 5th parliamentary election on Wednesday in the presence of European and other international community observers.

The parliament of Macedonia has 120 seats. Two thousand six hundred twenty candidates from 33 parties and coalitions competed in the election.

Vreme: Macedonia Should Request from Ljupco Georgievski to Give Away Bulgarian Citizenship

Skopje. The former Macedonian Prime Minister and informal leader of VMRO – Narodna Ljupco Georgievski has had Bulgarian citizenship for six months, the Macedonian daily Vreme reports on Tuesday.
The daily cites Boyka Bashlieva, the press secretary of the Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov. According to Bashlieva Georgievski received Bulgarian citizenship on February 23, 2006. Bashlieva did not give any further details as this would contradict the Personal Information Protection Law.
“Macedonians can have more than one citizenship and the state cannot do anything because this is a subjective right to any person”, the International Law Expert Toni Deskovski from the Law Faculty of the University of Skopje said.
Deskovski refused to comment on the political aspects for Georgievski to receive Bulgarian citizenship, but said that according to him traditions in international private law call for the country to request that Georgievski gives away his citizenship in another country when it comes to a high-standing state posts.
“In such cases the sovereignty of the country is questioned, because the person in question has shown loyalty to another country”, Deskovski said.

We are not China and Japan to each other anymore

COMMENTATOR: Ljubisa Georgievski was born 1937 in Bitola, Republic of Macedonia. He is a theatre and film director, screenwriter, essayist, theatre theoretitian, journalist. He was ambassador to Bulgaria between 2000 and 2004 and is currently the head of VMRO-DPMNE’s commission on foreign affairs.

Recently, there were problems in Bulgaria with the registration of UMO Ilinden PIRIN (The United Macedonian Organisation Ilinden–Party for Economic Development and Integration of the Population. The Bulgarian transliteration spells out as PIRIN), the party of ethnic Macedonians. Some Bulgarian-Macedonians claim they can’t openly declare themselves Macedonian. Macedonia also has Bulgarians who cannot declare themselves Bulgarian. What do you think of all this?
I think Bulgarians are not (that well) culturally and politically organised in Macedonia.

There was an attempt (to organise the pro-Bulgarian RATKO) six years ago.
Yes, but it didn’t happen. There wouldn’t be any problem to do that now – Macedonian ethnic freedoms are exemplary. The two governments say that there are some 5000 (Bulgarians in Macedonia and Macedonians in Bulgaria) on each side. I know that there was an argument going on in Strasbourg (about the prohibition to register the then OMO Ilinden Pirin) while I was an ambassador. (The argument was decided in favour of Macedonians) and now they will participate in elections. I think that this was their purpose – to win at local elections.

In Pirin Macedonia.
Yes. They could probably have a couple of mayors.

How do you see relations between the two countries developing from now on?
Some 10 to 20 years ago, cultural relations in the whole of the Balkans were catastrophic, but things are improving. A book of Macedonian poetry and anthologies of Macedonian prose and drama were recently published in Bulgaria. So we are not China and Japan to each other any more. Unfortunately, economic relations are still catastrophic, even if there is good political will on both sides. But the problem, I think, is that our economies are too alike and don’t complement each other. (As to nationalism), the closer Bulgaria gets to Europe, the less prominent nationalism will be. This is valid for Macedonia, too. We are now in a process of reconciliation with Albanians. As to Bulgarians, we don’t have any pronounced nationalist sentiments. There is no person who would have a problem saying that he or she is Bulgarian in Macedonian.

Some weeks ago Macedonia arrested Bulgarian journalist Yovo Stefanovski – one of those involved in the failed RATKO.
I was in Sofia back then (when RATKO was being established) and I don’t have detailed information about this – I was informing myself from Macedonian and Bulgarian newspapers.

