deputy prime minister and foreign minister poposki pays ... · the republic of macedonia and the...

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D i p l o m a t i c B u l l e t i nMACEDONIAN

MACEDONIA’s IGRFP AND ItAly’s IAI sIGN MEMORANDuM OF uNDERstANDING

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INFORMAl MEEtING OF FOREIGN MINIstERs OF Eu MEMbER stAtEs AND CANDIDAtE MEMbER stAtEs

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bElOvIštE WAtERFAlls

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DIPlOMAtIC NEWsPREsIDENt IvANOv PAys WORkING vIsIt tO REPublIC OF tuRkEy

IN FOCus

Deputy prime minister anD Foreign minister poposki pays Working Visit to strasbourg

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MACEDONIAN DIPLOMATIC BULLETIN No. 116 – 20172

DiploMAtic NeWs

Macedonian Diplomatic Bulletin was founded in October 2006 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia.

Filip II Makedonski 7, 1000 Skopje Republic of Macedonia

[email protected]

Editor:Vladimir Efremovski

Editorial Board:Zuko Rizvanski, Shaban Jashari, and Sejfullah Shaqiri

Adviser:Goce Georgievski

Photo: Oliver Acev

Published monthly by:Macedonian Information Centre

Director: Dragan Antonov

Chief Translator: Aleksandra Ilievska

MDB

No. 116April 2017

The articles published in Macedonian Diplomatic Bulletin do not necessarily represent the views of the Macedonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Macedonian Information Centre.

© 2017

Naum Naumovski Borce 73, 1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia www.micnews.com.mk

On 19 and 20 April, the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Gjorge

Ivanov, hosted the Chairman of the Presi-dency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mladen Ivanić, during his 2-day official visit to the Republic of Macedonia. On 20 April, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia, Macedonia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Ilija Isajlovski, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Igor Crnadak, signed an agreement on co-operation between the Government of the Republic of Macedonia and the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the process of accession to the European Union. This agreement establishes cooperation in a number of areas, including political dialogue, economic and trade cooperation, movement of labor and capital, formation and rendering

of services, alignment of the local legislation with the EU acquis, and cooperation in the fields of the judiciary and internal affairs. The agreement was signed in the attendance of Macedonian President Ivanov and Bos-nia and Herzegovina Presidency Chairman Ivanić. A Macedonian-Bosnian business forum, attended by some fifty companies from both countries, was also held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The event was officially opened by Deputy Foreign Minister Isajlovski. Those present were also addressed by President Ivanov and Chairman Ivanić. The potentials for economic cooperation between the two countries were presented at the forum and a number of direct meet-ings were held between representatives of the present companies.

chAirMAN of BosNiA AND herzegoviNA presiDeNcy ivANić pAys officiAl visit to MAceDoNiA

No. 116 – 2017 MACEDONIAN DIPLOMATIC BULLETIN 3

DiploMAtic NeWs

presiDeNt ivANov pAys WorkiNg visit to repuBlic of turkey

On 4–6 April, Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov paid a work-ing visit to the Republic of Turkey to attend the 20th Eurasian

Economic Summit titled “Humanity at a Crossroads”. Held in Istanbul every year since 1998, the Summit was attended

by sitting and former state officials, presidents, prime ministers, ministers, other distinguished political and social figures, as well as representatives of civil society organizations and business com-

munities of about 40 countries. President Ivanov addressed the opening ceremony of the Summit and the presidential session.

This was President Ivanov’s seventh participation in the Eurasian Economic Summit, organized by the Marmara Group Founda-tion, an institution for economic and social research that seeks to promote relations between the EU and the countries of Central Asia and the Middle East.


DiploMAtic NeWs

Deputy priMe MiNister AND foreigN MiNister poposki pAys WorkiNg visit to strAsBourg

On 5 April, in Strasbourg, Macedonia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikola Poposki, attended

the meeting of the Delegation of the European Parliament to the EU-Republic of Macedonia Joint Parliamentary Committee. At the meeting, chaired by Alojz Peterle, Member of the European Parliament, and attended by the rapporteur on Macedonia at the European Parliament, Ivo Vajgl, and a representative of the Euro-

pean Commission, opinions were shared on the current political situation in the Republic of Macedonia and issues relating to the European integration process.

