Nobody's Fault But Their Own?
Public Relations and the Fate of Macedonia
by Christopher Deliso in Skopje
July 12, 2002

Right now, Macedonia stands at a crossroads. Will it become irrevocably polarized – and perhaps, partitioned – on ethnic lines? Or will it somehow live up to the "multiethnic, democratic" characteristics the EU and OSCE have mandated for it? To a large extent, this will be determined by Macedonian citizens themselves, though also by Macedonia's minders from without.

Historically, foreign assistance has been the key ingredient in all Albanian nationalistic uprisings. Intervention is not, however, the only explanation for their great successes in Macedonia: superior public relations has also helped a great deal. It is obvious why former NLA chief Ali Ahmeti is on the verge of becoming an elected official: he and his comrades have merely taken advantage of a weak, fractious state bent on its own destruction. They have outpublicized and outwitted their Macedonian neighbors. But in the end, if they completely take over or annex parts of Macedonia, it will be simply because they wanted it more. Which is good, in a way, because it indicates that if the spirit is willing…

A Sinking Ship?

"I do not see Macedonia as a viable state for much longer," said one American of Serbian descent in Belgrade. "Whereas the Serbs in America and Canada are coming back here to try and improve Serbia, the Macedonians are all leaving their country. They know it's a sinking ship, and they want to get out as fast as they can."

In the past few months, I have interviewed many young Macedonians, 90 percent of whom do in fact wish to leave. Children as young as 13 told me that there are no opportunities left for them at home – a reality made particularly vicious by the fact that the "no opportunities" strategy was used so successfully by the Albanians to win Western sympathies last year. Yet a report by the British Helsinki Human Rights Group (BHHRG) shows how "opportunities" are doled out in post-NATO Macedonia:

"…BHHRG was told that EU, NATO and OSCE personnel working in Macedonia hire interpreters who speak both Albanian and Macedonian. This effectively rules out Macedonian applicants. Albanians, on the other hand, have learnt Macedonian at school – up to now. Most are bilingual and therefore most of these (prized, well paid) jobs are awarded to them."

The Brain Drain

An article entitled "Macedonia is everywhere, except in Macedonia" bemoaned the exodus of talent, skill and (most of all) optimism from the country. To seek out the root of the problem requires courage and honesty, averred the author, Darko Angelov:

"Macedonia is deeply entrenched in despair, defeatism and self-pity. Its tragic everyday life is not a product of some foreign conspiracies, nor a result of the Albanian expansionism. Macedonia first and foremost fell prey to its own lack of resolve and responsibility when defending its independence and dignity...

"We all know the Macedonian demographic reality. In a situation when half of Macedonia's population is already outside, as the other half dreams of leaving Macedonia for good, we should pose the question of where our present state of apathy is taking us? The extreme circles of the Macedonian Albanians and the international community are only doing what Macedonians and Macedonia are letting them do. Who is to blame for the crisis? Look in the mirror – the answer is there."

The Education Disaster

As one young university-educated Macedonian told me, "all of my friends are in America, Canada or Germany now. They were the smart ones – they got out. What is there left for me to do here?"

She pointed to the fact that Macedonia's educational system is largely unregulated, so that university professors have absolute authority to pass, fail or otherwise hinder a student. There is neither accountability nor grounds for incentive in a country where aptitude is not rewarded, and test results depend on the whim of the individual professor.

Yet that is only half the reason why young Macedonians feel like second-class citizens in their own country. Because the complaints of Albanian students can collectively become politically dangerous, they are coddled. Macedonia's affirmative action gone wrong actually stipulates that Albanians need lower marks than Macedonians to be admitted to university. There is no point for Macedonians to voice their concerns, however. For example, when I asked one student why she did not report her professor's persistent sexual advances, she just burst out laughing. "To who? They don't care about the students – only about keeping their jobs!"

And Then… the Media

Inured as it is with rancor, incompetence and exaggeration, the Macedonian media wields a disproportionate amount of power. The surreal fact is that Macedonia's scores of media organizations are taken seriously enough to be "monitored" by political interests, NATO, and the full gamut of NGO's. Despite having a Lilliputian significance in the greater world context, Macedonian media is perceived as being politically influential. And indeed, it is – since most of the people reading it are the political parties, Western interventionists, and other "media monitors." Most of the media – both Macedonian and Albanian – are favorable to one or another of the political parties. Those which claim to be the "opposition" base their editorial credo merely on opposing whatever anyone happens to say on that particular day.

Newspapers chronically overstate their readership; when I asked about the circulation of one magazine, I was told by a sheepish writer, "well, the journalists there have some friends… they like to read it to see what their friends wrote."

Rough Edges

In the war of 2001, Western journalists flocked to the NLA commanders and Albanian villages, where they knew a robust welcome awaited them. The Macedonians, on the other hand, berated and occasionally attacked Western correspondents. Oftentimes, Macedonians were too proud and too impatient to slowly and carefully retell their story to journalists. They preferred to be right, rather than to survive as a nation.

For a reporter, the main problem in dealing with Macedonian witnesses is details. On many occasions, a particularly juicy story has come up from an alleged witness to the event. But when asked for specific details, the inevitable reply is, "oh, just ask anybody… everybody knows this is true." The notion that dependable media reports might require specific details – times, places, dates, etc. – is not automatically understood.

The second problem derives from "insiders" who really, really want to be helpful. Occasionally, in their well-intended desire to share their story, they promise more facts than they can really back up or document. This kind of dead-end situation gets tiresome fast – but it keeps happening over and over.

Public Re(ve)lations

This title implies two things: first, the simple, straight-up concept of PR; and two, the uniquely revelatory quality of certain Macedonian publicity.

