Topic: std
Subject: FYROM human rights report

        FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), which became
independent following the breakup of Yugoslavia, is a parliamentary
democracy.  President Kiro Gligorov, elected by Parliament in 1990,
was directly reelected in October.  In multiparty parliamentary
elections, which international monitors judged generally free and
fair despite numerous procedural irregularities, the Social
Democratic Alliance of Macedonia, the former Communist party, emerged
with a clear majority.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs oversees the security apparatus,
including uniformed police, border police, and the state intelligence
service.  A civilian minister directs the Ministry, and a
parliamentary commission oversees operations.

Historically, FYROM was the poorest of the Yugoslav republics, and
its economy was closely tied to the other republics, especially
Serbia.  Conflict in the region and international sanctions imposed
on Serbia-Montenegro have led to severe economic difficulties.  In
February Greece imposed a trade embargo on FYROM in a dispute over
the country's name, flag, and constitution, which contributed to a
sharp drop in gross domestic product.  Official unemployment is about
a third of the work force.  Major exports are manufactured goods and
machinery and transport equipment.

The human rights situation in the FYROM is impaired by delay in the
enactment of legislation to provide mechanisms for implementing the
rule of law and protection of human rights provided for in the
Constitution.  Police occasionally abuse detainees and reportedly
harass the political opposition.  They also do not abide strictly by
constitutional provisions regarding arraignment of the accused, the
maximum period of pretrial detention, and the accused's right to
counsel at the time of arrest.

Minorities, including ethnic Albanians, Turks, and Serbs, have raised
various allegations of human rights violations and discrimination.
Ethnic Macedonians occupy preeminent positions in state institutions,
including state-owned companies.  Ethnic Albanians continue to demand
increased Albanian-language education, greater representation in
public sector jobs, and improved access to the media.  The Government
has agreed in principle to many of these demands but has done little,
citing resource constraints as the reason.

Ethnic Albanians dispute unofficial 1994 census figures that credit
them with 22.9 percent of the population, and claim to constitute up
to 40 percent of the population.  Nevertheless, the 1994 census,
carried out with the assistance of the Council of Europe, was
generally pronounced to have been satisfactory by European experts
who monitored it.

Underlying ethnic tension did not produce any major clashes during
1994.  Tensions flared temporarily when a fight between groups of
Macedonians and ethnic Albanians resulted in the death of a
Macedonian youth.  It appeared, however, that the fight was not
ethnically motivated but rather a clash between two gangs known to
the police.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1       Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:

        a.      Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

There were no reports of political or other extrajudicial killings.

        b.      Disappearance

There were no reported disappearances.

        c.      Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment

The Constitution prohibits such treatment and punishment.  However,
police occasionally used excessive force against criminal suspects
following their arrest.  In April Jove Bojkovski was reportedly fired
at and severely wounded while in police custody.  He also alleges
that he was severely mistreated during his 4 days of detention.
Police state that he was in custody during the alleged period but
that the gunshot wound was self-inflicted.

Of 10 ethnic Albanians charged with conspiracy in the so-called
Albanian Paramilitary affair, 9 alleged mistreatment by the police
over a period of 3 days.  Their complaints were consistent and
credible (see Section 1.e.).  The Government rejected the allegations
and took no action against the police in this case.

Government sources stated that allegations of excessive force during
the first 9 months of 1994 resulted in the conviction of four
policemen on criminal charges and the punishment of two by
administrative means.

        d.      Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

There were no confirmed reports of arbitrary arrest or detention,
although opposition political parties have alleged police harassment
of their members.  There is no systematic use of detention as a form
of nonjudicial punishment.  Incommunicado detention is not practiced.


The Constitution states that a person must be arraigned in court
within 24 hours of arrest, but police do not always meet this
deadline for filing charges.  The Constitution also sets the maximum
duration of detention pending trial at 90 days. However, prisoners in
the Albanian Paramilitary case, accused of fomenting an armed
uprising against the Government, were held for almost 7 months before
their trial began in May.

The accused must be informed of his or her legal rights and the
reasons for arrest or detention.  The accused is entitled to contact
a lawyer at the time of arrest and to have a lawyer present during
police and court proceedings.  The police ignored this provision in
their initial interrogations of those accused in the Albanian
Paramilitary case.  The prisoners claimed they were held
incommunicado and mistreated for 3 days before being formally charged
and sent to a pretrial detention facility.  According to human rights
observers and criminal defense attorneys, police often violate the
24-hour requirement and deny immediate access to an attorney.

Although the law requires judicial warrants for arrests, police
sometimes ignore this provision, and judges issue the warrant only
some time after the arrest has taken place.

        e.      Denial of Fair Public Trial

Constitutionally, the courts are autonomous and independent.
Municipal and district courts and the Supreme Court form a three-tier
court system.  A Constitutional Court deals with matters of
constitutional interpretation.  Political considerations do not
appear to influence most trials, but there was one major exception
during the year.

