Plan B: Macedonians ... Expect Rejection by Nato in Chicago

By David Edenden

Dear Nikola Gruevski,
Prime Minister,
Republic of Macedonia

Given that Greece has a veto on new members, we can expect Macedonia to be rejected for Nato membership in Chicago ... again. Here is my recommendation:

Plan B:

All Nato countries (excepting Greece of course) to recognize Macedonia by its constitutional name, before the Chicago meeting, following the lead of the US, UK and Bulgaria.

Nikola Gruevski, if these countries can't or won't do this for Macedonia, then we are spending too much time and energy chasing our own tail.

It would rebuke Greece for trying to de-stabilize Macedonia, strengthen the unity and legitimacy of the fragile Macedonian government, yet still not cause a legal crisis within Nato itself. ("FYROM" at the UN can wait till next year)

The lack of support for ICC ruling on Macedonia by the Obama administration and others  is a set back for the rule of law in the Balkans with the usual consequences to follow.

The many failures of the European project to date include; a bankrupt monetary policy, a confused human rights policy (in the case of Macedonians in Greece), no foreign policy and no army to defend itself.

This inability of the EU to develop a coherent security architecture (hobbled by Nato) is an important contributing factor to the mess that is the Balkans today. 

The many faces that US/EU/Nato present to the peoples of the  Balkans has been the biggest problem. Each time there is a crisis, up comes a call to "negotiate" ... but without reference to the rule of law or to a benchmark on how minorites are handled in the Balkans. ... There's the rub!

Macedonia should lobby the ICG, RFE, NDI, Freedom House, Transitions on Line etc  to expand the chart below, develop common guidelines, and give a number on the degree on human rights/autonomy each group enjoys in their state, it would go along way to moving the negotiations forward in each of these crisis and force the EU to take action.

It may put the EU's feet to the fire to act fairly ... oe maybe not ... we'll see!

-5 Macedonia vs Greece (FYROM)

-5 Macedonian minority in Greece

-5 Macedonian minority in Bulgaria

-5 Turkish minority in Greece

+5 Turkish minority in Bulgaria

0   Cyprus - Turks vs Greeks

5   Bosnia - bosniaks, Croatians, Serbs

10 Kosovo

+2 Kosovo Serbs

+2 Croatian Krajina - Serbs

+4 Bosniak minority in Serbian Sanjak

+4 Albanian minority in Presevo (Southern Serbia)

+7 Albanian minority in Macedonia

... not the complete list.