Macedonian Diaspora Candidates

[George S.]

Guys i got this pet idea,do you know how the macedonian govt has given amnesty to the terrorists.Can a govt do that .The hague actually takes people who are war criminals who have committed the acts.If they did it they do the time!!! If that's the case serbia could have given milosevic a amnesty after all he was a hero ,the same thing for mlatco mladic & other war criminals.I think there is something sinister & corrupt to the core its my personal beleif that macedonia cannot bypass the hague.What does it take a letter from diaspora from macedonians or complaint from within macedonia to the hague.I think what macedonian govt did was unconstitutional &
they should not be allowed to get away with it.I think something could be done first thing first the hague takes action not the macedonian govt who is corrupt.What do you think of it.We have to act alone probably in the diaspora.I just feel the macedonian govt should not have been able to get away with it.Does the hague so readily accept a country's word for it even though the criminal acts were done.I wonder if a letter to the hague from the MTO press release would bypass what the macedonian govt has done & the hague may decide to act.Justice to be done.& seen to be done.What do people think of this is it a goer?????

[Bill77]

George, The problem with all this is most likely the directive (to pardon the terrorists) would have come from the west. I don't think the hague is independent, well not enough to ignore orders from the US or Nato.

[George S.]

Bill i don't know how the hague functions but maybe it works regardless of what governments do giving pardon like that.I question the pardon.I wonder in light of what really happened can countries elect to pardon terrorists.Also if macedonia gave pardon to the terrorists.How come tarculovski is in prison why didn't he get a pardon???Something is fishy.

[George S.]

Why didn't germany pardon hitler for what he did & other war criminals??I think someone could investigate how the hague works as this thing they did pardoning them is probably highly illega.Maybe you are right bill but i don't think it would hurt to check it out.lMaybe what macedonia did by pardoning war criminals is unconstitutional & as far as the hage is concerned is illegal.Perhaps they could still be amswerable to the hague.After all these are war attrocities committed on macedonian people.There are people who have really suffered & the govt has ignored them.

[George S.]

War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict (also known as international humanitarian law) giving rise to individual criminal responsibility. Examples of such conduct include "murder, the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied territory to slave labor camps", "the murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war", the killing of prisoners, "the wanton destruction of cities, towns and villages, and any devastation not justified by military, or civilian necessity".[1]
Similar concepts, such as perfidy, have existed for many centuries as customs between civilized countries, but these customs were first codified as international law in the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907. The modern concept of a war crime was further developed under the auspices of the Nuremberg Trials based on the definition in the London Charter that was published on August 8, 1945. (Also see Nuremberg Principles.) Along with war crimes the charter also defined crimes against peace and crimes against humanity, which are often committed during wars and in concert with war crimes.
Article 22 of The Hague IV ("Laws of War: Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV); October 18, 1907") states that "The right of belligerents to adopt means of injuring the enemy is not unlimited"[2] and over the last century many other treaties have introduced positive laws that place constraints on belligerents (see International treaties on the laws of war). Some of the provisions, such as those in The Hague, the Geneva, and Genocide Conventions, are considered to be part of customary international law, and are binding on all.[3][4] Others are only binding on individuals if the belligerent power to which they belong is a party to the treaty which introduced the constraint.

[George S.]

Insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Insurgency in Macedonia

Date January – November 2001
Location Polog region of the Republic of Macedonia near the border with Albania and FR Yugoslavia (Kosovo[a])
Result Ohrid Agreement signed, ceasefire established, Albanian militants agree to disarm in exchange for greater ethnic rights.
Belligerents
National Liberation Army (NLA) Macedonia
Commanders and leaders
Ali Ahmeti
Daut Rexhepi - Leka
Samidin Xhezairi
Rrahim Beqiri Boris Trajkovski
Ljubčo Georgievski
Ljube Boškoski
Vlado Bučkovski
Strength
5,000 - 7,000 insurgents 15,000[1]
Casualties and losses
64 killed
(Macedonian claim)
11 Killed
(NLA claim)
63 Killed
(Macedonian claim)
88 Killed
(NLA claim)
Civilian casualties:
70 dead (60 ethnic Albanians, 10 ethnic Macedonians)
Other:
2 EU monitors[2]
1 UK soldier killed[3]
[show] v t e
Insurgency in Macedonia
The Insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia (January – November 2001) was an armed conflict which began when the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) militant group began attacking the security forces of the Republic of Macedonia at the beginning of January 2001. The conflict lasted throughout most of the year, although overall casualties remained limited to several dozen for either side, according to the sources from both of the sides in the conflict.
Contents [hide]
1 Aftermath
1.1 Ceasefire and disarmament
1.2 Casualties and displacement
1.3 NLA Freedom Museum
1.4 Recent developments
2 Alleged war crimes
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
[edit]Aftermath

