Yugoslav Wars

22
YUGOSLAV WARS Yugoslav wars Break-up of Yugoslavia 140,000+ dead; thousands missing; over 1,000,000 left homeless. The Yugoslav Wars were a series of violent conflicts in the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) that took place between 1991 and 2001. They comprised two sets of successive wars affecting all of the six former Yugoslav republics. Alternative terms in use include the ―War in the Balkans‖, or ―War in (former) Yugoslavia, Wars of Yugoslav Secession, and the Third Balkan War(a short-lived term coined by British journalist Misha Glenny, alluding to the Balkan Wars of 19121913). They were characterised by bitter ethnic conflicts between the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats, Bosniaks or Albanians on the other; but also between Bosniaks and Croats in Bosnia and Macedonians and Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia. The conflict had its roots in various underlying political, economic and cultural problems, as well as long-standing ethnic and religious tensions. The civil wars ended with much of the former Yugoslavia reduced to poverty, massive economic disruption and persistent instability across the territories where the worst fighting occurred. The wars were the bloodiest conflicts on European soil since the end of World War II. They were also the first conflicts since World War II to have been formally judged genocidal in character and many key individual participants were subsequently charged with war crimes. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was established by the United Nations to prosecute these crimes. The Yugoslav civil wars can be split in two groups of several distinct conflicts:

Transcript of Yugoslav Wars

Page 1: Yugoslav Wars

YUGOSLAV WARS

Yugoslav wars

Break-up of Yugoslavia

140000+ dead thousands missing over

1000000 left homeless

The Yugoslav Wars

were a series of violent

conflicts in the territory of

the former Socialist Federal

Republic of Yugoslavia

(SFRY) that took place

between 1991 and 2001

They comprised two sets of

successive wars affecting all

of the six former Yugoslav republics Alternative terms in use include the ―War in

the Balkans or ―War in (former) Yugoslavia ―Wars of Yugoslav Secession

and the ―Third Balkan War (a short-lived term coined by British journalist Misha

Glenny alluding to the Balkan Wars of 1912ndash1913)

They were characterised by bitter ethnic conflicts between the peoples of

the former Yugoslavia mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats

Bosniaks or Albanians on the other but also between Bosniaks and Croats in

Bosnia and Macedonians and Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia The

conflict had its roots in various underlying political economic and cultural

problems as well as long-standing ethnic and religious tensions

The civil wars ended with much of the former Yugoslavia reduced to

poverty massive economic disruption and persistent instability across the

territories where the worst fighting occurred The wars were the bloodiest conflicts

on European soil since the end of World War II They were also the first conflicts

since World War II to have been formally judged genocidal in character and many

key individual participants were subsequently charged with war crimes The

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was established

by the United Nations to prosecute these crimes

The Yugoslav civil wars can be split in two groups of several

distinct conflicts

1 Wars during the breakup of SFRY

2 War in Slovenia (1991)

3 Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995)

4 Bosnian War (1992-1995)

Wars in Albanian-populated areas

1 Kosovo War (1997-1999)

2 Southern Serbia conflict (2000-2001)

3 Macedonia conflict (2001)

BACKGROUND

Major tensions arose from the first monarchist Yugoslavias multi-ethnic

makeup and relative political and demographic domination of the Serbs

Fundamental to the tensions was the different conceptions of the new state for the

Croats envisaged a federal model where they would enjoy greater autonomy than

they had as a separate crown land under Austria-Hungary the Serbs tended to

view the territories as a just reward for their support of the allies in WW1 and the

new state as an extension of the Serbian Kingdom These tensions often erupted

into open conflict resulting in a dictatorship exercising repression through the Serb

dominated security structure and the assassination in federal parliament of Croat

political leaders including Stjepan Radic who opposed the Serbian monarchlsquos

absolutism The assassination and human rights abuses were subject of concern for

the League of Nations and precipitated voices of protest from intellectuals

including Albert Einstein It was in this environment of repression that the

insurgent group (later fascist dictatorship) Ustashe were formed

The countrylsquos tensions were exploited by the occupying Axis forces in

World War II which established a puppet-state spanning much of present day

Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina The axis powers installed in charge of this

―Independent State of Croatia― the Ustashe which having resolved that the

Serbian minority were a trojan horse of Serbian expansionism pursued a

genocidal policy against them Both Croats and Muslims were recruited as soldiers

by the SS (primarily in the 13th Waffen Mountain Division) At the same time

former Royalist General Milan Nedic was installed by the axis as head of the Serb

puppet state with the collaborationist Serb Chetnik militia pursued an ethnic

cleansing program against Croats and Muslims particularly in Eastern Bosnia

with a view to creating a Greater Serbia (see Stevan Moljević) Both were

confronted and eventually defeated by the communist-led anti-fascist Partisan

movement composed of members of all ethnic groups in the area leading to the

formation of a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Despite the federal structure of the new Yugoslavia there was still the

tension between the federalists primarily Croats and Slovenes who argued for

greater autonomy and unitarists primarily Serbs The to and fro of the struggle

would occur in cycles of protests for greater individual and national rights (such as

the Croatian Spring) and subsequent repression The 1974 constitution was an

attempt to short-circuit this pattern by entrenching the federal model and

formalising national rights

THE EARLY CONFLICTS (1991-1995)

In the years leading up to the Yugoslav wars relations among the republics

of the Socialist Federal of Yugoslavia had been deteriorating Slovenia and Croatia

desired greater autonomy within a Yugoslav confederation while Serbia sought to

strengthen federal authority As it became clearer that there was no solution

agreeable to all parties Slovenia and Croatia moved toward secession

The first of these conflicts known as the Ten-Day War or ―The War in

Slovenia was initiated by the secession of Slovenia from the federation on 25 June

1991 The federal government ordered the federal Yugoslav Peoplelsquos Army to

secure border crossings in Slovenia Slovenian police and Territorial Defense

blockaded barracks and roads leading to standoffs and limited skirmishes around

the republic After several dozen deaths the war was stopped through negotiation

at Brioni on 9 July 1991 when Slovenia and Croatia agreed to a three-month

moratorium on secession The Federal army completely withdrew from Slovenia

by 26 October 1991

The second in this series of conflicts the Croatian War of Independence

began when Serbs in Croatia who were opposed to Croatian independence

announced their secession from Croatia The move was in part triggered by a

provision in the new Croatian Constitution that replaced the explicit reference to

Serbs in Croatia as a constituent nationlsquo with a generic reference to all other

nations and was interepreted by Serbs as being reclassified as a national

minoritylsquo This was coupled with a history of distrust between the two ethnic

groups dating back to at least both World Wars and the inter-war period The

federally-controlled Yugoslav Peoplelsquos Army (JNA) was ideologically unitarist

and predominantly staffed by Serbs in its officer corp thus it also opposed

Croatian independence and sided with the Croatian Serb rebels Since the JNA had

disarmed the Territorial Units of the two northernmost republics the fledgling

Croatian state had to form its military from scratch[citation needed]

and was further

hindered by an arms embargo imposed by the UN on the whole of Yugoslavia

The Croatian Serb rebels were unaffected by said embargo as they had the support

of and access to supplies of the JNA The border regions faced direct attacks from

forces within Serbia and Montenegro and saw the destruction of Vukovar and the

shelling of UNESCO world heritage site Dubrovnik Meanwhile control over

central Croatia was seized by Croatian Serb forces in conjunction with the JNA

Corpus from Bosnia amp Herzegovina under the leadership of Ratko Mladic[citation

needed] These attacks were marked by the killings of captured soldiers and heavy

civilian casualties (Ovcara Škabrnja) and were the subject of war crimes

indictments by the ICTY for elements of the Serb political amp military leadership

In January 1992 the Vance peace plan proclaimed UN controlled (UNPA) zones

for Serbs in territory claimed by the rebel Serbs as the Republic of Serbian Krajina

and brought an end to major military operations though sporadic artillery attacks

on Croatian cities and occasional intrusions of Croatian forces into UNPA zones

continued until 1995

In 1992 the conflict engulfed Bosnia It was predominantly a territorial

conflict between local Muslims and Croats backed by Zagreb on one side and

Serbs backed by the Yugoslav Peoplelsquos Army and Serbia on the other For a short-

lived period the erstwhile Muslim amp Croat allies would turn on each other in a

battle for the scraps of territory left until they reformed their alliance under US

tutelage that was formalised as the Muslim-Croat federation The Bosnia conflict

typified by the siege of Sarajevo amp Srebrenica was by far the bloodiest and most

widely covered of the Yugoslav wars

The fighting in Croatia ended sometime in the Summer of 1995 after

Croatian Army launched two rapid military operations codenamed Operation

Flash and Operation Storm in which it managed to reclaim all of its territory

except the UNPA Sector East bordering Serbia Most of the Serbian population in

these areas became refugees and has been the subject of war crimes indictments

by the ICTY for elements of the Croat military leadership The remaining Sector

East came under UN administration (UNTAES) and was reintegrated to Croatia in

1998

In 1994 the US brokered peace between Croatian forces and the Bosniak

Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina After the successful Flash and

Storm operations the Croatian Army and the combined Bosnjiak amp Croat forces

of Bosnian amp Herzegovina worked together in an operation codenamed Operation

Maestral to push back Bosnian Serb military gains Together with US air strikes

on the Bosnian Serbs the successes on the ground put pressure on the Serbs to

come to the negotiating table Pressure was put on all sides to stick to the cease-

fire and finally negotiate an end to the war in Bosnia The war ended with the

signing of the Dayton Agreement on the 14th of December 1995 with the

formation of Republika Srpska as an entity within Bosnia and Hercegovina being

the resolution for Bosnian Serb demands

CONFLICTS IN ALBANIAN-POPULATED AREAS (1996-2001)

In Kosovo Macedonia and southern Central Serbia the conflicts were

typified by ethnic and political tension between the Serbian and Macedonian

governments and Albanian national minorities which sought autonomy as was the

case in the Republic of Macedonia or independence as was the case in Kosovo

The conflict in Kosovo (1996-1999) became a full-scale war in 1999 while

the Macedonia conflict (2001-2002) and Southern Serbia conflict (2001) were

characterised by armed clashes between state security forces and ethnic Albanian

guerrillas

The war in Kosovo ended with NATO intervention against Serbian forces

in 1999 with a mainly bombing but partly ground-based campaign under the

command of Gen Wesley Clark Even so further widespread unrest in Kosovo

broke out in 2004 The NATO intervention is often counted as yet another separate

war The conflicts in southern Serbia and in Republic of Macedonia ended with

internationally-overseen peace agreements between the insurgents and the

government but the situation in both regions remains fragile

A BRIEF TIMELINE OF THE YUGOSLAV WARS

1968

Students in Kosovo demand greater rights for the Albanian minority during

the worldwide May 1968 protests

1971

Demonstrations in Croatia known as the Croatian spring are condemned

by the government Many participants were later convicted as nationalists

including Stipe Mesić and Franjo Tuđman Government crisis follows

1974

A new SFRY constitution is proclaimed granting more power to federal

units and more power to autonomous provinces Kosovo and Vojvodina of Serbia

giving them a vote in all relevant decisions in the federal government Muslims

were recognized as a constituent ―nation of Yugoslavia and of Bosnia and

Herzegovina

1980

Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito dies

1981

Economic crisis in Yugoslavia has begun Albanian nationalist

demonstrations in Kosovo demand federal unit status

1986-1989

The controversial Memorandum of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts

claims Serbia has a weak position in Yugoslavia

Slobodan Milošević rises to power in Serbia Antibureaucratic revolution

demonstrations bring pro-Milošević governments to Vojvodina Kosovo and

Montenegro

1990

The League of Communists of Yugoslavia dissolves on republican and

ethnic lines at its 14th Congress [citation needed]

The first democratic elections are held in socialist Yugoslavia Nationalist

parties win the majority in almost all republics [citation needed]

Constitutional changes in Serbia revoke some of the powers granted to

Kosovo and Vojvodina effectively giving Serbia 3 out of 8 votes in the federal

council Along with allied Montenegro this gives extreme power to the Serbian

elite With these votes Serbian representatives attempt to institute martial law to

stop democratic changes - their attempt fails as Bosnialsquos representative (an ethnic

Serb) votes against in the crucial last vote

Croatian Serbs start a rebellion against the newly elected Croatian

government led by Franjo Tuđman

1991

Slovenia and Croatia declare independence War in Slovenia lasts ten days

The Yugoslav army leaves Slovenia but supports rebel Serb forces in

Croatia War begins in Croatia

Atrocities of Serb forces in Croatia lead to the creation of the term ethnic

cleansing Cities of Vukovar Dubrovnik and Osijek are devastated by constant

bombardments and shelling Flood of refugees from the war zones and ethnic

cleansing overwhelm Croatia

1992

Vance peace plan signed creating 4 UNPA zones for Serbs and ending

large scale fighting in Croatia

Macedonia and Bosnia declare independence Bosnian war begins

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia proclaimed consisting of Serbia and

Montenegro the only two remaining republics

United Nations impose sanctions against FR Yugoslavia and accepts

Slovenia Croatia and Bosnia as members

1993

Bosniak-Croat conflict in Bosnia begins

Fighting begins in the Bihać region between Bosnian Government and

Bosniaks loyal to Fikret Abdić

FR Yugoslavia due to sanctions and isolation is hit with by that time

never seen hyperinflation of 36 million percent a year of Yugoslav dinar This

amount of inflation exceeds the one in Great Depression 1929

The Stari Most (The Old Bridge) in Mostar built in 1566 was destroyed (it

is unknown by whom) It has been renovated in 2003

1994

Peace treaty between Bosniaks and Croats arbitrated by the United States

FR Yugoslavia stabilizes economy structure with Economic

Implementation Framework

1995

Srebrenica massacre reported 8000 Bosniaks killed

Croatia launches Operation Flash and Operation Storm reclaiming all

UNPA zones except Eastern Slavonia and resulting in exodus of 250000 Serbs

from the zones War in Croatia ends

NATO launches a series of air strikes on Bosnian Serb artillery and other

military targets

Dayton Agreement signed in Paris War in Bosnia and Herzegovina ends

Aftermath of war is over 100000 killed and missing and 25 million people

internally displaced among the former republics Serb defeat in Croatia and West

Bosnia allows Croatian and Bosniak refugees to return to their homes but many

refugees of all nationalities are still displaced today

After signing the Dayton Agreement Yugoslavia is granted with looser

sanctions still affecting much to its economy (trade tourism industrial production

and exports of final products) but being allowed for its citizens to exit

Yugoslavia for a limited time

1996

FR Yugoslavia recognizes Croatia and Bosnia amp Herzegovina

Following a fraud in local elections hundreds of thousands of Serbs

demonstrate in Belgrade against Milošević regime for three months

1998

Fighting breaks out between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanians in

Kosovo

Eastern Slavonia peacefully reintegrated into Croatia

1999

NATO starts the military campaign Operation Allied Force in Kosovo

Control of Kosovo is given to the United Nations but still remains a part of

Yugoslavialsquos federadion

Franjo Tuđman dies Shortly after that his party loses the elections

2000

Slobodan Milošević is voted out of office and Vojislav Koštunica becomes

new president of Yugoslavia

With Milošević a major political threat eliminated the World had no

reason to keep Yugoslavia any more isolated The political and economic

sanctions are suspended in total and FR Yugoslavia has been reinstated in most

political and economic organizations (ironically United Nations which the

Socialist Yugoslavia founded) as well as candidate for new ones (like EU)

2001

Brief Conflict in Southern Serbia between Albanian militants and Serbian

security forces

Conflict between Albanian militants and government in Macedonia

KLANLA are recognized by United States as a terrorist groups in total

They are considered to perpetrate all of actions to make the Kosovo and Metohija

completely ethnic Albanian driving out Christian population (mostly Serb and

Montenegrin) to flee and burning down their homes and sacred site like churches

monasteries and such causing previous retaliation of YugoslavSerbian police and

military force actions

2002

Milošević is put on trial in The Hague on charges of war crimes in Kosovo

2003

FR Yugoslavia becomes the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Alija Izetbegović dies

2006

Death of Ibrahim Rugova in Priština Kosovo Republic of Serbia State

Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Montenegrins declare independence from the state union with Serbia

Death of Slobodan Milošević in the Hague prison

2007

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) finds Serbia not guilty of

committing genocide in Bosnia but finds that it failed to prevent the genocide in

Srebrenica and hand over war criminals who are suspected to hide inside its

borders

2001 MACEDONIA CONFLICT

2001 Macedonia conflict

Part of the Yugoslav Wars

Macedonian special police forces in

Tetovo

Combatants

Republic of

Macedonia

National

Liberation Army

Commanders

Boris Trajkovski

Ljube Boškoski

Ali Ahmeti

Casualties

63 (Macedonian sources)

64 (NLA sources)

Civilian casualties

70 dead (60 ethnic Albanians 10 ethnic

Macedonians)

The 2001 Macedonia conflict was an armed conflict which began when

the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) militant group was

provoked into attacking the security forces of the Republic of Macedonia at the

beginning of January 2001 The Macedonian conflict lasted throughout most of the

year although overall casualties remained limited to several tens for either side

according to the sources from both of the sides in the conflict

BACKGROUND

On gaining independence from Yugoslavia Macedonia was set as a

republic with unicameral parliament a 120-seat National Assembly and a

popularly elected President Contrary to other former Yugoslav republics it

managed to separate from Yugoslavia without any real bloodshed For the first

seven years it was ruled by former socialists who prevented the country from

being drawn into any kind of conflict The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia

(SDSM) could not push through the necessary reforms of the society and

economy On the contrary during the 1990s it came under pressure for massive

corruption and connections to local Serbian and Albanian organized crime

mainly consisting of large-scale smugglers who acted against UN-imposed

embargoes on Former Yugoslavia Consequently this government was voted out

on parliamentary elections in 1998 in favour of a coalition of nationalist Internal

Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian

National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) Democratic Alternative (DA) and the

Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA)

ETHNIC TENSION

The new government immediately faced immense problems and began

losing popularity By November 2000 the DA withdrew from the coalition and

was replaced by the small Liberal Party Political scandals and economic

difficulties had a heavy impact on the government which was considered as

corrupt by the population as previous SDSM Clearly this situation had a severe

impact on relations between the ethnic Macedonian majority and ethnic Albanian

minority which were already tense ever since countrylsquos independence even if not

as bad as in Kosovo On one side the Albanians in Macedonia demanded greater

cultural and educational rights as well as representation in the government armed

forces and police on the other side large Serbian Macedonian and Albanian but

also Greek and Bulgarian smuggling bands were active in Macedonia in the

1990s Their business flourished as long as the UN embargos against FRY were in

force and while SDSM was in power almost nothing was done against their

activity

Ethnic map of the Republic of Macedonia much of the fighting was

concentrated on the territory with Albanian majority (orange)

History of the Republic of Macedonia

Chronological

National Liberation War of Macedonia (1941-1944)

Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1944-1991)

Republic of Macedonia (since 1991)

2001 Macedonia conflict (2001)

Topical

Military | ASNOM | NOF

Also see terminology and history

of the region of Macedonia

However the conflict between the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo and the

conduct of presidential elections in Macedonia in 1999 exacerbated inter-ethnic

tensions Charges of violence and ballot-stuffing highlighted tensions further

increased by a flood of 250000 Kosovar Albanian refugees on the height of the

Kosovo War Eventually even the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) became

present in Macedonia establishing bases and supply centres from which it was

dispatching fighters into FRY It did not last very long until some of Albanian

bands formed their own militias private ―bodyguards were available in sufficient

number - and omnipresent whenever specific local bosses felt their rights or

interests threatened Due to the uprisings and chaos in Albania in 1996 and then

the war in Kosovo there were now plenty of weapons available at low prices

Smuggling has long traditions in the Balkans and in the case of Macedonia

in the 1990s even top government officials were involved in different smuggling

operations with Kosovo and Albania which were mainly run by ethnic Albanians

During the crisis on Kosovo in 1998 and 1999 large stockpiles of weapons

intended for KLA were stored in depots in villages on the Macedonian border to

Kosovo Smuggling of fuels narcotics tobacco white slaves and even chocolate

was widespread and top Macedonian political brass was getting financial

compensation for doing nothing against such crimes Whoever protested within

the Macedonian authorities was removed from his post This dangerous

combination of ethnic tensions and organized crime now only needed a spark that

would cause the fire While redirecting smuggling channels from Kosovo to

Macedonia and gearing up the propaganda machine against the Macedonian

government especially among the ethnic Albanians living abroad the NLA began

attacking police and army personnel and facilities but then also public facilities

(like rail lines)

Overview

Macedonian Mil Mi-24V in action during the conflict against Albanian

insurgents

Beginning of the Albanian insurgency

The first actions by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia occurred in late 2000

and early 2001 mainly along Macedonialsquos border with the United Nations-

administered Serbian province of Kosovo The insurgents acted in a pattern similar

to the one seen in Kosovo in late 1997 and through 1998 according to which they

gradually took over one village after the other Any such efforts were initially

―peaceful the non-Albanian population being ―encouraged to leave But in

January-February 2001 combat actions against legitimate authorities begun

The government at first did nothing against the situation because it received

assurances that what was going on was not directed against Macedonia Satisfied

with the answer and their payments the authorities waited for almost two months ndash

and then the situation was almost immediately out of control in fact so much that

the government was taken by surprise

In January 2001 a group calling itself the National Liberation Army (NLA)

appeared claiming responsibility for attacks on police forces The leaders of this

NLA ndash including Ali Ahmeti and his uncle Fazli Veliu were all from Western

Macedonia They stated to have ―between several hundreds and thousands of

fighters under arms However they were not supported by either of the two main

ethnic Albanian political parties The Macedonian government claimed that the

rebels were actually members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who

infiltrated the country from Kosovo In fact the NLA-fighters considered Kosovo

as ―safe heaven where they could pull back in the case of larger Macedonian

actions against them

A squad of Macedonian security forces take lethal action to disarm two

Albanian insurgents armed with grenades

MACEDONIAN REPRISALS

After several attacks on Macedonian security forces Macedonians took to

the streets of some towns attacking and setting on fire Albanian-owned shops

mosques and houses Such attacks took place mainly in Prilep Skopje and Bitola

Local Macedonian citizens in Prilep demanded weapons to attack neighboring

Albanian-populated villages which they claimed needed to be done ―in order to

save Macedonia Those targeted in the attacks were mostly Albanians but also

Macedonian Muslims

AFTERMATH

CEASEFIRE AND DISARMAMENT

After the Ohrid Agreement the rebels agreed to cease-fire in June however

there were other agreements in August before settling on a final one in January

2002 Under the Ohrid Agreement the Macedonian government pledged to

improve the rights of the Albanian population that makes up just over 253 per

cent of the population Those rights include making Albanian language an official

language increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government

institutions police and army Most importantly under the Ohrid Agreement the

Macedonian government agreed to a new model of decentralization

The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully

recognize all Macedonian institutions In addition according to this accord the

NLA was to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force

Operation ―Essential Harvest was officially launched on 22 August and

effectively started on 27 August This 30-day mission involved approximately

3500 NATO and Macedonian troops to disarm the NLA and destroy their

weapons Just hours after NATO wrapped up the operation Ali Ahmeti told

reporters attending a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Sipkovica that he

was dissolving the National Liberation Army and that it was time for ethnic

reconciliation

Several months after the conflict some armed provocations persisted

Small bombings and shootings used to happen The most serious provocations

happened when three Macedonian police officers were killed in an ambush by

ethnic Albanian gunmen on November 12 2001

CASUALTIES AND DISPLACEMENT

Casualty figures remain uncertain By March 19 2001 the BBC reported

that Macedonian security forces claimed five of their soldiers were killed while

the NLA claimed it had killed 11 No definitive NLA casualty figures were cited

at the time On December 25 2001 the Alternative Information Network cited

figures of 63 deaths claimed by Macedonian security forces for their side and 64

deaths claimed by the NLA for their fighters About 60 ethnic Albanian civilians

are thought to have been killed (some say 1000) while possibly about ten ethnic

Macedonians died during the conflict (Macedonian authorities did not release

figures for the latter at the time some say there were 500) As of December 2005

the fate of twenty ―disappeared civilians mdash13 ethnic Macedonians six ethnic

Albanians and one Bulgarian citizenmdash remains unknown By August 2001 the

number of people displaced by the war reached 170000 of which 74000 displaced

internally As of January 2004 2600 remained displaced

ALLEGED WAR CRIMES

The most notable incident was the Ljuboten massacre A three-day

operation by Macedonian police against the predominantly ethnic Albanian village

of Ljuboten from August 10-12 2001 The operation left ten civilians dead and

resulted in the arrest of more than 100 men many of whom were severely beaten

while in police custody Contrary to assertions by the Macedonian government a

Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground in Ljuboten found no evidence

of a presence by the ethnic Albanian National Liberation The events that occurred

during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near Skopje in August 2001

led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs of the time Ljube

Boškoski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague

Although the conflict in Macedonia was brief it was not scant of war

crimes The most notable incident was the infamous Vejce massacre where

Albanian guerrillas killed 8 Macedonian soldiers and dismembered and

vandalized their corpses On another occasion Albanian guerrillas inscribed their

names with knives on the backs on some construction workers[11]

Images of the

massacre started local uprisings against Muslims such revolts included burning

and vandalising shops and mosques Surving members of the roadside patrol that

were massacred gave eyewitness testimony of the killings They claimed that the

massacre was carried out by a group of 10 bearded guerillas with knives The

witnesses said that only one of the victims were shot and the remaining 7 vitims

were slaughtered with knives and some were even burned alive[12]

Local residents

of the village where the massacre took place do not allow family members of the

victims to visit the site[13]

On another occasion NLA separatists shut down the Lipkovo Dam leaving

tens of thousands of civilians without water for weeks

Among other crimes the NLA militants blew up the 13th-century Orthodox

monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok and is now under reconstruction

In 2001 the US recognized the NLA as a terrorist organization[citation needed]

The Macedonian side did not restrict itself to the regularities of war The

events that happened during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near

Skopje in August 2001 led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs

of the time Ljube Boškovski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The

Hague Six ethnic Albanian civilians were killed there

MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS

Macedonian Muslims

Македонци Муслимани

Makedonski Muslimani

Total population

40000

(some sources claim 80000-200000)

Regions with significant populations

Republic of Macedonia

40ndash80000

Albania

80ndash120000

Languages

Macedonian Albanian Turkish

Religions

Islam

Related ethnic groups

other ethnic Macedonians Gorani Pomaks

Bosniaks all other South Slavs

The Macedonian Muslims (Macedonian Македонци Муслимани or

Makedonski Muslimani) also known as Muslim Macedonians or Torbesh (the

later name is somewhat pejorative and means the bag carriers) are a minority

religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians who are Sunni

Muslims although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity They have been

culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian Slavic Macedonian

community for centuries

ISLAMICISATION

The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Christian

Macedonians who converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman

Empire ruled the Balkans The main factor prompting their conversion was the

Ottoman Empire Non-Muslims were generally regarded by the state and Ottoman

society as being of a subordinate status They were treated differently under the

legal system being subjected to special taxes such as the jizya head tax Muslims

generally enjoyed a more favorable treatment from the law and the state For

example non-Muslims could not hold political or military office They also

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 2: Yugoslav Wars

1 Wars during the breakup of SFRY

2 War in Slovenia (1991)

3 Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995)

4 Bosnian War (1992-1995)

Wars in Albanian-populated areas

1 Kosovo War (1997-1999)

2 Southern Serbia conflict (2000-2001)

3 Macedonia conflict (2001)

BACKGROUND

Major tensions arose from the first monarchist Yugoslavias multi-ethnic

makeup and relative political and demographic domination of the Serbs

Fundamental to the tensions was the different conceptions of the new state for the

Croats envisaged a federal model where they would enjoy greater autonomy than

they had as a separate crown land under Austria-Hungary the Serbs tended to

view the territories as a just reward for their support of the allies in WW1 and the

new state as an extension of the Serbian Kingdom These tensions often erupted

into open conflict resulting in a dictatorship exercising repression through the Serb

dominated security structure and the assassination in federal parliament of Croat

political leaders including Stjepan Radic who opposed the Serbian monarchlsquos

absolutism The assassination and human rights abuses were subject of concern for

the League of Nations and precipitated voices of protest from intellectuals

including Albert Einstein It was in this environment of repression that the

insurgent group (later fascist dictatorship) Ustashe were formed

The countrylsquos tensions were exploited by the occupying Axis forces in

World War II which established a puppet-state spanning much of present day

Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina The axis powers installed in charge of this

―Independent State of Croatia― the Ustashe which having resolved that the

Serbian minority were a trojan horse of Serbian expansionism pursued a

genocidal policy against them Both Croats and Muslims were recruited as soldiers

by the SS (primarily in the 13th Waffen Mountain Division) At the same time

former Royalist General Milan Nedic was installed by the axis as head of the Serb

puppet state with the collaborationist Serb Chetnik militia pursued an ethnic

cleansing program against Croats and Muslims particularly in Eastern Bosnia

with a view to creating a Greater Serbia (see Stevan Moljević) Both were

confronted and eventually defeated by the communist-led anti-fascist Partisan

movement composed of members of all ethnic groups in the area leading to the

formation of a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Despite the federal structure of the new Yugoslavia there was still the

tension between the federalists primarily Croats and Slovenes who argued for

greater autonomy and unitarists primarily Serbs The to and fro of the struggle

would occur in cycles of protests for greater individual and national rights (such as

the Croatian Spring) and subsequent repression The 1974 constitution was an

attempt to short-circuit this pattern by entrenching the federal model and

formalising national rights

THE EARLY CONFLICTS (1991-1995)

In the years leading up to the Yugoslav wars relations among the republics

of the Socialist Federal of Yugoslavia had been deteriorating Slovenia and Croatia

desired greater autonomy within a Yugoslav confederation while Serbia sought to

strengthen federal authority As it became clearer that there was no solution

agreeable to all parties Slovenia and Croatia moved toward secession

The first of these conflicts known as the Ten-Day War or ―The War in

Slovenia was initiated by the secession of Slovenia from the federation on 25 June

1991 The federal government ordered the federal Yugoslav Peoplelsquos Army to

secure border crossings in Slovenia Slovenian police and Territorial Defense

blockaded barracks and roads leading to standoffs and limited skirmishes around

the republic After several dozen deaths the war was stopped through negotiation

at Brioni on 9 July 1991 when Slovenia and Croatia agreed to a three-month

moratorium on secession The Federal army completely withdrew from Slovenia

by 26 October 1991

The second in this series of conflicts the Croatian War of Independence

began when Serbs in Croatia who were opposed to Croatian independence

announced their secession from Croatia The move was in part triggered by a

provision in the new Croatian Constitution that replaced the explicit reference to

