Newsroom
Rebuilding confidence between ethnic groups may be only a bus-ride away
VIENNA 29 January 2002
VIENNA, 29 January 2002 - After a ten-month break, the direct bus link between the town of Kumanovo and the capital, Skopje, reopened last week and its restoration was marked by offering a free ride for villagers, local administration officials, international representatives and media.
Slobodan Kovacevski, the mayor of Kumanovo was among those who boarded the bus and travelled the whole 40 or so kilometres into Skopje, just to emphasize the major significance of this event.
"With this bus line we are building confidence among the people of all ethnicities. This will continue as long as the bus line continues", he said.
Equally enthusiastic was Resat Furati, the Mayor of Aracinovo, a village near Skopje, who added, "This bus line is a means for people to communicate and move freely."
But freedom of movement is only one of several major benefits brought about by the restoration of the bus line. This popular service may also reopen opportunities for villagers once again to take jobs in Skopje, Kumanovo and other larger towns. It is also perceived as a great confidence-building measure, as it will bring together people of all ethnic groups on a daily basis.
As the bus line now operates regularly, three times a day, local officials estimate that this is evidence that the area is safe and that, if the will is there, people can live and work together.
Exemplary co-operation between monitors of the OSCE Field Office in Kumanovo and the local administration was a key factor in the reopening of the line. Over the past month, OSCE monitors contacted and negotiated with several bus companies, in a strenuous effort to get the service restarted. Eventually, the STUZ Company agreed to provide it.
"This is an important OSCE contribution in the post-conflict rehabilitation of the country", says Oliver Spasovski, Advisor to the Mayor of Kumanovo.
Slobodan Kovacevski, the mayor of Kumanovo was among those who boarded the bus and travelled the whole 40 or so kilometres into Skopje, just to emphasize the major significance of this event.
"With this bus line we are building confidence among the people of all ethnicities. This will continue as long as the bus line continues", he said.
Equally enthusiastic was Resat Furati, the Mayor of Aracinovo, a village near Skopje, who added, "This bus line is a means for people to communicate and move freely."
But freedom of movement is only one of several major benefits brought about by the restoration of the bus line. This popular service may also reopen opportunities for villagers once again to take jobs in Skopje, Kumanovo and other larger towns. It is also perceived as a great confidence-building measure, as it will bring together people of all ethnic groups on a daily basis.
As the bus line now operates regularly, three times a day, local officials estimate that this is evidence that the area is safe and that, if the will is there, people can live and work together.
Exemplary co-operation between monitors of the OSCE Field Office in Kumanovo and the local administration was a key factor in the reopening of the line. Over the past month, OSCE monitors contacted and negotiated with several bus companies, in a strenuous effort to get the service restarted. Eventually, the STUZ Company agreed to provide it.
"This is an important OSCE contribution in the post-conflict rehabilitation of the country", says Oliver Spasovski, Advisor to the Mayor of Kumanovo.