[edit]Ceasefire and disarmament
After the Ohrid Agreement, the rebels agreed to cease-fire in June, however there were other agreements in August, before both sides settled on a final one in January 2002. Under the Ohrid Agreement, the Macedonian government pledged to improve the rights of the Albanians of the country, an ethnic-group that makes up just over 25.3 percent of the population. Those rights included making Albanian language the second official language, increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government institutions, the police and the army. Most importantly, under the Ohrid Agreement, the Macedonian government agreed to a new model of decentralization.
The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully recognize all Macedonian institutions. In addition, according to this accord the NLA was to disarm and hand over their weapons to NATO.
Operation "Essential Harvest" was officially launched on August 22 and effectively started on August 27. This 30-day mission involved approximately 3500 NATO and Macedonian troops to disarm the NLA and destroy their weapons. Just hours after NATO wrapped up the operation, Ali Ahmeti told reporters attending a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Šipkovica that he was dissolving the National Liberation Army and that it was time for ethnic reconciliation.
Several months after the conflict, some armed provocations persisted. Small bombings and shootings used to happen. The most serious provocations happened when three Macedonian police officers were killed in an ambush by ethnic Albanian gunmen on November 12, 2001.[4]


Bust dedicated to fallen Macedonian soldier, Mile Janevski-Džingar, in Makedonska Kamenica.
[edit]Casualties and displacement
Casualty figures remain uncertain. By March 19, 2001, the BBC reported that Macedonian security forces claimed five of their soldiers were killed, while the NLA claimed it had killed 11.[5] No definitive NLA casualty figures were cited at the time. On December 25, 2001, the Alternative Information Network[6] cited figures of 63 deaths claimed by Macedonian security forces for their side and 64 deaths claimed by the NLA for their fighters. About 60 ethnic Albanian civilians are thought to have been killed while possibly about ten ethnic Macedonians died during the conflict (Macedonian authorities did not release figures for the latter at the time).[7] As of December 2005, the fate of twenty "disappeared" civilians —13 ethnic Macedonians, six ethnic Albanians and one Bulgarian citizen— remains unknown.[8] By August 2001, the number of people displaced by the war reached 170,000, mostly Macedonians. Of these 170,000, 74,000 were displaced internally. As of January 2004, 2,600 people remain displaced.[9] Two European Union monitors were killed during the conflict. One British soldier was also killed.
[edit]NLA Freedom Museum
As a result of the conflict, some Albanians of Čair Municipality in Skopje established in 2008 a 'Museum of Freedom' presenting what they consider battles of the Albanians in the region from the period of the Prizren League in 1878 until the 2001 insurgency. It is also known as the NLA Museum and commemorates those who died during the conflict. Items include paramilitary clothing and insurgent flags used in 2001. Many Albanians see it as a non-military continuation of the uprising. Former NLA leader turned politician, Ali Ahmeti stated at the opening ceremony “My heart tells me that history is being born right here, in Skopje, the ancient city in the heart of Dardania. Our patriots have fought for it for centuries, but it is us today who have the destiny to celebrate the opening of the museum. Fighters from Kosovo are here to congratulate us...” [10]
[edit]Recent developments
In April 2010, a weapons caché believed to be intended for terrorist action was discovered near the border with Serbia, it included uniforms with Kosovo Liberation Army (UÇK) insignia. On May 12, four militants were killed by the Macedonian police, in a village close to Kosovo. The police seized four bags of explosives, anti-infantry mines and other weapons. The militants killed were wearing black uniforms and UÇK insignia was found in the vehicle.[11] In the following days, as Macedonia petitioned Kosovo for any information that it might have possessed, 70 ethnic-Albanian criminals linked to the Albanian Mafia were arrested for illegal weapons possessions. Among the arrested were 4 men, a father and his three sons. They are believed to be linked to the men that were killed on May 12.[12]
[edit]Alleged war crimes

