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Ethnic Albanian Gunmen Release Five Sat Aug 31, 9:13 AM ET By ALEKSANDAR VASOVIC, Associated Press Writer SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) - Five people abducted from a bus in western Macedonia by ethnic Albanian gunmen were released early Saturday, the government said. AP Photo Reuters Slideshow: Macedonia It gave no details of the hostages' release, but said there was no police raid. Police had sealed off all roads leading into the area near Tetovo where the captives were held, and journalists were not allowed in. All of the kidnappers got away, an Interior Ministry spokesman, Voislav Zafirovski, said. He said no one was harmed during the release. The gunmen originally took eight hostages on Thursday near Gostivar, some 40 miles west of Skopje, but later released three. The kidnappers had demanded the release of three ethnic Albanians arrested earlier in the week on charges of killing two Macedonian police officers. The hostages "are alive and in good health, apart from one person who was beaten during the kidnapping," Zafirovski told The Associated Press. Zafirovski said that officials from the European Union ( news - web sites), the Organization for Security and Cooperation ( news - web sites) in Europe, the U.S. Embassy in Skopje and the International Red Cross were involved in negotiations with the kidnappers. The kidnapping has fueled fears of renewed ethnic violence ahead of Sept. 15 parliamentary elections, the first since the end of a six-month insurgency launched in February 2001 by ethnic Albanian militants. On Friday, NATO ( news - web sites) Secretary General Lord Robertson and EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, condemned the kidnapping. Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski accused unspecified forces of impeding the election process, warning that "such a tendency must be prevented by all legal and legitimate means." Four top ethnic Albanian leaders called on the authorities in a joint statement to immediately stop the deployment of security forces into ethnic Albanian villages and urged residents to remain calm. The Macedonian rebel conflict ended in August 2001 with a Western-brokered peace deal. As part of the agreement, the ethnic Albanian militants surrendered their weapons to NATO troops and disbanded. A number of splinter groups remain, however. In exchange, the Macedonian parliament amended the constitution and enacted laws granting ethnic Albanians more rights, including an amnesty for former rebels and greater political influence for the minority, which accounts for more than a third of country's 2 million people. Tensions in Macedonia rose sharply after authorities earlier this week issued an arrest warrant for Ali Ahmeti, a former rebel leader turned politician who is also a candidate in the elections. They said he was wanted for crimes not covered by the amnesty. Fearing an outbreak of violence, NATO has warned Macedonian authorities against arresting Ahmeti and other officials of his party, but Macedonian state prosecutor Stavre Dzikov said the warrant must be carried out. --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
