A Timeline
taken and modified from White Book on the Terrorism of the So-called NLA (original site and mirror site).
February 1, 1990 - Over 2000 ethnic Albanian demonstrated in the district of Tetovo against the treatment of Albanian by the Macedonian majority. The protesters also demanded independence for regions in western Macedonia where ethnic Albanian constitute a majority.
August 25, 1990 - Nevzat Halili, a former professor of English and graduate from the Sts. Cyrilus and Methodius University in Skopje, was elected chairman of the ethnic Albanian Party for Democratic Prosperity (PDP). The party's main objectives include the attainment of proportional representation in the government of Macedonia for the ethnic Albanian minority, and furthering that communities cultural rights. Haliii Founded the PDP in 1990.
November 11 to December 12, 1990 - During this month, the first free multiparty elections were conducted in Macedonia since 1938. In the three rounds of elections for Macedonia's National Assembly (Sobranie), no clear winner emerged. The ethnic Albanian Party for Democratic Prosperity-National Democratic Party (PDP-NDP) received 25 seats in the 120 seat National Assembly. The nationalist Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic party for Macedonian National Unity (IMRO-DPMNU) gained 37 seats, and the League of Communists of Macedonia won 31 seats.
January 1991 - The PDP-NDP won 36 seats in the Municipal Assembly of Tetovo, and the remaining 16 seats went to three different parties.
March 20, 1991 - After months of compromising on political power sharing arrangements, the National Assembly deputies finally concluded that the country should be led by a politically unaffiliated cabinet. The IMRO and PDP both voiced displeasure at the compromise. The ruling cabinet, headed by economist Nikola Kljusev, proposed to concentrate on economic matters and stabilization efforts.
November 20, 1991 - With promulgation of a new constitution at a special session of the Sobranie, the Republic of Macedonia became an independent nation. The special session was boycotted by the PDPNDP to protest the preamble of the constitution, which formally declares Macedonia to be "the national state of the Macedonian people". Formerly, under the Yugoslav constitution, the preamble defined Macedonia to be a nation of "the Macedonian people and the Albanian and Turkish minorities".
January 11-12, 1992 - A referendum on autonomy was organized by ethnic Albanian throughout Macedonia. Belgrade Radio, on January 15, reported that 90% of those eligible to vote did so. The report also stated that 99% of the voters were in favor of autonomy. There were other reports that the results and effectiveness of the referendum remained uncertain. Nevertheless, the Macedonian government refused to hold as valid any results that the referendum might have reached.
March 31, 1992 - Approximately 40,000 ethnic Albanian demonstrated in the Macedonian capital of Skopje. The Protesters demanded that the Macedonian nation should remain unrecognized by the international community until the State grants ethnic Albanian the right to autonomy in regions and villages where ethnic Albanian make up the majority.
June 1992 - In Radoliste, a village near the Albanian border, Macedonian police reportedly found a cache of pistols, Kalashnikov assault rifles, Skorpio machine guns, explosives, ammunition, and uniforms with the Albanian emblem of a black two headed eagle. The finding further raised fears among the ethnic Macedonian population that ethnic Albanian separatists could organize a militia.
September 1992 - Following two months of negotiations, a new government was formed to replace the ineffective "government of experts" led by Nikola Kljusev. The new government is led by a coalition of parties that includes the PDP-NDP, Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDUM, formerly the League of Communists), and Reformist Forces of Macedonia-Liberal Party (RFM-LM). President Kiro Gligorov, and Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski wield much influence in the coalition. Nevertheless, the coalition is weak and basically exists to keep the nationalist policies of the IMRO-DPMNU from directing the country's direction.
November 6, 1992 - Clashes between Macedonian police and ethnic Albanian in the mostly Albanian neighborhood of Bit Pazar in Skopje left four dead, and 36 ethnic Albanian and police injured. Following the disturbance, police detained 87 people. The unrest exploded when police arrested, and allegedly severely beat an ethnic Albanian youth charged with illicit dealings of cigarettes. During the unrest, over 50 shops were ransacked and several police vehicles destroyed. Gunfire was also exchanged between the Macedonian police and ethnic Albanian. The rumor of the youth's beating, which infuriated ethnic Albanian, was apparently false.
