ICG's analyses seldom suffer from superficiality or the impression that one of the sides in the story is being favored. They are most frequently nicely "packaged", politically balanced and free of naïve impressions of the current political situation. Nevertheless, they have one "drawback". ICG's reports usually spend very little time on paper, because due to some strange circumstances, "the fate" has it that they very quickly get transformed into reality.
Knowledgeable political public, when wanting to find out what will be the national, ethnic or confederal future next year, never seeks out a clairvoyant. Instead, they turn to the ICG's web site.
If you read "between the lines" of ICG's reports, you can figure out what was the object of attention of the military-political leadership in Brussels in the "meantime", what is brewing in the digestive tract in Washington, what are their plans for the region, and even in which restaurants they eat, at least based on the napkins on which they jot down proposed names for certain countries in the Western Balkans.
The ICG has finally "spitted" our what Brussels had in mind. First, day before yesterday, before dinner, they served us a small announcement in style, "halo Macedonia, hang on for a minute". Yesterday, at a press conference, they gave us a detailed explanation and already they've served up three possible dates on which the citizens of this country could wake up as Upper Macedonians.
Mr Edward Joseph, analyst of the ICG in Macedonia, claims that the international community agrees that the country needs to move away from instability and that it is necessary to find a way to confirm Macedonian identity. Supposedly, that would help in reducing the "bitterness and frustration felt by Macedonians because of concessions made to Albanians and the role of the international community".
What a genius! Therefore, a state that at this moment does not have full control of its sovereignty, will completely cure its frustration if its name is modified.
But, in that case, what will be left of such a washed out state? What identity will it have? What about the identity of its citizens? What sort of bleached history will flow through its educational system? How many times a year will it be allowed to mention its constitutional name?
Given the NATO and OSCE proposal for an indefinite extension of their presence in Macedonia, and a new strengthened mandate, direct involvement of mediators in political disputes on the relation Skopje-Brussels and Skopje-Athens, and the opening of investigations about election rigging, it is unclear what sort of state the ICG is talking about. According to this proposal, it is necessary to suspend all the key prerogatives of the executive authorities in the sphere of Macedonian foreign policy, as well as judiciary, while the economy and education will become objects of ignominious colonial and political concession to Greece. I cannot see a state in such a proposal. That can only be a loosely defined territory, perhaps a meadow, where puppet authorities will eat grass, like a herd of cattle that is chewing this country up before turning it into a black hole on the map of the world.
The powerful have indicated their vision for Macedonia. Now it's the turn of Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski to explain the citizens of the former Yugoslav, but nevertheless Republic of Macedonia whether he has really agreed that our country should be named Upper Macedonia, as Edward Joseph claims. Or perhaps the leak from the cabinet of George Papandreou is closer to the truth. According to the leak, two months ago during a brief meeting in Thessaloniki Georgievski allegedly offered that Macedonia enter a confederation with Greece, and in return promised unhindered access of the Greek capital to Upper Macedonia.
Georgievski, who until recently fought a war for one letter in his name [should be spelt Ljupco], does not have mandate to sell our name, or the status of the country, especially not during a café-style conversation in the city that Macedonians visit on weekends to get pissed. Let us hope for his sake that the whole story is untrue. And the ICG can keep being the vanguard and litmus test for the European-American strategy with respect to Macedonia. Our duty is to timely realize that, so that we can find a way to defend Macedonian interests. No one else will do that on our behalf.
"After the reopening of my restaurant, another 29 Muslim ethnic-Macedonians will reopen their stores. Three of them have already restarted their businesses. Others tell me: 'Ajco, if you reopen, we shall follow your example immediately, because you were the best known businessman in Bitola for 44 years'," Miftarovski says.
The damages suffered by 33 Muslim ethnic-Macedonians in Bitola exceed $1 million, and according to the business owners, 120 residents of Bitola, who worked for these businesses, were left without work for seven months.
"We were fair and continued to pay into their pension fund and for their health care. They will continue to work here."
"We have continued to pay the rent to most of the owners of the commercial space, while nine of them have broken leases out of fear that their houses may be set on fire," says Miftarovski.
