Posted on 08/22/2006 10:56:16 AM PDT by joan
Tirana, 22 August (AKI) - Albanians living in the Balkan region should unite and be integrated into a "natural Albania" by 2013, a senior Albanian official said on Tuesday. Neighbouring Macedonia, with a 25 percent Albanian population, is likely to be partitioned first, if its authorities fail to honour the five-year-old Ohrid peace agreement - which gave Albanians more autonomy and increased their political representation - Koco Danaj, political adviser to Albania's prime minister, Sali Berisha, told Pristina-based Albanian language daily Epoka e Re.
“In politics it’s easier to face the painful truth, than the painful lies,” said Danaj. “Therefore, I emphasise again that disrespect of the Ohrid agreement would mean partitioning of Macedonia,” he added.
Danaj said the greatest threat to the Ohrid agreement - which in 2001 ended ethnic Albanian rebellion in Macedonia - to power of the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE, the Macedonian political party that won the 5 July general election.
VMRO-DPMNE leader, Nikola Gruevski is expected this week to form a coalition government with the Democratic Party of Albanians, triggering protests from the biggest ethnic Albanian party, the Democratic Union for Integration, which also wants to participate in the government.
With Serbia’s southern Kosovo province seeming to be moving towards independence, Danaj said that ethnic Albanians in Macedonia and Montenegro should also have the right to choose with whom to live. Instead of having Albanians participate in those countries' governments, it would be more natural that they had one government in the Albanian capital, Tirana, Danaj said.
After Montenegro, with population of 620,000, voted for independence and separation from Serbia at a referendum on 21 May, 500,000 ethnic Albanians in Macedonia should have the same right, Danaj said. Neither Serbia, nor Macedonia and Montenegro were "natural creations," Danaj pointed out.
Giving apparent credence to the fears of Serb and other Slav politicians in the Balkan countries that the creation of a Greater Albania is the main threat to the region, Danaj said all Albanians will be united “in natural Albania” by 2013.
I smell the stink of war coming...would it be too much to ask the FYROMIANS to get on the same page with their Christian slavic brothers in Serbia and make up with Greece?
Duh...I guess it would.
Sheer insanity. Want another war with Greece and Macedonia on the same side as the Serbs? Keep agitating.
"Natural Albania" = "Greater Albania"
Exactly what those who opposed NATO's back-asswards wars against Serbia were warning about, now it's out in the open.
Exactly! On all points.
Here we go. Give an inch, now they want everything else. I think Albanians are overplaying their greedy hand at this point. And if they continue, somehow, I have a feeling Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Greece's combined military and political strength would put a serious dent in the greater (oh, sorry, "Natural") Albania dreams.
What does he mean by "natural" Albania, it sounds like he's using words from an Ex-Lax advertisement.
Well, the borders were botched up as they've always been in the Balkans. First of all, northern Kosovo should remain Serbian (especially area where all the Orthodox monasteries are.) Number two, there really isn't an ethnic group Montenegrin (they're Serbs). The whole idea of a separate Monenegro is ridiculous. Montenegro could give up some territory to Albania to make that border more natural--Lake Ohrid entirely in Albanian territory. The question of Macedonia is the trickiest. None of their Christian neighbors really recognize them (or the autocephaly of their Orthodox church). The Greeks Hellenized thousand of Macedonian Slavs when it took over what is today Thessaloniki (Salonika). The Bulgarians have looked upon Macedonians (especially the language) as a form of Bulgarian. Actualy Albanians are becoming more and more of the population there because of the lower Slavic birth rate and high emmigration of Slavs to Germany etc. I really think some deal can be made to make a bigger Albania. The unfortunate thing the Serbs started was that many Muslims in the Balkans were pretty religiously apathetic----because of Bosnia & Kosovo, the Wahhabis and other Islamo-nuts have gotten their claws into these folks somewhat. Albanians are about 30% Christian (20% Orthodox, 10% Roman Catholic)----could the surrounded countries (Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, & maybe Italy) make a deal that includes no toleration for an Islamic oriented state.
Good points except that Lake Ohrid is in Macedonia, not Montenegro. You may be thinking of Lake Skadar...
"...borders were botched up as they've always been in the Balkans."
well, well, imagine that.....what a surprise that is. /sarc
Al....I sure you probably already know, Greece has it's own issues with the Albanians. I wrote a security assessment in March 2001 about info that I had collected...as follows: (time context in 2001)
"1. LAC - (Ushtria Clirimtare E Camera) – Also referred to as the CLA. They are confirmed to be on the border or the northern part of Greece and Western Macedonia close to Bitola. They are an Albanian American Group, who reportedly (unconfirmed) have roots with the Luchessi crime family that is either based or have a large organization in Staten Island, New York. In March 2001, three members was rumored to have departed Staten Island with $500,000 and bound for Macedonia. The alleged smuggling route goes from the US to Naples, Italy, to Bari and Brindisi, Italy. Then the “goods”, (weapons, drugs, money, etc…) go to Durres, Albania or to Bar, Montenegro. There may be other ports that are not known by this writer."
***This area of Greece by the way corresponds to the Greater Albania scheme of the original concept and what they consider part of the Greater Albania.
:) Texans wanted this all along, right? /sarc. the country of Texas. /sarc... Maybe the Irish or Scots in American should form our own government. /sarc.....
rotten eggs.....???/ how about rocks....with jagged edges :). This also goes beyond Clinton. It started in 1948....and long story very short, put on hold due to Tito.
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