Someone Needs the Boot Down Under

How Australian government broadcasters marginalises Macedonians.

Crikey Website - Do we really need SBS?: "

By Sasha Uzunov

Does Australia really need to be serviced by two public broadcasters? Sasha Uzunov investigates the audience of SBS, 25 years on:

Date: 9 June 2005

The ABC's Chairman Donald Macdonald recently gave an elegant speech at the National Press Club in Canberra about where the public broadcaster was heading. Afterwards, as he fielded questions, reporters once again honed in on the thorny issue of whether the second public broadcaster, Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), should exist.

Macdonald refused to be drawn on whether SBS was just duplicating a role the ABC is already performing. It's a pity – we all know that SBS will soon broadcast the Ashes Test cricket from England, normally the preserve of the Nine Network, a large commercial entity. SBS prides itself on being the voice and face of multicultural Australia. But do we really need it? Another question is have Australia's ethnic communities already moved into the mainstream of Australian society? Just look at the non-Anglo-Celtic surnames in our parliaments, favourite sporting teams or on mainstream television!

What is ironic about SBS is that it claims to serve multiculturalism. But that has to be questioned. Since its inception in 1980, SBS TV, then known as Channel 0-28, has had reporters and presenters from a wide variety of backgrounds, such as Greek, Italian, Croat, Serb, South American, Asian and so on.

In 25 years there has not been one reporter or presenter from Australia's sizeable Turkish and Macedonian communities. This is a remarkable statistic. Members of the Turkish and Macedonian communities claim that SBS TV marginalises them because the broadcaster fears the influence of the politically savvy Greek lobby. All of these ethnic groups do not get along because of historic tensions that have no place in peaceful Australia. SBS by playing favourites rather than showing toughness is in fact keeping these tensions alive."

Macedonia News - Macedonian Articles

This is a archive of articles on the MakNews site. Want your blood to boil, read the articles.

Macedonia News - Macedonian Articles

All "Yugoslav" film

Funding for this film was recieved from all the former Yugoslav republics. Even Albanians in Kosovo cooperated in making this film.

Reuters.com: Yugoslavia revisited in unique film project

By Matthew Robinson

PESTANI, Macedonia (Reuters) - High on a Macedonian mountainside, a unique collaboration is under way among the countries that once made up Yugoslavia, to revisit the calm before the storm that tore them apart.

Karaula, or "Border Post," is the first film co-financed and co-produced by all the former republics of the socialist federation since war broke out in Croatia in 1991 and was followed so fiercely by the Bosnian conflict a year later.

"This is a story which is more or less our collective memory," Croatian director Rajko Grlic says of the film, about life in a dysfunctional Yugoslav army border unit in 1987.

"We're playing with that memory and trying to find out why and how war came so easily to this part of the world," he told Reuters one week into filming above the vast Lake Ohrid that spans the Macedonian-Albanian border.

Show the Flag, Sing the Anthem, They May Not Last Long

This is one of the best English language articles that I have read regarding the use of ethnic symbols and flags in Macedonia. It is only natural given the contempt that the EU has towards the Macedonian identity, that Macedonia may be forced to change its new flag (again) this time to accommodate Albanian sensitivities. Can a change in the anthem be far behind? It is important to remember that Macedonia is voluntarily rushing to join the EU.


MAKNWS-L Archives -- June 2005, week 3 (#1): "MILS NEWS Skopje June 15, 2005

DIFFERENCES FOR THE DRAFT-LAW FOR SYMBOLS OF ETHNIC COMMUNITIES INCREASES

The Municipal Councils will decide whether the flags of the ethnic communities will be used in the municipalities where the ethnic community does not constitute majority of the population. As 'Dnevnik' writes, this will most likely be the change in the draft-law for symbols of the ethnic communities, discussed by the coalition partners DUI and SDSM. Officially, representatives of the Ministry of Justice claim that the draft-law for symbols of ethnic communities will not undergo any changes, i.e. the flag of the ethnic community will be used only in municipality where the ethnic community constitutes the majority.

However, Fazli Veliu, MP from DUI, campaigns for changes in the draft by the Government, due to the low possibility the changes to be adopted during a parliamentary session. 'The councilors in the municipalities where the Albanians do not represent the majority should be able to reach decision for using the symbols of the ethnic communities. The Albanians should be able to use their flag in additional 10 municipalities with over 20% Albanian population, beside the 15 municipalities where the Albanians constitute the majority of the population.

