STOP NATO: �NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Sopranos fanatics, this one is for you. Tony Soprano's autographed Suburban is available for purchase on eBayTM. James Gandolfini has personally signed the vehicle. Find this and over 800 other Sopranos items for sale on eBay. http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/ebay ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Where are Tony Blair, Hillary Clinton and the congressperson from my own district, the 9th, Jan Schakowksy - The Progressive (trademark) - as thousands of Macedonians are driven from their homes by the humanitarians' favorite freedom fighters? In 1999 they all caught the first plane out to be photographed with refugees in Macedonia, when it was a matter of feeding into war hysteria and urging on the bombing of Belgrade and the murder of thousands of Yugoslav civilians. But now none of them seem to be able to trace the bread crumbs back. Wonder why that might be?] 'Peace Plan' Has Its Detractors SKOPJE, Macedonia, July 16, 2001 APThe peaceful demonstration contrasted with a rally last month in which a mob stormed Parliament. (CBS) Participants reported progress Monday at talks on defusing Macedonia's guerrilla war by elevating the status of the ethnic Albanian minority, but hundreds demonstrated against concessions, shouting "Macedonia for the Macedonians." The participants did not want to be named, and asked that details of how the talks had progressed not be made public. But they suggested that the sides were moving closer to agreement on changes meant to satisfy ethnic Albanian demands while easing majority Macedonian concerns that too many concessions could fragment the country along ethnic lines. However, hundreds of Macedonians marched through the capital Monday, chanting, "Macedonia for Macedonians," "No changes to our constitution" and "This is Macedonia." Macedonia's crisis began in February, when militants from the ethnic Albanian community took up arms and clashed with government forces. Earlier this month, NATO and the European Union mediated a cease-fire, and envoys James Pardew of the United States and Francois Leotard of the European Union are trying to broker an agreement. Key provisions would introduce Albanian as the second official language, change the country's constitution to upgrade the status of the minority and guarantee better representation of ethnic Albanians in the government, police, army and education. Ethnic Albanians, who account for nearly a third of Macedonia's 2 million people, have complained of treatment as second-class citizens. But many Macedonians see their demands as a strategy to divide the country and ultimately carve out an ethnic Albanian mini-state. Ethnic Albanian leader Menduh Thaci said Sunday that the peace talks were progressing well and an agreement was near. But on Monday, another ethnic Albanian representative, Zahir Bekteshi, suggested a final agreement wasn't near, telling a reporter that the remaining disputes "cannot be solved in a day." Macedonian officials stressed patience was wearing thin and warned that a breakdown in negotiations could spell the end of a NATO-brokered truce, which has contained fighting with the National Liberation Army guerrillas for the past 11 days. "We are not even close to reaching a final agreement," a government source said. "If things continue as they are, I'm not sure that the cease-fire will hold." Western leaders worry that if Macedonia were to become unstable, the tense peace among rival ethnic groups in the Balkans could unravel. The former Yugoslavia has been the site of four wars in the past decade. Macedonia was once a republic of Yugoslavia. Click here to learn more about that country's break-up. Any political agreement was expected to result in an end to the ethnic Albanian insurgency. If the rival sides agree on a peace plan, some 3,000 NATO troops would deploy to oversee the disarmament of the rebels, who number between 4,000 and 6,000 according to Macedonian government estimates. The Macedonian demonstrators walked past the local offices of NATO, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the European Union, which is helping to mediate negotiations. Protest organizer Tomislav Stojanovski said the demonstrators were demanding meetings with Pardew and Leotard. "We want to tell the people who dictate terms of peace that we need protection from those who started the war," Stojanovski said. The cease-fire entered its 11th day Monday generally intact. But the Defense Ministry said rebels attacked a police checkpoint overnight near the northern city of Tetovo and fired a few rounds at army barracks on the outskirts of the city. No one was injured. Tens of thousands of people on both sides have been displaced by the fighting. Many ethnic Albanians have fled over the border into Kosovo, a predominantly ethnic Albanian province of neighboring Serbia. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
