Macedonians Fight Back on the Pages of the Washington Times

By David Edenden

It is a real coup Metodija A. Koloski, of the United Macedonian Diaspora to get published in the Washington Times. The original discussion appears below.

Name dispute or ethnic misdeeds?
Washington Times
October 14, 2007

Metodija A. Koloski -

In August 1903, Macedonian patriots rose against the Ottoman Empire. While they won Macedonian independence for only a limited time, it was clear that Macedonian national consciousness was alive.

Today, there is a nonsensical "dispute" about the same land, as Greece denies the right of the Republic of Macedonia to call itself by that name. In doing so, Greece disregards the United Nations Charter's admonition that all people have the right to self-determination. Greece's stated basis for this "dispute" is that the Republic of Macedonia supposedly harbors "territorial ambitions" toward northern Greece. The Greek government also claims Macedonia misappropriates "Greek history."

The Republic of Macedonia amended its constitution to unequivocally disclaim any "territorial ambitions," and it changed national symbols to remove "Greek" connections. But Greek government intransigence persists.

The real reason for the "dispute" is that, since Greece forcibly took possession of a large part of historical Macedonia following the Balkan Wars of 1912-13, it has denied the existence of the Macedonian people and ruthlessly pursued a policy of forced assimilation. These actions constitute genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention (to which Greece is bound).

Specifically, Greek governments have harassed, jailed and even tortured those who spoke Macedonian or otherwise practiced their cultural heritage. Greek governments also forcibly changed city names, family names, and even names on gravestones from their true Macedonian names to "Greek" ones. And, as documented in recent U.S. State Department Human Rights Reports, Greece has even denied entry into Greece to U.S. citizens, born in Greece, but whose names are not "Greek" (e.g., Gatzoulis is "Greek", but Gatzova isn't). Greece took these actions "with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group"... by "[c]ausing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group" or "•eliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part." (Genocide Convention, Article II.)

An independent Macedonian state is anathema to Greece because it is an embarrassing reminder of Greece's failed attempts to wipe out the Macedonian people. This policy led to massive migrations of Macedonian-identifying people to the United States, Australia and Canada and, sadly, also to some Macedonians identifying themselves (at least publicly) as Greek.

The international community has rejected Greece's heavyhanded position: more than 120 countries — including the United States, Canada, China and Russia — recognize the Republic of Macedonia by its constitutional name. In fact, Greece's own top diplomat to the Republic of Macedonia, Dora Grosomanidou, stated on July 8 to the Financial Times that "Greece has to face the new reality, as the... Republic of Macedonia has been recognized under its constitutional name [Macedonia] by more than half of the members of the U.N." The Greek government sacked her the very next day.

The Greek lobby continues to misrepresent the "name dispute." Recently, it began a campaign to undermine the U. S. government's decision to recognize the Republic of Macedonia's constitutional name. The lobby has forced the issue onto the U.S. Congress by seeking passage of legislative resolutions reciting various Greek misrepresentations. Their bogus arguments include that Macedonians are really just Bulgarians or Serbs and that Macedonia is a haven for terrorists.

The claim that Macedonians are Bulgarians or Serbs is false and tellingly callous. Ethnographers and historians have concluded that Macedonians are a separate people. Greek claims also are undercut by historical Greek census data revealing the Macedonian language was spoken in northern Greece in the 1920s, counted separately from Bulgarian, Greek and Serbian. Furthermore, the Greek government in the late 1920s published, but later banned and burned, several thousand grammar books for Macedonian schoolchildren, written in Macedonian.

A new false Greek claim, which emerged after brief civil unrest in Macedonia in 2001, is the outrageous allegation that Macedonia is a haven for terrorists. The opposite is true: Macedonia has been a staunch U.S. ally, particularly in the War on Terror. For example, Macedonia has deployed, beginning shortly after September 11, 2001, about 200 troops to Afghanistan and Iraq. Moreover, through its diligent efforts at building a democratic, free market and pro-Western state, Macedonia is poised for entry into NATO.

While sentiment toward the United States in Macedonia is overwhelmingly positive, the opposite is true in Greece, as it regularly ranks near the bottom in surveys of attitudes toward the U.S. In January 2007, the U.S. Embassy was hit by a rocket attack from a Greek terrorist group, "Revolutionary Struggle," itself a spin-off of the notorious Marxist terrorist group, "17 November," which murdered several U.S. diplomats and military personnel, including a CIA station chief. Yet, ironically, we are asked to believe Macedonia is a haven for terrorists and that Greeks are pro-American.

The Republic of Macedonia has done more than enough to demonstrate it does not harbor claims on Greek territory. It is high time for Greece to act responsibly and cease its ugly gamesmanship aimed at covering up its misdeeds. It is only logical that those whose roots are in Macedonia should be able to identify as Macedonians.

Metodija A. Koloski is president of United Macedonian Diaspora, an international nongovernmental and nonpartisan organization addressing the interests and needs of Macedonians and Macedonian communities throughout the world.



Embassy Row

Washington Times
October 10, 2007

James Morrison - Affront to Greece

Greece is outraged anew by the "arrogance" of its northern neighbor, which infuriated Greek diplomats with its antics at the opening of the U.N. General Assembly.

"What happened was unique in U.N. history. They openly defied U.N. principles," Deputy Foreign Minister Yannis G. Valinakis told Embassy Row.

The action that enraged Greek diplomats once again involved Greece's dispute over the name of its neighbor, which is officially known at the United Nations as the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia or FYROM. Macedonian officials, however, have all but dropped the clumsy acronym and are insisting that their country be known as the Republic of Macedonia.

Greece strongly objects to its neighbor's use of that name, which is historically associated with the northern region of Greece and with Alexander the Great. Macedonia even named its international airport after the ancient Greek hero.

Macedonia made its latest effort to drop the FYROM label on Sept. 25, when its U.N. ambassador, Srgjan Kerim, presided over the opening session of the General Assembly. The duties of the president of the assembly include recognizing heads of states, who deliver annual speeches.

When he introduced the leader of his own country, Mr. Kerim recognized President Branko Crvenkovski of the Republic of Macedonia and created a diplomatic incident.

Mr. Valinakis accused Mr. Kerim of violating the duties of his office and using the U.N. forum to advance a contentious political issue, namely, the name.

"This is why we were so shocked. This demonstrates that this country has been dealing with arrogance," Mr. Valinakis said in Washington at a dinner at the residence of Greek Ambassador Alexandros Mallias. "They are not sitting down to compromise. This is becoming even more infuriating for us."

Mr. Valinakis complained that Macedonia got a political boost from the United States when the Bush administration dropped the FYROM name in 2005, after Macedonia agreed to send a few troops to Iraq. He called the action "Rumsfeld gift," referring to former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

"We only learned about this two hours before it was made public," Mr. Valinakis said.

"Macedonia has always been our name and our history," he added. "Names are vehicles of policies. Their use of Macedonia is an affront to Greek territorial integrity."

In July, Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki defended the use of the name in an interview with Embassy Row.

"Our name is the cornerstone of our identity," he said. "It is the basic right of all nations to use the name it has chosen."

---

Matthew Nimetz: The CIA is on Macedonia's Side!