Serbs in Croatia as a constituent nationlsquo with a generic reference to all other

nations and was interepreted by Serbs as being reclassified as a national

minoritylsquo This was coupled with a history of distrust between the two ethnic

groups dating back to at least both World Wars and the inter-war period The

federally-controlled Yugoslav Peoplelsquos Army (JNA) was ideologically unitarist

and predominantly staffed by Serbs in its officer corp thus it also opposed

Croatian independence and sided with the Croatian Serb rebels Since the JNA had

disarmed the Territorial Units of the two northernmost republics the fledgling

Croatian state had to form its military from scratch[citation needed]

and was further

hindered by an arms embargo imposed by the UN on the whole of Yugoslavia

The Croatian Serb rebels were unaffected by said embargo as they had the support

of and access to supplies of the JNA The border regions faced direct attacks from

forces within Serbia and Montenegro and saw the destruction of Vukovar and the

shelling of UNESCO world heritage site Dubrovnik Meanwhile control over

central Croatia was seized by Croatian Serb forces in conjunction with the JNA

Corpus from Bosnia amp Herzegovina under the leadership of Ratko Mladic[citation

needed] These attacks were marked by the killings of captured soldiers and heavy

civilian casualties (Ovcara Škabrnja) and were the subject of war crimes

indictments by the ICTY for elements of the Serb political amp military leadership

In January 1992 the Vance peace plan proclaimed UN controlled (UNPA) zones

for Serbs in territory claimed by the rebel Serbs as the Republic of Serbian Krajina

and brought an end to major military operations though sporadic artillery attacks

on Croatian cities and occasional intrusions of Croatian forces into UNPA zones

continued until 1995

In 1992 the conflict engulfed Bosnia It was predominantly a territorial

conflict between local Muslims and Croats backed by Zagreb on one side and

Serbs backed by the Yugoslav Peoplelsquos Army and Serbia on the other For a short-

lived period the erstwhile Muslim amp Croat allies would turn on each other in a

battle for the scraps of territory left until they reformed their alliance under US

tutelage that was formalised as the Muslim-Croat federation The Bosnia conflict

typified by the siege of Sarajevo amp Srebrenica was by far the bloodiest and most

widely covered of the Yugoslav wars

The fighting in Croatia ended sometime in the Summer of 1995 after

Croatian Army launched two rapid military operations codenamed Operation

Flash and Operation Storm in which it managed to reclaim all of its territory

except the UNPA Sector East bordering Serbia Most of the Serbian population in

these areas became refugees and has been the subject of war crimes indictments

by the ICTY for elements of the Croat military leadership The remaining Sector

East came under UN administration (UNTAES) and was reintegrated to Croatia in

1998

In 1994 the US brokered peace between Croatian forces and the Bosniak

Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina After the successful Flash and

Storm operations the Croatian Army and the combined Bosnjiak amp Croat forces

of Bosnian amp Herzegovina worked together in an operation codenamed Operation

Maestral to push back Bosnian Serb military gains Together with US air strikes

on the Bosnian Serbs the successes on the ground put pressure on the Serbs to

come to the negotiating table Pressure was put on all sides to stick to the cease-

fire and finally negotiate an end to the war in Bosnia The war ended with the

signing of the Dayton Agreement on the 14th of December 1995 with the

formation of Republika Srpska as an entity within Bosnia and Hercegovina being

the resolution for Bosnian Serb demands

CONFLICTS IN ALBANIAN-POPULATED AREAS (1996-2001)

In Kosovo Macedonia and southern Central Serbia the conflicts were

typified by ethnic and political tension between the Serbian and Macedonian

governments and Albanian national minorities which sought autonomy as was the

case in the Republic of Macedonia or independence as was the case in Kosovo

The conflict in Kosovo (1996-1999) became a full-scale war in 1999 while

the Macedonia conflict (2001-2002) and Southern Serbia conflict (2001) were

characterised by armed clashes between state security forces and ethnic Albanian

guerrillas

The war in Kosovo ended with NATO intervention against Serbian forces

in 1999 with a mainly bombing but partly ground-based campaign under the

command of Gen Wesley Clark Even so further widespread unrest in Kosovo

broke out in 2004 The NATO intervention is often counted as yet another separate

war The conflicts in southern Serbia and in Republic of Macedonia ended with

internationally-overseen peace agreements between the insurgents and the

government but the situation in both regions remains fragile

A BRIEF TIMELINE OF THE YUGOSLAV WARS

1968

Students in Kosovo demand greater rights for the Albanian minority during

the worldwide May 1968 protests

1971

Demonstrations in Croatia known as the Croatian spring are condemned

by the government Many participants were later convicted as nationalists

including Stipe Mesić and Franjo Tuđman Government crisis follows

1974

A new SFRY constitution is proclaimed granting more power to federal

units and more power to autonomous provinces Kosovo and Vojvodina of Serbia

giving them a vote in all relevant decisions in the federal government Muslims

were recognized as a constituent ―nation of Yugoslavia and of Bosnia and

Herzegovina

1980

Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito dies

1981

Economic crisis in Yugoslavia has begun Albanian nationalist

demonstrations in Kosovo demand federal unit status

1986-1989

The controversial Memorandum of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts

claims Serbia has a weak position in Yugoslavia

Slobodan Milošević rises to power in Serbia Antibureaucratic revolution

demonstrations bring pro-Milošević governments to Vojvodina Kosovo and

Montenegro

1990

The League of Communists of Yugoslavia dissolves on republican and

ethnic lines at its 14th Congress [citation needed]

The first democratic elections are held in socialist Yugoslavia Nationalist

parties win the majority in almost all republics [citation needed]

Constitutional changes in Serbia revoke some of the powers granted to

Kosovo and Vojvodina effectively giving Serbia 3 out of 8 votes in the federal

council Along with allied Montenegro this gives extreme power to the Serbian

elite With these votes Serbian representatives attempt to institute martial law to

stop democratic changes - their attempt fails as Bosnialsquos representative (an ethnic

Serb) votes against in the crucial last vote

Croatian Serbs start a rebellion against the newly elected Croatian

government led by Franjo Tuđman

1991

Slovenia and Croatia declare independence War in Slovenia lasts ten days

The Yugoslav army leaves Slovenia but supports rebel Serb forces in

Croatia War begins in Croatia

Atrocities of Serb forces in Croatia lead to the creation of the term ethnic

cleansing Cities of Vukovar Dubrovnik and Osijek are devastated by constant

bombardments and shelling Flood of refugees from the war zones and ethnic

cleansing overwhelm Croatia

1992

Vance peace plan signed creating 4 UNPA zones for Serbs and ending

large scale fighting in Croatia

Macedonia and Bosnia declare independence Bosnian war begins

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia proclaimed consisting of Serbia and

Montenegro the only two remaining republics

United Nations impose sanctions against FR Yugoslavia and accepts

Slovenia Croatia and Bosnia as members

1993

Bosniak-Croat conflict in Bosnia begins

Fighting begins in the Bihać region between Bosnian Government and

Bosniaks loyal to Fikret Abdić

FR Yugoslavia due to sanctions and isolation is hit with by that time

never seen hyperinflation of 36 million percent a year of Yugoslav dinar This

amount of inflation exceeds the one in Great Depression 1929

The Stari Most (The Old Bridge) in Mostar built in 1566 was destroyed (it

is unknown by whom) It has been renovated in 2003

1994

Peace treaty between Bosniaks and Croats arbitrated by the United States

FR Yugoslavia stabilizes economy structure with Economic

Implementation Framework

1995

Srebrenica massacre reported 8000 Bosniaks killed

Croatia launches Operation Flash and Operation Storm reclaiming all

UNPA zones except Eastern Slavonia and resulting in exodus of 250000 Serbs

from the zones War in Croatia ends

NATO launches a series of air strikes on Bosnian Serb artillery and other

military targets

Dayton Agreement signed in Paris War in Bosnia and Herzegovina ends

Aftermath of war is over 100000 killed and missing and 25 million people

internally displaced among the former republics Serb defeat in Croatia and West

Bosnia allows Croatian and Bosniak refugees to return to their homes but many

refugees of all nationalities are still displaced today

After signing the Dayton Agreement Yugoslavia is granted with looser

sanctions still affecting much to its economy (trade tourism industrial production

and exports of final products) but being allowed for its citizens to exit

Yugoslavia for a limited time

1996

FR Yugoslavia recognizes Croatia and Bosnia amp Herzegovina

Following a fraud in local elections hundreds of thousands of Serbs

demonstrate in Belgrade against Milošević regime for three months

1998

Fighting breaks out between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanians in

Kosovo

Eastern Slavonia peacefully reintegrated into Croatia

1999

NATO starts the military campaign Operation Allied Force in Kosovo

Control of Kosovo is given to the United Nations but still remains a part of

Yugoslavialsquos federadion

Franjo Tuđman dies Shortly after that his party loses the elections

2000

Slobodan Milošević is voted out of office and Vojislav Koštunica becomes

new president of Yugoslavia

With Milošević a major political threat eliminated the World had no

reason to keep Yugoslavia any more isolated The political and economic

sanctions are suspended in total and FR Yugoslavia has been reinstated in most

political and economic organizations (ironically United Nations which the

Socialist Yugoslavia founded) as well as candidate for new ones (like EU)

2001

Brief Conflict in Southern Serbia between Albanian militants and Serbian

security forces

Conflict between Albanian militants and government in Macedonia

KLANLA are recognized by United States as a terrorist groups in total

They are considered to perpetrate all of actions to make the Kosovo and Metohija

completely ethnic Albanian driving out Christian population (mostly Serb and

Montenegrin) to flee and burning down their homes and sacred site like churches

monasteries and such causing previous retaliation of YugoslavSerbian police and

military force actions

2002

Milošević is put on trial in The Hague on charges of war crimes in Kosovo

2003

FR Yugoslavia becomes the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Alija Izetbegović dies

2006

Death of Ibrahim Rugova in Priština Kosovo Republic of Serbia State

Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Montenegrins declare independence from the state union with Serbia

Death of Slobodan Milošević in the Hague prison

2007

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) finds Serbia not guilty of

committing genocide in Bosnia but finds that it failed to prevent the genocide in

Srebrenica and hand over war criminals who are suspected to hide inside its

borders

2001 MACEDONIA CONFLICT

2001 Macedonia conflict

Part of the Yugoslav Wars

Macedonian special police forces in

Tetovo

Combatants

Republic of

Macedonia

National

Liberation Army

Commanders

Boris Trajkovski

Ljube Boškoski

Ali Ahmeti

Casualties

63 (Macedonian sources)

64 (NLA sources)

Civilian casualties

70 dead (60 ethnic Albanians 10 ethnic

Macedonians)

The 2001 Macedonia conflict was an armed conflict which began when

the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) militant group was

provoked into attacking the security forces of the Republic of Macedonia at the

beginning of January 2001 The Macedonian conflict lasted throughout most of the

year although overall casualties remained limited to several tens for either side

according to the sources from both of the sides in the conflict

BACKGROUND

On gaining independence from Yugoslavia Macedonia was set as a

republic with unicameral parliament a 120-seat National Assembly and a

popularly elected President Contrary to other former Yugoslav republics it

managed to separate from Yugoslavia without any real bloodshed For the first

seven years it was ruled by former socialists who prevented the country from

being drawn into any kind of conflict The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia

(SDSM) could not push through the necessary reforms of the society and

economy On the contrary during the 1990s it came under pressure for massive

corruption and connections to local Serbian and Albanian organized crime

mainly consisting of large-scale smugglers who acted against UN-imposed

embargoes on Former Yugoslavia Consequently this government was voted out

on parliamentary elections in 1998 in favour of a coalition of nationalist Internal

Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian

National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) Democratic Alternative (DA) and the

Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA)

ETHNIC TENSION

The new government immediately faced immense problems and began

losing popularity By November 2000 the DA withdrew from the coalition and

was replaced by the small Liberal Party Political scandals and economic

difficulties had a heavy impact on the government which was considered as

corrupt by the population as previous SDSM Clearly this situation had a severe

impact on relations between the ethnic Macedonian majority and ethnic Albanian

minority which were already tense ever since countrylsquos independence even if not

as bad as in Kosovo On one side the Albanians in Macedonia demanded greater

cultural and educational rights as well as representation in the government armed

forces and police on the other side large Serbian Macedonian and Albanian but

also Greek and Bulgarian smuggling bands were active in Macedonia in the

1990s Their business flourished as long as the UN embargos against FRY were in

force and while SDSM was in power almost nothing was done against their

activity

Ethnic map of the Republic of Macedonia much of the fighting was

concentrated on the territory with Albanian majority (orange)

History of the Republic of Macedonia

Chronological

National Liberation War of Macedonia (1941-1944)

Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1944-1991)

Republic of Macedonia (since 1991)

2001 Macedonia conflict (2001)

Topical

Military | ASNOM | NOF

Also see terminology and history

of the region of Macedonia

However the conflict between the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo and the

conduct of presidential elections in Macedonia in 1999 exacerbated inter-ethnic

tensions Charges of violence and ballot-stuffing highlighted tensions further

increased by a flood of 250000 Kosovar Albanian refugees on the height of the

Kosovo War Eventually even the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) became

present in Macedonia establishing bases and supply centres from which it was

dispatching fighters into FRY It did not last very long until some of Albanian

bands formed their own militias private ―bodyguards were available in sufficient

number - and omnipresent whenever specific local bosses felt their rights or

interests threatened Due to the uprisings and chaos in Albania in 1996 and then

the war in Kosovo there were now plenty of weapons available at low prices

Smuggling has long traditions in the Balkans and in the case of Macedonia

in the 1990s even top government officials were involved in different smuggling

operations with Kosovo and Albania which were mainly run by ethnic Albanians

During the crisis on Kosovo in 1998 and 1999 large stockpiles of weapons

intended for KLA were stored in depots in villages on the Macedonian border to

Kosovo Smuggling of fuels narcotics tobacco white slaves and even chocolate

was widespread and top Macedonian political brass was getting financial

compensation for doing nothing against such crimes Whoever protested within

the Macedonian authorities was removed from his post This dangerous

combination of ethnic tensions and organized crime now only needed a spark that

would cause the fire While redirecting smuggling channels from Kosovo to

Macedonia and gearing up the propaganda machine against the Macedonian

government especially among the ethnic Albanians living abroad the NLA began

attacking police and army personnel and facilities but then also public facilities

(like rail lines)

Overview

Macedonian Mil Mi-24V in action during the conflict against Albanian

insurgents

Beginning of the Albanian insurgency

The first actions by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia occurred in late 2000

and early 2001 mainly along Macedonialsquos border with the United Nations-

administered Serbian province of Kosovo The insurgents acted in a pattern similar

to the one seen in Kosovo in late 1997 and through 1998 according to which they

gradually took over one village after the other Any such efforts were initially

―peaceful the non-Albanian population being ―encouraged to leave But in

January-February 2001 combat actions against legitimate authorities begun

The government at first did nothing against the situation because it received

assurances that what was going on was not directed against Macedonia Satisfied

with the answer and their payments the authorities waited for almost two months ndash

and then the situation was almost immediately out of control in fact so much that

the government was taken by surprise

In January 2001 a group calling itself the National Liberation Army (NLA)

appeared claiming responsibility for attacks on police forces The leaders of this

NLA ndash including Ali Ahmeti and his uncle Fazli Veliu were all from Western

Macedonia They stated to have ―between several hundreds and thousands of

fighters under arms However they were not supported by either of the two main

ethnic Albanian political parties The Macedonian government claimed that the

rebels were actually members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who

infiltrated the country from Kosovo In fact the NLA-fighters considered Kosovo

as ―safe heaven where they could pull back in the case of larger Macedonian

actions against them

A squad of Macedonian security forces take lethal action to disarm two

Albanian insurgents armed with grenades

MACEDONIAN REPRISALS

After several attacks on Macedonian security forces Macedonians took to

the streets of some towns attacking and setting on fire Albanian-owned shops

mosques and houses Such attacks took place mainly in Prilep Skopje and Bitola

Local Macedonian citizens in Prilep demanded weapons to attack neighboring

Albanian-populated villages which they claimed needed to be done ―in order to

save Macedonia Those targeted in the attacks were mostly Albanians but also

Macedonian Muslims

AFTERMATH

CEASEFIRE AND DISARMAMENT

After the Ohrid Agreement the rebels agreed to cease-fire in June however

there were other agreements in August before settling on a final one in January

2002 Under the Ohrid Agreement the Macedonian government pledged to

improve the rights of the Albanian population that makes up just over 253 per

cent of the population Those rights include making Albanian language an official

language increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government

institutions police and army Most importantly under the Ohrid Agreement the

Macedonian government agreed to a new model of decentralization

The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully

recognize all Macedonian institutions In addition according to this accord the

NLA was to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force

Operation ―Essential Harvest was officially launched on 22 August and

effectively started on 27 August This 30-day mission involved approximately

3500 NATO and Macedonian troops to disarm the NLA and destroy their

weapons Just hours after NATO wrapped up the operation Ali Ahmeti told

reporters attending a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Sipkovica that he

was dissolving the National Liberation Army and that it was time for ethnic

reconciliation

Several months after the conflict some armed provocations persisted

Small bombings and shootings used to happen The most serious provocations

happened when three Macedonian police officers were killed in an ambush by

ethnic Albanian gunmen on November 12 2001

CASUALTIES AND DISPLACEMENT

Casualty figures remain uncertain By March 19 2001 the BBC reported

that Macedonian security forces claimed five of their soldiers were killed while

the NLA claimed it had killed 11 No definitive NLA casualty figures were cited

at the time On December 25 2001 the Alternative Information Network cited

figures of 63 deaths claimed by Macedonian security forces for their side and 64

deaths claimed by the NLA for their fighters About 60 ethnic Albanian civilians

are thought to have been killed (some say 1000) while possibly about ten ethnic

Macedonians died during the conflict (Macedonian authorities did not release

figures for the latter at the time some say there were 500) As of December 2005

the fate of twenty ―disappeared civilians mdash13 ethnic Macedonians six ethnic

Albanians and one Bulgarian citizenmdash remains unknown By August 2001 the

number of people displaced by the war reached 170000 of which 74000 displaced

internally As of January 2004 2600 remained displaced

ALLEGED WAR CRIMES

The most notable incident was the Ljuboten massacre A three-day

operation by Macedonian police against the predominantly ethnic Albanian village

of Ljuboten from August 10-12 2001 The operation left ten civilians dead and

resulted in the arrest of more than 100 men many of whom were severely beaten

while in police custody Contrary to assertions by the Macedonian government a

Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground in Ljuboten found no evidence

of a presence by the ethnic Albanian National Liberation The events that occurred

during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near Skopje in August 2001

led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs of the time Ljube

Boškoski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague

Although the conflict in Macedonia was brief it was not scant of war

crimes The most notable incident was the infamous Vejce massacre where

Albanian guerrillas killed 8 Macedonian soldiers and dismembered and

vandalized their corpses On another occasion Albanian guerrillas inscribed their

names with knives on the backs on some construction workers[11]

Images of the

massacre started local uprisings against Muslims such revolts included burning

and vandalising shops and mosques Surving members of the roadside patrol that

were massacred gave eyewitness testimony of the killings They claimed that the

massacre was carried out by a group of 10 bearded guerillas with knives The

witnesses said that only one of the victims were shot and the remaining 7 vitims

were slaughtered with knives and some were even burned alive[12]

Local residents

of the village where the massacre took place do not allow family members of the

victims to visit the site[13]

On another occasion NLA separatists shut down the Lipkovo Dam leaving

tens of thousands of civilians without water for weeks

Among other crimes the NLA militants blew up the 13th-century Orthodox

monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok and is now under reconstruction

In 2001 the US recognized the NLA as a terrorist organization[citation needed]

The Macedonian side did not restrict itself to the regularities of war The

events that happened during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near

Skopje in August 2001 led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs

of the time Ljube Boškovski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The

Hague Six ethnic Albanian civilians were killed there

MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS

Macedonian Muslims

Македонци Муслимани

Makedonski Muslimani

Total population

40000

(some sources claim 80000-200000)

Regions with significant populations

Republic of Macedonia

40ndash80000

Albania

80ndash120000

Languages

Macedonian Albanian Turkish

Religions

Islam

Related ethnic groups

other ethnic Macedonians Gorani Pomaks

Bosniaks all other South Slavs

The Macedonian Muslims (Macedonian Македонци Муслимани or

Makedonski Muslimani) also known as Muslim Macedonians or Torbesh (the

later name is somewhat pejorative and means the bag carriers) are a minority

religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians who are Sunni

Muslims although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity They have been

culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian Slavic Macedonian

community for centuries

ISLAMICISATION

The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Christian

Macedonians who converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman

Empire ruled the Balkans The main factor prompting their conversion was the

Ottoman Empire Non-Muslims were generally regarded by the state and Ottoman

society as being of a subordinate status They were treated differently under the

legal system being subjected to special taxes such as the jizya head tax Muslims

generally enjoyed a more favorable treatment from the law and the state For

example non-Muslims could not hold political or military office They also

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 3: Yugoslav Wars

former Royalist General Milan Nedic was installed by the axis as head of the Serb

puppet state with the collaborationist Serb Chetnik militia pursued an ethnic

cleansing program against Croats and Muslims particularly in Eastern Bosnia

with a view to creating a Greater Serbia (see Stevan Moljević) Both were

confronted and eventually defeated by the communist-led anti-fascist Partisan

movement composed of members of all ethnic groups in the area leading to the

formation of a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Despite the federal structure of the new Yugoslavia there was still the

tension between the federalists primarily Croats and Slovenes who argued for

greater autonomy and unitarists primarily Serbs The to and fro of the struggle

would occur in cycles of protests for greater individual and national rights (such as

the Croatian Spring) and subsequent repression The 1974 constitution was an

attempt to short-circuit this pattern by entrenching the federal model and

formalising national rights

THE EARLY CONFLICTS (1991-1995)

In the years leading up to the Yugoslav wars relations among the republics

of the Socialist Federal of Yugoslavia had been deteriorating Slovenia and Croatia

desired greater autonomy within a Yugoslav confederation while Serbia sought to

strengthen federal authority As it became clearer that there was no solution

agreeable to all parties Slovenia and Croatia moved toward secession

The first of these conflicts known as the Ten-Day War or ―The War in

Slovenia was initiated by the secession of Slovenia from the federation on 25 June

1991 The federal government ordered the federal Yugoslav Peoplelsquos Army to

secure border crossings in Slovenia Slovenian police and Territorial Defense

blockaded barracks and roads leading to standoffs and limited skirmishes around

the republic After several dozen deaths the war was stopped through negotiation

at Brioni on 9 July 1991 when Slovenia and Croatia agreed to a three-month

moratorium on secession The Federal army completely withdrew from Slovenia

by 26 October 1991

The second in this series of conflicts the Croatian War of Independence

began when Serbs in Croatia who were opposed to Croatian independence

announced their secession from Croatia The move was in part triggered by a

provision in the new Croatian Constitution that replaced the explicit reference to

Serbs in Croatia as a constituent nationlsquo with a generic reference to all other

nations and was interepreted by Serbs as being reclassified as a national

minoritylsquo This was coupled with a history of distrust between the two ethnic

groups dating back to at least both World Wars and the inter-war period The

federally-controlled Yugoslav Peoplelsquos Army (JNA) was ideologically unitarist

and predominantly staffed by Serbs in its officer corp thus it also opposed

Croatian independence and sided with the Croatian Serb rebels Since the JNA had

disarmed the Territorial Units of the two northernmost republics the fledgling

Croatian state had to form its military from scratch[citation needed]

and was further

hindered by an arms embargo imposed by the UN on the whole of Yugoslavia

The Croatian Serb rebels were unaffected by said embargo as they had the support

of and access to supplies of the JNA The border regions faced direct attacks from

forces within Serbia and Montenegro and saw the destruction of Vukovar and the

shelling of UNESCO world heritage site Dubrovnik Meanwhile control over

central Croatia was seized by Croatian Serb forces in conjunction with the JNA

Corpus from Bosnia amp Herzegovina under the leadership of Ratko Mladic[citation

needed] These attacks were marked by the killings of captured soldiers and heavy

civilian casualties (Ovcara Škabrnja) and were the subject of war crimes

indictments by the ICTY for elements of the Serb political amp military leadership

In January 1992 the Vance peace plan proclaimed UN controlled (UNPA) zones

for Serbs in territory claimed by the rebel Serbs as the Republic of Serbian Krajina

and brought an end to major military operations though sporadic artillery attacks

on Croatian cities and occasional intrusions of Croatian forces into UNPA zones

continued until 1995

In 1992 the conflict engulfed Bosnia It was predominantly a territorial

conflict between local Muslims and Croats backed by Zagreb on one side and

Serbs backed by the Yugoslav Peoplelsquos Army and Serbia on the other For a short-

lived period the erstwhile Muslim amp Croat allies would turn on each other in a

battle for the scraps of territory left until they reformed their alliance under US

tutelage that was formalised as the Muslim-Croat federation The Bosnia conflict

typified by the siege of Sarajevo amp Srebrenica was by far the bloodiest and most

widely covered of the Yugoslav wars

The fighting in Croatia ended sometime in the Summer of 1995 after

Croatian Army launched two rapid military operations codenamed Operation

Flash and Operation Storm in which it managed to reclaim all of its territory

except the UNPA Sector East bordering Serbia Most of the Serbian population in

these areas became refugees and has been the subject of war crimes indictments

by the ICTY for elements of the Croat military leadership The remaining Sector

East came under UN administration (UNTAES) and was reintegrated to Croatia in

1998

In 1994 the US brokered peace between Croatian forces and the Bosniak

Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina After the successful Flash and

Storm operations the Croatian Army and the combined Bosnjiak amp Croat forces

of Bosnian amp Herzegovina worked together in an operation codenamed Operation

Maestral to push back Bosnian Serb military gains Together with US air strikes

on the Bosnian Serbs the successes on the ground put pressure on the Serbs to

come to the negotiating table Pressure was put on all sides to stick to the cease-

fire and finally negotiate an end to the war in Bosnia The war ended with the

signing of the Dayton Agreement on the 14th of December 1995 with the

formation of Republika Srpska as an entity within Bosnia and Hercegovina being

the resolution for Bosnian Serb demands

CONFLICTS IN ALBANIAN-POPULATED AREAS (1996-2001)

In Kosovo Macedonia and southern Central Serbia the conflicts were

typified by ethnic and political tension between the Serbian and Macedonian

governments and Albanian national minorities which sought autonomy as was the

case in the Republic of Macedonia or independence as was the case in Kosovo

The conflict in Kosovo (1996-1999) became a full-scale war in 1999 while

the Macedonia conflict (2001-2002) and Southern Serbia conflict (2001) were

characterised by armed clashes between state security forces and ethnic Albanian

guerrillas

The war in Kosovo ended with NATO intervention against Serbian forces

in 1999 with a mainly bombing but partly ground-based campaign under the

command of Gen Wesley Clark Even so further widespread unrest in Kosovo

broke out in 2004 The NATO intervention is often counted as yet another separate

war The conflicts in southern Serbia and in Republic of Macedonia ended with

internationally-overseen peace agreements between the insurgents and the

government but the situation in both regions remains fragile

A BRIEF TIMELINE OF THE YUGOSLAV WARS

1968

Students in Kosovo demand greater rights for the Albanian minority during

the worldwide May 1968 protests

1971

Demonstrations in Croatia known as the Croatian spring are condemned

by the government Many participants were later convicted as nationalists

including Stipe Mesić and Franjo Tuđman Government crisis follows

1974

A new SFRY constitution is proclaimed granting more power to federal

units and more power to autonomous provinces Kosovo and Vojvodina of Serbia

giving them a vote in all relevant decisions in the federal government Muslims

were recognized as a constituent ―nation of Yugoslavia and of Bosnia and

Herzegovina

1980

Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito dies

1981

Economic crisis in Yugoslavia has begun Albanian nationalist

demonstrations in Kosovo demand federal unit status

1986-1989

The controversial Memorandum of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts

claims Serbia has a weak position in Yugoslavia

Slobodan Milošević rises to power in Serbia Antibureaucratic revolution

demonstrations bring pro-Milošević governments to Vojvodina Kosovo and

Montenegro

1990

The League of Communists of Yugoslavia dissolves on republican and

ethnic lines at its 14th Congress [citation needed]

The first democratic elections are held in socialist Yugoslavia Nationalist

parties win the majority in almost all republics [citation needed]

Constitutional changes in Serbia revoke some of the powers granted to

Kosovo and Vojvodina effectively giving Serbia 3 out of 8 votes in the federal

council Along with allied Montenegro this gives extreme power to the Serbian

elite With these votes Serbian representatives attempt to institute martial law to

stop democratic changes - their attempt fails as Bosnialsquos representative (an ethnic

Serb) votes against in the crucial last vote

Croatian Serbs start a rebellion against the newly elected Croatian

government led by Franjo Tuđman

1991

Slovenia and Croatia declare independence War in Slovenia lasts ten days

The Yugoslav army leaves Slovenia but supports rebel Serb forces in

Croatia War begins in Croatia

Atrocities of Serb forces in Croatia lead to the creation of the term ethnic

cleansing Cities of Vukovar Dubrovnik and Osijek are devastated by constant

bombardments and shelling Flood of refugees from the war zones and ethnic

cleansing overwhelm Croatia

1992

Vance peace plan signed creating 4 UNPA zones for Serbs and ending

large scale fighting in Croatia

Macedonia and Bosnia declare independence Bosnian war begins

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia proclaimed consisting of Serbia and

Montenegro the only two remaining republics

United Nations impose sanctions against FR Yugoslavia and accepts

Slovenia Croatia and Bosnia as members

1993

Bosniak-Croat conflict in Bosnia begins

Fighting begins in the Bihać region between Bosnian Government and

Bosniaks loyal to Fikret Abdić

FR Yugoslavia due to sanctions and isolation is hit with by that time

never seen hyperinflation of 36 million percent a year of Yugoslav dinar This

amount of inflation exceeds the one in Great Depression 1929

The Stari Most (The Old Bridge) in Mostar built in 1566 was destroyed (it

is unknown by whom) It has been renovated in 2003

1994

Peace treaty between Bosniaks and Croats arbitrated by the United States

FR Yugoslavia stabilizes economy structure with Economic

Implementation Framework

1995

Srebrenica massacre reported 8000 Bosniaks killed

Croatia launches Operation Flash and Operation Storm reclaiming all

UNPA zones except Eastern Slavonia and resulting in exodus of 250000 Serbs

from the zones War in Croatia ends

NATO launches a series of air strikes on Bosnian Serb artillery and other

military targets

Dayton Agreement signed in Paris War in Bosnia and Herzegovina ends

Aftermath of war is over 100000 killed and missing and 25 million people

internally displaced among the former republics Serb defeat in Croatia and West

Bosnia allows Croatian and Bosniak refugees to return to their homes but many

refugees of all nationalities are still displaced today

After signing the Dayton Agreement Yugoslavia is granted with looser

sanctions still affecting much to its economy (trade tourism industrial production

and exports of final products) but being allowed for its citizens to exit

Yugoslavia for a limited time

1996

FR Yugoslavia recognizes Croatia and Bosnia amp Herzegovina

Following a fraud in local elections hundreds of thousands of Serbs

demonstrate in Belgrade against Milošević regime for three months

1998

Fighting breaks out between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanians in

