March 1997 Monitoring.

(This summary is based on the February reports from Albania, Macedonia, Romania and Turkey, as well as on the March reports from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, the FRY, and Turkey).

Mariana Lenkova

The Albanian media experienced (and still do) a unique period in their existence. As a result of the political unrest in the country the only paper which was still printed in March was the organ of the party in power - the Rilindja Demokratike paper.

The above mentioned newspaper had an article which referred to GREECE ("A new plan to divide Albania is being put into practice.") The article presented the view of the Chairman of the Albanian Intelligence Service, Mr. Bashkim Gazidede, who said that "a plan named ‘LOTOS’, which aims at the liberation of Vorio Epir through an armed uprising from the Albanian occupation, was drafted in Greece in 1991" (RD, 27/3)

SERBIA was mentioned in February in regards to the influence of the Yugowar on the other Balkan states: "The war in the former Yugoslavia brought into the open some Balkan divisions, which were not that pronounced in the Communist era, but which have always existed." (A, 21/2). After AFP reported on the deployment of FRY troops along the Albanian borders, RD felt it necessary to mention that Albania "does not threaten anybody" and that "[N]o senior officials, no European or American diplomats have concluded that Albania threatens any of the other Balkan nations." (RD, 29/3)

Guide to newspaper initials: RD Rilindja Demokratike (the paper of the Democratic Party); ZP Zeri i Popullit (the paper of the Socialist Party); Rep Republika (the paper of the Republican Party); PQ Poli i Qendres (the paper of the Social Democratic Party and the Party of the Democratic Alliance); GS Gazeta Shqiptare (independent); KJ Koha Jone (independent); A Albania (independent); R Rilindja (independent).

BULGARIA

The Bulgarian media continued to pay a very special attention to the other Balkan countries, as well as to the internal ethnic and religious minorities.

The coverage of ALBANIA was much more extensive than in previous months, due to the political unrest in the country: "Having flared up as social riots, the unrest is gradually growing into a war between clans, between the southern and the northern provinces. Forgotten or deliberately suppressed past hostilities in a country where blood feud is an element of customary law are now flaring up afresh" (Do, 21). The papers thus started speaking of "Albanization" (K, 25) and of "Albanian-style democracy" (K, 4) which is characterized by "total chaos beyond control. This is a police state where every other civilian in the street was a plainclothes policeman. The genie has been let out of the bottle, with terrible consequences" (T, 17). Some other nuances were added by speaking of "‘the Albanian mentality,’ the traditional differences, as well as the antagonism between North and South" (Do, 18), which made some newspapers analyze the Albanian people as a people which has "unfortunately been brutally oppressed throughout the decades of totalitarian rule and partly deprived of the normal ability to think and act. (...) Tirana was one big coffee-house in which no one did anything. Everybody waited for the interest payment. (...) The whole nation has been left penniless. And has simply been brought to the limits of sanity. In summer I saw people in their 40s and 50s, men and women, drive around in bump-cars at the amusement park, shrieking in delight like kids. That's late childhood. You take a trivial example and come to what you have now: they are shooting automatic rifles in the air, exultant - 'I feel great and you can see it'" (168Ch, 21-27).

As regards GREECE, the Bulgarian media expressed their gratitude to the numerous donations which the neighbors kept sending during the whole month. However, this did not stop the papers from criticizing Greece on some "tough" issues: "To call yourself Bulgarian in the land ceded to Greece after 1912 means to stoically accept accusations of being a spy, murderer, arch-enemy, barbarian, and ultimately dooming yourself to brutal humiliation, endless suffering and even physical annihilation. This is why those people have accepted the geographical name of ‘Macedonians’ rather than ‘Macedonian Bulgarians.’" The US Human Rights Watch report quotes a "Greek teacher who tells off students speaking ‘Macedonian’ while caning them: ‘Filthy Bulgarians, you'll never ever learn Greek.’" (168Ch, 21-27).

