Key developments since May 2003: In July 2003, the Ministry of
Defense took over coordination of mine action in FYR Macedonia and the UN Mine
Action Office closed. During 2003, more than 1.6 million square meters of land
were released to the community by clearance and survey operations. In 2003, FYR
Macedonia received substantially less international funding for mine action than
in 2002. The ICRC ended its mine risk education program in June 2003 and the
Department of Civil Protection became responsible for MRE. In June 2004, the
Unit for Humanitarian Demining said that no mine risk education was planned for
2004, in view of the limited funds available. In April 2004, the Ministry of
Defense clarified that FYR Macedonia had never produced antipersonnel mines,
indicating that trial production of PMR-2A mines in the late 1990s was
unsuccessful, and the facilities were destroyed in 2000.
Key developments since 1999: FYR Macedonia became a State Party to
the Mine Ban Treaty on 1 March 1999. The government has stated that actions in
violation of the treaty are covered by existing criminal law. Stockpile
destruction was completed on 20 February 2003, just before the treaty deadline.
A total of 38,921 antipersonnel mines were destroyed. FYR Macedonia has decided
to retain 4,000 mines, instead of the 50 it originally declared. Ethnic
Albanian insurgents used mines in the 2001 conflict in the region bordering
Kosovo. Article 7 reports submitted by FYR Macedonia have provided no data on
the location of mined areas or on mine clearance programs. The United Nations
established a Mine Action Office in September 2001. The UN originally planned
to complete mine/UXO clearance in all affected areas in 2002, but clearance
operations continued in 2004. From September 2001 through December 2003,
approximately 6.7 million square meters of suspected mine/UXO-affected land in
northwest FYR Macedonia were cleared. From January 2001 to December 2002, 42
mine/UXO casualties were recorded in the UNMAO database, of whom 15 were killed.
The majority of reported incidents are attributed to antivehicle mines.
Mine Ban Policy
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYR Macedonia) acceded to the Mine
Ban Treaty on 9 September 1998, and became a State Party on 1 March 1999. FYR
Macedonia participated in all preparatory meetings of the Ottawa Process. It
did not sign in December 1997 when the treaty opened for signature, but stated
its intention to accede.
No specific administrative or legislative measures have been introduced to
implement the Mine Ban Treaty. FYR Macedonia has reported on several occasions
that prohibited activities are covered by existing criminal
law.[1] In January 2004, FYR
Macedonia reported to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) that “a law on production and trade of armament and equipment was
brought in 2002.... Article 6...states that...it is prohibited to produce and
trade such armament and military equipment that are prohibited by international
conventions.”[2]
An annual Article 7 report was submitted by FYR Macedonia on 30 April 2004.
Four previous transparency reports have been submitted, but for time-periods
that do not conform with the Mine Ban Treaty requirements, and leave the period
April 1999–May 2001 unreported. Two reports were submitted in
2003.[3]
FYR Macedonia attended the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in September 2003,
and the Standing Committee meetings in February and June 2004. FYR Macedonia
did not attend the Second and Third Meetings of States Parties in 2000 and 2001,
and started to participate in the intersessional process only in January 2002.
FYR Macedonia has not engaged in the extensive discussions that States
Parties have had on matters of interpretation and implementation related to
Articles 1, 2, and 3. Thus, it has not made known its views on issues related
to joint military operations with non-States Parties, antivehicle mines with
sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices, and the permissible number of mines
retained for training.
On 8 December 2003, FYR Macedonia voted for UN General Assembly Resolution
58/53, which calls for universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban
Treaty. It has voted for similar General Assembly resolutions since 1996.
FYR Macedonia is a State Party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons, but
has not ratified Amended Protocol II. In February 2004, the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs indicated that the ratification process was ongoing, with approval
awaited from the Ministry of
Defense.[4] Ratification has
been reported as ongoing since
2000.[5] FYR Macedonia attended
as an observer at the Fifth Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended
Protocol II in November 2003. It has attended annual conferences in 1999, 2000
and 2002.