The Albanian Paramilitary case, which was tried in Skopje in May and
June, was at least in part politically motivated.  The prosecution
presented substantial evidence that most, if not all, of the 10
defendants had committed firearms and hard currency trading offenses.
 However, there was some indication that the arrests and prosecution
of a Deputy Minister of Defense and a former secretary general of the
National Democratic Party (PDP), a party representing ethnic
Albanians, may have taken place as a result of political intrigue
involving the Government and the PDP, apparently maneuvering over
jobs.

The prisoners were held for almost 7 months before the trial.  During
the trial, defense attorneys were not permitted to call several
witnesses for the defense or to have independent experts examine the
evidence.  The court allowed confessions alleged by the defendants to
have been coerced to be admitted into evidence.  The defendants
claimed that they were acting purely in self-defense against the
Yugoslav army, and that they had ceased their activities when FYROM's
own army was formed over 2 years ago.  The defendants were convicted
on all counts and sentenced to terms ranging from 5 to 8 years.  The
case is now on appeal.

There is a widespread credible perception that bribery is not
uncommon in the courts in FYROM.

        f.      Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence

The Constitution provides for the right to privacy of person, home,
and correspondence.  Although no instances of abuses were
substantiated, officials of the rightwing opposition Internal
Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMRO) charged that the state
security service tapped their telephones

Section 2       Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

        a.      Freedom of Speech and Press

The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and public
information, as well as freedom to establish private media outlets,
and forbids censorship.  The Government generally respected these
freedoms.

There are daily newspapers in Skopje, the capital, and in other
cities, as well as numerous political and other publications.  An
Albanian and a Turkish newspaper, which the Government subsidizes,
have nationwide distribution.  The bulk of newspapers and magazines
published in the country are government owned and government oriented.

Opposition parties made alleged government control and manipulation
of the media a major theme of their October election campaigns.  The
state-owned media reported such charges and in general did a
creditable job of covering the rallies, statements, and press
conferences of all the major parties running in the elections.  The
overall balance of coverage, however, was in favor of the Government.


The Government owns the only modern, high-speed printing plant in the
country, as well as most newspaper kiosks.  Opposition groups
complain that the company charges high prices for the services of the
printing plant.

Newspapers may be imported from Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, and Greece
only with the permission of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Ethnic Albanians complain that there are not enough Albanian-
language media outlets.  The Government provided funds to make the
state-owned Albanian-language newspaper, Flaka, a daily rather than a
thrice weekly publication.  The Government has also agreed in
principle to increase the minimum amount of broadcast time in the
Albanian language on state television (5 hours weekly).

        b.      Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The Constitution provides for these rights, and the Government
respects them.  Organizers of large assemblies must notify police in
advance, but permits are usually granted.  Dozens of opposition
rallies occurred during the election campaign with no major
incidents, as did a large antigovernment demonstration to protest
alleged election fraud in October.  The opposition held mock protest
balloting to mark their boycott of the second round of elections
October 30; these rallies were also peaceful.

The Political Party Registration Law requires political parties and
nongovernmental organizations to register with the Internal Affairs
Ministry.  About 70 political parties are registered, including
ethnically based parties of Albanians, Turks, Serbs, and Roma.  After
a split in the largest Albanian party in February, the Ministry
denied registration to the "radical" faction of the party under the
party's original name, ruling that the name belonged to the original
faction of the party.  Candidates of the "radical" faction ran as
independents in the October elections.  Later in the year, many
political parties experienced technical difficulties in
reregistering, but there was no indication that this was politically
motivated.

        c.      Freedom of Religion

The Government does not generally interfere with the practice of
religion.  However, the refusal of the Serbian Orthodox Church in
Serbia-Montenegro to recognize the independence of the Macedonian
Orthodox Church has led to difficulties for Serbs in FYROM to worship
in their own church.  On a number of occasions, the Government has
refused Serbian Orthodox priests permission to enter the country, and
one priest was arrested for "fomenting ethnic hatred" and forbidden
to practice as a priest for 1 year.

While only the Macedonian Orthodox Church is mentioned by name in the
Constitution referring to the freedom of religion, it does not enjoy
a special status.  However, members of other religious communities
credibly charge that the Government actions on its behalf reflect its
favored position in the country.

All churches and religious communities may establish religious
schools and social and philanthropic organizations, but no religious
schooling is provided for in the law.

        d.      Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

Citizens are permitted free movement within the country as well as
the right to leave and return.  The Government may restrict these
rights for security, public health, and safety reasons but fully
respects them in practice.  The law on citizenship is highly
restrictive.  It requires 15 years of residence, thus denying
citizenship to some citizens of the former Yugoslavia who lived
legally in FYROM at the time of independence.  Ethnic Albanians are
especially affected by this law.  When the last old Yugoslav
passports expired in 1994, those without citizenship were left
without travel documents.

