Macedonia Press Review – September 5, 2012

DNEVNIK
The junior ruling Democratic Union for Integration, DUI continues the war over symbols against its government partner VMRO DPMNE. The last provocation took place in the village of Dzepciste near Tetovo when DUI government ministers intonated the Albanian anthem at an opening ceremony of a new school there. The party says that the foreign anthem and the absence of Macedonian symbols at the ceremony should not be taken as provocation as this anthem was intended to represent all Albanians everywhere. The coalition trouble started in mid-August when Defense Minister Fatmir Besimi, an ethnic Albanian paid respect in front of an Albanian guerilla war memorial from 2001, angering ethnic Macedonians. DUI also recently put plaques with Albanian names in front of four elementary schools in Skopje that are dominated by Albanian students but are named after Macedonian heroes. The Education Ministry said this move was illegal.

UTRINSKI VESNIK
In his latest appearance the European Enlargement Commissioner, Stefan Fuele satisfied all vanities in Macedonia and put an end to the Greek and Bulgarian negations, the daily says. Fuele at a joint press in Brussels with Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov has spoken the words Macedonian, Macedonians and Macedonian people and Macedonian state. He however also used the provisional reference, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. He did that after Macedonia previously stated that it will not accept a fresh European Commission report that does not contain the adjective Macedonian. Fuele however was not clear whether this year’s report, to be published this autumn, will contain this word. Last year Macedonian authorities harshly criticized the EC for omitting this word.

Balkan Insight has not verified the reports and cannot vouch for their accuracy.