Production and Transfer
Some of the former Yugoslavia’s mine production facilities were located
in FYR Macedonia, but production had ceased “even before it [FYR
Macedonia] signed and ratified the Ottawa Treaty,” according to the
Foreign Ministry.[6] All of FYR
Macedonia’s Article 7 reports state “nothing to report” as
regards the status of conversion or decommissioning of former production
facilities. In April 2004, the Ministry of Defense explained that FYR Macedonia
had never produced antipersonnel mines. Trial production of PMR-2A mines in the
late 1990s was unsuccessful, and the facilities were destroyed in 2000. There
had only been manufacturing capacity for antivehicle mines, which were destroyed
in the 1980s.[7]
FYR Macedonia is not known to have exported antipersonnel mines.
Stockpiling and Destruction
In its first Article 7 report, FYR Macedonia noted a stockpile of 42,921
antipersonnel mines consisting of six
types.[8] Since then, there
have been two clarifications. At a meeting in Athens in October 2001, the
Ministry of Defense representative stated the first Article 7 Report misreported
PMA-2 mines as PMA-3.[9] In
April 2004, the Ministry of Defense clarified that an additional 8,353 PMA-1
fuzes and 8,353 PMA-1 detonators reported at meetings in Thessaloniki in May
2000 and in Athens in October 2001 were in fact “integral parts of the
8,353 PMA-1 antipersonnel mines” noted in the Article 7
report.[10]
The 25 May 1999 Article 7 report also stated that the government is
“preparing a comprehensive program on destruction of stockpiled
mines.”[11] Stockpile
destruction was completed on 20 February 2003, in the presence of invited
observers, just ahead of the treaty-mandated deadline of 1 March 2003. A total
of 38,921 mines were destroyed, in several
phases.[12] The methods of
destruction and stages of the destruction process were described by
representatives of FYR Macedonia attending Standing Committee meetings in
February 2002 and February
2003.[13]
In its Article 7 reports submitted in May 1999 and June 2002, FYR Macedonia
reported that it would retain 50 mines for research and training
purposes.[14] Also in June
2002, however, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed Landmine Monitor that
the quantity retained had been increased to 4,000 mines. No explanation was
given for the increased quantity, nor intended uses. FYR Macedonia’s
April 2004 Article 7 report revealed that all 4,000 mines were still held, and
none had been consumed for permitted training or development
purposes.[15]
Use
Ethnic Albanian insurgents used landmines during a conflict in 2001 with
government security forces in the northwestern region bordering the Kosovo
province of Serbia and
Montenegro.[16] More recently,
there have been antivehicle mine incidents on roads regularly used (see below).
A UN mission in August 2001 reported that the insurgent forces have stated that
they have used and will continue to use
mines.[17]
In early 2001, international forces in Kosovo seized large quantities of
weapons, including antipersonnel mines, being smuggled into FYR Macedonia. NATO
forces collected 1,045 mines and other weaponry in August
2001.[18] In October 2001,
security forces discovered a cache of hidden weapons including “more than
a dozen anti-tank
mines.”[19] An amnesty in
November and December 2003 resulted in the collection of 16 antipersonnel mines
and 83 other mines, according to the
UN.[20]
Landmine Problem
FYR Macedonia’s Article 7 reports have provided no data on the location
of mined areas or on programs for the destruction of antipersonnel mines in
mined areas. Prior to 2001, there was no mine problem in FYR Macedonia,
according to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs.[21]
The 2001 conflict resulted in some mine contamination, but the UN Mine Action
Coordination Centre in Kosovo assessed that “by far the greater [threat]
is that of unexploded ordnance (UXO). Where mines have been used they are very
specific and localized....” Mines available to both sides were the same
as used by the Yugoslav Army and Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in Kosovo: PMA and
PMR antipersonnel mines, and TMA antivehicle mines. The UXO contamination
resulted from bombardment by security forces of about 80 villages occupied by
insurgents.[22]
The UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) reported in December 2002 that
“about 80 villages were affected to varying degrees by UXOs, hampering the
safe return of about 100,000 IDPs [internally displaced persons] and
refugees.”[23] By May
2004, the number of displaced people had reduced to about
1,800.[24]
There is also UXO contamination in the southeast, dating from World Wars I
and II, in the area of the Thessalonika line, a frontline trench which covered
about 250 kilometers from Ohrid to Gevgelija. Records of munitions removed from
this area start in 1965, showing 21,037 UXO found, and 14 deaths and 142
injuries resulting from UXO from
1965-2002.[25] Clearance was
being planned in 2003, but had not been budgeted for by the government. The
Ministry of Defense planned to request NATO and UN assistance in clearing this