What do you think of Albanian nationalism in Macedonia? I know the story of an Albanian who, when asked about the reasons for the 2001 war, started talking about human rights. Only when prompted to cut to the point, he pointed to a spot in the distance and said: “Do you see (the village of) Grupchin over there? This is where the Bulgarian–Albanian border has to be”. Do sentiments like this still run underground in Macedonia?
The phenomenon of Albanian nationalism was more pronounced amid politicians than the masses. The masses don’t want war. Even while the conflict went on, there was no crisis point. This is a sign that multi-ethnic sentiments are already inbuilt in Macedonia, which has always been multiethnic. Branislav Sarkanjac, a professor in philosophy, wrote this book Komsi kapicik. It’s a Turkish name and it means a small door. In earlier times, each house in Macedonia was separated from the other with a wall that had a door in it – kapicik. If they went through this door, the comitadji (revolutionaries) could walk the whole city without ever stepping on the street. In Macedonia, these doors were often between two religions, too. Komsi kapicik is the traditional Macedonian logic of co-existence. And it would last another 2000 years if politicians don’t set it afire (laughs).

Will the European Union and NATO cure Balkan nationalisms?
They should be careful not to import it because the Europeisation of the Balkans is possible only if Europe doesn’t Balkanise.

We see it happen in Kosovo.
We see it in Holland, what Kosovo? It happens in the centre of Paris, too. But the problem is hidden – no diplomat will tell you that. And this is exactly why Europe is closing its doors at the moment, right in front of our nose and the nose of Croatia. Some say that this is a measure to protect Europe from immigration or protect the European labour market, but the essence of things is that Europe wants at least 10 years to strangle the vital Balkan nationalisms. In 10 to 15 years, I don’t think they will be that virulent as to infect Europe.

Should NATO should hurry to accept Albania, Croatia, Macedonia, for the sake of security?
NATO is a different thing. NATO should hurry to include these countries within the next two, three years because of the economical development of the Western Balkans. Only then can the Balkans start to speak of fading nationalism.

We are hearing voices that Macedonia should be first to recognise Kosovo’s independence.
It is normal that the neighbours are first to recognise a new country. It was the same with Macedonia – Bulgaria was first to recognise us. Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Montenegro, I think, would be first to recognise Kosovo – after the Serbian “amen”. Kosovo can become a country only after the Serbian amen. It is either war or an amen. But the amen will be given – these are the realities of Kosovo. So Kosovo is no problem for us. It would be a problem if it becomes a grey criminal zone. So, from this point of view, it is better for us to have Kosovo take over the responsibilities of a state and evade that.

Macedonians who want Bulgarian citizenship have to go through a very long procedure.
And it will become even longer because of Europe. There are Bulgarian citizens who want Macedonian citizenship, too, but the figure is manifold on the side of Bulgaria. Three years ago (Bulgarian political scientist Ivan) Krustev came out with five or seven examples of Macedonian-Albanians who took Bulgarian passports and signed themselves up as Bulgarian. He said that a Schengen passport is more important than national feelings and made me laugh a lot. We, frustrated Balkan people, think that national feelings are much more important.

National sentiment is a mobile thing. Today you feel a Turk, tomorrow you feel whatever you want. It is not the 19th century. We have an agreement about double citizenship with Serbia, Albania and the US as well. So what if a Macedonian takes an American passport? He will become a national traitor? The young generation laughs at this stupidity. Nationalisms are funny. There is no nationalism that is less funny or less tragic – tragic in its effects on others and funny in its effect on you. And in the past 200 years, it is like we had this clown in the Balkans, who would take the knife and slaughter serious people. It’s just terrible, terrible and funny. People work their land, do business, theatre, write books, and a funny guy comes and slaughters them – it is frightful. This is the Balkans.

Steps have been taken to take the RATKO case to the International Court in the Hague, IMRO-BNM (Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation – Bulgarian National Movement) leader Krasimir Karakachanov told The Sofia Echo. On June 13 2006, Bulgarian journalist Yovo Stefanovski and Macedonian citizen Alexander Markoski were charged to six months in jail for causing provocations and are now in custody pending appeal. According to Bulgarian-Macedonian sources, it was Macedonians who had thrown smoke bombs in the building where RATKO was being established, trying to provoke unrest.

