Word: albanians
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...into the rebel-controlled zone. They don't appear to be very organized at this stage, or to have the resources to open up new fronts. But the longer the fighting goes on, the more volunteers they?ll get and the more support they'll get from the local Albanian population...
...They're saying they want recognition as a negotiating party, to force the government to meet demands for equal rights for Albanians. They want Albanian recognized as an official language, want a proper census so that they're represented in government proportionate to their actual number. They want greater representation in the police force, want to hear their own language on national TV and so on. They're saying they don't want to redraw borders or create a separate entity, but that they want to be equal partners in Macedonia...
...Well, they're saying they went through the political system for 10 years, but it's not working. There are probably several different objectives at work here. The commanders of the guerrilla force may well come from Kosovo, but most of the foot soldiers are local. The circumstances of Albanians in Macedonia were ripe for exploitation. It's hard to find an Albanian who won't identify with the cause of the guerrillas, even if they criticize its methods. Even if it's not entirely indigenous, there's clearly still a major problem in Macedonia without which this wouldn...
...open new fronts, of course, the rebels would require the active support of Macedonia's ethnic-Albanian community, which while feeling a collective sense of discrimination and grievance, has until now pursued its interests within the body politic of Macedonian democracy. Even some of the political parties that have represented them in Skopje, however, have lately been calling for the creation of a separate Albanian political entity within a Macedonian federation - an option the government rejects as the first step towards annexing part of Macedonia into a "Greater Albania" along with Kosovo...
...coming weeks, then, much will depend on the choices made by Macedonia?s Albanian leaders. The mainstream parties have urged the rebels to lay down their weapons, but they have also warned that they cannot support a government counter-offensive which results in civilian casualties. But if the confrontation continues to escalate, their relationship with the government in Skopje may become untenable. If the rebels find enough support among ordinary Albanians in Macedonia to extend their insurgency beyond Tetovo and its surrounds, civil war will have become a reality. And that would inevitably force NATO, against all its instincts...