By David Edenden

This is an old post from 1996 regarding a secret CIA report that was leaked to the the Greek TV station "Antenna". Maybe Matthew Nimetz can ask the CIA to declassify it and use it as a basis for negotiation. Good fun!

MILS- CIA Report Alexander the Great NOT Greek-
bit.listserv.hellas | Google Groups:

CIA - GREEK-MACEDONIAN DISPUTE BECAUSE OF MACEDONIAN LAND The secret study of the CIA reads that Alexander the Great was not Greek, and that the current problems between Macedonia and Greece are not only because of the origin of this emperor. This information, presented by the Greek TV station 'Antena', and reported by 'Makfax' agency, continues that the content of the document explains the attitude of Washington in the Greek-Macedonian dispute.

The report also reads that Alexander the Great and Macedonians at that time were Illyrians and enemies to Greece, and that Macedonia was not Greek. The authors claim that Greece refuses to recognise Macedonia not only because of the ancient emperor, but also because of its fear that Macedonia might require a returning of its predecessors' land and a compensation for the violence in the past. Greeceis also afraid, reads the report, that Macedonians might ask for their homes to be returned to them, which might become one of the most serious issues in this part of Europe.

The report ends with the statement that, after the Second Balkans War, 'a policy of Hellenisation was applied in the Aegean Macedonia, and hundreds of thousands Greeks were settled in the area.'"

US and Macedonia Share Info on Islamic Terrorism in the Balkans

By David Edenden

I don't usually publish full length articles except when they are very important and speaks for itself. For further information, buy Christopher Deliso’s new book, The Coming Balkan Caliphate: the Threat of Islamic Extremism to Europe and the West

Exclusive: How the US Ordered Increased Activity against Macedonia’s Islamists after the Fort Dix Arrests

6/22/2007 (Balkanalysis.com)

The May 7 arrests of six Islamic radicals, four of them ethnic Albanians originally from Macedonia and Kosovo, led American intelligence officials to issue a direct order to their Macedonian colleagues, urging them to redouble efforts against known and unknown Islamic radical elements in the country, Balkanalysis.com can now report.

The alleged aspiring terrorists have been held without bail since their arrest and were indicted on June 5. While the majority of news reports on the subject have remained preoccupied with details such as the ‘true’ nationality of the men arrested or their prior experience as refugees, or the larger legal issues of whether the FBI had erred into using entrapment, little was said of the ripple effect the operation would have on unfolding counterterrorism developments in the Balkans specifically.

However, according to two Macedonian intelligence officials speaking off the record, in a meeting held soon after the arrests in New Jersey, “we were told by our American colleagues to intensify our work [against Islamic extremist elements], and to find out more about their operations here… and identify new players.”

This testimony contradicts the conventional wisdom that states the US is omniscient when it comes to counter terrorism work in the Balkans. This belief is cultivated by popular culture (television shows depicting ingenious agents performing daring and efficient operations, etc.) yet has apparently been instilled in the hearts of many. For example, one American official in Skopje surveyed by Balkanalysis.com regarding local security developments, shortly before the Fort Dix arrests were made, stated confidently that “we have a very good handle on the situation…we are aware of everything going on [involving Islamic radicals].”

However, the fact that the US administration was caught off-guard by the Fort Dix arrests, and their links to the Balkans, is indicative that this is not always the case. What remains unclear is whether the order to the Macedonians to pick up the pace came as a result of a directive from Washington- and if so, from whom.

In the bigger picture, the fact that the arrests came also less than two months before President Bush’s trip to neighboring Albania can also be attested as a reason for enhanced vigilance. It would have happened, in other words, with or without a botched jihadist plot in New Jersey. A second major reason for a clean-up is of course the NATO conference in Ohrid on June 28-29, which has led to unprecedented security measures in this idyllic lakeside tourist town in preparation for over 800 foreign guests.

Indeed, according to the Macedonian intelligence officers, the CIA has, over the past 9 months, dramatically increased the frequency of requests for information on the growing fundamentalist Wahhabi community in Macedonia. This new focus has been mirrored by allied services, such as the British, French and Italian, not only in Macedonia but in Bosnia and, as Balkanalysis.com recently reported, in Albania as well.

Nevertheless, the disconnect between ‘mission accomplished’-type rhetoric and the reality is still wide. A less than discreet operational protocol is occasionally revealed in the details. A veteran European intelligence officer with long experience of the Balkans mocked an alleged American “intelligence-gathering” procedure in Skopje. “Once a week, without fail, they send someone from the embassy down to an Islamic bookstore in the Carsija (old town) of Skopje…and they buy all of the new Islamist literature, if there is any, bid them good day and go back.”

A second case indicating less than perfect knowledge was seen a year and a half or so back, when a Skopje newspaper presented the US Embassy with publicly-available data received from an outside party, confirming that an Albanian-language jihadist website, previously registered in Lebanon, had been transferred to the name of a Macedonian woman in an ethnically-mixed neighborhood in the central Macedonian town of Veles. “They seemed genuinely surprised by this and thanked us,” said one newspaper representative involved. Despite the provocative jihadist content of the website, nothing more was heard about whether the investigation yielded any results- or, more likely, whether it was even begun.

The discrepancy between assumed greatness and a more pedestrian reality is not surprising, considering the internal criticism that Western counter terrorism efforts have received in the past. In Balkanalysis.com director Christopher Deliso’s new book, The Coming Balkan Caliphate: the Threat of Islamic Extremism to Europe and the West, several former security professionals in the Balkans weigh in on the topic, generally supporting the thesis that the US does not necessarily know all that goes on- and, in some cases, deliberately seeks to avoid doing so.

The most outspoken of these officials is Tom Gambill, an OSCE Security Officer in Kosovo from 1999-2004. In numerous meetings and through private correspondence, Gambill presented evidence of a concerted Islamic fundamentalist build-up in Kosovo, sometimes involving known terrorist entities, to army and intelligence officials from the US and allied countries. When he mentioned such intelligence data gleaned from sources in the field indicating a terrorist presence, however, he was often ignored. “The peacekeeping motto was, ‘don’t rock the boat.’ So long as everything bad that was going on could be hushed up or smoothed over, the policy was to leave it alone.”

Gambill’s testimony is reminiscent of the situation in Bosnia a few years earlier where, according to the Jerusalem Post, the Clinton administration had sought “to keep the lid on the pot at all costs” regarding its role in abetting the Iranian infiltration of the country with mujahedin, military trainers and heavy weapons during the 1992-1995 civil war. While that was done to suppress an embarrassing and shortsighted government policy, the disregarding of dubious developments in Kosovo has had more to do with the general mediocrity and every-man-for-himself dynamic of a non-accountable UN peacekeeping mission.

While the foiled plot to massacre soldiers at Fort Dix appears to have been more a case of wishful thinking than anything else, it was an important case in that it showed that Balkan Muslims who had previously been helped by America could in fact turn against their benefactors. There have not been any demonstrated connections between the plotters and any groups in Macedonia, though US authorities were no doubt correct to err on the side of caution in ordering their local colleagues to take a more active stance.

Despite the unlikelihood that a specific connection will be found linking the “Fort Dix Six” to Macedonia, some dedicated security officers there took satisfaction in knowing that the arrests in New Jersey had spurred the US into action. “This (the arrests) was the best thing that could have happened for us,” said one intelligence officer. “Now we can get down to work and hopefully the Americans will respect more what we have to say.”