The IMRO-BNM recognises the right of 5000 people in Bulgaria to call themselves Macedonian.

When asked what language they speak, 70 per cent of Bulgarian-Macedonians say that they speak Bulgarian, diplomatic sources told The Sofia Echo.

The IMRO-BNM says that OMO Ilinden PIRIN is paid for by Skopje, and says that RATKO was not paid for by Bulgaria.

Macedonia's municipalities receive boost from EU project

Local self-government in Macedonia was the focus of a two-day conference last week in Skopje. Dubbed "Building the Foundations of the Future", it was the final conference to be held as part of an EU-funded project aimed at strengthening administrative and management practices as part of the decentralisation process.

Brussels has provided 3m euros for the project, which was launched in August 2004 and managed by the European Agency for Reconstruction. All 85 of Macedonia's municipalities have received assistance under the project, with the specific goal of ensuring the proper functioning of their urban planning units.

"This project represents a significant milestone for the country on the road to achieving effective decentralisation," European Commission delegation chief Erwan Fouere said at the conference's opening on Wednesday 12 July.

"It also marks a further step in the co-operation between the EU and the government, together with local authorities, in one of the key areas aimed at bringing economic and social development to the maximum benefit of the people at a local level."

The main achievement was the establishment of a sustainable urban planning system, meant to ensure equal development opportunities and lay the groundwork for adjusting to a competitive economic marketplace.

In addition, specialised IT equipment -- including sophisticated urban planning software -- has been provided to the municipalities, and a plan for co-ordinating its use has been put into place.

According to Fouere, local authorities must bear responsibility for managing funds and promoting a municipal decision-making process that is fair, transparent and inclusive. "Successfully meeting this challenge requires optimum urban planning skills," he said.

"The connections made between the local and central government with the installation of a central database in the Ministry of Local Self-Government enables information exchange between different stakeholders in the process of urban planning. Government institutions can now receive information, including urban excerpts and other documents, from the local self-government units," said Association of Local Self-Government Units President Andrej Petrov. .

Over the past two years, training centres for municipal staff have been established in Skopje, Gostivar, Bitola and Stip. These municipalities have hosted an extensive knowledge transfer-training programme covering such subjects as Urban Planning Tools, Municipal Planning, Land Development Planning and Implementation, Human Resource Management and Geo-Informatics.

Since 1999, the EU has spent some 50m euros on projects to support local self-government in Macedonia.

Macedonia, EU to Sign Visa Concession Agreement by End of 2006

Skopje. By the end of 2006 Macedonia will sign a visa concession agreement with the European Union, Macedonia’s TV station A1 reports. According to the head of the European Commission's Delegation in Macedonia Erwan Fouere this decision was made by the EU Council of Ministers in Brussels today. According to him Macedonia is the first Western Balkans state to sign such an agreement.
“We must negotiate with all the countries in the region starting with Macedonia. The Finnish EU Presidency insists the visa agreement to be signed by the end of the year. This is a very important step for the country in carrying out its long-term goals and namely – the visa regime liberalization,” the European diplomat said.
The visa concession agreement will include conditions which Macedonia will have to fulfill and which are already known – new protected passports, readmission contracts and integrated security system along the borders, A1 notes.

U.S. balks in kidnap probe, official says

BERLIN, GERMANY

Germany said Sunday that the United States has refused to help investigate the alleged 2003 abduction of a German citizen, a case that has ignited criticism of U.S. tactics against international terrorism.

Khaled al-Masri, who was born in Lebanon, alleges he was seized in Macedonia in December 2003 and flown by CIA operatives to a detention center in Afghanistan. He says he was questioned and abused during five months in custody before he was dumped in Albania.

Prosecutors in Munich have opened an investigation, and Berlin asked Washington for assistance with it.

The U.S. Justice Department declined to help because of a lawsuit filed by al-Masri against the Central Intelligence Agency, a German Justice Ministry spokeswoman said Sunday.

