Macedonia prepares new military offensive |
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Wednesday, 25 July 2001 20:39
(ET)
Macedonia prepares new military offensive By JEFF BIELEY SKOPJE, Macedonia, July 25 (UPI) -- Ethnic-Albanian rebels agreed Wednesday to leave several areas surrounding the northern city of Tetovo, ending four days of heavy fighting with Macedonian forces and prompting officials to rescind an earlier threat to wage a full-scale attack on rebel strongholds, according to local news source. The Macedonian government earlier Wednesday announced it would abandon peace mediation efforts and prepare for a new offensive against ethnic-Albanian militants. Macedonia's defense and interior ministers warned that the government would renew military assaults if National Liberation Army guerrillas do not pull back. "Unless the rebels pull out to their previous positions," the ministers said, "we will no longer listen to suggestions from any Western mediator, and an offensive is not excluded as an option." Defense Minister Vlado Buckovski and Interior Minister Ljube Boskovski had been at odds over how to solve the conflict. The statement appeared to indicate that disputes between the two, who come from opposing political parties in the national unity government, have been resolved. A return to peace talks was all but ruled out by Prime Minister Ljupco Georgievki's spokesman. "It makes no sense to continue the talks as long as the rebels are violating the cease-fire," he said. "If they don't return to their previous positions, we will force them to do so." Meanwhile, Washington sought to cut off the government's main supply of military hardware after the U.S. Embassy in Skopje was attacked overnight. U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice made an official request to Ukraine Wednesday, asking the country to stop supplying Macedonia with advanced weaponry, such as attack helicopters and Sukhoi fighter-bombers. A mob of youths rampaged through Skopje Tuesday night, attacking Western embassies and international organizations. Police in front of the U.S. Embassy did not restrain the crowd as teenagers hurled stones over a high wall and shattered windows. A spokeswoman said no American personnel were injured, but the embassy has been closed. The British and German embassies were also targeted. Several vehicles belonging to the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe were burned. The rioting began after protests in front of Parliament by several hundred Macedonians forced to flee their homes near Tetovo after ethnic-Albanian guerrillas took over their villages. Despite meetings Wednesday between protest leaders and President Boris Trajkovski, many of the refugees remained in front of the parliament through the afternoon. State Department spokesman Philip Reeker issued a strong condemnation of Tuesday's violence, especially attacks on the American embassy, reminding reporters that U.S. officials are working in the region "at the invitation of the Macedonian government" and called on Skopje to "redouble its efforts" to protect U.S. citizens working in the region. He criticized the rebels for taking advantage of the current stalemate in the cease-fire by seizing several villages north of Tetovo. Reeker also denied ongoing allegations that the United States is providing arms and aid to the ethnic-Albanian rebels saying "this is not the time for Balkan conspiracy theories." The State Department spokesman then called on Macedonian officials to "put aside their political agendas" and work with U.S. and EU envoys James Pardew and Francois Leotard. Some Macedonian officials "need to think less about their political futures," said Reeker in a somewhat veiled reference to Prime Minister Georgievski. In addition to currently being at loggerheads with ethnic-Albanian representatives in the country's coalition government, the prime minister is also competing with Macedonian political rivals, Social Democrats, as they get ready for elections in 2002. Neither side wants to be seen as being soft on ethnic-Albanian issues. Georgievski, who has a reputation for making fiery, nationalist speeches, recently accused Pardew and Leotard of caving in to ethnic-Albanian demands and trying to carve up state institutions with their proposals regarding greater recognition of the Albanian language and proportional ethnic-Albanian representation in police forces for cities heavily populated by Macedonia's largest minority. Both the rebels and Macedonia's ethnic-Albanian community have been calling for greater rights through a revised constitution and official recognition of the Albanian language. The country's Slav community is wary of such demands, alleging they are building blocks for the rebels' ultimate goal, a greater Albania comprised of Kosovo and parts of Macedonia. Georgievski's remarks initially prompted EU foreign policy coordinator Javier Solana and NATO Secretary-General George Robertson to postpone a scheduled visit to Skopje, however, the leaders are scheduled to arrive in Macedonia on Thursday. In other news, Macedonia's border crossings to Kosovo re-opened Wednesday, a day after the government closed them without explanation. The closure prevented NATO peacekeepers from using key supply routes Tuesday and forced U.S. troops to use helicopters to get equipment into Kosovo. (With reporting by Carmen Gentile in Washington.) -- Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved. -- |
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