Future counter terrorism operations in Macedonia will likely branch out to new terrain. While the major population centers such as Skopje and Tetovo remain the places where most known radicals live, at present a significant trend is the growth of fundamentalist groups in the central and central-western mountainous areas of the country, from the Karadzica-Kitka massif westward to Debar, including rural areas near Prilep, Brod and Kicevo. Outside funding from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and others is responsible for the growth of Islam in predominantly poor and ethnically-confused mountainous areas that, with time, could materialize into more significant areas of concern, as the state has done little to offer social alternatives for marginalized groups.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Dear:
Patrick Moore, Radio Free Europe
Nicholas Whyte, International Crisis Group

I am siting at my computer drinking real Guinness stout in a real Guinness glass. I was in Ireland a few years ago and the first meal we had when we landed in Dublin was Irish stew. When I asked the young waitress whether they served Guinness, she was about to answer when she realised that I was just trying to tease her.

I hope you guys were not mad at me the last time I mentioned your name and organizations (RFE ... ICG). I noticed that SE Times which is funded by the Pentagon mentioned that Macedonians in Bulgaria were denied the right to form a political party while both of your groups remained silent. Ouch! Too bad, so sad ... nothing personal ... no harm, no foul ... water under the bridge.

Anyway, I thought that you might get one of your Irish friends to write about an Anglo-Irish diplomat who supported Irish independence circa Easter 1916 and was thoughtfully hanged by the British for treason. He was gay, if that helps you to identify him ... not that there is anything wrong with being gay. I was going to write something in honour of St. Patrick's Day but, I forgot. I can't remember his name, but he wrote about the plight of the Macedonians after the Balkan wars in 1912, when Macedonia was partitioned between Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria. I read a quote from some Macedonian sources who quoted him as saying "only the Irish can know how the Macedonians feel" or vice versa. I am sure you both will know what he means.

I don't want you to write this yourself because you might get in trouble with your superiors. I am not sure why the RFE and ICG both continue to ignore the plight of Macedonians in Greece since both the State Department and the CIA have reported on this in the past and since the ICG and RFE are funded predominantly by the US. Its a mystery, I tell ya!

Maybe you can leak some information about this policy of your organizations to your Irish writer friends (... oh no! ... make that an English writer, that way your bosses will not be suspicious.

I can't find the link right now, but on some Irish website, it was mentioned that Ireland was discovered by a Macedonian. Get some one to write that up also. The Irish may continue to reside in Ireland until the controversy of ownership with Macedonians can be adjudicated by Javier Solana.

All the best.

Will the CIA Be Called to Testify at Albanian KLA Leader's Trial

I don't know much about this case, but it is only interesting to me as to whether the CIA will be called to testify about its links to this guy.

Memo to Putin: Get your lawyers to the Hague at once at get the ball rolling to expose the CIA's involvement with the KLA.

Ex-Kosovo Leader Goes on Trial -
washingtonpost.com:

"Haradinaj has 'blood on his hands,' chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte declared at the start of the former leader's trial before a U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

An ethnic Albanian who rose from nightclub bouncer to guerrilla commander to prime minister, Haradinaj faces 37 charges of murder, rape and torture allegedly committed by his forces in a conflict in which figures from both sides have been tried for gruesome atrocities and crimes against humanity. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Haradinaj is the highest-ranking ethnic Albanian to be indicted by the United Nations' International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. He and former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, who died in his cell last year before his trial ended, were the only two serving heads of government to be indicted by the tribunal."

I like Russia!

I have collected most of the posts to my blog that mention Russia. I like Russia, partly because of pan-Slavic, pan-Orthodox common values and partly as a counterweight to US/EU, which can betray Macedonia for their own self interest.

Russia, as a great power, is also able to betray Macedonia, but it will do so only as a last resort and with feelings of guilt and anguish, unlike the US/EU which will do so without a moments thought. The fist two links are from 2004 and give some detail to my thoughts. The rest of the links are in order of the most recent posts. I basically agree with the bipartisan Macedonian consensus that Macedonia join the EU (enthusiastically) and Nato (regretfully).

When communism fell in Eastern Europe, I was sure that the EU would offer to immediately include all these countries as "associate members" including Russia. Each would be able to progress to full membership at their own pace. The EU would have its own army and Nato would would immediately been dissolved. The OSCE would be reformed and re-named. The US would still part of the OSCE, but could withdraw its troops, redeploy them else where and save a ton of money. Why the EU chose to make the Eastern European countries jump through hoops and point a Nato dagger at the heart of Russia, I will leave to a later post.

Note to George Bush: The American troops in Europe would have come in handy in Iraq today!

Posts From 2004

BBC NEWS | Europe | EU hardens accession conditions (2004)

Russian Minister visits Macedonia (2004)

Most Recent Posts First

Get Russia Involved!

US/EU Balkan and Russian Policy: "Because I Said So"

US to Russia "Bring It On!"

US/EU Has Serbia's "Jace" on the Menu

Solana is a One Man Destabilization Movement

Pseudo-Human Rights Group - National Democratic Institute (NDI)

With Russia, we are 145 million!

Balkanalysis.com - Collision Course: NATO, Russia and Kosovo

EU Reconsiders Expansion

Is the EU Still the Right Road for Macedonia?

A consensus of Serbian positions on Kosovo

Macedonia and Russia Wash Each Others Hands

On Lindsay Moran, CIA Spy, From A Macedonian Who Knew Her

Two Pseudo Rights Groups Talking Nonsense With Each Other

Calling the ICG and RFE fronts for the CIA would be giving them too much credit. Having them trading nonsense with each other is very funny. This interview with Gareth Evans, a nasty little piece of work,. is simply designed for misinformation to pressure the Serbs to capitulate on Kosovo. Its not going to work. Russia and China will stand firm against Kosovo independence for their own self-interest.

Macedonians will remember this former Australian Foreign Minister as adopting the Greek position on the Macedonian name issue. His "compromise" was to call everyone from the Republic of Macedonia ... wait for it ..."Slav Macedonians" ... including the Albanians!, Turks!, Jews! ... you get the picture. Good fun from a total goof!

"ICG: Russia likely to abstain from UNSC vote on Kosovo
Makfax vesnik:

Prague /23/02/ 15:05

Russia, regardless of the current opposition to the UN plan on Kosovo, will abstain from voting at the UN Security Council, which will lead to Council's adoption of Martti Ahtisaari's blueprint, ICG's president said.

In an interview with Radio Free Europe, Gareth Evans - the president of the International Crisis Group (ICG) said the Council's approval would not mean a formal proclamation and recognition of Kosovo's independence by the UN Security Council. However, it will put Kosovo on the road to statehood and each country can recognize Kosovo individually.

Although there is no mention of the word 'independence' in Ahtisaari's plan, Kosovo will be given clear perspective for self-rule.

'The plan is very carefully drafted, as there is no mention of 'independence', which is thorn in the eye, particularly to Russia, ICG's president said.

