sign in sign up
<<
Home , Macedonians (Greeks), Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia (region), Macedonia (terminology), United Macedonia

rli ta

U TI UE TEF

, ISSN 1321-1560

Copyright Commonwealth of 1994

Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the Copyl-ight Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reprodud or transmitted in any form or by any means including information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the Department of the Parliamentqy Library, other than by Members of the Australian Parliament in the course of their official duties.

Published by the Department of the Parliamen

This paper has been prepared for general distribution to Members of the Australian Parliament. Readers outside the Parliament are reminded that this is not an Australian Government document, but a paper prepaxed by the author and published by the Parliamentary Research Service to contribute to consideration of the issues by Senators and Members. The views expressed in this Paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Research Service and are not to be attributed to the Department of the Parliamentary Library...... 1

...... 1

......

......

Oni. i_lilt;.DO.O...... *......

......

...... 11

ition on the 's applicat~onfor U member§hip

ommis§ion of the adinter Commission) P

Recognition by the Federal Gove~mentof the Republic of under the tempor the of 'Former Yugoslav Republi OM) on 15 February 1994 has iderable discussion, controversy and criticism from a

The angry reaction of Greek-Australian community leaders was predictable. After all, they had been lobbying the Government not to recognise the government in ever since the break-up of . It was subsequently revealed that the Federal Government had been debating its decision for some time.

Macedonian community leaders were pleased with the Government's belated decision to recognise MOM,but equally predictably upset at the conditions imposed by Canberra for the opening of a FYROM consulate and at the insistence that community members be termed 'Slav-' for official purposes.

The Australian media was also critical of the Federal Government's handling of the affair,

The firebombings of churches, attacks on business premises and proliferation of graffiti which, interestingly, did not appear to occur in other countries with large Greek and , were widely deplored. The Victorian Ethnic Affairs Commissioner, Professor Trang Thomas, chaired a meeting of the two sides, following which community leaders blamed the violence on a small minority of hot-heads, which was undoubtedly accurate. However, the two communities themselves cannot escape some responsibility for appearing to have fanned the flames of this dispute for many years in the ethnic press and from the pulpit. State Premiers and Opposition leaders who took sides in the dispute were criticised by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, as well as by the media.

This Current Issues Brief looks at the of Macedonia and the stances of the two sides on the Macedonian Question as reflected in official statements and press comments. It also considers official Australian Government views on the subject.

INhile there is a long and complex history to claims and counter-claims in this controversy, this 's history is both a cause and a consequence e oreover, since the nation and the state have often not coincided in determining units of government in inte~ational relations, as in the cases of the actors in this , this paper oncludes with erit or other~iseof stinct from the

On 25 January 1991, the F~~Madopted a declaration of sovereignty. A referendum on the country's future was held on 8 September 1991 , however, boycotted by the Albanian minority, and on 17 ovember 1991 a new Constitution was adopted. The eclared its independence on 19 December 1991. The IF , like that of some other former Republics of the SF ch as and , was finally r the name 'Former Yugoslav Republic of 15 February 1994 after 58 other countries had already done so .. and only after recognition by the . The ~~~~~~~Q~~~~~ rald reported that the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, enator the Won Nick Bolkus, had deter ined that it was 'too hard to sell (recognition) politically until, and unless, the U position.l2

a statement made in Brussels on ctober 1993, Greek. inister ~apandreouaffirmed that

community members, including , had recognised the state of the case from the moment it (F and there was thus reco formation's political existence and sovereignty.

reece has imposed a blockade of the country, which is ece claims the sole right to u at the ancient territo

1 The majority of countries have recognised the F under the UN's 'temporary' designation of 'Former Yugoslav Republi donia,' although a number, including the othe have extended recognition to the 'Republic o e all ancient empir . It was a territory, not a people. plains watered by the Axius war adjoining . In the mounta cedonian principalities, which were separate kingdoms until the reign of Phillip 11, were counted as belonging to at various periods (see Map B). The acedonians did not regard themselves as Greek, although they were closely related in both language and culture. The name 'Macedonian' is, however, Greek. The original capital was Aigai (~odena),but from the 4th ~e~tu~BC was located at in . Ancient Macedonia was noted above all for its timber, which was essential for the Greek shipbuilding industry.

