From: Miroslav Antic <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> NEBOJSA MALIC: MURDERING MACEDONIA Now that Macedonia is being torn apart as the old Yugoslavia, then Bosnia and Serbia were, most Balkans nations look upon the unfolding grisly spectacle with a mixture of relief and fear: relief, for it is not them on the sacrificial altar of the "international community"; fear, for they are not at the altar yet. Indeed, most Balkans nations try to think about Macedonia as little as possible. Slovenia is too busy trying to become a NATO fiefdom; Croatia has its own troubles, which -- most inconveniently -- its politicians cannot blame on Serbs anymore; Bosnia is preoccupied with pretending it is not a dysfunctional foreign colony, losing what little of its youth survived the 1992-95 war; today's Yugoslavia is but a shadow of a shadow, with Montenegro's regime determined to secede, federal leadership downright comatose, and Serbia in hands of men with an eighteen-fold personality disorder and a gargantuan inferiority complex. Indeed, on a good day, Yugoslavia cannot decide whether it exists or not. Bulgaria is still waiting for the difference King Simeon promised. Greece watches its northern border not so much out of principle as out of territorial curiosity. And Albania... no one really knows, though whoever ends up running the illusion of government in Tirana will surely do as they are told. DEATH OF A THOUSAND CUTS Those that survived firsthand the kind of death currently administered to Macedonia know the script by heart, including the inevitable local variations. Most often, the Empire gives its verbal support to the legitimate government while maintaining a more practical relationship with its enemies. (The scenario in Bosnia-Herzegovina had a modified cast of characters, but that merits a column of its own.) If there is fighting, the Empire's true prot?g?s are always saved by a timely ceasefire, one they have no compunction breaking. Peace talks organized by the Empire's envoys almost always involve an ultimatum to the government to accept its enemy's demands. When the government refuses to submit -- stubbornly believing in sovereignty, rights and justice, or whatnot -- the Empire blames it for everything: obstructing "peace," violence, ethnic cleansing, war crimes, even genocide, if that's what it takes. Overwhelmed by the Empire's sudden "reversal" and an onslaught of propaganda, the targeted government chooses surrender. Thus, as Macedonians are being stretched on the rack to sign the "agreement" with Albanian separatists that would effectively destroy their nation, those very same separatists are growing stronger and bolder every day. The Macedonians are fighting any which way they can. They've marched on the White House and they've appealed to the world's conscience with testimonies of their people, who have been dispossessed, abused and exiled by Albanian bandits. They have even tried fighting the usurpers, though such actions immediately draw harsh Imperial condemnations and deadly reprisals. Most of all, they've stalled for time, hoping, perhaps, that some alternative to defeat lies in the future. THE USUAL SUSPECT(S) Macedonia would not find itself in this predicament had the Imperial intrusion into what used to be Yugoslavia been halted in its early stage, in 1990. Back then, however, few took it seriously and even fewer bothered to fight. Those who did -- for whatever reasons, patriotic or private -- are now either dead, imprisoned, or in exile. Tens of thousands of troops occupy Bosnia and Kosovo, protecting not their inhabitants, but the foreigners who rule them. And if the rumors are true, the Empire will soon link their dominions in Bosnia and Kosovo with a string of bases in Serbia itself. It may seem that events in Serbia have no bearing on Macedonia, but that impression is very wrong. First of all, both face the same Albanian militants -- not just the same movement, the same individuals. Wearing hats of different "armies," the same people fought first in Kosovo, then in Presevo, and now in Tetovo. Their aim is clear: an ethnically pure Albanian territory, described by some as "Greater Albania," and by others as "Greater Kosovo," but definitely separate from non-Albanian nations. Their methods are consistent: first attack the police, then the army; expel non-Albanian civilians; take control of Albanian civilians, even by murdering those who resist; finally, appeal to Western help on grounds of "repression," and "humanitarian disaster," while claiming to fight for "civil rights." That help always comes. It came in Kosovo, when the KLA was resurrected and eventually brought to power by a NATO military intervention. It came in Presevo, since the Albanian "Liberation army" there was armed and organized as a tool against Yugoslavia's President Milosevic. Now the West has provided a Macedonia "peace plan" -- which is supposed to wipe out the "rebellion" by capitulating to its demands. A PLETHORA OF MOTIVES Is the Empire aiding the Albanians because it believes that their grievances are legitimate, or is it simply appeasing the Albanians to protect its vulnerable occupation force in Kosovo? Is it aiding Greater Albania out of love for Albanians, or because it's using Albanians against other nations? Does it occupy the Balkans because it wants "peace and stability," or because it plans a pipeline through its heartland? It could be that all of those explanations fail to see the forest for the trees. After all, the Balkans mountain-tops offer a far more interesting view of Moscow and the Caspian oil fields than of Belgrade, Skopje or Tirana. A consistent ideology underlies the Empires actions: it will do everything and anything that increases its power and eliminates potential obstacles or, God forbid, competition. A PECULIAR CRIME One peculiar thing about the murder of Macedonia is that it has not yet fully taken place. There is still a chance that the victim might make a fortuitous turn somewhere and escape the knife-wielding butcher at its heels. Perhaps help will come from the outside, though the Empire's reach is long and powerful. Macedonia is in a life-and-death contest of willpower. Do Macedonians value their land, their name and their honor enough defend them, no matter how sweet the murderers' words, no matter how powerful their weapons and lies? HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL The greatest plague in Macedonia and the rest of the Balkans is not poverty, corruption or violence. Those are but symptoms of a greater evil: despair. After a tumultuous decade that saw the destruction of many structures -- political, social and physical -- but almost no construction of new ones, denizens of the peninsula wander around aimlessly, seeking meaning while trying to survive from one day to the next. Stripped of ideas and goals, cheated of beliefs and possessions, they are now slowly being robbed of the last vestiges of hope as well. Unless they find the strength to stop that slide, and soon, the entire Balkans will become a land of walking zombies -- mindless, resigned servants of local satraps and their Imperial overlords. Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope and dreams -- the death of not just freedom, but the dream of freedom itself. Macedonia fights not just against invaders and usurpers, but against chaos and despair. This is a fight that they cannot afford to lose, and we cannot afford to ignore. NEBOJSA MALIC Antiwar.com http://english.pravda.ru/yougoslavia/2001/08/09/12135.html ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://TOPICA.COM/u/?a84x2u.a9spXC Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================ _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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