STOP NATO: �NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Get a low APR NextCard Visa in 30 seconds! 1. Fill in the brief application 2. Receive approval decision within 30 seconds 3. Get rates as low as 2.99% Intro or 9.99% Ongoing APR and no annual fee! Apply NOW! http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/NextCard ---------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.rferl.org/balkan-report Radio Free Liberty/Radio Europe 5 June 2001, Volume 5, Number 39 GROWING SKEPTICISM IN MACEDONIA. As Javier Solana, the EU's security policy chief, became a regular guest in Skopje following the outbreak of the crisis, his visits and ideas increasingly lost support among the small Balkan country's ruling elite and population. Every unsuccessful crisis resolution effort by Solana or any other Western diplomat -- like, for example, OSCE representative Robert Frowick -- contributes to a growing skepticism in Macedonia (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 29 May 2001). This is true whether the sponsor is the EU, the U.S., NATO, or the OSCE. Many Macedonians have come to ask themselves whether the West wants a solution to the crisis at all, and if it wants one, what kind of solution that might be. Over the past three months, there have been regular statements like this one by German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer: "The [German] federal government is concerned about the violence in Macedonia which has flared up again in the area around Tetovo. The use of force by ethnic Albanian extremists, apparently the cause of the most recent conflicts, is to be strongly condemned.... The federal government reiterates its support for the territorial integrity of Macedonia and for the country's democratically elected government. The process of political dialogue carried out with the help of the high representative for the common foreign and security policy of the EU [i.e. Solana] must now be continued swiftly and with a view to achieving results. The government of Macedonia must also contribute to this. All those involved are urged to exercise the greatest restraint and refrain from doing anything which could further aggravate the situation." (Press release of the German Foreign Office of 24 May 2001). The ambiguity of this kind of statement, and the apparent lack of clarity and vision, have led to a mushrooming of conspiracy theories in the Macedonian press during the past weeks. The main theme of such articles is that the West does not have any real interest in ending the Macedonian crisis that was triggered off by the ethnic Albanian rebels of the National Liberation Army (UCK) earlier this year. Some journalists even go so far as to blame the West for inciting the conflict. According to most theories, the starting point was NATO's failure to secure the border between Kosova and Macedonia and prevent the rebels from infiltrating Macedonian territory. The West is also chastised for failing to control the economic and financial resources of the Albanian rebels that stem mostly from organized crime in Western Europe, such as cigarette smuggling and drug trafficking. It was also pointed out that the Swedish Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research (TFF) recently published an analysis which noted that the former Kosova Liberation Army (UCK) and the Macedonian army were trained and supplied by the same U.S. company, Military Professional Resource Incorporated (MPRI). Now members of the former UCK are fighting the Macedonian security forces. In its latest edition, the Skopje bi-monthly "Forum" accuses MPRI of having "disabled" the Macedonian army by denying it a regular supply of arms on the grounds that certain arms to do not conform to NATO standards or because the Macedonians "do not need them." Thus, the article continues, MPRI (and, by implication, NATO) has contributed to the fact that the Macedonian security forces are not able to cope with the UCK rebels. But if there allegedly are secret plans to dismember Macedonia -- the bread and butter of Balkan conspiracy theories -- what kind of plans might these be and who might stand behind them? When the president of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Georgi Efremov, presented a plan for a possible solution of the interethnic conflict in Macedonia, he came in for tough criticism both at home and abroad. The plan Efremov put forward was to exchange heavily Albanian-populated areas of western Macedonia with Albania, while some Macedonian-populated areas around Lake Ohrid were to be added to Macedonia. Efremov also proposed "resettling" the scattered Albanian population from elsewhere in Macedonia to Albania. At the peak of the almost hysterical reaction of politicians and the media to Efremov's proposal, the state-owned Skopje daily "Nova Makedonija" on 1 June published a front page article entitled: "Together with the Albanian [question], the Macedonian question will be solved as well." The article quoted unnamed "diplomatic sources" as saying that the international community plans to redraw the borders of the Macedonian state. Apart from the above-mentioned exchanges of territories, according to the "Nova Makedonija" article, the country would gain territories from Greece as well as from Bulgaria, and, in any event, not come off too badly. But there is more. Even if the newspaper does not say so explicitly, it is clear that it believes that the eternal Evil One of all conspiracy theories is also behind this plan: the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA, so the theories continue, is also behind the U.S. company that trains the Macedonian army. And, of course, it is Frowick's alleged employer. These conspiracy theories might contain some truth somewhere, but they are first and foremost a symptom of the growing fear that a civil war might tear the country apart -- a fear that might at the same time be giving rise to a self-fulfilling prophecy. The perception is, in any event, widespread that the West is unable to cope quickly and effectively with Balkan crises, be they in Bosnia, Kosova, or elsewhere. This combines with the confusion generated by diplomatic efforts beyond the understanding of many local people to produce a desire to find alternative allies and partners. For the time being, it seems that Russia, Ukraine, and, to a certain extent, Bulgaria will be the military partners of Macedonia in the short run. This is because they give Macedonia what the West will not: weapons to fight the rebels. But Russia and Ukraine -- to the extent that they are interested in becoming involved in the conflict -- have little to offer Macedonia other than military equipment. For its real long-term needs, Macedonia has no alternative to the Western countries. (Ulrich Buechsenschuetz, [EMAIL PROTECTED]) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
