Macedonia is not threatened by being transformed into a federation. It's chief threat is rot, self decomposition. If we cannot leave the mud of inter-ethnic phobias, if we fail to come to the same reading of agreements written with clear letters, rather than signs that must be interpreted by seers, then this country can have only one fate - we can only keep lying to ourselves that it has a future. Even a kingdom ruling a whole continent would find it far too expensive to spend a whole decade seeking answers that have no alternative. Even the empire reaching all the way to the Black Sea would have fallen apart if it kept looking for simple answers such as the one to the question that is these days raised by certain circles in Macedonia: what do we need the Albanian language Tetovo University for? And then, they do not want to hear the answer offered by ethnic Albanians. We know that you [ethnic Macedonians] do not need it, but our children do need it. Even larger states than this small Macedonia would fall apart if they wasted weeks and weeks only to prevent others from having what we have fought so bravely for, for education in mother tongue. And supposedly questioning this desire because of quality of education, again forgetting that if quality were the standard then they [ethnic Macedonians] would not have any universities, since their universities have for a while been dominated by "peacocks" instead of true scientists. Of the sort that ask: how can there be another university if there is no money even for the ones we already have! Well, then we shall somewhat reduce the finances earmarked for the existing universities so that we can all feel equally wealthy or equally poor.
Without doubt Macedonia is not threatened by any future federation. Macedonia is threatened by internal rot. In this country everything is foggy. Everything is deformed. Even the questions that are being asked are not true questions. Thus, if Macedonian political and other elites had courage they would not ask how to protect the state from "the Albanian peril", but how to protect Macedonian ethnic tissue from similar cultures and languages in the integrated Balkans. The Macedonian political and other elites need not waste their energy trying to figure out what the quality of the graduates of the Tetovo University will be in the future. Instead they should try to figure out what their attitude will be with respect to increasing numbers of graduates returning after completing their studies in Belgrade and Sofia. And who will study at our "high quality" universities tomorrow, when Tirana, Pristina, Sofija and Belgrade end up being as "close" as are today Skopje, Bitola and Tetovo. No one has attempted to find answers to these questions. We are trying to join the united Europe in our specific manner. We want to be pulled by the European engine, while we throw wild drunken parties in our separate ethnic train cars. Such a journey is possible, but I demand that we agree in advance that we clean our respective cars. And that we all pay for our own drinks. So that it does not stay as until now: only some drink, but all of us are drunk. Some are drunk with fear that the state will become a federation, others with fear that the state will become too centralized. In the meantime, neither side notices that the true source of their drunkenness is neither federalization nor centralization, but the stench of putrefaction. Skill will be needed to avoid total decomposition.
Today, however, the Republic of Macedonia is in the process of being transformed into a federation, as a natural path towards easier separation. Thanks to imprudent agreements of political coalitions, remnants of the bloody anti-Macedonian war (which is still politely referred to as a conflict between two equally responsible sides?!) have managed to maintain the status quo. Conquered territories are in practice outside jurisdiction of the ethnic Macedonian part of state authorities; their residents do not fulfill legal and civic obligations, such as payment of taxes and electricity bills; these territories are also formally marked by the black eagle on the red flag of the Republic of Albania. Even the legal obligation for voluntary disarmament has not been met in the territories governed by ethnic Albanian mayors (who are paid by the government).
Willful and arbitrary treatment of state and private property has become endemic. Buildings and land are taken over, houses belonging to ethnic Macedonians are burnt and looted, Macedonian citizens are terrorized and even killed in occupied territories, all of that without punishment; most often we are informed that "the investigation is ongoing". If by any chance ethnic Albanian terrorists or street bullies and criminals are taken into custody and, very seldom, sentenced, after political and "international" interventions, regularly followed by mass organized street protests and rallies, they are released "for the sake of peace in the family". Disturbances and insecurity are only getting worse. Ethnic Macedonians, feeling insecure and unprotected, are moving or leaving the country.
The "ethnic" police (since in the occupied territories there is no state police!) is only capable of providing curt "official" reports, but is incapable of decisive actions. The judiciary, as one of three branches of the government, in the Republic of Macedonia is in deep slumber. Trials of members of the ethnic Albanian minority on simplest and smallest criminal charges take forever, and rare sentences are immediately revised or suspended... All of that indicates that there is no state, no rule of law, although we want to be accepted as one of civilized European states...
Education is another "story" (that is now a much abused political term!). In the regions with ethnic Albanian majority there is no rule of law. Schools are taken over, names changed, fights and violence among students are a daily occurrence... There are even proposals for a parallel ethnically clean Albanian education system in Macedonia. Universities are arbitrarily established, so that by now in Tetovo, a small provincial town, there are three of them. Students with bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees are being produced in huge numbers. Recently, a history "professor", Mr. Vebi Xhemaili (of the distinguished Stoel's University, a recent Doctor of Sciences (where did he obtain his doctorate?), at an official meeting at "Alexander Palace" hotel tried to convince us that ethnic Albanians here live on historically their territories, that they have for centuries fought for the unification of Albanian territories (claiming all the land to Stip and Veles, literally half of Macedonia), that Albanians liberated Skopje from Turks and raised an Albanian flag in this city, that Albanians have been always terrorized... and no one controls what is being taught in Albanian schools. Thus, they are educating and raising future citizens of this country (or future "freedom fighters"?)... And all of that is paid by ethnic Macedonian taxpayers.
There was a population census. It seems the results were agreed beforehand or tweaked after the fact - nevertheless the census has received a verification from abroad. Ethnic Macedonian Muslims have recently become ethnic Albanians, Turks, or "others". Wise Redzo Muslioski may speak and weep on the Macedonian TV. In "Torbes" [Macedonian Muslims] villages directors appointed by authorities are ethnic Albanians, BDI members, while mayors are also ethnic Albanians, from DPSh. We have gone even further than the millet system of the Ottoman Empire. Then, religion was the same as nation, while now political affiliation has become a sign of ethnicity. Thus, Labunista became a large "Albanian" village, while Plasnica has become the largest "Turkish" village (although there are no Turks in it!). The Constitutional Court has passed its judgment on Centar Zupa, but neither the earlier, nor these authorities have bothered to implement the judgment of this highest judicial authority in the country... As far as they are concerned the locals are "Turks" and must learn Turkish. That is democracy? And "international factors" are smiling and approving...
The population census is already being abused. The new territorial division of the country has in practice drawn a map of the so far informal federation. It is a verification of the de facto situation. A new and even more thorough ethnic cleansing is to come. Refugee camps housing expelled and unprotected ethnic Macedonians since the war will only increase in the future...
Is it not true that all of this already represents a de facto federalization? Separation awaits us in the future. Do we need a new war, the war for which arms caches are being kept?
The author is a historian and member of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts