US, UK join Albanian anger over Macedonian encyclopedia
The US and UK embassies in Skopje have joined ethnic Albanian anger over the publication of the "Macedonian encyclopedia" by the Macedonian Science Academy in which British and American troops are portrayed as trainers of the separatist ethnic Albanian guerilla.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Wednesday, September 23, 2009
In the part related to the 2001 ethnic conflict in Macedonia between government troops and the separatist Albanian "National Liberation Army" (NLA), the encyclopedia reads that "the NLA was trained by American and British SAS and paratrooper officers".
The US embassy reacted by calling the claims as "unfounded and unacceptable", while the British embassy said the UK "never gave military support to the NLA".
It is well known, however, that the US and the UK were instrumental in arming, training and commanding the Kosovo Albanian separatist guerilla.
The US and the UK thus joined Macedonian Albanians who say that the encyclopedia shows their community in a negative light.
The encyclopedia states that Albanians arrived in Macedonia mostly after the 16th century, that they are known as Arnauts and Shqiptars.
It also states that Ali Ahmeti, a former leader of the NLA, is a controversial personality that was accused of war crimes.
Officials of Albanian party-the Democratic Union for European Integration-have said that they are calling for the publication to be pulled and have announced that legal actions will be taken against the authors and publishers both in domestic and foreign courts.
