MACEDONIA: ENCYCLOPEDIA STIRS UP INTER-ETHNIC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SKOPJE 000477

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM MK KV AL BU
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: ENCYCLOPEDIA STIRS UP INTER-ETHNIC
TENSIONS

Classified By: CDA THOMAS NAVRATIL FOR REASONS 1.5 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: The release of the first ever Macedonian
National Encyclopedia by the government-funded, nearly
ethnically homogeneous Macedonian Academy of Sciences and
Arts has caused uproar in the ethnic-Albanian community and
provoked reactions from Macedonia's neighbors. The
encyclopedia asserts that U.S. and Britain forces trained
Albanian rebels in 2001, and is full of other outlandish
allegations and littered with ethnically derogatory
terminology. Prime Minister Gruevski's unwillingness to
distance himself or the government from the content of the
encyclopedia in the week following its release had caused a
rift in the ruling coalition and prompted senior members of
ethnic-Albanian coalition party DUI to threaten withdrawal
from the government and to intensify their own rhetoric
against their ethnic-Macedonian partners. A long overdue
meeting and positive joint press statement between both
coalition partners on September 29 will hopefully now begin
to ease tensions.(End Summary)


2. (SBU) Background: On September 16 the Macedonian Academy
of Science and Art (MANU) released the first edition of the
Macedonian National Encyclopedia. MANU, funded by the
Ministry of Culture, was established in 1967 as the highest
scientific, scholarly and artistic institution in the
country. Only one ethnic-Albanian serves on MANU's board of
directors. The encyclopedia is the culmination of a seven
year project that, according to MANU, brought together the
research of 260 associates of the Macedonian Language
Institute, an institute within the language department of
Skopje's main university which serves as the regulatory body
of the Macedonian Language. The project was overseen by a
seventeen person board of editors headed up by
Editor-in-Chief Blaze Ristovski, a former professor of
literature and history at the university. A list of the
encyclopedia's board of editors identifies three
ethnic-Albanian board members; however one passed away in
2007, another adamantly denies having taken any part in the
encyclopedia and the other has been silent.

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HISTORY: IN OUR OPINION...
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3. (SBU) A very limited number of these encyclopedias have
been published so far and very few people have actually
managed to get a hold of one. However the media has seized
upon a number controversial facts, provocative allegations
and ethnically derogatory references within the
encyclopedia's text. Three especially controversial areas
are the encyclopedia's allegations that the U.S. and British
militaries trained and supported the ethnic-Albanian National
Liberation Army (NLA) during the 2001 conflict, references to
DUI party leader Ali Ahmeti as a refugee and war criminal,
and the use of ethnically derogatory terms and questionable
assertions to detail ethnic-Albanian history in Macedonia.

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THIS JUST IN: ALBANIAN INSURGENTS TRAINED BY U.S. AND
BRITISH FORCES
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4. (C) The encyclopedia alleges that 7,000 members of NLA
were trained in military camps in Kosovo and Albanian by
British and American forces. The authors used newspapers and
Wikipedia as the source of the allegation, according to press
reports. The U.S. Embassy and the British Embassy both
issued responses to the media immediately following the
revelation of these allegations. The British Ambassador told
the press the allegations were "false" and urged "MANU to
edit (the encyclopedia)." We told the press that the
"allegations...were baseless and outrageous." The U.S. and
British Embassies followed those statements with a joint
letter to the President of MANU Georgi Stardelov on September
23 citing the claims as "unfounded and false," expressing
"disappointment" at MANU for making "such baseless claims"
and urging a retraction. MANU has not responded to date. The
editor-in-chief of a pro-government daily claimed U.S. and
British pressure has been the driving force behind the
broader reaction to the Encyclopedia's content.

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ALBANIANS: HILLBILLY INVADERS FROM THE NORTH
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5. (C) The encyclopedia makes references to ethnic-Albanians
as Shqiptari (a well-known derogatory term for Albanians when

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used in Slavic languages) and "mountain people," and alleges
Albanians first arrived in Macedonia at the end of the 18th
century. It claims Albanians, from a Geg tribe in Northern
Albania, forcefully invaded Macedonia, "terrorizing"
Macedonians and banishing them from their homes. The
encyclopedia also refers to Mother Teresa (widely considered
of ethnic-Albanian descent) as a Vlach, and to the Albanian
community's most honored and cherished historical figure,
Gjergji Kastriot Skanderbeg, as a Slav. These references
have sparked outrage across the entire ethnic-Albanian
community. Every ethnic-Albanian political party, as well as
virtually all ethnic-Albanian academics and organizations,
have made public statements condemning the encyclopedia.
Those statements have included requests that Albania block
Macedonia's NATO bid, and demands that the Government
withdraw the Encyclopedia and/or publicly condemn its
content. Albanian PM Sali Berisha reportedly told Macedonian
President Gjorgji Ivanov at their bilat on the margins of
UNGA that the encyclopedia "falsifies history and holds an
absurd and unacceptable position." Kosovo's Speaker of
Parliament Jakup Krasniqi responded with sarcastic criticism
directed at the ongoing ethnic-Macedonian debate over its own
origins, inquiring as to whether the Macedonian authors were
descendants of Alexander the Great, Samuil of Bulgaria or
merely a creation of Josip Tito. The Bulgarian Embassy in
Skopje also joined the din, releasing a special statement
that the encyclopedia inaccurately depicts Bulgarian history
and is unacceptable from a country with NATO and EU
ambitions.