November 8, 1992 - Following the disturbances that occurred in Skopje, the Interior Ministry announced the seizure of 2,000 leaflets calling on ethnic Albanian to wage war for the right to self-determination. The leaflets were found in three Albanian majority villages approximately 60 miles south of Skopje. They were signed by the "Ilirida Albanian youth Movement".in which the Sobranie voted to accept the temporary name. They mainly argued that Macedonia should not receive international recognition until the country's record, in respect to its ethnic Albanian minority, improves significantly. The IMRO-DPMNU, along with a large segment of the Macedonian population, also strongly objected to the temporary name because of the influence that Greece exerted on the entire international recognition issue.
November 10, 1993 - Macedonia's Deputy Defense Minister Hisen Haskaj and Deputy Health Minister Imer Imeri, both ethnic Albanian, were arrested for alleged involvement in aiding the development of Albanian paramilitary groups. The Macedonian police also reportedly arrested several more ethnic Albanian in Tetovo and Gostivar for charges pertaining to arms trafficking and involvement with ethnic Albanian separatist paramilitary organizations. Interior Minister Ljubomir Frckovski, at a news conference, said that Deputy Defense Minister Hisen Haskaj was arrested for spying and collaborating with foreign secret services to smuggle arms into Macedonia. He stated that the operation was aimed at developing an organization called the All Albanian Army (AAA). The Interior Minister also said that plans detailing the creation of a 20,000 strong ethnic Albanian militia were also seized during the earlier arrests. The PDP claimed that the incident was a frame-up designed to legitimize further constraints on the ethnic Albanian minority. The coalition government dismissed the affair and judged it to be the work of fringe elements in Macedonia's Albanian minority.
December 4, 1993 - The continued disagreements between hardline and moderate factions of the ethnic Albanian Party for Democratic Prosperity (PDP), culminated in the resignation of party president Nevzat Haliii, General Secretary Mithad Emini, as well as the entire party presidium. PDP radicals, led by Mendub Thaci, complained strongly that the party, as part of the ruling coalition, made too many compromises, which undermined ethnic Albanian interests. The resignations, however, did not affect the PDP's parliamentary seats.
December 16, 1993 - Germany, Britain, Denmark, and the Netherlands announced that they had initiated the process to grant Macedonia full recognition. Other European Union member followed suit and by January, 11 of the 12 European Union members had recognized the Macedonia nation.
January 1994 - Mithad Emini, the former General Secretary of the PDP, was arrested along with nine other ethnic Albanian for alleged separatist activities. The group was charged.
November 10-11, 1992 - Following the Bit Pazar unrest, the official Albanian news agency denounced the Macedonian police action and blamed the incident on overly aggressive police officers. Macedonia's interior Minister, Ljubomir Frckovski, charged that Muslim nations, such as Iran and Libya, were supporting ethnic Albanian separatists. These allegations of support were flatly denied by ethnic Albanian religious leaders.
November 10, 1992 - The Sobranie approved a new citizenship law which allows ethnic Macedonians from abroad and those born in Macedonia to receive citizen status automatically. Those not fitting into these categories must live in Macedonia for 15 years before being eligible for citizenship. Further, the new law placed the status of citizenship under the full discretion of the Interior Ministry.
December 18, 1992 - Defense Minister Viado Popovsky announced that 700 United Nations Protection Force troops, along with 35 observers, 26 police officers, and 50 administrative personnel will be deployed in western Macedonia in January. The troops will mainly monitor the border separating Kosovo and Macedonia for any possible expansion of the conflict into Macedonia.
April 8, 1993 - Macedonia, under the temporary name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, was admitted into the United Nations. The PDP-NDP boycotted the sessionwith involvement in the AAA plot in which ethnic Albanian allegedly attempted to smuggle weapons into Macedonia in order to develop an Albanian militia.
February 12, 1994 - At a national congress held by the PDP, the party officially splintered into two factions. A moderate faction, led by the old leaders, is determined to work within the system and achieve ethnic Albanian demands through compromise. The radical faction, led by Arber Xhaferi and Mendub Thaci, heavily criticizes the government and generally opposes government policies. The split was preceded by growth in ethnic Albanian dissatisfaction with the PDP's involvement in the coalition government.
June 18, 1994 - As tensions concerning the forthcoming July population census escalated, ethnic Albanian and Macedonian clashed in the western city of Tetovo. A Macedonian youth was stabbed fatally in the dispute. Macedonian authorities said that they placed two ethnic Albanian under arrest for the incident as they apparently tried to flee the country. The specific reasons for the disturbance were not stated.