Pre-Roman periud

Unification began in the entury BC under the founded by Perdikkas I. een about 514-479 B Persian tributary. Un xander I (495-450/4 d elements of G ture as a deliberat the ruling house. Under a later monarch, Amyntas 111 (413-399 BC), Macedonia became influential in the neighbouring It achieved its greatest extent under Philip I1 'states' of Chalcidice and Th a confederatio eek 'states' at Chaeronea in s stage Macedonia extended der the Great (336- the empire throughout nor and as far as Afghanistan and the , defeating the in several battles, Following his death, the empire fell apart, but Antigonus 111 (229-22~BC) regained control over the Greek 'states.' fter three wars against the Romans, the last

3 Actually, this dates only from the 1987 administrative reforms when the Regions of Macedonia Central, Macedonia East and , and Macedonia West were created.

4 It should be borne in mind that boundaries change over time. Even , with its long history, did n each its greatest historical extent until the Dynasty (1644-1911). at various periods, Sweden, Lithuania, England, , and (to mention only a few examples) ruled over much greater territories in ~~ro~~than they now comprise. acedonian king, Perseus, was defeated by L. Aemilius Paullus in 168 BC at Pydna (near Olympus).

Roman province

After their victory over Perseus, the Romans divided Macedonia into four regions. They also forbade the cutting of timber for shipbuilding and mining for gold and silver. In 148 BC the Romans joined Epirus to the four regions and created the Province of Macedonia which extended from Durres (Dyrrhachium) to and Skopje (Scupi) to Pharsalus. The Province was administered by a Proconsul with the rank of praetorian. Thessalia was joined to Macedonia under Antonius Pius (138-161 AD) and Salonika became the capital.

Mediaeval period

After the was divided in 395 AD, Macedonia became part of the . It was invaded by the and , and later came under Slav domination from the 6th Century AD. The Slavic element in the inhabitants of the region dates from this period. Macedonia was seized by in the 9th Century AD, but regained by the Byzantine Empire in the early 11th Century. After the temporary dismemberment of the Byzantine Empire at the hands of the Seljuq Turks, and the Crusaders ( itself fell to a Western Crusade in 1204), several rulers fought over Macedonia. In 1261 it again became part of the Byzantine Empire, only to be conquered by in the 14th Century. From the late 14th-19th Century Macedonia formed part of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire.

Later history

Under the Treaty of San Stefan0 (Yesilkoy) ending the last Russian- Turkish War, which was signed on 3 March 1878, most of Macedonia was given to Bulgaria (then protected by ). This treaty also created independent Rumania, and Serbia and awarded part of to Russia. Because of fears of domination of the by ',' the powers amended these territorial changes at the 1878 Berlin Congress, returning Macedonia to .'

The main Macedonian nationalist movement, IMRO (Independent Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation), formed in 1893, eventually split between those who wanted to unite with Bulgaria and those who

5 The Conference was convened by Germany at the request of Austrian-Hungarian Foreign Minister Andrassy and British Prime Minister Disraeli. Both Austria- Hungary and feared that the new states would provide a pretext for Russian dorniazation of the Balkans. ere were

purposes. In September 1924 Greece and Bulgaria signed a Protocol (Kalfov-Politis Agreement) placing the Macedonian mino under protection. The Kingdom of d Slovenes (the precursor to Yugoslavia) thereupon abrogated the

n 15 January 1925 Greece withdrew from the Protocol; henceforth all Macedonians were regarded as Greek, all placenames were chan all Slavic schools were closed and even Church Slavonic texts on icons adorning churches were overpainte with Greek texts. During the etaxas regime (1936-1941) large numbers of Macedonians were nterned because of Greek doubts about their loyalty, particularly following the outbreak of war with in October 1940. to teach adult Macedonians the was also introduced.