MACEDONIA was presented in relation to "the language problem" between the two countries: "Skopje hoped that they would ‘draw in’ Sofianski in the vicious circle of the so-called ‘language’ dispute in the expectation that he would perhaps make certain commitments as a condition for de-blocking economic cooperation. (...) The second trap, which also ensued from the situation in this country, was associated with Skopje’s supposed readiness to grant urgent humanitarian aid to Bulgaria, mostly in grain (...). That would reportedly have been done in exchange for the corridor which Bulgaria provided to Macedonia at the time of the Yugoembargo to the North and the blockade to the South. At the same time, local journalists warned that this would definitely not settle Bulgaria’s debt to Macedonia for ‘having misappropriated entire periods of Macedonian history’" (168Ch, 7-13). The same problem got a more pragmatic treatment, because the language problem "blocks relations between the two small but fraternal Bulgarian peoples in the Balkans. (...) That is why it seem that Bulgarian-Macedonian agreements ought to be concluded verbally as ad hoc accords on a case-by-case basis. (...) Verbal agreement creates an atmosphere of total mutual confidence and promotes ties between Bulgaria and Macedonia to a level appropriate for their blood kinship" (K, 1-2). That is why there were again calls to accept realities as they are: "Let Macedonia acknowledge the common past and Bulgaria, the realities. (...) Figuratively speaking, Macedonia does not know why it is reluctant to accept, while Bulgaria does not know what it is offering" (K, 14, quoting historian Krassimir Ouzounov.)

The coverage of both ROMANIA and SERBIA provoked the Bulgarian media to make some self-critical statements, be they direct or "between the lines." The former was presented as a neighbor which is "a step ahead of us" (T, 19), which means that "we will draw on the experience of Romania which has fast succeeded in making the bid for NATO membership attractive to the West" (T, 6, quoting Bulgaria’s Defense Minister). The latter was referred to in an article by History Professor Andrei Pantev which discusses Balkan nationalism: "Actually we [Bulgarians] secretly envy the Serbs. They have always defended with consistent bravery causes which might not necessarily have been just. For our part, we have fought for just things but have lost because of [our] inconsistency. The Serbs are all alone in the world and seem happy because of it, whereas we have had such a period of independence only under Stambolov." (Sega, 6-12).

The Muslim threat remained the main source of interpretations in articles on TURKEY: "Turkish fundamentalists are brainwashing children with the Koran. (...) A child’s prayer to Allah calls for the establishment of a religious state and for war on the secular principles of (...) Ataturk" (T, 6). There were also references to "[T]he active interference of the military in politics does not strike anybody in Turkey as unusual since the army here has been traditionally regarded as a corrective of the incumbents' actions. In the past 37 years alone, the army has carried out three coups d'etat after its leaders decided that the principles of the founder of the modern Republic of Turkey, Ataturk, were in jeopardy" (168Ch, 28/3-3/4). Apart from the above, the alleged influence which Turkey exerts on Bulgaria, especially on the Bulgarian Turks, was discussed at length: "aggressive and dangerous promotion of Islam translated in accessible Bulgarian. (...) The writer openly calls for intolerance for the other religions. It is implied that killing a non-Muslim is not a sin" (24Ch, 5); "Ankara: All Immigrants Must Vote April 19 [the day of the early general elections in Bulgaria]" (24Ch, 1); "Ankara Pressures Immigrants to Vote" (Do, 6)

As regards the internal minorities, the Bulgarian media directed their attention again to the ROMA, presenting the latter in a prevailingly negative way: "...Not only misery but also complete irresponsibility of some dark-skinned mothers doom their children to death"; "A Gypsy woman, whose two children have pneumonia, said before a reporter that she wanted to go home because it was boring in the hospital" (T, 26). The TURKS of Bulgaria were described in a benevolent way ["Love for a Bulgarian made a female Turk kiss the cross" (K, 10)] and the POMAKS kept their stable positive image ["Pomaks - the purest Bulgarians" (168 Ch, 28).] Publications on some non-traditional religions continued to appear in the papers, which usually emphasized the alleged negative role of those religious groups: "Sectarian gouges the eye of a Christian for 1,500 DM" (Do, 5); "Jehova’s Witnesses doom their children to death" (NT, 14-15).

