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| February 26, 2004 | ||||
Macedonian President Killed in Bosnia Plane Crash |
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| by Christopher Deliso | ||||
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Macedonians are in a state of shock today as the first incomplete reports of the death of their president, Boris Trajkovski, start to filter back from Bosnia, where the president and 8 others died early this morning in a plane crash, in mountainous terrain near Mostar. "This is unbelievable… no one could imagine that something like this could happen to President Trajkovski," said one stunned man in Skopje. On the capital’s radio stations, the quiet elegiac music is suspended only for brief updates giving new information on the crash. According to Bloomberg, citing SFOR in Bosnia, Trajkovski's plane crashed near Stolac, a mountainous area near Croatia's southern coast. While the wreckage of the plane has been discovered by Bosnian search teams, only 4 bodies have so far been found. However, everyone aboard- Trajkovski, 6 advisors, guards and the two-man crew- are presumed dead. Stormy weather that prevented the landing of other delegation planes is the most likely cause of the crash, according to Belgrade’s B-92. Macedonia’s TV-5 just reported that a Macedonian search team has just been dispatched to Bosnia, along with officers from the EU’s Proxima police force serving in Macedonia. The plane crash, called "one of the most tragic days in the history of the Republic of Macedonia," by Mirjana Kontevska of the Interior Ministry, will mean a dramatic surge in temporary security in this state without a president: "…we are putting extra security on the Parliament, government buildings and Petrovec Airport, and also pay greater attention to our borders and local controls." The other persons killed were: Trajkovski’s cabinet advisors, Dimka Ilkovska-Boskovic, Risto Blazevski, Anita Lozanovska, as well as Mile Krstevski from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; two security guards, Boris Velinov and Ace Bozinovski; and the plane’s two pilots, Markom Markovski and Branko Ivanovski. In a sad irony, the 47 year-old Trajkovski was on his way to an investment conference in Mostar, just as Macedonia’s EU application was about to be officially presented in Ireland by Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski, said Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern. Ireland is the current honorary president of the European Union. Trajkovski, who was planning to celebrate Macedonia's application in Mostar, had worked tirelessly towards the goal of making Macedonia an EU member. Told of the president's death, Crvenkovski was called back immediately and is now in Skopje. Macedonian Radio 77 reported that Skopje’s newspaper ‘Dnevnik’ will print a special commemorative issue devoted to Trajkovski at 3 PM, to be given out for free. Trajkovski, from the southeastern town of Strumica, was a lawyer by training and one of the founders of the modern VMRO-DPMNE party. He was elected by the party in 1999, and presided over Macedonia’s most difficult period: the turbulence brought on by NATO’s Kosovo bombardment and the 2001 war, with its uncertain aftermath. Through it all, Trajkovski was firmly pro-American. Although he was sometimes criticized, Macedonians felt a gentle fondness for their president. To be sure, he inspired none of the dislike or hatred that most other politicians in the country have. Condolences from world leaders have started to come in to Skopje. Tony Blair and Jack Straw of the UK expressed their sadness, calling Trajkovski one of the most important people in making peace after the 2001 conflict. Bosnian president Dragan Covic said, "…We today lost a friend." According to Bloomberg, European Commission President Romano Prodi stated, "…we all owe very much to Boris Trajkovski and my sincere hope is that his vision will be a legacy for all Macedonians and will strengthen even further their determination to join the European institutions soon." Nobody knows what will happen next in Macedonia. "This issue changes everything immediately," says one man close to Trajkovski’s circle. The country is now without a president, and elections slated for the end of the year will probably be bumped up. For now, Parliamentary speaker Ljubco Jordanovski will serve as acting president. The future of Macedonia’s relations with Europe may now change as well. Croatian President Stipe Mesic said Trajkovski's death will have "political consequences" for the Balkans: "…it is a human loss which hits not only his family and the republic of Macedonia but will have political consequences for the situation in the region… This afternoon I was supposed to meet Boris at the conference on investment in Bosnia. Together with him and the presidents of other states we worked on the program of stabilization and reconciliation in southeastern Europe. Boris won't be with us today, but we shall I'm convinced continue the work on which Boris worked too. This will be the best way to continue our joint road." Comments such as Mesic’s and Prodi’s are the first statements of many to come in the days and weeks ahead seeking to locate the legacy of Boris Trajkovski. Most likely, he will be eulogized as a moderate figure who tried to preserve the territorial integrity of Macedonia, while reaching out to the Albanian minority. Trajkovski constantly traveled during his 5 years in office, in efforts to raise money and win investments for the little Balkan state. As was the case with the shocking assassination of Serbian counterpart Zoran Djindjic almost exactly one year ago, it is likely that the occasional grumblings against Trajkovski will be forgiven, and that he will be remembered as a symbol for the kind of multi-ethnic, European-oriented Macedonia that seems to be the common goal of Macedonia’s leaders and the West alike. A clear example insinuating this was the statement of NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who said that Trajkovski "…demonstrated great leadership to preserve the unity of his country when it was under threat:" "…In difficult circumstances, and in the face of opposition from many, he guided the peace process in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia… I pay tribute to this courageous statesman who fought to ensure that democratic values would prevail in his country." |
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Christopher Deliso is an American journalist, travel writer and author concentrating on the Balkans and Southeast Europe, where he has lived and traveled for almost a decade. His criticisms of interventionist foreign policy can be found in his writings for Antiwar.com, and in his recent work on the West's failures to eradicate foreign-funded Muslim extremists in the Balkans, The Coming Balkan Caliphate: The Threat of Radical Islam to Europe and the West (Praeger Security International, 2007). Mr Deliso directs the Balkan-interest news and analysis website, Balkanalysis.com and is also the author of a travelogue, Hidden Macedonia (Haus Publishing, London). He holds an MPhil with distinction in Byzantine Studies from Oxford University.
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