en Greece was defeated by the is forces in 1941, occupied eastern Greek (Aegean) Macedonia, while the occupied Salonika and part of . The remainder was occupied by Italian troops. The brief period of Bulgarian occupation as so repressive that the acedonian was alienated and reeks forced from work. ther, became more opposed than ever to the '' line of the Greek Communist

These are commonly accepted terms for the geographical regions inhabited by ~a~donia~in the Balkan states. See, for example, Barbara Jelavich, History of the Balkans, 2 vols. (Cambridge: University Press, 1983).

These terms are used in a geographical, not ethnic, sense.

8 This took place in November 1926; see Eflimeris tis Kiverniseos 322,

Use of Macedonian had been banned by Decree 1938. r, in which the Gre rnment was sup United States, led acedonians and

ational Liberation

overnment viewed the population with suspicion and attempted to remove them from

donian region was to be ere allowed to be used,

Macedonians from official posts in the region. These policies led many Macedonians to em te to Australia, and the United States. Two Acts of the Pa reou Government - No 106841 (1982) and 1540 (1985) - excluded Macedonians from a right of return to and a right to regain their expropriated property;" cedonians are required to deny their nationality to regain their Acts violate pr~visionsin the Universal Declaratio

cedonian language

Since Greece equates Greek identity with use of the Greek language, the nature of the Ancient is a not insignificant tter, , in his description of the events after Alexander's death, refers to the soldiers 'shouting in take this to mean that the original Mace from their Greek colonisers. also referred to Alexander as a 'barbarian,' in other words, a non-Greek. he Byzantine ruler si1 I (867-886 AD), founder of the illustrious ' acedonian Dynasty' hich lasted until 1055, spoke

donian was not a reek dialect, but possess elements eek alongside a n-Greek core. ause of phonetic ifferences, it is apparent that much of older stratum cannot have een borrowed from Greek, for example ac. adle 'sky' as against Gk. ac. abr'uwes 'eyebrows' as against k. ophr'yes. The relationship of ancient an (an Indo-~uropean language) is still a matte ther stratu~contained

0 These rights were reserved to ' onian is, of cou eoples to the re iaeval period.

t

reek ~overnments have the very idea of ationalisrn or Greece. To the authorities in , ans are 'Slavophone Greeks' (Slavic-speaking Greeks) - while 'Macedonia is Greek and only Greek.' A. number of Macedonians have been tried in the Greek courts for opposing the Government line.

Greece held talks with both Yugoslavia and Bulgaria in September 1991 in efforts to have the OM incorporated into Greece, Men this was unsuccessful, Greece tried to use its European Community (now ) membership to fight not only recognition of the FYROM, but also that country's use of the name 'Macedonia' and the 16-ray sun from the tomb of Philip I1 as the national symbol (adopted at the urging of the Australian Macedonian community). The official Greek view is that the authorities in Skopje have irredentist designs acedonia, How , the new Macedonian Constitution on 6 January 1

Amendment I

1. The Republic of acedonia has no territorial claims against neighbouring states.

Amendment I1

1, The Republic shall not interfere in the soverei of other states and their internal affairs.