This refers to Skopje, Kumanovo and Kicevo, and some other smaller rural municipalities. With this regulation the law for symbols of the ethnic communities will not be contradictory to the Framework Agreement, and the discrimination of the Albanian population in the municipalities with over 20% Albanians will be removed', stated Veliu. 'Dnevnik' writes that DUI exerts pressure over SDSM for changes in the draft-law for symbols of the ethnic communities.

According to 'Dnevnik', if the changes are not adopted, DUI will lose the support of its electorate. The pressure exerted by DUI has increased after the Alabamian opposition parties negatively assessed the draft-law for symbols of the ethnic communities.

'Dnevnik' informs that Veliu has also raised the question about the State symbols. 'DUI will not initiate debate in the Parliament for changes of the State symbols, only if the Macedonian political block agrees the Macedonians to adopt their own national flag, different from the State flag. The anthem and the emblem should be changed, and I believe that we will reach consensus regarding this matter. We have nothing against the State flag. The flag does not have to undergo changes, only if the Macedonians adopt flag different from the State one', stated Veliu. According to 'Vecer', the demand for changes of the anthem and emblem has recently been raised by Gzim Ostreni and Rafiz Aliti, members of DUI. They believe that the Albanians can not identify themselves with the current anthem and emblem and the same should be changed. Rafiz Aliti stated that the matter will most likely be discussed when the draft-law for symbols of ethnic communities is debated by the parliamentary commissions. The spokesperson of DUI, Ermira Mehmeti, stated that DUI will not demand changes of the current anthem and emblem. She refused to comment the latest statements issued by the members of DUI, according to which the current anthem and emblem are not Albanian symbols.

According to the spokesperson of SDSM, Boris Kondarko, the coalition partners have never discussed changes of the anthem and emblem. As 'Vreme' writes, representatives of LDP (coalition partner of SDSM and DUI in the Government) have announced that they do not agree with the draft-law for symbols of the ethnic communities. Officially, the party still does not have stand regarding the draft-law, but unofficially the use of foreign flags in Macedonia is unacceptable for LDP. 'If the other solution is not reached within the ruling coalition, MP from LDP will submit amendments for the law proposed by the Government. If Macedonia could have changed the State flag, why could not Albanians in Macedonia do the same and the flag to be different from the one of Republic of Albania', stated representatives of LDP for 'Vreme'. They stated that SDSM and DUI have reached an agreement regarding the draft-law for symbols of the ethnic communities, but LDP has remarks about the use of foreign flags in Macedonia. The representatives of LDP reminded that 1998 the party submitted an appeal to the Court of Appeals, which regarded the use of foreign flags in Macedonia as unconstitutional. Now the Constitution has been changed and allows use of foreign flags. However, we believe that DUI should have understanding, instead of leading one-way politics', stated representatives of LDP. 'Vreme' informs that the opposition parties VMRO-DPMNE and VMRO-National are against the use of foreign flags, while the majority MPs from the ruling coalition parties SDSM and DUI agree with the draft-law proposed by the Government. According to 'Vreme', the representatives of the international community in Macedonia appeals for passing the laws for symbols and languages of the ethnic communities by the end of July, which would close the Framework Agreement in the part of the legislature."

Macedonians Need More Children

Good article about the rise of Albanian population in Macedonia. I am always suspicious of Radio Free Europe's analysis. They are to the right of the CIA and the US State Department which at least recognises Macedonians in Greece.


RADIO FREE EUROPE/ RADIO LIBERTY: "Macedonia: A Political Pact To Regulate Demography?"

14 June 2005 (RFE/RL) -- The age-old issue of the relationship between politics and birthrates has reemerged in Macedonia. During a conference on recent demographic developments at the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (MANU) in Skopje on 3 June, Ilija Aceski -- who is a professor for social sciences at Skopje university -- triggered a controversy over whether demographic trends can be regulated through political agreements.

Discussions about the possible negative impact of some demographic trends in modern societies are not confined to Macedonia. In some western European countries such as Germany, politicians face the problem that decreasing birthrates and aging societies will inevitably undermine the current state-regulated pension systems. Mainland China is well-known for its one-child policy to curb population growth.