Minister Poposki also held separate meetings with a number of MEPs and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland.


DiploMAtic NeWs

Deputy priMe MiNister AND foreigN MiNister poposki AtteNDs iNterNAtioNAl coNfereNce "uNfiNisheD Justice: restitutioN AND reMeMBrANce"

Deputy priMe MiNister AND foreigN MiNister poposki AtteNDs iNforMAl MeetiNg of foreigN MiNisters of eu MeMBer stAtes AND cANDiDAte MeMBer stAtes

Nikola Poposki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of For-eign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia, took part in the

International Conference “Unfinished Justice: Restitution and Remembrance” dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust at the European Parliament in Brussels on 26 April. At the Conference opened by the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Ta-jani, Minister Poposki said that, “The Republic of Macedonia was probably one of the best examples, in both regional and European

context, of a country that has fully taken care of both the restitu-tion of the properties of the Jews and the preserving of the memory and maintaining of the connection by constructing one of the most significant Holocaust memorial centers in the world”. During his visit to Brussels, Poposki held several meetings with MEPs regard-ing the preparation of the European Parliament’s Resolution on the Republic of Macedonia.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia, Nikola Poposki, attended the infor-

mal meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs of the EU member states and candidate member states, Gymnich, in Valletta, Malta, on 29 April. Among the issues discussed at the meeting hosted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malta, George Vella, and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, were the situations in the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Macedonia as well as the other Balkan countries in the light of the European Union’s future. Minister Poposki held numerous bilateral meetings during his visit.


DiploMAtic NeWs

DEPuty FOREIGN MINIstER IsAjlOvskI MEEts WIth tuRkIsh COuNtERPARt yIlDIz

Macedonia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Ilija Isajlovski, met with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic

of Turkey, Ahmet Yıldız, on 24 April. In the context of the excellent bilateral relations traditionally maintained between the two countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Isajlovski said he was content that the held high-level meetings and implemented activities and projects in a number of fields confirmed the shared commitment to maintaining the bilateral cooperation momentum.

Thanks to the positive trend of economic cooperation, in recent years the Republic of Turkey has joined the group of ten countries with which the Republic of Macedonia has the largest scope of foreign trade. The two officials commended the pronounced interest and resolve of relevant economic and other entities in both countries to continue expanding and strengthening their economic cooperation. They also discussed ways to promote cooperation at regional and multilateral level.

REPublIC OF MACEDONIA AND hEllENIC REPublIC hOlD CONsultAtIONs

As part of the implementation of confidence-building measures, political consultations were held between

the Republic of Macedonia and the Hellenic Republic in Thessaloniki on 10 April.

The consultations were led by the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia, Elena Kuzmanovska, and the Political Director at the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic, Ambassador Petros Mavroidis. During the meeting, the two parties exchanged opinions on the situation in the Region and the progress made in the carrying out of confidence-building measures.

The meeting took place in a friendly and constructive at-mosphere and it was agreed to hold the next round of political consultations in Skopje by the end of this year.


DiploMAtic NeWs

MAceDoNiA's igrfp AND itAly's iAi sigN MeMorANDuM of uNDerstANDiNg

AMBAssADor MeMeDi preseNts creDeNtiAls iN sultANAte of oMAN

On 7 April, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed

between the Institute for Geostrategic Research and Foreign Policy (IGRFP) of Macedonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) (Institute of International Affairs) of the Italian Republic. The Memorandum was signed by the Director of the IGRFP, Ambassador Abdulkadar Memedi, and the IAI Director, Ambassador Ferdinando Nelli Feroci. Ambassador Feroci then gave a lecture titled “The European Union at a Crossroads: New Challenges

60 years After the Signing of the Treaties of Rome. Perspectives for the Western Balkans Region”. Besides Ambassador Feroci, the event was also addressed by Ambassador Memedi and the Ambassador of the Italian Republic to the Republic of Macedonia, Carlo Romeo.