July 2, 1994 - The Party for Democratic Prosperity walked out of the Macedonian parliament in a show of protest against the conviction of several ethnic Albanian accused of organizing separatist paramilitary activities. The PDP denounced the convictions as a political maneuver aimed at weakening the PDP and constraining Albanian rights. Among those convicted by a Skopje court were two high level PDP members. The General Secretary of the PDP, Mithad Emini, received an eight year sentence, and the former Deputy Defense Minister Hisen Haskaj received a six year sentence.
August 17, 1994 - The BBC reports that the PDP has announced its new aim is no longer the federalization of Macedonia but the proportional representation of Albanian in all political institutions.
September 8, 1994 - The BBC reports that ethnic Albanian are buying ethnic Macedonians out of the Tetovo region.
October 1994 - In 2 rounds of Parliamentary elections, ethnic Albanian win 19 seats. Some Macedonian opposition parties boycott the second round of elections due to accusations of fraud against the ruling party.
October 13, 1994 - Reuters reports that current Albanian demands include more education and media in their own language, more representation in central and local government, an Albanian-language university and a change in the constitution to put them on equal footing with the Macedonian majority.
October 13, 1994 - Reuters reports that the PDP has held a rally in the northern town of Kumanovo.
November 14, 1994 - Macedonia's census shows that ethnic Albanian account for 22.9% of the country's population. The Albanian claim that the census was "irregular" and that they account for up to 40% of the population. Credible international observers dismiss these objections.
December 1994 - The Macedonian government blocks the opening of an Albanian-language university in Tetovo declaring it illegal. They later bulldoze the building which was to house the university. Albanian complain that very few of them are able to attend the country's universities.
December 20, 1994 - Parliament approves a new cabinet which includes 4 PDP members.
February 15, 1995 - 2,000 ethnic Albanian gather for the opening of Macedonia's first but illegal Albanian language university. Police close the university within a day.
February 17, 1995 - A man is killed in clashes between about 1,500 ethnic Albanian and Macedonian police outside the illegal Albanian-language university in Tetovo.
February 23, 1995 - About 2,000 Macedonian students protest outside of Parliament demanding the closure of the Albanian-language university.
February 27, 1995 - All 19 ethnic Albanian members of PARLIAMENT withdraw from Parliament demanding the right to use the Albanian-language in Parliament and the approval of the Albanianlanguage university in Tetovo.
May 3, 1995 - The dean of the illegal Albanian-language university is sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail for inciting the February 17 riot outside the university. Others are later sentenced to lesser sentences on similar charges.
November 9, 1995 - Macedonia joins the Council of Europe.
July 24 1996 - About 3,000 members of the ethnic Albanian minority demonstrated in Skopje, demanding the release of five of their leaders and permission to set up an Albanian language university in Tetovo. The demonstrators, who carry Albanian national symbols, accused the Skopje government of discriminating against the Albanian minority and asked for international support for setting up their university. This was the third protest of this kind in Macedonia in the last two weeks.
September 12 1996 - Representatives of the parliamentary group of the Albanian Party for Democratic Prosperity and People's Democratic Party sent a letter to the European parliament signed by the coordinator Rahmi Tuda. They asked the European parliament to "put pressure on Macedonia to give up the nationalistic concept to create a Macedonian state, as that is contrary to the multiethnic reality of the country".
May 1997 - It was reported that the mayor of Gostivar and his ethnic Albanian supporters had taken a confrontational stand by defying a ruling in May by Macedonia's constitutional court that other countries' flags (Albanian and Turkish) should not be flown in public.
July 22 1997 - In an effort to defuse tension in Gostivar and the nearby town of Tetovo, parliament on July 7 passed a law allowing the controversial flags to be flown outside the town hall, but only on certain Macedonian national holidays. The mayors in both towns rejected the law.
July 22 1997 - Demands by ethnic Albanian for greater rights erupted into conflict on July 9 after thegovernment sent in special forces to take down the Albanian, Turkish and Macedonian national flags flying outside Gostivar's town hall. Police shot dead two young ethnic Albanian, a third man was beaten by police and later died from his injuries, while several policemen received bullet wounds. The interior ministry said 312 people had been arrested, including the town's newly-elected radical mayor, Mr Rufi Osmani. Officials suspected some of the Gostivar protestors had been brought in from Albania and Serbia.
