MACEDONIA
By Gligor Tashkovich, 09/16/2001
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"The terrorists destroyed the building, surprising everyone with a well-planned sneak attack. The ground trembled as the structure came tumbling down, shaking the very foundation of a nation. The perpetrators were unknown, although government sources, the media, and many stunned citizens indicted Muslims. Muslims had the motive and the means, and have committed other acts of terror upon innocent civilians. Identifying followers of the Islamic faith as the terrorists responsible for the terrifying explosion was an easy choice for many of the victims." "The destroyed building was [a cultural treasure, a monastery] located in [the Republic of] Macedonia, not the United States, and although the destruction was much greater in New York City, the victims from the mountainous village of Leshok understand what it is like to suffer at the hands of terrorists." Once again, America has gotten itself in trouble. Over the decades, it has trained and armed people from another country to rise up and fight in one proxy war after another only to see those very same people eventually turn against it. The examples are several and the most recent ones include Manuel Noriega of Panama in the late 1980s, the National Liberation Army/Kosovo Liberation Army (NLA/KLA) since 1993, and now Public Enemy Number One Osama bin Laden. Those who ignore the lessons of history are sadly condemned to repeat them. Reactions in Macedonia to the devastating acts of terrorism in the U.S.A. this past week varied. A candlelight vigil was held outside the U.S. Embassy in Skopje. The president, prime minister, foreign minister, defense minister, and the chief of staff of the Macedonian Army all quickly sent telegrams the same day conveying their sorrow to their counterparts in Washington. "We never wanted this to happen to any people," said Gorgi Dimitrijevski, a 30-year-old refugee from Lesok, referring to the destruction of the World Trade Center. "But, it will make Americans understand what is happening in the rest of the world. I want to give blood for the American people because we know what it is like to suffer." Gorgi had scanned the headlines of his local newspaper before going to the local American Red Cross office, and knew that the United States would certainly retaliate against the terrorists responsible for the destruction of the World Trade Center. He said, "If the United States can fight terrorism, why not Macedonia?" It is a question on the minds of many Macedonians. In February, armed terrorists crossed the border from Kosovo into Macedonia and began fighting for "human rights" which masqueraded their real intention to fight for a "Greater Albania" - never mind that the Republic of Albania continues to strongly condemn such activities. When Macedonian troops wanted to eradicate these terrorists from their land, the Americans and Europeans all strongly demanded that the Macedonians respond with "proportionate force." The Americans will hardly heed their own advice. Already there is talk of destroying one or more countries if they so much as harbor terrorist groups. "Either you're with us or against us" a senior Bush Administration official was recently quoted as saying. On top of that, Western countries threatened sanctions against Macedonia in case it defended itself too strongly and they have worked to prevent other countries (who rely on American largesse) such as Ukraine and Bulgaria from supplying weapons to Macedonia. In July, the Macedonian Finance Minister moved all of the country's assets out of American and European Union banks out of fear of sanctions against the country and the democratically-elected government. On Friday, 14 September, the countries of South Eastern Europe (SEE) adopted a declaration for the combat against terrorism and a resolution for cooperation between the SEE countries and the U.S.A. in order to help with the investigation. These actions took place at the 10th conference of the Southeastern Europe Cooperation Initiative (SECI) regional crime center for combating trans-border crime. The declaration protects the sovereignity, integrity, national security of member states and starts legal cooperation in the criminal sphere between these member states, the Macedonian Finance Ministry announced. The Ministry added that this international document is of great importance for the improvement of the cooperation through the exchange of experts between the SECI member states. Also at a press conference on Friday, in Skopje, NATO Secretary-General George Robertson said, "In this week of great tragedy for the whole world, Macedonia gives hope, showing how conflicts may be resolved without violence but by political means." These unbelieveably horrific actions in New York and Washington may well have an immediate impact in changing the terms of discourse seemingly a quarter of the world away in the Republic of Macedonia. Since it was documented by the local Macedonian media that Mujahedin (holy warriors) existed within the NLA/KLA hierarchy, the Macedonian prime minister, on several occasions this year, has referred to the NLA/KLA as offshoots of the Taliban movement. He was quickly condemned by Western leaders for his inappropriate and alarmist comments. Perhaps they spoke too soon. References
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