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Macedonia talks continue
SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Negotiators in Macedonia ended a third day of talks with no word on whether they were closer to a deal to prevent full-scale war between ethnic Albanian militants and government forces. After several hours of private talks on Sunday, the meeting broke up. "The tone is hard going and the Albanians are being tough," a diplomatic source told Reuters during a break in the talks. "But I don't think we're on the verge of breakdown." The main stumbling block is how to rewrite a constitution drawn up just 10 years ago. Slav majority leaders are resigned to making sweeping changes, but Albanian parties want Macedonia to become a consensual democracy, where all sensitive decisions would have to be backed by the one-third Albanian minority.
Politicians from the all ethnic groups are considering a peace proposal drafted by President Boris Trajkovski. It calls for a cease-fire, amnesty for most rebels who disarm voluntarily and greater inclusion of ethnic Albanians in state bodies and institutions. Trajkovski's plan may also include the removal of references to ethnicity or religion from the constitution and adding Albanian as a state language. The proposal won backing on Saturday from European Union leaders, who promised more aid if it succeeds. They also said they will send an EU envoy to be based in Skopje to bolster the talks. Britain is also promising to help, offering specialised military training to the Macedonian army as it battles ethnic Albanian rebels, Britain's Defence Ministry said on Sunday. An offer to train front-line patrol units was made earlier this year but has not been accepted by Macedonia, a defence spokesman said. The six-man, short-term training teams would work with patrols that operate "in front of the front line," mostly providing reconnaissance on enemy positions. However, the training would take place far away from the battlefield. British troops would "definitely not be involved in combat operations," the spokesman said. Meanwhile, government forces and rebels exchanged sporadic gunfire on Sunday near the village of Aracinovo, a rebel stronghold on the outskirts of the capital, Skopje. Later, the army and the militants traded shots near the northern village of Slupcane. Military spokesman Col. Blagoja Markovski also said Albanian insurgents fired several mortar bombs on the army's positions near the town of Tetovo.
"One bomb landed near the military barracks on the edge of the town, but it didn't explode," Markovski told The Associated Press. The self-styled rebel National Liberation Army (NLA), which called a truce until June 27 while the politicians haggle, is waiting to see what role NATO will play after calling for the deployment of troops throughout Macedonia as a key peace demand. Diplomats expect the alliance to accept a government request for NATO help in disarming guerrillas and decommissioning their weapons, provided the rebels agree to the terms being debated. "The irony is that the one thing the Macedonians and the NLA can agree on is for NATO to get involved," a Western envoy said. |
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