the article does not provide a logical decision with regard to the republic of macedonia, in macedonia we do not have albanian and macedonian, all the citizens are macedonian. if there are dual citizenship holders in the country, if these individuals do not like the opportunities that are available in the country, then certainly they are quite entitled to resettle to their ethnic state or the west. there is absolutely no need to divide republic of macedonia, a disproportionate and growing birthrate, provides no criteria for the further partition of the state. my statements are statements about how sovereignty and nationality operate throughout the world, your article is long and colourful but it is not relevant.

Those five men could be canonised by the church as saints.
I really don't understand why the church today doesn't canonise more people.

As much as you want to to depict Bulgaria as "the worried neighbor that thinks of Macedonian brothers' best interest", history has shown your intentions and aspirations. And as much as you want to show Macedonia as the only unstable country on the Balkan that needs help, you should check your own backyard before you look into your neighbors'.
The truth is that Macedonia has been in an orchestrated crisis ever since its independence. Bulgaria implanted Lubcho Gjeorgjievski, who i have personally seen meeting bulgarian officials in '96, in a small bar in Burgas, right before he announced VMRO's parliament blockade. The old Yugoslavian establishment had Crvenkovski to keep Macedonia in chaos. And the West had the Albanians as the Trojan horse to call upon when needed. Who , by the way, were counted to be 17.4% of the population in 2002, before OSCE deemed those numbers incorrect and had the results "reviewed".
So just as the crisis in 2001, this has been orchestrated by secret services; no one can be dumb enough not to notice the classic steps to bring in disruption and extremism. However, they didn't count on the fact that regular Macedonians AND Albanians have learned to live together. Hell, Albanians in Macedonia live better that Albanians in Albania and Kosovo! So before wishing your neighbor the worst, think again. And remember, the wheel keeps turning. Your population has shrunk 5% over the past 10 years, and the Turks keep multiplying, right?
This paper and the rest of its kind show me how a very bad, but well marketed idea can become official policy. Just look back what came of the "great Bulgaria" idea in the 1870s, and great Serbia in 1990s. Great Albania will end up very, very bad for the Albanians, and they know it.

Promotion of healthy inter ethnic relations is paramount, rather than suggest that creating borders will solve these issues. Carving up of a country purely on the demands of ethnicities where does it stop? Perhaps the 200,000 Muslim Pomaks or the 700,000 Turks of Bulgaria might like an autonomous region?
This article seems to be about more than a 'solution' for the inter ethnic problems of Macedonia. Perhaps the true motivation of this piece can be found in the description of Macedonia as 'What once was an undisputed part of the Bulgarian nation'.
The assertion that 'the Macedonian nation invented by communist Yugoslavia in 1943-44, and considered part of the Bulgarian nation before that' is the same revisionist nonsense maintained by those in Greece that would deny Macedonians of all ethnicites basic human rights. Because they don't fit this simplified version of history, Macedonian independence organizations of the 19th and 20th centuries are often ignored.
Many have contributed to Macedonia's history; Philip II of Macedon, Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria, 1st Tsar of the Bulgarian empire in ancient times. The post war movement of peoples across Yugoslavia. The Kosovan refugees who found safety within Macedonia in the 1990s, all have contributed to a modern European Republic.
Solutions to the problems of inter ethnic relations are not ones of separation/new borders. A society such as South Africa has shown that whilst it's a difficult process, peace and reconciliation are the tools of by which to form a civilized community.
I live in a society that has its problems. The riots of 2011 demonstrate this. The UK has many areas that aren't ethnically diverse, but as a nation the majority are aware and strive to be inclusive. From the exploration of ethnicity in schools to the inclusion of many cultures in the media, the UK attempts to understand and become less fearful of things we do not recognize. Quite often we don't get it right, but the process of balance and understanding is apparent.
Whats proposed in this article not only gives in to those who would terrorize innocents, but gives up on what is the best within people and their communities. It installs fear, it doesn't look beyond that small criminal minority that fight in a city park, or cross borders to murder innocent men. What of those ethnicities in Macedonia who share everyday lives, bus journeys to market, cigarette breaks at work, the public holiday picnic, this 'mundane' majority will never have their voice heard in articles such as this, they don't sell papers, they don't support an easy to report history or stereotype, they certainly don't back an extreme and ridiculous solution such as the Preemptive Division of Macedonia.
Respect.'