Guide to newspaper initials: 24 Ch "24Chassa", C "Continent", De "Demokratsiya", Do "Douma", SN "Standart News", T "Dneven Troud", NT "Noshten Troud", Sega "Sega" magazine, 168 Ch "168 Chassa".

The Greek media covered the main events taking place in the Balkans during the month. Romania was the only Balkan country which did not attract the attention of the media very much. On the other hand, ALBANIA got its largest coverage ever, after the collapse of its pyramidal banking institutions and the political unrest which followed. It is notable that there was hardly any compassion for the Albanian people expressed in the articles of the Greek papers. It was only the Greek minority in the neighboring country, which provoked the concern of the mother-nation: "Special concern provokes information that Turkish gangs from Bosnia create a chaotic situation, liberating convicts and plundering army warehouses. Fears are expressed about an organized ‘pogrom’ against Greeks, with the accusation that Athens supported Berisha’s regime." (Ad.T. 3) As far as the Albanians proper, they were presented as "[A] disorganized society without any rules, a people lacking intellect, without ideals, food and money, that is seeking revenge for the years which have been stolen from it by ‘the tyrants of Tirana’. But reality is one: that an uncultivated people is armed, that it collects its indispensable and descends for the promised land, the Cannan of the Balkans, Greece..." (Ad.T. 16). Before condemning the people, the same newspaper had pronounced its "verdict" on the Albanian state: "This is not a state but a nearby curse of the Pharaoh. A vegetable garden, which we have allowed to grow for over half a century, and which is hence creating for us inadmissible problems. They have devastated us, offended us, cheated on us..." (Ad.T. 12). And in light with the general crisis in the Balkans and "the glass that is filled to the brim because of Albania", there appeared the following anti-Balkan comment: "Greece has collected excrement like a bitch that moves her tail! Yugoslavia disintegrates, Greece pays the price, Bulgaria goes bankrupt, again Greece groans, Romania gets impoverished, thieves multiply in Greece, Albania burns, Greece is the first victim of the fumes." (Ad.T. 16)

The greater part of the reports concerning BULGARIA dealt with the latter’s economic plight. In this respect there were a few articles written with much compassion and sympathy: "We ought to help Bulgaria now. (...) Greece in this hour has an obligation and an interest to help Bulgaria with all her forces, in every way and from all sides." (E.T. 1); "we have forgotten our animosities long ago...The relations of the two countries, as they were designated by Karamanlis and Zivkof, are hence relations of friendship and cooperation. And there was a moment when a discreet support from Sofia on the borders of Thrace was substantial..." (E.T. 1).

MACEDONIA did not get a very extensive coverage, but the one which it got was in the usual line from previous months: "This tiny state", which we shouldn’t "take seriously, nor should we consider it equal to other states, wishing to be part of the EU and other international organizations" (Ad.T. 12); "the artificial state at our northern borders, which attempts to destabilize Greece, Bulgaria and Albania with an ‘ethnic Macedonian minority’"(E.T. 16).

The reports on SERBIA were not numerous either. The most notable article came from E.T. (30/3), which tried to present the current situation in the relations between the two countries: "in spite of the auspicious conditions which have resulted from the lifting of the international embargo and the close relations which have developed between Athens and Belgrade...a chilliness is replacing the warm relations. At the same time Greek Foreign Minister Th. Pangalos appeared in Belgrade (12/1) as an appraiser of President Milosevic in the middle of the crisis caused by the non-recognition of the municipal elections’ results, and without having developed particular relations with the Serbian opposition yet."

