[ALBSA-Info] G8 Nations To Review Balkans Case

[Gazhebo at aol.com]

G8 Nations To Review Balkans Case

By DUSAN STOJANOVI
  
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) - With Slobodan Milosevic behind bars, leaders of 
the world's seven richest countries and Russia can take heart over the future 
of the Balkans when they review the situation there during their summit in 
Genoa, Italy. 

However, the handover of the former Yugoslav president to the U.N. war crimes 
tribunal in the Netherlands doesn't mean the turbulent region is on its way 
to imminent peace and prosperity. 

Here's a look at Balkan troublespots: 

MACEDONIA 

Western-mediated talks between Macedonian and ethnic Albanian parties to 
allow more rights for the restive Albanian minority are likely to produce an 
agreement soon. 

But with ethnic Albanian rebels excluded from the talks, the agreement's 
implementation could be difficult. The insurgents have profited from poorly 
organized government defense forces and have taken control of large chunks of 
Macedonian territory - ground they won't give up without a fight. NATO has 
pledged to help disarm the rebels, but only when a political agreement is in 
place. 

YUGOSLAVIA 

The country is on the verge of disintegrating over the next year. Its two 
remaining republics - dominant Serbia and much smaller Montenegro - are 
unlikely to agree on a loose confederation proposed by the secessionist 
Montenegrin leadership. 

The new pro-democracy Yugoslav leadership, which replaced Milosevic in 
October, will not use force to keep the country together as Milosevic had 
threatened to do. But as the two republics edge toward divorce, tensions are 
rising in Montenegro, where people are divided between wanting independence 
and wanting to remain part of Yugoslavia. 

The likely split will lead to new Serbian elections. President Vojislav 
Kostunica hopes to have his party assume a leadership role and desert the 
broad coalition that unseated Milosevic. 

Kostunica's moderate nationalist party has gained strength as Milosevic's 
neo-communists and ultranationalists switch sides and join its ranks. His 
party's election victory could stall pro-Western democratic reforms that the 
Serbian government - led by Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic - has been trying 
to carry out since Milosevic's ouster. 

The return of neo-nationalists to power in Serbia could have grave 
consequences for the region. Hard-line policies could fuel more trouble, 
especially in Kosovo, where the ethnic Albanian majority seeks independence. 

CROATIA 

Croatia's pro-Western government, which has been in place just 18 months, has 
been seriously challenged after its agreement to hand over two senior 
officers to the U.N. war crimes tribunal. 

The decision, highly sensitive in a country where Croat fighters are widely 
regarded as heroes of the 1991 war for independence, is fiercely disputed by 
veterans, opposition parties and even Prime Minister Ivica Racan's key 
coalition partner in government. 

Racan's Cabinet handily survived a vote of confidence earlier this week, but 
still faces veterans' threat of mass protests when the generals are 
extradited. 

KOSOVO 

The province is formally a part of Serbia, even though it has been run by the 
United Nations and NATO since July 1999, when NATO ended 78 days of 
airstrikes that punished Milosevic's regime for its crackdown on ethnic 
Albanians. 

Kosovo will remain a Balkan flashpoint as long as Serbia's leaders refuse to 
recognize that it is no longer a historic part of their state. 

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA 

Bosnia remains deeply split among its three ethnic groups - Bosnian Muslims, 
Serbs and Croats. Although the war ended in 1995, the country is far from 
stable despite efforts by the international community and NATO-led troops. 

Because it is so deeply split along ethnic lines and lacks a functioning 
joint government, Bosnia will continue to depend on Western economic, 
political and military aid. 

Despite announced efforts to reduce the U.S. military presence in Bosnia, 
which numbers roughly 3,800 American troops, the country could not function 
without a long-term peacekeeping force.