NATO puts pressure on Macedonia

NATO chief Lord Robertson is holding talks with Macedonian leaders

SKOPJE, Macedonia -- NATO's Secretary-General is visiting Macedonia for talks with leaders on the way to end the crisis in the troubled Balkan country.

Lord Robertson is urging the government to honour the Western-mediated pact which calls for ethnic Albanian rebels to hand over their weapons in return for new legislation granting them more rights.

As he arrived in Skopje on Friday, the alliance's chief said NATO's smooth operation to collect weapons had raised hopes for an enduring peace in Macedonia in an otherwise "black week" of terror.

"This has been a black week for the world. The events in New York and Washington cast a shadow not just across America but across the Balkans as well," he said.

"And yet the people of this country are embarking on a historic venture here in bringing peace and stability, so there could be a tiny ray of sunshine from Macedonia that might break the blackness of this terrible week," Lord Robertson said.

More than 2,000 weapons have already been collected by NATO troops under Macedonia's peace plan.

Major General Gunnar Lange, commander of NATO's arms-gathering mission "Operation Essential Harvest," announced the completion of the second phase on Thursday, informing President Boris Trajkovski that more than two-thirds of the declared arsenal had been handed over.

"We hope we can continue with the momentum in this process," Lange said.

The weapons are being disabled at Krivolak military base in southern Macedonia before being sent to neighbouring Greece for final destruction.

The final peace agreement, which includes the constitutional changes, will not be passed until NATO has collected all 3,300 weapons the rebels have agreed to surrender.

The Western-brokered plan's 45-day timetable, signed by Skopje and ethnic Albanians, calls for legislation to be completed by September 28.

But a referendum sought by a small Macedonian party -- New Democracy -- on civil rights reforms could derail the whole process.

The Macedonian parliament has indefinitely delayed a debate on a referendum, and Western officials fear the proposal might be endorsed by hard-liners within VMRO, the Macedonian nationalist party.

Arben Xhaferi, leader of the Democratic Party of Albanians, condemned the initiative as a "dangerous game."

Quoted by the Associated Press, he said: "This is going to be a motive for Albanians to organize their referendum on which they are going to decide for themselves and for the rights they wish."

During his visit to Macedonia, Lord Robertson will be seeking to break down Skopje's reluctance to approve an international security force, possibly NATO-led, to protect international civilian monitors and deter extremists on both sides spoiling for fresh violence, diplomats told Reuters.

They said Robertson would also demand that parliament stop stalling on commitments to pass an amnesty for rebels and adopt 30 constitutional amendments in principle to set the stage for ratification of the whole package.