The exhibition “Even Closer Union” was staged in the foyer of the Ministry, jointly organized by the Ministry and the Embassy of the Italian Republic.

With highest protocol honors, the Ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia, Abdulkadar Memedi, presented his credentials

to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman, H.E. Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, thus officially becoming the first Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Macedonia to the Sultanate of Oman. Minister Abdullah said he was very content with Macedonia’s decision to appoint an am-bassador to the Sultanate of Oman as a step toward maintaining, strengthening and developing relations of friendship between the two countries in all fields of mutual interest.

Ambassador Memedi and Minister Abdullah discussed, among other things, political cooperation, expressing keen interest and readiness to promote economic, cultural and contractual coopera-tion and to fight radicalism and terrorism.


DiploMAcy AND coMMuNity

H.E. Mr. Daniel Eric Schaer, Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to the Republic of Macedonia

INTERVIEW

OvERARChING GOAl OF EstONIAN PREsIDENCy Is tO ENsuRE Eu REMAINs uNItED AND DECIsIvE

Your Excellency, diplomatic relations between the Republic of Estonia and the Republic of Macedonia were established

in March 1995. As new Ambassador, how do you assess our diplomatic relations in the past 22 years?

Relations between the two countries received a strong boost with the opening of the Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia in April of 2010. The naming of Ambassadors by both countries continued this trend. Bilateral relations have been good with several high-level visits and meetings; business contacts; cultural events; and sharing of experiences to support Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic integration processes. My goal is to continue strengthening these relations during my time as Ambassador.

Recent notable events include the creation of a Macedonia Friendship Group in the Estonian Parliament led by MP Eerik-Niles Kross; the visit of the Macedonian Deputy Foreign Minister to Estonia; the signing of a cooperation Memorandum of Understanding between Estonia and Macedonia’s Audit Bodies; and several expert missions to share Estonia’s Euro-Atlantic integration experiences.

The Republic of Estonia and the Republic of Macedonia maintain exceptionally successful and friendly bilateral

relations, based on mutual trust and desire for future development in all areas of common interest. What are your views on the future enhancement of cooperation, especially in the area of economy?

In the short time that I have been Ambassador, I have already seen growth in the interest of businessmen in doing business in Macedonia. This has resulted in the signing of Memorandums of Understanding between Estonian and Macedonian companies as well as business visits. There is great interest is in the area of IT and e-solutions, where the education and performance level of Macedonian experts is very high.

What I have especially noticed is the opportunity to create joint ventures between Estonian and Macedonian companies. Instead of simply outsourcing tasks to Macedonia, it is far more beneficial to both sides to work together as equal partners, with Macedonia providing the experience and the knowledge of the Western Balkan markets and Estonia providing its reputation as a world leader in e-solutions as well as its access to and know-how of the European Union market.

From the Macedonian side, there has also been some success in exporting products to Estonia. Currently, Macedonian mineral water is available on the Estonian markets and wine producers are looking for export entry points for their products.

The Macedonian public highly values the commitment of the Republic of Estonia to the EU and NATO enlargement

process. Could you tell us what the concrete Estonian support to the Macedonian Euro-Atlantic aspirations consists of?

As of 1 July 2017, Estonia will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The overarching goal of the Estonian presidency is to ensure that the EU remains united and decisive. Estonia will continue to support the enlargement process and will support rewarding those who fulfill the membership criteria and conditions, while continuing to implement the necessary reforms.

Prior to the Bucharest NATO Summit, Estonia showed its strong support for Macedonia’s NATO integration process by being the only Head of State/Government to visit Skopje prior to the Summit. This was a clear demonstration of Estonia’s belief in rewarding those countries who fulfill the membership criteria and conditions as well as implement needed reforms.

Bilateral contacts intensified with the establishment of the Macedonian Embassy in Tallinn and even more so after a

Macedonia Week event was organized within the framework of the Tallinn European Capital of Culture project in 2011. Do



you expect closer cooperation in the field of culture?

