The Balkans have become a crucial area in the migration problem that is endangering European security and stability. Last year the flow of refugees was up to one million and it is pretty unlikely that it will decrease despite the EU-Turkey agreement signed on March 18, 2016, wrote Italian columnist Luca Volonte in his analysis for online portal Illusidario.net (http://www.ilsussidiario.net/mobile/Esteri/2016/4/27/DIETRO-LE-QUINTE-I-nomi-e-i-soldi-di-chi-usa-i-migranti-per-fare-un-golpe-in-Macedonia/699559/)
We include the entire analysis of Luca Volonte below.
The Balkan Peninsula with its mountains plays a critical role. It can be considered a natural barrier and a checkpoint. All the Western world strongly need that these countries in Southern Europe stay safe, stable and cooperate in order to manage this great wave of migrants. Unfortunately there have never been good relationships between those countries for example Greece and Macedonia.
An insupportable burden has been put on Macedonia. It is not a big country, just 2,1 million inhabitants, but in 2015 it managed to “try” 750.000 migrants. That means that the number of migrants checked in Macedonia is proportionally like 10 million people in US.
Columnist Luca Volonte
The Western world, the US included and first of all EU, should not wait for this crisis and all the protests in Skopje to prevent the holding of the political and parliamentary election. It cannot afford to make Macedonia a free zone, a “black hole” for migration and everyone who supports it.
In Macedonia there is a domestic political struggle and Western media start to look at it and consider it a “Colorful Revolution” indirectly sponsored by EU and US.
But the result of these “colorful revolutions”, with supporters like US, left party and rich benefactors, is not always democracy and respect for human rights, as it happened for the Arab spring. If we allow a new revolution in the Balkans during this migration crisis, it will be a disaster and also an injustice that cannot be explained. No one, for any geopolitical reason, can afford to bring a new state neighboring the EU to permanent instability as it happened in Ukraine.
Many left-wing activists and anarchist movements that took part to protests last April 13 are financed directly and indirectly by George Soros’ Open Society. It is known that Soros has sponsored migrations to Europe without control for years and recently he has been accused for this reason by the Serbian director Emir Kusturica during an interview for Euronews.
One of the leader of the protest by Soros’ movements is Zdravko Saveski, a Marxist activist working for Levica movement (the left wing). One of Soros’ media, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, scopes for promotion to Saveski’s organization; he is often invited as only reporter to domestic political events in Macedonia.
After that Macedonian protesters fired president Ivanov’s office during last April manifestations, Saveski bragged to him about being one of them and wrote on his Facebook profile: “I took part to the ransack in president’s office and I’m proud of it”. Another activist in this left-wing group is Branimir Jovanovic. He is one of the main guests and a reporter in many programs for the website Prizma, one of Soros’ mass media in Macedonia and he was one of the twelve people arrested by police. Jordan Sisovski is a protester too. He works at the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities in Skopje that receives a huge amount of money from Soros and Usaid.
One of the biggest protesters’ supporter is Civil Opposition . Its main goal should be transparency during elections, working as a watchdog, but it actually works in a partisan way. It declared to support the opposition in order to avoid election next month in Macedonia. This is the result of the defeat in different election of centre-left social democratic party and of his leader Zoran Zaev and so they are not popular.
Instead of facing voters they have started a colorful revolution with street demonstrations and violence. After protests and violence in 2015 EU intervened as mediator between the political parties and they came to an agreement that would have lead into the general elections on April 24, 2016. Under pressure by Zaev this date was postponed to next June 5. But Zaev’s intent is to postpone again elections in Macedonia and so he supports manifestation in the streets.
The most popular leader in the country is ex and may be next prime minister Nikola Gruevski. Under his leadership the country showed a great economic growth: 3.7 percent, the highest increase in the Balkans.
Every social, healthcare and educational parameter has visibly improved: World Bank data are clear.
Gruesvki party, Vmro Dpmne (Christian democracy) is popular and has historic basis in the period before communism. In all survey for elections results it is at the top far from opposition parties. Also Albanian party supports the idea of elections. This is the main point for an ethnic peace in Macedonia between the Christian orthodox majority and the Albanian Muslim minority.
The government has been accused of corruption and covering of the corrupts. There is still much to be done against corruption but Transparency International index shows Macedonia as one of the best country in the area: Bulgaria, Turkey, Albania and Kosovo have an even worse score.
As Ariel Coen wrote in his article for World Post on last April 20: “it takes some time to implement reforms and impatience is a bad advisor, dangerous and self-destructive. Negligence is the same for US and EU considering internal and foreign problems in Macedonia. Washington and Brussels should obtain a different behavior by Greece government so to confirm elections on June 5.
The Western world cannot afford any “black swan” especially in the Balkans.
Managing the migrants flow is a duty for EU, exactly as receiving refugees and showing European values with concrete actions. It is not time for destabilizing revolutions and very dangerous anti-democratic coup d’état. EU must respect and help Macedonia, this is its forefront and it cannot fall to chaos or become testing ground for geopolitical and financial reasons. Democratic elections must take place on the date fixed in June, left-wing parties and economic parts cannot abolish them just because they will lose.
Macedonian stability is not at stake, but the first rule for democracy and European reliability. Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, understood this situation and in an interview for the Guardian he declared how important the Balkans are. He said that even if there are some problems in this area “ in the next months these countries will need lots of support because cooperation with Balkan countries and with Macedonia is not easy. The present political leadership is ready to make difficult decisions and fighting hostilities by the public’s opinion”.
We hope that Obama government will follow the same line as EU. Macedonian government and people ask just for respect of democracy, will of people and European dream.