[Via Communist Internet... http://www.egroups.com/group/Communist-Internet ] . . ----- Original Message ----- From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2001 7:51 AM Subject: Germany Planning 10,000 Troop Macedonia Force [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK] STOP NATO: NO 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 Daily Telegraph June 21, 2001 Germany has been trying to assemble a multi-national stabilisation force of up to 10,000 troops for the past week but has been severely hampered by American reluctance to take part. Paras to lead Macedonia peace force By Michael Smith, Defence Correspondent and Christian Jennings in Skopje BRITAIN will supply a substantial proportion of a Nato stabilisation force that will enter Macedonia to disarm the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army, defence sources said yesterday. Although officials in Skopje said the Parachute Regiment was expected to lead the British contingent in a disarmament force expected to number 5,000, British sources suggested that Royal Marines would be used. Lord Robertson, Nato Secretary-General, said the force would not go into Macedonia until there was agreement between the country's ethnic Albanians and Slavs. He said: "It will happen when, and only when, there is a durable ceasefire and an agreement between all of the parties in the [Macedonian government] coalition and indeed an agreement by the armed extremists that they will proceed toward disarmament. This is not an armed intervention. It will be a force appropriate to the task in benign conditions." With President Boris Trajkovski refusing to negotiate with the rebels and the breakdown of peace talks between the Slav and Albanian political parties yesterday, the prospect of an imminent deployment seemed unlikely. Although British officials said they wanted to be sure that there was agreement on all sides as to what the force should do before sending troops in, they did not totally rule out intervention. "If they are close to a settlement and there is a risk of new instability, it could be a situation in which Nato should at least look at whether they should put a force in to help stabilise and to collect weapons," said one. If peace talks were successful, officials said, the force could go to Macedonia within three weeks. Opinions on the size and make-up of the force required differed sharply yesterday. Germany has been trying to assemble a multi-national stabilisation force of up to 10,000 troops for the past week but has been severely hampered by American reluctance to take part. Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, appeared to backtrack yesterday when he said that the 700 US troops already in Macedonia providing logistical support for Kfor could take part in any disarmament operation. In an apparent attempt to dispel domestic fears that US troops might be dragged into a fresh Balkan conflict, Gen Powell said the Nato forces might set up "disarmament points" where rebels could hand in their weapons. He said: "It's a disarmament task in a sense that you are not going out fighting people to disarm them but you are setting up points where their weapons can be received." His remarks were the closest anyone has come to explaining how the force might work. Britain, France and Germany will supply most of the troops who will take part in the process. Greece, Spain and Italy have also offered to take part. Over the weekend, Britain made contingency plans to send anything from a small battle group of 1,000 troops to a cut-down brigade of up to 2,500 men. Officials said the plans were not yet decided but the SAS is understood to be already active on the border between Kosovo and Macedonia, sealing it off to prevent the Albanian rebels from bringing in supplies and reinforcements. Nato, European Union and other governments continued to put pressure on the Macedonian government yesterday to reach a political solution designed to avoid full-scale civil war. But the government's repeated insistence that that it will not talk with the rebels means that the chances of a negotiated disarmament programme are slim. The breakdown of talks coincided with fresh outbreaks of fighting early yesterday between rebels and government forces around the rebel-held town of Aracinovo, three miles from Skopje. There were also clashes around Slupcane, which has been under constant government tank and artillery fire for six weeks. Yesterday, the Albanian political parties appealed for international mediation. Aziz Pollozhani, deputy president of the PDP, one of two parties representing the ethnic Albanian minority, said the Macedonian parties had dismissed their proposals for constitutional changes to give the Albanian minority more rights. Mr Trajkovski accused the PDP and the other Albanian party, the DPA, of changing their position and aiming to split Macedonia along ethnic lines. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
