Macedonian Sun Of Kutlesh Symbol of the Macedonian Nation
Macedonian images
HISTORY OF MACEDONIA
ZHELEVO LERINSKO MACEDONIA
GERKOMANIA
A Disease of the mind inflicted by Greek Brutality on a massive scale.
Critical Evaluation of Historical Scholarchip on Ancient Macedonia
ETHNICITY OF THE ANCIENT MACEDONIANS
Images
<< Previous Topic | Next Topic >> Return to Index
Reality Macedonia
December 6 2001 at 1:32 PM
No score for this postZhelio (Login ZHELEVO)
Forum Owner
How It Looks From America: Macedonia In 2001 And Beyond
Respectable American scholar and journalist Christopher Deliso takes a long hard look at the situation in this comprehensive article published by Skopje's weekly Aktuel. The discussed issues include: American support of the NLA, the influence of the Albanian lobby, biased media, terrorist rhetoric, and future prospects.
By Christopher Deliso
It has been a long year for Macedonia, and a strange one. For friends of Macedonia like myself, it has also been the cause for much dismay. Trying to get anyone in the US to pay attention to Macedonia has been about as effective as talking to a brick wall. Nevertheless, the fact that the NLA has had only limited popularity in America owes in part, I hope, to our efforts. It also owes to the fact that few Americans have any interest in events 5,000 kilometers away. However, after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, there is a new curiosity about the world among Americans, and with any luck the Macedonian crisis will become more visible in 2002.
There’s not much support for the NLA in America
Although last winter’s NLA "rebellion" was not a big surprise, all things considered, it still came as unsettling proof that the Albanian militants in Macedonia were both fearless and brazen enough to believe they could get away with it. Perhaps they believed that previous US support in Kosovo would translate into military intervention in Macedonia. Although in the end they did not get the active and robust support that the KLA did two years before, they were favored, and have continued to be aided, by the US and NATO.
The reasons for this support were not always clear, even to the Albanians. Since 1999, the tremendous amount of anti-Serbian and anti-Macedonian rhetoric coming from the Western media has been used as a propaganda tool, particularly by the British and American governments, to "sell" the wars to their citizens.
Consequently, Albanians were extolled and lauded excessively- but not because the US had any real love for them. Those photos of Bill and Hilary Clinton kissing babies in Kosovo epitomized the farce. Rather, the media’s support for the Albanians has only served to help Western leaders justify the real military, economic and political goals behind it. This reality, however, was lost on many Albanians, both in Kosovo and Macedonia. The former expected that Kosovo would be made independent following the 1999 bombing campaign, and the latter assumed that NATO might even bomb Macedonia to help them. As the Albanians discovered that the American love affair was only a dream, they became a potential threat to their former allies. And so in Kosovo, US troops cowered in the relative luxury of Camp Bondsteel, rather than chase down the gun-runners and guerrillas trying to cross the Macedonian border. In Macedonia, the new fear of the Albanians has caused the US to go along with all of their demands- lest they might perhaps open fire on NATO.
This position was stated way back in March, in an article in an article in London’s Guardian ("Why NATO is ignoring Macedonia," by Simon Tisdall, 22 March, 2001). The author maintained that the NLA had the upper hand- and knew it- because of the perceived American fear of casualties. This fear still grips NATO today, and it explains why the NLA has been so bold during 2001. Quite simply, they know no one is going to stop them.
The Albanian lobby in the United States
The Albanians do, however, have real supporters in the US. The Albanian lobby in Washington is strong, and led by two groups in particular: the Albanian-American Civic League (AACL), and the National Albanian-American Council (NAAC).
The AACL is run by Joe DioGuardi, a disgraced former congressman, and his wife, Shirley Cloyes-DioGiuardi. Their website (
aacl.com <http://www.aacl.com>) blatantly shows a picture of an idealized "Greater Albania," incorporating parts of Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Greece. The AACL has been a major fundraiser for Albanian ventures abroad, and has contacts with other, less peaceful, Albanian groups: for example, the AACL was involved in a 1999 rally in Washington, where it marched with the KLA and the militant "Homeland Calling" group. This organization sent fighters to Kosovo in 1999, and more recently it sent volunteers to fight for the NLA.
A New York Times article (March 19, 2001) chronicled a typical Albanian fundraising event. At a bar in New York, $500,000 was raised in one night at a private party. The newspaper quoted Dervish Jahjaga, editor of the Albanian-American newspaper (Bota Sot), as supporting a war on Macedonia. In attendance were representatives of the NLA, who recruited several Americans to fight for them. Now, in the aftermath of September 11th, it would be very interesting to know how these men feel about having fought on the same side as bin Laden’s imported mujaheedin.
The Albanian-American lobbyist groups are both well-organized and well-funded, and they have the ear of influential lawmakers like Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Congressman Eliot Engel of New York, and former Kansas senator Bob Dole. The powerful Arizona senator John McCain has also been strongly pro-Albanian in the past. The entire Clinton administration, it should go without saying, was behind the Albanians in Kosovo.
