For all of these reasons, the Albanians of Macedonia, much more than the Albanians of Albania, feel very much concerned about the situation in Kosovo. Far more so than in Albania, people follow with interest the progress of events in Kosovo, on television and in the press, but also by speaking with Kosovars coming to Macedonia (we are not talking about refugees here, but of Kosovars who come to Macedonia on business or to visit their family). One of the newspapers that is most widely read in the Albanian towns of Macedonia is the daily Koha Ditore, of Prishtinë, which is, instead, hard to find in Albania. In early March, a shopkeeper from Tetovë commented on the dismal aspect of the town: "Usually people go for a stroll in the evening, but now they all stay indoors to watch the news; no one comes into town anymore." Perhaps the cold weather was equally to blame for this, but it is true that many people, especially among the most politicised, plan their day around the hours of the newscasts.

At the beginning, when the conflict erupted, the predominant feeling seemed to be that the crisis in Kosovo would be the last crisis, which would lead to a definitive solution of the Albanian question. The expression "definitive solution" here acknowledges the historical injustice that in 1913 and 1920 left half of the Albanian population outside of Albania and divided Slavs and Albanians into separate states.

Therefore, non surprisingly, the conflict in Kosovo has had direct repercussions (contrary to the reassuring statements made by President Gligorov in an interview to Le Monde, on 28 March) on the way in which ethnic Albanians deal with some Macedonian matters. This is the case, for instance, of the incarceration of Rufi Osmani, the PDSH mayor of Gostivar, on 13 April, followed by his sentencing for the flag question. On 15 April, a Central council for the organisation of Albanian demonstrations in Macedonia (PDSH) illustrated the nature of its action during a press conference in Gostivar: a demonstration would take place downtown every day from 12.30 to 1 o’clock to obtain the release of the mayor, that is to say at the same time and in the same way as the "protest promenades" that had been taking place for several days in the towns of Kosovo. The slogans chanted on the occasion of the first demonstration in support of Rufi Osmani were inspired by the ones adopted for Kosovo: "Jetën e japim. Rufiun s’e japim" (we give up our lives, we do not give up Rufi), from "Jetën e japim. Kosovën s’e japim."

The crisis in Kosovo has also brought the two leading Albanian parties somewhat closer. On 28 March, the president of PPD, Abdurrahman Haliti, said to the press: "Occasionally, we present common stances, as was the case with the letter sent to the North Atlantic structures in which we illustrated our position on the question of Kosovo, or when we organised together a major demonstration in Skopje, which had an extremely important impact on public opinion worldwide"¹². However, the decision by the PDSH to withdraw all its elected members from all public institutions (parliament as well as city councils) following the incarceration of Rufi Osmani¹³ was denounced by the PPD as an electoral move. The PPD felt that "acting on the basis of an analogy with the situation in Kosovo [that is to say withdrawing the Albanians from official institutions] does not favour a quick settlement of the Kosovo question, and we all know that today the Albanians should focus their political energy on settling that problem, which is so important for all Albanians".¹⁴ In spite of these disagreements, the two parties signed an electoral pact for the October/November 1998 parliamentary elections (see 3.3).

From the very beginning many ethnic Albanians felt a war was inevitable. As Rufi Osmani said during an interview: "No doubt there will be a war, for in the Balkans compromises are reached after fighting, never before." According to the head of an Albanian enterprise in Tetovë, who lived for a long time in Switzerland, "the separation of the Albanians and Serbs in Kosovo is inevitable. It would be better if it were achieved by peaceful means rather than with a war, but it is inevitable. As Albanians of Macedonia, we suffer for what is happening in Kosovo, but we are different from those of Kosovo, we are not as determined. It is not possible to say whether we are going to fight in Kosovo or not. If war breaks out, yes, without a doubt." Others, especially the young militants or sympathisers of the PDSH, would declare that they were ready to fight, for a defeat of the Albanians in Kosovo would also be a defeat of the Albanians of Macedonia, and further weaken the balance of power between them and the Macedonians.

