Macedonian Australians Write Protest Letters to US, European Ambassadors in Kanberra

Associations of Macedonians from Western Australia sent protest letters to the Untied States Ambassador in Australia, as well as the Ambassadors of a number of European countries, protesting against the meddling in Macedonian domestic political affairs.

"The USA ambassador to Macedonia Mr Jess Baily in particular, together with the State Department’s continued overt and covert support for Albanian separatists and extremists, is destabilizing Macedonia and the whole Balkan region and as such is a dangerous and unwarranted intervention. The Albanian minority in Macedonia which comprises less than 20 percent of the population is afforded freedoms, liberties and benefits that no other minority in the world enjoys. They have held senior positions in successive governments including ministries, freely speak and learn their Albanian language in schools and universities and freely practice their Islamic religion and culture. The “Albanian Platform” which was authored in Tirana and refined in Kosovo and is now forcibly being imposed on Macedonia has nothing to do with human rights but is a blatant push for the long­term aim of a Greater Albania by these separatist forces. In which other country in the world are former terrorists rewarded with ministerial positions including Ministry of Defence, Police and Speaker of the Parliament?", says the letter addressed to US Ambassador to Australia James Carouso.

The letters are signed by Chris Angelkov, on behalf of the Macedonian Community of Western Australia, Macedonian Australian Community Organisation, Macedonian Cultural Centre "Ilinden" and a number of other organizations. Similar letters are sent to the Ambassadors of Germany, France, Switzerland, Croatia, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia in Kanberra.

In the letter addressed to Ambassador Carouso, it is noted how Macedonia and the Macedonians have been faithful friends of the United States ever since the country declared independence in 1991. "One would hope that the election of President Trump in the USA might have heralded a fairer and more progressive USA policy for the Balkan region rather than the continued catastrophic and biased meddling approach of the Clinton/Obama era. Maced

onia and the Macedonian people have been good friends of the USA since it gained independence in 1991. The treatment that the USA is currently subjecting our country of origin to however is not one of a friendly ally but that of a bullying, reckless enemy which is providing encouragement to those forces seeking a Greater Albanian state", the letter adds. The associations also also note how European Union member states, such as Greece and Bulgaria, as well as Albania, fall far behind the standards of minority rights protection that Macedonia meets with regard to the Albanian minority.