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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Fresh clashes hit Macedonia June 4, 2001 Posted: 1245 GMT NATO-led peacekeepers are sending more troops to reinforce the border � ������ SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Macedonian troops have clashed with rebels after the prime minister questioned the future of the country's coalition government, the Associated Press has reported. Ljubco Georgievski said in a television interview that the government -- recently formed by majority Slav and ethnic Albanian politicians -- may be a failure. He said: "The government is barely functioning. We can't get on with any serious work because of daily squabbles." The clashes erupted on Monday outside the country's second-largest city, Tetovo, located in the northeast of the country near the border with Kosovo. Defence ministry spokesman, Gjorgji Trendafilov, told AP that shortly after midnight, rebels opened fire on army and police positions. �IN-DEPTH Macedonia: Next Balkan powderkeg? ����Balkan hotspots ����Interactive map ����Macedonia's military����News search ����Audio/video archive����Message board ����In-depth: Yugoslavia ����In-depth: Kosovo ����CountryWatch: Macedonia � "Our forces responded with strong fire," he said. There were no deaths or injuries on the government side. In neighbouring Kosovo, NATO-led peacekeepers said they were sending an unspecified number of troops to reinforce the border with Macedonia. Spokesman for the peacekeeping force, Roy Brown, told AP: "We will further reinforce the border region with highly mobile troops to support the more static units and interdict logistics support for the armed extremists." Georgievski said in the television interview he thought it would be best to hold early elections as early as September to end a current deadlock in talks with ethnic Albanian political representatives. There was no immediate comment from the ethnic Albanian political leaders, who were in a meeting on Sunday evening with Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski. Ethnic Albanian rebels have waged a five-month guerrilla campaign against Skopje, fighting to end what they say is violence and discrimination against ethnic Albanians who make up around a third of Macedonia's two million population. Last week Georgievski said his government could rewrite the constitution to upgrade the position of the ethnic Albanians, who make up about one third of the population. "We have an obligation toward the international community to create a Macedonia that will suit the (ethnic) Albanians," Georgievski was quoted as saying on state television. The government had earlier rejected the ethnic Albanian demands saying that the constitutional changes would eventually lead to a division of the country into an ethnic Albanian and a Slav-dominated part. The government also refused to negotiate with the rebels -- whom it considers terrorists --unless they lay down their weapons. The Slav leaders have also offered amnesty for most of the rebels. There has been no clear response from the rebels. NATO and the European Union fear the conflict could devastate Macedonia and spread to neighbouring countries with ethnic Albanian populations. ������ __________________________________________________ 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]