The greatest surprise of the month came after Greek Foreign Minister Th. Pangalos uttered the heretical by Greek standards statement that "If Turkey has no place in the European history, Greece doesn’t have one either." These words resounded in the Greek media which read them as lending open support to TURKEY. The Minister was then called a "janissary" (E.T. 7) who "disapproved of the aphorism of the six prime ministers of the Christian democratic parties, who argued that there is ‘a problem of culture and civilization’ which prohibits the admission of Turkey to the EU. The six spoke of culture and civilization in general, while he assimilated Muslims with the Orthodox and the Jews of Europe. They ignore that Islam means harsh intolerance, aggressiveness and intellectual yoke...Concerning the ‘European history’ of the Turks and their cohabitation with the Greeks, the arguments of Th. Pangalos are tragic. The presence of the Turks in Europe is connected to a long lasting subjugation of the people, by means of thefts, tortures, blood, rapes, kidnapping,. Death and languish." (E.T. 21). Reasons for having the usual negative coverage were found even in the situation in Albania: "If Turkey were in our place it would have performed a ‘peaceful invasion’, in order to protect those of the same ethnic origin, whether they were in danger or not. We are not Turkey and we will not do the same." ; "When Turkey judged that Turkish Cypriots were apparently ‘in danger’ in Cyprus, it performed a military invasion and took over half of the island..." (Ad.T. 4)

Two of the internal ethnic minorities were again in the focus of attention of the Greek newspapers. The TURKS were associated "with Ankara’s movements to neutralize Greece’s strategic importance, using as an instigator the minorities of Thrace and aiming at the partition of Northern Greece." (Eth. 2) while the denial of the existence of the MACEDONIANS persisted and their party was called "the Skopjenophile organization." (Ap. 14)

Guide to newspaper initials: Ad.T. Adesmeftos Typos (center-right); Ap. Apogevmatini; E.T. Eleftheros Typos (center-right); El. Eleftherotypia (center-left); Eth. Ethnos (center-left); K. Kathimerini (center-right); N. Nea (center-left); V. Vima (center-left - Sunday equivalent to Nea)

The Macedonian printed media had numerous articles on the other Balkan countries, with the exception of Romania and Turkey which appeared mainly in short informative reports. Things were not like that as regards ALBANIA which was constantly discussed, especially after the economic and political problems which followed the collapse of the pyramidal banking institutions. The country was described as an "economic and social clock-work bomb" whose "children are included in various activities like drug smuggling, theft, prostitution and begging, for the benefit of adults" (D, 13/2). In March the papers went on covering the events in the neighboring country, paying a particular attention to the possible consequences they might have on the stability of Macedonia and the whole region because "the Albanian crisis can be spread to Kosovo, Macedonia and Bulgaria." (D, 5/3)

BULGARIA was covered either through quotes from high-ranking Bulgarian politicians or from Bulgarian papers. Thus in February Bulgarian Chief Public Prosecutor Ivan Tatarchev was quoted as saying: "The fact that we can talk without a translator speaks clearly that it is the same people, the same language and that the two sides (the Macedonians and the Bulgarians) have a common origin. It is one nationality - the Bulgarian one." (F, 21/2) while the statement of Bulgarian Socialist Party’s leader, Mr. Georgi Parvanov, ran like that: "Bulgaria will accept the reality that the Macedonian nation exists and Macedonia will accept the fact that its origin is Bulgarian." (P, 14/2). The discussions on the origin of the Macedonian nation and language continued in March: "It is nice that Sofiyanski and Crvenkoski finally agreed that Macedonia needs a free trade zone. Lots of other agreements are necessary too. Some of them have already been prepared by the experts but there is not an agreement on the language for their writing yet. That is blocking the relations between the two countries. There are many reasons for this language problem to be solved, but there are no results yet." (D, 6/3; a quote from the Bulgarian Kontinent paper). And last but not least, Puls (14/3) and N.M. (10/3) had interviews with Krasimir Karakachanov, leader of the Bulgaria party VMRO-SMD who said that"[U]ntil 1944 no serious man in Macedonia said that there is a thing like a Macedonian nationality. Macedonia’s history is Bulgarian. When in Bulgaria we say "Macedonian", we mean a revolutionist, a man of high qualities."

