Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- [Having sorted out all perplexing administrative, racial, cultural and linguistic issues in Corsica, Guadalupe, French Guiana, Martinique, the Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville and other members - voluntarily or otherwise, but rarely the first - of the so-called French Community of Nations; or, as some sceptics call it, the residue of the French colonial empire. After all, how could a leading light of the NATO Quint be guilty of forcibly occupying and exploiting peoples thousands of miles away from mainland France?] Tuesday August 28, 10:30 PM French minister visits troops; will seek Macedonian figure on arms PIPER CAMP, Macedonia, Aug 28 (AFP) - French Defence Minister Alain Richard paid a brief visit to his country's troops in Macedonia Tuesday, and said he would seek clarification from the Macedonian government on its figures for the number of arms in rebel hands. Expressing the hope that Macedonia's different factions would work together to make a peace deal stick, Richard said he would ask Macedonian Defence Minister Vlado Buckovski for details on the arms data. The Macedonian government has given high estimates of the number of arms held by the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA), putting it variously at between 60,000 and 100,000. However NATO has said its plans call for it to collect just 3,300 weapons from the NLA during the 30-day Essential Harvest operation, which is due to usher in a peace agreement. Richard, who was due to meet Buckovski later on Tuesday, said he would "ask him to give me the intelligence data on which (the Macedonian figures) are based." The French minister also said that any move to extend the NATO mission beyond the prescribed 30 days -- which began on Monday -- would be a "political decision" that was not on the cards for the moment. "We believe this mission will go well and that it will be fulfilled within the given timetable of a month," he said. Expressing hope that the peace agreement would stick, he told journalists: "Anyone considered breaking from the accord would bear a very heavy responsibility." "If anyone has another strategy, let him explain it and back it up." France is providing more than 500 of the 3,500 troops involved in the operation, the second largest contingent after Britain. __________________________________________________ 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 ==^================================================================
