Liberation of the Albanian Territories from under Slav Domination!?

That is what the local media claim on the basis of reports of the Chief of Military Security Service sent on May 10, to Prime Minister Ljubco Georgijevski. After the wounding of two soldiers at the Kosovo border, President Boris Trajkovski raised combat readiness, doubled border patrols and issued orders to shoot without warning at anyone trying to illegally cross the Macedonian-Kosovo border.

AIM Skopje, June 8, 2000

The latest scandal going around the Macedonian opposition media is the claim that there is a new Albanian para-military force stationed in Macedonia. In its last issue, the weekly "Start" carried an article, based on the report of Nikola Kosteski, head of the Security Sector of the Defence Ministry sent to Prime Minister Ljubco Georgijevski. The report, whose existence no longer seems questionable - report facsimiles signed by Kosteski, dated May 10, 2000 were broadcast by TV A-1 and published by the "Morning News" - contains "amazing indications on the security situation in the country provided by the Security Sector and the Intelligence Service of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia". It is further claimed that "preparations are underway for armed actions of the Protection Force Corps in Macedonia in the region of Presevo, Medvedja and Bujanovac. Their intention is to carry out these armed attacks in the villages (outlaw harbourers) at the foot of Skopje Montenegro near the FRY border - Lojane, Vaksinci and Belanovci. According to the strategists of the "Kosovo-state" these should become a part of its territory".

The weekly further claims that on this occasion "Kosteski reminded his chief Georgijevski that his Sector had 'discovered secret warehouses in the villages of Lojane, Crni Vrh, around Vejce, Vesale and Bozovce' on Mt.Sara...". "Start" does not fail to mention that "this is probably the reason why political leaders of PDSH-PDP and PPD got the idea of turning Mt.Sara into a national park" because they "would gladly have it as an arms depot and an KLA camp until the implementation of the idea on the 'Pan-Albanian state' in practice".

"The Macedonian Government has been informed of the confirmation of operative findings on the formation of "The Albanian National Army" (AKSH) with the sole purpose - of 'liberating the Albanian territories from under the Slav domination' . AKSH is made up of former KLA members, who are either citizens of Macedonia or temporarily residing here. Among them are some former ARM (Army of the Republic of Macedonia) members, pointed Kosteski and particularly mentioned Abdul Shasivari and Gola Shale, both captains". Many other villages are also mentioned, as well as the organisation "The Homeland Calls" and "The National Movement of Kosovo" (LPK), which is in charge of organising propaganda for the creation of Greater Albania.

There are also lists, identical to those in Kosovo, prepared by PPDSH-PDP, frequent incursions of 30 armed Kosovars, members of the "Second Prizren League", etc. Somewhere near the end, the text points out: "Is Georgijevski blind, deaf or inseparably obligated to Arben Xhaferi, when he refuses to react to such warnings?"

The "Morning News" carried the article from "Start" considering these findings of the Defence Ministry security service shocking. After that this subject became topic number one in the other media too. The Defence Minister Nikola Kljusev stated that he knew nothing of the report of military intelligence sent to Prime Minister Georgijevski and added: "If that is true, we should sound the alarm immediately!" The main protagonist of the whole scandal and the alleged author of the report, lieutenant-colonel Nikola Kosteski is a controversial person. Although of lower rank and a marginal publisher from Ohrid, he managed to transform his publishing house "Djurdja" into one of the leading firms of this type in Macedonia with the assistance of the Soros Foundation, Defence Ministry, which gave him the free-of-charge premises in the city centre and, in the last two years, with the aid of the Ministry of Culture.

He is one those in charge of the VMRO-DPMNE party business (purchase of firms, establishment of a new weekly, purchase of the stamp-engraving firm "Goce Delcev" in the very heart of the town, etc.). His public statement issued on the occasion of this scandal boils down to his admission that he did recognise some of the parts he had written, but that he was in no position to "either confirm or deny someone's reporting, the more so as it directly concerns the security of the state" because when he assumed his duty in the intelligence service he was sworn to keep the state secrets and not to disclose them unless required by the law.

At its last regular session, the Macedonian Government did not discuss the AKSH affair. The newly appointed spokesman for the Government, Antinio Milosovski said: "At this moment I can neither confirm nor deny anything in connection with the report". Lacking true information the opposition reacted fiercely even before the facsimile of the report was published. Pavle Trojanov, leader of the Democratic Alliance and former Minister of the Interior, harshly criticised the security policy: "Kostevski's report is the worst ever offered to the Government!" According to him there were several reports of the State Security Directorate with precise details: specific names, arms depots, instructions for the activation of weapons! According to a SDSM delegate, Ljubomir Popovski, there were serious indications about Albanian para-military organisation in Macedonia.