The dream of a Greater Albania

By Jean-Arnault Dérens and Laurent Geslin

The Albanian minister of foreign affairs, Besnik Mustafaj, caused alarm when he said in March, “If Kosovo is divided, we can no longer guarantee its borders with Albania, or the border of the Albanian part of Macedonia” (1). Kosovo’s changed status has raised again the question of Balkan borders: nobody can predict what will happen.

On the evening of 21 May Montenegrin and Albanian flags flew side by side in Ulcinj, the southernmost town of the Montenegrin coast. Montenegro has become independent mostly because of the way the national minorities voted. The 50,000 Albanians living in the tiny republic have long been convinced citizens of the Montenegrin state.

According to Ibrahim Cungu, former police commissioner for Ulcinj and local leader of the Social Democratic party: “It is possible to be Albanian and a citizen of Montenegro.”

But the Montenegrin Albanians are an exception in the Balkans. In Macedonia, Albanians and Macedonians view each other with suspicion. The political and cultural rights of the Albanians have been recognised, and the Ohrid agreement of August 2001 ended the violent conflict between Macedonian security forces and the ethnic-Albanian National Liberation Army of Macedonia. Like the Macedonian Slavs, the Albanians are now considered a “second constitutive people” of the Macedonian republic. Albanian is the second official language in any commune where Albanians are over 20% of the population. “Before 2001 Albanian high school pupils had trouble getting into university, but the situation has improved since then,” said Afrim Kerimi, headmaster of the Albanian high school in Kumanovo.

The 2001 conflict has left deep scars, however. Many people are disappointed by the peace agreement and the guerrillas are itching to fight again. An elastic amnesty further feeds resentment and small guerrilla groups, often linked to criminal interests, are constantly springing up. One group formed in 2003 is led by Avdil Jakupi,“Commander Cakalla”; another, headed by Agim Krasniqi, occupied the village of Kondovo outside Skopje for six months in 2004.

Albanians living in Serbia’s Presevo valley are also dissatisfied with the peace. They want to take part in the Kosovo negotiations as they fear they may be completely passed over in a regional settlement.

Albanian guerrilla movements arose in Macedonia and the Presevo valley in 2001 because of Kosovo. By igniting local conflict, radical militants and supporters of a Greater Albania sought to remind the world that the international protectorate did not solve the Kosovo question. If future international decisions on Kosovo do not suit them, they will have no problem inflaming the whole region.

The Albanian nationalist movement developed only at the end of the 19th century, far later than those of the other Balkan peoples. After the Balkan war of 1912-13 Kosovo was divided between Montenegro and Serbia, with Serbia also getting a large area of Macedonia. The Treaty of London established “little Albania” on approximately the territory now occupied by Albania, but it left many Albanian people outside the new state.

There are two distinct ideas in Albanian nationalist rhetoric: Greater Albania and ethnic Albania. Greater Albania designates the lands that at various times were peopled by Albanians or their supposed ancestors, the Illyrians. Ethnic Albania corresponds to the regions where Albanians are the majority of the population (2). The nationalists tend to forget an important factor: that other communities live side by side with the Albanians in those regions.

After the dangerous ambitions of a Greater Serbia and a Greater Croatia, is it now the time for a Greater Albania? A number of radical, but marginal, militant networks openly campaign for it, but they may not have much popular support. There is still considerable distrust between the citizens of the republic of Albania and the Albanians from former Yugoslavia, long separated by history.

The only response to the challenge of a Greater Albania, as with a Greater Serbia, is full European integration. The prospect of a national unity that requires border changes is potentially dangerous for the region. Nevertheless the issue of a national trans-border “Albania” is a reality.

It should be possible for anyone writing a book in Shqiptari to address likely readers in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, while an ethnic Albanian student should be free to study in Tirana, Tetovo or Pristina. But the borders will have to be far wider open than they are today.