Some events have already taken place such as the promotion of the Macedonian translation of “Palveränd”, a novel by Tiit Aleksejev, winner of the European Union Prize for Literature, on 23 September 2 016 a nd, more i mpor ta nt ly, t he commemoration of 170 years of the birth of Estonian academic Gotthilf Leonhard Masing and the 125th anniversary of the Macedonian language doctoral study that took place on 25 November 2015 with the opening of an exhibition at the University of Tartu Academic Library.

I hope to have some news of upcoming cultural events to be held in Macedonia during our Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the near future.

The inspired and inventive foreign policy of the 1990s, which laid the

foundations for the Estonian historic reintegration with the Western world, is one of the most important cornerstones of Estonia's current success. Today challenges remain the same. Your Excellency, what are Estonia’s main foreign policy priorities today?

In the second half of 2017, Estonia will assume the presidency of the Council of the European Union. The success of the presidency is the priority of the entire government and is more domestic policy. Foreign policy priority areas are influenced by challenges facing the European Union. These include the migration crisis, the fight against international terrorism, the security situation on Europe’s borders

and continuing to support our Eastern Partnership policy.

Estonia is working on being better prepared to react to changes in the external environment. Therefore, we must continue to pursue our current foreign trade policy, support the exports of Estonian companies and offer Estonian citizens high-quality consular services.

Continuing to strengthen our alliance with the United States will remain at the top of our policy agenda. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will include among our other contributions to reinforce Estonia’s security and foreign policy our candidacy to become a non-permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council for the first time as well as investing in cooperation with our closest partners: the countries on the Baltic Sea.

Organized by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden at the Skopje Book Fair, a panel discussion was held on the chil-

dren’s literature in the Kingdom of Sweden and the Republic of Macedonia on 7 April, with a special take on the work of Astrid Lindgren (1907–2002), the Swedish author of one of the most translated children’s books “Pippi Longstocking”. The documen-

tary “Astrid” was also screened in the presence of students from primary and secondary schools. According to the Swedish Embassy, the interest in Swedish literature in the Republic of Macedonia is growing and a mounting number of publishers are interested in translating Swedish authors into Macedonian.

PANEl DIsCussION ON sWEDIsh ChIlDREN’s lItERAtuRE hElD At skOPjE bOOk FAIR



MAtICA ExClusIvE hOsts EvENING OF huNGARIAN POEtRy

FIlM FEstIvAl FOR ChIlDREN AND yOuth buFF

bIlAzORA INtERNAtIONAl thEAtER FEstIvAl

CROAtIAN POEt GORAN ČOlAkhODžIć WINs bRIDGEs OF stRuGA AWARD

An evening dedicated to Hungarian poetry was held at the Matica Exclusive multimedia cultural center on 11

April. The event was organized by the Hungarian Embassy in the Republic of Macedonia and the Matica makedonska publishing house. Hungary’s Ambassador, László István Dux,

and Macedonian writer Rade Siljan addressed the event, while members of the association of Hungarian nationals Teledom of Skopje read poems by the great Hungarian poets Sándor Petőfi, Attila József, László Nagy and Ferenc Juhász, translated into Macedonian by Paskal Gilevski.

The Goethe Institute of Skopje in cooperation with the Cinematheque of Macedonia organized for the 6th time

the Photography and Film Festival for Children and Youth (BUFF) from 19 to 26 April 2017 at the Cnematheque of Macedonia. Top-quality German films for children and youth, all marked as being of particular significance by the German federal commission assessing films and media, were screened at the festival. In this year’s competition, students shared photos and short videos with the PASCH community with the April theme hashtag.

The Bilazora international theater festival was held in Sveti Nikole and Štip from 28 March to 7 April for the

first time this year to celebrate 27 March, World Theater Day. Organized by the Institute of Culture and Art at the Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin International Slavic University in Sveti Nikole, the festival was envisaged and realized as theater in a coffer or mobile theater. It was named Bilazora after the archeological site of the same name in Ovče Pole, in close proximity to Sveti Nikole.