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A WEDGE IN THE COALITION
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6. (C) Ethnic-Albanian ruling coalition party DUI (already
under fire from opposition parties for its relative inability
to influence its ethnic-Macedonian counterparts) found itself
in a particularly difficult predicament following the
encyclopedia's release. Deputy Prime Minister Abdylaqim
Ademi told us he initially discussed the contents of the
encyclopedia with the PM and the PM's Chief of Staff
following its release and believed they had come to terms on
a joint statement that would distance the government from its
contents. However, the initial statement released by the
government was significantly watered-down and was not
sufficient for DUI. In response, DPM Ademi made his own
statement to the press "as a representative of the
ethnic-Albanian ministers in government" condemning the
encyclopedia's content. He also announced that DUI, and
party leader Ali Ahmeti, would sue MANU for the
encyclopedia's inaccuracies concerning Albanians and its
allegations that Ahmeti was a war criminal. During an
interview in Tirana Ahmeti went so far as to say, "The
armistice between Albanians and Macedonians following the
2001 conflict has now been broken." Charge expressed U.S.
concern over this escalation in rhetoric; Ahmeti replied that
the context of his statement made clear that he intended no
threat.

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PM OBSTINATE
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7. (C) PM Gruevski, who attended the release ceremony and
praised the publication of the encyclopedia, stating that it
"authentically scans the Macedonian point of view on the
cultural, national and political past of the country," was
reluctant to take any stance on its content as the public
outcry continued to escalate. The PM repeatedly reiterated
that MANU is an independent organization that produced the
encyclopedia without GoM involvement or review. He said the
disputed facts should be debated in a scientific forum.
Privately, the PM's CoS, Martin Protoger, told us the
encyclopedia was a joke that draws on sources with no
credibility, and said the government was considering shutting
down MANU and starting over. However, until recently it
appeared the PM would not publicly take such a strong stance.
In response to the outcry over the encyclopedia, MANU
indicated that it would reevaluate the disputed parts of the
encyclopedia and add clarification where necessary for the
next edition, but insisted it would not change any of the
existing text or withhold the publication of the first
edition.

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ADVOCATING DIALOGUE
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8. (C) Throughout this flap, we weighed in repeatedly with
Gruevski and Ahmeti's close advisors that they should meet
and find a way to put this issue behind them. We issued the
following public statement on September 29: "The focus of
American efforts in the Republic of Macedonia is to encourage
and support the development of a successful, thriving member
of the Euro-Altlantic community. The publication of MANU's
encyclopedia has spurred several reactions, including our
own, to erroneous, insulting or otherwise problematic
passages. Macedonia is a multi-ethnic state, and as
citizens, politicians, and media here respond to the
controversy stemming from the shortcomings of this
publication we urge that they focus constructively on
Macedonia's long-term goals." Also on September 29, Charge
texted PM Gruevski to urge constructive leadership and ask if
Charge could tell Ahmeti in their meeting scheduled later
that day that the PM was willing to meet Ahmeti. At the end
of the day PM Gruevski texted back a message of appreciation
for U.S. help.

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FINALLY, COMMUNICATION AT THE TOP
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9. (C) Continuing heated rhetoric from inside and outside
Macedonia combined with the PM's stubborn reluctance to
address the content of the encyclopedia allowed this
controversy to continue until the PM and Ahmeti finally
called a meeting on September 29, nearly two weeks after
publication. Immediately following his meeting with the PM,
Ahmeti told Charge he was pleased with the result. The two
leaders came to terms on a joint press statement which stated
that this issue "must not influence positive multi-ethnic
relations...(or)...impact the country's... Euro-Altlantic
aspirations." The statement also marked the first time PM
Gruevski made any public critique of the content of the
encyclopedia, saying "Both (leaders) expressed their regrets
for the insults and the disputable parts of the
encyclopedia." Ahmeti also told us that PM Gruevski called
the president of MANU during their meeting and they agreed
that MANU would immediately suspend additional sales of the
encyclopedia, the encyclopedia would be withdrawn, and a
bi-ethnic group of experts would be formed to rewrite the
encyclopedia. Ahmeti expressed mild skepticism that MANU
would actually follow through with the agreement.

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COMMENT:
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10. (C) We consider the meeting on September 29 and the
resulting press statement very positive developments that
will help contain the damage. We will monitor the public
reaction to the statement. Although hot rhetoric surrounding
this issue will probably linger for some time, we expect
overall tensions will begin to dissipate. The encyclopedia
may simply reflect the biased opinions of a group of bigoted
"scientists" trying to create their own history of Macedonia,
but the intense, widespread reactions from both sides of the
ethnic divide show the acute sensitivity surrounding issues
of identity and history. Multi-ethnic harmony in Macedonia
remains fragile. The joint statement by Gruevski and Ahmeti
should shelve speculation that DUI is considering leaving the
coalition for the time being, but opposition ethnic-Albanians
will likely take advantage of this issue politically and
accuse DUI of caving to their partners yet again. If many
ethnic-Albanians decide the joint statement by Gruevski and
Ahmeti is further evidence of DUI's weakness in government
then pressures on DUI and political divisions within the
Albanian community may actually intensify. In our
conversations, ethnic-Albanian leaders seem acutely aware of
this possibility and say they are intent on resisting
provocation or further factioning, but their patience
regarding progress on the overall ethnic Albanian agenda,
which includes NATO and EU membership as top goals, is
clearly wearing thin. This situation shows how difficult it
is to reign in their own rhetoric if significantly provoked.
(End Comment)
NAVRATIL