The coverage of GREECE revolved around the well-known "name issue" which was presented in regards to the willingness of the Macedonian side to compromise ["the Macedonian government has showed its willingness to compromise by passing some amendments in its constitution and flag in accordance to the conditions in the temporary agreement. Enough is enough! We have every right to expect a step of good will from Greece. If our southern neighbor insists on a new temporary solution, there is one we have agreed upon and we suggest it here - ‘Macedonia.’" (P, 14/2)] as well as in regards to international reactions to the argument ["The negotiations on the name argument between Athens and Skopje cannot go on forever" said UN Secretary General Kofi Anan (M.S., 14/3)]. The following interview of the Chief of the Greek Liaison Office in Skopje, Mr. Alexandros Maljas, was also published: "Greek businessmen should not have doubts and should invest in Skopje, because its people has a feeling of friendship towards Greece and the Greeks." (D, 1/2)

SERBIA appeared mainly in relation to the students’ protest which the Macedonian press presented through the slogans of the students: "Children are our wealth, so this year we will have a good export again"; "’91: Children under tanks! ’92: Children on tanks! You can’t go any further! ’96: Children have grown up!!!" (P, 14/2); "Slobodan Milosevic 1987-1997. Died unexpectedly of power overdose." (an "obituary" put at the entrance of the Rector’s office which was published in P, 28/3)

As regards the internal minorities, the ALBANIANS got the widest coverage. The papers presented the two sides of the constant conflicts between the Albanians and the Macedonians in the mixed population regions. The Macedonians were quoted as saying: "Death for the Shiptars (Albanians)"; "Give food to your dog, and it starts barking at you" (quotes from the Albanian Rilindija Demokratike paper, F, 28/2); "If the sun belongs to everybody, it doesn’t mean that Macedonia belongs to everybody, too"; "Macedonia to Macedonians." (M.S., 28/2); "In just a year’s time they will build Albania here. Our government has sold us. This Thursday (27/2) they put the Macedonian flag on fire; We were crying because we knew what our fate was going to be. It is already Albania here. Whom shall we live with - with the eagles?.." and the reply which the Albanians gave was the following: "If they can send us to gas chambers, we want a Greater Albania. Why they do not let us study in Albanian? Why should we be second-rank citizens? Tetovo should have its university which is its future." (3/3, D.)

Guide to newspaper initials: NM Nova Makedonija; V Vecer; P Puls; F Focus; MD Makedonsko Delo; MS Makedonsko Sonce; MV Makedonsko Vreme; D Dnevnik; WP World Press.

In February the Romanian press hardly published any articles on the other Balkan countries, except for the purely informative ones. This tendency was more or less kept in March as well, but there were a few texts on the political unrest in ALBANIA. The latter was presented as a country "on the brink of anarchy" (CR, 3/3), which is "under the iron fist of the state of emergency: the armed rebels threaten to shoot without warning" (CN, 4/3), while "Sali Berisha is desperately clinging to power" (A, 17).

As for the internal ethnic minorities, the HUNGARIANS were the ones who were accused of "revisionism, under the mask of cultural activities" (EZ, 4/3). The re-opening of the Hungarian Consulate in Cluj provoked exclamations like: "Cluj - the lab of the ethnic separatism?" (JN, 13), while the Cluj Local Council was quoted as saying that "UDMR’s actions ‘aim to prepare the conditions for disturbing the peace and the good inter-ethnic relations existing in Cluj, trying to put in jeopardy Romania’s integration within the European and the Euro-Atlantic structures" (EZ, 19/3). However, the month saw a very encouraging event This was Prime Minister Ciorbea’s address to the Hungarian minority on the occasion of the Day of All the Hungarians (March 15) which he delivered in both Romanian and Hungarian. The greater part of the papers re-printed parts of the speech, pointing out that "Magyars celebrated March 15 in an atmosphere of normality" (A, 17/3). At the same time some political parties (i.e. the PDSR) openly expressed their concern that "by the promotion of the objectives of the UDMR, President Emil Constantinescu and the Ciorbea Government will establish the functioning of a parallel state on our national territory." (CR, 15-16/3)

