VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSQ #0293/01 1740911
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 230911Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY SKOPJE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8332
INFO RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 2108

UNCLAS SKOPJE 000293 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/SCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE KDEM
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: INPUT FOR OSCE HUMAN DIMENSION MEETING 
 
REF: STATE 59944 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
¶1.  (U)  In response to the request for information on 
Macedonia's commitment to human rights and fundamental 
freedoms for the OSCE's annual Human Dimension Implementation 
Meeting (reftel), Post offers the following summary of 
concerns and progress in areas of democratic development and 
human rights.  End Summary. 
 
Elections 
-------- 
¶2.  (SBU)  Following June 2008 Parliamentary elections marred 
by violence and serious irregularities and assessed as 
failing to meet key international standards, Macedonia held 
combined presidential and municipal elections in March/April 
¶2009.  There were substantial hurdles to ensuring improved 
conduct of the 2009 elections: Just seven months ahead of the 
March/April 2009 elections OSCE/ODIHR made 28 recommendations 
for improving elections in areas of administration, legal 
framework, voter register, election campaign, media and 
election day and voting procedures.  Additionally, the State 
Electoral Commission (SEC) faced the significant procedural 
challenge of administering Macedonia,s first-ever jointly 
conducted presidential and municipal elections. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Ahead of the March/April 2009 elections, the GoM 
undertook to address a number of the 28 ODIHR recommendations 
for improving the conduct of elections.  The March/April 2009 
presidential and municipal elections were conducted without 
any serious incidences of violence, and were generally 
procedurally well-administered -- a significant improvement 
over 2008 parliamentary elections.  The elections were 
assessed as meeting &most OSCE and Council of Europe 
commitments and standards for democratic elections.8  Even 
between rounds of elections on March 22 and April 5, the GoM 
made efforts to address shortfalls.  Between the first and 
second round, for example, the SEC provided more explicit 
instructions to local electoral boards to take responsibility 
for preventing proxy and group voting (a practice that many 
have long turned a blind eye to here), significantly reducing 
proxy/group voting rates. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  However, areas for progress in the conduct of 
elections remain.  The SEC was expected to take over 
responsibility for the bloated voter register from the 
Ministry of Justice between the 2008 and 2009 elections, but 
the hand-off was delayed until September of this year. 
Thoroughly culling and assuring accuracy of the list will be 
a substantial undertaking and should be an immediate priority 
for the SEC.  Voter intimidation also remained a concern 
throughout the campaign, with the bulk of reports of 
intimidation coming from public sector workers and recipients 
of state benefits.  Reports of intimidation increased between 
the first and second rounds of elections.  OSCE/ODIHR noted 
that increasing numbers of &troubling and credible reports 
of pressure on or intimidation of citizens( seriously 
detracted from the overall quality of the election process.8 
 
Religious Freedom 
---------------- 
¶5.  (SBU)  The Government generally respected religious 
freedom in practice; however, the lack of effective 
implementation of the registration portion of the 2007 legal 
status law severely hindered new registrants' ability to 
acquire legal standing. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  In May 2008 Skopje Court II assumed responsibility 
for the registering religious groups under the 2007 law, 
which set out a checklist of application materials for 
registrants and a process for carry-over of registrations of 
religious groups registered by 1998.  The law also set out 
clear timelines for the Court to complete the registration 
process-- 15 days for review of completeness of applications 
and an additional 8 days for entering the religious group 
into the register.  The law requires that the name and 
official insignia of new religious groups be different from 
the names and insignias of already registered churches, 
religious groups and communities, but it allows multiple 
religious groups of a single faith to register. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Skopje Court II assigned the registration process 
to a single judge who did not meet the timelines required by 
the law, leaving many applicants waiting months without 
information.  The judge did not provide clear application 
guidelines and produced confusing decisions -- rejecting some 
applications for reasons not clearly set out in the law's 
checklist, including requiring Macedonian citizenship of the 
religious group's "Responsible Person" and requiring that the 
group's articles of incorporation are dated after the 
entry-into-force of the new law.  The judge in charge and the 
president of the court also stated that they are required to 
ensure that sources of teaching and liturgy for new 
registrants are different from those of existing registrants, 
which is clearly contrary to the intent of the law.  More 
than a year after the law entered into force, only two of 
twelve new applicants have successfully registered, and ten 
have been rejected or remain pending, some for many months 
past the legal deadlines. 
 
Media Freedom 
----------- 
¶8.  (SBU)  Strong government criticism of media coverage 
viewed as &anti-patriotic8 negatively impacted freedom of 
the press.   In June 2008 Prime Minister Gruevski criticized 
Macedonian correspondents in Brussels for &speculating at 
the expense of their own country8 and suggested the media 
should work in the country's interests.  His statement 
triggered harsh criticism from the Macedonian Association of 
Journalists and the Vienna-based South East European Media 
Organization, citing interference with media independence. 
There were also complaints and allegations of government 
pressure and even threats against media outlets that did not 
report favorably on the government.  In addition, the 
government wielded influence on the media as the country's 
largest advertiser, with the most lucrative contracts given 
to friendly media.  Some journalists were also forced to pay 
substantial fines in cases of defamation, libel, and slander 
of government officials brought by private citizens, 
additionally limiting media freedoms. 
 
Trafficking in Persons 
---------------------- 
¶9.  (SBU) Macedonia has made notable progress in recent years 
in combating trafficking in persons, evidenced in its second 
consecutive ranking as a "Tier 1" country by the State 
Department in the 2008 Trafficking in Persons Report. 
Macedonia made progress toward eliminating trafficking with 
commendable efforts in identifying and protecting victims of 
trafficking, prosecuting traffickers, and preventing 
trafficking. 
 
Judicial Transparency 
--------------- 
¶10.  (SBU)  In recent weeks, PM Gruevski instructed his 
Minister of Justice, in the presence of U.S. Embassy 
officials, to take the following measures:  to see to it that 
all decisions by all courts be made available to the 
Macedonian public within 48 hours of issuance, by July 1, and 
available on an official website by June 2010 with minimal 
redactions; that meetings of the Judicial Council and 
Prosecutors Council are to be open to the press and public, 
starting with their next meetings; and that defense attorneys 
will have unfettered access to clients in pre-trial 
detention.  Once implemented, these will all be significant 
steps forward for Macedonia's judicial process and adherence 
to human rights commitments. 
 
 
NAVRATIL