When in 1991 the international community recognized Macedonian independence from the former Yugoslavia, there were fears for the economic and social stability of a country with little more than two million people. It was not simply that the population was only equivalent to that of a small city, but also that a quarter of it was made up of ethnic Albanians. With Albanian-dominated Kosovo to the northwest and Albania itself on its western frontier, the newly-independent country seemed unusually fragile. It did not help that the Greek government protested at the name "Macedonia", which it said properly belonged to an area of northern Greece. This pettifogging attitude even extended to blocking Macedonia's initial approaches to join the European Union. Yet for all its apparent weaknesses, Macedonia enjoyed some 10 years in which it managed to escape the murderous turmoil elsewhere in the Balkans. By and large, citizens of Albanian ethnicity were perfectly content to be part of a small country which, because of its stability, had attracted generous levels of international support. Then came the 2001 rebellion by a small core of Albanian nationalists demanding special rights and a high degree of autonomy. The seven-month conflict ended with the intervention of NATO, which put in troops to monitor a ceasefire. Meanwhile, a deal - the Ohrid Agreement - was hammered out which gave the Albanians increased political rights and guaranteed the recognition of Albanian culture and language. The rebels for their part agreed to give up any idea of breaking away to join Kosovo and agreed to hand over their weapons. Unfortunately, the toughness with which the Macedonian security forces had sought to tackle the rebellion had shocked and alienated many ordinary AlbanianMacedonians. And, of course, dark forces in neighboring Kosovo were not party to the Ohrid deal. Despite this, an uneasy calm largely prevailed until this month. After an earlier, brief assault on a police station, this week an armed gang, some 50-strong, attacked the northern Macedonian town of Kumanovo. In a ferocious fight that seriously damaged many buildings, eight local policemen, including ethnic Albanians, were killed and 37 wounded while 14 of the attackers perished and some 30 of them were forced to surrender. They appear to have been led by Kosovo Albanians, who are former members of the now-disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army, which had led the successful campaign to drive Serbs out of Kosovo. The majority of those captured are said to be Macedonian nationals. Macedonia's government has been caught up in illegal wiretapping allegations and it is clear that security forces have at times overreacted in their treatment of all opposition forces, not simply Albanian nationalists. However, prime minister Nikola Gruevski heads a coalition government which includes the main party representing the country's Albanians. Therefore, it is not as if he is trying to shut out the Albanian voice. The culprit here is the Kosovar government in Pristina. It is unlikely that they are directly involved in fostering Albanian secessionists in Macedonia. Nevertheless, it seems clear they could be doing more to clamp down on their nationals who are intent on attacking Macedonia. The Balkan states, in general, spend far too much time blowing nationalist trumpets and make too little effort to forge regional prosperity by encouraging cooperation and stability in their neighbors. The EU will never want them as members while they bicker and snipe at each other with such deadly effect.