contamination.[26]
Previous reports of mined areas on the border with Kosovo may be explained by
the lack of marking of the border and dispute over its exact location. An
agreement to mark the border signed with Yugoslavia in February 2001 was
disputed in March 2002 by the newly-elected Kosovar officials. A joint
committee involving Skopje and Pristina was set up by UNMIK to deal with border
issues.[27]
Mine Action Coordination and Planning
In July 2003, the Ministry of Defense took over coordination of mine action
in FYR Macedonia and the UN Mine Action Office (UNMAO) closed. The Unit for
Humanitarian Demining of the Department for Civilian Protection in the Ministry
of Defense consists of 21 deminers assigned to three teams. All are Macedonian
citizens, and have been trained and certified by the
ITF.[28] The UNMAO donated its
Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) database to the
Department. In 2003–2004, this was used only to collect operational
demining information, and does not record mine incidents and
casualties.[29] The Department
does not have a national strategy for mine/UXO clearance due to lack of funding.
Clearance priorities are decided on the basis of reports and requests received
from local residents and European Union and OSCE
monitors.[30] In February 2004,
the Unit for Humanitarian Demining joined the South East European Mine Action
Coordination Council.[31]
The UNMAO was set up by UNMAS in September 2001, due to lack of national
capacity, to coordinate mine action responses and develop a strategy for the
rapid implementation of mine clearance and mine risk education. However, it was
reported in August 2001 that the Ministry of the Interior maintained four
explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams and an anti-terrorist unit capable of
dealing with the level of mine/UXO problem present at the
time.[32] In February 2002, the
government approved the mine action program prepared by the UNMAO.
UNMAS originally planned to complete mine/UXO clearance in all affected areas
“before winter 2002.” However, clearance operations continued in
2003, concentrating as in previous years on houses and fields close to populated
areas, in order to facilitate the safe return of displaced
people.[33] For 2004, the Unit
for Humanitarian Demining is giving priority to areas in the former crisis
region that were previously inaccessible because of security concerns. Six
areas have been identified: a forest near the village of Slupcane where the
local population identified a possible minefield which was marked in 2002; the
site of a new hospital near Slupcane; an area near the village of Tanusevci,
which the local population and OSCE have requested; two roads near Kumanovo,
which local residents fear remain mined despite some clearance by the Border
Brigade (a resident was injured in 2003 on one of the roads); and the vicinity
of the village of Matejce.[34]
All minefields that are known but not yet cleared, such as those areas
designated as priority areas for operations in 2004 including Task 2 (vicinity
of Tanusevci), Task 4 (the Gracani-Karaula Road), and Task 6 (vicinity of
Matejce), are said to be permanently marked with signs and mine tape until the
funding is available for further surveys and clearance
operations.[35]
Mine/UXO Survey and Clearance
Despite closure of the UNMAO office, survey and clearance operations by
international teams continued in 2003, funded by the International Trust Fund
for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance (ITF). In total, 1,616,754 square
meters were released to the community as a result of clearance and survey
operations.[36]
Handicap International (HI) and CARE/Minetech carried out clearance and
survey on a total of 901,047 square meters in 2003. HI teams cleared 319,751
square meters and surveyed 309,633 square meters. The HI teams found five UXO
and no mines. Responding to calls from residents, the HI teams found another
three items of UXO. Minetech teams contracted by CARE International carried out
clearance operations on 86,722 square meters, locating two mines and six UXO;
they cleared another 4,941 square meters in response to requests from local
residents, and surveyed 180,000 square
meters.[37]
Local teams from the Department for Civil Protection conducted what the ITF
termed “battle area clearance” operations on a total of 715,887
square meters, resulting in the destruction of two mines and 548
UXO.[38]
In 2004, clearance of three of the six priority areas started on 17
May.[39]
From the start of operations in September 2001 through December 2003,
approximately 6.7 million square meters of potentially mine/UXO-affected land in
northwest FYR Macedonia are reported to have been cleared, according to data
detailed in previous Landmine Monitor reports. During these operations, only 27
mines (2001: 4, 2002: 19, 2003: 4) and 846 UXO (2001: 153, 2002: 131, 2003: 562)
were found and destroyed. Included in this data is clearance conducted by teams
from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in 2001 and 2002. Not included is clearance
by the Italian NGO Intersos in 2001, details of which were not reported.
