In 2005 Semir Osmanagić, an expatriate Bosnian metalworker living in Texas, made a most startling announcement. The hills that surround the central Bosnian town of Visoko were not—as had always been thought—mere hills, but were in fact pyramids, man-made and ancient, built by a prehistoric civilisation that rivalled the ancient Egyptians in technological and cultural sophistication.
Deal Reached On Macedonia Parliament Rulebook
Skopje | 22 July 2010 | Sinisa Jakov Marusic
The deal was hammered out on Wednesday afternoon after the MPs from the ruling VMRO DPMNE party accepted some of the demands of the opposition Social Democrats, SDSM, including that they will be able to propose an agenda item every second session.
The coordination between the parliamentary groups is set to continue during the next several days to iron out the remaining differences.
The opposition has requested that a panel body in charge of overseeing public spending be established at the same session that will be dedicated to the rulebook changes.
The ruling party, meanwhile, has proposed a sub-committee within the existing Committee on Finance and Budget.
“VMRO DPMNE favors the establishment of a mechanism to control how money is spent and we will introduce this for the first time in 20 years not because of SDSM's bid to blackmail us but because of our own principles,” VMRO-DPMNE MP Ilija Dimovski told media.
He noted that the ruling majority accepted some of the opposition's suggestions for the good of the country even though the MPs felt they resembled blackmail.
Macedonia has been urged numerous times by EU officials to boost the level of political dialogue between parties if it hopes to receive another positive report from the European Commission this autumn.
Last year, the EC issued a positive report for the country and recomended the start of its EU acession talks, but that did not occur because of the Greek blockade over the unresolved Athens-Skopje name spat.
This year's lack of progress in certain fields has threatened to push down Macedonia's previous high marks, some local observers have warned.
Legislators hope that the deal reached this week can boost the parliament’s image, which was particularly damaged earlier this month when an incident involving opposition MPs who claimed they were being tapped and threatened by the police provoked a series of harsh arguments between the two main parliamentary groups.
The EU ambassador to Macedonia, Erwan Fouere, subsequently asked for the immediate halt to hostilities from both sides.