August 22, 1997 - At a meeting of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Albanian in Macedonia in Struga its deputy chairman, Iljaz Haliti, called on Macedonia's ethnic Albanian to present a united front. He said the other main ethnic Albanian party, the Party for Democratic Prosperity, which is part of the government coalition, should withdraw its ministers from government and its deputies from parliament and make a stand against the state's treatment of ethnic Albanian. Haliti said, the tragic events in Gostivar and Tetovo were a scenario planned by the Macedonian government in order to scare the Albanian and to prevent them from uniting.
September 30, 1997 - In his talks with Albanian President Mejdani and Prime Minister Fatos Nano, Macedonian ethnic Albanian party leader Arben Xhaferri asked the Albanian president and government to show more commitment to ethnic Albanian in Macedonia. Xhaferri refered particularly to recent ethnic Albanian clashes with the police in Gostivar, and the "scandalous sentence" given to its mayor. The urgent need for a pannational assembly, the urgent involvement of all sides in drafting a pan-national strategy including the creation of pan-national institutions, and the foundation of a pannational parliament were being considered.
December 17, 1997 - It was reported that a radical Albanian political grouping, the Democratic Party of Albanian, emerged. The party is said to seem determined to challenge the government on crucial issues such as higher education for Albanian and broader use of the Albanian language.
December 17, 1997 - It was reported that after the Gostivar riots, the governing ex-communist Social Democrats retained the support of the moderate Albanian Party for Democratic Prosperity (PDP). The two parties have co-operated in government since 1992, with the Albanian holding five cabinet posts in return for their support of a step-by-step policy to end discrimination against the minority.
May 29, 1998 - Arben Xhaferi, an ethnic Albanian political leader admitted that the ethnic Albanian in Macedonia are better off than those of any other Balkan country.
May 29, 1998 - An additional 750 UN peacekeeping troops, including 350 Americans, were deployed to stabilize Macedonia's border (The Christian Science Monitor). The force was deployed in 1992 following concerns that any of Macedonia's four neighbors Serbia, Albania, Bulgaria and Greece could undermine the country's quest for independence and stability.
July 22, 1998 - The UN Security Council voted unanimously to add 250 troops to the UN Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP) in Macedonia and to extend its mandate until the end of February 1999.
August 29, 1998 - On the occasion of Albanian Prime Minister' statement saying that Macedonia's Albanian should be satisfied with their position and seek their rights only within the system, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Albanian Arben Xhaferri noted: "Nano seems to labor under the illusion that idyllic inter-ethnic relations prevail in Macedonia at a time when the Albanian people are suffering a tragedy in Kosova; when the Macedonian government fails to support the idea of Kosova's independence; when there are Albanian political prisoners; when Tetovo university is not recognized; when the official use of the Albanian language is forbidden, and the Macedonian press tries every day to portray the Albanian as terrorists and elements that destabilize the Balkans.
November 1, 1998 - The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation (VMRO) won 46 seats in the two round general election and negotiated to form a coalition government with the new pro-business Democratic Alternative Party and with the Democratic Party of Albanian (DPA).
December 1, 1998 - Debates on the composition of the coalition government opened in Parliament after two weeks of smooth negotiations. The Macedonian experiment in power-sharing includes even the most radical ethnic political parties. Ljupco Georgievski, the VMRO leader said, he expects no trouble from extremists in his party or in Mr. Xhaferi's. Arben Xhaferi, the leader of the Democratic Party of Albanian, said Albanian now must learn to work with Macedonians.
January 20, 1999 - Members of the government coalition and ethnic Albanian parties in Macedonia backedan appeal by Speaker Savo Klimovski to President Kiro Gligorov, asking Gligorov to sign the amnesty law passed by parliament in December. The law covers, among others, the ethnic Albanian mayors of Gostivar and Tetovo, Rufi Osmani and Alajdin Demiri. The assembly enacted this law on 29th December. The President did not give the final date by which he would present his stand on the amnesty law.(BBC).
January 22, 1999 - Albania and Macedonia expressed their concerns over an influx of refugees from the Serbian province of Kosovo.
February 2, 1999 - Macedonian Foreign Minister Aleksandar Dimitrov offered Macedonian territory for more NATO troops and for a possible intervention in the southern Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija, during British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook's visit to Skopje on 30th January. According to unofficial figures, there are currently about 2,300 NATO troops in Macedonia, deployed in Skopje, Tetovo and Kumanovo.
