Of narcissists, Bolsheviks, and “wreckers”
The narcissists
Earlier this month, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti visited Macedonia, including the Skopje neighborhood of Cair, and Tetovo. Though you wouldn’t know he had been in Macedonia if you simply viewed pictures on social media or TV. Not a single Macedonian flag in sight and, instead, flags of Albania and of course, Greater Albania which encompasses not just much of Macedonia, but also parts of Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro.
There was, of course, a great deal of pushback on this event and the sense that the ethnic Albanian Prime Minister of Kosovo is, yet again, interfering in a neighboring country, Macedonia, all for political domestic gain. Or perhaps something more nefarious.
Either way, the political party Besa, one of the smaller ethnic Albanian minority parties in Macedonia, came out pushing back on the pushback, with their vice chairman, Blerim Sejdiu, stating that the Macedonian politicians who raised their voices against these provocations are themselves to blame. According to one media report he said that “by their reactions to the Kurti’s visit, Macedonian state leadership revealed its ethno-chauvinism, concealed in a democratic language.” This is classic language from the bully blaming the victim.
But to justify Kurti’s behavior, remarks, and reason for being there by saying that he, Kurti, just wanted to improve “regional relations” is the height of Albanian narcissism because, first of all, it’s not true. It was and is an excuse for the fact that everything in life is about them, everything in life is about ethnic Albanians wherever they live, and about their “victimhood.” There is nothing in life outside of these things. It is an exclusive focus on the self: “Look at me and my victimhood.” That, and, “There is nothing you can do to assuage my status as a victim and so you must always give in to our demands.” These are the narcissists.
The Bolsheviks
Granted, the leader of the largest minority ethnic Albanian party in Macedonia is Ali Ahmeti, a man who started a war to rip Macedonia in two, a man who is responsible for the murder of innocents, the wounding of many, trafficking in guns, drugs, women, and girls, kidnapping, and sexual torture. Oh, and a man who studied Marxism/Leninism at school. As a man in power for over 20 years, he has obviously learned well. He will only leave power once he is in a coffin.
Alongside him is what I call the junior party in government, SDSM though we really should drop the “M” from their title as they no longer believe in the Macedonian project. Their party was the League of Communists of Macedonia prior to 1991; as a party who will do anything to cling to power, they too, have learned the lessons of Marx and Lenin. They are old Bolsheviks.
The “wreckers”
So, “who are the ‘wreckers’ you might ask? Excellent question. “Wreckers” is in quotes for a reason. Under Stalin (not that I’m comparing Ahmeti and Kovachevski to Stalin), those who were against the state, or perceived to be against the state, were referred to as “wreckers” under Article 58 of the Criminal Code of the Soviet Union. The most famous dissident of the Soviet Union — and a man who I believe to be the greatest writer of the last century, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (a Russian!) — was charged under Article 58 and sentenced to eight years in the Gulag and then exile. His crime? He criticized Stalin in a private letter. The “wreckers” in the Soviet Union were ordinary men and women who either did nothing wrong or did something the state didn’t like.
To my mind, the “wreckers” in Macedonia today are, primarily, VMRO-DPMNE, but also others who refuse to go along with SDS/DUI and their handlers in the US State Department, the EU, and other institutions insisting, these days, that Macedonia’s “European orientation” as they phrase it is in deep jeopardy because they won’t agree to capitulate to Bulgaria. (Before the so-called “Prespa agreement” these people were also “wreckers.)
Interesting, isn’t it, how some of the “wreckers” during the name/identity change talks were arrested and imprisoned? Will the same thing happen this time as the Government of SDS/DUI (and their handlers) insists that the “European orientation” of Macedonia is at risk because of these “wreckers?” The “wreckers” are Macedonians who do believe (for the most part) in having Macedonia join the EU, but they have certain limits and boundaries (and life is all about limits and boundaries, properly understood and practiced). These Macedonians have invested quite a bit of themselves and their families, both living and deceased, in the idea of Macedonian dignity and pride. They want what is best for Macedonia and their families, but not at the price of their dignity. And yet they are all falsely charged as the “wreckers.”
Both the government of Prime Minister Kovachevski and the various minority ethnic Albanian parties continue to refer to anyone who opposes them as “irresponsible” (with various ethnic Albanian politicians often hinting at secession), and yet refuse to acknowledge the legitimate demands of Macedonians who, while wanting EU membership, are not willing to sell their souls.
In a parliamentary democracy, rhetoric and persuasion should be used by whichever side in pushing through legislation or changing the constitution. If one side argues for its legislation but can’t muster the votes for it, then the other side must be allowed to try their turn at the helm. In practical terms, this means the dissolution of the government and early elections.
I would say it’s time for early elections. But then again, we’re up against narcissists and old school Bolsheviks.
