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  Issue 14 March 2002  Interview

FLORIJA LJATIFI, Health Adviser, NGO and the women position-Republic of Macedonia President's Cabinet  

Together with the NGOs we will Develop the Country and its Democracy 

Macedonian and foreign NGOs had big and difficult role in the Macedonian crisis, realizing their humanitarian objective in coordination with the state organs, international agencies and bodies. We hope that the cooperation is going to continue in normal conditions and together with the non-governmental sector we are going to work for forming a functional and advanced country
Marijana Ivanova

Dr. Florija Ljatifi is a manager of the Health Department, non-governmental organizations and the woman's position in the Republic of Macedonia, in the President's Cabinet of the Republic of Macedonia. This Department is the actual motive for the interview with Dr. Ljatifi, from several reasons: it is the first department of this kind formed by the initiative of the President, Mr. Boris Trajkovski, at the same time it is the first department in the President's Cabinet whose objective is to establish direct contact with the NGOs and its first steps were in a very delicate and traumatic situation - the crisis in Macedonia. About the development and the future plans of this Department we have talked to Dr. Florija Ljatifi.

CW - How were the Health Department, the non-governmental organizations and the woman's position in the Republic of Macedonia established and what were its program and objectives when it was established?
F.Lj.
- The Health Department, non-governmental organizations and the woman's position in the Republic of Macedonia was formed within the Sector of Internal Policy in the President's Cabinet. Although formally and legally it has been existing since January this year, within the new systematization it has actually functioned since the beginning of 2001. The President, Mr. Trajkovski, had an idea that the non-governmental sector, in parallel with the health sector and the problems concerning the woman's position in Macedonia, should be covered by the Cabinet. Department's role, in that direction, was multi-purposed: firstly, to inform the President of all the problems in the health sector, all initiated issues from this field by the Government and the Assembly, as well as to give opinions and suggestions by the President; secondly, to establish cooperation between the President and the non-governmental organizations - foreign and local; and, thirdly, to follow and influence, as possible, the improvement of woman's position in our country.

CW - The working program of this Department was conceptualized for normal, "peaceful" conditions. But immediately you found yourself in the war crisis. What scenario did you conceptualize for those special conditions?
F.Lj.
- Yes, we had a plan and program for all areas. Concretely for the non-governmental sector, we were aware that a society couldn't develop itself without coordination in work of all three sectors in it - the governmental, non-governmental and business sector. When we were formed, the intention was to work in a more stable situation, but on the Balkans taking into consideration what was happening around us, we should have been prepared for a situation like this. A few projects have been started which characterize the Cabinet's contribution in these three areas of our Department and we hope to continue realizing them.

Our expectations were that the most work was going to be in the third area, the woman's position. But, it turned out that the most work we had with the NGO sector. The crisis, the situation in the last months forced that cooperation. On the President's Cabinet initiative, in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, a Coordinative Body was established, including representatives from the Government, international NGOs, UN agencies, local NGOs and DONORS' representatives.

CW - What was the role of the Coordinative Body?
F.LJ.
- Its role was to coordinate the humanitarian activities in the crisis situation, in order to prevent their doubling in the places where it was necessary to offer some humanitarian help. In those circumstances it was necessary to coordinate and cooperate with the local and international NGOs, although I do not want to say that there is not any other coordination, which we cooperate with.

Within all these activities, there was an initiative for forming medical points in the existing medical centers or ambulances for offering health help to the displaced people. Such point there was in Kumanovo, but in Arachinovo, it was planned but it was impossible to realize it because of the complex situation.

CW - How do you evaluate the role of the non-governmental sector in the Macedonian crisis, within this coordination?
F.LJ.
- If we make an evaluation of the humanitarian activity of the NGO sector in the Macedonian crisis, we might need to say that there were times when they were late with the activities on certain places, although there was always a reason for that, on the other hand, there was also an opportunity to realize again the planned objective. However, apart from those small problems, I have to express great gratitude to the non-governmental organizations - both international, starting from the UN agencies, the Red Cross movement and all the others who were present in great percentage, and also local NGOs, whose role was very important and they put themselves in a very difficult and delicate position to realize the humanitarian objective. In some way they were all trying in that chaos, in that disfunctioning, to establish an order and to fight for the stability in the Republic of Macedonia.

CW - Let's hope that in future you will be able to implement the Department's program in peaceful conditions. What does the program comprise, above all in relation to the non-governmental sector? How can the Macedonian NGOs establish cooperation with the President of the country?
F.LJ.
- Every Wednesday and Thursday we receive NGOs representatives. We exchange opinions, they inform us on their activities and projects, we direct them to realize their activities in a better way. We are often asked for financial help, but we do not give such help, but other kind of help - certain information, directing, eventual offering some written or verbal support. We follow the UN and other international organizations' recommendation that the non-governmental sector should be included in the work of the state organs. It is insisted that the citizens are included in all working sectors of the state organs and we accept that and work in that direction. We are planning more projects, for example, AIDS prevention, women's rights and rights of the people with special needs. Here we are going to establish close cooperation with the NGO. We have also participated in a few NGO initiatives and seminars.

I have to emphasize that our efforts are going to be for improving the woman's position in our country, building the women identity in all spheres of the society, of course through establishing a mechanism for communication between the Government, political parties, NGO and the women organization regardless their religion. I would mention here the support for organizing various tribunes, seminars, as well as the forthcoming women conference "Women from the 21st century" where I would again emphasize the role of the NGOs and the women organizations.

Taking into consideration the reality where our woman is symbolically displayed in the high politics and high circles of power allocation, in my opinion it is necessary to realize the emergency for a deep reform of the forms of political representation and the decision-making process.

Let's hope we are going to have peace and we are going to have close cooperation with the NGOs, in order to develop our country and the democracy in it. Let's hope that the disfuncion we are having at the moment will turn into a functional country where each sector is going to have its place and its role. The Department is new, we realize contacts with all the factors in the above mentioned three areas it covers, so second step would be a close cooperation and then achieving mutual initiatives and projects.

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