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.
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