Also, Popovski thought that "the presence of the DPA members in state security services is the result of the strategy aimed at paralysing these bodies so that it is isn't surprising that KLA is a forbidden subject in Macedonia". The LDP spokesman Andrej Zernovski said that after Georgijevski's visit to Pristina "they are paying us back by establishing the Albanian para-military formations on our territory". Mevlam Tairi from PPD thought that "there is nothing there, but just a manipulation of the Macedonian media". The reaction of the coalition partners was "neither fish nor fowl".

Filip Petrovski, a VMRO-DPMNE delegate, commented that "all measures aimed at discovering and eliminating any para-military organisation are justified". His colleague from DA, Trajko Gesovski stated: "This can have grave repercussions on the overall stability and security of the state". A general assessment of the DPA leader, Arben Xhaferi, was that these speculations were aimed at breaking up the coalition and creating an image abut the Albanians as a destabilising element in the Balkans. He thought that the truth was that the Albanians had an army, but of voters who will achieve their goals in a democratic way and in cooperation with other democratic factors.

After the wounding of two Macedonian soldiers on Monday on the border with Kosovo, spokesman for the Government confirmed yesterday that in his capacity as the supreme commander, the Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski would, within a week at the latest, order the raising of combat readiness and deployment of twice as many soldiers on the border with Kosovo. The Defence Ministry ordered the increased border security, which means the deployment of more soldiers and materiel. Personnel armoured carriers will be used on the border for the first time.

At the same time, President Trajkovski made a number of diplomatic contacts with the Ambassadors of NATO countries in Macedonia and sent warning messages to the KFOR Headquarters. Yesterday in Brussels, at his meeting with the NATO Commander, General Ralston, the Macedonia Ambassador conveyed the concern of the Macedonian Government and today the Defence Minister Nikola Kljusev will send a letter requesting the Alliance's assistance in securing the border. The official Macedonian message reads: unless the Alliance takes measures for the complete control of the border on the Kosovo side, Macedonia will take unilateral measures to protect its borders. According to some sources this implies the possibility of total sealing of the border with Kosovo and a request for an urgent UN Security Council session dedicated to the safety of Macedonian-Kosovo border.

An immediate cause for these activities of the Macedonian Government was the wounding of two Macedonian soldiers from snipers which were fired from the Kosovo side on Monday near the "Donje Blace" blockhouse on the Macedonian-Kosovo border. This is just the most recent event. These days, the current authorities are faced with a series of disagreeable events concerning the Albanians in Macedonia, as well as the relations with Kosovo. The AKSH affair, which will certainly intensify in the coming days after the confirmation of the existence of the disputable report which was sent by the chief of the Army security service to the Prime Minister, because the Government has been practically caught lying once again. The opposition which claims that the Macedonian-Kosovo border is controlled by smugglers and terrorists, demanded an extraordinary session of Parliament on the security situation in the country. It coincided with the letter of commendation of Madeleine Albright to Ljubco Georgijevski for paying a visit to Pristina.

This week, the media also carried a facsimile of a letter of the Skopje Public Prosecutor asking the release of Xhavid Hasani in exchange for the liberation of four kidnapped Macedonian soldiers in early April. The cherry on the top was MUP's onfirmation that there were indications that extreme-left elements were planning an attempt on the life of the DPA Vice-President Mend Thai. One the one hand, are the claims that these are radical elements of the security service "Sigurimi" of former Albanian President Enver Hoxha, while on the other the Skopje daily "The News" (Dnevnik) maintains that this is the way the KLA bosses are paying back Thaqi for charging excessive commissions on business "deals" with Kosovo.

According to "The News": "Combat readiness of the Macedonian police and the military has been raised because of the KLA warnings which through Thaqi reached the Government last week. A large group of the Kosovo Protection Corps members, who are KLA members, had illegally crossed the Macedonian-Kosovo border near Tetovo and after delivering the message of their bosses from Pristina, returned the same way". The papers think that the wounding of the Macedonian soldiers is also a warning to the Macedonian Government and Thaqi personally.

AIM Skopje

ISO RUSI