VZCZCXRO2198
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSQ #0005 0081241
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081241Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY SKOPJE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7943
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE 0450
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2360
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

UNCLAS SKOPJE 000005 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/PPD and NEA/PPD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL IS XF MK
SUBJECT:  MACEDONIA: Muted reaction to the Middle East 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Though Macedonia has a significant Muslim 
population, the response to the conflict between Israel and Hamas 
has been very quiet thus far.  Coverage of the events in the Middle 
East has been limited to reprinting wire stories and standard video 
feed, and there has been no commentary in either Albanian language 
or Macedonian language news.  The government has not spoken out 
about the conflict.  There have been no public rallies or protests. 
Our security situation at the Embassy has been stable and we 
currently have no reason to believe that will change. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Macedonia's population is primarily divided between ethnic 
Macedonians and ethnic Albanians, with the majority of the latter 
being Muslim.  Though ethnic Albanians comprise as much as 30% of 
the population, the country is not seized by the recent events in 
the Middle East.  Albanian language dailies and TV news shows do 
include straight-forward coverage of the conflict between Israel and 
Hamas, but the absence of commentary is noticeable, especially in 
light of what we have seen in Europe as a whole.  Macedonian 
language media similarly has continued to cover the conflict with 
wire services and reprints of articles appearing in other US and 
western European media. To this point, neither local commentaries 
nor opinion pieces from other international media have appeared. 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) Comment:  Though we believe this dearth of critical 
commentary is largely owing to the very insular focus in the media 
and in the interests of the citizens of Macedonia in general with 
the Orthodox Christmas holiday week also contributing, we also 
believe that the strong standing of the United States here largely 
eliminates any inclination or incentive to criticize U.S. foreign 
policy or blame us for problems in the Middle East.  Macedonia 
recently completed its five year involvement in Iraq, rotated troops 
with the NATO mission in Afghanistan, and in general takes pride in 
its strong friendship with the United States.  We believe our 
continued support of Macedonia in a wide range of areas has helped 
create a positive view of America across the political and ethnic 
spectrum here.  End Comment. 
 
REEKER