SKOPJE, Nov 1 (Hina) - A census, which was postponed last year due to armed conflicts in north-western areas, started in Macedonia on Friday.
SKOPJE, Nov 1 (Hina) - A census, which was postponed last year due to
armed conflicts in north-western areas, started in Macedonia on
Friday. #L#
The census, which lasts until 15 November, will include all
permanent residents as well as persons who have stayed in Macedonia
for more than one year.
The head of the state commission conducting the census, Zoran
Krstevski, said that security, following last year's crisis, would
not substantially affect activities to be carried out by 9,000
census-takers.
A daily in the Albanian language, "Fakti", has reported that in case
the results of the census fail to show that there are 700,000
Albanians in Macedonia, this community will regard the census as a
forgery.
According to the 1994 census, conducted under the sponsorship of
the Council of Europe, there were 440,000 ethnic Albanians at the
time and they accounted for 22.7 percent of the entire population.
The current census is monitored by 50 representatives of the
European Commission, the United Nations and the OSCE.
It will cost some eight million euros, one million of which will be
secured by the international community.
(hina) ms