The ROMA also got a relatively large (usually negative) coverage: "The members of the Duduianu clan kidnap people from their homes." (A 5/2); "The Gypsies in Sibiu threaten with a second revolution; Emperor Iulian is mad because the palaces built by his subjects without authorization are going to be demolished" (Z, 17/2). It is interesting that even when discussing things outside the minority context, some "Gypsy" attitudes and values were presented: "What does NATO mean in Romania? The prices were kept under control. So was the leu [the Romanian currency]. The unemployment turned into a means of supplementing to one’s salary. The Gypsies came to the point where they carry their social aid in their Mercedeses"(A, 7/2). However, there were some articles which tried to approach the problems of the Roma in a more constructive way: "the Gypsy issue will be one of the gravest for Romania in the next 20-30 years [due to] the ridiculous cultural level, the fact that they do not have regular jobs, they are not integrated socially and maintain a huge demographic growth. Our country thus pays the price for hundreds of years of slavery of the Gypsies, who have not been accepted and could not become integrated." (EZ, 10/3)

Guide to newspaper initials: EZ Evenimentul Zilei; RL Romania Libera; CR Cronica Romana; CN Curierul National; JN Jurnalul National; A Adevarul; Z Ziua.

TURKEY

In February the Turkish papers directed their attention to Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia and in March the group was joined by ALBANIA. On the one hand the latter was presented as "an impossible country (...) a strange nation. No one is aware of what he or she does. Moreover, they are too ignorant. They are interested neither in the international affairs nor in the local developments" (S, 9/3). The perception of the Albanians as a "destitute nation" was re-enforced in the following article: "These desperate circumstances seem to have turned capitalism into a ‘great dream.’ Albeit, no one at the time had proved able to prevent capitalism from rushing into the country. These people of the Balkans were hoodwinked by methods of making money without effort, and now they find their labors spoiled (...) Not a solitary person, but three million people gloomily ponder what to do next." (S, 2/3) The other line of presentation was that of a "[F]raternal people [which suffers] from the deep wounds opened in economic, political, social and cultural fields by the Red despotism that lasted for more than 50 years. The blaze in Albania also threatens her environs and we are bound to help her" (T,12/3). Some papers elaborated on this topic even more, laying stress on the hypothesis of a "Greek finger" in the Albanian unrest: "See how Greece and her supporters swiftly staged an intrigue while Turkey was killing time with unnecessary and disgusting internal discords over the past several months. Poor Albania is drowned in blood and fire (...) These destitute Albanians, after years of grappling with starvation, finally lost security of life. Also, Turkey’s interests and investments there (...) are all under peril (T, 17/3).

BULGARIA was covered in respect to the economic crisis which it experiences: "Bulgarians feed on dog food" (A, 21/2); "Bulgarians loot bakeries" (H, 20/2); "Bulgaria beyond endurance" (A, 14/3); "Bitter death in the street" (T, 25/3). After the Turkish government announced its decision to repatriate the Bulgarian Turks who had emigrated to Turkey a few years ago, the press wrote with sympathy about the "thousands of people shuttling between the two countries like a Ping-Pong ball" (M, 22/2) and in March, when the government revoked this decision and promised to grant the immigrants a one-year residence permit which they had to pay, the Turkish media again reprimanded the government for granting nothing more than "Freedom of hire" (M, 20/3).

