Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey: Macedonia to declare state of war

Pravda.RU (Jun 08, 2001) - The patience of the Macedonian government with the Albanian extremists is running out after 12 casualties were caused among the Macedonian security forces. A spokesperson for the Macedonian government stated that it was necessary to declare a state of war.

Yesterday, two Macedonian army soldiers were killed in an ambush as they delivered food to a base, while others were injured. As a second group of soldiers tried to lead medics to the victims, another three soldiers were killed and a total of seven were injured. The fighting took place in the Sar Planina mountain range near Tetovo, north-western Macedonia.
The Macedonian government spokesperson Antonio Milosovski said that “A strong military response is the only way to achieve peace. It is necessary to declare a state of war and make a general call-up”. Such a declaration of war would allow the Macedonian army to mobilise all able-bodied men to fight the Albanian extremists, who continue to pour into northern Macedonia through Kosovo, after a second wave of fighting has flared up in recent weeks.

This increased aggressiveness by the Albanians comes immediately after the US diplomat from the OSCE, a Mr. Robert Frowick, brokered a secret agreement between the minority Albanian political parties in the Macedonian coalition government, before he was forced to flee the country on the first plane out of Skopje. The damage done by this gentleman seems to have deeper repercussions than was at first thought to be the case, because since this secret agreement, the Albanian political parties have been playing a “double game”, saying one thing in Parliament and informing the extremists of the action being taken.

The reaction from the Slavic Macedonians was summed up by Mr. Milosovsky : “For four months, Macedonia has been dreaming about a peaceful solution to the conflict, through dialogue. Everyone should know that we are at war and that a powerful military response is the only solution to reach peace”.
Meanwhile, Albanian shops were attacked at Bitola in southern Macedonia after the population learned that three of the soldiers killed were from there.
Balkans defence ministers meeting at Thessalonica, Greece, on Wednesday, declared that “We strongly condemn the continuing terrorist actions by extremists, who are urged to cease their activities” in a message through the Greek defence minister, Akis Tsohatzopoulos.

However, NATO, the EU and the USA urge Macedonia to show restraint, promising military aid to Macedonia if a measured reaction is shown. EU foreign policy Commissioner Javier Solana condemned the Albanian extremists, but added that “A declaration of a state of war would only be playing into the hands of the extremists and would not help in resolving the present crisis”.

US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld declared that “any response to the provocation must be appropriate and must avoid the loss of human life”.

NATO’s nervousness increases daily, since its 20,000 soldiers in Bosnia-Herzegovina and 35,000 in Kosovo could be drawn into a problem of NATO’s own making, if matters spiral out of control in Macedonia. It was, after all, the USA which decided to arm, equip and train the Albanians so as to humiliate the Slavic Serbs and create instability on Europe’s doorstep.
A declaration of war by the Macedonian parliament would need a two-thirds majority, which would be difficult to achieve given the political influence of the two Albanian parties in the government. The result will be continuing instability in this country of 2 million inhabitants, one third of whom are Albanians.

The Albanian question in the Balkans is just beginning. In Albanian society, the function of the woman is to bear as many children as is physically possible. It is frequent for a pregnant Albanian woman to cross frontiers so as to have a child in a country, for that child to gain citizenship, altering over time the ethnic composition of the region. If the Balkans of today is complicated, the Balkans of 2030 will be explosive. For this, we have the USA, again, to thank for yet another example of intrusion and interfering.

TIMOTHY BANCROFT-HINCHEY
PRAVDA.Ru
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