Alleged war-crimes included the likes of a three-day operation by the Macedonian police against the ethnic Albanian village of Ljuboten, from August 10–12, 2001, which left ten civilians dead and resulted in the arrest of more than 100 ethnic-Albanian men, many of whom were severely beaten and tortured while in police custody.[13] According to the Macedonian government, there was an insurgent presence in the village; however, a Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground in Ljuboten found no direct evidence of this. These events led to the trial of the then-Macedonian Minister of Internal Affairs, Ljube Boškoski, in the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague.[13] Eventually, he was found not guilty.[14]
The bombing of the 13th-century Orthodox monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok is considered a war-crime by some.[15] However, no one has ever claimed responsibility for the attack and Albanian guerrilla officials have desmised all responsibility and placed the blame on Macedonian special forces saying it was another poor attempt to link the NLA to Islamic extremism. However, upon closer inspection, it was discovered that near the rubble that had once been one of the most revered religious sites for the Macedonian Orthodox Church, there lay a dead donkey, its bloated body daubed with red paint: spelling out the letters UÇK, the Albanian abbreviation for the rebel National Liberation Army.[16] This incident is to this day disputed and the monastery is now under-going reconstruction.[17] On the other hand, the Macedonian forces themselves destroyed a mosque in the village of Neprosteno. The mosque was rebuilt in 2003 with funding from the EU.
The monastery at Matejce, near Kumanovo, was also damaged in the fighting and the church of St. Virgin Hodegetria was vandalized by the Albanian terrorists who spray-painted and carved anti-Christian and Albanian-nationalist symbols into the church's 14th-century frescoes. Similar attacks were carried out against Serb churches and monasteries in Kosovo by ethnic-Albanians.[18]
Another incident which is claimed by the Macedonian government to be a war crime was that of the so-called Vejce massacre, in which Albanian militants ambushed and killed 8 Macedonian soldiers. After attacking their lightly armoured Humvee vehicles with small arms fire and RPGs, the Macedonians got out and exchanged fire with the hostile insurgents in a short skirmish. Afterwards, the soldiers started retreating. Half of the patrol managed to escape, one soldier was shot and the others were captured. Four of the victims were executed with machetes and bayonets and had their genitalia removed and set alight. News of the massacre sparked local uprisings against ethnic-Albanians in several towns and cities across Macedonia, and such revolts included burning and vandalising shops and Mosques. Surviving members of the ambushed group of soldiers gave eyewitness testimony of the killings. They claimed that the massacre was carried out by a group of 15-20 bearded men. To this day, the bodies have not been released to the public or to civilian investigators and autopsies were carried out in a military morgue.[19][20][21][22]

[George S.]

