Macedonia and Radical Islamism - Ethnic Thrive

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, not unlike other nations of the former Yugoslavia, has had its share of ethnic difficulties.   Years of occupation by the Ottoman Turks and the Austrian Hungarian Empire have left many of the countries that comprised Yugoslavia deeply divided.  Yugoslavia was held together in a fragile federation by the dictator Marshal Tito.  After his death all bets were off and the country was quickly divided.

Bosnia Herzegovina is now in a loose confederation, consisting of ethnic Croats and Bosniac (Muslims) on one side with a clear demarcation of the Republic Srpska (ethnic Serbs).   NATO and the UN had hoped to create a country, where ethnic groups lived side by side, but it did not consider the history of the Balkans.

In early April five Macedonians were massacred by summary execution of four Macedonians, aged 18-22 and one mid-aged Macedonian while they were fishing on Good Friday this year. 

A CNN blog and a report in Canada's National Post  says that 20 men were arrested on May 2nd that are linked to a radical Muslim group, according to Macedonian police.


“The ministry of the interior found the perpetrators of the horrific killings at Smilkovsko lake”

The ministry says that some of the perpetrators had  been “fighting in Afghanistan and Pakistan against NATO soldiers”. The Interior Minister, Gordana Jankulovska, said that along with the arrests, police recovered weapons and radical Islamist literature.  The 20 men will be charged with terrorist charges, since the aim of the killings was to incite "fear and insecurity." 

There are now similar concerns in Macedonia.  ethnic tensions between the  Macedonians and the ethnic Albanians because that box has been wide open since before the brief civil war in 2001.

The killings raised fears that the fragile relations between ethnic Albanians and Macedonians could flare up again.  Approximately 25% of the population in the Former  Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are ethnic Albanians, which predominantly live in North Eastern Macedonia.  Macedonia shares borders with Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece.

  Many will recall the NATO interference in Kosovo, where Bill Clinton became the national hero after brokering, what can best be described, as a volatile deal, after a bombing spree on Serbia.   Border clashes have been common between Serbia and Kosovo.   Many of the Serbs are living a miserable life as the ethnic minority in Kosovo.

There are now similar concerns in Macedonia.  Ethnic tensions between the Macedonians and the ethnic Albanians have been fragile since the brief civil war in 2001.  The West intervened and made it clear that there was no room for a rebellion after the intervention by NATO in Kosovo after the NATO war with Serbia in 1999. 

There are no easy solutions to solve the problems in Macedonia or even Kosovo and Bosnia.  Otto von Bismarck once said that not one ounce of a German troopers blood should be spilled for the Balkans.  Kaiser Wilhelm II dismissed the Chancellor, supported Austria-Hungary, which led to the assassination of Prince Ferdinand in Sarajevo and the start of the "Great War."

It would appear that radical Islam has spilled into the Macedonian conflict, which seems to be a phenomena around the world.  The situation is worsening in Macedonia and in the past the West has taken sides in a civil war, Bosnia, Kosovo an now Macedonia.

The region is critical because of its location. Unrest and an outright civil war could create havoc in the whole region.  Macedonia's destabilization could be the "best" way to trigger an international war which would suck in Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and Turkey very quickly.

While the incidents of terror by radical Islam have been largely ignored by the Western media, which, at least in the U.S., are preoccupied with the U.S. election, Iran, Israel and the Middle East in general, it is time to once again focus on a solution in that region.

What recent events, with elections and France and Greece have shown us, is that much of Europe is volatile and it wouldn't take much to ignite a ticking time bomb.  


More on Macedonia Wikileaks

Timeline Former Yugoslavia 1918 - 2006

White Book PDF - Background on Macedonia  

Bosnian Court Convicts First Woman of War Crimes

Rasema Handanovic is the first Bosnian woman to be convicted of war crimes for killing Croat prisoners.  Handanovic, who was a Bosnian Muslim soldier during the 1990s war,  pleaded guilty as part of a plea bargaining deal. 

War crimes court judge Jasmina Kosovic said, "Rasema Handanovic participated with other members of her unit in the executions of three civilians and three soldiers.  The tribunal sentences her to five-and-a-half years in jail."

Although Croats and Bosnian Muslims where allies, fighting Serbs, for most of the Bosnian war, they were adversaries for almost a year in 1993 and 1994.  Handanovic was a member of the Zufilkar Special Unit at the time, which killed 18 civilians and four prisoners in the village of Trusina in Southern Bosnia.

Rasema Handanovic plea bargained for a lesser sentence by agreeing to testify against members of her former unit.  The plea bargain agreement resulted in her getting a lesser sentence.  She was extradited from the United States, where she had immigrated after the war, to Bosnia in December. The 39 year old holds dual citizenship of the U.S. and Bosnia. 

During the Bosnian war 100,000 lives were lost, one of the most famous massacres and human rights abuses occurred in Srbenica.  Slobodan Milosovic, Radovan Karadicz and Ratko Mladic are some of the most publicized personalities to be prosecuted for war crimes in Bosnia.