Clearance operations started in September 2001, shortly after conflict
subsided, but were limited by adverse weather. NATO and FYR Macedonia security
forces carried out mine clearance of roads in areas affected by the conflict.
Teams from BiH were contracted by the ITF to carry out mine/UXO clearance in
inhabited areas. The BiH teams cleared 1,739,257 square meters, and destroyed
four mines and 153 UXO. The Italian NGO Intersos also carried out clearance
operations in eight
villages.[40]
In 2002, a total of nearly 3.9 million square meters was cleared, destroying
19 mines and 131 UXO.[41] The
BiH teams checked and cleared 1,780,771 square meters, mainly in the Kumanovo
and Tetovo regions. Eight antipersonnel mines, one antivehicle mine, and 56
items of UXO were found. They concluded operations on 4 July. Three
eight-person local teams started operations on 30 September 2002 in the Kumanovo
region, checking and clearing 361,772 square meters. They located five mines
and 41 items of UXO. In September and October 2002, HI and Care International
also started clearance operations in FYR Macedonia. HI cleared 1,630,260 square
meters (one mine and 24 UXO were found). MineTech teams contracted by Care
International cleared 83,478 square meters (four antipersonnel mines and ten UXO
were found).[42]
In 2003, the UXO-contaminated area in southeastern FYR Macedonia was surveyed
by the Department for Civil Protection. During technical survey in September
2003 near Prilep, 15 artillery shells containing phosgene gas were discovered
and destroyed at the Krivilok training center where stockpile destruction was
carried out.[43] On 13 February
2004, Macedonian deminers destroyed 70 pieces of unexploded 75mm artillery
shells found in the Strumica area during the previous six
months.[44]
Mine Risk Education (MRE)
As the lead agency for mine risk education, the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC) continued its activities during 2003 with printed material,
presentations, and a media campaign. In 2003, 265 presentations were held for
over 3,589 people including 3,157 children. The last ICRC presentation was held
on 30 June 2003, and the ICRC ended its MRE program in FYR
Macedonia.[45] The Department
of Civil Protection became responsible for these
activities.[46] In June 2004,
the Unit for Humanitarian Demining said that no mine risk education was planned
for 2004, in view of the limited funds available, although it considered that
there was still a need for MRE
activities.[47]
ICRC activities started in 2001, in cooperation with the Macedonian Red
Cross, when 20 volunteers were trained to carry out mine risk education in
mine-affected areas. Children were identified as being the most at-risk group.
MRE activities went through several phases, starting with community-based
activities and ending with a media campaign and traveling theater in 2002 aimed
at reaching a wider audience. The last theater performance was held in November
2002. In 2001, UNICEF was also involved. Since 2001, 1,032 presentations for
over 2,500 people and 14,500 children have been
held.[48]
Mine Action Funding
In 2003, the ITF provided $229,000 for mine/UXO clearance operations in FYR
Macedonia.[49] This was one
percent of ITF expenditure in 2003, and a drastic reduction from the allocation
to FYR Macedonia in 2002 ($1,213,653, or five percent). The funding in 2002
covered training and equipping of Civil Protection teams, mine/UXO clearance,
and victim assistance. In 2001, the ITF allocated $474,592, or 2 percent of its
funds, to FYR Macedonia.[50]
In June 2004, the Unit for Humanitarian Demining reported that it had
received €40,000 (approx. $48,000) from the ITF and €25,000 (approx.