Macedonia’s Former PM Ljubco Georgievski Received Bulgarian Citizenship (REVIEW)

Sofia/Skopje. “Former Macedonian Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski has received a Bulgarian citizenship”, Bulgarian newspaper wrote, while in the meantime the Macedonian ones were denying the information. The news is true, but not quite – Georgievski received a Bulgarian citizenship almost a month before the parliamentary elections in Macedonia, which were held on July 5, 2006, a check up of FOCUS News Agency reveals.
Georgievski’s new address registration in the Bulgarian southwestern city of Blagoevgrad was completed last week, which was the reason why the media spread the information about the new national identity of VMRO-Narodna (People’s party) leader.
The Bulgarian Citizenship decree was issued and given to the former PM in Blagoevgrad. The document bears the signature of Bulgaria’s Vice President Angel Marin and was issued late May, the press office of the Bulgarian President confirmed for FOCUS.
Ljubco Georgievski adhered to all the necessary procedures as the presented documents bear a date from the end of 2005.
The address in the documents of the Bulgarian citizen Ljubco Georgievski is in the town of Blagoevgrad. The Bulgarian citizenship application of the former PM reads that his parents are Bulgarians by origin and he has attached the respective document issued by the Agency for Bulgarians Abroad.
Ljubco Georgievski won an MP seat in Macedonia’s new Parliament. He will continue living in Skopje and will have a double citizenship.


The Comments in Macedonia

Ljubco Georgievski denied the information about his Bulgarian citizenship, the Macedonian television Kanal 5 reported. Georgievski told the media that he was used to listening to lies against him, which were spread by police and political structures.
The spokesman for VMRO-Narodna (People’s Party) Alexander Georgiev refuted before FOCUS News Agency the information that the party leader and Macedonia’s former Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski has Bulgarian citizenship.
“In principle I do not want to comment on these statements as they are lies,” Alexander Georgiev said. According to him such statements aim at shifting the focus of attention from the formation of the new Macedonian government.
“Ljubco Georgievski is used to such speculations. He has acquired many citizenships through the years – he has been a Bulgarian, a Serb, a Greek,” VMRO-Narodna spokesman pointed out.

“The personal documents of Ljubco Georgievski are his own business”, Iljaz Halimi, deputy leader of the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA), told FOCUS News Agency.
"The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) doesn't want to comment on the activities of VMRO-Narodna (People’s party), particularly the activities of its leader Ljubco Georgievski", VMRO-DPMNE’s spokesman Alexander Bicikliski told FOCUS News Agency. He was asked to comment on the news that the former Macedonian Prime Minister had received a Bulgarian citizenship.
“In principle, we do not comment on anything related to that party”, Bicikliski added.

“I don’t know whether Ljubco Georgievski has received a Bulgarian citizenship”, Vesna Janevska, acting leader of VMRO-Narodna (People’s party) told FOCUS News Agency. She was asked to comment on the information that the former Macedonian Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski had received a Bulgarian citizenship.
“At present Macedonia is forming a government, which is the most important event in the country now, not the documents of Ljubco Georgievski”, Janevska stressed. According to her, the personal documents of anyone should not be commented.


The Comments in Bulgaria

The fact that VMRO-Narodna (People’s Party) leader and Macedonia’s former Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski has received Bulgarian citizenship is something quite normal. This is what the Bulgarian historian and director of national Museum of History Professor Bozhidar Dimitrov told FOCUS News Agency from Macedonia.
It is a typical phenomenon MPs from anti-Bulgarian parties to have Bulgarian citizenship. The same is applicable for high-ranking police personnel and for many Ministers from different parties, the historian said.
“In my opinion Ljubco Georgievski has lawfully received a Bulgarian citizenship as he pointed to the fact that his parents are Bulgarians and at some point he felt like a Bulgarian,” Professor Dimitrov commented. He also said that the information curtain between the two countries is lifting and as a result we are getting closer to the historical truth.
To the question how this piece of news is being commented in Macedonia Professor Dimitrov replied that “two thirds of the people approve of it.”

