Borders: Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia
In the 19th century, as Ottoman power declined, Macedonia became a focus of contention between the rising nationalist powers of Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia. From the 1890s armed groups supported by all three powers fought the Ottomans and each other for control. A specifically Macedonian nationalism also arose, led by the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation (VMRO). During the Balkan Wars of 1912-13, the Ottomans were expelled and Macedonia was divided between Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia. The northern area of Macedonia, with a predminantly Slav-Macedonian population, became part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia after the First World War, while the coastal areas around Thessaloniki were absorbed into Greece. The VMRO continued to agitate for Macedonian independence. In 1945 Macedonia became a republic within the Communist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Macedonian nationalism re-emerged in the 1980s as Yugoslavia disintegrated and in 1991 independence was declared. This provoked a strongly hostile reaction from Greece, which objected to the use of the word Macedonia (which it saw as exclusively Greek) and also to implied Macedonian claims to Greek Macedonia. After two years of stalemate Macedonian independence was recognised in 1993, under the name "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia." The conservative nationalist Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation, allied with the Liberal Party of Macedonia, dominated the early years of independent Macedonia, but its mishandling of relations with the Albanian minority, which in 1999-2001 provoked an outbreak of communal fighting in Albanian areas, has undermined its support. The leading party now is the Together for Macedonia coalition, which is led by the Social Democratic League of Macedonia and the Liberal-Democratic Party. The Democratic Party of Albanians, the Democratic Union for Integration and the Democratic Prosperity Party represent the Albanian minority. The Socialist Party of Macedonia represents the remains of the Communist Party. Human Rights Watch's 2002 Report on Macedonia documented continuing problems from the events of 1999-2001, although it recorded considerable improvements in the human rights situation. "Implementation of the August 2001 Framework Agreement for Peace (known as the Ohrid Agreement) brought Macedonia considerable change, including an amnesty for insurgents, emergence of new political parties, and general elections. Reforms required by the peace agreement began in earnest only in late 2001 with Parliament's approval of constitutional amendments recognising Albanian as an official language and guaranteeing proportional access for ethnic minorities to public sector jobs, including in the police... The government's record was marred by its assaults on press freedom, harassment of human rights organisations, impunity for abuses committed during the conflict, and evidence of widespread corruption. Although generally declining during the year, there was an upsurge in inter-ethnic and political violence and intimidation in the weeks preceding the mid-September 2002 general elections, underscoring the fragility of the peace deal." |
