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 TIMES (London) THURSDAY JUNE 07 2001 Macedonia prepares for war on Albanians BY RICHARD BEESTON, DIPLOMATIC EDITOR MACEDONIA was yesterday sliding towards all-out civil war after unidentified gunmen fired shots at the President�s office and ethnic Albanian rebels inflicted heavy losses on the army. Witnesses in Skopje, the capital, said that shots rang out in the evening when gunmen in a black Opel car opened fire with automatic weapons at the office of President Boris Trajkovsky. Although the Macedonian leader was in the building at the time, no one was hurt and the attackers escaped. There were fears that the incident could be the start of a terror campaign in the capital, which has so far been spared most of the fighting. The incident is bound to increase support for calls earlier in the day by Ljubco Georgievsky, the Prime Minister, that the country declare �a state of war� on ethnic Albanian rebels. The move would give the President emergency powers to call up men of fighting age, seal the borders, appoint his own government and impose curfews. �The Prime Minister and the Government consider that a state of war must be declared in order to carry out a mobilisation because Macedonia has been deluding itself for the past four months that the conflict can be peacefully resolved through dialogue,� a government spokesman said. �Everyone must understand that we are at war and that strong military action is the only solution for reaching peace.� It was not clear last night whether Mr Georgievsky had the necessary two thirds support in parliament for the declaration. If passed, it would mark a serious escalation in the conflict and probably bring down the coalition Government, which includes two ethnic Albanian parties. Nevertheless, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is clearly running out of patience as its small and inexperienced army struggles to cope with the rebels, now operating on two fronts. In the latest fighting five soldiers were killed and four wounded in a rebel ambush late on Tuesday at Gajre, near Tetovo, 25 miles west of Skopje. The attack, using heavy machineguns and mortars in the rugged Sar mountains, was seen as a tactic to ease pressure on rebel-held villages in northern Macedonia, near the town of Kumanovo, which have been besieged by the army for the past month. The move had been anticipated by Nato, and a British-led force of 400 troops is being deployed this week along Kosovo�s southern border with Macedonia to crack down on rebel supply lines. Ali Ahmeti, leader of the rebel National Liberation Army, said yesterday in a local newspaper interview, however, that his movement would not be stopped. He insisted that the NLA was fighting for greater rights for the ethnic Albanian minority � about a third of Macedonia�s two million population. The NLA demands equality for Albanians in the constitution, more government jobs, an amnesty for all rebels and international mediation. �We have tried to achieve our goals peacefully, but the Government is only deceiving us and we remain second-class citizens,� Mr Ahmeti said in the Albanian language daily newspaper, Flaka. However, the Macedonian authorities insist that the rebels are intent on triggering an all-out civil war with the aim of dividing the country. Although Skopje has been prepared to negotiate with elected ethnic Albanian parties, the mood among the majority Slavic Macedonians is hardening and a growing number would like a military solution. There were fears last night that the ambush could trigger violent anti-Albanian demonstrations. Three of the dead soldiers were from the town of Bitula, where protests erupted in April against ethnic Albanians after a similar ambush killed four policemen from the town. __________________________________________________ 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]
