wfn.org | Violence in Macedonia draws Methodist concern

[NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG]

March 22, 2001 News media contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York
10-71B{137}

NOTE: This report may be used as a sidebar to UMNS story # 136.

By United Methodist News Service

Violence flaring along the border of Macedonia became one of the unofficial
concerns at the recent United Methodist Southern and Central Europe Central
Conference meeting.

"We were praying in the central conference spontaneously for the people of
Macedonia," said Bishop Heinrich Bolleter of Zurich, Switzerland, who is
episcopal leader of the conference.

In mid-March, fighting broke out between ethnic Albanian rebels and
Macedonian security forces near the border city of Tetovo. On March 21, the
armed rebels declared a unilateral ceasefire and sought negotiations with
the government.

According to the New York Times, the Macedonian government has tried to
quickly extinguish an insurgency it believes is dominated by Albanians from
Kosovo. While the extremists say they are fighting for more rights for
Albanians, the Times reported that Western countries consider Macedonia to
have one of the more democratic and even-handed governments in the Balkans.

Bolleter said that conference delegates discussed informally whether to
approach the international community about the crisis in Macedonia, but
decided to monitor the situation. If the fighting continues, the conference
may place a resolution before the European Union, NATO and other bodies
calling for the disarmament of the Albanian rebels, he told United Methodist
News Service.

Although the United Methodist Church in Macedonia is small, one of its
active laypeople, Boris Trajkovski, was elected president of Macedonia last
November. He had been involved with Macedonia's refugee operations during
the war in neighboring Kosovo and was known for his even-handedness and
efforts to encourage reconciliation between the Serbs and Albanians. While
estimates vary, Albanians are thought to make up 25 to 30 percent of the
population. 

That image carried through in his electoral campaign, attracting Albanian
supporters. "He would not have been elected if he had not had the votes of
the Albanian population in Macedonia," Bolleter said.

Trajkovski reaffirmed his desire for peaceful reconciliation in a Feb. 23
speech during the summit of the South East European Cooperation Process.
"Our region is a true mosaic of various value systems, cultures, religions,
languages and ethnic groups," he said. "Ethnic boundaries cannot be part of
the solution. We must build states of individuals, not states of ethnic
groups."

The United Methodist Church also is involved in reconciliation. One report
at the central conference meeting focused on a church camp that brought
together youth from Serbia, Kosovo and Macedonia. Through fellowship found
in Bible studies, prayer meetings and other common activities, they became
more comfortable with one another, and eventually shared how the Christian
faith had transformed their lives and their attitudes toward other ethnic
groups.

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United Methodist News Service
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