Posted on 08/19/2004 7:36:11 AM PDT by Jane_N
A number of statements and written reports have come out in the past several days and weeks, which I feel, compelled to comment on.
Even as certain representatives of the international community were praising the Ohrid Framework Agreement on August 13th, three years after its signing, certain Macedonian Albanian politicians were finally telling the truth. DUI parliamentarian, uncle of Ali Ahmeti and NLA ideologist and strategist Fazli Veliu said in Radusa, “NLA's vision has begun with Kosovo and will end with the Albanians' unification in the future Greater Albania, which includes Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo and eastern Kosovo…The manifestation in Radusa should celebrate a new victory of the Albanians' unification next year.” I will give Mr. Veliu credit for being truthful. At least now we know that the lines are drawn in the sand.
Three weeks earlier, on July 26th, Ali Ahmeti – that lover of democracy – was reported in Flaka as stating “that the announced referendum of the Macedonians regarding the decentralization issue is not a right step because Macedonia needs a little bit more of engagement of both the parties and the various personalities. Saying he doesn’t see the referendum as being a right step, Ahmeti adds that this might trigger reactions among the Albanian population, explaining that the Albanians would collect 150,000 signatures within a week and for any possible referendum.”
The Flaka reportage raises a couple of interesting points. The first is that, by his language, he assumes that ethnic Macedonians are organizing this referendum. The fact is, Macedonian citizens are organizing this referendum. It is entirely possible, especially if you look at the statements of DPA, that there are other citizens out there, of all ethnicities, that don’t like this territorial division or the way it was pushed through. By his statement, he is essentially pitting Macedonians against Macedonian Albanians. But this is something that he has been trying to do since his youth as a young Marxist.
The second issue is that his statement exposes the tactics, which he used in the 2001 war, namely, violence and the threat of violence. After all, he didn’t use the ballot box to achieve his current status in life. He used the bullet, first, to attack a democratic process, which he now purports to believe in, unless of course, that democratic process applies to a referendum. Is he issuing threats, or promises? Either way, he is dangerous.
Last week, in an August 4th article written for the usually respected Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Ibrahim Mehmeti, a political analyst and editor-in-chief of the Skopje-based periodical Multi-Ethnic Forum (and an Ahmeti apologist apparently), wrote:
“In an attempt to calm these tensions, Ali Ahmeti, leader of the main Albanian party in government, has issued a message to Macedonians assuring them that Albanians have no intention of dividing the country. For the first time, he has also held a press conference under a Macedonian flag.”
Well, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: My favorite quote by Mr. Ahmeti, which he has never denied, is this from Newsweek, March 22, 2001. In “A Troubled Dream,” author David Binder quotes Mr. Ahmeti as stating “Our aim is solely to remove Slav forces from territory which is historically Albanian.”
If he has no intention of dividing the country, then why was division his philosophy when he started the 2001 war? If that is not his philosophy now, then why doesn’t he come out and repudiate his previous statement? How do his statements then and now measure up to his uncle’s statement on August 13th? And the argument that he supports Macedonia due to the fact that he held a press conference under a Macedonian flag is specious – it has taken him a lifetime to recognize the flag of the Republic of Macedonia and this is just window dressing and not a genuine and honest change of heart. It is also is a case of too little too late and the fact that he is doing so now only means that he is nervous and trying to calm tensions from a populace who understandably despises him for threatening to rain mortars upon the airport, refinery and parliament all on a single day. As I recall, when Mr. Ahmeti first came down from his mountain lair in Shipkovica, he held press conferences with the flag of the Republic of Albania and sang the national anthem of the Republic of Albania. Perhaps he has Alzheimer’s disease.
And the gathering of signatures for the referendum is a curious thing to me. MIA reports that Justice Minister Memeti has responded to criticism that his ministry either isn’t doing enough to help with the signature collecting process or is blocking it in various ways. He goes on to state that there are 125 places around the country for collecting signatures, open from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm every day, including Saturdays! And on Wednesdays, the offices are open from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm! Well, imagine that.
Those who criticize have an obligation to suggest an alternative so let me do so by just giving an example of how we do this in the United States. We too, have the referendum and it is used mightily by the people. If you don’t think it is effective, just ask yourself how Arnold Schwarzenegger became governor of California…that’s right, through the referendum.
Well, the way we collect signatures is thus: any citizen can get a petition from the group wanting to hold a referendum. The petition is a form approved by the Secretary of State’s office (in each of our 50 states) and must be signed by individuals who are registered voters. This petition is basically a form, stating the issue with information about the organizer and including space for about 15 signatures, including the printed name and address of the individual signing. The holders of this petition can then go to his or her friends and get them to sign it. Or the holder can go to the market, the mall, door to door in a neighborhood, their church, the park or anywhere else he or she damn well pleases, collecting signatures. Really, this is a much more efficient and effective way of collecting the necessary signatures. Why, we even have professional paid signature-gatherers that the group wanting to hold a referendum can employ!
(To insure honesty, the referendum petition may include a warning: “WARNING It is a class 1 misdemeanor for any person to knowingly sign an initiative or referendum petition with a name other than his own…etc., etc.)
Just a few observations this week from a passionate defender of Macedonia.
Jason Miko is a free thinker and an independent advisor and has lived and worked in and around the Balkans for over eight years and with them for almost twelve years. The views expressed herein are wholly his own.
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