Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- The world that NATO has made.... Tuesday August 28 8:25 AM ET Macedonian Pilgrims Behind Rebel Lines; NATO Wary By Mark Heinrich SKOPJE, Macedonia (Reuters) - Macedonians driven out of guerrilla-held territory returned in convoy Tuesday for a religious holiday despite warnings of land mines, raising tensions as NATO tried to collect weapons from ethnic Albanian rebels. But a Reuters reporter who arrived in the village of Lesok with the convoy said no mines or Albanian guerrillas were in sight and the Macedonians were having emotional reunions with the few compatriots still clinging to their homes. British paratroopers stood guard anyway, pointing heavy machine guns up at nearby hills to deter any threat from the rebels. Just days ago, the Lesok area was swarming with guerrillas. But by Tuesday they appeared to be lying low as part of a disengagement-of-forces pact NATO struck with both sides to improve security along front lines for its weapons collectors. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe mission in Macedonia had appealed to the refugees not to make the journey, saying the Lesok area could be mined and confrontations with Albanians, armed or not, could occur. Western officials were also concerned by the presence of ultra-nationalists from the World Macedonian Congress in the Assumption Day pilgrimage to Lesok. The 10-bus convoy entered the village as NATO troops on a mountain above prepared to gather up more weapons surrendered by the guerrillas in exchange for improved minority rights, under a precarious Western-mediated bargain. Many of the Macedonians in the convoy said they not only wanted to pray at the monastery but also to inspect the homes they fled, saying they feared for their lives. ``There磗 been a lot of looting so this time I磎 planning to load anything that磗 left at my house onto a tractor and bring it back to Skopje where I磎 living temporarily with my heavily pregnant daughter-in-law,创 said Blagoja Bogdanovski, 50. ``But we can磘 live like this indefinitely. We have to go home,创 he told Reuters. NATO MISSION UNPOPULAR IN MACEDONIA Most Macedonians regard NATO's mission with skepticism or resignation, but others with deep animosity. A British soldier died Monday after a chunk of concrete was thrown through his vehicle windshield, an attack that hinted at the angry conviction of some Macedonians that NATO's plan to collect only guns volunteered by the rebels is a sham. The soldier's death was a sobering reminder of the risks to NATO's ``Operation Essential Harvest.创 But its commanders launched the first day of arms collections unperturbed and pronounced it a success with more than 400 weapons registered. NATO hopes to have reaped a third of its total target of 3,300 weapons by Wednesday to give political impetus for Macedonia's parliament to start passing reform legislation when it reconvenes Friday. The NATO mission aims to snuff out Macedonia's six-month-old ethnic conflict, so far confined to the far north, before it spreads into the sort of war that wrecked many parts of the former Yugoslavia over the past decade. Nationalist hawks led by Macedonia's prime minister and interior minister believe the disarmament operation is a farce and that NATO's target figure only skims the surface of the rebel arsenal easily replenished by smuggling from Kosovo. PRESIDENT OFFERS VOTE OF CONFIDENCE But President Boris Trajkovski, a moderate in a divided coalition government, said after being briefed by NATO on the first day of arms collecting that it was a crucial aspect of the peace process and Macedonians should cooperate with it. ``NATO磗 assistance expresses the commitment of many countries to help Macedonia resolve its problems. It is expected to successfully complete its mission to provide basic conditions for bringing long-term peace to the citizens of Macedonia,创 he was quoted by state news agency MIA as saying. But another potential flashpoint looms Thursday with displaced Macedonians reported to be planning a protest rally in the capital Skopje on the eve of parliament's session. The August 13 peace accord will stand or fall on whether the nationalist-dominated chamber is ready to change the constitution and pass the new legislation it stipulates. The deal aims to decentralize power, put ethnic Albanians into the police force in proportion to their share of the population and grant limited official status to the Albanian language, among other measures. NATO insists most Macedonians are not hostile to its mission and points out that its task force is there at the invitation of the government. NATO Secretary-General George Robertson will visit Macedonia Wednesday to inspect the operation, and besides talking with mission commanders will also seek to reassure political leaders. ``Lord Robertson has come down here many times at many phases of this process and has a personal interest in seeing peace come back to Macedonia,创 said spokesman Major Barry Johnson. But many Macedonians see NATO as having sided with ethnic Albanian guerrillas in neighboring Kosovo during the 1998-99 war there and believe it has failed to stem a flow of weapons and personnel to the Albanians from Kosovo. NATO counters that its peacekeepers in Kosovo have detained 750 suspected insurgents since clamping down along the porous border in June. The KFOR peace force said Tuesday it had detained 180 suspects since Friday alone. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
