Tacit Support for Big Brother

Foreign representatives in Macedonia, who usually have opinions even in those matters that really are none of their business, have opted for dead silence regarding the phone-tapping scandal even though even their embassies were "hit". Private criticism was addressed to Crvenkovski because of his decision to "hurry" with publication of documents and thereby "destabilize" the country (read government)

by N.M.

Start, Skopje, Macedonia, January 26, 2001

If I were in Branko Crvenkovski's place, said these days a foreign diplomat in Skopje, I would not publish the documents about phone-tapping. In any case, not now, at this moment. I would have saved them as a trump card for the parliamentary elections that are supposed to be held in 18 months. Because "if it is proven" that phones were really tapped and the published documents are reliable, especially if it is proven that even foreign embassies' phones were tapped, that will significantly harm the standing of Macedonia in the international community. That will cause a diplomatic scandal, relations with countries whose diplomats were eavesdropped on will get worse and Macedonia's accelerated (?!) accession to the EU and NATO will be stopped. On the other hand, the voters will take their revenge for that on Branko in the next elections!

The conversation was unofficial, but our interlocutor on several occasions requested, if we wrote anything on this topic, to withhold his name as this was his private opinion, rather than the official view of his embassy or, God forbid, agreed position of the western embassies in Macedonia in relation with the most recent scandal produced by Ljupco Georgievski's government. Nevertheless, deep silence for which the western diplomats in Skopje opted in connection with the phone-tapping scandal, is more than a confirmation that the above quoted "private" opinion is not unique. And that the diplomatic corps in Skopje, although otherwise it has opinions on everything, even in strictly internal affairs and developments, this time unanimously decided to keep quiet because it does not know how to (loudly) react without losing the little democratic credibility it still has.

Fear of Elections

Because, the concern for the reputation of Macedonia in the world and the rating of Crvenkovski because he unmasked undemocratic, essentially fascistoid attitude of these authorities with respect to their people, to the extent it does exist, is of least importance for the foreign diplomats, as they've amply demonstrated over the last year or two. For them and the countries they represent at this moment the top priority task is that there are no disturbances in Macedonia, because in the coming year disturbances are expected everywhere in the neighborhood; Montenegro is facing early parliamentary elections, and an independence referendum; in Serbia early presidential elections are possible; in Kosovo the international community is trying to prove to itself that it has made progress, and is trying to hold general elections; in the fall elections are expected in Bulgaria as well. Could it be, we asked our collocutor, that the western democracies are afraid of elections, while at the same time they lecture us that those are the highest form of democracy? No, he replied, but the time of the elections, and possible changes of authorities, already contain internal destabilizing potential. Besides, this is Balkans, he stressed.

We had elections in the "Balkans" last year as well. And except in Macedonia, in all other countries they passed unexpectedly smoothly. In FRY Slobodan Milosevic was peacefully ousted from power. In Albania first multiparty elections without big irregularities and spilt blood took place. Even in Kosovo, as "political opponents" butchered each other during what was supposed to be an election campaign, the election day and voting was peaceful and there were no victims.

That, naturally, does not mean that Milosevic is definitely gone and that the region and the international factor will not with delay pay the bill for his departure or his ultimate return to the political scene. It is also clear that the election victory of moderate Ibrahim Rugova last autumn also does not indicate the end of political ambitions of the former (and current) terrorist "commanders" such as Hashim Thaci and company. Or that first peaceful and regular elections in Albania will guarantee long-term strengthening of the Albanian state after the collapse in 1997. The Balkan will for a long time coming remain an ugly and insecure place for life, and as long as it remains that way, foreigners will have a very good excuse to stay here, to rearrange us and behave like bosses.

For that mission, they needed only one, not too large territory, such as our Macedonia, to install in it one, in normal conditions impossible political coalition prepared, in return for the support of the "international community", to turn the sovereign Macedonian state into no-mans land in which foreigners feel as if at home and from which without obstacles they can oversee the neighborhood and if necessary intervene, until the events there head in a different direction.

Suspended Democracy

In that territory today there is everything a person may wish for: there is a government, a parliament and similar state stuff [drebulii], all sorts of organized and unorganized crime is permitted, as well as smuggling of cigarettes and weapons, trade with people, prostitution and unhindered entrance and exit of all sorts of armed gangs of "liberators" from abroad; it is also allowed to kill policemen without punishment. From time to time, it is even allowed to hold elections, but in no case early elections, because those would "destabilize" the state, and that the international factor, besides so many other unstable parts of the region which it has to take care of, cannot allow in Macedonia. That is why the American State Department speeded up to first, before the Macedonian State Electoral Commission managed to publish even incomplete results, proclaim victory of Boris Trajkoviski in the 1999 presidential elections and hypocritically hailed it as "yet another step in the development of democracy", although electoral fraud, especially in the second round, was horrendous. That is why the "world" hardly registered that also last year in the local elections their favorites Georgievski and Xhaferi carried out an even bigger electoral fraud and falsified the results, with use of violence and weapons, in which two persons lost their lives and tens were injured. Instead of condemnation of violence and a call to annul the elections, foreign diplomats in Skopje then accused the opposition of provoking disturbances with its "militant" approach.

That is why now, after the breaking of the phone-scandal scandal, which in normal states is enough to bring a government down, and in those not so normal at least ministers of internal affairs, the diplomatic corps in Macedonia failed to issue a single word of condemnation. Instead, in private conversations, as the one described at the beginning of this article, certain diplomats express only their "private" criticism, naturally repeatedly and exclusively of the opposition, because of its inopportune unmasking of the phone-tapping scandal and because of sheer impatience to bring down these authorities and return to power. And that, as we said, would be nothing but "destabilization" which at this moment is not at all in the interest of the international community!

The conclusions that can be drawn from such and similar friendly lectures by western democrats are terrifying, to say the least. Macedonia, actually this and such government, should remain "stable" until that is in the interest of the international community. The time in Macedonia should stop; practically Macedonia should stop in its democratic development in order to wait for the surrounding countries to bring themselves to order, and only then it can hope to be given the right to freely develop its democracy. Branko Crvenkovski, and the opposition in general, if they want to finally please the international factor, should give up the struggle to come to power; in the concrete case with the phone-tapping scandal, they were supposed to wisely keep quiet, not to publish documents which confirm phone-tapping and to allow Ljupco and Dosta to continue for at least another year to eavesdrop on our conversations and in practice apply the lessons from Orwell's Big Brother. Or alternatively, they are supposed to quietly watch as fascism is introduced in Macedonia through the front door and thus, watching and doing nothing to prevent it, become its accomplices. And a year and a half later, when the time for regular parliamentary elections comes, if these are held at all (because fascism, as we already saw in 1999 and 2000 cannot bear free expression of popular will), no one will criticize Branko if he again fights to return to power. However, even then he should do it gently and constructively, please, without aggressive political appearances. Because the authorities are very sensitive when their survival is endangered and are quick to draw a gun and Branko will again be blamed if blood is spilt.

Translated on March 8, 2001