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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A copy of the rebel plan, sent to Reuters, called for "intervention of NATO forces in the whole territory of Macedonia...." The NLA announced its *demands* [emphasis added] as NATO General Secretary George Robertson and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana pushed leaders of Macedonia's fractious unity government to flesh out their own plans to end the crisis. [I believe this is called acting in tandem.] Currently, fewer than ten percent of Albanians are employed in state institutions. [Once again and predictably, the Western press plays into the hands of the KLA agenda of portraying their alleged constituency as being the victim of institutional discrimination. Obviously, the question shouldn't be one of what percentage of ethnic Albanians are employed as government workers, but of what percentage of government workers are ethnic Albanians. A crucial distinction. Given demographic differentials - the average age of different ethnic groups, the urban/educated vs rural/agrarian ratios, the predominance of patriarchal relations that discourage women from seeking work outside the household, etc. - might well account for "fewer than ten percent of Albanians" being employed in public sector jobs without the cause of this fact being deliberate exclusion. But in general, what's detailed below is Kosovo II: Every demand not acceded to adds to secessionist rancor; every one granted yet further advances separatist sentiments. A definite no-win proposition - as it's meant to be.] Thursday June 14 6:36 AM ET Macedonia Rebels Want NATO Intervention for Peace By Alister Doyle SKOPJE (Reuters) - Ethnic Albanian rebels urged deployment of NATO troops in Macedonia on Thursday to underpin any peace deal as Western powers stepped up pressure on Skopje to halt a slide toward civil war. The self-styled National Liberation Army (NLA) rebels, outlining formal demands for ending the four-month-long insurgency for the first time, also called for a cease-fire, amnesty and wide-ranging reforms to raise the status of minority Albanians. A copy of the rebel plan, sent to Reuters, called for ''intervention of NATO forces in the whole territory of Macedonia, as a guarantee for...reaching a lasting peace.'' The plan included demands rejected by the government, which refuses to negotiate with rebels it calls terrorists. The rebels say ethnic Albanians, who make up about 30 percent of the population, suffer discrimination by the majority Slavs. A fragile cease-fire was in effect in the former Yugoslav republic on Thursday for a fourth day in a row. But the army accused the rebels of a mortar attack near the northwestern city of Tetovo. No one was hurt. The NLA announced its demands as NATO Secretary General George Robertson and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana pushed leaders of Macedonia's fractious unity government to flesh out their own plans for ending the crisis. ``The key thing is to translate a plan on paper into a peace in place,�� said Robertson, arriving in Skopje for talks with President Boris Trajkovski and other leaders. NO MILITARY INTERVENTION? NATO leaders at a summit in Brussels on Wednesday played down speculation they were considering military intervention despite calls for bolder action from alliance leaders. But diplomats say support is growing for some sort of role for NATO troops -- possibly to help disarm the guerrillas after a peace plan is in place. Solana, who has taken a leading role in trying to untangle a conflict in which dozens of people have died, said Skopje needed to deliver quick reforms to answer Albanian minority grievances. ``We�d like to see it move as fast as possible,�� Solana said. He has told Macedonia he wants tangible action before a meeting of EU foreign ministers on June 25, a deadline which a diplomatic source said was ``very serious.�� Publication of rebel demands was widely seen as a big step forward because it gives the two sides in the conflict a starting point after the main ethnic Slav and Albanian political parties agreed this week to Trajkovski's plan. Trajkovski foresees incentives for the rebels to disarm -- stopping short of amnesty -- reforms to the police and army and an acceleration of political reforms. But agreement, especially on incentives for rebel disarmament, will be tough. The rebel plan was signed by Ali Ahmeti, the political representative of the self-styled NLA. It said negotiations should be mediated by the United States and European Union. The proposal also called for controversial constitutional reforms, including making Albanians equal to the Macedonian Slavs in the wording of the entire constitution and making Albanian an official language without conditions. Slav leaders are afraid that rewriting the constitution could unlock calls for federalization and even autonomy. The leaders of all Macedonia's main parties will begin a two-day-long meeting later on Thursday to discuss Trajovski's plan, which remains thin on details. The NLA also called for Albanians to get public sector jobs in proportion to their population. Currently, fewer than 10 percent of ethnic Albanians are employed in state institutions. It also wants more power for municipalities and to limit the power of a majority to overrule an ethnic minority, release of political prisoners and reconstruction of villages destroyed during the fighting. __________________________________________________ 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]