$30,000) from the Slovenia government, which would fund its mine clearance
operations to the end of July. Further operations would then be dependent on
additional donor
funding.[51]
The Mine Action Investments database recorded donations to FYR Macedonia
totaling $1,189,310 from 1999 to 2002 (1999: $58,333 from Japan; 2001: $57,461
from Canada, $10,753 from Slovenia, $1 million from the US; 2002: $62,763 from
Slovenia).[52]
In 2003, the Unit for Humanitarian Demining was financed primarily by the
ITF, which covered its operational costs including deminers’ salaries.
The Macedonian government provided $10,000 in office, logistics and utility
costs.[53]
Landmine/UXO Casualties
In 2003, five people were killed and three injured by mines in FYR Macedonia.
On 4 March 2003, two Polish soldiers serving with NATO ‘Allied
Harmony’ operation and one civilian were killed and two civilians injured
when the vehicle they were traveling in detonated a landmine on the road between
Sopot and Susevo, northeast of
Skopje.[54] On 17 June, one
member of the Army’s Border Brigade was killed and one seriously injured
when their vehicle ran over an antivehicle mine near the village of
Vaksince.[55] In October, a
civilian was killed when his tractor drove over an antivehicle mine on the road
between Gracani and Karaula.[56]
These incidents occurred on roads regularly used. No further casualties were
reported between January and May 2004.
Prior to its closure in July 2003, the UNMAO used IMSMA to record mine
casualties. In January 2001–December 2002, 42 mine/UXO casualties were
recorded in the UNMAO database, of whom 15 people were killed and 27 others
injured. The majority of reported incidents are attributed to antivehicle
mines.[57] However, Landmine
Monitor information on five incidents in the database where no casualties were
recorded by UNMAO, and two other unrecorded incidents, indicates that another
four soldiers were killed and 13 injured since 1999. In 2002, one person was
killed (an Italian member of KFOR) and three injured (including a German member
of KFOR). In 2001, 18 people were killed and 33 injured, including three
members of an EU monitoring mission killed (a Slovak and a Norwegian and their
local translator). In 2000, one soldier was injured after his vehicle hit an
antivehicle mine. In 1999, three soldiers were injured. In addition to the
military casualties in 1999, Macedonian authorities reported that seven Kosovo
Albanians were killed and 16 injured by landmines near the border, while trying
to enter the country
illegally.[58]
There have been no reports of deminers killed or injured during clearance
operations in 2001–2004.
FYR Macedonia has also reported casualties caused by UXO dating back to World
Wars I and II, in the south of the country. In the Struga area, a popular
tourist destination, in 1997–2000, five people were killed and 30 injured;
in the Bitola region, eight people were killed and 111 injured between 1965 and
2002; and in Gevgelija, one person has been killed and one
injured.[59]
The Kosovo Mine Action Coordination Center reported in August 2001,
“FYROM has a well-developed medical and hospital system and should be more
than capable of dealing with any mine/UXO
casualties.”[61] However,
the World Health Organization reported that public health services in the
country had suffered from a decade of regional instability and difficulties in
socioeconomic transition, exacerbated by the influx of refugees following the
1999 Kosovo crisis.[62]
Hospitals lack adequately trained staff and medical equipment is often old and
in a poor state of repair. The only specialist accident and emergency unit is
at the Clinical Center in Skopje. Services providing social care for persons
with disabilities, including mine survivors, are reportedly poorly
developed.[63] In 2004, FYR
Macedonia reported that it is “undertaking measures to support the efforts
for demining and mine victims assistance.... Most of the mine victims were
hospitalized and rehabilitated at the Military Hospital in
Skopje.”[64]
During most of 2001, the ICRC was the only international humanitarian
organization with access to the conflict-affected areas. The ICRC supplied
medical and surgical supplies to hospitals in Skopje, Tetovo and Kumanovo, the
State University Hospital, City Hospital, the Military Hospital, and the Special
Police Forces Rescue Unit for the treatment of 650 war-wounded patients,
