STOP NATO: ˇNO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Get a low APR NextCard Visa in 30 seconds! 1. Fill in the brief application 2. Receive approval decision within 30 seconds 3. Get rates as low as 2.99% Intro or 9.99% Ongoing APR and no annual fee! Apply NOW! http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/NextCard ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Scotsman June 9, 2001 Christian Jennings in Aracinovo Albanian rebels moving in on Skopje’s airport MACEDONIA’S war against ethnic Albanian rebels edged closer to the nation’s capital yesterday as guerrilla fighters from the National Liberation Army took up positions in this suburb of Skopje, within easy striking range of the main national airport. "We arrived here at mid-day, we control the Albanian part of the town, we have up to 150 fighters in positions around the town, and unless there is immediate dialogue with the government, we are going to push forward," rebel commander "Hoxha" told The Scotsman. "We could take Skopje and have men inside the capital already." Ignoring offers of a rebel ceasefire made late on Thursday night, the army and police yesterday poured artillery and tank shells into a string of villages outside Kumanovo, where more than 20,000 civilians have been trapped for over a month. "The rebels operating this close to the capital shows that they can effectively ignore any security operations carried out by the army and police, and strike at will," said one western defence intelligence official. Around the dusty streets of Aracinovo, overlooking the centre of the capital, the interior ministry deployed armoured vehicles carrying units of special police, the "Tigers", who have borne the brunt of the fighting to date. Political solutions to the conflict looked increasingly slim as western security sources said that groups of trained Slav paramilitaries were behind an explosion of anti-Albanian violence in Bitola this week that left dozens of properties torched and up to a dozen people wounded. The outbursts in Bitola were the first major incidents in violence instigated by civilians rather than by the army or police, and came as groups of Slav civilians, enraged by the death in an ambush on Wednesday of five Macedonian soldiers, went on a rampage on Wednesday and Thursday. In a last-minute bid at a peaceful solution to Macedonia’s five-month crisis, the EU Security Commissioner, Javier Solana, flew in to Skopje to hammer home to bickering Macedonian political parties the need for increased dialogue, in an effort to short-circuit support for the rebels. The president, Boris Trajkovski, was due to address parliament in a special session late yesterday in which he was expected to outline a possible get-out clause for the rebels, seen as the last chance to avoid civil war in Macedonia. The proposed plan, which envisages rebels being allowed to lay down their weapons and leave Macedonia - although not benefit from an amnesty - is expected to come up against stiff opposition from the army and police, as well as hardline Slav parties within the country’s fragile month-old coalition. "We do not deal with terrorists," said an army spokesman, Colonel Blagoje Markovski, asked why the army rejected a ceasefire early yesterday morning and stepped up its bombardment of rebel positions. NATO and Russia, in a new display of unity, hailed the rejection of the ceasefire. "The call for a ceasefire may be seen by some as an olive-branch but of course it follows a fairly murderous attack a few days ago," said Lord Robertson, the NATO secretary general. "So when you do that and call for a ceasefire the answer is: put down your arms permanently." Twenty Macedonian soldiers and policemen have been killed and dozens wounded in five months of conflicts against the rebels, who are demanding equal rights for Macedonia’s 600,000 ethnic Albanians. Christian Jennings In Aracinovo Saturday, 9th June 2001 The Scotsman top | back __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