The festival participants included the National Theater of Vranje with a production of Duško Radović’s “Women’s Talks”, the students from the class of actor and professor Meto Jovanovski at EFTA University in Skopje, the Anton Panov National Theater of Strumica with the play “Fireplace”, the Skrb i uteha Theater of Skopje with the play “The Road” directed by Tihomir Stojanovski, and the Scena 71 Theater of Sveti Nikole with the premiere of their production of Miroljub Nedović’s “Europeans” directed by Slobodan Eliseev.

This year, the Bridges of Struga Award, which the Struga Poetry Evenings festival and UNESCO present for

best debut book of poetry, will go to Croatian poet Goran Čolakhodžić for his collection “Na kraju taj vrt”. According to the jury, the award will be presented to Čolakhodžić for his authentic poetic expression. The festival will publish his poems in a bilingual, Macedonia-Croatian, edition and may also translate them into English.

skOPjE uRbAN FEst

Urban Fest, an international festival of living statutes and other forms of street art, was held in Jadran Square in

Skopje on 28 and 29 April. The festival celebrates urban art

and the beauty of the city rhythm. World-famous living statue performers and 3D graffiti artists were guests at the festival.


MAceDoNiA iN focus

“DeNiciJA” stAgeD At BAlkAN trAfik festivAl iN Brussels

teutA hoxhA iMeri exhiBitioN At gAllery Mc NeW york

The choreodrama “Denicija”, based on the eponymous poem of the giant of Macedonian literature, Petre M. Andreevski, was

staged at the Balkan Trafik Festival in Brussels on 23 April in the famed l’Os à Moelle cabaret. This coproduction of the National Theater of Ohrid and the Ici et là Pars Theater had its European premiere. This drama and poetry event was a dream come true for Konstantin Plevneš, director and composer of original music, featuring a team of outstanding artists from Macedonia. Rubens Muratovski from the Drama Theater in Skopje was cast as the poet, young actress Dimitrina Mickoska played the role of Denicija and Saša Eftimova from the Macedonian Opera and Ballet played the role of the Goddess Thalia.

At the Macedonian Cultural Center in New York (Gallery MC New York), artist Teuta Hoxha Imeri staged an exhibition of

drawings in April. Teuta’s abstractly conceived graphic expression represents an auto-reflexive and auto-referential image of a woman who is at the same time a mother, a wife and an author. Through this triad, she also tries to raise the issue of her own identity in the deeply rooted social hierarchy. The project is part of the annual program of the National Gallery of Macedonia, in the segment of international cooperation, supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Macedonia.

MeloDiuM choir At WorlD choir festivAl iN thessAloNiki

The Melodium Choir under the baton of Marina Korunovska performed at the World Choir Festival on Musicals in Thes-

saloniki, the Hellenic Republic, on 22–23 April, organized by the Office for Consular, Economic and Commercial Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia in Thessaloniki. The festival, being held for the seventh consecutive year under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture, is a unique, globally known, cultural event.

Since its foundation, it has been dedicated to the promotion of peace, friendship, brotherhood, cooperation and solidarity among nations.

Aside from Melodium, choirs from the Hellenic Republic, the Swiss Confederation, the Republic of Bulgaria, the Republic of Serbia, the Republic of Cyprus and the Republic of Turkey, also took part in the festival. The Macedonian choir sang a Macedonian traditional song and parts of world-famous musicals.

AcADeMic luAN stArovA receives orDer of legioN of hoNor

iliNkA MitrevA preseNteD With freNch orDer of Merit

On 11 April, on behalf of the President of the French Republic, the Ambassador of the French Republic, Christian Thimonier, conferred the Order of the Legion

of Honor (Officer) upon academic Luan Starova.

On behalf of the President of the French Republic, the Ambassador of the French Republic, Christian Thomonier, presented Professor Ilinka Mitreva with the title

of Officer of the National Order of Merit.