Kosovo

Eastern Slavonia peacefully reintegrated into Croatia

1999

NATO starts the military campaign Operation Allied Force in Kosovo

Control of Kosovo is given to the United Nations but still remains a part of

Yugoslavialsquos federadion

Franjo Tuđman dies Shortly after that his party loses the elections

2000

Slobodan Milošević is voted out of office and Vojislav Koštunica becomes

new president of Yugoslavia

With Milošević a major political threat eliminated the World had no

reason to keep Yugoslavia any more isolated The political and economic

sanctions are suspended in total and FR Yugoslavia has been reinstated in most

political and economic organizations (ironically United Nations which the

Socialist Yugoslavia founded) as well as candidate for new ones (like EU)

2001

Brief Conflict in Southern Serbia between Albanian militants and Serbian

security forces

Conflict between Albanian militants and government in Macedonia

KLANLA are recognized by United States as a terrorist groups in total

They are considered to perpetrate all of actions to make the Kosovo and Metohija

completely ethnic Albanian driving out Christian population (mostly Serb and

Montenegrin) to flee and burning down their homes and sacred site like churches

monasteries and such causing previous retaliation of YugoslavSerbian police and

military force actions

2002

Milošević is put on trial in The Hague on charges of war crimes in Kosovo

2003

FR Yugoslavia becomes the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Alija Izetbegović dies

2006

Death of Ibrahim Rugova in Priština Kosovo Republic of Serbia State

Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Montenegrins declare independence from the state union with Serbia

Death of Slobodan Milošević in the Hague prison

2007

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) finds Serbia not guilty of

committing genocide in Bosnia but finds that it failed to prevent the genocide in

Srebrenica and hand over war criminals who are suspected to hide inside its

borders

2001 MACEDONIA CONFLICT

2001 Macedonia conflict

Part of the Yugoslav Wars

Macedonian special police forces in

Tetovo

Combatants

Republic of

Macedonia

National

Liberation Army

Commanders

Boris Trajkovski

Ljube Boškoski

Ali Ahmeti

Casualties

63 (Macedonian sources)

64 (NLA sources)

Civilian casualties

70 dead (60 ethnic Albanians 10 ethnic

Macedonians)

The 2001 Macedonia conflict was an armed conflict which began when

the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) militant group was

provoked into attacking the security forces of the Republic of Macedonia at the

beginning of January 2001 The Macedonian conflict lasted throughout most of the

year although overall casualties remained limited to several tens for either side

according to the sources from both of the sides in the conflict

BACKGROUND

On gaining independence from Yugoslavia Macedonia was set as a

republic with unicameral parliament a 120-seat National Assembly and a

popularly elected President Contrary to other former Yugoslav republics it

managed to separate from Yugoslavia without any real bloodshed For the first

seven years it was ruled by former socialists who prevented the country from

being drawn into any kind of conflict The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia

(SDSM) could not push through the necessary reforms of the society and

economy On the contrary during the 1990s it came under pressure for massive

corruption and connections to local Serbian and Albanian organized crime

mainly consisting of large-scale smugglers who acted against UN-imposed

embargoes on Former Yugoslavia Consequently this government was voted out

on parliamentary elections in 1998 in favour of a coalition of nationalist Internal

Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian

National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) Democratic Alternative (DA) and the

Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA)

ETHNIC TENSION

The new government immediately faced immense problems and began

losing popularity By November 2000 the DA withdrew from the coalition and

was replaced by the small Liberal Party Political scandals and economic

difficulties had a heavy impact on the government which was considered as

corrupt by the population as previous SDSM Clearly this situation had a severe

impact on relations between the ethnic Macedonian majority and ethnic Albanian

minority which were already tense ever since countrylsquos independence even if not

as bad as in Kosovo On one side the Albanians in Macedonia demanded greater

cultural and educational rights as well as representation in the government armed

forces and police on the other side large Serbian Macedonian and Albanian but

also Greek and Bulgarian smuggling bands were active in Macedonia in the

1990s Their business flourished as long as the UN embargos against FRY were in

force and while SDSM was in power almost nothing was done against their

activity

Ethnic map of the Republic of Macedonia much of the fighting was

concentrated on the territory with Albanian majority (orange)

History of the Republic of Macedonia

Chronological

National Liberation War of Macedonia (1941-1944)

Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1944-1991)

Republic of Macedonia (since 1991)

2001 Macedonia conflict (2001)

Topical

Military | ASNOM | NOF

Also see terminology and history

of the region of Macedonia

However the conflict between the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo and the

conduct of presidential elections in Macedonia in 1999 exacerbated inter-ethnic

tensions Charges of violence and ballot-stuffing highlighted tensions further

increased by a flood of 250000 Kosovar Albanian refugees on the height of the

Kosovo War Eventually even the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) became

present in Macedonia establishing bases and supply centres from which it was

dispatching fighters into FRY It did not last very long until some of Albanian

bands formed their own militias private ―bodyguards were available in sufficient

number - and omnipresent whenever specific local bosses felt their rights or

interests threatened Due to the uprisings and chaos in Albania in 1996 and then

the war in Kosovo there were now plenty of weapons available at low prices

Smuggling has long traditions in the Balkans and in the case of Macedonia

in the 1990s even top government officials were involved in different smuggling

operations with Kosovo and Albania which were mainly run by ethnic Albanians

During the crisis on Kosovo in 1998 and 1999 large stockpiles of weapons

intended for KLA were stored in depots in villages on the Macedonian border to

Kosovo Smuggling of fuels narcotics tobacco white slaves and even chocolate

was widespread and top Macedonian political brass was getting financial

compensation for doing nothing against such crimes Whoever protested within

the Macedonian authorities was removed from his post This dangerous

combination of ethnic tensions and organized crime now only needed a spark that

would cause the fire While redirecting smuggling channels from Kosovo to

Macedonia and gearing up the propaganda machine against the Macedonian

government especially among the ethnic Albanians living abroad the NLA began

attacking police and army personnel and facilities but then also public facilities

(like rail lines)

Overview

Macedonian Mil Mi-24V in action during the conflict against Albanian

insurgents

Beginning of the Albanian insurgency

The first actions by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia occurred in late 2000

and early 2001 mainly along Macedonialsquos border with the United Nations-

administered Serbian province of Kosovo The insurgents acted in a pattern similar

to the one seen in Kosovo in late 1997 and through 1998 according to which they

gradually took over one village after the other Any such efforts were initially

―peaceful the non-Albanian population being ―encouraged to leave But in

January-February 2001 combat actions against legitimate authorities begun

The government at first did nothing against the situation because it received

assurances that what was going on was not directed against Macedonia Satisfied

with the answer and their payments the authorities waited for almost two months ndash

and then the situation was almost immediately out of control in fact so much that

the government was taken by surprise

In January 2001 a group calling itself the National Liberation Army (NLA)

appeared claiming responsibility for attacks on police forces The leaders of this

NLA ndash including Ali Ahmeti and his uncle Fazli Veliu were all from Western

Macedonia They stated to have ―between several hundreds and thousands of

fighters under arms However they were not supported by either of the two main

ethnic Albanian political parties The Macedonian government claimed that the

rebels were actually members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who

infiltrated the country from Kosovo In fact the NLA-fighters considered Kosovo

as ―safe heaven where they could pull back in the case of larger Macedonian

actions against them

A squad of Macedonian security forces take lethal action to disarm two

Albanian insurgents armed with grenades

MACEDONIAN REPRISALS

After several attacks on Macedonian security forces Macedonians took to

the streets of some towns attacking and setting on fire Albanian-owned shops

mosques and houses Such attacks took place mainly in Prilep Skopje and Bitola

Local Macedonian citizens in Prilep demanded weapons to attack neighboring

Albanian-populated villages which they claimed needed to be done ―in order to

save Macedonia Those targeted in the attacks were mostly Albanians but also

Macedonian Muslims

AFTERMATH

CEASEFIRE AND DISARMAMENT

After the Ohrid Agreement the rebels agreed to cease-fire in June however

there were other agreements in August before settling on a final one in January

2002 Under the Ohrid Agreement the Macedonian government pledged to

improve the rights of the Albanian population that makes up just over 253 per

cent of the population Those rights include making Albanian language an official

language increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government

institutions police and army Most importantly under the Ohrid Agreement the

Macedonian government agreed to a new model of decentralization

The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully

recognize all Macedonian institutions In addition according to this accord the

NLA was to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force

Operation ―Essential Harvest was officially launched on 22 August and

effectively started on 27 August This 30-day mission involved approximately

3500 NATO and Macedonian troops to disarm the NLA and destroy their

weapons Just hours after NATO wrapped up the operation Ali Ahmeti told

reporters attending a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Sipkovica that he

was dissolving the National Liberation Army and that it was time for ethnic

reconciliation

Several months after the conflict some armed provocations persisted

Small bombings and shootings used to happen The most serious provocations

happened when three Macedonian police officers were killed in an ambush by

ethnic Albanian gunmen on November 12 2001

CASUALTIES AND DISPLACEMENT

Casualty figures remain uncertain By March 19 2001 the BBC reported

that Macedonian security forces claimed five of their soldiers were killed while

the NLA claimed it had killed 11 No definitive NLA casualty figures were cited

at the time On December 25 2001 the Alternative Information Network cited

figures of 63 deaths claimed by Macedonian security forces for their side and 64

deaths claimed by the NLA for their fighters About 60 ethnic Albanian civilians

are thought to have been killed (some say 1000) while possibly about ten ethnic

Macedonians died during the conflict (Macedonian authorities did not release

figures for the latter at the time some say there were 500) As of December 2005

the fate of twenty ―disappeared civilians mdash13 ethnic Macedonians six ethnic

Albanians and one Bulgarian citizenmdash remains unknown By August 2001 the

number of people displaced by the war reached 170000 of which 74000 displaced

internally As of January 2004 2600 remained displaced

ALLEGED WAR CRIMES

The most notable incident was the Ljuboten massacre A three-day

operation by Macedonian police against the predominantly ethnic Albanian village

of Ljuboten from August 10-12 2001 The operation left ten civilians dead and

resulted in the arrest of more than 100 men many of whom were severely beaten

while in police custody Contrary to assertions by the Macedonian government a

Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground in Ljuboten found no evidence

of a presence by the ethnic Albanian National Liberation The events that occurred

during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near Skopje in August 2001

led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs of the time Ljube

Boškoski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague

Although the conflict in Macedonia was brief it was not scant of war

crimes The most notable incident was the infamous Vejce massacre where

Albanian guerrillas killed 8 Macedonian soldiers and dismembered and

vandalized their corpses On another occasion Albanian guerrillas inscribed their

names with knives on the backs on some construction workers[11]

Images of the

massacre started local uprisings against Muslims such revolts included burning

and vandalising shops and mosques Surving members of the roadside patrol that

were massacred gave eyewitness testimony of the killings They claimed that the

massacre was carried out by a group of 10 bearded guerillas with knives The

witnesses said that only one of the victims were shot and the remaining 7 vitims

were slaughtered with knives and some were even burned alive[12]

Local residents

of the village where the massacre took place do not allow family members of the

victims to visit the site[13]

On another occasion NLA separatists shut down the Lipkovo Dam leaving

tens of thousands of civilians without water for weeks

Among other crimes the NLA militants blew up the 13th-century Orthodox

monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok and is now under reconstruction

In 2001 the US recognized the NLA as a terrorist organization[citation needed]

The Macedonian side did not restrict itself to the regularities of war The

events that happened during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near

Skopje in August 2001 led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs

of the time Ljube Boškovski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The

Hague Six ethnic Albanian civilians were killed there

MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS

Macedonian Muslims

Македонци Муслимани

Makedonski Muslimani

Total population

40000

(some sources claim 80000-200000)

Regions with significant populations

Republic of Macedonia

40ndash80000

Albania

80ndash120000

Languages

Macedonian Albanian Turkish

Religions

Islam

Related ethnic groups

other ethnic Macedonians Gorani Pomaks

Bosniaks all other South Slavs

The Macedonian Muslims (Macedonian Македонци Муслимани or

Makedonski Muslimani) also known as Muslim Macedonians or Torbesh (the

later name is somewhat pejorative and means the bag carriers) are a minority

religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians who are Sunni

Muslims although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity They have been

culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian Slavic Macedonian

community for centuries

ISLAMICISATION

The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Christian

Macedonians who converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman

Empire ruled the Balkans The main factor prompting their conversion was the

Ottoman Empire Non-Muslims were generally regarded by the state and Ottoman

society as being of a subordinate status They were treated differently under the

legal system being subjected to special taxes such as the jizya head tax Muslims

generally enjoyed a more favorable treatment from the law and the state For

example non-Muslims could not hold political or military office They also

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 4: Yugoslav Wars

announced their secession from Croatia The move was in part triggered by a

provision in the new Croatian Constitution that replaced the explicit reference to

Serbs in Croatia as a constituent nationlsquo with a generic reference to all other

nations and was interepreted by Serbs as being reclassified as a national

minoritylsquo This was coupled with a history of distrust between the two ethnic

groups dating back to at least both World Wars and the inter-war period The

federally-controlled Yugoslav Peoplelsquos Army (JNA) was ideologically unitarist

and predominantly staffed by Serbs in its officer corp thus it also opposed

Croatian independence and sided with the Croatian Serb rebels Since the JNA had

disarmed the Territorial Units of the two northernmost republics the fledgling

Croatian state had to form its military from scratch[citation needed]

and was further

hindered by an arms embargo imposed by the UN on the whole of Yugoslavia

The Croatian Serb rebels were unaffected by said embargo as they had the support

of and access to supplies of the JNA The border regions faced direct attacks from

forces within Serbia and Montenegro and saw the destruction of Vukovar and the

shelling of UNESCO world heritage site Dubrovnik Meanwhile control over

central Croatia was seized by Croatian Serb forces in conjunction with the JNA

Corpus from Bosnia amp Herzegovina under the leadership of Ratko Mladic[citation

needed] These attacks were marked by the killings of captured soldiers and heavy

civilian casualties (Ovcara Škabrnja) and were the subject of war crimes

indictments by the ICTY for elements of the Serb political amp military leadership

In January 1992 the Vance peace plan proclaimed UN controlled (UNPA) zones

for Serbs in territory claimed by the rebel Serbs as the Republic of Serbian Krajina

and brought an end to major military operations though sporadic artillery attacks

on Croatian cities and occasional intrusions of Croatian forces into UNPA zones

continued until 1995

In 1992 the conflict engulfed Bosnia It was predominantly a territorial

conflict between local Muslims and Croats backed by Zagreb on one side and

Serbs backed by the Yugoslav Peoplelsquos Army and Serbia on the other For a short-

lived period the erstwhile Muslim amp Croat allies would turn on each other in a

battle for the scraps of territory left until they reformed their alliance under US

tutelage that was formalised as the Muslim-Croat federation The Bosnia conflict

typified by the siege of Sarajevo amp Srebrenica was by far the bloodiest and most

widely covered of the Yugoslav wars

The fighting in Croatia ended sometime in the Summer of 1995 after

Croatian Army launched two rapid military operations codenamed Operation

Flash and Operation Storm in which it managed to reclaim all of its territory

except the UNPA Sector East bordering Serbia Most of the Serbian population in

these areas became refugees and has been the subject of war crimes indictments

by the ICTY for elements of the Croat military leadership The remaining Sector

East came under UN administration (UNTAES) and was reintegrated to Croatia in

1998

In 1994 the US brokered peace between Croatian forces and the Bosniak

Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina After the successful Flash and

Storm operations the Croatian Army and the combined Bosnjiak amp Croat forces

of Bosnian amp Herzegovina worked together in an operation codenamed Operation

Maestral to push back Bosnian Serb military gains Together with US air strikes

on the Bosnian Serbs the successes on the ground put pressure on the Serbs to

come to the negotiating table Pressure was put on all sides to stick to the cease-

fire and finally negotiate an end to the war in Bosnia The war ended with the

signing of the Dayton Agreement on the 14th of December 1995 with the

formation of Republika Srpska as an entity within Bosnia and Hercegovina being

the resolution for Bosnian Serb demands

CONFLICTS IN ALBANIAN-POPULATED AREAS (1996-2001)

In Kosovo Macedonia and southern Central Serbia the conflicts were

typified by ethnic and political tension between the Serbian and Macedonian

governments and Albanian national minorities which sought autonomy as was the

case in the Republic of Macedonia or independence as was the case in Kosovo

The conflict in Kosovo (1996-1999) became a full-scale war in 1999 while

the Macedonia conflict (2001-2002) and Southern Serbia conflict (2001) were

characterised by armed clashes between state security forces and ethnic Albanian

guerrillas

The war in Kosovo ended with NATO intervention against Serbian forces

in 1999 with a mainly bombing but partly ground-based campaign under the

command of Gen Wesley Clark Even so further widespread unrest in Kosovo

broke out in 2004 The NATO intervention is often counted as yet another separate

war The conflicts in southern Serbia and in Republic of Macedonia ended with

internationally-overseen peace agreements between the insurgents and the

government but the situation in both regions remains fragile

A BRIEF TIMELINE OF THE YUGOSLAV WARS

1968

Students in Kosovo demand greater rights for the Albanian minority during

the worldwide May 1968 protests

1971

Demonstrations in Croatia known as the Croatian spring are condemned

by the government Many participants were later convicted as nationalists

including Stipe Mesić and Franjo Tuđman Government crisis follows

1974

A new SFRY constitution is proclaimed granting more power to federal

units and more power to autonomous provinces Kosovo and Vojvodina of Serbia

giving them a vote in all relevant decisions in the federal government Muslims

were recognized as a constituent ―nation of Yugoslavia and of Bosnia and

Herzegovina

1980

Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito dies

1981

Economic crisis in Yugoslavia has begun Albanian nationalist

demonstrations in Kosovo demand federal unit status

1986-1989

The controversial Memorandum of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts

claims Serbia has a weak position in Yugoslavia

Slobodan Milošević rises to power in Serbia Antibureaucratic revolution

demonstrations bring pro-Milošević governments to Vojvodina Kosovo and

Montenegro

1990

The League of Communists of Yugoslavia dissolves on republican and

ethnic lines at its 14th Congress [citation needed]

The first democratic elections are held in socialist Yugoslavia Nationalist

parties win the majority in almost all republics [citation needed]

Constitutional changes in Serbia revoke some of the powers granted to

Kosovo and Vojvodina effectively giving Serbia 3 out of 8 votes in the federal

council Along with allied Montenegro this gives extreme power to the Serbian

elite With these votes Serbian representatives attempt to institute martial law to

stop democratic changes - their attempt fails as Bosnialsquos representative (an ethnic

Serb) votes against in the crucial last vote

Croatian Serbs start a rebellion against the newly elected Croatian

government led by Franjo Tuđman

1991

Slovenia and Croatia declare independence War in Slovenia lasts ten days

The Yugoslav army leaves Slovenia but supports rebel Serb forces in

Croatia War begins in Croatia

Atrocities of Serb forces in Croatia lead to the creation of the term ethnic

cleansing Cities of Vukovar Dubrovnik and Osijek are devastated by constant

bombardments and shelling Flood of refugees from the war zones and ethnic

cleansing overwhelm Croatia

1992

Vance peace plan signed creating 4 UNPA zones for Serbs and ending

large scale fighting in Croatia

Macedonia and Bosnia declare independence Bosnian war begins

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia proclaimed consisting of Serbia and

Montenegro the only two remaining republics

United Nations impose sanctions against FR Yugoslavia and accepts

Slovenia Croatia and Bosnia as members

1993

Bosniak-Croat conflict in Bosnia begins

Fighting begins in the Bihać region between Bosnian Government and

Bosniaks loyal to Fikret Abdić

FR Yugoslavia due to sanctions and isolation is hit with by that time

never seen hyperinflation of 36 million percent a year of Yugoslav dinar This

amount of inflation exceeds the one in Great Depression 1929

The Stari Most (The Old Bridge) in Mostar built in 1566 was destroyed (it

is unknown by whom) It has been renovated in 2003

1994

Peace treaty between Bosniaks and Croats arbitrated by the United States

FR Yugoslavia stabilizes economy structure with Economic

Implementation Framework

1995

Srebrenica massacre reported 8000 Bosniaks killed

Croatia launches Operation Flash and Operation Storm reclaiming all

UNPA zones except Eastern Slavonia and resulting in exodus of 250000 Serbs

from the zones War in Croatia ends

NATO launches a series of air strikes on Bosnian Serb artillery and other

military targets

Dayton Agreement signed in Paris War in Bosnia and Herzegovina ends

Aftermath of war is over 100000 killed and missing and 25 million people

internally displaced among the former republics Serb defeat in Croatia and West

Bosnia allows Croatian and Bosniak refugees to return to their homes but many

refugees of all nationalities are still displaced today

After signing the Dayton Agreement Yugoslavia is granted with looser

sanctions still affecting much to its economy (trade tourism industrial production

and exports of final products) but being allowed for its citizens to exit

Yugoslavia for a limited time

1996

FR Yugoslavia recognizes Croatia and Bosnia amp Herzegovina

Following a fraud in local elections hundreds of thousands of Serbs

demonstrate in Belgrade against Milošević regime for three months

1998

Fighting breaks out between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanians in

Kosovo

Eastern Slavonia peacefully reintegrated into Croatia

1999

NATO starts the military campaign Operation Allied Force in Kosovo

Control of Kosovo is given to the United Nations but still remains a part of

Yugoslavialsquos federadion

Franjo Tuđman dies Shortly after that his party loses the elections

2000

Slobodan Milošević is voted out of office and Vojislav Koštunica becomes

new president of Yugoslavia

With Milošević a major political threat eliminated the World had no

reason to keep Yugoslavia any more isolated The political and economic

sanctions are suspended in total and FR Yugoslavia has been reinstated in most

political and economic organizations (ironically United Nations which the

Socialist Yugoslavia founded) as well as candidate for new ones (like EU)

2001

Brief Conflict in Southern Serbia between Albanian militants and Serbian

security forces

Conflict between Albanian militants and government in Macedonia

KLANLA are recognized by United States as a terrorist groups in total

They are considered to perpetrate all of actions to make the Kosovo and Metohija

completely ethnic Albanian driving out Christian population (mostly Serb and

Montenegrin) to flee and burning down their homes and sacred site like churches

monasteries and such causing previous retaliation of YugoslavSerbian police and

military force actions

2002

Milošević is put on trial in The Hague on charges of war crimes in Kosovo

2003

FR Yugoslavia becomes the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Alija Izetbegović dies

2006

Death of Ibrahim Rugova in Priština Kosovo Republic of Serbia State

Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Montenegrins declare independence from the state union with Serbia

Death of Slobodan Milošević in the Hague prison

2007

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) finds Serbia not guilty of

committing genocide in Bosnia but finds that it failed to prevent the genocide in

Srebrenica and hand over war criminals who are suspected to hide inside its

borders

2001 MACEDONIA CONFLICT

2001 Macedonia conflict

Part of the Yugoslav Wars

Macedonian special police forces in

Tetovo

Combatants

Republic of

Macedonia

National

Liberation Army

Commanders

Boris Trajkovski

Ljube Boškoski

Ali Ahmeti

Casualties

63 (Macedonian sources)

64 (NLA sources)

Civilian casualties

70 dead (60 ethnic Albanians 10 ethnic

Macedonians)

The 2001 Macedonia conflict was an armed conflict which began when

the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) militant group was

provoked into attacking the security forces of the Republic of Macedonia at the

beginning of January 2001 The Macedonian conflict lasted throughout most of the

year although overall casualties remained limited to several tens for either side

according to the sources from both of the sides in the conflict

BACKGROUND

On gaining independence from Yugoslavia Macedonia was set as a

republic with unicameral parliament a 120-seat National Assembly and a

popularly elected President Contrary to other former Yugoslav republics it

managed to separate from Yugoslavia without any real bloodshed For the first

seven years it was ruled by former socialists who prevented the country from

being drawn into any kind of conflict The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia

(SDSM) could not push through the necessary reforms of the society and

economy On the contrary during the 1990s it came under pressure for massive

corruption and connections to local Serbian and Albanian organized crime

mainly consisting of large-scale smugglers who acted against UN-imposed

embargoes on Former Yugoslavia Consequently this government was voted out

on parliamentary elections in 1998 in favour of a coalition of nationalist Internal

Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian

National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) Democratic Alternative (DA) and the

Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA)

ETHNIC TENSION

The new government immediately faced immense problems and began

losing popularity By November 2000 the DA withdrew from the coalition and

was replaced by the small Liberal Party Political scandals and economic

difficulties had a heavy impact on the government which was considered as

corrupt by the population as previous SDSM Clearly this situation had a severe

impact on relations between the ethnic Macedonian majority and ethnic Albanian

minority which were already tense ever since countrylsquos independence even if not

as bad as in Kosovo On one side the Albanians in Macedonia demanded greater

cultural and educational rights as well as representation in the government armed

forces and police on the other side large Serbian Macedonian and Albanian but

also Greek and Bulgarian smuggling bands were active in Macedonia in the

1990s Their business flourished as long as the UN embargos against FRY were in

force and while SDSM was in power almost nothing was done against their

activity

Ethnic map of the Republic of Macedonia much of the fighting was

concentrated on the territory with Albanian majority (orange)

History of the Republic of Macedonia

Chronological

National Liberation War of Macedonia (1941-1944)

Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1944-1991)

Republic of Macedonia (since 1991)

2001 Macedonia conflict (2001)

Topical

Military | ASNOM | NOF

Also see terminology and history

of the region of Macedonia

However the conflict between the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo and the

conduct of presidential elections in Macedonia in 1999 exacerbated inter-ethnic

tensions Charges of violence and ballot-stuffing highlighted tensions further

increased by a flood of 250000 Kosovar Albanian refugees on the height of the

Kosovo War Eventually even the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) became

present in Macedonia establishing bases and supply centres from which it was

dispatching fighters into FRY It did not last very long until some of Albanian

bands formed their own militias private ―bodyguards were available in sufficient

number - and omnipresent whenever specific local bosses felt their rights or

interests threatened Due to the uprisings and chaos in Albania in 1996 and then

the war in Kosovo there were now plenty of weapons available at low prices

Smuggling has long traditions in the Balkans and in the case of Macedonia

in the 1990s even top government officials were involved in different smuggling

operations with Kosovo and Albania which were mainly run by ethnic Albanians

During the crisis on Kosovo in 1998 and 1999 large stockpiles of weapons

intended for KLA were stored in depots in villages on the Macedonian border to

Kosovo Smuggling of fuels narcotics tobacco white slaves and even chocolate

was widespread and top Macedonian political brass was getting financial

compensation for doing nothing against such crimes Whoever protested within

the Macedonian authorities was removed from his post This dangerous

combination of ethnic tensions and organized crime now only needed a spark that

would cause the fire While redirecting smuggling channels from Kosovo to

Macedonia and gearing up the propaganda machine against the Macedonian

government especially among the ethnic Albanians living abroad the NLA began

attacking police and army personnel and facilities but then also public facilities

(like rail lines)

Overview

Macedonian Mil Mi-24V in action during the conflict against Albanian

insurgents

Beginning of the Albanian insurgency

The first actions by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia occurred in late 2000

and early 2001 mainly along Macedonialsquos border with the United Nations-

administered Serbian province of Kosovo The insurgents acted in a pattern similar

to the one seen in Kosovo in late 1997 and through 1998 according to which they

gradually took over one village after the other Any such efforts were initially

―peaceful the non-Albanian population being ―encouraged to leave But in

January-February 2001 combat actions against legitimate authorities begun

The government at first did nothing against the situation because it received

assurances that what was going on was not directed against Macedonia Satisfied

with the answer and their payments the authorities waited for almost two months ndash

and then the situation was almost immediately out of control in fact so much that

the government was taken by surprise

In January 2001 a group calling itself the National Liberation Army (NLA)

appeared claiming responsibility for attacks on police forces The leaders of this

NLA ndash including Ali Ahmeti and his uncle Fazli Veliu were all from Western

Macedonia They stated to have ―between several hundreds and thousands of

fighters under arms However they were not supported by either of the two main

ethnic Albanian political parties The Macedonian government claimed that the

rebels were actually members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who

infiltrated the country from Kosovo In fact the NLA-fighters considered Kosovo

as ―safe heaven where they could pull back in the case of larger Macedonian

actions against them

A squad of Macedonian security forces take lethal action to disarm two

Albanian insurgents armed with grenades

MACEDONIAN REPRISALS

After several attacks on Macedonian security forces Macedonians took to

the streets of some towns attacking and setting on fire Albanian-owned shops

mosques and houses Such attacks took place mainly in Prilep Skopje and Bitola

Local Macedonian citizens in Prilep demanded weapons to attack neighboring

Albanian-populated villages which they claimed needed to be done ―in order to

save Macedonia Those targeted in the attacks were mostly Albanians but also

Macedonian Muslims

AFTERMATH

CEASEFIRE AND DISARMAMENT

After the Ohrid Agreement the rebels agreed to cease-fire in June however

there were other agreements in August before settling on a final one in January

2002 Under the Ohrid Agreement the Macedonian government pledged to

improve the rights of the Albanian population that makes up just over 253 per

cent of the population Those rights include making Albanian language an official

language increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government

institutions police and army Most importantly under the Ohrid Agreement the

Macedonian government agreed to a new model of decentralization

The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully

recognize all Macedonian institutions In addition according to this accord the

NLA was to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force

Operation ―Essential Harvest was officially launched on 22 August and

effectively started on 27 August This 30-day mission involved approximately

3500 NATO and Macedonian troops to disarm the NLA and destroy their

weapons Just hours after NATO wrapped up the operation Ali Ahmeti told

reporters attending a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Sipkovica that he

was dissolving the National Liberation Army and that it was time for ethnic

reconciliation

Several months after the conflict some armed provocations persisted

Small bombings and shootings used to happen The most serious provocations

happened when three Macedonian police officers were killed in an ambush by

ethnic Albanian gunmen on November 12 2001

CASUALTIES AND DISPLACEMENT

Casualty figures remain uncertain By March 19 2001 the BBC reported

that Macedonian security forces claimed five of their soldiers were killed while

the NLA claimed it had killed 11 No definitive NLA casualty figures were cited

at the time On December 25 2001 the Alternative Information Network cited

figures of 63 deaths claimed by Macedonian security forces for their side and 64

deaths claimed by the NLA for their fighters About 60 ethnic Albanian civilians

are thought to have been killed (some say 1000) while possibly about ten ethnic

Macedonians died during the conflict (Macedonian authorities did not release

figures for the latter at the time some say there were 500) As of December 2005

the fate of twenty ―disappeared civilians mdash13 ethnic Macedonians six ethnic

Albanians and one Bulgarian citizenmdash remains unknown By August 2001 the

number of people displaced by the war reached 170000 of which 74000 displaced

internally As of January 2004 2600 remained displaced

ALLEGED WAR CRIMES

The most notable incident was the Ljuboten massacre A three-day

operation by Macedonian police against the predominantly ethnic Albanian village

of Ljuboten from August 10-12 2001 The operation left ten civilians dead and

resulted in the arrest of more than 100 men many of whom were severely beaten

while in police custody Contrary to assertions by the Macedonian government a

Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground in Ljuboten found no evidence

of a presence by the ethnic Albanian National Liberation The events that occurred

during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near Skopje in August 2001

led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs of the time Ljube

Boškoski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague

Although the conflict in Macedonia was brief it was not scant of war

crimes The most notable incident was the infamous Vejce massacre where

Albanian guerrillas killed 8 Macedonian soldiers and dismembered and

vandalized their corpses On another occasion Albanian guerrillas inscribed their

names with knives on the backs on some construction workers[11]

