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From: Transitions Online <[log in to unmask]>
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Subject: New at TOL
Date: 26 March 2001 21:53
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Transitions Online - Intelligent Eastern Europe
New at TOL: Monday, 26. March 2001
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--- OUR TAKE: Unjustified Rebellion ---
The West must act now in Macedonia.
http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6&NrSection=16&NrArticle=673&ST1=body&ST_T1=wir&ST_ma
x=1
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- - - TOL Message - - -
This message reaches 27.000 people. Want to reach the region? Visit our
mediakit at http://archive.tol.cz/mediakit/index.html, or e-mail us at
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--- TOL WEEK IN REVIEW ---
Tit For Tat, That's Where It's At
The U.S. boots 50 Russian diplomats and Moscow threatens to do the
same—case closed.
by Sophia Kornienko
http://www.tol.cz/week.html
Explosions Rock Russia
Near-simultaneous blasts shake three towns near the Chechen border.
by Sophia Kornienko
http://www.tol.cz/week.html
Peace Before Dialogue
As fighting intensifies in Macedonia and ethnic Albanian solidarity
rises, the unity of the ruling coalition looks shakier than ever.
by Gordana Icevska
http://www.tol.cz/week.html
Croatia: High Noon
Gangland-style violence in Zagreb has citizens on edge.
by Mirna Solic
http://www.tol.cz/week.html
Those Pesky Diplomats
An unwanted faux-pas for the already-pressured Czech diplomatic corp.
by Petra Breyerova
http://www.tol.cz/week.html
MORE WEEK IN REVIEW:
http://www.tol.cz/week.html
Yugoslavia Stands Divided Over War Crimes
Belarus' Freedom Day Protests Prove Arresting
'Eyewitness' Arrested in Croatian Bombing
Albanian Energy Co. Asks To Be Left Alone
Bugging Allegations Anger Mongolian Opposition
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
--- MEDIA ---
Exposing the Exposers
Russia's print media finally caught in the act of printing paid-for
articles.
by Maria Antonenko
http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6&NrSection=4&NrArticle=663
No Poetic Justice
A controversial appointee may not survive the storm surrounding his
nomination to head Bulgarian National Radio.
by Konstantin Vulkov
http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6&NrSection=4&NrArticle=662
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
--- OPINIONS ---
Stupid Bluff or Shrewd Conspiracy?
By Elena Chinyaeva
The Russian parliament's bizarre back-and-forth over a no-confidence
vote illustrates the farcical nature of attempts to re-make the party
system.
http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6&NrSection=3&NrArticle=669
Imperial Outpost, Social Provider
Defining Russia's relationship with Georgia's isolated Akhalkalaki. A
TOL partner post from EurasiaNET.
by Anatol Lieven
http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6&NrSection=3&NrArticle=667
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
--- FEATURES ---
Wives, Wives, and More Wives ...
Polygamy creeps silently through Russia's southern outskirts.
by Nabi Abdullaev
http://www.tol.cz/look/TOLnew/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue=6&NrSection=2&NrArticle=664
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
- - - TOL partners - - -
- Oneworld.net (www.oneworld.net) Working through a network of
hundreds of organizations spread throughout the world, Oneworld aims
to be the online media gateway that most effectively informs a global
audience about human rights and sustainable development.
- Prague Watchdog (www.watchdog.cz) Prague Watchdog monitors current
events in Chechnya with a special focus on human rights abuses, media
access and coverage, and the humanitarian and political situation.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
--- OUR TAKE: Unjustified Rebellion ---
The West must act now in Macedonia.
In the 1990s, Macedonia has always been the fiery melting pot waiting to
happen. Historically, a number of conflicting aspirations converge
there. If the conflict starts to unravel, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, and
Albania will clash--one way or another. It is the ultimate Balkan
nightmare scenario, and that’s why it is vitally important to draw the
line in the sand now.
The region’s stability depends on the West whether it likes it or not.
