[ALBSA-Info] Macedonia Paramilitary Threat Emerges

[Gazhebo at aol.com]

Macedonia Paramilitary Threat Emerges

By COLLEEN BARRY


SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) - Pamphlets emblazoned with a lion symbolizing a group 
calling itself Paramilitary 2000 delivered a powerful threat to ethnic 
Albanian shopkeepers: Close shop or we'll burn down your businesses. 

Most stall owners in and around the trash-strewn industrial wasteland called 
Madzari packed up and left after receiving the threat 10 days ago from the 
recently activated paramilitary group, which considers some Albanians who 
arrived in the last few years illegal residents of Macedonia. 

The emergence of paramilitary threats in the capital, Skopje - a direct 
response to the insurgents' assault on neighboring Aracinovo and evident in 
riots outside Parliament last week - brings a new escalation to Macedonia's 
conflict between ethnic Albanian militants and government troops in this 
troubled Balkan country. 

Immediately following the threat, rebel Commander Hoxha announced that his 
forces in the hills surrounding the capital were prepared to defend Albanians 
in Skopje if they came under attack. That spread unease among the Slav 
population. 

The Albanian businessmen of the Madzari district say they have been menaced 
by a black jeep with the Paramilitary 2000 logo, but so far there have been 
no direct confrontations or violence. But they also say Macedonian police 
have refused to protect them. 

``The police said that all Albanians who work here should remove their stock 
and leave the area,'' shopowner Ibrahim Baftjari said. He has remained, but 
has removed his most expensive goods. 

Since the threat, up to 30,000 Albanians, mostly from Skopje, have left for 
Kosovo, bringing the number of refugees who have taken refuge in the Serbian 
province to 100,000 since the insurgency began four months ago. 

It is a pattern that has repeated itself in more than a decade of Balkan 
conflicts: Irregular units form in response to dissatisfaction with military 
and police action against an insurgency. 

Western observers worry that the slightest spark - a slain policeman or 
Macedonian Slav civilian - could lead to full-blown civil war. 

They cite not only the new irregular units but also the vast number of armed 
reservists. Already, reservists were blamed last week by President Boris 
Trajkovski for bringing the country to the brink of civil war when, massed 
outside Parliament, they opened fire amid a crowd of Macedonian Slavs enraged 
at the rebels' safe passage from Aracinovo under U.S. escort. 

``There's a coalescence of different extremist elements into more formal 
networks,'' said Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch. ``We're talking about 
a region where there's a pattern of civilians involved in conflicts.'' 

The government denies the existence of any irregular paramilitary 
organization in Macedonia. Off the record, a government source dismissed the 
Paramilitary 2000 as ``a bunch of drunks who number no more than 20 people,'' 
and estimated the total number of paramilitary fighters at ``no more than 
200.'' 

The real threat, the source said, is from reservists who have been issued 
arms by the Interior Ministry, like those outside Parliament last week. Not 
all the guns were given to people on the reservist list, the source said, and 
some were distributed specifically to members of the ruling government party. 

But bigger questions remain: Who controls these armed militias and 
reservists, and how much crossover exists between them? 

So far, very little is known about who comprises the newly emerging armed 
groups. In a communique two weeks ago, Paramilitary 2000 said its 2,000 
fighters included members of Army special forces units - the Tigers, the 
Wolves and the Scorpions - as well as mercenaries. 

There are other groups operating as well, including the National Front of 
Macedonia and the Todor Aleksandrov, named for a 20th-century patriot, as 
well as clubs of football hooligans boasting paramilitary structures. 

Following a pattern some fear will spread to Skopje and other cities, Western 
and government sources say police officers were among gangs that destroyed 
Albanian businesses and targeted the homes of prominent Albanians in Bitola 
in May after four policemen from the southern city were killed. The home of 
the deputy health minister, Muharrem Nexhipi, an ethnic Albanian, was among 
those targeted. 

Deputy Interior Minister Refet Elmazi, who is an ethnic Albanian, says 
neither the prime minister nor the interior ministers - both Slavs - 
expressed condolences, adding: ``I guess that speaks a lot.'' 

Polarization has already spread through government. Elmazi said recent events 
have made it difficult for him to perform his government role. Interior 
Minister Ljube Boskovski refused to give him details of the reservist 
call-up, including how many arms were distributed. 

``It is important for the second person in the police to know what is 
happening,'' Elmazi said. ``As deputy minister of the interior, I can tell 
you the Macedonians are playing a very secret game. They are not sharing 
information with other parties.''