Images of the

massacre started local uprisings against Muslims such revolts included burning

and vandalising shops and mosques Surving members of the roadside patrol that

were massacred gave eyewitness testimony of the killings They claimed that the

massacre was carried out by a group of 10 bearded guerillas with knives The

witnesses said that only one of the victims were shot and the remaining 7 vitims

were slaughtered with knives and some were even burned alive[12]

Local residents

of the village where the massacre took place do not allow family members of the

victims to visit the site[13]

On another occasion NLA separatists shut down the Lipkovo Dam leaving

tens of thousands of civilians without water for weeks

Among other crimes the NLA militants blew up the 13th-century Orthodox

monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok and is now under reconstruction

In 2001 the US recognized the NLA as a terrorist organization[citation needed]

The Macedonian side did not restrict itself to the regularities of war The

events that happened during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near

Skopje in August 2001 led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs

of the time Ljube Boškovski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The

Hague Six ethnic Albanian civilians were killed there

MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS

Macedonian Muslims

Македонци Муслимани

Makedonski Muslimani

Total population

40000

(some sources claim 80000-200000)

Regions with significant populations

Republic of Macedonia

40ndash80000

Albania

80ndash120000

Languages

Macedonian Albanian Turkish

Religions

Islam

Related ethnic groups

other ethnic Macedonians Gorani Pomaks

Bosniaks all other South Slavs

The Macedonian Muslims (Macedonian Македонци Муслимани or

Makedonski Muslimani) also known as Muslim Macedonians or Torbesh (the

later name is somewhat pejorative and means the bag carriers) are a minority

religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians who are Sunni

Muslims although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity They have been

culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian Slavic Macedonian

community for centuries

ISLAMICISATION

The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Christian

Macedonians who converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman

Empire ruled the Balkans The main factor prompting their conversion was the

Ottoman Empire Non-Muslims were generally regarded by the state and Ottoman

society as being of a subordinate status They were treated differently under the

legal system being subjected to special taxes such as the jizya head tax Muslims

generally enjoyed a more favorable treatment from the law and the state For

example non-Muslims could not hold political or military office They also

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 5: Yugoslav Wars

typified by the siege of Sarajevo amp Srebrenica was by far the bloodiest and most

widely covered of the Yugoslav wars

The fighting in Croatia ended sometime in the Summer of 1995 after

Croatian Army launched two rapid military operations codenamed Operation

Flash and Operation Storm in which it managed to reclaim all of its territory

except the UNPA Sector East bordering Serbia Most of the Serbian population in

these areas became refugees and has been the subject of war crimes indictments

by the ICTY for elements of the Croat military leadership The remaining Sector

East came under UN administration (UNTAES) and was reintegrated to Croatia in

1998

In 1994 the US brokered peace between Croatian forces and the Bosniak

Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina After the successful Flash and

Storm operations the Croatian Army and the combined Bosnjiak amp Croat forces

of Bosnian amp Herzegovina worked together in an operation codenamed Operation

Maestral to push back Bosnian Serb military gains Together with US air strikes

on the Bosnian Serbs the successes on the ground put pressure on the Serbs to

come to the negotiating table Pressure was put on all sides to stick to the cease-

fire and finally negotiate an end to the war in Bosnia The war ended with the

signing of the Dayton Agreement on the 14th of December 1995 with the

formation of Republika Srpska as an entity within Bosnia and Hercegovina being

the resolution for Bosnian Serb demands

CONFLICTS IN ALBANIAN-POPULATED AREAS (1996-2001)

In Kosovo Macedonia and southern Central Serbia the conflicts were

typified by ethnic and political tension between the Serbian and Macedonian

governments and Albanian national minorities which sought autonomy as was the

case in the Republic of Macedonia or independence as was the case in Kosovo

The conflict in Kosovo (1996-1999) became a full-scale war in 1999 while

the Macedonia conflict (2001-2002) and Southern Serbia conflict (2001) were

characterised by armed clashes between state security forces and ethnic Albanian

guerrillas

The war in Kosovo ended with NATO intervention against Serbian forces

in 1999 with a mainly bombing but partly ground-based campaign under the

command of Gen Wesley Clark Even so further widespread unrest in Kosovo

broke out in 2004 The NATO intervention is often counted as yet another separate

war The conflicts in southern Serbia and in Republic of Macedonia ended with

internationally-overseen peace agreements between the insurgents and the

government but the situation in both regions remains fragile

A BRIEF TIMELINE OF THE YUGOSLAV WARS

1968

Students in Kosovo demand greater rights for the Albanian minority during

the worldwide May 1968 protests

1971

Demonstrations in Croatia known as the Croatian spring are condemned

by the government Many participants were later convicted as nationalists

including Stipe Mesić and Franjo Tuđman Government crisis follows

1974

A new SFRY constitution is proclaimed granting more power to federal

units and more power to autonomous provinces Kosovo and Vojvodina of Serbia

giving them a vote in all relevant decisions in the federal government Muslims

were recognized as a constituent ―nation of Yugoslavia and of Bosnia and

Herzegovina

1980

Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito dies

1981

Economic crisis in Yugoslavia has begun Albanian nationalist

demonstrations in Kosovo demand federal unit status

1986-1989

The controversial Memorandum of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts

claims Serbia has a weak position in Yugoslavia

Slobodan Milošević rises to power in Serbia Antibureaucratic revolution

demonstrations bring pro-Milošević governments to Vojvodina Kosovo and

Montenegro

1990

The League of Communists of Yugoslavia dissolves on republican and

ethnic lines at its 14th Congress [citation needed]

The first democratic elections are held in socialist Yugoslavia Nationalist

parties win the majority in almost all republics [citation needed]

Constitutional changes in Serbia revoke some of the powers granted to

Kosovo and Vojvodina effectively giving Serbia 3 out of 8 votes in the federal

council Along with allied Montenegro this gives extreme power to the Serbian

elite With these votes Serbian representatives attempt to institute martial law to

stop democratic changes - their attempt fails as Bosnialsquos representative (an ethnic

Serb) votes against in the crucial last vote

Croatian Serbs start a rebellion against the newly elected Croatian

government led by Franjo Tuđman

1991

Slovenia and Croatia declare independence War in Slovenia lasts ten days

The Yugoslav army leaves Slovenia but supports rebel Serb forces in

Croatia War begins in Croatia

Atrocities of Serb forces in Croatia lead to the creation of the term ethnic

cleansing Cities of Vukovar Dubrovnik and Osijek are devastated by constant

bombardments and shelling Flood of refugees from the war zones and ethnic

cleansing overwhelm Croatia

1992

Vance peace plan signed creating 4 UNPA zones for Serbs and ending

large scale fighting in Croatia

Macedonia and Bosnia declare independence Bosnian war begins

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia proclaimed consisting of Serbia and

Montenegro the only two remaining republics

United Nations impose sanctions against FR Yugoslavia and accepts

Slovenia Croatia and Bosnia as members

1993

Bosniak-Croat conflict in Bosnia begins

Fighting begins in the Bihać region between Bosnian Government and

Bosniaks loyal to Fikret Abdić

FR Yugoslavia due to sanctions and isolation is hit with by that time

never seen hyperinflation of 36 million percent a year of Yugoslav dinar This

amount of inflation exceeds the one in Great Depression 1929

The Stari Most (The Old Bridge) in Mostar built in 1566 was destroyed (it

is unknown by whom) It has been renovated in 2003

1994

Peace treaty between Bosniaks and Croats arbitrated by the United States

FR Yugoslavia stabilizes economy structure with Economic

Implementation Framework

1995

Srebrenica massacre reported 8000 Bosniaks killed

Croatia launches Operation Flash and Operation Storm reclaiming all

UNPA zones except Eastern Slavonia and resulting in exodus of 250000 Serbs

from the zones War in Croatia ends

NATO launches a series of air strikes on Bosnian Serb artillery and other

military targets

Dayton Agreement signed in Paris War in Bosnia and Herzegovina ends

Aftermath of war is over 100000 killed and missing and 25 million people

internally displaced among the former republics Serb defeat in Croatia and West

Bosnia allows Croatian and Bosniak refugees to return to their homes but many

refugees of all nationalities are still displaced today

After signing the Dayton Agreement Yugoslavia is granted with looser

sanctions still affecting much to its economy (trade tourism industrial production

and exports of final products) but being allowed for its citizens to exit

Yugoslavia for a limited time

1996

FR Yugoslavia recognizes Croatia and Bosnia amp Herzegovina

Following a fraud in local elections hundreds of thousands of Serbs

demonstrate in Belgrade against Milošević regime for three months

1998

Fighting breaks out between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanians in

Kosovo

Eastern Slavonia peacefully reintegrated into Croatia

1999

NATO starts the military campaign Operation Allied Force in Kosovo

Control of Kosovo is given to the United Nations but still remains a part of

Yugoslavialsquos federadion

Franjo Tuđman dies Shortly after that his party loses the elections

2000

Slobodan Milošević is voted out of office and Vojislav Koštunica becomes

new president of Yugoslavia

With Milošević a major political threat eliminated the World had no

reason to keep Yugoslavia any more isolated The political and economic

sanctions are suspended in total and FR Yugoslavia has been reinstated in most

political and economic organizations (ironically United Nations which the

Socialist Yugoslavia founded) as well as candidate for new ones (like EU)

2001

Brief Conflict in Southern Serbia between Albanian militants and Serbian

security forces

Conflict between Albanian militants and government in Macedonia

KLANLA are recognized by United States as a terrorist groups in total

They are considered to perpetrate all of actions to make the Kosovo and Metohija

completely ethnic Albanian driving out Christian population (mostly Serb and

Montenegrin) to flee and burning down their homes and sacred site like churches

monasteries and such causing previous retaliation of YugoslavSerbian police and

military force actions

2002

Milošević is put on trial in The Hague on charges of war crimes in Kosovo

2003

FR Yugoslavia becomes the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Alija Izetbegović dies

2006

Death of Ibrahim Rugova in Priština Kosovo Republic of Serbia State

Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Montenegrins declare independence from the state union with Serbia

Death of Slobodan Milošević in the Hague prison

2007

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) finds Serbia not guilty of

committing genocide in Bosnia but finds that it failed to prevent the genocide in

Srebrenica and hand over war criminals who are suspected to hide inside its

borders

2001 MACEDONIA CONFLICT

2001 Macedonia conflict

Part of the Yugoslav Wars

Macedonian special police forces in

Tetovo

Combatants

Republic of

Macedonia

National

Liberation Army

Commanders

Boris Trajkovski

Ljube Boškoski

Ali Ahmeti

Casualties

63 (Macedonian sources)

64 (NLA sources)

Civilian casualties

70 dead (60 ethnic Albanians 10 ethnic

Macedonians)

The 2001 Macedonia conflict was an armed conflict which began when

the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) militant group was

provoked into attacking the security forces of the Republic of Macedonia at the

beginning of January 2001 The Macedonian conflict lasted throughout most of the

year although overall casualties remained limited to several tens for either side

according to the sources from both of the sides in the conflict

BACKGROUND

On gaining independence from Yugoslavia Macedonia was set as a

republic with unicameral parliament a 120-seat National Assembly and a

popularly elected President Contrary to other former Yugoslav republics it

managed to separate from Yugoslavia without any real bloodshed For the first

seven years it was ruled by former socialists who prevented the country from

being drawn into any kind of conflict The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia

(SDSM) could not push through the necessary reforms of the society and

economy On the contrary during the 1990s it came under pressure for massive

corruption and connections to local Serbian and Albanian organized crime

mainly consisting of large-scale smugglers who acted against UN-imposed

embargoes on Former Yugoslavia Consequently this government was voted out

on parliamentary elections in 1998 in favour of a coalition of nationalist Internal

Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian

National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) Democratic Alternative (DA) and the

Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA)

ETHNIC TENSION

The new government immediately faced immense problems and began

losing popularity By November 2000 the DA withdrew from the coalition and

was replaced by the small Liberal Party Political scandals and economic

difficulties had a heavy impact on the government which was considered as

corrupt by the population as previous SDSM Clearly this situation had a severe

impact on relations between the ethnic Macedonian majority and ethnic Albanian

minority which were already tense ever since countrylsquos independence even if not

as bad as in Kosovo On one side the Albanians in Macedonia demanded greater

cultural and educational rights as well as representation in the government armed

forces and police on the other side large Serbian Macedonian and Albanian but

also Greek and Bulgarian smuggling bands were active in Macedonia in the

1990s Their business flourished as long as the UN embargos against FRY were in

force and while SDSM was in power almost nothing was done against their

activity

Ethnic map of the Republic of Macedonia much of the fighting was

concentrated on the territory with Albanian majority (orange)

History of the Republic of Macedonia

Chronological

National Liberation War of Macedonia (1941-1944)

Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1944-1991)

Republic of Macedonia (since 1991)

2001 Macedonia conflict (2001)

Topical

Military | ASNOM | NOF

Also see terminology and history

of the region of Macedonia

However the conflict between the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo and the

conduct of presidential elections in Macedonia in 1999 exacerbated inter-ethnic

tensions Charges of violence and ballot-stuffing highlighted tensions further

increased by a flood of 250000 Kosovar Albanian refugees on the height of the

Kosovo War Eventually even the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) became

present in Macedonia establishing bases and supply centres from which it was

dispatching fighters into FRY It did not last very long until some of Albanian

bands formed their own militias private ―bodyguards were available in sufficient

number - and omnipresent whenever specific local bosses felt their rights or

interests threatened Due to the uprisings and chaos in Albania in 1996 and then

the war in Kosovo there were now plenty of weapons available at low prices

Smuggling has long traditions in the Balkans and in the case of Macedonia

in the 1990s even top government officials were involved in different smuggling

operations with Kosovo and Albania which were mainly run by ethnic Albanians

During the crisis on Kosovo in 1998 and 1999 large stockpiles of weapons

intended for KLA were stored in depots in villages on the Macedonian border to

Kosovo Smuggling of fuels narcotics tobacco white slaves and even chocolate

was widespread and top Macedonian political brass was getting financial

compensation for doing nothing against such crimes Whoever protested within

the Macedonian authorities was removed from his post This dangerous

combination of ethnic tensions and organized crime now only needed a spark that

would cause the fire While redirecting smuggling channels from Kosovo to

Macedonia and gearing up the propaganda machine against the Macedonian

government especially among the ethnic Albanians living abroad the NLA began

attacking police and army personnel and facilities but then also public facilities

(like rail lines)

Overview

Macedonian Mil Mi-24V in action during the conflict against Albanian

insurgents

Beginning of the Albanian insurgency

The first actions by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia occurred in late 2000

and early 2001 mainly along Macedonialsquos border with the United Nations-

administered Serbian province of Kosovo The insurgents acted in a pattern similar

to the one seen in Kosovo in late 1997 and through 1998 according to which they

gradually took over one village after the other Any such efforts were initially

―peaceful the non-Albanian population being ―encouraged to leave But in

January-February 2001 combat actions against legitimate authorities begun

The government at first did nothing against the situation because it received

assurances that what was going on was not directed against Macedonia Satisfied

with the answer and their payments the authorities waited for almost two months ndash

and then the situation was almost immediately out of control in fact so much that

the government was taken by surprise

In January 2001 a group calling itself the National Liberation Army (NLA)

appeared claiming responsibility for attacks on police forces The leaders of this

NLA ndash including Ali Ahmeti and his uncle Fazli Veliu were all from Western

Macedonia They stated to have ―between several hundreds and thousands of

fighters under arms However they were not supported by either of the two main

ethnic Albanian political parties The Macedonian government claimed that the

rebels were actually members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who

infiltrated the country from Kosovo In fact the NLA-fighters considered Kosovo

as ―safe heaven where they could pull back in the case of larger Macedonian

actions against them

A squad of Macedonian security forces take lethal action to disarm two

Albanian insurgents armed with grenades

MACEDONIAN REPRISALS

After several attacks on Macedonian security forces Macedonians took to

the streets of some towns attacking and setting on fire Albanian-owned shops

mosques and houses Such attacks took place mainly in Prilep Skopje and Bitola

Local Macedonian citizens in Prilep demanded weapons to attack neighboring

Albanian-populated villages which they claimed needed to be done ―in order to

save Macedonia Those targeted in the attacks were mostly Albanians but also

Macedonian Muslims

AFTERMATH

CEASEFIRE AND DISARMAMENT

After the Ohrid Agreement the rebels agreed to cease-fire in June however

there were other agreements in August before settling on a final one in January

2002 Under the Ohrid Agreement the Macedonian government pledged to

improve the rights of the Albanian population that makes up just over 253 per

cent of the population Those rights include making Albanian language an official

language increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government

institutions police and army Most importantly under the Ohrid Agreement the

Macedonian government agreed to a new model of decentralization

The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully

recognize all Macedonian institutions In addition according to this accord the

NLA was to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force

Operation ―Essential Harvest was officially launched on 22 August and

effectively started on 27 August This 30-day mission involved approximately

3500 NATO and Macedonian troops to disarm the NLA and destroy their

weapons Just hours after NATO wrapped up the operation Ali Ahmeti told

reporters attending a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Sipkovica that he

was dissolving the National Liberation Army and that it was time for ethnic

reconciliation

Several months after the conflict some armed provocations persisted

Small bombings and shootings used to happen The most serious provocations

happened when three Macedonian police officers were killed in an ambush by

ethnic Albanian gunmen on November 12 2001

CASUALTIES AND DISPLACEMENT

Casualty figures remain uncertain By March 19 2001 the BBC reported

that Macedonian security forces claimed five of their soldiers were killed while

the NLA claimed it had killed 11 No definitive NLA casualty figures were cited

at the time On December 25 2001 the Alternative Information Network cited

figures of 63 deaths claimed by Macedonian security forces for their side and 64

deaths claimed by the NLA for their fighters About 60 ethnic Albanian civilians

are thought to have been killed (some say 1000) while possibly about ten ethnic

Macedonians died during the conflict (Macedonian authorities did not release

figures for the latter at the time some say there were 500) As of December 2005

the fate of twenty ―disappeared civilians mdash13 ethnic Macedonians six ethnic

Albanians and one Bulgarian citizenmdash remains unknown By August 2001 the

number of people displaced by the war reached 170000 of which 74000 displaced

internally As of January 2004 2600 remained displaced

ALLEGED WAR CRIMES

The most notable incident was the Ljuboten massacre A three-day

operation by Macedonian police against the predominantly ethnic Albanian village

of Ljuboten from August 10-12 2001 The operation left ten civilians dead and

resulted in the arrest of more than 100 men many of whom were severely beaten

while in police custody Contrary to assertions by the Macedonian government a

Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground in Ljuboten found no evidence

of a presence by the ethnic Albanian National Liberation The events that occurred

during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near Skopje in August 2001

led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs of the time Ljube

Boškoski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague

Although the conflict in Macedonia was brief it was not scant of war

crimes The most notable incident was the infamous Vejce massacre where

Albanian guerrillas killed 8 Macedonian soldiers and dismembered and

vandalized their corpses On another occasion Albanian guerrillas inscribed their

names with knives on the backs on some construction workers[11]

Images of the

massacre started local uprisings against Muslims such revolts included burning

and vandalising shops and mosques Surving members of the roadside patrol that

were massacred gave eyewitness testimony of the killings They claimed that the

massacre was carried out by a group of 10 bearded guerillas with knives The

witnesses said that only one of the victims were shot and the remaining 7 vitims

were slaughtered with knives and some were even burned alive[12]

Local residents

of the village where the massacre took place do not allow family members of the

victims to visit the site[13]

On another occasion NLA separatists shut down the Lipkovo Dam leaving

tens of thousands of civilians without water for weeks

Among other crimes the NLA militants blew up the 13th-century Orthodox

monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok and is now under reconstruction

In 2001 the US recognized the NLA as a terrorist organization[citation needed]

The Macedonian side did not restrict itself to the regularities of war The

events that happened during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near

Skopje in August 2001 led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs

of the time Ljube Boškovski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The

Hague Six ethnic Albanian civilians were killed there

MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS

Macedonian Muslims

Македонци Муслимани

Makedonski Muslimani

Total population

40000

(some sources claim 80000-200000)

Regions with significant populations

Republic of Macedonia

40ndash80000

Albania

80ndash120000

Languages

Macedonian Albanian Turkish

Religions

Islam

Related ethnic groups

other ethnic Macedonians Gorani Pomaks

Bosniaks all other South Slavs

The Macedonian Muslims (Macedonian Македонци Муслимани or

Makedonski Muslimani) also known as Muslim Macedonians or Torbesh (the

later name is somewhat pejorative and means the bag carriers) are a minority

religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians who are Sunni

Muslims although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity They have been

culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian Slavic Macedonian

community for centuries

ISLAMICISATION

The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Christian

Macedonians who converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman

Empire ruled the Balkans The main factor prompting their conversion was the

Ottoman Empire Non-Muslims were generally regarded by the state and Ottoman

society as being of a subordinate status They were treated differently under the

legal system being subjected to special taxes such as the jizya head tax Muslims

generally enjoyed a more favorable treatment from the law and the state For

example non-Muslims could not hold political or military office They also

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 6: Yugoslav Wars

The war in Kosovo ended with NATO intervention against Serbian forces

in 1999 with a mainly bombing but partly ground-based campaign under the

command of Gen Wesley Clark Even so further widespread unrest in Kosovo

broke out in 2004 The NATO intervention is often counted as yet another separate

war The conflicts in southern Serbia and in Republic of Macedonia ended with

internationally-overseen peace agreements between the insurgents and the

government but the situation in both regions remains fragile

A BRIEF TIMELINE OF THE YUGOSLAV WARS

1968

Students in Kosovo demand greater rights for the Albanian minority during

the worldwide May 1968 protests

1971

Demonstrations in Croatia known as the Croatian spring are condemned

by the government Many participants were later convicted as nationalists

including Stipe Mesić and Franjo Tuđman Government crisis follows

1974

A new SFRY constitution is proclaimed granting more power to federal

units and more power to autonomous provinces Kosovo and Vojvodina of Serbia

giving them a vote in all relevant decisions in the federal government Muslims

were recognized as a constituent ―nation of Yugoslavia and of Bosnia and

Herzegovina

1980

Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito dies

1981

Economic crisis in Yugoslavia has begun Albanian nationalist

demonstrations in Kosovo demand federal unit status

1986-1989

The controversial Memorandum of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts

claims Serbia has a weak position in Yugoslavia

Slobodan Milošević rises to power in Serbia Antibureaucratic revolution

demonstrations bring pro-Milošević governments to Vojvodina Kosovo and

Montenegro

1990

The League of Communists of Yugoslavia dissolves on republican and

ethnic lines at its 14th Congress [citation needed]

The first democratic elections are held in socialist Yugoslavia Nationalist

parties win the majority in almost all republics [citation needed]

Constitutional changes in Serbia revoke some of the powers granted to

Kosovo and Vojvodina effectively giving Serbia 3 out of 8 votes in the federal

council Along with allied Montenegro this gives extreme power to the Serbian

elite With these votes Serbian representatives attempt to institute martial law to

stop democratic changes - their attempt fails as Bosnialsquos representative (an ethnic

Serb) votes against in the crucial last vote

Croatian Serbs start a rebellion against the newly elected Croatian

government led by Franjo Tuđman

1991

Slovenia and Croatia declare independence War in Slovenia lasts ten days

The Yugoslav army leaves Slovenia but supports rebel Serb forces in

Croatia War begins in Croatia

Atrocities of Serb forces in Croatia lead to the creation of the term ethnic

cleansing Cities of Vukovar Dubrovnik and Osijek are devastated by constant

bombardments and shelling Flood of refugees from the war zones and ethnic

cleansing overwhelm Croatia

1992

Vance peace plan signed creating 4 UNPA zones for Serbs and ending

large scale fighting in Croatia

Macedonia and Bosnia declare independence Bosnian war begins

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia proclaimed consisting of Serbia and

Montenegro the only two remaining republics

United Nations impose sanctions against FR Yugoslavia and accepts

Slovenia Croatia and Bosnia as members

1993

Bosniak-Croat conflict in Bosnia begins

Fighting begins in the Bihać region between Bosnian Government and

Bosniaks loyal to Fikret Abdić

FR Yugoslavia due to sanctions and isolation is hit with by that time

never seen hyperinflation of 36 million percent a year of Yugoslav dinar This

amount of inflation exceeds the one in Great Depression 1929

The Stari Most (The Old Bridge) in Mostar built in 1566 was destroyed (it

is unknown by whom) It has been renovated in 2003

1994

Peace treaty between Bosniaks and Croats arbitrated by the United States

FR Yugoslavia stabilizes economy structure with Economic

Implementation Framework

1995

Srebrenica massacre reported 8000 Bosniaks killed

Croatia launches Operation Flash and Operation Storm reclaiming all

UNPA zones except Eastern Slavonia and resulting in exodus of 250000 Serbs

from the zones War in Croatia ends

NATO launches a series of air strikes on Bosnian Serb artillery and other

military targets

Dayton Agreement signed in Paris War in Bosnia and Herzegovina ends

Aftermath of war is over 100000 killed and missing and 25 million people

internally displaced among the former republics Serb defeat in Croatia and West

Bosnia allows Croatian and Bosniak refugees to return to their homes but many

refugees of all nationalities are still displaced today

After signing the Dayton Agreement Yugoslavia is granted with looser

sanctions still affecting much to its economy (trade tourism industrial production

and exports of final products) but being allowed for its citizens to exit

Yugoslavia for a limited time

1996

FR Yugoslavia recognizes Croatia and Bosnia amp Herzegovina

Following a fraud in local elections hundreds of thousands of Serbs

demonstrate in Belgrade against Milošević regime for three months

1998

Fighting breaks out between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanians in

Kosovo

Eastern Slavonia peacefully reintegrated into Croatia

1999

NATO starts the military campaign Operation Allied Force in Kosovo

Control of Kosovo is given to the United Nations but still remains a part of

Yugoslavialsquos federadion

Franjo Tuđman dies Shortly after that his party loses the elections

2000

Slobodan Milošević is voted out of office and Vojislav Koštunica becomes

new president of Yugoslavia

With Milošević a major political threat eliminated the World had no

reason to keep Yugoslavia any more isolated The political and economic

sanctions are suspended in total and FR Yugoslavia has been reinstated in most

political and economic organizations (ironically United Nations which the

Socialist Yugoslavia founded) as well as candidate for new ones (like EU)

2001

Brief Conflict in Southern Serbia between Albanian militants and Serbian

security forces

Conflict between Albanian militants and government in Macedonia

KLANLA are recognized by United States as a terrorist groups in total

They are considered to perpetrate all of actions to make the Kosovo and Metohija

completely ethnic Albanian driving out Christian population (mostly Serb and

Montenegrin) to flee and burning down their homes and sacred site like churches

monasteries and such causing previous retaliation of YugoslavSerbian police and

military force actions

2002

Milošević is put on trial in The Hague on charges of war crimes in Kosovo

2003

FR Yugoslavia becomes the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Alija Izetbegović dies

2006

Death of Ibrahim Rugova in Priština Kosovo Republic of Serbia State

Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Montenegrins declare independence from the state union with Serbia

Death of Slobodan Milošević in the Hague prison

2007

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) finds Serbia not guilty of

committing genocide in Bosnia but finds that it failed to prevent the genocide in

Srebrenica and hand over war criminals who are suspected to hide inside its

borders

2001 MACEDONIA CONFLICT

2001 Macedonia conflict

Part of the Yugoslav Wars

Macedonian special police forces in

Tetovo

Combatants

Republic of

Macedonia

National

Liberation Army

Commanders

Boris Trajkovski

Ljube Boškoski

Ali Ahmeti

Casualties

63 (Macedonian sources)

64 (NLA sources)

Civilian casualties

70 dead (60 ethnic Albanians 10 ethnic

Macedonians)

The 2001 Macedonia conflict was an armed conflict which began when

the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) militant group was

provoked into attacking the security forces of the Republic of Macedonia at the

beginning of January 2001 The Macedonian conflict lasted throughout most of the

year although overall casualties remained limited to several tens for either side

according to the sources from both of the sides in the conflict

BACKGROUND

On gaining independence from Yugoslavia Macedonia was set as a

republic with unicameral parliament a 120-seat National Assembly and a

popularly elected President Contrary to other former Yugoslav republics it

managed to separate from Yugoslavia without any real bloodshed For the first

seven years it was ruled by former socialists who prevented the country from

being drawn into any kind of conflict The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia

(SDSM) could not push through the necessary reforms of the society and

economy On the contrary during the 1990s it came under pressure for massive

corruption and connections to local Serbian and Albanian organized crime

mainly consisting of large-scale smugglers who acted against UN-imposed

embargoes on Former Yugoslavia Consequently this government was voted out

on parliamentary elections in 1998 in favour of a coalition of nationalist Internal

Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian

National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) Democratic Alternative (DA) and the

Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA)

ETHNIC TENSION

The new government immediately faced immense problems and began

losing popularity By November 2000 the DA withdrew from the coalition and

was replaced by the small Liberal Party Political scandals and economic

difficulties had a heavy impact on the government which was considered as

corrupt by the population as previous SDSM Clearly this situation had a severe

impact on relations between the ethnic Macedonian majority and ethnic Albanian

minority which were already tense ever since countrylsquos independence even if not

as bad as in Kosovo On one side the Albanians in Macedonia demanded greater

cultural and educational rights as well as representation in the government armed

forces and police on the other side large Serbian Macedonian and Albanian but

also Greek and Bulgarian smuggling bands were active in Macedonia in the

1990s Their business flourished as long as the UN embargos against FRY were in

force and while SDSM was in power almost nothing was done against their

activity

Ethnic map of the Republic of Macedonia much of the fighting was

concentrated on the territory with Albanian majority (orange)

