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NATO'S CREDIBILITY IN MACEDONIA By Robert Greenberg (Editor's Note: The bombing of Serbia and Kosovo escalated NATO involvement in the Balkans, but its military and peacekeeping presence have increased without a strategic plan. Now NATO has stepped into the civil conflict in Macedonia, but its credibility as a force for pluralistic governance is being questioned throughout the region. Most agree that international peacekeepers are needed, but thus far NATO's peacekeeping commitment to Macedonia appears flawed, short-sighted, and half-hearted. A new FPIF commentary, excerpted below, examines the crisis in Macedonia. It is posted in its entirety at: http://www.fpif.org/commentary/0108macedonia.html) In Macedonia peace remains elusive, despite the signing of a political compromise between Macedonia's ethnic Albanian and Macedonian leaders on August 13. Relations between the country's Macedonian and Albanian communities are on the verge of a complete breakdown. What the media has termed a "peace deal" bears little resemblance to a veritable peace agreement. Rather, the agreement represents a major reform package, that would radically change the nature of the Macedonian state, which will be celebrating its 10th year of independence on September 8. Facing international political pressure and military pressure from the Albanian insurgency, government negotiators agreed to make many concessions. The agreement provides for broader participation of the Albanian minority in the police, recognition of Albanian as an official language in certain regions of the country, and sweeping constitutional changes designed to enhance the position of minority groups in the country. The National Liberation Army became active in Macedonia in February 2001. Fighting between the NLA and Macedonian security forces escalated dramatically over the summer months. Currently, the NLA occupies dozens of villages and towns in a wide stretch of Macedonian territory bordering on Kosovo. Each time the NLA would take over a village in Macedonia, they would declare the area "liberated territory" and systematically intimidate and ethnically cleanse the Macedonian population from the region. All these actions, the NLA's leaders claimed, were undertaken in order to gain "equal rights" for Macedonia's Albanian minority, which is estimated at about 30% of the population. The rebels say they will lay down their weapons only if the Macedonian side shows good will in implementing the political agreement. For their part, the Macedonians say they will implement the agreement only after the NLA disarms and relinquishes its territory. NATO troops have recently entered the volatile Macedonian arena. Lord Robertson, the NATO secretary general, has vowed to disarm the NLA rebels through the 30-day long "Essential Harvest" mission. With a contingent of some 4,000, NATO has promised that it will not forcibly disarm anyone, but will collect only those weapons relinquished voluntarily. According to NATO, the rebels have approximately 2,950 assault weapons, 210 machine guns, 130 mortars and anti-tank missiles, 6 air defense systems, 2 tanks, and 2 armored personnel carriers. The Macedonian government, however, believes the Albanians have at least 85,000 weapons. This dispute over arms estimates threatens to derail the whole peace process and doom NATO's mission even before it starts. NATO's potential for success in Macedonia is clouded by this loss of credibility with the Macedonian government. Few Macedonians have much faith in the current NATO mission. This skepticism is understandable given the role NATO in this subregion of the Balkans since 1999, when NATO launched air strikes against Yugoslavia and vowed to reverse the Serb ethnic cleansing of Albanians. Macedonia's government was a willing and eager ally for NATO at that time, opening up its territory and air space to NATO forces. Macedonia still hosts several military camps, which provide logistical support for the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR). (Robert Greenberg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> is an expert with Foreign Policy In Focus and an associate professor in Slavic languages at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He spent the past seven months in Macedonia as a Fulbright scholar.) Also See: FPIF Policy Brief New Balkan Policy Needed By Robert Greenberg http://www.fpif.org/briefs/vol6/v6n11balkan.html ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
