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The weekly Koha (The Times) was published in Prishtina (Kosovo) between 1994 and 1997. Edited by VetonSurroi, a young Kosovar journalist and one of the pioneers of democratisation in former Yugoslavia, Kohasoon became a symbol of quality among the region's media. In 1997 it started to be published daily under thename of Koha Ditorë. With the kind permission of Mr. Surroi, Koha digests were originally posted onhttp://koha.estudiosbalcanicos.org.
- 1 -Koha Digest # 155Front Page: THE STRUGGLE FOR THE FLAGDate: 15 July 1997MACEDONIATHE STRUGGLE FOR THE FLAG by ARBËR VLLAHIU / Gostivar A highway that leads to the west of Macedonia, and a terrifying silence. Moreover, if therewere no stopped cars and trucks passed beside by the wandering "blue helmets", everyonewould think that "the towns on its right, Tetovë and Gostivar", are in "eternity". Both towns,that in the late hours of 9 July had lived through the "golgotha", now were "sleeping insilence". Tens of thousands of people, that were protecting their flag, waving on the buildingof the municipal assembly, for hours faced the Macedonian police and tear-gas.After all this, perhaps the only way to enter the towns at the west of Shkup, was to travel by bus. Due to the strict police control, the buses were almost empty.In the "scary" silence of the town, the traces of Gostivar's "golgotha" could be seen at the veryentrance of the town. In the first crossroad - the garbage containers, were turned upside down,and someone, in a hurry, "forgot" to turn them back. In Gostivar, after ours, "authority was practiced by the police forces", and the silence was disturbed only by the heels of a woman,that looked as "a traveller late to somewhere". The curtain of the big scene was dropped. But,the question still remains... what happened, and why? "After midnight, in the evening between 8 and 9 July, first the telephone lines were cut, and thirty minutes later, theelectricity was also cut. Police forces, in groups, rushed through the town, taking all mainstreets", this how one of the witnesses of the terrible day in Gostivar begins his story. Early inthe morning, people in groups started to gather around the Municipal Assembly, to protect theflag and to show support to the president of the Assembly, Rufi Osmani. According to someinformation, the President of the Municipal Assembly, Rufi Osmani, was taken hostage andnegotiations with him were under way. Still, according to the same sources, nobody knows of his whereabouts."We confronted the police forces. Around 10,000 people on our side, and around 4,000 armedman on the other. At one stage, children started throwing rocks at them. I don’t know whathappened, we heard shots, bullets over our heads and we could feel teargas", whispers ayoung man, scared and with a terrified glance, that asked for his name not to be mentioned."The first shot in Gostivar dispersed the people from the square. It looked as if in this mess,someone could get hurt. While running away, some Macedonian civilians fired at the crowd. Isaw a policeman climbing the roof of the building where the Macedonian civilians were. I
 
- 2 -saw a man falling, bathed in blood. People in the crowd had no time to help him. The manremained lying down on the street", and the boy ended his story rushing away from darkness.Wondering down the streets of this town, and talking to those who were "lost" after the event,another man, tells us: "People started running away. The police fired at them. In an alley, asthe people ran, the police set an ambush and started hitting the people with rifle butts. The provoking shouts of the policemen were heard."Macedonia, Macedonia", they shouted. And you could even hear them shouting "Give us theknives!".And so, the night passed with the fear of the citizens of Gostivar, that the electricity andtelephone lines will again be cut-off, and "the police would come" to see them at home. Themorning was not much better. The shops of Albanian owners remained closed, there wereonly a few passers-by, and in all crossroads, in front of the Municipality, stood theMacedonian policemen. Near the park, opposite Gostivar's church, the police stopped a boy.The silence is broken by the noise of the machine-gun of the policeman that directed towardsthe young man’s face. It looks as if "life stopped". The question is again, why all this"savagery".The careful observers of the Macedonian circumstances, see the last events in Gostivar andTetovë as a continuation of the "old inter- ethnic tensions". As comparison, the arrogance of the Macedonian police was not expressed in all it's fury in the case of the University of Tetovë, regardless that there had also been victims then. The demand to fly the Albanian flagin the buildings of the municipalities of both towns, was taken by the Macedonian politicalforces as an attempt to destroy the Macedonian system. Moreover, the Macedonian partyMAAK, known to be radical, after the decision of the Constitutional Court of Macedonia for the removal of the Albanian and Turkish flags, declared that it would gladly do this instead.Efforts to remove