Macedonia Ethno-Religious Conflict (1991-2016)

Macedonia Ethno-Religious Conflict (1991-2016) Tome Vangelovski January 2017 A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The Australian National University Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies Australian National University © Copyright by Tome Vangelovski 2017 All Rights Reserved ii Authorship Declaration I hereby declare and confirm that this thesis is entirely the result of my own work except where otherwise indicated and has not been submitted, either in part or in whole, for a higher degree or qualification at this or any other university or institute. This thesis totals 90,485 words (excluding footnotes and appendices). Tome Vangelovski January 2017 iii Acknowledgements I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to undertake my PhD studies at the Australian National University. I owe a great debt of gratitude to Professor Amin Saikal and Dr Kirill Nourzhanov for enabling this. Dr Nourzhanov has been an exceptional supervisor. His honesty, sincerity and, most importantly, his patience have allowed me to complete this work while balancing employment and raising a young family. Dr Nourzhanov’s guidance and intellectual rigour has provided me with immeasurable support. Professor Peter Hill and Dr Robert Miller, also on my supervisory panel, have been a great source of knowledge. Their understanding of the topic and their detailed advice has been invaluable. Thank you to all of those who provided me with extensive support and friendship during my fieldwork in Macedonia, including the interviewees who generously provided their time and knowledge. My thanks also goes to Carol Laslett, Leila Kouatly, Lissette Geronimo, Pamela Lourandos, Dr. Anita Mack, Kerry Pert and Penny Brew whose assistance has been crucial during my time studying at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies and the Australian National University. They have done a wonderful job and ensured that everything has run smoothly for me. I would like to thank my family who have always been there for me and have sacrificed so much – sacrifices that I am yet to learn of and experience for myself. My mother Vesa and my father Slobodan; my grandfather Ilija and my late grandmother Kostadinka; my sister Mary and my brother Michael – Thank you. Finally, to my greatest treasures – my wife Gordana and my two boys Gabriel and Emmanuel – I love you with all my heart. You three have been the greatest iv blessings that God has given to me. I pray that He will guide me in being the husband and father that He wants me to be and to fulfil the role that He has set out for me. Thank you for all of your support and understanding. Thank you for your love and patience. I will love you, care for you and protect you to my last breath. v Abstract Since its independence 25 years ago, Macedonia has been besieged by considerable inter-ethnic tensions and sporadic violence. In addition, a short armed conflict took place in 2001. The conflict between its majority Orthodox Christian Macedonians and minority Sunni Muslim Albanians in many ways dates back to at least the late 19th century. Over time, the nature and intensity of this conflict has shifted from peaceful, yet strained, coexistence to open warfare. This thesis focuses on Macedonian-Albanian relations since independence in 1991 and contends that conflict is the result of three overarching factors: incompatible worldviews; competing constitutional rights claims; and an anocratic state that lacks democratic institutions to manage conflict. The thesis analyses the worldviews, informed largely by nationalist doctrines and religious belief systems, of the two communities. While these worldviews are not universal across both ethnic groups, they do form the basis from which many currently perceive reality. These worldviews shape the way in which individuals from both groups understand themselves and their collective interests, and how they perceive ethno-religious ‘others’. Because of their worldviews, the two groups understand contemporary problems differently and their opposing visions for the future result in widely conflicting solutions. Competing rights claims between the two groups are a struggle to assert dominance over the state by the Macedonians, and exercise greater self- governance by the Albanians. These competing rights claims – constitutional status of ethnic Albanians, local self-government, proportional public employment, parliamentary veto powers, and the use of minority languages – principally stem from the incompatible worldviews of the two communities and their respective visions for the state. Macedonia’s anocratic state and weak institutions are unable to provide an effective bargaining mechanism to negotiate conflicting rights claims. Nor is vi either community able to provide credible guarantees that it is committed to a peaceful resolution of the issues or a long-term rapprochement. In addition, a culture of ethnic outbidding by political elites, within both communities, has grown over the past two and a half decades resulting in the ethnicisation of many political issues. The larger political parties, under international auspices, attempted to resolve some of these issues through significant constitutional and legislative amendments agreed to under the Framework Agreement. Rather than addressing these issues the Framework Agreement has exacerbated the causes of conflict, while becoming a contentious matter in and of itself. The thesis contends that there cannot be peaceful cohabitation or successful national integration between the two communities under the status quo. vii Contents LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... VIII LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... IX INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 PART I .......................................................................................................................... 47 CHAPTER ONE: ETHNONATIONALISM .......................................................................... 50 CHAPTER TWO: RELIGIOUS CONFLICT ......................................................................... 82 CHAPTER THREE: ETHNO-RELIGIOUS SOCIAL DISTANCE AND CONFLICT .................. 105 PART II ....................................................................................................................... 129 CHAPTER FOUR: CONSTITUTIONAL STATUS: THE PREAMBLE .................................... 136 CHAPTER FIVE: LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT .............................................................. 145 CHAPTER SIX: PROPORTIONAL EMPLOYMENT IN PUBLIC ENTITIES ........................... 164 CHAPTER SEVEN: PARLIAMENTARY VETO POWERS ................................................... 189 CHAPTER EIGHT: MINORITY LANGUAGES ................................................................. 201 PART III ..................................................................................................................... 219 CHAPTER NINE: CREDIBLE COMMITMENTS ............................................................... 225 CHAPTER TEN: ETHNIC OUTBIDDING ......................................................................... 285 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................ 320 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................. 332 APPENDIX ONE: MAP OF MACEDONIA ....................................................................... 333 APPENDIX TWO: ALBANIAN LANGUAGE MAP ........................................................... 334 APPENDIX THREE: NATION-BUILDING ....................................................................... 335 APPENDIX FOUR: CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS ...................................................... 338 APPENDIX FIVE: THE PREAMBLE ............................................................................... 354 APPENDIX SIX: KEY FLASH POINTS ........................................................................... 357 APPENDIX SEVEN: ETHNO-HISTORIC MACEDONIA .................................................... 358 APPENDIX EIGHT: NEVZAT HALILI’S PROPOSED FEDERAL STATE ............................. 359 APPENDIX NINE: ETHNIC MAP OF STRUGA MUNICIPALITY ........................................ 360 APPENDIX TEN: PARAMILITARIES .............................................................................. 361 APPENDIX ELEVEN: CROSSES AND MOSQUES ............................................................ 365 APPENDIX TWELVE: PROTESTS .................................................................................. 368 APPENDIX THIRTEEN: WEAPONS CACHE – BRODEC .................................................. 370 APPENDIX FOURTEEN: FIELD INTERVIEWS ................................................................. 371 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................... 372 viii List of Tables TABLE 1. ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF MACEDONIA (PERCENTAGE), 1948-2002 ................. 1 TABLE 2. KEY CITIES AND THEIR MAJORITY COMMUNITY .............................................. 2 TABLE 3. ISO 9:1995 MACEDONIAN CYRILLIC TRANSLITERATION SYSTEM .................. 15 TABLE 4. RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION OF MACEDONIANS AND ALBANIANS ........................ 82 TABLE 5. ETHNIC COMPOSITION

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