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Wednesday, September 20 9:28 AM SGT

Greater Albania or not, Kosovo effect worries Macedonia

SKOPJE, Sept 20 (AFP) -
The eruption of Albanian nationalism in Kosovo worries neighbouring Macedonia,
even if opinions in Skopje differ on the immediate threat of a Greater Albania.

"It is definitely out of question that they (Albanians) could organize a Greater
Albania - they have enough problems as it is with a lesser Albania, and will
still have those problems 20 years from now," former interior and foreign
minister Ljubomir Frchkoski told AFP.

"But what they could do is create chaos in the region, not producing the
structures (of a Greater Albania) but producing anarchy," warned Frchkoski, a
member of the former social democratic government and professor of international
law.

A Greater Albania could mean a new conflict in the Balkans, and numerous
warnings about this prospect have been issued in past years from regional and
international quarters.

Increasing demands for independence by ethnic Albanian leaders in Kosovo,
following the retreat of Serb forces last year, have again made it a hot issue.

A nationalists' dream, it would gather together in one state ethnic Albanians
from Albania, Kosovo, and Macedonia, cutting through borders and perhaps leading
to a bout of new ethnic cleansing, non-Albanians in the region fear.

Greece, where according to Frchkosji up to 500,000 Albanian immigrants live,
could also suffer shockwaves, former Macedonian president Kiro Gligorov
explained to AFP.

He called such a development "a complicated mosaic which it would not be
possible to transform quickly and easily into an unified state".

However, "more and more, the opinion is growing among Albanians that now is the
historical moment for all Albanians to be united in one state," Gligorov
stressed.

The leader of the ethnic Albanian community in Macedonia, Arben Dzaferi, echoed
Gligorov's statement almost to the word: "If you ask the people, they will
probably say that they wish that all Albanians lived in one state".

But the head of the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) quickly added: "We never
had plans to create an Albanian State, a Greater Albania. It is a Serb project
to demonise the Albanian people".

Unlike many Macedonians, who are suspicious of Dzaferi's real intentions,
Frchkoski believes him to be sincere in this respect.

The situation for ethnic Albanians in Macedonia is much more better than in
Albania or Kosovo, he said, and "what they want to do is to maintain a form of
rhetoric of solidarity while keeping the Albanians in Kosovo and even more those
in Albania far from any direct contact".

"Dzaferi has only one wish, that (Kosovo Albanian leader Hashim) Thaci and his
fighters lose control over Kosovo," added Fchkoski. "Otherwise they (Albanians
in Macedonia) would be exposed to export of the so-called Kosovar revolution".

The insistance of the international community that Kosovo stay within
Yugoslavia's borders -- a pipe-dream if seen in the light of the separatist
aspirations of Albanian Kosovars -- is mainly explained by the fear of a Greater
Albania, Frchkoski said.

"NATO and EU officials keep saying that the idea of creating a Greater Albania
will not be supported, so now officials in Albania are stressing that the idea
of a Greater Albania is not realistic and is not their aim," said Gligorov.

"But political parties are in fact still promoting that idea and the general
feeling among Albanians is one of pride at the prospect of having a bigger
country," said the former leader, who, via the Foundation for Strategic Studies
which bears his name, still plays an active role in the region.



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