It is, of course, true that elements in t rticularly the nationalist NE (Party of tional Unity), which camp r a 'Greater Macedonia.' l1

11 It is, however, considered likely t will lose seats in the next senibly election. See egvvina, Croatia, 9 enegro, Slovenia. Cou 1st ~ua~~r19 telligenee Unit, 1994), ~ul~~iaformally reco

Council adopted goslav Republic of of the United

becarne a me

t a further meeting arch 1994, the vie

1 . Count rd. 2n on: Economist In~lligen~ Unit, 1994), pp. 9-10,

13 t

It was on the ba factory evaluation of the F 'S constitutional and other legal mework by the Arbitration Commission of the Conference on oslavia (Badinter Commission) that European nations recognised the FYR Appendix €3 for official responses to the Co mission's quest to enact provisions i the ~onstitutionenshrining minority rights is currently before the ational Assembly (Sobranje)

The FYROM is not willing to compromise on its choice of name (i.e., Republic of Macedonia), which has been used for almost half a centu as to do so might then lead to the questioning of its very identity.

fears the prospect Serbian ; there are grade who still regar the country as 'South Serbia,' It faces a Greek embargo. As a landlocked country, its only alternative supply routes are from Burgas (Bulgaria) and Durres or Vlora (), all of which ports suffer from infrastructure problems. It is obviously not in the FYROM's interest, nor does it have the capabilit to embark on any 'adventure' to incorporate Greek Macedonia. U ecurity Council Resolution 795, adopted on 11 provides for deployment of 800 UNPROFOR tr onitor the with Albania and the goslavia, has provided a measure of security.

OM'S willingness to strive for an agreement w issues' was again stressed by President Kro 1994 follo~in~reco~ition by the United

e are prepared to address these issues with good will, in a constructive spirit and with due flexibility from b would like, once again, to emphasise that the on ects the territ lic ece and all n 15

far without success.

4, the issue of t on a number occasions. The o ed by the Minister oreign Affairs an stion on Notice on e Former Yugoslav including the issue

The outst tan din^ issues' had been s enator Evans in an uestion without 992, when he said:

Australia will not proceed to recognition until the following basic, outstanding question are resolved: th name issue - the use of the word 'Macedonia' - being settled in a way which does not cause further tension with Greece; Greece's concern about possible territorial claims or aspirations being fully met; and the international community's concern about the protection of minorities being fully satisfied.

s already noted, the FYROM has written a renunciation of any territorial claims into its Constitution. As far as the Albanian minor is concerned, the Albanian Party for Democratic ~rosperityhas 0-seat National Assembly and is the second-largest party oalition. This can be contrasted with the situation in Greece, where the Party representing the country's acedonian minority was banned by the ourt from fieldin candidates in the recent elections.

ustralian recognition of the OM was exce ally qualified. In announcing the decision, the ster for Forei ffairs said that

agreement to the opening of a would be subject to the eo appro~riat~ly(as the onsulate of the 'Former

ic news bulletin, 11. of some State P the issue was a

a reports suggested ennett even offered to help Uni tates President Bill question. 18

The violence that was manifest in stralia did not appear to occur in other countries ac~donianpopulation 19 on for this is not entirely clear, but ly partly reflects that there are large concentrations communiti~sin owever, this issue also appears to have been kept us for attention for many years by the Greek acedonian ethnic presses, by some der and by irredentist elements in the two communities. 2o Amongst e articles in the media by academics supporting one or other side, many containi

udes of Gree

~~ 16 11, 15 Feb 1994.

17

19 T analysis o C n and the of

20 birth or nationality data was required to only and one which not affect the right of individuals or some who had difficulty with it. The

in several countries, inclu

13.4. the U

.3.1 nt

ince there are stances of neighbo names, of count

of Luxembourg in Belgium adjac of Luxembourg.

Also open to question is reliance on history or historical boundaries to determine what territory is or is not a nation and what nationality a people possess. at least two occ ions in its hist territory of pres -day Greece was art of foreign 'modern' nation state dates largely from the Treaty of Westphalia (1648) - the boundaries of earlier 'nations' were considerably more fluid since citizens owed allegiance to a sovereign (ecclesiastical or temporal) rather than to a territory, and this may or may not have had little association with ethnicity, To look at the example of Luxembourg again, in the late 15th Century it included t from present-day Belgium, Netherlands and Germany,

