[ALBSA-Info] Time: 'Macedonia Is Going the Way of Kosovo and Bosnia'

[Iris Pilika]

'Macedonia Is Going the Way of Kosovo and Bosnia'

Cell Phone From Skopje: TIME correspondent Dejan Anastasijevic sees the 
latest fighting as the opening scene of yet another Balkan tragedy   BY TONY 
KARON



Wednesday, Mar. 14, 2001 TIME.com: Despite the efforts of NATO and the 
Macedonian security forces to tamp down the Albanian insurgency along the 
Kosovo border, there were new clashes today at Tetovo, deep inside 
Macedonia. Is Macedonia headed for a civil war?

Dejan Anastasijevic: It's not the beginning of a new war — not yet, but the 
warning signs are there. What we have here is a spillover from Kosovo, and 
it's not going to go away; it's going to get worse. The "new" guerrilla 
force calling itself the National Liberation Army and claiming to represent 
Macedonia's Albanian minority is not new at all. It's simply the KLA under a 
new name, whose Albanian acronym, UCK, is exactly the same as it was in 
Kosovo. Its commanders are all former KLA commanders, who have the backing 
of their friends in Kosovo. And it's being funded by the same "Homeland" 
fund based in Switzerland that funded the KLA. So it's the same people 
trying to do the same thing all over again — their immediate objective is 
self-rule for Albanians in whichever country they may live. That's the first 
step. The second step is unification of those Albanian enclaves with 
Albania.

Does the new insurgency have the support of Macedonia's Albanians?

The majority probably feel a little bit uncomfortable about these guys. They 
don't have overwhelming general support, but what happened today in Tetovo 
demonstrates that they have enough support to start serious trouble. A crowd 
of Albanian nongovernmental organizations was marching to protest police 
brutality, although there have been no recent reports of police brutality — 
the incidents cited tend to have occurred some time ago. And then the moment 
gunfire started, this same crowd began chanting "KLA, KLA" and attacking 
non-Albanian journalists watching the scene. So this guerrilla force 
certainly has enough support to start serious trouble.

It's important to note that while previous skirmishes occurred along the 
border with Kosovo, this was deep inside Macedonia. Joint efforts by 
Macedonian security forces and KFOR managed to eradicate several NLA 
outposts on the border. As a result of this wipeout, they've moved the 
theater of operations deeper into Macedonia, where KFOR cannot help. And 
because it's now an internal matter, the Macedonian constitution also 
prevents the use of the military. So the Macedonian authorities are forced 
to rely on lightly armed special police, who are outgunned by the NLA.

What about NATO? Surely this puts tremendous pressure on the alliance to 
clamp down, so as to avoid yet another disastrous Balkan war breaking out?

NATO's hands are tied now that the conflict has moved deeper into Macedonia. 
Tanusevci [the village U.S. troops helped Macedonia recapture] was in full 
view of NATO forces guarding the Kosovo border. But inside Macedonia, they 
have no leverage. They have no mandate to do anything. NATO obviously wants 
to avoid another Balkan war, but the trouble has started and it's not going 
to go away. They could crack down on the logistical support the NLA is 
getting from Kosovo, and on the guys there pulling the strings. NATO knows 
who these people are. But that would mean spoiling friendships with some key 
players on the Albanian political scene, and new confrontations in Kosovo, 
which they also want to avoid.

Political and legal concerns will probably prevent NATO from doing anything. 
They're trying to start a peace process, but it's not really in the 
interests of the NLA to negotiate a solution, because if they're not 
manufacturing flash points, they cease to be important and the politicians 
take over. The politicians are also trying to exploit the situation, calling 
for a renegotiation of Macedonian political arrangements, and full 
independence for Kosovo.

You covered both Bosnia and Kosovo from the beginning of those conflicts. Is 
what you're seeing in Macedonia following the same pattern?

Macedonia is not the same as either Bosnia or Kosovo, but it has striking 
and depressing similarities with both. Macedonia has a lethal combination of 
three factors: A group of extremists who are getting away with using 
violence; a corrupted government here in Skopje and the absence of any 
government in Kosovo, which means the authorities are unable or unwilling to 
take the necessary steps to stamp out violence; and a dazed and confused 
international community whose priority is maintaining the safety of their 
own personnel, and starting a "peace process" that is merely an excuse for 
doing nothing. The same combination was present in Kosovo and Bosnia, which 
allowed a low-intensity conflict to blow up into serious bloodshed and, 
ultimately, the destruction of the country. I'm afraid the same thing is 
starting here.



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