by Nikos Doukas

The Albanian guerillas have turned upside down the southern Balkans and unfortunately Greece gives the impression of a passive country from which all the neighbours try to grab territory. The last incident is the proposal of members of the Skopje Academy, according to which "Macedonia" will cede part of its territory to the Albanians and will be "compensated" with the Florina, Kastoria and Pella prefectures from Greece. The proposal was revealed on 30 May by the official organ of the Skopje government, the newspaper "Nova Macedonia", under the title "The Albanian problem will be solved along with the Macedonian".

Links Skopje Academy Nova Macedonia VMRO-DPMNE Social Democrats

In detail, according to the ideas of members of the Skopje Academy, "Macedonia" could cede parts of its western territory, namely the areas of Divri (Debar), Gostivar and Tetovo, and get in exchange from Albania the area of minor Prespa and part of the Ohrid lake-shore with the city of Pogradets. In parallel the Albanians who live in the areas of Kumanovo, Skopje, Veles, Monastiri (Bitola), Kicevo and Struga will move to the ceded to Albania zone, where the "Macedonians" will leave from. The application of the so-called scenario of the "national key" will practically mean a settlement similar to the ones in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. In such a case, "Macedonia" will also gain in exchange "Macedonia of Pirin" (the Bulgarian-held north-eastern Macedonia) and parts of the "Aegean Macedonia", where the Academy considers that "Macedonian" population still lives, namely the Florina, Kastoria and Pella prefectures. For the implementation of the scenario, according to some western circles, the Albanian-held territory (Northern Epirus) of the Greek minority is going to be annexed to Greece.

According to "Nova Macedonia" "those who voice these ideas claim that any other settlement will be temporary, because the two people are different and cannot coexist. An additional reason for the application of the scenario is the common lot until today of the Albanian and Macedonian nation: their partition. The plan met with positive response from the Yugoslav government, after the developments in Kosovo. It is interesting that Henry Kissinger, an expert in the international relations in the Balkans and Europe, is one of those who project the scenario of the "ethnic key", which Bulgaria has also been informed of. This explains the state of tension the Bulgarian political leadership is in recently. Some circles of the European Union and the USA think of applying the same "key" in the Balkans as a general rule, so as to create homogenous national states".

The chairman of the Skopje parliament Stojan Antov described the plan as interesting, referring to a civilized settlement. However he stressed that he cannot comment on it, since it is going to be looked through in detail. He also claimed that it is not about a violent change of borders. The chairman of Social Democrats Branko Cervenkovski rejected flat the plan, stressing that it is aiming at the peace, but to civil war. He added that it will bring about a humanitarian disaster and a wave of refugees and underlined that the minority problem has been solved in "Macedonia" and such solutions are unneeded. The former president Kiro Gligorov called the political parties and the members of the Academy to condemn any partition scenario of the country, noting that the academicians may aim at a definitive settlement of the crisis, but it will create new conflict spots and the repercussions are difficult to predict. The spokesman of the VMRO-DPMNE Igor Yevski labelled as unfounded the Social Democrats' claims that the initiative of the academicians has the government's support. The chairman of the Albanian Academy Ili Popa rejected the plan, underlining that "the Albanians who live in "Macedonia" do aspire to the redrawal of the state borders, but to their strengthening, as a common state of Albanians and Slavs. The Albanians call for the respect of their rights and do not want the destruction of the country they live in".

It is possible that the scenario of the "ethnic key" is an invention of "Nova Macedonia". Even if it is so, the danger is the same, since the fact is one: the "Macedonians", through their governmental newspaper, aim at shifting the Albanian problem to Greece by annexing "Macedonian" territory. Never would they have expressed such specific territorial claims, if they were not encouraged by the endless compliance of the Greek government.