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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [And your interests win out whichever way the cat jumps....In a different world, in a sane world, people would be asking why the War Minister of the world's sole imperial superpower would be lecturing any nation or government on strictly political and economic matters. So unquestioningly has the world accepted this self-appointed role, however, nobody ever raises such points. They need to be raised. Stridently.] Tuesday, 5 June, 2001, 20:38 GMT 21:38 UK Macedonia asks US to train commandos Buckovski: Appeal to help stop influx of money to rebels Macedonia has asked the United States for help in training special military commandos to fight ethnic Albanian rebels in the north of the country. The request was made by Macedonian Defence Minister Vlado Buckovski during a meeting with US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, who made a brief stopover in Skopje on his way from the Ukraine to Kosovo. Your willingness to answer the call to duty allows our country to contribute peace and stability in this still-dangerous and untidy world of ours Donald Rumsfeld to US troops The Macedonian minister also appealed to the United States and Europe to help stop ethnic Albanian �migr�s in the West from sending money and other support to the rebels, a Macedonian defence ministry spokesman said. About 500,000 ethnic Albanians from Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo live in Western Europe and hundreds of thousands live in the United States. Kosovo After the stopover Mr Rumsfeld flew to Kosovo, where he met with American troops. "Your willingness to answer the call to duty allows our country to contribute peace and stability in this still-dangerous and untidy world of ours," Mr Rumsfeld told several hundred members of the US peacekeeping contingent in south-eastern Kosovo. He did not, however, discuss the future US role in Kosovo. Earlier in the day, Mr Rumsfeld met the President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, in Kiev. The beleaguered Ukrainian president assured Mr Rumsfeld that his country would continue its transition from communism to Western-oriented democracy. Mr Rumsfeld is the highest-ranking member of the Bush administration to visit Ukraine. Leonid Kuchma: Embroiled in case of missing journalist His visit came shortly after the Ukrainian parliament ousted the country's pro-Western reformist prime minister, Viktor Yushchenko, and amid signs of strengthening Russian influence. Mr Rumsfeld met the new Prime Minister, Anatoly Kinakh, and renewed a series of military agreements with Defence Minister Alexander Kuzmuk. Caution Ukraine has regularly hosted and taken part in Nato peacekeeping exercises, though analysts have said future exercises may be in doubt because of recent military agreements between Kiev and Moscow. Mr Rumsfeld wished Ukraine's leaders well, but cautioned that the world would judge them by the progress they made towards democracy. "We recognise that no book has been written as to exactly how a country moves from communism to free political and free economic institutions," Mr Rumsfeld told reporters. "There is no question that how a country manages [its] difficulties ... is important to how the rest of the world views the country." Instability He also urged Ukraine to carry out a thorough and independent investigation into the killing last year of opposition journalist Georgiy Gongadze. President Kuchma came under pressure to resign earlier this year as protesters filled the capital's streets accusing him of ordering the killing. Officials admit the investigation of the crime has been confused and inadequate. Analysts say that instability in Ukraine - the fourth biggest country in Europe with a population of 50 million - could jeopardise the security of central Europe. Correspondents say the country has been riddled with corruption, and that little progress has been made on economic reform. __________________________________________________ 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]
