Macedonia: Ethnic Albanians Protest Arrests Of Murder Suspects
By RFE RL
(RFE/RL) — Thousands of ethnic Albanians in Macedonia have protested against the arrest of three men charged over the killing of five Macedonians last month.
The mid-April killings near Skopje and the ensuing police investigation have ratcheted up ethnic tensions in Macedonia, where at least one-quarter of the 2 million people are ethnic Albanian Muslims.
Twenty people, mainly ethnic Albanians, were arrested on May 1, and five of them were accused of the killings. They were charged with terrorism and described as “followers of radical Islam.”
In Skopje, some 5,000 ethnic Albanians protested on May 11, chanting, “Muslims are not terrorists!”
Smaller protests were held in three other Macedonian towns.
In 2001, an armed conflict was fought between government forces and ethnic Albanian rebels.
A peace deal was signed in August 2001, when Albanians were given improved rights.
USA and EU were too quick to form a new muslim country-Kosovo that brought the radicals to surface right in the hart of the Balkans.
The idea of Greater Albania became the norm with the help of ill thought consequences by west after the destruction of Serbia.
Serbia and Macedonia should not be blamed for the unrest in that part of the World.NATO and EU must let these nations to join their clubs or face worst future consequences.
NATO and EU must tell Greece to accept the will of the Macedonian peoples on their choice of name.Membership in NATO and EU will calm down the situation in the Balkans.