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 KLA, after NATO has forced the Macedonian government's capitulation - self-dissolution - prefers to *surrender* to NATO for the same reason that Rudolph Hess parachuted into Britain and not the Soviet Union and that Reinhard Gehlen turned himself over to U.S. forces after World War Two. Not six months, but six weeks? No one can be that gulllible. Next stop Sofia.] NATO Ready To Send Troops to Macedonia by ROBERT WIELAARD Associated Press Writer BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- NATO agreed to send several thousand troops to Macedonia to help disarm ethnic Albanian rebels if Slav and ethnic Albanian leaders can reach an agreement to resolve the crisis there. The alliance said in a statement Wednesday that NATO members agreed on a ''concept of operations'' to enable NATO to act swiftly to secure a peace plan if it can be worked out between the two sides in the southern Balkan country. The statement gave no details. However, NATO officials briefing reporters on condition of anonymity said the alliance agreed to send a brigade-sized force to supervise the disarming of National Liberation Army fighters who give up their weapons voluntarily. One official estimated the proposed number at about 3,000. The troops, which would probably not come from the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in nearby Kosovo, would remain in the country ''something like six weeks, rather than six months,'' one official said. He said the alliance must now prepare a plan to determine the type of force required, the precise number of troops involved and which NATO countries would contribute. Several NATO allies have offered contributions and the United States was expected to be a participant, even if it were a minor one. Officials emphasized that NATO was prepared to move only after an agreement among the Macedonian parties themselves. The ethnic Albanians are demanding changes to the constitution to give them more rights. Those talks were deadlocked on Wednesday, the sixth day of negotiations. ''Without such an agreement, we will certainly not go into Macedonia,'' said the NATO official. In a statement, NATO members ''reaffirmed the urgent need for a successful outcome of the political dialogue,'' between Slav and ethnic Albanian politicians. The allies also called the cessation of hostilities ''an essential precondition for any NATO assistance.'' The 15-nation European Union has taken the lead in trying to mediate an end to the conflict, which broke out late last year after rebels launched attacks against Macedonian police. On Wednesday, the EU's foreign policy and security chief said diplomacy was at a critical point in Western efforts to prevent full-scale civil war. ''We must continue to do the utmost to avoid war in Macedonia,'' Javier Solana told the foreign affairs committee at the European Parliament. ''This is a crucial week ... We hope we will be able to resolve these constitutional difficulties.'' Solana also said he hoped European countries would contribute to the NATO force. ''I don't think that extraordinarily big numbers will be required,'' he said. � __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