including mine/UXO casualties. The ICRC also assisted with the evacuation of
the injured to the
hospitals.[65] The ICRC closed
its medical department in Skopje in September 2002; however, in 2003, surgical
kits were donated to three hospitals in Skopje and one in
Tetovo.[66]
The Institute for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in Skopje is the
principal center for rehabilitation in the
country.[67] The Director of
the Institute reported that in 2003 at least three mine survivors were assisted
including one person injured in the incident in March and two children from
Kosovo.[68] The Slavej
orthopedic center, located within the Clinical Center in Skopje, works in close
cooperation with the Institute for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the
Clinic for Orthopedic Surgery, and is the only facility in the country providing
orthopedic devices.[69] In
2003, the Slavej center provided prostheses for about 10 to 12 mine survivors,
including seven or eight from
Kosovo.[70]
In 2002, the ITF provided $28,703 for mine survivor assistance in FYR
Macedonia. Seven mine survivors were rehabilitated and fitted with prostheses
at the Institute for Rehabilitation in Slovenia. The ITF also provided funding
for one student from FYR Macedonia to study prosthetics and orthotics at the
College for Health Studies at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. Since
1998, one other healthcare professional completed their rehabilitation training
in Slovenia.[71]
The Clinical Center has only three degree-trained physiotherapists; the other
physiotherapists were trained at technical schools (high schools). In June
2001, HI provided skills training for 16 physiotherapists from the Orthopedic
Clinic and Institute for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, but more training
is needed to learn new techniques and improve the quality of
rehabilitation.[72]
Disability Policy and Practice
Three laws (and their subsequent amendments) in particular are intended to
benefit persons with disabilities, including mine survivors: the 1997 Law on
Social Protection, the 1993 Law on Pension and Disability Insurance, and the
2000 Law on Employment of Disabled
Persons.[73]
[1] FYR Macedonia response to Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) questionnaire, 3 January 2003, p.
3. See also Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
329. [2] Response to OSCE
Questionnaire, 22 January 2004, p. 2. On 2-3 February 2004, at the Reay Group
workshop on “Progress in Meeting the Aims of the Ottawa Convention in
South Eastern Europe” in Bucharest, the Macedonian representative detailed
several pre-existing laws which penalize activities prohibited by the Mine Ban
Treaty. [3] See Article 7 reports
submitted: 30 April 2004 (report dated 15 April 2004) (for the period 15 April
2003–15 April 2004); 15 April 2003 (for the period 15 April 2002–15
April 2003); 24 February 2003 (for the period from 6 November 2002); 25 June
2002 (for the period 30 April 2001–30 April 2002); and 25 May 1999 (for
the period 4 December 1997–31 March
1999). [4] Interview with Svetlana
Geleva, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Skopje, 23 February
2004. [5] See Landmine Monitor Report
2001, p. 733, and Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p.
321. [6] See Landmine Monitor Report
2000, p. 687. [7] Fax from Ministry of
Defense, 20 April 2004. [8] Article 7
Report, Form B, 25 May 1999 (for the period 4 December 1997–31 March
1999). See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 687, and Landmine Monitor Report
2003, p. 321. [9] Maj. Metodija
Velickovski, Department of Engineering, General Staff, Ministry of Defense,
“Anti personnel mine situation in Republic of Macedonia,” Workshop
on Regionally-focused Mine Action, NATO Partnership for Peace, Athens, 18-19
October 2001. The six types were PMA-1 (8,353), PMA-2 (4,030), PMA-3 (560),
PMR-2A (29,918), “antimagnetic plastic material APM” (50), and
“APM” (10). [10] Fax from
Ministry of Defense, 20 April
2004. [11] Article 7 Report, Form G,
25 May 1999 (for the period 4 December 1997–31 March 1999). Mines
destroyed in phase 1 were: “antimagnetic plastic material APM” (50);
phase 2: PMR-2A (29,918); phase 3: PMA-1, PMA-2, PMR2A, PROM-1 (16,071) –
subtotals for each type were not
reported. [12] Article 7 Report, Form
G, 15 April 2003 (for the period 15 April 2002–15 April 2003).
