AGAIN TENSION ON THE MACEDONIAN-SERBIAN BORDER

(In three incidents on the Macedonian-Serbian border two FRY citizens lost their lives and one Macedonian citizen was wounded: that is the picture given to the Macedonian public and the statement of Macedonian officials.)

AIM, September 5, 1994, Skopje

Summary: Two FRY citizens lost their lives on the Macedonian-Serbian border after being shot at by the Macedonian border patrols. Are smugglers encouraged by the arrogant treatment of Macedonia and the slighting of its borders and the small Macedonian Army by the FRY Army, concluding that this border is easiest to cross illegaly and without asking anyone? The Macedonian media raised the question of the responsibility of Macedonian border patrols, concluding that arms are easily drawn at this border, even at moments when the situation could be resolved differently. Macedonian journalists are betting that very soon, the previous two, will be followed by a third incident and that this time FRY patrols will kill a Macedonian citizen, which indeed happened few days ago: a Yugoslav patrol shot at a tractor near the village of Tanusevci, about 200 m in Macedonian territory and wounded Bajram Sakiri. How does Vlado Popovski, Macedonian Defence Minister see these incidents?

No sooner had UNPROFOR Commander for Macedonia, brigadier general Trigve Telefsen stated that tensions between Macedonia and Serbia were easing, three incidents occurred on the border within two weeks, in which two civilians lost their lives. The first took place on August 20, near the Jazince border crossing. According to the statement of the Macedonian border authorities, a group of fifteen smugglers, citizens of Yugoslavia, tried to illegally cross the border during the night and ran into a Macedonian patrol. The group did not respond to "stop", "stop or I shall shoot", so shots were fired. The Yugoslav Nebojsa Martinovic was mortally wounded. The event was broadcast on prime time on radio and TV. Emphasis was laid on the fact that FRY had been invited to send its Commission and that teams of the two states should make an investigation on the spot.

The media in Macedonia also commented the event. For example, the leading paper "Nova Makedonija" again reminded that problems on the border mainly result from the fact that, since the Republic of Macedonia became independent, FR Yugoslavia has been refusing to set up its state commission, which would, together with the Macedonian one reach and sign an agreement concerning the border. They reminded that FRY still considered the border an administrative one and that it considers as much as 140 of the total 231 kilometers of the border line disputable. The paper states that FRY and its Army behave arrogantly towards Macedonia and slight the borders and the small Macedonian army, this leading smugglers to believe that this border can easily be crossed illegaly and without asking anyone.

However, already on August 29 there was another incident in which another smuggler, an FRY national, lost his life. The incident took place near the largest and busiest border crossing - Tabanovci, a place on the Belgrade - Skopje - Athens railway and motorway. According to the Macedonian Ministry of the Interior, a group of three smugglers, FRY nationals, illegaly penetrated the Macedonian territory to a depth of 100 meters. They did not obey the order to stop but turned around and tried to run back to FRY. A police patrol started chasing them, caught up with them, there was a struggle during which, it is said, there was a shot from an automatic rifle. Goran Stefanovic was killed.

This time the media in FRY strongly reacted and the Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs of FRY, in addition to informing the UN of the incident, accused Macedonia of wishing to draw the attention of the world public to the, as they call it, made-up danger from the north and to secure the lifting of the embargo on the purchase of weapons. The key element in all this is that the Federal Ministry informs its own and the world public that the incident took place 250 meters within FRY territory and that, it is emphasized, the Macedonian patrol transferred the body to Macedonian territory.

Irrespective of Belgrade's reactions, "Nova Makedonija" was the first in Macedonia to raise the issue of responsibility of Macedonian border patrols for both incidents, concluding that weapons are easily drawn on the "black border", even at times when the situation could be differently solved. A too high a price for the suppression of smuggling and, perhaps too high a price for the Macedonian state, which wants friendly relations with all its neighbours. The paper further assesses that FRY takes advantage of these events to accuse Macedonia before the UN of an allegedly aggressive policy, stating that all this coincides with the new purportedly peace-making role the FRY has started playing.

The weekly "Puls" a few days later was even more frank, saying that the "taming of the (Macedonian) uniformed boys with cowboy manners would in any case be desirable". Journalists in Macedonia started betting on a new killing soon, but this time by a FRY patrol which would shoot and kill a Macedonian national. It took only a few days for the forecasts to come true, albeit not completely, because the Macedonian national survived, having suffered a grave wound in the shoulder. The event took place in the evening hours of September 1, in the region of the Skopje village of Tanusevci, about 200 meters within Macedonian territory (the line encircling the area of the city of Skopje partly coincides with the border line ).

The Ministry of the Interior of Macedonia informs that four Macedonian nationals were approaching the village on a tractor. At about 200 m within Macedonian territory, they were intercepted by a Yugoslav military patrol. The patrol fired without previous warning, at the windshield of the tractor, and a bullet wounded Bajram Sakiri. An "A1" TV crew went to the spot the following day to interview the three other Macedonians who were with Sakiri. According to their statements, it turns out that the villagers in the immediate vicinity of the border live in constant fear because, as they say, "inroads of Serbian soldiers are very frequent, they raise hell, sometimes catch and beat someone, fire in the air and even loot".

The media conclude that it is high time for the two states to reach agreement on the border, but that FRY is still refusing to do that, because it would thus, actually recognize the Republic of Macedonia. A day after the incident in the village of Tanusevci, Macedonian Defence Minister, Vlado Popovski, was invited to speak on the prime News of Macedonian TV. He confirmed that all three incidents took place in Macedonian territory and that FRY was refusing to cooperate by not sending a commission so that both sides could fully investigate the incidents. Asked whether weapons are easily drawn, the Minister refused to lay the blame for the first two incidents at the door of the Macedonian patrols, invoking both service rules and the intimate feelings of patrolmen faced with an unknown person failing to obey the standard warning ("stop").

Minister Popovski called the attack of Yugoslav soldiers in the Skopje village of Tanusevci retaliation. And, once again, the conclusion that tension on the border was heightening, as was the uncertainty of citizens crossing it. The uncertainty of smugglers who are very numerous has also probably grown. This border is "adorned" by numerous busy smuggling channels and "routes". Smuggling has constantly been on the rise since the introduction of the international sanctions against FRY. Yugoslavia has a pretty indifferent attitude towards the smuggling, which can be understandable because it helps the inflow of goods in short supply to its market.

Will this go on, in view of the fact that there are already rumours that Seselj's and Arkan's units will deal with nationals of the Republic of Macedonia who illegally cross the border. (FRY nationals will also find it hard and risky to prove their nationality to these units.) One thing is certain, it will not be easy to stop the smuggling just like that, because the reasons for its expansion are of another nature.

PANTA DZAMBAZOSKI