Ethnic Albanian political leaders also charge that Ministry of
Internal Affairs officials responsible for making decisions about
citizenship discriminate against ethnic Albanian applicants.  These
officials appear to be more exacting in their documentary
requirements, fail to act on applications expeditiously, and
reportedly demand bribes in return for a favorable decision.

While FYROM accepted a number of refugees from Croatia and Bosnia at
the start of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, it restricted
entry of additional refugees in 1992 and now accepts only citizens
and other former residents of FYROM for repatriation.  The Government
is concerned about the possibility of a flood of refugees from
neighboring Kosovo in the event of violence there, a possibility that
many fear would upset the ethnic balance in FYROM and be a disastrous
blow to its economy.

Section 3       Respect for Political Rights:  The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government

Citizens directly elected a President for the first time in October,
and at the same time chose a new Parliament in the second multiparty
elections in the country's postwar history, the first since
independence.  Opposition groups charged the Government with massive
fraud and announced a boycott of the second round.  International
monitors, under the auspices of the Council of Europe and the
Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), judged the
elections generally free and fair despite widespread irregularities
attributed to careless organization.

Ethnic minorities, including Albanians, Turks, Serbs, and Roma, have
political parties to represent their interests.  Minorities
complained that the political structures were biased against them:
Albanians credibly claimed that Albanian-
majority districts had far more voters than Macedonian ones, thus
violating the "one-person, one-vote" principle.  The ethnic Turkish
and Serbian communities were disappointed because the previous
Parliament had failed to pass a new election law providing for 20
seats to be elected by proportional representation, thus depriving
their dispersed members from electing a candidate on an ethnic basis.
 Ethnic Albanians complained that discrimination against them in
citizenship decisions effectively disfranchised a large portion of
their community (see Section 2.d.).

The unicameral Parliament of 120 members, elected for a 4-year term,
governs the country.  The Prime Minister is selected by the party or
coalition that can produce a majority in Parliament and is formally
appointed by the President, who is Head of State and commander in
chief of the armed forces. Government ministers may not be members of
Parliament (M.P.'s).  Following an opposition boycott, the
three-party ruling coalition, the Alliance for Macedonia, took 95 of
the 120 parliamentary seats.  The Alliance formed a Government that
also includes ministers from the ethnic Albanian PDP.

There are no formal restrictions on the participation of women in
politics and government.  There are 2 female ministers (out of 19)
and 4 female M.P.'s (out of 120).

Section 4       Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights

Human rights groups and ethnic community representatives meet freely
with foreign representatives without government interference.  Human
rights groups that exist in the FYROM are conspicuous by the low
level of their activity.  There is no indication that this is the
result of government hindrance of the groups.  The Forum for Human
Rights, a nongovernmental human rights group, operates freely.  The
Government does not oppose visits or investigations by international
human rights groups.  The mediator on ethnic issues of the
International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia has visited the
country frequently to discuss various issues with representatives of
minority groups and with the Government.

Section 5       Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status

The Constitution guarantees equal rights to all citizens regardless
of sex, race, color of skin, national and social origin, political
and religious beliefs, property, and social status.

        Women

Women have the same legal rights as men.  Although Macedonian
society, in both the Muslim and Christian communities, remains
traditionally patriarchal and advancement of women into
nontraditional roles is limited, some professional women have
achieved prominence.  Women's advocacy groups include the Union of
Macedonian Women and the League of Albanian Women in Macedonia.

A crisis hot line for women was established in Skopje during 1994.

        Children

Limited resources constrain FYROM's strong commitment to the rights
and welfare of its children.  There is no pattern of societal abuse
against children.

        National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

A variety of national/ethnic groups, mainly Macedonians, Albanians,
Turks, Roma, Serbs, and Vlachs comprise FYROM's population of 2.2
million.  All citizens are equal under the law.  The Constitution
provides for the protection of the ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and
religious identity of minorities, including state support for
education in minority languages.  The 13-member Council on Ethnic
Relations, representing the country's main ethnic groups, has not
played an active role.

Ethnic tensions and prejudices are evident.  The Government is
committed to a policy of peaceful integration of all ethnic groups
into society but faces political resistance and the persistence of
popular prejudices in the lower levels of administration.   Moreover,
the Government has had difficulty providing the additional services
sought by minorities, such as more education in minority languages.

Representatives of the ethnic Albanian community, by far the largest
minority group with about 23 percent of the population, are the most
vocal in charging discrimination.  Expressing concern about
government manipulation of the data, the ethnic Albanian community
boycotted a 1990 census.  Threats of a boycott also marred to some
extent a census held during the summer of 1994 to correct the
situation.  Experts from the Council of Europe, however, were
generally satisfied that the Government carried out the census fairly
and accurately and that almost all of the ethnic Albanian community
took part.  Final results show ethnic Albanians with 22.9 percent of
the population, Turks with 4 percent, Roma 2.3 percent, and Serbs 2
percent.  About 8,500 citizens declared themselves as Vlachs.