'Problematic Developments'

But references to "problematic demographic developments" in Macedonia almost inevitably pertain to the fact that the country's 23 percent ethnic Albanian minority continues to grow due to a high birthrate, while the ethnic Macedonian majority's birthrate continues to decline (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 11 April, 17 October, and 12 December 2003).

Macedonian nationalists have -- just like their counterparts in neighboring Serbia -- long warned of demographic trends favoring the Albanians across the Balkans. In Serbia, it was the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) that played an important role in promoting this idea. With its 1986 memorandum on the alleged grievances of Serbs in Yugoslavia, the SANU facilitated Slobodan Milosevic's ascension to power, ultimately paving the way the wars in Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosova during the 1990s (see "RFE/RL East European Perspectives," 5 March, 30 April, and 14 May 2003).

Aceski's presentation in Skopje should be viewed against this backdrop; he reportedly worried aloud that ethnic Albanians would consolidate their majority in certain parts of the country and ethnic Macedonians would leave those areas.
In an editorial for the daily "Utrinski vesnik" of 11 June, Ivica Bocevski slammed the conference at the MANU as a "pseudo-scientific" event. Bocevski wrote that the MANU followed its Serbian counterpart's footsteps in promoting nationalist ideas.


In order to slow this trend, Aceski proposed that the government work out a "demographic agreement" to help curb such developments. The measures proposed by Aceski include tax relief and other state subsidies for families from those ethnic groups in the minority in areas with a different ethnic majority. According to Aceski, such measures would provide incentives for Macedonians to stay in the overwhelmingly Albanian-population parts in western Macedonia.

At the same time, Aceski also proposed that the state reduce its subsidies to families by cutting support for school costs, health care, and welfare benefits. Aceski apparently hoped that this would effectively reduce the incentives for families to raise more children than they can financially afford. (He did not mention that Albanians are generally known throughout the Balkans for having large families.)

Aceski's final aim is to avoid "ethnically clean" territories in Macedonia, which, in his view, could negatively affect the functioning of the state. That is why he called his proposed pact an "anti-segregationist" agreement. The document itself should be drafted by a state body that includes representatives from all ethnic groups in the country. It should be a "political answer to the low birth rate of Macedonians and the high birth rate of Albanians."

Skeptical Audience

Already during the conference at the MANU, Aceski's proposal was met with skepticism. Former Prime Minister Nikola Kljusev said the Macedonian government cannot introduce measures to regulate population growth like China, but should nevertheless consider defining a population policy.

Abdylmenaf Bexheti, who is a former chairman of the ethnic Albanian Party for Democratic Prosperity and a professor at the private Southeast European University in Tetovo, said that such an agreement is not feasible. Bexheti argued that even the 2001 Ohrid peace agreement, which ended hostilities between ethnic Albanian insurgents and the Macedonian security forces -- has not yet been fully implemented.

But perhaps the most pointed criticism came from an ethnic Macedonian. In an editorial for the daily "Utrinski vesnik" of 11 June, Ivica Bocevski slammed the conference at the MANU as a "pseudo-scientific" event. Bocevski wrote that the MANU followed its Serbian counterpart's footsteps in promoting nationalist ideas. Instead of being a stronghold against "quasi-scientific" views, "we saw the MANU as the 'avant-garde of Macedonian nationalism,'" Bocevski wrote.

For him, the problem was not only Aceski's presentation but also the widespread and often uncritical media coverage of his proposal. Bocevski said that because of this publicity he was forced into a discussion by his friends but resolved the problem with a computer. By entering the current growth rates of the Albanian and Macedonian populations, he showed his friends that even if the Albanian population continued to grow at its current pace, it would be a matter of centuries rather than decades before Albanians were in the majority in Macedonia.

Nonetheless, given the widespread anti-Albanian feelings among ethnic Macedonians, Aceski's proposal rather than Bocevski's debunking is likely to attract more supporters among the majority population.

Update on "Mountain Men With Guns"

Official Macedonian government line regarding the recent "Tanushevci" incident. All is well, time to go to sleep!

IDIVIDI

Skopje, June 11 (MIA) - Macedonian Interior Minister Ljubomir Mihajlovski stated Saturday that the found weapons in Tanushevci and the situation in the village of Kondovo do not mean destabilisation of the country.

"There are no claims of great destabilisation. The weapons in Tanushevci are found long time ago. The weapons are not surrendered, we have seized them in order to protect the local population and citizens in Macedonia," Mihajlovski said Saturday at the Day of Police Academy.