the Albanian flag from the building of the municipalities in Gostivar andTetovë, were made also one month ago. But, in that case, the Macedonian citizens that did it,suffered from the Albanian citizens. On this platform, the discussions in the MacedonianParliament about the use of the national symbols of "minorities" in Macedonia, would endwith the ignoring of the demands of the Albanian MPs for the free use of these symbols. Still,after the victory of the Albanian political forces in the municipal elections the Albanian flagwaved for over six months in the towns with an Albanian majority. The big discussions in the parliament, the decisions of the Court, the demand for the removal of the flag from the buildings, looks to have electrified the situation even more. Thus, Albanians took the actionsof the Macedonian authorities as an attempt to ignore the national rights.The events in the towns of Gostivar and Tetovë, were evaluated by the Albanian politicalstructures as "declaration of war by the Macedonian government". Still, after the decision of the parliament concerning the use of the flags that, according to the analysts, could beevaluated as a compromise, and after the use of the force in Gostivar, PPD ‘evaluated that theacts of the police are against any logic of the rule of law, and on these grounds the citizenswere urged not to fall to these provocations, since the modalities to use the flag and it’sappearance are protected by law’.Evaluated as nonsense, it seems that the declaration is based in the fact that now the Albanianflag can be used only in cases of the national holidays, and along with the Macedonian flag.On the other hand, the chairman of PDSH, Arbër Xhaferi, evaluated that "if all Albanian political parties had a unique strategy, interventions and overwhelming bravery of the
 
- 3 -Macedonian side wouldn't happen.’ Meanwhile, the vice-president of the Macedoniangovernment, Naser Zyberi, noted that ‘we expect the situation to calm down, because the newlaw is already in power, and the citizens will realize that this brings no good.’ In this‘Albanian unity’, it seems that these forces can take only one good step. PPD, partner in thegoverning coalition, withdrew its deputies from the parliament, same as PDSH. The demandremains the same: ‘the clarification of the events in Gostivar and Tetovë.’ While the Albanianside has once again proved to have fractions inside, the Macedonian political subject hasasked, as always, to act according ‘to the law’. The minister of the police has evaluated theseevents as acts of radical groups, accusing PDSH of organizing them, and in his statement henoted that ‘even some citizens of Albania were arrested, for participating in thedemonstrations.’ He also noted that there were some speculations that different groups were prepared for acts like this. In this scope, and in the frame of these accusations, MacedonianPresident Gligorov, qualified the events as ‘efforts to establish a parallel government’ addingthat ‘state institutions will protect the state laws’.Analysts note that the last visit of the Macedonian prime-minister Crvenkovski to Belgrade,and his meeting with the Serbian president, coincides with the events in Macedonia, and withthe determination of the Macedonian institutions for a strong intervention."Arbër Xhaferi considers that ‘Gostivar in 1997 was the repetition of Kosova of 1981, in thesense of the scope of the police intervention and the attitude of the government and the mass-media.’Anyway, in Gostivar, the battle has started and the fear remains that the tensions inMacedonia will increase. It looks like the inter-ethnic conflict cannot be controlled any more,despite the fact that international peace keeping forces are present in this country.Their presence here, and the speculations that 3.000 American soldiers will build a military base in Krivolak, according to the analysts, must be taken as their effort to prevent themulti-ethnic conflict in this country, that is considered by many, as a state ‘established byforce’. And, perhaps, international forces, in the moments of the rising of inter-ethnictensions should, at least, remain neutral and try to prevent a possible ‘bloody’ conflict. Thus,‘the good will of those who came to keep the peace’ will remain present. Perhaps... But in thestatement of the headquarters of the Multinational forces, following the events in Tetovë andGostivar and, as it is said, ‘the destruction of one of their transporters", both sides are askedto avoid using force and violence. The ‘European’ concern would be understandable, if theofficial communique of the Ministry of Interior didn't state that, despite the destruction anddemolitions, ‘two people were killed, eight policemen were wounded, and 210 asked for medical assistance’. If to this communique we add that in the night between 8 and 9 of July,320 persons were arrested, it seems that the transporter of the UNPREDEP, is just a drop of water in a the sea.MACEDONIASILENCE AFTER VIOLENCE by IMER ISMAILI / Gostivar The day in Gostivar passed with much turmoil - fights between more
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