The Small Balkan Wonder

The well-known Macedonian director Vladimir Milcin said that this was the first real multi-ethnic government in the Balkans, and called it "a small Balkan wonder".

"We have been endeavoring to obtain international recognition for over a year, but without much success", says Mr. Branko Crvenkovski. "We have had a strategy from the very beginning and we see no reason to make any major changes. What is there to change anyway in our orientation to employ exclusively democratic means in order to attain international recognition, to pursue a peaceful policy, to be cooperative in relations with the international community and to fully respect accepted standards and norms of human rights and freedoms. Of course, the greatest obstacle to recognition is our neighbor Greece and its objection to accept the name Macedonia. So far, Greece has been able to impose its stand on the European Community, whose arbitration committee had concluded at one point that Macedonia and Slovenia alone of all the former Yugoslav republics deserve recognition. Should our name truly represent an obstacle to recognition, then this would mark a precedent. Some countries have already recognized us and we are convinced that, sooner or later, other countries will also accept reality and, primarily, the argument that Macedonia has fulfilled all the conditions necessary for recognition.

Macedonia has apparently been offered considerable financial assistance from various sides on condition that it changes its name.

There is much more at stake here than just the name. Renouncing the name would mean automatically renouncing national identity. We know from history that our neighbors have been trying to prove that the Macedonian people do not exist, that we are only parts of their nations. If we were to renounce the name of Macedonia, these aspirations would acquire incomparably greater proportions with extremely dark prospects for our people and state.

Do all political parties fully agree that Macedonia is not to change its name?

All parties, be they in Parliament or not, have almost identical stands on this issue. Full consensus has been achieved regarding the name. One of Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis's trumps at the Lisbon Conference was his attempt to prove that only 50 percent of Macedonia's population are Macedonians, and that for the others - the Albanians, Turks, Muslims and Romanies - the name meant absolutely nothing, and that they were ready to agree to a change. Directly afterwards, Macedonian Parliament adopted a special declaration rejecting such a viewpoint. The declaration was adopted unanimously, and it is a known fact that Albanians, Turks and Walachians have seats in Parliament. It would have been very difficult for us to withstand all the pressure to date, had we not had full consensus on this issue. There can be no differences over the question of recognition and name, no matter whether this or some other government is in power. The only possibility is that there may be those who would make more radical moves, particularly on the international plane, and this would automatically be a potential danger to peace in Macedonia.

There is no chance for Macedonia receiving even the slightest economic assistance without international recognition. What are the chances of nationalists, in particular those partial to radical solutions, pushing Macedonia into war, as was the case in other parts of former Yugoslavia?

Delaying international recognition to Macedonia is unavoidably pushing the state into such an adventure, because extreme nationalists are accusing us daily of pursuing an erroneous policy, saying that highly radical moves must be made. But one must not forget that of the four former Yugoslav republics which have been recognized, three have or still are experiencing war. Only Macedonia has succeeded in preserving peace and stability and as a "reward" for not firing a single bullet is has been put on the European Community's "waiting list". It is quite logical that extremists see their chance in such a situation, as they still regret that our republic did not block barracks and do everything else that the newly recognized states had done. This, however, is not just a problem for the government of Macedonia, all who are for peace in this region should also express concern.

The experiences of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina have shown us that we do not need recognition only after war breaks out, so that we could receive humanitarian aid and various observer missions; we need recognition and assistance now, because afterwards it may be too late. The European Community and the world have had enough time to realize what is happening here and I fear that one day they will be greatly responsible if they allow another war. Because of Macedonia's strategic interest and our neighbors' aspirations, this war could be an introduction into a much bloodier and more widespread Balkan war. In the past two years, we have managed to preserve peace, mostly by endeavoring to pursue a tolerant policy and to resolve problems by dialogue and not repression. At the moment we have a broad coalition government in which the representatives of the Albanian people in Macedonia play an important part. And this is an eyesore to the nationalists.

You are accused of being an "Albanian-communist" government.

The only true salvation for Macedonia and all other multi-national states is to promote the citizen's concept. If people here too were primarily Macedonians or Albanians, and not people, we would accomplish nothing.

As regards the objections that we are a "communist" government, it is interesting that they come largely from people who have been members of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia longer that I have been alive. We, thirty year olds, are being accused of neo-communism by persons who have as many as 40 years of party membership to their names. Our government will not indulge in such polemics.

What kind of relations do you intend to build with the new Yugoslavia?

The new Yugoslavia, primarily Serbia, is our neighbor and this in itself is very important considering the economic ties we have been promoting for years. The ties are now slightly frozen because of the sanctions, but our markets still are and will continue to be complementary, bonds at various levels, personal acquaintances and friendships will continue to exist. We are trying to conduct a goodneighborly policy with all and do not wish to destroy anything that has been built to date. Meanwhile, we are endeavoring to extend our field of relations. We always bear in mind that we are a small state and that all our neighbors are bigger. And all of them, in their own way, show a certain interest in Macedonia. We see our chance in an equidistant policy to all. The is the only way to survive. Whenever we had, in history, confronted any neighbor, or promoted relations that were too close, our identity and survival were threatened.

Macedonians frequently say that they are surrounded by "four lions". The Greek one appears to be the most dangerous.

Analyzing the statements of Greek leaders has shown that, even if the European Community and the world were to recognize Macedonia, Greece would still continue with its policy. If we could choose with whom we would like to promote best relations, it would probably be the Greeks. Greece is a EC member country, and our border with Greece is the shortest way to Europe's economic integration process. We have proposed to Greece signing a document on border inviolability, which would deny any and every possibility of our having territorial aspirations. Such a thing is, in any event, senseless, because territorially, economically and militarily we are inferior to Greece. We have also proposed an agreement on overall economic cooperation. Greece has, unfortunately, not only refused all offers, but also rejected to sit down as the same table with us, demanding a name change.

Is there a precise calculation of how much damage Macedonia has suffered because of the sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro?

The damage is colossal. For decades past, our economy was directed toward the integral Yugoslav market. With the war we have lost the Bosnian market, transport communication with Slovenia and Croatia is extremely aggravated, and the sanctions have taken away both the Serbian and the Montenegrin markets. This is a blow which even much stronger markets than ours would have a hard time overcoming. Compared to last year, production has dropped by 30%, which is considerable, and the social product is not expected to exceed 850 dollars by the end of the year. To all this is linked the blockade which Greece is enforcing against us, in the first place by not delivering oil which has been paid for. So there are instances when even those who work hard and are exporters have to stop their machines because they have no fuel. We are not allowed membership in international financial institutions because we are not recognized. In addition to all this, around 40,000 refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina have found shelter in so exhausted a Macedonia.

Is it at all possible, in such conditions, to seriously discuss privatization which you have envisaged for small firms to begin with?

Our transfer to a market economy and privatization would have been rather painful even were it not for all the mentioned hardships. A lot of money has been invested in East Germany, for example, yet everything is still proceeding too slowly. Our position is, of course, incomparably worse, because not one cent of international assistance can enter the country at the moment. Time is not working for us, and we cannot postpone reforms and say - we will do it tomorrow. There simply is no tomorrow, it has to be today. It will be very difficult to avoid the populist traps when most of the people are below or hovering around the poverty line. This is an ideal period for demagogues and extremists.