STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Get a low APR NextCard Visa in 30 seconds! 1. Fill in the brief application 2. Receive approval decision within 30 seconds 3. Get rates as low as 2.99% Intro or 9.99% Ongoing APR and no annual fee! Apply NOW! http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/NextCard ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [In the unvarying tradition of IWPR - one of misrepresenting events, preferably reversing causality and turning matters on their head - we learn that the government of Macedonia, under unprovoked attack from criminal syndicate-funded guerrillas, many on the UN payroll in Kosovo and recently trained in KLA camps in Albania, is guilty of "declaring war on Albanian militants." In fact, that's exactly what the nation's prime minister hasn't done, although most any other nation in the world would already have declared war on armed insurgents entering the country from abroad. A guerrilla by definition has already effectively declared war on his target; the target ordinarily responds in kind. The IWPR's "analyst and journalist" (people identified as such frequently are expelled from embassies around the world) feigns puzzlement over the fact that "recently, the premier's approach has changed radically." The analyst/journalist plays the faux naif and pretends not to understand the cause of this change of heart, implying it's attributable to ingrained perversity or shrewd political maneuvering. But as his own words later in the article demonstrate, a few not insignificant events have intervened between Georgievki's "being too close to the DPA, the largest Albanian party" and his transmogrifying into "an out and out hawk." For example: "NLA fighters are now on the outskirts of Skopje and threatening to shell the city. Tens of thousands of Macedonians and Albanians [note the distinction]are fleeing in panic." "After two years of unprecedented partnership with the DPA, the last thing Georgievski expected was an Albanian rebellion." "[R]ecent NLA attacks on the security forces. The first occurred in Vejce in early May, claiming the lives of eight policemen. Five more were killed in a second raid near Tetovo a few days ago." And so forth, any one of which would be considered a casus belli in good earnest by NATO nations - or any head of state that takes his pledge to preserve his nation and protect his people seriously. But as with Slobodan Milosevic earlier, who had the temerity to defend the inviolabilty of his country's borders and to respond to unprovoked attacks within them, the IWPR and all they represent portray the victims as villains, the aggressors as being aggressed against, black as white, war as peace.] International War & Peace Reporting The Macedonian Hawk Macedonia's peacemaking premier has turned into a dangerous hawk. By Vladimir Jovanovski in Skopje (BCR No. 255, 13-Jun-01) Perhaps the greatest political casualty of the Albanian insurrection is prime minister Ljubco Georgievski. Only a month or two ago, it seemed Georgievski, the leader of one of Macedonia's largest political parties, VMRO-DPMNE, would emerge as the saviour of his country. He was insisting that the current crisis could be solved by improving the civil and political rights of the Albanian community. But recently, the premier's approach has changed radically. The peacemaker and unifier of Macedonia's disparate ethnic groups is now an out and out hawk. Now he believes that the only way of resolving the crisis is by declaring war on Albanian militants. His public statements are inflaming tensions, just as the conflict seems set to escalate into a full-scale war. NLA fighters are now on the outskirts of Skopje and threatening to shell the city. Tens of thousands of Macedonians and Albanians are fleeing in panic. But in pressing for a military solution, Georgievski has provoked a hostile response from all sides of the political spectrum and the international community. >From being part of the solution, he is now widely considered part of the problem. As a result, his popularity and that of his party has droppped significantly. Georgievski's transformation is remarkable. Not so long ago, Macedonians accused him of being too close to the DPA, the largest Albanian party. Now he demands that its members either clearly condemn the NLA or join them. An avowed Macedonian nationalist at the beginning of the Nineties, this former poet pursued a policy of cooperating with the DPA after he came to power in 1998, bringing the party into government. Foreign analysts were pleasantly surprised by the tolerant political culture spawned by "the new Ljubco". After two years of unprecedented partnership with the DPA, the last thing Georgievski expected was an Albanian rebellion. The premier's newly acquired hardline stance was cemented by recent NLA attacks on the security forces. The first occurred in Vejce in early May, claiming the lives of eight policemen. Five more were killed in a second raid near Tetovo a few days ago. According to his former close associate, Boris Zmejkovski, now a member of a small party opposing the VMRO-DPMNE, the incidents have turned Georgievski into a "crazy general". His actions in the last two weeks go some way to confirming this view. He has pushed for the state to declare war on the Albanian rebels, in the face of stiff opposition from not only Albanians but his Macedonian political rivals, the media and the international community. He favours a military solution to the conflict, even though it is widely recognised that the country's armed forces are incapable of decisive victory against a force of mountain partisans. And finally, Georgievski's hand could be detected in the leaking to the press recently of a plan to divide the country along ethnic lines - a proposal prepared by the Macedonian Academy for Sciences and Arts, the country's intellectual elite. The opposition has claimed for a long time that the premier and the VMRO-DPMNE were seeking both the partition of Macedonia along ethnic lines and closer ties with Bulgaria. Under the plan - which enraged Macedonians - cities with majority Albanian populations, such as Tetovo and Gostivar, would be 'traded' with Albania or Kosovo. Perhaps the greatest puzzle is whether Georgevski's new intransigence is the natural reaction of a politician who feels betrayed by his former friends, the Albanians, or a more subtle tactical move? Georgievski's refusal to either negotiate with the rebels, or to press ahead with granting the Albanians greater rights, may be an attempt to head off such allegations in the run-up to elections, scheduled for January. Whatever his other limitations, Georgievski has highly developed political instincts that have served him well in the past. He may be concerned that come election day voters might see him as being too soft on ethnic Albanian representatives. What's clear, however, is that Georgievski's position is looking increasingly untenable. The creation of a large anti-VMRO-DPMNE coalition is being openly discussed in Skopje, allegedly with the support of some Western ambassadors. In the immediate term, though, it looks as though the unpredictable Ljubco Georgievski will continue to determine Macedonia's fate. Vladimir Jovanovski is an analyst and journalist with the Skopje bi-weekly Forum __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Spot the hottest trends in music, movies, and more. http://buzz.yahoo.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