MAceDoNiA iN focus

MAceDoNiAN trANslAtioN of hANs ehrke’s “MAkeDoNkA. eiN Buch Der BAlkANfroNt” proMoteD

The Macedonian translation of the novel “Makedonka. Ein Buch der Balkanfront” (A Macedonian. A Book on the Balkan Front)

by German author Hans Ehrke was promoted in Skopje on 25 April. Macedonian Defense Minister Zoran Jolevski said that this trans-lation was another addition to the corpus of academic works and works of fiction by German authors translated into Macedonian and deserving of special attention because of addressing matters of importance to Macedonia and the Macedonians, especially during World War I. This novel describes the life of German soldiers during World War I who headed from the Western Front to the front in

Macedonia. In the book the country is referred to as Macedonia, the depicted warfare happens on the “Macedonian frontier” and in the “Macedonian cities”, the soldiers get to know the “Macedo-nian rural population” and watch “Macedonian men and women” dance and sing “Macedonian dances and songs”. Minister Jolevski said in his address that the book was published in the Macedonian language as a result of the cooperation with the Ministry of De-fense of the Federal Republic of Germany and as part of the joint commemoration of 100 years of World War I and the suffering and victims of all nations.


experieNce MAceDoNiA

Twenty-five kilometers west of Kratovo, in close proximity to the village of Šopsko Rudari, is the Cocev Kamen site. It is a

Neolithic settlement whose residents were farmers and hunters. The rock itself was a shrine to which many remains visible today and items found in the immediate vicinity bear witness. From afar, Cocev Kamen looks like any other rock. However, a spectacular site opens up only a few steps away. The cavities are set on different elevations and in front of them are plateaus, ritual bath basins, remains of stairs, a throne made of stone and seats. Some 10,000 years ago, the prehistoric people performed ritual dances on the rock, bathed under the waterfall and offered sacrifice to the gods of vine and fertility. Stairs lead to the caves, connecting the foot and the summit of the rock. Scaling the inclination is quite an extreme sport. The main ceremonies were held in the cave on the second level of Cocev Kamen. Two basins, one small and the other large, were dug in it. Another two basins, presumably used for ritual baths, are at the top of the rock. Certain rituals were also performed on the plateau where two thrones and several seats were dug, from where the Sun, the Moon and the stars were observed. To the east of the stone chairs, on the rock neighboring Cocev Kamen, are the so-called megaliths, or benchmarks by which the position of the Sun was determined. Near the main megalith, a crescent moon was dug and on the ground there is a large solar disc. There are caves on the western side of the rock, too, but rituals were not performed there. On the wall of one of the caves there is an inscription with symbols

written in red. In the middle, an orant, a deity characteristic for the late Bronze Age and the Classical period, is depicted. Cocev Kamen retained its Stone Age purpose of being an observatory during the Neolithic Age and the Bronze Age, too. The shrine lost its importance several centuries after the birth of Jesus and was rediscovered in 1971. Some researchers consider it the world’s only site where there is a shrine, an altar and an observatory.

COCEv kAMEN

Three waterfalls on the Belovište River, located in the village of Belovište, Jegunovce Municipality, spring from the bosom of

Piribeg, the penultimate summit in the western part of the long Šar Planina Mountain. The foamy waters form the three waterfalls – Gorna Skala, Dolna Skala and Petočko Vodiče. The third and the lowest of all three waterfalls is also called Vraživir. The water steeply

falls down the almost impassable canyon until it reaches the Tetovo village of Belovište. This rare natural wonder stretches over a distance of two kilometers. Its wilderness in which the look towards the sky is blocked by the entangled branches of the humongous trees and the incline along which the two kilometers to the farthest waterfall are covered only upon three hours of tiresome walk have been



