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Relief Workers Tread Carefully in Post-Conflict Macedonia- NGOs - Global policy Forum Relief Workers Tread Carefully in Post-Conflict Macedonia
By Lars Inge Staveland
AlertNet
October 24, 2002
Macedonia moved back from the brink of all-out civil war under an agreement that brought an end to the six-month Albanian insurgency in August 2001. An estimated 150,000 refugees have now returned to their homes, but humanitarian agencies report that peace is volatile and ethnic tensions still divide the country.
The Albanian National Liberation Army agreed to end hostilities in return for legal measures to improve the minority’s status. Relief workers told AlertNet that the Ohrid Framework Agreement of August 2001 contributed significantly to the return the refugees but that ethnic tension and loss of confidence remained an obstacle to the safe return of people to their own homes.
Marko Lovrekovitz, Head of Mission for Kosovo and Macedonia for the International Refugee Committee (IRC) told AlertNet that ethnic tension was hampering everyday efforts to bring emergency aid to areas affected by last year’s insurgency.
"The situation in Macedonia is very tense. Some locals still resist a medical team from a different ethnicity in their community even though the nearest hospital is more than 50 kilometres away. The IRC has ethnically mixed teams when it moves in to a village to make people realise that there are more important issues to consider than their ethnicity," he said.
He added that as the Albanians gained more political power some ethnic Macedonians had problems adapting to the new situation. "In some affected areas where ethnic Macedonians are in majority returning Albanians refugees are worried about tensions and try to sell their homes."
REBUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE
According to the last census, in 1994, Macedonians represented 67 percent of the population and Albanians 23 percent. An estimated 175,000 people were displaced by the insurgency, according to the U.S. Committee for Refugees. By the end of 2001, most had returned home, but 43,500 remained uprooted. Of these, 21,000 were still internally displaced, from a wartime height of 76,000.
Since the end of the war, humanitarian agencies have been working to rebuild infrastructure and securing water supply. According to a report by Action for Churches Together (ACT), approximately 6,500 houses were damaged in the conflict. Reconstruction of houses that suffered major damage has just started.
Aleksandar Krzalovski, emergency programme coordinator at the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC), said: "Emergency water supply was secured by the end of 2001. Now we are focusing more on development-oriented projects for long-term solutions."
The agricultural sector suffered severe disruption and destruction when people fled and cattle were lost due to bombing, starvation or theft. Krzalovski said that stronger government commitment to the reconstruction of public infrastructure was needed before the economic situation in the country would improve.
"The Framework agreement will not save lives if it is not followed up by commitments to improve the livelihood of the people who live in Macedonia. The government needs to do more to follow up the agreement and accommodate for economic growth and international investments. These are all pressing issues which need to be addressed," he said.
The parliamentary elections held 15 September were hailed by the West as a step towards a brighter future for the country.
DECISIVE ELECTIONS
The ruling nationalist VMRO party of Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski received 24.4 percent of the vote and conceded defeat to his rivals. The former government’s hard-line stance in the 2001 conflict angered Western peace negotiators. The Social Democrats led by Branko Crvenkovski and his allies won 40 percent of the votes.
"These elections are a decisive step in the right direction and a clear rejection of the violence which tarnished the last months," said NATO Secretary-General George Robertson.
Another key development in the election was that the Albanian minority switched support from the discredited Albanian party which had shared power for the past for years to a new team led by ex-rebel chief Ali Ahmeti. Crvenkovski said that talks with Ahmeti’s party on forming a coalition government were under way.
Ahmeti is regarded among Albanians as a hero for fighting for his community’s rights, but many Macedonians still see him as a terrorist.
Economic mismanagement and corruption were key issues in the electoral campaign, and the new administration is faced with huge challenges to improve the country’s ailing economy. Macedonia’s gross domestic product fell by four percent in 2001 and the unemployment stands at 40 percent.
Marko Lovrekovic said widespread corruption complicated relief work in Macedonia. "There is corruption on every level," he said. "From the central government through all the ministers and departments down to the municipal level and to village leaders. This makes it difficult to cooperate with a supplier or a contractor in the country."
'CORRUPTION IS A HOT ISSUE'
Aleksandar Krzalovski said: "The election results show that corruption is a hot issue in Macedonia. The next government said in the election campaign that they would fight against corruption. Now we will see what they will do about it."
In March international donors approved a $515 million package to rebuild Macedonia's economy after last year's conflict. Around 40 countries and international organisations said the money would be used to finance reconstruction as well as to help the government implement economic reforms.
"The international donor conference showed that the international community is committed to following up the Framework Agreement with money," Krzalovski said.
Although media attention has been diverted from Macedonia since the end of the insurgency, ACT appeals officer Leila Dzaferovic said international commitment to Macedonia was still high.
"Some of our post-crisis appeals have even been oversubscribed," she said.
At the end of the insurgency, Operation Amber Fox, made up of 700 lightly armed NATO soldiers, was set up to protect international monitors observing the return of government forces and displaced people to areas formerly controlled by the Albanian rebels.
The NATO mandate expires on October 26, when the European Union (EU) is supposed to take over.
An EU diplomat said in October it was almost certain that NATO would extend its mission until the end of the year.
MISSION EXTENDED
NATO said in mid-October that its peacekeeping mission would be extended until mid-December after the Netherlands agreed to carry on leading the force for an extra seven weeks.
The European Union had hoped to take over the mission from NATO at the end of October. But its plans were derailed by a stand-off between Greece and Turkey on a deal guaranteeing the bloc access to NATO assets for crisis management operations.
Zoran Jolevski, Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski's special representative in Brussels, said the mission should be replaced in January by a mostly civilian taskforce for "regional integration".
He said the mandate of a new taskforce could include support for military reform across the Balkans, anti-terrorism training, intelligence sharing and border monitoring.
Marko Lovrekovic said that the international presence was controversial for many Macedonians and that the IRC had to keep a low profile when carrying out relief work in the country. "There is a negative attitude from some people toward the international community. We cannot have IRC stickers on our vehicles and must keep a low profile. There have been instances when aid workers have been attacked and robbed," he said.
"In Kosovo people appreciate presence of the international community. In Macedonia the situation is more difficult."
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