|
NATO, Russia Question Albanian Truce, Back
Army
Fri Jun 8 10:42:56 2001 GMT
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO and Russia backed the Macedonian Army's resumed shelling of ethnic Albanian rebel positions on Friday despite a truce called by the self-styled National Liberation Army (NLA). NATO Secretary General George Robertson and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said the unilateral cease-fire, ordered by the NLA to begin Thursday midnight, appeared to have cynical or ulterior motives and was not enough. Their common stance against any wavering in efforts to smother what is seen as a bid to foment the violent breakup of Macedonia reflected the extent to which NATO and Russia have closed the gulf that divided them when NATO planes bombed Serbia into submission over Kosovo. But some diplomats said the army assault came at an odd time, considering high expectations of a promising security package, amnesty and demilitarization offer later in the day from Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski. CYNICAL TIMING SEEN "The call for a cease-fire may be seen by some as an olive branch but of course it follows a fairly murderous attack a few days ago. So when you do that and call for a cease-fire, then the response to that is: Put down your arms permanently," Robertson said during a news conference with Ivanov at NATO headquarters. He was referring to the killing of five Macedonian soldiers on Tuesday by the guerrillas, which triggered anti-Albanian riots and arson by Macedonian Slavs in the city of Bitola. Ivanov said force should be "used selectively, that would mean against those forces using terrorist means and those who intend to exploit cease-fires only as a breathing space to gather renewed force." Russia has said it would understand whatever force Macedonia's Slav-dominated government felt it had to use to defeat the insurgents, whereas as NATO has called repeatedly for utmost restraint and was still doing so, diplomats said. TRAJKOVSKI AT THE HELM Asked if NATO felt Trajkosvki was in control of the Slav-dominated army, Robertson said: "The answer to that is yes, the commander in chief is in full control of the armed forces." He noted Trajkovski was due to address the Macedonian parliament later on his bid to end the five-month insurgency and European Union foreign affairs chief Javier Solana, the west's point man in the crisis, was due in Skopje in the afternoon. Robertson said NATO and the European Union continued to urged a "firm but proportionate response to the violence that has been imported into Macedonia, combined with the positive track of reform and of change." He hoped that "those who bring the violence" will soon stop. The Macedonian army attacked rebel positions in the northeast just hours after the NLA truce declaration. An army spokesman said the security forces had "undertaken military operations to eliminate terrorist groups in the Kumanovo-Lipkovo region," to reverse an alleged shutdown of water supplies by the rebels to Kumanovo city, and to save "civilians who are used as a shield by the terrorists." Reporters could hear shelling and see smoke rising from the battle area and two Macedonian combat helicopters flying overhead. "We have information to enable us to form our own view of the situation there," Ivanov said. "It is completely obvious that the question of Macedonia should be one of using political means, political pressure, instead of purely forceful methods." The amount of force, however, was a sovereign Macedonian issue, Ivanov added. The rebels say they are fighting to improve the rights of the Albanian minority, which amounts to up to a third of the population. Macedonian Slav leaders say they want to destroy the state by sparking civil war. Copyright � 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content or maintenance releases or similar, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters Sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world. |