First of all, we have the type of public relations known as propaganda. An official actually confided to me, straight-faced, that a detachment of 500 fearsome mujahedin had once rampaged over yonder hill. The tragedy here is that, while there might very well have been 5 fearsome mujahedin, the enormity of the exaggeration tends to kill any chance of anyone's acknowledging the potential plausibility of the story. If the Macedonians are going to do propaganda, it should at least be done well. But that would mean hiring one of those big PR companies which completely failed to win the war for Croatia and Bosnia… and that would cost money.

The revelatory aspect of Macedonian public relations was captured quite recently, by Prime Minister Georgievski's surprising attack on the New York Times.

On 25 June, Dnevnik reported that a major planned promotion of Macedonia in the Times was in serious jeopardy, following Georgievski's sensational accusation: visiting NYT journalists had demanded $300,000 in return for positive coverage of Macedonia. Apparently, Georgievski was feeling the heat at an anti-corruption conference held by the tag-team partners of Soros and the ICG. Allegedly, he then lashed out at the Times.

In actual fact, the only thing planned was one of those "special advertising supplements" that one finds every day in the paper, replete with germane pieces about natural attractions and tourism. Such supplements are accompanied by a hefty price tag, precisely because they work. And while the piece was slated for the Times, the Macedonian government had been approached by a PR company called Summit Communications. Right now, Macedonia needs all the help it can get. The "bribery" revelation was a step backwards.

Enter the Bland

Macedonians are aware that 2001 turned out so badly for them because they lost the media war. One would think that observing the Albanian propaganda machine in action would inspire at least minor improvements in their presentation. Yet the official government site is not only poorly translated – it also rejoices in blandness.

Stock titles – like 'Situation in the crisis region' – are recycled daily. For readers not already familiar with the country, the title is meaningless. There could be a battle with 8 dead and 18 wounded and the title would be something like, 'Situation in Tetovo at 8:00.' Perhaps this is an exaggeration – but not a big one.

More Firepower!

Macedonians are generally non-violent people. When threatened, however, their reaction is understandably emotional. The result is that instead of simply and rationally recounting a story as it happened, they will spend ten minutes first on "understood" details, like the inherently terroristic qualities of Albanians. In twenty minutes, perhaps three useable details will come up. One Macedonian explained the phenomenon this way:

"in Macedonia, we think a story is better the longer it is, the more things you tell, and the more you restate your case… we think it is a stronger story and more impressive. But in the West, of course, they want something short and to the point."

Between poor editing, blandness, exaggeration and circumlocution, it's no wonder that few Westerners trust Macedonian news sources, and that Western spokesmen quickly grow impatient with the rambling questions of journalists.

Oops!

Yet the situation is not merely one of prosaic ineptitude. Rather, Macedonia is becoming something like the Wild West of journalism, where people will say and do whatever they can get away with. Just the other day, a newspaper reprinted one of my articles. As this has happened several times before, it would not have been particularly remarkable – but for the fact that the newspaper neglected to mention my name.

I asked a colleague what could be done. He laughed, and replied, "welcome to the wonderful world of plagiarism."

From the Heart – or From the Head?

Macedonians have not taken a pragmatic view of the situation. They prefer to blame the Albanian militants for many things – intimidation and terrorism, reprehensible crimes, lackeyism, mafia activity, crass cultural insensitivity – which are often true. Yet "exposing" these qualities for the world is not proactive. It is just a reaction. And while they are still reacting, their antagonists have already moved on to the next step. Which brings us to…

Preparing for War – but Why Not Peace?

Governments typically look at peacetime as a period for stockpiling weapons – to be used in the next war. Yet while Macedonia's army has been built up, the concomitant need for stocking the peacetime public relations arsenal has been ignored. Perhaps the government lacks the funds (as it has said), or maybe it just lacks the long-term vision. Hopefully, independent, profit-based initiative will begin to make the difference.

In any case, the moment for official action has slipped away. With contentious elections ahead in September, the government cannot be expected to function in any united way. The various parties will be too caught up in their own self-serving publicity stunts to even think about the national interest. Unfortunately, a few innocent civilians will probably be killed as a result.

In Macedonia, coarse and venal political scheming goes hand in hand with a sensation-hungry media. They are locked in a symbiotic relationship of scandal and vitriol. They both need each other for their own self-preservation. Unlike their Western advisors and monitors, they cannot fall back on a decent salary and a plane ticket out, if need be.

In Macedonia, mistrust of government, poverty, and an unreformed educational system have diminished expectations egregiously over the past ten years. Macedonians are not to blame, of course, for doing what needs to be done, saying what needs to be said, in order to survive. Yet for the country to be saved, they will have to do more, for the simple reason that no one else is going to do it for them. The country's natural attractions, history and culture must be promoted and utilized as the valuable assets they are. Macedonia might have formidable enemies and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, but even these can be overcome – if only the spirit is willing.

Previous articles by Christopher Deliso on Antiwar.com

In Macedonia, Transforming the Media Through Technology
7/9/02

European Intelligence: The US Betrayed Us In Macedonia
6/22/02

A Georgian Gaffe
and the War on Terror
6/18/02

Heavy Fighting Erupts in Aracinovo on First Anniversary of NLA's 'Free Zone'
6/8/02

Kodra Fura and Macedonia's Emerging War
6/6/02

Kosovar Terrorists Renew Attacks on Macedonia
5/25/02

Macedonia On War Footing Over Kosovo Border Provocations
4/19/02

Macedonian Tortured In Tetovo Village, As Gang War Rages
4/18/02

A Macedonian Miracle
4/16/02

Balkan Meltdown
3/27/02

Macedonia: A Nation of Ingrates
3/21/02