Press Release
23 July, 2001
Macedonian Diaspora Call for International Community To Close Kosovo's Ho Chi Minh Trail
Disappointed with the failure of EU and NATO sponsored diplomatic efforts in Macedonia, Macedonians of all walks of life from Diaspora communities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Sweden released a paper today proposing "A Pragmatic Strategy for Resolving the Macedonian Crisis." The paper is to be delivered to Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN, each of the leaders of the countries that have a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, EU members and various think tanks around the world.
The groups believe that an efficient and effective solution to the current crisis is achievable if the international community, and in particular the EU and US, implement the proposed strategy, or a similar derivative, in conjunction with the democratically elected Government of Macedonia.
Offering a mixture of political, economic and military carrots and sticks, the strategy calls for:
1. Political, economic and military isolation and expulsion of the armed separatist groups - through a combination of public declarations to a blocking of separatists funding and freezing of assets by the West.
2. Full international support for the legitimate and democratic Government of Macedonia, including financial, military and other appropriate aid.
3. KFOR (read NATO) to immediately redress its failure to stabilise Kosovo internally and adequately secure the border with Macedonia - stopping the flow of people, arms and money to insurgents from the UN protectorate.
4. The international community to officially and publicly demand that all citizens and parties of Macedonia peacefully resolve any grievances through all available legal means.
5. All parties demonstrate their good faith by agreeing that negotiations should be stopped until armed insurgents withdraw from Macedonian territory and Macedonia's borders are secured.
6. Follow up through a substantial economic development package combined with political reforms to create a more transparent and accountable government at all levels.
However, the Diaspora believes that the key parties who have the ability to do the most in this situation - the US and the EU - must fundamentally change their thinking and modus operandi. Many individuals, think tanks, leaders and policy makers have suggested other ways in which the crisis can be solved. But these would all include potential risks to the one thing the US and EU governments hold dear - their troops in Kosovo.
The Diaspora groups suggest that the crisis in Macedonia cannot be resolved in isolation of Kosovo. The armed insurgency that has brought Macedonia close to war would not have occurred if KFOR had done its job to disarm the KLA, restore law and order, secure the Kosovo part of the Yugoslav border with Macedonia and close down facilities that support separatist groups.
International facilitators claim that the Macedonian government must make hard choices. This is true. But it is equally true that the US and the EU must do the same. Simply put, the EU and the US need to take responsibility for their actions in the Balkans. KFOR must deploy its forces more effectively along the border and close down Kosovo's Ho Chi Minh trail. If they fear casualties, the border region should be ceded to contingents from other countries that are willing to do the job. If that is unfeasible, a sufficiently wide strip of the region along the border should be returned to Yugoslavia with the proviso that they control the border adequately.
This should be followed up by government moves to block separatist funding and freeze assets. These small actions will send a powerful message to those violent men in the hills that the international community will not stand by and watch the multiethnic and democratic "ideal" that Macedonia represents in the Balkans to be destroyed.
The Diaspora groups, the Macedonian American Friendship Association, the Australian Macedonian Forum, the Swedish Macedonian Forum and Macedonians in the UK represent many of the approximately 2,500,000 Macedonians living abroad.
Please see A Pragmatic Strategy for Resolving the Macedonian Crisis