A Nightmare War Weekend

As true war reports from Tetovo file in daily, the citizens of Macedonia have waited a long time, even too long, for the state leadership to show it that the "ship" is in sure hands. Concrete messages finally came during the weekend: it will not take too long to see whether they are real, or messages in a bottle, to be found long after the ship sinks

AIM Skopje, March 19, 2001

For a month already, the situation in Macedonia has not exactly been outright war, but it certainly is not peace. The episode in the village of Tanusevci compares like a picnic with the situation in Tetovo and its vicinity. Every now and then, security forces report progress, though reports from the field and common sense show that things will not proceed easy at all: the ethnic Albanian formations have captured positions on Mt. Sara and its slopes above the city, thus anyone down in the valley (the Macedonian forces) will need much strength to dislodge them.

The state leadership has not said anything for a long time, if not too long, with the exception of an address to Parliament, or more correctly, appeal for peace, by President Trajkovski. Journalists attempted in vain to squeeze out any concrete opinion, promise or statement of resolve from the men at the top. This, however, produced no result: their statements were curt, hollow, and offered little hope. As if refraining from statements means restraint in action -- political, diplomatic or military alike.

The Parliament speaker, the always overcautious Stojan Andov, finally reached a decision and scheduled a Parliament session on March 16 with a single item on the agenda: the security situation. To the public's unpleasant surprise, the session was held behind closed doors, almost in secret. The growingly impatient subjects started hearing contradictory rumors: Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski had accepted an opposition motion for the forming of a government of national unity; no, he had rejected it, ethnic Albanian parties had laid down an ultimatum for changing the Constitution, some parties had left Parliament... On the second day, when the session became conspiratorial due to its length, resembling a Vatican conclave, everything started becoming reminiscent of barren communist party sessions in the former Yugoslavia at the end of the 80s, which always promised much, but produced nothing. Witnesses say more time was wasted in bickering among parties than in any real debate.

At last! Somewhere around midnight on March 17, Parliament adopted conclusions on the situation in the country. They said that the security situation was deteriorating because of activities by armed groups of extremists (the Party for Democratic Prosperity, an opposition party in the Albanian bloc, reportedly asked that they only be called "armed groups"). An appeal was sent to all international organizations for their continued support to Macedonia and the preservation of its territorial integrity, stability, and sovereignty. Parliament requested assistance, but excluded military pres ence from other neighboring countries. The latter was said to have blocked any attempts by Bulgaria or Greece, true or imagined, to get militarily involved in Macedonia. Many domestic and foreign observers are saying that if this happened, it would certainly be an introduction to a conflict of regional proportions and that Macedonia would be left to foot the bill.

Parliament called on KFOR to increase its presence and engagement along the entire northern border. "Parliament will urgently intensify political dialogue with relevant political subjects through institutions of the system towards finding a solution to the current problems." Events will soon prove whether the aforementioned dialogue actually means negotiations on the ethnic Albanian political subjects' long-known demands for constitutional reform that would equalize them with the Macedonians.

Of a total 103 delegates, 97 voted for the conclusions, while six abstained from the vote. Political circles say that the adopted conclusions were the very minimum, the smallest common denominator, which all parties in parliament would support. One thing is certain: Macedonia has managed to reach a consensus between its ethnic groups before the international community; even if it has no practical effect, it will have a positive psychological impact.

Delegates in Parliament could not, however, agree on forming a wide coalition government which would include political parties with representation in Parliament, an act that would mean much. Perhaps, there is one last chance. This alliance could be formed in a narrower circle, at an announced meeting between party leaders at President Trajkovski's in a day or two.

Meanwhile, several thousand inhabitants of Tetovo protested first late on March 17 before Parliament and on the morning of the following day before the government building, demanding decisive action against the extremists and guarantees for normal living conditions. Analysts (even history perhaps) will judge the political effects of these protests, whether they were a necessary cover for the government to launch a more decisive campaign by its security forces. The crowd was addressed by President Boris Trajkovski who in an impromptu speech called for rationality. This was obviously not enough, and on March 18 a much larger crowd gathered. Prime Minister Georgievski greeted a delegation of Tetovars and said he would soon address the nation.

As promised, the prime minister addressed the nation on the afternoon of March 18, saying Macedonia was facing an aggression that had come from the northern border, from Kosovo. "The aggression was prepared, organized, planned, and carried out in full with the logistic support of parties and structures in Kosovo," he said. Georgievski thanked the international community for its support (emphasizing the support of all four neighboring countries), and said he could not agree with a view that had appeared in the international public that the situation in Macedonia was an Albanian uprising, and that it had not resulted because the Kosovo crisis had spilled over into the country. Georgievski claimed he had more than enough evidence to prove that the aggression was from Kosovo. He said the reason for the aforementioned stance was simple: if the international community acknowledged that the aggression was from Kosovo, it would have to admit that its policies in Kosovo had been wrong all along. "You cannot convince anyone in Macedonia that the U.S. and German governments do not know who the bosses of the gangs in Macedonia are; their names are known, and if they start using more aggressive policies, they will be stopped in their aggression against our country," Georgievski said.

Western diplomats will probably be confused with the prime minister's vision of rallying future international support by criticizing its prominent representatives.

Georgievski sent another message to political parties in Kosovo. He reminded them that they were citizens of Kosovo and that their political structures had forgotten what Macedonia had done for them during the refugee crisis.

The prime minister avoided mentioning the fact there are Macedonian citizens among the extremists. This would shake the official version in its foundations, and, what is more important, it would mean that a different approach is needed.

Georgievski responded to accusations that the government will betray the Macedonian people by saying that 50 times the amount of weapons that the government had inherited when it took office had been acquired in the meantime, and that 30 trucks with weapons and ammunition from various sides were arriving daily.

Georgievski assured citizens that no one was negotiating with the terrorists and that no one was negotiating changes to the constitution. He finished his address by saying, "Macedonia will use all combat means at its disposal: the police, and, if need be, the army, to fight terrorism and the aggression from Kosovo."

Concrete political messages have finally arrived: it will not take too long to see whether they are real, or messages in a bottle, to be found long after the ship sinks.

Zeljko Bajic

(AIM)