He added that Kosovo, however, could not enjoy a full independence given the need for long-term international presence. /end/"

" The Macedonian Tendency" - The Novel

(hopefully … to be a major motion picture)

Preface: Copywrite: David Edenden, 4th, Oct 2006

See website: The Macedonian Tendency : The Novel

This novel is a work in progress on the web. As I write this story, any links that might be of interest to the novel would be appreciated. I am especially interested in real individuals at work in the Balkans during the Thirties and Forties with information on the Web. Send your stories to the comment section of this blog. You don't have to have the exact details, just the mood and basic facts would be helpful. See my posts for an example of what I want. Blogs are a Good Way of Saving Family (and Macedonian) History.

My two favorite modern mystery authors are Robert Ludlum and John le Carre. Eric Ambler, who started writing in the Thirties, is also interesting to me because of his novels on the Balkans. His novel, The Schirmer Inheritance, which is set in Florina during the Greek Civil War, has some nice local color of ethnic Macedonian partisans.

The “Macedonian Tendency” was originally thought of as a name for a novel. I always liked the Robert Ludlum titles: The Bourne Identity, The Holcroft Covenant, The Osterman Weekend and The Chancellor Manuscript. The Macedonian Tendency seemed to fit right in and has a good ring to it.

Ludlum and le Carre are at opposite ends of the spectrum. With Ludlum, the reader is taken along on a vast thrilling roller coaster ride. Like some rides, you may want to close your eyes and skip a few pages because it won’t really matter. It is the process of reading the improbable plot that provides the entertainment.

My model for the novel, however, is John le Carre because of his ability to weave a probable story with complexity, double identities and double crosses. You can’t miss a page or you will be lost, like in a fog. I will foucs on the behavior of “outside forces” at work in the Balkans. Too many articles have been written with the view that most problems in the Balkans are the result of “ancient hatreds”. This is not true. Two people can always find an accommodation with each other, unless a third party is determined to sow discord: see Jean Paul Sartre’s “No Exit”.

These outsiders will have to distinguish between those who are pro-Communist vs. anti-Communist, pro-Greek vs. pro-Bulgarian vs. Macedonian nationalist. Sometimes, these people could be in the same family, sometime even within the same person

The main character is a naïve young woman, a recent Harvard University graduate, who has been recruited to work for the CIA, circa 1990, before the collapse of Yugoslavia. (I swear, I had this character already formed in my mind before I read about Lindsay Moran). She is intensely religious which means she believes in God and … the devil. Her first assignment is as a desk officer for Yugoslavia, specializing in (you guessed it) Macedonia. All the characters will be fictional but real people will make their appearance when she read newspaper accounts, CIA field reports and prepares classified documents for her superiors

She is not aware of it, but she has some secret family ties to the Balkans since her grandfather was parachuted into the Balkans during WW2 to help in the struggle against the Nazi’s and then against the communists (and Macedonians) during the Greek Civil War. Captain Evans, N. G. L. Hammond and Horace Lunt, will all make an appearance in some fashion.

A Macedonian partisan group in Greece will be working with American agents during WW2 and against them during the Greek Civil War. A few will eventually immigrate to the United States. There will be a Jewish partisan from Florina, who will also find himself in the US after the Greek civil war.

There will be betrayal, division, lies and despair. There will also solidarity, unity, truth and hope. It will be a lot like Macedonia and its history.

RFE Stops Macedonian Language Service

Radio Free Europe is closing down its Macedonian language service. This is good news and bad news. The good news is that Macedonians will not have to listen to anti-Macedonian message in their own language from an organization that is helping to subvert the national integrity of their country and helping to repress Macedonian minorities in Bulgaria and Greece. For those of you that are interested to know why I feel this way, please see the links below.

The bad news is that a number of Macedonians are going to lose their jobs in "the belly of the beast". These people must know what is going on at RFE. they must know why it ignores human rights violations in Greece. It must know why it has taken an anti-Macedonian stance. Now we will lose access to this information. On the other hand, they will be allowed to write about their experiences and we may be closer to the truth. Before you leave guys, why not take your remaining co-workers to lunch, (especially Patrick and Ulrich) have a beer, discuss "office politics". We really need to know what is going on.

ICG = CIA: You be the Judge
This Article is an Example of Why RFE is Anti-Macedonian
RFE Bias Against Macedonia
The Clash of Orthodoxies
Radio Free Europe is the Problem not the Solution
Transitions Online (RFE) ignores Macedonians in Greece
Ulrich Buechsenschuetz Radio Free Europe

RADIO FREE EUROPE/ RADIO LIBERTY:

"'The budget request for RFE/RL is sufficient to support our continuing mission to promote freedom and democracy to peoples in Eastern Europe, Russian, the Caucasus, and Central and Southwestern Asia,' said RFE/RL Acting President Jeffrey Trimble. 'We are eager to continue to enrich our programming for Iran, and while RFE/RL programming to Romania and Macedonia remain popular in those countries, the elimination of these broadcasts and other proposed reductions are necessary to allow the BBG to achieve its stated priority of strengthening targeted programming to provide essential access to news and information to critical audiences,' Trimble said.
"

The Macedonian Tendency: The Novel

(hopefully … to be a major motion picture)

Preface: Copywrite: David Edenden, 4th, Oct 2006

This novel is a work in progress on the web. As I write this story, any links that might be of interest to the novel would be appreciated. I am especially interested in real individuals at work in the Balkans during the Thirties and Forties with information on the Web.

My two favorite modern mystery authors are Robert Ludlum and John le Carre. Eric Ambler, who started writing in the Thirties, is also interesting to me because of his novels on the Balkans. His novel, The Schirmer Inheritance, which is set in Florina during the Greek Civil War, has some nice local color of ethnic Macedonian partisans.

The “Macedonian Tendency” was originally thought of as a name for a novel. I always liked the Robert Ludlum titles: The Bourne Identity, The Holcroft Covenant, The Osterman Weekend and The Chancellor Manuscript. The Macedonian Tendency seemed to fit right in and has a good ring to it.

Ludlum and le Carre are at opposite ends of the spectrum. With Ludlum, the reader is taken along on a vast thrilling roller coaster ride. Like some rides, you may want to close your eyes and skip a few pages because it won’t really matter. It is the process of reading the improbable plot that provides the entertainment.

My model for the novel, however, is John le Carre because of his ability to weave a probable story with complexity, double identities and double crosses. You can’t miss a page or you will be lost, like in a fog. I will foucs on the behavior of “outside forces” at work in the Balkans. Too many articles have been written with the view that most problems in the Balkans are the result of “ancient hatreds”. This is not true. Two people can always find an accommodation with each other, unless a third party is determined to sow discord: see Jean Paul Sartre’s “No Exit”.

These outsiders will have to distinguish between those who are pro-Communist vs. anti-Communist, pro-Greek vs. pro-Bulgarian vs. Macedonian nationalist. Sometimes, these people could be in the same family, sometime even within the same person

The main character is a naïve young woman, a recent Harvard University graduate, who has been recruited to work for the CIA, circa 1990, before the collapse of Yugoslavia. (I swear, I had this character already formed in my mind before I read about Lindsay Moran). She is intensely religious which means she believes in God and … the devil. Her first assignment is as a desk officer for Yugoslavia, specializing in (you guessed it) Macedonia. All the characters will be fictional but real people will make their appearance when she read newspaper accounts, CIA field reports and prepares classified documents for her superiors

She is not aware of it, but she has some secret family ties to the Balkans since her grandfather was parachuted into the Balkans during WW2 to help in the struggle against the Nazi’s and then against the communists (and Macedonians) during the Greek Civil War. Captain Evans, N. G. L. Hammond and Horace Lunt, will all make an appearance in some fashion.

