Ahmeti and his phantoms

Macedonia’s presidential and parliamentary elections are basically in full swing, rhetorically if not operationally.

And those words are flying fast and furious with Ali Ahmeti perhaps sensing doom for his party and its prospects, for the first time in 22 years since he traded in the fatigues of his terrorist uniform for a suit and since he left the mountains for the office.  One can tell by his more recent statements that he is worried.  And he should be, because nothing lasts forever. 

Ahmeti’s most recent comments are about phantoms, this in the form of Russians interfering in post-election politicking in Macedonia.  Ahmeti and his party are campaigning on a “European front” platform – whatever that means – stating “Yes to Europe and No to Russia” as if anyone in Macedonia really wants Macedonia to be a part of Russia.  Ahmeti continues with the old SDS/DUI theme that if the political parties don’t cave in to Bulgaria’s demands to include Bulgarians in Macedonia’s constitution, then – presto! – Macedonia will immediately fall into a Russian orbit.

Two things here: first, there is the old, lazy argument put forward by SDS/DUI – “Our march toward Europe is inevitable and we must put aside our reservations about changing our constitution however many times is necessary so that we might become EU members and there is no other way.”  It’s the “no other way” part that is lazy and unimaginative – because it is not true, and it is designed to shut down debate.  The truth is, there are other ways and, more recently, senior leaders in VMRO have been suggesting creative ways of addressing these issues, while maintaining Macedonia’s European orientation.  But for SDS/DUI, there is only one way – their way.    

My second point here is darker, a bit more ominous: it is not the Russians to be worried about, but DUI who have a proven track record of using violence, both in the past and even today as I type out this column.  The party – and its leaders including Ahmeti and the current technical (and fortunately brief) prime minister – was borne out of violence.  Both Ali Ahmeti and Talat Xhaferi used deadly weapons to shoot, wound, and kill Macedonians.  These are men who would not hesitate to do it again though, as they increase in age and decline in physical stature, likely won’t – personally – but will be all too happy to encourage others to pick up guns.  And why not?  They picked up guns once and got what they wanted.  Why wouldn’t it work again?

Not only that, but the party – its leaders and its rank and file – are involved in corruption, including the trafficking of women and girls, weapons, and drugs.  Just the other week the mayor of Arachinovo, a lawless enclave of ethnic Albanians north of Skopje, was targeted for assassination (his driver was wounded).  Likely, drugs were involved as the town is a known center of drug trafficking.  But this latest incidence is just that – the latest in a string of many shoot-outs and killings among Albanians since SDS/DUI came to power. 

Ali Ahmeti, the leadership of his party, many of its members have literally profited over the past seven years, and handsomely, in their corruption as they have run rampant not only over and through the Macedonian government but over and through Macedonians, to the detriment of Macedonians, as well as Macedonian identity and history.  He and they not only want to hold on to their ill-gotten gains, but they also do not want their crimes to be prosecuted – and if VMRO and the ethnic Albanian opposition parties come to power, then the many criminals within DUI will be exposed.  This is yet another reason why they talk about Russian phantoms – in the forlorn hope that because Russia is an easily identifiable bad actor, the EU and US State Department bureaucrats will simply nod their heads in agreement with DUI and cast blame on VMRO and the ethnic Albanian opposition parties.

But in this, there is one thing that Ahmeti and his criminal gang have forgotten: the revolution always devours its own and even the US State Department and EU bureaucrats will eventually tire of Ahmeti and decide that his usefulness to them has come to an end.

It can’t happen soon enough.