CRISISWEB NEWS

Macedonia: Still Sliding ICG Briefing Paper In this briefing paper, ICG argues that Macedonia is still locked in crisis and threatened by war, as neither ethnic Macedonian nor ethnic Albanian leaders have been converted to belief in a 'civic' settlement that would strengthen democracy by improving minority conditions without weakening the integrity of the state. Nor have separatists from both sides given up their conviction that security for their communities can only be achieved by demarcating - and hence competing for - ethnically "pure" territory. As ethnic Macedonian and Albanian leaders prepare to resume political talks on the basis of a shaky truce, the international community must ask itself quickly - and answer - whether the continuing risk of full blown civil war does not justify dispatching a serious NATO force to Macedonia, even without a political settlement in place.