photo: AFP

A new extremist group in Macedonia, calling itself the Albanian National Army (ANA), has threatened a spring offensive aimed at uniting Albanian-populated Balkan areas into one state. So far, ANA has claimed responsibility for a few terrorist attacks, including bombings in the courtyard of a secondary school in Kumanovo and at the regional court in Struga. Security forces have not yet confirmed whether the claims are true.

Macedonian politicians and foreign diplomats believe the group does not pose a serious threat to stability and likely consists of a few cells of five to six members with criminal backgrounds who send fax messages from a headquarters.

Meanwhile, the Tirana daily Tema interviewed Alban Vjosa, the self-described political secretary of the Front for Albanian National Unity, the political wing of the ANA. He told the newspaper that "Albanians, like other nations in the Balkans, want to live in a national state."

"Albania will never be stable without historical Kosovo, without our lands in Macedonia, Ulcinj, Plav, and Gusinje in Montenegro and our 300,000 people in Albanian territories in Greece," he added.

Such statements amount to an old idea of a "Greater Albania", Macedonian Defence Minister Vlado Buckovski said. He believes extremist groups in the region were stirred up after the constitutional charter of Serbia-Montenegro was adopted. A clause in that charter refers to Kosovo as part of the new loose union that is replacing Yugoslavia.

The defence ministry estimates that a few criminal groups are acting in areas around Kumanovo and Tetovo, two towns in the western and northern parts of Macedonia, and are extorting money from the population.

"The Macedonian Army and the Interior Ministry are closely watching the situation in the field and are ready to handle any assumed threat," said President Boris Trajkovski. Gen Metodi Stamboliski, the army chief of staff, said that although there are some small armed extremist groups in former crisis regions, they are incapable of disrupting the security situation.

Recently, Buckovski visited Kosovo, where he met KFOR Commander Fabio Mini. The two agreed on co-ordinated monitoring of the border between Macedonia and Kosovo, and on the exchange of liaison officers between Macedonia and KFOR. The officers will engage in intensive co-ordination and a timely response if extremist groups are detected.

At a recent press conference, US Ambassador to Macedonia Lawrence Butler downplayed the significance of the ANA. "They are pathetic losers who sit in a hole in Kosovo or Macedonia and send faxes," he said, adding that such groups have no support either in the country's political structures or amongst the population.

Source /Balkan Times/