[ALBSA-Info] Macedonia Accuses Albania of Stalling

[Gazhebo at aol.com]

Macedonia Accuses Albania of Stalling

By ERMIRA MEHMETI
  
SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) - Key Macedonian politicians threw their support 
Friday behind a Western-designed plan aimed at ending months of violence, and 
accused rival ethnic Albanians leaders of stalling the peace talks. 

Negotiations between representatives of majority Macedonians, who dominate 
the government, and ethnic Albanian politicians, who represent the country's 
large and restive minority, began Monday under the auspices of the United 
States and the European Union. 

``We basically agree with the overall text'' of the peace plan, said Radmila 
Secerinska, a leader of the Social Democratic Alliance, which is involved in 
the negotiations. 

The talks focus on changing Macedonia's constitution and laws to meet ethnic 
Albanian demands for broader rights. Secerinska said her party and other 
majority Macedonian parties support the concept that would guarantee ``equal 
rights for all ... without many provisions based on ethnicity.'' 

``We want a civic society,'' she said, adding that the peace plan proposed by 
U.S. envoy James Pardew and EU mediator Francois Leotard ``essentially 
respects modern principles and values.'' 

Macedonia's crisis began in February, when militants launched an insurgency 
they said was intended to win greater rights and recognition for ethnic 
Albanians, who make up more than a quarter of Macedonia's population of 2 
million. 

Dozens were killed in clashes between the rebels and Macedonian government 
troops before a NATO-mediated cease-fire took effect last week, paving the 
way for peace talks. 

Meeting for the fifth day in a row with the feuding sides, Pardew and Leotard 
have pressed them to accept a deal that would introduce the Albanian language 
as a second official tongue, provide for state-funded education in Albanian, 
and ensure fair representation of the ethnic community in the government, the 
police and other state bodies. 

Some Macedonian politicians, however, accused the ethnic Albanian leaders of 
refusing to bend on key issues. 

An agreement could be signed as early as Sunday if ethnic Albanians would 
give up their demand to have their own locally elected police chiefs, said a 
government source, speaking on condition of anonymity. 

Ethnic Albanian representative Aziz Polozani said that ``the agreement will 
become acceptable only when it meets all our demands.'' 

Albanian parties ``are not softening their stance and ... they refuse to 
accept that our society is based on individuals rather than ethnic groups,'' 
said Secerinska, calling that ``unacceptable.'' 

``It takes us further away from trends in Europe and it is not a standard 
that should be accepted,'' she said. 

Macedonians regard some of the ethnic Albanian demands as a strategy to 
ultimately carve out their own mini-state. 

Meanwhile, Macedonia's Defense Ministry said rebels trying to smuggle 
fighters and weapons across the border from neighboring Kosovo clashed with 
border guards. Both sides traded fire, but no casualties were reported in the 
brief shootout near the Janice border crossing about 20 miles northeast of 
the capital, Skopje. 

A few other skirmishes were reported in northwestern Macedonia, which has a 
predominantly ethnic Albanian population and has been a key rebel stronghold. 

The restive minority has also demanded that an additional - and larger - 
peace conference be held before a lasting deal is reached. Ethnic Albanian 
leaders have suggested Brussels, Belgium, for the venue because it is the 
headquarters of the European Union and NATO and has a multiethnic society. 

If a peace deal is reached, some 3,000 NATO troops would deploy here to 
oversee the disarmament of