The West, especially the United States, should be prepared to give full
support to the Macedonian government politically, economically, and
militarily through NATO and European Union structures.
NATO wants to beef up its military presence with 1,200 troops on the
Kosovo side of the border, cutting off supply lines to the rebel
National Liberation Army. France and the United States have promised to
send unpiloted spy planes to patrol flashpoint areas. And on 25 March,
NATO allowed hundreds of Yugoslav troops to enter the border region in
an attempt to cut off the transport of weapons to the insurgents. NATO
and European Union leaders are meeting in Skopje on 26 March to urge the
Macedonian government to exercise restraint, and Russia has suggested
that troops be sent into Macedonia proper.
The United States must not shy away from its responsibility for several
reasons. First, Washington has been heavily involved throughout the
1990s and has created high expectations in the region. Leaving the
region to fend for itself—the strategy with Bosnia at the beginning of
that conflict--is irresponsible. Second, local players usually don’t
ignore what the United States says. In particular that is true of ethnic
Albanians. Many see the United States as their “savior” after the
Clinton administration, in effect, adopted the Kosovar Albanians--and
even waged a war to liberate them. Third, resentment and bitterness
toward NATO still lingers strongly in many corners of the Balkans. Most
Serbs think that, for whatever reason, NATO favored ethnic Albanians
unfairly. Action from NATO would prove to some of the alliance's
detractors that its actions are non-partisan and in the interests of
democracy and peace. Some, of course, will take more convincing than
others.
Moreover, the ethnic Albanian rebellion in Macedonia is unjustified. To
say the country is a model of multi-ethnic coexistence is chimerical.
But it is important to recognize that the country--in a region still
ravaged by ethnic intolerance--has made great strides. The
soon-to-be-launched Tetovo university is one example, ethnic Albanians
gradually gaining greater representation in the police and armed forces,
is another. Prior to the insurgency, the authorities--as they had in in
Milosevic's Kosovo--had not conducted a protracted campaign, led by
paramilitary forces, aimed at depopulating and breaking the back of the
local majority ethnic Albanian community. Before the fighting broke out
most ethnic Albanians in Macedonia complained of being second-class
citizens, in Kosovo they feared for their lives. And fortunately, the
area in which the fighting has taken place is not the cradle of
Macedonia nationhood--like Kosovo for the Serbs--and cannot be
manipulated as such.
Prompted by the recent crisis, the government has also promised to open
far-ranging discussions on the grievances of ethnic Albanians, but only
after the rebels lay down their weapons; based on their progress in
tackling such problems to date, officials should be given the benefit of
the doubt.
So far the Bush administration has been irresponsibly slow in condemning
the rebels. Already, divisions in Macedonia's inter-ethnic government
coalition are widening and tensions between ordinary ethnic Macedonias
and Albanians are escalating. Last week, the killing of two ethnic
Albanians, a father and son, was caught on camera. The two were shot
dead, allegedly after trying to throw hand grenades at a police
position. The incident has already entered the folklore of the two
ethnic groups: For ethnic Albanians, two innocents brutally slaughtered
by an oppressive regime; for ethnic Macedonians, testament to the ethnic
Albanians' warmongering. The same old destructive cycles of revenge that
keep conflict in the Balkans alive are beginning to spiral out of
control.
That is especially worrisome considering that the region's foreign
policy in the last decade has been haunted by the death knells of "safe
havens" and "cautious restraint." Ineffective action and dilly-dallying
supposedly ended with the horrors of Srebrenica. The United States
should immediately and uncategorically condemn the rebels, send
presidential envoys to Macedonia, and prepare to send military support
to Macedonia. The Bush administration should make clear that there is no
way Washington will ever support or tolerate the goals of the insurgents
in Macedonia. To do that would take the wind out of the rebels' sails,
and their cause will lose momentum. To a large extent, Balkan conflicts
have been waged for international--especially American--sympathy. Those
who don’t get that often end up the losers.
-- Transitions Online - Intelligent Eastern Europe
Copyright: Transitions Online 2001
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