In this sense, much more so than the Albanians of Albania, the Albanians of Macedonia are in favour of the total independence of Kosovo. They feel they could rely on an independent Kosovo much more than on today’s Albania to exercise pressure on the Macedonian state. In fact, while the Albanians of Macedonia generally trusted Sali Berisha to defend their interests (there were close ties between the local sections of the Democratic Party (PD) in Albania and those of the PDSH in Macedonia), they are much more distrustful of the government of Fatos Nano, whom they accuse of selling Albania to foreigners (especially the Greeks) and of conferring with those who oppress the Albanians (quoting as examples the Nano-Milosevic meeting in Crete in November 1997, and the visit to Tirana of the Macedonian Minister of the Interior, "responsible" for the violence of the police against the Albanians of Gostivar). The fact that Fatos Nano is a socialist does not help, as the Albanians of Macedonia hold the communists to blame for Albania’s current state, including its level of national consciousness. "During communism," says a professor from Tetovë, "the Albanian state did not defend the Albanian identity (shqiptarizëm). Albanian first names were replaced by ‘Roberts’ [Western names], the great intellectuals, like Fishta, were eliminated and were not honoured as they deserved to be."

Such a realistic approach to the national issue has been strengthened by six months of armed conflict in Kosovo. The defeats suffered by the Liberation Army and the political divisions that emerged among the Kosovars have dispelled the hopes raised earlier on in spring 1998. Thus the creation of a Great Albania is not explicitly called for at the present time by the majority of people, although it does remain an ideal to be attained in the future, even for the ethnic Albanians who are prepared to live in a Macedonian state for the moment, which would grant them full equality with the Macedonians (recognition of the Albanian language as the country’s second official language and of the Albanians as a constituent people of Macedonia). Quite apart from other considerations, ethnic Albanians in Macedonia are aware that, compared to the Albanians of Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania, they are relatively well-off and enjoy a certain economic and political stability. This prevents them from engaging in a political venture in Kosovo, in which they would have much to lose.

Notwithstanding the enthusiasm raised by the "heroic fight" of the Kosovars (seen as the symbol of resistance and courage, the pride of the nation), solidarity with the Kosovars never meant that ethnic Albanians in Macedonia believed that independence would be achieved overnight. Reunification of the Albanian regions of Macedonia with Kosovo is not openly envisaged, no more than reunification with Albania. Nor is a peaceful division of Macedonia (as in Czechoslovakia) regarded as possible, due to the clashing interests of the Serbs, Greeks and Bulgarians. Above all, it would require the reunification of western Macedonia with Albania, which is not desirable, for the Albanians of Macedonia are aware of their economic superiority and greater political maturity, and have a very low opinion (as already noted) of the people of Albania who, they claim, have always been interested only in themselves and in making easy money, and not in the nation.

It is true that the claims of ethnic Albanians in Macedonia are organised according to various "minimal platforms" which range from modification of the constitution and recognition of the Albanians as a constitutive people, on an equal footing with the Macedonians, to greater decentralisation and delegation of more power to municipalities, and a referendum on the self-government of Albanian regions (like the one held in 1992), all the way to the establishment of parallel, autonomous social and educational structures, following the model of Kosovo. Most Albanians who supports such platforms also believe that they should keep quiet until the Kosovo question is solved, so as not to create new enemies: "For the time being, only the Serbs are declared enemies, we must not let the Macedonians join them."

They also say that, whatever the solution may be, they would be prepared to respect the principle of the intangibility of the borders (although they consider it unfair since it was not respected when Yugoslavia collapsed), on the condition that border crossing regulations be relaxed to allow for the free circulation of Albanians in the various countries in which they live.

Contrary to the excitement and hope that characterised the first months of the war, a certain resignation now seems to prevail. Following the defeat of the Liberation Army (UÇK) by the Serbian forces, a solution favourable to the Kosovars seems more and more unlikely, at least in the short term. "The war is going to be long," says a citizen of Tetovë, "the people will suffer, but we are going to win." "The Albanians are capable of fighting for their freedom," says a PDSH official, "Kosovo will be independent." And yet, the gap between the interest shown by ethnic Albanians in Macedonia towards the crisis in Kosovo and their actual involvement in support of the Kosovars has grown since the beginning of the war, and continues to grow.