[13] See Landmine Monitor Report
2003, p. 321. [14] Article 7 Report,
Form D, 25 May 1999 (for the period 4 December 1997–31 March 1999), and
Article 7 Report, Form D, 25 June 2002 (for the period 30 April 2001–30
April 2002). [15] Email response to LM
Questionnaire, Ruzica Zanteva Angelova, Counselor, Multilateral Department,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 25 June 2002; Article 7 Report, Form D, 30 April
2004. The mines retained were: PMA-1 (1,400), PMA-2 (600), and PMR-2A
(2,000). [16] For details of the
conflict, see Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp.
735–736. [17] See Landmine
Monitor Report 2002, p. 332. [18]
“Rebels disarmed, Macedonia disputes NATO presence,” Associated
Press, 26 September 2001. [19]
“Macedonia arms cache fuels unease,” CNN, 11 October
2001. [20] Email from Alain Lapon,
UNDP Office, Skopje, 23 February
2004. [21] Response to LM
Questionnaire, 25 June 2002; see also Article 7 Report, Form E, 25 May 1999.
However, mine casualties occurred prior to
2001. [22] UNMIK “MACC Update
10/08/2001,” 10 August 2001. In mid-2001, the ICRC reported that, due to
the use of old or low quality ammunition, the UXO problem is relatively worse
than in other conflicts. See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, pp.
331–333. [23] “Updates
from UNMAS,” Mine Action Support Group Newsletter, December 2002, p.
13. [24] Telephone interview with
Suzana Paunovska, Macedonian Red Cross, 25 May
2004. [25] Response to OSCE
Questionnaire, 3 January 2003, p. 3; intervention by FYR Macedonia, Standing
Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education, and Mine Action Technologies,
Geneva, 14 May 2003. [26] See Landmine
Monitor Report 2003, p. 322; interview with Svetlana Geleva, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Skopje, 23 February
2004. [27] “Kosovo: UN Mission
to set up joint committee with Skopje on border issues,” UN News Service,
19 March 2002. See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, p. 632, and Landmine Monitor
Report 2001, p. 736. [28] Interview
with Ljupcho Zajkovski, Ministry of Defense, Skopje, 2 February 2004. For ITF
training, see Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p.
323. [29] Interview with
representatives of Unit for Humanitarian Demining, Department for Civilian
Protection, Ministry of Defense, Skopje, 7 June
2004. [30]
Ibid. [31] Interview with Ljupcho
Zajkovski, Ministry of Defense, 25 February
2004. [32] See Landmine Monitor Report
2003, p. 322, and Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
333. [33] Interview with Ljupcho
Zajkovski, Ministry of Defense, 2 February,
2004. [34] Ibid; Statement by Svetlana
Geleva, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine
Risk Education, and Mine Action Technologies, Geneva, 11 February
2004. [35] Interview with
representatives of the Ministry of Defense, 7 June 2004.
[36] Interview with Ljupcho
Zajkovski, Ministry of Defense, 2 February, 2004; Statement by Macedonia FYR,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 11 February 2004. However, the ITF
reported that 735,133 square meters were “cleared,” and four mines
and 521 UXO were found. ITF, “Annual Report 2003,” p.
26. [37] Interview with Ljupcho
Zajkovski, Ministry of Defense, 2 February, 2004; Statement by Macedonia FYR,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 11 February 2004.
[38] Ibid.
[39] Interview with representatives
of the Ministry of Defense, 7 June
2004. [40] See Landmine Monitor Report
2002, p. 333. [41] FYR Macedonia
response to OSCE Questionnaire, 3 January 2003, p.
