[ALBSA-Info] NATO poised to hand back slice of Serbia

[Gazhebo at aol.com]

NATO poised to hand back slice of Serbia

By Douglas Hamilton
  
BRUSSELS, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The NATO allies are preparing to hand back 
control of a slice of Serb territory to Belgrade in a milestone gesture of 
confidence in Serbia's new, democratic leadership, diplomatic sources said on 
Monday. 

In a move that may also be seen as a veiled warning to ethnic Albanian 
extremists, NATO foreign ministers were expected on Tuesday to endorse a 
decision to eliminate about 300 km (180 miles) of the 400 km (240-mile) 
buffer zone around Kosovo. 

This would leave the no-go order for Serb forces in place for the time being 
in the Presevo Valley region of southern Serbia, where the zone has been 
exploited as a safe haven for the past year by Albanian separatists. 

While NATO is anxious to help Serbia reach a political settlement 
demilitarising the crisis area, it does not want to to trigger a flood of 
ethnic Albanian refugees into Kosovo from communities fearful of a harsh 
military crackdown on the rebels. 

Nor does it want several hundred well-armed guerrillas backing up into Kosovo 
itself. The aim must be to defuse the problem, not to make it worse, a NATO 
official said. 

NO HASTY MOVES 

The "ground safety zone" is a five km (three- mile) wide belt of land around 
Kosovo's internal boundary in Serbia. 

It was imposed by NATO at the end of the allied bombing campaign in June 1999 
to keep Serb forces well away from the Kosovo boundary line as NATO 
peacekeepers took over. 

"It's original purpose is in suspension," the NATO official said. With the 
fall of the hardliner Slobodan Milosevic last October the risk of a Serb 
attack had evaporated, he explained. 

However, no one foresaw the zone being exploited by rebels bent on 
"liberating" Presevo Valley Albanian communities. "This gives us cause to be 
cautious," the official added. 

He declined comment on a forecast by Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica on 
Monday that Serbia would regain control of 75 percent of the zone from NATO 
very soon. 

But a senior NATO diplomat, briefing reporters ahead of Tuesday's ministerial 
conference, gave a broad hint that a decision to change the buffer zone was 
indeed imminent. 

"Watch this space," he said. 

BELGRADE TO THIN OUT FORCES 

Arresting a slide to war in southern Serbia has become a top priority in 
recent weeks, with the United Nations, NATO and the European Union making a 
coordinated effort to deprive the conflict not only of arms but of political 
oxygen. 

They are working closely with Belgrade, which has presented a detailed 
four-month plan to end the crisis. 

Keeping the zone in place in southern Serbia, however, would still leave a 
five-km poorly protected "gate" on the border with Macedonia, where Albanian 
separatist guerrillas have been active recently. Sustained gunfire was heard 
in the area on Monday. 

NATO is increasing patrols on the Macedonian border. EU foreign ministers 
also agreed on Monday to raise the number of EU monitors in the Presevo 
Valley region from nine to 30. 

Warning that its patience has limits in the face of attacks it says are 
unprovoked, Serbia wants NATO to eliminate, narrow, curtail or otherwise 
localise the zone so its forces can regain control of villages and roads at 
present beyond their reach. 

Wary of appearing to tilt in favour of Serbia against ethnic Albanians, and 
still fearful of heavy-handed Serb tactics, the allies are evidently intent 
on delaying any such move. 

The NATO official noted that Serbian deputy premier Nebojsa Covic was 
currently "revising his plan." He was considering "thinning out their forces 
in the area" to eliminate what the diplomat called their "somewhat 
intimidating presence." 

The peace strategy rests on ceasefire talks and steps by Serbia to 
reintegrate Albanians into local government. Belgrade offers an amnesty to 
rebels not guilty of what it calls "terrorist" crimes. 

A key plank for outside powers is to choke off moral, political and material 
support for the rebels by pressuring Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders to 
denounce them without respite for damaging Kosovo's self-government hopes. 

This is a step some have been noticeably loath to take. These are now being 
warned of the risk of "losing the consensus that they're ready for autonomy," 
the NATO envoy said. 

A NATO-EU-UN fact-finding mission toured the area last week and reported that 
ethnic Albanians were ready to engage in talks, although armed extremists 
could try to torpedo progress.