War Crimes
Although the conflict in Macedonia was brief, it was not scant of war crimes. According to Human Rights Watch, "Ethnic Albanian rebels in Macedonia tortured, sexually abused road workers after abducting them from the Skopje-Tetovo highway.[11]
Dozens of ethnic Macedonians were kidnapped. While many were released after a short time, 12 people apparently remained missing after the NLA released 14 others in late September. In October, reports suggested that the 12 may have been killed and buried in mass graves near Neproshteno. The case was referred by the Macedonian government to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for investigation.
Another incident which is claimed by Macedonian government to be a war crime was that of the so-called Vejce massacre where Albanian guerrillas ambushed and killed 8 Macedonian special forces from the Lions unit. Where allegedly the victims were executed with cold steel weapons.A patrol of 16 special operatives were coming back from a raid in a nearby village which they had raided a few hours earlier they looted and beat the villagers is what they said, this was done several times a week through 5 villages the patrol rout was always the same which the investigation after the massacre claimed that Albanian guerrillas had been monitoring the patrol for some weeks after they got complains by the ethnic Albanian villagers and had realised that the patrol was always the same rout and approximate times. The families of the dead soldiers and several ministers claim that the information was sold to the guerrillas and that a major betrayal took place. After setting up and ambush and attacking their lightly armoured Humvee vehicles with small arms fire and RPG’s the patrol stopped and Macedonian forces and guerrillas exchanged fire in a short skirmish, after soldiers started retreating half of the patrol managed to escape one soldier was shot and 7 others captured and allegedly executed with knives and then their corpses were allegedly burned.News of the massacre sparked local uprisings against Muslim Albanians in several towns and cities across Macedonia, and such revolts included burning and vandalising shops and Mosques. Surviving members of the roadside patrol that was massacred gave eyewitness testimony of the killings. They claimed that the massacre was carried out by a group of 10 bearded men. Till this day the bodies were not released to the public or civilian investigators and autopsies were carried out in a military morgue.[12][13][14][15]
The alleged NLA bombing of the 13th-century Orthodox monastery Sveti Atanasij in the village of Lesok[16] however no one has ever claimed responsibility for the attack and Albanian guerrilla officials have demised all responsibility and placed the blame on Macedonian special forces saying it was another poor attempt to link the NLA to Islamic extremism, like that of the Asian immigrant massacre and that these incidents were seriously putting the Ohrid agreement and the established peace treaty into jeopardy. Eye whiteness interviewed by British Telegraph reported claimed the cooperates of this incident came from the ethnic Macedonian village of Rate. Even the Macedonian ministers and diplomats in Skopje agreed that the possibility of this attacking being carried out by Albanians was unlikely as the NLA had no history of attacking any religious or cultural buildings or sites.
NATO Military experts said that by evidence gathered from “The fact that the battery was lying within an area spattered by rubble and wreckage seemed to suggest that it was detonated using a relatively sophisticated timer device“ also the extensive amount of explosive used and the type of explosive all pointed to the Macedonian military.[17] This incident is to this day disputed and the monastery is now under reconstruction built with some donations from the Albanian Islamic Union of Macedonia to erase any bad blood and Macedonian government.[18] On the other hand, the Macedonian forces blew up a mosque in the town of Neprosteno. Both structures were rebuilt in 2003 with funding from the EU. The most notable incident was the infamous Asian Immigrant Massacre, when Macedonian special police forces murdered six Pakistanis and an Indian immigrants afterwards planting weapons, explosive and Islamic literature on the corpses claiming they were Al-Qaida cells which were about to attack US Embassy in Skopje. This was conspired by Macedonian government to link the Albanian guerrillas to Al-Qaida so that Macedonia can sympathise with the west by making it seem they are to fighting a War on Terror against Islamic extremists. This atrocious war crime was heavily criticised by the whole world and caused Macedonia to lose much of its foreign support especially from the west, the EU and Pakistan governments strongly insisted that the people responsible for this war crime be brought to justice but the four men allegedly responsible for this were cleared of all charges and received a hero’s sheared after they left court.[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] There were disturbing images of the dead bodies released to parade the victims on TV as trophies.[28] [29]
Other crimes were like that of a three-day operation by Macedonian police against the ethnic Albanian village of Ljuboten, from August 10–12, 2001, which left ten civilians dead and resulted in the arrest of more than 100 men, many of whom were severely beaten and tortured while in police custody.[30] According to the Macedonian government there was a presence of Albanian National Liberation Army in the village; however, the Human Rights Watch investigation on the ground in Ljuboten found no evidence of this and said it was a clear violation by Macedonian forces on human rights. These events led to the trial of the Macedonian minister of internal affairs of the time, Ljube Boškoski, in the International War Crime Tribunal in The Hague.[30] Eventually he was found not guilty.[31]
[edit]Ceasefire and disarmament