As Professor Peter Hill (University of Hamburg) has observed, both sides to the dispute can be seen to be attemptin contemporary political claims through assumed historical, ethnic and linguistic continuity, which in each case can be questioned:

The modern-day 'Greeks' are not descended from the ancient propriated ancient k cultural symbols in simply because the pened to live in more or less the same part of the world as the ancient Greeks did. Their justification for this was thus the same as that used by the present-day Mace ians in appropriating the ancient Macedonian heritage. st of the 19th-Century 'Greeks' not only did not call themselves enes (it was the intellectual nationalists that taught the do that), they did no speak Greek, but rather anian, Slavonic or dialect^.'^

or, it may be observed, are symbols the proprietary country. Stars shine across national borders. The

Age, 20.41994, 17. the flag of Uruguay.

ew Zealand, Papua everal Austral~a~a

hlEDITE R RAN EAN SEA

1 Olbia 9 Brundisiurn 17 Byzantiurn 25 Syracusae 33 Cyzikos 2 Tyrus 10 Heraclea 18 Chalcedon 26 34 Pergamum 3 Chersonesos 11 Tarenturn 19 Amasrris 27 Athens 35 Magnesia 4 Callatis 12 Apolloaia 20 Heraclea 28 Corinthos 36 Sardes 5 Roma 13 Pelia 21 Panormus 29 37 6 Neapolis 14 22 Agrigentum 30 lilion 7 Beneventurn 15 Philippi 23 Gela 31 Abydos 8 Ausculum 16 Lysimscheia 24 Rhegiurn 32 Ankyra Concerning the application of the former Yugoslav Republic acedonia for admission to the United Nations

1. Greece believes that the application of the forner Yugosiav Republic of biacedonia for admission to membership in the United Nations under the denomination mentioned in its application introduces an element of further destabilization of the southern Balkans both in a short and a long term perspective. Therefore, strongly objecting io this membership, Greece feels obliged to forward to the Security Council a number of pertinent considerations which point to the conclusion that the applicant should not be admitted to the U.Y. prior [o a settlement of certain outstanding issues, necessary €or safeguarding peac and stabilirv, as well as good neighbourly relations in the repon. When such a settlement is reached Greece would not oppose F.Y.R.O.M.'s admission to the United Yations and, indeed it would be ready to extend recognition and establish co-operation with this

2. In its request for admission to the United Nations the F.Y.R.O.. includes on the one hand a purported commitment to accept and observe dli obligations deriving from the United Nanons Charter and, on the other, a claim that its admission to U.N.membership wouid contribute towards a peaceful'solution of the crisis in the territorv of former Yugoslavia.

3. e declarations. nrverIheless, past experiences and practices, ds well as the constituen of the new republic raise serious concerns about its willingneu 10 fulfil the obligati he U.N. Charter.

4. The new republic e erged as sucsewr [o the former Yugoslav Federative Republic kd e philosoph~of its Constitution, adoprcd on 3ovember 17, 1991, is based, inter dli on the principles and the constituent declararions of that federative state which were endorsed in August 1944 by the "Antifascist Assembly of [hc 5ational Liberation of ~~~cedQnia"(A.S.Y.0 31 In these deciarations, sited in the preamble of the C'k)nsti[ution. there are direct references 10 the

1.. , 7

of the ~acedonianprcvinces of Greece an Bulgaria, and to the establishment evintualiy of a greater Lfacedoni n state wthin the Yugoslav deration ( t 1).

5. In the 19110's. Tito's Yugoslavia, with the *People's epublic of ~acedonia"in the vanguard, tried to acco~piishthese aims bv ~uppor~ina communist uprising in Greece (which resulted in a three-year civil war) as a means of annexing reek Macedonia. When th anne~tio~of Greek lands failed in 1948, efforts continued in order to undermine Greek sovereignty over Greek Macedonia by attempts to monopolize the Macedonian name, thus staking a lasting claim to Greek territories and, indeed, to Greek Macedonian heritage. It is worth recalling that this question had been on the agenda of the Security Council and the General Assembly from 194-6 to 1950 under the heading "The Greek t 2).