February 5, 1999 - Arben Xhaferri, the leader of the Democratic Party of Albanian, said that he supported Kosovo achieving independence by political means. Speaking during a visit to Bulgaria Xhaferri said that the situation of ethnic Albanian in Macedonia is quite different from that of ethnic Albanian in Kosovo: Albanian in Macedonia, stated Xhaferri, have been politically, but never administratively, separate. This is why "it is impossible to talk of reshaping the borders in Macedonia". Xhaferri concluded: "I definitely believe that the Albanian have made a great contribution to stability in Macedonia.".
February 5, 1999 - During his talks with the Yugoslav Ambassador to Skopje Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov said that Macedonia does not support the demand of ethnic Albanian for the recognition of Serbia's southern province of Kosovo-Metohija as an independent state, and it was against any changes in Yugoslavia's borders.
February 18, 1999 - The leader of Macedonia's Democratic Party of Albanian, Arben Xhaferri, said that the emergence of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) helped his party (DPA) become a part of the governing coalition in Macedonia. He said, the existence of the UCK made the party's (DPA's) political adversaries look at it (DPA) in a different light and take the party and its policies more seriously.
February 18, 1999 - The leader of the ethnic Albanian party in the Macedonian government coalition, Arber Xhaferri, said he foresees the formation of an all-Albanian state in the long-term, maybe by the "beginning of the third millennium". He said, today's priority for the Albanian was to resolve the Kosovo problem. He predicted "a major war" if the current talks on Kosovo failed.
February 26, 1999 - A veto by China prevents the Security Council from authorizing an extension of the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP) in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia for a further six months.
February 26, 1999 - Reports from the Macedonian-Yugoslav border showed that the number of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia citizens crossing into Macedonia fell drastically. Bedredin Ibraimi, member of the ethnic Albanian government coalition party and Minister for Labor and Social Politics, said that Macedonia was "prepared to accept refugees from Kosovo. He said that the UNHCR had ensured humanitarian aid for 20,000 refugees that are already in Macedonia.
February 26, 1999 - Skopje, 25th February: Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov stated during talks with a delegation of Serbian associations in the country that Macedonian territory will not be used for a possible aggression by any military forces against Serbia and Yugoslavia.
March 3, 1999 - More than 5,000 ethnic Albanian were reported to have fled their homes for neighboring Macedonia in the wake of some of the heaviest fighting since the Kosovo peace talks were suspended last week. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said at least 1,250 of them have already managed to cross the border into Macedonia. The other 4,000 were said to be camped out in the countryside near the border.
March 10, 1999 - Early local elections were held in Tetovo and Gostivar, two largely ethnic Albanian towns in northwestern Macedonia. Because of the low voter turnout the citizens of Gostivar did not get their new mayor in the first round. Tetovo, where turnout was a little over 50 per cent, elected a municipal council and a new mayor.
March 24, 1999 - NATO launched a war against Yugoslavia. Refugees from Kosovo left for Albania andMacedonia.
March 31, 1999 - Arben Xhaferri, the leader of an ethnic Albanian party which forms part of the government coalition, said that it was his party's duty to "stabilize Macedonia and achieve unity", and urged Macedonian Albanian not to get directly involved in the Kosovo conflict.
April 15, 1999 - Macedonian Albanian political parties were reportedly helping the prime minister of the Kosovo Albanian' provisional government. Recruits from western Macedonia were sent to training centers in northern Albania, where they were trained to carry out terrorist actions.
April 17, 1999 - The Tetovo police rejected Macedonian media claims that there was a headquarters for the recruitment of Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) fighters in Tetovo municipality. Citing their sources, the Skopje daily "Dnevnik" reported that special headquarters existed in the Tetovo village of Poroj which performed the tasks of accepting Kosovo refugees, as well as of organizing the transfer of Macedonian volunteers into KLA ranks. This information was denied by the Macedonian Albanian political party headquarters. The opposition Party of Democratic Prosperity (PDP) claimed that it has no information regarding young Albanian being recruited in Tetovo for the KLA's needs. The other party of Albanian in Macedonia, Arben Xhaferri's Democratic Party of Albanian [DPA], a government coalition party, refrained from comment.
April 29, 1999 - "We must not allow Macedonia to be destabilized ... [because] ... if we allow ... [this] ...we would be working directly in favour of Milosevic's policy.", says Menduh Thaci, vice president of the Democratic Party of Albanian, in an interview for the ethnic Albanian daily "Flaka".