After the Ohrid Agreement, the NLA agreed to cease-fire in June. Under the Ohrid Agreement, the Macedonian government pledged to improve the rights of the Albanian population, that make up just over 25 % of the population.[32] Those rights include making Albanian language an unofficial language, increasing the participation of ethnic Albanians in government institutions, police and army. Most importantly, under the Ohrid Agreement, the Macedonian government agreed to a new model of decentralization.
The Albanian side agreed to give up any separatist demands and to fully recognise all Macedonian institutions. In addition, according to this accord the NLA was to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force.
Operation "Essential Harvest" was officially launched on 22 August and effectively started on 27 August. This 30-day mission was to initially involve approximately 3,500 NATO that number went up to 4,200 NATO troops and Macedonian troops to disarm the NLA and destroy their weapons. Just hours after NATO wrapped up the operation, Ali Ahmeti told reporters attending a news conference in the rebel stronghold of Sipkovica that he was dissolving the National Liberation Army and that it was time for ethnic reconciliation.
Many members of the Albanian NLA, led by Ali Ahmeti, later formed the Democratic Union for Integration, a political party that won the majority of the Albanian votes in the 2002 election and formed part of the ruling coalition along with SDSM and LDP until August 2006 when, following July 2006 parliamentary elections, a conservative VMRO-DPMNE / DPA coalition came to government . Total casualties of war on each side are not known, but both sides claimed their own military casualties were around 60 each, while about 60 - 80 ethnic Albanian civilians and possibly about ten Macedonian civilians are thought to have been killed. (See Casualties and displacement in the 2001 Macedonia conflict)
[edit]Recent developments
In April 2010, a weapon cache believed to be intended for the group actions was discovered near the border with Serbia, it included uniforms with UÇK marks.[33]
On the 11th of May 2010, a shootout occurred just across the border of Kosovo and Macedonia. The men opened fire on Macedonian police when they refused to pull over. All four men in the car were killed as a result of the shootout. Macedonian police say they found a cache of weapons once again and it might be linked with the NLA, which threatens to ignite a new Balkan civil war.[34]

[George S.]

NEWS
26 OCT 11 / 07:53:27
Macedonia Sends War Crimes Cases to History
The last of the four war crime cases concerning atrocities originally alleged to have been committed by former ethnic Albanian rebels during the 2001 armed conflict have been annulled by the Macedonian justice system.
Sinisa Jakov Marusic Skopje

Only one case reached Skopje's Primary Court
On Tuesday, the Prosecutor’s Office in Macedonia stated that it had given up from further prosecution in the so-called “NLA leadership” case.

Following a political decision made by the Macedonian parliament, the prosecution previously did the same with the other three highly controversial cases that some believed could rekindle the flames of ethnic disputes of the past.

The “NLA leadership” case originally charged the former head of the ethnic Albanian rebellion in Macedonia, a number of whom are current politicians, with command responsibility for alleged atrocities of rebels.

Although the case never entered a court procedure in Macedonia, among those charged was the head of the largest Albanian party in Macedonia, Ali Ahmeti, who at the time of the conflict was the NLA leader.

Ahmeti’s Democratic Union for Integration is currently a junior partner in the government led by Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

In July, the ruling coalition voted to abandon the four war-crimes cases related to the 2001 conflict that were returned to Macedonia from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY, in 2008. This move angered Macedonia’s opposition parties and human rights organizations.

After the returned, Macedonia’s domestic prosecutors decided to re-open the cases but many feared that reviving the cases could ignite ethnic disagreements from the past.

In 2001, Macedonia suffered a short lived conflict between the former ethnic Albanian insurgents from the now disbanded National Liberation Army, NLA, and the security forces controlled by the Macedonian majority.

The clashes ended after the signing of the Ohrid Peace Accord that same year. An Amnesty Law was then passed as part of a deal to help re-integrate former rebels in to the society.

Ever since then, there have been different views on whether the law should apply to these four cases. The Albanian parties unanimously insisted on their scrapping as well.

Apart from the NLA leadership case, another case accused former rebels of capturing and torturing several construction workers and another for cutting the water supply to the Macedonian town of Kumanovo for several months.

The so-called “Neprosteno” case accused former rebels of the alleged kidnapping and killing of 12 ethnic Macedonians and one ethnic Bulgarian. Only the last case ever reached a courtroom but was also annulled.

lobal human rights organization, Amnesty International, in September asked the Macedonian government to reverse the decision for abandoning the four cases.

“The parliament’s decision is clearly inconsistent with international law and will leave the victims and their relatives without access to justice,” Sian Jones, Amnesty International’s researcher on the Western Balkans, said at that time.

[George S.]