Macedonia, unfortunately, does not have similar legislative influence in the US. It does not have the same high profile defenders in Congress, and it does not have powerful lobbyists, either. With limited political options in the US, Macedonia’s only chance is to gain media recognition and public sympathy- something which has not happened so far.
The Western media clamps down on Macedonia
Rather, an increasingly ominous pattern has been visible in the Western media’s Macedonia coverage. What began as a cautious position of neutrality towards the NLA became,
by August <http://www.antiwar.com/rep/deliso1.html>, downright cheerleading. While in the beginning of the war the NLA had been called "terrorists" by EU security chief Javier Solana, and "murderous thugs" by NATO boss Lord Robinson, these appellations were quickly forgotten in favor of more romantic names like "ethnic rebels" and "freedom fighters." The Macedonians, on the other hand, became known as "angry Slavs," or worse <http://www.antiwar.com/orig/deliso3.html>. Amazingly, after each and every outrage against Macedonia- Frowick’s secret deal with the NLA at Prizren, the bombing of Leshok Monastery <http://www.realitymacedonia.org.mk/web/news_page.asp?nid=652>, the American MPRI "advisors" spirited out of Arachinovo <http://www.ok.mk/news/story.asp?id=1812>, and others, each ensuing Macedonian protest <http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m051001.html> was dealt with more and more harshly by the media and Western diplomats. And so those very events which clearly proved the legitimacy of Macedonia’s complaints were ignored, or even worse, denied.
The NLA, masters of rhetoric
But these things do not just happen by themselves. The Albanians have proved themselves to be masters when it comes to
manipulating Western rhetoric <http://www.antiwar.com/orig/deliso15.html>. By referring to ideals which resonate strongly in the West, such as "human rights," "democracy," and "self-determination," the NLA has been able to fool the world into believing that its struggle is legitimate. While it’s clear that this has been a war funded by organized crime, the NLA has made things seem quite different. Using rhetorical speeches, well-crafted statements, and even suggestive media like photographs of "ethnic villagers" being driven from their homes, the NLA has run a slick and successful operation. They have known just how to push the right buttons to get the right responses from the West- which was sympathetically predisposed towards them anyway from the beginning.
Macedonia, on the other hand, has been clumsy in its diplomatic dealings with the West. All too often, Macedonians have come across as angry and unintelligent- providing great opportunities for an already hostile media to capitalize on. Furthermore, Macedonian policy has seemed self-contradictory- for example, in the praising of NATO action in Kosovo, while at the same time criticizing NATO’s work in Macedonia. Even if Macedonia is a small and vulnerable country, it has to take a stand on one side or the other if it wants to maintain credibility.
Why cynical appeals get results
In general, the Albanian strategy has been to appeal to popular Leftist ideas of ethnic equality and affirmative action. This is the policy, born of the 1960’s, which saw the US give special benefits to African-Americans to make compensations for over 200 years of slavery. The Albanians argue that they are persecuted "second-class citizens" in Macedonia, and that they cannot get treated equally through existing political structures, because they are in the minority. Therefore, says the NLA, it must fight in order to win political benefits for the minority.
In this, however, the NLA has both appealed to the democratic traditions of the West, and rejected them. Democracy, according to all definitions, is the rule of the majority. The Albanians, while claiming to want democratic reform, only seem to want it in areas where they are the majority- for example, Tetovo. As long as Albanians are the minority in Macedonia as a whole, they will continue to insist that democracy can’t work for them- and instead take "affirmative action" type benefits, whether by negotiation or by force.
Yet if Albanians someday become the majority in Macedonia (as current high birth rates indicate), then at that time you can bet they will declare democracy to be the best political system ever created. The fact that the NLA has been able to both seduce the West through appeals to "democracy," while at the same time denouncing it through its violent actions, is the most outrageous aspect of the whole conflict. It is a public relations masterpiece, and one that Macedonia should study carefully for the future. For when the war starts up again next Spring (as it surely will), Macedonia will need to be well-equipped, not just militarily, but also diplomatically. It will need to calmly and carefully expose where Albanian motivations are self-contradictory, while at the same time removing grounds for contradiction in Macedonia’s own diplomatic initiatives.
Reform and reality
Around the world, American attempts to force their values on others are resented. Yet Americans often cannot understand why this should be so. These efforts are often most dangerous when carried out by idealistic and well-intentioned individuals. American political and social ideals, products of the Enlightenment, are just that- ideals. They are not always reality. In America, ethnic equality does not always exist, but many other social problems do. If wonderful ideals of "democracy," "human rights," and "freedoms" run into difficulties in the most powerful, most stable country in the world, what chance do they have of working in a small, war-torn country like Macedonia?
Often, Americans fail to understand two things: one, that any such reforms must be introduced slowly; and two, that it is none of their business in the first place to tell other nations what they must do. Forcing through reform quickly in Serbia and Macedonia is a very dangerous idea, and one which only serves to anger the Serbian and Macedonian peoples- who, after all, did not ask for this "help."