History of the Republic of Macedonia

Chronological

National Liberation War of Macedonia (1941-1944)

Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1944-1991)

Republic of Macedonia (since 1991)

2001 Macedonia conflict (2001)

Topical

Military | ASNOM | NOF

Also see terminology and history

of the region of Macedonia

However the conflict between the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo and the

conduct of presidential elections in Macedonia in 1999 exacerbated inter-ethnic

tensions Charges of violence and ballot-stuffing highlighted tensions further

increased by a flood of 250000 Kosovar Albanian refugees on the height of the

Kosovo War Eventually even the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) became

present in Macedonia establishing bases and supply centres from which it was

dispatching fighters into FRY It did not last very long until some of Albanian

bands formed their own militias private ―bodyguards were available in sufficient

number - and omnipresent whenever specific local bosses felt their rights or

interests threatened Due to the uprisings and chaos in Albania in 1996 and then

the war in Kosovo there were now plenty of weapons available at low prices

Smuggling has long traditions in the Balkans and in the case of Macedonia

in the 1990s even top government officials were involved in different smuggling

operations with Kosovo and Albania which were mainly run by ethnic Albanians

During the crisis on Kosovo in 1998 and 1999 large stockpiles of weapons

intended for KLA were stored in depots in villages on the Macedonian border to

Kosovo Smuggling of fuels narcotics tobacco white slaves and even chocolate

was widespread and top Macedonian political brass was getting financial

compensation for doing nothing against such crimes Whoever protested within

the Macedonian authorities was removed from his post This dangerous

combination of ethnic tensions and organized crime now only needed a spark that

would cause the fire While redirecting smuggling channels from Kosovo to

Macedonia and gearing up the propaganda machine against the Macedonian

government especially among the ethnic Albanians living abroad the NLA began

attacking police and army personnel and facilities but then also public facilities

(like rail lines)

Overview

Macedonian Mil Mi-24V in action during the conflict against Albanian

insurgents

Beginning of the Albanian insurgency

The first actions by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia occurred in late 2000

and early 2001 mainly along Macedonialsquos border with the United Nations-

administered Serbian province of Kosovo The insurgents acted in a pattern similar

to the one seen in Kosovo in late 1997 and through 1998 according to which they

gradually took over one village after the other Any such efforts were initially

―peaceful the non-Albanian population being ―encouraged to leave But in

January-February 2001 combat actions against legitimate authorities begun

The government at first did nothing against the situation because it received

assurances that what was going on was not directed against Macedonia Satisfied

with the answer and their payments the authorities waited for almost two months ndash

and then the situation was almost immediately out of control in fact so much that

the government was taken by surprise

In January 2001 a group calling itself the National Liberation Army (NLA)

appeared claiming responsibility for attacks on police forces The leaders of this

NLA ndash including Ali Ahmeti and his uncle Fazli Veliu were all from Western

Macedonia They stated to have ―between several hundreds and thousands of

fighters under arms However they were not supported by either of the two main

ethnic Albanian political parties The Macedonian government claimed that the

rebels were actually members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who

infiltrated the country from Kosovo In fact the NLA-fighters considered Kosovo

as ―safe heaven where they could pull back in the case of larger Macedonian

actions against them

A squad of Macedonian security forces take lethal action to disarm two

Albanian insurgents armed with grenades

MACEDONIAN REPRISALS

After several attacks on Macedonian security forces Macedonians took to

the streets of some towns attacking and setting on fire Albanian-owned shops

mosques and houses Such attacks took place mainly in Prilep Skopje and Bitola

Local Macedonian citizens in Prilep demanded weapons to attack neighboring

Albanian-populated villages which they claimed needed to be done ―in order to

save Macedonia Those targeted in the attacks were mostly Albanians but also

Macedonian Muslims

AFTERMATH

CEASEFIRE AND DISARMAMENT

After the Ohrid Agreement the rebels agreed to cease-fire in June however

there were other agreements in August before settling on a final one in January

2002 Under the Ohrid Agreement the Macedonian government pledged to

improve the rights of the Albanian population that makes up just over 253 per

cent of the population Those rights include making Albanian language an official

language increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government

institutions police and army Most importantly under the Ohrid Agreement the

Macedonian government agreed to a new model of decentralization

The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully

recognize all Macedonian institutions In addition according to this accord the

NLA was to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force

Operation ―Essential Harvest was officially launched on 22 August and

effectively started on 27 August This 30-day mission involved approximately

3500 NATO and Macedonian troops to disarm the NLA and destroy their

weapons Just hours after NATO wrapped up the operation Ali Ahmeti told

reporters attending a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Sipkovica that he

was dissolving the National Liberation Army and that it was time for ethnic

reconciliation

Several months after the conflict some armed provocations persisted

Small bombings and shootings used to happen The most serious provocations

happened when three Macedonian police officers were killed in an ambush by

ethnic Albanian gunmen on November 12 2001

CASUALTIES AND DISPLACEMENT

Casualty figures remain uncertain By March 19 2001 the BBC reported

that Macedonian security forces claimed five of their soldiers were killed while

the NLA claimed it had killed 11 No definitive NLA casualty figures were cited

at the time On December 25 2001 the Alternative Information Network cited

figures of 63 deaths claimed by Macedonian security forces for their side and 64

deaths claimed by the NLA for their fighters About 60 ethnic Albanian civilians

are thought to have been killed (some say 1000) while possibly about ten ethnic

Macedonians died during the conflict (Macedonian authorities did not release

figures for the latter at the time some say there were 500) As of December 2005

the fate of twenty ―disappeared civilians mdash13 ethnic Macedonians six ethnic

Albanians and one Bulgarian citizenmdash remains unknown By August 2001 the

number of people displaced by the war reached 170000 of which 74000 displaced

internally As of January 2004 2600 remained displaced

ALLEGED WAR CRIMES

The most notable incident was the Ljuboten massacre A three-day

operation by Macedonian police against the predominantly ethnic Albanian village

of Ljuboten from August 10-12 2001 The operation left ten civilians dead and

resulted in the arrest of more than 100 men many of whom were severely beaten

while in police custody Contrary to assertions by the Macedonian government a

Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground in Ljuboten found no evidence

of a presence by the ethnic Albanian National Liberation The events that occurred

during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near Skopje in August 2001

led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs of the time Ljube

Boškoski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague

Although the conflict in Macedonia was brief it was not scant of war

crimes The most notable incident was the infamous Vejce massacre where

Albanian guerrillas killed 8 Macedonian soldiers and dismembered and

vandalized their corpses On another occasion Albanian guerrillas inscribed their

names with knives on the backs on some construction workers[11]

Images of the

massacre started local uprisings against Muslims such revolts included burning

and vandalising shops and mosques Surving members of the roadside patrol that

were massacred gave eyewitness testimony of the killings They claimed that the

massacre was carried out by a group of 10 bearded guerillas with knives The

witnesses said that only one of the victims were shot and the remaining 7 vitims

were slaughtered with knives and some were even burned alive[12]

Local residents

of the village where the massacre took place do not allow family members of the

victims to visit the site[13]

On another occasion NLA separatists shut down the Lipkovo Dam leaving

tens of thousands of civilians without water for weeks

Among other crimes the NLA militants blew up the 13th-century Orthodox

monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok and is now under reconstruction

In 2001 the US recognized the NLA as a terrorist organization[citation needed]

The Macedonian side did not restrict itself to the regularities of war The

events that happened during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near

Skopje in August 2001 led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs

of the time Ljube Boškovski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The

Hague Six ethnic Albanian civilians were killed there

MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS

Macedonian Muslims

Македонци Муслимани

Makedonski Muslimani

Total population

40000

(some sources claim 80000-200000)

Regions with significant populations

Republic of Macedonia

40ndash80000

Albania

80ndash120000

Languages

Macedonian Albanian Turkish

Religions

Islam

Related ethnic groups

other ethnic Macedonians Gorani Pomaks

Bosniaks all other South Slavs

The Macedonian Muslims (Macedonian Македонци Муслимани or

Makedonski Muslimani) also known as Muslim Macedonians or Torbesh (the

later name is somewhat pejorative and means the bag carriers) are a minority

religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians who are Sunni

Muslims although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity They have been

culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian Slavic Macedonian

community for centuries

ISLAMICISATION

The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Christian

Macedonians who converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman

Empire ruled the Balkans The main factor prompting their conversion was the

Ottoman Empire Non-Muslims were generally regarded by the state and Ottoman

society as being of a subordinate status They were treated differently under the

legal system being subjected to special taxes such as the jizya head tax Muslims

generally enjoyed a more favorable treatment from the law and the state For

example non-Muslims could not hold political or military office They also

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 7: Yugoslav Wars

Slobodan Milošević rises to power in Serbia Antibureaucratic revolution

demonstrations bring pro-Milošević governments to Vojvodina Kosovo and

Montenegro

1990

The League of Communists of Yugoslavia dissolves on republican and

ethnic lines at its 14th Congress [citation needed]

The first democratic elections are held in socialist Yugoslavia Nationalist

parties win the majority in almost all republics [citation needed]

Constitutional changes in Serbia revoke some of the powers granted to

Kosovo and Vojvodina effectively giving Serbia 3 out of 8 votes in the federal

council Along with allied Montenegro this gives extreme power to the Serbian

elite With these votes Serbian representatives attempt to institute martial law to

stop democratic changes - their attempt fails as Bosnialsquos representative (an ethnic

Serb) votes against in the crucial last vote

Croatian Serbs start a rebellion against the newly elected Croatian

government led by Franjo Tuđman

1991

Slovenia and Croatia declare independence War in Slovenia lasts ten days

The Yugoslav army leaves Slovenia but supports rebel Serb forces in

Croatia War begins in Croatia

Atrocities of Serb forces in Croatia lead to the creation of the term ethnic

cleansing Cities of Vukovar Dubrovnik and Osijek are devastated by constant

bombardments and shelling Flood of refugees from the war zones and ethnic

cleansing overwhelm Croatia

1992

Vance peace plan signed creating 4 UNPA zones for Serbs and ending

large scale fighting in Croatia

Macedonia and Bosnia declare independence Bosnian war begins

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia proclaimed consisting of Serbia and

Montenegro the only two remaining republics

United Nations impose sanctions against FR Yugoslavia and accepts

Slovenia Croatia and Bosnia as members

1993

Bosniak-Croat conflict in Bosnia begins

Fighting begins in the Bihać region between Bosnian Government and

Bosniaks loyal to Fikret Abdić

FR Yugoslavia due to sanctions and isolation is hit with by that time

never seen hyperinflation of 36 million percent a year of Yugoslav dinar This

amount of inflation exceeds the one in Great Depression 1929

The Stari Most (The Old Bridge) in Mostar built in 1566 was destroyed (it

is unknown by whom) It has been renovated in 2003

1994

Peace treaty between Bosniaks and Croats arbitrated by the United States

FR Yugoslavia stabilizes economy structure with Economic

Implementation Framework

1995

Srebrenica massacre reported 8000 Bosniaks killed

Croatia launches Operation Flash and Operation Storm reclaiming all

UNPA zones except Eastern Slavonia and resulting in exodus of 250000 Serbs

from the zones War in Croatia ends

NATO launches a series of air strikes on Bosnian Serb artillery and other

military targets

Dayton Agreement signed in Paris War in Bosnia and Herzegovina ends

Aftermath of war is over 100000 killed and missing and 25 million people

internally displaced among the former republics Serb defeat in Croatia and West

Bosnia allows Croatian and Bosniak refugees to return to their homes but many

refugees of all nationalities are still displaced today

After signing the Dayton Agreement Yugoslavia is granted with looser

sanctions still affecting much to its economy (trade tourism industrial production

and exports of final products) but being allowed for its citizens to exit

Yugoslavia for a limited time

1996

FR Yugoslavia recognizes Croatia and Bosnia amp Herzegovina

Following a fraud in local elections hundreds of thousands of Serbs

demonstrate in Belgrade against Milošević regime for three months

1998

Fighting breaks out between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanians in

Kosovo

Eastern Slavonia peacefully reintegrated into Croatia

1999

NATO starts the military campaign Operation Allied Force in Kosovo

Control of Kosovo is given to the United Nations but still remains a part of

Yugoslavialsquos federadion

Franjo Tuđman dies Shortly after that his party loses the elections

2000

Slobodan Milošević is voted out of office and Vojislav Koštunica becomes

new president of Yugoslavia

With Milošević a major political threat eliminated the World had no

reason to keep Yugoslavia any more isolated The political and economic

sanctions are suspended in total and FR Yugoslavia has been reinstated in most

political and economic organizations (ironically United Nations which the

Socialist Yugoslavia founded) as well as candidate for new ones (like EU)

2001

Brief Conflict in Southern Serbia between Albanian militants and Serbian

security forces

Conflict between Albanian militants and government in Macedonia

KLANLA are recognized by United States as a terrorist groups in total

They are considered to perpetrate all of actions to make the Kosovo and Metohija

completely ethnic Albanian driving out Christian population (mostly Serb and

Montenegrin) to flee and burning down their homes and sacred site like churches

monasteries and such causing previous retaliation of YugoslavSerbian police and

military force actions

2002

Milošević is put on trial in The Hague on charges of war crimes in Kosovo

2003

FR Yugoslavia becomes the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Alija Izetbegović dies

2006

Death of Ibrahim Rugova in Priština Kosovo Republic of Serbia State

Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Montenegrins declare independence from the state union with Serbia

Death of Slobodan Milošević in the Hague prison

2007

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) finds Serbia not guilty of

committing genocide in Bosnia but finds that it failed to prevent the genocide in

Srebrenica and hand over war criminals who are suspected to hide inside its

borders

2001 MACEDONIA CONFLICT

2001 Macedonia conflict

Part of the Yugoslav Wars

Macedonian special police forces in

Tetovo

Combatants

Republic of

Macedonia

National

Liberation Army

Commanders

Boris Trajkovski

Ljube Boškoski

Ali Ahmeti

Casualties

63 (Macedonian sources)

64 (NLA sources)

Civilian casualties

70 dead (60 ethnic Albanians 10 ethnic

Macedonians)

The 2001 Macedonia conflict was an armed conflict which began when

the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) militant group was

provoked into attacking the security forces of the Republic of Macedonia at the

beginning of January 2001 The Macedonian conflict lasted throughout most of the

year although overall casualties remained limited to several tens for either side

according to the sources from both of the sides in the conflict

BACKGROUND

On gaining independence from Yugoslavia Macedonia was set as a

republic with unicameral parliament a 120-seat National Assembly and a

popularly elected President Contrary to other former Yugoslav republics it

managed to separate from Yugoslavia without any real bloodshed For the first

seven years it was ruled by former socialists who prevented the country from

being drawn into any kind of conflict The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia

(SDSM) could not push through the necessary reforms of the society and

economy On the contrary during the 1990s it came under pressure for massive

corruption and connections to local Serbian and Albanian organized crime

mainly consisting of large-scale smugglers who acted against UN-imposed

embargoes on Former Yugoslavia Consequently this government was voted out

on parliamentary elections in 1998 in favour of a coalition of nationalist Internal

Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian

National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) Democratic Alternative (DA) and the

Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA)

ETHNIC TENSION

The new government immediately faced immense problems and began

losing popularity By November 2000 the DA withdrew from the coalition and

was replaced by the small Liberal Party Political scandals and economic

difficulties had a heavy impact on the government which was considered as

corrupt by the population as previous SDSM Clearly this situation had a severe

impact on relations between the ethnic Macedonian majority and ethnic Albanian

minority which were already tense ever since countrylsquos independence even if not

as bad as in Kosovo On one side the Albanians in Macedonia demanded greater

cultural and educational rights as well as representation in the government armed

forces and police on the other side large Serbian Macedonian and Albanian but

also Greek and Bulgarian smuggling bands were active in Macedonia in the

1990s Their business flourished as long as the UN embargos against FRY were in

force and while SDSM was in power almost nothing was done against their

activity

Ethnic map of the Republic of Macedonia much of the fighting was

concentrated on the territory with Albanian majority (orange)

History of the Republic of Macedonia

Chronological

National Liberation War of Macedonia (1941-1944)

Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1944-1991)

Republic of Macedonia (since 1991)

2001 Macedonia conflict (2001)

Topical

Military | ASNOM | NOF

Also see terminology and history

of the region of Macedonia

However the conflict between the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo and the

conduct of presidential elections in Macedonia in 1999 exacerbated inter-ethnic

tensions Charges of violence and ballot-stuffing highlighted tensions further

increased by a flood of 250000 Kosovar Albanian refugees on the height of the

Kosovo War Eventually even the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) became

present in Macedonia establishing bases and supply centres from which it was

dispatching fighters into FRY It did not last very long until some of Albanian

bands formed their own militias private ―bodyguards were available in sufficient

number - and omnipresent whenever specific local bosses felt their rights or

interests threatened Due to the uprisings and chaos in Albania in 1996 and then

the war in Kosovo there were now plenty of weapons available at low prices

Smuggling has long traditions in the Balkans and in the case of Macedonia

in the 1990s even top government officials were involved in different smuggling

operations with Kosovo and Albania which were mainly run by ethnic Albanians

During the crisis on Kosovo in 1998 and 1999 large stockpiles of weapons

intended for KLA were stored in depots in villages on the Macedonian border to

Kosovo Smuggling of fuels narcotics tobacco white slaves and even chocolate

was widespread and top Macedonian political brass was getting financial

compensation for doing nothing against such crimes Whoever protested within

the Macedonian authorities was removed from his post This dangerous

combination of ethnic tensions and organized crime now only needed a spark that

would cause the fire While redirecting smuggling channels from Kosovo to

Macedonia and gearing up the propaganda machine against the Macedonian

government especially among the ethnic Albanians living abroad the NLA began

attacking police and army personnel and facilities but then also public facilities

(like rail lines)

Overview

Macedonian Mil Mi-24V in action during the conflict against Albanian

insurgents

Beginning of the Albanian insurgency

The first actions by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia occurred in late 2000

and early 2001 mainly along Macedonialsquos border with the United Nations-

administered Serbian province of Kosovo The insurgents acted in a pattern similar

to the one seen in Kosovo in late 1997 and through 1998 according to which they

gradually took over one village after the other Any such efforts were initially

―peaceful the non-Albanian population being ―encouraged to leave But in

January-February 2001 combat actions against legitimate authorities begun

The government at first did nothing against the situation because it received

assurances that what was going on was not directed against Macedonia Satisfied

with the answer and their payments the authorities waited for almost two months ndash

and then the situation was almost immediately out of control in fact so much that

the government was taken by surprise

In January 2001 a group calling itself the National Liberation Army (NLA)

appeared claiming responsibility for attacks on police forces The leaders of this

NLA ndash including Ali Ahmeti and his uncle Fazli Veliu were all from Western

Macedonia They stated to have ―between several hundreds and thousands of

fighters under arms However they were not supported by either of the two main

ethnic Albanian political parties The Macedonian government claimed that the

rebels were actually members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who

infiltrated the country from Kosovo In fact the NLA-fighters considered Kosovo

as ―safe heaven where they could pull back in the case of larger Macedonian

actions against them

A squad of Macedonian security forces take lethal action to disarm two

Albanian insurgents armed with grenades

MACEDONIAN REPRISALS

After several attacks on Macedonian security forces Macedonians took to

the streets of some towns attacking and setting on fire Albanian-owned shops

mosques and houses Such attacks took place mainly in Prilep Skopje and Bitola

Local Macedonian citizens in Prilep demanded weapons to attack neighboring

Albanian-populated villages which they claimed needed to be done ―in order to

save Macedonia Those targeted in the attacks were mostly Albanians but also

Macedonian Muslims

AFTERMATH

CEASEFIRE AND DISARMAMENT

After the Ohrid Agreement the rebels agreed to cease-fire in June however

there were other agreements in August before settling on a final one in January

2002 Under the Ohrid Agreement the Macedonian government pledged to

improve the rights of the Albanian population that makes up just over 253 per

cent of the population Those rights include making Albanian language an official

language increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government

institutions police and army Most importantly under the Ohrid Agreement the

Macedonian government agreed to a new model of decentralization

The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully

recognize all Macedonian institutions In addition according to this accord the

NLA was to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force

Operation ―Essential Harvest was officially launched on 22 August and

effectively started on 27 August This 30-day mission involved approximately

3500 NATO and Macedonian troops to disarm the NLA and destroy their

weapons Just hours after NATO wrapped up the operation Ali Ahmeti told

reporters attending a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Sipkovica that he

was dissolving the National Liberation Army and that it was time for ethnic

reconciliation

Several months after the conflict some armed provocations persisted

Small bombings and shootings used to happen The most serious provocations

happened when three Macedonian police officers were killed in an ambush by

ethnic Albanian gunmen on November 12 2001

CASUALTIES AND DISPLACEMENT

Casualty figures remain uncertain By March 19 2001 the BBC reported

that Macedonian security forces claimed five of their soldiers were killed while

the NLA claimed it had killed 11 No definitive NLA casualty figures were cited

at the time On December 25 2001 the Alternative Information Network cited

figures of 63 deaths claimed by Macedonian security forces for their side and 64

deaths claimed by the NLA for their fighters About 60 ethnic Albanian civilians

are thought to have been killed (some say 1000) while possibly about ten ethnic

Macedonians died during the conflict (Macedonian authorities did not release

figures for the latter at the time some say there were 500) As of December 2005

the fate of twenty ―disappeared civilians mdash13 ethnic Macedonians six ethnic

Albanians and one Bulgarian citizenmdash remains unknown By August 2001 the

number of people displaced by the war reached 170000 of which 74000 displaced

internally As of January 2004 2600 remained displaced

ALLEGED WAR CRIMES

The most notable incident was the Ljuboten massacre A three-day

operation by Macedonian police against the predominantly ethnic Albanian village

of Ljuboten from August 10-12 2001 The operation left ten civilians dead and

resulted in the arrest of more than 100 men many of whom were severely beaten

while in police custody Contrary to assertions by the Macedonian government a

Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground in Ljuboten found no evidence

of a presence by the ethnic Albanian National Liberation The events that occurred

during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near Skopje in August 2001

led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs of the time Ljube

Boškoski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague

Although the conflict in Macedonia was brief it was not scant of war

crimes The most notable incident was the infamous Vejce massacre where

Albanian guerrillas killed 8 Macedonian soldiers and dismembered and

vandalized their corpses On another occasion Albanian guerrillas inscribed their

names with knives on the backs on some construction workers[11]

Images of the

massacre started local uprisings against Muslims such revolts included burning

and vandalising shops and mosques Surving members of the roadside patrol that

were massacred gave eyewitness testimony of the killings They claimed that the

massacre was carried out by a group of 10 bearded guerillas with knives The

witnesses said that only one of the victims were shot and the remaining 7 vitims

were slaughtered with knives and some were even burned alive[12]

Local residents

of the village where the massacre took place do not allow family members of the

victims to visit the site[13]

On another occasion NLA separatists shut down the Lipkovo Dam leaving

tens of thousands of civilians without water for weeks

Among other crimes the NLA militants blew up the 13th-century Orthodox

monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok and is now under reconstruction

In 2001 the US recognized the NLA as a terrorist organization[citation needed]

The Macedonian side did not restrict itself to the regularities of war The

events that happened during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near

Skopje in August 2001 led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs

of the time Ljube Boškovski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The

Hague Six ethnic Albanian civilians were killed there

MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS

Macedonian Muslims

Македонци Муслимани

Makedonski Muslimani

Total population

40000

(some sources claim 80000-200000)

Regions with significant populations

Republic of Macedonia

40ndash80000

Albania

80ndash120000

Languages

Macedonian Albanian Turkish

Religions

Islam

Related ethnic groups

other ethnic Macedonians Gorani Pomaks

Bosniaks all other South Slavs

The Macedonian Muslims (Macedonian Македонци Муслимани or

Makedonski Muslimani) also known as Muslim Macedonians or Torbesh (the

later name is somewhat pejorative and means the bag carriers) are a minority

religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians who are Sunni

Muslims although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity They have been

culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian Slavic Macedonian

community for centuries

ISLAMICISATION

The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Christian

Macedonians who converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman

Empire ruled the Balkans The main factor prompting their conversion was the

Ottoman Empire Non-Muslims were generally regarded by the state and Ottoman

society as being of a subordinate status They were treated differently under the

legal system being subjected to special taxes such as the jizya head tax Muslims

generally enjoyed a more favorable treatment from the law and the state For

example non-Muslims could not hold political or military office They also

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 8: Yugoslav Wars

United Nations impose sanctions against FR Yugoslavia and accepts

Slovenia Croatia and Bosnia as members

1993

Bosniak-Croat conflict in Bosnia begins

Fighting begins in the Bihać region between Bosnian Government and

Bosniaks loyal to Fikret Abdić

FR Yugoslavia due to sanctions and isolation is hit with by that time

never seen hyperinflation of 36 million percent a year of Yugoslav dinar This

amount of inflation exceeds the one in Great Depression 1929

The Stari Most (The Old Bridge) in Mostar built in 1566 was destroyed (it

is unknown by whom) It has been renovated in 2003

1994

Peace treaty between Bosniaks and Croats arbitrated by the United States

FR Yugoslavia stabilizes economy structure with Economic

Implementation Framework

1995

Srebrenica massacre reported 8000 Bosniaks killed

Croatia launches Operation Flash and Operation Storm reclaiming all

UNPA zones except Eastern Slavonia and resulting in exodus of 250000 Serbs

from the zones War in Croatia ends

NATO launches a series of air strikes on Bosnian Serb artillery and other

military targets

Dayton Agreement signed in Paris War in Bosnia and Herzegovina ends

Aftermath of war is over 100000 killed and missing and 25 million people

internally displaced among the former republics Serb defeat in Croatia and West

Bosnia allows Croatian and Bosniak refugees to return to their homes but many

refugees of all nationalities are still displaced today

After signing the Dayton Agreement Yugoslavia is granted with looser

sanctions still affecting much to its economy (trade tourism industrial production

and exports of final products) but being allowed for its citizens to exit

Yugoslavia for a limited time

1996

FR Yugoslavia recognizes Croatia and Bosnia amp Herzegovina

Following a fraud in local elections hundreds of thousands of Serbs

demonstrate in Belgrade against Milošević regime for three months

1998

Fighting breaks out between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanians in

Kosovo

Eastern Slavonia peacefully reintegrated into Croatia

1999

NATO starts the military campaign Operation Allied Force in Kosovo

Control of Kosovo is given to the United Nations but still remains a part of

Yugoslavialsquos federadion

Franjo Tuđman dies Shortly after that his party loses the elections

2000

Slobodan Milošević is voted out of office and Vojislav Koštunica becomes

new president of Yugoslavia

With Milošević a major political threat eliminated the World had no

reason to keep Yugoslavia any more isolated The political and economic

sanctions are suspended in total and FR Yugoslavia has been reinstated in most

political and economic organizations (ironically United Nations which the

Socialist Yugoslavia founded) as well as candidate for new ones (like EU)

2001

Brief Conflict in Southern Serbia between Albanian militants and Serbian

security forces

Conflict between Albanian militants and government in Macedonia

KLANLA are recognized by United States as a terrorist groups in total

They are considered to perpetrate all of actions to make the Kosovo and Metohija

completely ethnic Albanian driving out Christian population (mostly Serb and

Montenegrin) to flee and burning down their homes and sacred site like churches

monasteries and such causing previous retaliation of YugoslavSerbian police and

military force actions

2002

Milošević is put on trial in The Hague on charges of war crimes in Kosovo

2003

FR Yugoslavia becomes the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Alija Izetbegović dies

2006

Death of Ibrahim Rugova in Priština Kosovo Republic of Serbia State

Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Montenegrins declare independence from the state union with Serbia

Death of Slobodan Milošević in the Hague prison

2007

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) finds Serbia not guilty of

committing genocide in Bosnia but finds that it failed to prevent the genocide in

Srebrenica and hand over war criminals who are suspected to hide inside its

borders

2001 MACEDONIA CONFLICT

2001 Macedonia conflict

Part of the Yugoslav Wars

Macedonian special police forces in

Tetovo

Combatants

Republic of

Macedonia

National

Liberation Army

Commanders

Boris Trajkovski

Ljube Boškoski

Ali Ahmeti

Casualties

63 (Macedonian sources)

64 (NLA sources)

Civilian casualties

70 dead (60 ethnic Albanians 10 ethnic

Macedonians)

The 2001 Macedonia conflict was an armed conflict which began when

the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) militant group was

provoked into attacking the security forces of the Republic of Macedonia at the

beginning of January 2001 The Macedonian conflict lasted throughout most of the

year although overall casualties remained limited to several tens for either side

according to the sources from both of the sides in the conflict

BACKGROUND

On gaining independence from Yugoslavia Macedonia was set as a

republic with unicameral parliament a 120-seat National Assembly and a

popularly elected President Contrary to other former Yugoslav republics it

managed to separate from Yugoslavia without any real bloodshed For the first

seven years it was ruled by former socialists who prevented the country from

being drawn into any kind of conflict The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia

(SDSM) could not push through the necessary reforms of the society and

economy On the contrary during the 1990s it came under pressure for massive

corruption and connections to local Serbian and Albanian organized crime

mainly consisting of large-scale smugglers who acted against UN-imposed

embargoes on Former Yugoslavia Consequently this government was voted out

on parliamentary elections in 1998 in favour of a coalition of nationalist Internal

Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian

National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) Democratic Alternative (DA) and the

Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA)

ETHNIC TENSION

The new government immediately faced immense problems and began

losing popularity By November 2000 the DA withdrew from the coalition and

was replaced by the small Liberal Party Political scandals and economic

difficulties had a heavy impact on the government which was considered as

corrupt by the population as previous SDSM Clearly this situation had a severe

impact on relations between the ethnic Macedonian majority and ethnic Albanian

minority which were already tense ever since countrylsquos independence even if not

as bad as in Kosovo On one side the Albanians in Macedonia demanded greater

cultural and educational rights as well as representation in the government armed

forces and police on the other side large Serbian Macedonian and Albanian but

also Greek and Bulgarian smuggling bands were active in Macedonia in the

1990s Their business flourished as long as the UN embargos against FRY were in

force and while SDSM was in power almost nothing was done against their

activity

Ethnic map of the Republic of Macedonia much of the fighting was

concentrated on the territory with Albanian majority (orange)

History of the Republic of Macedonia

Chronological

National Liberation War of Macedonia (1941-1944)

Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1944-1991)

Republic of Macedonia (since 1991)