Over the years the albanians have made further demands:


six demands were:

– more recognition for the Albanian language by the government
– more recognition of the Albanian flag and national symbols
– more Albanian public servants
– pensions for former Albanian guerrillas/freedom fighters
– closing of a case against four Albanian fighters for war crimes in 2001-2, and
– recognition of Kosovo’s independence

In the abstract, these are a mix of reasonable (the Albanian language issue, recognizing Kosovo), troublesome (should public servants be hired purely on merit, or are ethnic quotas okay?) and ridiculous (the Albanian fighters got amnesty under Ohrid, but guerrillas do not get pensions). But there’s clearly something else going on here. The government was chugging along comfortably up until quit recently. So why are the Albanians doing this now?

Kosovo’s independence may have triggered a surge of ethnic nationalist feeling among Macedonia’s Albanians. One of the odd things about Macedonia is that, while the Albanians there are better off then their cousins in Kosovo or Albania proper, they don’t think they are… nobody in Prishtina or Tirana takes “Greater Albania” seriously right now, but in Tetovo they still like the idea.

[aleksandrov]

http://www.dnevnik.com.mk/?ItemID=2B15B47CBFE35040A570038FAD1C78D8

According to the Speaker of the Macedonian Parliament, Veljanovski, the revolt about Ademi is being fabricated by a handful of people desperate to present themselves out as patriots by baselessly making others out as traitors.

A shallow attempt to downplay and trivialise any criticism of his regime's actions. This is the same sort of ignorant condescension we used to get from Gligorov's and Crvenkovski's post-communist regimes, and not too dissimilar to bishop Petar's attempts to misrepresent the resistance against his destructive despotism as the work of a handful of 'companies' and 'profiteers'. I wonder if Veljanovski realises that he is only adding more fuel to his own fire by trying to trivialise something that those of us with a conscience and sense of integrity take extremely seriously?

[aleksandrov]

This went out today, to the Commonwealth Parliament office responsible for the delegation's visit:


1 March 2012

Mr Andrew Templeton
Asssistant Director (International)
International and Community Relations Office
Parliament House Canberra ACT

Email: Andrew.Templeton.Reps@aph.gov.au


Dear Mr Templeton,

Re: Current Australian visit by Djevat (Xhevat) Ademi, Member of the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia – a person blacklisted by the USA as a leader of terrorist extremists



It has come to our attention that the Australian Parliament is currently hosting a delegation of the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia, which includes Djevat (Xhevat) Ademi.

Is the Australian Parliament aware that Mr Ademi is a key leader of a extremist movement seeking the creation of an ethnically “cleansed” Greater Albania, by way of terrorist violence or threats of terrorist violence?

Is the Parliament aware that Mr Ademi was a leader of the racist “National Liberation Army” (NLA), which conducted unprovoked terrorist violence against Macedonian civilian, police and military targets in 2001, and which was described by NATO Secretary-General George Robertson as “a bunch of murderous thugs whose objective is to destroy a democratic Macedonia and who are using civilians as human shields” in a cynical bid to provoke “another Balkan bloodbath”?[1]

Is the Parliament aware that Mr Ademi has been blacklisted under the US President’s Executive Order 13219, Blocking Property of Persons Who Threaten International Stabilization Efforts in the Balkans, since June 26 2001?[2] The object of the order was to deal with the threat constituted by “the actions of persons engaged in, or assisting, sponsoring, or supporting extremist violence in the Republic of Macedonia and elsewhere in the Western Balkans region.” This Order was most recently continued by US President Barrack Obama on June 23 2011, and is still current, with Mr Ademi’s name still on the list.[3]

We understand that the Macedonian Government largely appeased Mr Ademi’s terrorist movement with the “Ohrid Framework Agreement” of 13 August 2001, by caving in to extremist demands for ethnic segregation and privileged positions in all levels of Government and the public service. However, the Macedonian Australian community almost unanimously condemned that agreement as being racially discriminatory, and as constituting a reward for terrorism that is bound to encourage further use of violence for political ends, including ethnic cleansing and territorial secession. Our position was consistent with general Australian values of equality before the law, regardless of ethnicity or religion, and with generally consistent Australian policy that terrorist violence must never be tolerated, let alone rewarded.