bElOvIštE WAtERFAlls

jealously hidden by the residents of Belovište and the neighboring Vratnica, Rogačevo, Staro Selo and Odri. Mountaineers were the first that started conquering this region 15 years ago, marking a trail by leaving traces on the trees on the right bank of the Belovište River. The locals say that this whole region, all the way to the Šar Mountain summits, is rich in game – bears, foxes, wolves, wild goats and deer – as well as endemic plants that can be spotted most easily in the spring when nature begins to awaken. Throughout the year, there is plenty of drinkable water in the cold Belovište River although perhaps the river swells the most when the snow on Piribeg and in the surrounding area begins to melt. Then the three waterfalls, whose length has never been measured, are the longest and most beautiful with their cascading water creating every color imaginable. Some say these three are the second longest waterfalls in the Balkans. Dolna Skala and Gorna Skala are best seen from afar, some one hundred meters away. Petočko Vodiče is close to Belovište, only a kilometer above the village, and is reachable by a paved road. Vraživir is not only a site where the water falls over a rocky drop that is nearly 15 meters high, but is also a site that looks like a resort increasingly more. The road isn’t passable by car beyond the village church of St. Bogorodica. The Belovište River is crossed by a little iron bridge leading to the churches of St. Petka and St. John the Baptist. All this area covering some five hectares is known as Petočko Vodiče. Here water springs from the roots of many trees. The water of one of these springs heads towards the church of St. Petka and is said to be healing, especially for eye diseases. For decades people with vision problems have been coming here and locals say that many have also been cured. The construction of the church is also brought in connection with this spring.



Over 75 films, workshops, well-known names from the world of cinema, the first Macedonian Stanley

Kubrick tribute and the first edition of the Children’s Creating Together Program were part of this year’s 20th edition of Skopje Film Festival held from 20 to 28 April. The festival, which consisted of eight programs – Gala Screenings, Authors Film Program, Panorama of World Cinema, French Film Focus, Short Film Program, Children’s Program, Stanley Kubrick Retrospective and Macedonian Production – opened with Bojan Vuletić’s “Requiem for Mrs. J”, which was screened as part of the official Panorama program of the 67th Berlin Film Festival this year.

The latest Macedonian comedy, Kole Angelovski’s “Oh My Love”, and the latest short films produced by Krug, “The Children Will Come” and “Shoes” directed by Ana Jakimska and Branko Kosteski, were screened as part of the Macedonian Production program.

Skopje Film Festival also prepared for its audience a Stanley Ku-brick Retrospective, which was Macedonia’s first festival tribute to the iconic director. For this occasion, Jan Harlan, the executive producer of Kubrick’s films, was the festival’s special guest.

This year, too, the festival audience could see the most interesting films of the latest French production within the French Film Focus program. The Short Film Program featured 12 European and 13 Spanish films, whereas children with and without disabilities were included in the creation of the festival for the first time this year through the Creating Together program. Berin Tuzlić, a multimedia artist from Sarajevo, held an animated film workshop.

This year’s Skopje Book Fair was held from 4 to 10 April. Eighty publishers participated in it offering for sale some 80,000 books.

The fair took place in the first hall of the Skopje Fairgrounds, on an area of 4,000 sq. meters. At the Promotional Center, in the second hall, 60 promotions were held of new works and authors. For the first time

this year, literature for children and young adults was also presented in the adapted Children’s Corner where children learned and had fun with elaborate promotions. Creative workshops, meetings with the books’ authors at the publishers’ stands and other entertaining activities were also organized.

The Mirče Acev folk ensemble celebrated its 70th anniversary with a full-length concert at the Marko

Cepenkov Center of Culture in Prilep on 8 April. The most beautiful Macedonian traditional dances, which have made this ensemble a household name, were played on the stage. The Tempet folk ensemble from Makarska, Croatia, also performed at the concert as guests.

The Mirče Acev folk ensemble has been the ambassador of Macedonian tradition and folklore for seven decades, promoting them at home and abroad and winning sig-nificant awards at renowned festivals, including the first prizes in Llangollen, Great Britain, Middelkerke, Belgium, and Oviedo, Spain. For its outstanding achievements the ensemble has also won the 3 November Award of the City of Prilep.

20th skopJe filM festivAl

chilDreN’s AND youNg ADult literAture preseNteD At skopJe Book fAir 2017

Mirče Acev folk eNseMBle celeBrAtes 70th ANNiversAry



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