2001 Macedonia conflict (2001)

Topical

Military | ASNOM | NOF

Also see terminology and history

of the region of Macedonia

However the conflict between the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo and the

conduct of presidential elections in Macedonia in 1999 exacerbated inter-ethnic

tensions Charges of violence and ballot-stuffing highlighted tensions further

increased by a flood of 250000 Kosovar Albanian refugees on the height of the

Kosovo War Eventually even the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) became

present in Macedonia establishing bases and supply centres from which it was

dispatching fighters into FRY It did not last very long until some of Albanian

bands formed their own militias private ―bodyguards were available in sufficient

number - and omnipresent whenever specific local bosses felt their rights or

interests threatened Due to the uprisings and chaos in Albania in 1996 and then

the war in Kosovo there were now plenty of weapons available at low prices

Smuggling has long traditions in the Balkans and in the case of Macedonia

in the 1990s even top government officials were involved in different smuggling

operations with Kosovo and Albania which were mainly run by ethnic Albanians

During the crisis on Kosovo in 1998 and 1999 large stockpiles of weapons

intended for KLA were stored in depots in villages on the Macedonian border to

Kosovo Smuggling of fuels narcotics tobacco white slaves and even chocolate

was widespread and top Macedonian political brass was getting financial

compensation for doing nothing against such crimes Whoever protested within

the Macedonian authorities was removed from his post This dangerous

combination of ethnic tensions and organized crime now only needed a spark that

would cause the fire While redirecting smuggling channels from Kosovo to

Macedonia and gearing up the propaganda machine against the Macedonian

government especially among the ethnic Albanians living abroad the NLA began

attacking police and army personnel and facilities but then also public facilities

(like rail lines)

Overview

Macedonian Mil Mi-24V in action during the conflict against Albanian

insurgents

Beginning of the Albanian insurgency

The first actions by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia occurred in late 2000

and early 2001 mainly along Macedonialsquos border with the United Nations-

administered Serbian province of Kosovo The insurgents acted in a pattern similar

to the one seen in Kosovo in late 1997 and through 1998 according to which they

gradually took over one village after the other Any such efforts were initially

―peaceful the non-Albanian population being ―encouraged to leave But in

January-February 2001 combat actions against legitimate authorities begun

The government at first did nothing against the situation because it received

assurances that what was going on was not directed against Macedonia Satisfied

with the answer and their payments the authorities waited for almost two months ndash

and then the situation was almost immediately out of control in fact so much that

the government was taken by surprise

In January 2001 a group calling itself the National Liberation Army (NLA)

appeared claiming responsibility for attacks on police forces The leaders of this

NLA ndash including Ali Ahmeti and his uncle Fazli Veliu were all from Western

Macedonia They stated to have ―between several hundreds and thousands of

fighters under arms However they were not supported by either of the two main

ethnic Albanian political parties The Macedonian government claimed that the

rebels were actually members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who

infiltrated the country from Kosovo In fact the NLA-fighters considered Kosovo

as ―safe heaven where they could pull back in the case of larger Macedonian

actions against them

A squad of Macedonian security forces take lethal action to disarm two

Albanian insurgents armed with grenades

MACEDONIAN REPRISALS

After several attacks on Macedonian security forces Macedonians took to

the streets of some towns attacking and setting on fire Albanian-owned shops

mosques and houses Such attacks took place mainly in Prilep Skopje and Bitola

Local Macedonian citizens in Prilep demanded weapons to attack neighboring

Albanian-populated villages which they claimed needed to be done ―in order to

save Macedonia Those targeted in the attacks were mostly Albanians but also

Macedonian Muslims

AFTERMATH

CEASEFIRE AND DISARMAMENT

After the Ohrid Agreement the rebels agreed to cease-fire in June however

there were other agreements in August before settling on a final one in January

2002 Under the Ohrid Agreement the Macedonian government pledged to

improve the rights of the Albanian population that makes up just over 253 per

cent of the population Those rights include making Albanian language an official

language increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government

institutions police and army Most importantly under the Ohrid Agreement the

Macedonian government agreed to a new model of decentralization

The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully

recognize all Macedonian institutions In addition according to this accord the

NLA was to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force

Operation ―Essential Harvest was officially launched on 22 August and

effectively started on 27 August This 30-day mission involved approximately

3500 NATO and Macedonian troops to disarm the NLA and destroy their

weapons Just hours after NATO wrapped up the operation Ali Ahmeti told

reporters attending a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Sipkovica that he

was dissolving the National Liberation Army and that it was time for ethnic

reconciliation

Several months after the conflict some armed provocations persisted

Small bombings and shootings used to happen The most serious provocations

happened when three Macedonian police officers were killed in an ambush by

ethnic Albanian gunmen on November 12 2001

CASUALTIES AND DISPLACEMENT

Casualty figures remain uncertain By March 19 2001 the BBC reported

that Macedonian security forces claimed five of their soldiers were killed while

the NLA claimed it had killed 11 No definitive NLA casualty figures were cited

at the time On December 25 2001 the Alternative Information Network cited

figures of 63 deaths claimed by Macedonian security forces for their side and 64

deaths claimed by the NLA for their fighters About 60 ethnic Albanian civilians

are thought to have been killed (some say 1000) while possibly about ten ethnic

Macedonians died during the conflict (Macedonian authorities did not release

figures for the latter at the time some say there were 500) As of December 2005

the fate of twenty ―disappeared civilians mdash13 ethnic Macedonians six ethnic

Albanians and one Bulgarian citizenmdash remains unknown By August 2001 the

number of people displaced by the war reached 170000 of which 74000 displaced

internally As of January 2004 2600 remained displaced

ALLEGED WAR CRIMES

The most notable incident was the Ljuboten massacre A three-day

operation by Macedonian police against the predominantly ethnic Albanian village

of Ljuboten from August 10-12 2001 The operation left ten civilians dead and

resulted in the arrest of more than 100 men many of whom were severely beaten

while in police custody Contrary to assertions by the Macedonian government a

Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground in Ljuboten found no evidence

of a presence by the ethnic Albanian National Liberation The events that occurred

during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near Skopje in August 2001

led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs of the time Ljube

Boškoski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague

Although the conflict in Macedonia was brief it was not scant of war

crimes The most notable incident was the infamous Vejce massacre where

Albanian guerrillas killed 8 Macedonian soldiers and dismembered and

vandalized their corpses On another occasion Albanian guerrillas inscribed their

names with knives on the backs on some construction workers[11]

Images of the

massacre started local uprisings against Muslims such revolts included burning

and vandalising shops and mosques Surving members of the roadside patrol that

were massacred gave eyewitness testimony of the killings They claimed that the

massacre was carried out by a group of 10 bearded guerillas with knives The

witnesses said that only one of the victims were shot and the remaining 7 vitims

were slaughtered with knives and some were even burned alive[12]

Local residents

of the village where the massacre took place do not allow family members of the

victims to visit the site[13]

On another occasion NLA separatists shut down the Lipkovo Dam leaving

tens of thousands of civilians without water for weeks

Among other crimes the NLA militants blew up the 13th-century Orthodox

monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok and is now under reconstruction

In 2001 the US recognized the NLA as a terrorist organization[citation needed]

The Macedonian side did not restrict itself to the regularities of war The

events that happened during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near

Skopje in August 2001 led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs

of the time Ljube Boškovski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The

Hague Six ethnic Albanian civilians were killed there

MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS

Macedonian Muslims

Македонци Муслимани

Makedonski Muslimani

Total population

40000

(some sources claim 80000-200000)

Regions with significant populations

Republic of Macedonia

40ndash80000

Albania

80ndash120000

Languages

Macedonian Albanian Turkish

Religions

Islam

Related ethnic groups

other ethnic Macedonians Gorani Pomaks

Bosniaks all other South Slavs

The Macedonian Muslims (Macedonian Македонци Муслимани or

Makedonski Muslimani) also known as Muslim Macedonians or Torbesh (the

later name is somewhat pejorative and means the bag carriers) are a minority

religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians who are Sunni

Muslims although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity They have been

culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian Slavic Macedonian

community for centuries

ISLAMICISATION

The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Christian

Macedonians who converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman

Empire ruled the Balkans The main factor prompting their conversion was the

Ottoman Empire Non-Muslims were generally regarded by the state and Ottoman

society as being of a subordinate status They were treated differently under the

legal system being subjected to special taxes such as the jizya head tax Muslims

generally enjoyed a more favorable treatment from the law and the state For

example non-Muslims could not hold political or military office They also

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 9: Yugoslav Wars

and exports of final products) but being allowed for its citizens to exit

Yugoslavia for a limited time

1996

FR Yugoslavia recognizes Croatia and Bosnia amp Herzegovina

Following a fraud in local elections hundreds of thousands of Serbs

demonstrate in Belgrade against Milošević regime for three months

1998

Fighting breaks out between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanians in

Kosovo

Eastern Slavonia peacefully reintegrated into Croatia

1999

NATO starts the military campaign Operation Allied Force in Kosovo

Control of Kosovo is given to the United Nations but still remains a part of

Yugoslavialsquos federadion

Franjo Tuđman dies Shortly after that his party loses the elections

2000

Slobodan Milošević is voted out of office and Vojislav Koštunica becomes

new president of Yugoslavia

With Milošević a major political threat eliminated the World had no

reason to keep Yugoslavia any more isolated The political and economic

sanctions are suspended in total and FR Yugoslavia has been reinstated in most

political and economic organizations (ironically United Nations which the

Socialist Yugoslavia founded) as well as candidate for new ones (like EU)

2001

Brief Conflict in Southern Serbia between Albanian militants and Serbian

security forces

Conflict between Albanian militants and government in Macedonia

KLANLA are recognized by United States as a terrorist groups in total

They are considered to perpetrate all of actions to make the Kosovo and Metohija

completely ethnic Albanian driving out Christian population (mostly Serb and

Montenegrin) to flee and burning down their homes and sacred site like churches

monasteries and such causing previous retaliation of YugoslavSerbian police and

military force actions

2002

Milošević is put on trial in The Hague on charges of war crimes in Kosovo

2003

FR Yugoslavia becomes the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Alija Izetbegović dies

2006

Death of Ibrahim Rugova in Priština Kosovo Republic of Serbia State

Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Montenegrins declare independence from the state union with Serbia

Death of Slobodan Milošević in the Hague prison

2007

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) finds Serbia not guilty of

committing genocide in Bosnia but finds that it failed to prevent the genocide in

Srebrenica and hand over war criminals who are suspected to hide inside its

borders

2001 MACEDONIA CONFLICT

2001 Macedonia conflict

Part of the Yugoslav Wars

Macedonian special police forces in

Tetovo

Combatants

Republic of

Macedonia

National

Liberation Army

Commanders

Boris Trajkovski

Ljube Boškoski

Ali Ahmeti

Casualties

63 (Macedonian sources)

64 (NLA sources)

Civilian casualties

70 dead (60 ethnic Albanians 10 ethnic

Macedonians)

The 2001 Macedonia conflict was an armed conflict which began when

the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) militant group was

provoked into attacking the security forces of the Republic of Macedonia at the

beginning of January 2001 The Macedonian conflict lasted throughout most of the

year although overall casualties remained limited to several tens for either side

according to the sources from both of the sides in the conflict

BACKGROUND

On gaining independence from Yugoslavia Macedonia was set as a

republic with unicameral parliament a 120-seat National Assembly and a

popularly elected President Contrary to other former Yugoslav republics it

managed to separate from Yugoslavia without any real bloodshed For the first

seven years it was ruled by former socialists who prevented the country from

being drawn into any kind of conflict The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia

(SDSM) could not push through the necessary reforms of the society and

economy On the contrary during the 1990s it came under pressure for massive

corruption and connections to local Serbian and Albanian organized crime

mainly consisting of large-scale smugglers who acted against UN-imposed

embargoes on Former Yugoslavia Consequently this government was voted out

on parliamentary elections in 1998 in favour of a coalition of nationalist Internal

Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian

National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) Democratic Alternative (DA) and the

Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA)

ETHNIC TENSION

The new government immediately faced immense problems and began

losing popularity By November 2000 the DA withdrew from the coalition and

was replaced by the small Liberal Party Political scandals and economic

difficulties had a heavy impact on the government which was considered as

corrupt by the population as previous SDSM Clearly this situation had a severe

impact on relations between the ethnic Macedonian majority and ethnic Albanian

minority which were already tense ever since countrylsquos independence even if not

as bad as in Kosovo On one side the Albanians in Macedonia demanded greater

cultural and educational rights as well as representation in the government armed

forces and police on the other side large Serbian Macedonian and Albanian but

also Greek and Bulgarian smuggling bands were active in Macedonia in the

1990s Their business flourished as long as the UN embargos against FRY were in

force and while SDSM was in power almost nothing was done against their

activity

Ethnic map of the Republic of Macedonia much of the fighting was

concentrated on the territory with Albanian majority (orange)

History of the Republic of Macedonia

Chronological

National Liberation War of Macedonia (1941-1944)

Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1944-1991)

Republic of Macedonia (since 1991)

2001 Macedonia conflict (2001)

Topical

Military | ASNOM | NOF

Also see terminology and history

of the region of Macedonia

However the conflict between the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo and the

conduct of presidential elections in Macedonia in 1999 exacerbated inter-ethnic

tensions Charges of violence and ballot-stuffing highlighted tensions further

increased by a flood of 250000 Kosovar Albanian refugees on the height of the

Kosovo War Eventually even the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) became

present in Macedonia establishing bases and supply centres from which it was

dispatching fighters into FRY It did not last very long until some of Albanian

bands formed their own militias private ―bodyguards were available in sufficient

number - and omnipresent whenever specific local bosses felt their rights or

interests threatened Due to the uprisings and chaos in Albania in 1996 and then

the war in Kosovo there were now plenty of weapons available at low prices

Smuggling has long traditions in the Balkans and in the case of Macedonia

in the 1990s even top government officials were involved in different smuggling

operations with Kosovo and Albania which were mainly run by ethnic Albanians

During the crisis on Kosovo in 1998 and 1999 large stockpiles of weapons

intended for KLA were stored in depots in villages on the Macedonian border to

Kosovo Smuggling of fuels narcotics tobacco white slaves and even chocolate

was widespread and top Macedonian political brass was getting financial

compensation for doing nothing against such crimes Whoever protested within

the Macedonian authorities was removed from his post This dangerous

combination of ethnic tensions and organized crime now only needed a spark that

would cause the fire While redirecting smuggling channels from Kosovo to

Macedonia and gearing up the propaganda machine against the Macedonian

government especially among the ethnic Albanians living abroad the NLA began

attacking police and army personnel and facilities but then also public facilities

(like rail lines)

Overview

Macedonian Mil Mi-24V in action during the conflict against Albanian

insurgents

Beginning of the Albanian insurgency

The first actions by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia occurred in late 2000

and early 2001 mainly along Macedonialsquos border with the United Nations-

administered Serbian province of Kosovo The insurgents acted in a pattern similar

to the one seen in Kosovo in late 1997 and through 1998 according to which they

gradually took over one village after the other Any such efforts were initially

―peaceful the non-Albanian population being ―encouraged to leave But in

January-February 2001 combat actions against legitimate authorities begun

The government at first did nothing against the situation because it received

assurances that what was going on was not directed against Macedonia Satisfied

with the answer and their payments the authorities waited for almost two months ndash

and then the situation was almost immediately out of control in fact so much that

the government was taken by surprise

In January 2001 a group calling itself the National Liberation Army (NLA)

appeared claiming responsibility for attacks on police forces The leaders of this

NLA ndash including Ali Ahmeti and his uncle Fazli Veliu were all from Western

Macedonia They stated to have ―between several hundreds and thousands of

fighters under arms However they were not supported by either of the two main

ethnic Albanian political parties The Macedonian government claimed that the

rebels were actually members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who

infiltrated the country from Kosovo In fact the NLA-fighters considered Kosovo

as ―safe heaven where they could pull back in the case of larger Macedonian

actions against them

A squad of Macedonian security forces take lethal action to disarm two

Albanian insurgents armed with grenades

MACEDONIAN REPRISALS

After several attacks on Macedonian security forces Macedonians took to

the streets of some towns attacking and setting on fire Albanian-owned shops

mosques and houses Such attacks took place mainly in Prilep Skopje and Bitola

Local Macedonian citizens in Prilep demanded weapons to attack neighboring

Albanian-populated villages which they claimed needed to be done ―in order to

save Macedonia Those targeted in the attacks were mostly Albanians but also

Macedonian Muslims

AFTERMATH

CEASEFIRE AND DISARMAMENT

After the Ohrid Agreement the rebels agreed to cease-fire in June however

there were other agreements in August before settling on a final one in January

2002 Under the Ohrid Agreement the Macedonian government pledged to

improve the rights of the Albanian population that makes up just over 253 per

cent of the population Those rights include making Albanian language an official

language increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government

institutions police and army Most importantly under the Ohrid Agreement the

Macedonian government agreed to a new model of decentralization

The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully

recognize all Macedonian institutions In addition according to this accord the

NLA was to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force

Operation ―Essential Harvest was officially launched on 22 August and

effectively started on 27 August This 30-day mission involved approximately

3500 NATO and Macedonian troops to disarm the NLA and destroy their

weapons Just hours after NATO wrapped up the operation Ali Ahmeti told

reporters attending a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Sipkovica that he

was dissolving the National Liberation Army and that it was time for ethnic

reconciliation

Several months after the conflict some armed provocations persisted

Small bombings and shootings used to happen The most serious provocations

happened when three Macedonian police officers were killed in an ambush by

ethnic Albanian gunmen on November 12 2001

CASUALTIES AND DISPLACEMENT

Casualty figures remain uncertain By March 19 2001 the BBC reported

that Macedonian security forces claimed five of their soldiers were killed while

the NLA claimed it had killed 11 No definitive NLA casualty figures were cited

at the time On December 25 2001 the Alternative Information Network cited

figures of 63 deaths claimed by Macedonian security forces for their side and 64

deaths claimed by the NLA for their fighters About 60 ethnic Albanian civilians

are thought to have been killed (some say 1000) while possibly about ten ethnic

Macedonians died during the conflict (Macedonian authorities did not release

figures for the latter at the time some say there were 500) As of December 2005

the fate of twenty ―disappeared civilians mdash13 ethnic Macedonians six ethnic

Albanians and one Bulgarian citizenmdash remains unknown By August 2001 the

number of people displaced by the war reached 170000 of which 74000 displaced

internally As of January 2004 2600 remained displaced

ALLEGED WAR CRIMES

The most notable incident was the Ljuboten massacre A three-day

operation by Macedonian police against the predominantly ethnic Albanian village

of Ljuboten from August 10-12 2001 The operation left ten civilians dead and

resulted in the arrest of more than 100 men many of whom were severely beaten

while in police custody Contrary to assertions by the Macedonian government a

Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground in Ljuboten found no evidence

of a presence by the ethnic Albanian National Liberation The events that occurred

during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near Skopje in August 2001

led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs of the time Ljube

Boškoski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague

Although the conflict in Macedonia was brief it was not scant of war

crimes The most notable incident was the infamous Vejce massacre where

Albanian guerrillas killed 8 Macedonian soldiers and dismembered and

vandalized their corpses On another occasion Albanian guerrillas inscribed their

names with knives on the backs on some construction workers[11]

Images of the

massacre started local uprisings against Muslims such revolts included burning

and vandalising shops and mosques Surving members of the roadside patrol that

were massacred gave eyewitness testimony of the killings They claimed that the

massacre was carried out by a group of 10 bearded guerillas with knives The

witnesses said that only one of the victims were shot and the remaining 7 vitims

were slaughtered with knives and some were even burned alive[12]

Local residents

of the village where the massacre took place do not allow family members of the

victims to visit the site[13]

On another occasion NLA separatists shut down the Lipkovo Dam leaving

tens of thousands of civilians without water for weeks

Among other crimes the NLA militants blew up the 13th-century Orthodox

monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok and is now under reconstruction

In 2001 the US recognized the NLA as a terrorist organization[citation needed]

The Macedonian side did not restrict itself to the regularities of war The

events that happened during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near

Skopje in August 2001 led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs

of the time Ljube Boškovski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The

Hague Six ethnic Albanian civilians were killed there

MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS

Macedonian Muslims

Македонци Муслимани

Makedonski Muslimani

Total population

40000

(some sources claim 80000-200000)

Regions with significant populations

Republic of Macedonia

40ndash80000

Albania

80ndash120000

Languages

Macedonian Albanian Turkish

Religions

Islam

Related ethnic groups

other ethnic Macedonians Gorani Pomaks

Bosniaks all other South Slavs

The Macedonian Muslims (Macedonian Македонци Муслимани or

Makedonski Muslimani) also known as Muslim Macedonians or Torbesh (the

later name is somewhat pejorative and means the bag carriers) are a minority

religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians who are Sunni

Muslims although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity They have been

culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian Slavic Macedonian

community for centuries

ISLAMICISATION

The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Christian

Macedonians who converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman

Empire ruled the Balkans The main factor prompting their conversion was the

Ottoman Empire Non-Muslims were generally regarded by the state and Ottoman

society as being of a subordinate status They were treated differently under the

legal system being subjected to special taxes such as the jizya head tax Muslims

generally enjoyed a more favorable treatment from the law and the state For

example non-Muslims could not hold political or military office They also

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 10: Yugoslav Wars

Montenegrin) to flee and burning down their homes and sacred site like churches

monasteries and such causing previous retaliation of YugoslavSerbian police and

military force actions

2002

Milošević is put on trial in The Hague on charges of war crimes in Kosovo

2003

FR Yugoslavia becomes the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Alija Izetbegović dies

2006

Death of Ibrahim Rugova in Priština Kosovo Republic of Serbia State

Union of Serbia and Montenegro

Montenegrins declare independence from the state union with Serbia

Death of Slobodan Milošević in the Hague prison

2007

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) finds Serbia not guilty of

committing genocide in Bosnia but finds that it failed to prevent the genocide in

Srebrenica and hand over war criminals who are suspected to hide inside its

borders

2001 MACEDONIA CONFLICT

2001 Macedonia conflict

Part of the Yugoslav Wars

Macedonian special police forces in

Tetovo

Combatants

Republic of

Macedonia

National

Liberation Army

Commanders

Boris Trajkovski

Ljube Boškoski

Ali Ahmeti

Casualties

63 (Macedonian sources)

64 (NLA sources)

Civilian casualties

70 dead (60 ethnic Albanians 10 ethnic

Macedonians)

The 2001 Macedonia conflict was an armed conflict which began when

the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) militant group was

provoked into attacking the security forces of the Republic of Macedonia at the

beginning of January 2001 The Macedonian conflict lasted throughout most of the

year although overall casualties remained limited to several tens for either side

according to the sources from both of the sides in the conflict

BACKGROUND

On gaining independence from Yugoslavia Macedonia was set as a

republic with unicameral parliament a 120-seat National Assembly and a

popularly elected President Contrary to other former Yugoslav republics it

managed to separate from Yugoslavia without any real bloodshed For the first

seven years it was ruled by former socialists who prevented the country from

being drawn into any kind of conflict The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia

(SDSM) could not push through the necessary reforms of the society and

economy On the contrary during the 1990s it came under pressure for massive

corruption and connections to local Serbian and Albanian organized crime

mainly consisting of large-scale smugglers who acted against UN-imposed

embargoes on Former Yugoslavia Consequently this government was voted out

on parliamentary elections in 1998 in favour of a coalition of nationalist Internal

Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian

National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) Democratic Alternative (DA) and the

Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA)

ETHNIC TENSION

The new government immediately faced immense problems and began

losing popularity By November 2000 the DA withdrew from the coalition and

was replaced by the small Liberal Party Political scandals and economic

difficulties had a heavy impact on the government which was considered as

corrupt by the population as previous SDSM Clearly this situation had a severe

impact on relations between the ethnic Macedonian majority and ethnic Albanian

minority which were already tense ever since countrylsquos independence even if not

as bad as in Kosovo On one side the Albanians in Macedonia demanded greater

cultural and educational rights as well as representation in the government armed

forces and police on the other side large Serbian Macedonian and Albanian but

also Greek and Bulgarian smuggling bands were active in Macedonia in the

1990s Their business flourished as long as the UN embargos against FRY were in

force and while SDSM was in power almost nothing was done against their

activity

Ethnic map of the Republic of Macedonia much of the fighting was

concentrated on the territory with Albanian majority (orange)

History of the Republic of Macedonia

Chronological

National Liberation War of Macedonia (1941-1944)

Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1944-1991)

Republic of Macedonia (since 1991)

2001 Macedonia conflict (2001)

Topical

Military | ASNOM | NOF

Also see terminology and history

of the region of Macedonia

However the conflict between the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo and the

conduct of presidential elections in Macedonia in 1999 exacerbated inter-ethnic

tensions Charges of violence and ballot-stuffing highlighted tensions further

increased by a flood of 250000 Kosovar Albanian refugees on the height of the

Kosovo War Eventually even the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) became

present in Macedonia establishing bases and supply centres from which it was

dispatching fighters into FRY It did not last very long until some of Albanian

bands formed their own militias private ―bodyguards were available in sufficient

number - and omnipresent whenever specific local bosses felt their rights or

interests threatened Due to the uprisings and chaos in Albania in 1996 and then

the war in Kosovo there were now plenty of weapons available at low prices

Smuggling has long traditions in the Balkans and in the case of Macedonia

in the 1990s even top government officials were involved in different smuggling

operations with Kosovo and Albania which were mainly run by ethnic Albanians

During the crisis on Kosovo in 1998 and 1999 large stockpiles of weapons

intended for KLA were stored in depots in villages on the Macedonian border to

Kosovo Smuggling of fuels narcotics tobacco white slaves and even chocolate

was widespread and top Macedonian political brass was getting financial

compensation for doing nothing against such crimes Whoever protested within

the Macedonian authorities was removed from his post This dangerous

combination of ethnic tensions and organized crime now only needed a spark that

would cause the fire While redirecting smuggling channels from Kosovo to

Macedonia and gearing up the propaganda machine against the Macedonian

government especially among the ethnic Albanians living abroad the NLA began

attacking police and army personnel and facilities but then also public facilities

(like rail lines)

Overview

Macedonian Mil Mi-24V in action during the conflict against Albanian

insurgents

Beginning of the Albanian insurgency

The first actions by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia occurred in late 2000

and early 2001 mainly along Macedonialsquos border with the United Nations-

administered Serbian province of Kosovo The insurgents acted in a pattern similar

to the one seen in Kosovo in late 1997 and through 1998 according to which they

gradually took over one village after the other Any such efforts were initially

―peaceful the non-Albanian population being ―encouraged to leave But in

January-February 2001 combat actions against legitimate authorities begun

The government at first did nothing against the situation because it received

assurances that what was going on was not directed against Macedonia Satisfied

with the answer and their payments the authorities waited for almost two months ndash

and then the situation was almost immediately out of control in fact so much that

the government was taken by surprise

In January 2001 a group calling itself the National Liberation Army (NLA)

appeared claiming responsibility for attacks on police forces The leaders of this

NLA ndash including Ali Ahmeti and his uncle Fazli Veliu were all from Western

Macedonia They stated to have ―between several hundreds and thousands of

fighters under arms However they were not supported by either of the two main

ethnic Albanian political parties The Macedonian government claimed that the

rebels were actually members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who

infiltrated the country from Kosovo In fact the NLA-fighters considered Kosovo

as ―safe heaven where they could pull back in the case of larger Macedonian

actions against them

A squad of Macedonian security forces take lethal action to disarm two

Albanian insurgents armed with grenades

MACEDONIAN REPRISALS

After several attacks on Macedonian security forces Macedonians took to

the streets of some towns attacking and setting on fire Albanian-owned shops

mosques and houses Such attacks took place mainly in Prilep Skopje and Bitola

Local Macedonian citizens in Prilep demanded weapons to attack neighboring

Albanian-populated villages which they claimed needed to be done ―in order to

save Macedonia Those targeted in the attacks were mostly Albanians but also

Macedonian Muslims

AFTERMATH

CEASEFIRE AND DISARMAMENT

After the Ohrid Agreement the rebels agreed to cease-fire in June however

there were other agreements in August before settling on a final one in January

2002 Under the Ohrid Agreement the Macedonian government pledged to

improve the rights of the Albanian population that makes up just over 253 per

cent of the population Those rights include making Albanian language an official

language increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government

institutions police and army Most importantly under the Ohrid Agreement the

Macedonian government agreed to a new model of decentralization

The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully

recognize all Macedonian institutions In addition according to this accord the

NLA was to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force

Operation ―Essential Harvest was officially launched on 22 August and

effectively started on 27 August This 30-day mission involved approximately

3500 NATO and Macedonian troops to disarm the NLA and destroy their

weapons Just hours after NATO wrapped up the operation Ali Ahmeti told

reporters attending a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Sipkovica that he

was dissolving the National Liberation Army and that it was time for ethnic

reconciliation

Several months after the conflict some armed provocations persisted

Small bombings and shootings used to happen The most serious provocations

happened when three Macedonian police officers were killed in an ambush by

ethnic Albanian gunmen on November 12 2001

CASUALTIES AND DISPLACEMENT

Casualty figures remain uncertain By March 19 2001 the BBC reported

that Macedonian security forces claimed five of their soldiers were killed while

the NLA claimed it had killed 11 No definitive NLA casualty figures were cited

at the time On December 25 2001 the Alternative Information Network cited

figures of 63 deaths claimed by Macedonian security forces for their side and 64

deaths claimed by the NLA for their fighters About 60 ethnic Albanian civilians

are thought to have been killed (some say 1000) while possibly about ten ethnic

Macedonians died during the conflict (Macedonian authorities did not release

figures for the latter at the time some say there were 500) As of December 2005

the fate of twenty ―disappeared civilians mdash13 ethnic Macedonians six ethnic

Albanians and one Bulgarian citizenmdash remains unknown By August 2001 the

number of people displaced by the war reached 170000 of which 74000 displaced

internally As of January 2004 2600 remained displaced

ALLEGED WAR CRIMES

The most notable incident was the Ljuboten massacre A three-day

operation by Macedonian police against the predominantly ethnic Albanian village

of Ljuboten from August 10-12 2001 The operation left ten civilians dead and

resulted in the arrest of more than 100 men many of whom were severely beaten

while in police custody Contrary to assertions by the Macedonian government a

Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground in Ljuboten found no evidence

of a presence by the ethnic Albanian National Liberation The events that occurred

during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near Skopje in August 2001

led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs of the time Ljube

Boškoski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague

Although the conflict in Macedonia was brief it was not scant of war

crimes The most notable incident was the infamous Vejce massacre where

Albanian guerrillas killed 8 Macedonian soldiers and dismembered and

vandalized their corpses On another occasion Albanian guerrillas inscribed their

names with knives on the backs on some construction workers[11]

