The collapse of ethnic romanticism

The news that last Monday the Macedonian army entered the village of Tanuševci on the northern border with the FRY in the part towards Kosovo was welcomed in Skopje with rather mixed feelings. With an unconcealed dose of pride, part of the media stated that the Macedonian flag is flying again in this remote village whose inhabitants were known until recently only for the good potatoes that reached the Skopje markets. With a certain amount of mockery, the other part of the media reminded their own government that it took almost a full month to regain control over this border village. Those from the government (primarily from VMRO), who until a few years ago dreamed of holding one of the next party congresses in "liberated" Thessaloniki, were criticized for conquering and liberating their own territory too slowly and somewhat unwillingly moving towards Tanuševci.

There were also those who, referring to "reliable sources and sensational discoveries", even claimed that nothing was accidental in this case - according to them, the Macedonian authorities deliberately withdrew the reserve force from the vicinity of this village a year ago and allegedly tacitly allowed that extremists are being trained in Tanuševci for operations in the south of Serbia. The "overtrained" terrorists later started killing Macedonian policemen as well. The spokesperson of the Macedonian Ministry of Internal Affairs denied the validity of such accusations and vividly stated that there are no training centers and trainers in Macedonia. "There are only players," he claimed.

TRADE PLANS: No matter what all of this is true, and no matter how much all these events served for intra-Macedonian friction between the government and the opposition, the events surrounding the (popularly speaking) "Tanuševka vukojebina" drew reporters from the world's most influential media to Skopje in recent days, who probably thought that it was time for the final Balkan territorial subjugations. Before the Macedonian flag was raised again at the entrance to this village, only a CNN journalist made it to Tanuševac from the Macedonian side, who was escorted to the local hills by the national security adviser of the president. All other journalists were told that the road was not safe and the journey to the conflict zone usually ended at a "check point" in the village of Pobožje on the slopes of Skopje Montenegro. The inhabitants of Pobožje, who spend their days drinking beer in front of the village store, counting the military vehicles and jeeps going uphill or rushing downhill, claim that until recently, Albanians from Tanuševac regularly came down to this village. They bought a lot of things in Pobožje because it was cheaper for them, and the owner of the local store (now mobilized) gave them goods at a discount. And it never happened that anyone cheated on him. "Those who stopped by and shopped with us are certainly not shooting at the Macedonian police." It is said that those who came from Kosovo in uniform are now holding them hostage," says Marina, the daughter of a local store owner.

There are different theories about who is shooting on the northern Macedonian border in Skopje and for what purpose. Some of those who could be said to be insiders claim that they are people who were once trained by KFOR (for their own needs) on how to wage war. They later thought that they would use weapons and former allies to encircle the "Albanian territories" because, carried away by their plans, they did not notice how things in the region were slowly changing. On behalf of the people from the forest, through the Italian "Republika", a certain Fazli Veliu, who is wanted by the Macedonian police because of the clumsy handling of bombs on several occasions in the cities of western Macedonia, spoke out. Velija presented himself as the leader of the "liberating people's army" (apparently a continuation of the revolutionary ways and methods of the KLA) and claimed that no one is crazy anymore to dream of Greater Albania. "We want to maintain the integrity of Macedonia, even more than the Macedonians themselves, of course if the Macedonian nation really exists," said this wanted man, also noting that there are twice as many Albanians in Macedonia than the official 23 percent. He told Veli that ONA is fighting for the end of discrimination against Albanians and their equal status with Macedonians (status of a nation-building nation), which can only be achieved by changing the constitution and federalizing this country. Leaders of the opposition PDP stated that their political goals do not differ in any way from the political views of the people under arms. In the meantime, the newly founded party of Albanians from Macedonia, the National Democratic Party, which gathers the most radical advocates of the federalization of Macedonia and whose appearance some newspapers in Skopje quite openly describe as an attempt to "institutionalize terrorism", expressed even stronger support for ONA's views.

MIRNA SUPPORT TERRORISTS: Foreign diplomats and journalists in Skopje still mostly listen to what the ex-radical among Albanians and now a man in power, Arben Xhaferi, the leader of the DPA, declares about Tanuševci. Unlike their compatriots who are in the opposition, Jaferi and DPA Vice President Menduh Thaci were the first to realize (perhaps due to regular diplomatic contacts) that the shots from Tanusevac and the new victims in Macedonia could very quickly turn violently against the Albanians themselves and their political elites and turn them from the previous "favorites" into "bad guys" in the Balkans. That's why Xhaferi strongly supported the territorial integrity of Macedonia, condemned extremists and the use of weapons, and organized a "peace and justice march" in the center of Skopje last Tuesday. At first glance, ten thousand participants of this rally walked through the streets of Skopje with a message that could roughly be summed up as - "we love you, our motherland" and "we are not terrorists". Some of the participants, mostly high school students, admitted to the journalists that they fully support the political demands of the people from ONA, from whom Jaferi normally distances himself, and whom most of the Macedonian media call precisely terrorists.

