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MILS NEWS
Skopje, 29 December, 2000

MILS SUPPLEMENT
("Dnevnik", 28 December 2000)

OBSTRUCTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN MACEDONIA
According to the Helsinki Human rights committee , the human rights in Macedonia are being obstructed. This conclusion also entered the annual report on human rights in Macedonia .
The most typical example of violation of human rights is the local elections in Macedonia filled with irregularities and violence. Government's attitude towards the press and the public media is also subject to criticism as well as police conduct and the poor conditions in "Idrizovo" penitentiary. According to the committee, the minorities' rights except for the Albanian minority are being neglected while the situation of Macedonian minority in neighboring countries is worsened. " Starting from the beginning of this year the Government started a campaign against the media of public informing that did not measure up to Government `s criteria by ordering demolition of 2 TV stations, cutting -off the power from the transmitters of certain TV stations as well as beating up reporters and confiscating their recorded material", stated Meto Jovanovski at yesterday `s press conference, at the same time handing out his resignation to the post of president of the Helsinki committee .His successor is Mirjana Najchevska , superior scientific associate with the Institute for Socio- Legal and Political Research.
The committee is particularly concerned with the situation of the Albanian media, which according to general opinion are controlled by DPA (Democratic Party Of Albanians). The Helsinki committee also believes there is a gap between the legal solutions, inter-party problem settlement and the actual inter-ethnical situation. Although certain high DPA officials occupy significant positions in Government structures, there is no actual multi-cultural restructuring of the state apparatus. The report also states that despite of the enacted law on high education the disputable "Tetovo University" issue remains unsettled. In a situation of prevalence of rights of Albanian minority, the rights of other nationalities such as Turks, Roma and Serbs appear to be overlooked. " The inter-ethnical tensions are only seemingly relaxed which results more from Government policy than from institutional solutions, says Jovanovski.
Conditions in "Idrizovo' penitentiary, the oldest and the biggest prison in the country, according to the report are deteriorated to the point of inhuman and humiliating treatment and punishment of prisoners. The psychological and moral integrity of the prisoners is being threatened by violence and frequent homosexual abuse. The situation of the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria is particularly worsened following the declaring of OMO Ilinden-Pirin party as unconstitutional, estimates the Helsinki committee. The same applies for the Macedonian minority in Albania and Greece.

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mils news, 29 December, 2000