The Military Occupation of Macedonia

By Michel Chossudovsky
Professor of Economics, University of Ottawa

The Western press points to the "mediation" of the U.S. and the EU in what is largely portrayed as an "internal conflict." Public opinion is led to believe that the Macedonian crisis pertains solely to the social, political, and language rights of the ethnic Albanian minority and that the "international community" is committed to ending the violence "between government forces and ethnic Albanian insurgents" while assisting opposing sides to reach a solution.

The truth is that U.S. military personnel is advising and equipping the terrorists. The KLA-NLA is America's proxy military force. KLA-NLA commanders--who until recently were on the United Nations payroll in Kosovo--were trained by British and American Special Forces.

The media describes the terrorists as "Albanian rebels" upholding the rights of an ethnic minority in Macedonia. Amply documented, the KLA-NLA is a well-organized mercenary army, which includes recruits from NATO countries as well as Mujahedin ("holy warriors") from a number of Muslim countries.

The Western media mantra portrays America's envoy Ambassador James Pardew as a "foreign facilitator," when in fact his military-intelligence mandate consists in ensuring (through threat, intimidation, and political manipulation) the signing of a "framework document." The purpose of the latter is to provide legitimacy to the military occupation of Macedonia by NATO troops. To reach this objective, the leaders of Macedonia's political parties have been deceived and co-opted, and (according to one source) directly bribed by powerful American business interests.1

Surrender to the Enemy

The Ohrid "framework document" to be ratified by the leaders of Macedonia's political parties has nothing to do with "peace." It is an act of surrender by a sovereign country to the enemy.

While the U.S. and EU "mediators" promised that the "peace agreement" would lay the basis for "disarming the rebels" and enforcing a cease-fire, the evidence amply confirms that exactly the opposite will occur.

NATO has no intention to confiscate the weapons of its own proxy army. Washington has been directly arming and equipping the terrorists with brand new weapons "Made in America."

Following the acceptance of the "framework document" by the Macedonian parties, a NATO spokesperson clarified that:

"it [NATO] would not actually disarm ethnic Albanian rebels and would have to rely on their cooperation to lay down their weapons. A NATO official said the surrender of arms by National Liberation Army (NLA) guerrillas was a matter of trust, and reports that NATO had given new disarmament guarantees to the former Yugoslav republic's authorities were wrong."2

Operation "Essential Harvest"

Code-named "Essential Harvest," NATO's intervention under British command serves several related purposes:

1. NATO Special Forces will be deployed to directly protect the terrorists, including their territorial gains.
2. The intent is to not "disarm the rebels" but to weaken and disable the Macedonian Security Forces as evidenced by the pressure exerted by Washington on the Ukraine to discontinue its military aid to the Macedonian ARM.
3. The agreement is intent on instilling an atmosphere of ethnic hatred between the Albanian minority and the Macedonian majority, which would justify military as well as political intervention "on humanitarian grounds."
4. The "Framework Agreement" lays the basis for the installation of a NATO protectorate (similar to that prevailing in Kosovo and Bosnia) leading to the destruction of Macedonia as a country.
5. By signing this agreement, the Skopje government relinquishes all its powers and jurisdictions, paving the way for the military occupation of Macedonia by NATO forces in violation of international law.

Militarization of the Balkans

The transformation of Macedonia into a protectorate of the Western military alliance is a further step in the militarization of the Balkans. In many respects, it is reminiscent of the occupation of the Sudetenland province of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany under the Munich Agreement signed between Adolph Hitler and Britain's Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. The annexation of the Sudetenland to the Third Reich was a stepping stone to the subsequent invasion of Poland in 1939.

Opposing the Framework Agreement

It is important that Macedonian citizens of all ethnic groups join hands in forcefully opposing the invasion of their country by NATO troops. The ratification of the framework document by the leaders of Macedonia's political parties should be firmly opposed. NATO is the enemy. It should be understood, however, that even if the "framework document" is not ratified, NATO has already taken the decision to invade Macedonia.

Both Macedonians and ethnic Albanians are the victims of the NATO-sponsored terrorist assaults and should act as much as possible in solidarity with one another. The important issue of minority rights in Macedonia is an internal matter to be worked out within the framework of existing national political and social institutions, without outside interference.

NATO is using the issue of social and language rights to trigger divisions between Macedonians and ethnic Albanians. In this insidious design, NATO is using the pretext of minority social rights to send in troops and occupy the country.

In NATO countries and around the World, citizens--acting individually and collectively within their respective communities--should understand the seriousness of the situation in Macedonia. The so-called National Liberation Army (NLA) is a proxy army of the United States of America. The terrorists are financed and supported by Washington. The war in Macedonia is a war of conquest.

The complicity of the heads of State and heads of government of NATO countries must be confronted. NATO is upholding international terrorism. It plans to send troops into a sovereign country in violation of its own charter, in defiance of international law, and without legislative assent or parliamentary debate in NATO member countries. The geopolitical implications are far-reaching. The signing of the Ohrid "framework document" will provide legitimacy to the occupation of Macedonia by NATO troops and the militarization of the entire Balkans region.

Endnotes

1. See Mirko Velinovska, "Dzaferi is paid for the Destruction of Macedonia," Start, Skopje, 4 February 2000. See also BBC Monitoring Service, "Macedonian-Albanian daily denies Weekly's Claims about Ethnic Albanian Leader," A1 TV, Skopje, in Macedonian 1500 GMT 15 February 2000.

2. Reuters, 8 August 2001.

* * *
The following texts by the author provide documentary evidence that the U.S. government is supporting the terrorist assaults:

"Washington Behind the Terrorist Assaults in Macedonia," Ottawa, July 2001
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/choss/washbe.htm, also at
http://www.antiwar.com/rep/chuss6.html.

"America at War in Macedonia," June 2001
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/choss/pipe.htm also at
http://www.antiwar.com/rep/chuss5.html.

"Macedonia: Washington's Military Intelligence Ploy," June 2001
http://www.transnational.org/forum/meet/2001/Chossudov_WashingtPloy.html.

"Washington Finances Ethnic Warfare in the Balkans," Ottawa, April 2001
http://emperors-clothes.com/articles/choss/fin.htm.

© Copyright by Michel Chossudovsky, Ottawa, August, 2001. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to post this text on non-commercial community Internet sites, provided the essay remains intact, the copyright note is displayed and no headers or footers are added to the article without consulting the author. To publish this text in printed and/or other forms, including commercial Internet sites and excerpts, contact the author at chossudovsky@videotron.ca or chossudovsky@sprint.ca, fax: 1-514-4256224.