In regard to the events in Kosovo, Mihajlovski said that the police is monitoring the situation.

"The situation in Kondovo is being monitored. We have information what is happening there and we will act according to the law. I can not say any details in regard to the operation and information we have," Mihajlovski said.

Hellenism is Racism (continuted)

This is such a whiney and pathetic lament, I almost felt sorry for this sorry Greek. I enjoy reading articles from this group because they are a unique combination of bravado and "woe is me". I almost wish that Greece would treat the Turks in Thrace they way they have treated their ethnic Macedonian minority. We can read the articles on how evil the Turks are because they retaliated by expelling the Ecumenical Patriarch from Istanbul ... (not Constantinople).

Hellenic News of America:

"Time has come for Philhellenes and Greeks to come to the aid of a wounded country, helping her to recover her Hellenic spirit so evident in the opening ceremony of the 2004 Athens Olympics. Only then Greece will be in a position to claim its dignity and hegemony, putting the church in its place, and saying no to the Slavs trying to legitimatize their stolen Greek cultural property in the name of Macedonia. Finally, a proud Greece that knows herself ought to be able to stand up for her sovereignty, ending any Turkish privileges she has granted to the Turks living in Thrace, and shooting down any Turkish aircraft violating her Aegean air space.

E.G. Vallianatos is a writer with a doctorate in Greek history. His forthcoming book is “This land is their land: How corporate farms threaten the world.” "

Macedonian Church Passing the Pity Plate Again

I have seen pictures of Macedonians Priests with the Catholic Pope. I have never seen one with the Russian Archbishop. Let them go to Moscow and Kiev. Let them meet with the Ukrainian Uniate Church. meet with Jerry Falwell for Chirst's sake ... (oops sorry)

IDIVIDI - English - Politics: "Mpc sends letter to orthodox churches regarding Spc decision

Skopje, June 8 (MIA) - Synod of Macedonian Orthodox Church (MPC) decided Wednesday to send a letter to other orthodox churches worldwide, appealing to reject the non-canonic decision of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) for recognition of the so-called Ohrid Archbishopric.

'SPC has attacked MPC, an act unknown in history, one which has nothing in common with the canons. Please help the God-loving Macedonian people and its church in liberating from the national-chauvinist activities against it, conducted by those that are bothered by its existence', reads the letter."

Latest from the Greek Lobby

This is a tsunami of bullshit, but it is always interesting to see what the other side has to say.

Hellenic News of America: "WHOSE VIOLATIONS IS MRS. SEKERINSKA TALKING ABOUT?



“The dispute over Macedonia's official name between Skopje and Athens cannot be part of the political criteria for Macedonia's EU membership, although it could have a negative impact on its road to Brussels, Deputy Prime Minister Radmila Sekerinska has said. With the signing of the Interim Accord, Greece has committed itself not to block Macedonia's integration in European institutions, but this kind of behavior on the part of Greece - linkage between EU candidacy and the resolution of the name dispute - could constitute a violation of the accord's decree, she said. Sekerinska said that, nevertheless, Macedonia should not compromise, adding that she was convinced it would receive a positive avis from the European Commission.”

The above report contains some very strong statements expressed by the FYROM Deputy Prime Minister Radmila Sekerinska. The reader gets the impression that Greece by signing the Interim Agreement, has undertaken only obligations and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (The FYROM) has the green light to do as it pleases. Nevertheless, Mrs. Sekerinska is partially correct. Whether Greece may or may not block the FYROM from receiving the green light that signals the beginning of the talks for her country’s membership in the EU legally depends under which name this state applies with. "

Forum 18 Strikes Again

Forum 18 is causing a great deal of damage to the reputation of Macedonia. There is no Macedonian correspondent to put the news in context. There's the rub...

Forum 18 Archive

This article was published by F18News on: 8 June 2005
MACEDONIA: Why is state interfering in Orthodox dispute?