In short, trying to implement one universal system of political and social ideals is not only chauvinistic, it is foolhardy. It ignores the tremendous differences that exist in different cultures, and attempts to reduce them out of existence- which is, at bottom, completely antithetical to the "multiculturism" it sets out to enhance.
Yet American policymakers compare Macedonia and the US, with the attitude that, "if it works in the US, it should work in Macedonia." However, there are many crucial differences. The US is a large, politically stable, wealthy country, whose inhabitants come from all over the world. Even if these immigrants keep their social or religious identities, they all assimilate where it counts- economically. The "American dream" of gaining material wealth still serves, as it has for two centuries, as the great common unifier of the American people. In any case, the country is so large, and so stable, that any minority movements are insignificant in a country of almost 275 million people.
In addition, the US is aided by the fact that it has both friendly neighbors and a short history. There are no plans to create a "Greater Canada," and ethnic tensions have simply not had the time to develop, as they have in the rest of the world, into the kind of tangled and irresolvable problems well-known in the Middle East and the Balkans. In short, the US is one of the only countries where such a noble political experiment can be carried out with a reasonable degree of success.
Not one of these basic American qualities is shared by Macedonia. It is a small, weak, politically insecure country, surrounded by potentially hostile neighbors. And although it has a short history as an independent nation, the real history of Balkan human interaction is endless. With a population of only 2 million, any hostile actions by sizeable minority are bound to cause great chaos. The Albanians claim to constitute 30 percent of the country; if an 83 million-strong American minority group attempted to secede, you can bet there would be a strong and immediate reaction from the government.
What does the future hold for Macedonia?
Although the coffee cup is hard to read, a few predictions seem likely. If war breaks out again in Spring 2002, it seems clear that Macedonia will be forced to make more capitulations to the Albanian side. It seems unlikely that the West will ever intervene decisively against any Albanian terrorist group- it is just too dangerous, and the prospect of casualties make any such operation seem not worthwhile. This is compounded especially by the expectation that the US government will soon have to start explaining American casualties in Afghanistan. Casualties in Macedonia also would be too much for the Republican party of George W. Bush, which takes a generally isolationist stance on world affairs.
By the time the West realizes that Albanian demands will never end, it may be too late. Like spoiled children, the Albanian negotiators will keep complaining that their "rights" are being denied them- and they will have the firepower of the NLA/ANA as leverage. The general trend with Western diplomacy is to avoid embarrassment at all costs, and indeed, to completely deny making any mistakes. In this sense, Macedonia suffers because of Kosovo. Western leaders do not want to admit that supporting the KLA/NLA has been a disaster- because it implies that all of the actions leading up it, including the Kosovo campaign, and the earlier anti-Serbian interventions, were fundamentally flawed. Pulling one thread would indeed unravel the whole cloak; but the emperor does not wish to be seen standing naked.
Part
<http://www.realitymacedonia.org.mk/web/news_page.asp?nid=1126>, <http://www.realitymacedonia.org.mk/web/news_page.asp?nid=1127>, 3
Christopher Deliso's bio from
AntiWar.com <http://www.antiwar.com>:
Christopher Deliso is a journalist and travel writer with special interest in current events in the areas of the former Byzantine Empire – the Balkans, Greece, Turkey, and the Caucasus. Mr. Deliso holds a master's degree with honors in Byzantine Studies (from Oxford University), and has traveled widely in the region. His current long-term research projects include the Macedonia issue, the Cyprus problem, and the ethnography of Byzantine Georgia.
Scoring disabled. You must be logged in to score posts. Respond to this message
Current Topic - Reality Macedonia Respond to this message
<< Previous Topic | Next Topic >> Return to Index
Find more forums on Conspiracies Create your own forum at Network54
Copyright ©
1999-2009 Network54. All rights reserved. Terms
of Use Privacy Statement
THE TRUTH OF THE MYTH
The ancient Hellenic heritage has been stretched to such extremes, it has become a subject of ridicule around the World. A free society cannot continue under the shadows of ancient glory and myth, the chains of Hellenism have compromised the sense of freedom and reality. The concept of self-criticism is a remote idea from the national Greek psyche.
THE GERKOMAN PRAYER
THE GREEK ANTI-MACEDONIAN STRUGLEin Greek
ZHELEVO LERINSKO MACEDONIA
GERKOMANIA
A Disease of the mind inflicted by Greek Brutality on a massive scale.
Critical Evaluation of Historical Scholarchip on Ancient Macedonia
ETHNICITY OF THE ANCIENT MACEDONIANS
Images
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Find more forums on Conspiracies | Create your own forum at Network54 |
| Copyright © 1999-2009 Network54. All rights reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement |
THE TRUTH OF THE MYTH
The ancient Hellenic heritage has been stretched to such extremes, it has become a subject of ridicule around the World. A free society cannot continue under the shadows of ancient glory and myth, the chains of Hellenism have compromised the sense of freedom and reality. The concept of self-criticism is a remote idea from the national Greek psyche.
THE GERKOMAN PRAYER
THE GREEK ANTI-MACEDONIAN STRUGLEin Greek