Underrepresentation of ethnic Albanians in the military and police is
also a problem.  Even in areas settled mostly by ethnic Albanians,
only 4 percent of police personnel are ethnic Albanians.  The
Ministry of Internal Affairs maintains that it is making efforts to
recruit qualified ethnic Albanian police cadets, but ethnic Albanian
leaders allege continued discrimination against those who apply.
Military service is a universal male obligation, and most young men,
whatever their ethnic origin, serve.  The proportion of ethnic
Albanians in the ranks is now estimated at 25 percent, although in
the officer corps it is lower.

Albanian-language education is a crucial issue for the ethnic
Albanian community in order to preserve Albanian heritage and
culture.  Almost all ethnic Albanian children receive 8 years of
education in Albanian-language schools.  Only a third of them go on
to high school, partly because of the lack of available classes and
partly because in rural areas many ethnic Albanians see no need to
educate their children, especially girls, beyond the eighth grade.
The right to instruction in a minority language in primary and
secondary school is permitted by the Constitution, but, by law,
university-level education must be in the Macedonian language.  In
December police partially demolished a small structure that was to
house an Albanian-language university being established by ethnic
Albanians in Tetovo.

Ethnic Turks complain of governmental, societal, and cultural
discrimination, specifically their dispute over the Education
Ministry's refusal to support Turkish-language education for children
who do not speak Turkish.  Parents have banded together to hire
teachers of their own, although the law does not authorize such
practice.

Serbs also complain of discrimination, alleging censorship of the
Serbian press and inability to worship freely in the Serbian Orthodox
Church (see Section 2.c.).  The Ministry of Internal Affairs
acknowledges that it has temporarily banned some imported Serbian
publications.

Roma comprise about 2.3 percent of the population.  There is little
evident tension between the Roma and other communities, and they have
benefited from government provision of supplementary Roma-language
education.  However, the Government did not publish a promised Roma
grammar in 1994.  There is some Roma-language broadcasting.

        People with Disabilities

Social programs to meet the needs of the disabled exist in FYROM to
the extent that government resources allow.  Discrimination on the
basis of disability is forbidden by law.  There are no laws or
regulations mandating accessibility for disabled persons.  Most
buildings in the FYROM are not easily accessible to disabled persons.

Section 6       Worker Rights

        a.      The Right of Association

The Constitution provides that citizens, except for military and
police personnel and civil servants, have the right to form and join
trade unions.

The Council of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM) is the successor
organization to the former Socialist Labor Confederation.  It
maintains the assets of the old unions and is the Government's main
negotiating partner on labor issues.  While its officers may tend to
oppose strikes because of the legacy of the past, they appear to be
genuinely independent of the Government.  An association of
independent and autonomous unions was formed in 1992, and independent
unions have been able to organize without harassment by the
Government or SSM.

The Constitution provides for the right to strike, and many brief
strikes occurred in 1994, mainly by employees of state-owned
companies who were receiving their pay months late.  Often, the
companies, cut off by the Greek embargo from many foreign markets,
simply did not have the money to pay their workers.  Trade unions are
free to affiliate internationally.

        b.      The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

The Constitution implicitly recognizes employees' right to bargain
collectively, but collective bargaining is still in its infancy.
Parliament has not adopted legislation in this area.  Although no law
prohibits antiunion discrimination, no instances were reported in
1994.

There are no export processing zones.

        c.      Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

The Ministries of Labor and Internal Affairs effectively enforce
legal prohibitions against forced labor.


        d.      Minimum Age of Employment for Children

The constitutional minimum age for employment of children is 15.
Younger children, however, are often seen peddling cigarettes or
other small items, or working in family-owned shops or on family
farms.  Children are permitted to work 42-hour weeks but may not
legally work at night.  Education is compulsory through the eighth
grade.  The Ministries of Labor and Internal Affairs are responsible
for enforcing laws regulating the employment of children.

        e.      Acceptable Conditions of Work

The average monthly wage in October was $200 (8,287 denars).  The
minimum monthly wage is, by law, two-thirds of the average monthly
wage, or about $133.  The economic crisis meant that few workers
could support a family on their wages alone.

The official workweek is 42 hours, with a minimum 24-hour rest period
and generous vacation and sick leave benefits.

The Constitution calls for safe working conditions, temporary
disability compensation, and leave benefits.  Laws and regulations on
worker safety exist, but credible reports suggest that the Ministry
of Labor and Social Work, which  is responsible for enforcing
regulations pertaining to working conditions, does not enforce them
strictly.