GREECE kept its negative image and the Turkish papers rejoiced when "The US pulls Athens’ ears" (H, 3/2) and then concluded that "as Greece failed to comply with the requirements of the EU, she uses the Turkish threat as an excuse." (S, 21/2). The Western-oriented, secularist and centrist media, however, showed an eager desire to settle the disputes and to work for friendly relations between the two countries ["A coexistence of 500 years have made our peoples so akin that we use Greek words for very many things from fishes to winds. The properties that the Anatolian people share with the Greeks are innumerable, whereas it has nothing in common with the Arab world except religion" (M, 10/2)], while other papers supported the usual stereotypes ["That Greek person, after abandoning religion, has adamantly embraced racism. He was frequently talking about his ancestors who were killed in Greek rebellions following 1821. Yet he does not mention the well-being they enjoyed when they were in unison with the Ottomans. Should the Ottomans have so willed, no Greek person would be left on Earth" (Z, 12/2, relating the impressions of a Turkish journalist from his encounter with a Greek).

March saw a very interesting development in bilateral relations, provoked by two events. The first one was Greek Foreign Minister Pangalos’ statement in defense of Turkey and its closeness to European culture and the second one was the surprise visit paid by the Turkish Chief of General Staff, Gen. Ismail Hakki Karadayi, to an Ankara meeting on the national day of Greece. The former move was qualified as "unexpected support" (H, 7/3) which had the potential of having something hidden behind it ["Greece will never become a friend!; One should not be misled by fraudulent displays of goodwill showed now and then by Greece which has long declared Turkey an eternal enemy" (T, 11/3)], while the latter was readily depicted as a "[B]enevolent message from Karadayi to Athens" (T, 26/3); "A hand of friendship to Athens" (A, 26/3). All dailies quoted Karadayi’s words: "There is a deep distrust between Greece and Turkey. This is not suitable. We should not leave these disputes to the next generations." It is notable that some papers took a rather constructive approach to the issue: "Greece strikes Turkish policy; When are we going to realize that nothing can be attained by blackmailing Germany or rebuking Greece or giving Scandinavians a piece of our mind, and that time has come to generate new formulas of reconciliation, we will leave half the way behind." (S)

The most widely discussed topic related to SERBIA was that of the reconciliation process and the developments which followed from it: "In both of these countries [Serbia and Bulgaria], the socialists are behind the massacres, oppressions and deportations committed against the Muslims. And now with the Balkan Spring, they are being swept off power. In this sense, Balkan Spring is the spring of the Muslims. Spring comes to the Balkans, may God’s will reaches us!" (YS, 7/2); "Serbian assassins charged with ethnic cleansing of Muslims during the war in Bosnia started to render account." (T, 3/3).

The internal minority issues were again dominated by discussions about the KURDS. Yeni Safak thus tried to find a relation between the settlement of the Kurdish problem and the rumors about a possible secularist military coup ["military regimes will speed the process of establishment of a Kurdish state" (2/3)], while Milliyet stressed the cultural side of the problem ["Cultural dialogue as the antipode of violence; That issue of a political solution does not interest me. I am interested in Kurds’ securing their identity and democratic rights. I want Kurds to be able to live in Turkey with their identity intact, their citizenship rights respected, and free to use their cultural rights (...) Violence is a pitfall for both Turks and Kurds. It impedes democratization in Turkey and ensures that Kurds be easily manipulated by neighboring totalitarian states and regimes." (31/3, an interview with Kurdish novelist Mehmed Uzun who lives in Sweden)].

