Tree Day - Green Macedonia

Once again, Macedonians proved that when is needed they know how to preserve their nature. With the motto "Plant your future" they showed their enthusiasm.

Yesterday (Tuesday, 30th march 2010), for the fifth time, in the last two years was the National Tree Day. Macedonian citizens planted approximately 7, 5 million trees all around Republic of Macedonia. 

This time the event was international. Trees were planted on the border areas with Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Kosovo and Albania. The intention is the next event to be applied all over the Balkan Peninsula.

 So far over 21 million trees were planted.

Reconstruction of the Skopje City Zoo

In the past five months Skopje City Zoo is intensively reconstructed. The new concept of the lately appointed director Dane Kuzmanovski and the Zoo Board showed results. 

Most of the cages are changed with more natural conditions for the animals, made out of natural materials mainly rocks and wood.

The intensive communication with other Zoo's around the world brought plenty of animals as a exchange. 

Skopje City Zoo is blossoming, and it is expected that until end of the summer to get the final new look.

History of Skopje City Zoo

The Skopje City Zoo was established in 1926, by committee of three men, headed by Doctor Stanko Karaman. 

During the same year, the today’s location of the Zoo was suggested, which at that time was almost 4 hectares.

At the beginning the "Skopje Zoo" had very few animals, mainly donated from other cities Zoo's.

In 1965, the Skopje City Hall created a new city plan, which gave the Zoo today's look. The ZOO used to cover an area of 94 894 square meters, until 2006. Since then, Skopje Zoo has approximately 120 000 square meters.

The main activities of the Skopje City Zoo are cultural, educational and scientific activities, mainly with kids and younger population.


Visit Zoo Skopje!

Student FM 92.9 once again "On the air"

Student FM 92.9 – University radio is a new radio station in the Macedonian air. 

 This station is a property of the University “Ss Cyril and Methodius” the oldest and the biggest university in Republic of Macedonia.

The radio station has high quality equipment and facilities to perform a high level program.

Except the technical stuff and the program editors, the rest of the crew will be volunteers, students of journalism and telecommunication. They will be given a chance to learn more about this media, and practically upgrade their knowledge.

Student FM for start will be available for the audience in Skopje and Skopje area, in the next period is expected to go nation wide and also on internet via streaming.

All the best for Student FM 92.9

Macedonia with a spectacular victory over Greece

Republic of Macedonia, Skopje
Olympic arena
World League - 5th leg

Macedonia - Greece 7:6  
(2-2. 2-1, 2-0 1-3)
Attendance app. 2000

The star of the tonight’s match was the fantastic Macedonian goalkeeper Dalibor Percinic. He had the match of his carrier. Macedonian national team led during the whole match. The Macedonians opened the result in the first quarter, and didn't let thier lead down until the end of the match.

Before the end of the second quarter it was 3:3. On half time Macedonia was leading by 4:3.

In the third quarter total domination of the Macedonian water polo team. They scored two goals, and enter the last quarter with 6:3.

  
The last part of the match was tensed, but Macedonia manages to stay on top, and beat Greece.

Congratulation for the great performance of the players and a fantastic atmosphere by the audience. Long live Macedonia!

Council of Europe: Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights slaps Greece on minority issue

Check out the official document on Greece:

Case study: Greece

77. Since the monitoring procedures set up under the framework convention and the European charter do not formally apply to states that have not ratified them, these states escape scrutiny by the advisory committee (but they are monitored by other Council of Europe bodies). It is nevertheless most interesting to examine how these countries accommodate diversity, whether through minority policies with respect to recognised minorities or through a "non-discrimination" approach when minorities are not recognised, or by combining both approaches. In the context of this report, I therefore decided to visit one of these countries, namely Greece, which recognises only one minority on its territory. From 26 to 28 February 2009, I had a number of meetings in Athens, Thessaloniki and Florina (see the programme of the visit in Appendix III).

78. In its 2004 report on Greece, the ECRI noted, “persons wishing to express their Macedonian, Turkish or other identity incur the hostility of the population. They are targets of prejudices and stereotypes, and sometimes face discrimination, especially in the labour market”.24 In its 2009 report on Greece,25 the ECRI expressed concern about the situation of Roma, which suffer discrimination in particular in education, housing and employment.26 It also noted that the problem of the recognition of the identity of Macedonians and ethnic Turks, and in particular their right to freedom of association, remains. 27

79. Given that other reports of the Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights address the issue of the Muslim minority in Thrace (Eastern Greece), as well as the situation of Roma in Europe,28 I limited my focus to the contentious issue of the Macedonian community in Greece, which has, inter alia, also been recently dealt with, to various extents, by the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner and the United Nations independent expert on minority issues, Ms Gay McDougall. The latter also visited Florina in September 2008. 29

-        The approach of the Greek Government

80. The Greek authorities recognise only one minority in Greece, namely the ‘Muslim’ minority in Western Thrace, by virtue of the Lausanne Peace Treaty of 24 July 1923. In this context, Greece was recently commended by various bodies, including the Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights,30 for a number of measures it had taken to enhance the rights of the Muslim minority in Greece. As regards others, Greece favours the approach to non-discrimination defined by European Union instruments.31

81. The Greek authorities have repeatedly denied the existence of any Macedonian minority in Greece and repeatedly referred to the hijacking of local culture by persons and groups which pursue political aims.

82. Despite the non-recognition of any other national or linguistic minority, the Greek authorities have acknowledged that in northern Greece there exist “a small number of persons who … use, without restrictions, in addition to the Greek language, Slavic oral idioms, confined to family or colloquial use”.32

83. During my visit, the Greek authorities stressed that Greek citizens who claim Macedonian identity are fully represented by a political party, which is free to participate in elections in Greece.

-        Claims of representatives of the Macedonian community

84. First and foremost, I should stress that there has not been any ethnic violence in the Florina area. Greek society is pluralistic and open to diversity. Nevertheless, it seems that still today, persons who express and actively claim a Macedonian identity often come up against the resentment and even hostility of the authorities.

85. Members of the Macedonian community recognised that their situation had improved in the last 15 years, though they were still allegedly subject to individual acts of harassment and intimidation (at work, to get Greek citizenship, when crossing the border with the neighbouring country, for recognition of diplomas, for property issues or in religious matters). They ask the authorities to recognise their right to self-identification as well as the existence of a Macedonian national minority in Greece.