By Branko Bjelajac, Balkans Correspondent, Forum 18 News Service

When the Serbian Orthodox Church granted its embattled branch in Macedonia full autonomy in late May, the Macedonian prime minister rejected the move "with indignation". The government has stepped up its hostility to the Church and reaffirmed its support for the rival Macedonian Orthodox Church, which is not recognised by the rest of the Orthodox world. Archbishop Jovan of Ohrid – who heads the Serbian Church in Macedonia – complained of a new state-backed media campaign against his Church. "They are creating an unstable, explosive atmosphere among the population and are virtually inviting people to lynch us," he told Forum 18 News Service. The government has denied his Church registration, attacked its places of worship and launched two criminal cases against him. Macedonian government leaders have been unable to tell Forum 18 why they are interfering in the dispute between the Macedonian and Serbian Orthodox Churches in Macedonia and why they are denying full legal rights to Serbian Orthodox believers.


Macedonian government leaders have been unable to tell Forum 18 News Service why they are interfering in the dispute between the Macedonian and Serbian Orthodox Churches in Macedonia which intensified after the Serbian Church upgraded its branch in the country in late May. Within days of the move, the Macedonian government wrote to the head of the Orthodox Churches worldwide, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, to promote the Macedonian Church's own claim to autocephaly (full canonical independence), while the Macedonian president and prime minister both vocally supported the Macedonian Church and attacked the Serbian Church move. Serbian Orthodox representatives in Macedonia have complained to Forum 18 that their government has renewed its campaign of denigration against Serbian Orthodox believers.

Reached several times on 7 and 8 June, prime ministerial spokesperson Marjan Gurovski was each time in a meeting or too busy to explain why the government was intervening in the dispute. Cane Mojanovski, head of the government's Committee for Relations with Religious Communities who has previously told Forum 18 the Serbian Church "will never get registration" in Macedonia and defended the denial of its rights (see F18News 23 September 2004 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=418), refused to answer Forum 18's questions on 8 June about the latest government interference.

Reached on 7 June, presidential spokesperson Valentin Nikoloski told Forum 18 that the dispute was an issue for the Macedonian state because, he claimed, the Serbian Orthodox Church has not recognised the Macedonian nation and state. He promised to pass on to President Branko Crvenkovski Forum 18's questions as to why the state was involved in a dispute that concerned two religious communities and why Macedonian citizens do not yet enjoy the right to join religious communities of their choice. Nikoloski told Forum 18 on 8 June that he was travelling in southern Macedonia with President Crvenkovski and had been unable to put Forum 18's questions to him.

Archbishop Jovan (Zoran Vranisskovski) of Ohrid – who heads the Serbian Orthodox Church in Macedonia - rejects Nikoloski's assertion that his Church denies the legitimacy of the Macedonian state. "The Serbian Orthodox Church fully recognises the Macedonian state and the Macedonian nation," the archbishop told Forum 18 from the southern Macedonian town of Bitola on 8 June. "[Serbian] Patriarch Pavle stated exactly that in 2002 – that the Serbian Orthodox Church recognises the Macedonian republic and the Macedonian nation as an indigenous nation. It would be ridiculous not to recognise a state that is in the United Nations and that we are trying to serve in its territory. I believe our government is making much out of issues that are not true issues." He stressed that his Church's struggle to gain legal status is fully in accord with Macedonia's laws.

The latest dispute broke out after the Serbian Orthodox synod, meeting on 22-24 May, elevated Jovan to Archbishop of Ohrid and granted his Archbishopric a tomos (proclamation) of full autonomy. This recognition was earlier reserved for the Macedonian Orthodox Church in case of an eventual reconciliation and return to the Serbian Orthodox Church.

"Ever since the tomos was issued," Archbishop Jovan told Forum 18, "there has been a continuous campaign against us in all printed and electronic media." He mainly blamed the Macedonian Church, but maintained the campaign is also supported by the state. "They are creating an unstable, explosive atmosphere among the population and are virtually inviting people to lynch us – me and the rest of the priests of the Ohrid Archbishopric," he complained. "If something occurs, it will not be possible to control it - and then they will be able to blame the crowd. However, the state itself is tolerating this kind of attitude against us. The situation is serious and grim."

Immediately after the Serbian Church move, a Macedonian government statement declared that prime minister Vlado Buckovski "rejects with indignation the decision of the Serbian Orthodox Church to declare the so-called Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric of defrocked bishop Zoran Vranisskovski autocephalous". Buckovski wrote to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew seeking his support for the autocephalous status of the Macedonian Orthodox Church to be recognised by other Orthodox Churches and asking him to mediate in the dispute between the Serbian and Macedonian Churches.