6. , such practices poisoned good neighbourly relations and stability in the regon, particularly since officials of the republic continued, up to the disintegration of Yugoslavia, to expresl expansionist views. After the collapse of former Yugoslavia these extreme expansionist claims by ~at~on~~s~sin S afresh stronger i

7. It is on such grounds and on such precedents that the former federative republic in Skopje proclaimed itself independent in 1991 and is now seeking admission to the United Nations.

8. Since the declaration of independence, a series of initiatives taken by [he authorities of Skopje. have shown that there is a clear link and continuitv of aims and actions in particular against Grec Reference has already been made to the Constitution of F.Y.R.O.

of A.S.N.O.M., of 19 II In this Constitution there are also references to the possibiiity of chmg of borders - while F.Y.R.O. rritory remains *indivisible and ~naiienab~e"(Art. 3) - and interven in the internal affairs of n ring states on the pretext of issues concern in^ "the status and t rights' of alleged m~ori t. 49). There are ~umerousindications that the expansion ring Macedonian province of Greece continues unabated. Thu a shown, in particular, thro de circulation within F.Y.R.O.M. of maps portraying a yreatcr Macedonia Le. incorporating parts of the territorv of all its neighbouring states, and of hat1 Iiterarure usurpin bols and heritage. As recently as ~ugusr1992, the authorities in hkop affixed on the ne donian dynatv fou Greece in rhe tomb of

/. f 0 .J

ow that ar this urni in^ point, when the a ities have not abandon^

me of a state is a symbol. T-hus, the fact thar the authorities in Skopje have adopted the lic of ~acedon~a~for their state is of paramount the name of a wider geographi clearly un~grmi~esthe so~~rei~n~yof nei~hb ctive ~~acedonianregions. To be pr~cis~,51.5% of the ~~acedoniangeo with a popu~ationof over 2.5 million people, while the re~ajnin IOTO in other nei~h~uringstates. Moreover, the territory of F.Y.R.O.P\.I., with the exception o a narrow srrip in the south, had never been part of historic evertheless, F.Y.R.O.M. insists on monopoiizing the bjacedonian name in the denomination of the state, and thus pretends to the sole titledeed holder of geographical region. There is no doubt that rhe exclusive use of the acedonian name in the republic's official denomination would be a stimulus for expansionist claims not only by ts in Skopje but by future generations as wII. After all, the name conveys i visions both over the land and the heritage of through the centuries.

11. To prevent such desta~~~i~nsituations from threat eace and good neighbourly relations in the area, the European Corn unity, lo which F.Y. . applied for recognition, has set prerequisites for the recognition of the applicant bv the Community and its member states, The= prerequisites are cited in the following Securitv Counal documents: (S/23293( 17 December 199 I L S/23880 (5 May 1992), S/24200 (29 June 1992). (14 December 1992). Briefly, they stipulatt: that F.Y.R.O.M. should provide the necessarv political guarantees that it will harbor no Ierri torial claims any hostile propaganda against this count? and that it Will not u c \late's de nomination. Unfortunate lv, F.Y. R.O.%cf has failed to CQ

12. During the past year, Greece has convc d to Skopje. on a number of occasions, its ~~nc~rc deter~inationto proceed with the development of all round economic and political co-operation wth the neighbouring republic, as soon as F.Y. dbprcd the foregoing EX. prerequisites for recoyition. Moreover, Greece has taken rhr make public declarations recognizing and _e as inviolable their respective fronwrs

Furthermore, Greece has supported E.C. iniuativcx in provide humanitarian and economic aid to thlJ republic. while the Greek Prime Minister publrclv ~.r~ncfedd hand of co-operation to Skopje. In A/47/877 S/25158 Englis Page 6 addition, Greece has supported a recen: effort by the European Community and individual members of the Community in seeking a peaceful way to settle [he problem.