April 30, 1999 - Arben Xhaferri, talked in Tetovo town hall with the politically active body and selected members of the Democratic Party of Albanian. Xhaferri reaffirmed the party's support for the temporary government of Hashim Thaci in Kosovo. The determination to support Kosovo's independence was reiterated, as was DPA's opposition to sending ground troops, since this would only lead to autonomy, but not to an independence of Kosovo.
May 6, 1999 - The two largest parties of Albanian of Macedonia, the Party for Democratic Prosperity (PPD), and the Democratic Party of Albanian (PDP) issued a joint statement calling on all Kosovo political forces to continue their state-constituent efforts for Kosova's independence. The statement, signed by the party chairmen, invited the Albanian political forces to consolidate their ranks and make efforts to constitute the interim government of Kosova to conform to the Rambouillet Agreement, signed by Hashim Thaci, Ibrahim Rugova and Rexhep Qosja.
May 13, 1999 - Arben Xhaferri openly supports the Thaci government (the Kosovo rebel government). At his meeting with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, he even demanded that the international community do the same.
May 15, 1999 - Prime Minister of Albania Pandeli Majko met with the chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity in Macedonia, Abdurrahman Haliti. Majko said that the Albanian government is making efforts for the unification of the political and military factor in Kosova.
May 29, 1999 - The Albanian party which is part of the ruling coalition said Albanian of Macedonia were no longer satisfied with their status of national minority and wanted the same status as the Slavs. "We want Macedonia to proclaim itself a multi-ethnic country made up on an equal basis of a Macedonian and an Albanian nation", says Adelina Marku, spokeswoman of the Albanian Democratic Party based in Tetovo. She added that the time was not yet ripe to modify the Macedonian constitution.
June 10, 1999 - Andre Gerilymatos, director of the Research Institute on South Eastern Europe at Simon Fraser University, argues that the Kosovo peace accord will not offer practical solution to the Kosovar crisis. Gerilymatos outlines the following reasons: a) NATO rules out Kosovo's partition; b) KLA is unlikely to give up its fight for independence; c) KLA is unlikely to disarm; d) significant number of KLA guerrillas remain in Albania and Macedonia, determined to continue the war on two fronts.
June 23, 1999 - It is reported that NATO had 19,000 troops in Kosovo, another 10,000 at a logistic base in Macedonia, and another 8,000 in Albania. The major tasks of the troops include: mine cleaning; returning of refugees; disarming the KLA.
August 16, 1999 - Arms smuggling in and out of Kosovo is frequently reported. Albanian and Macedonian border with Kosovo are said to be effectively open.
November 17, 1999 - Boris Trajkovski won the presidential elections with the electoral support of the ethnic Albanians.
February 26, 2000 - A fresh wave of ethnic violence broke out in Bujanovac, a remote settlement of southern Serbia. NATO and ethnic Albanian sources in Kosovo said that the lion share of responsibility lays with radical irredentist elements of the KLA infiltrating Serbia from Kosovo. Violence was also reported in neighboring Macedonia.
October 26, 2000 - State leaders of all Balkan countries and representatives of the European Union met in Macedonia for their first summit since the fall of Slobodan Milosevic.
January 25, 2001 - Albanian guerrillas claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on a police station in Macedonia which left one officer dead and wounded another three.
January 26, 2001 - British troops patrolling the Kosovo-Yugoslav border came under fire from suspected Albanian gunmen. The gunmen retreated back into southern Serbia.
February 2001 - The construction of the SEE University at Tetovo begins. The university sees as part of its mission to be "committed to the Albanian culture, language, and population."
February 19, 2001 - Ethnic Albanians clashed with a military patrol in Macedonia. The ethnic Albanian insurgents wore the insignia of the new National Liberation Army (NLA). Due to increasing violence Macedonia put its troops on alert along the border with Kosovo.
February 25, 2001 - Macedonian military officials said that they were staging posts to prevent Albanian ethnic fighters infiltrating their territory. Macedonian sources named the former KLA commander and leader of the Alliance for Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj, as organizing incursions. Ethnic Albanian representatives on their side said incursions were organized by alienated former Albanian fighters who did not have coherent political goals or a cohesive political structure. Observers tended to link events in Macedonia and the Presevo valley in Serbia toan upsurge of violence against Serbs in Kosovo. Observers argued that Albanians were determined to build greater Kosovo.