A Macedonian partisan group in Greece will be working with American agents during WW2 and against them during the Greek Civil War. A few will eventually immigrate to the United States. There will be a Jewish partisan from Florina, who will also find himself in the US after the Greek civil war.

There will be betrayal, division, lies and despair. There will also solidarity, unity, truth and hope. It will be a lot like Macedonia and its history.

77 US Politicans Adopt the Greek Postion on Human Rights for Ethnic Macedonians

September 7, 2006

From: David Edenden, The Macedonian Tendency
To: The 77 Co-Sponsors of H. Res. 521: (see below)

Re: "People good, politicians bad"

When my grandmother used to talk about the the Germans in WW2 or the Greeks and communists in the Greek Civil War, or why ethnic Macedonians, struggling for human rights in Greece, cannot gain support from the government of the US, EU, and Canada, she always said, in broken English, that "people good, politicans bad". That is why ...

Ethnic Macedonians Hate the 77 Co-Sponsors of Resolution 521, They Love America

Using the issue of human rights for Macedonians in Greece, I want to discuss with you the perception that people around the world hate the United States. Some say that only extremists hate the US because of its' values of freedom and democracy. Others say this hatred is based, not on what the US is, but what it does. The debate in the US has been clouded by the war on terror, Islamic fascism and anti-Semitism. However, I stand with those who say hatred of the US around the world is based on what the US does.

Your resolution supports the Greek position that Macedonians should change the name of their country (The Republic of Macedonia), their religion (The Macedonian Orthodox Church), their language (Macedonian), their national anthem (Denes Nad Makedonija - Today Above Macedonia) because the very word "Macedonian" belongs to Greek culture. I guess, for good measure, every ethnic Macedonian folk song that has the word Macedonia in it should also be changed. At the same time, you applaud Greece as being a close friend of the US in the Balkans.

You are obviously aware that Greece's values regarding minority rights are based on the denial of the existence of ethnic Macedonians. Greece does admit to a "slavophone" minority that speaks an "idiom" and does not have a language, history or culture, you know … a bunch of "N….. Words". Even so, you ardently support Greece in its' cold war with the Republic of Macedonia over the "name issue". You must agree that your support of Greece's (Nato member) minority rights values are also your values. You are with them (Greece) and against us (ethnic Macedonians). Certainly Greece's values are Nato values, by definition, since Greece is a member in good standing of Nato. You must also agree that any former communist country in Eastern Europe, using Greece as a model for minority rights, will be admitted into Nato, no questions asked … by definition.

Most ethnic Macedonians in Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, and the Republic of Macedonia love the US. They have close family ties with the Macedonian Diaspora in the US. In addition, everyone in the Republic of Macedonia is aware of the assistance the US gave to its capital city, Skopje during the 1963 earthquake, which almost destroyed the city. With US assistance, Skopje, one of the most backward cities in communist Yugoslavia became the most western looking. You may not know this, but a much young and a much thinner US State Department employee, Lawrence Eagleburger spearheaded the relief effort. In Macedonia today, he is still known as "Lawrence of Macedonia" in honour of his efforts.

But, let's get back to the hatred of the US around the world. For all ethnic Macedonians, living in all the Balkan counties and around the world, it's not the CIA, it's not Walmart, it's not US rap music, it's not Hollywood movie sex and violence, it's not American drug culture,its not Donald Rumsfeld, its not Condoleezza Rice and it's especially not President Bush (1), (2), that they hate. It's you, every member of the "Greek Issue Caucus". The refusal of the "Greek Issues Caucus" to even look at the human rights abuses of ethnic Macedonians in Greece, may be useful in gathering political donations to your election campaign from the Greek community, but is hurting America. It is what you have done, not what you are.

My suggestion, is for you to ask the American Hellenic Institute to fund your fact-finding trip to Florina (where most ethnic Macedonians in Greece live). When you get to Greek customs, bring along a Macedonian language Bible and Macedonian dictionary to see if they will allow you to bring them into Greece or will they confiscate them at the border (good luck). Ask to attend an ethnic Macedonian wedding to see if people are courageous enough to sing in the Macedonian language (no way). Ask to be taken to an ethnic Macedonian Church (so sorry) or ethnic Macedonian language radio or TV station (dream on). You can meet with the ethnic Macedonian political party, the Rainbow Party (watch your back). Go to a high school to see if Macedonian is taught as a second language (don't even think about it).

Anyway, at least you have taken the time to read this. Good luck and God bless.

77 C0-Sponsors of H. Res. 521: (09th U.S. Congress (2005-2006))

"Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) should cease its distribution of negative and nationalist propaganda and should work with the United Nations and Greece to find a mutually acceptable official name for the FYROM."

Sponsor: Rep. Carolyn Maloney [D-NY]

Cosponsors

Rep. Robert Andrews [D-NJ]

Rep. Brian Baird [D-WA]

Rep. Shelley Berkley [D-NV]

Rep. Michael Bilirakis [R-FL]

Rep. Timothy Bishop [D-NY]

Rep. Jeb Bradley [R-NH]

Rep. Henry Brown [R-SC]

Rep. Sherrod Brown [D-OH]

Rep. Lois Capps [D-CA]

Rep. Michael Capuano [D-MA]

Rep. Benjamin Cardin [D-MD]

Rep. Dennis Cardoza [D-CA]

Rep. Russ Carnahan [D-MO]

Rep. William Clay [D-MO]

Rep. John Conyers [D-MI]

Rep. Joseph Crowley [D-NY]

Rep. Danny Davis [D-IL]

Rep. Rosa DeLauro [D-CT]

Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart [R-FL]

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart [R-FL]

Rep. Michael Doyle [D-PA]

Rep. John Duncan [R-TN]

Rep. Anna Eshoo [D-CA]

Rep. Chaka Fattah [D-PA]

Rep. Bob Filner [D-CA]

Rep. Barney Frank [D-MA]

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen [R-NJ]

Rep. Raymond Green [D-TX]

Rep. Alcee Hastings [D-FL]

Rep. Maurice Hinchey [D-NY]

Rep. Rush Holt [D-NJ]

Rep. Darlene Hooley [D-OR]

Rep. Steve Israel [D-NY]

Rep. Jesse Jackson [D-IL]

Rep. Marcy Kaptur [D-OH]

Rep. Sue Kelly [R-NY]

Rep. Patrick Kennedy [D-RI]

Rep. James Langevin [D-RI]

Rep. Barbara Lee [D-CA]

Rep. Sander Levin [D-MI]

Rep. Zoe Lofgren [D-CA]

Rep. Nita Lowey [D-NY]

Rep. Edward Markey [D-MA]

Rep. Doris Matsui [D-CA]

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy [D-NY]

Rep. James McGovern [D-MA]

Rep. Mike McIntyre [D-NC]

Rep. Michael McNulty [D-NY]

Rep. Martin Meehan [D-MA]

Rep. Gregory Meeks [D-NY]

Sen. Robert Menéndez [D-NJ]

Rep. George Miller [D-CA]

Rep. Jerrold Nadler [D-NY]