“The ethnic Bulgarians have to receive Bulgarian citizenship by means of a facilitated procedure”, leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMRO), Krasimir Karakachanov told FOCUS News Agency.
“It’s two completely different things when a Chinese or a Palestine applies for Bulgarian citizenship and when an ethnic Bulgarian, no matter whether s/he lives in Macedonia, the Western Outskirts, Ukraine, Moldova or anywhere in the world, wants a Bulgarian citizenship. Bulgaria has to use the experience of Germany, Hungary and Greece, which give citizenship to their ethic co-citizens almost automatically”, Karakachanov stressed.

U.S. Won't Help German Kidnap Claim Probe

Germany said Sunday the United States has refused to help investigate the alleged abduction of a German citizen, a case that has ignited criticism of U.S. tactics against international terrorism.

Khaled al-Masri, who was born in Lebanon, says he was seized in Macedonia in December 2003 and flown by the CIA to a detention center in Afghanistan. He says he was questioned and abused during five months in custody before he was dumped in Albania.

Prosecutors in Munich have opened an investigation and Berlin asked Washington for assistance with it.

The U.S. Justice Ministry declined to help due to a civil lawsuit that al-Masri has brought against the Central Intelligence Agency, the German Justice Ministry said Sunday.

"The American side has informed us that no legal assistance can be provided in the al-Masri case, at least for the time being, in view of the ongoing civil case," ministry spokeswoman Eva Schmierer said.

The letter did not address al-Masri's allegations, Schmierer said, and she did not know when Berlin received the rejection.

Human rights advocates have seized on al-Masri's story to press the United States to stop flying terrorism suspects to other countries, where they could face abuse.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other U.S. officials have declined to address the al-Masri case. However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said the United States has acknowledged making a mistake with him.

German authorities insist they were unaware of al-Masri's case until after he was freed.

However, Germany's intelligence agency acknowledged in May that that one of its employees in Macedonia overheard at the time that a German citizen called al-Masri had been detained and passed to U.S. custody. It said the employee apparently failed to inform his superiors.

Macedonia Sends Helicopters, Officers Bosnia

SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP)--Macedonia sent two helicopters and 17 officers to Bosnia Friday, to join a European Union force there.

"This is the first time Macedonia is providing a direct contribution to ... part of the European common defense and security policy," Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski said, after attending a ceremony at Skopje's Petrovec airport.

Macedonia has also sent small troop contingents to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Macedonia's MI-8 and MI-17 helicopters will serve as part of a Belgian force in Bosnia, in the southern town of Mostar.

"Our contribution along with other participants ... will help further stabilize the region," Crvenkovski said.

NATO handed control of an international force in Bosnia to the E.U. in December 2004, nine years after the Balkan nation's three-year civil war.

About 6,000 personnel from 33 countries serve in the E.U.-led force.

Macedonia to hold some election reruns

SKOPJE, Macedonia-Macedonia will hold election reruns at about 1 percent of the country's polling stations because of irregularities in the July 5 parliamentary election, authorities said Friday.

The repeat voting at 29 polling stations on July 19 will not affect the overall result, which saw Nikola Gruevski's conservative party poised to return to power after four years of Social Democrat rule.

International observers and the European Union said the election was generally fair, a key condition for the tiny Balkan nation's hopes of future membership in the EU and NATO.

Macedonia's State Electoral Commission ordered the reruns Friday and will only announce final results after that process is complete, commission spokesman Zoran Tanevski said.

Irregularities included intimidation outside polling stations and alleged attempts to stuff ballot boxes.

Under the commission's provisional results, the conservative VMRO-DPMNE party is leading with 32.4 percent of the vote, while outgoing Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski's Social Democrats have 23.3 percent.

Buckovski conceded defeat hours after the polls closed.

Gruevski failed to win an outright majority and will have to form a coalition with one or both of the two main parties representing the country's ethnic Albanian minority, the DPA party and bitter rival DUI.

The DPA party has accused the DUI of election fraud and submitted complaints to the electoral commission.

Trying to shake off its nationalist past, the VMRO said it would join forces with anyone except the outgoing Social Democrats provided they accept its economic program.

