[ALBSA-Info] The Balkan Flip-Flopper - NEWSWEEK

[Gazhebo at aol.com]

The Balkan Flip-Flopper
A leader once favored by the West is now trashing NATO. A talk with the 
volatile prime minister

By Rod Nordland
NEWSWEEK

Albanian rebels in Macedonia signed a NATO-brokered ceasefire with the 
Macedonian Army last week. If the ceasefire holds, NATO is committed to 
sending in 3,000 troops to disarm the guerrillas. Whether that happens may 
depend on the mercurial personality of Macedonia’s powerful prime minister, 
Ljubco Georgievski. In a recent interview with NEWSWEEK, the prime minister 
made clear that he is no fan of NATO’s role in Macedonia. “This is the worst 
flirting by the international community with terrorist groups we have ever 
seen,” he said. “NATO has been too mild with terrorists and Albanian 
extremists.”

WHEN THE 35-YEAR-OLD PRIME MINISTER SPEAKS, diplomats wince. Three years ago 
the poet and politico became the bright young hope of Macedonia’s Western 
supporters after he took the bold step of forging a coalition between his own 
Slavic-dominated party and an Albanian political party. That brought him to 
power—the first salaried job of his life—and brought moderate Albanian 
leaders into the governing coalition. But Georgievski now fiercely criticizes 
his coalition partners. “The Albanian political parties have become the 
political wing of the terrorists,” he said.   

Georgievski himself has destabilized the situation from time to time. Twice 
in recent months he has threatened to declare a state of war, which would 
lead to the inevitable withdrawal of Albanian moderates from Macedonian 
politics. The prime minister blames the West for this. “We are witnessing a 
monster actually created by NATO,” he said. “NATO intervention made Kosovo 
what it is... and these terrorists all come from Kosovo.” Even the military 
success of the Albanian guerrillas, who have never lost a serious engagement 
with Macedonian forces, he blames on NATO. The rebels do well, he said, 
“because the international community pressured our Macedonian state 
institutions rather than... applying any pressure against terrorist groups.” 

When ethnic Slavs rioted two weeks ago in Skopje, overrunning Parliament and 
chasing President Boris Trajkovski from his office, Georgievski was quick to 
condemn the violence. But he was also quick to excuse it. The rioting was 
touched off by a NATO deal to end fighting in Aracinovo, a town uncomfortably 
close to the capital, he pointed out. “Ninety percent of Macedonians are 
convinced that NATO is in a kind of treaty with the Albanians to destroy the 
country and promote the ideal of a Greater Albania.” Does Georgievski think 
so, too? “I personally do not believe it,” he insisted, but adds, “Everyone 
is at the end of their patience.” 

That includes top NATO officials. Georgievski’s people “are taking their 
country to war because of the lack of responsibility in leadership,” said a 
NATO negotiator. “Georgievski has to stop saying they’re only doing this 
because the international community is forcing them.” Not to worry. The prime 
minister says Macedonians—by which he means the ethnic-Slav majority—are no 
longer listening to their political leaders. “Macedonian politicians have 
been losing their authority and all of their leaders have simply been sinking 
into helplessness,” he said. It’s easy to see why.