Rep. Eleanor Norton [D-DC]

Rep. Frank Pallone [D-NJ]

Rep. Donald Payne [D-NJ]

Rep. Nick Rahall [D-WV]

Rep. Charles Rangel [D-NY]

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen [R-FL]

Rep. Steven Rothman [D-NJ]

Rep. Bobby Rush [D-IL]

Rep. Loretta Sanchez [D-CA]

Rep. Janice Schakowsky [D-IL]

Rep. Adam Schiff [D-CA]

Rep. Allyson Schwartz [D-PA]

Rep. Robert Scott [D-VA]

Rep. Christopher Shays [R-CT]

Rep. Brad Sherman [D-CA]

Rep. Hilda Solis [D-CA]

Rep. Charles Taylor [R-NC]

Rep. John Tierney [D-MA]

Rep. Edolphus Towns [D-NY]

Rep. Christopher Van Hollen [D-MD]

Rep. Diane Watson [D-CA]

Rep. Henry Waxman [D-CA]

Rep. Anthony Weiner [D-NY]

Rep. Curtis Weldon [R-PA]

Ethnic Macedonians Hate Ileana Ros-Lehtinen , They Love America

Sept 1, 2006

From: David Edenden,
The Macedonian Tendency

To:Ileana Ros-Lehtinen,
US Republican Congresswoman
Greek Issues Caucus
18th District, Florida

Dear Ileana Ros-Lehtinen,

Using the issue of human rights for Macedonians in Greece, I want to discuss with you the perception that people around the world hate the United States. Some say that only extremists hate the US because of its' values of freedom and democracy. Others say this hatred is based, not on what the US is, but what it does. The debate in the US has been clouded by the war on terror, Islamic fascism and anti-Semitism. However, I stand with those who say hatred of the US around the world is based on what the US does.

Your article, in the National Review took the position that Macedonians should change the name of their country (The Republic of Macedonia), their religion (The Macedonian Orthodox Church), their language (Macedonian), their national anthem (Denes Nad Makedonija - Today Above Macedonia) because the very word "Macedonian" belongs to Greek culture. I guess, for good measure, every ethnic Macedonian folk song that has the word Macedonia in it should also be changed. At the same time, you applaud Greece as being a close friend of the US in the Balkans.

You and your staff are obviously aware that Greece's values regarding minority rights are based on the denial of the existence of ethnic Macedonians. Greece does admit to a "slavophone" minority that speaks an "idiom" and does not have a language, history or culture, you know … a bunch of "N….. Words". Even so, you ardently support Greece in its' cold war with the Republic of Macedonia over the "name issue". You must agree that your support of Greece's (Nato member) minority rights values are also your values. You are with them (Greece) and against us (ethnic Macedonians). Certainly Greece's values are Nato values, by definition, since Greece is a member in good standing of Nato. You must also agree that any former communist country in Eastern Europe, using Greece as a model for minority rights, will be admitted into Nato, no questions asked … by definition.

Most ethnic Macedonians in Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, and the Republic of Macedonia love the US. They have close family ties with the Macedonian Diaspora in the US. In addition, everyone in the Republic of Macedonia is aware of the assistance the US gave to its capital city, Skopje during the 1963 earthquake, which almost destroyed the city. With US assistance, Skopje, one of the most backward cities in communist Yugoslavia became the most western looking. You may not know this, but a much young and a much thinner US State Department employee, Lawrence Eagleburger spearheaded the relief effort. In Macedonia today, he is still known as "Lawrence of Macedonia" in honour of his efforts.

But, let's get back to the hatred of the US around the world. For all ethnic Macedonians, living in all the Balkan counties and around the world, it's not the CIA, it's not Walmart, it's not US rap music, it's not Hollywood movie sex and violence, it's not American drug culture and it's especially not President Bush that they hate. It's you Ileana … and every other member of the "Greek Issue Caucus". The refusal of the "Greek Issues Caucus" to even look at the human rights abuses of ethnic Macedonians in Greece, may be useful in gathering political donations to your election campaign from the Greek community, but is hurting America. It is what you have done, not what you are.

My suggestion Ileana, is for you to ask the American Hellenic Institute to fund your fact-finding trip to Florina (where most ethnic Macedonians in Greece live). When you get to Greek customs, bring along a Macedonian language Bible and Macedonian dictionary to see if they will allow you to bring them into Greece or will they confiscate them at the border (good luck). Ask to attend an ethnic Macedonian wedding to see if people are courageous enough to sing in the Macedonian language (no way). Ask to be taken to an ethnic Macedonian Church (so sorry) or ethnic Macedonian language radio or TV station (dream on). You can meet with the ethnic Macedonian political party, the Rainbow Party (watch your back). Go to a high school to see if Macedonian is taught as a second language (don't even think about it).

Anyway, I am asking a lot from you since probably no ethnic Macedonian has ever contributed to your electoral campaigns. Instead, why not meet with members of the St. Demetrius (oh-god-dam-it … it's a Greek!) Macedonian Orthodox Church, Plantation, Florida.

Anyway, at least you have taken the time to read this. Good luck and God bless.


Macedonia’s unresolved title has been an obstacle to Balkan stability.

By Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

On May 8, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) for the first time in its history marked Europe Day. A few weeks earlier, foreign minister Ilinka Mitreva met with ambassadors of NATO countries to emphasize her country’s serious aspirations to become a member of the transatlantic security network.

A candidate country for European Union membership since December 2005, and lobbying for a positive signal from the NATO summit in Riga this fall, FYROM is actively preparing to become a full member of the international community. But one crucial precondition of this process is still missing — the country is still referred to by its transitional name, FYROM.

As a senior member of the House International Relations Committee and dear friend of the Greek people, I am troubled by the unresolved dispute over the name used to identify this West Balkan nation. Finding an internationally acknowledged name could bring substantial stability to the region and pave the way for further integration of FYROM into the international community.

Since FYROM declared its independence in 1991, it has asserted its right to be recognized as the Republic of Macedonia. Greece has objected to this name, saying it causes confusion with regard to the Greek region of Macedonia. Even though Greece and the FYROM have been consistently consolidating their relationship, and Greece, being FYROM’s leading trade and investment partner, just recently confirmed its support for FYROM’s EU membership, the name issue continues to be an irritant.

This dispute has slowed Greece’s efforts to help FYROM through far more consequential problems in the region. Greece, recently referred to by Condoleezza Rice as America’s “best friend in the Balkans,” is the region’s giant in terms of democracy, economic investment, security, and stability. Over 3,500 Greek firms are already operating in the Balkans; Greek investment exceeds $10 billion and trade exceeds $4 billion; and Greece’s GDP is twice as large as the combined GDP of the six other Balkan countries. Greece’s full engagement will be necessary for success in the Balkans.

It is now time to solve the only serious obstacle remaining: the name issue.

I welcome the Bush administration’s efforts to deepen their diplomatic engagement in the Balkans, as illustrated by Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, when he testified on Capitol Hill earlier this year. As former U.S. ambassador to Greece and former U.S. ambassador to NATO, Burns knows the Greek and Balkan sensitivities involved in the name issue very well.

