- The Guardian,
- Wednesday March 28, 2001
The talks may involve mediation by the EU, which would have a representative at the talks.
With the fighting in the hills largely over, and the dispersal of the Albanian gunmen from the mountain villages above Tetovo, the government is quietly celebrating the victory of its two-day offensive.
In his meetings with government officials and party leaders from both communities yesterday, Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy supremo, urged them not to be triumphalist or use their unexpectedly quick victory as an excuse for delay.
"The president has made it clear he wants to intensify the dialogue," Mr Solana said on a visit to Tetovo to meet leaders of the Albanian minority.
The government is debating whether to accept international mediation for the talks, and what concessions to give.
The prime minister, Ljubco Georgievski, whose party faces elections next year, is from the same party as the president but is known to be more of a hawk.
"I believe President Trajkovski will announce the start of the talks by the end of this week. We have to do it. We cannot play around with Solana and [Nato chiefLord] Robertson," Branko Geroski, chief editor of independent daily Dnevnik, said yesterday.
Mr Geroski said an international presence at the talks would be a way to guarantee the agreement, and provide mediation if problems arose. "We want that sort of role because we need a strong deal which will last," he said.
Tetovo was returning to normal yesterday with most shops open and many people back on the streets. In the hills the army maintained its presence with tanks and armoured vehicles.
The 600-800 gunmen who had emerged in several Albanian populated mountain villages appareared to have melted away, leaving weapons behind. But government officials were aware that the gunmen could re-emerge later if no concessions are made to the Albanian community.
A key grievance is the preamble to the 1991 constitution which describes the country as "the national state of the Macedonian people". This is likely to go, though officials refuse to go into details of possible concessions.
Mr Geroski predicted that the government would allow Albanian to be used as an official language in state institutions, like the courts and government offices, in districts where large numbers of Albanians live. But it would not be official in central government.
Albanian leaders expressed relief that the army's offensive was over. Arben Xhaferi, whose party is in coalition with Mr Georgievski, tried to distance himself from the army offensive. "Troops and weapons did not stop the violence. What did it was the hope provided by the EU that it would intervene in starting political negotiations," he said.
The other main Albanian party, which is in opposition, has not yet lifted its boycott of parliament. "The army and police have destroyed civilian homes, and it is impossible to be in parliament as a democrat at the same time as the forces open fire on civilians," Muhamed Halili, their secretary-general, said yesterday.
The army now has to decide what forces to leave in the mountains. The government plans to buy several helicopters to help patrol its side of the border to coincide with the increase in security by the K-For peacekeeping force.
Yesterday K-For troops detained 18 armed men as they crossed from Macedonia into Kosovo. They were among more than 100 men who crossed the border at midnight. Some said they belonged to the National Liberation Army, the name adopted by the rebels, according to Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Loebbering, a K-For spokesman.
Meanwhile, trouble has flared in southern Serbia, where ethnic Albanian rebels attacked police positions in the Presevo valley area bordering Kosovo on Sunday and Monday, Serb officials said.
www.kforonline.com/news/updates.htm K-For news updates www.morm.gov.mk/granica/nastanie.htm Macedonian defence ministry - updates on clashes www.mfa.gov.al Albanian foreign ministry
What's going on?
The
fighting in Macedonia explained
Map: where is
Tetovo?
Talk about it
Should Nato
intervene?
Audio
Rory Carroll on the mountain massacre threat (2mins 45)
How do I
listen to audio reports?
More
audio reports
Photo gallery
The conflict in
pictures
Special reports
Kosovo
Serbia
Yugoslavia war crimes
Related articles
22.3.2001: Macedonia rejects ceasefire offer
22.3.2001: Britain and US help drive against Albanians
22.3.2001: Fear and suspicion seep into the capital
22.3.2001, Balkans dispatch: why Nato is ignoring Macedonia
20.3.2001, comment: Macedonian crisis does not mean war in Balkans
20.3.2001, leader: Macedonia on its own
Useful links
Macedonian government
Macedonian
defence ministry - updates on border clashes
Albanian foreign ministry
Albania.com
Albanian
foreign ministry
Yugoslav
government
Foreign secretary Robin Cook's statement on Macedonia
K-For news
updates
