Non-Subscriber Extract
Radicals are the winners in Macedonian fighting
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| 26 March 2001 |
By JIR Special Correspondent Zoran Kusovac
The upsurge of ethnically motivated fighting in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) has brought into the limelight the ethnic-Albanian organization calling itself the National Liberation Army (Ushtria Clirimtare Kombetare - UCK). Although sharing the same Albanian-language acronym as the better known Kosovo Liberation Army, now disbanded, the NLA appears to be an indigenous force, created in a matter of weeks since fighting started on the Macedonia-Kosovo border in late February.
Despite repeated allegations made in Macedonia throughout last year, no ethnic Albanian armed organisation existed in Macedonia. Both ethnic-Albanian parties of Macedonia, although mutually competing, have remained peaceful.
However, when the agreement on borders, signed by FYROM and the federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) on 23 February, threatened to endanger the unique position of Tanusevci as a smuggling haven straddling both sides of the Kosovo-Macedonia border, local gangs tried to keep the contraband routes open with guns. Cut off from the hinterland in Kosovo by KFOR troops and unable to match the superior numbers and equipment of the Macedonian Army (Armija na Republika Makedonija- ARM) in the open, the smugglers retired into the hills.
The hasty response of FYROM's leadership and the international community, who referred to the smugglers as insurgents, opened a window of opportunity for radical Albanians in Macedonia who have long been waiting for a chance to radicalise the Albanian population. They made a grand entry onto the scene, with loud gunfire during a peace rally in the predominantly Albanian town of Tetovo.
As a result, moderate Albanian politicians were discredited and humiliated. Macedonian authorities over-reacted, ordering a strong Interior Ministry (Ministerstvo na vnatresnji raboti - MVR) force to 'defend Tetovo', later augmenting it with ARM units with T-55 tanks and 105mm howitzers.
It came as little surprise that the MVR/ARM joint force, ultimately numbering nearly 3,000, adopted the tactics reminiscent of its predecessor, the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), and for days shelled Kale hill overlooking Tetovo, from where there was very little return fire. Constant pounding caused concern among civilians; minority Macedonians fled Tetovo as a precaution, while better-off Albanians sent their families abroad, mindful of previous Balkan sieges. Every shell strengthened radicals on both sides of the ethnic divide and provided them with a 'justification' to call for guns.
Within days the NLA increased its membership from a two-digit figure to some 600. Encouraged, the NLA announced it now had a political wing, represented by Ali Ahmeti. Kastriot Haxhirexha, a defector from the moderate Democratic Albanian Party, formed the National Democratic Party to cater for the growing radicalisation. On the Macedonian side, Prime Minister Ljubco Georgijevski talked tough but, somewhat surprisingly and possibly fearing failure, allowed President Boris Trajkovski - hitherto considered a political lightweight and a figurehead - to spearhead calls for tough measures.
After five days shelling Kale hill, the government announced that its forces would finally advance, but before they had a chance to move, the NLA announced a unilateral cease-fire and offered to start political negotiations; Trajkovski refused and responded with a 24-hour ultimatum to surrender.
When the combined ARM/MVR force finally scaled Kale hill on 22 March it found that the NLA, its main aim of coming to the limelight achieved, was gone. Driven by the politicians' need to claim a victory rather than sound military judgement, Macedonian forces are continuing the mop-up operation, but, untrained and inexperienced, they will have to stop well below the 2,700m peaks of Mount Sar.
There are already reports that the Macedonian force has done little to differentiate between NLA members and civilians as it has entered remote villages, and allegations of its heavy-handedness and use of 'scorched-earth' tactics are likely to increase in future, further deepening the rift between the two ethnic groups.
The first weeks of April will be crucial for the fate of Macedonia. Apparently content with its new-found prominence, the NLA has dispersed into the civil community. Unless ARM over-reacts, it is still possible that political means may be used to resolve the situation in Macedonia. If Macedonian forces do not demonstrate self-restraint on Mount Sar, however, the NLA is likely to retaliate in other parts of the country, possibly even the capital, Skopje. That would be the point of no return, as radicals on both sides would probably take up arms - readily available at an affordable price - and start another Balkan civil war.