The original plan was apparently to walk past the American embassy, ​​but everything ended with a peaceful walk to the government building where Jafferi's ministers are sitting. Some American journalists claimed that the organizers of the meeting were politely advised (by American diplomats) not to pass by the American embassy in Skopje, around which a new, who knows what kind of protective fence is being erected these days. The evening before this march, the US special envoy for military stability in the Balkans, James Perdue, spoke to a group of Macedonian journalists and allegedly told them that the creation of new and the dissolution of existing states in the Balkans was over. Perdue said that a group of extremists and criminals will not be allowed to destabilize the entire region. Some of the journalists claim that they warned the American diplomat that the founding congress of the new party of Albanians in Macedonia, which openly supports extremists, was held with conspicuous waving of the American flag.

Arben Xhaferi himself sees the way out of the current situation and calming the situation in the region in two ways - in the accelerated convergence of Macedonia with Western European institutions and values ​​and in the final independence of Kosovo. According to the DPA leader, only an independent Kosovo with its own institutions can take responsibility and take care of the borders and stop being the reason for new traumatization of the region.

FEDERALIZATION DO ETHNIC CLEANING: The former Macedonian minister of interior and then foreign affairs (currently professor of international law at the Faculty of Law in Skopje) Ljubomir Frčkovski resolutely opposes this view of the Albanian leaders in Macedonia. In an interview with "Vreme", Frčkovski points out that it is difficult to see stable institutions in ethnically almost pure Kosovo, just like in Albania, which also does not control its own borders. An independent Kosovo in that sense would not change things much considering that the organized crime there is incomparably more organized than any serious institutions for the construction of which the current status of Kosovo and the position of the international community do not pose any obstacle. As proof that Albanians in Macedonia live in the most stable conditions, Frčkovski also mentions the fact that during the total chaos in Albania a few years ago, as well as during the war in Kosovo, there were no incidents or conflicts in Macedonia.

"I am not claiming that the project of a greater Albania has not yet been abandoned at the level of ethnic romanticism among some people. But the extremists who are now making trouble on the borders are not able to create even a small Albania, let alone something more. Admittedly, they can create chaos and a lot of trouble, and therefore they must not be given too much space," says Frčkovski. In the opinion of our interlocutor, the real interest of Albanians from Macedonia is certainly not to end up in a subordinate position in relation to their compatriots from Kosovo, because that would mean they would lose significant jobs, profits and advantages that they have now. "Rhetoric, solidarity and what is seen on the surface is one thing, but the real interests are something completely different," says Frčkovski, who is otherwise a fierce opponent of the idea of ​​the federalization of Macedonia. According to him, the federalization of such a small area as Macedonia would inevitably lead to ethnic cleansing. Instead, it is necessary to build a state with an ethnically neutral but efficient and capable administration.

In some reflections on the latest events not only in Macedonia but also in the south of Serbia, one hears how the Albanian side is allegedly trying to catch the "last train" for a more comprehensive solution to its own issue and to reach, possibly, a new Dayton by radicalizing the situation on the ground. In support of this thesis, the announcement that "Daytonist" Christopher Hill is also arriving in Skopje these days is also mentioned. Against this thesis speaks the obvious truth that even that first Dayton in many respects remained vague and nebulous.

In the meantime, the Macedonian army and police are trying to raise state flags in some more villages towards Kumanovo, the city where an agreement was signed not so long ago, according to which no one would be allowed to walk around the borders carrying weapons. The more radical among the Albanians intend to organize a new rally in Tetovo on Wednesday, March 14 (when this text goes to press) as a sign of protest "against state terror", in which these days, in the first spring sunshine, young Albanians and Macedonians, separately but synchronized, will occupy their ethnically clean kaftas and observe an almost unreal sight - paragliders hovering over the snowy peaks of Šara. In May, there will be a new population census, for which many in Macedonia are already preparing like a real international derby match. The football "derby" between "Vardar" and "Sloga", played last week in Chair, a part of Skopje where mostly Albanians live, passed peacefully. Judging by the number of cameras from the world's leading TV stations behind the goal, it looked like the final of the World Cup was being played. Judging by the number of combat and armored vehicles parked near the out line, it was obvious that it was something completely different.