[Fair Use. For educational and Research Purposes Only.]

Macedonia's Offensive

Tuesday, March 27, 2001; Page A22

AS THE BUSH administration looked on from a distance, the latest crisis in the Balkans took another turn for the worse on Sunday. Facing an ethnic Albanian guerrilla force several hundred strong, the ethnic-Slav-dominated government of Macedonia rejected appeals for negotiations and restraint and instead launched a military offensive against the Albanian-populated villages where the insurgents are based. The government of President Boris Trajkovski apparently hoped it could wipe out the rebel movement before it had a chance to take hold in the country's northwestern mountains; its spokesmen claimed that it had overrun several rebel positions in its initial attack. But the resort to force seems no more likely to help Macedonia than it has the other Yugoslav republics that have been decimated by a decade of ethnic warfare.

Unlike the former Serb government of Slobodan Milosevic, which responded to the appearance of Albanian guerrillas in Kosovo with a brutal military campaign, Mr. Trajkovski's government is democratic and pro-Western, and his coalition includes a moderate Albanian party. The lightly equipped and barely professional Macedonian army could not be confused with Mr. Milosevic's hardened brigades. Still, the offensive risks polarizing Macedonia between its majority Slavs and Albanians, who make up one-third of the population. The Macedonia Albanians have legitimate grievances about discrimination in employment, education and even the country's constitution; to those will now be added the sight of dozens of Albanian homes and farms set ablaze by the army's guns. It is unlikely that the army will succeed in permanently rooting out the Albanian militants, many of whom are veterans of the Kosovo war. But if the fighting continues, it could spread to the civilian population, as it did in the wars of Bosnia and Kosovo.

Any real solution to Macedonia's crisis must start with negotiations between the government and the moderate Albanian leadership about reforms to enhance and guarantee the rights of the minority. Mr. Trajkovski at times appears to recognize that, but apparently felt compelled to wage war against what he calls the "terrorists" before starting any talks. The consequence of this poor judgment will be that negotiations between Macedonia's Slavs and Albanians will be harder and may require an international broker. Even if they go well, heading off more warfare across the Balkans will require satisfactory political solutions for the Albanian populations of Kosovo and Serbia as well as Macedonia. That can't happen without the active involvement of the United States, which is looked upon by Albanians across the region as a protector and arbitrator. The Bush administration is still trying to avoid accepting that responsibility; the vacuum it leaves risks still more violence.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34336-2001Mar20.html

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2001