A partnership between VMRO and a minority party could bolster stability in Macedonia, five years after an ethnic Albanian uprising led to months of fighting against government troops and left some 80 people dead.

VMRO-DPMNE spokesman Antonio Milososki told the Associated press Friday that coalition negotiations with the two Albanian parties are progressing in the "right direction."

"We hope we will be able to reach an agreement for a new coalition government at the beginning of next week," Milososki said.

The new parliament is expected to convene by July 26, and after Macedonia's president has had 10 days to give the leading party the order to form the next government.

Buckovski's outgoing administration had partnered with the DUI.

A1: Ethnic Albanian DPA Party Refuses to Join New Macedonian Government along with Rival Albanian DUI Party

Skopje. The Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) has refused to join the next Macedonian government if Ali Ahmeti’s party, the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) was part of it, the Macedonian television A1 reported. Arben Xhaferi’s party grounded its stance on a decision by the Supreme Court of Macedonia to accept the party’s complaints and a date for a new voting to be fixed. DPA thinks that the new voting would provide it with more parliamentary seats. On Friday, DPA’s leaders, Zhaferi and Menduh Taci informed the leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) Nikola Grievski of their intention,
“I tried to explain to Gruevski that DPA and VMRO-DPMNE have compatible relations. DUI is a partner of another party”, DPA’s leader Arben Xhaferi stated.

Dnevnik, Macedonia: OMO Ilinden – Pirin Collects 2,000 Signatures in Support of Party's Registration

Skopje. Supporters of OMO Ilinden – Pirin collected the first 2,000 signatures in support of the registration of the party that proclaims respecting the rights of Macedonians in Bulgaria, the Macedonian daily Dnevnik reports today. Stoyko Stoykov, OMO Ilinden – Pirin spokesman announced yesterday that the process of collecting signatures continued. The three months' term for collecting the necessary signatures ends at the end of September.
“I hope that we are going to be able to fulfill the condition for registration of our party required by the law. The Collecting signatures is running without any problems and we have no obstacles”, Stoykov stated.
OMO Ilinden – Pirin held a constituent assembly recently at which it was decided to continue the activity of the party. Several years ago the Constitutional Court in Bulgaria banned the activity of the party stressing its existence was in contradiction to the Bulgarian Constitution. The European Court in Strasbourg found Bulgaria guilty of that ban last year, the newspaper reminds.

MACEDONIA: Municipality of Ohrid Sets Urban Plan

The Council of Ohrid Municipality on Friday, after a brief discussion, adopted unanimously the General Urban Plan - GUP for Ohrid, for the next 10 years, reports Makfax's reporter.
The Municipality of Ohrid was one of the last municipalities in Macedonia that lacked official GUP, which was being prepared since 1997.
The adopted GUP establishes the urban boundaries of the Municipality, as well as preservation zones determined by the Directorate for Protection of the Monuments of Culture and Ohrid's Institute and Museum.
The GUP, which regulates what and where will be built, which are public areas and protected zones, is a basis for adopting detailed urban plans that will determine the type of buildings that will be built and their size.
The Council of Ohrid Municipality adopted the Plan on the last day of the legal deadline. If this weren't completed by Friday, the cost for preparation of the urban plan of 5 million Denars would have been paid by the Municipality, instead of the State.

Lease of Bitola Cultural Centre Illegal

The informal coalition of several Bitola-based youth NGOs reacted on the decision of the Ministry of Culture to rent the space at the Bitola Cultural Centre and the “Army Club” for non-cultural purposes.

In February of this year, the Ministry decided to lease a total of 380 square meters of office space on a five-year lease, at extremely low rent and without completion of a proper tender competition. One month later, in March 2006, the lease was extended for another five years.

“We ask Minister Stefanovski, himself a Bitola man, to give an explanation of this decision. He should also address the allegations that the offices were rented to a close relative of one member of the Government Cabinet”, said Jasmina Tosevska from LINK.

The lease was issued for use of the space for purposes other than cultural production and presentation. Although the decentralization process prescribed that the property of the Cultural Centre and the Army Club will be transferred to the Municipality of Bitola, it never materialized.