On August 14, 2001, Mr Ademi was quoted as saying that the Ohrid Framework “agreement was merely an interim solution”,[4] hinting at more separatist violence in future, toward his goal of an ethnically pure Greater Albania. Mr Ademi’s extremist movement has since obtained further inequitable and unjust concessions from the Macedonian Government by sporadic violence and threats of renewed terrorist attacks.

Mr Ademi has a reputation as a key fundraiser for his extremist movement, including fundraising from abroad. Given that he has never repented, apologized or been held accountable for his leadership of extremist violence in the past, it would be reasonable to suspect that he would use his Australian visit to incite extremism among the Australian Albanian community, while at the same time gaining legitimacy for his extremist movement by being formally received and honored by Australian politicians.

Over the past four days, there has been growing discontent among the Macedonian Australian community about the fact that Mr Ademi has not only been allowed into the country, but is being received as an honored guest by the Australian Parliament and Australian officials. We suspect that the Speaker of the Macedonian Parliament has included Mr Ademi in the delegation under duress, in view of his reputation for pursuing political aims by violence or threats of violence. However, that is no excuse for a person blacklisted by the USA for his extremist activity to be received as an official guest of Australia, where we have broad consensus that violent extremists must never be appeased and we even send our soldiers to risk their lives fighting terrorism abroad, as part of a US-led alliance.

We hereby ask you to consider urgent deportation of Mr Ademi from Australia and to ensure that he is excluded from any further meetings or functions with Australian officials.

We have no objections to any Australian officials receiving the remainder of the delegation led by the Speaker of the Macedonian Parliament, Mr Trajko Veljanovski. In fact, we applaud the efforts towards improved relations between Australia and the Republic of Macedonia. However, we encourage Australian officials to show full respect for the right to self-determination and self-identification of the Macedonian people, by refraining from the use of unwelcome references such as “Former Yugoslav Republic” of Macedonia or “FYROM”.

We look forward to your urgent reply to our community’s concerns.


Yours sincerely,

Igor A. Aleksandrov
President
Association of Macedonian Communities in Australia Inc


[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1317049.stm

[2] http://www.archives.gov/federal-regi...ush.html#13219 ; https://www.federalregister.gov/arti...nals-specially

[3] http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-...y-respect-west ; http://www.treasury.gov/ofac/downloads/t11sdn.pdf

[4] http://samvak.tripod.com/nm101.html

[aleksandrov]

And this similar letter went to the office of the Minister responsible for the NSW Parliament function:

1 March 2012

The Hon Victor Dominello MP
Minister for Citizenship and Communities
Minister for Aboriginal Affais



Email: office@dominello.minister.nsw.gov.au

Peter.Shmigel@minister.nsw.gov.au


Dear Minister,

Re: Parliamentary lunch for Djevat (Xhevat) Ademi – a person blacklisted by the USA as a leader of terrorist extremists

It has come to our attention that the Member for Oatley, Mr Mark Coure MP, as Chair of the controversial “Ministerial Consultative Committee for the Macedonian Community”, has scheduled a parliamentary lunch for a delegation of the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia, which includes Mr Djevat (Xhevat) Ademi. It is our understanding that the lunch is scheduled for 2 March 2012.

Is your Office aware that Mr Ademi is a key leader of an extremist movement seeking the creation of an ethnically “cleansed” Greater Albania, by way of terrorist violence or threats of terrorist violence?

Is your Office aware that Mr Ademi was a leader of the racist “National Liberation Army” (NLA), which conducted unprovoked terrorist violence against Macedonian civilian, police and military targets in 2001, and which was described by NATO Secretary-General George Robertson as “a bunch of murderous thugs whose objective is to destroy a democratic Macedonia and who are using civilians as human shields” in a cynical bid to provoke “another Balkan bloodbath”?[1]

Is your Office aware that Mr Ademi has been blacklisted under the US President’s Executive Order 13219, Blocking Property of Persons Who Threaten International Stabilization Efforts in the Balkans, since June 26 2001?[2] The object of the order was to deal with the threat constituted by “the actions of persons engaged in, or assisting, sponsoring, or supporting extremist violence in the Republic of Macedonia and elsewhere in the Western Balkans region.” This Order was most recently continued by US President Barrack Obama on June 23 2011, and is still current, with Mr Ademi’s name still on the list.[3]

