NATO forces in Europe prepare to move 3,000 troops into Macedonia within 10 days, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper claims.
The intervention, seen by observers as the third major involvement of NATO armies in the Balkans, is officially described as 'an attempt to stave off civil war'. It is said to be conditional on Albanian guerrillas signing a peace deal. Official versions say NATO would operate disarmament points at which the rebels could hand over their weapons. "It is not an armed intervention' - NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson said Wednesday.
In the meantime, the Macedonian Army wend into action again last week after the guerrillas demanded a federal state with Albanian leaders have a right of veto on all key government decisions. A number of international observers see the situation as more complicated than the standard media picture, indicating that Albanian guerrillas seem to be coming from Kosovo across the border, where their bases are tolerated by NATO peacekeepers stations in the province.
Sydney Morning Herald claims the planned NATO mission is the clearest signal yet that the US has no plans to disengage from the Balkans.
Henry L. Marconi
PRAVDA.Ru
Sydney, Australia
Miroslav Antic,
http://www.antic.org/