3. [42] See Landmine Monitor Report
2003, pp. 322-323. [43] Interview with
Ljupcho Zajkovski, Ministry of Defense, 2 February 2004. See Landmine Monitor
Report 2003, pp. 322-323. [44]
Interviews with Ljupcho Zajkovski, Ministry of Defense, 2 and 25 February
2004. [45] Interview with Darko
Jordanov and Herbi Elmazi, ICRC, Skopje, 3 June
2004. [46] Telephone interview with
ICRC staff, Skopje, 25 February 2004, and ICRC, “Special Report: Mine
Action 2003,” p. 40. [47]
Interview with representatives of the Ministry of Defense, 7 June
2004. [48] Interview with Darko
Jordanov and Herbi Elmazi, ICRC, Skopje, 3 June 2004. See Landmine Monitor
Report 2003, pp. 323-324, and Landmine Monitor Report 2002, pp.
334-335. [49] Email from Sabina Beber,
Head of International Relations, ITF, 27 February
2004. [50] Emails from Eva Veble, Head
of International Relations, ITF, 30 April 2003 and 5 June
2002. [51] Interview with
representatives of the Ministry of Defense, 7 June
2004. [52] “Multi-Year Recipient
Report: Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of,” Mine Action
Investments database, accessed at www.mineaction.org on 17 September 2004.
UNMAS records of donations by the US include $500,000 donated to FYR Macedonia
in 2002-2003. Some of these funds appear to have been channeled through the
ITF. See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p.
334. [53] Interview with Ljupcho
Zajkovski, Ministry of Defense, 25 February
2004. [54] Macedonian Information
Centre (MIC), “Two NATO Soldiers Killed by landmine,” Vol. XII, 5
March 2003; MIC, “Two NATO Soldiers and three civilians – victims of
planted mine,” Vol. XII, 6 March 2003; MIC, “NATO jeep blasted by
dug-in antitank mine,” Vol. XII, 7 March
2003. [55] MIC, “Professional
soldier killed by a landmine,” Vol. XII, 18 June
2003. [56] Interview with Ljupcho
Zajkovski, Ministry of Defense, 2 February 2004.
[57] Information provided by Sandy
Powell, Project Manager, and Vesna Mirkoska, Assistant, UN Mine Action Office,
Skopje, 29 April 2003. [58] Ibid;
Landmine Monitor Report 2001, pp.
737–738. [59] Information
provided by UN Mine Action Office, 29 April
2003. [60] For more information on
mine victim assistance in FYR Macedonia see HI, Landmine Victim Assistance in
South East Europe, Brussels, September
2003. [61] UN Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo, “MACC Update: 10/08/2001,” 10 August
2001. [62] WHO, Department of
Emergency and Humanitarian Action, “FYR Macedonia,” June 2000, p.
1. [63] European Observatory on Health
Care Systems, “HiT summary: The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
2002, Health Care Systems in Transitions,” accessed at www.observatory.dk on 29 April
2003. [64] Response to OSCE
Questionnaire, 22 January 2004, p.
2. [65] ICRC, “ICRC Special
Report, Mine Action 2001,” Geneva, July 2002, pp.
32–33. [66] ICRC, “Annual
Report 2003,” Geneva, June 2004, p.
211. [67] HI, Landmine Victim
Assistance in South East Europe, September 2003, p.
56. [68] Interview with Dr Zoran
Dimovski, Director, Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Skopje, 5
April 2004. [69] Landmine Victim
Assistance in South East Europe, September 2003, p.
56. [70] Interview with Goran Caloski,
Manager, Slavej A.D. Orthopedic and Prosthetic Center, Skopje, 5 April
2004. [71] ITF, “Annual Report
2002,” p. 23. [72] HI,
“Information Letter: No. 6,” Skopje, 6 February 2002; interview with
Cathriona McCauley, Disability Project Coordinator, HI, Skopje, 28 April
2003. [73] Committee for the
preparation of the National Strategy for Poverty Reduction in the Republic of
Macedonia, “National Strategy for Poverty Reduction in the Republic of
Macedonia,” Ministry of Finance, Government of the Republic of Macedonia,
August 2002, pp. 64–65, 72. For more information see Landmine Victim
Assistance in South East Europe, September 2003, pp. 58–59.