The information coming from Kosovo¹⁵ produces two different reactions. On one hand, ethnic Albanians in Macedonia react to the "brutality" of the Serbs as they are especially sensitive to the fact that many of the victims are women, children or elderly people, killed in atrocious circumstances. The press does not hesitate to publish very stark photographs (as in Koha Ditore on 29 September, a baby lying on the bleeding body of his mother) and emphasises the tragic nature and injustice of the war.

On the other hand, people object to another form of injustice, namely that of the international community. The latter is condemned for not taking action and letting the Serbs do as they please. Information on NATO’s military preparations and on the statements of the various foreign diplomats are regarded with great mistrust and disillusionment; most people feel that the outcome of the crisis will be determined by fate and that the international community can do nothing about it.

The campaign for the 18 October/8 November parliamentary election has evidenced a certain lack of interest in political matters, whether it be the struggle of ethnic Albanians of Macedonia in their country or their involvement in the Kosovo crisis. The electoral agreement signed on 9 September by the two Albanian parties (PPD and PDSH) is regarded with suspicion. Some see it as a device for staying in power rather than as an important step towards improving the condition of ethnic Albanians in Macedonia. "Those who have negotiated the agreement here," a citizen of Tetovë explains, " are our own worst enemies: why, they cannot come together without jumping at each other’s throats, and now they want us to believe that they have become friends for the good of the people? The only purpose of this agreement is to allow them to hold on to their seats; they know that without an alliance they will not be re-elected." The electoral pact alone cannot erase the division that exists between the Albanian parties, and the absence of tangible results after the last elections has caused some voters to turn their back on the Albanian parties, who now fear that the Albanians will give their votes to the Alternative Democratic Party (AD), led by Vasil Tupurkovski, who aims to overrun the ethnic divisions that characterise most political parties in Macedonia. The electoral meeting that PDSH held in Dibër on 27 September seems to confirm the lack of interest in the campaign. Like all other electoral meetings of PDSH¹⁶, the event was opened with the Albanian national anthem, followed by a minute of silence dedicated to the victims of the war in Kosovo. Yet such references to the nation were not sufficient to arouse the interest of the public. The atmosphere remained quiet throughout the meeting and everyone left at the end of the speeches - no questions were asked and there was no debate.

The ethnic or national dimension of Albanian politics in Macedonia seems to have moved away from the forefront, as Albanians apparently feel that it is irrelevant to their social and economic problems. According to many observers, ethnic Albanians in Macedonia who operate in trade and small enterprises strive to achieve success and guarantee a future for their children or are concerned with more important problems than just national assertion, such as the economic and tourist development of the region in which they have settled, or the environment. "We have to get these national ideas out of our heads," says a family man from Tetovë, "we must think about work and focus on the economy. The Polog alone is capable of feeding the two million people who live in the country: why fight?"

In such circumstances, the concept of nation, even when the issue is Kosovo, remains abstract. National unity cannot but be affirmed (unlike the Albanians of Albania, ethnic Albanians in Macedonia do not claim that Kosovo is not their problem), indeed it is often deeply felt (on account of family ties and personal experiences dating back to the days of Yugoslavia), yet today it is neither experienced nor practised, since the direct involvement of Macedonia’s ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, or of the Kosovars in Macedonia, is not envisaged.

Nonetheless, reference to the struggle of the Kosovars is always present, and the Liberation Army may represent a model for the extremist fringe of the Albanian population. In September, the Macedonian police carried out a series of arrests (in some cases resorting to violence, which caused one death), in the cities of Skopje, Kumanovo and Kërçovë/Kicevo, with the pretext of dismembering Albanian terrorist groups close to the UÇK. Although there is no evidence that the people arrested were actually involved in terrorist activities, weapons and ammunitions were found in the homes of some Albanians.¹⁷

Questioned on the future political action of ethnic Albanians should the government resulting from the forthcoming elections fail to do something in favour of the Albanian population, a PDSH official said: "Other measures will have to be taken, at that point. For instance, a new referendum on autonomy, the removal of ethnic Albanians from all institutions, establishing a parallel parliament and government [like Kosovo, that is]. It could go as far as the withdrawal of Albanians from the political scene, and the arrival of new players, like the UÇK."¹⁸

© CSS/CEMES for The Ethnobarometer Programme 1998. All rights reserved