Macedonia: 20 years of independence in limbo
Source: pravda
Macedonia has recently celebrated its 20th
birthday. The country had to prove the rights for existence during all
of those years. The separatism of Albanians and the disputes with
Bulgaria and Greece threaten the future of the country. Which are the
prospects for the country in the future? Macedonian Ambassador to Russia
Ilia Isailovski and historian Vladimir Putyatin, an expert for Balkans,
expressed completely different opinions on the subject in the interview
with Pravda.Ru.
"Owing to constructive politics of the
Republic of Macedonia, we managed to achieve independence without
considerable losses and without our participation in the war that was
going on in the Balkan countries for many years," Ambassador Isailovsky
said.
According to him, Macedonia is not
afraid of separatism on the part of Albanians, who make up nearly a
quarter of the country's population.
"Macedonia is one of those countries
that has done everything possible for the defense of national
minorities. Many countries believe that our experience in regulating
national contradictions is the optimal one. We are definitely not afraid
of the Kosovo scenario. Our Albanians consider Macedonia their own
country," the ambassador said.
Mr. Isailovski is optimistic regarding the future of the NATO future of the country.
"The incorporation in the EU and NATO is
a priority in our foreign policy. We intend to hold the memberships of
both organizations. There are two reports from the European Commission,
which give a positive opinion regarding Macedonia's full-fledged
membership in the European Union. As for NATO, our country has met all
requirements and conducted all reforms that were supposed to be
conducted. Our full-fledged membership in NATO is only a question of
time," the official said.
Nevertheless, there is a serious
obstacle for Macedonia to join the EU and NATO. To avoid possible
territorial disputes, Greece wants the country to be called the Republic
of Skopje or the former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia. For this
reason, Greece blocks Macedonia's incorporation in the EU and NATO.
As a result, Macedonia celebrated its 20th anniversary in limbo. The International Court in The Hague currently entertains Macedonia's lawsuit against Greece.
"If moot questions occur, we try to
settle them through a dialogue. The question about the name, which we
have in our relations with Greece, is being settled within the framework
of the UN. We hope that the case will have a positive outcome,"
Isailovski said.
Historian Vladimir Putyatin, an expert for Balkans, described the future of Macedonia in dark colors.
"Macedonia declared its sovereignty 20
years ago, but the struggle for its independence is still going on.
There's the struggle with Greece, Bulgaria does not recognize the
Macedonian as a separate language, there's also the problem of
separatism of local Albanians. All those things pose a threat to the
future of this country," Putyatin said.
As we can see, the points of view about
the future of Macedonia, a Slavic country situated in the heart of the
Balkan Peninsula, can be completely different. The history of this
region was boisterous. The Macedonians did not have their own country
before 1991. The nation that used to live in ancient Macedonia had
absolutely nothing in common with the present-day nation.
The contemporary Macedonian nation was
formed in the middle of the century, when its land would at first belong
to Byzantium, then to Bulgaria, Serbia and to the Ottoman Empire.
Macedonia was a part of the Bulgarian kingdom the longest. The
Macedonian and Bulgarian languages sound very much alike. However, the
Serbs can also remember the time when Skopje used to be the capital of
their state. The Serbian influence can also be seen in the Macedonian
language. What is more, the Macedonians use the Serbian Cyrillic, not
the Bulgarian one.
In the beginning of the 20th
century, the coalition of Balkan countries (Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and
Montenegro) declared war on the Ottoman Empire. As a result, eastern
Macedonia became a part of Bulgaria. The southern part of the country
became a part of Greece, whereas the northern part belonged to Serbia.
The Slavic population was the minority in the Greek part of Macedonia.
In Bulgaria, they tried to assimilate the Macedonians, to declare them
the Bulgarians. As a result, there is no separatism among the Bulgarian
Macedonians today - the majority of them think of themselves as the
Bulgarians.
The fight for independence was happening
in the former "Serbian" Macedonia. Unlike Bulgaria and Greece, this
part of the Macedonian people had to live in the multinational
Yugoslavia, which eased their struggle for independence. A socialist
republic was established within Yugoslavia after WWII. This republic
then evolved into the present-day Macedonia.
The Macedonian ambassador is right.
Unlike Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia, Macedonia separated from Yugoslavia
peacefully. On September 8, 1991, the nation approved the declaration
of independence. Yugoslavian troops left the republic in six months.
The Albanians were not happy about the
fact that they received no territorial authority in 1991. They also
wanted their language to be recognized as the second official language
of the country. The situation took a turn for the worse in 1999, when
hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians began to flee to Macedonia
because of the bombing of Yugoslavia. Large-scale armed clashes between
the Albanian army of national liberation and Macedonian regular troops
were happening in February-August of 2001. The conflict was regulated
after the interference of NATO and the EU. NATO troops, which appeared
in Macedonia in 1991, are still deployed in the country.
The Macedonian authorities had to make
concessions to the Albanians under the pressure from the West. The
Albanians were represented in the government, they received a separate
TV channel, their language was given an official status in some regions.
However, the Albanians still want to federalize the country and achieve
absolute equality of the two languages.
The economic situation in the country
leaves much to be desired. The country has no access to sea and takes
one of the lowest places in Europe in terms of the living standard.
There is no developed industry in the country; the agriculture is not
competitive from the point of view of European standards. As for
tourism, Macedonia lags far behind Montenegro and Bulgaria, not to
mention Greece.
Hundreds of people gathered in the center of Skopje to celebrate the 20th
anniversary of independence. They have every reason to celebrate:
Macedonia was recognized by all countries of the world. The country is
represented in the UN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, FIFA and the
International Olympic Committee. Nevertheless, Macedonia has a lot to
work on.
Vadim Trukhachev
Comments