On 29 May President Crvenkovski met the head of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Stefan (Veljanovski), to demonstrate his support. "The Macedonian Orthodox Church's existence doesn't depend on the position of some other Church, but above all on the faith and trust of its believers and clergy, and the commitment of the Macedonian people," the president declared. "A Church is neither founded nor closed on someone's order, especially not when it comes from someone that has no historical and moral right to do so." He complained that the Serbian Church move represented "a scenario for exerting pressure", linking it with alleged attempts to deny the "existence of the Macedonian nation, national and cultural identity". He described such attempts as "doomed to failure".

The following day prime minister Buckovski also met Archbishop Stefan. "The government fully supports the autocephalous status of the Macedonian Orthodox Church and in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia and the laws it will continue to fully stand for protection of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, its autocephalous status and church properties," a governmental statement of 31 May reported the prime minister as telling the archbishop.

The Macedonian Orthodox Church proclaimed its autocephalous status in 1967, with the full support of the then Communist government, but this was not recognised by the other Orthodox Churches. After several years of unsuccessful negotiations, two years ago the Serbian Church made an open invitation to the Macedonian Church to "return to the Serbian Orthodox Church" with full autonomy. The invitation was rejected by most Macedonian Church clerics. However, one of them, the then Metropolitan Jovan of Veles, accepted the Serbian Orthodox invitation to reconciliation, and was defrocked by the Macedonian Orthodox Church as a result. For the last two years he served as exarch of the Serbian Orthodox Archbishopric of Ohrid. Archbishop Jovan told Forum 18 that full autonomy is a first step towards autocephalous status for his Church.

Macedonian Church leaders argue that independent states have independent Orthodox Churches. "The Orthodox church is one, sacred and apostolic. However, in its administrative function, the church is divided into local Orthodox churches," Archbishop Stefan declared. "Each church is organised on a national base, for Orthodox peoples that have their territory, independent or sovereign state." Dr Petko Zlatevski, professor at the Macedonian Orthodox Faculty in Skopje, echoed these views. "Every nation that has its state, language and church, and also an episcopate and people, has autocephalous status," he told Forum 18 from the capital Skopje. "The tomos given to the Ohrid Archbishopric of the Serbian Orthodox Church negates the Macedonian Orthodox Church, since it states that we are not canonical."

Archbishop Jovan complained of constant state pressure, not least the continuing legal cases against him. "The state is trying to keep me in a state of instability." In the first case he was sentenced to eighteen months in prison on charges of kindling religious and nationalist hatred and intolerance for holding a service in his father's flat in Bitola. A final hearing at the Appellation Court, which is considering his appeal against the sentence, was due to have taken place in Bitola on 8 June, but was again postponed – this time because a judge was ill.

In the second case, Archbishop Jovan was accused of embezzlement during the time when he was a Macedonian Orthodox bishop. "Everyone is rather silent on the accusations against me," he told Forum 18. "It looks as though the investigators do not have a case against me. They cannot prove that I misused the funds or the position I held. It is a ridiculous accusation." He believes the authorities are deliberately letting the case languish so that the threat of prison hangs over him. He blames the "negative campaign in the media" against his Church for provoking a burglary at the end of May on a rented flat the church uses for services in Skopje. A monastery was bulldozed by the authorities last year and other church properties have been threatened (see F18News 21 October 2004 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=437).

In October 2004, the Ohrid diocese again requested registration as a religious community with the Committee for Relations with Religious Communities, and was rejected on the ground of the constitutional recognition of only one Orthodox Church in the country – the Macedonian Orthodox Church. The latest draft of the proposed new Law on Religious Communities and Religious Groups still states in article 3 that: "For one religion there can be only one religious community." This was also the Committee's ground for earlier rejecting the registration application (see F18News 4 February 2005 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=505).

"Though we sent a complaint to the Supreme Court against this ruling, we still haven't had a response," Archbishop Jovan told Forum 18. "But we are confident we will be able to benefit from the rights given to us by the Macedonian constitution and also by international human rights charters."

There are 25 churches and other religious communities in Macedonia, of which the Macedonian Orthodox Church, the Islamic Faith Community, the Catholic Church, the Methodist Church and the Jewish community are recognised by the Constitution. When the Macedonian Orthodox Church was put on an equal footing with the country's other religious communities in 2001, Archbishop Stefan threatened to excommunicate all parliamentary deputies who voted for the constitutional change.