MACEDONIA: Fouere Hints at DUI For Coalition Partner In New Government

It would be beneficial if the new government "reflects the will of the majority in all social spheres", Erwan Fouere, the EU Representative in Macedonia said.
"Any statements related to forming a coalition government would be premature, since talks with all parties, including Ali Ahmeti's DUI, are under way. We need to be patient and wait for the negotiations to wrap up", Fouere said while attending the opening the Summer School at the SEE University in Tetovo.
He added that "it is very important all parties" both Macedonian and Albanian ones, "that won significant number of votes to take part" at negotiations for forming the new government, "including of course the party that won majority of votes of the Albanians", Makfax Agency reported.
"It is not up to us to determine what parties will form a coalition", Fouere said, underscoring that "the new government should be resolute in implementation of the reforms, necessary for admission of the country in the European Union and NATO".

Skopje's finest back in training

The countdown to the new season in F.Y.R. Macedonia has begun with three teams in European action and the league campaign beginning on 6 August.

Intertoto defeat
FK Pobeda became the first Macedonian side to kick a ball in anger in 2006/07 as they started their campaign in the first round of the UEFA Intertoto Cup. They were out of luck against Romania's FC Farul Constanta, losing out 4-2 on aggregate after a 2-2 draw at home in the first leg. Champions FK Rabotnicki have been back in training for some time as they look ahead to playing UEFA Champions League football. The club started their preparations with a training camp in Bansko, Bulgaria, and are readjusting their squad for the new campaign.

Aleksovski signs
FK Shkendija 79 forward Saso Aleksovski became their first signing of the summer, filling the gap left by Blaze Ilioski who has left to play in Korea Republic with Incheon United FC. The former Under-21 international player is also one of the key members of Srečko Katanec's Macedonian national side. UEFA Cup contenders FK Vardar and FK Makedonija GP Skopje have also been signing players for the new season. Vardar have brought in U21 international defender Nikola Tonev from FK Bregalnica Stip while Macedonian Cup winners Makedonija have signed former Shkendija player Artim Polozani.

New coaches
New coaches are also being appointed ahead of the new season with Serbo-Montenegrin coach Josip Pirmaer being replaced by fellow-countryman Slavko Jović after a disappointing campaign at FK Sileks. The 56-year-old Jović previously worked at OFK Beograd, FK Leotar, FK Kikinda and FK Napredok. Meanwhile, Nedzat Husein has resigned as coach of Shkendija following a terrific season which saw them reach the Macedonian Cup final and take fifth place in the table. The Tetovo club are expected to name his replacement in the next few weeks as the kick-off date for the new league campaign approaches.

Opening games
While the league's first fixtures will be played on 6 August, teams will be back in action on 30 July in the opening round of the Macedonian Cup. FK Pelister and Napredok are the two newly-promoted sides with the former taking on Makedonija at home in their first game back in the top division.

OSCE Mission to Skopje fosters cooperation between police and citizens at local level

Skopje - Before, residents of Sopiste had to travel several kilometers to apply for personal documents or get police assistance at the police station in Dracevo. This is no longer a case thanks to the newly-opened police office in this municipality.

The idea of opening a police office in Sopiste Municipality was initiated by local residents and was supported by the OSCE Office in Skopje, which mediated the equipping of the office by the British Embassy. The equipment, in place as of today, will give the police officers working conditions in which they can function more effectively.

Dracevo Police Station Commander, Branislav Krstevski, whose station will help to man the new office, explained, “This is another step the police are taking to get closer to the citizens. The opening of the police office in Sopiste Municipality is essential for the police as it will have a strategic importance for building good relations between the police and the citizens. It will also help in creating a positive image for the police.”

This office in Sopiste will be used to better serve the community within the context of community policing, a policing concept supported by the OSCE in the country, which aims to increase the confidence and cooperation between police and citizens.

The office will be open three days a week and the citizens will have the opportunity to address their concerns on police related issues, as well as to file complaints and request police assistance.

(OSCE)