I view the undersecretary’s engagement as a positive signal that the U.S. will return to a more balanced approach to the name dispute. In November 2004, the Colin Powell-led State Department decided to suddenly change its policy and recognize FYROM as “The Republic of Macedonia,” a step which caused great dismay to Greece. NATO, the EU, and the U.N. continued using the name “the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.”

In a letter I recently sent to Secretary of State Rice, I noted that “it is important that our government return its focus to solving this difficult name issue and to helping officials in FYROM understand now that their domestic vote issue has passed, they must move back to sincerely trying to find a name that is acceptable to both sides.”

An American engagement makes sense for a number of reasons. The Administration’s switch in title recognition for FYROM was not a change of principle. All along the U.S. has maintained that FYROM’s final name should be acceptable to Greece, and we have encouraged the U.N. and others to maintain that position.

In March, the Greek government also accepted as a basis for negotiations a title presented by the Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary General, Matthew Nimetz. He recommended “Republika Makedonija” for domestic use and “Republika Makedonija-Skopje” for international use.

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has played a small but symbolic role with regard to the Global War on Terror and our mission in Iraq. FYROM employs troops in Iraq and also supports the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

The U.S. has encouraged FYROM’s preparations for NATO membership by signing the Adriatic Charter initiative, which underlines Albania’s, Croatia’s, and FYROM’s dedication to strengthening their individual and cooperative efforts to intensify and hasten domestic reforms which enhance the security, prosperity, and stability of the region.

As a member of the Hellenic Caucus, I have co-sponsored various pieces of legislation encouraging the involved parties to find a mutually acceptable name for the FYROM. One such bill received more cosponsors than 97 percent of 809 House resolutions introduced in the 109th Congress. For the benefit of FYROM and the benefit of the region, the U.N.’s proposal should be accepted as a basis for serious negotiation. I am confident that Greece and FYROM can negotiate a mutually acceptable win-win title for both countries.

Peace and stability in the Balkans are crucially important to the United States. and resolving the FYROM name dispute will be an essential step toward this goal.

— Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is a senior member of the House International Relations Committee as well as the Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia

Greek Helsinki Takes on the Economist Using "Slav" instead of Macedonian

This is The Greek Helsinki Monitor writing to The Economist inAugust 2001, regarding the use of "Slav" to describe Macedonians instead of just plain Macedonian. The CIA is now using Macedonian instead of "Slav" Drip, Drip, Drip ... we are making a difference.

Macedonia News - Greek Helsinki on Media Coverage Using "Slav"

ICG = CIA: You be the Judge

Dear Nicholas Whyte,
Europe Program Director
International Crisis Group

When I mentioned in my post to The Macedonian News Service, that your group, The International Crisis Group was a front for the CIA, you obviously took it in a negative light. Nothing could be further from the truth. The CIA is merely an instrument of American foreign policy that purses “the US national interest” without regard to human rights, war or peace, or collateral damage on other countries. I have encouraged the government of Macedonia to develop close ties with the CIA as you can see from the posts below. Lets face it, when someone has got you by the "yatse", you don't have much room to maneuver.

CIA Spy Spills the Beans on Macedonian Adventure
Macedonia Strengthen ties to CIA
Investigation: Macedonia Implicated in “Abduction” Case
CIA Kidnapping With Macedonian Help Gets the Times Treatment
On Lindsay Moran, CIA Spy, From A Macedonian Who Knew Her.
Pseudo-Human Rights : Freedom House on Macedonia

NGO's covering the Balkans that address the issue of Macedonians in Greece or the Kurds of Turkey are "human rights groups". These include Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and The US State Department on Human Rights (with input -- and no irony -- from the CIA).

NGO's that ignore the Macedonians and Kurds are what I have come to call "semi-official pseudo human rights groups" groups. These include, The International Crisis Group, Radio Free Europe, and Freedom House (in the case of Macedonians in Greece). I have just searched for any reference in the ICG web site to the plight of Macedonians in Greece ... and what a surprise ... I found none. I searched for compelling analysis of the plight of Kurds in Turkey and found this article, “Iraq: Allaying Turkey's Fears Over Kurdish Ambitions”. You may think that this is your finest hour, I do not.

Every barber, every hairdresser, every taxicab driver and every other member is the chattering classes in the Balkans thinks that The International Crisis Group is a front for the CIA and so do I. (not that there’s anything wrong with it!)

Macedonians Need More Children

Good article about the rise of Albanian population in Macedonia. I am always suspicious of Radio Free Europe's analysis. They are to the right of the CIA and the US State Department which at least recognises Macedonians in Greece.


RADIO FREE EUROPE/ RADIO LIBERTY: "Macedonia: A Political Pact To Regulate Demography?"

14 June 2005 (RFE/RL) -- The age-old issue of the relationship between politics and birthrates has reemerged in Macedonia. During a conference on recent demographic developments at the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (MANU) in Skopje on 3 June, Ilija Aceski -- who is a professor for social sciences at Skopje university -- triggered a controversy over whether demographic trends can be regulated through political agreements.

Discussions about the possible negative impact of some demographic trends in modern societies are not confined to Macedonia. In some western European countries such as Germany, politicians face the problem that decreasing birthrates and aging societies will inevitably undermine the current state-regulated pension systems. Mainland China is well-known for its one-child policy to curb population growth.

'Problematic Developments'

But references to "problematic demographic developments" in Macedonia almost inevitably pertain to the fact that the country's 23 percent ethnic Albanian minority continues to grow due to a high birthrate, while the ethnic Macedonian majority's birthrate continues to decline (see "RFE/RL Balkan Report," 11 April, 17 October, and 12 December 2003).

Macedonian nationalists have -- just like their counterparts in neighboring Serbia -- long warned of demographic trends favoring the Albanians across the Balkans. In Serbia, it was the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) that played an important role in promoting this idea. With its 1986 memorandum on the alleged grievances of Serbs in Yugoslavia, the SANU facilitated Slobodan Milosevic's ascension to power, ultimately paving the way the wars in Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosova during the 1990s (see "RFE/RL East European Perspectives," 5 March, 30 April, and 14 May 2003).

Aceski's presentation in Skopje should be viewed against this backdrop; he reportedly worried aloud that ethnic Albanians would consolidate their majority in certain parts of the country and ethnic Macedonians would leave those areas.
In an editorial for the daily "Utrinski vesnik" of 11 June, Ivica Bocevski slammed the conference at the MANU as a "pseudo-scientific" event. Bocevski wrote that the MANU followed its Serbian counterpart's footsteps in promoting nationalist ideas.


In order to slow this trend, Aceski proposed that the government work out a "demographic agreement" to help curb such developments. The measures proposed by Aceski include tax relief and other state subsidies for families from those ethnic groups in the minority in areas with a different ethnic majority. According to Aceski, such measures would provide incentives for Macedonians to stay in the overwhelmingly Albanian-population parts in western Macedonia.

At the same time, Aceski also proposed that the state reduce its subsidies to families by cutting support for school costs, health care, and welfare benefits. Aceski apparently hoped that this would effectively reduce the incentives for families to raise more children than they can financially afford. (He did not mention that Albanians are generally known throughout the Balkans for having large families.)

Aceski's final aim is to avoid "ethnically clean" territories in Macedonia, which, in his view, could negatively affect the functioning of the state. That is why he called his proposed pact an "anti-segregationist" agreement. The document itself should be drafted by a state body that includes representatives from all ethnic groups in the country. It should be a "political answer to the low birth rate of Macedonians and the high birth rate of Albanians."