Images of the

massacre started local uprisings against Muslims such revolts included burning

and vandalising shops and mosques Surving members of the roadside patrol that

were massacred gave eyewitness testimony of the killings They claimed that the

massacre was carried out by a group of 10 bearded guerillas with knives The

witnesses said that only one of the victims were shot and the remaining 7 vitims

were slaughtered with knives and some were even burned alive[12]

Local residents

of the village where the massacre took place do not allow family members of the

victims to visit the site[13]

On another occasion NLA separatists shut down the Lipkovo Dam leaving

tens of thousands of civilians without water for weeks

Among other crimes the NLA militants blew up the 13th-century Orthodox

monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok and is now under reconstruction

In 2001 the US recognized the NLA as a terrorist organization[citation needed]

The Macedonian side did not restrict itself to the regularities of war The

events that happened during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near

Skopje in August 2001 led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs

of the time Ljube Boškovski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The

Hague Six ethnic Albanian civilians were killed there

MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS

Macedonian Muslims

Македонци Муслимани

Makedonski Muslimani

Total population

40000

(some sources claim 80000-200000)

Regions with significant populations

Republic of Macedonia

40ndash80000

Albania

80ndash120000

Languages

Macedonian Albanian Turkish

Religions

Islam

Related ethnic groups

other ethnic Macedonians Gorani Pomaks

Bosniaks all other South Slavs

The Macedonian Muslims (Macedonian Македонци Муслимани or

Makedonski Muslimani) also known as Muslim Macedonians or Torbesh (the

later name is somewhat pejorative and means the bag carriers) are a minority

religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians who are Sunni

Muslims although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity They have been

culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian Slavic Macedonian

community for centuries

ISLAMICISATION

The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Christian

Macedonians who converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman

Empire ruled the Balkans The main factor prompting their conversion was the

Ottoman Empire Non-Muslims were generally regarded by the state and Ottoman

society as being of a subordinate status They were treated differently under the

legal system being subjected to special taxes such as the jizya head tax Muslims

generally enjoyed a more favorable treatment from the law and the state For

example non-Muslims could not hold political or military office They also

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 11: Yugoslav Wars

Macedonian special police forces in

Tetovo

Combatants

Republic of

Macedonia

National

Liberation Army

Commanders

Boris Trajkovski

Ljube Boškoski

Ali Ahmeti

Casualties

63 (Macedonian sources)

64 (NLA sources)

Civilian casualties

70 dead (60 ethnic Albanians 10 ethnic

Macedonians)

The 2001 Macedonia conflict was an armed conflict which began when

the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) militant group was

provoked into attacking the security forces of the Republic of Macedonia at the

beginning of January 2001 The Macedonian conflict lasted throughout most of the

year although overall casualties remained limited to several tens for either side

according to the sources from both of the sides in the conflict

BACKGROUND

On gaining independence from Yugoslavia Macedonia was set as a

republic with unicameral parliament a 120-seat National Assembly and a

popularly elected President Contrary to other former Yugoslav republics it

managed to separate from Yugoslavia without any real bloodshed For the first

seven years it was ruled by former socialists who prevented the country from

being drawn into any kind of conflict The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia

(SDSM) could not push through the necessary reforms of the society and

economy On the contrary during the 1990s it came under pressure for massive

corruption and connections to local Serbian and Albanian organized crime

mainly consisting of large-scale smugglers who acted against UN-imposed

embargoes on Former Yugoslavia Consequently this government was voted out

on parliamentary elections in 1998 in favour of a coalition of nationalist Internal

Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian

National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) Democratic Alternative (DA) and the

Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA)

ETHNIC TENSION

The new government immediately faced immense problems and began

losing popularity By November 2000 the DA withdrew from the coalition and

was replaced by the small Liberal Party Political scandals and economic

difficulties had a heavy impact on the government which was considered as

corrupt by the population as previous SDSM Clearly this situation had a severe

impact on relations between the ethnic Macedonian majority and ethnic Albanian

minority which were already tense ever since countrylsquos independence even if not

as bad as in Kosovo On one side the Albanians in Macedonia demanded greater

cultural and educational rights as well as representation in the government armed

forces and police on the other side large Serbian Macedonian and Albanian but

also Greek and Bulgarian smuggling bands were active in Macedonia in the

1990s Their business flourished as long as the UN embargos against FRY were in

force and while SDSM was in power almost nothing was done against their

activity

Ethnic map of the Republic of Macedonia much of the fighting was

concentrated on the territory with Albanian majority (orange)

History of the Republic of Macedonia

Chronological

National Liberation War of Macedonia (1941-1944)

Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1944-1991)

Republic of Macedonia (since 1991)

2001 Macedonia conflict (2001)

Topical

Military | ASNOM | NOF

Also see terminology and history

of the region of Macedonia

However the conflict between the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo and the

conduct of presidential elections in Macedonia in 1999 exacerbated inter-ethnic

tensions Charges of violence and ballot-stuffing highlighted tensions further

increased by a flood of 250000 Kosovar Albanian refugees on the height of the

Kosovo War Eventually even the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) became

present in Macedonia establishing bases and supply centres from which it was

dispatching fighters into FRY It did not last very long until some of Albanian

bands formed their own militias private ―bodyguards were available in sufficient

number - and omnipresent whenever specific local bosses felt their rights or

interests threatened Due to the uprisings and chaos in Albania in 1996 and then

the war in Kosovo there were now plenty of weapons available at low prices

Smuggling has long traditions in the Balkans and in the case of Macedonia

in the 1990s even top government officials were involved in different smuggling

operations with Kosovo and Albania which were mainly run by ethnic Albanians

During the crisis on Kosovo in 1998 and 1999 large stockpiles of weapons

intended for KLA were stored in depots in villages on the Macedonian border to

Kosovo Smuggling of fuels narcotics tobacco white slaves and even chocolate

was widespread and top Macedonian political brass was getting financial

compensation for doing nothing against such crimes Whoever protested within

the Macedonian authorities was removed from his post This dangerous

combination of ethnic tensions and organized crime now only needed a spark that

would cause the fire While redirecting smuggling channels from Kosovo to

Macedonia and gearing up the propaganda machine against the Macedonian

government especially among the ethnic Albanians living abroad the NLA began

attacking police and army personnel and facilities but then also public facilities

(like rail lines)

Overview

Macedonian Mil Mi-24V in action during the conflict against Albanian

insurgents

Beginning of the Albanian insurgency

The first actions by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia occurred in late 2000

and early 2001 mainly along Macedonialsquos border with the United Nations-

administered Serbian province of Kosovo The insurgents acted in a pattern similar

to the one seen in Kosovo in late 1997 and through 1998 according to which they

gradually took over one village after the other Any such efforts were initially

―peaceful the non-Albanian population being ―encouraged to leave But in

January-February 2001 combat actions against legitimate authorities begun

The government at first did nothing against the situation because it received

assurances that what was going on was not directed against Macedonia Satisfied

with the answer and their payments the authorities waited for almost two months ndash

and then the situation was almost immediately out of control in fact so much that

the government was taken by surprise

In January 2001 a group calling itself the National Liberation Army (NLA)

appeared claiming responsibility for attacks on police forces The leaders of this

NLA ndash including Ali Ahmeti and his uncle Fazli Veliu were all from Western

Macedonia They stated to have ―between several hundreds and thousands of

fighters under arms However they were not supported by either of the two main

ethnic Albanian political parties The Macedonian government claimed that the

rebels were actually members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who

infiltrated the country from Kosovo In fact the NLA-fighters considered Kosovo

as ―safe heaven where they could pull back in the case of larger Macedonian

actions against them

A squad of Macedonian security forces take lethal action to disarm two

Albanian insurgents armed with grenades

MACEDONIAN REPRISALS

After several attacks on Macedonian security forces Macedonians took to

the streets of some towns attacking and setting on fire Albanian-owned shops

mosques and houses Such attacks took place mainly in Prilep Skopje and Bitola

Local Macedonian citizens in Prilep demanded weapons to attack neighboring

Albanian-populated villages which they claimed needed to be done ―in order to

save Macedonia Those targeted in the attacks were mostly Albanians but also

Macedonian Muslims

AFTERMATH

CEASEFIRE AND DISARMAMENT

After the Ohrid Agreement the rebels agreed to cease-fire in June however

there were other agreements in August before settling on a final one in January

2002 Under the Ohrid Agreement the Macedonian government pledged to

improve the rights of the Albanian population that makes up just over 253 per

cent of the population Those rights include making Albanian language an official

language increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government

institutions police and army Most importantly under the Ohrid Agreement the

Macedonian government agreed to a new model of decentralization

The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully

recognize all Macedonian institutions In addition according to this accord the

NLA was to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force

Operation ―Essential Harvest was officially launched on 22 August and

effectively started on 27 August This 30-day mission involved approximately

3500 NATO and Macedonian troops to disarm the NLA and destroy their

weapons Just hours after NATO wrapped up the operation Ali Ahmeti told

reporters attending a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Sipkovica that he

was dissolving the National Liberation Army and that it was time for ethnic

reconciliation

Several months after the conflict some armed provocations persisted

Small bombings and shootings used to happen The most serious provocations

happened when three Macedonian police officers were killed in an ambush by

ethnic Albanian gunmen on November 12 2001

CASUALTIES AND DISPLACEMENT

Casualty figures remain uncertain By March 19 2001 the BBC reported

that Macedonian security forces claimed five of their soldiers were killed while

the NLA claimed it had killed 11 No definitive NLA casualty figures were cited

at the time On December 25 2001 the Alternative Information Network cited

figures of 63 deaths claimed by Macedonian security forces for their side and 64

deaths claimed by the NLA for their fighters About 60 ethnic Albanian civilians

are thought to have been killed (some say 1000) while possibly about ten ethnic

Macedonians died during the conflict (Macedonian authorities did not release

figures for the latter at the time some say there were 500) As of December 2005

the fate of twenty ―disappeared civilians mdash13 ethnic Macedonians six ethnic

Albanians and one Bulgarian citizenmdash remains unknown By August 2001 the

number of people displaced by the war reached 170000 of which 74000 displaced

internally As of January 2004 2600 remained displaced

ALLEGED WAR CRIMES

The most notable incident was the Ljuboten massacre A three-day

operation by Macedonian police against the predominantly ethnic Albanian village

of Ljuboten from August 10-12 2001 The operation left ten civilians dead and

resulted in the arrest of more than 100 men many of whom were severely beaten

while in police custody Contrary to assertions by the Macedonian government a

Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground in Ljuboten found no evidence

of a presence by the ethnic Albanian National Liberation The events that occurred

during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near Skopje in August 2001

led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs of the time Ljube

Boškoski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague

Although the conflict in Macedonia was brief it was not scant of war

crimes The most notable incident was the infamous Vejce massacre where

Albanian guerrillas killed 8 Macedonian soldiers and dismembered and

vandalized their corpses On another occasion Albanian guerrillas inscribed their

names with knives on the backs on some construction workers[11]

Images of the

massacre started local uprisings against Muslims such revolts included burning

and vandalising shops and mosques Surving members of the roadside patrol that

were massacred gave eyewitness testimony of the killings They claimed that the

massacre was carried out by a group of 10 bearded guerillas with knives The

witnesses said that only one of the victims were shot and the remaining 7 vitims

were slaughtered with knives and some were even burned alive[12]

Local residents

of the village where the massacre took place do not allow family members of the

victims to visit the site[13]

On another occasion NLA separatists shut down the Lipkovo Dam leaving

tens of thousands of civilians without water for weeks

Among other crimes the NLA militants blew up the 13th-century Orthodox

monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok and is now under reconstruction

In 2001 the US recognized the NLA as a terrorist organization[citation needed]

The Macedonian side did not restrict itself to the regularities of war The

events that happened during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near

Skopje in August 2001 led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs

of the time Ljube Boškovski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The

Hague Six ethnic Albanian civilians were killed there

MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS

Macedonian Muslims

Македонци Муслимани

Makedonski Muslimani

Total population

40000

(some sources claim 80000-200000)

Regions with significant populations

Republic of Macedonia

40ndash80000

Albania

80ndash120000

Languages

Macedonian Albanian Turkish

Religions

Islam

Related ethnic groups

other ethnic Macedonians Gorani Pomaks

Bosniaks all other South Slavs

The Macedonian Muslims (Macedonian Македонци Муслимани or

Makedonski Muslimani) also known as Muslim Macedonians or Torbesh (the

later name is somewhat pejorative and means the bag carriers) are a minority

religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians who are Sunni

Muslims although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity They have been

culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian Slavic Macedonian

community for centuries

ISLAMICISATION

The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Christian

Macedonians who converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman

Empire ruled the Balkans The main factor prompting their conversion was the

Ottoman Empire Non-Muslims were generally regarded by the state and Ottoman

society as being of a subordinate status They were treated differently under the

legal system being subjected to special taxes such as the jizya head tax Muslims

generally enjoyed a more favorable treatment from the law and the state For

example non-Muslims could not hold political or military office They also

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 12: Yugoslav Wars

year although overall casualties remained limited to several tens for either side

according to the sources from both of the sides in the conflict

BACKGROUND

On gaining independence from Yugoslavia Macedonia was set as a

republic with unicameral parliament a 120-seat National Assembly and a

popularly elected President Contrary to other former Yugoslav republics it

managed to separate from Yugoslavia without any real bloodshed For the first

seven years it was ruled by former socialists who prevented the country from

being drawn into any kind of conflict The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia

(SDSM) could not push through the necessary reforms of the society and

economy On the contrary during the 1990s it came under pressure for massive

corruption and connections to local Serbian and Albanian organized crime

mainly consisting of large-scale smugglers who acted against UN-imposed

embargoes on Former Yugoslavia Consequently this government was voted out

on parliamentary elections in 1998 in favour of a coalition of nationalist Internal

Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian

National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) Democratic Alternative (DA) and the

Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA)

ETHNIC TENSION

The new government immediately faced immense problems and began

losing popularity By November 2000 the DA withdrew from the coalition and

was replaced by the small Liberal Party Political scandals and economic

difficulties had a heavy impact on the government which was considered as

corrupt by the population as previous SDSM Clearly this situation had a severe

impact on relations between the ethnic Macedonian majority and ethnic Albanian

minority which were already tense ever since countrylsquos independence even if not

as bad as in Kosovo On one side the Albanians in Macedonia demanded greater

cultural and educational rights as well as representation in the government armed

forces and police on the other side large Serbian Macedonian and Albanian but

also Greek and Bulgarian smuggling bands were active in Macedonia in the

1990s Their business flourished as long as the UN embargos against FRY were in

force and while SDSM was in power almost nothing was done against their

activity

Ethnic map of the Republic of Macedonia much of the fighting was

concentrated on the territory with Albanian majority (orange)

History of the Republic of Macedonia

Chronological

National Liberation War of Macedonia (1941-1944)

Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1944-1991)

Republic of Macedonia (since 1991)

2001 Macedonia conflict (2001)

Topical

Military | ASNOM | NOF

Also see terminology and history

of the region of Macedonia

However the conflict between the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo and the

conduct of presidential elections in Macedonia in 1999 exacerbated inter-ethnic

tensions Charges of violence and ballot-stuffing highlighted tensions further

increased by a flood of 250000 Kosovar Albanian refugees on the height of the

Kosovo War Eventually even the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) became

present in Macedonia establishing bases and supply centres from which it was

dispatching fighters into FRY It did not last very long until some of Albanian

bands formed their own militias private ―bodyguards were available in sufficient

number - and omnipresent whenever specific local bosses felt their rights or

interests threatened Due to the uprisings and chaos in Albania in 1996 and then

the war in Kosovo there were now plenty of weapons available at low prices

Smuggling has long traditions in the Balkans and in the case of Macedonia

in the 1990s even top government officials were involved in different smuggling

operations with Kosovo and Albania which were mainly run by ethnic Albanians

During the crisis on Kosovo in 1998 and 1999 large stockpiles of weapons

intended for KLA were stored in depots in villages on the Macedonian border to

Kosovo Smuggling of fuels narcotics tobacco white slaves and even chocolate

was widespread and top Macedonian political brass was getting financial

compensation for doing nothing against such crimes Whoever protested within

the Macedonian authorities was removed from his post This dangerous

combination of ethnic tensions and organized crime now only needed a spark that

would cause the fire While redirecting smuggling channels from Kosovo to

Macedonia and gearing up the propaganda machine against the Macedonian

government especially among the ethnic Albanians living abroad the NLA began

attacking police and army personnel and facilities but then also public facilities

(like rail lines)

Overview

Macedonian Mil Mi-24V in action during the conflict against Albanian

insurgents

Beginning of the Albanian insurgency

The first actions by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia occurred in late 2000

and early 2001 mainly along Macedonialsquos border with the United Nations-

administered Serbian province of Kosovo The insurgents acted in a pattern similar

to the one seen in Kosovo in late 1997 and through 1998 according to which they

gradually took over one village after the other Any such efforts were initially

―peaceful the non-Albanian population being ―encouraged to leave But in

January-February 2001 combat actions against legitimate authorities begun

The government at first did nothing against the situation because it received

assurances that what was going on was not directed against Macedonia Satisfied

with the answer and their payments the authorities waited for almost two months ndash

and then the situation was almost immediately out of control in fact so much that

the government was taken by surprise

In January 2001 a group calling itself the National Liberation Army (NLA)

appeared claiming responsibility for attacks on police forces The leaders of this

NLA ndash including Ali Ahmeti and his uncle Fazli Veliu were all from Western

Macedonia They stated to have ―between several hundreds and thousands of

fighters under arms However they were not supported by either of the two main

ethnic Albanian political parties The Macedonian government claimed that the

rebels were actually members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who

infiltrated the country from Kosovo In fact the NLA-fighters considered Kosovo

as ―safe heaven where they could pull back in the case of larger Macedonian

actions against them

A squad of Macedonian security forces take lethal action to disarm two

Albanian insurgents armed with grenades

MACEDONIAN REPRISALS

After several attacks on Macedonian security forces Macedonians took to

the streets of some towns attacking and setting on fire Albanian-owned shops

mosques and houses Such attacks took place mainly in Prilep Skopje and Bitola

Local Macedonian citizens in Prilep demanded weapons to attack neighboring

Albanian-populated villages which they claimed needed to be done ―in order to

save Macedonia Those targeted in the attacks were mostly Albanians but also

Macedonian Muslims

AFTERMATH

CEASEFIRE AND DISARMAMENT

After the Ohrid Agreement the rebels agreed to cease-fire in June however

there were other agreements in August before settling on a final one in January

2002 Under the Ohrid Agreement the Macedonian government pledged to

improve the rights of the Albanian population that makes up just over 253 per

cent of the population Those rights include making Albanian language an official

language increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government

institutions police and army Most importantly under the Ohrid Agreement the

Macedonian government agreed to a new model of decentralization

The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully

recognize all Macedonian institutions In addition according to this accord the

NLA was to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force

Operation ―Essential Harvest was officially launched on 22 August and

effectively started on 27 August This 30-day mission involved approximately

3500 NATO and Macedonian troops to disarm the NLA and destroy their

weapons Just hours after NATO wrapped up the operation Ali Ahmeti told

reporters attending a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Sipkovica that he

was dissolving the National Liberation Army and that it was time for ethnic

reconciliation

Several months after the conflict some armed provocations persisted

Small bombings and shootings used to happen The most serious provocations

happened when three Macedonian police officers were killed in an ambush by

ethnic Albanian gunmen on November 12 2001

CASUALTIES AND DISPLACEMENT

Casualty figures remain uncertain By March 19 2001 the BBC reported

that Macedonian security forces claimed five of their soldiers were killed while

the NLA claimed it had killed 11 No definitive NLA casualty figures were cited

at the time On December 25 2001 the Alternative Information Network cited

figures of 63 deaths claimed by Macedonian security forces for their side and 64

deaths claimed by the NLA for their fighters About 60 ethnic Albanian civilians

are thought to have been killed (some say 1000) while possibly about ten ethnic

Macedonians died during the conflict (Macedonian authorities did not release

figures for the latter at the time some say there were 500) As of December 2005

the fate of twenty ―disappeared civilians mdash13 ethnic Macedonians six ethnic

Albanians and one Bulgarian citizenmdash remains unknown By August 2001 the

number of people displaced by the war reached 170000 of which 74000 displaced

internally As of January 2004 2600 remained displaced

ALLEGED WAR CRIMES

The most notable incident was the Ljuboten massacre A three-day

operation by Macedonian police against the predominantly ethnic Albanian village

of Ljuboten from August 10-12 2001 The operation left ten civilians dead and

resulted in the arrest of more than 100 men many of whom were severely beaten

while in police custody Contrary to assertions by the Macedonian government a

Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground in Ljuboten found no evidence

of a presence by the ethnic Albanian National Liberation The events that occurred

during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near Skopje in August 2001

led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs of the time Ljube

Boškoski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague

Although the conflict in Macedonia was brief it was not scant of war

crimes The most notable incident was the infamous Vejce massacre where

Albanian guerrillas killed 8 Macedonian soldiers and dismembered and

vandalized their corpses On another occasion Albanian guerrillas inscribed their

names with knives on the backs on some construction workers[11]

Images of the

massacre started local uprisings against Muslims such revolts included burning

and vandalising shops and mosques Surving members of the roadside patrol that

were massacred gave eyewitness testimony of the killings They claimed that the

massacre was carried out by a group of 10 bearded guerillas with knives The

witnesses said that only one of the victims were shot and the remaining 7 vitims

were slaughtered with knives and some were even burned alive[12]

Local residents

of the village where the massacre took place do not allow family members of the

victims to visit the site[13]

On another occasion NLA separatists shut down the Lipkovo Dam leaving

tens of thousands of civilians without water for weeks

Among other crimes the NLA militants blew up the 13th-century Orthodox

monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok and is now under reconstruction

In 2001 the US recognized the NLA as a terrorist organization[citation needed]

The Macedonian side did not restrict itself to the regularities of war The

events that happened during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near

Skopje in August 2001 led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs

of the time Ljube Boškovski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The

Hague Six ethnic Albanian civilians were killed there

MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS

Macedonian Muslims

Македонци Муслимани

Makedonski Muslimani

Total population

40000

(some sources claim 80000-200000)

Regions with significant populations

Republic of Macedonia

40ndash80000

Albania

80ndash120000

Languages

Macedonian Albanian Turkish

Religions

Islam

Related ethnic groups

other ethnic Macedonians Gorani Pomaks

Bosniaks all other South Slavs

The Macedonian Muslims (Macedonian Македонци Муслимани or

Makedonski Muslimani) also known as Muslim Macedonians or Torbesh (the

later name is somewhat pejorative and means the bag carriers) are a minority

religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians who are Sunni

Muslims although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity They have been

culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian Slavic Macedonian

community for centuries

ISLAMICISATION

The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Christian

Macedonians who converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman

Empire ruled the Balkans The main factor prompting their conversion was the

Ottoman Empire Non-Muslims were generally regarded by the state and Ottoman

society as being of a subordinate status They were treated differently under the

legal system being subjected to special taxes such as the jizya head tax Muslims

generally enjoyed a more favorable treatment from the law and the state For

example non-Muslims could not hold political or military office They also

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 13: Yugoslav Wars

1990s Their business flourished as long as the UN embargos against FRY were in

force and while SDSM was in power almost nothing was done against their

activity

Ethnic map of the Republic of Macedonia much of the fighting was

concentrated on the territory with Albanian majority (orange)

History of the Republic of Macedonia

Chronological

National Liberation War of Macedonia (1941-1944)

Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1944-1991)

Republic of Macedonia (since 1991)

2001 Macedonia conflict (2001)

Topical

Military | ASNOM | NOF

Also see terminology and history

of the region of Macedonia

However the conflict between the Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo and the

conduct of presidential elections in Macedonia in 1999 exacerbated inter-ethnic

tensions Charges of violence and ballot-stuffing highlighted tensions further

increased by a flood of 250000 Kosovar Albanian refugees on the height of the

Kosovo War Eventually even the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) became

present in Macedonia establishing bases and supply centres from which it was

dispatching fighters into FRY It did not last very long until some of Albanian

bands formed their own militias private ―bodyguards were available in sufficient

number - and omnipresent whenever specific local bosses felt their rights or

interests threatened Due to the uprisings and chaos in Albania in 1996 and then

the war in Kosovo there were now plenty of weapons available at low prices

Smuggling has long traditions in the Balkans and in the case of Macedonia

in the 1990s even top government officials were involved in different smuggling

operations with Kosovo and Albania which were mainly run by ethnic Albanians

During the crisis on Kosovo in 1998 and 1999 large stockpiles of weapons

intended for KLA were stored in depots in villages on the Macedonian border to

Kosovo Smuggling of fuels narcotics tobacco white slaves and even chocolate

was widespread and top Macedonian political brass was getting financial

compensation for doing nothing against such crimes Whoever protested within

the Macedonian authorities was removed from his post This dangerous

combination of ethnic tensions and organized crime now only needed a spark that

would cause the fire While redirecting smuggling channels from Kosovo to

Macedonia and gearing up the propaganda machine against the Macedonian

government especially among the ethnic Albanians living abroad the NLA began

attacking police and army personnel and facilities but then also public facilities

(like rail lines)

Overview

Macedonian Mil Mi-24V in action during the conflict against Albanian

insurgents

Beginning of the Albanian insurgency

The first actions by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia occurred in late 2000

and early 2001 mainly along Macedonialsquos border with the United Nations-

administered Serbian province of Kosovo The insurgents acted in a pattern similar

to the one seen in Kosovo in late 1997 and through 1998 according to which they

gradually took over one village after the other Any such efforts were initially

―peaceful the non-Albanian population being ―encouraged to leave But in

January-February 2001 combat actions against legitimate authorities begun

The government at first did nothing against the situation because it received

assurances that what was going on was not directed against Macedonia Satisfied

with the answer and their payments the authorities waited for almost two months ndash

and then the situation was almost immediately out of control in fact so much that

the government was taken by surprise

In January 2001 a group calling itself the National Liberation Army (NLA)

appeared claiming responsibility for attacks on police forces The leaders of this

NLA ndash including Ali Ahmeti and his uncle Fazli Veliu were all from Western

Macedonia They stated to have ―between several hundreds and thousands of

fighters under arms However they were not supported by either of the two main

ethnic Albanian political parties The Macedonian government claimed that the

rebels were actually members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who

infiltrated the country from Kosovo In fact the NLA-fighters considered Kosovo

as ―safe heaven where they could pull back in the case of larger Macedonian

actions against them

A squad of Macedonian security forces take lethal action to disarm two

Albanian insurgents armed with grenades

MACEDONIAN REPRISALS

After several attacks on Macedonian security forces Macedonians took to

the streets of some towns attacking and setting on fire Albanian-owned shops

mosques and houses Such attacks took place mainly in Prilep Skopje and Bitola

Local Macedonian citizens in Prilep demanded weapons to attack neighboring

Albanian-populated villages which they claimed needed to be done ―in order to

save Macedonia Those targeted in the attacks were mostly Albanians but also

Macedonian Muslims

AFTERMATH

CEASEFIRE AND DISARMAMENT

After the Ohrid Agreement the rebels agreed to cease-fire in June however

there were other agreements in August before settling on a final one in January

2002 Under the Ohrid Agreement the Macedonian government pledged to

improve the rights of the Albanian population that makes up just over 253 per

cent of the population Those rights include making Albanian language an official

language increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government

institutions police and army Most importantly under the Ohrid Agreement the

Macedonian government agreed to a new model of decentralization

The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully

recognize all Macedonian institutions In addition according to this accord the

NLA was to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force

Operation ―Essential Harvest was officially launched on 22 August and

effectively started on 27 August This 30-day mission involved approximately

3500 NATO and Macedonian troops to disarm the NLA and destroy their

weapons Just hours after NATO wrapped up the operation Ali Ahmeti told

reporters attending a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Sipkovica that he

was dissolving the National Liberation Army and that it was time for ethnic

reconciliation

Several months after the conflict some armed provocations persisted

Small bombings and shootings used to happen The most serious provocations

happened when three Macedonian police officers were killed in an ambush by

ethnic Albanian gunmen on November 12 2001

CASUALTIES AND DISPLACEMENT

Casualty figures remain uncertain By March 19 2001 the BBC reported

that Macedonian security forces claimed five of their soldiers were killed while

the NLA claimed it had killed 11 No definitive NLA casualty figures were cited

at the time On December 25 2001 the Alternative Information Network cited

figures of 63 deaths claimed by Macedonian security forces for their side and 64

deaths claimed by the NLA for their fighters About 60 ethnic Albanian civilians

are thought to have been killed (some say 1000) while possibly about ten ethnic

Macedonians died during the conflict (Macedonian authorities did not release

figures for the latter at the time some say there were 500) As of December 2005

the fate of twenty ―disappeared civilians mdash13 ethnic Macedonians six ethnic

Albanians and one Bulgarian citizenmdash remains unknown By August 2001 the

number of people displaced by the war reached 170000 of which 74000 displaced

internally As of January 2004 2600 remained displaced

ALLEGED WAR CRIMES

The most notable incident was the Ljuboten massacre A three-day

operation by Macedonian police against the predominantly ethnic Albanian village

of Ljuboten from August 10-12 2001 The operation left ten civilians dead and

resulted in the arrest of more than 100 men many of whom were severely beaten

while in police custody Contrary to assertions by the Macedonian government a

Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground in Ljuboten found no evidence

of a presence by the ethnic Albanian National Liberation The events that occurred

during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near Skopje in August 2001

led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs of the time Ljube

Boškoski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague

Although the conflict in Macedonia was brief it was not scant of war

crimes The most notable incident was the infamous Vejce massacre where

Albanian guerrillas killed 8 Macedonian soldiers and dismembered and

vandalized their corpses On another occasion Albanian guerrillas inscribed their

names with knives on the backs on some construction workers[11]

Images of the

massacre started local uprisings against Muslims such revolts included burning

and vandalising shops and mosques Surving members of the roadside patrol that

were massacred gave eyewitness testimony of the killings They claimed that the

massacre was carried out by a group of 10 bearded guerillas with knives The

witnesses said that only one of the victims were shot and the remaining 7 vitims

were slaughtered with knives and some were even burned alive[12]

Local residents

of the village where the massacre took place do not allow family members of the

victims to visit the site[13]

On another occasion NLA separatists shut down the Lipkovo Dam leaving

tens of thousands of civilians without water for weeks

Among other crimes the NLA militants blew up the 13th-century Orthodox

monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok and is now under reconstruction

In 2001 the US recognized the NLA as a terrorist organization[citation needed]

The Macedonian side did not restrict itself to the regularities of war The

events that happened during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near

Skopje in August 2001 led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs

of the time Ljube Boškovski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The

