World News and Trends: Another Balkan crisis?

Jun 15, 2001
2 minutes read time

A potential civil war looms in Macedonia, a small Balkan country bordered by Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Albania. The majority of Macedonia's two million people are Christian Slavs, but about a third are ethnic Albanians and Muslims.

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A century ago the region was engulfed by ethnic divisions, but until recently it managed to avoid the wars that led to the breakup of former Yugoslavia a decade ago. Then in March ethnic-Albanian guerrillas began to attack hard-pressed Macedonian forces, which were immediately supported by U.S. and British advice and intelligence. At this writing the guns have gone silent as NATO tanks moved into the area of conflict. An advantage for Macedonia is that 42,000 NATO troops are garrisoned in relatively nearby Kosovo, with U.S. and British contingents of perhaps a few thousand each. Unlike during the initial Balkan outbreaks of 10 years ago, NATO is already in the area. Although Albania itself has professed that it has no territorial ambitions in Macedonia, the existence of Albanian guerrillas is a cause for considerable concern. The head of the International Administration of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Wolfgang Petritsch, made this observation, ostensibly for the benefit of the United States: "Our work in Bosnia and elsewhere in Southeastern Europe is slow and painstaking. But the progress is real ... [For NATO] to walk away now would be to throw away billions of dollars and years of effort." (Sources: The Guardian, The Times, Scotland on Sunday, The Economist [all London], International Herald Tribune [New York Times].)

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John Ross Schroeder

John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.

Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.

John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.

In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.

John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world. 

Melvin Rhodes

Melvin Rhodes is a member of the United Church of God congregation in Lansing, Michigan.