Introduction - Part 11

So whoever thinks that the U.S. is losing interest in the Balkans and is withdrawing is just speculating.

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16. America’s policy towards Macedonia in the last 20-odd years has been deeply wrong. It has not achieved the desired results at all and has inflicted enormous and immeasurable damage on Macedonia. The U.S. has been completely dedicated all these years to the realization of the “Greater Albania” project, totally ignoring Macedonia’s basic interests. This policy is inevitably leading to the destruction of Macedonia. If the Americans paid even minimal attention to Macedonia’s aspirations: a) They would not have been insisting so vehemently for Macedonia to change its name, b) they would have understood relatively early that the Albanians had received more than enough from separating Kosovo from Serbia and did not need any more, c) they would not have underestimated the far-reaching negative effects of placing too much emphasis on the Albanians as the key factor in the region… These reflections are already present and much more will follow…

Giving Macedonia to the Albanians, as they are doing, will inevitably stimulate their new and uncontrollable ambitions for getting more. And, easily, their new target for expansion could be - Greece. There are over a million Albanians living in Greece. They control the Mafia there, which generates huge amounts of money which tomorrow could be used for political purposes, especially if the economic crisis continues to persist.

It is very important to emphasize that if Washington was paying minimal attention to Macedonian interests up to now, trying to help us, the U.S. would have definitely experienced considerable success in stabilizing the Balkans, despite the “Greater Albania” project.

17. We are deeply convinced that the Americans made a strategic mistake ignoring the Macedonians. If Macedonians were not a hard nut to crack, they would have disappeared a long time ago. They survived the Bucharest and Versailles Treaties of the early 20th century, they survived the Bucharest NATO fiasco of 2008 and the Chicago of 2012… They will survive the EU manipulations from Brussels when they play with the destiny of the country and its people by putting illegal blockades and blackmail… If they have survived terrible ordeals and genocides in the first half of the 20 century… why should they give up today? There is no chance of the Macedonians being exterminated! No one can achieve it, including the U.S.

18. In the end let us conclude that if someone today tries to break up and appropriate Macedonian territory it would mean a new war. The process of albanization that is aggressively taking place is leading exactly in that direction. It is our common duty to stop it because such things cannot go on forever without consequences. Besides some initial achievements this development has no chance of final success. If there are no timely activities for a complete change of the negative processes a new and wider armed confrontation will be certain.

We have a deep division among Macedonians which will probably not be easy to overcome but, in certain situations when our existence is at stake, our differences will have to be put to the side. This is what we have done over the centuries and this is what we will need to do today. Macedonia must not allow its enemies to succeed, regardless of who they are and where they are. Macedonians have always endured. We need to stand together or we will pay the ultimate price.

Macedonia, as it is now, is by far the best solution for the region, for Washington, for Brussels… including all our neighbours. Destroying it will introduce many new risks…

The sooner Washington realizes that the better it will be for all of us. Traditionally, the others will follow the Americans.

A person with whom I once worked at the large OHIS chemical plant, in a random encounter at the market once said: “Americans are hypocritical. They would say go, do not worry, we are with you. But once we turn our backs they will immediately release the dogs on us to catch us!”

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Churchill perhaps left a useful message for us when he said: “As long as you are going through hell, keep going!

We have no other choice but to keep going. Perhaps this experience will unite us. Torture and suffering usually bring out such qualities. Hopefully it will be the case with us too.