February 25, 2001 - Gorgi Trendafilov, a spokesman for the Macedonian army criticized NATO-led peacekeepers in Kosovo for not controlling the movement of weapons and armed men on their side. President of Macedonia Boris Trajkovski asked for more action from the Kosovo based peacekeepers. The leader of the Democratic Party of Macedonia, Arben Xhaferi, admitted that some individuals and small groups could be active in Macedonia but insisted that there was no organized campaigns of ethnic Albanians against the Macedonian authorities.
February 25, 2001 - Macedonian and Serbian Ministers discussed joint military interventions to drive the guerrillas out. Observers said that this step was running the risk of alienating the Albanian ethnic movement.
February 28, 2001 - NATO agreed to start dismantling the buffer zone around Kosovo because of growing evidence that Albanian separatist guerrillas were using it to stage incursions into southern Serbia. NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson ordered an immediate political and military mission to the Macedonian capital Skopje. In the meantime, ethnic Albanian militants fought separate battles with Serb and Macedonian forces. NATO official said Albanian fighters occupying the Macedonian village of Tanusevci exchanged fire with Macedonian army units. In the Presevo valley in Serbia, ethnic Albanian rebels clashed with Serb forces near Bujanovac.
February 28, 2001 - At a meeting of NATO foreign ministers US Secretary of State.
March 2, 2001 - The 120 member Macedonian parliament ratified a long-awaited border treaty with Serbia. Only the small opposition Albanian Party for Democratic Prosperity voted against ratification on the ground that political parties in Kosovo were not consulted. Some observers believed that the initiating of the border accord by Macedonian President Trajkovski and his Yugoslav counterpart Kostunica at the recent Balkan summit in Skopje might have triggered recent violations of the Macedonian border. The Democratic Party of Albanians, the main coalition partner of the Macedonian government, is working hard to diffuse fears that Tanusevci incident could lead tointer-ethnic clashes in Macedonia.
March 2, 2001 - NATO issued a last minute appeal to Macedonia not to embark on a military offensive against ethnic Albanian guerrillas. The Macedonian authorities on their part warned NATO that they were losing patience following the appearance of about 200 ethnic Albanian guerrillas in the border village of Tanusevci.
March 5, 2001 - The Macedonian army announced mobilization (mediapool.bg). In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said: "We strongly condemn the acts of violence by extremists who are seeking to undermine the stability of Macedonia, Kosovo and the region." aRussian President Vladimir Putin declared that the potential for extremism spilling beyond Kosovo was mounting. EU countries said they had delivered tough warnings to Albanian leaders in Kosovo.
March 7, 2001 - Macedonia's Defense Ministry claimed that Macedonian positions had been attacked with mortar fire, as NATO peacekeepers joined Macedonian units in a bid to seal off the guerrilla-held areas. As he addressed the parliament, the Macedonian president made a public promise to root out ethnic Albanian terrorism and extremism.
March 9, 2001 - American peacekeepers opened fire on Kosovar Albanian guerrillas near the border with Macedonia. Peacekeepers crossed into Macedonia to take over positions held by the rebels fighting Macedonian forces. While US officials denied those claims they acknowledged that there was a confusion about the border.
March 11, 2001 - A new Albanian ethnic party, the National Democratic Party, was founded in Macedonia. Its members were mainly former prisoners. The party was expected to become the political wing of the Army for National Liberation.
March 15, 2001 - Skirmishes between ethnic Albanian insurgents and Macedonian authorities which first began at the border village of Tanusevci and then spread to Kumanovo have reached Tetovo.
March 15, 2001 - President Trajkovski summoned a Council for National Security for consultations on the crisis in the country. Prime Minister Georgievski said that a political motif lurked underneath the terrorist activities. The source of the crisis was in Kosovo. However terrorist actions in Macedonia were conducted by well trained political saboteurs.
March 18, 2001 - The Army for National Liberation announced that it had appointed its representative for talks with the Macedonian authorities.
March 2001 - Nato urges the Macedonian government to use appropriate force against Albanian terrorists hiding among civilians in Tanusevci near Kosovo border, in order to avoid civilian casualties. Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the US back use of force against guerrillas. Border with Kosovo closed.
Macedonian army backed by KFOR launches offensive to flush out guerrillas from Tanusevci.
National Liberation Army (NLA) emerges, demanding equal rights for ethnic Albanians and voicing support for militants at Tanusevci.
Democratic Party of Albanians stages mass rally in Skopje against violence.