We understand that the Macedonian Government largely appeased Mr Ademi’s terrorist movement with the “Ohrid Framework Agreement” of 13 August 2001, by caving in to extremist demands for ethnic segregation and privileged positions in all levels of Government and the public service. However, the Macedonian Australian community almost unanimously condemned that agreement as being racially discriminatory, and as constituting a reward for terrorism that is bound to encourage further use of violence for political ends, including ethnic cleansing and territorial secession. Our position is consistent with general Australian values of equality before the law, regardless of ethnicity or religion, and with generally consistent Australian policy that terrorist violence must never be tolerated, let alone rewarded.

On August 14, 2001, Mr Ademi was quoted as saying that the Ohrid Framework “agreement was merely an interim solution”,[4] hinting at more separatist violence in future, toward his goal of an ethnically pure Greater Albania. Mr Ademi’s extremist movement has since obtained further inequitable and unjust concessions from the Macedonian Government by sporadic violence and threats of renewed terrorist attacks.

Mr Ademi has a reputation as a key fundraiser for his extremist movement, including fundraising from abroad. Given that he has never repented, apologized or been held accountable for his leadership of extremist violence in the past, it would be reasonable to suspect that he would use his Australian visit, including the parliamentary lunch to be hosted by Mr Coure on behalf of your Office, to gain a perception of legitimacy for his extremism.

Over the past four days, there has been growing discontent among the Macedonian Australian community about the fact that Mr Ademi has not only been allowed into the country, but is being received as an honored guest by Australian state and federal officials.

We suspect that the Speaker of the Macedonian Parliament has included Mr Ademi in the delegation under duress, in view of his reputation for pursuing political aims by violence or threats of violence. However, that is no excuse for a person blacklisted by the USA for his extremist activity to be received as an official guest of an MP representing your Office, given the broad Australian consensus that violent extremists must never be appeased, and given that we send our soldiers to risk their lives fighting terrorism abroad, as part of the US-led alliance.

In view of the above, we encourage your Office to urgently revoke Mr Ademi’s invitation to the scheduled parliamentary lunch.

We have no objections to Mr Coure entertaining the remainder of the delegation led by the Speaker of the Macedonian Parliament, Mr Trajko Veljanovski. In fact, we applaud the efforts towards friendly relations between NSW and the Republic of Macedonia. However, we ask that your Office and Mr Coure respect the right to self-determination and self-identification of the Macedonian people, by refraining from the use of unwelcome references such as “Former Yugoslav Republic” of Macedonia or “FYROM” to identify the Republic of Macedonia.


Yours sincerely,

Igor A. Aleksandrov
President
Association of Macedonian Communities in Australia Inc




[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1317049.stm

[2] http://www.archives.gov/federal-regi...ush.html#13219 ; https://www.federalregister.gov/arti...nals-specially

[3] http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-...y-respect-west ; http://www.treasury.gov/ofac/downloads/t11sdn.pdf

[4] http://samvak.tripod.com/nm101.html

[Komita]

The thing that Trajko Veljanovski has said is exactly the thing's that make me confident that Macedonia doesn't deserve our support nor does it serve a purpose for the macedonian to keep on existing as a country.

[aleksandrov]

The thing that Trajko Veljanovski has said is exactly the thing's that make me confident that Macedonia doesn't deserve our support nor does it serve a purpose for the macedonian to keep on existing as a country.

But Macedonia doesn't belong to HIM. It belongs to the Macedonian people. The people need to take practical ownership of it and every Macedonian needs to start from himself, to set an example for the others.

[Komita]

But Macedonia doesn't belong to HIM. It belongs to the Macedonian people. The people need to take practical ownership of it and every Macedonian needs to start from himself, to set an example for the others.

A majority of macedonians or that's what what they call themselves don't fucking care about anything, they don't care about they fellow macedonian, nor about the country, they don't care about albanianziation. They will adapt to that, they adapted to be turkish servants for 500 years.
Most macedonians care about money, money, money and me, me and me.