Macedonia: Will NATO intervene? Tuesday, 3 July 2001 22:01 (ET) Macedonia: Will NATO intervene? By ELIZABETH BRYANT SKOPJE, Macedonia, July 3 (UPI) -- The first pieces of Macedonia's peace puzzle appear in place. In this tattered capital, senior Western envoys are coaxing Macedonia's factious government for political solutions to the country's ethnic conflict. NATO has agreed to dispatch 3,000 troops, to oversee the disarming of ethnic-Albanian rebels, who have thrown the country into turmoil since March. Now, some analysts say, the ball is in Skopje's court. "The message is: We have delivered," said one Western diplomat, summing up the sentiment of some NATO allies toward Macedonia. "Now it's time for you to deliver." But many here believe the ball, in fact, is in NATO's court. There are expectations in Macedonia that growing Western involvement will ultimately translate into some semblance of Kosovo-style protection by NATO forces -- even as some wonder whether Europe and the United States fully understand this murky Balkans conflict. "At the end, U.S. and European diplomats will face two possibilities: To let Macedonia enter into real war, or to send soldiers," predicted Iso Rusi, editor-in-chief of an Albanian-language magazine, echoing the sentiment of many ordinary Albanians. "And they will send soldiers. And it will be the first step toward dialogue." Officially, Western diplomats remain adamant that future intervention will be limited to monitoring the rebel disarmament -- and only if a political agreement is struck among Skopje's coalition government. However it appears unclear whether the West's current offering -- the diplomatic services of the European Union's new Macedonia envoy, Francois Leotard, and his U.S. counterpart, James Pardew -- can break the political deadlock. Talks stalled in June between Macedonian and ethnic-Albanian parties, over giving more rights to the country's ethnic-Albanian minority. Meanwhile, low-level clashes between the insurgents and government troops sputter on. The two sides exchanged gunfire late Monday night, in the conflict-ridden Tetovo region, the Macedonian Information Agency reported Tuesday. The government reported more movements of rebel forces elsewhere in the country. Some Balkan experts blame much of Macedonia's current turmoil on the Macedonians themselves. "A policy of half-hearted, half-reluctant ethnic cohabitation has led to the present crisis," the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think-tank on conflict management, wrote in its April report on Macedonia. Solving the current conflict, the group said, means answering one question: Can Macedonia's Slavs and ethnic Albanians live together? For some Macedonians, the answer appears to be "no." "I personally would love that to be the case -- a country with a multi-ethnic society," said Georgi Efremov, president of the Macedonian Academy of Science and Arts. "But that multi-ethnic society has to be loyal to the state and to the Macedonian people And that hasn't been shown by the Albanian parties." In May, Macedonia's Vecer newspaper reported the Academy's scholars had suggested another solution to the country's conflict: Exchange people and territory with neighboring Albania. The result: Two ethnically "clean" countries, but no conflict. Efremov says the academy was not involved with the report. He considers its conclusion "a stupid idea." Nonetheless, he resigned amid a storm of controversy. So far, few Macedonians appear to embrace a Macedonia without ethnic Albanians. But such suggestions -- however radical -- indicate how far the gap has grown between the two populations. On the streets, many ethnic Albanians complain of routine discrimination -- from harassment by the country's police, to under-representation in the workforce. "Many Albanians don't have jobs, or health insurance," said Naim Abduramani, a self employed pursemaker from Skopje. "I'm 24 years old, and I don't have a real job. My family doesn't have a phone. But we must still pay taxes to the government." Not a single member of Skopje's Science and Arts academy, for example, is ethnic Albanian. Efremov says he has hired plenty of other minorities, but has found no qualified Albanians. The truth, of course, is more complex, in a country where almost a third of the population is unemployed. Dirt poor eastern Macedonia, for example, is not inhabited by ethnic Albanians, but by Slavs. Nonetheless, years of slights have fueled a growing sense of injustice among Macedonia's ethnic-Albanian community -- and popular support for the self-styled National Liberation Army, a rebel army that sprung onto center stage in February. "Albanian demands are as legitimate as they can be," said one Western source. "Every minority has the right not to be discriminated against, and to be able to use their own language." "The problem is, Macedonians no longer trust Albanian demands any more," the source added. "They think there will be more demands. And more, and more, and more." Behind those fears lies the shadowy specter of the National Liberation Army, known locally as UCK. Many Macedonians agree with the assessment of President Boris Trajkovski -- that the group is run by foreign thugs, intent on carving out a greater Albania in the Balkans. "They aren't fighting for a greater Albania, but for greater Kosovo," corrected one Balkans expert, noting many of the group's leaders are veterans of Kosovo and other Balkan wars. "Albanian nationalism doesn't come Tirana. It comes from Kosovo and Prizren (in southern Serbia)." Moreover, rather than reducing tensions, some critics argue, Western intervention has provided a shield for nationalistic aspirations, and fostered ethnic divisions in the Balkans. "Far from being the solution to Balkan quarrels, the intervention of the West looks increasingly like one of their causes," wrote the British Helsinki Human Rights Group, in a highly critical June report. "The influence of the West in the Balkans has increased, is increasing, and ought to diminish." But other analysts disagree. Western engagement is critical, they argue, to protect budding democracy and multi-ethnicity in the region. Abandoning Macedonia means risking war, which may spill beyond the country's borders. In Skopje this week, one Western official predicted NATO would ultimately find a face-saving alternative. "You don't need 3,000 troops to enforce disarmament," he said. "So I believe NATO will have other duties," including establishing a security umbrella over eastern and northwestern parts of Macedonia. "It's better than war," the official added. "And if they want to call it a political solution, then OK." -- Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved. -- Miroslav Antic, http://www.antic.org/ Serbian News Network - SNN [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.antic.org/