13. Unfortunately. the authorities of Skopje have p rsisted in pursuing an inflexible and uncooperative attitude by rejecting all proposals aiming at a peaceful settlement of the ou [standing issues.

14. It is in the competence of the Security Council not only to resolve disputes but also to take necessary actions to prevent them as well. This is a clear case where preventive diplomacy is urgently needed. A11 efforts and ail proposals in this direction should be explored. It should be noted that there have been cases in which application to membership has been subjected to prior fulfillment of certain conditions in the interest of peace and security.

15. Greece wishes to point out that the admission of F.Y.R.O.M. to U.N.membership prior to meeting the necessary prerequisites, and in particular abandoning the use of the denominati "Republic of Macedonia", would perpetuate and increase friction and tension and would not eace and stability in an already troubled region. Under these circumst regretfully would not be able to recognize this republic.

16. Greece strongly believes in maintaining good relations and enhancing co-operation with all its t, neighbours while attaching primary importance to the peaceful solution of disputes arising be them. It is cmfident thar the Security Council, as the custodian of world peace and stability wi all appropriate steps and measures for the settlement of the issue on hand, in a way to prcycnt developments which might impede a constructive solution through peaceful means. Finallv. 11 expresses its readiness to offer its full supporr to the Security Council in its efforts towards [ha objective.

Sew York, 25 January 1993 ON

tion af Sew States the zldopted. the rules of proceciur

Or ses of its erations the ssioza to3k noke of the 011 by the social& peblic cf &xxxlo=lizz

. ecPmher 1951 by the to the E?bovernentio

2. Letter of 20 Dec i~t~~of Foreip AffEtLrs of the lic of Llac

3. ent to the Re?

ov r. d

7. ister of Fareign inio~:

its international ition and its relations with other ~nt~rnationalor

The ~~~~titution~lct for the Fm l~me~tationof the Constitution lic of Macedonia defines that th qual Isgal succe~sorof th Yugo~laviatogether with the other republics, takes right^ and Qbligatio~~o~~~inat~ng from the creation of

nse to the question what measures Mac donia had already r intended to take, to guarantee the ights of the ethnic nd rninoritie

"The Constituti~~of the Republic of Macedonia ~~ovi~e~for the Council for Inter-Ethnic Relatisns, which shall interethnic relations in the Republic. The Council, composed Qf all the nationalities on parity basis, apart Prsgidsnt of th of two member the Turks, th nd the Xoms, a6 well as ranks of 0th

ass decisions regarding th

stion whether would undert by means of

ublic of ~acedonia the invi~labi~~tyof the aceful

claratio~of tion whe~h~ n on wea

the obligation an referr~ngto the succ tes, and in c

(f) In response to on what measures Macedonia had already taken, or int nour this und

~plementationof the Gon~titutionof gulates the question of succession Macedonia as an qual 6uccessor with FIiY shall regulate the rights and greement with the other legal succession of the SFRY and the mutual

ropoaal by the Declaration on 19 December the Conference

epublic of huma~ ht

0

which .

mentioned:

icle 48(1), which states

free expre8~i~n,cult id~ntity; the 5ane a

t the ethnic, cultural, era1 nationalities will

tionalities the right and education xpreaa, culti

48(4) they also have the right to

~ovi~~onsare to be given ef~~ctby statute. In schoole ctfon is to be language of one af the other na~ional~tie~,the Macedonian language must also be taught.

(e) In this connecti ant since it provides that any citizen may ducational level ligious communities n both these ca question has a amended the

of the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia hall be impliemented on the day of their adoption.

Amendment I

1. The R~publico Macedonia has no territor~~lclaims against ~~ighbouringstates.

2. he borders of the Repu acedonia could be changed ccordance with of voluntarin ~nternationalnoms.

3. of the Constitution o

1. epublic shall not int of other states and their int

8 icle 49 of the