He added that restaurateur Andeir Alievski showed greatest courage by reopening his grill next to the bus station in Bitola a month ago, although it was the first Muslim owned business to be set on fire. Several days after Alievski opened the restaurant, three masked men came, smashed the door and entered, and when they found Alievski inside, they beat him up and threw him out on the sidewalk. He was found there a few hours later by a policeman who took him to hospital. The Police is looking for unidentified culprits," claims Miftarovski. He goes on to tell us his story.
"On April 30, on the day four policemen from Bitola, who were massacred near Vejce were buried, someone started the rumor that I had supposedly donated $130,000 to Ali Ahmeti [leader of the National Liberation Army, UCK] as well as 7 tones of cheese for the UCK, that my grandson was collecting money for the UCK in Bitola, that my son attended [the illegal Albanian language university in] Mala Recica, that I was seen with Arben Xhaferi at the opening of the university. They offered photos, documents, receipts, to back all of this up. This was the excuse for destroying my store that night. I went to the police and asked whether they had a criminal record for me. I said, if all of this is true, they should immediately arrest me. I was prepared to go to the Hague if necessary, if someone proved that I had been financing and supporting the UCK. The authorities told me that that was a lie. I asked that the public be informed about that, but I was told 'to wait for things to calm down'. But, while I waited, speculations ran wild. In the second disturbances, my restaurant was attacked for the third time. I had it repaired, but one statement made on TV Sitel led to its third destruction. I've lost more than $100,000. The mob set out towards my house in Nova Bitola. I escaped to Ohrid to save my family. My ethnic-Macedonian neighbors saved my house and kept encouraging me. They even offered to give me money to reopen the restaurant," he says.
After the disturbances in Bitola, the well known restaurateur was contacted by numerous friends from all over the world, who at least once enjoyed grilled meat "Chez Ajco".
"Many Yugoslav and Macedonian generals were my guests, as well as singers, actors, sportsmen... My guests included Vasil Tupurkovski, Vlado Popovski (who was even a guest at the wedding of my son), numerous managers, representatives in the parliament... I made stuffed peppers for Milena Dravic [famous Yugoslav actress] when she visited Bitola. There is no journalist, artist, sportsman or politician from Skopje who hasn't eaten at my restaurant. Together with late Nijaz Limanovski, academician Blaze Ristovski, and Ljatif Pjakovski, I went in a jeep from one village to another in western Macedonia and talked to Muslim ethnic-Macedonians about faith and ethnicity. It is really sad that after all of that I now have to prove that I have nothing to do with the UCK and the KLA, that I am a resident of Bitola, a Muslim ethnic-Macedonian, a honorable restaurateur. I want to stay in my Bitola, because I cannot live anywhere else," Miftarovski says.
Ethnic Albanian leaders, who spent the last six months demanding that the constitution be expunged of references to the Macedonian nation and given civic character, have suddenly forgotten their old demands and now want to be "more equal" than others. Therefore, fighter for civic rights Imer Imeri now demands that "distinction be made between Albanians and others, who are true minorities". Haxhirexha, the man whom we recall as a parrot who kept repeating short apologies dictated by the former British ambassador Dickinson, is suddenly "humiliated by the new preamble, which places him in the same position as all the other ethnic groups that live in this country".
They want to be different from others, more equal, higher, and every other day, so that they can emphasize their "uniqueness", they head to Sipkovica to report to Ali Ahmeti and return with chips implanted by him.
But, they forgot about one thing. They demanded that the constitution be changed, they welcomed the shots fired by "our youngsters" in the mountains, as a beginning of "the centuries-long struggle for human rights". Thus, they now must not toy with the whole process only because their standing among ethnic Albanian voters has dropped. Or perhaps, they have been overcome by the old sickness from 1991, when they refused to vote for the constitution, so that they could secure a reason for "ten years of dissatisfaction" and a lot of personal comfort (of the smuggling sort). If Albanians are buying with international "credit" some sort of a similar excuse, let them know that this time it won't work.
At least not here, in Macedonia.