Hague Six ethnic Albanian civilians were killed there

MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS

Macedonian Muslims

Македонци Муслимани

Makedonski Muslimani

Total population

40000

(some sources claim 80000-200000)

Regions with significant populations

Republic of Macedonia

40ndash80000

Albania

80ndash120000

Languages

Macedonian Albanian Turkish

Religions

Islam

Related ethnic groups

other ethnic Macedonians Gorani Pomaks

Bosniaks all other South Slavs

The Macedonian Muslims (Macedonian Македонци Муслимани or

Makedonski Muslimani) also known as Muslim Macedonians or Torbesh (the

later name is somewhat pejorative and means the bag carriers) are a minority

religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians who are Sunni

Muslims although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity They have been

culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian Slavic Macedonian

community for centuries

ISLAMICISATION

The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Christian

Macedonians who converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman

Empire ruled the Balkans The main factor prompting their conversion was the

Ottoman Empire Non-Muslims were generally regarded by the state and Ottoman

society as being of a subordinate status They were treated differently under the

legal system being subjected to special taxes such as the jizya head tax Muslims

generally enjoyed a more favorable treatment from the law and the state For

example non-Muslims could not hold political or military office They also

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 14: Yugoslav Wars

tensions Charges of violence and ballot-stuffing highlighted tensions further

increased by a flood of 250000 Kosovar Albanian refugees on the height of the

Kosovo War Eventually even the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) became

present in Macedonia establishing bases and supply centres from which it was

dispatching fighters into FRY It did not last very long until some of Albanian

bands formed their own militias private ―bodyguards were available in sufficient

number - and omnipresent whenever specific local bosses felt their rights or

interests threatened Due to the uprisings and chaos in Albania in 1996 and then

the war in Kosovo there were now plenty of weapons available at low prices

Smuggling has long traditions in the Balkans and in the case of Macedonia

in the 1990s even top government officials were involved in different smuggling

operations with Kosovo and Albania which were mainly run by ethnic Albanians

During the crisis on Kosovo in 1998 and 1999 large stockpiles of weapons

intended for KLA were stored in depots in villages on the Macedonian border to

Kosovo Smuggling of fuels narcotics tobacco white slaves and even chocolate

was widespread and top Macedonian political brass was getting financial

compensation for doing nothing against such crimes Whoever protested within

the Macedonian authorities was removed from his post This dangerous

combination of ethnic tensions and organized crime now only needed a spark that

would cause the fire While redirecting smuggling channels from Kosovo to

Macedonia and gearing up the propaganda machine against the Macedonian

government especially among the ethnic Albanians living abroad the NLA began

attacking police and army personnel and facilities but then also public facilities

(like rail lines)

Overview

Macedonian Mil Mi-24V in action during the conflict against Albanian

insurgents

Beginning of the Albanian insurgency

The first actions by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia occurred in late 2000

and early 2001 mainly along Macedonialsquos border with the United Nations-

administered Serbian province of Kosovo The insurgents acted in a pattern similar

to the one seen in Kosovo in late 1997 and through 1998 according to which they

gradually took over one village after the other Any such efforts were initially

―peaceful the non-Albanian population being ―encouraged to leave But in

January-February 2001 combat actions against legitimate authorities begun

The government at first did nothing against the situation because it received

assurances that what was going on was not directed against Macedonia Satisfied

with the answer and their payments the authorities waited for almost two months ndash

and then the situation was almost immediately out of control in fact so much that

the government was taken by surprise

In January 2001 a group calling itself the National Liberation Army (NLA)

appeared claiming responsibility for attacks on police forces The leaders of this

NLA ndash including Ali Ahmeti and his uncle Fazli Veliu were all from Western

Macedonia They stated to have ―between several hundreds and thousands of

fighters under arms However they were not supported by either of the two main

ethnic Albanian political parties The Macedonian government claimed that the

rebels were actually members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who

infiltrated the country from Kosovo In fact the NLA-fighters considered Kosovo

as ―safe heaven where they could pull back in the case of larger Macedonian

actions against them

A squad of Macedonian security forces take lethal action to disarm two

Albanian insurgents armed with grenades

MACEDONIAN REPRISALS

After several attacks on Macedonian security forces Macedonians took to

the streets of some towns attacking and setting on fire Albanian-owned shops

mosques and houses Such attacks took place mainly in Prilep Skopje and Bitola

Local Macedonian citizens in Prilep demanded weapons to attack neighboring

Albanian-populated villages which they claimed needed to be done ―in order to

save Macedonia Those targeted in the attacks were mostly Albanians but also

Macedonian Muslims

AFTERMATH

CEASEFIRE AND DISARMAMENT

After the Ohrid Agreement the rebels agreed to cease-fire in June however

there were other agreements in August before settling on a final one in January

2002 Under the Ohrid Agreement the Macedonian government pledged to

improve the rights of the Albanian population that makes up just over 253 per

cent of the population Those rights include making Albanian language an official

language increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government

institutions police and army Most importantly under the Ohrid Agreement the

Macedonian government agreed to a new model of decentralization

The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully

recognize all Macedonian institutions In addition according to this accord the

NLA was to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force

Operation ―Essential Harvest was officially launched on 22 August and

effectively started on 27 August This 30-day mission involved approximately

3500 NATO and Macedonian troops to disarm the NLA and destroy their

weapons Just hours after NATO wrapped up the operation Ali Ahmeti told

reporters attending a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Sipkovica that he

was dissolving the National Liberation Army and that it was time for ethnic

reconciliation

Several months after the conflict some armed provocations persisted

Small bombings and shootings used to happen The most serious provocations

happened when three Macedonian police officers were killed in an ambush by

ethnic Albanian gunmen on November 12 2001

CASUALTIES AND DISPLACEMENT

Casualty figures remain uncertain By March 19 2001 the BBC reported

that Macedonian security forces claimed five of their soldiers were killed while

the NLA claimed it had killed 11 No definitive NLA casualty figures were cited

at the time On December 25 2001 the Alternative Information Network cited

figures of 63 deaths claimed by Macedonian security forces for their side and 64

deaths claimed by the NLA for their fighters About 60 ethnic Albanian civilians

are thought to have been killed (some say 1000) while possibly about ten ethnic

Macedonians died during the conflict (Macedonian authorities did not release

figures for the latter at the time some say there were 500) As of December 2005

the fate of twenty ―disappeared civilians mdash13 ethnic Macedonians six ethnic

Albanians and one Bulgarian citizenmdash remains unknown By August 2001 the

number of people displaced by the war reached 170000 of which 74000 displaced

internally As of January 2004 2600 remained displaced

ALLEGED WAR CRIMES

The most notable incident was the Ljuboten massacre A three-day

operation by Macedonian police against the predominantly ethnic Albanian village

of Ljuboten from August 10-12 2001 The operation left ten civilians dead and

resulted in the arrest of more than 100 men many of whom were severely beaten

while in police custody Contrary to assertions by the Macedonian government a

Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground in Ljuboten found no evidence

of a presence by the ethnic Albanian National Liberation The events that occurred

during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near Skopje in August 2001

led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs of the time Ljube

Boškoski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague

Although the conflict in Macedonia was brief it was not scant of war

crimes The most notable incident was the infamous Vejce massacre where

Albanian guerrillas killed 8 Macedonian soldiers and dismembered and

vandalized their corpses On another occasion Albanian guerrillas inscribed their

names with knives on the backs on some construction workers[11]

Images of the

massacre started local uprisings against Muslims such revolts included burning

and vandalising shops and mosques Surving members of the roadside patrol that

were massacred gave eyewitness testimony of the killings They claimed that the

massacre was carried out by a group of 10 bearded guerillas with knives The

witnesses said that only one of the victims were shot and the remaining 7 vitims

were slaughtered with knives and some were even burned alive[12]

Local residents

of the village where the massacre took place do not allow family members of the

victims to visit the site[13]

On another occasion NLA separatists shut down the Lipkovo Dam leaving

tens of thousands of civilians without water for weeks

Among other crimes the NLA militants blew up the 13th-century Orthodox

monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok and is now under reconstruction

In 2001 the US recognized the NLA as a terrorist organization[citation needed]

The Macedonian side did not restrict itself to the regularities of war The

events that happened during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near

Skopje in August 2001 led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs

of the time Ljube Boškovski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The

Hague Six ethnic Albanian civilians were killed there

MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS

Macedonian Muslims

Македонци Муслимани

Makedonski Muslimani

Total population

40000

(some sources claim 80000-200000)

Regions with significant populations

Republic of Macedonia

40ndash80000

Albania

80ndash120000

Languages

Macedonian Albanian Turkish

Religions

Islam

Related ethnic groups

other ethnic Macedonians Gorani Pomaks

Bosniaks all other South Slavs

The Macedonian Muslims (Macedonian Македонци Муслимани or

Makedonski Muslimani) also known as Muslim Macedonians or Torbesh (the

later name is somewhat pejorative and means the bag carriers) are a minority

religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians who are Sunni

Muslims although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity They have been

culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian Slavic Macedonian

community for centuries

ISLAMICISATION

The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Christian

Macedonians who converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman

Empire ruled the Balkans The main factor prompting their conversion was the

Ottoman Empire Non-Muslims were generally regarded by the state and Ottoman

society as being of a subordinate status They were treated differently under the

legal system being subjected to special taxes such as the jizya head tax Muslims

generally enjoyed a more favorable treatment from the law and the state For

example non-Muslims could not hold political or military office They also

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 15: Yugoslav Wars

The first actions by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia occurred in late 2000

and early 2001 mainly along Macedonialsquos border with the United Nations-

administered Serbian province of Kosovo The insurgents acted in a pattern similar

to the one seen in Kosovo in late 1997 and through 1998 according to which they

gradually took over one village after the other Any such efforts were initially

―peaceful the non-Albanian population being ―encouraged to leave But in

January-February 2001 combat actions against legitimate authorities begun

The government at first did nothing against the situation because it received

assurances that what was going on was not directed against Macedonia Satisfied

with the answer and their payments the authorities waited for almost two months ndash

and then the situation was almost immediately out of control in fact so much that

the government was taken by surprise

In January 2001 a group calling itself the National Liberation Army (NLA)

appeared claiming responsibility for attacks on police forces The leaders of this

NLA ndash including Ali Ahmeti and his uncle Fazli Veliu were all from Western

Macedonia They stated to have ―between several hundreds and thousands of

fighters under arms However they were not supported by either of the two main

ethnic Albanian political parties The Macedonian government claimed that the

rebels were actually members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) who

infiltrated the country from Kosovo In fact the NLA-fighters considered Kosovo

as ―safe heaven where they could pull back in the case of larger Macedonian

actions against them

A squad of Macedonian security forces take lethal action to disarm two

Albanian insurgents armed with grenades

MACEDONIAN REPRISALS

After several attacks on Macedonian security forces Macedonians took to

the streets of some towns attacking and setting on fire Albanian-owned shops

mosques and houses Such attacks took place mainly in Prilep Skopje and Bitola

Local Macedonian citizens in Prilep demanded weapons to attack neighboring

Albanian-populated villages which they claimed needed to be done ―in order to

save Macedonia Those targeted in the attacks were mostly Albanians but also

Macedonian Muslims

AFTERMATH

CEASEFIRE AND DISARMAMENT

After the Ohrid Agreement the rebels agreed to cease-fire in June however

there were other agreements in August before settling on a final one in January

2002 Under the Ohrid Agreement the Macedonian government pledged to

improve the rights of the Albanian population that makes up just over 253 per

cent of the population Those rights include making Albanian language an official

language increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government

institutions police and army Most importantly under the Ohrid Agreement the

Macedonian government agreed to a new model of decentralization

The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully

recognize all Macedonian institutions In addition according to this accord the

NLA was to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force

Operation ―Essential Harvest was officially launched on 22 August and

effectively started on 27 August This 30-day mission involved approximately

3500 NATO and Macedonian troops to disarm the NLA and destroy their

weapons Just hours after NATO wrapped up the operation Ali Ahmeti told

reporters attending a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Sipkovica that he

was dissolving the National Liberation Army and that it was time for ethnic

reconciliation

Several months after the conflict some armed provocations persisted

Small bombings and shootings used to happen The most serious provocations

happened when three Macedonian police officers were killed in an ambush by

ethnic Albanian gunmen on November 12 2001

CASUALTIES AND DISPLACEMENT

Casualty figures remain uncertain By March 19 2001 the BBC reported

that Macedonian security forces claimed five of their soldiers were killed while

the NLA claimed it had killed 11 No definitive NLA casualty figures were cited

at the time On December 25 2001 the Alternative Information Network cited

figures of 63 deaths claimed by Macedonian security forces for their side and 64

deaths claimed by the NLA for their fighters About 60 ethnic Albanian civilians

are thought to have been killed (some say 1000) while possibly about ten ethnic

Macedonians died during the conflict (Macedonian authorities did not release

figures for the latter at the time some say there were 500) As of December 2005

the fate of twenty ―disappeared civilians mdash13 ethnic Macedonians six ethnic

Albanians and one Bulgarian citizenmdash remains unknown By August 2001 the

number of people displaced by the war reached 170000 of which 74000 displaced

internally As of January 2004 2600 remained displaced

ALLEGED WAR CRIMES

The most notable incident was the Ljuboten massacre A three-day

operation by Macedonian police against the predominantly ethnic Albanian village

of Ljuboten from August 10-12 2001 The operation left ten civilians dead and

resulted in the arrest of more than 100 men many of whom were severely beaten

while in police custody Contrary to assertions by the Macedonian government a

Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground in Ljuboten found no evidence

of a presence by the ethnic Albanian National Liberation The events that occurred

during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near Skopje in August 2001

led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs of the time Ljube

Boškoski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague

Although the conflict in Macedonia was brief it was not scant of war

crimes The most notable incident was the infamous Vejce massacre where

Albanian guerrillas killed 8 Macedonian soldiers and dismembered and

vandalized their corpses On another occasion Albanian guerrillas inscribed their

names with knives on the backs on some construction workers[11]

Images of the

massacre started local uprisings against Muslims such revolts included burning

and vandalising shops and mosques Surving members of the roadside patrol that

were massacred gave eyewitness testimony of the killings They claimed that the

massacre was carried out by a group of 10 bearded guerillas with knives The

witnesses said that only one of the victims were shot and the remaining 7 vitims

were slaughtered with knives and some were even burned alive[12]

Local residents

of the village where the massacre took place do not allow family members of the

victims to visit the site[13]

On another occasion NLA separatists shut down the Lipkovo Dam leaving

tens of thousands of civilians without water for weeks

Among other crimes the NLA militants blew up the 13th-century Orthodox

monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok and is now under reconstruction

In 2001 the US recognized the NLA as a terrorist organization[citation needed]

The Macedonian side did not restrict itself to the regularities of war The

events that happened during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near

Skopje in August 2001 led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs

of the time Ljube Boškovski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The

Hague Six ethnic Albanian civilians were killed there

MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS

Macedonian Muslims

Македонци Муслимани

Makedonski Muslimani

Total population

40000

(some sources claim 80000-200000)

Regions with significant populations

Republic of Macedonia

40ndash80000

Albania

80ndash120000

Languages

Macedonian Albanian Turkish

Religions

Islam

Related ethnic groups

other ethnic Macedonians Gorani Pomaks

Bosniaks all other South Slavs

The Macedonian Muslims (Macedonian Македонци Муслимани or

Makedonski Muslimani) also known as Muslim Macedonians or Torbesh (the

later name is somewhat pejorative and means the bag carriers) are a minority

religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians who are Sunni

Muslims although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity They have been

culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian Slavic Macedonian

community for centuries

ISLAMICISATION

The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Christian

Macedonians who converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman

Empire ruled the Balkans The main factor prompting their conversion was the

Ottoman Empire Non-Muslims were generally regarded by the state and Ottoman

society as being of a subordinate status They were treated differently under the

legal system being subjected to special taxes such as the jizya head tax Muslims

generally enjoyed a more favorable treatment from the law and the state For

example non-Muslims could not hold political or military office They also

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 16: Yugoslav Wars

After several attacks on Macedonian security forces Macedonians took to

the streets of some towns attacking and setting on fire Albanian-owned shops

mosques and houses Such attacks took place mainly in Prilep Skopje and Bitola

Local Macedonian citizens in Prilep demanded weapons to attack neighboring

Albanian-populated villages which they claimed needed to be done ―in order to

save Macedonia Those targeted in the attacks were mostly Albanians but also

Macedonian Muslims

AFTERMATH

CEASEFIRE AND DISARMAMENT

After the Ohrid Agreement the rebels agreed to cease-fire in June however

there were other agreements in August before settling on a final one in January

2002 Under the Ohrid Agreement the Macedonian government pledged to

improve the rights of the Albanian population that makes up just over 253 per

cent of the population Those rights include making Albanian language an official

language increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government

institutions police and army Most importantly under the Ohrid Agreement the

Macedonian government agreed to a new model of decentralization

The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully

recognize all Macedonian institutions In addition according to this accord the

NLA was to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force

Operation ―Essential Harvest was officially launched on 22 August and

effectively started on 27 August This 30-day mission involved approximately

3500 NATO and Macedonian troops to disarm the NLA and destroy their

weapons Just hours after NATO wrapped up the operation Ali Ahmeti told

reporters attending a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Sipkovica that he

was dissolving the National Liberation Army and that it was time for ethnic

reconciliation

Several months after the conflict some armed provocations persisted

Small bombings and shootings used to happen The most serious provocations

happened when three Macedonian police officers were killed in an ambush by

ethnic Albanian gunmen on November 12 2001

CASUALTIES AND DISPLACEMENT

Casualty figures remain uncertain By March 19 2001 the BBC reported

that Macedonian security forces claimed five of their soldiers were killed while

the NLA claimed it had killed 11 No definitive NLA casualty figures were cited

at the time On December 25 2001 the Alternative Information Network cited

figures of 63 deaths claimed by Macedonian security forces for their side and 64

deaths claimed by the NLA for their fighters About 60 ethnic Albanian civilians

are thought to have been killed (some say 1000) while possibly about ten ethnic

Macedonians died during the conflict (Macedonian authorities did not release

figures for the latter at the time some say there were 500) As of December 2005

the fate of twenty ―disappeared civilians mdash13 ethnic Macedonians six ethnic

Albanians and one Bulgarian citizenmdash remains unknown By August 2001 the

number of people displaced by the war reached 170000 of which 74000 displaced

internally As of January 2004 2600 remained displaced

ALLEGED WAR CRIMES

The most notable incident was the Ljuboten massacre A three-day

operation by Macedonian police against the predominantly ethnic Albanian village

of Ljuboten from August 10-12 2001 The operation left ten civilians dead and

resulted in the arrest of more than 100 men many of whom were severely beaten

while in police custody Contrary to assertions by the Macedonian government a

Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground in Ljuboten found no evidence

of a presence by the ethnic Albanian National Liberation The events that occurred

during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near Skopje in August 2001

led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs of the time Ljube

Boškoski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague

Although the conflict in Macedonia was brief it was not scant of war

crimes The most notable incident was the infamous Vejce massacre where

Albanian guerrillas killed 8 Macedonian soldiers and dismembered and

vandalized their corpses On another occasion Albanian guerrillas inscribed their

names with knives on the backs on some construction workers[11]

Images of the

massacre started local uprisings against Muslims such revolts included burning

and vandalising shops and mosques Surving members of the roadside patrol that

were massacred gave eyewitness testimony of the killings They claimed that the

massacre was carried out by a group of 10 bearded guerillas with knives The

witnesses said that only one of the victims were shot and the remaining 7 vitims

were slaughtered with knives and some were even burned alive[12]

Local residents

of the village where the massacre took place do not allow family members of the

victims to visit the site[13]

On another occasion NLA separatists shut down the Lipkovo Dam leaving

tens of thousands of civilians without water for weeks

Among other crimes the NLA militants blew up the 13th-century Orthodox

monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok and is now under reconstruction

In 2001 the US recognized the NLA as a terrorist organization[citation needed]

The Macedonian side did not restrict itself to the regularities of war The

events that happened during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near

Skopje in August 2001 led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs

of the time Ljube Boškovski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The

Hague Six ethnic Albanian civilians were killed there

MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS

Macedonian Muslims

Македонци Муслимани

Makedonski Muslimani

Total population

40000

(some sources claim 80000-200000)

Regions with significant populations

Republic of Macedonia

40ndash80000

Albania

80ndash120000

Languages

Macedonian Albanian Turkish

Religions

Islam

Related ethnic groups

other ethnic Macedonians Gorani Pomaks

Bosniaks all other South Slavs

The Macedonian Muslims (Macedonian Македонци Муслимани or

Makedonski Muslimani) also known as Muslim Macedonians or Torbesh (the

later name is somewhat pejorative and means the bag carriers) are a minority

religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians who are Sunni

Muslims although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity They have been

culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian Slavic Macedonian

community for centuries

ISLAMICISATION

The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Christian

Macedonians who converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman

Empire ruled the Balkans The main factor prompting their conversion was the

Ottoman Empire Non-Muslims were generally regarded by the state and Ottoman

society as being of a subordinate status They were treated differently under the

legal system being subjected to special taxes such as the jizya head tax Muslims

generally enjoyed a more favorable treatment from the law and the state For

example non-Muslims could not hold political or military office They also

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 17: Yugoslav Wars

happened when three Macedonian police officers were killed in an ambush by

ethnic Albanian gunmen on November 12 2001

CASUALTIES AND DISPLACEMENT

Casualty figures remain uncertain By March 19 2001 the BBC reported

that Macedonian security forces claimed five of their soldiers were killed while

the NLA claimed it had killed 11 No definitive NLA casualty figures were cited

at the time On December 25 2001 the Alternative Information Network cited

figures of 63 deaths claimed by Macedonian security forces for their side and 64

deaths claimed by the NLA for their fighters About 60 ethnic Albanian civilians

are thought to have been killed (some say 1000) while possibly about ten ethnic

Macedonians died during the conflict (Macedonian authorities did not release

figures for the latter at the time some say there were 500) As of December 2005

the fate of twenty ―disappeared civilians mdash13 ethnic Macedonians six ethnic

Albanians and one Bulgarian citizenmdash remains unknown By August 2001 the

number of people displaced by the war reached 170000 of which 74000 displaced

internally As of January 2004 2600 remained displaced

ALLEGED WAR CRIMES

The most notable incident was the Ljuboten massacre A three-day

operation by Macedonian police against the predominantly ethnic Albanian village

of Ljuboten from August 10-12 2001 The operation left ten civilians dead and

resulted in the arrest of more than 100 men many of whom were severely beaten

while in police custody Contrary to assertions by the Macedonian government a

Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground in Ljuboten found no evidence

of a presence by the ethnic Albanian National Liberation The events that occurred

during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near Skopje in August 2001

led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs of the time Ljube

Boškoski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague

Although the conflict in Macedonia was brief it was not scant of war

crimes The most notable incident was the infamous Vejce massacre where

Albanian guerrillas killed 8 Macedonian soldiers and dismembered and

vandalized their corpses On another occasion Albanian guerrillas inscribed their

names with knives on the backs on some construction workers[11]

Images of the

massacre started local uprisings against Muslims such revolts included burning

and vandalising shops and mosques Surving members of the roadside patrol that

were massacred gave eyewitness testimony of the killings They claimed that the

massacre was carried out by a group of 10 bearded guerillas with knives The

witnesses said that only one of the victims were shot and the remaining 7 vitims

were slaughtered with knives and some were even burned alive[12]

Local residents

of the village where the massacre took place do not allow family members of the

victims to visit the site[13]

On another occasion NLA separatists shut down the Lipkovo Dam leaving

tens of thousands of civilians without water for weeks

Among other crimes the NLA militants blew up the 13th-century Orthodox

monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok and is now under reconstruction

In 2001 the US recognized the NLA as a terrorist organization[citation needed]

The Macedonian side did not restrict itself to the regularities of war The

events that happened during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near

Skopje in August 2001 led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs

of the time Ljube Boškovski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The

Hague Six ethnic Albanian civilians were killed there

MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS

Macedonian Muslims

Македонци Муслимани

Makedonski Muslimani

Total population

40000

(some sources claim 80000-200000)

Regions with significant populations

Republic of Macedonia

40ndash80000

Albania

80ndash120000

Languages

Macedonian Albanian Turkish

Religions

Islam

Related ethnic groups

other ethnic Macedonians Gorani Pomaks

Bosniaks all other South Slavs

The Macedonian Muslims (Macedonian Македонци Муслимани or

Makedonski Muslimani) also known as Muslim Macedonians or Torbesh (the

later name is somewhat pejorative and means the bag carriers) are a minority

religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians who are Sunni

Muslims although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity They have been

culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian Slavic Macedonian

community for centuries

ISLAMICISATION

The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Christian

Macedonians who converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman

Empire ruled the Balkans The main factor prompting their conversion was the

Ottoman Empire Non-Muslims were generally regarded by the state and Ottoman

society as being of a subordinate status They were treated differently under the

legal system being subjected to special taxes such as the jizya head tax Muslims

generally enjoyed a more favorable treatment from the law and the state For

example non-Muslims could not hold political or military office They also

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 18: Yugoslav Wars

vandalized their corpses On another occasion Albanian guerrillas inscribed their

names with knives on the backs on some construction workers[11]

Images of the

massacre started local uprisings against Muslims such revolts included burning

and vandalising shops and mosques Surving members of the roadside patrol that

were massacred gave eyewitness testimony of the killings They claimed that the

massacre was carried out by a group of 10 bearded guerillas with knives The

witnesses said that only one of the victims were shot and the remaining 7 vitims

were slaughtered with knives and some were even burned alive[12]

Local residents

of the village where the massacre took place do not allow family members of the

victims to visit the site[13]

On another occasion NLA separatists shut down the Lipkovo Dam leaving

tens of thousands of civilians without water for weeks

Among other crimes the NLA militants blew up the 13th-century Orthodox

monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok and is now under reconstruction

In 2001 the US recognized the NLA as a terrorist organization[citation needed]

The Macedonian side did not restrict itself to the regularities of war The

events that happened during the attack on the Albanian village of Ljuboten near

Skopje in August 2001 led to trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs

of the time Ljube Boškovski in the International War Crime Tribunal in The

Hague Six ethnic Albanian civilians were killed there

MACEDONIAN MUSLIMS

Macedonian Muslims

Македонци Муслимани

Makedonski Muslimani

Total population

40000

(some sources claim 80000-200000)

Regions with significant populations

Republic of Macedonia

40ndash80000

Albania

80ndash120000

Languages

Macedonian Albanian Turkish

Religions

Islam

Related ethnic groups

other ethnic Macedonians Gorani Pomaks

Bosniaks all other South Slavs

The Macedonian Muslims (Macedonian Македонци Муслимани or

Makedonski Muslimani) also known as Muslim Macedonians or Torbesh (the

later name is somewhat pejorative and means the bag carriers) are a minority

religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians who are Sunni

Muslims although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity They have been

culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian Slavic Macedonian

community for centuries

ISLAMICISATION

The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Christian

Macedonians who converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman

Empire ruled the Balkans The main factor prompting their conversion was the

Ottoman Empire Non-Muslims were generally regarded by the state and Ottoman

society as being of a subordinate status They were treated differently under the

legal system being subjected to special taxes such as the jizya head tax Muslims

generally enjoyed a more favorable treatment from the law and the state For

example non-Muslims could not hold political or military office They also

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 19: Yugoslav Wars

Republic of Macedonia

40ndash80000

Albania

80ndash120000

Languages

Macedonian Albanian Turkish

Religions

Islam

Related ethnic groups

other ethnic Macedonians Gorani Pomaks

Bosniaks all other South Slavs

The Macedonian Muslims (Macedonian Македонци Муслимани or

Makedonski Muslimani) also known as Muslim Macedonians or Torbesh (the

later name is somewhat pejorative and means the bag carriers) are a minority

religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians who are Sunni

Muslims although not all espouse a Macedonian national identity They have been

culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian Slavic Macedonian

community for centuries

ISLAMICISATION

The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Christian

Macedonians who converted to Islam during the centuries when the Ottoman

Empire ruled the Balkans The main factor prompting their conversion was the

Ottoman Empire Non-Muslims were generally regarded by the state and Ottoman

society as being of a subordinate status They were treated differently under the

legal system being subjected to special taxes such as the jizya head tax Muslims

generally enjoyed a more favorable treatment from the law and the state For

example non-Muslims could not hold political or military office They also

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 20: Yugoslav Wars

benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the

empire - in practice Christianity was the religion of a conquered underclass

AREAS OF SETTLEMENT

The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in western Macedonia

in Debar and surrounding villages in the Reka (River) region near Mavrovo some

villages near Struga and the border region with Albania The region is rather

mountainous and isolated The mountains of Shar Deshat and Mount Korab form

the northern part around the Mount Bistra massif To the south of Mount Bistra are

the mountains Stogovo and Jablanica There are smaller concentrations of

Macedonian Muslims in other places of Macedonia and Albania as well

DEMOGRAPHICS

The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish The

writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of Yugoslavia before World

War II the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27000 Subsequent

censuses have produced dramatically varying figures 1591 in 1953 3002 in

1961 1248 in 1971 and 39355 in 1981 Commentators have suggested that the

latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks

Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World

War II more than 70000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other

Muslim groups most notably the Albanians

LANGUAGE AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Like their Christian ethnic kin Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian

language as their first language Despite their common religion Macedonian

Muslims rarely intermarry with the countrylsquos other Muslims Macedonian

ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the

Christian Macedonian Slavs but instead a religious minority within the

Macedonian Slav ethnic community

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 21: Yugoslav Wars

They should not be confused with the Macedonian Albanians who are an

entirely different ethnic group which is also divided into Muslim and Christian

populations

Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are

in fact Slavicized Turks although this interpretation is not widely supported The

Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian

Muslims are not in fact Slavic Macedonians this prompted a strong reaction

when his thesis was first published in 1988

When the Republic of Macedonia was established in 1946 the ruling

Communists encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian

identity [citation needed]

which Macedonian Christians were also compelled to accept [citation needed]

This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian

community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity

and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the

Association of Macedonian Muslims It was established in 1970 with the support

of the authorities probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations

in control

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a

significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics amplified by the tendency of

some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates In 1990 the chairman

of the Macedonian Muslims organization Riza Memedovski sent an open letter to

the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia accusing the

party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian Muslims A

controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council

of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official

language of Muslims in Macedonia The decision prompted protests from the

leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community

OCCUPATION

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries

Page 22: Yugoslav Wars

The main occupation of the Macedonian Muslims is cattle breeding and

working abroad Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters wood

carvers and mosaic-makers In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian

Muslims have emigrated to Italy and other Western European countries