Guide to newspaper initials: H Hurriyet; M Milliyet; S Sabah; YY Yeni Yuzyil; YS Yeni Safak; T Turkiye; Z Zaman; D Demokrasi; C Cumhuriyet; Ak Akit; A Aksam; R Radikal

The media had reports on all the other Balkan countries. However, while the reports on Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and Macedonia were rather extensive, the ones on Turkey and Romania were not. The latter got a somehow negative coverage due to its claims that it is not a Balkan country ["official Bucharest, just like official Zagreb, fears like plague a possible inclusion, not only geographically, in the Balkan area." (P, 4)]

ALBANIA was the country with the most outstanding place in the FRY papers. The country was described as "an artificial Austro-Hungarian creature [oriented exclusively against the Serbs] which has survived either with the help of foreign finances or thanks to the Stalinist dictatorship." (VN, 27) and the political unrest there was seen as something scary due to its potential negative impact on the situation in Serbia itself: "Albania’s tumbling... fatally coincides with moments when Albanians from Kosovo try to maximize their aspirations and when they need the support and the aid of the mother nation for that." (V, 22). However, there were other newspapers which said that the "people’s rebellion [in Albania was] the culmination of the people’s dissatisfaction with the puppet regime; the Albanians, the people who have honor and dignity, have raised, without any doubt, against the undignified position they were driven into. they don’t want to have a leader who is someone else’s puppet." (P, 14). N (21/3) went so far as to openly criticize the position which Serbian opposition leader Gingic had expressed in an interview for the Greek Elefterotipia paper ["the Serbs are lucky that Albania has internal problems, because otherwise it would deal with Kosovo in a dangerous way"]. These words provoked the Serbian paper to say that "a serious man can never rejoice at his neighbor’s tragedy, even if he is in a quarrel with the neighbor."

BULGARIA found its place in descriptions of its severe economic problems which made P (2/3) publish a rather cynical comment: "And in Bulgaria there is no bread... Without any wish to rejoice at the misfortunes of the other, we can only say that many of our neighbors have been worse off in economic sense ever since the sanctions have been lifted from us." At the same time the usual topic on the friendly relations between the two peoples also found its place: "The Bulgarians and the Yugoslavs are the closest of all Balkan nations but unfortunately do not know each other as much as they should." (an interview with the Director of Bulgarian TV, VN, 19)

GREECE’s coverage was again related to the plight of the Serbian illegal workers in the neighboring country: "No, I will never go to Greece again, nor will I eat oranges again. Still, our agencies, the ones which sell us, are to blame most; Shadow agency-owners earn more than some efendito in friendly Greece." (VN, 9)

The government in MACEDONIA was heavily attacked by the Yugoslav papers, which saw as unfounded Nova Makedonia’s allegations that Serbia and Greece had organized the rebellion in Southern Albania: "[Macedonia] is trying to heal its ‘Shiptar’ wound by kicking below the belt Serbia and Greece; [the Macedonian government tried to] extinguish the fire in its own yard by spilling gasoline around the neighbor’s yard [it also supports] the parallel Shiptar school system in Kosovo and Metohja." (VN, 20)

This is exactly the place when a few articles on the Kosovo ALBANIANS should be mentioned: "Everything which they [the Albanian leaders and the separatist leaders] and the leaders of the ‘Liberation Army of Kosovo’ have done so far is only a part of an arsenal for the destabilization of Serbia and Yugoslavia, prepared a long time ago with the help of those who are creating new spheres of interest in the Balkans." (D, 14); "It is absolutely certain that the events in Albania have cooled many heads at the top of the separatist organization and that they have created potential conditions for a political dialogue between the Serbian and the Shiptar, as well as between the Macedonian and the Shiptar sides." (D, 28) Nasha Borba was the only newspaper which presented the other side of the story as well: "Unreduced terror over the Albanians" (13/3); "Maltreatment of the Albanians goes on." (29-30/3)

The MUSLIMS from the Sandzhak region also had a very prominent place in the media. The main reason behind that was the change in the local administrations in three cities after the victory of the (Muslim) List for Sandzhak of Sulejman Ugljanin: "Radicals: Islam fundamentalism on the stage; Democrats: Ugljanin in connection with Belgrade." (DT, 23) Nasha Borba (27/3) was again the only paper which criticized a statement of Vuk Drascovic’s Serbian Renewal Movement which demanded that only the Muslims ask for special permission to enter Rupublika Srpska and to pay for visa: "Shameful discrimination of the state toward the Muslims from Serbia."