-Caveat Lector-
So NATO collects these weapons and plans to leave within thirty
days. What is to stop those who surrender their weapons from being
slaughtered the instant NATO leaves?
~Amelia~
NATO to Collect 3,300 Rebel Weapons
By Danica Kirka
Associated Press Writer
Sunday, August 26, 2001; 7:08 PM
SKOPJE, Macedonia -- NATO revealed Sunday that it plans to collect
3,300 weapons from ethnic Albanian militants in a delicate
operation it described as being Macedonia's only alternative to
war.
By revealing the figures, NATO sets boundaries for its mission in
Macedonia. Called Operation Essential Harvest, it envisions NATO
troops setting up collection sites to take weapons as rebels turn
them in. NATO has said it plans to complete the process in 30 days
and leave.
But the number of weapons NATO decided on could become an obstacle
to carrying out the plan.
Macedonian government officials, who say the rebels have thousands
more weapons than they have admitted to, said later Sunday that
they had not agreed to accept NATO's figures.
Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski, a consistent opponent of the
weapons collection plan, described NATO's estimates of rebel arms
as humiliating.
The dispute opened the possibility that the weapons collection
process won't start as planned Monday. By early Sunday evening,
political leaders had failed to order their forces to pull back
from areas surrounding drop-off sites - a key requirement for NATO
to start weapons collections.
Our regrouping will be simultaneous with the arrival and
deployment of NATO troops, said Marjan Gjurovski, the Macedonian
defense spokesman.
NATO's announcement came hours after a deadly explosion ripped
through a motel, killing two people and further complicating the
alliance's efforts to build confidence between the rebels and the
government ahead of its mission.
The Macedonian-owned motel was in Celopek, a village six miles
south of the predominantly Albanian city of Tetovo.
Georgievski called the attack barbaric.
I have suggested that Macedonia must legitimately respond or
retaliate either with a military or police action, he said. It was
unclear if the government would actually act.
Later Sunday, the explosion of what was apparently a bomb in a
trash can in the capital, Skopje, shattered nearby store windows
and damaged two cars. No injuries were reported in the blast, which
police said was likely caused by industrial explosives.
The explosion took place in an ethnic Albanian neighborhood, but
about 50 yards from an Orthodox church. Most ethnic Albanians are
Muslims; most Macedonians are Orthodox Christians.
Police also reported an exchange of infantry and artillery fire in
the Kumanovo area northeast of Skopje. Security forces responded
adequately, police said.
The planned NATO mission is the alliance's attempt to avert more
bloodshed in this ethnically torn nation.
Fighting broke out along Macedonia's border with Kosovo in February
after ethnic Albanians launched an insurgency claiming they were
fighting for greater rights. The government says ethnic Albanians,
who make about a third of the country's population of 2 million,
are fighting for a state of their own.
After an Aug. 13 peace deal, NATO's ruling council authorized a
total about 4,700 troops to help with disarmament of the rebels.
The peace deal envisions a step-by-step process in which rebels
will hand over weapons to NATO in exchange for political reforms in
Macedonia. Since a third of the weapons are to be handed over in
exchange for moves in parliament, the figure had to be revealed in
advance.
There are no guarantees and the path will not be easy and the
alternative is clear, said Maj. Gen. Gunnar Lange, the military
commander of Operation Essential Harvest. The alternative is war.
Despite rebel claims to have only a few thousand weapons, the
Macedonian government had claimed the insurgents have 85,000. A key
Macedonian official told The Associated Press on condition of
anonymity that hard-liners in the government will continue to
demand more collections in an attempt to obstruct constitutional
reforms envisioned under the peace agreement.
NATO, which is in Macedonia at the invitation of the government,
would be unlikely to act unless all the parties are on board - even
though it has repeatedly stated it has come to this troubled Balkan
country not as a peacekeeper but only to collect weapons
voluntarily handed over.
Also Sunday, ethnic Albanian rebels released eight hostages in an
apparent goodwill gesture. And despite the dispute, rebels
continued preparations to hand over weapons in places like the
front-line village of Nikusak.
Rebel commander Adashi claimed that his 114th Brigade would be the
first in the country to surrender its arms. The brigade, whose area
of responsibility includes Skopje, pledged to hand over a third of
its weapons as planned Monday.
Included in the cache are automatic rifles, mortars and
rocket-propelled grenades.
© 2001 The
