Macedonian Army to Be Reconstructed

Two instead of three corps, a smaller number of soldiers, more professionals, a new general staff

AIM Skopje, 11 January, 2000

Macedonian army, as announced by the Ministry of Defence and as stated by minister Nikola Kljusev, is heading towards reform which should result in a small but efficient mobile army which will be capable of ensuring stability of borders and territorial integrity of this country in the newly created Balkan constellation. Apart from this goal, reconstruction is necessary because of the strategic decision of Macedonia to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. After Washington summit occasioned by the 50th anniversary of NATO, Macedonia was put on the list of nine countries as an equal candidate for membership, but conditions and requirements were defined which it had to meet in order to join NATO. Macedonian's obligation was to make the annual national operation plan by 30 November, 1999, and present it to the directors of the Alliance. Plans of countries candidates for membership refer to different sectors - political reforms, economic, military and security measures.

Macedonian annual plan was presented and according to foreign minister Aleksandar Dimitru who was the inter-ministerial co-ordinator for elaboration of the draft plan, the "first reading" passed with favourable marks with the remark that the plan had to be supplemented in the sense of priorities and timing. The operation plan will be evaluated in May by the Council of NATO, that is by foreign ministers of member countries of the Alliance.

For the time being the plan is confidential. Nevertheless, judging by the announcement of reforms, their scope and significance can be anticipated. Minister of defence Nikola Kljusev declared that instead of 22 thousand active soldiers, the army will have 16 thousand of them. The reserve forces will be cut to half of their present number, instead of 120 thousand soldiers of the reserves, the Army of the Republic of Macedonia (ARM) will have 60 thousand.

This plan has already been announced a few times but it has not been carried out, but now under pressure of the wish to join NATO it seems that the Army commanders will have to do their best to reduce the Army. Some media like the opposition Utrinski vesnik and Makedonija Denes published unofficial information that the operation plan did not pass the "first reading" with such flying colours especially in respect to the number of soldiers and tank units. According to the sources of Utrinski vesnik, NATO was reserved concerning the number of soldiers and allegedly it instructed Macedonia that it should have about 10 thousand soldiers similarly as Slovenia which has the same number of inhabitants as Macedonia - two million. The problem of tanks, according to the sources of the government of Macedonia arouse because the Army heads demanded four battalions while NATO insisted on two, so a compromise was reached - two battalions will be formed but with 44 tanks in each instead of 31 which is the formula applied by several countries in the world. Nevertheless, it should be mentioned that a battalion of 44 tanks is not a unit unknown to Europe.

According to announcements from the Ministry of Defence, the tendency will be to gradually make ARM a professional army so that in four or five years half of its soldiers will have a professional contract with the army. This policy is not new, the former government had the same projects but they could not be carried out because of the humble income of the army. That is the reason why at this moment only a few hundred soldiers mostly in special units have professional status. Nobody knows where so many financial means will be found for making the army professional when the budget is restrictive.

The reform will also affect the organisation of the army. The biggest change will be that instead of three Macedonia will have two corps and command structure of practically all units to the level of platoon will also be reconstructed according to the already finished consultations with experts of NATO a team of whom stayed in Macedonia for several months. Formation of a border corps is planned which will provide the cadre for control of borders with Albania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Greece. According to certain plans, professionalisation of the Army should begin from border units. It is also worth mentioning the information that, as Kljusev stated, Macedonia is planning to abandon some of the border watchtowers towards Bulgaria and Greece. The proposal has already been prepared and should be sent to these two bordering countries. The explanation of this move according to Kljusev is that relations with these two countries are relaxed and the borders stable.

It seems that the most has been done in the commitment to make the army efficient and mobile which is achieved thanks to the fact that Macedonia is receiving considerable aid in equipment and combat means from its partners. It is an established fact in military doctrine that a mobile army must have tanks and transporters which is indeed a condition for the existence of easily mobile units. In this respect ARM is becoming a well equipped army.

In the past few days German aid consisting of armoured transporters and jeeps has started to arrive. Information arrived that a ship has arrived in Greek port of Thesaloniki with 115 armoured transporters Hermelin type. This information has not been denied by the Ministry of defence, but they refused to reveal more details. According to the negotiations on military aid from Germany this country has promised 115 Hermelin armoured transporters, no less than 300 field vehicles, 100 thousand automatic G-3 rifles, 20 thousand semi-automatic Scorpion guns, 10 thousand semi-automatic pistols and equipment for mountain units. For the time being as it was possible to find out, the first delivery contains only Hermelin transporters. Besides, as a gift from Greece ARM got 10 armoured Leonidas transporters. The motor pool which ensures high mobility includes also the tanks which are the gift from Bulgaria. In summer 1999, this country gave Macedonia as a gift hundred odd T-55 tanks which have already been put into operation. Some sixty BTR transporters had arrived before that from Germany.

The general staff of Macedonian army will also undergo changes soon. By order of former president and supreme commander of ARM Kiro Gligorov, three generals have been retired, and another two (one of whom is the head of General staff general Trajce Krstevski) are also expected to retire because of the needed years of service. Minister Kljusev declared that young men trained in European military schools should become new members of General Staff, men with vision and wish to work greater than their predecessors. This statement was interpreted in military circles as an attempt to eliminate old generals who were all trained in former Yugoslav People's Army, but it should be stressed that ever since the beginning of dissolution of Yugoslavia they have all come to this country and participated in developing Macedonian army from scratch.

The public in Macedonia as well as the officers in the Army accept changes which have lasted for a year already as normal and inevitable with the exception of the gift of arms from Bulgaria, a gesture which was received with much reserve because of accumulated historical problems and differences between the two states. However, military analysts mostly believe that this gift is not accidental and bilateral, but that it was approved by NATO partners which should not surprise when one knows that both countries are members of Partnership for Peace and that both countries are candidates for membership in NATO.

AIM Skopje

VALENTIN NESOVSKI