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                              MACEDONIA TODAY

The next area of conflict for Macedonia would seem to be Albania.

o The Serbs have forced the Albanians to leave Kosovo, Serbia's southern district.

The great numbers of Albanian refugees entering Macedonia, its neighbor to the south, 
has tended to render unstable the Macedonian government. Macedonian officials are
trying to move these Albanian refugees to Albania itself, sometimes through deportation.

NATO troops are trying to get the Albanian refugees to move back to Kosovo. 
Note that some of the Albanians moving back to Kosovo have delivered reverse 
"ethnic cleansing" to the Serbs who have remained in Kosovo.

o Albania itself is in poor straits, having had a "near-total breakdown in law and order
that occurred in 1997, when Albania's economy collapsed and left a vigorous black 
market trade in drugs and small arms looted from government warehouses."

The corrupt government of Albania supported a group of financial pyramid schemes
that collapsed in 1997, resulting in a full-scale revolt by the Albanians.

Organized crime has become very influential in the area.  It has filled the void. 
For instance, it is estimated that 80 percent of the drugs moving into Western Europe
come through Albania.

Read the February 2000 issue of National Geographic for a really good article on 
the "Albanians, A People Undone."

o The Macedonian Bulgars fear the increased population of Albanians in Macedonia. 
The Albanians are known for their large families, in part because each Albanian family 
expects to lose a few sons to blood feuds or wars against invaders.

o This animosity between the Macedonians and Albanians is featured in the movie
"Before the Rain."

o The 1913 Treaty of Bucharest also imposed Albania's political boundaries and left
nearly half the Albanian population outside of Albania -- in Kosovo and the 
northwestern part of Macedonia.

These Albanians, who form the majority ethnic group in the northwestern part of 
Macedonia, would like to be reunited with Albania, which causes problems with 
the Macedonian government.

See the map of Macedonia which denotes regions of Macedonia having predominantly
Albanian ethnic population.

So far, the Macedonian government has refused the Albanians to have their own schools 
in that area of Macedonia.

The city of Tetova in northwestern Macedonia is currently the hotbed of contention 
between Macedonians and Albanians.