Skeptical Audience

Already during the conference at the MANU, Aceski's proposal was met with skepticism. Former Prime Minister Nikola Kljusev said the Macedonian government cannot introduce measures to regulate population growth like China, but should nevertheless consider defining a population policy.

Abdylmenaf Bexheti, who is a former chairman of the ethnic Albanian Party for Democratic Prosperity and a professor at the private Southeast European University in Tetovo, said that such an agreement is not feasible. Bexheti argued that even the 2001 Ohrid peace agreement, which ended hostilities between ethnic Albanian insurgents and the Macedonian security forces -- has not yet been fully implemented.

But perhaps the most pointed criticism came from an ethnic Macedonian. In an editorial for the daily "Utrinski vesnik" of 11 June, Ivica Bocevski slammed the conference at the MANU as a "pseudo-scientific" event. Bocevski wrote that the MANU followed its Serbian counterpart's footsteps in promoting nationalist ideas. Instead of being a stronghold against "quasi-scientific" views, "we saw the MANU as the 'avant-garde of Macedonian nationalism,'" Bocevski wrote.

For him, the problem was not only Aceski's presentation but also the widespread and often uncritical media coverage of his proposal. Bocevski said that because of this publicity he was forced into a discussion by his friends but resolved the problem with a computer. By entering the current growth rates of the Albanian and Macedonian populations, he showed his friends that even if the Albanian population continued to grow at its current pace, it would be a matter of centuries rather than decades before Albanians were in the majority in Macedonia.

Nonetheless, given the widespread anti-Albanian feelings among ethnic Macedonians, Aceski's proposal rather than Bocevski's debunking is likely to attract more supporters among the majority population.

Pseudo-Human Rights : Freedom House on Macedonia

If anyone knows of a student looking to do a report on political science you can mention an analysis of Freedom House's position on the Balkans.

I don't really have time to read this report. It is not good for the lovers of truth, putting Macedonia in the lower rankings of the "Freedom Index".

Nor do I have the time or inclination to read its report on Greece. In previous years, it has not mentioned the Macedonian minority in Greece at all. We must remember that even the State Department and the CIA (yah! That CIA) both discuss the status of the Macedonian in Greece.

I am interested in the bureaucratic hoops that the staff at Freedom House must have jumped through to avoid mentioning us. Please send any anonymous information to me or post it to Alt.News.Macedonia

Southeast Europe Online

CIA Kidnapping With Macedonian Help Gets the Times Treatmen

This kidnapping my upset some weak kneed namby-pamby bleading heart liberals, but its great for Macedonia earning brownie points with our friends in the CIA ... CIA you owe us.

The U.S. Stands Accused of Kidnapping

Thus, the first opportunity was to be used to ferret the suspect from Neu-Ulm off to be interrogated in the secret prisons in Afghanistan. On Dec. 31, 2003, el-Masri boarded a bus in Munich bound for Macedonia. He was looking, he said later, to get some time away. A week of vacation in Skopje seemed just the thing. He and his wife had fought heavily, el-Masri claimed. When he crossed the Serbian-Macedonian border, patrols pulled him off the bus.

All explanations were in vain as three armed Macedonian men in street clothes took him to a hotel. After three weeks of interrogations, one of the Macedonians told el-Masri that "the matter is now no longer in our hands." El-Masri recalls that seven or eight masked men put some diapers and a dark-blue training suit on him, before bringing him to an airplane, fastening him up tight with a seatbelt and then sedating him with an injection.

On Lindsay Moran, CIA Spy, From A Macedonian Who Knew Her.

This is a very interesting article on our friend Lindsay Moran. I have not read the book and I am not surprised that Lindsay has some nice things to say about Albanians in Macedonia. This book was written before the US dumped the name FYROM in favour of just plain old Macedonia. It represented a mindset among US policy makers to take steps to prove to the "Muslim World" that the US is not anti-Muslim. Macedonia was unfortunately the recipient of this backhanded policy, as was Russia (over Chechnya).



I suspect, but am not sure, that the hard nosed conservatives who run the US foreign policy concluded that the Muslim world in general, and the Arab world in particular, don't give a camel's turd for the Albanians. The anti-Macedonian policy would destabilise the country and this would not look good because, lets face it, Clinton does the Balkans not George Bush.



I suspect, but am not sure, that the current CIA person in Macedonia is much more even handed that in the past.

Reality Macedonia : The Spying Game

The Spying Game
By Jason Miko

Earlier this year, a book written by a former CIA agent in Macedonia hit the bookshelves and amazon.com making waves in both the United States and Macedonia. “Blowing My Cover, My Life as a CIA Spy* (*And Other Misadventures),” is the title of the book written by one Lindsay Moran, a former “diplomat” and spy in the US Embassy in Skopje. She served there for roughly three years, from the middle of 2000 through the middle of 2003

Lindsay calls Skopje “unspectacular” and “…a hot, dusty and altogether discouraging place.” I can only assume this is because she was too busy playing James Bond to bother to see the city. Later, she makes the bold, sweeping statement that “Macedonians always appeared to be angry.” I can only assume that is because she never took time out to get to really, truly know any Macedonians as real friends and another statement of hers – “…I visited less and less frequently with the scant few Macedonian friends I had” – bears that out.

Her most sweeping invective, however, is reserved for the Macedonian army and police. Telling a story about a group of soldiers she ran into one day on Mt. Vodno during the 2001 crisis, she wrote, “To me, they looked like the riffraff of which the Macedonian Army was generally composed.” She later calls them the “Hapless Macedonian police or military…” and she calls the Lions “…a rouge police force composed of Macedonian ultranationalists…” and then goes on to outline the Tigers, Wolves, and Scorpions, making the confusing statement that “All these childish animal kingdom names seemed only to highlight the amateurism of the country’s entire security apparatus” failing to note that many other countries’ armed units carry the same or similar names.

Her greatest ire, however, is reserved for Ljube Boshkovski who she labels as “the whack-job interior minister” and “an erratic nutcase,” without failing to similarly crucify, let alone mention, Ali Ahmeti. It seems her hypocrisy knows no bounds.

Finally, however, she shows us her true sympathies simply stating “Instinctually, I empathized with the Albanian rebels.” Note that it is not only the Albanians she empathizes with, but the NLA itself. She also manages to get a few slurs in at the Macedonians when she states “While the Macedonians took every opportunity to rant against Americans, the Albanians were constantly blowing sunshine up our asses; it was natural to side with them over the Slavs.” So, I guess you are Slavs indeed.

Finally, she claims that, after the events of 9/11, Macedonians were greatly pleased that the United States had been attacked simply stating “Among Macedonians, there lingered the inevitable impulse to gloat.” I remember the third call I received that day offering condolences to me… it was from President Boris Trajkovski. I never met a Macedonian – or anybody – who gloated over the events of that day. But perhaps she was visiting some Saudi-funded mosque and was confused.

Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy and Other Misadventures.

Another review of "Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy and Other Misadventures". I have not read a review about her attitudes toward Macedonia.



Rocky Mountain News: Books

Investigation: Macedonia Implicated in “Abduction” Case

Hleping the CIA in so many ways. I approve!



Institute for War and Peace Reporting