Albanian terrorists open new fire in Tetovo as Albanian nationalists demonstrate, cheering the incoming gunfire from the Albanian terrorists.
Mass demonstration in the capital Skopje urging tougher action against the terrorists. Tanks enter Tetovo, Albanian positions hit by mortar fire. Government gives rebels ultimatum to surrender or face all-out attack.
April 20 2001 - US Secretary of State Collin Powell addresses the Macedonian authorities and people with the following words: You can be sure of American support for your efforts -- political support, economic support, and military support. You are facing a challenge, which you must meet. That is to show to the rest of this region and to show to the world that people of different backgrounds, different ethnicities can come together in peace and find a way to resolve differences through political dialogue and a common commitment to a single state.
April 28 2001 - Albanian terrorists brutally murder and desecrate the bodies of eight members of the Macedonian security forces. The US strongly condemned the attack.
May 1 2001 - US Secretary of State stated the following after a meeting with the Macedonian President Trajkovski:
I made the point to the President that we must not allow terrorists to derail political reconciliation. As long as we keep moving in this direction, we will dry up the support that terrorists might think they enjoy. And I also discussed with the President other things that the United States can do to support them, not only in security issues but as well as economic support that they need during this difficult time.
And I expressed my condolence and the condolence of the American people to the families of the eight Macedonian soldiers who lost their lives as a result of this terrorist act.
May 3 2001 - The NLA kills another two Macedonian soldiers in ambush. The US condemns the attack, and states the following: We also condemn the holding of hostages in that area by the so-called National Liberation Army, which has threatened civilians and deliberately puts civilians into jeopardy.
May 2001 - Main Macedonian parties form coalition government to address minority grievances. Fighting continues.
June 6 2001 - Ethnic Albanian shops and a mosque in the southern town of Bitola demolished in riots before the funerals of Macedonian soldiers killed by guerrillas.
June 11 2001 - The US Department of State states that "the United States condemns in strongest terms the extremist actions of the so-called National Liberation Army and opposes their violent tactics, which aim to undermine Macedonian democracy and threaten regional stability. We call for an end to the violence and for the National Liberation Army to withdraw immediately, beginning with Aracinovo. With the occupation of Aracinovo, the extremists have escalated the conflict and pose a potential threat to NATO supply lines. National Liberation Army actions run directly counter to political reform efforts, harming the true interests of ethnic Albanians in Macedonia and throughout the region."
June 13 2001 - Police say men of fighting age in Skopje mobilized, following terrorist threats to shell the city. Few bombs set by the NLA explode downtown in the following days.
June 15 2001 - Albanian terrorists shut off the water supply to Kumanovo, a town of about 100,000 people, a move that further increases the ethnic tensions in Macedonia in an unusually hot and dry summer. The water crisis continued for the next two weeks.
June 24 2001 - Macedonia calls off an offensive against ethnic Albanian terrorists near Skopje after talks with European Union officials.
June 26 2001 - Gun-toting protesters besiege parliament in Skopje, angry at what they see as leniency towards ethnic Albanian terrorists. President Boris Trajkosvki makes a national appeal for peace.
June 27 2001 - US President George Bush issues an executive order on depriving Balkan extremists of support. The order is followed by a proclamation restricting entry into the United States of those who threaten international stabilization efforts in the Balkans or who are responsible for wartime atrocities. The NLA is included in both statements.
July 2001 - Talks with Macedonian Albanians are underway in order to address their grievances. An agreement was reached soon after.
August 14 2001 - The Macedonian government and ethnic Albanian rebels finally reach a political agreement to settle their differences and end the fighting.
August 22 2001 - Albanian terrorists blow up a Macedonian church in an effort to derail the peace process and provoke additional violence. The church was attacked by Nazi-supported armed Albanian gangs during WWII. For that reason the destruction of the church had immense symbolic meaning among the ethnic Macedonians.
Fall 2001 - NATO collected 4,000 pieces of weapons from the so-called NLA. Most of the weapons were non-functional, thus raising doubts among the Macedonians that the NLA is serious in its desires for a peaceful solution.
Since then, the NLA has continued with armed provocations, as well as terrorist attacks in Macedonian towns, such as setting bombs in residential areas, in an attempt to restart the violence. Moreover, Albanian gangs further intimidate ethnic Macedonians, destroy their homes, and prevent their safe returns.
The academic year at the SEE University at Tetovo started October 2001.
