Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- I'm sorry but where did this come from? It's DELIBERATE, it is policy, it is intended to pay off their Albanian nationalist clients, they want Macedonia anyway for the oil pipeline. It is TOTAL MADNESS to ask the US. to take action against the "KLA", cut off their arms supply, condemn them etc. as they are directly CIA clients and a Front-organsiation, and carrying out US. policy objectives. As to the ritual condemnation, it's what's called maintaining Plausible Deniability. WWhat do you imagine the 17 American advisors were doing there, had they taken a wrong turning. --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK > --------------------------------------------- > > http://www.ok.mk/news/story.asp?id=2105 > > <A > HREF="http://www.ok.mk/news/story.asp?id=2105";>MILCHO > MANCHEVSKI: JUST A MORAL OBLIGATION</A> > > > Macedonia is collateral damage of the US policy in > Kosovo A report by the > Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe > (which monitors the > events in Macedonia), a statement by the State > Department, and a UN officer > this week all pointed at the Albanian separatists > fighting in this Balkan > country as perpetrators of ethnic cleansing directed > at the Macedonian (often > incorrectly called Macedonian Slav) population. The > good guys of yesteryear > became bad guys. > > This comes as no surprise to those diehard > Balkan-watchers who have been > following the evolving tragedy in Macedonia. > > During the ten years of brutal fighting in what once > was Yugoslavia, > Macedonia managed to stay unscathed. This she did > without help from the > international community. After tense negotiations, > the Yugoslav army left > peacefully, an admirable task credited mainly to the > first Macedonian > president Kiro Gligorov. There was tension (Gligorov > himself survived an > assassination attempt which left him with one eye > and with shrapnel lodged in > his brain), but no fighting. The government and the > people were repeatedly > applauded by the international community for their > efforts in creating and > maintaining a multiethnic society. (The > international community didn't help, > though. The embargo on Yugoslavia crippled > Macedonia's feeble economy; Greece > waged its own embargo on the young state.) Parties > representing ethnic > minorities sat in the parliament. Albanian parties > were coalition partners in > all governments since independence, and at present > six of seventeen > government ministers are ethnic Albanians, the > parliament vice-president is > Albanian, as well as several ambassadors. There are > primary, secondary > schools and colleges in Albanian; an Albanian > university is about to open. > There are tv stations, theaters, newspapers in the > languages of the > minorities. Why then the recent ethnic violence? > > The Albanian militants claim they are fighting for > human rights. This is a > mantra which has proven to be a winning argument in > the past. However, this > time the human rights issues are a front for armed > redrawing of borders. The > occupation of territory, abduction and murder of > civilians, the threats to > bomb the parliament building (in downtown Skopje, > the capital), cutting off > water supplies to the third largest city and - > finally - the ethnic cleansing > perpetrated on the majority Macedonians (who are a > minority in the area of > the conflict) point to the obvious: does one fight > for language recognition > with mortar fire and snipers? (Can someone kill cops > in LA or Miami demanding > that Spanish be spoken in the Senate?) > > The "ethnic cleansers" - NLA - are mainly old KLA > soldiers who fought in > Kosovo alongside NATO. (Even their initials are the > same in Albanian: UCK.) > Most of their arms and fighters come across the > border from NATO-administered > Kosovo. The UN Security Council last week requested > that KFOR and UNMIK > patrol the porous border more vigilantly. > > American, EU and NATO diplomats try to broker a > peace agreement which centers > on better guarantee for the Albanians' minority > rights, as a pre-requisite > for disarmament. This misses the point: the radical > Albanians fight for > territory. > > They are doing precisely what many observers have > been warning against for > years - escalating the violence until the average > citizen gets affected and > radicalized. > > Even though the diplomats insist they will not > negotiate with NLA (whom > NATO's secretary general George Robertson called > "thugs and murderers"), the > west is - de facto - legitimizing killing in the > name of a language dispute. > What a paradox! > > Meanwhile, the fragile and impoverished country > which was praised for its > multiethnic society and government, the same country > which was (and is) the > primary base for NATO's operation against > Milosevic's Yugoslavia and > peace-keeping in Kosovo (much at its own peril), the > country which took > 350,000 refugees from Kosovo (an increase in > population of whole 15%) is > being ripped apart under the armed onslaught of > gunmen armed and trained by > NATO. Macedonia is collateral damage to NATO's > involvement in the Balkans. > The US and its allies consider it too risky to try > to disarm KLA (or NLA), > even though this was an explicit responsibility of > their Kosovo mandate. Last > year's disarmament of the KLA was largely a symbolic > affair. Body bags are > not sexy, so NATO chose to let the militants keep > their western weapons. > (Three weeks ago the US evacuated several busloads > of militants from the > surrounded village of Aracinovo - complete with > their weapons. A rumor that > seventeen American advisors were among the > surrounded extremists triggered an > angry reaction by the Macedonian crowds who tried to > block the busses, and > later stormed the parliament building.) > > NATO's Kosovo escapade did much more than arm and > train the militants who now > execute a classical blowback. It escalated the > conflict in the Balkans to a > higher level. The psychological effect of the entire > world putting itself on > the side of the Great Cause (as seen by the Albanian > extremists) has given a > boost to their armed secessionist struggle. Ethnic > cleansing and occupying > territories is an advanced step in redrawing > borders. The last ten years in > Yugoslavia taught us what this leads to. > > The US has a chance to stop the bloodshed and > further collapse of democratic > values in Europe. This can not be achieved by > hypocritical appeals to "both > sides." NATO, EU and the US applied immense pressure > on democratic Macedonia > not to defend itself. Now, the aggression and > insurrection got out of hand. > As a result of the "peace process," Macedonia is on > its way to federalization > and disintegration. > > Last month President Bush issued an order blocking > the accounts of the > leaders of NLA and barring them from entering the > US; the European allies > followed suit. This is obviously not enough. > > If the US wants to demonstrate its stand against > redrawing borders in the > Balkans, if she wants to stick to her word (NATO > promised to defend > Macedonia, as General Wesley Clark points out in his > book), if the she > doesn't want to set an example where she discards > her allies when tough > action (even on a minor scale) is demanded, then the > US should choke the arms > supplies and send the warmongers where Milosevic > went. The NLA must be forced > to abandon its armed aggression and insurrection > BEFORE there is more > political talk. The US must do this even if it > requires limited military > involvement, such as arresting the NLA leaders (and > expanding Bush's "black > list") and seizing its arms depots. The US has a > moral obligation to stop > them from turning Macedonia into another Afghanistan > or === message truncated === __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? 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